Operation: Rampart 02-02-02

Several persons representing various (and sundry) militia units deployed to (location undisclosed) to verily bust some caps.

The weather was right around 30 degrees (that's close to zero for you Celsius people), with clear skies. In fact, the skies would have been perfectly clear if not for the stray chemtrails. They just won't leave us alone, ya know?

Some people needed to qualify for Level One, and felt this need so fervently and intensely, that they projected  (and continue to project) this need onto other people who did not need to do so, or did not want to do so.

(A point of clarity here: Some units require monthly Level One qualification, depending on whether or not the unit remains in the field overnight, and some units only require an annual Level One qualification. Some units have absolutely no requirement for anything, and thusly, they suck. We encourage you to get involved with something, somewhere, that has some kind of standards. If you want to get involved in the process that decides these policies, contact your local unit of value, join up, and get a say so in how things are run. If you do not have a local unit that does anything, either join one that does, or even better, START ONE.)

While some folks were on the walk, some of us other folks were sighting in our scopes, confirming our zero, and doing a function check on a recently acquired or newly repaired weapon. It is a good time to do this, while the other folks are doing their two-miler, that way, when they finish, function checks do not impede qualifying shooters. My scope kept rattling loose, so I confirmed my iron sight zero and was sad about the scope. Luckily (?), militia people are very generous with advice and tips, and I believe that the scope will be much more secure next time.

We also saw a French MAS rifle, for which the shooter fabricated his own ammo, by hand, by trimming down some bigger cases. This guy, whose social security number I will not mention here, reeks of skill and dedication. You could become more militia-riffic just by being around him. Plus, he likes cabbage, which is good for you. Also being function tested was what looks to be the ultimate .30 carbine of Lou. This has been replaced by his CETME as his main battle rifle, but it is still the slickest-looking .30 carbine that I have seen.

Also, we had several youngsters who were shooting with us. This is a real treat to see children being taught proper gun usage and safe handling. The youngest? Ivy Stoner, age three, shot a .22 rifle (hey, start 'em out right...). Studies have shown that children who learn to properly and safely handle guns commit less gun crime, and less crime, period, than kids whose parents are whiny anti-gun bitches. I think this reflects the responsibility that you teach your children when they shoot, also, it shows that you care enough about your children to teach them to safely fend for themselves, as opposed to relying upon their government masters to protect them. So now we can say, a three-year old girl came and trained, while you were...??? Sure, okeedokee, then, mate...

Congratulations to Brett Stoner for qualifying Level One. (Ya, we had a bunch of Stoners at the training...) He used an old, but reliable, 8mm Turkish Mauser. These are decent shooting guns, as long as you properly clean them, since a lot of the ammo is corrosive. Visit Denis's page for commentary regarding the cleaning of rifles that have been using corrosive ammo. Basically, you have to clean the salt deposits out using water, as well as using solvent and/or some kind of CLP (cleaner, lubricant, protectant). Here would also be an appropriate time to mention the absolutely outstanding rapid shooting of Nick, who not only hit 110% and 100% of his shots (once he got rid of the cheap ammo that his oh-so-picky Carbonlite didn't want. Thanks for the ammo, Nick), but he shot in very rapid succession.

At 1400 hours, we had a semi-mandatory lunch break, complete with one fire in the Camp Gladys area, and one nifty combustacious event in the trash "burn barrel". We want to stress eating and rehydration, especially in colder weather, to avoid any kind of fatigue, dehydration, or hypoglycemic related incidents. Yes, miniature Snickers bars qualify as food. If you don't eat, you will die.

It was now time for the "Foo-foo" drill. This is a tactical movement toward an objective, at which the team will engage four white bowling pins, knocking them down. After the evil white pins are slain, the team will then rescue poor rabbit Foo-foo, who is represented by a blue bowling pin. The drill works on team movement, hand and arm signals, and target selection and engagement. It also gives people a chance to check how their camo works out, as we were fortunate enough to have Lou videotaping these drills. The team also needs to fall back from the objective in an orderly fashion, using cover/concealment, and good bounding techniques.

Three teams did the drill. One person did them twice (Frank, Mr. Vepr), and two of the people who did them had also re-qualified Level One (Kristin and Mike, who were team leaders.) Lou was the third team leader.

Next time, I think if we have people who do not need to qualify, then we can get these people doing some dry, walk-through drills until the range opens for live fire drills. We can work on hand and arm signals and movement, so that the drills will go quickly and effectively. Also, walk-throughs will give you a chance to check your camo, and your load (so you can dump something before the run-through, if you need to).

We were going to stay overnight, but there were power lines down in Detroit, in one militia person's neighborhood, and he had to undertake the real-life militia mission of homeland security. Denis offered to stay, to give me a ride home (I rode in with Lou, who was leaving), but he was sick already, and I didn't want to be responsible for him getting worse and dying or anything. (Yes, people come out when they are sick or injured.)

We had two thumb injuries, but they were minor, and a quick trip to the fix-it-up first-aid station squared things away. How I became the designated medic, I'll never know...

I was glad to see everyone out there, especially the youngsters. Also, we were happy to see Charlie out there, even though he was getting over a recent illness.

The next training event will be at Camp Stasa on Feb 16-17. We will train again at (location undisclosed) on the 2nd and 3rd of March.

-Lee

Additional note: Spent the following morning, Sunday, mounting the laser sight that I bought from Nick, on my Daewoo (pre-ban, thank you very much). The rifle already is a pretty accurate one, but damn! that laser sure is intimidating......ahhhhhhhh.....militia happiness....