Recently I was a judge of for a contest of selecting someone that was "prepared to go on a 24 Hour RECON patrol" and would be my choice as a team member. The task led me to ponder what I would really consider a "good fit" in a "Fire Team Member" and so I'm going to try and lay it out here.
The question I'm asking myself is... "If I had to choose someone to trust my life with, that's what Fire Team Members do, what characteristics would I want to see in that person?"
When I was a Grunt (0331) forty years ago, I didn't get to choose my team members, Uncle Sam did. Anyone that has served knows that in spite of that fact, a bond is formed between team members that cannot be easily described to those who have never experienced such camaraderie.
But it's important to remember that those bonds were nurtured under threat of "Office Hours" or "violation of the laws" governing them in a very disciplined atmosphere until those bonds could be solidified.
In SHTF, I will get to choose who is on my team or in my "inner circle", but what should I be looking for?
When it's WROL (Without Rule of Law) there is only internal character to keep your own team-mates from killing you if you all can't function as a team.
The most "weighted" aspect of deciding on who I thought was the best entrant in @JayClimbers "Subscriber Contest (24 Hour Patrol Kit)" was the criteria of:
"Look for realism. I want to see that the guy is prepared to not only conduct a patrol of his property but also that he is prepared to fight, escape & evade, survive, communicate, and observe."
Sound advice and criteria if you ask me. So, in the end my vote for the contest winner is a glimpse of the type of person I would be willing to add to my inner circle and I'll try to expand on other deciding factors not seen in the contestant's video.
My Choice for the contest...
First impressions are not always correct, but I would say more times than not, they have been in my life. The most important aspect or characteristic of someone I'm willing to add to my team is the ability to concentrate on the mission and the willingness to lead/follow as needed.
I had a great boss that once told me "PNW, you are an Alpha. I'd rather have a group of Alpha's to manage any day because all I have to do is stay out of their way and they will get the job done." And it's true, Alpha's are "get it done" people by nature... IF they can keep their egos in check they can even work together quite well.
The number one criterion for me is someone that is a "self-starter" that can be given a goal and doesn't need someone to watch them. Someone that can "adapt and overcome" as they use to say in the Corps. The WAY that they overcome matters though, and having morals is just as important as abilities for this reason. The end doesn't always justify the means, but the means should always be justifiable to our Creator.
Now I obviously could not judge anyone's morals by watching a 15-minute video not addressing the topic of morals, but more so than skills, morals matter in a SHTF environment when the tendency of man is to join in on chaos. So, in reality, morals are the first characteristic that I would want to know, but unfortunately, it's not something you can be sure of in anyone unless you have a history with them and even then, only if they have the same moral system as you do (i.e., belief in the God of the Bible) in my case.
But back to the contest...
Anyone can show a "junk on the bunk" video of gear and like a lot of "Preppers" most are just "Gear Queers" that have not even began to put their equipment to the test, even in the simplest of ways. Of all the entrants only one seemed to me to convey a well-balanced, experienced skill set and that was Chad Edgar.
What set Chad apart from the rest, was his obvious level of experience in the skill sets he presented. His orienteering experience was easily identified in the smoothness of the execution. Something you don't get from watching a video, but from doing it over and over. I taught orienteering in my youth and recognized his presentation as someone who is well practiced with knots and rope work.
His movement through the woods was natural and smooth also, that of an experienced hunter or well-practiced patroller.
His comms demo had no "mic fright" detectable at all, and the use of simple challenge codes means he's done voice comms for a while with SHTF in mind to me. I'm also a Gen HAM operator and have gone through that cycle myself, so it's easy to ID a fellow HAM.
Did Chad have the best gear for the job? No, but he had all that is needed to get it done and demonstrated his ability and familiarity with it in his video. Anyone showing up with ability and familiarity with his gear is an asset to be considered over better gear and less familiarity.
For these reasons, I would welcome Chad and anyone else similarly prepared onto my "Fire Team".
SUGGESTION
Consider what your own criteria is now, before you make a poor decision in SHTF based on "any port in a storm" thinking.