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Post by milspec on Apr 19, 2022 21:19:18 GMT 10
I just came across the APSL.org .au web page for the first time. A search of our forum didnt show up any results for APSL. Does anyone here have information about this group?
Their facebook group appears to have kicked off around Feb 2021 and their web page around Dec 2020.
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Post by Stealth on Apr 19, 2022 23:30:41 GMT 10
Look I'll admit I started reading their pages with general curiosity. Could be a real, legit group that provides a useful purpose. The more I read the higher my eyebrows went. Pretty sure they're up in my hairline permanently now hahaha. The group seems confused between a civilian civil service group and a prepper group. They don't know their target audience and as a result they're stuck looking like a confused cadet unit without the branch funding. Something that gets my hackles up is that they have 'bravery awards'. And the final line of their 'History' page... "There is a hero in everyone, heroism need not be dangerous, but in the form of civility." While I agree with the concept any large group that has bravery awards and references heroism is a red flag in my mind. Preparedness isn't heroic. It's not being caught with your pants down in an emergency. You're not a superhero, you're just thinking ahead. And finally, I present to you This Little Piece of WTF No Thanks. *HECKIN' BARF*. Commissioned by who, the founder's mum, cause she's about the same age as Liz and that makes it basically the same thing, right? Bahahahaha. Excuse me while I go wash my eyeballs out with bleach. I'm probably being a little (ok excessively) unkind but the jaded troop in me isn't sure whether to gag or pass out from horror. This group has many negatives and I suspect many ex-combat wombats who want to have a battlefat over running their own little gulag. "A private does not lead anyone, but aspires to increase their skills and help out." - Sounds like 'lance jack pay' to me. Nawwww fam, I'm gucci. I've drunk enough cold black instant coffee. 🤣🤣🤣 I wanted it to be legit, I really did! Ah well. I got a laugh out of it for the night I guess. Honestly, if they binned the pseudo-military nonsense and picked ONE target (prepping OR community assistance) and actually put the faces of their senior leadership out there to gain some sort of legitimacy they'd probably do ok. Having their 'officers' *snicker* -sorry can't say that one straight faced- complete a police and WWC check is actually more than a lot of interest groups do. But the rest of it is so weird... I can't even begin to put it together. It'd be cute if it didn't reek of Stolen Valour. Ok I'm done now. Hahahaha.
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Post by Stealth on Apr 19, 2022 23:36:00 GMT 10
Also no one used the word 'behooves' on those pages and I'm able to use it in an appropriately and contextually correctly structured sentence. So obviously I should instantly be promoted to the "honoured rank" of Chief of Defence Force *cough* I mean Secretary General.
Ok this time I'm really done. I swear. 🤣
Ok Ok, one last thing. I have to retract my statement about them not putting their faces of their seniors in public. I found the "Secretary General @ A.P.S.L, Survivalist and Civil Emergency Response, ICT Systems Expert" on facebook with about three seconds of google-fu. Not putting it on their actual website is a little weird when he proudly self-doxxes like he's promoting an Only Fans. Seems like an odd choice but ok. At least if you take more than 30 seconds you can figure out who he is. In like, 10 seconds if you're not as tired as I am I guess?
PS - I strongly recommend against such shenanigans for any lurkers who may feel so inclined. I'm 99% certain none of our forum regulars would be jerks but there's always the scanners watching from a distance. Don't be that guy.
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Apr 20, 2022 5:15:48 GMT 10
I've seen this group on the interweb before, they seem to me to be the figment of someone's giant ego.
As the the concept of helping out the community when the system collapses, my point of view is every meal I provide to an unprepared stranger is another meal closer to starvation for my children & grandchildren.
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Post by milspec on Apr 20, 2022 6:39:30 GMT 10
Something that amused me was their claim of just being a group of ordinary citizens followed by group photo of 3 men and 3 women all in business attire. That struck me as very skewed right there. Also their sign up page goes straight for your full name, address and phone number. I think you'd be nuts to offer up that kind of detailed personal info before knowing the group inside out and even then ... nope.
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Post by Stealth on Apr 20, 2022 8:46:36 GMT 10
Honestly it makes sense if you look at the founder as someone that wants to cosplay a super hero. Clark Kent is a normal guy in his off-hours don't you know 😆. Even the name of the group. Now that I think of it, the first thing that triggered in my head was the word 'league'. Now I've worked out why it got my hackles up. Initially I thought it was because it felt like they were trying to vibe with the RSL type old boys group branding.
Then I realised what it actually was that bugged me. It made me subconsciously think of the 'Justice League'.
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bce1
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Post by bce1 on Apr 20, 2022 13:29:07 GMT 10
Yep.... I lost it with the ranks.
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Post by ausprep130 on Apr 20, 2022 15:31:27 GMT 10
One of the things that stood out to me was the group is in it's 3rd iteration.
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Apr 22, 2022 11:30:25 GMT 10
Ummm..... Sounds like something that would come out of a too long meeting in the Starbucks on the ground floor of the high rise condo building.. Fueled by too many triple foam soy lattes, and vegetable just like meat sandwiches...
Or am I just being too harsh here ??
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bug
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Post by bug on Apr 22, 2022 13:08:20 GMT 10
It's hard enough to avoid being tracked online as it is. But imagine going onto facebook and highlighting yourself like that.
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Post by milspec on Apr 22, 2022 13:19:22 GMT 10
The group pic of 6 suits representing the leauge's concept of being just like us has gone and appears to be replaced with this one . Now that I see that the 'leauge' is a happy go lucky bunch of millenials I feel much more connected with it and excited by what I'll learn. Seriously with two such skewed images presumably reflecting their target audience, one has to seriously question this group's intentions/expectations.
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Post by ausprep130 on Apr 22, 2022 13:39:40 GMT 10
The group pic of 6 suits representing the leauge's concept of being just like us has gone and appears to be replaced with this one . Now that I see that the 'leauge' is a happy go lucky bunch of millenials I feel much more connected with it and excited by what I'll learn. Seriously with two such skewed images presumably reflecting their target audience, one has to seriously question this group's intentions/expectations. The exact photo is used to advertise scholarships for international students to attend university in Australia, and a similar photo with the same people in same location only in a different pose is used to advertise scholarships for international students to attend French universities.
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Apr 22, 2022 16:35:07 GMT 10
They don't have enough members to take their own group photo.
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Apr 22, 2022 16:43:33 GMT 10
This is the sort of group photo I prefer: That's me with my two girlfriends, enjoying lunch at the local pub. I'm so lucky they get on with each otber and also with Mrs Frostbite.
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rastus
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Post by rastus on Apr 22, 2022 17:31:40 GMT 10
If you put their URL in the wayback machine you will see they used to brand themselves as "Australian Public Safety League" ( web.archive.org/web/20080801000000*/https://www.apsl.org.au/ ). Back then they were aiming to do public order patrols in uniforms and ranks of their making, though they never got beyond larping around in pseudo military service dress and drill. Yes, honest to God, they did drill. Just a bunch of military wannabes who couldn't pass recruitment... and I can make an educated guess which test they failed. They rebranded to "prepper" focus in 2021... which was about 2 years to late to be thinking of being "prepared", considering the S starting HTF back in 2019. Edit: it gets worse, according to their own history page they had also rebranded another time along the way to chasing down public OHSA violations... like buildings with the incorrect number of stairs. I wonder if the dude marched around town in his Lord High Commander uniform handing out bogus infringement notices?
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