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Spike

@spikesguides

Nov 4

If you don't think we live in the digital panopticon, allow me to shake you to your core. 🧵

This is the state of Minnesota, showing the first few rings of suburbs. The numbers represent publicly identified Flock brand cameras. There are likely hundreds more that have yet to be labelled.

Flock cameras are sold to police departments, state and federal agencies, and even local governments as small and minute as HOAs.

Flock cameras note licenseplates, vehicle make/models, colors, traits such as roof racks and bumper stickers, direction of travel, location, and timestamp everyone who drives past one.

That information is freely accessible to police forces because it's collected by a private agency.

That data, like every other company who participates in Big Data, sells it to other brokers. Companies like Wal Mart, Lowe's, Home Depot, and many other national brands employ them in their lots as well. This extends beyond just the state abusing your rights.

Through the various firms that spy on us, you can be identified and tracked in real time to a location and pricing can be influenced on you in real time. You likes, your dislikes, your search history, your pornographic preferences, your sexuality, your illnesses, your very location, all coalesced into one soup that anyone can access without a warrant. Companies can then exploit that produce individual price discrimination, sometimes called "individual pricing" among many other doublespeak terms. This can be done trivially and is slowly being tested.

If I told you all of this was happening in China, you would be at your wits end. When it's in your backyard and done under the false pretense of capitalism, it's fine.

(Map is deflock(dot)me)

This video here shows a police officer from the Columbine Valley in Colorado who, with the use of Flock cameras, become convinced that this woman stole a $25 package.

Watch the video in full. The officer speaks likes a member of the Stasi or the SDB.

Luckily she beat the charges because she had enough data on HERSELF that she gathered, things like her own locational data, clothing worn, her vehicle's locational data and more. She sent it to the police and they dropped the charges without so much as saying a word to her.

Surveillance capitalism should not be the norm.

Read the privacy policy of Walmart sometime, their personal privacy policy lists some things like "MAC address, IP address, unique device identifier(s)" as well as personal information like "name, address, social security number...age, sex, citizenship status...biometric information...audio, visual, or similar information...employment information," and so much more.

That's only just Walmart, too! New cars are equipped with enough listening equipment to make the CIA blush and it is all used to sell data to brokers. There was a study by the Mozilla foundation conducted in 2023 where they found that every single automotive manufacturer spied on their users and likely sold their data.

Everyone does it. Google is doing it, your cell carrier is doing it, everyone is doing it. Paying for services like Incogni or whatever slop Nord is selling these days isn't stopping it, either.

This is everywhere. That information is given freely to the government or even worse, sold to them, so they can build psyche profiles, extrapolate who may be future dissidents, or even attempt to prosecute you for a $25 package theft that you played no part in.

Read 5 tweets

Spike

@spikesguides

Sep 28

You can’t fight alone.

You fight as a fireteam — four men acting as one.

This is where real tactics begin. 🧵

Fireteams.

After mastering the buddy team and understanding the basics of how to maneuver as a unit composed of individuals, the next logical step is the fireteam. The fireteam is composed of four to five men and makes up one half to one third of a normal squad. The fireteam is compact, easy to maneuver, and much more self-sufficient than a buddy team. The fireteam is the smallest unit that is capable of coordinated simultaneous fire and movement.

Fireteams in their most basic form are composed of a team leader (TL), a rifleman, an automatic rifleman, and a grenadier as per US military doctrine. In a more irregular context, the team may be composed of three rifleman and a TL, one automatic rifleman, a TL, and two riflemen, or even a situation where there is a TL, a rifleman, a breacher, and a medic. Generally specialized inserts are added based on the mission and tasks needed to be conducted or threats that are anticipated; at the same time manpower constraints can lead to more unique fireteam compositions.

Regardless of the composition, the functional principles are that fireteams feature firepower, command and control, flexibility, and ideally specialization. This is what allows fireteams to operate as cells within the greater body that is a squad.

Common Team Roles and Responsibilities.

As stated previously, fireteam composition with irregular forces can vary, this will be a breakdown of the four common roles as per US military doctrine first and then moving onto others that may pop up in an irregular setting or with more specialized fireteams.

The doctrinal big four are, as mentioned, a team leader (TL), an automatic rifleman (AR), a grenadier (G), and a rifleman (R).

The TL’s job is to command the team and issue fire commands and coordinates with higher leadership (usually the squad leader). The team leader’s primary weapon is communication and control. The TL generally carries a rifle or carbine and a radio to communicate with other squads, he may also have a compass and protractor along with maps for orientation.

The AR holds the unique position of sustaining suppressive fire, using some type of weapon suited for such a task, this can be a box magazine fed rifle or even a belt-fed system. His objective is to control the team’s rate of fire and anchors the base of fire in contact. That is to say, he keeps heads down while the rest of the team pinpoints and picks off the rest. The AR must understand how their system operates under sustained fire and how to mitigate issues such as barrel swapping or judiciously utilizing fire, they need to have fire discipline and ammunition management skills, and be able to operate in a support position rapidly (drawing sectors of fire, estimating ranges effectively, and able to leverage their weapon into the environment to provide stable fire).

The G(renadier) employs some form of grenade launcher to provide high angle fragmentation, smoke, and illumination. This can be done with an underbarrel option or a dedicated platform. Their skills are crucial when dislodging hostiles from cover, breaking up attacks, and providing concealment during movement. The grenadier otherwise generally carries the same equipment as the rifleman.

The R(ifleman) is the most flexible position. A jack of all trades and master of none. They can provide accurate and direct fire and often double as assistants to Ars or grenadiers. They often carry mission-specific gear such as AT weapons and extra batteries.

Along with the big four, irregular forces may utilize other team members for specialization purposes or due to sheer lack of manpower and necessity. There are untold numbers of specialties and roles out there, sometimes individuals may cover multiple specialties at once, but the most common individual roles are: designated marksmen (DMR), breachers, anti-tank (AT), combat lifesaver (CLS) or medic (corpsman), communications or SIGINT operator, engineer/demolitions, scout/pointman, and drone operator.

The DMR is a rifleman trained with the use of precision weapons at intermediate ranges, generally between 300 and 700 yards. They utilize some form of an accurized rifle with magnified optics. Their objective is to fill the roll between a rifleman and a sniper. The DMR provides overwatch, counters hostile DMRs, and provides longer distance and accurate fire.

The breacher handles the use of entry tools in the act of breaching. While breaching is an act conducted as a group, a breacher handles the entry tools such as shotguns, sledgehammers, or explosive charges and employs them effectively during a breaching operation. The breacher generally carries a rifle or carbine.

The AT’s primary job is to counter hostile armor and vehicles. They generally carry a shoulder fired heavy weapon such as a rocket or recoiless weapon’s system. It is not uncommon in irregular forces for the AT and breacher to be hybridized as a singular man. The AT generally carries a rifle or a carbine.

CLS, or Combat Life Saver, is a soldier who can provide advanced trauma care beyond the MARCH (massive hemorrhage, airway, respiration, circulation, hypothermia (see combat medicine)) baseline. They generally carry an expanded IFAK or a CLS bag with more bandages and IV gear but not the full medical suite of a corpsman. They bridge the gap between individual aid and professional care. A corpsman on the other hand is a medical specialist responsible for the triage, treatment, and evacuation of casualties. The corpsman carries a full aid bag complete with medications, airway kits, chest seals, the works. They are generally not embedded within every fireteam but may be present within one. The CLS or medic generally carries a carbine.

The comms/SIGINT operator manages radios, data links, or even field telephones. They may also be used for intercepting signals, coordinating UAV data, and maintaining encryption discipline. They are likely to double as a rifleman.

Engineers/demolitions are responsible for field engineering tasks such as construction of obstacles, laying charges, demolishing hostile positions, or rigging explosives for ambush sites. They generally carry detonators in a case, tape, wire, det cord, and prepared explosives. The engineer/demo-man generally carry a rifle or carbine.

Scouts/pointmen are the lead element of a patrol or team, that is to say, they are the man in the front leading the rest along, not leading the team in a commanding way generally. Their job is to be the tip of the spear. They scan the environment for movement, traps, and any other anomalies. They must be skilled in reading the terrain, reaction drills, and have the best situational awareness. The scout likely doubles as a rifleman.

Drone operators provide real time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) for the fireteam or squad. They generally carry some form of a small UAV that is deployed for shorter range observation. They can then relay visual intelligence to the TL, maintain greater situational awareness as the team moves, mark or lase targets (or drop small munitions on targets) depending on the drone’s capabilities. The drone operator generally carries a carbine or a rifle and doubles as a rifleman.

The fireteam can be composed of many individual parts, as seen above, but is a series of individuals that make up a robust organism where it’s strength lies within it’s ability to leverage firepower, communications, flexibility, and discipline to move and fight as one.

Read 9 tweets

Spike

@spikesguides

Sep 21

Two men. One covers, one moves.

The smallest tactical unit in existence.

Before fireteams or squads, you master this: the Buddy Team. 🧵

Buddy Team Fundamentals

Before we run we must first learn to walk, prior to that we must crawl. Before jumping into working with a full squad of ten men, one must first become comfortable and fluid working with another, a buddy. Starting with duos after becoming comfortable with the basics of weapons handling and individual movements builds safety and cohesion as well as communication skills that are all transferable upwards as the number of men working together increases. Buddy teams are simple two-person units that operate as a single warfighting element, they are the building block that get us to fireteams. They are the smallest tactical element and they share in responsibility of each other, maintain mutual security of each other, communicate clearly, and move with purpose.

Buddy teams ensure that nobody fights, moves, or survives alone.

Core Buddy Technique: Bounding Overwatch.

When buddies work in tandem, they will switch roles often between being the one providing coverage and the one moving. This is the core of bounding overwatch. Bounding overwatch is the core technique that buddy teams use in the field. Bounding overwatch comes in two forms: successive and alternating. In this case, we will not cover alternating as it is not recommended to be conducted with two men and is best done with at least two fireteam sized elements, both forms of bounding can be scaled up beyond just the buddy sized element.

In successive bounding overwatch, the buddy providing cover watches and covers their buddy who moves either towards or away from their target, usually while in defilade (in cover). Prior to moving, the mover calls out “MOVING!” at which point the man providing overwatch yells “MOVE!” to confirm that they know their buddy is moving. The mover then proceeds toward their point. Once they reach either their buddy or the next piece of cover, they halt and yell “SET!” and the roles switch. Now the runner is providing overwatch while the previous watcher is running. The same “MOVING!” “MOVE!” “SET!” callout is given again to prevent accidents and to ensure everyone is on the same page. When moving, each man does not cover their buddy’s “lane” of where they are firing, to put it as painfully clear as possible, NEVER CROSS IN FRONT OF ANOTHER FRIENDLY UNIT’S RIFLE WHEN THEY ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN A FIREFIGHT. Each buddy is responsible for the arc of space to their left or right, whichever side their buddy is NOT on!

A note about the verbal cadence of “MOVING/MOVE/ SET” another verbal callout that can be given is “HALT!” wherein the movement is aborted due to either an immediate threat or a weapon’s malfunction. Both men will immediately go into cover, scan, and the reporting buddy shares the observation or reports on the malfunction.

When buddy teams are operating in different environments, they should use good IMT-related judgement when determining bound length, good cover selection, and how to move most effectively, leveraging the choice between quiet movement and quick movement.

Bounding overwatch is used by buddies when reacting to fire and when breaking contact, it is the simplest unit movement while also being the building block of all other tactical movements.

Read 7 tweets

Spike

@spikesguides

Sep 7

You’re moving through the woods.
It’s quiet. Too quiet.

Would you recognize the signs of an enemy lying in wait, or stroll straight into their kill zone? 🧵

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance, or recon for short, is the deliberate collection of information relating to hostile forces, terrain, and the environment that forces will be operating within. Recon’s central objective is to gather intelligence, not to engage in kinetic actions. The intelligence gained from recon operations can give smaller fighting units the tactical edge that they need to leverage against a larger, hostile force. Without recon, forces are operating blindly in an area, working against the whims of the battlespace, but when teams are operating with the intelligence gained from proper recon, they can set the terms of their fights.

Purpose of Reconnaissance.

There are five primary objectives of the recon mission and the use of recon in general. They are: gathering information on the enemy, learning the area’s terrain, providing an early warning against enemy activity, supporting operational planning, and giving a psychological edge.

When gathering information on enemy personnel, recon teams can quantify and note things such as the number of enemy personnel, their uniforms, units, weapons, locate supply lines, and even estimate morale. Recon teams also observe and note movement patterns, keeping eyes on when guard shifts change, patrol timings, and convoy schedules.

Teams that are performing terrain study, also known as area study, are identifying potential choke points, highlighting natural cover and concealment, obstacles, and defensible terrain. Teams also take note of important local resources such as water, shelter, escape routes, and in some cases even food sources.

With regards to early warnings, recon teams sweep areas to detect likely ambush locations, or even identify actively manned ambush positions, IEDs, land mines, or enemy troop concentrations prior to contact. Recon teams identifying threats before the rest of the element enters the area can save lives by having maneuver elements avoid ambushes entirely or maneuvering around area denial assets.

Operations that are planned with good area intelligence are doomed to fail. The intelligence gained by recon teams can be the difference between a successful raid or ambush or total failure. Teams that identify and locate defensive positions based on avenues of approach are spotted during recon operations. While ambushes can be conducted in an ad-hoc way, an ambush planned around good area intelligence will almost always go better than the one without.

The mind is as important of a battlefield as the physical one, the status and soundness of it influence every facet of operations from the command level to the individual. Units that know the ground they are working on and the basics about their enemy in the area will operate more confidently and effectively than those who are working in the dark, giving them a psychological boost. At the same time, an enemy that knows they’re being scouted are likely to be more paranoid and apprehensive when working in the field. Finally, leaders that are equipped with quality intelligence will make faster, and better decisions.

Recon operations are conducting much more analysis than squinting on top of a hill at an enemy base (despite what Guntubers will tell you). Proper recon is as integral to the planning and conducting of operations as well as the overall proper functioning of a unit as equipment and supplies. Reconnaissance is how the intelligence that makes or breaks plans is gathered.

Read 10 tweets

Spike

@spikesguides

Aug 31

You bought the gear. You read the manuals. You played the sims.

But when it comes time to move, fight, and survive, are you actually ready? 🧵

Training isn’t optional. It’s what separates a functioning unit from a group of armed civilians

Training Methods for Small-Unit Preparedness

No matter how many technical manuals you read, how many times you and your buddies played SWAT 4 and Arma, or how much everyone spent on their kit; without training, everyone will be useless in the field. Luckily that isn’t the end of the story. By adhering to a training regime and sticking to common training methods, prepared citizens can become more robust in their personal skills and the skills their team brings to the field.

Why train?

As stated, owning gear is not the same as being ready. If I own a jet fighter it doesn’t mean I know how to use a jet fighter. I may have seen a few films and watched a tutorial video on YouTube but I am not a jet fighter pilot. Theory and one’s knowledge of it, such as field manuals, is a wonderful starting point for small units and individuals but without practice, they will not succeed in the field when the time comes to utilize that theory. It’s much like running a marathon, nobody starts running a marathon right out the gate. They need to work up to it.

Training builds three core elements of a successful unit. They are muscle memory, cohesion, and trust. Muscle memory allows teams to perform automatically under stress. Cohesion means the unit learns to move and think as a singular unit rather than a collection of individuals. Finally trust means that everyone feels confident in themselves and the other members of their team.

Read 14 tweets

Spike

@spikesguides

Aug 27

ALRIGHT WE GOT CONFIRMATION. TIME FOR A CONSOLIDATION THREAD 🧵

WHO IS THE MINNEAPOLIS MASS SHOOTER ROBIN WESTMAN?

Robin was born with the name Robert and changed their name legally to Robert to coincide with their gender transition.

Robin's mother had a tight association with the school that Robin would target later on.

Read 36 tweets

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