In support of this thread

What is the ALHTF fallback communication plan?

Headed to Birmingham this coming Saturday. We will meet at 11am.

PM me for location.

I am aware some folks want to meet in Birmingham on another date. We can do that too - 20FEB21. If you cant make this, tho, no need to post that here.

Its very clear Ham radio is the answer to the original question: What is the ALHTF fallback communication plan?

I asked another question: "What if Ham isnt an option?"

Our associate answered, "P.A.C.E. or Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency planning"

I havent been in the military since the late 80s, but apparently PACE isnt a new concept to some who have more recently, like in the last 30 years, done their time. Going forward I'd like to nail down just what each of these are going to be for ALHTF. Or at least North ALHTF. As each category is defined I'm thinking there needs to be another round of meets like this to distribute things like usernames for internet comms, frequencies, etc.

I am not in charge. I'm just trying to get the conversations started. There are people that are FAR more qualified to make intelligent decisions about a fallback plan.

Lets also make clear these meetings are not about storming capitols, not even really about politics. They are about what we can do should suddenly we find ourselves without a reasonable way to contact like-minded people. This was revealed as a very real possibility a few weeks ago.

To me, "like-minded" means people who genuinely believe in liberty. If at the very least you believe in the 1st and 2nd, you should come meet us.

Next meeting 13FEB21 in Athens.

:: UPDATE ::

Only one new person - well, if you dont count my son dropping by. The 20th is looking like it might be the biggest yet. I could be wrong.

PACE

Primary - Arfcom / Internets. I had no idea there was a MeWe arcom page.

Alternate - Wired, Signal, Telegram, Gab. Chat apps basically.

Contingency - Ham. I propose that if you're not crazy about learning Ham then look into one of these: Portable Shortwave Radio

Emergency - Somewhere local to you. @cubie posted this Alabama Emergency Management Divisions

That is for the tl;dr crowd.

Let me go a little deeper. I started wondering why we - or me specifically - need a plan. For what? What is the plan for? is it just in case Arfcom goes down again? The answer is mostly obvious. Yes, in case Arfcom goes down. Well why is that important to me? Because I want to stay in touch with like-minded people. As an associate pointed out, the MSM, the .gov, Big Tech, are isolating us, trying to separate us. We are feeling that isolation. When Arfcom went down I did feel intensely alone. Which, in reality, isnt true. But the idea that I wouldnt have a connection to people that on some level agree with me regarding the 1st and 2nd, mostly Constitutionalists, that the connection might be severed was frightening. It makes sense to me now that I need a way to stay connected even without Arfcom.

So, Primary is indeed Arfcom. Thats our primary way of staying connected with the largest group. Certainly you're going to have people local to you that you are connected to, I get that.

Alternate is apps like Wired, Signal, etc. We will pass around usernames at the meets, not here, unless you really want to. Somewhere between these two, Primary and Alternate, is of course phones. We will also pass around phone numbers at the meets if you want to.

Contingency is Ham. There are some of you that have no desire to learn about Ham and get licensed. The above link to the portable shortwave radio will allow you to listen in on the Arfcom Ham net. The Ham forum is buried here and I'll leave it at that.

I understand they will post the frequency you need to listen to about 30 minutes prior to broadcast. I absolutely intend to listen in. Just remember you cannot broadcast on that radio, only receive.

Finally Emergency. Basically a physical place to meet should SHTF. But what does that mean? What are we talking about when we say SHTF? For most of us its a full on TEOTWAWKI zombie apocalypse world ending meteor strike EMF pulse. However, in reality its what happened in Fultondale a couple weeks ago. A tornado destroys your neighborhood and you are without power for a week. Or North Alabama several years ago when a tornado took out the powerlines at the Browns Ferry plant, leaving most of the Tennessee Valley without power for almost 7 days, some places even longer. You're going to want to be connected with like-minded folks in situations like that. I like the proposed EMA divisions, we just need to figure out where the meeting place would be.

I've noticed the sense of urgency to have a fallback plan is waning. Not for me tho. So far I have a plan I am comfortable with and thats thanks to doing these meet-ups. Now I want to clarify each step to some degree and evangelize it. The more people I can sell this to means more people I'm connected with and I wont have to stare at a blank monitor, wondering what the hell I'm going to do, who I can trust, and how long am I going to be able to protect my family alone.

I've been asked who's doing these meetings for like, Montgomery or Mobile? I dont know. Birmingham is about as far south as I'm willing to travel. I mean, I reckon I could do a Montgomery or Mobile, but thatd take some planning. Its not a day trip at that point.

Next meet-up will be 13FEB21 in Athens, AL. It will likely be a breakfast and a place has been recommended to me. So, 8am, Athens, PM me for location.

I hope this goes well, in fact well enough, where there can be something similar to other parts of the state.

As the risk of sounding selfish, I would like to see something in the Montgomery area, since I live close to there.

Maybe something in the LA (lower AL) are as well.

Good luck, and lets us know how it goes.

Also, if someone in these areas can organize something for the comm noobs (like me) that would be awesome. Hands-on training is the best IMHO.

I'll be there Saturday with the computer if anyone needs their Baofeng programmed.

I'll bring a pack of blank CDs (or DVDs?)

bump

11:00am

Birmingham

PM me for place