SUT LEVEL 1: UW Small Unit Fundamental Skills, Patrolling and TC3

DATES: 17 – 19 MAY 2013

LOCATION: IDAHO REDOUBT

I would like to begin by saying that I am immeasurably grateful that John Mosby has made himself available as a trainer. In all the world among men, it is one thing to be competent at a task, or even to have mastered it; possessing the mindfulness of others to communicate, teach, and engrain such things to others is another matter entirely. I am grateful that one who can clearly do and also teach, is willing to impart a frame of reference to those of us who would otherwise have little or none.

OBJECTIVES: (these are copied from the given course outline)

”A. Terminal Learning Objective: The TLO of this course is that each participant as a recognized, or defacto, preparedness group leadership cadre, will possess the the overview of knowledge to develop and guide training in his home operational area, for other personnel, while continuing his own development of the skillsets presented.

B. Enabling Learning Objectives: In order to accomplish this, the ELO of this course include, but may not be limited to:

-Students will learn to apply the critical individual tactical skills for UW patrolling for irregularpforce infantry.

-Students will learn to apply the critical common skills tasks for UW irregular-force infantry fighting elements, and fundamental battle drills.

-Students will learn to function, under the stress of field conditions and live-fire training, in a tactical leadership role.“

OVERVIEW: A group of people in a hostile environment who want to protect themselves will have a need to project force. This group will likely need to conduct security patrols in order to gain intelligence about hostile elements in their area and possibly take action to defend their homes before being overwhelmed because they waited ’till hostiles were at their front door. A patrol is a planned action, utilizing teams of people who have trained individually and collectively to develop necessary skillsets.

OBSERVATIONS: As a patrol, we must keep hidden to remain most effective. Individually, we must minimize visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile indicators that would alert an enemy to the teams presence in the area. In order to accomplish this, we must camouflage ourselves and our gear (breaking up visual signature is more important than camo pattern, simple earth tones are plenty useful), move quietly, focus on staying in the shadows, and sacrifice comfort or habit if it may compromise our team. Accordingly, gear selection for this kind of activity should reflect a conscientious effort.

Questions to be reckoned with: Why did I put something I need to access frequently in a pouch with a noisy velcro closure? What is rattling when I step and how can I make it quiet? How can I pack my food so that I can get to it in the dark without making a lot of noise? (hint: plastic bags are very noisy) How can I keep a mirror and camo face paint on my person so it is readily accessible to reapply? What can I do to break up the outline of my head? My rifle? My ruck? Will I give away my team’s location because I left my watch face bobbing in the sunlight, throwing reflected beams at a hidden observer? Can I navigate to a spot on the map by moving from cover to cover, instead of following a straight bearing that may expose the patrol?

Things to consider: During movement under direct fire, in order to maintain effective support-by-fire for your team, you will likely need to be able to conduct fast reloads of your rifle while moving to a position of cover. Does your gear facilitate this necessity? Can you perform 2-3 mag dumps (rapid, aimed fire, not spray and pray–JM) successively? If not, change it. Period. Your team needs you NOT to be busy fucking around with snaps and buckles and awkward arm postures when they DO need you to be laying fire on known, likely, or suspected positions of enemy cover so they can move forward too, or break contact as the situation dictates. That doesn’t mean you can’t have any mags under flaps or whatever, it means think about adding a couple open top mag pouches to your LBE if what you currently have isn’t enabling you to better protect your buddies.

Gear lessons:

-Make sure your fighting load and sustainment load will integrate together. I learned that my single curve back plate digs into my shoulder blades with my ruck on over the top of it, so I’m gonna see if I can get a different plate that fits better.

-Do expect to have your fighting load on underneath your ruck, if you make enemy contact and have to ditch the ruck, the seconds it takes to get that off will be an eternity.

-A patrol base will not likely be a place to change into fresh clothes or get cozy for a full night’s rest- expect to remain able to fight as much as possible. For sleeping, if you aren’t in a torrential downpour, have a small pad to lay on while wrapped in something like a woobie. A bivy sack is nice, but it takes longer to set up/ get in/ get out/ pack up and time will be short already. (It’s not that you can’t do that shit, it just needs to take into account the principles of patrolling, the first of which is “security,” and the fifth of which is “common sense.” –JM)

Food:

-I didn’t eat as much as I thought I would, consequently, I carried more weight than needed. You can get by on less food than you think, but don’t scrooge yourself on water or electrolytes. 100 lbs. of gear on while moving slowly and deliberately will make you sweat. Try to bring food that doesn’t need to be cooked, or carried in noisy-ass plastic bags.(Clif bars, jerked meat, and other already cooked/prepared stuff is my friend….–JM)

Expectaions:

- I knew that I needed to have requisite items in my blow-out-kit in the event of emergency, I did not realize that TC3 is covered in every SUT level 1 class, or I would have brought a few more supplies.

- I came to the class thinking I should be able to live out of my ruck if I had to. You will have to.

SUSTAIN:

The course description available was somewhat vague and I wasn’t entirely sure of what I was in for, even after having already participated in a SUT 1 class. I knew the class had been restructured to some extent and that patrolling skills would be covered. That being said, the nature of this subject demands someone who can think through a problem and I see now that not being spoonfed all the details ahead of time forced me to do a lot of homework ahead of time in trying to be prepared as I could for different possibilities. Mosby has a way of teaching in which he kinda sets you up to reach the conclusion yourself, demonstrating what is possible, but not dictating what you shall do (unless it relates to protecting your buddies- that shit is non-negotiable). I think the expectation of what task is to be performed is more important to know ahead of time than a packing list of specific items. (Folks, you need to be able to think on your feet, and be adaptable. Everything you need to know to prepare for this class has been covered, at some point in this blog….–JM)

SUSTAIN:

Throughout the course, our scheduling was not strictly enforced. Mosby is pretty laid back as an instructor unless there is a clear and present safety concern, such as, failing to safety your rifle before getting up to do a 3-5 second rush (guys, I WILL get physical to ensure safety, even if it offends you at the moment), or almost smoking a round into his jeep (ask me how I know…). Some felt that timeliness should have been given more attention than it was, but I think the way this class was conducted was spot on and here’s why: This is a level 1 class, for people who are not experienced yet. In addition to being inexperienced, were were working through gear issues and learning new things. Personally, I was already pushing myself while knowing I was holding someone else up. In contrast, at some later date in the future when a level 2 SUT class is offered, I will expect everyone there to have their gear and expectations dialed in tight. At that level, I think timeliness is obliged to be enforced. (The individual who was concerned about time hacks was right, to a degree. On the other hand, coming from a conventional force light-infantry/airborne background, one thing he may have not understood is, based on my experience, and other SF veterans, feel free to weigh in if I’m wrong….indigs, whether local national mil or police, or Gs are NEVER on time in the American sense of punctuality…..it’s a cultural thing. I let time hacks slide a little, for the reasons Thor has mentioned, in recognition of that…-JM)

IMPROVE:

Something about this class that was already an improvement was that we got a multi-page course outline to follow. I did notice that for the most part, the outlines had been set aside by day two and that by the time the course was over, some questions were asked that had already been covered in the outline, just nobody was reading it, maybe because the extra page flipping was a hinderance. I think the SUT and TCCC portions should have been separated, and page numbers added respectively, to facilitate going over tasks, conditions, and standards when introducing things like how to cross a linear danger area, or how to occupy a patrol base. Extra space between paragraphs for note taking would be somewhat helpful, but optional (I’m still fine-tuning and collating the handouts for this class, until they’re where I want them. Condensing a ten-day or two-week guerrilla patrolling/SUT class into what is basically two and a half to three days takes some thought and work…..-JM)

TC3 will be included in small-unit patrolling until everyone in a group/class can show up and demonstrate to me that they’ve received the instruction elsewhere. It’s THAT important. –JM.

IMPROVE:

Between dry-fire drills and live-fire, there was a disconnect of skills. None of the dry-fire drills had to contend with changing magazines, and even shooting postion was affected because you can’t practice sight picture from the prone with a magazine monopod when there’s no magazine in the rifle. Granted, magazines were removed for safety considerations (duh), but I’d like to try having two disabled, empty, ugly color painted training magazines for use during dry-fire drills. Here’s how I see this happening: everybody clears their rifle and removes loaded magazines from their LBE. A pile of mags in the dirt next to their feet will do fine. Ranger buddies check chambers and LBE, making sure the loaded mags are out. One dummy mag is insterted into the rifle, bolt locked to the rear and one mag on their gear, wherever the speed reload happens from. Maybe for the dummy mags, if you have some with bent feed lips, take the spring out, hold it upside down and fill the cavity behind the follower with expanding foam to ensure it doesn’t get mistakenly loaded. These could also be dedicated for speed-reload practice at home. (This is a spot-on assessment of something I need to overcome. Working on it, and I dig the suggestion. I may have to make the dry-fire mags myself, and just hand them out for the duration of the class for dry-fire drills. –JM)

Post Script: For the two fellas who drove to N. Idaho from TX, and missed the class…..Guys, I HAVE to KNOW that you’re coming. Telling me you’re interested in the class and want more information does not constitute confirmation that you intend to take the class. I am genuinely sorry for the missed link-up. As I stated in my email, next time I’m in Oklahoma or New Mexico, or anywhere near you, the cost of the class is on me, to make up for having to waste three days in a hotel room in BFE, Idaho….–JM

Post-PostScript: Articles will be posted again starting next week. I’m training a private class this weekend, and will return to the SFOB next week, until it’s time to leave for West Virginia.

1) Anyone enrolled or waiting to be enrolled in the Idaho Small-Unit patrolling class this coming weekend who has not received an email from me today needs to email me a contact phone number ASAP. Final link-up instructions go out on Thursday evening. Link-up is Friday AM. nousdefionsranger@yahoo.com

West-By-Gawd-Virginia

2) There are a few slots left to fill in this class in order to make it happen. If you want in, let me know ASAP. Deposits need to be taken care of by 1JUNE.

DOL,

JM

This guy is so utterly full of know it all self aggrandizing bullshit. Everything this PHONY wrights is about how HE and ONLY he the great all knowing ninja killer badass has all answers to everything. All this because of his thousands of TOP SECRET missions and hundreds of kills. This guy reminds me of all the phony ass SF /Seal/Mercenary/ninja/ commandos that jumped up after Vietnam. Everything from this guy is self important bullshit, Bragging and crap to get you to part with your MONEY. He’s just another bullshit artist , with nothing to say you can’t learn from any of a dozen FM’s OR TM’s. OH! and my dog knows more about guns than this asshat ever will.

First of all, I write, not wright. I am not a wheelwright, nor a millwright, nor any other type of skilled craftsman who creates things out of raw materials.

Second, I am not the only great all-knowing ninja killer badass with answers to everything. One, I think a homo-erotic fascination with ninjas is, well….gay. Two, there are for more qualified, fellow SF veterans out there who should be teaching this. Unfortunately, they are not, for whatever their personal reasons may be. There are men with hundreds of operations to their credit. I have ONE deployment to Afghanistan to my credit. I have other deployments as well, generally in the FID venue. I don’t discuss them because I signed a piece of paper that said I wouldn’t, not because they were some sort of super-secret squirrel operations, but rather, because I take the act of giving my word seriously.

I’ve been hit in the head enough times that I could never claim to know everything. Hell, I’m lucky if I remember where I set my gun down last. If it wasn’t for my lovely bride, I’d probably forget my kid at the toy store.

Three, if you think I’m in this for the money, you’re a fucking retard. I charge enough to (sometimes) cover my expenses. I have handed out rifles to students in classes and more ammunition than I care to admit in a venue where HH6 might read it, and do not ask for compensation beyond what people paid for the class. But hey, go find someone who will teach you light-infantry SUT, period, let alone as inexpensively as I strive to do so, AND donate ammunition to your training….. Good luck.

Four, you’ve never read a TM, have you? On the other hand, the FMs do a good job of dumbing down a very advanced set of physical skills to eighth-grade reading level. I encourage everyone to read the FMs, if only to understand the doctrinal methods. Unfortunately, as anyone who’s read the FMs will point out, they are generally predicated on your force being the technologically dominant force on the field, and they leave out the lessons learned details that actually allow the doctrine to work.

Fifth, the funny thing is, I’m extremely fond of self-deprecating humor. There’s nobody in the world I would rather fling shit at than myself. So the whole “I take myself too seriously thing” indicates that you’ve honestly never met me. Hell, you’ve probably never even emailed me….

I’ve been castigated as an arrogant prick who doesn’t think “mere civilians” are capable of conducting paramilitary defensive operations, because they aren’t barrel-chested, Bowie-knife clenched in the teeth, power-lifting, freedom-fighting special operations gunslingers. I find that both ridiculous, and more than a little perplexing. I do not now, nor have I ever, taken the stance that you need to be a SOF veteran to successfully conduct local defense activities in a grid-down environment. Even in the unlikely event of an active insurgency, I believe that normal citizens can prevail against a technologically superior regime force. Any other belief system would fly directly in the face of my SF background training for UW, which is predicated on teaching local civilian populations how to do exactly that, as well as my current practice of teaching these classes around the country. My stance on that is, if you are untutored, you have a significantly greater chance of dying horribly, and probably watching your loved ones die in the process, than if you have at least a modicum of realistic, effective training in real-world applications of the published doctrine. If nothing else, it will allow you to begin to develop a frame of reference based on reality, rather than Walter Mitty fantasy, so you can interpret the rest more accurately.

There is a great deal of hyperbole strewn about the preparedness and Liberty movements on the successes of historical insurgencies, populated by untutored civilians besting regular, trained, experienced, and disciplined uniformed militaries. This is, however, from a historical perspective, demonstrably categorically untrue.

I don’t care if you like me. I don’t care if you think I’m an ego-driven, arrogant asshole. I genuinely, don’t give two shits about you, dear reader, as an individual. I write this blog, and teach classes, often times to the detriment of my family life, in an effort to help those who are willing to be helped. So, you can continue on in your ignorance, in which case, I will offer up a probably useless prayer for the safety of your children and neighbors, or you can go get training.

Seriously, go get training, and quit getting your panties in a twist because you were too busy sticking your fingers in your ears, your tongue in the air, and being an obstinate ass because some dude who you’ve never met, hurt your feelings over the internet, by pointing out the truth that you didn’t know what the fuck you were talking about.

Pull your big girl panties up, suck it up, and drive the fuck on already. Or, continue to ignore the advice, hard-earned, by guys like SFMedic, AmMerc, TOR, and myself, amongst others, being put out, FREE-OF-CHARGE, in order to HELP YOU. If you choose this latter course of action though, don’t come whining to me when your family is being butchered in front of you, because you were too fucking stupid to ignore your ego.

Piss off.

(For the less juvenile readership, I promise I’ll return to your regularly unscheduled programming shortly. I’ve been on the road for most of the last two months, and I need to spend time with the family, and getting the SFOB sorted out. –J.M.)

“Shattering illusions, and crushing misconceptions…It’s just what I do.” –Me, to my mother-in-law recently.

The purpose of the combat rifle is to allow the combat rifleman to engage and kill, directly or indirectly, armed enemy combatants with precision aimed rifle fire. The rifleman’s ability with his weapon is one of the most fundamental measures of his effectiveness and survivability in combat. If the expects to function effectively in combat, he must be both willing to, and capable of, projecting lethal force on the enemy. The ability to engage the enemy with accurate rifle fire in a confident, competent manner is the best insurance the irregular warfighter has for survival and success.

Unlike the sportsman, the combat rifleman does not have the luxury of using his marksmanship as a test of his ability. He is not, like the competition target shooter, trying see IF he can hit a target under the prescribed conditions. Unlike the field hunter, a miss does not simply mean an empty freezer. The combat rifleman must KNOW he can make his shot, because failure means death.

Combat riflecraft is not a sport. It’s not a game. The fighting rifle is not, contrary to the whining pleas of the morally bankrupt, a “sporting arm.” It is, like an axe, a tool, specifically designed and engineered for one purpose. The axe is designed to chop wood; the fighting rifle to kill people. The fact that the axe is sometimes used for sporting applications such as lumberjack competitions or axe-throwing does not change it’s fundamental purpose–nor the fighting rifle.

Realistic, effective combat rifle training is more than just marksmanship training. It teaches the rifleman how to use the tool for it;s intended purpose, in the most efficient manner possible. A well-developed and executed training program will teach you how to zero your rifle, at what range, and why, based on the operational environment, mission, and weapon. It will teach the shooter how to engage single and multiple hostile targets, at realistic ranges, under realistic conditions, from the most appropriate firing positions, while stationary or moving. A good training program will explain the differences between speed reloads and tactical reloads, as well as how, why, and when to perform each type. It will teach the most efficient methods to clear a malfunction, and get the gun back into the fight, as well when to ignore the malfunction and transition to an alternate method of killing the bad guys.

Finally, a well-developed and executed combat riflecraft class will serve some more holistic purposes. It will help to teach the neophyte how to most efficiently set up and run the support gear they do have, as well as determine what they should replace, and with what. It should introduce the shooter to the concept of shooting at people who are shooting at them, even if they can’t see the enemy directly, and how to use the rifle in coordination with an armed partner, utilizing the concept of fire-and-maneuver.

A combat rifle course should emphasize precision marksmanship, not as an end in itself, but as a necessary requisite to making solid, fight ending shots on minimally exposed targets under real-world conditions. A professionally trained combat rifleman is able to engage single or multiple hostiles, at any practical range, quickly and effectively, through the practical application of the fundamentals of marksmanship and good gunhandling.

The Fundamentals of Marksmanship

Traditional military marksmanship training is based on competition target shooting. On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with that; after all, people who can shoot and win at Camp Perry can shoot very well. Unfortunately, things are really just not that cut and dried. With the obvious exception of the intermediate goal being to direct the tiny, fast-moving projectiles where we want it to go on a target some distance away, there are actually very few real correlations between competition target marksmanship and the application of the fundamentals of marksmanship in combat situations. While the fundamentals of marksmanship do remain the same–they are the fundamentals after all–the execution can be drastically different.

a) a solid firing platform: the necessity of a solid shooting platform should be self-evident. After all, if the gun is moving around, it can be awfully hard to shoot accurately. The combat rifleman’s firing position must demonstrate three inherent qualities in order to be consistent and effective: it must be stable, solid, and durable.

It must be stable enough to reduce any movement of the weapon that would negatively affect accuracy. Unlike the competition target shooter, who is required by the rules to shoot from prescribed positions of varying levels of instability, in order to test his marksmanship, the well-trained combat rifleman makes a conscious effort to “cheat” by acquiring the most stable position the situation allows him to achieve. This means that, except under very specific conditions involving speed-shooting demands at close-quarters, he will always strive to support his firing position with the use of a weapon rest, even if that rest is just the magazine of his weapon (contrary to popular mythology, this will not induce malfunctions. If it does, you need to replace the magazine).

The firing position must be solid, so it is not affected by “outside” factors, such as the recoil cycle of the weapon. It is both mechanically and physiologically impossible to “defeat” recoil in a centerfire weapon. Instead, we attempt to mitigate the effects of recoil as much as possible, and ensure that the weapon completes the recoil cycle in the exact same position it started the firing cycle in. This will allow the shooter to “run” the gun as fast as mechanically possible. A solid shooting position will facilitate this.

Finally, the combat rifleman’s position must be durable. Whether it takes five shots to defeat the enemy, or five minutes of shots, despite the physiological stresses of a gunfight, the rifleman must be able to maintain or repeat the position for as long as necessary. In aiming, the weapon must become an extension of the body. The shooter must learn to adjust his body position so that the rifle naturally points at the target. In order to maximize the durability of the firing position, the shooter must minimize the amount of muscular tension required to hold the weapon in position. To avoid this muscular tension, he must shift his entire firing position in order to move his natural point-of-aim (NPOA) to coincide with the desired point-of-impact. Once he’s learned his NPOA for a given firing position, repetitive, perfect practice of that position will allow him to mount the gun the exact same way every time, making the position exponentially more durable (as a bonus, he’ll be faster getting his rifle into the fight as well).

b) sight alignment and sight picture: On the modern battlefield, the use of iron sights should serve, at most, as a back-up system in the extremely unlikely event the primary optic fails. American riflemen, dating back to at least the Civil War, have held optics in disregard, ranging from a healthy distrust to a visceral scornful disgust. Among the most notable reasons for this were: optics were seen as slower to acquire a sight picture with in the dynamic environment of the battlefield (only partially true at best), not as robust as iron sights (absolutely true until relatively recent times), not very useful except for snipers and other designated sharpshooters (demonstrably untrue), and the misunderstanding of the cliche that “optics don’t help you shoot better” (categorically false….sort of…).

–With the arguable exception of tube-type telescopic optics that can often provide a very narrow field-of-view, it is a fact of human physiology that optics are faster to acquire a sight picture with than iron sights. Iron sights require the eye to pick up objects in two (aperture sights) or three (“open” sights) different focal planes. The human eye however, is physically incapable of focusing on more than one focal plane at a time. A quality optic places the reticle and the target in the same apparent focal plane visually. Since the eye only has to focus on one focal plane, the optic is faster to acquire the final sight picture.

This sometimes falls apart however, when shooters try and run traditional, tube-type optics such as low-powered magnified telescopic sights. Due to inconsistent eye relief, shooters find themselves craning their necks and bobbing their heads to find the correct eye relief and sight picture. That’s not the fault of the optic however, but of piss-poor sloppy gun-handling. Good gun-handling means you mount the gun THE EXACT SAME WAY EVERY SINGLE TIME. A consistent cheek-to-stock weld, and the application of the NPOA means there is no need to “hunt” the sight picture. The gun comes up, into your line-of-sight, and the reticle is there. It just doesn’t get any faster than that.

–Historically, iron sights were inarguably more robust than optics. After all, they were made of iron and had few, if any, moving parts. Optics on the other hand, were narrow tubes of thin aluminum, with fragile glass lenses and very fragile, finely geared moving parts. Further, optics were manufactured for relatively benign hunting use (I’ve hunted in the Rockies and in Alaska, I know it can be tough…it’s still not fucking combat), with any combative applications a distant secondary consideration, at best.

Today, quality optics, specifically engineered to meet the demands of combat use, have made this largely a non-issue. Modern combat optics have taken rifle rounds and continued to run. While it is certainly possible to cause a catastrophic failure of an optic from Aimpoint, EoTech, or Trijicon, the force required would probably be great enough that it would result in a catastrophic failure of iron sights as well.

One method I routinely use in classes to demonstrate the robustness of modern optics is generally good for an “OH SHIT!” reaction from witnesses. I grab one of my rifles that mounts an EoTech (generally perceived as the least robust of the big three), and drop it, onto the ground, optic first, from head high. I then run the gun through the class. I’ve dropped it onto asphalt, gravel, pavement, grass, and into the mud, with no ill effect. While I don’t recommend this course of action to anyone, least of all with an optic you plan on using to potentially save your life, it does demonstrate that modern combat optics are at least robust as irons (I should probably admit however, that I have a Burris MTAC 1.5-6X variable scope on one of my other M4s, and I don’t have the stones to try it with that one. I damned sure wouldn’t try it with a Nightforce or Schmidt and Bender scope either, unless one of those companies wants to send me a scope to test…..? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? I’m sure they would withstand it, but I really can’t afford to be wrong either, and it certainly falls under unusual abuse).

–Operating in an unconventional warfare environment, whether an insurgency, counter-insurgency, or simply a grid-down, “oh shit!” Mad Max type environment, no one can afford the negative political impact of negligently killing an unarmed non-combatant bystander. Magnified optics serve the extremely useful purpose of allowing for more positive identification of targets in the moment before you break your shot. Is that dark shape you see flittering across your garden really a mutant-zombie-outlaw-biker-liberal-vampire, or is it the neighbor kid sneaking in to try and convince your daughter to slip off to the hayloft with him? Either one might warrant shooting (“Guns don’t kill people, daddy’s with pretty daughters do!”), but at least you’ll have the ability to make a conscious, informed decision to shoot.

Further, in my personal experience, very seldom have the bad guys been courteous enough to stand up on the range, in broad daylight, in perfect silhouette, like E-Types on the range. Generally, they’ve been hunkered down, trying to conceal themselves behind big things that stop bullets, like rocks and boulders. My uncorrected vision is 20/20, and despite that, I’ll be damned if, at even 100M, I can see a dude’s foot hanging out. With a little bit of magnification however, I can see the shoe sticking out, and smoke a round into it. Even my pip-squeak, anemic, poodle-shooter of a varmint round however, punching through a dude’s Nike is going to seriously degrade his ability to continue to aggressively prosecute the fight.

–The truth is, optics CAN help you shoot better, by providing a more refined sight picture and sight alignment. The M16A2 front sight post subtends approximately five minutes-of-angle (5MOA=5 inches at 100 yards, for the ballistically challenged). The center dot in the reticle of my EoTech subtends 1MOA. While I still have to execute the other fundamentals of marksmanship correctly, I can aim and shoot more precisely (i.e. “better”), with the optic than with the irons, for this reason alone.

Even magnified optics, which “just magnify your errors” can still help you shoot better. The MTAC, set at 6X allows me to discern facial features at 500M, as opposed to simply seeing a vaguely human shape at that range with the naked eye (of course, the chances of actually seeing a bad guy at 500M, even if he IS moving, are some where between slim and no-fucking-way, but hey, it’s a teaching point, right?) This amount of detail again, allows me to aim with more precision–aim small, miss small.

The original meaning behind the “optics don’t make you shoot better” of course, was that you still needed to execute all the other fundamentals correctly, and optics can’t fix that…unless they help you realize you are fucking up your other fundamentals…..

WARNING!!! CAUTION!!! ALERT!!! DANGER!!!! ALERT!!! CAUTION!!!! WARNING!!!

HERESY AHEAD!!! HIDE-BOUND TRADITIONALISTS, LUDDITES, AND OTHER WORSHIPPERS AT THE “IT’S HOW I LEARNED, SO IT’S THE ONLY RIGHT WAY!” ALTAR MAY WANT TO STOP READING NOW, OR FACE THE POSSIBILITY OF YOUR HEAD EXPLODING, OR CARDIAC ARREST FROM SHOCK AND UMBRAGE!!! YOU WERE WARNED!!!

The point of the above tangent on optics versus irons was not to suggest shit-canning iron sights….well, not exactly…It was to make the point that, while gear will never replace training and consequent skill, you should make the effort, whatever effort required, to invest in quality optics and master their use. They will expedite the training process, making you a good combat marksman, faster, if all other elements of the training are equal. I’m sure the Appleseed “experts” and the “big bore battle rifles are best” he-men (and yes, even some well-respected mentors of my own), will censure me forever, for what I am about to say, but nevertheless:

It is categorically, NOT necessary to learn to shoot with iron sights first, in order to become an effective combat rifleman (“Oh my GAWD! Did he jist say that!? Somebody git a rope!”). Yes, learning to execute the fundamentals of marksmanship correctly, with iron sights, will teach you to shoot accurately. Here’s the rub though: Learning to execute the fundamentals of marksmanship correctly, with optics, will teach you to shoot accurately, also…and faster.

“But John! ‘Ten minutes after the lights go out, iron sights will rule the world!’” Yeah, I heard that one too. Mr. Smith, with no undue disrespect intended (seriously!), needs to check his calender. It’s not 1968. Hell, it’s not even 1988! An Aimpoint CompM3 has a battery life, in constant on mode, of 50,000 HOURS. The CompM4 will go 50,000 HOURS! The tritium in a ACOG has a half-life of 12 YEARS….So, yeah, ten minutes, my ass.

Mr. Smith may very well run iron sights better than I run an optic, I don’t know. Hell, I run irons better than most “experienced” guys I’ve seen can run optics, and he’s been shooting longer than I’ve been alive. I still run optics faster and more accurately than I can run irons, and so can Clint (since I’m on a disrespectful tangent anyway and picking on him, can someone please let him know that mod-iso has been proven demonstrably faster and more accurate for pistol work than the Weaver for AT LEAST the twenty years I’ve been shooting professionally. In fact, someone let the yahoos at Front Sight in on the “secret” as well….I’m tired of having to re-train shitty shooters that are products of their classes to shoot better).

Yes, I run back-up iron sights (BUIS) on my rifles, but honestly? I started out shooting with irons and more than anything else, it’s just habit (and well, a fighting rifle without BUIS mounted just looks wrong to me–Hell, maybe I’m just an in the closet hide-bound traditionalist too!). The reality is, in the fifteen years I’ve been running optics, I can tell you exactly how many times I’ve had to resort to my BUIS because of a failure of a quality optic. It was exactly zero (and as previously mentioned, no one can accuse me of “pampering” my gear…). I’ve certainly had cheap optics fail, and I’ve made the conscious decision to run irons alone (once for six months for shits and giggles, and once, for a year, because I was too poor to afford good optics).

If you simply cannot afford good optics, I’d certainly agree that running iron sights is better than trying to run some POS (if I have to spell that acronym out for you, you should quit reading my blog, because you’re probably too young to read half the words I write anyway) budget optics; otherwise, sell a fucking kidney, if you must, but pony up a couple hundred bucks, search the equipment exchanges on the different cool-guy gun forums, and pick-up a good condition, slightly used quality optic like an Aimpoint, EoTech, or even a low-power variable scope.

—-TANGENTIEL DISCUSSION ON OPTICS VERSUS IRONS OFF—–

Sight alignment is the most critical factor in the actual aiming process. A small error in sight alignment increases proportionately with range and will result in misses. With iron sights, sight alignment is simply the relationship between the rear sight and the front sight post, as seen by the shooter. For aperture-type sights, such as those found on American military rifles throughout the last century, the shooter looks THROUGH the rear aperture (never AT the rear aperture), and centers the top of the front sight post both horizontally and vertically. The “trick” is, don’t overthink it. Your brain wants to center it, so let it.

With tube-type optics, sight alignment is the relationship between the reticle and full-field of view as seen by the shooter. The shooter mounts the weapon so that a full field-of-view fills the tube, with no shadowed crescents around the edges to cause misplaced shots.

With holographic sights like the EoTech, and parallax-free optics like the Aimpoints, it’s even simpler: sight alignment literally doesn’t matter. If you can see the reticle and it’s superimposed on the target, the optic is zeroed, and the target you’re aiming at is in range, you’re good to go.

The “secret” to sight alignment, regardless of the sighting system used, has already been stated in this article: MOUNT THE GUN THE EXACT SAME WAY, EVERY SINGLE TIME.

For you Neanderthals, with iron sights, sight picture is the correlation between the sight alignment and the target, as seen by the rifleman. The rifleman aligns his sights, then places the top edge of the front sight post so it appears to bisect the center of the aiming point (alternatively, you can use the 6 0′clock, “pumpkin on a post” hold, but I don’t…).

With optics, simply place the appropriate portion of the reticle over the aiming point on the target.

The point-of-aim on a particular target will be dependent on mission, range, and situation. I’m fond of citing the platitude, “Hips and heads kids, hips and heads. All the bad guys are wearing body armor these days!” (In fact, I’m pretty sure I made that up two years ago. If anyone heard it previous to 2011, let me know where, and from whom, and I’ll gladly cite them as the source, if the speaker can verify it as original to them…). The truth is, in a world of relatively inexpensive, rifle-level ballistic plate armor, it’s not a bad ideal to shoot for (no pun intended, seriously). The pelvic girdle is rich in major blood vessels and nerve centers, and of course, the pelvis itself, is a major structural element of the skeletal system. Having it shattered by a high-velocity rifle round (even a poodle-shooting varmint round), makes walking a little uncomfortable. Unfortunately, while this MAY result in a non-ambulatory combatant (I once walked 150M with a broken hip, carrying somewhere around 100 pounds of kit, albeit not very fast…), it may not reliably take him completely out of the fight. After all, he can still hold and shoot a weapon, if somewhat distractedly. Of course, putting two or three or ten rounds into a dude’s hips (or just one if you’re a real man and shoot the magical rhino stopping .308…) makes that rapidly moving head move a lot less rapidly, subsequently making it easier to shoot…..and solid head shots generally do take a dude categorically out of the fight.

The reality however, as I previously noted, is that no one is going to simply stand there, like an E-type silhouette for you to shoot at your little heart’s content. People caught in traffic on ballistic highways tend to look for the off-ramp in a hurry, or at least look for an overpass to hide behind. You’re not necessarily going to get the target you’d like to have, so shoot for what you can see. This is why precision shooting ability is important. If you can consistently shoot 2 MOA at 200M, in less than three seconds, you might get a chance of smoking the dude through the leg or shoulder, or arm, at worst, slowing him down, at best, causing a psychological stop, or at least causing him to expose a more vital target. Just shoot what you can see. If you can’t see anything, but you know the guy is there, shoot there anyway, and keep him more interested in not getting shot than he is in shooting you, and let your Ranger buddy maneuver around and smoke him.

(We’ll discuss the four types of stops that occur from ballistic intervention in a forthcoming article.)

c) breathing and breath control: Breath control is an absolutely crucial element of good marksmanship. If the rifleman is breathing normally, while trying to fire, the rise and fall of his chest will cause the muzzle of the weapon to move vertically. Unlike the relatively sedentary pace of a target range, in combat, the rifleman will be sprinting as fast as humanly possible, in short bursts, while wearing heavy gear, and he will have huge amounts of adrenaline coursing through his system. He will be gasping for air so hard that his muzzle will not just “rise and fall.” It will seem to leap violently upward before crashing back to earth, as his body struggles to force oxygen to his muscles.

Traditional marksmanship teaches to wait for the natural respiratory pause at the end of the exhalation before breaking the shot. Unfortunately, the enemy is only exposing himself for a second or two, and he is probably not operating on the same schedule as the shooter’s diaphragm. Survival and success may make it necessary to take a shot, or a series of shots, at an inconvenient moment. Instead of waiting for the natural respiratory pause, he may simply have to create a respiratory pause–an “induced respiratory pause” if you will–long enough to take a shot or shots, even if the target is presented in mid-breath cycle.

d) trigger squeeze and trigger control: Perhaps the one fundamental of traditional marksmanship that retains most of its similarities in combat marksmanship is the trigger squeeze. The spasmodic reflex of a convulsive grip with the muscles of the hand, when “jerking” the trigger will result in a miss in combat, just as they will on the target range. The trigger must move straight to the rear, smoothly along its axis of travel, and break cleanly, without the sight picture being altered by the action…and it must do so quickly.

The key to accomplishing this is two-fold. First is to keep the firing hand as relaxed as possible. This reduces the muscle tension in the firing hand, reducing the impact of the nervous system sympathetic muscle reaction, and allows the trigger finger to function as rapidly as possible, without impacting the rest of the grip on the weapon. The second aspect is to mentally focus on making the trigger move straight back, along its mechanical axis of travel. Unless the weapon is severely damaged or worn out of course, the trigger cannot move in any other direction, but trying to force it to move laterally, even inadvertently, will cause the muzzle of the weapon to be moved in the opposite direction. That means you miss.

An additional aspect of combat trigger control is the issue of trigger reset. The importance of trigger reset seems to wax and wane in popularity among tactical shooting instructors. In my experience, at the initial learning stage, its critical to learning how to run your gun as rapidly and accurately as possible. Simply put, caress the trigger to the rear and the as the shot breaks, hold the trigger rearward, until you feel the gun coming out of the recoil cycle. When you do let it out, only let it go until you feel the “click” of the reset. As your reticle settles back into a sight picture, you’ve already “taken up the slack,” so you’ve not only sped up the process of firing your next shot, but you’ve also reduced your margin for error from “jerking” the trigger through the entire trigger stroke on the next shot.

Two major arguments arise opposing the use of trigger re-set. One is that it takes conscious effort to learn and practice and this leads to guys waiting too long to reset, so they can “feel” the reset. This is initially true, and if the shooter never trains past this point, it will cause a pretty severe limitation on how rapidly he can run his gun without jerking the trigger. I can say though, that after almost 20 years of combat riflecraft training, practice, and execution, I don’t remember when I stopped thinking about it. In fact, if I want to NOT utilize proper reset, such as to demonstrate the differences when teaching, I have to focus on the conscious decision to NOT reset. Focus on getting back off the trigger before the gun settles back into a sight picture. Don’t wait to feel the click, because on some guns you won’t feel the distinct “click” of the reset engaging, like you will on a Stoner platform rifle or a Glock pistol. If you can hear your reset click, you’re too late.

The second argument I’ve heard is that it’s a “gamer” trick that sets up a negligent discharge because of the “hair trigger” it sets up. The argument seems to be that, if my last shot put the bad guy down, and I automatically reset my trigger, then could accidentally shoot the non-combatant that was beyond the bad guy, or as I’m transitioning to the next bad guy, I could involuntarily discharge the round before I positively identify my target.

In response to that one, other than shaking my head ruefully, I’ll simply say that I preach-and practice-two things that have, thus far, prevented this from happening: One is that every shot I fire is a conscious, deliberate decision, with a positively identified target (even if that target is the base of a tree or rock that I suspect a bad guy is hiding behind), and two, if my sights are not on a target that I’ve made that decision to engage, such as when transitioning between targets, my finger comes all the way off the trigger and moves to a positive trigger finger reference point on the gun.

(To be continued…..)

DOL,

John Mosby

SFOB-Rifleman’s Ridge

I’ve had more readers than I care to go back and count, comment on their desire for an eastern class. Well, here’s your chance(s). I have a training location, in West Virginia, for the fourth and fifth weekends in June. I will perform a Combat Rifle class the first weekend, and a Small-Unit Patrolling class the following weekend. Cost for each class is $500/shooter. If you want to take both classes, it will be $800 combined.

Guys, this trip will involve just over 5000 miles of driving, each way, hauling all my gear for classes, a pregnant wife, toddler, and a dog. In order for me to do this, both classes need to be full, with deposits sent in, no later than 1JUNE13.  If the classes are not full by then, I will refund any deposits, post-haste, and not look at doing an open-enrollment class in the East again.

If you want in the classes, and intend to actually take them, email me for further instructions at nousdefionsranger@yahoo.com.  If you simply intend to talk about coming to the class, but not send a deposit or show up, don’t bother wasting my time, or other people’s time.

Two different bloggers, with vastly different foci, have recently posted AARs of training classes they participated in.

The charming Enola Gay at Paratus Familia blog, of which HH6 and myself are regular, long-time readers, posted one here:

http://www.paratusfamiliablog.com/2013/04/training-with-ghost.html#comment-form

(For the record, while they DID bring handmade soap for HH6, they did not find it necessary to feed it to me, as they mention in the review…..)

And Aluminum IronWill (inside joke) of Resistor in the Rockies, here:

http://co-ironwill.blogspot.com/2013/04/part-1-aar-sutpatrollinglogistics.html

For the genius who posits in the comments that he wouldn’t need more than one round from his .308, and that there would be no sneaking into his perimeter because of his early warning devices, I offer participation in a class to mend his ignorance. If he can prove either of his points (see me soon enough for one round of .308 to do the trick, or not let me get inside a perimeter because of his EWDs, I will refund the cost of the class, and his travel expenses…….

DOL,

John Mosby

SFOB Rifleman’s Ridge

DOL,

John

From hereafter, TMO will be promoted to the ATL (Assistant Team Leader), because apparently, we have a new rifleman en route.

DOL,

John

Unfortunately, with many of these books, the “tricks” focus on generalist gear that may allow you to perform multiple functions at a mediocre level, but none of them well. I hate to burst any bubbles (well, that’s not true, now is it?), but while aluminum foil is amazing shit, and it CAN work as a signal mirror device, as well as allowing you to wrap a snared rabbit in it to cook on a campfire, it does not work anywhere near as well as a fucking purpose-designed signal mirror. A razor blade in a fucking Altoids can, will cut stuff…but not as well as a Benchmade folder that’s had a good edge put on it. An unlubricated condom will hold a lot of water…but not as well as a 2qt canteen or a Nalgene bottle will.

The second drawback to these books is their focus on comfort items. Folks, if you’re in a survival situation, whether bugging out for your hidey-hole in Idee-ho, or you’re simply trying to move from a secure guerrilla base area to a nearby place to conduct a raid, and your focus is on whether you have an entertaining novel in your ruck to read, or if your fucking IPOD is charged up….you’re as wrong as two boys fucking.

Third, these books are predicated on suburban housewife, soccer moms as the reader. They are seldom, if ever, suitable for the prepared individual who expects to have to fight and kill the enemy, whether to escape a horde of mutant-zombie-outlaw-biker-vampire-werewolf-communists.

Finally, too often, the supposed expertise of the authors of these books has to be questioned, as they recommend shoving all this shit into the tiny ass assault packs that are de riguer in the military and survival industries today. Recognizing the importance of always striving to reduce the mobility-destroying load-bearing requirements of the partisan, it is critical to dispel some long-cherished myths regarding the historical American woodsman-scout. When many Americans consider the mythological archetype of the frontiersman, their visualization typically involves either an eastern long-hunter (think Daniel Boone or Simon Kenton), or a western mountain man (think Kit Carson or Jedidiah Smith), slipping silently and effortlessly through the timber, carrying everything he owns in a shoulder-slung “possibles” pouch, or a small knapsack slung on his back. This, like the cowboy-plainsman with his bedroll strapped across the cantle of his stock saddle, is nothing by Thoreauan fantasy.

This is seen, in the modern context, in the form of small, lightweight, one- or three-day “assault” packs. These are not new to light infantry forces. From the haversacks of pre-industrial armies that lived largely off pack trains of horses and mules and wagons, to the ALICE LCE buttpack, the concept has a great deal of historical precedent.

The contemporary rebirth of the assault pack in the ongoing fight with the Caliphate is due, almost totally, to the prevalence of vehicle-based operations, even for “light infantry” (as I’ve mentioned numerous times on this blog, as well as the old site, calling a fighting force that travels to within 1-3 KM of the objective in motorized vehicles, and then walks the last little bit “light infantry” is, to me, ludicrous). When you expect to perform your mission, after a short one-mile jaunt, then return just as quickly to the trucks, only to be returned to the FOB in time for dinner and a show before bed time, there’s little reason to need to carry more than a simple day-pack. When the guerrilla fighter however, has to literally live out of his rucksack, with his entire sustenance and shelter only what he can carry for the duration of an operations, an assault pack will only suffice is his missions will be raids on the next door neighbors.

The sad reality is, the assault pack concept only works for modern conventional infantry forces because a) they are receiving heli- or truck-borne resupply on an average of every 48-72 hours, and b) the trucks are generally less than two hours of walking away if they do run out of something in the meantime. For the future resistance guerrilla fighter, or the auxiliary member who is concerned about having to go into E&E mode in order to evade capture following compromise, and will need to traverse jungle/swamp environments, alpine areas, or other non-urban areas, a return to the traditional rucksack will be necessary, regardless of how well-supplied you expect to be thanks to well-planned and developed caches, and logistics networks. While we should certainly have pre-planned and pre-positioned, and pre-networked to have access to these, any number of contingencies, from observers in the immediate area, to being on the run for escape-and-evade requirements, could preclude our ability to access either of these resources.

Even the simple amount of gear necessary for successful long-term operations in these non-urban environments is great enough to require a full-size rucksack, despite the best efforts of tactical experts within the military, and ultra-light backpacking gurus like Ray Jardine (you have to know if Ray knew I was citing him on a “militia” website, he’d be fucking appalled!), to reduce the weight of gear to the absolute minimum possible. If, like Mr. Jardine, you can get your basic payload of sustainment gear (not counting food), down to between seven and 12 pounds (a very laudable goal), you’re going to need room in your ruck for mission-essential gear, ranging from extra ammunition, to breaching tools, and aid bags. I keep my “go-to-war” ruck equipped with a basic load ample to sustain me in the field, for two weeks, without having to resort to snaring game or gathering edible plants (who am I fooling? I don’t eat plants anyway….). It still weighs less than 30 pounds (nevertheless, I make it a point to maintain the ability to carry a 65+ pound ruck, so I can add mission-essential gear if necessary).

Prior to World War Two, and the development of realistically practical off-road motorized transport, long-term travel in the backcountry almost always involved the use of livestock for the transportation of personnel and logistics. Guerrilla and irregular forces have historically made widespread use of the local indigenous beast of burden as well, whenever possible, even as recently as the GWOT (SF made rather extensive use of animal transport in the early days of OEF, thanks to the Northern Alliance’s reliance on horses. Both SOF and conventional forces have apparently continued to make use of pack animals, in various degrees, according to some of my sources who are still serving, especially in the more remote, extremely alpine regions of Afghanistan, where it can still be nearly impossible for rotary-wing assets to get to, and completely impossible to get wheeled or tracked vehicles in. Despite this, however, and regardless of the reality that future partisans should certainly be looking long and hard at pack animals as potential assets, for the light-infantry force, the paradigm in large part, remains focused on man-portable sustainment load-bearing equipment in the form of the ancient rucksack.

It is neither necessary nor desirable to pack the “kitchen sink” in the partisan’s sustainment rucksack load. We are not discussing recreational backpacking trips. Focusing the sustainment load packing list on the basic necessary logistics of survival and combat-effectiveness, rather than on creature comforts, makes it possible to minimize the partisan’s load to the barest realistic minimums. To cite a “Mosby Maxim” that HH6 likes to quote me as saying, “Don’t carry more than you have to, but be able to carry what you need to.”

Among the simplest, but certainly the most effective methods of reducing sustainment load weights, is the development and enforcement of “standardized” packing lists within a resistance patrol element. In order to be effective however, these standards must be ruthlessly enforced by key leaders during pre-combat inspections. At it’s simplest level, the light infantry sustainment load should encompass only the basic necessities to ensure human survival: water, food, and adequate shelter for the given environmental conditions. This minimalist approach leaves the partisan a sustainment load far less than the standard of modern conventional forces, while still allowing for the addition of mission-essential equipment without exceeding the ability of the conditioned, fit partisan to move and fight effectively.

The Packs

The selection of a suitable rucksack design for the partisan is most critically dependent on the demands of the immediate operational environment, and the preferences of the individual. A resistance force operating in a largely urban enclave guerrilla base, with ample support from a complex, established subversive underground and extensive auxiliary support network, will have significantly different logistical sustainment requirements than a less well-supported organizational element operating from a swamp/jungle base or in an alpine environment.

Rucksack options, outside of the assault pack paradigm, range from military/military surplus options such as the old ALICE rucksack with frame and the newer MOLLE designs, to the option of civilian recreational packs from companies such as Gregory, Dana Designs, North Face, and Kelty. While these typically lack the modularity or sheer brutal toughness of the military designs, it is important to remember that, despite the sometimes oddball aspects of the mountaineering sub-culture, serious alpinists are extremely physical athletes who demand a lot from their equipment.

Further, the relatively innocuous appearance of this equipment may, in some areas, assist the partisan’s attempts to blend with elements of the local civilian population, in regime-controlled, denied territory, when moving into and through built-up areas (consider the idea of a small guerrilla force infiltrating an urban area to conduct a raid, either solo or in pairs, to rendezvous at an auxiliary-operated safehouse, to conduct final planning and isolation functions prior to the raid, withing the regime-controlled urban area…Have you ever spent any time in downtown Portland, Oregon or Seattle? See where I’m going with that?)

Finally, there is the obvious option of selecting the sustainment load rucksack from the current offerings of companies that are catering to the military and PMC (Private Military Contractor) markets, with non-issue, COTS (Civilian Off The Shelf) rucksacks, such as Kifaru, Eberlestock, Mystery Ranch, and others. While they offer a remarkably attractive blend of the best of both worlds (the robustness of military designs, and the the ergonomics of civilian designs), they do suffer from two potential drawbacks.

One, they are incredibly expensive. Although often no more expensive than comparable civilian sector mountaineering packs, they are seldom found used, in thrift stores and second-hand stores, dirt cheap, the way civilian models often are in resort areas like Jackson Hole or the towns around Yosemite.

Two, since most of them are obviously military in appearance, they may offer little advantage to partisans who will conduct operations in built-up areas that require covert, versus clandestine, infiltration, and need to avoid piquing the curiosity of regime security forces.

Ultimately, the selection of a pack for the sustainment load will depend on the physiognomy of the individual partisan, what is locally available and affordable (although, as long as the internet is available, “local” is a loose term in this case), and the operational/environment constraints of the local environment, and its demands on what “must” be carried.

I’ve gone through a wide range of rucksack options over the last two decades. I started with the ALICE large ruck and frame, as a young Ranger, moved on to a civilian mountaineering rucksack courtesy of Dana Designs, as a SF NCO, while I had a team daddy who let it fly, then tried a couple of different high-end military rucksack systems from the commercial market before reverting to the “big green tick” of my youth. I’m actually back to searching for a suitable civilian market replacement for it however.

The ALICE pack is not ideal for anyone, is far from ideal for most, and is simply unbearable for many. I accept that reality and seldom, if ever, recommend it, unless someone is on a budget, and often not even then. Kelty makes some extremely durable, large-capacity internal frame packs that are not much more expensive than a surplus ALICE ruck, while being far more comfortable for most people to bear. Additionally, the availability of well-cared for, used high-end mountaineering rucks, makes the ALICE far from the “best choice” regardless of the prejudices of those of us that grew up with it.

While our bodies long ago developed the necessary contortions to carry an extremely heavy ALICE ruck and still remain tolerably comfortable doing so (at least as “comfortable” as a “gut-check” can ever be), the truth is, there are far better options available. Denying that fact is hubris at best, and sheer stupidity otherwise.

SMOLES

One issue I’ve always had, when recommending packing lists, or developing them for myself or others, is my well-developed ability to move quickly, cross-country, with inordinate amounts of weight on my back, without complaint. This was beneficial when I was a young Ranger, packing a M249 SAW and a basic load and a half of ammunition for it, as well as when I was a junior SF weapons sergeant, and had a senior Bravo who insisted that I needed to pack a mortar, base plate, and a half-dozen rounds for it, as well as my personal gear.

It has turned into a severe drawback in recent years however, as I still tend to over pack my ruck, unnecessarily burdening myself with gear that is “nice to have” but far from “need to have.” Even here in the Northern Redoubt, where wintertime temperatures and climactic conditions can get pretty demanding, it’s generally not necessary to pack four fleece jackets, three pairs of thermal underwear, and an extreme cold-weather sleep system.

I’m not entirely certain where I first came across it, years ago, but I do know, from a survival standpoint, the military once used the acronym SMOLES to determine the survival equipment requirements for packing (I was actually reminded of this acronym recently on an internet forum dedicated to wilderness survival and preparedness). SMOLES stands for:

Self-Defense

Medical Emergencies

Observation

Lost and Found

Extreme Weather Conditions

Survival

This re-awakening of the fundamentals has led to drastic reductions on my basic payload weight, as I deliberately and mercilessly cull my gear on a regular basis (HH6 claims I re-pack my gear at least weekly. I’m pretty sure it’s not more frequently than once a month). If I’m moving, whether through the timber or across the desert, the heater on my back (the rucksack), keeps me creating more body heat than I need. If I stop, it generally means I’m moving into a hide site, which means I’ll either be crawling into a sleep system/shelter, have the ability to stoke the internal furnace (high caloric value food), or need to stay cool enough, without going hypothermic, to stay awake for essential tasks.

Filling the rucksack load with the METT-TC influenced equipment choices that will fill each of these categories, means that, at the end of the day, you have a pack that has the minimum amount of gear necessary to survive and survive. We will discuss each of these in context, below.

Self-Defense

For most partisans, the self-defense aspects are completely irrelevant to the Tier Three, Sustainment load. Self-defense comes from the Tier Two, Fighting Load.

Medical Emergencies

Most survival manuals, whether general wilderness survival or “bug out bag” books, focus on packing a generalist first-aid kit. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, and in fact, if you’re going to carry a first-aid kit, in addition to your blow-out kit (BOK), it should certainly be in your ruck, rather than on your LBE in the same pouch as your BOK gear (SUT classes include a period of instruction on TC3. Every single class, I end up having to go through guys’ BOKs and throw half the shit in them on the ground, because it’s first-aid gear that doesn’t belong in a BOK). In a partisan organization, rather than a simple “go bag,” the first aid kit should be very minimalist. Your team medic will have a medic’s bag that has ample first-aid gear for most foreseeable injuries that might occur, or he should. Adding a bunch of shit like sutures, abdominal wound dressings, and other “advanced” first-aid and medical gear that you probably don’t fucking know how to use anyway, is a pointless addition of weight to your gear. Leave it to the medic.

In a tactical environment, medical emergencies constitute those occurrences that can occur that will immediately (within 10-30 minutes) kill you dead, without intervention. The gear for remedying these situations should be in your BOK, on your fighting load. The exception to this rule, in my experience, is the recommendation that everyone in an element pack at least one 1000mL bolus of IV fluids, for fluid resuscitation. A handful of extra Israeli Battle Dressings, or an extra CAT-T tourniquet would certainly not be out of place however, if also not necessary.

Observation

Observation requirements in combat can range from the obvious use of binocular field glasses and spotting scopes to see the enemy before he sees you, to the application of NODs or FLIR devices. It may also include the carry of a flashlight or headlamp, for use after dark in limited areas, such as locating spoor for tactical tracking, or reading a map.

For visible lights, I’ve always used and recommended the use of red lenses for maintenance of night-vision. I’ve been asked in classes about the use of green filter lenses and always said, “I use red. It works for me. I don’t know of any advantages to green.” A fellow SF veteran recently pointed out to me however, one significant advantage of green lenses over red however….It’s fuck all easier to read a topo map with a green lens filter, since it doesn’t wash out the contour lines like a red lens does….

Headlamps may also be necessary for use when both hands are required for a task, such as securing a detainee, or gathering up materials on an objective for battlefield recovery. In such cases, while a colored lens filter may help with maintenance of night-vision, it may also reduce visual acuity enough that you leave something critical behind on the objective. A far better approach is to have a colored lens filter on a hand-held light (I’m partial to SureFire and StreamLight brands, personally. Despite the costs, they have a far more established track record for robustness than any of the newer brands. I’ll choose quality over cheap any day of the week, and twice on Sundays), and a white lens headlamp for searching personnel or objectives.

With NODs, I’m currently in love with the AN/PVS-14 monocular. It may go in your ruck, or on your fighting load, but for most people, most of the time, it should go in your ruck if you’re not wearing it on your head, and using it. While the AN/PVS-23 offers better depth perception for driving, it also costs better than twice what the 14s do. The AN/PVS-7, while slightly less expensive, suffers from the same lack of depth perception that the 14s do, while also degrading the natural night vision in both eyes, versus only one with the 14.

I often get asked about the applicability of less expensive NODs, such as the older Gen 1 Russian imported stuff, and some of the stuff you can find at hunting retailers like Cabelas. In a word, don’t. I’m sure someone will post a comment on this article about how it’s better than no NODs at all. You’re wrong, and you are doing nothing but demonstrating your ignorance when you do. The only way the cheap stuff is even remotely viable is with the use of the IR illuminator device switched on. Having the illuminator device on is the NOD equivalent of taping a fucking SureFire light to your face. If you’re dumb enough to assume that you’re the only guy in the area smart enough to have NODs, then thank you in advance for contributing to the cleansing of the gene pool.

Cheap, POS NODs are, in fact, far worse than no NODs. One, they breed false confidence, that will result in your dying. Two, NODs are actually not all that hard to hide from. FLIR can be difficult to hide from, but it’s not impossible. NODs are relatively easy to hide from however. Think about it. They magnify the available light. Nothing more, nothing less.

If you are camouflaged and concealed enough to hide from naked eye observation in daylight, then you’re camouflaged and concealed enough to hide from NODs in darkness. Fucking rocket science, isn’t it?

NODs, unless you are in an overwatch, support-by-fire position during a raid, running a precision rifle, or belt-fed weapon, should never be mounted on your rifle. Put them in your ruck for safekeeping, until it’s time to use them, then put them on a helmet or skullcrusher mount, and wear them. If you’re using the NODs to shoot with, drop the extra money on a IR laser.

Lost and Found

A lot of your land navigation and signaling gear will be in your Tier One or Tier Two loads. Signal mirrors and VS-17 panels for ground-to-ground signaling should be in your Tier One gear. Radios should be in your Tier Two gear. Compasses and maps should be in your Tier One gear. Extra batteries for all of this gear will go in your rucksack however.

A lot of guys like to bitch about the battery requirements, and how we should all get primitive, like we’re some sort of paleolithic hunter-gatherers. That’s fine, for what it is, and I can start a fire with a bow-drill or flint-and-steel if I have to. However, from a tactical standpoint, I want to win. I will leverage everything I can to that end, including the use of technology, when available.

I do not however, advocate GPS, for three reasons. One, I grew up with the old shoe-box sized PLUGGER units. The batteries would last about twenty minutes on those things, then you were back to map and compass, while still having to carry around that brick. I know modern GPS are far smaller, more lightweight, and more reliable (my ex-wife had a wrist mounted GPS that she loved, and wore like an extra watch), but……

Two, they create a cookie crumb record of where you’ve been. That only becomes a problem if you are killed or captured, and then it’s not a problem for you, but for your friends and family; nevertheless, it’s something critical to consider. While theoretically you can erase the cookie crumbs, I have my doubts about how difficult it would be for a computer-savvy person to dig them out.

Three, while the young bucks won’t remember this, until 1996, GPS wasn’t available for civilian receivers. In 1996, recognizing the applicability of GPS to civilian users, former President Clinton issued a policy directive that established the Interagency GPS Executive Board and opened the satellite system to civilian recreational receivers. I don’t think for one second that, given the impetus, Uncle Sugar wouldn’t flip the switch back the other way. Then, all you cool guys that either never learned to use a map and compass properly, or have forgotten the details, are fucked….(I got asked recently to do some articles on land nav. They are forthcoming).

Extreme Weather Conditions

At its most fundamental level, Che Guevara’s recommendation of a poncho and a light blanket may be all that is required for the partisan to function in inclement weather (as a young soldier, training throughout the southern USA and many tropical and subtropical environments, we utilized nothing more than a poncho and poncho liner as a “sleep system” even in winter). Even in winter in alpine environments, it is theoretically possible that it may be sufficient. The interior of a snow cave maintains a pretty steady temperature just above or at freezing. I’ve stayed comfortably warm in snow caves with nothing more than a poncho, poncho liner, and casualty-type, quilted “space” blanket. Of course, on the other hand, I’ve also frozen my dick off laying in a tank truck in the mud of an early spring sleet storm, wrapped in a poncho and poncho liner, with MRE heaters shoved under my ass in an attempt to generate heat.

As a result, although I suffered through as a young Ranger, I now refuse to scrimp on sleep comfort (of course, as participants in the last Colorado class witnessed, my definition of sleep comfort can be drastically different than most). I recognize the importance of being able to function for lengthy periods of time without adequate sleep, have done so, and can still do so. However, when the opportunity to sleep does occur, especially under tactical conditions, it is imperative to take full advantage of it, and get the highest quality of sleep/rest possible.

In Colorado, I used a summer weight patrol sleeping bag, inside of the GoreTex bivy, with a casualty blanket wrapped around me inside of the patrol bag. I generated enough heat that my hooch buddy commented on it “Dude, you put out a lot of body heat. Can I snuggle up to you for warmth?” That was fine, right up to the point the diesel motor starting roaring in my ear…

That’s pretty much my current standard for cold-weather sleep gear. I go back and forth between the old closed-cell foam sleep pad and a ThermaRest pad beneath it, but am pretty well stuck on the advantages of the ThermaRest. In the warmer months, I use the standard “Ranger Taco” bivy system. It is a quilted poncho liner (“woobie”) and a poncho, folded and snapped together into a sort of psuedo “sleeping bag,” with the casualty blanket on the inside.

To the average “camper,” neither of these is going to be anywhere near comfortable, or even adequate, as is. The secret, for me (and I know a lot of really expert people who disagree with me on this….), is that I wear dry clothes to bed with me, for an extra layer of insulation to trap my body heat.

I once had a Ranger squad leader who had developed outdoor sleeping in a tactical environment into a highly evolved scientific pursuit, worthy of study in architectural colleges. In addition to the basic “Ranger Taco,” he modified the “Ranger Hooch” into a system that I blatantly and unabashedly stole. While the basic Ranger Hooch concept simply involves stringing the poncho overhead to keep precipitation off, this system allows the hooch to he pitched anywhere, under any conditions, and protect the individual from the vagaries of almost any imaginable ill weather conditions, from snow and rain, to high winds, or any combination of the above.

(My Ranger Hooch, separate from the Ranger Taco, includes a basic USGI ripstop nylon poncho–although you could use any of the civilian type shelter tarps, like Ray Jardine’s of silicon impregnated silk–in woodland BDU camouflage, because let’s face it, UCP sucks as a camouflage pattern, with a loop of about eight inches of 550 cord tied to every eyelet around the exterior, and a 12-inch loop tied to the inside loops where the waistband strings were originally located.

The hood is cinched close as tight as possible, tied off with 550 cord, and has a six-foot long length of 550 cord extending from it. This provides a lot of options for tie-off points for suspending the shelter in vegetated areas.

I include 8-10 stainless steel tent pins–pegs are too heavy and space-consuming, as well as harder to drive into the ground in most terrain–as well as 8-12 one-foot bungee cords, and six sections of the old USGI shelter half poles. These allow me a great deal of flexibility in creating elevated corners and sides of the shelter, to control the ingress of wind and precipitation, while still allowing for maximum visibility to the exterior of the shelter. Combined with the Ranger Taco, or a sleeping bag/bivy system, this provides me a wide range of shelter options for protection from the elements when in a lay-up position or hide site. It provides all of the benefits of a tent, besides the psychological crutch of “solid walls,” with none of the tactical liabilities such as reduced visibility and situational awareness, and reduced egress options.

Finally, a new option I’ve been playing with that is actually a very old one, is the use of a hammock, even in cold-weather climates. The obvious drawback to a hammock of course, is the air flow underneath that steals body heat. What I discovered however, was that putting a ThermaRest pad on the hammock first, then a casualty blanket, before crawling into it with my sleep system, negated that drawback nicely. I actually let someone use it at an SUT class in Idaho last winter, and he even remarked that he was more than adequately warm through the night.

Other issues with extreme weather conditions include clothing to protect you from the elements when you’re not in a shelter. This is where most of us screw up. I prefer cold-weather environments over hot-weather environments, by a wide margin. I can always put more clothes on in the cold weather places, but I can only pull so much off before I’m naked in the hot weather.

Unfortunately, I’m also fond of staying warm. So, like most people, I tend to overpack. Of course, again, my definition of comfortable is far wider than that of many people. The suburban soccer mom or office hive worker will feel it necessary to pack a metric shit-ton of snivel gear to stay warm. They’re not used to being exposed to the elements, and so, regardless of protestations otherwise, they fear the discomfort of it. So, they make themselves even more uncomfortable by carrying far more gear than they actually need.

As we ruthlessly cull our gear each month, we need to look at the realities. You do not need seven outfits for seven days in the woods. You do not need a separate wet-weather parka and a cold-weather parka. Instead, the wet-weather parka, with a layer or two of insulating material beneath, doubles as a cold-weather parka.

For inclement weather protection, a lighweight, but durable wet-weather shell, a medium weight fleece jacket, a fleece or wool stocking cap, warm socks and gloves, and something to cover your neck and face, are generally adequate, unless you’re operating in Minnesota in January, or north of Denali in Alaska. I’ve functioned outdoors, on the Montana Hi-Line, in February, with one pair of thermal underwear, jeans and a Carhartt jacket, and a wool cap on, and stayed comfortably warm.

Think about what you actually need, then test what you think you actually need. My current snivel gear packing list?

1) Four pairs of wool socks. While theoretically, I could wear one and be drying the other, tactical considerations may preclude that, meaning I may need the extra pairs.

2) Silk weight, polypro thermal underwear trousers. I can’t stand wearing heavyweight thermal trousers, and my legs stay pretty warm anyway. These only go on when I’m stationary. Wearing them while humping a ruck will make you a heat casualty, even in cold-weather conditions.

3) medium weight polypro thermal underwear shirt. I finally got one of the newer waffle-pattern USGI ones and fell in love with it. A far, far better product than the old puke brown ones.

4) medium weight fleece jacket. This is one place where the old Gen 1 ECWCS beat the new system hands down. The black jacket is far warmer than the newer sage green ones. I’ve also however, got about two dozen different civilian recreational fleece jackets from Columbia, North Face, and other mountaineering companies. In fact, for about nine months out of the year, I’m generally wearing a fleece of some sort.

5) waterproof, nylon shell jacket. I’ve used a bunch of these over the years. I’m actually not certain what’s in my ruck at the moment, because I’ve got a bad ass softshell that I wear when it’s raining locally.

6) fleece beanie cap.

7) Unless it’s below 0F, I wear nomex aviator’s gloves, and that’s it. If it’s colder than that, I’ll wear Thinsulate lined work gloves, or heavy duty, well-insulated GoreTex shells over fleece glove liners.

8) I keep a dry pair of multi-cam trousers in my ruck, as well as whatever pants I happen to be wearing.

Not much, in other words….

Survival

Under the heading of survival, we’re discussing the fundamental requirements the human body needs to stay alive. This includes things like water, food, etc.

For most of us, water should be our first priority. I carry far more water than I need to in my current operating environment. In the area of the northern Redoubt that we’re building SFOB Rifleman’s Ridge, there is ample groundwater, in the form of streams and creeks, year-round springs, lakes, and snow, that even in August, you’d have to try to die of dehydration, as long as you have a way to purify the water. Nevertheless, I spent a lot of years living in the desert, and old habits die hard. Further, I may not be in a tactical situation that permits easy access to those water sources at any given time.

I keep two quarts of water on my fighting load, but I also keep a minimum of two quarts on my sustainment load. While I’m currently running an ALICE ruck, that means it is in a USGI 2qt canteen strapped to the outside of the ruck. When I use a civilian-style ruck, I’ll use a 100 oz Camelback bladder to hold the water.

I also keep water purification in both my fighting load and in my ruck. While there are various methods for this, ranging from high-end water filters to iodine tablets, I was introduced to a product 15 years ago that I use to this day. I’ve used it to purify water out of muddy puddles and out of cow troughs on the desert, and have never suffered Montezuma’s Revenge as a result. I’ve had people question the validity of it, but, while I don’t understand the science behind it, ION Stabilized Oxygen drops work, well.

Between the two tactics, I never seem to hurt for adequate water.

Food is a secondary consideration for survival. While there are those self-proclaimed experts who expect to do nothing but snare rabbits and field mice for food, while gathering wild edibles, they’re delusional. Trapping and gathering food is a viable option, if you’re already an experienced trapper and you have nothing else to concern yourself with.

In a tactical scenario however, the time needed to set and check traps will be restricted by the need to conduct tactical tasks, and the fact that even experienced, expert trappers don’t catch shit every time they set a trap or snare (I run about a 20% success rate when I run traps, and while I’m far from an expert, I’m not a novice either).

The idea that you’re going to live off what you snare with improvised snares and deadfalls, in the long-term however, at least in a tactical context, is ludicrous to me. Guys that have a chance of living off their traplines are not going to be doing much besides running their traplines. and they are going to be using professional tools, not shit they made in the field.

Food must be included in your packing list. Whether it’s freeze-dried mountaineering foods, MREs, canned goods, or staples like rice and flour is irrelevant. You will need food, and a means to prepare it. I can go 48-72 hours with no caloric intake before it really starts affecting me physiologically, even when I’m physically active, but when it does start, it gets rough in a hurry.

I generally pack dried staples and canned foods, despite the weight. I also carry a MSR XGK stove and one bottle of fuel, all in my ruck (I keep easy to eat, no prep snacks in my fighting load, and have a stainless steel nesting cup over one of the Nalgene bottles on my fighting load as well).

Conclusions

While there is a lot to be said for the benefits of looking at some of the options described in the books currently available of packing bug-out bags, the partisan needs to look at his patrol pack/go bag as a third tier in his equipment packing list, and look at it in the context of what he expects to be doing. I have lots of friends who ask my opinion on this author’s book, or that expert’s article, on this as well as other topics.

In a lot of cases, the literature currently available from survivalist or “prepper” authors are fundamentally useless. It seems like lots of people are jumping on the “Doomsday Prepper” bandwagon, looking to make a buck (incidentally, if the folks over in Northern Idaho who advertised that they had “Doomsday Prepper Dogs” for sale in the local paper over there–English Mastiff crosses–are readers, please email me. I want one of your puppies….TMO needs a dog, and I want one that’ll scare the living fuck out of lions and tigers and bears, oh my….and will trade training for part of the cost…). When I tell these friends that I thought the book was fundamentally worthless, or left out some pretty critical information, I tend to get the response, in lots of cases, that “Well, yeah, but you’re a death-dealing Special Forces soldier. For those of us with no experience, it was a pretty good primer, right?”

The answer is still “No!” God is in the details. If an author cannot be bothered to know or include the details, he’s doing his writers a disservice, unless he at least points them to where they can find the details.

Figure out what your needs are, based on your projected functions, and pack accordingly. Travel light, freeze at night, and only carry what you have to, but be able to carry what you need.

DOL,

John Mosby

SFOB-Rifleman’s Ridge

Regardless of the initial political persuasions of the local civilian populace, in order to be ultimately successful, a resistance must gain the willing support of the civilian populace, and be able to organize that support into a coordinated, functional effort. While the active paramilitary guerrilla force is off, freezing and starving at Valley Forge, the task of developing and organizing that civilian support falls on the auxiliary (see what I did there?)

(We who are active in the Liberty movement, especially many of us in the blogosphere, like to throw out the III% label, perhaps too quickly in many cases. The reality is, while yes, only three percent of the colonials actively took the field against the British Empire at any one time, the division of support between the warring elements was closer to thirds: one-third supported the rebellion, one-third supported the Crown, and one-third just didn’t give a shit, as long as their kids were housed and fed. After all, neither Thomas Jefferson nor Benjamin Franklin ever took the field of battle during the conflict….were they somehow less dedicated to the Cause?

The job of the auxiliary is two-fold. On the one hand, they need to organize the support of the first third into functional assistance for the resistance. Second, they need to convince the last third to begin actively supporting the resistance, rather than sitting on the fence. The middle third, you’re probably not going to change the minds of. Killing them however, will probably ruin much of the support you might gain from the third who are on the fence however…so, leave them be, and when you’ve won, deport their Tory asses to Canada….)

Fortunately, the use of the auxiliary to gain and develop support from the local civilian population lends some distinct advantages from a PSYOP perspective. While the regime is busy labeling the guerrillas as nothing more than bandits and brigands (or “bitter clingers”), the public is approached by the auxiliary…who are normal, run-of-the mill neighbors. These are guys they see and deal with every day. They’re not camo-wearing nutjobs hiding out in the hills. This one is on the city council for Christ’s sake, and that one is the manager of the local Wal-Mart warehouse! It may be far easier for the neighbor they see every day, the guy who is apparently just like them, trying to raise his kids and make a living, to convince John and Jane Doe, to donate their time, food, or money, to the resistance than it will be for the dirty, mud- and blood-stained guys with guns, who haven’t showered in three months, and hide out in the woods…except when they show up at zero-holy-fuck-it’s-dark-outside-who’s-banging-on-my-door-at-this-hour, to demand food and shelter.

Make no mistake about it. As important as the guerrilla force is, without the auxiliary, they won’t last six weeks.

Organization

For operational security (OPSEC) and personnel security (PERSEC) reasons, auxiliary functions cells must be compartmentalized from each other and from the guerrilla force. This prevents one person being captured from allowing the regime to roll up an entire resistance network. This compartmentalization however, when done properly, still allows for control and coordination between subordinate elements, through the use of clandestine communications.

Ideally, each auxiliary cell under the control of the local area command, would fulfill a unique function (logistics, medical, PSYOP, recruiting, etc), and be redundant as well, by having a “sister” cell also dedicated to that function. Whenever possible, in the presence of an organized area command, and with adequate personnel, auxiliary cells SHOULD be organized into this type of functionally compartmentalized structure. Historically however, every auxiliary cell has had to perform multiple roles due to shortages of trustworthy, loyal, proven personnel.

The auxiliary, like the local guerrilla defense force, should organize to coincide with the existing political administration (i.e. neighborhood, town/village, city, county, state, etc….not city council, mayor, sheriff, etc….), and may be either centralized or de-centralized, depending on the situation of the resistance politically and militarily. At each level, a command committee controls and coordinates activities of the auxiliary within its area of responsibility. Members of the command committee may fill one role, or multiple roles, but based on their professional backgrounds, interests, and abilities, will take on specific duties, such as: security, intelligence, PSYOP, communications, transportation, supply, and recruiting, among others.

Each member of the command committee will then, independent of the others, begin developing his personal network. He’ll find three or four or five people he knows and trusts locally, preferably who are not socially connected to one another, who possess vocational or avocational knowledge of his area of responsibility, and start them on developing their subordinate cells in the exact same way. The command committee member may elect to introduce these subordinate “assistant cell leaders” to one another, or he may keep their existence secret from one another (the first rule of fight club….). Below the the assistant cell leader level however, even in a small, close-knit community, members of one cell should certainly not be aware of the identities of other cell’s members, or even the existence of other cells.

(I would add, if you are a member of more than one group who elects to stand up a command committee, it is certainly possible that you could develop parallel cells of auxiliary, in different areas of the community, but a better application would be as the liaison between two different command committees, to prevent, or at least reduce, the unnecessary reproduction of efforts.)

Recruiting the Auxiliary Membership

As cell leaders begin to look for “recruits” for their auxiliary cells, they should initially look at their own family and social networks for trusted people they’ve known for years, and who they know wholeheartedly support the causes of the resistance (let’s face it, if you don’t have three or four friends or relatives who share your beliefs and whom you trust with your life….you’re a pretty sorry excuse for a human being….and before you go any further in your resistance education, I suggest you visit your local library and check out a copy of Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”).

Members of the auxiliary are people who maintain their residence, occupation, and lifestyle, within the local area. They must, at all times, maintain the appearance of “average citizens.” The surest way to maintain the security of your cells is to stick to local friends and relatives with good reputations in their social circles, who are genuinely supportive of the resistance movement and possibly have friends or family members fighting with the guerrilla force. People who are duped into supporting the resistance and find out that they’ve been duped, or people who are coerced to support the resistance through force, are not the auxiliary, and will in fact, turn you in to the regime at the earliest opportunity, through fear, resentment, or even simply embarassment.

As your network expands outward, your friends will recruit their friends that they’ve known for years, but you may not know. In turn, those friends will recruit their friends that your friend may not know. It becomes a multi-cellular organism, evolved from the uni-cellular organization you started with, very quickly. As it grows however, so does the risk of compromise.

Security Considerations

The two most important considerations in the survival and effectiveness of an auxiliary organization are maintaining the “average citizen” image, and being extremely cautious about confiding in others. Certain behaviors and aspects should always be kept in mind by members of the auxiliary:

• Maintain the “average citizen” image. Never allow yourself to look out-of-place, or draw attention to yourself. When you are performing auxiliary functions, you should have a legitimate, easily verified reason for being where you are, with what you have. If you must go some place where you don’t have an excuse for being, ensure that regime security forces don’t have an excuse to stop you. Michael Collins, even as part of the Irish Dail, and a wanted fugitive by the British, was able to travel about Dublin, on a bicycle, with no security. He simply dressed well, and no one would think that such as well-dressed bloke could possibly be a bad-guy.
• Don’t miss work, without a legitimate reason, to conduct auxiliary activities. Pretty soon, you’ll end up fired, and/or people will begin to question how you can maintain your lifestyle while you’re missing so many hours.
• Don’t show an unusual concern about security force activities. Don’t stop to gawk at an arrest when everyone else is ignoring it. On the same hand however, don’t make it a point to NOT watch what’s going on when everyone else IS stopping to gawk.
• Be able to account for missing materials. If you’re pilfering food off your warehouse deliveries to siphon off to the guerrillas, make sure you’re figuring out a way to account for them. “Well, they must have been stolen,” won’t work more than once or twice. “Gee, thieves have taken the same 500lbs of rice every week for the last six weeks, and you didn’t notice? Let’s see how these pretty silver bracelets look on you.”
• Confiding too freely to strangers. Seriously? If some dude you don’t know at all is talking about the resistance while you’re sitting at the bus stop or on a bar stool…he’s either an idiot, or he works for the regime. Either way, don’t tell him shit. Even if he comes recommended to you, don’t give up information he doesn’t need to know. In the here and now, I constantly preach to you, “don’t be so paranoid that you fuck yourself,” and I genuinely believe that. However…figure out what you can tell folks and what you shouldn’t tell folks. I have no problem telling people I have guns, and lots of them. I don’t even have a problem telling folks I have body armor. I certainly don’t tell them where I store that equipment, nor do I tell them specific numbers or types. I don’t go around talking to people about specific people, groups, or places I’ve conducted training classes.
• Asking unusual questions or favors of people with questionable loyalties. If you’re not sure the guy is on your side or not, don’t ask him to find out which car the local security director will be taking to the meeting three towns away. Don’t ask him to stick this “secret gift” in the the guy’s desk, without telling anyone….Keep your auxiliary activities amongst people you trust, and let them keep their activities amongst people they trust.
• Don’t be so eager to recruit people that you don’t do due diligence. In the here and now, conduct multiple “interviews” with them, and conduct a background check of some form, to ensure they are who they say they are. In the active phase of a resistance, do what criminal gangs do…make them “prove” themselves…

Ultimately, auxiliary members and organizations derive their protection from two means–their compartmented structure, and the undercover nature of their functions. While the guerrilla force may be forced to move from one base camp area to another, the auxiliary doesn’t really have that option, if they hope to remain useful. Because the entire resistance movement in a given area relies so heavily on the logistics support and early warning service that the auxiliary provides, security must be the first thought when organizing cells. The resistance cannot survive without the support of its greatest asset–the civilian population. The civilian population, regardless of their level of support for the resistance, cannot provide that support without the auxiliary.

Auxiliary members continue their day-to-day lives, presenting no apparent break in their daily routines, while at the same time, they engage in resistance activities. They are, in fact, leading double lives, and their ability to succeed in that hinges on their ability to keep that side of their lives secret from all, including friends and family who are not active members of the resistance. School-age children who spend any time with other children and want to “impress” their friends, wives who like to gossip with their girlfriends, mothers who are concerned about your safety, friends who think it’s “funny” to out their buddy to other friends….any of them will get you a short trip to a shallow ditch if they know things they don’t need to know.

The auxiliary member tasked with a certain aspect of a job may call on other people, outside of the resistance, to accomplish his plans, but those who unwittingly, or unwillingly, give their temporary support to the resistance, as mentioned previously, are not considered to be part of the auxiliary. Some may be paid temporary help, such as the drug smuggler you pay to bring in a load of guns or ammunition. Some may be coerced, because you know they have a family member in the resistance, even though they don’t support the resistance themselves. Personnel who are supportive of the resistance, but may be under surveillance by the regime may be of little value to the resistance. Ultimately, relying only on people you know support the resistance, and whom you trust, will go a long way to maintaining security of the cellular network.

Auxiliary Taskings

Specific task categories the auxiliary’s cells may be required to fulfill can include developing a security plan for the auxiliary and providing security for meetings of the command committee. A cell may be tasked with developing a guerrilla hospital, from acquiring the necessary medical supplies and setting up a one-bed hospital in someone’s basement, to developing a relationship with a sympathetic surgeon or veterinarian.

Another cell may be tasked with developing a transportation network of over-the-road drivers, cab drivers, and local delivery drivers, to mapping out a series of safehouses and hide sites that they can move people and supplies through. A fourth cell may be tasked with assisted recovery of evading personnel. Several cells may be tasked with logistics support by acquiring, cataloging, and storing different classes of supplies, from weapons and munitions to foodstuffs. They may also simply develop the networks among supportive farmers and gardeners to ensure they can purchase a cut of the crop each harvest, to ensure the resistance has food for its people.

Another cell may be tasked with PSYOP, developing a complete PSYOP program to ensure that the local civilian populace and the regime’s security forces personnel learn what is really going on, versus what the regime’s spokespersons say is going on.

Another cell may be tasked with S-2. This would include determining what specific intelligence information the guerrillas need, and then developing the connections and means to acquire that information, collate it, and determine what it means.

Another cell may be tasked with operating a communications network, including telephones, computer/internet, and courier communications. Another cell might be tasked with raising funds, either in the form of donations, or other means (historically, this has meant “taxing” local merchants and citizens, or running drugs….I don’t suggest either as an ideal method, but developing a local black market and having things to sell on it, might be the way to go. Hell, I bet 70% or more of the readership of this blog uses the black market now, whether they realize it or not. I make it a point to try and do so.).

Another cell might decide to be tasked with sabotage or other forms of subversion in a sort of “part-time guerrilla” role. This would allow them to hit targets that were out of reach of the paramilitary guerrilla force, or were not “legitimate” targets for the guerrilla force to strike.