This Isn't the Sort of Thing That Happens to Someone Like You

Defence:15

Refer to notes on perimeter, above. Also camouflage, discretion, etc. These grouped as Passive Defence. Surveillance also part of this.

Need for force is likely to arise however.v Training in unarmed combat already in progress among some members of group; bring recommendation that all undertake this training to the next meeting, and that ‘unarmed’ be gradually redefined to inc. use of sticks, staves, shields, handtools, knives, etc, up to and including deadly force. (May need to be careful about phrasing of this; may need to introduce tools/knives etc at later date. But good training & preparedness is essential asap.)

Use of weaponry will be inevitable in crisis situation: many members of group not yet reconciled to this, and alarmed by talk of it. Need to work discreetly with others (B, R, J) to make progress in obtaining items+ammo, & training. Shotgun, rifle, handguns in first instance. But also need low-tech/low-maintenance solutions; prepare construction & use of crossbows and/or traditional bows. Sourcing weapons will be primary difficulty. B16 has referred to connections in major population centre which may be of use – expensive and poss. dangerous, but prob. only option. Of prime concern wd be to avoid alerting sources of weaponry to our existence and/or whereabouts; these wd by definition be groups we’d want to avoid knowing about us in the crisis time.

Ideally, a range of weapons wd be obtained. A silenced sniper-style rifle wd be preferred option; allows for early strike without attracting attention and without risk to operative. Concealed handguns useful for surprise element, eg within a false negotiation situation. Wide blast-radius shotgun useful for close confrontation. Obv. selection will be limited by availability. (It may be a useful precaution to also source 1 or more automatic weapons, to be reserved for defence against a large-scale assault, eg by a mobile group.) (However, note that in this situation it may be more prudent to opt for a siege+tunnel strategy.)

Training in the use of these weapons will be almost as difficult as the obtaining of them, particularly while an element of secrecy within the group is required. (Altho clearly an element of secrecy from the wider community will always be required.) Options include trekking to sites such as beaches, woodland, etc. Abandoned quarry or railway tunnel wd be ideal. Further research req.

Exit Strategies:

Above plans notwithstanding, crisis may reach point of severity/duration where managed exit becomes preferred option. Group have so far been unwilling to discuss this when raised, but vital to prepare options on their behalf. (Alts. wd be poss. capture by eg mobile groups, immediate neighbours, active authority figures, etc. Poss. scenarios include but not limited to: forced labour, forced extraction of resource information, rape (female and male), captive human food source, use of violence as local entertainment, etc).

Options inc:

Medical (eg morphine, cyanide, v. large quantity of eg ibuprofen)

Mechanical (hanging in roof space w/ prepared ropes, primed tunnel collapse, primed demolition of property, crushing w/ rocks/timber/metal objects)

Environmental (exposure on high open ground, starvation, self-harm + deliberate wound-infection, weighted entry into watercourse to effect drowning)

Weapons (self-administered gunfire (or co-administered in case of weak/unwilling/young), knives and other tools to effect rapid bleeding, confrontation w/ armed groups in such manner as to effect death by gunfire)

Any proposed method must be a) quick, b) low-pain/distress where possible, c) non-rescindable, d) enforceable/enactable by others if req.)vi

Notes to Self:

Keep no further records. Discuss only with members of group relevant to completion of specific tasks. Maintain personal morale. Liaise with M17 on more controversial aspects; he has similar perspective on chances of crisis, likely impacts & req. steps etc, and has been helpful esp. in group meetings; is also able to listen to detail and discuss wide range of topics without recourse to humour/sarcasm, and is in general terms a v. useful ally!

Destroy these notes.

1 Aerial photographs of site are available from departmental archives, crossr-eferenced to SRN 0010-5586. Note that the notion of a ‘realistically defendable space’ is, at best, a relative one.

2 At time of writing, this ditch and hedging project is at very early stages. It’s difficult to see the group achieving the stated depth/width while restricting themselves to the use of handtools, and with the limited labour on site. The proposed hedging would, I have been advised, take approx 10–15 years to reach the desired maturity.

3 Tunnel project likely to pose risk to participants: the stated ‘expertise’ appears limited to much shorter and shallower excavations. Recommend preventative measures, to include legal steps if necessary. Risk to less-willing members of group would appear to be unreasonable.

4 Names and locations have been redacted throughout this recovered document in order to protect ongoing operation. – MK.

5 Perimeter Working Group. Presumably refers to use of fine flour in Improvised Explosive Device. Subject not known to have training or expertise in preparation or use of explosives. – MK.

6 Presumably refers to fuel shortage restricting flights of any kind. Subject seems not to have considered fuel stockpiling by authority. – MK.

7 Photovoltaic, aka ‘solar panels’. – MK.

8 Typical misunderstanding of authority plans for Emergency Mass Medication, common among groups of this type.

9 ‘self-sufficient’. – MK.

10 Primary Defence Task Force Group. – MK.

11 Author of this document. – MK.

12 Reference to this officer. – MK.

13 Serious cause for concern here. Potentially substantial risk of subject misperceiving environmental factors and moving into ‘crisis’ mode, with the results clearly detailed here. Recommend continued surveillance of subject. – MK.