A CB with SSB will give you better range than the more common AM CB radios, and given decent antennas on both ends, and decent topology between you, 12 miles is reasonable.

A much better option would be to consider investing some time and getting your ham ticket. You'd have a wealth of communications options from local to worldwide. There is a learning curve, but, it's a lot easier now that they have eliminated the morse code requirement.

You can find good info on Amateur Radio at www.arrl.org

The Cobra is a decent radio as CB's go. My first radio as a kid was a Cobra 138. Still, once you get a taste of having many different bands and modes on the amateur bands, you'll find that the CB is not a very reliable communications service for anything but very short haul use. (Unless of course, we're at the peak of a sunspot cycle, and you're running a big linear amp with it, then you could talk skip worldwide. With an Amateur ticket, you could do that legally on many bands with a modest setup.)

Whatever you choose, it's good that you're thinking about communications with friendlies during difficult scenarios.

73's, N1GFS