OPERATION BAKLAVA

    Saturday, October 7th, 2006. Camp Stasa, Michigan. Sunny and about 60 degrees F. Very, very slight breeze. Occasional yellow jackets.

   The Pioneers were finishing up their class for the year, we had a new L1 qualifier from Wayne County (and she used an AK!), some brief, yet interesting classes on the G3, the AR-15, and some casualty evacuation techniques. We also participated in a couple of intense courses of fire, and Militiamedic was our cook. All in all, this was a decent militia day.

   When we arrived, a couple (I love it when couples do things together...) was shooting to qualify. She (C4) qualified with her AK variant, and he fell just short with his M1A1. We are positive that he will make it next time out. C4 is only the fourth person to qualify with an AK type, and the first woman to do so. Way to go, C4!

    We had a class on the civilian version of the H and K G3, covering its operation, function, and effectiveness. Overall, if you can afford one, at about half the cost of an M1A1, they can provide a decent, fairly accurate .308 punch. Be careful about buying a "parts gun" that is slapped together by some drunken monkeys. Just do your research before buying one, with the G3, or with any rifle. There is plenty of information available online, or you can come to a meeting, a training session, or even e-mail us with your questions.

    This was followed by some instruction of simple emergency casualty evacuation. Matt, being a Paramedic in Detroit, passed along some of his experience and familiarity with ways you can snatch someone out of a dangerous situation with just your hands. One important thing to remember, is to consider what caused this person to be a casualty in the first place, and avoid becoming one yourself.

    This was followed by a class on the AR-15....It's very likely that you will encounter one of these in your militia travels. The benefits of the AR-15 are that it is accurate, lightweight, and has endless accessories and variant options. The downside is that as it is such a precisely manufactured piece of equipment, it requires frequent and diligent maintenance and care. Many also call into question the effectiveness of the .223 round. If you have not had the opportunity to handle one of these, and to learn a bit more about one, please ask at the next training.

    We then participated in a couple of interesting and effective shooting drills. After a class by Black Jack regarding the scope and purpose of delaying actions by very small units or two-man teams, we then went downrange to put the lessons to the test.

    Black Jack posted some targets on the backstop, while not permitting the shooters to watch. (See above picture. No, the militia was not just chilling out, they were sitting facing away from the range, to prevent premature target identification.) The targets, see below, consisted of targets scaled to represent about a platoon of invading soldiers at about 300-400 meters. Instead of the same targets, they represented officers, radio operators (my favorite), and regular troopers. The firing line operated as shooters with spotters. The drill consisted of the spotters identifying which targets were of higher priority, and directing the shooters. This was repeated several times with only two or three rounds per string. Black Jack continued to stress that fire should be accurate, deliberate, and destructive. This rules out the "spray-and-pray" method that some embrace.

    The final drill was a two person shoot, with both the spotter and shooter engaging the group of enemy soldiers with three shots each, then clearing their weapons, and withdrawing at full sprint back no less than fifty yards. Black Jack made sure that each drill contains a high degree of realistic stress. Without much fanfare, it might be worth mentioning that Team One, with Irish and Weapon M, scored six hits out of six shots. Four of these shots, however, seemed to hit the scaled officer target. Target selection is important, and we can't all aim at the enemy officers.

    It was mentioned after the running withdrawal, that the time to get into shape for this type of engagement, that requires serious running, is now, today, right now. Run fifty or a hundred yards with your gear and see what we mean.

    This is the type of shooting drill that will be incorporated into future training: interesting, fun, and valuable. While we tend to stress slow, accurate fire, sometimes you are forced into shooting quickly.

    This was followed (yeah, it does seem like a lot of stuff, and I left early...) by an intense class about effective .30cal rifles, along with their advantages, disadvantages, and quirks. From a super ultra accurized sniper rifle of doom, down to an old '03 Springfield bolt-action, the .30-'06 and the 300 Win Mag were included in the discussion of effective long range...very long range...rifles. No one is suggesting that you pick up a three-thousand dollar rifle package, but if you are seriously considering longer range homeland defense, the rifles that were discussed merit serious consideration.

    It was a good day, and hopefully we will add more to this report when we hear from some of the folks who stayed later.

    Until next time, train hard, cuddle close, and live free.

   -Weapon M

PS: If you wait 25 years or so for some baklava, it will be as good as you imagined.