Americans Are Preparing For When All Hell Breaks Loose
Once thought of as a fringe mind-set, the prepared citizen movement is gaining traction in a world shaped by war, the pandemic and extreme weather. Ten men, some wearing camouflage, others in vests loaded with ammunition for their AR-15 rifles, gathered under the morning shade of oak trees in Central Florida last month. They were there to learn marksmanship tactics common among Special Operation forces and elite law enforcement units. Their instructor, Christopher Eric Roscher, an Air Force veteran, introduced himself and then led the group in prayer. “Lord, you would use them as assets, to be protectors in this world, in a world that’s full of evil,” he prayed.
The men gathered around him were not soldiers, police officers or right-wing militia members. They were mostly civilians, including two pilots, a nurse and a construction company executive. The class’s title — Full Contender Minuteman — even referred to the civilians turned soldiers of the American Revolution. In a world shaped by war, a pandemic and extreme weather, more Americans are getting ready for crisis — whether it’s to fight a tyrannical government, repel an invading army or respond to a natural disaster. They are known as prepared or professional citizens, part of a growing number of gun owners who are adapting their mind-set to uncertain and polarized times. And rather than being part of more fringe “prepper” culture, they are growing more mainstream, catered to by companies ready to offer them the tools and training to be ready. The traditional aspects of gun ownership — such as simple target shooting — are increasingly being shelved in favor of topics like radio and medical training, night-vision shooting, drone reconnaissance, homesteading and military tactics.
“We are looking at a growing number of companies who are broadening the appeal and normalizing self preparedness and the tools needed to enable it,” said Kareem Shaya, the co-founder of Open Source Defense, a startup working to normalize gun culture in the United States and invest in new companies in the civilian defense industry. “Five or 10 years ago, we couldn’t have done what we’re doing because there just weren’t enough startups in the space. We’re seeing it accelerate in real time.” Prepared citizenry and the more familiar practice of “prepping” share some characteristics, though preppers are more focused on getting ready for long-term self-sufficiency — keeping chickens, growing a vegetable garden and storing supplies in bulk. Prepared citizens want to be ready for sudden calamity. For decades, fear has been a significant driver of gun sales, but what separates the prepared citizen from an average gun owner is community. Whether it’s Barrel & Hatchet training classes or groups in North Carolina or Colorado that spend days in the woods, hiking and preparing defensive positions to train for notional invasions or societal collapse, prepared citizens like to collaborate and find strength in numbers. Thirty-five miles southeast of the minuteman course, Danielle L. Campbell, 43, picked up a pistol at the Orlando Gun Club and fired into a paper target a few yards away. Protect Peace, the community-focused group that she helped found in 2023, would not define themselves as prepared citizens in the same way as Mr. Roscher’s cohort, but they share much of the same DNA.
“I started training after my assistant was killed by a stray bullet,” Ms. Campbell said, sitting in a lounge chair at the shooting club. “Before that, I always had guns, but I never trained, I never took it seriously.” Her colleague was killed during a robbery in 2017, and she started firearms training soon afterward. Protect Peace serves as a community outreach group for dozens gun owners in Central and Southern Florida, where instead of preparing for a chaotic future, they are helping local communities affected by gun violence. Ms. Campbell’s group helps provide medical trauma training; distributes naloxone, an overdose reversal drug, in impoverished neighborhoods, and hosts community shooting events attended by dozens of gun owners. She is also working to get members of the group amateur radio licenses so they can communicate in an emergency. “Part of the reason why we do it is to really form a community,” she said. “We had a public defender, a police officer, state troopers, all kinds of people. It was just so welcoming and inviting. I think that’s where this whole concept was born.”
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