2026-07-09 –, Resilience Base
Join a high-stakes tabletop simulation to architect secure, offline communication networks for a hypothetical conflict zone experiencing a total infrastructure blackout. You will learn to engineer survival communication bridges—bypassing military surveillance and physical danger—using tactical LoRa mesh, HF radio (NVIS), and ancient pre-physics optical cryptography.
The Scenario
Imagine this reality: The grid is completely dead. There is no internet, no GSM, and no landline infrastructure. Surrounding villages are locked in active, kinetic warfare. The physical paths between these communities are laced with landmines, making travel lethal. In this absolute vacuum of infrastructure and safety, how do you negotiate peace, coordinate medical evacuations, and map unexploded ordnance?
The Workshop
This session is a high-stakes tabletop simulation based on the frontline realities experienced in the Chin Hills of Myanmar and documented in the ASORCOM Field Manual. We will explore the "Digital Tarzan" philosophy: the art of engineering survival communications when all modern silicon infrastructure has been denied.
Because we cannot safely replicate hostile conditions or deploy physical radio hardware at Camp, this workshop is a purely strategic, scenario-based architectural exercise. Participants will learn how to design secure, decentralized, and offline communication bridges that can evade military surveillance, survive rolling blackouts, and route around physical danger using tactical mesh networks, HF radio logic, and ancient pre-physics methods.
How Participants Will Engage (Shared Exploration)
Participants will be divided into "Cells" (small teams) and handed a paper map of a hypothetical mined, warring valley. Together, they must design a communication bridge using the ASORCOM three-tiered doctrine:
Phase 1: The Tactical Shadow (Evading Surveillance): Cells will design a decentralized LoRa (Long Range) mesh network deployment. They must solve the puzzle of establishing line-of-sight without placing nodes on high peaks where they will be targeted by artillery. We will strategize on using ATAK (Android Team Awareness Kit) to securely share offline topographic maps marking hostile checkpoints without leaking metadata to adversarial direction-finding (DF) scanners.
Phase 2: Strategic Backbones (NVIS): How do you connect two hostile villages separated by a 7,000-foot mountain when the valley is mined? Cells will learn the physics of NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) to theoretically "bounce" digital JS8Call text messages straight up into the ionosphere and down into the next valley, bypassing physical danger entirely.
Phase 3: Pre-Physics (The EMP Protocol): What happens when the batteries finally die or an EMP disables all silicon? Participants will strategize "Pre-Physics" communication routing—designing optical cryptography protocols using mirrors (heliographs) and binary signal fires to transmit basic encrypted shortcodes across the valley without a single watt of electricity.
Michael Suantak is the founder of ASORCOM (Alternative Solutions for Rural Communities) and eimiAI. Operating at the intersection of indigenous rights and decentralized technology, he engineers autonomous, offline-first communication networks in extreme conflict zones, specifically along the India-Myanmar border.
During state-sponsored internet blackouts and kinetic warfare, Michael’s work focuses on keeping community knowledge, medical coordination, and human agency alive. He is the architect of the "Digital Tarzan" philosophy, which advocates for frugal, rugged infrastructure built from the soil up. His field deployments combine 12V DC-native solar power, tactical LoRa mesh networks, HF radio, and localized edge AI to ensure marginalized communities retain cognitive and digital sovereignty when the centralized grid fails.
Michael believes that true autonomy is not given—it is engineered. His ongoing mission is to help rural populations transition from vulnerable digital consumers into resilient digital sovereigns.