We arrived to a wet, soggy Camp Stasa for weekend training Saturday morning September 23. It had rained the night before, leaving the road between the fields much to desire. Frank made a comment before we headed out to the Base Camp and range area to the effect of, "Just don't go in the ditch, because then I have to get the BIG tractor out..." Happily, we made it through with minimal slipping.

With winter coming up, and the up and coming mock snow emergency for Operation Ice Griffin in January, we needed to get a field hospital in place for any winter (mock or real) emergencies that may arise. A large expandable tent, about the size of a GP Small had been donated to Camp Stasa some months before, but it was missing the frame. This called for some creative engineering. We began by unpacking the tent to get an idea of its size. We spread it out and paced it off, then went to scout the area where it would be set up.

The tent was then taken (dragged) to the winter camp area and we searched for the "right" spot. We hoisted and fashioned it to get a better idea of how it all went together, as there were three main pieces. It looked pretty sad, but it gave us a good picture of the scope of the project we were about to undertake.

About this time, another militia member arrived to help out. The spot was decided on parallel to the 100-yard marker for the range so that the new camp area doesn't cause problems with people shooting. Ladders, hammers, rope and other supplies were scrounged-up including a very large, very heavy I-beam for the main support.

While the guys were getting the I-beam into position, a couple of my kids went off to play. They took a "short-cut" through one of the fields and found it was a little muddier than they thought. Suddenly, Samantha comes running into camp shouting that Alex is stuck in the mud. We venture out to his position to see that he is in the mud up to his knees, and he is quite concerned. While Nick was pulling him out, Alex thought he was going to lose his shoe, so he jerked his foot up at the last minute and sent both he and Nick into the mud again. Nick got him out and we went back to camp and took a short break to get everyone changed and cleaned up.

After that little diversion, we got back to work on the tent. Frank and John came out to see the progress and offer some help. He made some mental notes, went over the area with the guys, then went to the barn to get the power tools. He took out some small trees and cleaned up the area around the tent. That man works a chainsaw like Beethoven at the piano, it is truly an art.

It was getting late, so we called it quits for the evening and got settled in for the night. The light rain throughout the day had subsided, so we had a dry, quiet evening.

Next morning, we got back to work and finished the setup of the tent. Frank brought out some hay bales for insulation around the inside, and a kerosene heater until we get a wood burning stove to put in its place.

While they were doing that, I took Alex to the range to shoot his new rifle (a birthday present). It is a single shot Rossi .22 with an interchangeable barrel for a .410. Alex wanted to get a feel for it, so we did some sighting-in. He had a good time, and was very pleased with his new rifle. He proudly announced that "THIS is the rifle I'm going to carry on the 2-mile walk." He is eager to try to qualify for Level 1 even though he is just 8 years old. And you know, I bet he does it!

At the end of the day, the tent was up and tightened down, it had several hay bales inside, a heater for those cold nights, and lots of room. Everyone was pleased and tired. Frank suggested we come out again next weekend to get some more of the area cleaned-up, and get the tent stabilized more. We'll see you there!

- Kristin

Yep, we went to Camp Stasa again to get some more done on what has now been "officially" named The Griffin's Den.

We arrived on Saturday morning, September 30 to cool, perfect autumn weather. A couple of militia guys were already there waiting for us (we were a bit late today...). We checked out the Griffin's Den (tent) to see how it held up over the past week. It was in great shape, only needing some tie-down lines tightened up.

The work this weekend consisted of cleaning up the forested area for more campsites, firewood for winter camp as well as for Frank, and general trimming/cutting/chopping of fallen and dead trees.

Frank brought out two chainsaws and we began clearing a path so the big truck and the tractor could be brought through. Wood was cut and loaded into his truck, and as soon as a path was made, Frank brought in the tractor with the mower attachment and took down a lot of the brush and briars around the tent and throughout the winter camp area.

The tractor broke down and there was a break to make repairs. Frank and Nick went to the barn to fashion the part needed, then returned and replaced the broken part. While they did that, the rest of us were to load Frank's truck with firewood, as he had pointed out that, "I put those rails on the side of my truck for a reason..."

As the sun was setting, another militia member arrived and was surprised at the size of the new winter camp, and how well maneuverable it was. A couple of the members left due to commitments in the morning, and the rest of us set up camp for the night. My kids and I decided to "test drive" the Griffin's Den (with heater) and we stayed toasty and comfortable throughout the night.

The following morning began with an assessment of the Griffin Tree around which we made winter camp, and noted that there were some dead branches that needed trimmed, and there was a large dead branch dangling above the main area that needed removed.

Frank was out of town for the day, so DC got out his handy rope/chain saw and he and Nick tossed it up over the large dead branch and began to saw. This process took about half an hour, and it was cool to see these types of field implements being used successfully. The branch came down, and they moved on to the dead one high above the camp area. This one took a more creative route of tree trimming to get down, and they succeeded without any problems.

I went down range to do some sighting-in and practice with my pistol, which has frustrated me lately, and was told I should try different ammo in the pistol to see if I get better results. That is my goal for next training; to get different ammo and try again.

Shooting your guns is just one aspect of training. It's not just about shooting and maneuvers, but also about getting winter camp set up now - BEFORE winter hits, trying field implements now to see if they actually work and how well, and truly working as a unit helping each other to get the job done. It was another productive training with tangible results. Maybe next time, I'll see you there...

- Kristin

Training this weekend was actually scheduled to take place at the Badlands, but we were informed that the Badlands would be closed for hunting season. So in lieu of not training, we opted to go to Camp Stasa.

The weather reports were not what we'd like to see for training, predicting rain, snow and temperatures in the mid 30's to the high at only 40 degrees, but that's part of training - dealing with whatever is thrown at you, including bad weather. Weather like this always reminds me of Thomas Paine who said it best in The American Crisis I, "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

Our crew arrived Friday afternoon and we walked the area check to see how everything held up. Again, we were pleased that all was well. Frank had been though during the week and had done some more mowing and had taken down a few more trees that were in need of removal. We got a fire started in our new winter camp fire-ring, and thus it was officially adopted as the new spot.

The young-uns and Nick and I slept in the Griffin's Den again, this time making note of what needed done to keep out the drafts and get it winterized.

In the morning, Lee arrived along with another militia member, and took a "tour" of the area. It met with his approval. The guys went up to the barn to get some tools, and the work began. We were also doing repairs this weekend to get ready for the "UN Blast" shooting competition to take place in two weeks on October 21-22. Table tops needed replaced for the pin shoot, the cross members needed checked on the target stand, and some general cleaning up needed done.

More members arrived, and some of the guys filled sandbags for both the Griffin's Den as well as to implement some hasty fighting positions, while the others did some more tree trimming. The wood we were going to use for the table tops was too warped, so we used it to build a wind break for the winter camp fire-ring area.

We discovered a colony of large black ants which were quickly "frozen" in place due to the cold temperature. My wagon came in handy to move sandbags to the tent where they were put around the outer skirt-flap to keep it tucked down as well as keep out drafts.

One of the guys also brought out a handy little camp saw tool that I liked; I was able to use it quite effectively to cut some of the smaller branches for the fire, as well as help clear the entrenchment area for the hasty fighting positions of small roots, trees and branches that may be tripped on or could take out an eye or other vital organ. Got to get me one of those...

My son found a small tree that was perfect for a catapult, so I helped him fashion a rope net to hold the object to be thrown - in this case, a rock. He and his sister had a lot of fun flinging rocks at targets away from camp. They got it to go anywhere from 10-20 feet. They learned that where they stood to pull the catapult back determined the direction the rock would be thrown. They also learned that if you pulled the catapult too far down, the rock would fly almost directly up into the air and come back down on you.

We had a special visitor on Saturday from the Alabama Militia, Lee Roberson who was the Drill Team Captain for Brass Roots in 1995. He was also in the Michigan Militia until he transferred down south. Lee was a very helpful extra set of hands. He helped us throughout the afternoon and after a late lunch, he bade us "farewell". We will definitely miss him, and hope that he can come back again soon.

That was the end of another good day, and we all settled in for a windy, cold night. Mike realized that he needed a better sleeping bag before winter really set in, and we realized that the Griffin's Den needs a wood-burning stove versus a kerosene heater for the really frigid weather.

The next morning, Lee & Mike did some more digging out of the hasty fighting positions before they had to go. At this point, the kids announced that they needed a tire swing, so while they picked out the right tire for it, Nick and Denis got the rope up. Before long, a new workable kid-approved tire swing was in place. It kept them busy all day while the guys did some more cutting and cleaning of trees.

A couple more members showed up and donated several items for the tent. Walt & Sherry brought out four bags of cypress mulch for the floor of the tent (good for keeping out insects), a candle-powered lantern with replacement candles, some tools, extra toilet paper (always handy), and other miscellaneous goodies. Although they couldn't stay long this time, they assured us they'd be back for the next round. Thanks guys!

And from our freaky furry animal department: while the kids and I were relaxing in the tent late in the afternoon, I heard a scurrying sound and thought nothing of it when suddenly, a little chipmunk darted out from behind the hay bale I was leaning against. It proceeded to run across the tops of the bales around the perimeter of the tent and out a little spot in the far corner by the tent stake. Samantha screamed bloody murder, Alex was trying to catch it, and the youngest 2-year-old wasn't sure what just happened. I was laughing so hard at the whole situation that I didn't even move. Upon recovery, thought was given to keeping out the little furry creatures so they don't make nests in the hay. My first instinct is to bring out my cat who is an excellent "mouser", but I don't think he'd like the travel, so I'll have to give that one some further thought.

It was getting late in the day, so Nick and Denis finished clearing the area they were working on. I was dog tired, as was Nick, so we headed back to the yucky city after another great weekend at Camp Stasa. As we headed out, Denis went to the range to get some target practice in. He felt that after a day of hard physical labor, it was a good time to do some stress fire.

We now have a winter camp complete with hasty fighting positions, an emergency tent with heater, a fire-ring with windbreak, and several stacks of cut wood to get us through a good part of the winter.

Come out and check out all the cool stuff at Camp Stasa when you come to the shooting competition on October 21 & 22. See you there! And hey - If you don't train, don't complain.

- Kristin