U.S. military training for potential zombie apocalypse…uh, what?

Is there something I should know about? Why is the U.S. military preparing for a zombie apocalypse?

Beginning today, Halloween of all days, the U.S. Marines and Navy special-ops forces will conduct a training mission in which the scenario is that of a zombie apocalypse. And no, this is not a joke.

"This is a very real exercise," Brad Barker, president of the Halo Corp. security company, told the Associated Press. "This is not some type of big costume party."

For today and tomorrow, zombies will "invade" Paradise Point Resort, a 44 acre area on an island that will be transformed with "Hollywood-style sets, including a Middle Easter village and a pirate cove."

Over 1,000 U.S. military personnel, police, and state and federal government officials will be tasked with responding.

“No doubt when a zombie apocalypse occurs, it’s going to be a federal incident, so we’re making it happen,” Barker added. This is all set to take place at Halo's annual Counter-Terrorism Summit security conference, modeled in part on a public-service campaign that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched last year which warned that U.S. citizens should be prepared in the event of a zombie outbreak. And if you've been to our site in the past few days, you may have seen that a zombie outbreak really can happen! (and here's how).

Barker also admitted that the scenario was created to "add some levity to the more-dire scenarios summit-goers will encounter," such as terrorist attacks.

“No one knows what the zombies will do in our scenario, but quite frankly, no one knows what a terrorist will do,” Barker explained. “If a law-enforcement officer sees a zombie and says, ‘Freeze, get your hands in the air!’ what’s a zombie going to do? He’s going to moan at you. If someone on PCP or some other psychotic drug is told that, the truth is he’s not going to react to you.”

So how does one prepare for a zombie outbreak? Actually, it's quite similar to preparing for any other natural disaster. The CDC recommends stocking up on water (one gallon per person per day), food (nonperishable items you eat regularly), tools like duct tape, a battery-powered radio, and blankets. I recommend having a machete or some sort of silent weapon that won't create noise and you won't have to stop to reload.

If the U.S. military is preparing for a zombie outbreak, then you should too. Do you think you are ready to survive a zombie apocalypse?