Operation: Center Mass

Saturday, April 20, 2002
Camp Stasa, Michigan

On Saturday, April 20th, 2002, several elements of the Michigan
Militia, including members from the Wayne County and Macomb County Brigades, deployed to Camp Stasa to train.

This having been the third consecutive weekend at Camp Stasa, many of
us (myself included) were experiencing a bit of "militia burnout", but
since a new couple from Eaton County had expressed an enthusiastic desire to
complete Level One, several of us felt an obligation to attend and help
them with this. This is what it is about, pushing along despite the
burnout, to get more folks qualified and ready to go.

We also enjoyed the company of a UPN50/Channel 62 reporting crew, including the lovely Suraya Patel. Any time that we can display to the public that we are just decent ordinary folks, via the press, we should. Any press is good press, we reckon. (For those of you who have complained about "going public" or "talking to the media", you are suggesting that we surrender the opportunity to reach out to more people. I would suggest that you go back into your basement, and wait for the helicopters, shhh, they are over your head right now...)

We spent the early morning, sighting in a few things, and trying to
figure out the best method of attaching my .357 to my web gear. It
simply didn't work worn on my regular belt, under my gear, so we stuck it on my left suspender, where it is easy to reach, and, also importantly, it looks cool. I will have to get some actual speed-loader carriers, because the compass pouch did not provide the easy access that I require.

We conducted a briefing, and a gear check. The couple from Eaton County, who had attended the Tax Blast the previous weekend, showed up with the right gear (including a nice set of his & her AR15s), and more importantly, the damn right attitude.

Following the check we started the walk. Everyone made it in time, except for the very foolish diabetic who hadn't eaten that day, and experienced a nice round of hypoglycemia. Thanks for the meal tabs, Lou, and I owe you guys another mile.

Then the shooting began. The newer gentleman, Lawrence, was shooting nice groups, but needed a bit of adjustments to his sights. On his second try, he nailed 8 out of 10, including a very nice, tight, 2-inch group. This is good shooting, and I am impressed. (He also has a new .45, with which he practices for NEXT YEAR'S Tax Blast. Okay, I am doing the last same with my .357. You folks should start on this as well...)

Jennifer also shot her new AR, and with after some excellent coaching from BR, she got 9 out of 10. She had an excellent attitude,displaying patience and perseverance, which are both outstanding qualities to have in the militia.

Ta-Da!! Two new armed, equipped, and qualified people, in a new county. Could be the start of a unit up there...we'll see.

Then we did some more close range drills, with the nifty bowling pins. I have my .357 pretty well sighted in. The other folks seemed to be hitting okay, as well.

We even got the reporters to shoot, so they could 1. See how fun recreational shooting is. and 2. See that guns are not evil things, they are just tools.

It was a good time, even with it being the week after Tax Blast. We had a good session with the reporters, two new qualified people from Eaton County, and a lot of fun pistol drills.

Hopefully, we will have a much bigger turn out on May the 4th, again at Camp Stasa. If we have enough folks, we will set up a defensive perimeter, and do some tactical movement training. If you are unable to do this, come on out, we will find something for you.

We look forward to seeing you out there. With the active duty military and even National Guard being sent overseas, we, the citizens, could end up being the big dog guarding the porch. Take this seriously, folks,because it is.

-Lee