Stealth Security - OPSEC Guidelines for Preppers - Simplicity, Secrecy and Sustainability

Operational Security (OPSEC) is a basic strategy for keeping any “potential” adversaries from discovering your critical information. This protects you and all of your activities. Any activities you are planning, that may be in a stage of partial completion or that may have already been completed could be placed at risk if you fail to observe a few simple and basic rules concerning OPSEC.

Successful OPSEC procedures depend on three major factors...simplicity, secrecy and sustainability. You will be able to reach your goals quicker and in a more secure manner with less risk by maintaining your OPSEC. Those seeking to take advantage of you will be seeking information about you, your family and your activities for their own purposes.

The Three Major Factors for establishing OPSEC:

1. Simplicity -

Your OPSEC procedures should be designed with a simple set of rules that can be easily followed in order to maintain your security. All family members should be able to follow and observe your OPSEC guidelines with a minimum of instruction. Complex or more difficult procedures are often harder to establish and may be difficult to enact properly in order to maintain higher levels of security.

2. Secrecy -

 OPSEC will help you maintain an effective level of secrecy in order for you to reach your goals in an effective manner without endangering your security. The most important thing of this aspect of OPSEC is that specific and detailed information about your activities should be kept on a “need to know basis only”. The more people that know about an activity; there is less of a chance of you being able to keep that activity private.

3. Sustainability -

Any plans for your OPSEC must be capable of being sustained continuously at all levels. All family members, young, old and in between, should understand the importance of not revealing vital information about your activities or resources. In this regard, only those persons whom you completely trust and could rely on to maintain your security should be included in your security plans.


Here are some simple guidelines for maintaining your security:

OPSEC Guidelines for Preppers

1. Never discuss or release “detailed” information.

2. Keep information on a “need to know” basis.

3. Use a high level of trust to sustain your security levels.

 You can discuss the different aspects of prepping without revealing the full details about your activities. Having a nice conversation is one thing but trying to establish “bragging rights” is a different thing altogether. Don’t let your passion for prepping cloud your judgment to the point of endangering your family and your security by revealing too much about yourself, your family or your activities.

It is unfortunate that there are those persons who will readily seek to take advantage of other people. If they sense any weakness on your part, they will most certainly try to use that to their advantage. There will also be those that will panic easily in a crisis and this will cause many people to act in an irrational manner.

Got OPSEC?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker