THINK LIKE A SNIPER BEHIND ENEMY LINES AFTER SOCIETY COLLAPSES

I don't have a military background, but I know enough about the military to know that sniper teams have some of the best training for a situation where the SHTF and society collapses. If you want to survive in a collapsed society, it behooves you to think like a sniper behind enemy lines.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

You have to assume that the threat is all around you--360 degrees. It is every man or woman for himself. Assume that every person wants to take what you have.

CONCEALMENT

Because you are behind enemy lines, so to speak, you want to stay as concealed as possible. You don't want to deal with beggars. You don't want to deal with mobs. You don't want to deal with warlords. If you stay concealed, you can avoid all of that. Hide your position. Choose a location where people will not find you. Establish some kind of lookout system or security surveillance so you know when people are coming. Camouflage your campground. Use camo netting, hunting blinds, or just have your base underground. When you go out, wear a ghillie suit if it's not too hot.

DON'T COMPROMISE YOUR POSITION

Don't invite strangers into your campground, so they know where you are. Don't tell people you come across where you live. Don't make loud noises in your camp. Don't have loud animals in your camp. Be careful of people spotting your fires or smoke. Add suppressors to your guns. Even when you are hunting, use a rifle with a suppressor, so there is no noise. You don't want people to know that there is a person out there who just shot a gun and maybe that person was hunting and now has some food.

RECONNAISSANCE

A big aspect of a sniper team's mission is to collect information on the enemy as well as any other people of interest. In a post-apocalyptic world, finding out about the people around you will be extremely beneficial. You want to know who the friendly and not-so-friendly people are. You want to know who is surviving the legitimate, self-sufficient way and who is surviving by stealing and killing. So spy on your neighbors. Take notes on them. How many people are there? Is it men, women, children? What are there approximate ages? Do they have weapons? Are they growing crops? Take pictures of them to show to the rest of your group and mark on the map where they are staying, or where you saw them.

MARKSMANSHIP

If it comes down to it, you obviously want to be a good shot. Snipers are the best. You should strive to become the best you can be as well. In rare circumstances, if it agrees with your conscience, and it's the right thing to do, you might have to drop targets. For example, bad guys violently stole from you, kidnapped someone, or killed one of your group in an unjust and unprovoked manner. (Remember, society has collapsed. There's no military. There's no law enforcement. There's no government. There's no law. And it's not coming back.) You would do the rest of the peaceful survivors a favor if you took them out. One shot, one kill.

So there you have it. Think and act like a sniper behind enemy lines, and you will do well.