page 2Snow Dog 2006
page 2
In the middle of winter
The trees are bare and the bears are hibernating
The only sound in the forest
Is the sound of snow heard crashing to the ground
And in the middle of loving
I hope you'll find a place in your heart for them
They really can't do us any harm
It is only us who can do harm to them
-Zebra "Bears"
...Continued
Two full squads...The "Tiny Tot" Ammo sled....and ANOTHER .50 caliber....
After the walk, we had a couple of guys cruise over into the "Griffin's Den" to dry off. The guys did a good job of keeping the tent warm throughout the weekend. Normally I would rail against such comfort, but we want to avoid anyone getting ill. This also served as a drying point for any socks, jackets, or sleeping bags that needed to be draped and dried. According to weather.com, it got down to FIVE degrees Fahrenheit overnight Saturday. An even slightly damp bag could, in this instance, be fatal. Cold weather training can be fun, but it is not a joke.
Above: A dry bag is critical...US extreme cold bag hanging in The Griffin's Den
We were also fortunate to have an overqualified medical crew on hand. At least two EMTs, one Paramedic, and of course, "Doc" were all on hand, supplemented by several Red Cross qualified First-Aid providers. In addition, two well-equipped support vehicles capable of setting up mobile aid stations were also on hand. The medical aspect of militia preparedness was well-covered. If we had a similar turn-out from Amateur radio operators, we would have really been sharp. (Of course, if some of the rest of us would just GET our amateur radio licenses...)
As folks continued to roll in, we had the distinct joy of witnessing "The Tiny Tot Ammo Transport Sled", which was really only big enough to carry three ammo cans, but worth the effort if you don't want to carry them on your back. Again, the sleds were not a pressing need, because the snow wasn't deep enough to prevent normal marching, but they made moving extra gear, like sleeping set-ups or extra ammo, a lot easier.
Tiny Tot Ammo Sled Thumper's Sled, with shelter and sleeping gear.
At this point, we broke down into thirds: Two line squads, and a training team, and a support team. First Squad, with Wagon Wheel as squad leader, and Jester and Tin Man as team leaders, headed out along the road to practice tactical movement, hand and arm signals, and crossing a danger area. Second Squad, led by Bishop, with Mak9 and Razor67 as team leaders, headed off into the woods to practice bounding, hand and arm signals, and inter-squad commo.
Left: First Squad on tactical march. Right: Second Squad rallies in the woods.
On the range, Cpl. Punishment and Super Six worked on getting some folks dialed in. The support team worked on setting up a scheme for a medical evacuation drill. All in all, this moment was one of the busiest and most dynamic that I have seen. The Medic even accused me have having a "militia-gasm" at this point. It was cool.
Only by looking
at the various camouflage patterns at different ranges can we consider their
effectiveness. Again, some mix of white pattern with other darker colors seems
to be best. If you look very closely at either picture above, we can see that
snow pants with a darker camo top worked best. In any event, the mixed
camouflage patterns indicate the
presence
of an irregular, most likely militia, unit. It looks cool, too. One enterprising
member simply used a can of gray spray paint on a plain white top, with
effective results.
Homemade camo, plain white with darker accents, or even a Ghillie suit will work.
Following the squad movements, lunch was served: Kielbasa with beans. A guest from Ohio even brought along some fantastic southwest style mustard, which got rave reviews (What other militia web page provides you with condiment reviews? Hmmmm?) from the assembled masses. (This mustard is available at Meijer's.)
Left: Snow Dogs (get it? Ha ha...) Right: Bore-sighting the new .50
While we were feeding, Barrett set up and bore-sighted his new....Barrett .50 cal rifle. Pale Rider and Bullet were instrumental in this process. I feared that this might be disruptive to our schedule, and it ultimately was. But it was a damn fine disruption about which nobody complained. Seriously, who would complain about getting to shoot a .50 cal? That's what we thought, too....
After lunch, one squad headed out to do a medical evacuation drill, and the rest of the folks got some valuable range time. Basically, we had everybody shoot a single string of ten rounds at 100 yards. Any position was allowed except from the bench, because the bench is evil, and we hate it. The whole purpose of this was to try and get some time online for the folks who sometimes do not get to squeeze off a round or two. It also gave a few of us some RSO time.
Above: Medevac drill, compete with medics and security.
Above: Squad movement. Note camouflage effectiveness.
Please note that your presence at Camp Stasa constitutes an automatic waiver of liability. By being there, just by being there, you agree that you can not, and will not hold Frank Stasa, Stasa Farms, or anyone else liable for injury, harm, or sadness that may befall you while at the camp, range or anywhere on the property. Them's the rules. If you disagree with this automatic waiver of liability, please indicate this by not showing up.
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