Life in a Non-Permissive Environment

When US Embassy or military personnel are assigned to duty in a nation that is not friendly to us, we call that a “non-permissive environment”. This means that the host nation’s government will not allow us to operate without challenges or restrictions. We send personnel heading there to special courses on how to live and operate clandestinely in a non-permissive environment.

Well, let’s call a spade a spade. If you are a conservative Christian who is interested in preparedness in the US today, you are operating in a non-permissive environment. The Department of Homeland Security has stated that an interest in “being prepared” or “being ready” is an indicator of domestic violent extremism. Facebook went so far as to warn people joining canning groups that they might have been exposed to violent extremism (yes, really). As a matter of fact, they’ve called people “concerned about their Constitutional Rights” potential violent extremists.

Now, this isn’t a political article. It’s an article on some tips and techniques for living in a non-permissive environment, something I know a thing or two about. As a protective security agent, I advise clients and travel with them to areas where they are targeted. It takes some skills to stay under the radar.

The first tip is to maybe dial back the public commentary. I know, I certainly don’t, but I’m a published author who is already out there. Be anonymous online but notice the big purge last week because the “NAFO”/Ukraine crowd decided to bait people into saying things that would get them banned. Being banned on social media is an inconvenience, but some ANTIFA people specialize in tracking down people and doxing them. You don’t need that. It’s not worth the risk to “dunk” on people. Realize that you’re never going to change their minds, so dial it back, just a bit. I’m not saying hide, I’m saying choose winnable battles and maintain personal security.

The next thing is the uncomfortable one – but it comes right from the US government and private military contracting training. Your phone is a spy device. It does NOT need to go everywhere you do and you can live for long stretches of time without instant communications. I know, a lot of you THINK you’ve locked it down by turning off location, but that just means the phone stops telling YOU about your location history. It’s always tracking. It’s also always listening. I get a lot of push back on this but hear me out…how can your phone know you said, “hey Siri” or “hey Google” UNLESS it was listening to you 100% of the time? Yeah, mind blown, right?

The best solution is to leave the phone at home, but that’s not realistic because you don’t know when you might need it. The most realistic option is a faraday bag like the SLNT one pictured above (that’s an affiliate link, click to buy). Put the phone in and only take it out at safe locations that you don’t mind being tracked or listened to at.

Now, for a little faraday tradecraft. A lot of people put the phone in the bag only when they go somewhere to meet someone. If you both do that and anyone was tracking, all they know is that at least two people hid their phones in the same location for the same period of time, which RAISES interest in you (encrypted radios do that too – makes people wonder why you need encryption). Instead, have your phone out on the way, but stop at a movie theater or shopping mall. Pull into the lot and park, only then placing your phone in the faraday bag. Get back on the road and go to your meeting. After the meeting, drive back to the same lot, and then take the phone out. It looks like you turned it off to shop or go to the movies. Buying a movie ticket can help if there ever is a question later – tradecraft.

One of the things people into preparedness love to do is get into online groups and share their ideas. I’m guilty. But here’s the thing – once you do that, that photo of your hidden wall of canned goods or your secret safe is now out there. Yes, even in a private group. Read the TOS…once you post it, it is no longer your intellectual property. Save those photos and discussions for in-person get-togethers. Ironically, with everyone’s paranoia about “feds”, they are more likely to share this data with complete strangers online than with people they meet face-to-face. It’s an odd phenomenon.

Operating in a non-permissive environment involves being low key, even with vehicles. Remove all the political and firearms related stickers from your car, as they can lead to targeting. On the same note, take note of local cars with extremist views all over them.

As an example, at a recent protection detail I did, the speaker was opposed by a large crowd of over 1,000 people. You might think we rolled the client around in a large motorcade with all that high-risk attention. Actually, as the protestors loudly screamed and tried to surround the building, we slipped the client out and over to dinner a few miles away in a few low-key vehicles and no police escort, using a back lot surrounded by trees. We did it with virtually no radio or phone traffic either, and we even fooled poor Watcher on the Web, who was acting as a dispatcher/online tracker. I forgot to tell him we had left, and he frantically warned me about the protestors getting the building surrounded. I laughed and told him we were sipping whiskey and eating dinner safely ensconced away. Low key every time.

When operating in a non-permissive environment, surveillance awareness is key. Listen, the government isn’t the only group out there doing surveillance. ANTIFA, legit extremist groups like the Black Hebrew Israelites & the Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord (CSA), and plain old criminals are out conducting surveillance to choose targets. Trust me, if you’re a conservative Christian, any one of those groups could put you on their target list (don’t let the CSA’s name fool you – if you don’t hate Jews, they don’t like you). Pay attention to who is in your neighborhood, at work, and other places. Watch for vehicles that re-appear. This is the same advice your police department will give you. Learn to do a surveillance detection route.

Readiness to evade or escape is another tenet of non-permissive environments. I know we all know about Get Home Bags and Bug Out Bags, but US personnel in hostile areas have a “Five Minute Bag” which is really similar to a Get Home Bag, except it has a few extra things to enable evasion and eventual hook-up with others. Some additions include things like IR Chem lights or in my case an IR strobe with extra batteries. Also, a radio and spare battery are vital, along with some type of earpiece for silent monitoring. A scanner with “close call” technology or an Alinco “communications receiver” will allow you to monitor for radio signals near you, but again remember earpieces. Little portable burglar alarms from the Dollar Tree (or $1.25 Tree) will allow you to secure a room to sleep in if needed.

Have this bag (with 72 hours of food included) staged somewhere that you can just grab it and walk out of wherever you are in under 5 minutes. I say walk, because if you are under observation by any hostile party, running draws attention. Walking calmly away and into a planned evasion route is a far better idea.

One big thing is to have done Area Studies on everywhere you might need to evade from like home, work, your gym, etc. A great resource for this is Mike Shelby’s Area Study Handbook. Put in the work now so that you are ready.

The last two points are ones I harp on every single week. First, fill your car with gas every single day. You’ll find that you end up paying less for gas over time when you do this (research dollar cost averaging). Second, get a radio, program it for your local area and team, and then CARRY it. It does you no good to have 4 Baofeng’s still in the boxes when you need to jet like right now. Listen, with the WEALTH of information on YouTube and the availability of the new CHIRPNext programming, there is no excuse to not knowing how to use your radio. I have a good starter video on Locals for paid supporters. On the radio note, if you have a mobile radio in your car, like I do, invest a few dollars in a low-profile antenna like the one above. It’s dual band and doesn’t perform as well as a bigger antenna, but it doesn’t scream “HAM RADIO”. I can always switch to a higher performance antenna when things fully collapse. This one enables me to work low-key right now, especially using GMRS and MURS at short range with a team. I can also plug my portable repeater into it in a pinch (yes, I keep that in my trunk).

Ladies and Gents, we live in dangerous times. It’s time to start acting like it.

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