Speaker 1: Imagine this with me for a moment. It's the quiet
pre dawn hours at off At Air Force Base in Nebraska.
Staff Sergeant Ryan Martinez is on duty, probably just you know,
settling into the long night shift. Monitors glowing faintly, everything routine,
the massive RC one thirty five. They're dark on the
flight line perimeter fence is quiet still. Then a sound,
not like a faint tremor, but a sudden, gut wrenching blare,
the clackson, that piercing, unmistakable warning, and then the announcement
alarm red perimeter breach. Martinez I can only assume it
feels his blood run cold. He checks the cameras and
there's this wave of shadows, stumbling, moving with this horrifying,
inexorable determination across the field, directly toward thousands of on
base personnel. And well they're families too. He realizes these
aren't just shadows, they're people, or maybe they used to
be people. The loudspeaker barks commands to halt. Flares are up,
warning shots crack through the air, but the horrid just
keeps coming. And then the command Martinez never ever expected
to hear the one as seals it weapons free gunfire erupts,
just a cacophony of thousands of rounds, a wall of
sound and smoke. Steel bodies fall. The entire base holds
its breath, maybe for just a few seconds, and then
that horrifying silence is broken because the bodies rise again.
The horde keeps coming. Martinez, in this desperate frenzy, tears
through a cabinet, searching for the protocols for this scenario,
recalling training. Maybe no one took seriously a plan for
an event so improbable it felt like a bad joke,
Yet every soldier at off it was, in some chilling
way prepared. It's all outlined in a military document most
Americans have never even heard of. It's a Pentagon guy
for a zombie apocalypse, and tonight it's going operational. Can
you even begin to process that call?
Speaker 2: It's quite the scenario, isn't It designed to really push
the boundaries of what you think is possible? But what's
truly profound about it, I think isn't just the outlandish
nature of the threat itself. It's the underlying strategic thinking
it reveals. Sometimes the most let's say, fantastical hypotheticals force
us to confront the most brutal truths about societal fragility
when the extreme lengths defense planners have to consider. This
document honestly offers far more than just a chilling story.
Speaker 1: Okay, let's really unpack this then, because that dramatic scenario,
it isn't just some Hollywood script. It's the entry point
to a very real, declassified military document. Today we're diving
deep into counter zombie Dominance operations better known as Conplant
eighty eighty eighty eight. It's a journey into the unexpected
frontiers of defense planning, a look at what the Pentagon
really considers when they're thinking about total societal collapse, regardless
of the whole undead wrapper.
Speaker 2: Precisely, and while the title might, you know, raise an
eyebrow or get a chuckle, the document itself is a
surprisingly rigorous analytical exercise. It's not simply about hypothetical monsters.
It's really a window into how the military contemplates extreme
systemic shock, unconventional threats, and importantly, their role when traditional
governance completely fails. So our mission today is to extract
those vital, often pretty unsettling insights, even if the primary
subject seems ripped straight from the horror movie And.
Speaker 1: For you listening right now, this deep dive isn't just
about uncovering the intricate details of some bizarre military plan.
It's about exploring the broader implications for understanding threats, human
behavior under unimaginable duress, and maybe even our own preparedness.
It's surprisingly relevant to you because at its core it's
a detailed study in survival when everything you know just collapses.
So let's get right to the heart of it. The
document itself, the full official name is Conplan eighty eight
eight to eleven Counter Zombie Dominance Operations. It's a concise,
thirty one page document originally put out in two thousand
and nine by none other than the United States Strategic
Command or US Stratcom. You know, you have folks who
oversee all US nuclear weapons and missile defense systems. And
here's where it becomes undeniably fascinating. This wasn't some leak.
It was declassified in twenty eleven thanks to a Freedom
of Information Act that FOIA request. That's remarkably quick, right
from classified to public domain. I've often pictured the meetings
where this title was approved, serious military officers around a
polished table discussing counter zombie dominance. It's almost surreal, but
it's totally real.
Speaker 2: It's that paradox that's truly intriguing, isn't it. A highly
formal government agency known for its, let's say, solemn strategic planning,
dedicating such detailed thought to what is, on the surface
a pop culture phenomenon. It immediately makes you ask why
this framing, why zombies? And for it to be unclassified
and released so quickly that suggests an intentional move. It
doesn't feel like a league. It feels like a deliberate choice,
maybe to allow public discussion of extreme scenarios without revealing
any truly sensitive operational details tied to actual adversaries. It's
a fascinating strategic maneuver in itself.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it isn't formatted like you know, a comic
book or something. It opens with standard Pentagon formatting, official letterhead,
proper classification stamps. Everything looks entirely mundane until you get
to its purpose statement. It states, and I'm quoting here,
to undertake military operations to preserve non zombie humans from
the threats posed by a zombie horde, because zombies pose
a threat to all non zombie human life hereafter referred
to as humans. Us Tratcom will be prepared to preserve
the sanctity of human life. That's pretty definitive. That not
messing around.
Speaker 2: No, they're definitely not, and that explicit purpose statement is crucial.
The document is unclassified to ensure maximum utility during times
of crisis. The cision's just tragestion, It's more like a directive.
It implies they want everyone to be able to access
and understand it without needing security clearances. This points to
a really foundational assumption within Conplan eighty eight eighty eight,
a complete and utter breakdown of society, not just a
localized event, but a catastrophe, one that would necessitate public
awareness and unhindered access to strategic guidance because well, traditional
chains of command would likely just disintegrate.
Speaker 1: So what does this actually mean for US, you know,
the civilians, For the military to not only assume total
societal collapse, but then to release an unclassified plan addressing
it that speaks volumes. It says a lot about their
assessment of potential extreme threats. It's a stark acknowledgment that
some crises are just so pervasive, so fundamental that they
transcend traditional military engagement, so it implies a fundamental shift
and responsibility, maybe an unsettling peak into their projected limits.
Speaker 2: I think the profound takeaway here is exactly that it
highlights the military's perceived role in scenarios where traditional governance
has failed, where public order has disintegrated. It's not just
about fighting an enemy force anymore. It's about responding to
the collapse of the very fabric of civilization itself. And
this raises a really important question. What happens when society
itself becomes the battleground and the enemy isn't a nation state,
but an existential threat to humanity for which the military
might not even be the primary solution.
Speaker 1: Right when you're facing an existential threat of that magnitude,
you need a playbook, no matter how wild the scenario sounds,
and content eighty eight. Eighty eight provides exactly that, a
five phase blueprint for survival. It's methodical, step by step,
designed to guide action from initial monitoring all the way
through to the eventual restoration of civil authority. It's like
a strategic narrative taking us through the unfolding of a
potential crisis from the very first subtle signs to the
grim aftermath.
Speaker 3: That methodical approach is fascinating.
Speaker 1: Really.
Speaker 2: It showcases how military planners apply these rigorous strategic frameworks
to any perceived threat, no matter how unusual it seems.
The systemization of the response is key to trying to
retain control amidst total chaos.
Speaker 1: Let's start with Phase zero shape the environment. This is
the initial phase where us Dratcom maintains constant vigilance. They're
watching for non state actors maybe wielding chemical and biological
WMD's weapons of mass destruction, and constantly monitoring disease vectors, outbreaks,
epidemics globally. It's the silent, unseen work of intelligence gathering
that happens all the time, really, regardless of whether a
zombie apocalypse is brewing.
Speaker 2: And this phase really highlights the real world relevance of
the whole document beyond the fantastical premiss Phase zero directly
describes the ongoing critical work of anticipating emergent threats biological, chemical,
or otherwise. It's the proactive intelligence gathering and threat assessment
that safeguards US against actual pandemics and bioterror threats. It
makes a zombie plan incredibly pragmatic at its foundation.
Speaker 1: Actually, then we move into phase one deter The goal
here is pretty clear, preventing enemies from actively creating zombies. Which, OK,
here's the kicker. It includes a protocol for notifying nuclear
armed countries that any counter zombie tactics are purely defensive,
not some prelude to conventional warfare. It's almost like a
very polite, very intense, hey, it's not you, it's the
zombies conversation. Can you imagine sending that diplomatic cable dear Russia,
just so you know our sudden troop movements totally not
about you. It's for the undead. Please don't retaliate with
nukes against our defensive ops.
Speaker 2: That detail is actually a brilliant illustration of strategic communication
under extreme duress, isn't it. It underscores the military's paramount
concern for preventing MISCs, calculation, or unintended escalation, even when
facing an absolutely unprecedented threat. The careful phrasing ensures that
even the most outlandish scenario is handled with the full
gravitas of global diplomacy.
Speaker 1: Moving on to Phase two, seize the initiative. This is
where stratcom begins providing security assistance to local authorities. They
establish and enforce quarantine zones, trying to contain the spread.
Civilian areas get temporarily protected. And this is a really
grim detail. Until they are overrun. That's a stark acknowledgment
of the limits of initial response right and the brutal
choices that would have to be made.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, it immediately brings to mind the ethical dilemmas of
triage during any widespread disaster. That phrase until they are
overrun isn't casual. It's a cold hard calculation. It's about
the limits of finite resources and manpower. It implies a
recognition that some areas simply cannot be held indefinitely, forcing
incredibly difficult decisions about where to commit forces and where
effectively you have to pull back or abandon.
Speaker 1: And then we hit phase three dominate, respond, and counter.
This is a critical turning point, and honestly, it's a
directive that kind of sends shivers down my spind The
US military locks down, retreats to fortified positions for at
least forty days. The document explicitly states upon receipt of
the US Stratcom order, all forces will begin preparations to
conduct combat operations against zombie threats, and then US Stratcom
will shelter all personnel in place for at least forty days.
Forty days. Imagine being told to just shelter in place. Well,
everything outside is spiraling into total chaos. It's a complete
withdrawal from the field, a strategic hibernation.
Speaker 2: That directive implies a pretty profound assessment, doesn't it that
the initial uncontrolled phase of such catastrophe would be so
overwhelming that any direct, widespread engagement would be unsustainable or
maybe just futile. Sheltering in place for forty days isn't
a minor decision, It's a radical strategic move. It acknowledges
the sheer speed and scale of the projected societal collapse.
It's almost an admission that sometimes the US defense is
absolute retreat and regrouping. Let the initial wave burn itself out.
Speaker 1: Maybe after that harrowing forty day period, we enter phases
four and five, stabilizing and restoring government. The document says
no earlier than forty days after Phase three begins, reconnaissance
teams would deploy. Their mission is extensive assess the severity
of the remaining zombie threat, evaluate the physical and epidemiological
security the local environment, and survey the status of basic
services water power, sewage communications. If the threat is neutralized,
rebuilding begins. But critically, it says as long as zombies exist,
the military stays locked down, no premature victory lapse.
Speaker 2: This really reveals a deep understanding of post catastrophe recovery.
The military recognizes that survival isn't just about fighting the
immediate threat. It's about rebuilding the very infrastructure that supports
human life. It's not merely neutralizing the zombies, but ensuring
a viable environment for any survivors. This long term perspective
is crucial for any disaster recovery plan, illustrating how profoundly
they consider a complete societal reset.
Speaker 1: But amidst this meticulously laid out plan, there's a glaring,
really unsettling omission. During that entire military lockdown, there is
no civilian protection. The document states that local law enforcement
handles attacks for the first critical weeks until martial law
is declared. After that, no civilian assistance, no rescue missions,
no exceptions. Okay, the plan flat out assumes most government
officials die within twenty four hours. Cities become an inhabitable
infrastructure collapses completely. So what does this all mean for
you and me? It makes it chillingly clear if you're
outside a military fence, you're entirely on your own. It's
a stark wake up call. It emphasizes radical self reliance.
Speaker 3: What's truly unsettling.
Speaker 2: There is the well the unvarnished realism this document projects
about the speed and scale of such a catastrophe. This
assumption of rapid, widespread collapse and the subsequent lack of
civilian assistance. It isn't an oversight. It's a cold hard calculation,
a direct admission of the military's anticipated limitations. This profound
honesty forces us, I think, to consider the ultimate importance
of personal and community resilience. It pushes the individual to
think critically about their own preparedness and frankly, their interdependence.
Speaker 3: Who can you rely on.
Speaker 1: To survive the collapse of society? You really need to
understand the threat, and the military knows where zombie apocalypses
could start and what will face beyond the safety of
those fortified installations. Conplan eighty eighty eight states unequivocally, zombies
have the potential to seriously undermine national security in our
way of life. And while the US might have geographic
advantages against infections starting in Eurasia, those are easily negated
by air and sea traffic. The threat, they say, can
come from anywhere and affect anyone, and the Pentagon, in
its wisdom, didn't just imagine one type of undead chambler.
They've organized zombies into distinct categories. It's genuinely fascinating how
they've taxonomized.
Speaker 2: The undead indeed, and this categorization demonstrates a really systematic
approach to threat assessment that extends far beyond popular fiction.
By breaking down the zombie thread into various origins and vulnerabilities,
the military aims to develop more targeted and effective counter strategies.
Even if the overall concept is hypothetical. It's an exercise
and comprehensive threat mapping, no matter how unusual the enemy
might seem on the surface.
Speaker 1: First up, and the most likely scenario, according to the document,
are pathogenic zombies. These are created when viruses or bacteria
infect humans, and the Managon isn't just guessing here. They're
looking at existing diseases that could mutate and trigger real outbreaks.
Take rabies, for example, we know this virus attacks the
central nervous system, causes aggression, violence, foaming at the mouth.
Infected animals carry it in their saliva, and one BTE
means almost certain death. Think twenty eight days later or
World War Z that rapid rage fueled infection. It's a
terrifyingly plausible model rooted in actual biology.
Speaker 3: We understand the profound connection.
Speaker 2: There is exactly that how these zombie definitions are directly
rooted in existing dangerous biological phenomena. This isn't just fiction.
It's a recontextualization of very real emergent threats. Rabies, for instance,
perfectly aligns with many of the behavioral characteristics we associate
with fictional zombies. It demonstrates that the biological groundwork for
such a threat already exists in nature, making the zombie
label almost a convenient shorthand for a terrifying potential reality.
Speaker 1: And it's not just viruses. Animals also become zombies through
prion diseases. A prion is basically a misfolded protein that
destroys brains and nervous systems, like a tiny, insidious wrecking
ball inside your head. Chronic wasting disease or CWD, makes
deer and elk lose their natural three stumble around like zombies,
becoming easy prey. Eating these infected animals is incredibly risky,
as a prion could potentially jump species. Now there's mad
cow disease BS, another prion disease. Humans who eat infected
beefs can develop kreutz Felt jack of disease CGD symptoms,
rapid mental materioration, loss of coordination, aggressive behavior. Sounds a
lot like a zombie, doesn't it. And then there's KUU,
a prion disease that affected cannibalistic tribes in Papua and
New Guinea. They historically ate the brains of deceased relatives
as part of a funeral ritual. I mean, to help
a loved one spirit reach the afterlife. You participate in
that ceremony. Yeah, that's well, that's a profound commitment. I
guess well, it's technically against the law now and largely
eradicated victims experience severe mood changes, becoming violent and unpredictable.
You're talking about real world scenarios that absolutely inspired aspects
of modern zombie fiction, like the prion zombies you see
in films like zombie Land.
Speaker 2: This category really underscores the biological fragility of the brain
and the nervous system. Prions highlight how a microscopic entity,
not even technically a living organism, can just devastate neurological function,
leading to behaviors strikingly similar to fictional zombies.
Speaker 3: It's a sobering reminder of the unseen.
Speaker 2: Non viral, non bacterial threats that already exist in our
world and their potential to rewrite our understanding of consciousness
and control.
Speaker 1: Next step, we have symbion induced zombies. Yeah, the mind
control payers parasites. What makes you so dangerous, so insidious
is that you often don't even know you're carrying one complant.
Eighty to eighty eight points out. Though, while pathogenic zombies
are common, many diseases don't kill their host immediately. Instead,
the parasite uses you, at least for a while. This
is common through zoonosis, where diseases jump from animals to humans,
a process we know all too well from history.
Speaker 2: Right. This is a particularly insidious threat category because, unlike
pathogens that often rapidly destroy the host, these symbians aim
to maintain the.
Speaker 3: Host to serve their own life cycle.
Speaker 2: This raises profound questions about the long term, subtle manipulation
of host behavior.
Speaker 3: It's a less.
Speaker 2: Overt, more prolonged form of control, potentially more dangerous because
of its stealth.
Speaker 1: Yeah, think about the jewel wasp in Costa Rica's rainforests.
It attacks cockroaches, injects venom directly into the roach's brain,
making the roach totally docile compliant. The wasp then literally
grabs the roach by its antenna and leads it to
a burrow, like walking a tiny, unwilling dog. The roach
doesn't flee, it just follows. The wasp bleas an egg inside,
and the roads just waits peacefully while the larvae hatches
and eats it alive from the inside out. That's pure
mind control, pure zombification. If you've played the Dead Rising
video games, you've seen this type of parasitic zombification right
there on screen. Or the Ophiocordycep's fungus, which turns ants
into literal zombie ants. Infected ants abandon their colonies, climb
high branches, and bite down on leaves with its death grip.
The flungus then consumes the ant's body and bursts from
its head, raining spores down on the colony below. The
ant's final act spreads the infection, creating more zombies. This
is the direct real life inspiration for the Last of
US Games in the HBO series, showing its terrifying potential
of something like that wherever to jump to humans. We
also have African sleeping sickness, transmitted by Tietzi flies affects
thousands every year. Victims become confused, disoriented, violent, exhibiting zombie
like behavior before eventually dying. Or the chanthocephalin worm, which
infects insects, hijacks their survival instincts to make them exposed
targets for birds. Its final host. The bird remains completely unaware,
just a pawn in the parasite's life cycle. But perhaps
the most unsettling parasite, one that's already living in almost
half the human population, is Toxoplasma gandhi. If you don't
have it, there's a prety chance someone living in your
house does. It's a single celled parasite lives in contaminated
water undercooked meat. Between thirty and fifty percent of humans
carry it, most unknowingly. The reasons so common cats about
half of all cats have toxicplasma antibodies from past infection.
And this bug is tough, really tough. Survives months in
cat feces, years in soil and water, aching with stand refrigeration.
Even freezing chlorine won't kill it. Neither will soap or detergent.
Sulfuric acid kills it but takes almost two years. It's
easily spread by household insects like cockroaches and flies, and
of course rodents. There's even a compelling argument that Toxoplasma
gandhi evolved to specifically benefit cats. Infected rats and mice
they lose their fear of cats, they become slower, less alert,
and here's the really weird part, they're actually attracted to
cat urine. Toxoplasma literally programs rodents to get eaten. It's
the perfect parasite in a way, indestractible, persistent, widespread, undetectable.
The military knows that in a real outbreak, every cap
potentially becomes a disease vector. Imagine the challenge of containment
was a pathogen like this enters the pet population, suddenly
altering behavior across the board. This is why I always
said cats were planning something Okay, maybe not, but it's unsepplatele.
Speaker 2: What's profoundly unsettling here is precisely that concept a parasite,
subtly altering behavior, potentially influencing society on a scale we're
only just beginning to understand the military's concern over toxic
plasma isn't just about direct infection. I think it's the
potential for widespread behavioral shifts that could impact decision making,
risk assessment, even social cohesion on a population level.
Speaker 3: It raises a critical question how much.
Speaker 2: Of our free will is truly our own given such
pervasive biological influences that manipulate the fundamental mechanisms of fear
and attraction. The chilling truth here is that, in a
very real biological sense, behave drill. Zombies aren't coming, They're
already here.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, that's a thought to genuinely ponder as you
go about your day. Well, but let's move on to
the next zombie classification A complan eighty eight eighty eight
RZ or radiation zombies. These are organisms that become zombified
after absorbing extreme electromagnetic radiation. We're talking nuclear accidents, dirty bahms,
cosmic radiation, solar flares that Pentagon says any of these
could potentially create zombies. Solar flares, for instance, they bombard
Earth with charged particles. A chronal mass ejection from the
Sun could expose entire populations to dangerous radiation levels. Think
about the eighteen fifty nine Carrington event, a solar flare
so powerful and knocked out telegraph systems all over the world,
even set some telegraph offices on fire. Imagine a similar
event today. It could deliver radiation doses that alter brain
chemistry and a massive scale. And after Chernobyl, those emergency
responders who went right into the reactor core, they experienced
rapid cellular breakdown. Some survivors reported hallucinations aggressive behavior before dying.
But radiation doesn't always just kill. It can also induce
rapid adaptation.
Speaker 1: Apparently, we've covered how chernobyls, dogs and wolves adapt it
to high radiation, leading to an entirely new wolf species
that's highly resistant to cancer. So if radiation can create
a new type of wolf, one that thrives in altered environments,
what could it do to us? What if the perfect
soldier isn't engineered but simply a mutation.
Speaker 2: This immediately raises profound questions about accelerated evolution, doesn't it,
and the potential for unintended consequences in extreme environments. The military,
pondering such scenarios, considers of radiation could create a new
type of human, one with altered physiological and psychological traits.
It delves into the ethics and implications of how environmental factors,
especially catastrophic ones, could fundamentally alter biological destiny, pushing the
boundaries of what we even understand as human and speaking.
Speaker 1: Of perfect soldiers, that brings us neatly to weaponize zombies
or wzs. These are zombies specifically created for military use.
The Pentagon views this as a threat because, as they
put it, this is direct quote, the technology exists and
they should know they created it. That's a chillingly honest
admission from a military document. Right During the Cold War,
both superpowers developed psychochemical agents. The goal was to incapacitate
enemy forces, not necessarily kill them. BZ gas, for example,
tested by the US Army, cause hallucinations, confusion, disorientation in
those exposed. Similar compounds could certainly do zombie like symptoms
turn an enemy force into confuse, shambling, ineffective hoard, and
in the modern era, with crisper gene editing and synthetic biology,
we have the ability to alter organisms at the genetic level,
or even create entirely new biological systems from scratch. A
hostile nation could theoretically engineer a pathogen that creates controllable zombies.
It's the stuff of sci fi nightmares, but the military
clearly takes the very real possibility of engineered pathogens incredibly seriously.
Maybe even controllable zombies. We joke, but maybe they already have.
Those are called cable news viewers kidding.
Speaker 2: Mostly, what's truly fascinating here is the direct acknowledgment of
existing capabilities within the realm of biowarfare and chemical warfare.
The military isn't just speculating about future possibilities. It's recognizing
that the very tools and knowledge developed for national defense could,
in malicious hands, be used to create exactly such a threat.
This moves the discussion from hypothetical biological mutation to deliberate
engineered catastrophe, which requires a fundamentally different strategic response altogether.
Speaker 1: Complan eighty eight eighty eight also shows the military preparing
for zombies that can come from literally anywhere, even at
a space These are space zombies or sees zombie lifeforms
originating from space or created by alien contamination of Earth's
environment via some form of exterrestrial toxin or radiation. NASA
and the military already have protocols to prevent contamination from
space missions. Remember when the Apollo astronauts returned from the Moon,
they spent twenty one days in quarantine. The concern was
real that lunar microorganisms might be dangerous to life on Earth.
You mean, when the astronauts returned from the sound stage
and burbank, they had to make sure they didn't pick
up a bug from the San Fernando Valley. Okay, Okay,
bad joke, But seriously, it highlights a genuine, ongoing concern
about the unknown unknowns from space. But NASA protocols won't
help if toxins land outside US jurisdiction. Because scs come
from space, they could affect any place on Earth asteroids
cosmic radiation. They could potentially convert people into zombies anywhere,
affecting any land mass or population. Given the rapidity at
which zombie outbreaks spread, the document suggests decisive, overwhelming, and
possibly unilateral military force might be required. Large asteroids or
comets could carry alien microorganisms or radioactive materials. The Tamusca
event in nineteen oh eight, for example, flattened over a
thousand square miles of Siberian forest. Imagine that I happened
to overpopulated area today, alien contamination could spread before anyone
could even react. Calm Plan eighty eight. Eighty eight states
quite clearly that nuclear weapons would be the most effective
counter to space zombies. If contamination can't be contained, incineration
at nuclear temperatures becomes the only option.
Speaker 2: What's truly profound here, I think, is the recognition of extremophiles,
organisms that survive in impossible conditions on Earth and potentially
elsewhere in the universe. This category of threat forces us
to expand our understanding of life itself beyond our planet
and consider how incompatible such life forms or their byproducts
might be with human biology. It begs the question what
other forms of life exist out there, and how fundamentally different,
how truly alien, might they be to us, requiring such
extreme countermeasures as well nuclear incineration.
Speaker 1: And now for the most startlink category, the one that
truly just blew my mind when I first read it
evil magic zombies or emzs. The document actually uses those words.
The Pentagon has an official position on supernatural threats. These
are zombies caused by occult phenomena, phenomena that cannot be
reliably monitor, predicted, or even proven to exist. Their resilience
is shocking. They're the only class of zombie that may
not be vulnerable to burning corpse. They can usually be eliminated. However,
if the source of evil magic is dis I get this.
The military assigns the Chaplain Corp As the primary defense
against them. This implies that defeating these threats might require
divine intervention. Okay, so the Pentagon believes an actual evil
magic and they call the Chaplains. That's a very specific
kind of faith baked into a military plan, isn't it.
It suggests a recognition, maybe that some threats fall completely
outside the realm of conventional science of warfare. It's almost
like a real world acknowledgment of something like the White
Walkers in Game of Thrones. Definitely evil magic zombies that
required more than just dragon glass or Valerian steel to defeat.
You need something else, Divine intervention. Apparently, John snow intervention
right and fighting the supernatural isn't entirely new to military history,
is it. During World War Two, both sides had occult
research divisions, the Nazis had the Honor Bay. There were
whispers of Allied paranormal units. Churchill reportedly consulted astrologers. The
US Army looked into psychic warfare during the Cold War.
It shows that even in highly rational organizations there's sometimes
a profound openness to all possibilities when confronting the ultimate unknowns.
Speaker 2: What's truly eliminating here, I think, is the human tendency,
even within highly rational scientific organizations like the military, to
confront the limits of scientific understanding, to acknowledge phenomena that
defy conventional explanation, the inclusion of evil, magic, zombies, and
the assignment of the chaplain core. It isn't necessarily an
endorsement of supernatural belief per se, but rather it signifies
a profound openness to all possibilities, no matter how outlandish
they might seem, when contemplating the absolute worst case scenarios
for global collapse. It's an admission, perhaps that not all
threats can be understood or countered through a purely scientific
or conventional military lens requiring a contingency for the utterly inexplicable.
Speaker 1: So okay, after hearing about all these elaborate plans and
these terrifying zombie categories, from rabies infected hordes to mind
controlling parasites, from radiation retated monsters to weaponized bioweapons, from
space born horrors to literal evil magic, you'd think the
military has everything figured out right. They've identified each type
of zombie threat, they understand how to fight them. But
not so fast. Buried on page sixteen and section four
sub section thirteen point three, titled Shortfalls and Limiting Factors,
is this single really unsettling section. It details a critical
lack of adequate defenses sandbags, concertina wire, anti personnel mines,
riot control, chemical agents, even petroleum for flame barriers. These supplies,
it states, may not be present in sufficient volume to
defend against zombie incursion. They also mentioned insufficient contingency stores, food,
water for even thirty days of barricaded operations, and most crucially,
it admits us Stractum has no ground combat forces capable
of repelling a zombie assault. So all these elaborate plans,
all these terrifying zombie categories and then, buried in the
middle of the document, they admit they don't have enough
soldiers or stuff to actually win. It's almost comical in
its stark admission of vulnerability. All this meticulous planning, all
this understanding of the different zombie types, and the military
basically shrugs and says, yeah, we're not actually equipped for
this without significant external support.
Speaker 2: This raises a critical question about the practical limits of
even the most thorough planning, doesn't it, especially when confronting
an existential, overwhelming threat. This is a stark, almost brutal
admission of vulnerability that cuts through any strategic bravado you
might expect.
Speaker 3: It illustrates that even the most.
Speaker 2: Powerful military in the world acknowledges scenarios for which it
is fundamentally ill equipped. It emphasizes the sheer scale of
the postulated societal collapse, and, by extension, the limitations of
any single institution, no matter how powerful.
Speaker 1: So if the military explicitly states it lacks the soldiers
and resources to fight a full blown zombie apocalypse, who
is going to fight the zombies? This brings us to
a fascinating and pretty controversial theory that gained traction when
this document became public the idea that the military created
a new army, Yeah, US civilians. The idea is at
Complan eight eighty eighth. Development and declassification coincided almost perfectly
with this massive surg in zombie entertainment. The Walking Dead
premiered on Halloween twenty ten. World War Z started filming
in twenty eleven, released in twenty firteen. The Last of
US game launched in twenty thirteen, all during the exact
time this military document was being finalized and declassified. The
argument is that millions of civilians unknowingly absorbed survival tactics,
supply management, team dynamics, promoter security, escape planning all through
popular culture. The military didn't need boot camps. They had
Netflix and HBO. I mean, I've watched The Walking Dead
for years, played the first Last of US game, and
I definitely feel like I've absorbed a few lessons on
how to scavenger out a deal with a clicker. Even
if it's purely hypothetical, fund it's the compelling thought, isn't
it that all this entertainment was subtly training US building
a kind of civilian reserve of zombie survivalists.
Speaker 2: It's an interesting theory certainly, and the timing is striking,
But while entertaining the idea of a coordinated psychological operation,
a PSYOPI often overlooks basic market dynamics and existing cultural trends.
Hollywood follows the money right and zombie narratives pre dayconon
Plan eighty eight eighty eight significantly. George Romero basically created
modern zombies with a Knight of the Living Dead way
back in nineteen sixty eight. Donna the Dead in nineteen
seventy eight set the template. The Walking Dead comics started
in two thousand and three, well before this. Conplan studios
simply identify a popular trend and then flood the market
to capitalize on it. So while the timing is interesting,
it was likely coincidence, a reflection of popular interest, rather
than some deliberate military training program. The public was already
primed for zombies. Hollywood just delivered.
Speaker 1: Okay, fair point. But here's the real secret, maybe the
most compelling mystery that the whole psyop theory might actually
distract from. Conplan eighty eight eighty eight contains multiple references
to classified annexes that were stripped from the public version.
We can read the document repeatedly mentions NXC detailing space
control capabilities. Page after page references classified sections, ANXS covers
special technical operations, Annex D handles classified logistics. Throughout the document,
footnotes point to information marked secret or higher. So what
does this all really mean. The zombie scenarios themselves unclassified,
making the threat seem almost unreal, maybe even fantastical, but
the real military capabilities and specific operational details it links
to those remain hidden classified. It strongly suggests there's some
kind of threat being planned for that goes far beyond
just zombies. Crucially, Complan eighty eight eighty eight doesn't exist
in a vacuum. It works alongside active military plans, not
just training exercises. Complan eighty or thirty five for space operations,
COMPLAIN eighty five, thirty one for flu pandemics, Complan eighty
or ninety nine for combating weapons mass destruction. These are
active operational plans ready to be executed, so the zombie
plan might just be a smoke screen. The unclassified version
makes the threat seem fictional, almost comic goal, but the
classified capability that links to those are very very real
and design for threats that definitely aren't make believe.
Speaker 2: What's profoundly fascinating here, I think, is the implication that
the mechanism of a societal breakdown, rather than the specific
zombie threat itself, is what truly concerns military planners. This
document comes a window into how they conceptualize catastrophic events
and the sophisticated, often classified technologies they develop to respond.
The unclassified zombie scenario serves as a useful, non controversial
framework to discuss and perhaps even rehearse these capabilities for
very real classified threats. It allows the public document to
exist while the actual operational details remain shrouded in secrecy,
focused on something far more tangible, far more likely, perhaps
than the actual undead.
Speaker 1: So with all that in mind, the big question becomes,
how do you survive it? Whatever it is? Conplan eighty
eight eight eight, and indeed most other serious survival guides
seem to agree on one stark warning. When a widespread
catastrophic event starts, you have about forty eight hours before
everything truly falls apart. This isn't about luck. It's about
being prepared, and that preparation starts with knowing what to
do in those first critical.
Speaker 2: Moments that forty eight hour window is a really consistent
thread in disaster planning. It represents that critical period before
infrastructure collapses, communication breaks down completely, and any organized external
response becomes pretty much impossible. It underscores the profound urgency
of individual initiative and preparedness. It emphasizes that once that
window closes, you're primarily reliant on yourself and your immediate community.
Speaker 1: Your location, location, location will be paramount. If you're in
a city. The military's own plan implies you need to
get out fast. Cities become death traps, what one might
call zombie buffets, where infection or chaos spreads faster than
it can possibly be contained. Hospitals get overwhelmed instantly, police
stations overrun by panic citizens looking for weapons or answers.
The smart cops they go home and protect their families.
Probably the rest become casualties are ineffective. You need to
be somewhere remote, a cabin, a homestead, a farm. If
you don't own one, you better know someone who does,
because those places offer what truly matters, potential for food, water,
and people who know how to defend them.
Speaker 2: And this assessment of urban vulnerability explicitly laid out in
con plan eighty eight. Eighty eight underscores the critical importance
of decentrals, survival strategies, and access to basic resources. It
highlights how quickly dense populations, normally a strengthen society it
can become immense liabilities in a collapse scenario. It forces
a rapid reevaluation of what constitutes a safe and sustainable
environment when the rules change completely.
Speaker 1: When it comes to weapons and tactics, the document's emphasis
on quiet, efficient defense is telling. I think, forget the
big allowed firearms for sustained use in a general collapse scenario.
They attract attention from anything and everything, and you really
don't want that. A bow and arrow, silent, reusable often
preferred in these guides sort close combat tools, a good
solid knie, a baseball bat, a crowbar. Quiet weapons keep
you alive longer because they don't broadcast your position to
every threat within earshot. It's not about having the biggest gun.
It's about smart, sustainable defense that preserves your stealth and
your limited resources. And most importantly, you need to be
prepared with the essential bug out bag or a readiness kit.
The military zone mention of insufficient contingency stores serves as
a direct lesson for us. All you need supplies ready
before disaster strikes thease supermarkets will be swarming with desperate
people within hours. Think principles of self sufficiency. For water,
forget cases of bottle water. Carry purification tablets or a
high quality filter like a life straw. Idine pills are
also good, potentially for radiation exposure as the plant touches on.
For food, sure military style meals ready to eat MREs
last practically forever, but learning to forge your hunt is
even better, more sustainable. You also need versatile tools. Pair
cord graded for five hundred pounds can be used for
everything from securing shelter to making tourniquets, starting fires, or
even fishing line. In my own kit, I prioritize things
like a solar powered or hand crank radio and flashlight.
Reliable medical supplies including a ninety five, masks and signaling
mirrors and whistles. Basic hygiene items toothbrush, toothpaste, often overlooked
but crucial from morale and preventing infections down the line.
You'll be happy you remember those when you're stuck in
the wild. Thermal blankets, a small propane stove for cooking
glowes sticks for light without attracting attention like fire might
fire starter a multitool, and yet at least three different
kinds of knives for various tasks. Needland thread are critical
for clothes, sure, but also for wounds. And if you
don't have the stomach to ditch a cut, super glue
we'll do in a pinch for sealing small wounds. And
of course doct tape that literally fixes everything, can reinforce barricades.
I even keep many bug out bags in all my vehicles.
It's not paranoia, it's just pragmatic preparedness. I actually used
a multi tool from one of those bags once to
fix a sputtering engine on a road trip miles from anywhere.
A little planning goes a long long way.
Speaker 2: That comprehensive list, distilled from the practicalities of survival thinking,
really highlights the breadth of skills and foresight required. It's
a testament to the fact that preparedness isn't just about
big gestures, but about the accumulation of small, versatile items
and importantly, the knowledge of how to use them. The
document's implicit message of individual self reliance means asking yourself
what does my personal phase zero look like?
Speaker 1: Ready? Now? Once you're hopefully out of the initial chaos,
it's about community and caution. Find a place where you
can safely rest, establish clear lines of sight, set perimeters
with trip wires, maybe snares, anything to alert you to danger.
Then seek out other people, pool resources, exchange knowledge and skills.
Some people are fighters, some are farmers, some are planners,
some are builders. There's undeniable safety and strength in numbers.
But this is a big butt when connecting with strangers.
Trust your gut, because when the end of the world
truly comes, the most dangerous thing you'll face often isn't
the zombies or the disaster itself. It's other people and
the choices they make under extreme duress.
Speaker 2: This immediately raises that important, timeless question about human nature
under duress, doesn't it. The document, and indeed, most survival
guides consistently emphasize that societal breakdown often reveals both the
very best and the absolute worst in people. The need
for community is paramount for survival, yet so is the
need for extreme caution and discernment. Trust becomes the most
valuable and probab the most fragile commodity in that world.
It forces us to consider the ethical landscape of survival
and world suddenly without rules.
Speaker 1: So there you have it. We've journeyed through Complan eighty
eight eighty eight, from a chilling zombie outbreak scenario at
off At Air Force Base, through classified space operations and
even potential psychological warfare. We've seen how the military created
detailed protocols for fighting the undead and what's actually real here? Well.
Complan eighty eight eighty eight is, at its core exactly
what the Pentagon says. It is primarily a training exercise
tool junior officers created to learn planning procedures using an
impossible scenario zombies to avoid diplomatic problems, rather than creating
a public plan to defeat, say the Russians of the Chinese.
The enemies are evil magic zombies. Everyone understand this practice.
It's a framework, and that zombie psyop theory, while entertaining,
it also doesn't truly hold up under scrutiny. The timing
of Complan eighty eight eighty eight being released alongside zombie
movies and TV shows wasn't some grand military coordination. It
was almost certainly pure coincidence. What always falls the money
and zombies more popular long before two thousand and nine.
But dismissing this document is just a joke or just
a training tool would be a profound mistake. I think
Complan eighty eight eighty eight connect directly to very real
military plans. Complan eighty fifty five for space operations, Complant
eighty five to thirty one for flu pandemics, Complaint eighty
three or nine nine for combating weapons of mass destruction.
These aren't exercises, they're active operational plans. The plan's true
value might be in seeing the military acknowledge, even indirectly,
how fast society could collapse. It admits there are scenarios
where the military cannot win, where they have to retreat.
A plan to defeat zombies is hard for the public
to take seriously, right, and perhaps that's for salt to
the point. Maybe Complan eighty eighty eight is, in a
way a clever distraction. The most significant story isn't in
the document they show us. It's probably in the documents
they hide. It repeatedly references classified annex as that we're
stripped from the public version. We know they exist, we
just don't know what real threats they address. Or what
truly advanced capabilities they describe, and they're certainly not going
to tell us. In some ways, this document, with its
stark admissions of military limitations and that chilling lack of
civilian protection, paints a picture of humanity is potentially distractable,
maybe even fundamentally selfish, which is a harsh truth to consider.
But my own experience, and indeed the lessons embedded within
the document itself about eventual rebuilding and stabilization remind us
that in a true crisis, people will step up. Not everyone,
maybe not even most, but enough people enough to matter
enough to rebuild.
Speaker 2: This document, in its own peculiar, zombie themed way, is
actually a profound call to action, isn't it. It urges
us to consider our own resilience, both as individuals and
crucially as communities, regardless of the specific nature of the
catastrophic event it uses as a placeholder. It highlights the
enduring truth that preparedness and community cohesion are universal strengths
against pretty much any unforeseen existential challenge we might face.
Speaker 1: So here's a provocative thought for you to carry forward
from this deep dive. Get to know your neighbors, learn
how to communicate effect, especially when things are stressful. Learn
how to plan together, how to survive together, because if
you don't learn these skills now when things are relatively stable, well,
the ultimate consequence could come back to bite you, perhaps
quite literally, depending on the scenario.
Speaker 2: And this raises that final important question for you to ponder.
In a world that feels increasingly susceptible to unforeseen challenges,
from pandemics to climate events to geopolitical instability, how truly
prepared are you for the collapse of society as you
know it? And what is your inherent role your responsibility
in ensuring its resilience, not just your own survival.
Speaker 1: The surprising truths found in unexpected places like a zombie plan,
and the enduring power of individual and community preparedness, regardless
of the specific threat, that ultimately is the real, unsettling
and maybe even hopeful message of Conplan eighty eight, eighty
eight