Introduction
The world is getting to be such a dangerous place, a man is lucky to get out of it alive.
W. C. Fields
When it comes to face a SHTF, finding yourself stuck somewhere in an extended metropolitan area could be one of the most dangerous places ever.
In fact, the cons may easily exceed the pros: crowding, looting, violence just to name a few.
Any Prepper or Survivalist is well aware of the fact that being prepared involves the use of situational awareness, cold blood and even.. guts. This happens especially in long term periods of time connected to urban disorders, especially marked by riots, which may actually separate the same individuals of a single family.
Staying away from big cities in such a situation should be a real dogma.
A Urban SHTF could feature a long list of issues like shortage of power, black outs, shortage of supplies, of food and medications.
Hospitals could be impossible to reach or overcrowded.
Your EDC may be insufficient to save your life.
In so way, you need to resort to other abilities, to creativity, intuition and even profiling.
The last one, in particular, may help you in analyzing those who surround you in order to forecast their intentions. This is especially helpful to prevent any crime against yourself and your goods too.
Knowing all the skills related to turn yourself into a Gray Man is surely the best way to start with if you are caught offguard because you find yourself in a city for a business meeting or whatsover.
The Gray Man and Profiling
Going to the theater or having the honor of performing in theater reminds you of your humanity in a very different way. It’s a real release and an incredible challenge. But the stage is a dangerous place. You gotta be trained. Plus, crowds like when things go wrong. I think that’s part of the thrill. Anything can happen.
Nina Arianda
Profiling programs have been developed by the FBI since the Seventies.
It consists in gaining a large amount of data on the individual you have to deal with.
These clues are strictly related to:
- job
- social status
- approximate income
(from the way she/he dresses)
- habits
- tendencies
(from body language, gestures)
This incredible cluster of data can be easily turned into a real cradle of benefits to you, if you need to understand if you can trust the person you are in contact.
By applying profiling, you need to be very cautious.
The other person may feel something is sneaking in, so he may adopt a defensive behaviour.
If you appear harmless, you will be extremely proficient in gaining informations on people without outting them in alert.
Inside a city, the more the Gray Man is smart and invisible, the more advantages he can actually take to escape in a silent way, evading from potential ill-intentioned people and not leaving any signs of his passage.
By that said, maybe some elements connected to urban camouflage, concealment and antitracking can come in handy to seize his goal?
Let’s focus on providing some answers to this topic.
On urban concealment
For the anarch, little is changed when he strips off a uniform that he wore partly as fool’s motley, partly as camouflage. It covers his spiritual freedom, which he will objectivate during such transitions. This distinguishes him from the anarchist, who, objectively unfree, starts raging until he is thrust into a more rigorous straitjacket.
Ernst Junger
Beside a psychological nuance of camouflaging, we need to consider the fluid and ever different features of metropolitan areas all around the world.
A lot of versions of Urban Camouflage have been developed all over the years and everywhere.
Camouflaging soldiers, vehicles, weapons and and equipment has always been a priority.
Paramilitary Forces used Urban camo even more than any Army Forces did. This happened especially during urban guerrilla phases.
The Russian Army stands out for itself: they actually used and created several Urban Camouflage.
They were incredibly successfull and performant inside Russian cities, often built up according the schemes dictated by the Soviet Block.
A remarkable document on this topic is “Camouflage and Deception Techniques for Urban Warfare” by Thomas Steck, written in 1980.
It focuses on “A task of this work was to define the urban area. recognizing its important transportation and communications systems. Research included historical analysis, statistical study of urban growth. andi an inquiry into the present worldwide doctrine dealing with urban warfare. Consideration was given to strategic points of view, concentrating on those tactics deemed relevant to urban warfare: e.g.. aerial reconnaissance. direct sight. and ground line communications. The report concludes that camouflage and deception can be tactically significant in urban warfare provided that effective materials are provided and that proper training is given to the using troops. ” Thomas Steck, 1980.
But what if the Gray Man happens to move solo?
It goes without saying that he cannot move on alone by wearing, let’s say, a BDU found somewhere.
Anyone, esecially guerrilla, may easily spot him and identify as a potential threat.
By that, fixing some urban colored clothes (grey, white, black, dark grey) will put the Gray Man much more into the crowd.
He needs to blend it, not to stand out.
In this way, he can not only be compliant to the Gray Man rules, but he can also move easily undetected, with no one paying attention to him or his BDU.
Urban Warfare features: combining skills together to escape
The problem is inherent in urban warfare are as old as mankind; the city provided the defender an area for consolidation of forces and hopeful expulsion of the invader. With its narrow streets and interior lines, the city prevented the invader from using his mobile forces (chariots; cavalry; tanks) effectively, thus reducing the speced of the attacking forces to that of the infantry. In addition, every building became a fortress from which the defender held off the enemy and inflicted heavy casualties upon him. The inherent defensive advantage of a city has continued to the present. The overall effect has been to convince the strategists and tacticians to state in their Field Manuals “avoid combat within cities.
Thomas Steck
Making your way out from built-up areas involves a large amount of different skills.
Above all, I would say
Flexibility
Self reliance
Resilience
Creativity
Smartness
Flexibility goes according with the constant movement of metropolitan areas, to people and vehicles.
As introduced in the previous articles, the application of Antitracking as well as Mantracking can come in handy to check your trail and to detect if the whole scene is safe or it isn’t.
This happens to be extremely helpful when you move into rundown areas, which has the presence of smashed materials, sands, and so on. Good track traps to see footprints or tire tread evidence!
Pairing low profile clothes with these skills allow you to move undetectable and in pretty smart way.
In the manual I wrote last year and called “The Urban Tracker” (2020) I pointed out the folloing principles:
“The fundamental point for tracking (and urban tracking makes no ecceptions) is Locard’s exchange principle: “Every contact leaves a trace”. Simple but true, any person who crosses an environment will leave behind a large amount of evidence — even microscopic and easily overlooked !— of his/her movements.” (Kyt Lyn Walken, “The Urban Tracker“, 2020)
By that, if you pursuing your way out from a city, avoid to cross into ponds, fresh asphalt, tar and concrete as well as stay at large from public parks and gardens.
You don’t want to leave any sign of your passage on them!
Conclusion
“In addition to reversible urban camouflage, the future soldier may have available site-specific, rapidly deployable urban camouflage. Using special algorithms, an ink jet system will rapidly and accurately design the appropriate disruptive pattern, select the optimum color combination and print the fabric for the specified urban terrain. The technology for urban spectral terrain data gathering and quick fabrication is mature and here today. Computerized ink jet printing systems are currently available on a very limited basis; however, the technology is consistently evolving and should be applicable and widely available in the near future.”
Department of Defense
Moving in a fast and safe way may be achieved by years of experience and calculation of probabilities as well as by risk analysis.
Accustom yourself to develop the previously mentioned skills in time of peace. You may never know when you must put them in action.
Ultimately, when you need to face an abrupt change of situations, you may not have even the time to think. Panic may overcome and you need to stay focused and perform at the very best of you.
By that, reaction to threats should be the result of your competence, preparation, common sense, gained skills and endurance.
A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
Proverbs 27:12
About The Author
Article by Kyt Lyn Walken. Official Representative and Instructor for Hull’s Tracking School and Certified Conservation Ranger for the NGO Conservation Rangers Operations Worldwide.
