Counter-Terrorism Response: Civilian Guide
Essential counter-terrorism guide equipping civilians with critical insights from the CIA’s perspective to recognize, understand, and effectively respond to potential terrorist threats in everyday life.
In an era where the threat of terrorism looms in various forms where no city is completely safe, it’s crucial for civilians to be equipped with knowledge and awareness.
Drawing from the work of the Special Forces and CIA, this guide aims to educate readers on recognizing potential terrorist threats, understanding their tactics, and responding effectively in the event of an attack.
The principles of tradecraft, while primarily designed for covert operatives in the field, offer valuable insights into vigilance, preparedness and strategies that can be applied in everyday civilian life for when such a need arises.
Recognizing Potential Terrorist Threats
I) Understanding Terrorist Profiles
Terrorist operatives often try to blend into their surroundings to avoid detection (homegrown terrorists are naturally harder to detect). However, certain behaviors can be red flags:
• Surveillance: An individual or group repeatedly observing a location (government buildings, public transportation hubs, tourist attractions) could be gathering information for planning an attack.
• Elicitation: Attempts to gain information about operations or security measures in sensitive areas.
• Tests of Security: Probing actions to see how security responds, such as leaving unattended packages or breaching restricted areas.
• Acquiring Supplies: Purchasing or stealing materials that could be used in attacks, like firearms, explosives, chemical agents, and peculiar combination of items that individually are innocuous but together is suspicious.
II) Suspicious Behaviors and Indicators
• Unusual Interest: Showing excessive interest in security measures or personnel, entry and exit points, and peak operational hours.
• False Tourist Recording: Acting like a tourist taking photos and recording videos of seemingly non-touristy points of interest such as security cameras, security checkpoints, border gates, building entrances etc.
• Social Media Footprint: Extremist groups often use social media for recruitment and propaganda. Be wary of individuals sharing or promoting violent extremist materials.
• Dry Runs: Practice runs before the actual attack, often conducting a trial without the actual weapon or tool.
Understanding Terrorist Tactics
Terrorists adapt their tactics based on their environment and targets. Common tactics include:
• Bombings: Still the most common. Watch for unattended bags or packages in crowded areas or public transport. Particularly if an individual “accidentally” drops or leaves behind said bags or belongings.
• Armed Assaults: Attacks with firearms can occur anywhere. Note the importance of escape routes in your daily environments and potential places of cover you can get behind in any given area you’re in.
• Hostage Situations: While less common, understanding basic principles of hostage survival – like staying calm and observing captor routines – can be life-saving.
• Vehicle Ramming: Increasingly used to target crowded public spaces. Stay aware of your surroundings, especially when in large gatherings.
Responding to a Terrorist Attack
I) Immediate Actions
• Run and Hide: If escape is possible, it should be your first choice. If not, find a safe place to hide. Depending on the type of attack and if a secondary attack is imminent, getting as much distance or behind strong cover from the attack point is ideal.
• Engage: As a last or only resort, and only if your life is in imminent danger, attempt to defend against the attacker(s) until you have an opening to escape. Alternatively, for the trained and capable, actively engage the attacker(s) to stop them and or detain them with any means necessary.
• Follow Instructions of Security Personnel: In a crisis, following the directions of trained professionals is crucial. This typically comes some time after the attack by the police, first responders and others.
II) After the Attack
• After Attack Preparedness: Expect for the worst by being mentally prepared for a secondary attack, keep your wits sharp until an extended amount of time passes.
• Contact Authorities: Provide them with as much information as possible about the attackers, their location, identifying features and other relevant details.
• Stay Informed: Use reliable news sources to get updates on the situation
Vigilance and Reporting Suspicious Activities
I) See Something, Say Something
Reporting suspicious activities can prevent terrorist attacks. Contact local law enforcement if you observe anything unusual. Record anything that may be useful with your phone and deliberately memorize potentially important information.
II) Community Engagement
Terrorists often rely on the isolation from society. Building strong, inclusive communities can be one of the best defenses against extremism.
While the responsibility for counter-terrorism lies with specialized operatives and agencies, civilians have a crucial role to play in enhancing public safety. By staying informed, vigilant, and prepared, civilians can contribute significantly to thwarting terrorist threats and ensuring the security of their communities.
This guide, rooted in covert operative tradecraft, offers a structured approach to understanding, recognizing, and responding to terrorist activities.
[INTEL : Special Forces Urban Evasion/Mobility: Civilian Guide]
[OPTICS : Bangkok, Thailand]
![“Survival in any form for any environment is an act of prevention and or recovery, best enacted by preparation.” -Det V Cader The problem with survival prepping is the assumption that you’ll be home when the SHTF, if not then it was all for nothing. This is the solution: Standard “prepping” is the practice of stockpiling pertinent supplies and the training of survival techniques to be used for a possible lifestyle altering, large-scale catastrophe or SHTF event. The typical process is simple; slowly but consistently acquire food, water, weapons and other relevant equipment and store them in a singular central location such as a home or private “bomb” shelter. Just as important but far less utilized is the ongoing learning and practice of survival, defense and use of the prepped equipment. Having everything in one location has one fatal flaw, however. It assumes that you will be at that very location at all times or it will always be easily accessible and nearby to your present location. There’s no way of knowing when or where an “event” will take place. Meaning getting to your home base where all your survival prepping is stored may be impossible due to the nature of an “event”; mass gridlock traffic, land / infrastructure destruction, social panic and violence, restrictive martial law, vicinity containment, active combat / hot zones and public transportation collapse. The average person commutes to work or school 5 days a week far enough that they need to take motorized transportation, public or private. Then there’s leisure, recreation and errands time at other homes and facilities as well as being away on vacation. So all that survival prepping, across town or half way around the world can be lost or seized by another. For more than a decade I’ve been doing the “vagabond survival prepping method” of which evolved from stashing small city-specific go-bags around the world as part of my former operative profession. It wasn’t about survival back then but about professional utility and function. Equipment that wasn’t ideal to equip on my person at all times because of unnecessary baggage or non-permissive locales. As time went by and the more I returned to some of these “prepped cities”, the go-bags that were already stashed became better equipped and for more dynamic use such as urban / wilderness survival. To this day, I manage these hidden go-bags whenever I happen to be in their respective countries. That’s my way of survival prepping while vagabonding. These are located in a growing number of the cities I frequently visit in secure but relatively easily accessible spots such as; under a boulder access in New York’s Central Park, inside a tree stump in the Amazon Jungle and a derelict manhole in Bangkok – all of which have been my active stash spots for years. Unlike typical at-home-preppers, I don’t have the luxury of a long term address so I can’t hand pick the exact items I want off the internet to ship to. But this works out for me just fine as I build / upgrade my kits with readily available materials from the city I’m in. So if an “event” does take place (which will often affect major cities first and most), I’ll have my prep kit close by no matter where I am in the world. Instead of having to rely on a singular base a continent away. Due to the limited opportunity but unlimited variety of goods available while constantly traveling, each go-bag is completely different. Some by design and others by necessity. All are sealed to protect from the elements and hidden but easily “accessible”. Various Kit Items List: Backpack, Duffle Bag or Dry Bag MRE’s, Canned Foods and Vitamins Bottled Water and Energy Shot Water Treatment Tablets Prescription Contact Lenses Kevlar Vest or Shield Climbing Rope and Gear Euros and US Dollars Gold and Platinum Bullion Urban / SERE Kit Wilderness Kit First Aid / Trauma Kit SD Card w/ Data Smartphone Gas Mask Knife, Machete and other Weapons CB and Two-Way Radio Full Change of Clothes Multi Tool and Pry Bar Flashlight and Chemlights Sleeping Bag or Parka Solar Charger Some may consider renting a locker in a facility like train stations or self storage units. It’s not easy to maintain them for years at a time when you’re not even in the country for years at a time. Also, when considering an “event”, it’s logical to expect the loss of power grid and the mayhem in busy public areas. It’s best to stash them where no one will look in an area that won’t be too hectic but not where it will be too difficult to reach with limited transportation options. The vagabond survival prepping method isn’t limited to location independents and nomads, however. Consider your travel requirements of daily life and stash a go-bag in strategic spots accordingly; in your car, near your job, somewhere between your home and work, a friend’s place and near a hangout you frequent. Survival prepping doesn’t end with the acquisition of supplies and equipment, it only begins there and continues on with honing skills to survive and thrive. [OPTICS : Triple Aught Design Pack]](https://trdcrft.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Vagabond-Survival-Prepping-FAST-Pack-Litespeed-1-490x550.jpeg)
