Zombie Squad History
Zombie Squad was created in St. Louis, Missouri in the summer of 2003. After watching the British horror movie 28 Days Later, a group of friends began discussing how they would prepare for a viral pandemic which turned massive segments of the global population into zombies, which in turn led to a discussion of other zombie movies and what these friends would have done differently in the same situations. This was the initial inspiration for Zombie Squad. <ref></ref>
The stated goal of the organization is to present disaster preparedness in a manner which allows for serious exploration of multiple worst-case scenarios, while still maintaining a sense of humor and remaining grounded in non-disaster life. ZS combines a large online presence via its Internet forums with community service]] and charity event participation to spread its message.
Since the initial conception of the organization in 2003, ZS has grown into a small cult phenomenon with thousands of members all over North America and members in countries all over the world, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Philippines, and Serbia among others. The success may be due in part to the synergy between two phenomena that have emerged in the new millennium: A resurgence of zombies in pop culture, with hit video games (Resident Evil franchise, Dead Rising, Stubbs the Zombie) and films (28 Days Later, Resident Evil series, Dawn of the Dead '04, Shaun of the Dead, Land of the Dead) combined with a renewed interest in disaster preparedness in the wake of natural disasters (2004 Tsunami in Indonesia, Hurricane Katrina) and high profile terrorist attacks (failed millennium plots, 9/11, 3/11, and the 2005 London bombings).
Zombie Squad's strict organizational refusal to adopt any one ideological stance has also helped to create a community which is open to people from all backgrounds and walks of life. This has also helped draw members who see the value in some measure of disaster preparedness but did not relate well to other survival enthusiast organizations.
Despite Zombie Squad's tongue-in-cheek nature, the members of the organization bring a surprising amount of experience ranging from civilian American Red Cross disaster response volunteers and emergency ham radio enthusiasts to professionally trained paramedics, firefighters and military personnel.<ref></ref>