So the SHTF, you are part of the resistance, or you just want to survive. Should you wear camo, or civilian clothes? Well, this depends on how and what has happened, it depends on whether you are still integrated into society, or you are part of a group that heads for the hills and is part of an active resistance movement.
I feel that it is a personal choice, and one that you would be changing due to mission parameters, and the local atmosphere. If resistance groups are being hunted and fought by a professional force, then you have the option of using camo to increase your survivability in an active combat environment. But if you still desire to be part of society, then you would need to tailor your kit to take that into account.
One way you could go is to wear civilian work clothes in muted natural colors, then wear your kit over them. This way you could fight the fight, but then if need be ditch your gear and just walk down the street and fit in. Another option for this scenario is to wear what I call "Redneck Camo" which is any of the commercially available patterns that hunters wear. This type of clothing is effective in the woods, but also acceptable by society in many areas. If you were walking down the street in this type of camo, not many people would even give you a second glance.
So the options as I see it are: military camos, redneck camos, or muted civilian clothes. The way to go about this that I see as the most effective is to wear browns and greens in civilian style clothes (not tactical clothes) then wear a gillie suit or shroud and your kit when you are in the crap, or in an active combat situation. This approach gives you the ability to be effective in the fight, but then to ditch your kit and gillie, then just walk down the street for your exfiltration (exfil).
Another aspect of this debate is that if you and your group have a uniform standard and maybe a unit patch you will build esprit de corps, or pride in your unit, this is all good and fine pre-event, but when you are engaged as a fighting force living is the best morale builder. Another way to look at it is the ability to recognize your guys so you do not have any friendly fire incidents, well come on, if you are in a situation and you do not know the location of all of your buddies, then you should have had more training. We are not talking about large groups of soldiers with guys spread out all over the place. One of the good things about having a small unit is that you will be set up in a coordinated well planned ambush type of fight. If you are not, then you need to get the hell out of there as fast as you can.
I am not going to get into what is the best camo pattern, this battle is like the timely debate of AR vs AK, there is no right answer, just your personal preference. What I will say is that it is a good idea to not be wearing the same pattern that the forces you are fighting is wearing. I say this because of what I mentioned above about the ability to differentiate your guys from the enemy.
What you wear also depends on what you can afford and what you already have. If you can afford it, get the best stuff you can, but do not take money from your ammo, weapon, or survival gear budget. I feel that this should be the last priority, put your money into good gear, mags, ammo, good quality firearms, food, water, medical supplies and such. You can fight in whatever if you have to, but you could have the fanciest camo uniform and crappy gear and you will fail when your gear does, or when you do not have an item you need because you spent your money on the latest camo instead of where you should have spent it.
Remember you are a guerrilla style fighter, you hit hard, hit fast, and get the hell out of there. You are like a shadow in the mist, you confuse, instill terror, and break the enemy force down over time. You do not engage in full scale battles, you prefer small, planned, short duration fights that you pick the parameters of.
With that said, think about what is really important to you, set up your clothing, kit and weapons for realistic scenarios, be smart, think about the way that things will do down. Maybe you should have one of each of these types of clothing and then determine which ones you will employ based on the type of mission you will be conducting.
Remember to stay strong, keep up the fight, and never give up!
