If you think we are going to be without power or communcations for a medium period of time - why not get a ham licence. The equipment is not nearly as expensive as it was a few years ago - and in any disaster hams are the first communications link to the affected areas. There are also programs where hams help the National Guard and Army during disaster relief - see this site for more info.

http://ns1.acan.net/~navymars/

If you want a look at the type of action the military takes during a disaster go to

www.army.mil

the US army home page currently has several pages up covering a flood relief effort in Texas. I put in the last because a lot of people seem to have misconceptions about the military role during disasters.

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), November 02, 1998

Answers

I think you're referring to general worries here about a military coup de etat. This is very different from a flood or hurricane. We're talking about the possibility of an utter collapse of the economy, with simulataneous shutdown of telecommunications, power, and other critical infrastructure elements. There is no precedent for what is about to happen. The military is likely to be the only "government" for some time. This is a big opportunity for organized crime,which has infiltrated our intelligence community to the point that the various operations of both these groups are hardly distinguishable. You are giving an example of the military's action in a localized, minor emergency, in a time of peace, in an economy that is at an all time high.

Learning to be a ham is an excellent idea, however, and I commend you for that.

E.

-- E. Coli (nunayo@beeswax.com), November 03, 1998.

Whatever happened to CB radio, "Convoy" and all that stuff. Perhaps we can truck our way out of Y 2 Kay.

-- Richard Dale (rdale@figroup.co.uk), November 04, 1998.

I really don't think it is realistic to worry about a military coup in this country. There is just nothing to back up such a concern except a lot of hot air. There are circumstances in which the military can perform operations in the US (ever hear of the Civil War?) but except in cases of revolt it is done under the control of the CIVIL authorities. BTW the intelligence community (CIA) is separate from military intelligence (MI) and frankly they don't care much for each other.

As for CB - it will work for short range communications but is not meant for long range. A ham licence will let you communicate with other hams all over the world. Much more useful - though I don't dismiss CB out of hand either.

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), November 04, 1998.