From the Archive: An Example of Why OPSEC is Important

Originally published on November 22, 2011 (update in original post):

Operational Security (OPSEC) should be a major concern of anyone prepping for a disaster. As an example (and another link courtesy of Daily Survival) a 1918 New York Times article about a Navy officer and his wife being criminally charged for food hoarding. A few things to take note of:

1.    This took place in the United States, and the prosecution was made pursuant to Federal law;

2.    The approximately 1 ton of food was purchased in 1914 1918 in anticipation of shortages in the event of a prolonged war (the United States did not enter the war until 1917);

3.    The "offenders" were caught because they were informed on by a friend of the local "Food Administrator." Its not clear whether from the story how the "friend" knew about the stored food, but it is notable that the Navy officer had earlier sold some of the stored food to a grocer.

This is particularly relevant to members of the Church, since it is well known that LDS members are encouraged to store a years supply of food. In any major SHTF, I suspect that members of the Church will be specifically targeted because of suspected food stores.

Update: Made a correction based on my misreading the story. The food was bought using money obtained from a 1914 inheritance, but the food was not purchased until 1918.