MAG Roles and Responsibilities

Functional Coverage vs. Formal Structure

Small MAGs (5-12 households) don't need a chain of command. They need accountability for specific functions. The difference matters: a chain of command implies authority relationships that create friction in a group of peers. Functional accountability means someone has agreed to own a specific area — to be the person who ensures it's handled.

Every group needs the functions covered. Most groups assign each function to whoever has the relevant skills and is willing to take responsibility.

Core Functions

Group Coordinator / Communications Lead

Function: Maintains the group's communication infrastructure, contact lists, and coordination protocols. First contact when something happens.

Responsibilities:

• Maintains and distributes current contact list (phone, radio frequencies, meeting points)
• Coordinates group communication during actual events
• Schedules and facilitates group meetings and check-ins
• Manages the group's communication security (who knows what, what's discussed on which channels)

Skills needed: Organized, reliable, available. Ham radio license is highly valuable.

Not: A commander. This person coordinates, not commands.

Medical Lead

Function: Owns the group's medical capability and preparation.

Responsibilities:

• Maintains and inventories the group's medical supplies
• Identifies medical skill gaps and coordinates training
• Is the first call when a medical situation arises
• Maintains knowledge of each member's significant medical conditions, allergies, and prescriptions
• Develops the group's casualty care protocols

Skills needed: Medical training is essential — EMT, paramedic, RN, or physician background. Someone with Wilderness First Responder (WFR) training is a minimum viable option.

Critical gap: Most MAGs have insufficient medical depth. A person with basic first aid is not a medical lead — they're a person with basic first aid.

Security Lead

Function: Owns the group's security assessment, protocols, and coordination.

Responsibilities:

• Conducts vulnerability assessment of member properties and any shared locations
• Develops patrol and watch protocols for elevated threat scenarios
• Coordinates security posture with the group (what's the current threat level, what protocols are active)
• Maintains the group's operational security — who knows about the group and what they know
• Ensures members are appropriately trained for their security roles

Skills needed: Threat assessment, physical security, firearm proficiency and safety, de-escalation. Military or law enforcement background is valuable but not required.

Important: Security means deterrence and coordination in most real-world scenarios, not combat operations. The security lead who is primarily oriented toward violent scenarios is poorly calibrated for the realistic threat profile.

Logistics / Resupply Lead

Function: Tracks group supplies, manages shared resources, and coordinates resupply efforts.

Responsibilities:

• Maintains inventory of group-shared supplies (medical equipment, communication equipment, fuel, tools)
• Tracks member supply levels at the household level (without requiring full disclosure)
• Identifies supply gaps and coordinates acquisition
• Manages shared equipment maintenance schedules
• Coordinates fuel rotation, food rotation, and other perishable supplies

Skills needed: Organized, detail-oriented, willing to do administrative work.

Food and Water Production Lead

Function: Owns the group's food production capability and water security.

Responsibilities:

• Assesses group food production capability (gardens, livestock, hunting, foraging areas)
• Coordinates production planning — who grows what, how to cover each other's gaps
• Manages seed saving and variety preservation across the group
• Assesses and plans water security (sources, purification, storage)
• Coordinates food preservation training and practice

Skills needed: Agricultural knowledge. Experience with gardening, livestock, or food preservation is essential.

Communications Technical Lead

Function: Owns the group's radio and communication technology.

Responsibilities:

• Maintains group radio equipment (radios, batteries, antennas, chargers)
• Runs the group's radio nets and communication protocols
• Trains other members in radio operation
• Maintains frequency lists, call sign documentation, and communication schedules
• Plans for communications under various degraded scenarios (no power, damaged equipment)

Skills needed: Amateur radio license (General or Extra class preferred), electronics knowledge, antenna theory.

Training and Education Lead

Function: Coordinates the group's training program.

Responsibilities:

• Identifies training priorities from the skills inventory gap analysis
• Sources and coordinates training opportunities (courses, certifications, self-instruction)
• Plans and runs group training drills and exercises
• Maintains records of member training and certifications
• Sources training materials and ensures key references are available offline

Skills needed: Teaching ability, organization. Credentialed training background is valuable.

Optional / Specialized Roles

Depending on group composition and threat assessment, additional roles may be relevant:

| Role | When Relevant | |------|---------------| | Legal advisor | If a member has legal background; for property, defense law questions | | Financial/barter coordinator | For extended scenarios with barter economy | | Spiritual or counseling lead | For mental health and community cohesion during extended stress | | Children and education coordinator | If group has many children; ensures continuity of education | | Veterinary lead | If group has significant livestock; animal health is community food security | | Intelligence coordinator | Advanced groups; managing information about external conditions and threats |

Role Assignments Table (Blank)

Use this to document role assignments in your group:

| Function | Primary Lead | Backup | Training Level | Last Updated | |----------|-------------|--------|---------------|--------------| | Group Coordinator | | | | | | Medical Lead | | | | | | Security Lead | | | | | | Logistics Lead | | | | | | Food/Water Lead | | | | | | Communications Lead | | | | | | Training Lead | | | | |

One-Person, Multiple Roles

In smaller groups, one person often covers multiple functions. This is practical but creates single points of failure. For each critical function (medical, communications, security), designate a backup who can step in if the primary is incapacitated.

The backup doesn't need the same depth of expertise as the primary — they need enough to maintain continuity and to know when to call for outside help.

Role Review

Review role assignments:

• When a member joins or leaves
• Annually, before a new preparedness year
• After any exercise or real event that revealed gaps in coverage

The goal is that at any moment, anyone in the group can answer: "Who do I call if X happens?" The role structure exists to make that question have a clear answer.