Forming Resistance Cells: Total Resistance (Part II)

Why Cells, Not Movements, Will Outlive Collapse

This is Part II of our dive into the Cold War Era book, Total Resistance by Hans von Dach. For paid subscribers, there is downloadable Ebook available at the bottom of the post. I released Part I last Sunday.

Total Resistance, Part I: The Duty to Resist

However, we need to remember the book is rooted in Cold War-era Swiss doctrine, which assumes:

• A centralized government exists (at least in exile).

• The population has been pre-trained in resistance.

• The resistance effort is ultimately directed toward national liberation, not decentralized revolution.

So while von Dach:

• Emphasizes civilian-based, small unit tactics,

• Details how cells operate independently under occupation,

• Promotes compartmentalization, secrecy, and autonomy within each group,

...he does not elaborate on horizontal, cell-to-cell networks, or organizing without a centralized chain of command. His vision assumes:

• A strategic central leadership (military or governmental-in-exile),

• Cells communicating via secure, hierarchical channels,

• All resistance efforts contributing to the same state-aligned cause.

So How Can This Model Be Adapted?

The networked, decentralized coordination I outline below draws inspiration from:

• Anarchist and horizontalist resistance traditions

• The Zapatistas, Rojava, and Standing Rock

• Che Guevara and Giáp’s later writings, which recognize convergent insurgency without rigid hierarchy

• The realities of modern collapse and surveillance culture, where centralized structures are liabilities

We’re adapting von Dach’s tactical insights for a contemporary context—one in which:

• The state may be the enemy,

• There is no legitimate leadership to coordinate resistance,

• And shared purpose—not chain of command—is what binds a movement together.

Table of Contents

I. The Cell is the Backbone of Resistance
Why movements fall, but cells survive—and why you must build one now.
II. What Is a Resistance Cell?
Definition, core principles, and why this ancient model still works in the age of surveillance.
III. Building the Cell
Small Groups, Roles, structure, and the early steps to creating a disciplined unit of resistance.
IV. Trust and Vetting
Why security starts with who you trust—and how to choose wisely.
V. Operational Security (OpSec)
Basics Digital hygiene, physical evasion, and the art of disappearing.
VI. How Cells Grow and Connect
Decentralized coordination, affinity networks, and the mycelial logic of modern resistance.
VII. Weapons of the Weak
Sabotage, Subversion, and Secrecy—targeted disruption, psychological warfare, and the power of quiet defiance.
VIII. Guerrilla Warfare
Movement, Terrain, and Hit-and-Run Tactics Von Dach’s strategies for mobility, ambush, and surviving in urban, rural, and wild terrain.
IX. Tactical Takeaway
What you can do now: build your cell, map your terrain, and start practicing for the future already arriving.

I. The Cell is the Backbone of Resistance

Hans von Dach knew this when he wrote Total Resistance. He had studied the defeats and victories of World War II and understood the lesson clearly:

A nation that arms and organizes its people in small, hidden, disciplined groups cannot be conquered.

In occupied France, it was cells that printed underground newspapers, gathered intelligence, and blew up Nazi trains.
In Algeria, cells operated independently across rural and urban zones, coordinated by little more than hand-delivered messages and shared purpose.
In Rojava, modern-day resistance cells continue to function across villages, cities, and frontlines, providing decentralized security, mutual aid, and defense against invasion.

What they all have in common: They don’t rely on scale. They rely on focus.

Cells Survive What Movements Cannot

Movements are loud. Cells are silent.
Movements are public. Cells are private.
Movements are targeted. Cells are hard to see, harder to kill.

A movement can be crushed in one raid. A cell can vanish and reappear elsewhere.
When done right, no one knows who they are, what they know, or when they’ll strike next.

And when the time comes for mass uprising, it will be cells that hold the line, provide the infrastructure of resistance, and serve as the seeds of something new.

You Don't Wait for a Cell. You Build One.

Most people imagine resistance will begin when a leader calls for it. But resistance has never worked that way. The most effective operations start with two or three people who meet quietly, commit fully, and begin preparing before anyone else even knows what’s coming.

Don’t wait for the movement. Be the node the movement will need.

That’s why you need to start now.
Not by going public.
Not by announcing your intention.
But by identifying your most trusted allies and beginning the quiet, careful process of organizing like your lives depend on it.

Because someday, they just might.

II. What Is a Resistance Cell?

A resistance cell is not a protest group.
It is not a social club.
It is not a committee, an email list, or a community Zoom call.

A resistance cell is a small, disciplined, secure unit of people, bound by trust, guided by shared purpose, and capable of acting autonomously or in coordination with others.

The concept is simple, and ancient. You’ll find it in:

• The sabotage teams of the French Resistance,

• The anti-colonial networks of the FLN in Algeria,

• The jungle units of the Viet Minh,

• The clandestine “platoons” of the ANC under apartheid,

• And the local defense councils of Rojava and Chiapas today.

Whether under fascist occupation or state collapse, the model is the same:

Small groups, big impact.

Core Characteristics of a Resistance Cell:

1. Size:

   • Typically 3 to 7 people.

   • Large enough to take action. Small enough to maintain trust.

   • If it gets bigger, it must split into multiple cells to preserve security.

2. Autonomy:

   • A cell operates independently, but may align with others through common goals or networks.

   • It does not rely on a central command. That’s the strength: no head to cut off.

3. Compartmentalization:

   • No one knows more than they need to.

   • Members don’t share information beyond the cell unless explicitly necessary.

   • If captured, one person cannot compromise the whole.

4. Purpose-driven:

   • Cells form around shared missions: sabotage, logistics, intelligence, communications, mutual aid.

   • Not all cells are combat cells. Some never engage directly—but they keep the movement alive.

5. Trusted membership:

   • Built slowly, carefully, based on observed behavior, not good intentions.

   • No one joins a resistance cell casually. It is a commitment of loyalty, discretion, and discipline.

Why This Model Works

• It scales horizontally, not vertically, so there’s no leader to arrest, no command chain to sever.

• It allows for localized decision-making, faster, more responsive, grounded in real conditions.

• It is durable. Cells can vanish when under pressure, then reappear when conditions shift.

• It works without visibility. That is the essence of asymmetric resistance.

Von Dach recognized this clearly: in the event of an occupation or collapse, the enemy would move fast. They would target leadership, control media, and disable coordination. The only viable resistance would be already embedded within the civilian population—prepared, practiced, and ready to operate independently.

Your First Step? Know What You're Building.

If you plan to form a cell—or already have one—you need to understand:
You are not just a group of friends. You are a strategic unit.

This isn’t about cosplay. It’s about capacity.
And it begins by accepting that your power comes not from size or slogans,
but from discipline, discretion, and shared clarity of purpose.

III. Building the Cell – Small Groups, Big Impact

This is where resistance becomes real.

Once you understand the concept of a cell—what it is, and why it works—you’re faced with the next step: how to build one. That means choosing the right people, defining your mission, assigning roles, and building trust that can withstand pressure, time, and fear.

This is not a group chat. This is a disciplined unit. And if done well, it can be the most powerful force in a collapsing world.

Ideal Cell Size: 3 to 7 People

Why so small?

Because small groups:

• Build trust more easily

• Can operate quietly

• Are harder to infiltrate

• React faster

• Can vanish and reappear without notice

Von Dach emphasized this. So did the Viet Minh. So do every successful insurgent movement and underground resistance:

Small is strong. Small is survivable.

Define the Cell’s Purpose

Every cell should begin with a clear objective. Not just a vague ideology—a function.

Examples:

• Intelligence gathering

• Supply and logistics

• Propaganda distribution

• Cyber disruption

• Tactical sabotage

• First aid and medical response

• Communications and relaying information

• Mutual aid in crisis zones

Your cell’s mission defines its needs. Its structure follows its task.

Assign Roles (but Stay Flexible)

Even in a cell of 3–5, roles matter. You don’t need rank. You need clarity. Here’s a typical structure to start with:

Coordinator / Strategist

• Ensures cohesion and morale.

• Oversees planning and timing.

• Keeps cell focused on mission, not distraction.

Logistics / Supply

• Manages gear, transport, food, safehouses, or tools.

• Acquires and stores resources without attracting attention.

Communications / Security

• Handles encryption, signal systems, surveillance awareness.

• Maintains contact with outside networks if required.

Operator / Field Scout

• Executes the physical or digital actions: reconnaissance, scouting, infiltration, disruption.

• Should be trained in evasion and movement.

Support / Medical / Morale

• Manages emotional and physical well-being of the team.

• Provides backup care, first aid, psychological support.

Note: These roles are not strict. One person may fill multiple until the group grows. The point is to know who’s doing what—and how to protect each other.

Discipline Is the Difference Between Survival and Exposure

You are not only building a cell. You are building a culture of resistance.

That means:

• No loose talk. Ever.

• No social media leaks, no jokes about operations, no shared plans in digital spaces.

• Always default to silence, even among friends.

“One careless word can burn a whole network.”

Discipline isn’t about control. It’s about survival. The more disciplined your cell is now, the more capable it will be when conditions get dangerous.

Early Actions for a New Cell

• Meet physically in safe locations—parks, gardens, long walks.

• Share non-incriminating skills: map reading, first aid, gardening, observation.

• Pick one small task to complete together:

  • Distribute literature.

  • Scout potential targets.

  • Map surveillance cameras or police patterns in your area.

  • Identify local vulnerabilities—food, water, transport.

• Reflect on the process. What worked? What felt off? Who showed up ready?

These actions aren’t for fun. They’re training for trust.

Your cell is not an end—it’s a seed.

Plant it carefully.
Water it with discipline.
Protect it with silence.
Grow it with purpose.

Because one day, it may become the root system of a new world.

IV. Trust and Vetting

Not everyone can be part of your resistance cell.
That includes some of your friends. That includes some of your allies. That includes people who mean well but cannot be trusted under pressure.

This is not personal. This is strategic.
Because the single greatest threat to any cell is internal failure, and it almost always begins with misplaced trust.

What Happens Without Vetting?

Ask the Black Panthers. Ask the Weather Underground. Ask anti-colonial insurgents in Algeria, the FLN, or the IRA.

Movements have been destroyed not by lack of passion—but by:

• Infiltration

• Informants

• Carelessness

• Ego

• Impulse

• Loose lips

You cannot afford to recruit based on enthusiasm.
You must recruit based on discipline, character, and history.

The Slow Trust Model

The best cells don’t “recruit” at all.
They emerge from small groups of people who observe each other over time, and who prove—through action, not words—that they can be counted on.

Here’s how you begin:

Observe Before You Invite

• How does the person handle stress?

• Do they keep their word?

• Do they seek attention or deflect it?

• Do they understand discretion—or overshare?

• Have they handled risk before? And how did they respond?

Think Like a Spy, Not a Friend

• If this person were captured, would they break?

• If they were pressured, blackmailed, or enticed, would they flip?

• Are they motivated by ego—or purpose?

People crack for many reasons: fear, shame, money, ideology, social pressure.
Your job is to minimize that possibility before it becomes life or death.

Red Flags to Avoid

• Always talking about violence or escalation

• Bragging about illegal actions

• Pushing to “do something big” immediately

• Asking for names, affiliations, or inner-circle information

• Being vague about their own affiliations

• Using emotional manipulation or guilt to gain trust

These behaviors may signal:

• An informant

• A provocateur

• An unstable liability

If in doubt, walk away. Better to move slowly and survive than to rush and collapse.

Normalize Secrecy from the Start

The minute you begin organizing with someone—even just forming a reading cell or study group—practice secrecy:

• Use secure comms.

• Never talk about operations or tactics over the phone.

• Never link organizing with your personal identity online.

• Use codenames or aliases as standard practice.

“You don’t start being secure when the stakes are high.
You practice it now, so it becomes second nature when the stakes are life and death.”

Security Is Culture, Not Paranoia

Some will say this is too much. That you’re being paranoid. That it feels weird.

Good.

It’s supposed to feel different.
You are building a culture of resistance in a world designed for surveillance and control. If it feels normal, you’re not doing it right.

A Final Word on Trust

Yes, you need people. But not just any people.
You need people who are willing to sacrifice comfort for purpose, ego for discipline, performance for protection.

When you find them, you’ll know.
When you work together, you’ll feel it.
And when the time comes, your survival may depend on them.

So choose wisely.
And let your actions prove you’re worth trusting, too.

V. Operational Security (OpSec) Basics

If you don’t take security seriously, you won’t last.
That’s not a threat—it’s a fact.
Whether your resistance is printing flyers or planning sabotage, you are already being watched.

Not because you’re special. But because the systems of control are designed to surveil everything, all the time. And if you don’t think your conversations, devices, or movements are being monitored, you’re already exposed.

The state doesn’t need to knock on your door when your phone is already on the table.

OpSec Is a Mindset, Not a Tool

You don’t “use” operational security.
You live it.

You build habits. You build discipline. You assume compromise is always possible, and you structure your actions accordingly. You never rely on a single channel, a single location, a single person, or a single plan.

Because when the pressure comes—and it will—only the disciplined will remain standing.

Digital Security (Start Here)

1. Use encrypted messaging apps:

   • Signal, Session, Element (Matrix).

   • Turn on disappearing messages.

   • Use strong passcodes—not biometrics.

2. Ditch the cloud:

   • Store critical information offline and encrypted.

   • Never trust Google Docs, Drive, Dropbox, or other corporate cloud platforms.

3. Turn off location services—permanently.

   • Your phone is a tracker. Treat it as such.

4. Use burner devices for ops.

   • Low-cost phones with limited apps, no SIM or Wi-Fi use, and wiped after use.

   • Use them only for specific operations—never for casual comms.

5. Scrub metadata from photos, documents, and files.

   • Tools like MAT2 or ExifCleaner help.

Physical Security (Meet Like a Ghost)

1. Never meet at home. Ever.

   • Use parks, abandoned lots, nature trails—places without cameras or predictable patterns.

2. Don’t arrive together. Don’t leave together.

   • Vary routes, change appearance subtly, never be predictable.

3. Use signal systems, not texts.

   • A mark on a wall. A particular object placed in a specific location. A color of clothing.

   • Think analog, low-tech, hard to trace.

4. Know your exits. Know your shadows.

   • Always have an exit strategy.

   • Practice disappearing from view—literally. Shadows, tree lines, rooftops, doors. Make it instinct.

Compartmentalization: Divide and Endure

Compartmentalization means nobody knows everything. Not even you.

If your cell is compromised, the entire structure shouldn’t fall. That means:

• No single person knows all cell locations, all members, all plans.

• No sensitive info is shared over unsecured channels.

• Actions are need-to-know only.

Even trusted allies should be kept functionally blind to anything they don’t need for their role.

“If I go down, the work must continue.”
That’s what compartmentalization guarantees.

Paranoia Is Discipline with a Purpose

You will feel paranoid. That’s normal. It means you’re paying attention.

But OpSec isn’t about fear. It’s about freedom through discipline.
It’s about ensuring the survival of your people, your work, and the world you’re trying to protect.

Don’t wait for a scare to start taking security seriously.
Make it muscle memory now—before the stakes are higher than you can afford.

VI. How Cells Grow and Connect

If you're doing this right, at some point, you'll look up and realize:
You're not alone.

There are other cells. Other people. Other fires lit in the dark. And the question will come:
How do we connect without compromising everything we’ve built?

The answer is not organization.
The answer is network.

Resistance as Mycelium, Not Hierarchy

Think of your movement like a fungal network.

• Hidden beneath the surface.

• Sprawling. Adaptive. Decentralized.

• No single point of failure.

• Nutrients (or knowledge) passed invisibly from node to node.

• Each node—each cell—acts independently, but shares a common language.

This is resistance as ecology: diffuse, flexible, self-healing, and alive.

Affinity, Not Command

The most resilient cells don’t join an “organization”—they align around shared values, goals, and protocols.

This is called affinity-based structure. You link up with other cells not through leadership, but through:

• Trusted intermediaries.

• Common tactics and symbols.

• Coordinated timing, not centralized control.

• Mutual aid, not mutual dependence.

You may never meet the other cells.
You shouldn’t need to.

How to Connect Without Exposure

When a link must be made:

• Use a single, designated intermediary.

• Keep the connections compartmentalized—if one node goes down, it can’t take others with it.

• Create temporary alliances based on specific actions, then disband.

• Use shared codes or signals to coordinate timing or intent without needing direct contact.

A wall tagged with the right symbol in the right place? That’s a handshake across the city.

Convergent Action Without Direct Contact

Sometimes connection isn’t contact—it’s coordination by culture.

If cells across a region:

• Read the same texts,

• Share the same messaging,

• Adopt the same defensive protocols,

• Strike at the same kind of targets,

• Operate under the same principles...

...then what emerges is not an organization, but a distributed resistance. A swarm. A storm.

No center. No head. No weak point.

Avoid the Temptation to Centralize

As cells grow, so does the temptation to:

• Consolidate power

• Formalize leadership

• Centralize planning

• Build a hierarchy for efficiency

Don’t.

The moment you build a head, the state will cut it off.
The moment you build a center, they’ll surround it.
The moment you consolidate, you expose everyone.

Alignment Over Uniformity

Cells do not need to agree on everything.
They don’t need to have the same name, structure, or ideology.

They only need:

• A shared purpose

• A shared sense of timing

• A shared commitment to survival and resistance

That’s enough to create a network stronger than any single group could ever be.

You don’t grow a movement by building up.
You grow it by rooting wide and deep.

That’s how we outlive surveillance.
That’s how we resist without being crushed.
That’s how we build what the machine can’t track, can’t kill, and can’t control.

VII. Weapons of the Weak – Sabotage, Subversion, and Secrecy

Not everyone can—or should—take up a weapon.
But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless.
In fact, history shows the opposite: some of the most effective acts of resistance are quiet, clever, and nearly invisible.

Hans von Dach understood this.

He didn’t begin Total Resistance with rifle drills or ambush tactics. He started with the basics: sabotage. subversion. misinformation. psychological warfare.

Because when the enemy is stronger, faster, and better armed, you don’t win by matching force with force.
You win by making their power irrelevant.
You win by making their systems fail from the inside.

This is the doctrine of asymmetry.
This is the strategy of the weak who refuse to surrender.

Sabotage: Break the Machine Quietly

Sabotage isn’t about blowing up buildings.
It’s about disruption—targeted, surgical, deniable.

Examples from Total Resistance and real history:

• Cutting telephone wires or fiber lines.

• Removing railroad spikes or rerouting trains.

• Draining vehicle fuel, disabling engines.

• Tampering with water supplies used by the occupiers.

• Damaging equipment “accidentally” in factories.

These acts slow down the machinery of control, force overreaction, and sap morale.

Small acts, repeated endlessly, break the spine of the occupier.

Subversion: Undermine from Within

Subversion is the art of turning the system against itself.
It is cultural, emotional, and relational sabotage.

Examples:

• Mocking propaganda.

• Sowing confusion inside bureaucracies.

• Turning collaborators into liabilities.

• Leaking false reports or “accidental” misinformation.

• Creating double agents or moles in enemy networks.

Subversion can be done by anyone:

• A janitor who misplaces the right document.

• A clerk who slows down every process by 10%.

• A technician who introduces errors into a database.

• An employee who gives just enough information to mislead, not to help.

You don’t always need to destroy something. Sometimes you just need to make it stop working.

Propaganda, Misinformation, and Psychological Disruption

Total Resistance devotes entire sections to propaganda work—and not just to inspire civilians. It’s also to demoralize the enemy.

This includes:

• Leaflets targeting occupying soldiers: “You are not safe. You are not wanted.”

• Graffiti that sows fear and shows presence: “We see you.”

• Targeted rumors designed to waste time and energy.

• Public messages that remind collaborators: “We know who you are.”

Psychological warfare works because power relies on predictability and control. Guerrillas—especially civilians—are unpredictable, patient, and everywhere.

Passive Resistance Is Still Resistance

Not every act needs to be active sabotage.

Sometimes resistance is:

• Refusing to comply with curfews.

• Delaying production.

• Hiding fugitives.

• Redirecting supplies.

• Slowing down “normal” life in ways that hurt the oppressor and help the people.

This is the art of withdrawal—to remove your energy from a system that feeds on your obedience.

Direct Action Doesn’t Always Mean Violence

Guerrilla warfare is not defined by violence.
It is defined by targeted disruption—and that can take many forms:

• Coordinated strikes at supply points.

• Cutting access to fuel or comms.

• Turning infrastructure into liabilities.

• Making every step the enemy takes cost them more than they gain.

This is how the weak bleed the strong.

And it works.

Resistance isn’t always loud.
Sometimes it’s a broken switch. A missing bolt. A delayed shipment.
A whisper. A shadow. A smile that hides fire.

When enough people do this at once, the system starts to rot from the inside.
And then it collapses—not with a bang, but with a stutter, a glitch, a fracture.
And into that fracture, the future begins to grow.

VIII. Guerrilla Warfare: Movement, Terrain, and Hit-and-Run Tactics

When you are outnumbered, outgunned, and outfunded, you don’t fight the enemy on their terms.

You fight from the shadows. You strike like lightning and vanish like smoke. You let the terrain become your ally, and you let time, space, and silence wear down their strength.

This is guerrilla warfare in its purest form:
Mobility. Terrain. Ambush. Escape. Repeat.

Von Dach understood that in any occupied land or collapsed state, resistance would not survive in open confrontation. Instead, survival would depend on the ancient logic of asymmetric war—not brute force, but movement and disruption.

Mobility: Never Stay Still, Never Be Seen

The most basic rule: you must always be in motion—physically, tactically, psychologically.

• Never use the same route twice.

• Never meet in the same place.

• Never strike the same type of target in the same way.

Von Dach warns: any pattern can be predicted. And if you’re predictable, you’re dead.

Mobility is not just about movement. It’s about being untrackable. Uncatchable. Unstoppable.

Terrain Is Your Ally

Every landscape holds weapons.
A guerrilla sees not scenery, but opportunity.

Urban Terrain

• Rooftops, alleyways, sewers, elevators, construction sites.

• Use camera blind spots, foot traffic, mirrors, and reflections.

• Evade drones with shadows, doors, overhangs, underground routes.

• Operate during transition times—dawn, dusk, heavy weather.

Rural Terrain

• Fields, barns, fences, livestock, irrigation canals, drainage ditches.

• Hide caches in tree hollows, dry wells, abandoned outbuildings.

• Know when the dogs bark. Know whose fields flood. Know who sees what.

Wilderness Terrain

• Trees, elevation, rivers, rock formations, caves.

• Master navigation by map, compass, stars, and instinct.

• Camouflage is survival: leaf, mud, mesh, and stillness.

• Never leave a trail—no trash, no tracks, no smoke.

Ambush and Hit-and-Run Tactics

Von Dach describes the perfect ambush as:

• Short in duration

• Highly concentrated

• Followed by immediate withdrawal

Key principles:

• Hit fast. You’re not trying to “win”—you’re trying to wound, delay, demoralize.

• Don’t chase. If they flee, let them. Your strength is not in pursuit, but vanishing.

• Disappear before the reinforcements arrive.

Guerrillas don’t hold territory. They deny the enemy control.

Rhythm, Timing, and Disorientation

The power of guerrilla action comes from psychological unpredictability.

• Don’t just hit targets—hit confidence.

• Force the enemy to over-extend. React. Waste time. Be afraid.

• Make the map feel unsafe.

• Be a ghost in their machines. A silence they can’t track. A shape they can't pin down.

The goal isn’t to crush them in one stroke.
The goal is to grind them down over time—until they break.

Real-World Applications

• Viet Minh: Mastered tunnel systems, waterborne ambushes, and mountain movement to tie down colonial armies for decades.

• Kurdish fighters in the Zagros Mountains: Used terrain to defy superior forces and aerial surveillance for years.

• French Maquis: Moved in forest networks, hit supply routes, and melted into villages.

• IRA in Belfast: Used alleyways, pubs, safehouses, and locals’ knowledge to strike and vanish.

You don’t need a jungle to be a guerrilla.
You need to know your terrain like it’s part of your body.

“Wherever you are, that is your battlefield.”
The streets. The forests. The shadows between buildings. The space between drones.
Learn it. Train in it. Own it.

When collapse comes—or occupation tightens—movement is your shield.
Terrain is your armor.
Timing is your blade.

IX. Tactical Takeaway

You’ve learned the principles. You’ve read the doctrine.
Now it’s time to act.

This doesn’t mean picking up a weapon or disappearing into the hills—yet.
It means building the foundation that makes everything else possible.

Because when the systems fail, when repression tightens, when the grid blinks off or the boots land in your neighborhood—it will be too late to prepare.

The time is now.

Build or Refine Your Cell

• Identify 2–3 people you trust with your life.

• Begin meeting discreetly. Keep your circle small. Keep your plans offline.

• Define a shared purpose:

  • Mutual aid

  • Medical response

  • Intel gathering

  • Communications

  • Direct action planning

Then assign roles—even loosely—and begin training together.

Map Your Terrain

• Walk your neighborhood like an insurgent.

• Where are the cameras? The choke points? The hiding places?

• Know every alley, rooftop, trail, sewer, footpath, and back entrance.

• Create mental maps of escape routes and fallback zones.

Make your home, your street, your forest, your city your battlefield—not for aggression, but for protection.

Upgrade Your OpSec

• Use encrypted apps with disappearing messages (Signal, Session).

• Ditch your real name and your real number.

• Learn to move without being tracked: airplane mode, Faraday bags, burner phones.

• Practice speaking in code and meeting without tech.

Security isn’t just tech—it’s habit, silence, discipline.
Make it instinct now, so it’s second nature later.

Start Practicing Low-Risk Actions

• Propaganda runs: leaflets, stickers, zines, graffiti.

• Intelligence gathering: police patterns, company infrastructure, public cameras.

• Passive resistance: delay tactics, slowing systems, confusing orders.

• Skills training: first aid, evasion, urban navigation, digital security.

Start small. Move slow. Focus on discipline over drama.

Connect Without Compromise

• Identify other cells, study circles, or mutual aid groups aligned with your values.

• Don’t merge—link.
  Coordinate without consolidating.

• Use signal systems, encrypted comms, and decentralized platforms.

• Let values—not hierarchy—bind you together.

Reflection Prompts for Your Cell

Ask yourself—and each other:

• What are we preparing for? What are we willing to do?

• What skills do we lack?

• What will we never do? What are our hard lines?

• What do we want to build—not just destroy?

Know your limits. Define your ethics. Clarify your mission.

Start Now. Start Quietly. Start Together.

You don’t need to be brave.
You need to be ready.
You don’t need to be perfect.
You need to begin.

Collapse doesn’t wait.
The system won’t warn you.
The resistance isn’t somewhere else.
It’s you. Right here. Right now.

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Next Up:
Part III: Life Under Occupation (or Collapse)
We’ll go deeper into living in the shadows, civilian resistance, and look at the “occupier’s playbook” aka counterinsurgency.