CHICANO FORCE !!!!
THIS FROM THE MINUTEMAN WE NEED
TO KNOW THEIR TACTICS..
As I said in my fitness blog, “owning a rifle and watching youtube videos isn’t gonna cut it”! Reading books and watching videos is a good way to expand your knowledge but it is not training. In my experience the best training comes from an individual with a life long career in that particular subject matter. Class room training followed by repeated hands on training is the best method for perfecting a skill. Training also provides a chance to build unity within your team. Working together, pushing each other and struggling for a common goal is what builds a solid team. Every skillset you acquire is a perishable skill, you need to routinely train and qualify – as the saying goes “if you don’t use it you lose it!”
As a militia you should train with the mindset that at some point you could be incorporated into the military. With that said you need to look at current military tactics and training. Pull from members in your group who have experience in particular fields. For example: If one of your members is an EMT have him teach the first aid class. It is not cost effective to sending each member to a specialized training class. Instead try to have the instructor come to you or pitch in and send one member to the class. Have one member, preferably specialized in that field, attend the training course and return home to teach what they learned to the group. Keep up on training, write a plan, set a schedule and hold everyone to it. I would also suggest you standardize certain areas of your gear along with training – such as the individual first aid kit(IFAK) – Each member should carry the same setup. During training you need to ensure your instructors stay on topic, cut the chatter, stop the side conversations and make your classes effective.
Don’t let the lack of a qualified trainer stop you from training. You can learn from a book but you need to practice more often. The more times you mess up the better! That’s right, every mistake made in training is a mistake not made in the field – make mistakes and learn from them. Get some military manuals and start running drill, be safe, make mistakes and hold open forum after action reviews.
Below are some areas my militia group focus on. This is only a few thoughts on each, eventually I will cover individual topics in depth…
Infantry Tactics:
Shoot, Move and Communicate – Infantry tactics are essential for a militia. Individual movements, moving under fire, peel maneuvers, patrol formations, marksmanship, land navigation – all need to be second nature. A fire team should be so well trained that it operates as a single living entity. Live fire training and rappelling are very dangerous and need to be done under proper supervision. Every new member, no matter their experience, should be treated as if they have never held a firearm before. Start with the basics before engaging them in more complicated techniques.
First Aid:
Start the breathing, Stop the bleeding, Protect the wound, Treat for shock – CPR and First aid is a skill everyone needs to know (hell, I wish it was a high school graduation requirement). You should seriously consider getting a member certified as a CPR/First Aid instructor, it is worth it in the long run. This stuff is important and your members deserve to have a qualified instructor teaching them. I would suggest pooling your money and doing bulk orders for first aid kits and materials for everyone’s IFAK. Standardize the contents of each IFAK and take everything out of their original packaging and place them into cheap zip lock sandwich bags. You need to be able to dress a wound at night with blood soaked hands under stressful conditions. If you need clarification on this, dip your hands in water, turn off all the lights and apply an Israeli bandage on your leg. Let me know how it goes.
Communication:
The Eagle has landed, repeat, the eagle has landed – Communication is essential on the battlefield. With today’s advancing technology basic radio equipment can be purchased at a low cost. Each member should have a two way radio with some type of microphone/headset setup. I would recommend getting a few members ham radio certified and have the ability to talk via HF, especially if you are in a mountainous area. Learn and utilize counter encryption techniques(CEO&I’s) and create codes for each mission. Because militias are often looked down upon it is also good practice to protect your private conversations. Research and implement encryption on your groups comms- apps like Wickr and software such as PGP are a few examples. There is an abundance of resources available to protect your communication, you just need to look around and determine what works for you.
Survival
3 minutes without air, 3 hours in the elements, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food – Basic survival skills are not easy, it takes a degree or preparation along with extensive knowledge. Making a fire with sticks is a pain in the butt and trying to do it in the rain and wind is nearly impossible. One has to utilize tools found in nature to survive the outdoors. Finding fatwood or pine resin can make starting a fire with a ferro rod feel more like striking a match. The problem with militia survival training is it usually goes hand in hand with escape and evade. The problem with surviving in an escape and evade situation is staying hidden. Coordinate survival techniques into your training scenarios to keep everyone from getting complacent.
Preparedness
The zombies are coming the zombies are coming! – Personally I don’t see the need to be self sufficient or have a 10 year stockpile of dollar store crap. However, I do see the need to be prepared. The prepper community has exploded in recent years and for good reason. Anyone who has made a budget and balanced their check book can see the economy is not getting better. Local, county, state and federal budgets can’t be sustained on their current levels. The question is – What are you preparing for? I personally look at prepping as an insurance policy, do I want the million dollar life insurance or the fifty thousand dollar plan? Decisions, decisions… Oh, this going to be a long topic… As preparedness pertains to a militia I would suggest all your gear plus a minimum of 2 weeks supplies of ammo, mre’s, water purification tabs and hygiene products packed in a bag and ready to go at a moments notice. That means a clean rifle, loaded magazines, canteens and camel backs are topped off and batteries charged. If you can not grab your gear and be pulling out of the driveway in 5 minutes, then as a minuteman, you are not prepared.
Prepping for a family to endure a house fire, natural disaster, grid down or economic collapse is completely different than prepping for a deployment. Tier your preps: 3 day bug out bags, 2 week supply kit, 1 months food in the house and keep building from there. I personally took out the 3 month prepper insurance policy. I try to have 3 months worth of food and supplies on hand. It is easy to get carried away with prepping, do it in steps, read, learn and ask around. The internet is full of good advice on prepping but be warned it is also full of horrible crap and lots of bad advise. Sit your group down and talk about your individual prepping goals.
THIS FROM THE MINUTEMAN WE NEED
TO KNOW THEIR TACTICS..
As I said in my fitness blog, “owning a rifle and watching youtube videos isn’t gonna cut it”! Reading books and watching videos is a good way to expand your knowledge but it is not training. In my experience the best training comes from an individual with a life long career in that particular subject matter. Class room training followed by repeated hands on training is the best method for perfecting a skill. Training also provides a chance to build unity within your team. Working together, pushing each other and struggling for a common goal is what builds a solid team. Every skillset you acquire is a perishable skill, you need to routinely train and qualify – as the saying goes “if you don’t use it you lose it!”
As a militia you should train with the mindset that at some point you could be incorporated into the military. With that said you need to look at current military tactics and training. Pull from members in your group who have experience in particular fields. For example: If one of your members is an EMT have him teach the first aid class. It is not cost effective to sending each member to a specialized training class. Instead try to have the instructor come to you or pitch in and send one member to the class. Have one member, preferably specialized in that field, attend the training course and return home to teach what they learned to the group. Keep up on training, write a plan, set a schedule and hold everyone to it. I would also suggest you standardize certain areas of your gear along with training – such as the individual first aid kit(IFAK) – Each member should carry the same setup. During training you need to ensure your instructors stay on topic, cut the chatter, stop the side conversations and make your classes effective.
Don’t let the lack of a qualified trainer stop you from training. You can learn from a book but you need to practice more often. The more times you mess up the better! That’s right, every mistake made in training is a mistake not made in the field – make mistakes and learn from them. Get some military manuals and start running drill, be safe, make mistakes and hold open forum after action reviews.
Below are some areas my militia group focus on. This is only a few thoughts on each, eventually I will cover individual topics in depth…
Infantry Tactics:
Shoot, Move and Communicate – Infantry tactics are essential for a militia. Individual movements, moving under fire, peel maneuvers, patrol formations, marksmanship, land navigation – all need to be second nature. A fire team should be so well trained that it operates as a single living entity. Live fire training and rappelling are very dangerous and need to be done under proper supervision. Every new member, no matter their experience, should be treated as if they have never held a firearm before. Start with the basics before engaging them in more complicated techniques.
First Aid:
Start the breathing, Stop the bleeding, Protect the wound, Treat for shock – CPR and First aid is a skill everyone needs to know (hell, I wish it was a high school graduation requirement). You should seriously consider getting a member certified as a CPR/First Aid instructor, it is worth it in the long run. This stuff is important and your members deserve to have a qualified instructor teaching them. I would suggest pooling your money and doing bulk orders for first aid kits and materials for everyone’s IFAK. Standardize the contents of each IFAK and take everything out of their original packaging and place them into cheap zip lock sandwich bags. You need to be able to dress a wound at night with blood soaked hands under stressful conditions. If you need clarification on this, dip your hands in water, turn off all the lights and apply an Israeli bandage on your leg. Let me know how it goes.
Communication:
The Eagle has landed, repeat, the eagle has landed – Communication is essential on the battlefield. With today’s advancing technology basic radio equipment can be purchased at a low cost. Each member should have a two way radio with some type of microphone/headset setup. I would recommend getting a few members ham radio certified and have the ability to talk via HF, especially if you are in a mountainous area. Learn and utilize counter encryption techniques(CEO&I’s) and create codes for each mission. Because militias are often looked down upon it is also good practice to protect your private conversations. Research and implement encryption on your groups comms- apps like Wickr and software such as PGP are a few examples. There is an abundance of resources available to protect your communication, you just need to look around and determine what works for you.
Survival
3 minutes without air, 3 hours in the elements, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food – Basic survival skills are not easy, it takes a degree or preparation along with extensive knowledge. Making a fire with sticks is a pain in the butt and trying to do it in the rain and wind is nearly impossible. One has to utilize tools found in nature to survive the outdoors. Finding fatwood or pine resin can make starting a fire with a ferro rod feel more like striking a match. The problem with militia survival training is it usually goes hand in hand with escape and evade. The problem with surviving in an escape and evade situation is staying hidden. Coordinate survival techniques into your training scenarios to keep everyone from getting complacent.
Preparedness
The zombies are coming the zombies are coming! – Personally I don’t see the need to be self sufficient or have a 10 year stockpile of dollar store crap. However, I do see the need to be prepared. The prepper community has exploded in recent years and for good reason. Anyone who has made a budget and balanced their check book can see the economy is not getting better. Local, county, state and federal budgets can’t be sustained on their current levels. The question is – What are you preparing for? I personally look at prepping as an insurance policy, do I want the million dollar life insurance or the fifty thousand dollar plan? Decisions, decisions… Oh, this going to be a long topic… As preparedness pertains to a militia I would suggest all your gear plus a minimum of 2 weeks supplies of ammo, mre’s, water purification tabs and hygiene products packed in a bag and ready to go at a moments notice. That means a clean rifle, loaded magazines, canteens and camel backs are topped off and batteries charged. If you can not grab your gear and be pulling out of the driveway in 5 minutes, then as a minuteman, you are not prepared.
Prepping for a family to endure a house fire, natural disaster, grid down or economic collapse is completely different than prepping for a deployment. Tier your preps: 3 day bug out bags, 2 week supply kit, 1 months food in the house and keep building from there. I personally took out the 3 month prepper insurance policy. I try to have 3 months worth of food and supplies on hand. It is easy to get carried away with prepping, do it in steps, read, learn and ask around. The internet is full of good advice on prepping but be warned it is also full of horrible crap and lots of bad advise. Sit your group down and talk about your individual prepping goals.
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