Building a decent and comfortable tactical kit is a bit like preparing a defensive position. You are never really finished. That comparison might not do anything for you but it could work on the haters reading now, and will serve me soon when I read this some time later and cringe. It is certain as scripture that I will at some point see this setup with disdain. Things evolve. To make the prophecy more impressive I can say that in no less than five years most of what I have here will be completely deprecated for something new. But this is where I am on my current journey and thoughts about a scalable amount of kit for a suburban Former Action Guy, who can only play with this shit recreationally and imagine its use in less comfortable settings.

Next noose I want to avoid with a post like this is:

"why the fuck do you really need this?"

Got nothing close to a universal and acceptable answer to the general public for this unfortunately. If you find a good reason (defined as something that helps you open your wallet, or even better an excuse your wife will accept) spread that wealth to me and our friends. I have seen some attempts at crafting an excuse. I really don't have a good one. I just like it. Also It assuages some latent and pathological anxiety about the future, but I had no specific scenario in mind when accumulating this equipment. There is a feeling, a qualia, to being- or maybe just thinking that you are more prepared for a low liklihood high severity risk. I suppose that is what is going on here, but there are better psychologists or social scientists to reference for that material. I'm just here for kit.

Now that justification is dispensed and anti-cringe shields are deployed, what is this in essence and how is it all arranged? If your intelligence quotient is high enough you might have gleaned from the title that the kit stacks on itself. But why does it stack? Given that we can't have a specific scenario in mind (alien invasions, Antifa Insurrections, Emperor Trump, EMP strikes from the NORKs, Jurassic Park fence failures, Yellowstone Caldera eruptions, etc.) we still need a vehicle for the plot of this blog, let's use an empirical quantity that should be familiar from a popular film. To increment our need for more LARP let's measure in degrees of Heat.

Down in Bragghdad things can get hot quickly so you want to focus on saving pounds for dope and beer (things that keep you fighting). When considering the options for carrying all this I have always forgone a plate carrier.  Most of the folks around this town aren't going to be put off just by a small plate of bulletproof and the extra bulk and pounds just isn't worth the hope it inspires. So we wanted a chest rig. There is a large Goldilocks Zone for these and you need to find your own muse and perform your own tests. I bought large chest rigs and small chest rigs and loved all of them. In the end just like with the rifle (that does nothing great but everything well) I wanted to not fret about single use cases. Using our belt, chest rig, and a very small pack we are feeding the rifle and keeping hydrated. Nothing else is required for about 24 hours, especially on my home turf. I can always go to the corner store or get sustainment elsewhere. Maybe a soccer mom will have a pack or two of lickies or chewies I can ask for when needed. Or I can shoot a cat. Food or other concerns like that aren't addressed here, that would be a really special use case solved in other ways.

This rifle is the base of the stack which is fitting because she is a basic bitch. Besides the body that carries my spirit around it is the most critical element of this formula. Based on the terrain and conditions here this rifle does the most things. The can makes it a bit longer than I wish, and future suppressor purchases will be more appropriate to the barrel length. But in a quick summary this rifle with sling can be carried suppressed or unsuppressed. Sling can go single point (for cars mostly) or two point (because it is most comfortable). The 5x magnifier can be flipped up or packed away. With one mount screw the light and laser can be removed. But it all stays on and while the bitch is heavy (I don't actually want to know so don't ask), she does anything. With the D60 mag up front you can do a lot of work without bringing anything else.

The Batman belt is up next, and while it is kept fully loaded it doesn't need to stay that way. It is admittedly heavy on the pistol mags and packed row to row with shit. I don't think anyone on earth needs 101 rounds of 9mm, but if you did you can put it on this belt comfortably. This was built for doing gun runs so it is very comfortable and well tested, that middle belt of padding really helps. I have already written more than I intended so I am not going to get descriptive into pouch choices and med kit contents, but the pictures should help and you can always reach out and ask on Twitter.

There is a sheath for the knife you see later, which is preferred in the chest rig. That is really all this is missing outside of some hearing protection. You could work off this belt and cover a lot of ground with it. It brings a handgun into the equation and for the first time in our kit we look to bring some medical equipment. Admittedly just an IFAK to plug a hole or put a tourniquet on something bleeding. I do like the Benchmade belt cutter here, as cutting equipment off yourself or someone else is sometimes easier than working buckles with a single good but slippery hand. The dump pouch is for magazines but truth is I often found this to be a good overall pocket for patrols back in the day. Think of it like a loot bag to fill, not just drop your empty magazines.

If you are a fat guy you hate this thing. I was recently kinda fat, and this looked funny as fuck on my chest. I get why the skinny guys dig it though. This is an extremely easy way to carry things and while it is LARPy as fuck, you really don't hate wearing this much even with a belt. You can run in the fucking thing. Again I'm not going to rattle off nylon crafter makes and models. The ambition here was to get something I wouldn't want to take off first chance I got, something that I could use for admin tasks and reloads without a lot of bulk. Harness is wide on the straps and backing. It will accommodate a hydration pouch (not included in the photoshoot) and a boatload of other configurations. But I rarely change it from this. Boomers really hate the phone mount, and people make it seem like you need ATAC for the setup but truly just running Spotify on a gun run or doing a map check during a walk makes it worthwhile. The belt knife is usually kept here too, since I always carry pocket knife so a belt knife often feels superflous.

The belt and rifle have brought us well along but if we are going to keep things up we need to keep track of what we are doing, keep our phone going (obviously not fighting the govmint), and doing some limited near recognition signals and lighting. The gaiter is a mask, a hat, ear muffs, a dressing, handkerchief etc. One of the lightest items in the whole setup here.

These wings are a superpower. If you can't pay someone 20 Kools for eyeshine, mortgage something and buy night vision. By packing this seperately I can take it with the rifle or the belt and just put it on for wear. Both the rifle and the pistol can shoot with laser and passively out to a considerable distance. I actually think I shoot the pistol better passively with night vision than I do in daylight but maybe it is because I'm less in a hurry. If I'm wearing the chest rig already though this mounts the placard and accommodates the harness easily without much modification. It will also carry a few extra magazines you can take from the belt or elsewhere.

That belt medical kit is light light light. Not that this next dangler piece adds a considerable amount of class VIII but another tourniquet and some more supplies never hurt anyone.

I'll be honest though and say I have only worn this dangler a few times, and mostly just to make sure I didn't hate it. It isn't uncomfortable but unless I think someone is about to be really injured (mostly me), I'm not putting it on. It is nice though, and seems to make everything accessible. These scissors are great but pricey.

This collection of Eberlestock and Ex Umbris resembles a lot of packs but it's what I have finally settled on from a long journey of off the shelf packs. The size and shape are just right to shoot off of without being heavy or hot to wear. Anything I'm looking for I can generally find quickly without opening a lot of zippers. It is an odd looking thing, and you won't find one anywhere as I have kind of built it myself.

Key for the radio for me was to keep it on top and accessible. Items are tied down and cables are tucked away. Spare batteries are for GPS/helmet ear pro and lasers and optics. This beer can pouch from Ex Umbris Designs is great and works well on top too. I have tested it for holding a DJI Mini 4 Pro and it holds one easily, even with the gimbal cover. Spare antenna is just a spare. The nubby works in most of my testing.

I'm surprised that this isn't a popular idea, but we trust Pic rails on weapons all day but there are few mounting options for packs and other nylon. I like to keep a bipod or a shooting bag accessible in case I can take up a static position but the rest need to be improved. If I was staying indoors or in a car I would swap this bipod for a Cole Tac Flat Bag and a Backbone Mount. With that setup you can really just shoot off the bag and not mount it to the rifle. Either way this just fucks. It's quick and easy to attach and detach, and can even be tied down without crowding or getting tangled on other kit.

I've put this pouch on a million bags trying to make it work and it never really did until now. It's almost a bag onto itself and the shapes lend it well to a lot of volumes that don't work anywhere else. This is mostly focused on things breaking and needing some fix, gaining a lot more light for a room or house, helping people settle down, and writing things on paper.

I've tried to work harder at removing some information off digits and this has been a good start. All my field notes and DOPE go in here now and it stores data cards for QB armbands and the like. Being able to attach different DOPE sheets for different rifles is nice.

At the base this thing is just a fancy bladder carrier. The shape was great but you had to stack everything in it just right for it to work. Now that we put all these other items on the outside the internals can carry things less often needed. Boo Boo kit (simple meds and bandages for bitches), suppressor cover, signal panel, ways to get aqua, and the best damn tool wrap ever are what I most often carry. This hat keeps the sun from burning my bald head too.

There are plenty of pools and swamps around here so getting water, which you will need a lot of during the summer, is easy but still a priority and something we need to sterilize or sanitize. We don't pack food really but there are some calories in the Boo Boo kit if you need some maltodextrin. Signaling is maybe the only thing we haven't talked about much, but with the radio, clicker, lights, and this you should have a lot of options in link ups or helping people navigate to you.

I put things that are small and tool-like in this wrap and have had zero regrets. If you are counting this is our third source of fire and ways to fix broken things. It packs away easy and can be found in the dark by weight and shape. Once you carry it for a while you also get to know where things are without looking.

Outside of the scope here are a lot more kit bags for even more implausible circumstances and fantastic hopes. If you are interested come back around or give me a follow on X or Twitter. I think it is time we bring some energy back into this project. Going to crack that Ranger Handbook again soon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX NOTHING FOLLOWS XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I have made many mistakes online, but the one that will likely haunt me longest is committing to this exegesis on our favorite Training Circular. This was a helluva task for anyone but my professional and personal obligations have really made writing difficult, thus my tardiness. But enough whining. On with the show.

We left off after we discussed Chapter 1 and Leadership of the Ranger Handbook, which is one of the greatest chapters in all formal military writing in my opinion. The break I took was partly personal, but absolutely had a heavy dose of knowing what is ahead. Chapter 2 begins Operations, and this is probably the densest vein of ore we have to mine together. To a layman this is going to appear very esoteric but also unnecessarily descriptive. There is a reason for this, and the most direct way to say it is to state that there is a lot in creating a well defined and planned operation, and it is all very necessary and appropriate to describe so than literally anyone can do it. This is how to make a plan, for dummies.

The opening explanation is simple. Obviously a team and its leadership is going to use whatever time is available plan an action, but certain core principles and tools will always make this more effective, and that is the core of what we will begin discussing now. The most important of these principles and tools are what is known as the Troop Leading Procedures.

This chapter really begins there at 2-2 when it says the leader is alerted for a mission and implies in 2-3 that OPORDs and FRAGORDs (don't forget to keep your acronym listing handy) are the most likely notification mechanism. This is true but it is important to note that a change on the battlefield can be a catalyst for alteration or implementation of a plan.

The 1/3rd and 2/3rd planning principle might confuse you if this has only been reading material and not something you have put into practice. Something not seen in the text here but already introduced in our chapter on the PL is backward or reverse planning. In order to know how long you have to plan or rehearse you must deduct this time from that available. Now you will find out later most missions will come with a NLT time, which just means "No Later Than." Consider it a deadline. With that known a leader should start and work backwards through the key tasks required to the present moment. Whatever is not used for actually briefing or conducting the operation should be then used for planning and preparation. Now that small sliver of time (it is rarely enough) should be further cut into thirds, and as the leader you only get one third. The other two go to your subordinate leaders and their Soldiers. That is what is meant by the 1/3rd and 2/3rd rule.

There is a lot of ink spilled into that description of a WARNORD. It's all good and relevant but would encourage folks to not get too bent on formats or making sure all of the suggested material is included. Tell your Soldiers what you know, what you are thinking you will do, and then get back to completing the plan and letting them get prepared. The OPORD is already a tremendous drag on your timeline and spending undue minutes formatting or trying to fill out a WARNORD is a worthless waste. It can be said that the greatest utility of a WARNORD is it's brevity and speed of transmission.

That all said, we can dip into the bullets for a little bit of exposition:

• Type of operation - should be self explanatory but think raid, ambush, reconnaissance, etc
• General location of the operation- attempt to pin down the grid to the closest degree possible, eight to ten digits is best
• Initial operational timeline- from right now to NLT
• Reconnaisance to initiate- could be what needs to be determined right now or just before the operation is executed (be sure to be specific when this is cited)
• Movement to initiate- just as important to state as in the previous bullet, make sure your Soldiers know when this movement is planned
• Planning and preparation instructions- any specific guidance you can provide and of course the timeline for this
• Information requirements- things that would be nice to know and might benefit planning
• Commander's critical information requirements (CCIR)- things that must be known in order to make or complete the timely plan

So again, those first two steps we went through in nearly eight hundred words? Those were completed immediately and in series. The rest of these steps are going to be a jumbled fucking mess so to speak, and are repeatedly going to step all over each other when conducted properly. Your job as a leader of Soldiers would be to ensure they are not neglected or mismanaged, as even though we expect them to become a soup, your unit will be the ones to eat that soup later.

I am half inclined to make this next step its own post it is so rich with detail and wanting for explanation. But I won't, so here we go. Making a tentative plan first brings up that popular acronym, METT-TC. If you recall we discussed this when we covered the PSG. I don't want to rehash the entire thing over again, but all the factors are important, but are more or less arranged in order of importance. This is a great tool for forming that tentative plan.

But while an initial plan can be loose it is not sufficient. A detailed plan has a much greater chance of being successful. In order to do that we should perform a better analysis. Mission, intent, and concept have already been covered in some detail earlier when we discussed the PL. The idea of course is to focus first on the literal stating of the mission, what your leaders want you to achieve with this mission, and what doctrinal concept is going to govern the effort, respectively.

Unit tasks are twofold, the first type of task is very easy to understand. These are the tasks specified in the order. The trick there is just to identify them and make them each a part of the mission. The next bit is harder and not something well done by everyone. In fact it is so often screwed up it has become a bit of a common item pointed out in professional development. The second type of task are the implied ones, and a good leader can quickly and effectively suss them out from the specified. I think the table does a good job providing some examples here as well.

Another set of items to be sussed out from your mission and not always clear are the constraints. This can seem confusing but really think of it like things you must do to be successful and require actions, and things that you cannot do and are prohibited. Taking these out and examining them might seem pointless but are important. Examples most often used are the crossing of friendly lines, known bombardments, or NBC protection requirements.

I can't imagine what a reader who isn't steeped in this stuff is going through right now, as revisiting this after so many years I can remember how important these parts are, but also acknowledge how they don't seem so and are seemingly obvious. I think the important take I would encourage you to maintain here is that by making this a process you ensure that anyone can do it, and that it is thorough. A mission essential task or tasks seems redundant at this point, but again just realize your intent is to keep making sure you find all the items necessary to succeed and accomplish the point of the mission. There tends to be a common patois for these items, but they are not doctrinal. Example here would be "seize," "neutralize," and/or "destroy."

Most of what we have covered so far is fairly esoteric for the folks on the line, at least in my experience. The format for the mission statement is not though. In fact this seems to be the most popular part of the whole OPORD process. For some reason it is the most memorable. You will see later in the delivery it is always read twice, but there is just something about this format that seems cinematic. When you get or give your first OPORDs this is the thing you remember feeling. It just makes it all seem very real. Read the example for the effect. The parts are exceedingly memorable. To this day I sometimes at work I use NLT and IOT language when describing a task.

Courses of action are an entire subject of their own as well and most commonly come up when discussing the enemy, but for our purposes here we are talking friendly actions. Suitable is the course of action (or actions) that most closely meet the concept from higher. Acceptable are those that do it but less perfectly and as one might see already, is somewhat a subjective enterprise.

The latest version of the Handbook places this table in poor place so I blacked out a distraction between it and the subject. I don't want to spend too much time here because this table is more a little easier to grok than other parts. While this is easy to understand the process what is determined is the goal. In a theater where the enemy has numbers, capabilities for reinforcement, and are able to exercise freedom of movement- a plan for attack must obviously be more cautious.

OAKOC isn't just a fun acronym that sounds like surprise after a first date. This is one of the most useful ways to view terrain both on the ground as well as from a map reconnaissance. The order has changed over time, as the first time I encountered this it was OCOKA. To me this implies some order of importance which it seems to track. Observation and fields of fire are obviously the most important as whomever can enjoy enfilade can kill the enemy best.

It's interesting to see avenues of approach if you knew the older acronym, as you might think that cover and concealment are more vital but the truth is almost any place that enjoys the other factors will have cover and concealment. But avenues of approach are more important because of the ability to move units and quickly, which improves a situation for a force by allowing you to have available not just those troops already on the field. Meaning via this avenue of approach, at any moment you can to bring up QRF (quick reaction forces) or reinforcements. The ability to bring numbers quickly should be put right behind the ability to apply direct fire, and is just so in the acronym.

Key terrain is another item that moved in the acronym update, coming along with avenues of approach. If you have been to a civil war battlefield key terrain is an easier concept to grasp. Some ground just seems "good" compared to others and it is likely going to be optimal in all the subjects of this acronym, but it is in areas where these are most closely concentrated. Steep hills, dense forests, interconnected stream beds, are all examples what can be considered key terrain.

Obstacles can be natural or man made, and of the man made they can be friendly or enemy. Probably the easiest obstacles to consider for these categories are a deep or rushing river, or a minefield. Each of these offer restrictions to unit movement.

We covered the idea that cover and concealment moved down far in this order of concern, and I think it is because it is so intrinsic to most of the other concerns, and almost any place on earth is going to offer up some varying capabilities of each.

We started going through these TLPs by saying that the first three were followed in order and up front but that steps 4 onward were "a jumbled fucking mess" for the leader to keep track and complete. Not only is the execution jumbled, there is a lot said in very few words. Initiating movement for all or part of the unit can come pretty much at any time, and can happen more than once. Reconnaissance is a very important step that helps provide intelligence about the objective, the enemy, and the terrain. Most often a map reconnaissance is all that is available, but occasionally it is possible to get another unit (like battalion scouts), or break off part of your unit and have them perform an onsite reconnaissance. Completing the plan is simple enough, you are just filling the gaps and developing your OPORD.

Very soon we will have an entire post dedicated to the OPORD so we shouldn't spoil it with much, just know that when we do this it is best to have some visuals to support it. If you can actually show your team the literal objective that is best, but obviously that isn't suitable to offensive operations. Most likely a terrain model or a sketch will be the best you can afford when on the offense.

Being north of two thousand words already we can finally wrap on this process with this final step, which is the last catch all bucket: supervise and refine. This comes down to ensuring that the troops begin to practice and rehearse the events. Rehearsals have been touched on before but cannot be overstated in importance. You do not want the first time a thing is done to be when it must be completed on an objective. Back briefing is a form of rehearsal and is a great way to evaluate understanding of the mission critical tasks and roles. The PLs should undertake these with the SLs, the SLs should do this with the TLs, and the TLs should insist each Soldier does this with them. The why and how is pretty well demonstrated here in the text and a reader should take them to heart.

A bit of explanation of the types of rehearsals is listed here, as well of techniques. I think a well enough job is done without me blathering on about it, and very little is to be added. The point is just to always expand the participation to as many members of the mission as possible, and make it as lifelike as can be done without harming the timeline or operational security.

Anyone not working on the plan should be working to finish the preparation, rehearsal, and briefing of the plan. If you are a leader, any leader, participating in the mission you should be looking at your peers' and subordinates's equipment and talking about the work to be done. Check them, check yourself, check the plan. This jumbled process depends on multitasking and everyone putting in the effort. A favorite practice of mine was to do a lot of this checking of understanding while packing, traveling, or waiting. If you are assembled amongst any of the patrol prior to movement or while idle, talk through the plan and ask questions.

This concludes the section on the Troop Leading Procedures. I appreciate everyone's patience in the long delay on getting back to the task of working through this dense manual, and especially in enduring so many words. Look forward to our next section and covering a format we discussed in Step 2, the WARNORD.

The Squad Leader

We have talked a long time now and have covered only two job positions at the company. In this post we finish the rest of the major duty positions in the patrol and really the bulk of folks who actually accomplish the mission. We start with the best job in the whole Army: squad leader (SL from here on... be sure to continue to check out the acronym and abbreviations page when you see something unfamiliar).

If you remember when we introduced the PL it was said that this is my favorite job description, "what the squad does or fails to do" is just another riff on that. I should not take more opportunity to bore you with my fanaticism on ownership but I will just again say that this is the mindset you must have as a tactical leader. You own everything in this team. The people, the equipment, the mission, all are owned by the various leaders in this patrol. And it isn't the fun kind of ownership all the time, much of if means you own it but you must maintain and care for it like a servant. But I digress from the point. A SL is a leader, and also a worker in this drama. They provide much of their leadership by being the example. The best leaders I had in the military, at their peak of leadership capabilities, in their most arduous circumstances, were men in the SL position. My first good one inspired me to say that it was my overall goal of military service to one day be a SL, a goal I gratefully was able to accomplish.

We have covered maintenance of weapons and equipment before so explanation isn't really necessary, but again we should note that it is up to the SL to make sure this happens when and how it should be done. Status reports are next and it should be said that this is a lot of what a SL does to make his bread. The engine that is a patrol is a constant diagnostics check on the members and the equipment and the SLs that make up the patrol are constantly checking these gauges and telling the PL and PSG the things they need to know about resources and capabilities.

Squad Leader Actions

"Reports reports reports," is the march of the SL. You were warned. Now an interesting thing happens after that is reiterated. You see a person on this patrol who is not necessarily in charge but is paid to think about problems. It's actually in the job description of the SL to think about solutions to problems. Notice it doesn't say the job is to find problems. A concept we are going to start to hammer soon is a mantra that can be applied to a lot of things in business and war, "Fight the enemy, not the plan."

You see delegation mentioned again. This time it is to subordinate leadership (each SL has two Team Leaders). This shouldn't be too surprising to see applied again. The SL is again encouraged to think and apply initiative, this time saying that the position requires that a person imagines what the PL wants, and orders the squad according to the plan when the PL isn't there to issue direct orders.

The rotation of heavy equipment and sharing of dangerous or tiresome duty is also again mentioned. If you are paying attention and have read what we have discussed previously much of this material is redundant. That should be a good indicator of what it is like to be a leader on a patrol. We are working from the top down but you can surmise that much of the same things are done but the scope is scaled down for each subordinate role. Having these redundant tasks handled by redundant members ensures that it is accomplished and tracked by nearly everyone.

Not sure if we have talked about break in contact in too much depth beyond a mention of it in the actions of the PSG. A break in contact occurs when a patrol doesn't maintain control of its members. Usually this is due to fatigue or restrictive terrain. People get tired and don't closely track the people ahead of or behind them. They also might lose visual contact with them due to vegetation or weather. Either way the element stops functioning as a complete and whole unit.

Ensuring that Team Leaders (from here on TLs) do there jobs is best done with spot checks. Asking the Line Soldier what sectors of fire they cover, or information that was intended for dissemination is a good way to do this. You can also see if they have been well taken care of by their TL by asking how they are doing. Again there is a maternal/paternal nature thing going on here, where the SL is supplying a bit of the former and the TL is acting in the latter.

We can close out the SL by introducing the idea of the listening post/observation post LP/OP as everything else is redundant from other, previous discussions. Sometimes a unit, in order to ensure security or to provide early warning, will position Soldiers a ways out from the main body. These are not generally called LPs or OPs, at least I have never heard it described separately. People combine the term and say LP/OP together. Soldiers placed out on LP/OPs are charged with being a sensor on behalf of the rest of their comrades. They look and listen for contact with the enemy, other units, or civilians and give the patrol time to react as appropriate.

Weapons Squad Leader (The Weasel)

So take all the coolness of an SL job and throw in crew served weapons instead of a normal squads compliment of rifleman, grenadiers, automatic gunners. The Weapons Squad carries the bigger guns and provides the support by fire functions for the patrol. This is an incredibly important job and typically is held by the Soldier who has been a squad leader for some time, and is going to be on their way to being a PSG soon. After I was a SL I looked forward to becoming the Weasel (WSL). It's a bit like being the consiglieri to the PL and PSG. When you hold this billet you are usually and finally in the esteem of the whole company. You are a made man for sure.

Again the WSL is just another SL, only they are in control of the heavy or crew served weapons (mostly just the large caliber machine guns assigned to the platoon/patrol). The difference is that not only does the WSL have the knowledge of a SL, they are an expert SL. And having graduated to that expertise they have taken on an extremely difficult part of the mission: supporting the line squads with suppressive or protective fires. this additional duty also has them helping the PL in the planning of missions by ensuring the Weapons Squad is used to maximum effectiveness.

Since priorities of work were covered before in the post about the PSG, we won't cover it again. But if you recall it was heavy on the placement and maintenance of the key weapons up front, so it is important to the rest plan to make sure the WSL gets these tasks knocked out quickly, literally everyone is waiting on this so they can clean up, eat, drink, and hopefully sleep. We also have kind of beat up the concept of rotating duties, assistance to planning, and maintaining equipment.

Now there can be entire posts about the types of, gunnery, drilling, employment, and firing of machine guns, and if you are interested there is an associated FM dedicated to the art of automatic fire. It's a fun read, truly. But for our purposes now just see that the WSL is tasked with setting up the guns with principal and secondary direction of fires. As the name implies principal directions of fires are ones that are primary to the weapon's default deployment. These are generally areas that seem to be likely avenues of approach by the enemy, and have good fields of fire. Secondaries would again, as the name implies, be those places next best covered by these heavier weapons.

Fire commands are how a WSL goes about his deadly work. It is probably important to introduce them now. The first is vitally important and is the shift fire command. A core principle to Infantry maneuver is a principle of suppression and movement. In order to gain the latter fires are directed at the target of the approach using the former, meaning before you move onto an objective you prevent return fire and the movement of any poor bastards. The Weapon Squad specialized in these suppressive fires. Now obviously you cannot continue to fire on this objective when the movement element gains a certain proximity. When this phase line is crossed by the maneuver element it is the job of the support (read suppressive) element to shift the fire off the objective directly. As this maneuver element continues to sweep so do the fires, keeping just ahead of them. It is a very delicate operation and has to be done very carefully. Too early a shift in fire and the suppression effect allows anyone on the objective to move or fire on the maneuver element. Too late a shift in fire and the supporting element shoots at the friendly maneuver element.

Running a machine gun is not easy. A Gunner and an AG (Assistant Gunner) are tasked with firing and feeding the gun each, respectively. Each are also trying their best to make those fires effective, but the WSL, being off the gun and keeping an eye on friendly forces, enemy forces, and fires is a little better at judging the effects, therefore should be making additional corrections for windage and elevation.

Alternating the fires is generally referred to by those practicing the trade as "talking the guns." This means to ensure that guns are not running at the same time, or worse, both going silent. Usually a Weapons Squad has two crew served machine guns and the WSL is going to control the rate of fire as well as the length of burst and trading of fire. One gun is shooting at all times when engaged, and when a barrel must be changed the other gun picks up on longer or more frequent bursts. This all sounds really easy but it isn't. There is only so much ammunition and the pacing of the maneuver element, the number of enemies present, and issues with weapons going down (read: having malfunctions or issues maintaining fire) can effect how well this is done. A good WSL knows how much ammo is available, how fast it is going out the barrels, and is constantly working the Weapon Squad teams to keep firing. All of this is done within the din of the most terrific form of noise made by mankind. A good WSL can keep the objective suppressed and saturated with accurate and high volume fire up until the last safe moment. The WSL has possibly the most important duty on many objectives, and certainly the job with the highest possibility of fratricide.

The Team Leader

It is said the the NCO Corp is the backbone of the Army, and if this is so then the Team Leader (TL) is the tailbone. This is said only a bit in jest, as the spine cannot stand without its base. The TL is the base of the Army. This series has already given you a dozen metaphors for mommy and daddy so let's say your TL is your big brother who can beat you up, and everyone blames him when you are screwed up. He has all the pressure in the world on him to make sure the troops under his control are squared away. This is a tough a job.

Being the lowest level leader in this unit, much of the interface between Soldiers and the previously described duty positions happens only according to the performance of the TLs. Fires again are important to the line squads just like the Weapons Squad, but they have the additional burden of controlling movement that support by fire functions don't typically have to deal with as much. As you might imagine controlling where men go and where they shoot can be extremely difficult, but it is especially difficult when these events are affecting you too. But that is the work of a TL. It is vitally important that the TL does this from the front, for what should be obvious reasons by now. The last sentence again is one of the most widely worded and vague job descriptions ever written. Essentially and again, the TL is just responsible, for everything and everyone on the team.

We have yet to punt on something in our walkthrough of the Ranger Handbook, but we are about to do it now. There is an upcoming and arduous discussion of both the Warning and Operations Order. For the purposes of our discussion now just read this excerpt and know that the TLs are little Stasi watching every member of their team during the issuance of these orders. They are also busy as killer bees getting the logistics and rehearsals conducted on time during these initial mission planning and later mission fine tuning efforts. God help you if you are not paying attention or putting your ass into getting ready and your TL catches you. Stay tuned for more on the WARNORD and OPORD. It will happen sooner than you think and you'll wish we were talking about something fun.

We talked a little bit about the objective rally point (ORP) when we discussed the PL, and when we covered the PSG. It was a brief mention for the PL and the metaphor used for the PSG was that the ORP is where people put on their makeup and dancing shoes before the ball. This list of duties for the TLs should greater illuminate that metaphor for us. Security anywhere is a duty for everyone, but as TLs are our interface between leadership and the members of the patrol they are explicitly responsible for it. That "final preparation of Rangers, weapons, and equipment" part is the dancing shoes and makeup. Everything needs to be on fleek because the actions on the objective (shortly to be described some) will require it. This is our last chance to get ready before nearly certain contact, things have to be squared away.

Because people will be coming and going to complete the preparation for this upcoming conflict, the perimeter will be shifting constantly. The TLs are going to maintain this perimeter by making sure that strength is distributed consistently and or where appropriate throughout the time in the ORP. After reconnaissance is performed certain information about the objective and mission can be filled in, this is usually referred to as priority intelligence requirements. It is the job of the TLs to disseminate it to the frontline troops.

Special equipment is kind of a catch all term used to describe items that are not typically used in a patrol. Something like a breaching tool, camera, or demolition charge would be special equipment. Usually as a part of the plan a team will know that while on the objective they are tasked with a specific job, and often it involves special equipment. They are therefore responsible for ensuring this equipment is ready and prepped for action.

Again the TLs are going to be responsible for moving and directing the fires of his team. We will soon discuss the principles of fire and maneuver in more detail, but this is a delicate operation, especially when you involve multiple teams and squads. It's important that the TLs know where their Soldiers are to prevent fratricide or breaks in contact.

We need to note that while this paragraph begins talking about actions on the objective, the bullets below are not about actions on the objective, they are about what TLs do during actions of the patrol base. Nothing here should be a surprise by now as we can see that most tasks are becoming redundant. Enforcement of the priorities of work are a good job for TLs, as they should be watching and communicating with their teams continuously.

The Medic "Doc"

One of the most cherished member of any platoon is the medic, for obvious reasons. Often called "Doc" by the unit members this person is tasked with what you might expect from someone who has to care for the health of Infantrymen. Aid and litter teams obviously are going to be his purview, same as health and hygiene. Treating the casualties is a medic's specialty, as well as determining which of the wounded men can be fixed, and what order they are best attended to when time is limited.

Class VIII is just a fancy word for medical supplies. The Doc is the platoon's source for these and his source is the battalion Aid Station or a similar facility. You won't get medical supplies from anyone else and this is for good reasons. Rarely is a unit stingy with these resources but the medic is there to ensure that waste is not a problem. We discussed casualty feeder reports before when we discussed the PSG, and so that knowledge should serve as adequate explanation as to why this is a medic's job.

Radio Operator

You might notice all the red used to highlight and outline items here, and it may make it appear that the Radio Operator (RTO) is an important job. That is because it in fact is an important job, maybe the most important job performed by a person who doesn't have sergeant stripes. Almost nothing can happen in a patrol without an RTO long term, because modern warfare requires constant communication. This communication is only possible when the RTO maintains contact with HQ or other members of the patrol.

We are not going to spend a lot of time talking about radios in this series, but understand that radios require a lot of effort to ensure they talk to each other. Much of this is due to the security controls that have been applied to protect the network traffic they produce. This includes the specific frequency, encryption, and callsigns they use to make sure the right people are talking, listening, and identified. Your RTO has to do all that, for all radios at all times.

Now that might seem simple enough, but understand these settings change... often. You might be in the middle of a patrol and higher headquarters will have scheduled a change to these settings. The RTO then has to change all of this in the field, using a device called an ANCD. I won't go into details but just understand this is a huge pain in the ass. A good RTO is worth his money is gold.

In addition to these duties the RTO is kind of a walking scribe and source of information for people, both within the patrol as well as across the radio to higher HQ or other units. They call this walking scribe an en route recorder. Basically the RTO at key moments will be writing down notes or keeping track of time, allowing others (most importantly the PL) an ability to focus on their important tasks. Time onsite in an ambush is vitally important because you want to get it over with to avoid counterattack. You also might want to know what items were taken off the enemy, or how many attacked you. The latter is usually communicated to HQ using a SALUTE report. We might cover that in greater detail later, but the format is rather simple and intuitive.

Forward Observer

This last duty position is like the Doc in that they are not "real" Infantrymen, but everyone treats them so while on the Line. A Forward Observer is a specialist involved in the trade of dropping indirect fire and sometimes close air support on the enemy on behalf of the patrol. Now every person on the battlefield should be able to call for fire, but this job makes it their art and complete responsibility. Skipping to the bottom lets us know how they start this work. They always know where they are, or at least should. Knowing that they can use a variety of methods to bring down steel rain on your enemies. They know the best ordinance to use against various targets, the best methods for adjusting fires, and the best ways to communicate this to the mortarmen and artillerymen (of which they are technically one). If you see troops in the open out of reach, or make contact quickly with the enemy you want them on the radio to battalion or brigade fires.

Now outside the obvious benefits while on patrol, FOs help make a plan better by making sure that while you are out there, you have the ability to call for fire. It is there job to make sure that resources are available, if possible, throughout the planned patrol, and that you can communicate with those who provide fires. The FO is very much related to, and works with, the RTO. Part of why the headquarters element of a patrol looks like an antenna farm is because the RTO and the FO are close at hand to the PL.

Assuming Command

This checklist probably seems obvious, but when command is assumed in the field it is often due to some adverse action, like a fight that produced casualties in leadership. Therefore this checklist attempts to help remind an assuming leader of all the things needed to make this transition easier, safer, and better done.

End of Chapter 1!

No one reads the Ranger Handbook to learn about leadership, although there are great lessons to be learned there. We had to cover it to get to the good parts, and the reason a lot of folks cherish this pamphlet. But the good news now is we are going right into the good stuff now. Be ready to take what you have learned about the duty positions and leaders and begin to apply them to first the planning, and next the conduct of patrolling when we begin to cover our next chapter, Operations.

My first Gun Run was in Ellerbe at Dewitt's Outdoor Sports and so it was fitting that I return there for my first team event. The first step in attending one of these team events is to have a partner agree to go to the prom with you, and thankfully I was able to partner up with someone I knew was proficient. Red (AKA @snakeeater36) and I had met even before we shared our first Gun Run together back in April, but after that initial event we both kinda fell in love with the sport and spend a lot of time talking about it. Minutes after registration opened we had our ticket purchased and began to plan.

Most of our planning and efforts were just discussions about what we would carry, what we would do in certain situations created during stages, paces, and race preparations. Red and I both really favored a battle belt for these races after each of us used chest rigs in the past. There is nothing wrong with chest rigs but they tend to carry a little more awkwardly during a run, and often have capacity far exceeding the needs of these races. He carried one extra rifle magazine on his belt than I did, but our setup was very congruent. Based on our research it seemed like most stages either split up the shooters or put them on the same range sharing targets. We really didn't need to plan for splitting up but made sure that if we were on a stage together on the same target set, we would work outside to inside for our respective sides in order to save time and limit discussion. We also both took our egos out of prioritization of target type. Research on past events showed us that sometimes they have one shooter on a rifle and have the other shooting pistol. Red is extraordinarily great on a rifle, and fair on a pistol. I'm fair on the rifle, and have really improved on the handgun lately. We both agreed that if given a range briefing that said one shooter is pistol and one shooter was rifle it would go to me and him, respectively.

Red is capable of a much faster pace than I am, but he and I agreed that we would make all pace adjustments together and for the benefit of the slowest runner's desire. This basically meant that we would make my pace, which is rather slow and in the last few runs right in the middle of the pack. While this doesn't make us very competitive on the run, it ensures that we are not showing up to the stages smoked. Another pace decision made was no matter how fast we were running, if we saw a stage coming, we would walk into it from ~100m. This would ensure that heart rate and breathing were under control. It's not just for the shooting as one might assume either. A really important factor for this competition is listening to the range briefing. If you show up smoked, breathing hard, and mentally taxed you are not really in the best space to understand what can be a complicated range briefing. Showing up at a range walk pace is best.

The last important thing for Red and I was preparation. We both are a little obsessive on pre-combat checks and inspections (PCCs/PCIs) so we organized a link up a day early. This day was spent in the afternoon at the range, working pistol draws on metal targets at close and more distant ranges. We also wanted to ensure the zeros on each of our rifle optics was still as expected. Since we had a sleepover planned we came home, turned on some Hollywood Weapons with Terry Schappert, and did a full layout. Over time I have digitized a lot of my packing lists and pre flight checklists, so even though I planned to wake up early in the morning and go through them, I did it that night.

Around this time the night before I think I made a mistake. Concerned with hydration I hit electrolytes pretty hard all day. I'm not a doctor and am not totally sure that this was the cause, but I may have over done it. I have recently become a user of Nuun tablets and that day before the race I took one in a drink in the morning, and another before bed. In the middle of the night while sleeping I caught some really bad calf cramps. Thinking that this was still a lack of electrolytes I hit another Nuun tablet in the morning. Again I'm not a doctor but I think I was too heavy on salt to begin with, and that caused the cramps overnight. I can say for sure that the third Nuun tablet in the morning didn't help, because I was plagued by cramps throughout the race.

The morning was uneventful and we travelled to Ellerbe and got checked in with the admins. We were instructed to grab a shotgun shell when we took off from a provided box, and confirmed our takeoff time. The weather was perfect with high seventy temperatures and low humidity. We hung out, talked to friends, and stayed hydrated. At fifteen minutes to step off we got on our gear, ran our PCCs, and did some buddy checks to make sure we were both set. Showing up to the table we grabbed our shotgun shell, were instructed to be ready, and began watching the clock.

Upon takeoff we picked up an Airborne shuffle. The pace was comfortable but I noticed quickly that those nighttime cramps were not temporary. I still don't know what the cause is, but I now assume that it was an overdose of salts. I am not making an excuse but only calling this out because although I am not an endurance runner by any means, I should not have had an issue with cramps going into the first stage. But I did. Lesson learned I suppose. Definitely get yourself some electrolytes, but don't overdue it.

Stage 1 "Vehicle Drop Off (VDO)"

18" x 30 Torso at 0yds (pistol)

12" circle, 10" Square, 10" Diamond (rifle)

10 4" x 5" Rectangles (pistol)

On command go, shooter 1 (pistol shooter) will exit the truck bed and engage the 0 meter target with 2 pistol hits within 7 seconds, then move on and shoot all ten pistol knockdowns. Shooter 2 (rifle shooter) will bail out of the vehicle truck bed once Shooter 1 has shot the close range torso target, Shooter 2 will move to their shooting position and engage all targets across the pond with three hits each. Whichever shooter finishes first must begin to drag Rescue Randy to cover. The other shooter, when finished, may assist their partner. 180 second time limit.

This was a fun stage. After the briefing we realized that our planned scenario for me taking the pistol and Red taking the rifle was realized. I placed my rifle on the toolbox of the truck and took a seat on the near side (to target) truck bedrail. Red took the far side and we waited for the beep. On this beep I was focused mostly on jumping off the truck bed and not falling. Having achieved this I was next just focused on draw and dumping those two rounds into the torso. Aiming at that distance was stupid and only torso hits counted. Dropping those two rounds I ran toward the pistol targets. The other pistol targets were like angle iron cutouts and they sat on a few pallets. The distance was short and they were hit easily.

At this point Red was out and hitting his rifle targets. I haven't really talked to him about how this went but I know that by the time I finished the pistol work and was dragging Rescue Randy off the truck and across the course Red was finished. Just before I drug Randy across the halfway point he was there to help. I've reviewed some photos of the our competitors and I will remark that people should practice dragging. I pulled Randy under the arms. I saw others dragging by the feet and can't imagine how tough that was for them.

Out of 68 teams we finished 4th by completing the course in 69 seconds.

Stage 2 "Car React to Contact"

6" Dueling Tree w/ 5 Paddles (pistol)

2 12" x 20" Torsos at 301yds and 308yds (rifle)

On the beep, two shooters will exit the vehicle. Passenger will engage the pistol dueling tree at the 3 o'clock, hitting all 5 paddles, and then all 5 again. After engaging Passenger will holster pistol. Driver will exit and move to the passenger side of the vehicle, and begin to engage the long range targets in the field to the 9 o'clock with three hits each. After each shooter completes their engagement the Passenger will then tourniquet Driver's leg and engage the long range targets with three hits each using Driver's rifle. 180 second time limit.

I loved this stage even more than I loved the first one, and I really loved the first one. There was a lot of action in this stage for me. After our range briefing again we were confronted with a pistol and rifle specific shooting scenario. Again I took the pistol work and Red took the rifle work. We also had the opportunity to discuss which rifle we would be able to swap. Red had a better reticle for trading so it was just a bonus that we were able to enable our prescribed dichotomy of ability and catch the bonus of using his rifle. I prepped the tourniquet by making it as large as possible and opened the velcro for the windlass to speed up the placement. After that I placed my rifle on the hood and we loaded the car with Red in the driver seat and me in the passenger seat.

On the beep I was focused first on getting out of the car quickly and getting into the shooter's box without tripping. Once in the box I was out of the holster and hitting steel. Again I have focused a lot on pistol work lately and with my new pistol RDS this was really easy. I was actually able to hit these five targets on the dueling tree twice before Red was able to hit his distant targets with a rifle. By the time he was finished shooting I was ready with tourniquet in hand. Once he was on the deck I pulled it above the knee and turned the windlass once (all that was required for the scenario). Once that was in place I snatched an extra mag from Red and just loaded it. I'm glad I did as the magazine he was shooting with had only a single round remaining. During my application of the tourniquet Red told me the hold I should use, and so once I was loaded I started taking shots. I can't recall how often I missed but it didn't seem that it occurred much. Red was dead accurate on his holds and the hits came easy.

There was something to learn here though. When you are working with others it is important to have some familiarity with their kit, especially their weapons. It was really helpful to know what his holds were and we were given the benefit of being able to communicate. If he had been hit elsewhere or was "unconscious" and couldn't talk to me to describe his holds I wouldn't have known where to place shots. He and I both have now started experimenting with ways to advertise our holds on cards, either taped to a buttstock or in a scope cover.

Out of 68 teams we finished this course of fire two minutes and 1 second for eleventh place.

Stage 3 "Fighting Position"

12" x 20" Torso at 100yds

10" Diamond at 100yds

12" Circle at 100yds

On the beep, both shooters will crawl under the barb wire. Lead shooter will stab the enemy sentry with a knife, retrieve the intel document, and continue crawling into the bunker. Once both shooters are inside, use the intel to both engage the targets in priority it specifies. Each shooter must take turns engaging the targets the specified number of times, which is 4 hits on the diamond, 3 on the torso, and 2 on the circle. 180 second time limit.

I feel like this was Red's favorite lane. When we met the cadre for the briefing we were asked if we wanted to use the provided knife or our own knives. Asking why we needed a knife and hearing that we would be stabbing a sandbag, it was easy to borrow the provided knife. Knowing I was the slowest between the two of us, I volunteered to go first and stab the "sentry." Getting through the sand and under the wire was easy, stabbing the sandbag was also easy.

Now this "fighting position" was a little box, so I climbed in and got comfortable right away and Red was smart enough to not crowd the space and let me get settled. As soon as I was in and ready, he climbed inside the box with me. By the time he was comfortable I was already calling out the first target and began engaging. He did a smart thing and was audibly reminding me of the number of strikes needed as I began to fire. As soon as I finished firing he took up shooting and I was back on reading the target list. Once I saw the next prescribed target and number of hits I scanned and started engaging, audibly and loudly announcing which target I was shooting and how many hits were needed. Red and I continued this until we hit all targets in the prescribed order, the required number of times, in sequence.

Out of 68 teams we finished tenth by accomplishing the lane in one minute and forty seconds.

Stage 4 "Enter and Clear"

7 8" and 10" Circles at Short Ranges

8" Circle at 10yds

On the beep Shooter 1 will perform a ballistic breach the door by firing the shotgun into the cardboard door lock. Shooter 2 will draw pistol and move through doorway engaging the 7 steel targets with two pistol hits each at no closer than 7yd. Concurrently Shooter 1 will place shotgun on pallet and will follow shooter 2 through the door. After Shooter 2 has engaged all targets and holstered, Shooter 1 will move up to the barrier, and engage the 8" target through the round hole with two hits.  If shooters failed to bring their shotgun shell they must perform a mechanical breach by smashing the pallet. 90 second time limit.

Showing up to this lane we were first confronted with a weighted litter. Told to pick it up and follow the signs we placed our weapons within the straps securing the load and began to walk. It was quickly pretty obvious that this unknown distance litter carry was going to be pretty long. Rather than keep carrying just on hand and forearm strength we swapped to shoulder carry. Red is stronger than me so luckily he was on the tail end of the carry and I was able to put the litter on my back. I don't think he was able to mount the litter on his chest and can only assume he carried it by resting the handles on his palms and locking his elbows into his abdomen. However he carried it though he and I did it without resting. We were told later the weight was 130 pounds. According to my GPS the carry was over four hundred meters. This seemed to smoke a lot of teams, and reviewing some photographs I see that some teams disassembled the litter and weights for individual carry. I sort of feel that this should have been disqualifying but either way we finished and so did they.

We brought our shotgun shell and we were thankful. We also had avoided smoking our hands which was going to be important for pistol shooting. After the stage briefing we decided that I would run the shotgun breach and Red would get the majority of the shots. Breach was easy and I rotated out of the door frame and let him enter and begin clearing. I ejected the shell and left the shotgun open and on the pallet where I was told to stow it. After Red got his pistol hits in I ran past him and to the aperture cut through the barrier and made the last pistol shots, which were really easy.

Out of 68 teams we finished eleventh with a time of thirty seconds.

Stage 5 "Treehouse Teamwork"

2 12" x 20" Torsos at 80yds and 100yds (rifle)

1 12" x 18" Torso at 50yds (rifle)

12" Gong at 25yds (pistol)

The enemy is infiltrating your position using camouflage and concealment, targets are not painted. On the beep, Rifle Shooter and Spotter will scan the sector looking for three enemies that need to be engaged three times each by the Rifle Shooter. Once the Rifle Shooter has completed their hits, Spotter will draw their pistol and make three hits on the close steel gong using one hand only and no support. Time limit is 180 seconds.

If you have read or heard me talk about the first gun run I completed in Ellerbe, you know I finished second in this treehouse last time I was there. It seems to be a lucky place for me and that luck was demonstrated for us again. Knowing that Red was the better rifle shooter I took spotter duties. The range officers did a good job in keeping us from looking for targets on the way to the treehouse and while getting the briefing. Once we head the beep we turned and started searching for targets.

The truth about this lane is that Red did almost all the work alone. He found the first target right away and I was only able to spot the second target about a half second before he began to hit it. I never even saw his third target before he was hitting it. Upon his final shot I drew my pistol and hit the gong three times. I actually think I hit it twice and had to be told to hit it again by Red. Either way we performed really well and quickly. Red is the fastest follow up shot artist I have ever seen work. All the credit to this lane goes to him, save only my contribution of good luck.

Out of 68 teams we finished second in this stage by completing the course of fire in 43 seconds.

Stage 6 "Bounding Overwatch"

2 12" x 20" Torsos at 115yds from Start

Two shooters start behind the same barrier. Subsequent barriers are arranged in a V shape, separated apart by about 20 yards. Shooters can only advance while the other is shooting. Each shooter must hit each target three times before they can advance. Shooter 1 must make 18 total hits and Shooter 2 must make 12 hits. Bounding stage, we used a diagram so didn't really have a write up for it. Time limit is 180 seconds.

This lane was really simple in concept and I think was easy for us because it was something we had each practiced in our units in previous lives. Being the better rifle shooter he took the bulk of the work and was the first to engage. My focus was just getting to my first barrier, gaining a good rest, and taking my time to get hits that count. We each moved and fired well and finished really quickly. The only lesson we learned in this was to better communicate on completing the required shots. There were a few moments where we had a lull in fire because one of us would finish our hits and the other was unsure if we were just missing. Lesson learned. Announce for your runner that your complete, and if you are a shooter announce when you commence firing.

Out of 68 teams we finished third by completing the last stage in one minute and five seconds.

This was the best gun run event I have completed so far. It wasn't my fastest but wasn't the slowest either. Even with cramping calves we managed to keep a good walking pace and an adequate Airborne shuffle at times. Out of 68 teams we finished just to the right of the middle team on running, and fourth overall in shooting. These scores were averaged for an overall placement of lucky 13th. With a little more practice and better dedication to physical training from me, Red and I will be real competitors in future events. But most of all I have a good friend whom I know I can run and gun beside if I ever need it.

Last post we covered the main protagonist in this play of arms, the PL (Platoon Leader, don't forget to keep track of the abbreviations and acronyms listed here) but in this section we will cover a support position that is just as important. The military is well known for pairing an inexperienced leader with someone to advise and assist that has more knowledge and occupational maturity. This position relative to the PL, is of course the Platoon Sergeant (PSG).

Duties

The Platoon Sergeant plays such a strange part in this drama. Some liken his job as being the mommy to the PL's daddy. I've seen this inverted in some units though so am unsure if it is appropriate. But going to the text we see first that the PSG is second in command, leads in the PLs absence, but most importantly and often- supervises administration, logistics, and all maintenance. You might have heard that common quote "“Amateurs study tactics, armchair generals study strategy, but professionals study logistics" but it absolutely applies here. It is incredibly hard to move a patrol through hostile terrain in the presence of the enemy, conduct missions, fight, and win. But to do this all the while making sure that your men have everything vital to those tasks is tough. That is the PSG's task though. He plans most of this by preparing and briefing Paragraph 4 (Sustainment) of the OPORD, which we will be covering in great detail soon.

Also important to this is the task of organizing and controlling the command post (CP from here forward). This command post isn't really the place for the PL, because remember this job requires a lot of time being at the critical tasks associated with the movement and employment of his squads and teams. The CP is a place where his leaders gather when congregated or planning. The PSG ensures that the PL doesn't have to do all this leading and also run the CP at the same time. The CP waits for him under the PSG's control for when he needs it. Think of it like this, the PSG is continually making sure that the PL just has to pick up things and use him. He's like a tactical butler, but not your normal butler. Think Alfred from Batman kind of butler who keeps unit in shape and ready for the PL's commands.

Now in this description of the CP you see two other important acronyms. The first to tackle is unit standard operating procedure (SOP). SOPs vary somewhat from one unit to the next, and each are going to modify things according to their experience and culture. Everything on the Line usually devolves to how the unit SOP outlines. Even material found in this Ranger Handbook is subject to modification down at the unit level.

The next acronym is nearly a nemonic device. It is a way to analyze nearly everything in a current situation by breaking it down into six variables. These variables are: mission, enemy, terrain/weather, troops/support available, time, and civil considerations. This is referred to all the time by Line troops, usually as some catch all phrase to bookend a comment. Said like "you should always do _____ considering of course unit SOP and being METT-TC dependent." It isn't meant as a cop out as much as just a reminder that you should review these items constantly when organizing a unit or action, planning an action, or essentially doing anything. All plans are subject to change according to considerations to your mission, the enemy you face, the terrain and weather you are enduring, the troops and support you have at hand, the time you have left to accomplish your mission, and what affects and effects you might have on the civilians residing in your area of operations (AO from here forward).

His next task is rather mundane sounding but crucial, and again bolsters the notion that his most important work prior to engagement is logistical support and administration. He works with the SLs (who are subordinate to him and the PL) to get them supplies from the 1SG (First Sergeant, think PSG but one level up) or the XO (Executive Officer, an assistant to the commander of the next unit up). Mail and supplies are vital to a unit's morale and sustainment, so of course he is tasked with it. Again notice that commanding the troops are left to the PL, but the PSG is making sure the troops are ready and able for that for when the time comes.

The third bullet should remind us of something we saw in our examination of the PL. When we talked about the PL earlier you might recall that we brought up how the PSG is going to plan and coordinate the CASEVAC plan. Part of that plan and support involves two parties that will be discussed soon and later respectively, the patrol medic and aid and litter teams. Now just as earlier the PSG is not going to directly address casualties like the medic will and should, he is just here to make this go as smoothly as possible. Taking and dealing with friendly casualties in a controlled manner is extremely difficult, so it makes sense that the most experienced and steady leader facilitates it.

Accountability is an often overlooked key task to units, and seems unnecessary to many who haven't been involved in military service. You might think that Soldiers can keep track of their people, weapons, and equipment just fine but it is strangely difficult to perform. People wander off or lose contact with their patrol. Weapons go uncleaned or missing. Equipment is left behind or not made ready. Again the PSG is responsible for preventing this, often through periodic inspections or requests for inventory, called "sensitive item checks." The casualties and replacements portion should seem in line with what we have already discussed as a part of the PSG's duties.

Morale, discipline, and health seem to be a strange tasking to undertake for a patrol member's job, but the health of these three factors are directly causal to the success or failure of a unit. Napoleon is famous for saying:

"An army's effectiveness depends on its size, training, experience, and morale, and morale is worth more than any of the other factors combined."

Motivated Soldiers fight better. If you and your comrades have low morale and are not dedicated to the mission, it will be half assed and results will be less than ideal. It might even get someone killed. The same can be said for discipline. People who haven't served sometimes misunderstand discipline and believe that Soldiers are just mindless robots, but truthfully it is usually quite the opposite. And often during combat operations people begin to make poor or incautious decisions. Someone has to keep them reined in, and that person in a platoon level patrol is a PSG. Health has obvious implications to combat performance.

Task organized elements are parts of a patrol that are not normal to regular operations. They are typically organized from within the unit, and as the name implies are organized for specific tasks. The sub-bullets listed here for examples are parts of the unit during key tasks for combat patrols. We will examine them in greater detail later but should take a look at them for a minute before we move on to other tasks.

• Quartering party- this is a group that is tasked with holding down an area before the rest of the unit can occupy the area. This is a key task when moving a unit the size of a platoon that will be discussed often later.
• Security during withdrawal- when a unit is leaving an area it is extremely susceptible to attack. The security element is tasked with keeping this unit appraised of the situation and fighting a delaying action on any attackers during this vulnerable time.
• Support during raids/attacks- the support element is responsible for applying suppressive fires, which is one of, if not the most important tasks during a raid or attack
• Security patrols during night attacks- night time is a difficult operational environment and during night attacks placing and effectively using security is paramount to success. The PSG ensures that the elements that are charged with preventing the attackers from being attacked, are appropriately used.

By now you should begin to understand the purpose of the PSG. He is not leading the main effort but makes sure it is ready. He is not completing many of the tasks but ensures the completion. Gaining supplies and distributing them to those who need them are his charge. When the PL is busy completing or executing the plan, the PSG is busy trying to make it go as smoothly as possible. He keeps things organized, tidy, and on time.

Actions

Movement and halts are two vulnerable times for a combat patrol. The PSG is helpful to the PL and the unit by focusing on control and security during these times. During movement the PSG ensures that someone is watching the rear (as nearly everyone is looking forward or to the sides) and that the movement is controlled (so that units don't lose contact by beginning to lag behind or get too far ahead). During halts he allows the PL to focus on the purpose of the halt (like a map check or radio transmission) while he checks and maintains the security of the element. He also just does whatever the PL needs to keep things operating, remember he is Alfred to the PL's Batman/Bruce Wayne.

Danger areas will be covered extensively later on, but for now it only important to understand that they have a far side and a near side. Meaning, you start on one side of them (the near side) and cross over them (to the far side). The PSG is in charge of the near side while the element crosses and helps the PL further by keeping accountability (usually by counting the number of heads that begin the crossing) during this difficult maneuver.

Actions on the objective vary depending on the objective (the major task and position of the patrol) but certain tasks are always key and performed by the PSG. An example of some actions on the objective that are shared with raids and ambushes are tasks that are performed at the objective rally point (ORP). The ORP is probably going to be an entire post on its own, but for our purposes here think of it as the final place to get ready before you conduct a raid or ambush. It's a place to get ready for something big. At the ORP the PSG will help the PL move the element in and get them positioned correctly. This of course includes security emplacement. Since everyone needs to have their makeup on and their dance shoes tied before the date, the PSG helps organize this effort.

On other objectives outside of the ORP preparation the PSG also helps maintain security of the overall element. This is pretty much everyone's concern but the PSG probably has the most experience with this out of anyone in the patrol or the element, so they are going to be ever vigilant and diligent in maintaining this security.

When fighting, ammo and other supplies are going to be unevenly expended. The PSG is responsible with making sure that periodically these supplies are evaluated and, if needed, redistributed. This is normally referred to as performing "consolidation and reorganization."

When a unit fights it hopes to create casualties from the enemy's ranks, but just as often it suffers losses of its own. These can come in the form of wounded in action (WIA) and killed in action (KIA). Before these casualties can be sent to the rear or home for burial respectively, they must be taken from the battle or using our recently acquired operational parlance, the objective. At the objective the first place these casualties are taken is the casualty collection point (CCP). We will cover the role of the medic soon, but just for now know that the medic and the PSG will be there side-by-side caring for these wounded or fallen Soldiers.

A patrol base is a special place. It isn't always possible or good for an element to leave friendly lines, conduct a mission, and return in one easy or quick patrol. In order to dwell in hostile territory or move longer distances it is sometimes needed for them to host a sleepover or temporary resting place "behind enemy lines" so to speak. The place they temporarily stay is a patrol base. Knowing this and remembering the tasks the PSG had at the ORP you shouldn't be surprised to hear that his responsibilities and tasks are very similar. Namely, he helps occupy, establishes and adjusts the perimeter and security, enforces noise and light discipline (read: he keeps people quiet and from turning on unneeded and exposed lights), ensures camouflage, assigns sectors of fire (read: tells people where they can, and more importantly where they cannot shoot), and keeps everyone ready for action.

A patrol base is an excellent place and time for him to perform his consolidation and reorganization task as you might imagine, so this is listed. But the thing he is most worried about accomplishing in the patrol base is what is called the security plan. This security plan is a race against the clock for the patrol. Everyone is going to want to rest, eat, and just chill out. But if you have read ahead you see that this is the last things on the plan. Before the patrol can do this many other important things must be done. Think of this as a chore list before you can go out with your friends and play outside.

The first task of the patrol base is to ensure that the crew served weapons have interlocking sectors of fire. For most patrols the crew served weapons are the large machine guns. You want these to have interlocking sectors of fire so that they can engage the enemy in a continuous 360 degree blanket of fire, and if possible can hit the enemy from multiple angles.

This interlocking sector of fire idea is great but cannot always be easily accomplished. Sometimes there is some dead space between the crew served weapons. Most often there is some terrain feature that blocks fires from the patrol base. In this dead space it is best to employ claymore mines. These mines are directional and are set by Soldiers in places like this because they can be set off remotely and blanket an area with hundreds of steel balls traveling very fast. If you don't know what these things do you should look them up. It's pretty incredible.

With nearly any important job there is usually paperwork, and in this patrol base you should make some range cards or sector sketches. These might not seem important but as you will learn later there is a fair amount of shared duty during this sleepover party, and you want anyone to be able to man a gun and have an idea of the ranges, dead space, and limits of fire concerning each gun. A range card or sector sketch does this. It is also a helpful way of seeing how the guns and claymores are laid out, and are important in ensuring that you have appropriately tied everything in for security.

An alert plan is really just a way of deciding who will be awake and on guard at any given time. As there are things that must be done in the patrol base you can't have everyone working or pulling security at the same time, so you make a plan that says who is going to do what and when they are going to do it. This makes sure that you don't get caught with your pants down so to speak.

There are also times when you have to evacuate the patrol base quickly. Most often the PL and PSG come up with two locations that the patrol should move to in the case they are "blown out" of their patrol base. This is a colloquialism for shit going really sideways, like when you are attacked in the middle of the night by an overwhelming force. By making a plan for two different locations you can hopefully announce this to the patrol and have a place for everyone to meet up together to regroup and fight back or just get the hell out.

A withdrawal plan is similar to the evacuation plan but usually involves less chaos. Usually this withdrawal plan takes the patrol to the next item in the security plan, which is to select and have an alternate patrol base. If you are noticing a lot of redundancy in all this planning you're catching on to some of these principles. There is a lot of planning for contingencies and having backups in patrolling.

After all of this is done a maintenance plan is enacted. This centers mostly on cleaning and ensuring the function of weapons, especially the crew served machine guns. You don't want all your major weapons taken apart at the same time when the enemy decides to attack your patrol base, so you make a plan to perform this one by one, and while supported by other weapons, typically squad level machine guns. But all weapons should be cleaned and ready before you move to the other parts of the security plan, which are finally focused on each individual Soldier.

Hygiene, food, water, and rest are the final items to be considered in the security plan, and in that order. Health is hard to maintain under the conditions of patrolling, so people should take this time to change socks, wash key body areas, and brush teeth. They should also get some calories and some water in them. And hopefully after all this work the patrol and lay down and get some sleep. This is all done according to the alert plan of course, which typically doesn't go below a 33% security level, meaning that at least one third of the element is on guard at any given time.

Over three thousand words here on what is arguably a position just as important as the overall leader of the patrol. The PSG is a vital role in a patrol and is typically the billet where the most experienced Soldier resides. Just like any great relationship it is important that the PL and the PSG are working together in their separate, but equal responsibilities to keep the patrol alive. Next, we will cover the other leadership positions and finally get into some serious stuff, operations.

There were whispers about the terrain of the Sawmill Training Complex at my first gun run in Ellerbe. I was already aware of the date and how it feels in the Carolinas in July. All rumors and previous experience proved a bit understated. The Gun Run in Laurens midsummer is an ordeal. If you meet anyone who finished it congratulate them on a true achievement.

The July 17th Gun Run was like many of them, a two gun centerfire biathlon covering five kilometers. Most of the route was on gravel road but there was also a fair bit of mowed grass and sandy trail to cover. Like other Gun Runs there were six stages. All stages were 90 seconds in duration for par time. If this all seems like unfamiliar territory you can read the AAR from my first gun run here for a better description of the sport.

That first Gun Run taught me a lot about true light fighter kit setup. Knowing that the heat and humidity were only going to be stronger factors this time around, I chose to leave the chest rig at home and take only a battle belt. It would be much more cool to wear and run with in high temperatures. Now the round counts are the exact same as last run, which were 40 rifle and 35 pistol. But during the safety briefing I attended at 0730 we were told that we should at least double this.

If you can recall, the first lesson I learned during my last Gun Run was Trust the provided round counts. I didn't want to completely contradict this lesson after learning it, but I took the advice given and am glad that I did. Last gun run I carried 100rds of rifle ammo in five 20 round magazines, and 91 rounds of pistol in seven 13rd magazines. I chose this time to take 90 rounds of rifle in three 30rd magazines and 78 rounds of pistol in six 13rd magazines. This was a reduction from the last match, in just 10 rounds for the rifle and 13rds for the pistol. These were carried thus:

• 1 30rd rifle magazine in a side pants pocket
• 2 30rd rifle magazines on the war belt
• 1 13rd pistol magazine in the handgun
• 4 13rd pistol magazine on the war belt
• 1 13rd pistol magazine in the hydration pack (emergency spare)

I finished with 19 rounds of rifle and 17 rounds of pistol remaining. That means that I was left with 21 and 22% of my rounds remaining at the end of the match. I'm not sure what to think about this really. For the previous match I was too high, for this one I was right. Looking at the number of hits required per stage though, I think I found the missing variable that caused the delta. Ultimately I have a good and suitable configuration, and so long as the match creators don't increase the hit or round counts, I think we are at a good number.

This was an optimal setup for the race, the round count, and the stages. I like chest rigs, and if I have other gear items like smoke, radios, rangefinders, etc I think I would don one again. But for this race you only need ammo, water, and first aid. The belt and a small hydration pack perform this easily. From my experience last time, I dropped the rangefinder, Leatherman, and roll of tape along with that chest rig. I replaced the old school USGI Hatch glove for the PIG Full Dexterity Tactical Delta gloves as well, although I must admit these were not used either due to the heat.

The Walker Razor XV headset still seems better than traditional over the hearing protection, which tends to be really hot and sweaty. The only issue I have encountered with it so far has to do with the necklace getting caught on items, specifically the rifle. At the range during training I have inadvertently pressed buttons on the necklace with the buttstock, and I had an issue pulling it off entirely when a wire was caught removing the rifle on a lane during this Gun Run. I'm not sure what the alternative is, as I'm not going to return to the over the ear setup. I suppose I just need to be more careful removing a rifle next time.

I let the heat trick me into carrying too much water again. It was as hot as it could get here in the southern mid-Atlantic, but I still didn't drink more than 1L of water. Next run I won't carry more than that, as I learned again you really won't drink and run, it serves as a mouthwash more than drink.

The first stage was just down the hill from the buildings at the start point. It was a gradual trip down after I got my signal to begin.

Stage 1 "Container Climb":

12" x 20" Torso at 130yds

Grab the sandbag and proceed to the top connex, lock and load your rifle and engage the silhouette with three hits from the door. Then make one hit per opening cut in the wall. Then make three more hits from the window. 90 second time limit.

The short run from the start line to this first stage was easy, but it was a bit difficult to see that we would start the race with a carrying event, which I suspect was the architects intended inspiration. I actually recognized this sandbag from the last run, and three narrow sets of stairs wasn't something to look forward to at your first shooting stage. But without reluctance I snatched up the bag and settling it on my non-firing shoulder (something I learned from the last Gun Run) headed up the stairs.

I found that trying to balance the bag and keep my rifle from banging into the handrails was difficult so I took my time, and walked the stairs at an angle. I was almost was crabbing along sideways to avoid hitting the handrails on each step. At the top of the last set of stairs I was instructed where to place the bag and given the range instructions. I was very confident in this stage after hearing what was to be done.  At the beep of the timer I went to work and at the door it felt fast. The "openings" as they were called were groups of slits cut into the wall, similar to a V-TAC board. You had to just make one hit standing, another kneeling, and one prone.

I'm not certain what the issue here was for me. I have gotten extremely comfortable making hits out beyond 600yds lately, but this shooting had me frazzled. I think I was too confident here. I think I didn't take my time. I also was already in my headspace concerning the climb up with the sandbag. I began to dump rounds at a pace that was not prudent. The hits came but were slow, and certain shots just didn't register. By the time I cleared the slits and hit the window I could feel that the mag was getting light. I finished with less than a second under par. If so many people hadn't failed this, I would have scored really poorly. As it was, I was amongst the slowest of the 63% who passed this stage. Not an auspicious beginning by any means. After this I took off to the next stage and the longest leg of the race.

I was running. It wasn't fast by any means but compared to my previous race I was up to what might be considered a fat man's Airborne Shuffle. Due to the way the race was arranged, I was encountering folks on the last bit of their race. They did not look good. Men in much better shape than me were wearing that pink and pallor finish that people get at or near heat exhaustion. They were having trouble keeping their heads up. I began to worry but tried hard to keep my legs moving. If you follow my Twitter you will recall that I had created a map to track my effort and had used some preplotted GPS points for simple navigation. All along the creek and the lowlands to the southwest I anticipated finding the second stage but it just wouldn't come and wouldn't come.

Somewhere along this trail there was a log obstacle, which I found to be difficult due to their tendency to roll underfoot. I took too much time getting through this. It is not enough to just be able to run, I realized that I needed to start working balance, while rigged, into my exercise routines. There was also a stretch of wire to negotiate under, but low/high crawling was something familiar from my previous life. When I realized I was coming to Stage 2 I slowed a bit to get my heart-rate down, which was already way above my normal exercise of this nature.

Stage 2 "Contact Left":

4 12" x 20" Torsos at 80-120yds

Load your rifle, on the command of ‘Go’ start moving down the trail, when you hear the four man enemy team engage your patrol with blanks, seek the closest cover and return fire making 4 hits per target. You may move down the trail if needed to see all targets. 90 second time limit, time will start when enemy starts shooting.

The race instructions above don't indicate this, but before you could begin this lane you had to march into the creek and return. It was said you had to get at least waist deep. I didn't go that deep and opted to walk out and squat in water deep enough to achieve the standard and no one seem bothered by it. This lane was simple much like the first but as will soon develop into a pattern, I was not in this game mentally.

A simple react to contact left lane, I was aware of all the targets but wanting to give this a sportsman's try I wasn't looking toward the targets when the first shot was fired, nor did I glance when I made it to cover. I hit my first two targets quickly but not seeing my third I moved- I should say I bounded to the next cover. This was stupid. I was able to see the third target but had obscured my view of the last target. I actually had to bound back to see it and so I moved two times, when I should have stayed where I was and just moved around the tree. I had slightly more than one second between me and par time. Another 40 people failed this stage entirely, so I should be thankful I suppose, but I was disappointed.

I became aware at this point that I was not doing well, and rather than push myself into this run I was going to back away from the pace and just be prepared to pass each stage. I had DNF'd a stage in my first gun run and my new goal was to finish all of them, and just finish the race. Moving to Stage 3 I had a lot of uphill movement, and I was at high noon. There was little shade on the trail and I moved slowly and surely like an insect. It seemed like one hill after another, and then I saw the awning for Stage 3.

Stage 3 "Downed Pilot":

5" Circle at 15yds, 2 12" x 20" at 180 and 300yds, 8" Bonus Torso at ~100yds

On the beep, from inside of the box the shooter will unlock the survival pouch using the provided key and will engage targets based upon the information inside the bag. Shooter may use any props inside of the box or that the shooter has brought with them. Each target requires two impacts each. Shooter must make both impacts to move on to the next target. Once the shooter has successfully cleared the course of fire there will be a bonus target shot from the standing position. 1 impact will reduce your run time by 1 min. A second impact will reduce your run time an additional 1 min. You have 3 attempts to make impacts. Shooter does not have to engage the bonus target if they do not wish. 90 second time limit.

To be honest I am not sure of the point of the key and banker bag. I understand the notion that fine motor skill tests like this are a good idea, but the slip of paper found in the bag offered nothing but a bit of narrative that matched the range instructions. I ran through the reading fast but discovering nothing new in the first few sentences went into a cursory review mode and pitched it finding nothing of value by the end. The first target was two hits with a pistol and I cleared this easily. The recent purchase of a RDS and the training I put into it had paid off and I believe I only missed once. Switching to my rifle I made the next two targets relatively easily from a tripod setup. This lane featured the furthest target of the whole race, but due to the size I just placed my POI at the top left shoulder (wind was slight, about 5 MPH) and rung steel. 51 shooters failed this stage, which was nearly a majority. But my time was still not great. I think it was the reading, I should've just dropped the paper and began to shoot the stage instruction, but was afraid there was something in there I needed to know.

I took my bonus shots. I believe I hit two of the three but can't find the record of them in the score card. It was a difficult shot from the standing unsupported, but doable.

I walked out of this stage. There was little run left in me now and the sun was starting to feel much hotter than when I had took off. A check of my pulse-rate confirmed that I was near 200bpm. It was over three times my resting and I could feel the pressure in my ears and eyes. I forced myself to drink water and keep my head up. The idea that I might have a knife when I finished and the pride of passing all stages was now the goal. And I just slogged forward.

Stage 4 "Pistol Approach":

12" x 18" Torso starting at 42yds

On the beep shooter will draw pistol and make 5 hits on the target. Then the shooter will move to the next position and make 5 hits on the target. Then the shooter will move to the final position and make 5 hits on the target. Pistol does not have to be holstered when moving and you can shoot from any position. 90 second time limit.

My best lane. This huge man sized torso was easy to find and hit with my new RDS, even from a distance. Learning from my last Gun Run I did not reholster on the move and kept the gun out and up as I bounded from one shooting position to the next. With a magazine capacity smaller than the course of fire I had to perform one reload midway through, but with the new war belt this was easy.

I don't have much to learn from this lane, but will say that anyone doubting the efficacy or speed of an RDS on a pistol should try one. I was reluctant but now think they make anyone better. 39 shooters failed this stage.

Stage 5 "Bus Attack":

12" x 20" Torsos at 100yds and 80yds, 10" and 8" Circles for Mozambique Drills at 15yds and 20yds

Terrorists are attacking the bus, on the beep, from behind the vehicle, load your rifle and engage the torsos with 3 hits each, ground your rifle. Transition to pistol and shoot two to the chest and one to the head on the circles. You may close to within 7 yards to get your pistol hits. 90 second time limit.

I don't remember much from Stage 4 to Stage 5. I was hot and it was completely unshaded. Two men passed me and I felt that sting but just concentrated on moving. There were a few downhill stretches and I tried to pick up my pace but it was nothing to brag about. I had seen Stage 5 on the way to Stage 2 and knew a bit of what to expect. When I arrived I was really hot, and actually asked for a moment to collect myself before listening to the range instruction.

Loading the rifle went easily. Shooting with the rifle went easily, but the vehicle was not a great rest for the targets. If you were sitting in the driver's seat the targets were near 1 o’clock so the angle wasn't great. Once the rifle targets were cleared I grounded the weapon and in the process ripped off my Walker headset. For a minute I considered getting it and putting the ear plugs back in but just let it go. Hearing damage is just cost of business.

The range instruction said you could bound up to the Mozambique targets, but by this point I'm not working with a lot of gas, so from this long distance just draw and get to work. Surprisingly I make these hits relatively easily. But even without the running I was slow, like really slow. Besides failed stages I think this is the lowest ranked stage I have completed ever. This is partly because only 14 failed, and those that didn't fail managed much faster. I'm happy with my pistol work on this stage, but I just didn't make the easy rifle shots this whole day, and here I paid for it.

Stage 6 "Vehicle Contact"

Paper Silhouette, 2 8" Circles, 10" Square

Start in vehicle with rifle in back seat. On the beep shooter will draw pistol and engage the close paper with 4 hits. Then shoot two circle steel with 2 hits each, holster pistol, exit the vehicle with the dummy, grab rifle, and sprint to the next vehicle where you will engage the pistol targets again with two hits each, holster, and finally sprint to the last vehicle and engage the square gong with 4 rifle hits. 90 second time limit.

Coming from Stage 5 to 6 brought you up the largest continuous incline of the course, and near the finish line where most people were congregated. I was completely smoked by this point. A man stopped to check on me riding an ATV. A friend refused to take my picture. I must have looked pretty pathetic. I felt that way but was still determined to finish. I wanted to pass all the lanes and I wanted to turn that damn brick in to get my knife.

Stage 6 was in range pit north of the main buildings and Start/Finish line. There was probably an eight or ten foot berm to climb and descend into the pit. i was already so exhausted that I stopped twice on the climb, and rested when I came down. My legs were like a baby deer, and I would begin to pant with any effort.

Despite all this I was a little thrilled on the range instruction. I don't live much of a dangerous life anymore and the closest I might come these days are in my vehicle. I actually work on this scenario quite a bit. On the beep I draw my pistol and dump the four rounds in the cardboard. I should say I do this in one setting but I didn't, I had to reload to get that last hit. The others come easily too. Holster, open the car door, get out, close card door and move to pick up the rifle and dummy. I had imagined that the dummy in the passenger seat was heavy but it wasn't. At the next vehicle I put it down though, which in hindsight was a mistake. This pistol hits came easily though and after a reholster I returned the dummy to the shoulder and moved, albeit slowly, to the last vehicle.

That slow movement and the pickup and drop of the dummy was stupid though, and here is where I realized it. Loading the rifle and engaging the last target I heard what I was not expecting. The timer running out. 90 seconds is over fast in a scenario like this, and due to the day's events I just didn't have much to give physically. It was really disappointing to end like this. I had known that many people were failing stages but was sure I wasn't going to have it happen to me this time, and I should say again as I failed a stage in my first Gun Run. 66 shooters failed this stage, me amongst them. That's nearly a supermajority. Finishing this way I came into the Start/Finish line with a slight jog. I knew it was over and I looked forwarded to shade and rest.

I haven't done anything this difficult since the military. And parts of it reminded me of the some of the harder times in the military. Granted I don't think a younger me would have thought so, but nonetheless it was difficult. Like last time I finished slightly to the right of average, but unlike last time I didn't feel as good about my performance. I won't blame the heat, the pace, the stages, or anything else. I was just not a physically or mentally prepared for this race as I should have been. It was a hard lesson but I deserved to learn it. In the short time since the race I've increased the frequency and intensity of my conditioning. I also plan to incorporate more stress into my range time either via short runs or some other physical effort. I'm also going to check my confidence, as I think it got the better of me, especially at Stage 1 and 5.

That said the community around the Gun Run is the best community. I turned in my brick and secured a beautiful and valuable blade. I was able to talk shop with people who have similar interests, and made a friend to work closer with on training and preparing for the next competition, which is just a few weeks down near Savannah, Georgia. It will not be cooler for that race, and I should expect it to be difficult. I will be more ready after this poor performance. I still have a lot to learn.

Some time ago I posted a thread about a bag concept I slowly developed based on some experiences, research, and conceptualizing on how to perform onsite penetration testing of facilities. In the not too distant past I created and operated a team of people to perform this testing on behalf of clients in order to verify or improve their security controls.  This bag is maintained mostly out of a desire to still have those tools available. I might need to gain entry to property when am locked out or maybe someone has illegally restricted me from access to a place I own, manage, or have legitimate claim to enter. The article featured here has been written for those or other legitimate and/or contracted purposes. Any unauthorized, illegal, or inappropriate use of these tools or methods are the sole responsibility and actions of the reader.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

***** This post and any information within is intended for entertainment purposes. Use of items pictured, described, and intimated can be considered illegal in some jurisdictions and situations. Tactics recounted, explained, or imagined should only be practiced on property you own, have been granted legal easement, or are contractually and legally allowed to enter. The author and this website wish that any readers understand this disclaimer thoroughly. Any creators and content providers associated with this and other DigitalDropzone projects take on no legal liability, loss of indemnity, or responsibility for anyone misusing the information provided. *****

The Bag

Transporting items of this entertaining quality can present some legal issues and if done improperly can attract unwanted attention.  Not everyone understands that your possession of these items is intended for appropriate and private uses. In the off chance someone sees you carrying these items from one legal location to another, we want them to leave you in peace.

To accomplish this you should place everything in a nondescript bag that looks common for normal, everyday use. Avoid bright or dark colors so as to be unmemorable and innocent respectively. Military styles and camouflage patterns should also be avoided as they tend to imply a certain personality type that we might wish to avoid presenting.

This bag is basically a straight off the shelf purchase with only some slight modifications. There are many divided sections which have been used to partition the various hypothetical and imagined tasks this bag intends to solve. The major compartments and associated items are as follows:

1. Large equipment (bolt cutters, cheater bars, pry bar, rope)
2. Medium sized door breaching equipment (ascenders with aiders, harness, climbing tools, gloves, "Rap Wrap," grappling hook, under the door tool, breach pens)
3. Slim medium sized compartment (inflatable wedge, door stop, hacksaw, spare hacksaw blades)
4. Small item compartment (miscellaneous tools, alarmed door stops)

Like most bags equipped for a purpose, items often used should be accessible and items used together should be stored together. Experience should dictate what goes where and what experience hasn't yet filled in common sense should be interrogated. Another consideration is that some of these imagined activities might be performed in low light conditions or practiced in silence. In low light conditions like those experienced at night you should ensure that items can be found easily. To keep things quiet items should be wrapped in tape, plastic, cloth, or kept separate to prevent them from jangling or making noise when clanging against each other in the bag when carried. Pay attention to how items have been modified, prepared, and stored when reviewing pictures or reading descriptions. Some of these modifications won't be described but should hint or imply intent.

Large Equipment

This largest compartment is setup to store the least often used and bulkiest items such as bolt cutters, grappling hook, and rope. It is very rare to use these items and they are only carried for exigencies that are not typical for the normal uses imagined for this kit.

The bolt cutters were fairly heavily modified with the main goal of shortening the length. This first alteration made was to remove the standard length handles but still allow for the leverage needed to function. I shortened them a great deal, but short handles make them hard to cut with, so new handles were constructed with antenna mast. Antenna mast is strong enough for most use as long as the normal handles are not cut too short. You want the leverage of these "cheater bars" to have a large surface area contact with the remainder of what was not removed so that the masting does bend when used. Bicycle handlebar grips were added for comfort. The next modification is putting tape around the edges inside and outside the ends of the "cheater bars." This quiets them when they might bump into other items in the bag when carried and when used for their purpose. Luminescent tape was added to both the ends of the bolt cutters as well as the cheater bars so that they could be found and paired together in the dark, when light isn't available, or a good idea to use.

A modified Stanley Fat Max Fubar was added to the bag in the recent update. It was bought and part of the board bending portion was cut off. This cut was then polished and sanded down. To avoid the bright coloring a little bit of black paint was applied.

This next item appears very LARPy and must be admitted, never used practically. There are many issues this item might cause and foremost of them would be the noise of their use. Throwing a heavy steel object can produce a lot of racket, if successfully tossed, but especially if you miss and must keep performing the throw. Outside of this consideration they could be used for many purposes, the main being the use commonly seen in television. If purchasing these ensure that you get the heavier steel hooks and not the common and cheaper aluminum ones. The utility of them folding down and flattening make them much easier to store.

The rope is an important item and can be used to ascend using the grappling hook but can also be used to abseil from heights. It may seem strange but I have found that many targets are vulnerable at higher floors or from the rooftop. People simply don't expect anyone to go through a window or drop into a courtyard. The three knots used are important to the rope setup and the concerns one might have deploying it quickly and without entanglements. The monkey fist knot is used to keep the end of the rope secured to the bag as will be shown later, and to ensure that if you are abseiling- you don't reach the "bitter end." It would be better to end up suspended from the end of a rope than fall from the last part of the rope to possible injury or even death.

The length of the rope has been shortened using a daisy chain knot. This knot unlike typical ones is designed to come untied when pulled. This particular setup is only secured with some lightweight tape to prevent it from coming untied under normal handling, but insecure enough to come undone when pulled with more force. When the free running end is pulled the rope will continue to lengthen until it reaches the ground or all the length is fed out.

The final knot used is the one intended to secure the grappling hook or other items on the free running end. A bowline is one of the simplest and best knots to learn. This knot allows for a loop that will not close on anything put within it. The knot featured and used for this rope has also been made more secure with another half hitch.

Since the hook and bolt cutters are to be rarely used they were placed inside first. The rope was added next but it should be noted that it was attached to the bag as well. This particular setup allows a few things. First there are two zippers for this compartment. One that opens along the nearest edge to the back straps, and another seen here. This allows for the user to grab the tools through the former when needed or the latter and pictured zipper to be used to retrieve the whole rope at once. The attachment to the bag has an intent though. Say you wish to attach the rope to either the hook or another apparatus and are in a hurry. You can do this and use the weight of the bag to deploy the rope. If you have tied your daisy chain correctly and packed the rope the right way, it should feed out as the bag falls, using this weight to draw the rope out. This should be tested to ensure you know how to pack it correctly and be able to reach your tools without making noise or digging for them too much.

The rope and maybe the hook are just the basic method for climbing or descending verticals. The real work for each are performed by the tools pictured above. It should be noted that climbing and descending rope is a very dangerous and technical skill to practice and especially perform under stress. Anything read online about the techniques to do either, including this post, should be taken with grains of salt. Practicing any technique is best under the guidance and supervision of a professional, and always from safe heights with proper safety equipment and measures undertaken.

Ignoring the hook pictured above, the tools featured will be named and their use described clockwise from the top. The red and black tools top and right are ascenders. Ascenders use a toothed cam to grab the rope with great friction when weighted. A climber can place his a foot in the strap pictured (called an aider) and using a rhythmic motion stand in one and progress the other along the rope. I find this to be a rather unsettling experience and suggest folks wear a harness (discussed later) and clip in the aiders to ensure that if they experience a fall or slip in their grip the harness can potentially capture a fall.

Moving around the outside edge the descender or rappelling device is featured. There are many designs but the basic shape is a figure eight sometimes with "ears" to prevent entanglement or knotting on the device. I am not a professional climber and won't make any recommendations. Consult the guidance and training from an experienced professional before and after purchase for proper use and shape for your descending techniques. The purpose of this device is to create friction for the rope as it encircles the device allowing a user to apply or subtract tension on the rope to control the descent. This technique is extremely dangerous and should be practiced as mentioned before, with additional caution.

Moving toward the inside are two carabiners. These are to be used to attach rope, rigs, equipment, and other items to the rope or harness. Their use should be self explanatory and you should have at minimum, two. The last device pictured is a simple pulley. Horizontal rope traverses are made smother and safer with this device in my experience, but it isn't a required item. The intent for this is to be able to capture the rope to a location and cross over some place you can't easily walk or move across. Usually this would be from one building to another or across a terrain feature such as a gap or creek. The pulley could also be used to raise or drop equipment smoothly.

The solution pictured above is homemade, but I have heard and seen similar solutions. The main purpose is to be able to retrieve your rope after a descent or prevent friction from abrading the rope and limiting its lifespan. This is a sacrificial item and should be wrapped around a solid object, One free running end of the rope should be clipped into the carabiner that connects the "Raw Wrap" ends together, or a spare carabiner can be used if it can be left behind. This rope should be heavily knotted on one side of this carabiner and the user should descend using the other side. The idea is that the doubled rope is secured from running through the carabiner while the user descends, but upon arrival they can untie the knot and pull the rope through and free. Again this item will be left behind so that if you intend to leave it try to do so in an inconspicuous place or without any suspicious links back to yourself.

This harness is not the best or worst available, but it was extremely affordable and has served well over many years. It can be replaced with a Swiss Seat if a person is comfortable with that option, and can also be substituted by a more expensive and safer setup. A climbing professional's advice should be sought and followed for better advice when considering this extremely important item. Gloves are an absolute must when using these devices and especially for abseiling. The friction from a rope can quickly burn someone and possibly cause a user to release grip at a terrible time which could result in death. I prefer a harness setup like this for the options it affords me to carry climbing devices and for the ability to don it quickly.

Again items are packed according to a first in last out principle. The ascenders will be needed only after the harness can be donned so it goes in first, followed by the harness. The "Rap Wrap" sits on top because it is seldom used and because it is easy to move out of the way if required.

So far the items listed are in the bag for the purpose of going up, down, or across the rope. I have never used these items on an engagement for fun, profit, or intended purposes. They exist only for very limited contingencies or imagined needs. They are not necessary or required, and should be thoroughly evaluated before purchase or packing to see if there is a legitimate need. Under no circumstances should a person purchase these items and assume they can use them safely. I encourage any reader to seek professional guidance (this post doesn't count).

The next solution is not well known, but is commonly called an under the door tool. This tool is better explained in a video created by the provider that I purchased mine from a few years ago. It works on a simple principle created by fire codes that require doors to always open from the inside, which is good if you wish to keep people from being burned alive, but bad for security.

This item is tough to pack well and as you can see in the image it remains in tension within the edge of the zippered compartment. Great care should be taken when removing it because it can sometimes spring out and hit you in the face or make a lot of noise (ask me how I know). This tool works in a surprising amount of spaces due to fire escape requirements for building and facility owners. I have used this item before and while it takes some practice to master, it rarely fails.

Another new item to add to this section were the Breachpens. As of this update they still haven't been tested, but offer a lot of promise. Consisting of a match and a stick of thermal material that can cut metal, they offer a compact package for quickly cutting metals. Obviously they do this by lighting the metal on fire though, so a lot of care should be practiced when using them. The video below is really the best way to be introduced. Also the dude's haircut is exceptional.

The slimmer medium sized compartment is loaded with my favorite tool for most of the applications I've found after the military. A hacksaw, patience, and time can get you in almost any place you want to go, but the uses can be tedious and if you performing this work as a service to a client it probably won't be allowed. The inflatable wedge and door stop have obvious uses, but most commonly used to make spaces in between the door and its frame or sweep so you can use other tools.

The remaining miscellaneous tools are kept in the small items compartment and will be described in the uppermost panel starting at the 12 o'clock position and moving clockwise. The first item is a simple door lock block. Watergate should have taught us all that placing simple tape over a strike plate is insufficient. This is a badge blank leftover from another project with a strip of tape setup for easy deployment. The idea is to place this in doors that have been made to open but might lock again behind or in front of you when left.

Continuing the next white plastic objects of varying shapes and sizes are shims to "credit card" door openings. These won't defeat deadbolts but you would be surprised how easy it is to gain entry using this technique. These were made from laundry detergent bottles which I have found to be the best for this task. They are soft enough to slide around the latch bolt and stiff enough to impinge upon it. There are a lot resources online that do a better job of describing how this works and they should be consulted with more than a few hours of practice devoted to getting it correct.

The collapsible baton shown is not required for this bag, and is only carried here for contingencies that won't be mentioned other than a need to possibly have an object to pry with if needed. Fat Max Fubar hammers are much better suited for this task, and people should look into them and possible modifications. The keyring holds bump keys for the most common locks in use with residential locks. There is also a small led light on the keyring because some of this work might require it. Bump keys get their name from the way they are used, which involves bumping them to drive the lock pins up past the sear while turning the cylinder. This is are very difficult method to master and can break lock pins if you aren't careful. Be sure to practice on locks you can afford to lose and practice a lot. It is not easy.

Most people know the next item shown in the leather pouch. These particular lock picks are cheap and not that great for regular or hard use. If you plan to use them often or have higher stakes picking in mind pay for better solutions. Don't go cheap like I have done. I don't particularly like lock picking and don't prefer them so I haven't invested much money.

The roll of tape is a simple roll of tape. You never know when you need to use tape but you often will need to use some tape, so carry a flattened amount in any bag you create, chest rig you wear, or car you drive. You'll need it. I'll skip the highlighter for now and go directly to the mirror.

This mirror is on a telescoping handle like an old school car antenna. It is mounted on a ball joint so that you can rotate and adjust it in any direction. This can be used to make adjustments to solutions like the under the door tool. It can also be used to look at areas before crossing their thresholds, like corners or doorways.

The battery powered chemlight is another good tool to have. This one is made by LazerBrite and has a few features. The bulb for the white light allows for low to medium lighting of a room while the tubular light has a diopter to open and close with a few low to medium red light settings. The use for this is for areas that are more public where you wouldn't want to raise visibility and only need to cast a dim light on a particular surface.

The door stop alarms are to be tested but have been included to provide some early warning in ad hoc situations. The switches have been cut off to avoid accidental deployment. In order to ensure that the on/off labeling doesn't wear off and cause confusion, they have been painted to indicate the "on" position.

The last two items seem very strange additions and I'm not sure how common their use in onsite penetration testing but I have worked on developing a technique with their use for a few years. In the industry I tested there was a lot of use of cypher and keypad locks. Often you can just stick around and see someone use the lock, or maybe use a camera to attempt to record someone typing in the code. But to me the best way to capture these codes without getting caught is to paint the numbers with the highlighter. Most of the people that are going to touch the lock are going to input the correct numbers and when they do they will smudge the highlighter ink. You should be able to discern this by where the highlighter ink has been smudged with the powerful UV flashlight.

Most of these locks are a combination of four digits. I've found that the combinations are usually obvious once found. Building or unit numbers, dates, or telephonic translations. Experimenting with this knowledge I created a script that helps make this effort potentially easier, which began as a simple brute force generator. According to math nerds there are only so many permutations of a given set of numbers with a limit of digits. So with this principle in mind a four digit combination has only twenty four permutations if you know which numbers are the numbers used to open the door and no number is repeated. With this knowledge you can run all the possible codes and eventually open the door, but it might help to start with the most likely.

That's where this script comes in handy. It is really simple and I'm sure if you found some legit coder they would laugh at how poorly written it is, but it works. You take the .py (python script) and the .txt file and place it in a directory on your desktop or where ever you want and run it from that directory in the command line. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, again there are other resources that can teach this and you should be familiar.

This sample should show some basics of how it should function. You take the command line into the directory where your script and telephonic dictionary are present. Run the script. It will ask some questions about fingerprinting, which is simply just things you guess might be the code. After entering these you should press "return" or "enter." It will do the conversion and add these to the search it will do later. It then will ask the number of digits for the lock. Next the known digits. After these are done the script does all the work. It will look for dictionary words and dates. Besides the output given at the terminal you will be given two files in your directory.

In this case there where no exact matches, so the only valuable information is found in the AllMatches.txt file where you can see every possible permutation. The terminal gave a few date suggestions so I would start with those probably and if they didn't work I would begin to work my way down the list. Obviously this would take some time and might attract attention.

Another run of the script looking for a four digit code with only three known numbers {4,5,6} (because repetition is possible and is found really often) nets us better results.

5646=john
5646=join
5646=logo
5646=loin
4655=holk
6455=milk
6455=mill
6455=nill
5464=king
5464=ling

That sample should show you the intent behind the concept. It's not perfect and the code should be revisited by someone with more imagination, but it has borne fruit in the wild during testing.

This last item is kept on the outside of the bag, but could be carried inside if it might cause suspicion. Spray paint like this is great at obscuring windows, cameras, mirrors, or other items that might make your imagined or totally legal activities too noticeable or obvious. This particular brand in light coatings can dry and block the vision of many surfaces or systems quickly.

After all of this has been said I'll admit that this bag has been around for nearly a decade and has been rarely used. It was created out of possible need that never met much in reality. In truth I never needed it to get into most of the places I was testing. My technical speciality wasn't really technical at all, and these kit bags were just a thing I had back at the hotel room or in a rental car trunk.

I'll save those tactics for another post but they related much more to what has now been rebranded as "social engineering" which is just a fancy term for what most of you already know how to do, which is mislead or misrepresent someone with false but believable information. Most often with the right costume, story, and prop equipment I could get what I needed from a target, and instead of using all these tools the people I was testing would open the door for me. But that's a whole other long post and it's getting late.

Chapter One: Leadership

I love this section of the Handbook and I believe that it does a better job describing universal leadership in a few bullets than many books accomplish in whole chapters. That said I really think the later version fails the reader by complicating the lessons and the inclusion of a table. Table 1-1 in the April 2017 takes some shorthand by listing but not well describing the Be, Know, Do style of leadership, and the introductory paragraph kinda sucks. It might because the April 2000 is more familiar to me, but I'm more impressed by its description of the Principles of Leadership. We are already going to break the rules we set for this club and default to the older handbook for this part. I'll try to include some screenshots so we can follow along together.

The statement that leadership is the most essential element of combat power is entirely accurate. This point is well developed when discussing how the other elements of combat power are maximized. This word use manifests a critical distinction and develops a very precise point. Any element of combat power can be effective at a certain volume or with a lucky execution, but in order for it to be successful without squander or reliance on random chance, a leader is required.

After the Handbook describes what leadership does generally, they go into the details with what a leader should BE, starting with technical and tactical proficiency. I have always loved this distinction and have found that some leaders, and maybe most leaders, lean heavily into one side or the other. Meaning, that some are much more well versed in either the technical or the tactical realms of warfighter knowledge. Technical knowledge tends to be about the equipment and tools used by a Soldier, usually the crucial data about them. Tactical knowledge would tend to be more about the employment of the equipment and the tradecraft around it. Both are vital to be an effective leader, and everyone should strive for a deep competency in each domain. I tend to think that tactical knowledge is more crucial than technical, but this is likely just a preference.

Moving to KNOW (1-1, a, 2b), I want to remark on how impressive it is to have a discussion of character within a textbook on tactical operations, especially the mention of weaknesses. The notion that before we can begin discussion of proper employment of a platoon or squad we must self-reflect and self-assess is just an early indicator that this work is the real deal. To take this work seriously, we must first acknowledge that a leader that is unaware of their own character weaknesses and isn't proactively working on mitigating them will fail the patrol just as easily as if they deployed a unit or weapon errantly or inappropriately.

DO (1-1, a, 3a-3h) is my favorite section and the longest in the Principles section. I won't belabor all the points but would like to say that there is some exceptional fodder for thought in every bullet listed here. Seeking and taking responsibility is incredibly crucial in leading people. There is nothing worse than a leader who wants to blame others or circumstances for failure. When we talk about the first sentence in the duties and responsibilities of the Platoon Leader, Squad Leaders, and Weapon Squad Leader (from here forward abbreviated to PL, SL, and WSL respectively) this is succinctly well put, and makes for a memorable job description.

Making sound and timely decisions to me is an incredibly hard, and possibly impossible skill to simply attain. In my limited experience I have found that this is generally a natural aptitude rather than something that can be easily acquired. This natural aptitude can be increased in effectiveness through experience but the knack seems genetic, or gained prior to service, usually in a leader's upbringing. The best word used to describe this that I have found is Fingerspitzengefühl. The best combat leaders seem have this ability, and respond the fastest when maximizing their combat power ensuring to understand the second and third order consequences quickly.

Setting the example is a difficult task that most understand even if unable to accomplish it, but the most challenging part of this section in my opinion is the sharing of dangers and hardships. I think when most leaders fail in setting a good example it is often here. It becomes easy as a leader to avoid danger and hardship as you generally are responsible for distributing the work and able to affect the tasking of efforts. Natural inclinations for most people, especially toward danger and toil, are to avoid them. But to lead people in combat you must show them that you are a stakeholder in each. Sharing the danger is going to be especially important as we go forward into the tactical employment of a unit later. A leader should be close to the main effort wherever possible, and this absolutely puts them in danger.

Keeping your subordinates informed has to be the easiest thing to accomplish as a leader, and is so incredibly crucial. A key word of note here is intent. This will come up during the sections about Operations Orders (from here forward abbreviated to OPORDs) and is the true "nut" of any effort. Soldiers who are uninformed generally don't perform with much vigor, and will absolutely suffer in morale. Tell them everything you can, when you know it certainly. Understanding the intent of the mission helps everyone accomplish it when faced with decisions, large and small.

The remainder of the DO section is important but doesn't require much further explanation. There are only two words I believe should be noted: delegate and supervise. Delegation is key as it helps you better manage your time as a leader, which save only your Soldiers is your most precious resource. Delegation also helps you develop junior leaders and Soldiers. Supervision is also crucial as it inspires others to achieve the standards stated, and gives you the confidence in that achievement before embarking on dangerous duties.

So far we have had an easy time of it talking about Ranger history and such in the prefaces, and the Principles of Leadership. But now we are about to dive into to some important parts of the Handbook. The cast of characters in our stage of arms. We start with the protagonist of this play, the PL (Platoon Leader, remember? Keep your abbreviations handy). We will also now switch to the most current version of the Handbook, so that what we study is up to date.

If I had to say what my favorite line or passage of the Ranger Handbook was, it is how this duty position's job description begins. "Responsible for what the patrol does or fails to do." It's laconic and perfect. I have been a civilian twice as long as I was a Soldier and have maintained this thought in every leadership position I have ever held since reading this thinking to myself, sometimes quietly and out loud "I am responsible for what we do or fail to do."

Much of the rest of the initial description is filled with items you would expect, save for one thing I think that should be highlighted. The PL is responsible for directly placing and "employing" crew served and "supporting" weapons. There is a bit to unpack here. First that placing a weapon and employing it are two distinct, but often blended acts. When you put a weapon team at a certain location, let's say a machine gun crew on a hilltop you haven't really employed it. You have only placed it. Employing it would be to put them on a hilltop and give them a sector to observe, and a set of conditions in which to fire. The second vital concept to begin to study is that crew served weapons, certain special weapons, and even duty positions fulfill a "support" role. This means that they are often not the main effort, but support the main effort. We will be talking about this a lot going forward so it is helpful to start now.

An extremely critical concept is introduced in the next bullet. The notion of backwards planning. The concept is critical for a combat leader. In order to maximize the time for the mission, planning from the desired end state rather than the present moment is the best way to maximize time and effort. If you mission is to setup an ambush at a certain time in a certain location, you look at the location and consider the proper places for your assault, support, and security elements (relax, this will be explained later in great detail). You then look at where your objective rally point will need to be located, and from that where your patrol will need to travel to get there from where you are now. You do this type of planning for everything else too, not just the travel. Equipment, transportation (if available), supplies, ammunition, places to conduct link up, etc... Every part of your plan starts at the end, and is followed like a thread to your present moment, and available men/material.

The next part to outline is the third bullet, which describes how the PL will use his Platoon Sergeant (PSG from here forward), SLs, and other supporting elements to plan the mission. The idea here is not just because many of these Soldiers will have more experience than the PL might, although that is common. It is to ensure that everyone has buy-in, and that the best possible mission is created through the interrogation of the plan by all members of the element.

The fifth bullet is significant as well. Notice that the PL is responsible for requesting additional resources, if needed. It's on this Soldier to ensure his patrol has the material or support needed to accomplish assigned missions. It's something most don't realize when thinking about the military, but often things are accomplished from the ground level going up the chain of command. Not every item in a mission has been provided for or considered by higher command levels.

The PSG, which is an incredibly vital role but will be discussed in another post, is in charge of coordinating sustainment (a term for the material support needed to continue operations) and the evacuation of casualties. But this is not his responsibility to bear alone, the PSG is only responsible for conducting it. The PL directs this effort overall, and assists in helping the PSG accomplish it.

Hidden within a bullet following the previous, is one of the most important concepts for any combat element. Security is a term used to describe the constant monitoring of the surrounding terrain or environment that the element is currently residing within, meaning that at all times the Soldiers assigned to a unit on patrol or in a combat zone should be scanning in every direction. This is a very complex action, and is hard to describe without experiencing the concert of an element performing it firsthand. When we talk about setting up patrol bases and organizing a unit on patrol we will continue to work on this basic concept, but it has to be introduced now. The PL is ultimately the person tasked with ensuring that everyone is scanning, in ever direction, at all times. This requires a lot of situational awareness, checks, and trust.

Earlier we discussed how a leader should be close to the danger and the main effort, this is further bolstered in the bullet that discusses how the PL should be at the point of execution of the most critical tasks for mission accomplishment. This is more than just sharing the danger, this is primarily to ensure that he can supervise, direct, and ensure the accomplishment of the vital tasks required for successful exercise of the mission.

Commanding through his SLs is an important distinction. The PL should not be out ordering teams around. SLs are leaders and commanders in their own right according to that duty position. The PL can quickly get bogged down in directing efforts if that Soldier is working at too low a level. The PL does this best by always considering the intent of his mission at two levels up, which for a platoon would be a battalion level effort.

The final concept to introduce before we break, is rehearsal. All actions performed by the unit require rehearsal. If you are conducting an ambush you should rehearse those expected actions on the objective. If a raid the task critical to that mission. This is tougher than it sounds, and often leaders are not encouraged to perform this important act due to a feeling that time is short, but rehearsals are key to ensuring mission success.

I wanted badly to get through all this chapter, but there is just too much material to cover if we intend to do it well. But this is a lot that should be taken in and soaked. Leadership is key to accomplishing military objectives, and the PL is going to be the person most responsible for the efforts we will discuss on our long patrol through this handbook. Continue to study this chapter and be prepared to discuss the other duty positions within the platoon that support and assist the PL in accomplishing missions. Next post coming soon.

Part 1: Introduction

It's important to begin saying that the author of this effort has not been to Ranger School, was not in Regiment, and only enjoyed reading and applying what was written in the Ranger Handbook (SH 21-76 during his limited era at arms, and now TC 3-21.76). It is certainly going to bother a few people who think either are required to undertake this project. If anyone reading this is bothered, consult the contacts page and send me a message letting me know you wish to takeover. You're certainly better qualified and it would be appreciated, as I'm beginning to realize the depth of my commitment in attempting the task of explaining complex tactical efforts without the benefit of a hands-on and well developed curriculum.

The next item of importance before we begin is versioning. There are multiple versions of the Ranger Handbook, with many small and some major differences. The delta between them will be covered as well as can be accomplished. If it is possible for me to ascertain, I would like to offer explanation the differences. Any major differences will be resolved with suggestion that the latest version is official canon. This is assuming that the Ranger Training Brigade made the update with better/new knowledge or experience to justify the modification. The two versions primarily used will be April 2000 (the version most familiar to the author) and April 2017 (the latest supported and official version).

The last item before we begin is a request for patience. To make this effort worthwhile it will require a lot of time and effort. Some of the material is well remembered and practiced by the author, some is merely understood, and a good bit is wholly unfamiliar. Every attempt will be made to make a good effort at it, and to publish in a timely manner. It may even be that others will be consulted and possibly act as authors. Just be patient. I think this project is a good one but we must not force the muse, nor expose ourselves to reporting things incorrectly.

This all finally said, let us begin our patrol through the text.

Prefaces

Each version starts very well. Any and all readers are encouraged to review the Ranger history, Rogers' Standing Orders, the Ranger Creed, and the list of Medal of Honor winners. It is no overstatement when it is said that the Ranger Regiment is the finest Light Infantry unit in modern times, possibly that has ever been organized. This manual has served the United States Army as the cherished and lethal instructions of combat arms. During my own time on the Line it was most the often used, cited, and read Dark Gospel when someone desired to learn how to patrol, ambush, raid, and generally kill the enemy.

Everyone begins their journey through this manual of arms reading about the Rangers, so you should too. Take the time to study this important unit's history. Remember that the reason this manual is taken so seriously, is because of the history and the men this unit has produced. Don't neglect the material before Chapter One. It is good stuff. As soon as you finish begin to read and ruminate over the first chapter, which we will cover soon in Chapter One: Leadership.

A Twitter friend and I were talking a few months ago, and he described to me an event he thought I might be interested in attending. He said there was a race, similar to a Tough Mudder, but with guns. He was right, I was immediately curious.

The April 10th North Carolina Gun Run was a two gun, centerfire biathlon covering ~5 kilometers (I've seen estimates that this race was actually a 6k). The race went along some hardball and dirt roads but was somewhat cross-country and featured six shooting stages. These stages were more immersive than simple draw and shoot or the flat range firing most of us are accustomed to performing. Everything had a time component and was scored regardless of experience, equipment, gender, age, weight, etc. Each shooter carried what kit they considered prudent and following the required safety precautions, how they wished to carry it.

I was warned that these races sold out quickly so I placed a calendar appointment 15 minutes before the tickets went on sale as a reminder, and purchased my appointment with reality the moment they started taking money. There were four options, three time ranges for runners who had previous 5k run times they expected to finish in again, and one option those who intended to walk the duration of the event. I picked the last run range, which in hindsight was rather ambitious.

A YouTube channel and a few blogs were suggested at the event website, and they were my first sources. Kit is a very personal matter, and my antecedent education already had me imagining a light kit setup so I only needed to make some modifications and further purchases. Based on what I could find from the Internet and those content providers' previous race experiences, I took my ideations and pocketbook to the market.

I ended up with a good initial setup that honestly performed great for what I expected, although a bit much after AAR. My initial clothing setup and weapons were based on what I had, and the terrain I was expecting. There were no mistakes made here. Of course a kit post was made on Twitter.

The shirt was a great athleisure four way stretch, that matched my fascination with GothPat. I've run the rifle for some time, although he LPVO and canted RDS is somewhat new. My Glock and I have been married for a decade and a half, and like any Glock is not exceptional beyond the brand's known reliability.

Safariland holster and the belt are something I wear and carry every day. The boots were new but broken in, and would be crucial. Darn Tough socks have become a new fascination of mine, and are well worth the big money price tag. I have also recently begun to wear prAna pants nearly exclusively. They really are the most comfortable pant ever created for men. The watch and case/band were really more of a race control unit for other equipment, and honestly was a really convenient bit of gear for the race, as will be described further in a bit.

Most of everything listed above was fine for a different setting, but for the race I could have been much lighter. The chest rig functioned extraordinarily, but the match round counts were 40 rifle and 35 for the pistol. Even with 2o round magazines I was at twice the ammo count just in the rig, and I even carried an additional rifle magazine in the Eberlestock mini backpack. This chest rig also held five pistol magazines, and I carried two additional pistol magazines in the pack. This was entirely too much ammo. Total round counts for what I brought in were 91 pistol rounds and 100 rifle magazines.

I finished with 58% and 57% rounds unexpended for pistol and rifle, respectively. First lesson learned: Trust the provided round counts. I only have this first Gun Run to go off of, but I will put more faith in what they suggest next time. I understood correctly that misses generally don't count against you, but the truth is misses are a waste of time, which like in life is your most precious asset. It simply doesn't pay to try to shoot when you aren't on target or are unsure of a hit. Extra ammo is prudent, to a point, but don't overdo it.

The Walker headset was phenomenal. I noticed when playing with it before the race that I had to be careful getting a cheek weld or adjusting backpack/chest rig straps, but otherwise it was perfectly suited for the race. As a bonus Walker has an iPhone app and Apple Watch widget, which allows for you to change the frequency modulation, earpiece ambient volume adjustment, and sleep timer. I tended to adjust to the "Voice Detection" setting when getting range instruction and "High Frequency" during shooting to be able to detect the ring of steel targets for a slight edge, instead of relying on hearing the ROs shout "hit." Not really a required item but definitely a nice to have.

The Hydrapak bladder was fine, but filling it with 3L of water was stupid, and I really knew better. I was afraid of running out of water, but in hindsight having a liter per kilometer was very stupid. The bladder is graduated and even after some post race sipping I was nearly at 1.5L of water left by the time I came home. Next time 2L will be the max for this distance and temperature. You really don't have a lot of time to drink water if you're moving fast enough.

The rest of the items save the sunglasses and the Garmin were taken out of precaution but were not used. I did suffer a small cut on my weak hand, which bled some but still weren't worth wearing the gloves. If the round count was higher and barrel temperatures increased I might reconsider, but in hindsight I didn't wear them or need them really.

Second lesson learned: For longer races a chest rig will be handy, for a low round count 5k, a battle belt could suffice. I think a belt with two full, standard capacity rifle magazines, and four pistol magazines would be well balanced. Adding the backpack with 2L of water would be just right.

All the gear discussion dispensed with, the race was well organized and the attendees a friendly and fairly heterogeneous mixture of people. You show up, check in at the desk, confirm your start time and wait for your cohort's safety briefing. My briefing was conducted by the race organizer Ellis Domenech, who is well known for his writing at the Federalist. He gave a great description of the conditions and concerns regarding the event, afterwards I went back to shoot the bull with friends until we each started.

When my starting time approached I donned my gear, powered up my optics and conducted my PCCs and PCIs. This was done under the cover of shade which should provide the appropriate foreshadowing for a lesson learned later. When the race clock came to my time I took off down the road.

The initial jaunt was rather long and featured the first water obstacle, just at the end of blacktop and sandy roads. The water was waist deep and the mud over boot laces. Thanks to the safety briefing I had tightened laces in preparation for it. Coming out of the water I found the first stage close.

Stage 1 "The Active Shooter":

12" x 20" torso at 85yd, 10" diamond, 8" circle

On the beep you will close the distance as much as is needed to make two consecutive hits on the active shooter target (no closer than the stakes). If the first or second shot misses the target, shooter will have to transition to the smaller target, and again close the distance as much as is needed to make two consecutive hits(no closer than the second stakes). If any shot misses, the shooter will transfer their pistol to their weak hand, move to the even smaller circular target and again close the distance and make two hits with their weak hand only to incapacitate the active shooter. 60 second time limit. If you shoot innocent bystanders you will fail this stage.

I came into this stage way too cocky on my pistol capabilities and a little smoked from running straight into it. I should have also paid closer attention to the briefing. Third lesson learned: Take the time to make the shot you KNOW you can make. In this competition you need to listen to the task, conditions, and standards. In this instance I ran to the first target and drew and quickly fired, which was a miss. This forced me into the next target where I quickly drew and fired, resulting in another miss. That forced me into the last target where I had to fire with my weak hand, unsupported. This was a ton of time wasted for shots I know for a fact I can make easily if I slow down. Fourth lesson learned: Don't run into the station. Take a little bit of distance to get your gear ready, prepare your mind to listen to the stage briefing, and gather your breath or slow your heart. It seems like a prodigal waste of run time but the stage time rules your shooting and is much more precious. Make sure you show up to the stage briefing as prepared as you can be.

Stage 2 "The Tree House":

Four 12" x 20" torsos at 50, 100, 125yds

On the beep, shooter will scan their sector and engage enemy targets with three hits each. You may use the supplied range card to ensure you observe all enemy avenues of approach. 90 second time limit.

Showing up to this stage I immediately knew it was shooting from an elevated position as there was a plywood box in a tree with a ladder lashed in place. I showed clear on the rifle and took the trip up making sure to scan for targets when I arrived. The range brief was read to me, I was given the range card, and was told to prepare. I heard a lot of folks used the ladder or other improvised rests here but I went with my rifle bipods, extended to half of max height, and loosened the knurled knob on them so I could take advantage of the pan and tilt capabilities of the Axis model I was using. You couldn't stage a magazine under the weapon but I just placed one inside my front pant pocket. When the timer went off I loaded and closed the bolt and began to snap quick three round bursts into each silhouette. This run felt good. The RO told me he thought it was an exceptionally fast run and I ended up taking third place over all here. Again I took my time at this stage and by preparing and mentally rehearsing I saw dividends.

Stage 3 "Rescue Randy":

Point blank paper, 3 sets of 10" and 8" Mozambiques at ~10 yds

On the beep, draw your pistol and shoot the close (point blank) target with four shots. Holster pistol and rescue Randy by dragging him to cover, then make your way to each barrier and use your pistol to shoot all targets with two to the chest and one to the head. 90 second time limit.

The range briefing doesn't mention that immediately before starting you are issued a weighted duffle bag and sent on a circuit that is ~150 yards of pine straw and sand. I can't be sure but I think the duffle was somewhere around 80lbs. It wasn't entirely filled and the weight seemed evenly distributed on each end. I threw it over my firing shoulder and took off. I think in hindsight wearing it like a saddlebag over the neck would have been a better option but it didn't prove too difficult. When you returned with the duffle you were given the above stage briefing.

On the draw I didn't even raise my pistol above my sternum. I practice a lot of these point blank shoots and just cleared the holster and dumped my four rounds, then re-holstered to go get Randy. Now I have no idea how much he weighed, but I'm thinking he was at least 150lbs. I had him feet toward the intended cover so first attempted to take him like that but it was a piss poor plan. I had to abandon this early and just grabbed him by his plate carrier and drug him to his place of cover. Fiddling with his feet cost me time and being aware of this I really put a lot of effort into making up the time by pumping legs and moving fast. As soon as I got Randy to his cover I sprinted to the Mozambiques. I think I might have only missed once but maybe not at all.

When I was cleared off the range the RO told me I did well just in time for me to puke up the little bit of water I had ingested prior, which let me know I put a lot into this stage and that I needed to better physically prepare for these types of events.

Stage 4 "Ammo Resupply":

8" circle at 100yds, 10" diamond at 110yds, 10" diamond at 125yds

On the beep, you will engage the targets across the pond with one hit each. Then move the ammo resupply to the defensive position in front of you, where you will engage again with one hit each but from your weak side. 90 second time limit.

This stage was DNF'd by something close to 69% of the shooters. I can't speak for everyone but the weak hand shooting at these targets and distances just isn't trained for by most shooters. I really kicked myself after this stage.

So before it began there was an obstacle, a high crawl through sand under barbed wire. I think it was about eight feet long and the ware was over three feet high. It really wasn't difficult but I did see some blood spatter near the end, which makes me think someone had some trouble. Once you passed through this the RO read the brief, which sounds simple enough. Again I knew now to take my time on setup. The targets were actually at a higher elevation than I was on my side of the lake, so I extended the bipod fully and placed it on top of the "ammo resupply" which was one .30 caliber ammo can.

At this level I was even with the targets while prone. I was able to load before the RO asked for a ready so once I was on target I was able to begin. Three easy hits. I left the bipod down (mistake number one) and headed down to the shore to a brush pile. Getting there I tried to set the bipods on the brush only to find that I couldn't get both legs settled. Each would punch through the brush or slip off the log when I would readjust. I also was trying to get some sight picture. My canted RDS was what I was looking for but I just couldn't find the dot. I was moving my head around in a circle but I just couldn't see it. I finally lowered my point of aim toward the water, which was a much darker contrast and that is when I saw my second mistake of the stage, the red dot was on a low power setting. Fifth lesson learned: Turn your backup RDS on the max setting when shooting in full daylight conditions, or at least conduct PCCs in similar conditions to those you will be competing.

Abandoning the idea of using the canted RDS I went with my LPVO, which I still had turned to the highest setting. This unfortunately makes the eye box into a very narrow region that just seemed impossible to find with my non-dominant eye. Realizing this I cranked it down to 1x and began (finally!) to engage these targets which are admittedly about 25yds closer than before. I managed to hit two out of three before my time ran completely out.

I'm not going to lie, this one hurt pretty bad. I had practiced offhanded shooting since Iraq when my unit made the practice SOP, but only with unmagnified EOTECHs and RDSs, and never at a canted position. After converting this rifle to it's current LPVO w/ canted RDS setup I focused only on shooting with my strong or dominant hand. I just wasn't physically or mentally prepared for this, and I should have been. I will be next time.

Stage 5 "Car React to Contact":

10" gong at 115yds, 12" gong at 280yds

Start in the vehicle with your empty rifle in the passenger seat, cell phone in one hand and one hand on steering wheel. On the beep, you will dismount your ride, load your rifle, and engage the two saw horse targets with one hit each then repeat once more. 90 second time limit, if you shoot your ride you fail this stage.

This was my favorite stage even though my performance wasn't ideal. The cell phone and steering wheel in hand was a good touch. Getting out of the car was a little difficult as it was low to the ground (which I'm not accustomed to) and my rifle sling got caught on the emergency break handle located between the seats. Once I was able to get out with the rifle I loaded a 20 round magazine and used it as a monopod on the car roof. I'm unsure how many rounds I fired. I think somewhere around my second miss on the furthest target I dialed up 2.5 MOA. This put me where I wanted to be and I got that hit, the one near again, and the further target once more. Speaking with other shooters I heard use of bipods and other parts of the car as a rest. I would like to get more practice using vehicles. The more I think about it using the car as cover versus concealment should have been a factor in my decision, but this was only a one way range so it just didn't cross my mind during the event.

Stage 6 "Rifle to Pistol Combine":

12" x 20" torso at 110yds, dueling tree at 10yds

6 hits from kneeling position, then rifle on safe and grounded. 6 hits on dueling tree. Then one bonus shot with blackpowder colt for 2min off run time.

By the time I saw this stage I could definitely smell the barn and was ready to finish. The kneeling hits at 110 were no issue at all and I made the dueling tree hits with the pistol without too many misses. I barely missed the blackpowder SAA shot, which disappointed me mucho as I had just left Idaho a few weeks before where I shot them extensively at distance.

Leaving this stage I think there was something like 600 meters of running as the crow flew, but it was somewhat circuitous and included one more water obstacle consisting of a dip in the lake with a tow strap for a handrail. I did my best to run it in as I knew we didn't have any more shooting stages.

The crew running the event were bringing everyone in with clapping and cheering and it was a nice touch, as anyone around would join them. They cleared weapons and I was able to join some friends who had finished before me. We swapped stories and tactics for a bit until the rain caught us where we went back to the awning for shelter.

The last runner came in sometime around 1745, and there was an award ceremony and rifle held about an hour later. The crew running the event was great, and the prizes were legitimately good items. I was able to snag a slide milling and Cerakote finish gift certificate, but there were even better prizes handed out before mine such as scope mounts, steel targets, and a Vortex Strike Eagle. The atmosphere was familial and Ellis did a great job making new competitors like myself feel welcome.

The Gun Runs are probably something I am going to attend much more in the future. Unlike three gun competitions or others I feel like this is a realistic-ish challenge that pushes you physically as well as mentally.

War, he sung, is toil and trouble;
Honour, but an empty bubble;
Never ending, still beginning,
Fighting still, and still destroying:
If the world be worth thy winning,
Think, O think it worth enjoying;
Lovely Thais sits beside thee,
Take the good the gods provide thee —

The war never seems to be over, and there are a lot of reasons for that. Reasons apparent for Dryden in describing the time of Alexander, and reasons for our time. The war that seems to last the longest isn't a physical war in any particular place, as the author alludes. Armistice, treaty, and peace will be in effect for decades and warriors will still be fighting it. You can find references to this throughout history and literature, but if you talk to any veterans, their families, or consume much recent media there are plenty of contemporary examples to source.

For many the pain they feel is legitimate, for some cultivated, and for a few it is outright fabricated. My experience dealing with each, including myself, has led me to some thoughts about what needs to happen, assuming we intend to end our wars. Before we start I wish to announce an important disclaimer: I am not nor have I ever been a mental health professional. Do not stop any prescribed or suggested treatments made from someone qualified based on something you read here. These are the thoughts of a random person on the Internet.

Tackling the hardest hit and first category- those that have the legitimate pain, we have a real task ahead. The recent wars left behind many people with experiences they can't or won't leave behind.

I want to dance very lightly here, but say that in many cases in many cases they should leave the things in their war behind. They cannot do this alone. To deal with these experiences they must seek help from family, friends, and professionals. This seeking of help, for whatever reason, seems exceptionally hard. Which is ironic considering that we all signed up for this trouble. But it is important to understand that your family likely has seen the change in you, and secretly want you to seek help. Your friends are either in the same mindset, or they shared your experiences too, and should encourage you. If you are suffering from your experiences in the war, seek help. There is no shame in it.

So I've said what has been said a million times, and I would be surprised to find veterans that don't know about the benefits of professional mental health services. What wouldn't surprise me? To hear the familiar reasons about why they are not needed. The same stupid bullshit that allows these people to suffer, because ironically the folks most often affected by the symptoms of post traumatic stress, moral injury, and survivor guilt are the least likely to find ways to assuage their anguish.

Unfortunately those selfsame people , those who don't seek out help, tend to abuse drugs or alcohol to cope instead of talk. This always exacerbates the problem. I have never seen or heard it to do anything else. Drugs are temporary escape and tend to bring their own trouble: problems with addiction, problems with the law, problems with work or family. And alcohol is a depressant, and is unfortunately too closely associated with military service and culture. Soldiers and other service members are trained from MEPs onward that a drink is their best friend, and too often that friendship spoils after some time, usually around a decade.

Besides seeking out help and avoiding drugs and alcohol, the next step is finding a mission. The success I've witnessed after the war usually was found in two areas of life, work and/or family. Work is sometimes hard after service, as it can seem like you are settling for a less important profession. I've heard many excuses about finding work because a person feels that service has put certain jobs beneath the veteran. Soldiers should remember that they had to pay dues before they became someone in the military, and that leaving the service is just entering a new branch- the civilian corp. In order to succeed there they must pay these dues again. Most often a career begins in a mail room, next to a conveyor belt, or carrying a waiting tray. You have to start over again, and anywhere is better than nowhere. The result is very often worth it. The success I've seen in others may be anecdotal, but I don't expect it to be true. And the failures I have seen are always due to a lack of help seeking, substance abuse, and failure to find a new mission.

Family is sometimes easy, sometimes very hard. The key is to understand that most of those you left behind had to go on with their lives while you were gone, and the ones you make family after you return, weren't there for when you went through the war. So either can't be made responsible or held accountable for anything that happened there. Do not make it their problem.  If you can make a family and have children, it seems to do well in giving you a mission and a purpose. Most of you fecund animals don't need me to tell you how to do this.

The next category of veteran is hard to introduce, because it is impossible to say how many of those in the previous category are in this one, but I suspect it is quite a few and it included me for some time. This group is the primary and intended audience of this diatribe. If you were in the previous category of veteran described stop reading now, and close the tab. Talk about your problems to someone, anyone. Stop doing drugs. Find a mission.

This group of pretenders, you veterans who discarded a military issued uniform and put on the costume of veteran. We must talk. There are many of us I believe that want to cultivate certain feelings about the war. Maybe it is because you think you must to fit in, or because you think it is expected. It is some strange fulfillment of this new veteran uniform to struggle, cope, and mimic a struggle for a too willing audience. As mentioned earlier history, literature, modern media, as well as our current comrades in and out of arms all reinforce certain stereotypes. I feel like these go beyond patois, social habits, modes of dress, and other patterns of behavior. Sometimes it seems there is a checklist for being a war veteran that includes KIAs to mourn, things to hand wring, survivor guilts, moral injuries, and post traumatic stresses.

If these are legitimate then again I want you to move on uncriticized. Get help, stop substance abuse, find a new purpose. But if you are still reading you know who you are. You feel like you have professed a certain pain to accommodate or realize some cliché. I'm writing to you to tell you that it is possible to stop, and you should stop. Not only are you draining the resources of those around you, it is probably because you are attempting to mask some other pain or guilt you have for something else, like addiction or other childhood trauma. Addictions rampant in our culture. Childhood traumas that pushed us into dangerous professions and a need to belong somewhere. With or without the pain of the war you are likely to have begun to use drugs (prescribed and/or maybe legally purchased) recreationally, and I bet this has become a problem. The things you ran away from to join the war were waiting for you. Either way you tell people that you struggle from PTS or experiences from the war, when deep down you know it is something else entirely. But if you say it was the war you don't have to say what it really is, and can put off dealing with it. Because it hurts to do so.

This really has to stop. Not only are we perpetuating problems by mislabeling them, but we are passing down to a new generation of veterans foolish stereotypes they will themselves sustain for the next cohort. Veterans can and should stand by their services, but not feel the need to complete the outfit by pretending to suffer from banal shams.

There is no veteran requirement to suffer PTS, feel guilt for surviving, or be depressed. It isn't a part of the uniform. It can be possible to have served- experienced combat in all of it's horror, lost friends, and killed- and be entirely whole and normal for the rest of your days. Your country asked you to serve, you did, and now you can return home for a new mission and family without bringing baggage home.

That last group of fabricators is the easiest to dispense advice toward: stop it. There are a lot of strained resources attempting to heal hurt people, and pretending to have trouble that doesn't exist and never happened is wrong. Fuck off with your lying.

For all types of veterans I leave you with Herr Jünger:

Time only strengthens my conviction that it was a good and strenuous life, and that the war, for all its destructiveness, was an incomparable schooling of the heart.

Twitter and other platforms are undergoing a purge and while we sort out what to do and where to go, we have created a place for you to maintain contact with your frens. The Assembly Area is a closed forum that can only be accessed after an account is requested and has been approved after vetting.

Now before you go and create this account understand something important. While this is a safe space for speech it is not a free for all. There are terms, conditions, guidelines, protections, etc that are all available for review once joined. These will describe what is allowed or not, as well as what you should know as you interact with others. Also, you should protect yourself on this platform like you would any other. As always you should use a VPN when accessing websites. Also, we support multi-factor authentication and we strongly encourage you to set it up when your account is approved.

Currently applications are open for joining us. We will soon close it to invitation only. When you make it in make sure to introduce yourself.

Come join and help us figure out what is going on, who survived the jump, and what is the next objective.

In 2020, we are the freest we have ever been in recorded human history, I say recorded because I’m sure there were some good times before man figured out how to perform the ancient version of pulling out one’s phone to capture their experiences. Freedom in America today, or as it is perceived by too many can be surmised very  simply: We have created our own problems. All of them. We live in the greatest era, of any generation, in any society, ever. This isn’t up for debate. You right now are holding in your hand with your “smart” phone, a clever euphemism, the most powerful piece of technology for individuals arguably ever created. You can google that right now to try and disprove it. You can’t. Literally everything you could ever want to know is a loaded page away if you are willing to spend the time. Ptolemy II, not the crazy VIII variety who purged all of the intellectuals from Alexandria, (Crazy eights. Ha.) would marvel at the iPhone. Maybe even a Samsung Galaxy. But doubtful. I digress. Most of us aren’t willing to spend the time to educate ourselves on the topic of the day, myself included. I won’t pretend that I don’t get caught up in the rush to react rather than the desire to be right and informed at times. And therein lies the problem.

We have removed effort. We have removed responsibility. We have removed meaning. If you were born in the United States of America, you have won the geographic lottery. But you are squandering it by choosing victimhood like a Powerball winner who chooses the lump sum and buys houses for his family and friends before the check clears.

If you are alive today in America, you are not a victim. You can choose to be one though. You can take every perceived slight and turn that into a march on whatever institution you feel has wronged you. You may even carve out a podium position in the victimhood olympics and secure a verified Twitter account. Some legacy. It would be much harder and productive though to leverage the fact that you go to sleep with too much water, too much food, digitally controlled air conditioning or heat, refrigeration, electricity, wifi, direct deposit, and access to any and everyone in the world via social media into a positive outcome. Instead, many Americans choose to invent their plight. They’ve latched on to the suffering of generations past and attempt to don their ancestors suffering and cosplay their way to sympathy. There is a fun fact that is going to be extremely hard for many to swallow based on the current political climate and anarchical group flavor of the month; Every race, every religion, every gender, has been enslaved at one point on this planet. Since the dawn of organized, hierarchical societies that figured out power leads to control, we have treated other human beings like possessions. This is no time to filibuster the past. This is a time to actually revel in the present and expound on the absolutely mind blowing potential we have for EVERYONE in America. Spare me your hashtags and slogans you’ve placed in your bios.

Race is a big issue right now in America. Some would say it always has been. Maybe that’s true. All I can relay are my experiences since growing up in the working class suburbs of Kissimmee and Orlando, FL. What I do know is that when you spend time around people that are different than you, you change. Usually for the better. It exposes you to a different lens of how the world can be viewed, but also to their culture, music, food, language, and how they love within their families and in relationships. But more importantly, if you pay close enough attention, you can see exactly how individuals express their pride in country, if it’s there, and as I have already said in previous paragraphs, it should be if you are viewing this with an IP address that originates in America. This is what is meant in my opinion of diversity is our strength. Not the forced, arbitrary version that plays out for likes and shares we too often see. I am talking about the genuine population of OUR country. I have been fortunate to experience Florida, New York, Tennessee, Southern California, and Northern California in my years and each one of these places is vastly different from the other. But what is present is the unique expression of patriotism. And how each location goes about it differs from the next. But it is fundamentally sound in its identity. This is what we must leverage. If you have never been so fortunate as to see the rest of the world outside of the United States borders, I am going to let you in on a little secret. Slavery still exists. The modern version plays out in the Middle East daily as workers are imported from the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and many other nations. They surrender their passports upon arrival and work sometimes for two years before they are ever returned their documents and able to see their family members again. If they survive that long. Feel free to dive down the rabbit hole of construction in the United Arab Emirates when you’re done liking every Instagram model’s pics from the skyline of Dubai.

We must unify. After 9/11, we came together like no time in America since World War 2. If you weren’t alive or were too young to remember, I promise you it was beautiful. It was a 24/7 occurrence to see and hear people honking or waving American flags. People on the side of the road selling (of course, we are capitalists after all) t-shirts with Osama Bin Laden’s face and a target on them, pictures of the Twin Towers, and every pro-American trinket you can imagine. This was 19 years ago. The schism must be filled with some blatant love and patriotic fervor. I don’t want another war, but I want the reaction we put forth when there is one. For too long we have allowed politicians on both sides to fan the flames of division. And for what? So you can purge another life long friendship on Facebook because you think differently on an issue that largely doesn’t even affect you? Stop. Stop right now and look outside your window or door. Do you know your neighbors? Do you exchange pleasantries with them each day or actually hang out with them some times? That is the real America. That is what never makes the entertainment news cycle our media purposely ignores. We are so much more than the destruction we see playing out currently each night. We are the strongest collection of intellectual, economic, and scientific minds this world has ever seen. But somewhere along the way recently we have forgotten that. It’s not too late to remember. It’s not too late to throw down the victim shields and unify with your fellow man and woman. We are not perfect in any way, shape, or form. That is by design. We are flawed by nature, but we have the power to lift each and every one up in the country who chooses to do so. That is what we must do. We must remember that when we go to bed tonight, it is in the freest country to ever exist and when we wake up in the morning, we can do whatever it is we want to do in order to make our lives better. Never forget that. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. And never let anyone make you feel bad for being a citizen in the greatest country known to man; the United States of America. Let’s stay free.

There was a great thread a few weeks ago started by Lafayette Lee where people were sharing moto music and it seemed a good idea to capture it in a more permanent setting. Spotify playlists seemed the easiest and we asked people to share them here. If you wish to be added to this pile let Gruntpa know or send us an email. When you send that message make sure to give us the Spotify link and let us know if you want it attributed or have some words you want shared to explain influences, intended purpose, etc. Happy listening!

The next playlist came from Night Cap, who said he discovered a lot of content from wrmfzy.

Taking a different tack from the usual rock/metal/rap playlists you would expect for 'goon tunes,' BowRegardRipPee made for us a playlist featuring Country & Western music. He says he likes to listen to it when he heads out west on the road for work.

If you enjoyed this post or if you have music to feature let us know by sending us a message. We would love to feature it here.