CAMP-O-RIFIC weekend report

Friday, August 3rd, 2002:
 
   Arrived Friday with Lou driving, and with Dewey (5), and Bubba (4) in tow. The boys were very geeked about camping. I threw up the tent, with help from Scrappy, and tried to get the boys ready for sleep. This was not easy.

   Lou set up his "Palace du Orient", complete with kerosene lanterns, tarp, and rice mat. This served as the meeting and classroom point for the whole weekend. Probably because it was very cool.

   The kids don't get to see many stars here in lovely Southwest Detroit, and they were at least briefly impressed (as was I). The Milky Way was even visible. We fed upon hot dogs and marshmallows, of course. BR arrived later, so he joined me, Scrappy, and Lou as we plotted and schemed and discussed secret militia stuff. Finally, both kids were asleep. This seemed like a good idea, so I joined them. It got down into the low 60's Friday night. This was perfect outdoor sleeping weather, period. Some of the rest stayed up into the night, and on into the morning, so all was secure.
 
Saturday, August 4th, 2002:
 
    Up around 0730 (this is sleeping in, as far as I am concerned..), Dewey was waking up, too, but The Bub needed some prodding from dear old Dad to join the ranks of the conscious. Payback can be a pain...The boys ate some hot dogs, pop tarts, marshmallows, and rinsed it all down with  juice boxes. (Those juice boxes seem to work well, as they don't require refrigeration, and the boxes are usually sturdy enough to lug around.)

    We then took a quick walk up and down the road. I guess from their perspective, it must have been quite a stroll, as Bubba asked me if we were on " a great adventure."

    Shortly thereafter, I led the boys back into the woods, looking for frogs (found one) and such. I also used this opportunity to scout out an objective for a drill later in the day. Most of the swampy area was dry, and this left good room for squad drills. The boys, of course, imagined themselves to be in some vast wilderness. Must be nice to be four or five, whereby any gathering of three or more trees constitutes "woods".

   Turns out that there was a CCW class also going on this day, but this gave us a chance to do some squad drills while they handled the shooting part. We are always gladly willing to yield the range to CCW classes. Citizens carrying handguns is an immensely important aspect of "Homeland Security". Plus, the gunfire from the class sounds really cool on the videotape of the drill.

   Some of the folks got in some function testing and bowling pin practice before the CCW range time. You have been warned several times that there are folks who practice over and over again for the sole purpose of winning the bowling pin shoot at next year's Tax Blast. Please take this into consideration when you schedule your time.

  For the two-mile walk, I decided to bring my boys along, to see how they could handle a moderate pace. I should know this, in case I have to drag them out somewhere. My five-year old son, Dewey, strolled along with no problem, whilst my younger son, Bubba, being of the hard-headed persuasion, caused me much sorrow and grief along the first mile. Both of the boys decided that they were merely going to go one mile. I did not argue, and once again, Scrappy stepped in to cover my brats, whilst I finished the walk.

   Now, two miles in under 40 minutes is not a terribly fast pace, even when you add your Level One gear. It is no free and easy leisurely stroll, but it is not a sprint, either. Well, it WASN'T. We had a dedicated (committed? should be??) member who ran the two miles in 22 minutes and 35 seconds, with gear. Now we all have something to shoot for, right? Your ability to flee, or pursue someone may be the deciding factor in combat.

   There was lots more going on, as Mr. Becker's .50 cal made an appearance, to ring out some thunder just prior to the CCW range time. We thank him for this, truly. He also brought his daughter along, which was cool, even if she didn't shoot the fifty.

   The Chuck Wagon showed up with his niece and nephew, Kylie and Christian. They were very pleasant youngsters, who got along with everyone, and helped roast more marshmallows for my boys. They also helped  Uncle Frank with cooking detail, which, except for the part about the purple ketchup, went splendidly well. The children shot safely and responsibly,  and young Christian even shot the 50. (Oddly, neither of my boys were interested in shooting at all. They were playing in dirt, and having a blast. I will bring my daughter Raven next time, as she is the true gun nut in the house. She's 2 years old.)

   In addition to the regular gang, the children, and Mr. Becker, we also were introduced to Rick from Eaton County, who brought along a nice Thompson Contender, with which he impressed the rest of us. Whether shooting from an improvised bipod, or from an inverted prone position, he held nice tight groups at 100 yards. This may be as close to a single handed sniper as you will ever see. Now, I want a Contender...

   After some grubbage, we camouflaged up and did a squad drill (two three man fire teams, with digital camera and camcorder support). The camo was so good that Bubba, who wanted a package of fruit snacks opened, could not tell who I was, and he bounced from one scary camo militia member to another, saying, "Daddy, can you open this?". It was a riot, and a true statement about effective camouflage. We have this on tape, too...

Prior to the drill, we did a sand-table type exercise on Lou's mat. Using rounds to demonstrate how each team was to move, we discussed what signals to used, and agreed upon predetermined events. The movement was conducted as "webespect enemy contact". ("Webespect" means that we can reasonably expect (or suspect) to make contact...you had to be there. You should have been.)

   So the drill went like this: Two teams bounded through the woods in search of an enemy position. When one team sighted the position, they covered for the second team to bound around and sweep across. Fire was initiated when the teams were more or less perpendicular, and the fire support team ceased fire at a predetermined time (after one magazine). It is good that we had agreed upon a predetermined time for this, because we could not have heard the radios if we had actually been shooting, and neither of the other signals (air horn, and whistle) worked.

 
   After Team Rabbit crossed the objective, Team Turtle swept across it, also, again ending up at a right angle to the first team.

   But then, Team Turtle spotted what looked to be a secondary position directly to their front. A hasty plan was arranged whereby each team left a security man behind, whilst they again swept across and secured this new objective, much as they did the first one. Once the new objective was clear, we fell back to search the original one. Now, a brief word about very long bolt-action rifles and searching objectives: This was funny to watch. A handgun would have come in handy for this close range operation. I am not one to knock the beauty of the smelly old bolt action rifle, but..damn. (We have this on tape, too)

   There was also an elevated section of this objective, which was climbed by Rabbit Team Leader, who was the lightest, and who also used his handgun to climb up and search.

    After this was all secure, we moved back to the rear for debriefing, being careful to avoid the trip wire which enhanced the landscape. When you encounter this, be sure to inform your fellow militia persons about it, or any other obstacles (like holes, for instance) which may injure the man behind you.

   Then some of the folks left, even though this was announced as CAMP-O-RIFIC. We were glad that they showed up, though. Hopefully we will have more folks next year. (First weekend in August. Bring the kids.)

   Lou practiced some more with his bike, doing a "roll up and blaze" maneuver, and then riding away. I WISH we had this on tape.

   Some of the guys did some tracer firing after it got dark. This was cool. While this was going on, I gave my boys a field expedient bath (Stand on this rock and let Dad dump this bucket of cold well water on your head...OK, stop screaming). Thanks to Lou for the extra soap and baby shampoo, and thanks to scrappy for encouraging me to scrub my kids. I guess it is good to know that this sort of thing can be done. Anyway, it helped the boys sleep soundly, right after I got the dragonfly out of the tent...
 
Saturday Night, August 4th - Sunday Morning, August 5th - Night Moves
 
   Late Saturday, probably more like early Sunday, four of us did some night drills, to see what needed work, and generally try to be sneaky about things. One thing I heard was somebody's pant legs "swishing" together. I am not sure what material these were made from. Also, in the dark, on the lighter colored road, our woodland type camo really stood out.
 
Lou rode his bike toward us along the road, and, although we could see him, his bike did not make a sound. After he headed back, we saw Scooby cruising along the field, silently, but again, standing out due to his darker camo on a dusty field. (I thought at first that this was the bike, somehow rolling through the field silently.) Scooby hid well, and me and BR could not see him where he stopped.
 
   After he caught us, the three of us walked quietly down the road and turned around. When it is dark like this, do not imagine that the "boogie man" is hiding in every shadow. Think instead that YOU are the boogie man. Let the shadows be afraid of you.
 
   Lou then fired up his Maglite, and signalled that he was rolling out to look for us. We hid well, quickly. Even just slightly into the brush, and we all vanished. He rolled up damn near to where we were, maybe no more than ten feet from me, but it was too dark, and we were too well camouflaged. Success!!! We then announced our locations, so he could check if he could see us. I had to wave my hand, almost, before he could be sure.
 
   He paid us back on the return walk, however, by lurking behind a dirt mound, and waiting. Busted! He caught us as we strolled by. This all shows that at night, everything is different, and ranges will probably be much closer than in the light. The only way you can check your night abilities is to go out and do stuff like this.
 
   It was after 1:30 in the morning, and time to hit the sack.
 
Sunday Morning - August 5
 
    Despite the fact that the weather radio had mentioned possible rain for Sunday AFTERNOON, the morning was windy and cloudy. It was seriously time to pack up, and quickly. If only it were possible to do this with a four and five year old. Thanks to our fellow Patriots, we eventually got stuff rolled up and loaded into Lou's truck. Some of the others stayed behind and shot some more, after everything apparently blew over,but we were rolling home, listening to the boys squabble. It had been a nice, fun weekend, with family stuff like hot dogs and marshmallows, with a good bunch of militia training thrown in, or the other way around. It was worth bringing the boys, and exposing them to militia training, and to our fellow Patriots, even while letting them have a good time in the woods.
 
  Thanks to everyone who came, and thanks to Mr.Frank Stasa for letting us stay there.
 
   Hope to see you all out at future training sessions.
 
   -Lee

read LW's report on the CAMP-O-RIFIC weekend click here