HW.55000 DocId:32989523 Page 1440) f «History ‘of the Secret Army Organization 7 CONFTDENT One early morning in February, 1970, a group of six Minutemen leaders from four states mot secretly in Northern Arizona to discuss the crisis that the arrest and imprisonment of two top Minutemen leaders and the assassination of a third had brought on the organization. Although some of these men had met before in their roles as Minutemen group leaders, others were meeting for the first time. After much discussion, two principal points were agreed upon. First, that the Minutemen as a national coordination organization of militant right-wing groups had effectively been destroyed by the pro-communist elements inside the Justice Depart- ment, While individual units still existed throughout the country, few had the financial support or leadership to be really effective. Second, that the need for such a coordi- nating organization wasgreater than ever in view oftheincreased revolutionary activity by communists in the United States, With these two points in mind, suggestions were put forward on a course of action to be followed. After ameeting that lasted all that day and far into the next morning, an overall plan of action was finally agreed upon. All present agreed to merge their individual units together and form a new organization under the command '. of.one leader elected from among themselves, with the other five to be members of a Genéral Staff that would advise and assist the new leader. While retaining the basic programs and policies of the Minutemen, it was - Gecided that not only should this new organization-have a different name, but also a completely new chain of command and organizational structure. If the new organiza- tion was going to survive the attacks that befell the old one, a whole new approach would be needed. Never again could the arrest or death of a few leaders be allowed to cripple the entire organization. For this reason it was decided that only a highly disciplined military type orgainization with a definite chain ofcommand would have any chance of success. This then, was the beginning of the Secret Army Organization. Beginning with an original force of hard corepatriots that numbered fewer than two hundred, the Secret Army Organization began the job of picking up the pieces and continuing to fight for national and individual freedom. Using this cadre of dedicated personnel as a nucleus, the S.A.O. has been recruiting and training new members in the skills they will need as the freedom fighters of tomorrow. The leaders of theS. A. O,. have no idea of fighting a last ditch stand. We have - no desire to commit suicide ourselves or to let our members do so. We have a: strategy which we believe will ullimately lead to viclory. Only one thing is essential. We must start preparing and training NOW! We of the S. A. O. belicve that our country is worthy of any sacrifice. If you fecl the same way, we invite you to join us, CONFIDENT TAL’
To. gppective Members Of The ® SECREF ARMY ORGANIZATION’ GONFIDENTIAR ; The Secret Army Organization is the most active, most completely dedicated and most selective in its membership of all the many patriotic organizations in America. We are willing to make any sacrifice for our country and we fully expect that some of us will have to make the ultimate sacrifice before victory is achieved. Our very lives depend on each other. There is no place in this organization for bunglers, playboys or lukewarm conservatives. If you join the Secret Army Organization, there might easily come a time that your life would depend on how competently some other member had learned his job: . Unless you are especially well informed on .the domestic and world political situation, itis probable that you have a lot to learn about the present threat our nation faces. Unless you have had many years experience in actual underground warfare, there is undoubtedly a lot you can learn from the experts in our organization who have developed and supervised our training program. ‘OUR NATION [S IN IMMEDIATE DANGER It is possible that withina very few years, perhaps even within months, our nation could be conquered and enslaved by the communists. To prevent this we must know as much as possible about our enemies. Unless we know who they are and what they are doing we will not succeed in our efforts to maintain a free America. THE RESISTANCE MOVEMENT See” Serene der a rete + In driving an invader from your land the resistance involved goes through three stages of development, . 1) The Underground Network 2) Active Guerrilla Warfare 3) Open or Conventional Warfare The conventional warfare stage uses everything in the way of weapons that the enem y does but must also have active guerrillas and underground agents working against the enemy, too. In the present state’ of military tactics conventional warfare cannot succeed unless these other two ingredients are used simultaneously. The first ‘step is to form an underground network. An active guerrillasystem _must have the support of an underground network of approximately three times its own “ size. This underground must supply the active guerrilla fighter with supplies, con- cealment, information, ete. Anunderground network starts with departments of intelligence, security and propaganda in that order. Sabotage, espionage, subversion, infiltration, escape and evasion, training, clandestine fabrication of supplies, counterfeiting enemy documents, recruiting, com- munications and propaganda are other phases of underground activity. Each member of the Sceret Army Organization, to be efféctive, must have a working knowledge of all these tactics as well as the mililary tactics moré commonly associated with euerril- la activitics, CONFIDENT TAZ . 2 OW 55000 DoclId: 32989523 Page 1441
NW 55000 DocId:32989523 Page 1442 Secret Army Organizaticn [eee . 7 ASSIGNMENT ‘TO UNITS . gonrsiuntial Many pcople that inquire about membership in the Secret t Arm y Organization seem to have-an idea that they will be immediately accepted into an active unit, Look at it this way.. Suppose you had spent a year or more carefully recruiting and training until you had a hard hitling team where every individual was reliable, dedi- cated, and had confidence in his fellow unit members. Wouldn't it make you mad to have the national or regional organization assign some rank amateur to your unit that you you knew. little or nothing about? Before any new member is assigned to an active unit or to an important under- ground project, he mustundergo a period of training. During this training he will be © directed through the mails by an experienced member andsome of his activities may be observed by other members without his knowledge. Oaly when a new member proves himself to be conscientious, trustworthy, self-disciplined and able to operate effectively alone will he be accepted'as a "secure member" and invited to participate with other unit members in a teamwork operation, : EXPENSES - Unfortunately, ‘most good things don't come cheap. Although we make every. effort to keep down the expense of membership in the Secret Army Organization, you must expect to pay your own way, Dues to the Secret Army Organization are $3.00 per month. This money is absolutely necessary for use to maintain our central files and headquarters, for postage and printing, to finance our extensive intelligence: network, and to maintain training areas. Each member will have other expenses depending on the type of dctivity he is engaged in. Every member will be expected to buy his own gun, amnunition and other basic combat equipment. During training the new member may be expected to - buy certain books or subscribe to certain magazines that his work requires. During this time the new member will also be supplied with reading material on the strategy and tactics of guerrilla warfare. This home work will make it possible for him to fit in quickly to an active unit and participate effectively in actual maneuvers, marksmanship training, etc. Following this preliminary training a member may be either assigned to an existing unit, assisted in organizing his own unit if he has shown sufficient leadership qualities or become part of an underground network, Upon your acceptance into the Secret Army Organization you will be given a definite series of projects described inwriting so you will know exactly what will be expected of you. ' We hope that you can succeed in this effort because your country desperately needs patriots at this time. CONFIDENTIAL | | | | seenemeuranemeretrenineertectnemmr nambrtars ern remeynee rine i > HS epee rttqrernre evens qnestmrsereereeeny riveree renter rere tt tenner eet ere
rer SEGRE i@iRMY ORGANIZ gp . -~ °°)” APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP CONFIDENTIAL i NOTICE TO APPLICANT: AU information on this form will be kept confidential, Atl L records of memhers of the Secret Army Organization, are stored in a way that they Oe can be swiftly destroyed to keep them from falling into unauthorized hands. Name Seg Address Marital Status (Street) State. - ___* Wife's Name Zip Code. Telephone Date of Birth - (Month) (Day) (Year) Occupation. Ec ation Special Subjects Studied _ -Do You Speak or Read Any Foreign Language? : Vetei'an________~_Branch_________-_nighest Rank _ ‘What Service Training Have You Had That You Feel Would Be Beneficial. To This Organ~ ization? Physical Description: Height _ Weight Color Eyes Color Hair. Health: Good__——séFair __. Poor Any Physical. Disabilities or Limitations? Any Public Speaking or Organizing Experience?_. sdf Yes, Pleas Explain: Hours__._ tC Best Time: AM PM_ ss SWeakdays__ Weekends CERTIFICATION Iam a loyal American Citizen dedicated to the defense and survival of the United States as a Conslitulional Republic, free from all socialist and communist policies. Enclosed is my $5.00 memhership fee, Iagree to pay $3.00 cach month to the Secret Army Organization as membership dues. CONFIDENT Tar, Signature of Applicant. pate _HW 55009 Docld:32989523 Page 1443 How Many Hours A Week Could You Devote To Working And Training With the S. A. O. ? i
4 7 7 UNUM STATES DEPARTMENT OF ._ bay FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION * Phoenix, Arizona In Reply, Please R a n Replys Please Baler October 22, 1971 oo vo File No. Title SECRET ARMY ORGANIZATION Character Reference Memorandum, dated and captioned as above, at Phoenix, Arizona, All sources (except any listed below) whose identities i ut are concealed in referenced communication have furnished reliable information in the past. This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI, It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency. warm fH r f pA he Be ie ” ' WY 55000 Docld:32989523 Page 1998