A couple of friends from Ohio also attended this session. The weather was good, warm and sunny.

We started out with the typical function check of weapons. This is like a "test fire" to guarantee that the rifles will function as needed. There was some slight feed problems with an STG-58, a rifle with which I was not familiar.

Following this function check, two of us did the full blown camouflage thing. This included adding bits of local foliage to our gear and/or uniforms. (If you were there, you might argue that I didn't add a "bit" of anything, and that the poor tree will probably not recover for a long time....) Camouflage is something you should practice whenever you can, it does not cost you a lot to do it right, and it can cost you everything if you don't. Check out the "Camouflage Self And Gear" handout at our next meeting, we might have a few left....

Then we did a movement. This time we let different people take turns leading the squad-sized element. Even people who claimed that they didn't know what they were doing got to lead. This is the best way to learn. Again, as usual, the FRS radios proved to be a very valuable asset, especially in dense brush, where visual contact cannot always be maintained.

Thanks to the fellas from Ohio, who brought plenty of snacks and Gatorade, which they generously shared with some of the rest of us.

We then proceeded to do a two-person version of our four pin shoot. The idea is the same as the one person drill, but there are more pins, and movement is done by two-person buddy team. The idea is to develop communication and trust. You must trust your partner to keep the "enemy's" head down while you are moving, and vice-versa. I was disappointed with the lack of yelling back and forth, but we can develop that. It is also important not to fire while you are actually moving, for safety's sake, and also for accuracy's sake. You just will not hit a target while running. Let your partner shoot while you are moving, and then you can cover him while he moves.

The STG-58 had some feed problems, and we wouldn't leave it alone until we had the issue resolved. Eventually, it was determined that the rounds were not feeding properly from the left side of certain mags. After a bit of adjustment to these mags with a leatherman-type pocket tool, they worked much better. We are talking about thousandths of an inch here, but it made all the difference.

The STG-58 is an Austrian-designed .308 semi-auto rifle.

We almost always see some new, exotic rifle at these trainings (except in some cases, we see OLD exotic weaponry). Invariably, we cluster around and say, "Oooh, ooh, let me see." If you are an "ooh, ooh, let me see" type of person, you might want to show up at some of these training events.

Visit the web pages, come to the next meeting, or e-mail Lee at  for information on upcoming training events.