This is a long introduction, with a short, but critical, point.  So please hang with me.

A post on one of the more popular gun forums got me thinking.  It was a guy who was interested in joining a militia.  He wanted to train with some other folks, because when you think of a bad future you should rapidly come to the conclusion that there is strength in numbers.  He wanted advice on how to find a good militia.  Now I don’t use the term militia much, for several reasons.  It has a lot of negative connotations- on the gun forums they think of fat guys playing in the woods.  Of course, to liberals and the media, militia means “hate group.”  I don’t suspect that people who fit into those descriptions get much out of my website.  But, the main reason that I don’t use the term militia much is simply because legally and morally, in a free society, EVERYONE is militia.  A “citizen soldier” is a person who takes this fact somewhat seriously.

So what was my advice to the guy on the gun forum?  My advice was to stay away from anyone who wanted to be called by a military rank, to stay away from anyone who talks about “black helicopters” or “9.11 truth” without a smile on their face, and to stay away from anyone who doesn’t look like they could hike a few miles with their pack.  I pointed out that it is probably best to start off with your own friends.  I pointed out that the first training ought to be a five-mile hike into the woods, an overnight stay and hike back.

I was recently re-reading Eric Haney’s excellent book Inside Delta Force.  There is a lengthy portion of this book, dedicated to how hard it is to get in to Delta Force (America’s premier anti-terrorist military unit.)  It struck me that any military force should have SOME criteria, even a force of volunteers.  It should be a standard that everyone achieves, and the bar should eliminate the big talkers, the guys who just want to bitch about the New World Order, but most importantly the guys who you would NEVER want backing you up in a tough situation.  This standard should have some element of endurance, some element of physical fitness and some element of camaraderie.  This will bring together a group better than anything.  For lack of another name I’m calling this “selection.” You could call it the try out, the test or whatever.  It can be as easy or as hard as you want, but everyone should pass it.

For me it is a simple five-mile hike along a local trail to a campsite, with a pack and a time limit.  After this we set up camp, then practice some basic skills… notably land navigation and first aid.  We sleep in the woods and hike back with a serious effort to beet the time from the day before.  Once you have done this you have a greater idea of your endurance than most folks. You will also have a better idea about your sustainment (3rd line gear) than 90% of the internet commandoes.  But perhaps most importantly, everyone will have done this thing together; this will go a very long way towards making a team.  I don’t really train with anyone that hasn’t done this basic thing.  If you develop some similar standard (it could be easier or harder) you will find that you can much better trust the guys you’re with.

 

 

Who would YOU rather fight with?