It would seem that Norm Olson’s claim of a lack of committed interest in citizen soldiery would support the recent Free Press article. Although I have only been around for a short time, and can’t vouch for previous interest, my experience indicates and increase. I have seen several new people come, and have witnessed none leaving. The April training at Camp Stasa’s alone brought out several new faces, including one from out of state looking to form a group in his home area.
The training started its normal way with the two-mile hike, incorporating some basic hand and arm signals and infantry movements along the way. Various shooting drills followed the hike. A couple of the newcomers had weapons which they had never fired, so some of the old-timers helped familiarize them with their new best friend. The basics of sighting in, loading, and shooting positions were discussed, along with a lengthy, but beneficial question and answer session.
Even though I had trained with my weapon many times, I realized just how ignorant I was. Sitting in on the "newbies" being instructed really taught me a lot. Accuracy and confidence were improved greatly after I made several changes to my own techniques.
After getting the new weapons zeroed and sighted in, we did several exercises familiarizing ourselves with the way our weapon behaves using battlefield zero at different distances.
Several long-range simulations using scaled targets were also performed. These simulations will soon be a thing of the past as Nick began the project of opening up the range to about 200 yards this weekend.
Our next shooting drill, my favorite, was the Four Pin Stress Fire Shoot. This drill is my favorite, because it incorporates several necessary skills: speedy target assessment at different distances, running at the ready, quickly finding and taking cover, marksmanship, and if you purposely only load a few rounds to start with, quickly reloading. This drill, and several others, can be found in the new booklet, "Tactical Weapon Drills." I recommend that everybody out there get a copy of this book. Contact Lee at 313-581-1129, or Lee245@juno.com. You can also find this on the michiganmilitia.com web page. You can also pick this up at any meeting or training.
Ambush techniques then came up, and after being briefed by a more experienced member, several drills were performed. Our fire team ambushed and defeated several groups of objectives, then retreated from the area using basic bounding overwatch strategies. The drill was first carried out using steady, controlled fire, which eliminated eleven targets with only twenty rounds. At the request of a newcomer, we repeated our exercise with extremely fast rapid fire, which eliminated 11 targets with about 70 rounds, in twice the time. You can guess which method is more desirable. although the newcomer had a bit more fun the second time around, he learned a lesson. Unskillfully burning up large amounts of ammo only insures defeat, so get the above book and practice, practice, practice.
Before long dusk set in and camp began slowing down as people prepared to bed down and eat dinner. Still wound up from the day’s activities, I convinced one of the guys to go on a nigh time security patrol of the property. Maneuvering at night compared to day is as different as, well, night and day. A different set of rules apply, and after being briefed, we were off.
Since most of my experience is during the day, this was practice that I gravely needed. I learned a lot, much of which can be applied to other patrol situations and maneuvering.
Every time I go out to train I learn several invaluable lessons, and hone the things I already know. This weekend in particular, was most valuable. The amount of information taken in by different persons was amazing. We must all stay humble to learn and develop new skills. Thinking you already know everything and being arrogant will get you killed on the battlefield. A truly wise man admits his ignorance.
Open your mind, get your ass out here, and help us prove that Norm is wrong. It’s your right, no-it’s your duty. -AH
