OPERATION:
GrapeshotOPERATION:
Grapeshot
On Saturday, May 18th, 2002, Militia persons from Wayne,
Macomb, Gennessee, Eaton, and Monroe Counties in Michigan, and a visitor from Indiana did
verily hasten forth unto Camp Stasa to play in the mud, do some Level One training, some
four pin shooting, some heavy squad drills (including a medical evacuation drill and a
building search), and some pistol training (including, and I am not making this up, some
100 yard pistol shooting). Some of us also got some practical experience while learning
how to trim back grape vines, and how to prune apple trees. Yeah, we also had the
"Chuck Wagon" on site again, to grill some tasty burgers (with grilled onions
...yum) and dogs.
It was cold. Not breezy, or slightly chilly, but COLD. This so totally sucked for mid-May,
but it served to remind us all of nature's ability to fling sorrow upon us in a brutally
random and capricious fashion.
Our guest from Indiana had arrived first on Friday, but then we had an arquebus-wielding
member show up to stay overnight with him.
Come
Saturday morning, the folks started rolling in, and we even saw a couple of newer people
(Marty and Marcel, welcome). We also enjoyed the presence of perpetual pistol champion
Gerry. After some sighting in (ya, I shoulda done this, too...), we had a gear inspection,
in which people also brought forth their compasses and other gear not on the list. This is
initiative, and yes, we all SHOULD have a compass, but it isn't mandatory. The FRS radios
are the commo of choice, though we do have several licensed two-meter operators in the
militia. We do not check gear to embarrass or belittle anyone, we check gear to remind you
of what you need to acquire, and to give us an idea of what kind of surplus gear to bring
next time, to fill in any missing pieces you might have. We want everybody to do this.
With each adequately equipped and trained person in the ranks, the entire militia as a
whole is better off. This is a goal toward which we are ALL willing to work.
The
two-mile walk was miserably muddy, complete with a hidden OPFOR element for us to try to
spot. Everyone finished between 33-35 minutes, which was pretty good considering the mud.
Trying to spot the OPFOR while on the march added a nice degree of increased alertness,
which we should do all the time anyway. Oh yeah, it also rained a bit on the walk too,
much to our delight.
Then we shot. I had a
really nice group with my Daewoo, but it was lower than it should have been. This puzzled
me as 1. I never shoot groups this tight, and 2. I didn't touch my sights. Hmmmm? Then it
dawned on me that I had exhausted my Malaysian .223, and was now shooting PMP ammo
instead. Apparently, the PMP shoots tighter, but lower. A few quick clicks on the front
sight post, and I am hooked up for sure. (Yes, it DOES make that much of a difference if
you change your brand of ammo.) Now that I am shooting PMP, I will also have to re-zero my
AR15, as well.
We had a newly qualified Level One member for Macomb County, geared up, and on the plate.
Viola! More militia, more better....Marcel also shot impressively with his M91. Old,
bolt-action rifles are fine weapons that have been around, and served well, for many, many
years. There is no reason why they cannot continue to do so in a militia capacity. (June
15th, by the way, has been designated as a "Bolt-action only" training day.)
We then proceeded to participate in the wonderful four-pin tactical shoot.
(http://michiganmilitia.com/drills/rifledrills.htm Drill #8, scroll down).
This is where you learn what gear is not secured properly,
and how hard it is to shoot steadily after running. (We could almost have a whole day of
running through this drill over and over again....that would be fun!) Anyway, the fastest
folks were Dale, Hal, and Gerry, in that order. Come on out and try this with us sometime!
All the while,
"Chuck Wagon" was grillin' and chillin', and we all enjoyed some tasty militia
burgers and dogs. If possible, we will try to keep this up at training. If you want to get
into your MREs or other food, we won't try to make you eat any burgers, but it is kind of
hard when the smell of grilling burgers and onions drifts across the area.
It was time for a cool heavy
squad drill (13 people is rather large for a squad, hence the term "heavy
squad"). Following a brief class on team movement and formations, we broke down into
two fire teams with a squad HQ element. A team led the way into the woods, followed by HQ
team, and then B team.
A team came across a large open area, which is to be avoided if possible, but we had to cross, and treated it as a large danger area. B team got into a support position, and covered A team's movement across about half of the field. A team then covered as B team moved up closer. I tried to keep the HQ section up with whichever team was in support position, for extra cover. We bounded the teams in this fashion until we could search a building, which we did. Then we pulled back, with each team covering the other until A team had a casualty.
This casualty was evacuated using a US nylon body bag, which makes an acceptable
field-expedient stretcher, as it has six carry handles. It is easier to use with the
victim on top of the bag rather than inside it, which we found out by actual field
testing. These bags do not weigh much at all, and it is possible that each team could
carry one along.
Having A team transporting the casualty required a quick adjustment of B team, to open up
and provide security for A team. The HQ element also sustained a casualty, but he was able
to walk, so B team covered him has he moved in. The squad then reached friendly lines and
went over the "what's" and "why's" of what we had just done. These
after-action reviews are a great way to learn and get valuable input from all members
present.
As folks had to leave, we then headed up front to trim up some grape vines and prune some
apple trees. It was hard work, but Frank lets us come out there and train, so we should
help him as much as we can. Besides, we learned about these things, which might come in
handy some day.
So, as militia units are indeed SUPPOSED to do, we trained. We would love to have more
turn out at these trainings, and you are all welcome to come and train with us.
We hope to see you next time.
-Lee