What Should the Government Do During an Outbreak?

[Cabbage Patch]

You are of course assuming that the government believes the truth. People have an incredible ability to go into deep denial when faced with situations they previously believed to be impossible. The higher ups would most likely follow several wrong tracks before admitting to themselves and the general population that yes we are indeed dealing with flesh eating zombies and not some form of mass hysteria, riots, or [insert your own ludicrous explanation here].

Excellent point. And that is the real social benefit of programs like "We're Alive". Two years ago no government official worth his salt would have believed that the zombie apocalypse was possible. Now we have the CDC publishing its zombie preparedness guidelines, we have cities like Bristol creating zombie preparedness plans that, while tongue in cheek, actually look somewhat sound. I predict that by the end of Season 5 of WA there will be a federal department of zombie preparedness!

Which is why we need to get on record now and help shape the emerging government policy. Oh, and I nominate KC Wayland for Presidential Zombie Czar.

[Luna Guardian]

[insert your own ludicrous explanation here].

Swamp gas?

What the government should do really depends on the type of zombie. Are we talking classic Romero zombies? L4D or We're Alive zombies? Zombies that explode into gas clouds that infect more people when killed? The response would have to fit the situation.

[HorrorHiro]

Are we assuming that the government would have a military to put whatever sort of plans they have into action? In the end a solider is no different from anyone else in this scenario. They would just as easily be swept into the same panic as every/anyone else.

[2bgood]

Are we assuming that the government would have a military to put whatever sort of plans they have into action? In the end a solider is no different from anyone else in this scenario. They would just as easily be swept into the same panic as every/anyone else.

Not true, they would be less likely to panic (though many would) due to their training and experience.

[Cabbage Patch]

As of Chapter 29 we have additional information on how the government reacted in the We're Alive universe.

SPOILER 

Military bases are over run because commanders hesitate to have their troops fire on the zombies. The entire country goes silent within seven days of the outbreak. Only Fort Irwin and the City of Boulder, Colorado remain zombie free.

So Lesson 1 of what the Government should do during an Outbreak is order the troops to open fire!

[GeneTwo]

Whats with all the government hate. You govern-ist should just chill out.

First off if the out break does happen the gov will not lie about it, and that's a fact. How do I know? Because it will be on local tv, cable tv, youtube, everyone with a cell phone has a camera, people will blog about it, so it does the gov no good to lie or keep it secret.

You know there is more than one government in the US. There's the Washington gov, State gov, and Local gov, and each one will have a different response.

The big wigs in Washington will try to save the country as a whole, and try to keep the military functioning. They will leave saving the people to the other agencies and govs. They will also be planning on rebuilding too so they will protect the big industries. They will probably get some bean counters together to figure out how much of the population will be left after the infection subsides and if that number is sufficient enough to keep the US economy going. Also depending on which party is in charge, the US may nuke some of its enemies. The gov will probably think that a zombie apocalypse will open up the US to a first strike so we should strike first.

The state and local gov will probably try to save as many people as possible. Normal disaster response would be to evacuate but with a nation wide disaster there would be no place to evac to, at least in the beginning. So the order would be to "stay home and lock your doors". Of course that doesn't mean people wont try to leave anyway. The state gov will try to keep the power and water flowing to the cities so most of the national guard will be at those sites. That leaves the local govs to protect the people. By then the local govs will be the hardest hit and disaster relief will be slow. That means folks will be on their own for a while.

Where ever there is a large national guard presence, that's where refuges will go. So as well as protecting power plants and stuff like that, the national guard will have to protect and provide for the people too.

So I've used enough brainpower on this scenario and my head hurts.

[GeneTwo]

As of Chapter 29 we have additional information on how the government reacted in the We're Alive universe.

SPOILER 

Military bases are over run because commanders hesitate to have their troops fire on the zombies. The entire country goes silent within seven days of the outbreak. Only Fort Irwin and the City of Boulder, Colorado remain zombie free.

So Lesson 1 of what the Government should do during an Outbreak is order the troops to open fire!

People are totally irrational, and 10X so during times of stress. Watch the first third of Dawn Of The Dead from 1978 where normal people are fighting the cops to protect zombies. Your worried about the military shooting zombies, I would be more worried about reg folks shooting back.

[Loyal Retainer]

People are totally irrational, and 10X so during times of stress. Watch the first third of Dawn Of The Dead from 1978 where normal people are fighting the cops to protect zombies. Your worried about the military shooting zombies, I would be more worried about reg folks shooting back.

You are absolutely correct. A person is a rational being, but people in a group are irrational. Look at any major disaster and you will see this. Even if the government does issue a statement I would find it hard to believe that people as a whole would listen. They will do what they think is in their best interest. There would be wide spread looting and that would draw away forces (whether local law enforcement or military troops) from the real problem at hand. I would like to believe are government would act in the interest of the public, but realistically they would fall back on COG (Continuity of Government). The people who would be responsible for reconstructing America would all be whisked away to some bunker leaving the average joe to fend for themselves. Also, the military is not prepared for something like a ZA. They are trained to shoot center mass at targets that are carrying weapons and seen as a direct threat to them. One would need some well trained and disciplined units that would be willing to shoot unarmed civilians whether they realized how dangerous a zombie populace is or not (and make those shots count).

[Drogon Malice]

put thier head between thier legs and kiss thier bum good bye

[reaper239]

i don't think it would get that far. zombies are so mainstream right now that when that miami thing went viral the internets exploded with one word- zombieattack! ok so two words crammed together, the point is, people know what zombies are, and to aim for the head. barring a we're alive style
outbreak, i don't think it will go that far.