OpSec, grey man, your state of mind

[thughes]

I know Celt is big on this from some previous posts of his.

What got me thinking about this stuff was an experience I had last week:

I was at a local burger stand grabbing some lunch. I got my food and sat down at a booth, immediately across the room from me was a group of people occupying a couple of booths having thier lunch. It was a mixed group, an older couple, a few kids, a few 30 somethings. What caught my eye was one guy (yeah, not what you're thinking), he was standing most of the time talking to the others in the group. He stuck out because he looked like he just walked out of a training session at Blackwater: 5.11 pants with Peshilta stuffed in most of the pockets, black Underarmor tactical shirt, black "operator" baseball cap, and some kind of tactical waist bag on a belt strapped around his waist (which he kept fidgeting with and repositioning from front, to side, back to front, etc.).

So as I sit there eating lunch and watching this dude I'm thinking "If some disgruntled maniac of a customer snaps because they forgot to hold the mayo on his burger and decides to shoot the place up, who is going to catch the first bullet?". That's right: Operator Man! Meanwhile, the fat old bald guy eating his cheesburger in the corner goes completely unnoticed until he stops the carnage with the pistol he always carries in his coat pocket. Think about it....

[thughes]

http://westernrifleshooters.blogspot...-grey-man.html

[usmcveteran]

Good stuff to think about! In the Marines we were really discouraged from wearing uniform out in town or on public transportation and stuff like that. Reason being is there is no need to draw attention to yourself and make yourself a target.

[24Pink14Stink]

Comfortable, functional, but nothing that screams Operator (cuz I aint).

For some reason, I don't like jeans and haven't worn a pair in 10 years, so it's cargos or carhart's. If I have anything on my head, it's a standard winter hat or bandana in summer as my bald head gets cold and sunburned quickly.

[24Pink14Stink]

Oh, and as for the tactical fanny pack - only when I'm mall-walking.

[Celt]

Yep, be the gray man... disappear in your environment. Ill admit that my clothing style does include 5.11 cargo pants, etc... but i also keep time and place in mind, and try not to stand out from the crowd on certain occasions.

[Calculon]

Definitely like to be low key but I wear 5.11s at times cuz I like them. If I do I try to wear a casual shirt to offset the tac look. Never more "tactical" stuff than pants at any time. Don't think I even own any camo.

[dsdmmat]

Grey man- Stand for nothing fall for anything. At least that is my take, don't stand up for your rights, don't make a fuss, be a good citizen, blah, blah, blah. This is a recipe for SAFE 2 or other laws borne from apathy.

There is a difference between not being conspicuous and what this article is talking about.
There is also something to be said for the: come for me you better pack a lunch and bring friends stance, as hard targets get left alone for low hanging fruit until there is no more low hanging fruit left.

[phritz]

But how are you supposed to be tacticool without 5.11 pants?

[thughes]

"There is a difference between not being conspicuous and what this article is talking about."

I agree completely with your statement (above).......that article doesn't reflect my ideal interpretation of grey man either but it gives a general gist. I don't agree with the "appearing to toe the line" stuff or the "training in secret" bit but I do think that in the normal course of everyday life, blending into the crowd is a good survival tactic.

[thughes]

This is more what I am reffering to as grey man:

http://www.itstactical.com/intellico...er-of-society/

[dsdmmat]

But how are you supposed to be tacticool without 5.11 pants?

truspec makes some good cargo pants...... Lol

[Celt]

I didnt actually read the article so not sure what it was talking about, but the gray man concept is to not stand out, especially in a shtf scenarion.

Grey man- Stand for nothing fall for anything. At least that is my take, don't stand up for your rights, don't make a fuss, be a good citizen, blah, blah, blah. This is a recipe for SAFE 2 or other laws borne from apathy.

There is a difference between not being conspicuous and what this article is talking about.
There is also something to be said for the: come for me you better pack a lunch and bring friends stance, as hard targets get left alone for low hanging fruit until there is no more low hanging fruit left.

[thughes]

The author of the first article I posted takes it a bit further than it should be, stating that the grey man should not do things like rant about his Rights or give the appearance of being a "Patriot" but instead act like one of the sheep. Also train at a secluded area instead of a public range, tinfoil hat type stuff. That probably wasn't the best example I could have chosen.....

[Celt]

Tx for the summary. There is merit to what you just said if you want to stay off the radar from the gov. I clearly dont take it that far. Hell, my jacket has a couple of 3% patches on it and i actually use an hsgi mag taco to hold my cell phone (although my shirt covers it so you cant see it).

Now i also wear alot of pro2a shirts, etc... but there are occasions where i dont want to stand out and i dress accordingly. My gray man theory is primarily for shtf scenarios more than every day life.

The author of the first article I posted takes it a bit further than it should be, stating that the grey man should not do things like rant about his Rights or give the appearance of being a "Patriot" but instead act like one of the sheep. Also train at a secluded area instead of a public range, tinfoil hat type stuff. That probably wasn't the best example I could have chosen.....