Browncoat Armory and Cortex – Frequently Asked Questions:
Why do you call yourselves “Browncoats”?
“Browncoat” is a nod to the independents in Firefly. But, before there was Firefly, “Browncoat” was a derogatory term for the colonial militia. The colonial militia in 1775 did not have uniforms like the continental armies (e.g., the English, French, Prussians, Hessians, etc.). The Continental Congress adopted brown (the color of undyed homespun wool – which was what most of the colonial militia wore) as the uniform color in 1775 – more out of necessity than intentionally (since they couldn’t afford to outfit the fledgling “Army”). The Congress did not adopt uniform colors for the “Continental Army” until much later (1779). “Browncoat” is a reference to those original Citizen soldiers (the colonial militia) that fought for Liberty and Freedom.
https://www.ncpedia.org/history/usrevolution/soldiers
https://www.nps.gov/mima/learn/education/upload/essentials.pdf
https://history.army.mil/html/museums/uniforms/survey_uwa.pdf
Are you all “Firefly” fans?
Not all of us are fans of the Firefly series/Serenity movie, but most of us are. The main theme of Firefly and Serenity is Liberty – Liberty in the face of an oppressive, all-encompassing, paternalistic, tyrannical government.
Why do you call yourselves an Armory?
Traditionally, an armory was not just a big room to store arms and armor – it also referred to the parade grounds and rooms used to train soldiers (professional war-fighters) and the militia (citizen-soldiers who defended their homes and communities, but didn’t fight “professionally”). The armory was used to train everyone in various skills, not just martial (eg, war-fighting) skills. Historically, land not used for farming was difficult to come by. So communities would designate a place to teach and train. These areas would also be used for social gatherings, distributing news, trying legal cases, and for other proceedings. That is what “The Armory” is for us, a training and educational resource and a storage repository of knowledge, equipment, and resources.
From https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/armory
Why ‘theCortex’?
The cortex is the largest region of the brain in mammals. It plays a key role in memory, attention, perception, cognition, awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. The goal of theCortex is to be THE repository for information that will help us all to be the best Citizens possible. This goal is very simple and oh so complex at the same time. Making critical information available to every Citizen.
This information covers a wide spectrum of topics to help you in almost any situation. From DIY How-tos to complete field manuals, we want to make that information readily available to our fellow Citizens. Need a simple 12VDC windmill plan? Got it. How about water purification options? Yep, we can point you in the right direction. We’ll cover field medicine, crop rotation, food storage, marksmanship, and much more!
Are you “preppers”?
No, we are not “preppers”. Doomsday prepp’ing is fear based, and we want no part of spreading fear. We want you prepared to handle the accidents, emergencies, and set backs that were common in the United States until 40 years ago (and that are still common throughout the world today). Peace, prosperity, and security are, historically speaking, an anomaly. Even in our ‘safe and secure’ country, there are many recent examples of the need to be prepared – Hurricane Katrina, tornadoes, winter storm Michael, flooding, wildfires, etc.
We want you PREPARED! We believe that each Citizen, and their families, should have sufficient resources to survive in an emergency situation. Those resources include: knowledge of survival techniques, long term food storage, defense capabilities, communication strategies, and supplies to last at least 6 months if SHTF.
Aren’t you taking this ‘preparation’ thing a little too seriously?
There are plenty of reasons why every Citizen should be prepared for the worst. First and foremost, we have Families and they are looking us to ensure their safety and security. After hurricane Katrina and winter storm Michael, family and community helped people survive – not the government. The “government” arrived in time to document the devastation and the dead.
So, what’s in it for me? Why should I bother?
Preparedness alleviates stress when bad stuff happens. When an ice storm knocked out power to several mid-western towns and cities in the mid 2000s, people were without power for a few days to a few weeks (in areas). Cold will kill you – quickly. If you rely on electricity for everything in your home, how do you keep your home warm? How do you cook food and keep food from spoiling? How do you bathe or keep clean? Some natural gas water heaters require electricity to operate. Children, the Elderly, and anyone with a compromised immune system are more at risk. Being unprepared and unsure of what to do can immobilize you when the ‘unexpected’ happens. That natural response, part of “Fight or Flight” can and has caused far more harm than the initial disaster. Information and more importantly training for the unexpected just makes sense in our opinion. Vehicle collisions happen, trees fall on houses, people fall and break bones; a myriad of things can happen suddenly and without warning. We want everyone to be proactive in those situations. That goal all by itself is enough for us to ‘bother’ redistributing knowledge and information to help our fellow Citizens. Hopefully, that reason makes it worth the ‘bother’ for you, Citizen, to see what is in it for you.
