The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

29 Comments

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT7kvPUoG0A

   NAVY SEAL and Former Agency Operator training videos

2. Re: Illegals. Isn’t this also DJT allowing more illegals into the country?

   1. NO Rose, he and the various agencies with the authority to act are only following the laws as written. It’s the congress and the insane laws they write that are the problem. Border patrol and ICE are doing what they can, even to the point of skirting the existing laws. We don’t want a dictator. For the Trump administration to do more would require the exercise of dictatorial powers.

3. My minor is in history with a focus on early US history. So I got to read and research a lot about militia. The Dick Act was the start of the demise of the state militias as they where historically known. Prior to the “national guard” there were “Red, White, and Blue” camps that trained the militias. Red camps were to train enlisted ranks, white NCO’s and Blue camps were for Officers. One of my prized books is a training manual from these camps.

   1. That sounds very interesting. You should think about writing an article about it.

4. The National Guard’s Dramatic Logo Change,

   Who would have ever foreseen the militia [Army National Guard] being on the other side of the world, in a land locked country, doing occupation duty, and conducting counter insurgency operations. Buppert says they will eventually use these tactics against U.S. Citizens.

   Who are your state’s NG commanders? You might be surprised to find out where they originate from… What are their political & geographic loyalties?

   Survival fiction sometimes contains the concept of training a militia after a major disaster. It is far better to do that before the event, rather than after. Some folks think they can train a militia out of retired folks, but military age is 18-40 years old. If your son doesn’t have military training by 18 years old, you have done him, you, and your community a disservice. But how do you do that without him ending up on the other side of the world? It is so hard to impart military skills on young folks these days…

   The few states that have talked about 2nd Amendment style militias, have enacted very little. So, I would recommend that folks do this at the county or local level. It would be nice to have a local Parris Island type facility to train young men for local militia service. I really like the Swiss military as a model.

   1. When militias were a serious part of a particular state’s defense, they were funded by the individual states. Today’s National Guard was organized to be part of the national defense. While based in each state, each state’s National Guard is a creature of the federal government.

      The federal government currently funds somewhere in excess of 90% of the Guard’s equipment, if memory serves me, and it may be 100%. National Guard monthly and annual training is performed completely at federal expense. Only for purely state functions does the state pay for National Guardsmen’s service, e.g., parade security, disaster relief, etc. Even then, the federal government often picks up the tab once certain legalities are me.

      Conservative Americans “talk the talk” about military service, but Americans, as a population, shrink from military service–always have, always will. Those in the “Greatest Generation” and who helped defeat Germany and Japan were mostly drafted–11 million out of the 16 million who served. While it may be difficult to find the statistics, I expect that the truth of the matter is that the Navy and Army Air Corps had more volunteers in World War II because those branches were far safer overall.

      Because so many Americans have done their best to avoid military service over the decades, we gave up the draft. In exchange, we began to pay our servicemen better and focused on a more professional–and smaller–force. When the size of the active-duty military was reduced following the demise of the Soviet Union, the Guard and Reserve began to shoulder a much more important part of our national security plan.

      I am really not interested in hearing about whether some believe that we should never have been in Afghanistan or Iraq or Syria, etc. These same people (or their ancestors) made the same arguments about Europe, Korea, Vietnam, and Kuwait. Again, it is part of the American temperament. It is in full force and effect today and will be there five years from now.

      For all of those who decry the use of the National Guard and Reserve for active duty assignments, please tell me how many letters these same people have written to their congressmen supporting an expanded military and how many times they have encouraged congressmen to pass larger military appropriations bills.

      Also, please tell me how many years these same people spent in military service, and how many times they encouraged their kids to volunteer. I’ll wait…

      1. Survivormann99,

         I am not anti-military however their are some issues with our system that could have been avoided if we listened to our founding fathers. Thomas Jefferson was so concerned with a standing army that when drafting the Virginia Constitution he wrote that no standing army be kept in time of peace. He also believed that the Bill of Rights should contain “protection against” a standing army. President Eisenhower in his farewell address warned of the influence of Military Industrial complex. By keeping a standing army and playing semantics with words like War we have developed a bureaucracy that makes it too easy, in my opinion, to send our standing army and national guard and reserve us into places where we really shouldn’t be without the consent of Congress as the Constitution mandates. If we kept to the model of relying upon the militia to defend our nation where there would be a rifle behind every tree if someone invaded we would be much better off in my opinion. The US government meddles too much and other countries affairs when most Americans are more isolationist. the standing army is but one tool for that meddling. I’m proud of my military service but I would have been equally proud of serving in my local “militia” as was intended under the Militia Act of 1792.

         1. 3ADscout,

            You wrote, “I’m proud of my military service but I would have been equally proud of serving in my local ‘militia’ as was intended under the Militia Act of 1792.” The problem is that most men avoided serving in either a standing army or a militia, and, thus, there was the disappearance of almost any semblance of the militia by the time that the National Guard Act was adopted. And note that if you had served in the militia only, it would have been only a monthly social club unless the US was actually invaded.

            When Hitler was conquering Europe and the Japanese were conquering vast portions of China, the majority of Americans cold not have cared less and they supported the America First movement that resisted foreign involvement. The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans still served as great defensive barriers at that time. While Charles Lindbergh was well known for opposing American involvement in the conflicts, both John F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford were passionately against American involvement in Europe or Asia–but the press and historians generally avoid mentioning the latter. Better to attack Lindbergh.

            It took Pearl Harbor and a German declaration of war that quickly followed to get the majority of Americans to support a war effort. Even then, the great majority of men had to be drafted and, of those who volunteered, a huge percentage joined the Navy and Air Corps to avoid serious hardship or greater danger.

            Had Hitler not done us a “favor” and declared war, he would likely have gotten the A-bomb first and then forced Britain to surrender before the US would have tried to do/could have done anything about it.

            The warning from George Washington about foreign involvement came in the days of sailing ships when it took weeks to cross the ocean. Even then, the undisciplined and unreliable militia was a poor substitute for a standing army. The well-trained British Army made quick work of American militia just about wherever they met in the War of 1812. The poster child battle for the militia in that war was at New Orleans (and, yes, the war was officially over by that time). Andrew Jackson knew that his ragtag, undisciplined militia force had no chance against the British unless they dug in and fought behind breastworks. He did not have the audacity/recklessness to face the British Army on open ground because he knew that the militia would run.

            We had a choice after 9/11. Face the Taliban on their training grounds in Afghanistan, or face their graduates in more 9/11s. The choice was and should have been easy.

            While history may have a different view about Iraq, the fact is that something like 11 countries’ intelligence agencies believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. It is not even subject to dispute that he had already gassed Iranians and Kurds on repeated occasions and that he was working on nuclear weapons. It is easy to say now that it was a mistake to invade Iraq, but, had there been a serious attack on US soil with his weapons of mass destruction, people would have been shouting “get a rope” with regard to George W. Bush. (The same would have been said about Harry Truman if the US had suffered a million casualties while invading Japan and it was then revealed that we had the A-bombs that we could have used.)

            I am from a different era than you. I have listened to all of the whiners, softies, hippies, and liberals who complained that Vietnam was not worth the fight. What they mean is that they simply didn’t want to fight. They ignore the fact that we had the SEATO Treaty, just like the NATO Treaty, that said that the US would defend signatories if they were attacked.

            The opponents of US involvement mocked the so-called Domino Theory, that is, if Vietnam fell, the rest of Southeast Asia would follow. Well, Vietnam obviously fell because Americans couldn’t stomach a fight, not because we were beaten militarily. As a result, Cambodia and Laos shortly followed Vietnam. What the fight for Vietnam did do was give Thailand breathing room in order to hold the line. As a result, Malaysia and the Philippines were never threatened. Imagine the world today if international Communism were still in the expansionist phase.

            I get tired of the armchair patriots who sit in their living room and say that they support national defense but who would shudder at ever wearing a uniform or having a shot fired their way in anger. They will always find some self-serving excuse for not supporting “this” war. It provides them with the pretense of principle as cover.

            I also get tired of hearing “Thank you for your service.” It has become hollow and meaningless and is just about as important to me as a greeting like “How are you today?” (Very few people actually care to hear how you REALLY are today.) These are the people who stayed home, ate pizza with their pals, and drank brewskis while playing “Call of Duty.” Since 9/11, a few young men and women went to war, but the great majority just went to the mall.

            What it all comes down to is that these people really don’t care all that much whether you served or not, and it provides them cover to claim that they didn’t serve because they didn’t support a particular war. For many who share their philosophy, in the “History of Ever,” there has never been a war that they would have supported if it meant their taking part in it.

            1. Survivormann99,

               I agree that most don’t serve or care to serve. We veterans make up only 7% of the US population. That is pathetic. But if you look at it in a different view I is great that 7% is only needed to protect the whole.

               I am trying to encourage my son to join the military but his mother gets irate at the suggestion. The liberal ideology that runs deep in the bowels of our education system is also very effective at brainwashing our young to be Social Justic Warriors verses real warriors. After 9-1-1 we did see many young step up to join to fight, so I think patriotism is alive in our hearts but we have a society that has great motivating factors to ensure that Patroitism isn’t mainstream anymore. i.e. If you don’t believe in anything you will fall everything. Just another way to change the moral fabric of this country to suit the globalist agenda.

               Does anyone remember the made for TV series “Amerika” starring Kris Kristoferson? It is on YouTube and is well worth watch to see how we got where we are and to see where we are headed.

            2. Survivormann99, while I don’t agree with all that you say, I fully resonate with my disgust for “Thank you for your service”. If the person is someone I care about, I will take some time to correct that person’s superficial response to my being a veteran.

               Fifty years ago this month, I was arriving at my new duty station, a Marine Barracks and proud to wear the uniform. While other complained about doing drill and marching, I ate it up.

               At the same time, I have known some Marines who dishonored the oath and the uniform. Most people consider them patriots because they wore that uniform.

               I, on the other hand look at LEOs, the guy who delivers my mail, the guys who pick up my garbage before sunrise in below zero weather as patriots. They contribute powerfully and quietly to my freedom and well-being.

               Carry on

      2. Surviviorman99,
         “When militias were a serious part of a particular state’s defense, they were funded by the individual states. Today’s National Guard was organized to be part of the national defense. ” That’s the problem, the militias shouldn’t be organized to be part of the national defense. We should be organizing our state militias to be fighting against the “national” defense.

         1. No, the militias should not be “fighting against the ‘national’ defense.” That is Unabomber cabin lunacy.

            In the very early colonial times, militias turned out once a month to prepare to fight and repel Indian attacks. They were barely adequate for that. In the movie “The Patriot,” Mel Gibson’s character convinces the unreliable militia to stand and to fire at least two shots at the British regulars before they run. (If memory serves, it was Dan Morgan who did just that at the Battle of Cowpens.)

            Getting a colonial militia together once a month for target practice is a far cry from the modern battlefield with high-tech weapons. Even the National Guard struggles to meet Army readiness standards with only 12 weekends and a two week period of annual training a year.

            Imagine today if a bunch of overweight, out-of-shape bedpost knobs turned out to practice calling in air strikes, responding to calls for fire, and targeting bad guys with drone strikes, much less completing 10 mile hikes with 75-lb. rucksacks. The militia is still a legal concept, but, in reality, it is a romantic concept that exists in the mind, not in the realities of the modern battlefield.

            And even if a governor put out a call for a militia today, the vast majority of eligible males would “call in sick,” no matter what the calamity was. That’s the average American male’s mindset.

            1. I guess it’s all a matter of your perspective. If I wanted to continue to support the US Armed Forces, I wouldn’t have left. I joined the Texas National Guard to serve Texas, not Brainwashington DC.

      3. If i´m not mistaken, the highest losses had in europe the crews of the liberty ships and the bomber squadrons.

         1. The 8th Air Force which was based in England had higher casualties than the Marine Corps in WWII. Yet, the entire Army Air Corps had a smaller percentage of casualties than the Marine Corps.

            Of course, no one at the beginning of the war knew how it would develop. Even those men in the 8th Air Force slept in clean sheets and ate hot meals in mess halls, rather than spending nights in the jungle eating K-rations.

            From https://www.quora.com/What-was-the-most-dangerous-military-service-in-WW2-the-Army-the-Navy-or-the-Air-Force: “Based on these numbers, it’s clear that the Marines more than earned their valiant reputation, especially when you note that more than 80% of their losses occurred in combat, compared with less than 75% of Army losses and less than 60% of Navy losses.”

            1. I’m glad that you brought up the 8th Air Force because that gives me the opportunity to brag on my Dad. He was in the 8th there in England. He was a fifty caliber waist gunner on a B-24 bomber. He flew 33 missions and saw action on every one of them. I have a copy of his pilot’s diary which details each mission. He came home after the war and he and Mom raised three kids. He took us all to church which I think was his best gift to us. I miss him and think of him often. Thanks for letting me brag on dear ole Dad.

            2. the Merchant marines who served on the liberty ships weren´t even considered part of the Military Service.

               https://www.quora.com/What-was-the-most-dangerous-military-service-in-WW2-the-Army-the-Navy-or-the-Air-Force

               However, embedded in the above numbers are the losses in what probably was the most dangerous combat organization, which did not become its own independent service until two years after the war was over: the U.S. Army Air Forces, whose numbers and losses are incorporated into the overall “Army” statistics.

               I see not much difference between “Combat” losses and “other” forms of the final sacrifice.
               If man died Fighting the enemy directly, the sea, the diseases of the jungle or the Cold in the Arctic or in an Training accident or testing Equipment makes his sacrifice not a lesser one.

               Would Eating K- Rations made the 8th Air Force a better Fighting force or dirty bed Sheets lessened the hardships and risks for the liberty ships?

               Maybe the Ships of the US Navy were so luxurious and safe, but even a superficial look at the destroyers of e.g. the Canadian Navy showed that this was neither a safe or comfortable Service.

      4. Survivormann99:

         How many years did I serve? Started in 1967 RA enlisted, 10 years active duty, then National Guard (enlisted and Warrant) then State Defense Force (yes a State organized militia as the Constitution provides for) as a Commissioned Officer via the OCS route. Retired February 2018 after the last drill day at the armory I handed my executive officer the keys to the armory and left. Today I teach classes on the Christian foundations of our Constitution and our Constitutional Representative Republic.

         For this I have been vilified by the Federal Government, the lame stream media, the “human rights movement” and of course the liberal left wing socialists and communists. The fight is never over, it has been since Satan intervened in God’s perfect plan. Our service is to Him, and it ends only when we PCS to heaven. Until then, Charlie Mike, our patrol order is De Oppresso Liber.

         I hope that others will follow this path, spread the gospel of freedom and liberty.

         1. LT Mike, thanks for mentioning the State Defense Force. I also served in my retirement state’s State Guard, and found it a refreshing experience.

            Readers who want to give back to their county, region or State should research whether theirs is one of the twenty-one that have an active State Guard/Defense Force.

            Readers in Washington State should let their State Reps and Senators know they want the State Guard there re-authorized.

5. Saw a bit on one of the late night shows recently where the star was talking about the possibility of a machine uprising. We will know it when our self driving cars start driving us off of bridges. He ended it with the AI’s prayer, “All hail Elon”.

6. Elon Musk has been warning against the dangers of AI, so I doubt the machines will be singing his praise.

7. RE: Long distance pistol shooting… Back in ’98 and ’99, I was lucky enough to attend 3 courses at Gunsite Training Center (outside of Prescott, Az) courtesy of the U.S. Army (and the taxpayers like you and me), 2 pistol courses and 1 tactical carbine and at all 3 courses I was very fortunate to have the late Pat Rodgers as our primary instructor.

   While taking a break from doing transition drills on the known distant range, Pat asked our small group he was standing with if we thought he could hit the 250 meter target w/ his (custom) 1911? Of course everyone knows that the .45ACP is fat and slow and barely makes it past 50 yards let alone 200+… it took less than 4 seconds and 2 shots for us to hear the ‘pang’ of lead on steel. Quite impressive I must say. (I was also lucky enough to meet and chat with Col. Jeff Cooper in his living room there on the ranch. He signed my copies of his books and we had great conversation too.)

   1. Sounds like tax dollars well spent- I was always impressed with the Air Force personnel who responded to a shooting at the base on a bicycle and met and engaged a shooter with an AK47. The Air Force person hit him from a good distance with an M9.

8. 3ADscout “The well-trained British Army made quick work of American militia just about wherever they met in the War of 1812”

   May I suggest you read about the Battle of Bennington sir. I wrote my OCS graduate paper on this battle.

   Don’t under estimate a people who have nothing left to loose. I’ve seeved active, reserve, national guard, and state defense force for 52 years. Im now 70 and still able to serve … teaching, praying, and spreading the gospel of Christ. The gospel of freedom and liberty.

   1. Lt. Mike,

      Don’t blame 3ADscout for that comment. The quoted passage was from my comment.

      Yet, the Battle of Bennington to which you refer took place in the Revolutionary War, not the War of 1812, the first major conflict that took place after the fledgling United States had the opportunity to form a standing army of a significant size, but didn’t do so.

9. Title 10 United States Code, Chapter 12 § 246 states:

   The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, who are under 45 years of age (or 65 years old if honorably discharged from service in the Armed Forces of the United States) who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

   Therefore, pretty much everyone reading this is serving or has served whether you know it or not.

10. If that concept gives you comfort, so be it.

    Tell me about the ardors, risks, and separation from loved ones involved in your service.

    1. Excellent reply, sir.

       Truth be told, my family was so distant and messed up, I considered it a blessing to be away from them. Sigh. We all, my mother and six younger sisters, have healed the rifts and found great love with each other in the ensuing years.

       You ask of ardors. How long has it been since I have seen that word? I’m smiling over here. My ardor was to prove myself in combat, as I thought my dad had done at Guadalcanal. The Corps had other ideas. I did find some outlet for that in athletic competition.

       I was terribly disappointed in the culture of drinking to excess and woman-chasing that I witnessed. With a few notable exceptions (my CO for one) those in command of me seemed clueless and cruel.

       One risk was keeping my own counsel and maintaining a healthy spiritual life and emotional life in the face of pressures to “fit in”. I was ostracized by some as a result.

       Ah yes, and there were a couple risks I took in speaking up to people in command when I saw injustice. Twice I was threatened with “office hours” for my alleged insubordination. Truly, it has been my time after discharge when I have risked myself more than when I wore the uniform.

       I am grateful for your inquiry. I was led to some deep reflection finding new awareness.

       Carry on

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