OPERATION TACTICAL SKILLET: NOVEMBER 2006
04 November, 2006....boo-yah!
Very Important Pre-training Meeting, Quick and Dirty AQT training, and a smooth-o-riffic hand and arm signal training segment...Yep, whatever you were doing, it couldn't have been as cool as this.....
Okay, we very rarely spend training time on administratical stuff, but this was the best time to get our L2 and above people assembled to get a start on developing a more effective structure, and prepare The SMVM for growth and development. We don't want to get into too much about this meeting, but you should see some results here pretty soon.
Then we rolled into a round of Quick and Dirty AQT. The AQT drills are put out by Fred of Fred's M14 Stocks and More. Fred rocks!!! We can think of very few people who are as ferociously dedicated toward developing a nation of accurate rifleman as Fred. Here, we take a moment to salute Fred, and to urge you all to visit his web site, and read his columns in The Shotgun News. Most importantly, most importantly of all, take his words to heart, get a good rifle, and get some rounds into some targets.
Quick and Dirty AQT drills, second group shooting. Impressive gun soiree.
Left, uber-scary militia guy. Right, checking the targets.
Fastmover, left, had the best score, followed by Bishop. Note that they both used M1A rifles. You can see the Quick and Dirty AQT target being held by Fastmover. Also worth mentioning is Hunter's excellent shooting with his bolt action Mauser. It is possible that the extra time taken by Hunter to work his bolt allowed him to acquire a better sight picture. Still, he shot well. He also has created a sight adjustment tool from bicycle parts.
Hunter, foreground, working the bolt. Right, the homemade sight tool. Yeah, it rocks.
The AQT, very roughly, consists of quick fire drills directed against four sets of targets, each set progressively smaller. We shot from standing, kneeling, and prone positions, including two reloading drills. This was the condensed, Quick and Dirty version which is contained on a single target. The full version consists of several target sheets. We are seriously considering including at least the quick version in some sort of advanced qualification, such as Level 2 or 3. We aren't going to post any scores, each shooter knows how he or she scored. The top scorers each bagged a nifty prize.
Your rifle may, some day, be your best friend. We don't have lots of range time available, and we are always looking for ways to best use this time to increase our effectiveness. This drill, which can be worked through in a few short minutes, is a good way to measure your abilities, and a good way to measure your improvement.
After this excellent drill, which was skillfully directed by Black Jack (yes, he also shot the drill), we went over our scores, and the possibility of doing this on a regular basis. There is a small cost associated with these targets, so come to the next meeting and throw your spare change into a bucket for them.
We then were given a class by Fastmover regarding basic formations and hand and arm signals. He took the effort to research and print up some nice booklets to hand out for this.
Left, Fastmover, Bishop and Doc. Right, Hunter providing rear security.
The simple formations that were covered included the line, the wedge, and the file. We went over when and why these are used. FM 7-8 covers a lot of this, and should be required reading for all militia persons. Movement as a fire team will be assessed during fire team and squad evaluation (I TOLD you that we had a good meeting before training....). Seriously, understanding the hows and whys of tactical movement is a requirement for small-unit leaders. Being able to control your movement, and knowing how and when to use your hand signals, is important.
We also covered a handful of hand and arm signals, most of which are simple to understand, and if you get a signal that you don't understand, then we learned a signal for that, too. You can do a Google search for military hand and arm signals, or click here. Note: Signals from US Army FM 5-10. There may be some minor variations in signals from other branches, but the best thing to do is come out and see what we use, and get an idea.
I worked on qualifying a new member from The ECVM area, who checked out okay, did the walk in rather quick time, and hit 10/10 with a spiffy Bushmaster AR on the first attempt. Call sign is pending, and his info will be forwarded to the proper ECVM staff.
Whilst I did that, Bishop took a squad into the field, and practiced some movements and formations.
Left, Fastmover covers movement. Right, mid-movement discussion.
Left, a tight 360. Right, Mad Hatter letting Holly shoot his Kel-Tec Sub 2000 .40 cal.
Following this, there was a bit of open shooting, including Mad Hatter letting photography student Holly try her hand with his Kel-Tec Sub 2000 .40 cal (she shot well). This is a nice, foldable carbine which would make an excellent backpack type gun. It uses Glock magazines (there is a version in 9mm, also).
Note: When press people, photographers, or anyone of this ilk comes out, we try to make them feel welcome, and we like to let them shoot something. Holly has chosen us as a project for her photography class, and we think this is kind of neat. She is cool about not taking pictures of your face, if you ask her. She also has furnished us with a very nice set of prints from a previous training, and for this we are very grateful. (Thanks, Holly!) We will have these at the December 6th public meeting. She will be with us for several more months. If the thought of a photographer being on site disturbs you, then wear some better camo. (You should wear some, anyway.)
Following this, most folks rolled out and enjoyed the rest of their Saturday. Further discussion regarding the previously mentioned meeting continued for a while. More work is being done to make The SMVM tighter and more efficient.
You are all encouraged to come along and participate. There may someday be a time when our communities need reasonably-trained, dedicated militia folks.
So, until next time, find some happiness to wrap yourself in, collect some more smiles, and keep your rifle clean.
