The Militia & Me

With the violence overseas escalating and our borders being forgotten I have recently received a few messages asking for advice about militias. Honestly, I don’t have any, but here are some other things to consider regarding preparation.

Combative Fundamentals

Before you sell the farm and buy every piece of tactical gear you DON’T need, try thinking about the basics, about the things you absolutely need and shouldn’t do without. It’s no secret things are getting worse, not better. I am have more conversations with folks who are considering “preparing for the worse and hoping for the best” and I can’t blame them one bit. We are facing some pretty dire straights right now and if you don’t want to accept it then you will probably be one of the bodies that gets stepped over when things go sideways.

Wake up call

Sounds pretty extreme some might say, but yet we have a clear and present danger knocking at our doors and the government is not doing a damn thing about it. We have senior military leaders long since removed who are relaying their views from the trenches, these people mean business. We have other world leaders who have recognized the danger and actually come forward to address. And yes we have a leader who “doesn’t have a strategy”. Why should that surprise you, he is the most inept president our country has ever seen, Sorry Jimmy Carter you have officially had your “that guy” status revoked (temporarily of course).

There are three things I feel the average person should strongly consider; equipment, training and mobilizing.

No match for a good blaster at your side

Rule number one of a gunfight is to have a gun. I believe that a modern day pistol is no longer enough, you need to have some form of long arm and preferably a rifle. Your pistol is primarily for immediate defensive of life, it buys you time to fight your way back to your rifle. No truer words have been uttered regarding the pistol/rifle relationship. Your pistol should be carried DAILY! You need to get comfortable carrying all the time, in all areas it is legal to carry. PRO TIP: if you cannot carry legally into an establishment you might want to seriously consider not going there. Why would the criminal/terrorist element go someplace where they could meet resistance? That means you will need the supporting equipment to carry daily, holsters, magazine pouches, sturdy belts and so on. I would also encourage you to have plenty of spare magazines and parts. Then stock up on ammunition, there is a point of diminishing returns so if you have to flee the area a huge stockpile isn’t as valuable as a box filled with several hundred rounds preloaded into various magazines. This should be your primary mission, because a gun is better than no gun.

Hollywood called, they want their gear back

Having all the gear is one thing, knowing how to use it is a completely separate issue. I have got to say this, just because you have a DD-214 and a portable tattoo machine doesn’t make you a tactical instructor. We are seeing so many douche bags surface and that is only making things harder for the average person to select quality training resources. My recommendation, go old school. Gunfighting techniques have evolved, but there is no substitute for fundamentals. All the multi-cam and facial hair is only covering up the fact they really don’t have anything to add to the equation. The best thing you can do is find someone who can create a positive learning experience, you know like where you actually learn something like the basics. It doesn’t matter how fast you can preform a magazine reload, what matters is what you do with the first 16 rounds in your magazine. I love drills that have you shooting 2 or 3 rounds then performing a reload. I get it, but why the hell would I shoot 2 or 3 rounds then force a reload. If you are going to be doing a reload it is because you have fired the full load out in rapid succession so if you are so worried about a reload you better be skilled enough to fire those first 16 rounds like a real gunfighter.

Phone tree, seriously

Then there is the lone wolf scenario, remember divided we fall. I feel like it is more than appropriate to get together with other like minded folks to discuss safety plans for the worse case situations. I mean we have school phone trees for a reason. Yes, I know not everyone is going to have the same mindset, but believe it or not more and more people are waking up and realizing they are on their own. There is nothing wrong with gathering for some BBQ and beers to dirt dive a few scenarios. Hell, what if you are out of town when a critical event occurs. It doesn’t have to be a terrorist event, it could be a natural diaster and I’ll bet you would like to know your family has a resource to go to if needed. As far as militias, I will reserve that topic for a later date, but suffice it to say things along our Texas border are extremely serious and those of you in the immediate vicinity need to take serious precautions.

It would bring me no greater joy than to be wrong, to have been the one who cried wolf. Time will tell, but what I do know and what I have said on multiple occasions is fortune favors the bold.

"I tell this story to illustrate the truth of the statement I heard long ago in the Army: Plans are worthless, but planning is everything. There is a very great distinction because when you are planning for an emergency you must start with this one thing: the very definition of "emergency" is that it is unexpected, therefore it is not going to happen the way you are planning." Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe and our 34th President