tire iron's corner

Fellow Warrior and Patriot getting the SHAFT

2012-01-22T16:13:00.000-08:00

I have known M. DeCicco for over 10 years. He is a "straight shooter" - with firearms, but more importantly - with his personal life. You ask Mike a question - you *will* get his answer - without any sugar on it. When I read the below - it made me sick to my stomach that something like this can happen here in the USA. I am hoping that someone out there may know someone (like an investigative reporter or a congressman, et al) that would take this ball and run it to ground. This shouldn't happen here. It is draconian and wrong.

All of the following words are not mine - nor did I alter or edit this document in any way. All spelling and editing errors are as they were recieved by myself on 22 Jan 2012.

22 January 2012

This statement begins on page 1 and ends on page 11

The following account of is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge.

On December 8, 2011 I was paying my bill at a restaurant and was informed that my check/debit card was declined. I satisfied the bill with a personal credit card and immediately logged onto my financial institutions website to check my account status. I found that my account was overdrawn and the activity showed a debit that consumed my available funds with an unknown code. I contacted my financial institution and they were unable to help me until the following morning. I also contacted eBay and PayPal to verify if my account had been “phished”. Neither of these institutions could find any evidence of malicious tampering. With no solution available to me, I opted to address the situation in the morning.

I departed approximately 7:00am on December 9, 2011 after confirming that my scheduled salary payment had been deposited into my account to facilitate fuel for my vehicle needed to travel to Richmond, VA to attend a scheduled appointment at the McGuire Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital at 9:00am. After fueling my vehicle, I stopped at my financial institution and withdrew $300.00 from my account (max allowable) in case there were further activities against my account. I also logged onto my account and was now able to discern the nature of the account debit as an Internal Revenue Service (IRS). I called the IRS (Now known to be a call center in Tampa, Florida) in question in order to clarify the nature of this event. The associate was not helpful and repeatedly denied that their organization had anything to do with the activity of my personal account. This greatly frustrated me and added to the already unbearable stress of such an event being thrust upon me during the holiday timeframe and in fact altering plans to pay off debt. Furthermore, I had received no notification from this organization, a fact I addressed with them to no avail. Completely at a loss I made an offhand comment to the associate inquiring if they would like me to “Blow my head off so that they could have my life insurance” (or words to that effect). The associate felt obligated to forward this, and proceeded (unknown to myself) to patch in a crisis hotline with the call. As I was on hold trying to rectify the situation, and unknown to me, the local Police Department responded to my residence. They were meat by my roommate, John Ferek, who is a Federal Law Enforcement Officer with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations. They asked Agent Ferek as to my whereabouts and if I was armed. Agent Ferek informed them that I was en route to the VA Hospital for an appointment and that all the firearms in my residence were accounted for. The officers also asked if I was suicidal and would possibly injure a law enforcement officer to which Agent. Ferek responded in the negative. Unknown to Agent Ferek, the officers in question reported that I was armed with “high powered rifles” and was proceeding to the VA Hospital to commit “Suicide by Cop” (Or words to that effect). As I proceeded to my appointment, I was asked several times by the organizational representative if I wanted to come into one of their locations to address the issue to which I declined due to my scheduled appointment. As I arrived at my appointment I was provided a fax number by the representative to send in my supporting documents at which point I terminated the call.

I proceeded to my appointment clinic and upon arrival, was accosted by two uniformed Veterans Administration Police Officers who demanded my identity and though I offered no resistance, forcibly placed my arms behind my back and handcuffed me. I informed the officers of my identity and was asked the location of my identification and if I had any knives or firearms on my person. I informed the officers that I had a knife (carried daily for work purposes) in my right front pocket. This was clearly visible. The officers removed the knife (Emerson Super Commander, Blade Length: 4.0”, Serial Number: 002) and secured it on their person. I inquired to the nature of their actions and was informed that I would be told at a later time. The officers than escorted me to the emergency room. While in the emergency room, I was asked by the officers as to the location of my vehicle. After I informed them, they asked me if there were any weapons in the vehicle to which I informed them I did not believe that there were but if there was they would be in a locked case and separate from ammunition. The subsequent search of my vehicle revealed: one (1) Body Armor Plate(Non Government Issue), four (4) Empty M4/M16 Magazines (Non Government Issue), three (3) Assorted 1911A1 holsters (Non Government Issue), one (1) .45cal round (Non Government Issue / on floor board) and sixteen (16) loose 9mm rounds (Non Government Issue / located in center console among paperwork loose change and miscellaneous debris). The body armor plate, magazines and holsters were utilized by myself for integration checks of my programs and the ammunition had presumably fallen out of range bags and either remained were they had fallen or placed in the center console for later recovery. When I inquired to the status of my knife, the VA detective informed me that it could be mailed to a relative or military authority.

Approximately 30 minutes after my arrival in to the emergency room my handcuffs were removed and I was informed by an intake nurse as to the nature of my detention. In addition, I was subjected to a blood screen. During my conversation with the nurse, I informed them that I was not intent on harming myself or others and that my comments were simply borne out of frustration and stress regarding the situation I had been placed in. I also reaffirmed that contrary to reports; I had not threatened to bring harm to anyone else and had not called a crisis line. The staff spoke to Agent Ferek who informed them that he did not feel that I was a threat to myself or anyone else and also concurred that I was simply frustrated and venting. Contrary to my interview and the input from Agent Ferek, the VA decided to place me a Temporary Detention Order (TDO). I was informed that this was only for a period of 24 hours but due to the fact of the action being on a Friday, I would be held until Monday morning. I grudgingly conceded to this request and was escorted a hospital ward provided they notified my work that I would I had been admitted to the hospital.

Upon intake at the ward, I was interviewed by Dr. Duchin, a Staff Psychiatrist for approximately 1 hour. Upon the culmination of this interview, I was informed that in his opinion he could see no reason to keep me but was bound by the TDO. Shortly after the Doctors interview, I met with the VA detective who provided me a receipt for my cash ($300.00), sensitive items from my vehicle (wallet, iPhone and iPad) and informed me that I could pick up the keys to my truck from the Police Desk Monday (December 12, 20110 after my release. I again asked about my knife and was informed that it could be mailed to a relative or command representative. At no time was I questioned by the VA Police about the circumstances that led to my detention. The remainder of the weekend was uneventful. On Monday (December 12, 2011) my TDO was reviewed by the interviewing physician, as well as a Judge from the commonwealth of Virginia and State Social Workers. It was the unanimous decision of these individuals that I was in no way a threat to myself or others and that my comments had been simply made out of frustration regarding the situation and the stress that had been placed upon me. While I was collecting my belongings, I was informed that the VA Police had opted to charge me with a violation of the Code of Federal Regulations for possession of my work knife and the loose ammunition in my vehicle. Because these offenses were not jailable offenses and not even equivalent to a misdemeanor, I was informed by the VA Police that I would be escorted to the Federal Court building in Richmond, VA where I would receive a preliminary hearing and be released provided I could be seen by the court prior to 2:00pm. I was placed in handcuffs and restraints and taken to the Federal Court house. When I appeared before the court, I reviewed the affidavit submitted by the VA Police that had been submitted to the Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) that morning. The affidavit was wrought with inaccuracies and false statements by its originator the VA Police Detective. The most glaring of these were that I had placed a call to a crisis center during which I Threatened Federal Employees, Threatened Suicide by Law Enforcement and Threatened the use of firearms in an assault on a federal institution. Upon review of this, the court determined that although the VA Police had facilitated a TDO which had been reviewed and resulted in my subsequent release, my mental state needed to be reviewed a federally contracted Clinical Psychologist and that I would be detained until such review could be performed. Due to my lack of funds and uncertainty of my employment status I was assigned a Federal Public Defender (Carolyn Grady). I was remanded to the custody of the Court.

Instead of being transferred back to the VA hospital for continued observation and to insure my well being, I was taken to Pamunkey Regional Jail which is contracted by the Federal Government. Upon arrival, I was stripped of my belongings to include undergarments (socks, t-shirts etc), outfitted in a cotton short sleeved jump suit and placed in a cement holding cell outfitted with a cement bench and toilet. I asked the processing correctional officer if I could be provided a blanket as I was cold and had suffered a previous cold injury and was subject to increased susceptibility to such injuries. I was informed that this would be the decision of the evening shift. I informed the oncoming shift supervisor (Sgt. Gray) of my situation and was declined. As the evening progressed, my condition rapidly deteriorated. I resorted to pulling my extremities into the jump suit and assuming the “Heat Escape Lessening Posture” (HELP) adjacent to the cell door in an attempt to access the warmer air from the outside where the correctional officers were located. At one point I began to lose consciousness, vomited and briefly aspirated. At some point during the evening I Sgt. Gray opened the door, shook me and made a comment that I should “Move around” (or words to that effect). Throughout the evening, I pleaded with Sgt. Gray for a blanket and was told that “as long as you are shivering you’re ok (or words to that effect). In the morning I was removed from the holding cell, redressed in my clothes, placed in handcuffs, leg shackles and transported to the Federal Court building. Upon arriving at the Federal Court building I exited the vehicle via retractable stairs as instructed. At this point, I was still shaking and disorientated due to lack of sleep and exposure to cold. As I was descending the stairs, my leg ankle shackles caught on a protrusion on the stairs causing me to fall forward. Because my hands were restrained coupled with my physical state, this resulted in me falling forward into the concrete, striking my face and a brief loss of consciousness. No attempt by the Pamunkey correctional officer was made to stop my fall. Upon regaining consciousness, I was returned to the custody of the personnel of the US Federal Court who recognizing my condition placed me in a wheel chair and because I was nauseous provided me a receptacle to vomit in. After arriving I met with my attorney and to go over my case. When I appeared in front of the court, the position that I must be again detained for further determination of my mental state was enforced. My attorney contested this citing that I never threatened harm on others, was not in possession of firearms, offered no resistance during my detainment and was already deemed not a threat. Furthermore, Ms. Grady alluded to the current situation thrust upon me by the VA Police Detective as “Punishment”. This latter development was presumably gleaned from the individual officers of the VA Police department and medical staff who did not agree with the event. Again, instead of being sent to a facility that was aligned with providing mental assessments, I was sent to Northern Neck Regional Jail on December 13, 2011 where I would be held until I could be interviewed by a court appointed clinical psychologist on Monday, December 19, 2011. At this point, due to my security clearance and the impact this event would have on it, I composed a resignation letter from my Federal Position (It should be noted that I was not under the impression that I still maintained this position) as well as a General Power of Attorney for my associate Michael Williamson. My attorney facilitated a Notary of Public to ratify these in my presence and delivered them to Mr. Williamson.

Upon arrival to the Northern Neck Regional Jail, I was assessed by the intake personnel and determined to not be a threat to myself or others and was assigned to be placed in general population. However, due to my deteriorated physical state, I was provided blankets and warming layers by the staff and allowed to stay in the medical ward until my condition stabilized. On Thursday December 14, 2011 I awoke and noticed that the vision in my right eye was blurred and that I had pain in the region of my occipital cavity. Upon inspection in the rudimentary mirror I observed that the sclera of my right eye had blood pooling to my retina. I bought this to the attention of Ms. Neal the facility nurse who informed me that I would not see a doctor until Tuesday December 20, 2011. I requested that my condition be medically documented but was denied. The only such documentation was a photograph taken by the facility super attendant. Later that day I was placed in population with inmates whose charges ranged from larceny, narcotics trafficking and violent assault. To support my case and dispel accusations that I had called a crisis call line I was able to facilitate the provision of my call log from Friday December 9, 2011 to Ms Grady. This log clearly illustrated that I made only one call. This call was placed to the IRS at 7:20am for 1 hour and 45 minutes which was completed upon my arrival at the VA. On Friday, I met with my attorney who informed me that I would meet with the clinical psychologist as planned on the following Monday and that if the report was positive I could expect to be released on Wednesday December 23, 2011. During this meeting Ms. Grady also informed me that she had spoken to LtCol Reilly and he was aware of the situation and supportive of the rectification. Throughout my detainment, I utilized the provided inmate request form to seek medical attention and documentation. The only such documentation or examination I was given aside from the photo was an x-ray on Tuesday December 20, 2011. On Monday December 19, 2011 I met with the Clinical Psychologist who after our interview informed me that there was no reason I should be detained further as I was not a threat to myself or others. Throughout my detainment, I utilized the provided inmate request form to seek medical attention and documentation. The only such documentation or examination I was given aside from the photo was an x-ray on Tuesday December 20, 2011.

On Wednesday December 21, 2011 I was transported back to the Federal Court Building. In attendance was myself, Ms. Lindsay Gainer (Girl Friend), Agent Ferek, Mr. Snowden (IRS), Ms. Grady, LtCol Reilly, The Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) and the VA Detective who had filed the affidavit. Prior to the proceedings I received and apology from Mr. Snowden who informed me that he had acted on poor information. After receiving a hearing date of Thursday December 29, 2011 I was released and reported to a probation officer for the stipulation of my release. My attorney, Agent Ferek, Ms. Lindsay Gainer and myself were met by LtCol Reilly who expressed outrage at the events that had transpired and the dire situation it placed me in regarding federal and military assignment.

I returned to work aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico on December 23, 2011. I met with Major James Pelland who asked for an update to my situation to which I acquiesced. Maj Pelland informed me that several of the members of our team expressed concern about my return in the nature of a safety concern as I had been “Locked up in the psyche ward”. When I asked Maj Pelland as to how he came upon this privileged information he informed me that he had called the VA hospital, requested it and informed LtCol Reilly and the team. This action was a clear violation of my Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rights. When I asked Maj Pelland why he had sought this information and passed it to the general populace, he responded that “I needed to find out what was going on”. This action placed me in a tense situation with my fellow teammates by imparting information that was not factual. I spoke with LtCol Reilly on this matter and he informed me that “we just need to get past this and back to work”. Although I concurred with LtCol Reilly’s stance, Maj Pelland continued to speak to other members and not pass updated information.

On December 27, 2011, I was able to contact the IRS regarding the issue that had lead to the event which resulted in the funds in my account being depleted. Apparently, there was a missing tax return from 2007. To my knowledge, this had been filed by my former spouse and she had retained the refund quantities. I provided a copy of the return to the IRS and the released the levy on my person and informed me that it would take 12-13 weeks for me to recover my funds.

On December 29, 2011 I attended my hearing regarding the charges filed by the VA and prosecuted by the AUSA. I was accompanied by LtCol Reilly and met with Ms. Grady. Prior to the hearing, I had a sidebar with the AUSA who informed me that he wanted to drop the charges; however, there was concern as to my legal retribution against the US Government and the VA. I agreed to go on the record by stating that I empathized with the actions of the agencies involved on December 9, 2012 based on the clouded information they had received. This statement satiated the AUSA and the charges were dismissed.

On January 3, 2012, I provided Crystal Bowser with additional substantiating documentation that I had satisfied debt I had listed on my SF-86 and requested by the Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility (DONCAF). Though I had disputed these accounts I satisfied them in full per the DONCAF request and opted to seek financial retribution at a later time. In my requested submission to DONCAF I also included a debt that I had discovered during my research which I was unaware of and paid off. Ms. Bowser informed me that I should not include it as DONCAF had not identified it. I expressed concern over this as I felt it was not in the spirit of disclosure. Ms. Bowser informed me that I should not include anything that DONCAF had not requested as it would be viewed as unfavorable. Per Ms. Bowser’s direction I corrected my submission to omit this discovery and resubmitted. During this meeting, I briefly informed Crystal Bowser of the incident. I also spoke with the Security Director Timothy Wagner briefly on the subject. I informed Mr. Wagner and Ms. Bowser that I would provide them the documentation regarding the incident no later than February 1, 2012. Mr. Wagner and Ms. Bowser informed me that they would not inform DONCAF of the incident as my clearance was under review and that they would review the documentation I provided them on the requested date for submission to DONCAF.

On January 5, 2011 I was summoned to Maj Pelland’s office to discuss the incident and subsequent events of December 9, 2011. He informed me that two individuals had come into his office expressing concern about my presence. Maj Pelland informed me that he had disclosed to the individuals that I had been detained in the psychiatric ward at the VA hospital but the charges had been dismissed. I was shocked that this information had been passed by Maj Pelland and informed him of such. Maj Pelland informed me that the individuals were possibly seeking to file a concern with the security office and that he had disclosed this information so that they would have better understanding of the situation. When I inquired as to the identity of the individuals, he informed me that he would not tell me and that he was unsure if they were still intent on filing a concern. I immediately informed LtCol Reilly of the event. LtCol Reilly called in Maj Pelland and asked the identity of the individuals who Maj Pelland identified as Amy Kittle (Civilian) and Jennifer Glenn (Civilian). LtCol Reilly immediately addressed these individuals and with my consent, fully informed them of the circumstances that had been thrust upon me and the outcome. I later spoke with these individuals who expressed emotional sympathy regarding the events I had endured.

On January 9, 2012, Maj Pelland summoned me to his office and asked me about a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) charge I had incurred. I informed Maj Pelland that I had indeed been arrested on April 16, 2010 of DUI and had reported the incident on my SF-86 (The only arrest I have ever incurred). In addition I informed Maj. Pelland that I had provided the Marine Corps Systems Command Security Office additional information as requested by Security Staff Member Kathy Rybek (Spelling?) on March 16, 2011 and subsequently discussed it during my security interview with the DONCAF/Office of Personnel Management Investigator conducted at Marine Corps Systems Command. When I asked Maj Pelland as to why this subject was being brought up again, the intent and the individual who brought it to his attention, I was informed by Maj Pelland that “as a Marine Corps Officer, when someone puts this on my desk I am obligated to check up on it”. I asked Maj Pelland who had brought up this issue and he told me that he would not disclose the information as he “did not want to create tension on the team”. I expressed my concern with this latest development and his stance on subjecting me to anonymous malice that he found justified. Maj Pelland asked me to notify the Security Office again of this infraction.

On January 10, 2012 I forwarded LtCol Reilly the email from me to Kathy Rybek regarding the additional information regarding the DUI and proceeded with my duties. At approximately 1400 hours, LtCol Reilly approached me while I was returning from the supply building and informed me that I needed to “get anything you may think you need out of your desk now”. After gathering my belongings I went to LtCol Reilly’s office and asked him the nature of this request to which he replied “you’re not going to believe this”. LtCol Reilly informed me that someone had taken the initial affidavit filed by the VA Police to Human Resources and that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service had become involved because I was viewed as a threat to the members aboard Marine Corps Systems Command. LtCol Reilly escorted me to the Marine Corps Security Office where we met with Timothy Wagner. Mr. Wagner presented me with the affidavit in question and informed me that he was trying to find out who had provided the document. When I asked Mr. Wagner where the documents were showing that the case was dismissed he had no appreciative answer. Mr. Wagner informed me that this was viewed as a serious threat to the well being of my coworkers and that I would be required to provide all the documentation regarding the nature of the event and that the charges were dismissed. Mr. Wagner informed me that I would have to surrender my access badge until such time and I would be placed on administrative leave. Mr. Wagner then questioned me regarding my DUI conviction. I informed him that I disclosed it on my SF-86 and provided subsequent information to his staff and the investigator. MR. Wagner was unable to find this information and stated “I don’t see it in here but that doesn’t mean you didn’t submit it”. I expressed concern over this issue and Mr. Wagner provided me with a fax request form to obtain the documentation. I was provided a list of information requested by the Security Office and departed with LtCol Reilly.

Following the events of January 10, 2012 I have acquired the requested documentation requested by Mr. Wagner. These items include law enforcement transcripts, psychological evaluation, copy of restricted license (DUI), court tapes (dismissal date), evaluation of not having a alcohol/controlled substance dependency problem, emails from Ms. Grady regarding my case, letter from Mr. Snowden (IRS) and letters from associates regarding my character. As of January 17, 2012 I was unable to obtain documentation from the IRS regarding the release of any levies on my accounts. This missing information is not omitted on my part and will be submitted when I receive it from the IRS.

On January 17, 2012 I spoke with Special Agent Michael Austin of the Quantico NCIS and informed him of the situation. I have a professional acquaintance with Agent Austin via Agent Ferek and a working relationship with his office and the Camp Lejeune office as I regularly assist them with investigations into stolen military equipment and other issues of interest. Agent Austin informed me that he was unaware of any case involving me. I asked Agent Austin to accept copies of this statement and any substantiating documents to which he agreed. I spoke with LtCol Reilly at 1900 hours and he informed me to meet him at the security office at MARCORSYCOM at 0730 hours on January 18, 2012. He informed me that after I turned in the requested documentation I would remain on administrative leave until the matter was “sorted out”.

On January 20, 2012, I received a call from LtCol Reilly at 1628 hours. LtCol Reilly informed me that Human Resources was now pursuing administrative separation of me from Marine Corps Systems Command citing that I was not honest about being arrested for a DUI. LtCol Reilly informed me that I would have 30 days to appeal this decision to Col. Shrader who would adjudicate the matter and be the ultimate decision authority. It should be noted that I did disclose the DUI which is listed under “Reckless Driving” and also as a “Class 1 Misdemeanor. In addition, I also included the case numbers and contact information for the court with jurisdiction over the case so there was no attempt to conceal an arrest on my part. As previously mentioned, I also covered this information with the Office of Personnel Management investigator during my clearance interview. While the Human Resources Office feels that this was an omission on my part they are false as I included all pertinent information and discussed it with the investigator. It is apparent that this latest action is being enacted as a matter of malice. I have asked the security office to obtain transcripts of the interview, yet as with all other aspects of this situation they have placed the burden on me. I have spoken to Melissa Greenawalt with OPM and she informed me that she would attempt to expedite my request though it would be quicker if my security office requested it. LtCol Reilly also informed me that my submissions to DONCAF via my security office had been placed on hold until a decision on my continued. It should be noted that this latest development arisen only after I turned in my statement to the Security Office, much of which is contained in this document. The statement reveals that the Security Office directed me to omit information on my DONCAF submissions yet I am being accused of omitting information. It is apparent that the hold on my DONCAF review is being purposely held in order to conceal these facts about the Security Office to DONCAF.

Further information provided to me by LtCol Reilly illustrates that I am feared by my coworkers. The reasons for this are unknown to me as I have worked with this team for over three years during which I have been a guest in their homes and a trusted agent for their children during emergencies. It is obvious that this latest development is driven purely out of malice. While I have not been provided statements made by these individuals in order to address the accusations they contain, I have been provided copies of emails stating that I am not to be allowed in the Marine Corps Systems Command buildings. I am unaware as to why such I statement was made. I am however aware of the impact it has inflicted on my personal and private life by labeling me as unstable and a danger. The comment by team members that this action was done to prevent a “Ft. Hood incident” are shocking and humiliating. It has been eluded that these actions have been promulgated by Maj Amy Cahoon who has personal contacts with Human Resources Command and has aggressively and maliciously attacked me within the command.

I have spoken to both LtCol Reilly and Maj Pelland regarding Maj Cahoon's angst toward me. I feel that this is prudent due to this development to review the Team dynamic and history. Maj Cahoon’s aggression toward me began after LtCol Reilly’s public expression of displeasure with her during the Program Reviews in June. The PM had instructed Maj Cahoon months prior to produce samples of the new USMC Chest Rig. When Maj Cahoon briefed the current chest rig during Program Review, he informed her that he did not want to discuss anything other than a way forward on the new design. Maj Cahoon called me while I was in NY and demanded a new prototype new chest rig designed by myself and Rich Landry based on feedback from Marines. I informed Maj Cahoon that the item was being sent to Natick. I also reminded her that the item had been at PMICE for five months and she did not have any interest in it until the PM forced her to take action and that I did not appreciate her venomous tone with me as I was not at fault for her inaction that lead to the LtCol Reilly’s public admonishment.

The current Chest Rig started in 2009 prior to Maj Cahoon's arrival. The initial design was a stalled Army effort that was reinitiated by Maj Cushing and me. After an initial evaluation at Camp Lejeune and subsequent trials with Weapons Training Battalion and 19th SFGA personnel, the current design was finalized for both the USMC & US Army (the first joint USMC & US Army load bearing effort since ALICE). This item was evaluated in a summer 2010 battalion FUE with 3/9. During this evaluation, deficiencies were noted when used by the general Infantry Marine and brought to the attention of Maj Cahoon. It was during this time that the improved version was generated. The new version addressed and corrected theses issues. Maj Cahoon did not feel the need to integrate these changes and proceeded with production of the current design. During the February FUE in Hawaii, I evaluated the new system while participating with the Marines in Infantry Tasks to include Helo egress training in order to ensure there were no integration or obvious safety issues. It was shortly after this FUE that the LtCol Reilly informed Maj Cahoon to implement the new design. Maj Cahoon believed that this was done on my part to undermine her position in the team. Maj Cahoon's belief that I have done anything detrimental to her efforts is ungrounded. During my assignment with PMICE and specifically with regards to Maj Cahoon, I have accomplished the following:

1. Developed the USMC Chest Rig
2. Identified and designed the basis of the new USMC pack system in conjunction with Natick.
3. Advised and assisted in the implementation of several pouches into the load bearing kit that provided increased capability to the Marine which were previously unavailable and had to be purchased by individuals or units.
4. Coordinated and conducted pack SME workshops and a two month pack FUE.
5. Assisted and advised on the USMC pack final design and FUE schedule of events.
6. Identified and assisted in establishing the requirements of the USMC holster effort
7. When requested, provided operational advise and capabilities on material solutions.
8. Coordinated efforts with other program offices that have enhanced requirements generation.

Aside from these efforts, I have been instrumental in assisting not only the Team but the Program Office as a whole in the redesign of the IMTV, Plate Carrier, establishing a beneficial relationship with the SOF office and advising on state of the art capabilities fielded by other services.

It appears that Maj Cahoon has looked past these benefits and has based her current position on a belief that I have meant to derail, undermine and otherwise discredit her. Nothing can be further from the truth. I have done nothing but assist her in every effort. Coupled with the afore mentioned, at her request, I have even assisted her during her course work at Command and Staff to include assisting her on exams and composing a paper on the effectiveness of the MAGTF in the Counter Insurgency (COIN) environment. I do not mention the latter as a slight or to insinuate an inability or lack of desire on Maj Cahoon's ability to complete these assignments, nor did I consider the requests personal servitude. I assisted with these tasks because Maj Cahoon is a Teammate first and foremost and this assistance enables us as a Team to tend to our ultimate responsibility, the Warfighter.

While my integrity has been placed in question, there has been no effort by the command to impart the same on Maj Cahoon. The actions of Maj Cahoon have placed the very reputation of Marine Corps Systems Command in question. While assigned as Maj Cahoon’s contract support, I was tasked by her to move her purchase of gym equipment from the Staff Non Commissioned Officer billeting aboard MCB Quantico to her residence during work hours. Maj Cahoon has also committed ethically questionable acquisition practices. It has come to my attention that during the USMC chest rig acquisition process, she requested that BAE Systems place the system on GSA in order to facilitate procurement via a GSA competition. This act was ethically wrong. Maj Cahoon has also hosted Camelbak who is a competitor of Source Hydration in our office and adopted attributes of their system as performance requirements for the USMC pack hydration system. These performance attributes were proprietary to Camelbak and unable to be met by Source. This action led to a protest by Source which was overturned. It should be noted that the Marine Corps Systems Command legal counsel was unaware of Maj Cahoon’s activities.

This cumulative total of the actions of parties and entities involved in this action resulted in my unnecessary detention for over 300 hours and subjected me to nothing less than abuse, physical injury and emotional anguish and persecution by fellow members of my command. While these actions have not been initiated by DONCAF or OPM as they have been fully disclosed to their satisfaction, HROM and individuals have taken it upon themselves to craft my situation to mark me as an individual not worthy of my current position. Coupled with the malicious actions of individuals with the implicit intent to tarnish my integrity, I am at a loss to fully illustrate the hopelessness and strain such actions imparted on myself and loved ones. I cannot extrapolate the reasoning for the disregard of my privacy or failure to diligently acquire accurate documentation to answer the continued malicious attacks on my person and place the burden of proof upon my person. The subjection to this treatment has threatened my ability to maintain a security clearance which may affect my ability to hold a position of trust within the Federal Government and directly impact my family. While the extent of my physical injuries suffered at the hands of those charged with my well being remain to be concluded, the emotional damage they have imparted upon me is irreparable by those who for personal gain have continued to delve into my life in an attempt to uncover events that I have be completely forthright with. It is beyond my grasp and that of my immediate superiors, friends in the Law Enforcement and the Military as to the malicious and draconian extent to which I have been treated. No acceptable explanation has been provided to me as to the motivation to readdress these events beyond the observations that they are in themselves malicious and driven by personal gain to enact a personal vendetta. I have sacrificed greatly for my country not only in service abroad in harm’s way but in personal time spent tirelessly pursuing the assignment of my office to provide equipment to the Warfighter and enhance their capability and survivability.

Regards,

M.S. DeCicco

Variable Powered Scopes vs. Red Dots on Fighting Rifles

2011-12-31T15:55:00.000-08:00

Check out my newest youtube video on my thoughts regarding variable powered scopes on fighting rifles and how they compare to red dot type scopes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ygzVRGFmmA

Hope you enjoy it!

cheers

tire iron

The story of my M4-22

2011-10-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

I purchased a .22 conversion kit many years ago to shoot cheap .22 long rifle ammo in my fighting rifles to lessen the expenditure per round of practice. The conversion kit plus the BlackDog magazines allowed for some really good practice that duplicates pretty closely running my full powered M4. However - I have had a hankering for quite a while now to put together a dedicated M4-22. This article will chronicle that effort as well as graphically indicate the VAST difference in .22 long rifle ammo.

I made the decision to build a dedicated M4-22 after going through a few boxes and found I had more spare AR parts than I thought I did. I was able to assemble a complete lower, with a MagPul MIAD grip and a VLTOR stock - which is my personal preference when it comes to stocks. The cheek weld with the VLTOR is superior to other designs for my face. I also had a spare upper receiver that was complete except for the barrel/handguards. So - I purchased a CMMG .22 barrel from Brownells, along with the DPMS free float handguard. I had purchased a Primary Arms 1x4 scope along with a PEPR mount (used off of AR15.com) to prove the concept to myself on my full power M4 – and had since purchased a Vortex Viper PST 1x4 scope to mount it to my M4. So…I had the PA 1x4 that was looking for a rifle. In my opinion the PA scope is perfect for a .22 lr.

After getting the barrel and free float handguards – I put them all together – and added an A2 type flash suppressor on the already threaded muzzle. Now it was time to shoot it!

Here are the obligatory pictures of the complete rifle. I have not – nor will I – attach any BUIS (Back-Up-Iron-Sights) – as this is a TOY – not a tool. The PEPR mount on my M4-22 is not quick attach/detach – so I can’t remove it in a hurry anyway. (The PEPR mount on my full power M4 *is* quick attach/detach – and is equipped with BUIS – as it is one of my tools.) I wanted to keep the capital expenditure as low as possible on this project – because it is a toy and I recognize it as such.

So I eagerly went to the range to begin sighting it in. I started at 7 yards – because there were no iron sights to begin with – and even if there were the PA scope doesn’t co-witness – so starting at 7 was to ensure I was going to at least be on paper at 25 meters. Much to my surprise – I could have started at 25 yards! I didn’t even adjust the scope at 7 yards – as the impact was about 2” low – but pretty much centered with regards to windage.

So I moved back to 25 yds. This would be my “zero” distance for my M4-22. (On my full size M4 I zero it at 50 yards and verify at 200 yards.) I was shooting Federal Bulk Pack from Walmart. The groups I was getting at 25 yards were nothing to write home about – but good enough to site in the scope. Well – the groups were not good enough to the point that I was disappointed with the rifle/myself. My eyes are getting older (along with the rest of me) and are not what they used to be. I used to have 20/6 vision – now I have closer to 20/20 with an astigmatism that is getting worse with age. I used to be able to see red dots quite clearly – now they are starting to “starburst” – hence my quest for regular optics. I also need reading glasses to see anything clearly that is closer than a couple of feet. This makes using iron sights challenging. But enough about the aging thing – suffice it to say that getting old sucks.

So anyway I figured the poor shooting performance was either me – or the barrel. I didn’t consider that the ammo would make a very big difference at all. Boy was I wrong. After reading some articles/posts on-line – I came to the conclusion that maybe ammo was a contributing factor. So – I purchased some different kinds of .22 lr ammo and went to the range. I was astounded with what I found.

I started off with CCI Blazer ammo. I shot three 10 shot groups at 25 yards. Here they are:

The three groups measured 0.838”, 0.888” and 0.804” respectively. This was better performance than I had with Federal Bulk Pack – so I was pleasantly surprised.

Next I shot Winchester 333 Bulk Pack. Again I shot three 10 round groups at 25 yards (which is my SOP when sighting in a rifle and was followed with all ammunition in this test).

The three groups measured 0.810”, 1.267” and 1.435”. The fliers were just that – FLIERS. They were not the result of a flinch, nor were they a pulled shot. I had the cross hairs centered on target and had a surprise break. I “called the shot” in the white circle – but the bullet impacted out of it. This is almost exactly the same performance I experienced with the Fed Bulk Pack.

The third ammo I tried was Winchester SuperX.

These are more like “patterns” instead of groups. The first pattern 2.261”, 1.992” and 2.003”. HORRIBLE ammo combination with this particular rifle.

The fourth ammo was Federal Automatch.

This ammo causes fliers with my particular rifle. The groups are 2.092”, 2.574” and 2.063”. This had somewhat better patterns than the SuperX – it would give somewhat decent groups that would be totally ruined by fliers.

The fifth ammo was Winchester Subsonic.

This shot some pretty good groups. The sizes are 1.016”, 0.593” and 0.837”. Not bad at all – no real fliers.

Sixth ammo was CCI Green Tag target grade ammunition.

These were the best groups of the day so far. They measure 0.968”, 1.129” and 0.691”.

Seventh group was CCI Mini-mag. I saved this ammo for last – because I thought it would be among the worst. I don’t have any reason for feeling that way – I have never shot any Mini-mags for groups before. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. These produced the best groups of all.

These groups measured 0.575”, 0.610” and 0.597”.

I had one last target in my range bag – so I decided I would shoot two more ten shot groups with each of the best five types of ammo.

First group was CCI Blazer – with a 0.985” and 1.319”.

Second was Winchester 333 with a 1.194” and 1.281”.

Third was Winchester Subsonic 0.593” and 0.652”.

Fourth was CCI Mini-mag with 0.4312” and 0.497”.

Fifth was CCI Green Tag with 0.593” and 0.708”.

The moral of this whole story is – if you are looking for small groups out of your .22 rifle – try as many different types of .22 ammo as you can! The largest group was over 2 ½” (2.574”) – and my smallest group was 0.412”. Same shooter (me), same rifle (my M4-22), same day, same range, same EVERYTHING. The ONLY thing that was different was the ammunition type.

Questions/comments?

My next quest will be to duplicate this test with my Ruger 10/22 and my Ruger Mk II handgun.

cheers

tire iron

t i has a Safe Queen AK!

2011-09-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

For a number of years now - I have been wanting to assemble an AK that is representative of the AK's I have faced around the world. I have now finished that quest.

It started over 15 years ago. It is widely recognized that the Egyptian MAADI AK is the closest clone to a 1960's era Soviet AK there is right now. The reason for that is the Soviets set up an AKM plant in Egypt right around that time period. And the Soviet AKM is what most bad guys seem to carry around the world too (yeah the AK74 is making in-roads - but the 7.62x39 cartridge is still the most widely used AK cartridge outside Russia.)

The Russians went on to develop the AK74 and then the AK100 series - which are small evolutionary changes - but changes non-the-less.

Since being able to purchase a Soviet 1960's era AKM is virtually impossible - I decided to go the MAADI route. I found an unfired MAADI long barreled RPM for a really really really good deal. The MAAIDE RPM is nothing more than an AK with a longer barrel. It doesn't have the heavier receiver of the Soviet RPK - just the regular AKM type receiver. I sent it to a well known (then anyway) AK gunsmith - to have the barrel cut back, the front sight relocated, and the muzzle threaded in 14x1 LH, parked and then gunkoted. While he had it - he was raided by the BATF - and it took MONTHS and MONTHS and MONTHS to finally get my gun back. The smith had indeed cut the barrel back, relocated the front sight and threaded the muzzle. However - no finishing was performed - and it was covered in RUST. I had paid him 100% because he had started work on it - and I never received the balance. Left a bad taste in my mouth. All the parts have been sitting in a box for the past 15 years.

Here is a pic of the rust.

Luckily all the rust was surface rust - there was no real pitting anywhere.

I never found the motivation to restart this project until I found out a friend of mine started a gunsmithing business! I emailed ScottFN308 (scottfn308@hotmail.com) and started a conversation about my project. He forwarded to me some pictures of some of the work he had done. I decided to ship this to him to have him blast all the rust off - parkerize it - and coat it with semi-gloss black Duracoat.

However - first I sent him my Saiga 7.62x39 AK and had him blast and park it. When I got it back - I was amazed at the park job Scott did. I have never seen better. I have seen LOTS and LOTS of park jobs that look worse - I have seen a few that look as good - but I have never seen better. It is very uniform and "dense". It looks really good. I wanted to use this as a base to coat with CeraKote.

Here are pics of my Saiga 7.62x39 all parked up!

It almost looks too good to put a coating over the top of it - but I want the extra corrosion protection of the CeraKote since this particular rifle is a "tool" of mine - and it needs to survive hard use.

So - once I got this back from Scott I sent him my "AKM project". We talked a few times over the phone - he was concerned that he get the color and "hue" of the Duracoat correct - and was much more concerned/worried about it than I was - and that is how it should be. The 'smith should do all the worrying - so the customer doesn't have to - and that is the way it is with Scott.

While it was at Scott's - I removed all the Egyptian *finish* off of the wood stock, upper and lower fore-end - and put on several coats of Amber Lacquer. This is the finish the Russians put on the wooden AK stocks of yester-year and is what gives real Russian wood that "reddish" hue.

I also purchased a Russian AK sling dated 1986 - which is a significant year for me - and it adds to the authentic look of my rifle.

Then I finally got the box from Scott. I opened it up - and what a beauty!! The finish is VERY uniform - no runs, no "thick" spots, no too thin spots - just a really good UNIFORM finish job. Here are some pictures:

I did a "photoshop" job to hide the serial number - that black "spray paint" mark is not on my rifle!

So - if you are looking for a 'smith to do a Parkerizing or a DuraCoat job - or a combination of the two - look no further than ScottFN308. Fantastic customer service, and serious craftmanship for a VERY reasonable price.

This is my bona-fide SAFE QUEEN - I will never fire this particular AKM clone - it will remain in "factory new" condition until I pass it off to my kids after I am gone.

(I installed a TAPCO fire control group (3 parts) - a TAPCO gas piston, a US made pistol grip and a TAPCO muzzle break to bring this rifle into 922r compliance and be able to use "issued" stocks.)

cheers

tire iron

A website with TONS of info - and I mean TONS!

2011-07-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

A buddy of mine (Devildog70) has put together a website with TONS of good info. The link to it is located here: http://www.tactical-miscellany.com/index.html
Check it out and be prepared to fill up some storage space!

Thanks DD70!

cheers

tire iron

Bilateral Dry Fire Practice

2011-01-24T21:53:00.000-08:00

Check out my first youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R85I7rebKjg

Hope you enjoy it.

cheers

tire iron

Fire and Maneuver

2010-05-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

Fire and Maneuver.

This is a phrase that we use to describe general and specific tactical methods/tools.

The three elements of Fire and Maneuver are: Shoot (suppressive fire), Maneuver and Communicate.

OK lets look at the First Element – Shoot.

What we are talking about here is Fire Suppression. Fire suppression is fire that is accurate enough and often enough to keep the enemy behind cover. Realize the first time you do this you will fire WAY more ammunition than really have to. When you are on the receiving end of this you see how little ammo it takes for you to want to keep your head behind cover. So – fight the urge to waste a lot of ammo. One shot every 2 – 4 seconds seems about right. (It is not unusual for guys to do the opposite though – which is 2~4 rounds per second – which is a waste of ammo.)

When performing suppressive fire – it is much better to shoot HIGH rather than low. If you shoot low – the enemy may not even know you shot at them as the round may have buried itself in the dirt. Whereas if you shoot high – they will hear the “snap” of the bullet as it whizzes by just over their head.

Alright – the second element is Maneuver. Maneuver is movement that is advantageous to you AND disadvantageous to your enemy.

Note that the only time you should maneuver TOWARDS the enemy is when you have intell that gives you 90% confidence that you have a 3 to 1 advantage in numbers of men, and they don’t have effective mortars, CAS or arty support. This is VITALLY important (unless you have effective mortars, CAS or arty support). If you DON’T have intel on the size of the enemy you are facing – then Maneuvering would be away from the enemy, via Bounding Overwatch, Aussie Peel, etc.

(For the purposes of this thread – “our side” DOES have intel that they do enjoy a 3 to 1 advantage in numbers and the enemy does not have effective mortars, CAS or arty.)

Third is Communication. You MUST be communicating with your team mates. Communication only occurs when those you wish to communicate with CORRECTLY UNDERSTAND what you are telling them. Hand and arm signals are a must. Being able to communicate effectively and quickly via hand and arm signals really only occurs after spending time with the same team members – so realize that when working with team mates that you don’t always work with the H&A signals will need to be exaggerated and given more deliberately and slowly.

OK - Fire and Maneuver is all about “working the angles”. Remember in our CQB threads – how we discussed “working the angles”?? The principles are the exact same. We want to exploit our enemy via working angles against them.

What does that mean – working the angles?

We are predators. We have eyes on the front of our face (like a lion or a tiger). Our eyes have to focus on the same point in space. (Prey on the other hand, have eyes on the side of their head – like a deer or rabbit– so they can see in all directions looking for predators.)

Since we have eyes on the front of our face – we have to move our head or body in order to focus 90 degrees to the right or left. Yeah we can see to the right and left in our peripheral vision – but we cannot focus to the right or left 90 degrees without moving our head and/or body. That 90 degree number is VERY important to Fire and Maneuver.

When we are speaking about Angles – we almost ALWAYS are talking about the angle produced by 3 elements. The line formed by Attacker A to the Defender is one leg of the Angle, and the line formed by Attacker B to the Defender is the other leg of the Angle. Where these two lines intersect (meet) – which is where the Defender is – forms the angle that we are speaking about when we say “work the angle”. We want that angle to be as close to 90 degrees as we can get it.

Here is the reason why we want 90 degrees. A human can track two targets without serious psychological fear if the angle is less than 30 degrees. It is easy to see each target – and the other target still remains very close to our “focus cone”. The enemy can focus on each element without moving the head. The bigger the angle gets – the more stress and anxiety it puts on the enemy. Once the angle gets to 45 degrees – the stress than seriously mounts in the enemy. Now the enemy must move his heads to get a good focus on each element. When the angle approaches 90 degrees – the stress is near maximum. Now the enemy MUST move his head – and the other maneuvering element is in the enemy’s blind spot. Now of course 180 degrees would be even better – but then Attacking elements would be in a “Blue on Blue” situation (they would end up shooting in each other’s direction). So 90 degrees is the largest we can get the angle and still ensure we aren’t shooting in the same direction as other team mates.

I have run this drill many, many times, and when debriefing the “defender” – they always say phrases like “when the angle reached 90 degrees – I felt naked – totally exposed.” “I couldn’t keep on eye on each element.” “It was scary.” “I was hating life.” “I knew that any second I was going to shot in the back.” Mind you – the “bullets” were paintballs, but the emotion is still there. With live rounds the emotion will be exponentially greater.

THAT is what we want the enemy to feel. It will seriously rattle and break all but the most battle hardened troops.

OK – lets set this scenario up. Our guys know through intel or through observation that the enemy unit they are to eliminate is the size they think it is. Eliminate in this context means to render them ineffective. Whether they surrender or get wound or die, it is all the same, as they have been rendered ineffective. So our guys know they enjoy a 3 to 1 advantage. They also know the enemy does not have effective mortar, CAS or arty.

RECOGNIZE that even though I only have four action figures – each action figure represents an “element”. In other words, each action figure can be a 2 man team, or a four man team, or an 8 man team, or a full squad, or two squads, or a platoon, company, or a battalion, regiment, division or army. The principles are EXACTLY the same, no matter what size elements we are talking about. So if you learn as (or teach it to) individuals, you can always build up in numbers from there. It is also important to learn this as individuals too – because it is learned best as individuals. I have taught this to military personel that participated in lots of F&M in the military – but since they were just part of a company or mechanized unit – they didn’t fully understand or appreciate F&M until they learned it as an individual.

OK – on to the pictures.

Here is the view from the Defender’s (D) position. He watched the three elements (A,B and C) as they maneuvered across the field in a Traveling Overwatch formation. D is just getting ready to open up on A, B and C. He didn't want to open up when they were in the field, as he would lose sight of them as soon as they dropped in the tall grass. He also didn't want to wait until they get closer as they will see him and he will lose the element of surprise.

As soon as the first shot is fired – A, B and C drop to cover.

They pretty much just dropped where they stood, maybe taking a step or two to the right or left. They also are returning fire. Whoever saw the enemy position is also communicating this to others via azimuth and distance. The azimuth is given via the “clock” method. The direction of travel is 12 o’clock – to the right side is 3 o’clock, to the left is 9 o’clock, etc. So the information yelled out would be enemy at 12 o’clock, 75 meters out. (It actually scales out to 78 yards given the size of the action figures (4”) and the distance to the defender (13’) – but they would have guessed somewhere between 75 and 100 yards/meters.)

They are also communicating to each other regarding the status of everyone. "Buck has been hit - but he is still in the fight!" or "Buck is dead!" etc.

Now it comes time to do the maneuver part. Note that EVERYONE that has a clear shot at the enemy is providing suppressive fire. Remember that we want one shot every 2 ~ 4 seconds – so if there is more than one attacker providing cover/suppressive fire – you need to only shoot one round every 5 seconds or so.

Alpha Element (A) looks around and identifies a spot 10 meters or so away that will be where he maneuvers too. Then he yells “MANEUVERING”. Element Bravo (B) and Charlie (C) both yell “COVERING”.

They very next thing A does – BEFORE GETTING UP – is to LOOK BEHIND HIM (the direction they came from) to ENSURE THE ENEMY ISN’T MANEUVERING BEHIND THEM.

During training, I (as the instructor) have a fully loaded paintball gun, and if the guy yelled “MANEUVERING” and got up and ran WITHOUT looking behind him – I would shoot him in the back with my paintball gun. This is relatively close range. It hurts. It causes pain. Pain is good teacher. I’ve never had to shoot anyone more than twice. And other guys would witness the pain of the one being shot and would learn from his mistake. This must be done to drive the point home that they MUST look behind them BEFORE they maneuver.

Once he looks behind himself and see’s no one there – he gets up and RUNS to the spot he had previously identified. When he gets up and yells to himself (silently or out loud) “I’M UP – HE SEE’S ME – I’M DOWN”. Then he drops behind cover and yells “SET”.

Then he fires off a round or two at the enemy so everyone else knows he is “SET” if they didn’t hear him yell “SET”. (Depending upon terrain, you may want to roll either right or left after dropping down – as the enemy may start shooting where you dropped. On the other hand, most of the time their accuracy potential is so poor that moving a few feet one way or the other still puts you in their “cone of fire” – so some guys don’t do the roll after dropping.)

Now B element has identified a good place to get behind. Since he is the middle element – he knows he will be the main base of fire – so he is looking for a GOOD spot. After identifying it – he yells “MANEUVERING” and A and C yell “COVERING”. Then B looks behind him -

- and seeing no one there he gets up and runs to his next cover point. “I’M UP – HE SEE’S ME – I’M DOWN”.

Once he is down he yells “SET” and starts to provide suppressive fire. Once he starts firing – A and C know he is good to go if they didn’t hear him yell “SET”.

NOTE – the time to check your Long’s status is BEFORE you maneuver. So if you have to do a reload (speed or tactical) – you do it BEFORE you get up and run.

This process is carried out as many times as it needs to be performed.

Also note that you aren’t stuck with Alpha moving first, Bravo moving second then Charle moving third, then back to Alpha. The elements maneuver when they need to. Alpha and Charlie will maneuver more times than Bravo will – because they have further to go than Bravo does. So keep that in mind. Another thing to consider is that if you keep maneuvering in the same pattern – the enemy may catch on.

You will Fire and Maneuver until either one of two things happens. The bad guy/s either give up – or you get to here:

NOTE – EVEN IF YOU THINK THEY ARE ALL DEAD – you CONTINUE to Fire and Maneuver until you get to the 90 degrees and can see the enemy. Then while the enemy is being covered by the element that can see them, A and B will continue to maneuver until they are on top of the enemy. They only difference now is there is no cover/suppressive fire. Then the enemy is checked and all firearms removed from their reach – whether they are dead or alive. (If you have flex-cuffs – you will flex cuff them whether they are dead or alive.) Now is when intel will be gathered and equipment either picked up or destroyed.

Any questions?

cheers

tire iron

CQB - Part 4 - Three and Four Man Entries

2010-04-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

This thread will cover 3 and 4 man entries.

TRAIN IN TWO MAN ENTRIES BEFORE TRAINING IN MULTIPLES!!

First – some ground rules THERE ARE SOME CHANGES FROM THE LAST THREAD SO READ THEM ALL AGAIN!!

1. If the door opens “inward” (into the room) – always line-up on the opposite side of the doorway as the door knob.
2. If the door opens “outward” (into the hallway – or away from the room) – always line up nearest the door knob.
3. The only guy that will always break the rules above is the breacher – or the guy that opens the door. This way he is out of the way of the entry team – and he can go in last or stay out and provide security – which ever would be best.
4. #1 man takes 2 and #2 man takes 1 (corner – that is. #1 will typically take the first and second corner in the room – and the #2 man will take just one corner. Now if #1 falls down or something like that – communication can take place so that the #2 man will go ahead and take 2 corners – the #1 man will just take one corner.
5. #3 man follows #1 man – and #4 man follows #2 man.

By following the above rules – it allows the team the quickest and easiest access to the room.

Since we are doing a 4 man entry – the 4th man is the breacher. He is standing on the opposite side of the door from the door knob – because the door opens outward. He will just reach over and turn the knob and pull it if it is unlocked – or he will pick the lock for a “stealth” entry. (Or blow off the hinges/lock with his shotgun if he has “breaching rounds”.)

Once the door is ready to be breached – the #1 man will give the countdown – and the breacher will open the door on the count.

Since there is more than one man besides the #1 man – communications can go something like this:

#1 man: “Need FOUR – STACK ON ME!”
#2 man – when right behind #1: “GOT TWO”
#3 man – when right behind #2: “GOT THREE”
#4 man – when right behind #3: “GOT FOUR”

#1 man – “CLOSED DOOR LEFT – BREACHER UP!”
all: “CLOSED DOOR LEFT – BREACHER UP!”

Once breacher figures out how he is going to breach the door - and once he is TOTALLY ready – he will give the #1 man a “thumbs up”. REMEMBER AT THIS POINT THE FIREARMS SHOULD BE POINTED AT THE GROUND! FIREARMS ARE BROUGHT TO BEAR ONLY AFTER THE FATAL FUNNEL HAS BEEN NEGOTIATED!!! (These little GIJoes arms and hands are hard to move around - so I left them all in "patrol carry" position - so look at where the GIJoe is standing - NOT at how they are carrying thier rifle.)

#1 to BREAHCER: “ON GO! THREE, TWO, ONE – GO!”
Breacher opens door.

IMMEDIATELY the team enters room.

Now – what happens next will take A LOT longer to read than it does to do it. The millisecond that door is open – the #1 man is able to see the deep corner – he takes this knowledge with him as he is racing through the FATAL FUNNEL. In the millisecond that his mind needs to process it – he will decide if there is a threat there or not. HE DOES NOT STOP MOVING AT ALL DURING THIS TIME. He is headed for his corner. If he sees a threat – he can engage it WHILE MOVING to his corner. HE DOES NOT STOP MOVING AT ANY TIME. ALL SHOTS ARE DONE ON THE MOVE. (If he stops for whatever reason – he will create a bottleneck in the FATAL FUNNEL and the team may get killed.) DO NOT STOP MOVING!!!!!!!!

AS SOON AS #1 man is “moving” – our #2 man can begin his crossing of the FATAL FUNNEL. He too had a millisecond to view part of his eventual sector of fire. If there was a threat in his deep zone – he can engage it WHILE ON THE MOVE. So whether there is a deep threat or not - he continues to move towards his corner! Chairs, end tables, lamps, etc. are “cast” out of the way by kicking them – or elbowing or shouldering them.

The corners closest to the door are the biggest danger areas besides the FATAL FUNNEL. Those corners MUST be dominated QUICKLY – or all is lost. If these corners are not dominated QUICKLY - the team will be in a cross fire – from the flanks – and will die.

Besides – any bad guy in the “deep zone” had his OODA loop severely messed with when he sees two guys going in opposite directions. By the time he recovers and gets past the two “O’s” of OODA – our guys have dominated the room and have delivered fight stopping hits to the bad guy.

This cannot be stressed enough – THE CORNERS MUST BE DOMINATED!!!

Number 3 man follows #1 man to the same side of the room – but he stops about 1 meter in the room – and 1 to 2 meters towards the wall so he gets out of the FATAL FUNNEL. He can begin engaging center targets at any time.

Number 4 man follows #2 man to the same side of the room - but he stops about 1 meter in the room – and 1 to 2 meters towards the wall so he gets out of the FATAL FUNNEL. He can begin engaging center targets at any time.

Once each man has reached his final area of domination -

– then communication picks back up – such as “One CLEAR!” – “Two CLEAR!” – or “Cover me while I check this area” – etc. Once it has be ascertained that the room contains no threat – then the team sounds off in order “One Clear” – “Two CLEAR” – etc. Once all men have sounded off in order, the #1 man in the room yells “ALL CLEAR” – and then “DRY HOLE” – or “TWO TANGOS DOWN” or whatever if any bad guys got nailed – “TWO TANGOS SECURE” once they are flex-cuffed or whatever.

Someone then will yell out “STACK ON ME!” and then #2 man will yell “Got two” – and so on.

Then #1 man sticks his hand out the door – with thumb up – and yells “COMING OUT” – and someone in the hallway will respond back “COME OUT”.

Obviously if ANYONE was inside – most if not all of you will stay in the room to ensure that the room remains secure. One man can go out in the hallway (using the same procedure above) and lead in the search team, medical teams, MP teams to haul away prisoners, etc.

Note that 3 man entry is the exact same at 4 man entry – the only exception being that there is not a fourth man.

ANY QUESTIONS??

cheers

tire iron

CQB - Part 3 - Two Man Room Entry

2010-04-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

OK – now you are ready to “enter the room”.

First – some ground rules.

1. If the door opens “inward” (into the room) – always line-up on the opposite side of the doorway as the door knob.
2. If the door opens “outward” (into the hallway – or away from the room) – always line up nearest the door knob.
3. The only guy that will always break the rules above is the breacher – or the guy that opens the door. This way he is out of the way of the entry team – and he can go in last or stay out and provide security – which ever would be best.
4. #1 man takes 2 and #2 man takes 1 (corner – that is. #1 will typically take the first and second corner in the room – and the #2 man will take just one corner. Now if #1 falls down or something like that – communication can take place so that the #2 man will go ahead and take 2 corners – the #1 man will just take one corner.

By following the above rules – it allows the team the quickest and easiest access to the room.

Since we are doing a 2 man entry – the 2nd man is the breacher. He is standing on the door knob side of the door – because the door opens inward. He will just reach over and turn the knob and push if it is unlocked – or he will kick the door in – or he will pick the lock for a “stealth” entry.

The reason we are doing a 2 man entry – is so that we have full front and back security in the hallway.

For this type of scenario – doing damage to the door is BAD. Remember – this is your safe room – and a safe room without a front door is “bad”. So – pick the lock.

Once the door is unlocked – the #1 man will give the countdown – and the breacher will open the door on the count.

Now – what happens next will take A LOT longer to read than it does to do it. The millisecond that door is open – the #1 man is able to get a visual "snap shot" the deep corner – he takes this knowledge with him as he is racing through the FATAL FUNNEL. In the millisecond that his mind needs to process it – he will decide if there is a threat there or not. HE DOES NOT STOP MOVING AT ALL DURING THIS TIME. He is headed for his corner. If he sees a threat – he can engage it WHILE MOVING to his corner. HE DOES NOT STOP MOVING AT ANY TIME. ALL SHOTS ARE DONE ON THE MOVE. (If he stops for whatever reason – he will create a bottleneck in the FATAL FUNNEL and the team may get killed.) DO NOT STOP MOVING!!!!!!!!

If #1 doesn’t engage the deep threat while moving to his first corner – he will engage the deep threat while moving to his second corner.

Here is our 2 men ready to enter. The #1 man is on the right - and the breacher is on the left. REMEMBER AT THIS POINT THE FIREARMS SHOULD BE POINTED AT THE GROUND! FIREARMS ARE BROUGHT TO BEAR ONLY AFTER THE FATAL FUNNEL HAS BEEN NEGOTIATED!!!(These little GIJoes arms and hands are hard to move around - so I left them all in "patrol carry" position - so look at where the GIJoe is standing - NOT at how they are carrying thier rifle.)

The door is open.

#1 man's view in the open room a millisecond before he enters.

#1 is entering - his Sector of Fire is "red" - #2 (also the breacher) Sector of Fire is "green"

#1 is on his way to his first of two corners

AS SOON AS #1 man is “out of the way” – our #2 man can begin his crossing of the FATAL FUNNEL. He too had a millisecond to view part of his eventual sector of fire. If there was a threat in his deep zone – he can engage it WHILE ON THE MOVE. So whether there is a deep threat or not - he continues to move towards his corner! Chairs, end tables, lamps, etc. are “cast” out of the way by kicking them – or elbowing or shouldering them.

The corners closest to the door are the biggest danger areas besides the FATAL FUNNEL. Those corners MUST be dominated QUICKLY – or all is lost. If these corners are not dominated QUICKLY - the team will be in a cross fire – from the flanks – and will die.

Besides – any bad guy in the “deep zone” had his OODA loop severely messed with when he sees two guys going in opposite directions. By the time he recovers and gets past the two “O’s” of OODA – our guys have dominated the room and have delivered fight stopping hits to the bad guy.

This cannot be stressed enough – THE CORNERS MUST BE DOMINATED!!!

#1 man is almost at his first corner - and #2 nearly is at his corner as well.

#1 man is on his way to his final corner - and #2 is turning to face his final sector of fire. This is a GREAT spot to hit any targets that may be in the center from a crossfire position. The #1 and #2 man's PRIMARY Sector of Fire is the colored portion - but a "target of opportunity" (in the center) can be engaged by either or both men.

Both of our men are at thier at final points of domination.

Once each man has reached his final area of domination – then communication picks back up – such as “One CLEAR!” – “Two CLEAR!” – or “Cover me while I check this area” – etc. Once it has be ascertained that the room contains no threat – then the team sounds off in order “One Clear” – “Two CLEAR” – etc. Once all men have sounded off in order, the #1 man in the room yells “ALL CLEAR”.

He then sticks his hand out the door – with thumb up – and invites the other team members and family in the hallway to enter.

Since this WAS an abandoned office – there wasn’t ANYBODY in the office – and the room was cleared without a hitch.

The next installment will cover 3 and 4 man entry into the room just for “educational” purposes.

ANY QUESTIONS??

cheers

tire iron

CQB - Part 2 - Hallways

2010-04-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

You were the first guy to enter the hallway – with your S&W M&P in the “Sul” position. As you entered the hallway – had you seen anyone – you would have made a “heartbeat” decision as to whether or not they posed a threat. The odds are – they wouldn’t pose a threat – and at that time you would yell “Building Security – please return to your rooms immediately!”

You would be providing sole frontal security at this time. Only a second or two behind you would be your other two team-mates. (Remember the fourth team member is hustling the families to your location and are just 10-20 seconds behind you.)

As your team mates enter – they take up their security positions.

It would look like this:

Front view

Top view

Notice that the whole hallway is covered. The team can move like this with relative security – but hallways are dangerous places to move – as EVERY door, window, coke machine, table, air-conditioning vent, etc. – is a danger area. You MUST think in terms of a 360 degree hostile environment. Ceilings, walls, floors, front and back. Continuously scan these areas within your Sector of Fire.

You pretty much wait by the front door – covering the hallway – until the whole group is there – then you will assemble into the 4 man hallway security formation. It looks like this: (Be advised that the women and children are in between the 3 man group and the 4th man.)

Front View

Top view

You will be continuously communicating to your team-mates –and they to you. “Moving” “Closed door right” “Coke machine left” etc. ANYONE can stop or halt the movement by saying “Stop” – then communicating why.

If you are searching for bad-guys - movement will be slow and deliberate – a few feet per second is a good rule of thumb. However – in this instance you are just looking for a “safe room” and can move quicker.

In a “textbook” building clearing you NEVER pass by a door that you haven’t cleared that room. However – in this case – you are not searching for bad guys – you are searching for a safe place to hide out. So – you won’t be taking the time clear the whole dang building. You will pick a room – and then clear it.

You are obviously wanting to pick a room that allows good security – and a 2nd way out – and one that provides good avenues of fire – should that become necessary. I would avoid 2nd floor (or higher) rooms – as riots tend to burn buildings down – and it would be “poor form” to be stuck on the 2nd story of a building when it is on fire. Although – from a security standpoint the first floor is the LEAST secure. As always there are trade-offs and compromises to be made. The choice is yours and your team-mates. Go with what you feel is best for the given situation – and adapt and overcome obstacles when they present themselves.

Once you locate what you think would be a “good room” – the three of you would “stack” outside the door – and the fourth man would provide rear security.

So – any questions about hallways??

cheers

tire iron

CQB Part 1 - the basics

2010-04-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

We are going to do this in "bite sized" threads - so this is the first "bite".

OK – here is the scenario.

You and three of your buddies/team-mates are with your families in the big city for a major holiday. The families consist of a few toddlers, a baby or two, and maybe some smaller children (5 years old or so). All of you (you and your three buddies) have trained together for years – and you are all armed with Glocks in CCW attire. And – as is SOP for you – you each have at least one spare/extra magazine and a light source too.

While you are enjoying a much needed family outing – a major riot breaks out – the scale of the LA riots in the 80’s. The riot is coming from the direction where your vehicles are parked – so you don’t want to head that direction.

You also all immediately recognize that you cannot make a run for it – because you have too many small children. In this instance – perhaps the best course of action would be to secure a room and wait for the main portion of the riot to pass by – and then either try to make your way out – or to wait it out in the room. Your call.

Note that what “securing a room” entails is at a minimum “breaking and entering” to possibly much more serious charges. But it is that or taking your chances with the angry mob outside that seems bent on racial violence.

In order to minimize the potential civil and criminal charges later – you choose what you hope is an unoccupied office/apartment. It STILL needs to be “cleared” though.

Here is how to do that.

“Room Clearing” is DANGEROUS business – but it is business that sometimes must be done.

First off – lets look at some terminology.

STACK – the group of assaulters that will clear the room. A stack is a MINIMUM of two assaulters – but more is better. The stack is formed outside just prior to the assault – usually right by the point of entry (which is usually a door.)

BREACHER – the assaulter that opens the door, window, etc. The only rule about the breacher is that he is always the LAST guy to enter the room.

FATAL FUNNEL – the area of the doorway. It is called the FATAL FUNNEL because it draws everyone’s attention – and GUNFIRE. To remain in the FATAL FUNNEL is DEATH to you and your team-mates. The FATAL FUNNEL must be negotiated as QUICKLY as possible.

There are two categories of entry – “static” and “dynamic”. STATIC entry/clearing is for when you have the time to go slow – such as clearing your own house at night when you think your house has been invaded by a bad-guy. For static clearing – you think 100% in terms of “working the angles” – or slicing the 1,000’s of pie’s in every room. DYNAMIC entry/clearing is done in a “blast”. The room is quickly dominated through speed and aggression. Dynamic entry has been broken down into two different methods – “stacking” and “stackless”. Case in point – while you are all running to the building you have chosen – you don’t want to “stack” outside the front door and waste precious time getting in “stack".

What I would envision is that three of you leave the main group and SPRINT over to the building and IMMEDIATELY enter the front door which is a hallway. THEN – AFTER the hallway is “secure” – go ahead and “stack” outside the office/apartment door prior to entry. (Stackless entry is VITAL if you are already receiving incoming fire. You don’t have time to “stack” out there while under fire.) You would enter the final room only after the whole group is secure in the hallway. The guy you left with the group would provide security for the group – and would also act as your “six”. He would provide security in the hallway too prior to entry.

Here are all the necessary elements of CQB:
1. Planning
2. Preparation
3. Intelligence
4. Coordination
5. Execution
6. Safety
7. Training
With our scenario above – the planning and preparation have occurred LONG before the visit to the city. The intel gathering came when you saw the unruly mob approaching your area. You then coordinated with each other about what to do (go to ground and secure a safe place to hole up). Then you executed that plan – SAFELY. (Safely means that no one got hurt except those that you intended to get hurt.) Then when you get back home you will do an AAR and analyze what you could have done better and add that to your training.

Here are the Five Principles of CQB:
1. Number 1 man is never wrong
2. Move through the threshold/fatal funnel (Don't stop)
3. Occupy your sectors of fire (Points of Domination)
4. Cover your buddy
5. Dominate the room

Here are the Five Fundamentals of CQB:
1. Speed
2. Surprise
3. Violence of Action (some call it “Shock Action” to keep it all “S’s”)
4. Simplicity (K.I.S.S. – cause Murphy will be along for the ride)
5. Safety (have a “fail safe” breach – and know you sector of fire)

The Four Danger areas of CQB are known as “3CS”:
1. Corners
2. Ceilings
3. Closets
4. Stairs

STAY OFF OF THE WALLS! When in stressful situations – you will want to “lean” on a wall. DON’T. If you do – you will “drag” the wall as you move – MAKING NOISE. Noise is a target indicator that someone will eventually shoot at. MOST bullets go through MOST walls. This is especially true when in the stack! Most men – especially new guys – will want to lean against the wall while in a stack. DON’T DO IT! DON’T ALLOW IT!

While in the stack – ALL firearms are pointed at the ground. This allows for unobstructed vision, and un-encumbered movement and SAFETY for the team. Think of it this way – if you buddy behind you has an ND (Negligent Discharge) – do you want the bullet in your foot – or in your head?? In the stack – the safety is ON! Fingers along side trigger guard.

As SOON as movement starts the firearms (be they long or short) can be brought to approximately a 45 degree angle. Then – as SOON as the FATAL FUNNEL has been negotiated – bring your firearm up to almost eye level, and into your “firing” position. While negotiating the Fatal Funnel the safety can come off – but the firing finger is ALONG SIDE the trigger guard – not IN the trigger guard. The firing finger only enters the trigger guard immediately prior to shooting – NOT BEFORE. You want FULL eye vision – but with the firearm “almost” at eye level so quick shots can be delivered. The barrel of the firearm should be parallel with the floor – or close to parallel – so if you have to shoot – it will at least be a hit – even if it is low. (With a handgun the arms can be bent and relaxed – yet the muzzle will still be parallel with the floor – so shots can be fired from this position. It is also FAST and EASY to bring the pistol out to full extension for more precise shot/s.)

The CORNERS must be DOMINATED FIRST! ESPECIALLY the corners adjacent to the point of entry. That means the #1 and the #2 man will NOT take the center of the room. At this point they will pretend the center of the room does not even exist.

Remember the “danger areas” of CQB?? Corners are the FIRST danger area – so the corners are the HIGHEST priority. If you fail to dominate the first set of corners – you fail to dominate the room. If you fail to dominate the room – your team has failed its mission.

There are also some physiological and psychological reasons why the #1 and #2 man go in opposite directions too – but I don’t want to go into all of that. Just do it this way and live – or do it another way and die. Your choice.

OK – this is the end of the first installment into CQB. Are there any questions regarding the material we have covered so far?? Go ahead and ask whatever you want – but I will delete any and all off topic posts – so don’t get offended when I do that – just know that your question would best be posed at a later date if it doesn’t pertain the information above. This thread is mainly everything that needs to happen just PRIOR to entry. It is all the information a team needs to know and do to be ready to “go in”.

So – fire off any questions you may have.

cheers

tire iron

KelTec P3AT

2010-04-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

You know those times because of how one must dress – or when the “risk” of something bad happening is very low – when you can’t or don’t really NEED to carry a gun?

Well for those times I have found the solution for my needs in a KelTec P3AT. It is so dang small and light that one could literally carry it anywhere! And the .380 round – produced by CorBon in the form of their very well respected DPX line – is something totally unlike the .380 of yesteryear. Granted – the .380 will never be considered to be a “fighting handgun cartridge” (at least by me) – but it is what I would consider to be a “survival handgun cartridge”. There is a very big and clear distinction between the two that should not be overlooked. For me the .380 will never be carried as a “primary” unless the situation is such that I would be going without a gun at all. This will be a true BUG (Back Up Gun) to my M&P – with OCCASIONAL use as the primary.

I purchased my P3AT (love that play on sounds – it is pronounced P.380! LOL!) new and as the instruction manual says I put 100 rounds through it to “break it in”. In the three first magazines I had seven FTF’s – but didn’t have any more in the rest of the first hundred rounds. Then I cleaned it very well – and performed what the KelTec user forums refers to as a “Fluff and Buff” – which is basically to smooth out and polish the areas of the slide that need/warrant it. This was followed by polishing the barrel feed ramp and chamber – and polishing the sides of the barrel too. Then I applied some Brownells Action Lube Plus to all of the contact surfaces. This was followed by shooting another 50 malfunction free rounds. As I mentioned above – my choice of carry ammo is the CorBon DPX load. Expensive. VERY Expensive – but as the lady’s commercial on TV about hair color says “Expensive – but I am worth it” applies here. It is close to $1.50 a round. However – when the gun carries 6 +1 – I want the best rounds I can get for those seven chances of survival – especially in a caliber that (for me) is an absolute bare minimum.

Okay – now on to the review. Fit and finish is everything (and a bit more) what one would expect for a handgun that I bought new – out the door – for less than $250 bucks! The chamber is rougher than a corn cob – and there are some tooling marks evident inside the slide – but – IT WORKS. And if it doesn’t – KelTec has extremely good customer service. Send it back and they will fix it.

Sights are almost non-existent – as they should be on a gun like this. It would be impossible to snag the gun in my pocket during a draw because of the sights. This is an “arm’s length” gun – it is not for shooting groups with. Speaking of groups – I shot a 2” group at seven yards even with the very small hard to see sights. No one will ever need more accuracy out of a small gun like this. Trigger pull is long and hard. But I wouldn’t want it any other way. I carry this gun in my left front pocket – and I don’t want a nice, short, crisp trigger pull on a true “pocket gun”. There is no Single Action (SA) pull – all shots are Double Action (DA). There is no external safety. There is no slide stop. The slide doesn’t stay back upon an empty magazine. In other words – this handgun is dead simple. It comes with one magazine. The manufacturer – correctly – assumed that if the first magazine didn’t do the job – you brought the wrong gun to the fight. I carry a spare for my M&P – but I won’t be carrying a spare for this. This is “the last ditch” handgun. Seven rounds will work – or they won’t.

Recoil isn’t too bad. You’re gonna feel something when firing hot CorBon rounds from a gun that LOADED weighs only 11 ounces! But as I mentioned – it is not painful at all. I shot it both right and left handed. I used two hands to shoot the one and only group I shot – otherwise it was one handed, close to the body from both right and left sides – as I assume that is how it would be shot for real. Whenever I practice with this gun – I will split my practice 50/50 for right and left.

You won’t be able to fit all three fingers (NY wave finger, ring finger and pinky) on the frame. If you could it wouldn’t fit in a pocket – and if it did – you’d have to slide it in ever so carefully that you would never get it out in a hurry. This gun goes in and especially OUT of my pockets in a hurry. My pinky and half of my ring finger don't touch the gun.

I will always carry it in my left front pocket. My primary is on my right hip with the spare magazine on my left hip, or it is in my “belly bag”. Some people call them a fanny pack – but mine sure doesn’t ride on my fanny! Sometimes I carry my M&P Compact on my ankle too. My BUG will always be in my left front pocket.

Here is a shot of my BUG:

Since the introduction of the P3AT - Ruger and Tuarus have come out with similar sized .380 caliber handguns - but I have zero personal experience with either of them.

Any questions?

cheers

tire iron

.22 Conversion in the AR rifle

2010-04-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

If one wants to retain hard earned skills – one MUST practice. Without practice – hard earned skills will atrophy and wither away as muscles do when they are not exercised/worked.

Practice with firearms is expensive in two ways – time and - sometimes time AND money. ALL practice takes time – whether it is “live” or “dry”. Live fire takes time and money.

With the war going on over seas – but mainly because of China buying up the worlds supply of copper and lead – ammo has gone through the roof in the last couple of years. We must plan on ammo prices never going back down. Sure – it would be great if it did – and we will certainly take advantage of it – but we must plan that it never will.

That makes live fire practice even MORE expensive – especially rifle calibers – but more particularly 5.56mm/.223 Remington. The cost to buy 1,000 rounds of mil spec ammo has more than doubled in the last couple of years. Now days – every time you pull the trigger of an AR with quality mil spec ammo – it is like dropping a Quarter, a Dime and a Nickel in the dirt. For every shot. That means a magazine full of ammo costs TWELVE dollars!! If you are shooting Wolf it is like dropping a Quarter into the dirt for every shot, and $7.50 per magazine. Well – unless you are independently wealthy (I’m not) – those quarters, dimes and nickels add up pretty dang fast. In fact – it could get to where we can’t afford to do much live fire practice at all.

That isn’t an option for me. With the world as a whole – and our country in particular – headed down a path that I feel leads to destruction – our skills are the last thing we should let wither on the vine.

Luckily – for users of the AR type rifle – there is a way to practice for mere pennies per shot!

The .22 conversion is what saves the day. It is a bolt/bolt carrier/chamber unit that replaces the bolt/bolt carrier of the AR and allows one to shoot .22 long rifle cartridges through the AR. The unit comes with a either 10 or 30 round magazine.

Black Dog Machine manufacturea a magazine that is nearly identical in size and weight of the real McCoy. Now I can live fire practice and not feel guilty about the amount of money I am spending on ammo!

My .22 unit is about as reliable as any .22 lr semi-auto rifle I have ever fired. Since it is rimmed case – the .22 lr isn’t known as the most reliable ammo type in the world. In fact it is known for stoppages. That isn’t all bad – as the immediate action is the same whether you are shooting .22 lr or 5.56mm.

Accuracy – at least in my 1x7” and 1x9” twist barrels has been quite good. It shoots with Minute of Jack Rabbit accuracy out to 50 yards or so – and that is all I expect out of the combo. If you wish to shoot the ears off a gnat – you may want to get a dedicated .22lr upper that has a barrel twist rate of 1x16”or so.

Some will say that shooting .22lr through a regular AR will cause some fouling of the gas tube. That is not my nor anyone’s experience that I know or have heard of – I just swab out the chamber and haven’t ever had a problem – but I have only fired 1,100 rounds of .22lr through my rifle.

Using the conversion unit – I can do the exact same practice as I would using .223 ammo – the only difference would be that follow up shots will be slightly different because the recoil impulse is slightly different. For the first shot there will be absolutely no difference.

Here is the real benefit – the .22lr ammo I buy at Walmart costs me about $20 for 1,100 rounds! That means it costs me TWO CENTS per round. A magazine full (28 rounds) of .22lr rounds costs about $0.56!!!!

Here are some photos:

This is my M4 set-up with a BlackDog magazine inserted, the Ciener unit on the bottom left, a BlackDog magazine back to back against a MagPul PMAG with window, and a USGI magazine back to back against another BlackDog magazine. Two boxes of .22 ammo are above the magazines.

Close up shot of the mags. Left to right – BlackDog, MagPul PMAG, USGI, BlackDog.

Close up of the feed lips on the BlackDog magazine.

In my opinion – ANYONE and EVERYONE that has an AR rifle as a fighting rifle should invest in the .22 unit and some BlackDog magazines. (I would suggest the CMMG conversion unit.)

Questions?

cheers

tire iron

M1 Garand vs SKS

2010-04-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

There are those that live in “denied” areas that don’t legally have the choice of getting a detachable box magazine fed firearm like an AK, AR, M1a, HK, CETME, et al. Also – there are those that wish to have a “lower profile” longarm that doesn’t have a large magazine protruding out the bottom, nor a pistol grip – but rather a longarm that is wood and steel. For these people the choice usually comes down to two firearms. The SKS and the M1 Garand. Both these firearms have BTDT many times and have proven themselves in battle. That cannot be said of any other semi-auto that doesn’t take a detachable box magazine.

Lets compare the "venerable" M1 Garand to the "lowly" SKS. I say this because anyone who has actually held and fired a M1 Garand, knowing its history, recalling the movies we have seen, the books we have read, the heft of a Garand is a thing to remember. I mean, “come on!” – we won dubbaya-dubbaya-two with this rifle! We conquered Germany and Japan with John C’s invention. Conversely – the SKS lacks any “good guy” history at all – in fact – our ENEMIES carried/carry the SKS!

However - anytime we wish to do an accurate comparison - we must leave our emotions at the door and look only at the facts. It is a fact that I have sent many hundreds of rounds down range threw both rifle types – and feel somewhat qualified to offer a factual comparison of what both rifles can do when viewed from a “fighting” perspective. In a spirit of full disclosure I have fired neither rifle in combat. Although I have trained men to utilize various longarms including both the SKS and M1 Garand.

When doing a comparison of this nature (fighting longarms) one must recognize that there are three components that make-up a fighting firearm system. The first is the cartridge the longarm fires, the second is the longarm itself – and the third the way the longarm and the person firing it “fit together”.

So lets look at a comparison of the cartridges and we will start with external ballistics, i.e. what the bullet does when it leaves the muzzle.

The M1 fires a 150 grain .308 caliber bullet traveling at ~2700 feet per second when it leaves the muzzle. When sighted in with a 200 yd zero total drop at 300 yds is 13 inches. Past 300 yds and you need to adjust the sights to compensate for bullet drop.

The SKS fires a 124 grain .311 caliber bullet traveling at ~2400 feet per second when it leaves the muzzle. When sighted in with a 200 yd zero total drop at 300 yds is 17 inches. Past 300 yds and you need to adjust the sights to compensate for bullet drop.

As one can see there is not a huge difference between the two – but a slight edge should be given to the M1 external ballistics.

Both projectiles will pass through vehicle doors and windows; will shoot through interior and exterior walls, bricks and cinder blocks, etc. Since the M1’s projectile is heavier and has slightly more velocity it does have a slight advantage when hitting things other than bad guys.

So now lets look at terminal ballistics – how bullets perform when they hit flesh.

Here is the average wound channel of the M1 Garand M2 ball round (actually it is the nearly identical .308 M80 ball round – which was made to duplicate the M2 ball round.) It is the third one down from the top. The scale at the bottom is in centimeters, with 20 being the average chest from front to back, and the 30 being the average chest from side to side.

Here is the SKS M43 wound channel – it is the second from the bottom:

Note that with either bullet - until the bullet travels nearly 20 centimeters it leaves only a .30 caliber hole. In other words – both are about equal when it comes to stopping fights.

Now lets look at the individual rifles themselves.

We will again start with the Garand. It weighs in at ~9.75 lbs, give or take .5 pounds. It is just shy of 44 inches long. The SKS is ~8.5 lbs (a bit heavier if using the Yugo variant with the integral grenade launcher) and is just over 40 inches long. In other words – the SKS is lighter (by about 1 ¼ lbs) and shorter (by almost 4 inches). The length and weight difference will be discussed more in the “rifle + shooter” section below, but suffice it to say for now that the SKS has the edge here.

For a detailed look at each rifle we will start at the muzzle and work back to the buttstock. The M1 front sight is protected by a set of “ears” and the SKS front sight is protected by a “ring”. Both are well enough protected. The M1 front sight is flat, while the SKS front sight is round. On the target range the M1 will produce a finer sight picture, but on a two way range – one will never notice a difference. In other words – a tie here.

On the SKS – the front sight is moved to establish Battle Sight Zero – then elevation is adjusted with the rear sight to shoot beyond 300 meters. Moving the front sight can be a pain as there are no “clicks” to check movement – but once zeroed – you are good to go.

The SKS has a folding bayonet. The M1 has a bayonet lug. Take the bayonet off the SKS. Tie here.

Both rifles have wooden stocks. Tie here.

Rear sights. The M1 has an excellent aperture rear sight that is adjustable for windage and elevation. The SKS rear sight is a notch type that is adjustable for elevation only once zero has been set with the front sight.

The M1 has a sight radius of 28 inches while the SKS has a sight radius of 18 inches. The M1 is MUCH easier to establish zero and is the clear winner when it comes to sight design. (The addition of the TechSight http://www.tech-sights.com/sks.htm will take the SKS sights to the next level – as it is a aperture rear sight that also brings the sight radius to 28 inches – same as the Garand.)

With regards to the trigger pull – the Garand has a pull weight of around 6 pounds – and is the opposite of the SKS. The SKS is around 7 pounds with has a LONG pull that feels like dragging a brick over rubble. (Anyone that has an HK longarm will feel at home with the SKS…..) The Garand definitely takes the “trigger” competition.

Safety – the Garand’s safety is in the trigger guard and it pushed towards the muzzle with the trigger finger. The SKS’s safety is on the right side of the trigger guard and is rotated down to go to the fire position. Some SKS’s have a safety lever on both sides – and in this configuration – the SKS is the clear winner – but most SKS’s have the safety on the right side. Even though the SKS is VERY ergonomic – the fact that the Garand’s is “ambidextrous” pushes it into the winner category here.

Length of pull – the Garand has a length of pull of 13” with the SKS coming in with a 12.5” length of pull. Tie here.

Buttplate – both have a steel butt plate that also contains the cleaning kit in the stock.

Both rifles are known to be both reliable and durable. This is established by the fact that rifles that survive years of combat must be both reliable and durable.

How does the M1 and SKS “fit the shooter”?

I find it interesting that both rifles share a similar manual of arms. Both are top fed (Garand via an “en bloc clip” and the SKS via a “stripper clip”), both have the bolt actuator on the right side, both bolts lock back after the last round is fired and neither can be “topped off” during a lull in the action.

Both rifles shoot about 4 MOA, both rifles shoot a .30 caliber projectile.

Most men that I approached on the subject of “feel” agree that the M1 “feels” better in the hands than the SKS. I happen to agree – but this is a personal thing, so it is a fact for the individual, not a common fact.

If I were to count up the score, based upon the above facts, the M1 comes out the clear winner.

Taken as a whole – it is my OPINION that the SKS will do everything about 85% as well as the M1. The only area where the SKS is the clear winner is in overall length and weight.

Well, not the ONLY area. The other area is Cost.

For most of us – we have responsibilities to provide for our families. You know, shelter, food, clothing, transportation, doctor’s fees, etc. So our discretionary income (what is left over from our responsibilities) is limited. (Note that satellite and cable TV, etc is not included in what we need to provide for our families.)

Currently (December 2008) a M1 through the CMP will run you between $500 and $600 dollars. On the open market a M1 will be in the $800 to $900 range – depending upon your local area.

A SKS will be somewhere in the $250 ~ $300 dollar range. Just get a Chinese, don’t pay extra for a Russian, Romanian, Albanian, etc. I would also stay away from Yugo’s as they don’t have chrome lined chamber and bores. Remember, this will be a “hard use” rifle and chrome lining is a big help in that department.

Ammo tells a whole nuther story. The M1 Garand was made to work with a very specific set of parameters with regards to ammo. In other words – if you go to Wal-Mart and buy some .30-06 ammo that wasn’t designed to be shot through your M1, odds are you will damage your M1. Currently (December 2008) .30 ’06 ammo that is mil spec, designed to be shot through a M1 is approximately $0.75 per ROUND. That is right – seventy-five cents per trigger pull.

The SKS on the other hand shoots whatever 7.62x39 ammo you care stuff into it. And ammo right now (December 2008) is around $0.25 per round.

In other words – a M1 Garand plus 4,000 rounds of ammo (1k for training right now to get your skills up to par, 2k for future training, and 1k for a “rainy day”) will set you back the better part of four thousand dollars.

The SKS with the same amount of ammo will run you less than fifteen hundred.

By going the SKS route – you will have saved two thousand five hundred dollars.

Bottom line – you will get a rifle that has 85% of the capability of the Garand (while being shorter and lighter) for 38% of the cost.

So – which rifle is the real winner? That is for you to decide.

Questions?

cheers

tire iron

FN FAL vs HK91 vs M1a

2010-04-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

For those that choose to carry a 7.62x51 NATO caliber rifle (what we in the U.S. call .308 Winchester even though the rounds are slightly different...) - there are three "contenders" that have been proven in battle that are worthy of consideration. I have often been asked which of the three I would suggest. This is my answer to that question:

I have owned and shot all three rifle types (FN, M1A and HK). I have shot all three in a ‘military or fighting’ type environment. This differs greatly from ‘range shooting’ – and my thoughts/opinions are formed with that in mind.

Here are my thoughts and opinions.

Receivers: On the HK firearms (MP5/HK91/HK93) when the sheet metal receiver receives a blow (from a corner, a metal door, a opened APC door, etc.) the weapon goes down HARD. The bolt will NOT retract, and if one fires the HK with a 'dimpled' receiver, the bolt will come back but then will NOT go forward. And this is NOT an isolated occurrence. If it was, then HK would not include a 'receiver dent remover' in the basic amorer’s kit!

The FN on the other hand has a machined steel receiver which won't dent from a blow, and even if the sheet metal top cover were bent, it could be removed and the weapon would still function. Which beats the heck out of an HK that just went TU and is now as dangerous as a 2 x 4. Not bad if you are within 6 feet of your opponent, but NOT GOOD AT ALL if he is 10 feet or beyond.

The M1A receiver is forged or cast steel, so it will not ‘dent’ either.

However, the FN and HK receiver both cover the ‘action’ very well, protecting the insides from in the ingress of foreign matter.

So receiver design/utility – the FN is the winner, the M1A in second place (robust receiver but open to the elements) with the HK third (enclosed but dent prone receiver).

The selector on the HK is too far forward and cannot be manipulated while in the firing position - unless one has an unusually long thumb. This is very poor human engineering.

The metric FAL shares this same downfall, but the 'inch' pattern comes with a great selector, and DSA makes a metric version of the ‘inch’ pattern safety (an addition that I highly recommend).

The M1A safety is in the trigger guard. BAD IDEA. With gloves it goes from bad to worse.

So with ‘safety’ placement – FN first, HK second, and M1A third.

The 'button mag release' on the HK is an abortion. If you have a HK, get the flapper mod. Without it the HK gives truly substandard performance when it comes to mag changes. Mags do not need to be ‘rocked’ in, and they are ‘stout’.

The mag release on the FN is in a excellent location, and needs no alteration. Mags need to be slightly ‘rocked in’, and the mags are not as stout as the HK or M1A mags, but they are not fragile either.

M1A mag release is of ‘flapper’ type, mags need to be ‘rocked’ in, and the mags are sufficiently stout, but not as stout as the HK mags.

So as far as ‘changing mags’ the FN and M1A are tied for first, with the HK in second (unless one has the flapper on the HK – then it is a three way tie).

The charging handle on the HK91 is in an awful place. Try charging an HK91 while in the prone position, and you will see what I mean. POOR HUMAN ENGINEERING.

Also, I have seen the little plastic nub on the charging handle on West German G3's that have broken off, and I have seen the little plastic nub on the charging handles of the MP5 that have broken off. It leaves a sharp little metal rod, with equally sharp edges of plastic around it to grab onto. (The only reason I have not seen it on civilian HK91 is that they are not treated like combat weapons, but rather like range rifles. This is true with almost ALL weapons in private hands. They cost us a lot of dough, so we treat them as good as we can. However, when the 'balloon goes up' - we will then treat our rifles like combat weapons, and you will see these shortcomings of the HK arise. However, then it will be too late do anything about it.)

The charging handle on the FN is in an EXCELLENT location, and can be manipulated while in the prone with EASE. It is usually made of steel and aluminum and it very robust.

The charging handle on the M1A is on the right side, which is not as efficiently operated as the ‘side’ charger of the FN. However, it can still be manipulated while in the prone by merely ‘canting’ the rifle on its left side a little.

So, in this area the FN is first, the M1A is second, the HK a distant third.

The LACK OF A BOLT HOLD OPEN on the HK further illustrates the poor human engineering of ALL HK arms (with the exception of the USP series of handgun). And I have never bought into the old adage of 'loading some tracer for the first few rounds in the mag'. Tracers work both ways – so I want COMPLETE control over when I use tracers. So, the HK'er doesn't know he is empty until he hears CLICK, then he must pull out the old mag (which if there is only a button release won't be very fast cause he has to remove his firing hand for the pistol grip to push the button), insert a fresh mag, (and if he is in the prone) contort his body to get the charging handle to the rear and let it fly forward. NOW he can shoot.

The FN on the other hand has a bolt hold open, and it is in an excellent location for fast manipulation. The FAL'er can tell when the bolt locks back and is on his way to changing mags BEFORE the HK'er knows he is empty. The FAL'er releases the mag, inserts a fresh one, pulls down on the bolt hold open that is right there by his thumb and is back in the fight. (All with the firing hand still on the pistol grip where it should be.)

The M1A also has a bolt hold open, however the ‘button’ is not quite as fast as the FN to operate, as it is located on the top of the receiver, but it is not by any means slow – just not as ‘easy’ or ‘user friendly’ as the FN.

So here, the FN has a slight edge on the M1A – but the HK is FAR BEHIND.

The HK trigger is atrocious. And I personally would not have ANY aftermarket set trigger mod done on a fighting weapon that I would have to stake my life on. I have seen TOO MANY aftermarket triggers go TU at the worst possible time. If you have a HK, just get used to the horrible trigger.

The FN trigger is MUCH better, but still not perfect. But, leave it alone. It will work as is - it may not work if you mess with it!

The M1A has a better trigger than either of the above, so in this round, the M1A is first, the FN second and the HK third.

The sights on the HK are unnecessarily complex, and require a ‘special tool’ to adjust. I like to 'keep it simple, stupid (that’s me), and the HK does not allow that.

The sights on the FN are ‘OK’ – not spectacular, but not bad either. There are also some EXCELLENT aftermarket rear sights for the FN that REALLY enhance the robustness of it, and make it the equal of the M1A.

Which brings us to the M1A, it definitely has the best ‘issue’ sights of the three.

So in this round, the M1A takes first spot, the FN is second and the HK is third. (Notice a trend with regards to third place here?)

Field stripping/maintenance/cleaning/ are sixes across the board. All tied for first.

Spare parts/mag prices. Here the HK is in first place (the only time) with the FN in second and the M1A coming in third.

Reliability is sixes with all three weapons. The FN and the HK have been used literally around the world in every possible climate. From desert sands to icy snow with good results. The M1A comes from a very proven performer, the venerable M1 Garand, and it is also a very reliable rifle. The bottom line with reliability of any of these three rifles is - if you fail to maintain them, they WILL go down on you. If you maintain any of these three rifles, they will WORK for you.
So with regards to reliability, it is a three way tie.

Accuracy is sixes also (with ‘rack grade/mil issue rifles’. The M1A can be made into a ‘tack driver’ but then it is no longer an MBR but rather a Designated Marksman Rifle with a resulting loss of functional reliability in adverse conditions). Those that claim that any one of the three is more accurate than the others have a totally different experience than I have. I find them all to be acceptably accurate. All will shoot 3 MOA or under all day long using mil spec ammo, and one can find specimens of any of the three that will shoot considerably better than that.
So with accuracy (esp. ‘combat accuracy’) it is another three way tie.

Take all of them (FN, M1A and HK) to the range, and do some quick reaction firing drills. In other words, treat them like 'combat weapons' for a short while. Include mag changes in every position possible. Shoot them until they are dry, and ‘recharge’ them in every possible position. (I don't know of ANYONE that can count rifle rounds.) Use a timer and keep score. You will quickly see how important human engineering is in a firearm. In my experience, the FN will win. It won’t win by much compared to the M1A, but it will flat blow the HK away. Admittedly the difference for me may totally be related to the fact that I pistol grips, ala the FN. ALL my fighting longarms have pistol grips (AR’s, AK’s, Galil’s, etc.) – and I do better with a longarm that has one. Maybe if the M1a had a pistol grip it would truly be “sixes” between the FN and M1a – they really are that close.

At the start of this post, I mentioned that I owned all three rifles. However, after repeating the above drill time after time, I found that soon my M1A and HK were gathering dust - so I sold them and have not regretted it! (OK - I DO regret that I do not still have them - but only as INVESTMENTS - not as my personal MBR.)

Don't get me wrong, if the 'balloon went up' tomorrow, and all I had was an M1A or a HK, I would not feel one bit bad (I would feel A LOT better about having an M1A if I couldn’t have my FN though. For me the HK would be a distant third choice for an MBR). I know their weaknesses and can overcome them. For me the FN has better handling characteristics (when compared to the HK my FN – and the M1a – have MUCH better handling characteristics).

ADDED NOTE: I was recently asked how the 7.62x51 AR type rifles would stack up against the "Big 3" (above) - here is my response.

As a "general purpose" arm - here are the problems I see with the 7.62x51 AR concept.

1. TOO many manufacturers that all have different manual of arms.
2. NONE of them that I have run have demonstrated the reliability of the 5.56 system (I mean as whole - there are individual examples in 7.62x51 that run well, but in my experience that is the exception - not the norm.)
3. Different types of magazines (every 5.56 model -regardless of manufacturer - takes the exact same magazine - whereas with the big boy - they won't all run on the same type of magazine.)

I *WISH* this weren't the case - but it is - and until such time all the manufacturers agree on a base platform and through competition work out all the kinks - the situation won't change.

NOW - for a DMR or more precision type arm - I do see a place for the 7.62x51 AR type rifle - cause they can be tackdrivers - and one doesn't the level of reliability with a more precision arm that one does need in a general purpose arm.

Hope this helps,

cheers

tire iron

How to Choose a Fighting Handgun

2010-04-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

Here are the criteria I would suggest anyone follow when trying to decide which handgun one purchases for potentially life saving purposes.

ALL modern high quality semi-automatic handguns that are available today are reliable enough, durable/strong enough and accurate enough for the intended purpose for which we need them to be – which is “Minute of Bad Guy”.

Also – if one shoots modern, high performance, quality hollow point ammo – the performance of all handgun calibers is so close that caliber really doesn’t matter.

So what is left??

A couple very important things to consider:

1. Spare parts. One thing that we can all agree on – is that someday – there will be a TEOTWAWKI event of some type. Whether your own pet scenario involves aliens, illegal aliens, another country, collapse from within or a combination of all the above – the point is there will be a breakdown of society either before, during or after the “main event”. In other words – you won’t be able to send your Ruger or XD back to the factory for them to fix the part that broke on your handgun.

My number one priority when choosing a handgun (or ANY fighting firearm for that matter) for TEOTWAWKI purposes is the ability to stock some spare parts. Without spares – your handgun will turn into a not-so-very-effective hammer.

The list of handguns that one can stock spares for is mighty small:

1. Original 1911 type handguns (internal regular extractor models)

2. Glock

3. S&W M&P

4. Browning HP

5. SIG

None of the other major handgun makers sell all the spare parts. You have to send your handgun back to the factory. Neither HK, nor Ruger, Beretta, Springfield XD, Walther, Steyr or any other make that I am aware of. Note that some of these – such as Ruger – you can get some spare parts, but for the major parts like hammers, sears, extractors – you have to send it to the factory.

2. The next criterion that I use is the ergonomics. In other words – how the handgun fits your particular hand. The better the handgun fits your hand – the better you will shoot it. You will also practice with a handgun more if it fits your hand well. The opposite is also true – if it doesn’t fit your hand – you will neither shoot it very well nor will you practice with it much.

3. With regards to caliber – you can’t go wrong with either the 9mm or the .45 ACP as the military uses both those calibers. I would also opine that the .40 S&W is worthy of consideration since it is THE most popular caliber for LE use – which means there will always be .40 ammo around too. The best ammo in all three calibers expands to nearly .70 caliber and penetrates 12” – which is as good as it gets with handguns. The ammo I carry in my fighting handguns are these:

9mm – Winchester Ranger RA9TA 127 +P+

.40 S&W – Winchester Ranger RA40T 180 grain

.45 ACP – Winchester Ranger RA45T 230 grain

If you can’t get the Winchester Ranger stuff (it is label restricted for LE use only) – then get this stuff:

9mm – Speer 53617 124 +P Gold Dot

.40 S&W – Speer 53966 180 grain Gold Dot

.45 ACP – Speer 23966 230 grain Gold Dot

So there you have it – the order in priority is:

1. SPARE PARTS (1911, Glock, S&W M&P, BHP)

2. ERGONOMICS (how the handgun fits your particular hand)

3. CALIBER

BTW – Brownells usually stocks all the factory parts that are available.

Hope this helps,

cheers

tire iron

Daisy Chaining 101

2010-04-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

550 cord is an indespensible item to keep around. It has as many uses as riggers tape (duct tape) - well - maybe not quite as many but dang near.

The problem with keeping any length of "string" around is that it always ends up in a ball of knots!

There is a way to carry lots of 550 cord in a much smaller "package" - and keep it from being a ball of knots too! It is called "Daisy Chaining" - and here is how you do it:

Step 1: Take a piece of 550 cord (after 'burning the ends') - the

end on the left is the 'running end' and the end on the right (which you can't see - but is the "long" end) is the 'standing end'

Step 2: Make a loop

Step 3: Push part of the running end up through the loop you just created.

Step 4: Now pull on the portion that you just pushed up through the loop.

Step 5: Pull it tight so it looks like this.

Step 6: Now bend the new loop over the standing enf of the 550 cord.

Step 7: Push part of the running end up through the loop.

Step 8: Pull it tight - just like you did in Step 5.

Step 9: Repeat until you run out of 550 cord!

There are a number of places to keep the Daisy Chained 550 - and one of my favorites is on my boonie hat.

Enjoy!

cheers

tire iron

Dummy Cording 101

2010-04-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

In my "gear" posts - I have the line ""Remember to dummy cord any items to your LBV!" I was asked what "dummy cording" is - and I am glad I was asked - as sometimes we *think* everyone knows what we are talking about - when that is not always the case.

So this thread is devoted to "dummy cording" and some various ways/methods this can be accomplished.

First off - *what* is dummy cording?? Dummy cording is a way that allows one to use pieces of gear - but also prevents that piece of gear from becoming lost. You go on ANY military base - and walk through the woods - and you will find all sorts of gear - compasses, canteens, flashlights, etc. These items WERE'NT dummy corded to the wearer - cause if they were - they wouldn't have lost them!

So here are some pics of "dummy cording" some 1st line gear to one's self:

Note in this first picture - the items are dummy corded through a button-hole - this is MUCH safer than wearing these items around one's neck. 550 cord will hold 550 pounds - so if it is around your neck - it is a very good choking hazard!

Here are some items that I dummy cord to my trousers (for all you non-USMC types - trousers are pants!

Then there are items that you will dummy cord to your gear - like a canteen. Note that the dummy cord is really a fastex buckle that allows one to take a drink without having to have 4 feet of 550 cord attached to the canteen. Just remember to re-attach the fastex buckle when you put the canteen away!

Next up is a flashlight.

Pistol lanyards are really nothing more than a fancy name for a dummy cord for a handgun - and in alot of ways - most "tactical slings" for long-guns fit the same catagory.

There are some other cool ways to dummy cord items of gear - you know the "key lanyard" janitors sometimes have - where they can pull the keys out and to a door - then the keys retract back into a device on his belt?? There are some smaller rigs like that - that can be used for dummy cording too. In other words - the ways to dummy cord are only limited by the imagination!

IMPORTANT POINT ADDED: Be sure and stow the dummy cord in such a fashion that it won't be a "snag magnet" or you will become "attached" to bushes, twigs, vines, door-knobs, chairs, etc.

Hope this helps (so you don't lose any gear)!

cheers

tire iron

3rd Line Gear

2010-04-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

OK, with 3rd Line Gear is what you live out of.....all the stuff in your pack/rucksack. Remember 1st Line Gear is survival items, 2nd Line Gear is your fighting load - so 3rd Line is your 'sustaining' load.

Again, this is *my* list and your may vary from it.

This fits in my Vector ruck, but will also work with the Large ALICE pack, CFP-90, etc.

So...here goes for 3rd Line (Heavy)

4 10' lengths of OD bungee cord
20' of 550 cord
2 Liter Water carrier (civy wide mouth canteen)
Water Bladder Camelback Storm in Ruck
Water Purifier (I use a 'Pur Hiker')
Sleeping Bag (I use a Wiggy's Winter Bag - UltraLight in OD)
Sleeping Pad Thermarest
Bivy Shelter (I use a Sierra Designs - Light Year CD - it works great as a cold weather bivy)
4 pair of socks USGI OD
2 set of cammies (top and bottom)
2 OD Tee Shirts
8 MRE's - Stripped
6 packets of Top Ramen with Noodles
Gore Tex Rain Suit Top and Bottom
1 Packet of 'Bum Wipes' (Baby Wipes) UNSCENTED! (Scent is a target indicator)
Small tooth brush NO TOOTH PASTE! (tooth paste leaves behind telltale evidence you were there...)
AA Batteries 24 pack
Extra Ammo in bandoleers
2 Pair Thermal Underwear (Thermax/Polypro,etc.)
Winter Gloves
Sleep Hat USGI OD
4 pair Thermo Socks
Snow Camo (I use West German Top and Bottom Over Garments)

Me - right side view:

Me - left side view:

TOTAL WEIGHT OF 1st, 2nd and 3rd LINE GEAR IS:

WITH M4gery w/ 12 + 1 mags and 2 140 rd bando (670 rds)- 106 pounds
WITH AKM w/ 8 + 1 mags and 280 rds boxed (550 rds) - 111 pounds
WITH FN w/ 8 + 1 mags and 2 100 rd bandos (380 rds) - 108 pounds

This is a large load, and unless one is in good shape, it will overburden one to the point of exhaustion in short order. So...load up your ruck and start walking now to get in shape!

cheers

tire iron

2nd Line Gear

2010-04-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

Remember 1st Line Gear is you 'Survival Gear', right?

Well, 2nd Line Gear is your 'FIGHTING GEAR'. So, here is my list of 2nd Line Gear:

LBV
Fighting Rifle (my choices are one of the following - whereas yours may be different.)

M4
AKM
FN-FAL

Magazines

AR - 12 30 round mags plus 1 20 round mag of tracer (5.56mm when carrying M4)
FN - 8 20 round mags
AK - 8 30 rounds mags

General Items

GPS
Emergency Flares
Smoke Generator - White
Bug Repellent
Carabiner
20' of 1" OD nylon tubing (for expedient rappel harness)
Camo Pack (for face, neck and hands/arms)
Radio/communication device
Day/Night Flare
Water Bladder (Platypus Hoser 3 Liter)
Water Purification Tabs
550 Cord - 20 feet
OPTIONAL - Binos
Hearing Protection

AA Batteries

On a 'per day basis'
2 for the GPS
whatever the radio needs
2 for PVS-14
2 for the EOTech

CR-1/3N Battery
On a 'per week basis'

1 for Aimpoint
2 for flashlights

Weapon Cleaning Gear

Rod/Pull Through
Bore Brush
Chamber Brush
Patches
Oil/Cleaner (like SLIP2000)

Butt Pack:

Poncho Liner - Woodland Camo USGI
Poncho - Woodland Camo USGI
Stripped MRE's (approx 3)

First Aid Kit

Gauze Bandages
Mil-Compress/QuickClot
2 Suture Kits
Motrin
Lomotil
Burn Cream
Q-tips
2 packets of USGI 'Sodium Cloride - Sodium Bicarbonate'
Snake Bite Kit

Canteen USGI
Canteen Cup USGI
Canteen Cup Stove USGI
Canteen Carrier w/ Water Tabs USGI
4 Trioxane Tabs
With the above mentioned load - one is able to live and fight for a 1-2 day period without resupply.
REMEMBER TO DUMMY CORD ANY ITEMS TO YOUR LBV!

TOTAL WEIGHT OF 1st AND 2nd LINE GEAR IS:

WITH M4gery w/ 12 + 1 mags (390 rds)- 56 pounds
WITH AKM w/ 8 + 1 mags (270 rds) - 59 pounds
WITH FN w/ 8 + 1 mags (180 rds) - 60 pounds

Any questions?

cheers

tire iron

1st Line Gear

2010-04-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

There is a phyilosophy regarding how one wears gear, and where one puts certain gear items.

It is called the 'layered' approach. There are THREE basic levels or lines. They are simply - 1st, 2nd and 3rd Line.

The objective of my posts will be to define what 'layering' or 'leveling' gear is, and why it is done.

This first thread will address '1st Line Gear'.

First Line Gear is the stuff that you want with you no matter what. Lets say you were doing a river crossing, and you lost for footing. Guess what, you will ditch your ruck, your rifle and your LBE/LBV so you can swim to shore.

Or you are on the run, and have already ditched your ruck and since you are out of ammo you have ditched your rifle and LBE/LBV. You know, run away and live to fight another day. And this stuff DOES happen. So plan for the contigency.

SO....1st Line Gear:

Compass (Silva Ranger Type or Lensatic)
Map of AO (factory folds, laminated, no additional marking - so if you lose it, it does not TOTALLY compromise the mission)
Small Red LED flashlight (the Micro lights work for this - this is to read the map with at night)
Riggers Belt
Watch (waterproof)
Swiss Army Knife/Multitool
BFK on Drop Sheath
Strong Side Drop Holster
Side Arm
1 Spare Mag for Side Arm
Water holder (small canteen - I use a collaspable 'Platypus' 1 liter container)
Remember to "dummy cord" as many of these items to you as it practicable.

Small First Aid Kit

Band Aids
Small Tube of Neosporin
Couple Asprins/Motrin
Compress

Small Survival Kit

Fish Hooks
Fishing line
Sinkers

Fire starter (flint/steel/etc.)
Packets of Top Ramen Mix WITHOUT NOODLES
Snare Making Material (64 gauge brass wire)"
Empty film canister full of dryer lint
Water Purification Tabs
550 cord on Boonie Hat (25')
Blast Match
Flight Gloves
'Do Rag' (USGI Triangular OD Bandage worn 'bandit style' around neck)

Here are some pics of some 1st Line gear:

TOTAL WEIGHT OF 1st LINE GEAR IS 9 POUNDS! ALL of this stuff is carried on YOU. In your pockets, on your belt, etc. NOT IN YOUR BVE/LBV or RUCK!!
Remember to 'dummy cord' everything to your body, so when you need it, it is still there (not 6 miles back for the enemy to find and use).
With these items you can literally survive to fight another day. Without them, your survival odds just turned against you.
Now my 'list' may vary somewhat from yours depending on AO's and our different needs, but this list is a good guidline to start from.

Next up is 2nd Line Gear.

cheers

tire iron

Dump Pouches and Retaining Magazines

2010-04-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

Just as little as 10 or 12 years ago - there was no such thing as a 'purpose' made dump pouch.

So what we used 'back in the day' was the following:

1. Empty canteen pouches

Pro - easy to get a mag into

Con - easy for mags to fall out of when moving

Bottom line - it is great for range work, but not so good for 'field' work

2. Modified Gas Mask Pouch

Pro - easy to get mags into

Con - 'flops' around more than other designs

Bottom line - it works about as well as anything EXCEPT for a 'purpose' built pouch

3. Kangaroo method (down the shirt)

Pro - semi-easy to get mags into

Con - can be very uncomfortable when needing to get down in the prone

Bottom line - good for those that don't want to use an external pouch

4. 'D-ring' method

Pro - easy to use - no external pouch

Con - VERY noisy if more than one mag is clipped on the D-ring

Bottom line - too noisy

5. Claymore bag

Same pro's and con's as the gas mask bag.

The reason that there has been such good business with the 'purpose built' mag dump pouches is that NONE of the above has really did a good enough job - so the 'quest' continued - and was a large enough market that the custom houses (CTC/HSG etc.), as well as the 'big boys' (Eagle/Blackhawk, etc.) have jumped in with both feet.

So why do guys use dump pouches? The answer is quite simple. The only thing that separates your modern rifle from you great-grand dads smoke pole of yesteryear – with regards to rate fire – is magazines. If your rifle/carbine runs out of magazines – your “high speed” M4/AR/AK/FN/M1a/(and every other magazine fed semi or full auto) longarm now becomes something as slow to load as a muzzle loader. Think I am kidding?? Try to load your rifle – without a magazine – at night – (after running 1 mile to simulate combat fatigue) – laying in the mud – with guys shooting LIVE rounds at you. How many live, “loose” rounds will you drop in the mud before you get one in the chamber?? LOTS.

So – magazine retention is a MUST. Resupply – if it is even available is NEVER “on time”. (On time means when you NEED it.) One should NEVER trust that magazines will just “show up”.

One can never trust the enemy to leave behind any magazines. Besides – combat is H*LL on the terrain. The ground gets chewed up. Whatever mags may be left behind by the enemy may be damaged from small arms fire, shrapnel, and other high velocity fragments that whiz around a combat zone.

One should never count on “picking” up magazines that we dropped ourselves. Combat is all about maneuvering – dropping mags while “firing and maneuvering” is a good way to permanently lose one’s magazines. Lets say a major catastrophy hit while we were at work - and society it collasping around us. We have our "get home" kit in our vehicle - we grab our kit and go. If you get in a firefight - you won’t have the luxury of sticking around to pick mags – cause you don’t plan on holding any ground. The longer we hang around – the better the odds of us getting caught be a much larger, well equipped, bunch than the guys we just traded shots with.

So – the bottom line is one should TRAIN to retain their magazines.

Through tests conducted by myself using a shooting timer, I timed myself doing six reloads while letting the magazine drop to the ground – and then timed myself doing six reloads while retaining the magazine in the dump pouch. Guess what?? There was less than ONE SECOND difference to retain the magazine instead of drop it. So considering all of the above information – it makes no sense to NOT train this way. RETAIN YOUR MAGAZINES!

Here is how I have my ‘system’ set up. My “dump pouch” is set up on my left hip – just “aft” of my magazine pouches. The two magazine pouches on my left side are my “primary” magazine pouches. The two magazine pouches on my right side are my “secondary” magazine pouches. What this means is that ALL of my reloads are done with magazines from my “primary” pouches.

So – when it is time to do a “tactical” reload (like after I have cleared a room or two) I will take a second to remove that partially spent magazine – put it in my dump pouch – and load my rifle with a fresh magazine from one of my “primary” magazine pouches – this way I will start the next “action” with a FULLY loaded rifle. (Nothing sucks worse than to continue on in a mission and only have 5 rounds total in the rifle!) I then move my magazines from the “secondary” pouches to replenish my “primary” magazine pouches.

Or when I NEED to do a reload, i.e. I am at “lock back” (with an AR, FN or M1a) or I hear the “click” of an empty chamber (with an AK/HK) I use my support hand to grab the empty (as my support hand HAS to come to the mag pouch anyway – so might as well not waste that movement – take the extra millisecond to grab the empty) and move just SLIGHTLY rearward of my magazine pouch (my hand has to go to the mag pouch anyway) and drop the expended magazine in the dump pouch.

Then I just move my hand a few inches forward and grab a fresh magazine and thrust (or rock) it in the magazine well.

So – I now have some empty – and some partially empty magazines in my dump pouch. When the action is over – and I have a few minutes – I will first move however many magazines that I can from my “secondary” pouches to fill up my “primary pouches”.

I will then remove any and all magazines from my dump pouch, remove all the ammunition from these magazines and fill up however many magazines that I can with all these extra rounds. These full magazines will go ‘rounds down’ in my secondary magazine pouch. Whatever magazine is NOT full, but have “some” rounds in it, will go in the secondary magazine pouch ROUNDS UP (at the most there will only be one of these). That way in the dark I know there are some rounds in this magazine – but it is NOT a full magazine. All empty magazines go in the secondary pouches FEED LIPS UP. So – again – in the dark I can immediately tell that this magazine is EMPTY. (I put the empties in the most “aft” of my secondary magazine pouches.)

Bottom line – find a way that works for you and TRAIN to RETAIN magazines!

Questions?

cheers

tire iron

Slings - t i's opinion on slings

2010-04-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

It has been said that a ‘sling for a rifle is like a holster for a pistol’. To me this defies logic. How many of us, when we have our pistol in our hand/s, have the holster still on the pistol?? None of us. If the phrase were ‘a lanyard for a pistol is like a sling for a rifle’ it would then make logical sense, to me anyhow. My personal preference is to not have a lanyard on my pistol, and so I also prefer to not have a sling on my rifle – except when ‘needed’. The only time I ‘need’ a sling is when I need both hands to do something else, like rappelling/fast roping, stream/river crossing, or patting down and cuffing a bad guy. So I do carry a sling, I just don’t have it on the rifle until I need it. Also, wearing a sling in CQB during H2H can be a liability. If you wish to know more information about this, just ask. (The phrase of being a “dope on a rope” is appropriate here….)

However, a great many people and professional units use slings. Almost every ‘shooting school’ in the US promotes the use of slings. Slings will stop one’s rifle from hitting the dirt/floor if one happens to let go of it for some reason. Slings are kind of like ‘dummy cording’ one’s rifle to one’s body. Slings can aid in achieving a more stable shooting platform, thus enhancing the accuracy of the total system (‘total system’ = man + rifle). Although current ‘tactical slings’ are not made or meant to be an aid in shooting – they are only meant to be an aid in retention of a dropped rifle.

Regarding slings, they are broken down into three major categories. Those categories are; parade, target and combat. The parade sling is attached to the ‘bottom’ of the rifle, and is used to hold the rifle at ‘sling arms’. This is NOT a good way to carry combat rifle. It works great on the parade deck and also on hunting arms, but has no place in the tactical arena.

The second type is the target sling. It is attached to the rifle at the top, and the arm is then looped through it to make the sling tight. It is great for the rifle range and maybe for some specialized DMR use, but not a general purpose longarm on the battlefield.

The third type is a ‘hasty’ target sling. For this one merely uses a ‘carry sling’ (like pictured above for the ‘sling arms’) and then ‘snakes’ one’s arm through it to take up the slack and allow the sling to be ‘tight’. This – again is more for the target range – as the ‘flexing’ of the sling can actually pull the ‘barrel’ away from it’s natural point, even to the point of missing the target.

Target shooting and combat have more differences than similarities. The fighting rifle needs to be held in such a manner that it is always ‘ready’. This means the firing hand needs to be around the pistol grip. (We have come along way since the 1940’s.) So that brings us to the type of sling that we are interested in - the ‘combat’ sling. The ‘combat’ sling is what will discuss somewhat in detail.
There are three basic types of slings that are acceptable for lethal force type situations. We will review them in the order in which they entered general usage, so we will talk about the 2 point sling first (as far as I know it came to being in the 70’s in Israel) then the 3 point (it came out sometime in the mid-80’s) and ending with the single point sling (which came to being somewhere in the 90’s).

1. The Two Point sling is the first type. It is a sling that is attached to the front and rear of the rifle, arranged so the rifle hangs with the sights up and the pistol grip and magazine down, and is long enough that the rifle hangs in a ‘horizontal attitude’ at about waist high.
a. The strengths of this sling method is that the rifle is hanging in a horizontal attitude, so if one falls, the muzzle will not fill up with dirt/mud.
b. It also allows a ‘hands free’ method of carry, but is very fast to grab and get into a firing position.
c. It does NOT allow fast and easy transition to the off-side shoulder. This is the major concern I have with this carry method. It can be done – but not well – especially when one is wearing a full 2nd line of gear.

2. The ‘Three Point Sling’ is attached to the rifle in two places, but the way the sling routes makes it seem like it is attached in three places.
a. The strength of this slinging method is that it allows for the weapon to ‘drop’ such that the muzzle is straight down. This is so that when negotiating doors, hallways and other similar ‘choke points’ the rifle does not hang up on the door jam or furniture, etc.
b. The downfall with this method, particularly when used in the field, is that the muzzle DOES go straight down. This fills the muzzle with dirt with potentially life threatening results if not cleared prior to firing. How many of us want to pull out a steel cleaning rod, screw the sections together, and ‘punch the bore’ when we should be shooting instead?
c. This type of sling also does not lend itself well to firing from the off-side shoulder.

3. The third type of sling is the ‘Single Point’ sling. It is attached to the rear end of the receiver where it meets the butt stock (or the rear end of the buttstock itself).
a. The advantage of this type of sling is that it is simpler than the Three Point sling, and has less ‘webbing’ to snag on things.
b. It is more ‘efficient’ than the ‘Three Point’ slings to use.
c. It is easily and quickly installed and removed (I like this feature!)
d. The downfall with this sling is that is also points the barrel straight down (which is bad for the field). Although the muzzle does not drop quite as far down as with the Three Point Sling.
e. This type of sling also does not lend itself well to firing from the off-side shoulder, unless one wears the sling around the neck only, and especially so when the attach point is at the rear of the buttstock. Worn in this fashion, both shoulders can be utilized with equal speed. (This is how I wear my ‘single point’ sling.)

Which type of sling one chooses should be based upon an assessment of one’s anticipated mission and needs. My guidance would be the following:
1. For Patrol (in the woods) use the Two Point sling.
2. For CQB the Single Point sling.

I am looking forward to T&E’ing the Magpul Sling though – it is seems to allow one sling to effectively be a Single Point or a Two point sling with a minimum of effort and without complication.

Hope this helps.

Any questions or comments?

cheers

tire iron

Sights - do we always need a razor sharp sight picture?

2010-04-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

There seems to be two different schools of thought when it comes to the use – or lack of use – of sights when it comes to handguns. One group states that unless you use the sights – you won’t hit what you want to hit. This group is known at “Front Sight” shooters. Note that this term has nothing at all to do with the “school” in Nevada by the same name. The term predates the school by decades. The other group states the sights are not necessary – that one can hit “instinctively”. This group is known as “Point Shooters” – as they say you can shoot just like you can point your finger. Hmm…I wonder which side is right??

At a shooting match recently – someone asked me if I see a clear sight picture for every shot. I answered him that sometimes I do – and sometimes I don’t – it depends upon the distance to the target – cardboard – or real.

He asked me to explain. It was going to be awhile before he shot – and so I started to explain to him when I see a clear sight picture – and when I don’t.

A quarter of the way through he said “Wow! I am surprised! You are a Point Shooter!” (A “Point Shooter” is someone that doesn’t use their sights per se.) “I guess so” was my reply.

Half way through he looked puzzled.

Then three-quarters of the way through my explanation he exclaimed “Wait a second – now you sound like a Front Sight shooter” (meaning I use my front sight – the term Front Sight had no reference to a shooting school of that same name). “Yeah – I guess so” I answered.

“How can that be??” he queried.

“No where does it say that one has to be one or the other” I told him. “It totally depends upon the situation whether or not I see my sights at all. Sometimes it is as if they don’t even need to be on the gun – other times it would be nigh on impossible to make the shot without them.”

So – below I will give the same explanation that I gave to him. Note that the below explanation is for ADVANCED shooters. This is not for beginners. These are ADVANCED shooting concepts. Just like one needs a SOLID foundation with map and compass before one should rely on a GPS – or just like one should master the use of iron sights on a rifle before one relies on a red dot scope – one should master Sight Picture, Sight Alignment and Trigger Control before one delves into the “black arts” that I will explain below. In other words – don’t try this at home boys and girls – I am a trained professional blah blah blah. Seriously – get the fundamentals down FIRST – then practice this stuff – OK?? By getting the fundamentals down first – I mean wait until you are scoring at least Sharpshooter on the IDPA Classifier – not at home – not by yourself – but at an actual IDPA match. Times are always different when it is a match. Only by shooting under match conditions will you know what you can do under stress. Remember – and amateur practices something until he gets is right – a pro practices something until he can’t get it wrong. MASTER THE FUNDEMENTALS FIRST!

OK – now lets get down to the meat and potatoes.

I have broken down the “sighting distance” into 5 different levels or distances.

The first level is what takes place from 0 to 3 yards/meters. This is IN YOUR FACE close. There is NO NEED to get a razor sharp front sight picture. What you want/need is HITS ON TARGET – and RIGHT STINKING NOW!!! Your body will be used as an “aimer” and you will not need sights at all. You would do just as well if your sights fell off your gun as you were drawing it. For shots this close sights are nothing more than extra weight on the gun. The gun may be up at eye level – or it may be lower and closer to your body if the target in within “bad breath” range. Trigger control here is “yanking on that trigger to get some dang shots off!” You may find yourself maneuvering while firing. Sight aligment is totally done with the body. TARGET. TARGET. TARGET. TARGET. Note how the sights are fuzzy – they happen to be in peripheral vison – your eyes see the whole gun superimposed on the target. Again - Focus in ON THE TARGET. Breathing control – NONE.

Here is a picture of 0-3 meters:

The second level is what takes place from 3-5 yards/meters. Here – you will be aware that there are some bumps on the top of the slide – but you really don’t see them as being “sights” per se – more of a rough aiming aid. You are still mostly relying on what you body “knows” for shots this close. You have trained thousands of hours – so your body knows what it needs to do to get hits at this range. The scientific term is “body index”. Trigger control here is still doing some “yanking” but with a little more finesse than that above. Focus in mostly on the TARGET. Target. Target. Target. Target. Target. Target. Sights. Target. Etc. You may be maneuvering – and if you are – you’ll probably slow down just a tad to make this shot. If you aren’t moving laterally or fore or aft – you should be moving “up and down” (getting small and then large). Breathing Control – yep – you are certainly breathing! HARD!

Here is a picture of 3-5 yard/meter range:

The next level is what takes place between 5 and 10 yards/meters. Now one starts seeing the front sight – and one’s trigger control is nice and smooth. No yanking here – cause it will result in a miss. If you are moving – you will slow way down to take this shot. At this range – focus is 50% on the target – and 50% on the sights – your vision is bouncing back and forth. Target. Sights. Target. Sights. Target. Sights. Minor breathing control.

Here is a pic:

Now we come to the next level – which is 10-25 yards/meters. At this range – you have a nice, SHARP focus on the front sight. Trigger control is nice and smooth. Focus is mostly on the front sight. Front Sight. Front Sight. Front Sight. Front Sight. Front Sight. Target. Front Sight. Front Sight. Etc. If you were maneuvering – you have STOPPED and are still. You may have even dropped to a braced knee position. Breathing is under control – you time the shots with your breath.

The last range is 25 + meters/yards. Focus is almost TOTALLY on the front sight. Trigger control is perfect – a clean, surprise break. You are either prone or using a support or rest of some kind. Sight alignment is perfect. Focus is on the front sight. FRONT SIGHT. FRONT SIGHT. FRONT SIGHT. FRONT SIGHT. FRONT SIGHT. Target is fuzzy. Breathing is under control. The shot is made during a pause in the breathing.

So – some will say I am a “Front Sight” user – and some will say I am a “Point Shooter”. Some will say I am both. My opinion? I am just a shooter.

Anyhow – I hope this helps.

Any questions??

cheers

tire iron

Force on Force Training

2010-04-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest learning tools available to the person that truly wants to learn 'fighting skills' is that of Force on Force Training.

First of all - what is Force on Force Training? Well, remember when you were younger and played 'steal the flag' or some other 'army' kind of game? That was basically Force on Force.

Why is Force on Force such a good way to train? When shooting against 'cardboard' targets (or cans, or ANY inanimate object) - YOU - the SHOOTER ALWAYS wins. The cardboard can't fight back. The cardboard can't even move for cover. The cardboard just stands there and lets you take however long you want to shoot it.

You can work out your 'plan' well in advance. The cardboard is patient - it will stand there and wait for you to come up with a plan.

You can execute your plan again and again and again to get it 'perfect'. The cardboard is patient - it will stand there and let you run the same execise again and again and again. It will not move. It will not make any kind of decision. It will stay there.

Then, after running the drill a half dozen times, with the last time being what you consider 'good' - you pat yourself on the back - proclaim the day 'GOOD TRAINING' - and go home THINKING you are prepared to 'fight' with a firearm.

WRONG!!!!

In order to get 'ready' you MUST do "Force on Force". You MUST go against PEOPLE. People that will NOT wait for you. People that will seek cover, that will fire back, that will "destroy" your well laid 'plan'. People that will force you to THINK/REACT/SHOOT/MOVE/COMMUNICATE.

Force on Force MUST be done to get your mind to fly through the OODA loop. See my blog called "OODA Loop - it is not a breakfast cereal".

So – now that you have a better understanding of what Force on Force IS, and why it is needed, lets move on to the “how”.

Force on Force for civilians is pretty much done exclusively with ‘paintball’ and ‘airsoft’ guns. Military units and LE have access to ‘Simunitions’ which is a small paint-pellet that is fired from duty firearms that have been modified to only fire Simunitions. This allows one to train with the same firearm as one fights with – which is an EXCELLENT idea. No more rounds in the magazine than live rounds. This is where paintball falls short (and air-soft to a lesser degree). Paintball guns do not ‘handle’ or ‘feel’ that same as the ‘real thing’. Paintball guns have the ‘hopper’ sticking up, that can carry HUNDREDS of paintballs. These are truly ‘Hollywood’ magazines that we all wished we had with our ‘real’ guns. Air-soft guns ‘look’ like the real thing, and are the very best IMHO because they are so close to the real thing in handling.

Of course face and eye protection is a MUST. Long sleeve shirt is recommended.

Now – Force on Force training MUST be done ‘right’. If it is done ‘wrong’ – it can lead to bad habits that can get you or your team-mates KILLED.

The problem with paintballs and airsoft pellets – is that almost EVERYTHING is ‘cover’ to them. They do not penetrate like live rounds – which is good – or they would be ‘lethal’ – but it does present some interesting challenges.

For instance, in an urban environment, people hide behind almost everything in a room. Couches, chairs, sofas, end tables, walls, doors, etc. These are ALL ‘cover’ for paintball and airsoft. SO…if you train to hide behind these and think you are safe – that is BAD TRAINING. Because you are NOT safe from real rounds when hiding behind ANY of these objects.

So – what to do?? Simple. Make your ‘Urban’ training area out of ‘butcher’ paper or ‘newsprint’. Paint and airsoft pellets whiz through these like bullets through walls. NOW you can shoot and BE SHOT through walls, through couches, chairs, sofas, etc. Make ALL of these items from butcher paper or newsprint. Very simple frames can be made of the outline of any of these items, and the paper stapled to the frame. That also makes for easy ‘replacement’ of furniture. And they can be moved around very easily too.

Then – split up into teams: the offensive team (assault) and the defensive team. Then switch around. While on defense, move the furniture around, try and shoot the assault team through the walls etc. THAT IS GOOD TRAINING. TRY and ‘mess up their day’. They WILL mess up your day.

This will FORCE you to think fast – or ‘die’. The ‘pain’ brought on by the pellets is a great teacher.

So – go do some Force on Force training. It will be like no other training you have done yet.

Any questions?

cheers

tire iron

Patrol Formation - Wedge - Bounding Overwatch

2010-04-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

In this article we will discuss the “Wedge” Patrol Formation.

1. The Wedge: Is used in open terrain and crossing large danger areas. It is hard to control in dense brush and is slower than the “Column Formation” it that type of environment.

2. The Strengths of the Wedge formation are:

a. Good all around security

b. Good all around firepower

c. Good for large open areas

3. The Weaknesses of the Wedge formation are:

a. Slower than Column formation in heavy brush

b. Noisier than Column formation

c. Easier to track (there is one ‘trail’ per man)

4. The best circumstances for using the Wedge is when/where there is little cover/concealment – i.e. large open danger areas.

5. Movement speed it totally METT-T dependant. (METT-T is – Mission; Enemy; Terrain/Weather; Troops/Equipment; - Time. So – the Mission may not allow you to go as slow as you want because you have to be ‘on target’ at a certain time – OR – there is more Enemy activity in the area forcing you to go SLOWER than you originally anticipated – OR – the Terrain is different that you were lead to believe – OR – the Weather is WAY different than you were told – OR – fatigue has sapped your men sooner than you anticipated – OR – because of equipment failures you have to move faster on foot – OR – Time is running out and you must move faster than you planned – etc, etc, etc.)

The second movement technique for the “Wedge” is called the “Bounding Overwatch” technique. This is where the team splits into two smaller teams, and while one team (Team A for example) is providing cover, the other team (Team B) moves forward a distance. Then Team A gets down and provides cover so Team B can move forward. Some refer to this technique as the “Leap Frog” technique.

The reason the team splits into two small ‘sub-teams’ is in case contact is made with the enemy. Being split into two smaller teams give one team the chance to NOT be in contact – so they can then aid/provide cover fire so the team that is engaged can then break contact – or if the situation warrants – the second team can begin to maneuver against the enemy while the first team provides cover fire.

Here are some pictures.

In this picture A team is providing cover for B team.

Here we see that B team has moved forward to their next point to provide cover for A team.

B team providing cover for A team.

A team has moved forward and is ready to get down and provide cover for B team.

Note that each man has his own Area of Responsibility (AoR). The distance between men in each sub-team is dependant upon terrain, weather, lighting conditions, etc. – but you want to be close enough so that team members don’t wander in the wrong direction.

Bounding Overwatch is the SAFEST way to get a team across a Large Open Danger Area. It is superior to the Column formation because it provides much better firepower to the front, plus full time security. However – it is not as “fast” as the “Traveling Overwatch” method we will discussed previously. In fact it will take twice as long to cover the same amount of distance – but it has MUCH better security. Bottom line – the Bounding Overwatch method is used when the chance of enemy contact is high.

The distance each team moves prior to providing cover for the other team is dependant upon METT-T. An example would be night movement versus day movement. Obviously at night each team would have to stay closer than if it were daytime when visibility is greater.

Here is a illustration of the Sectors of Fire (SoF) for the Traveling Overwatch method.

Note in this picture - Team A (which is providing cover for Team B) has very good firepower to the front and pretty good firepower to the flanks.

In this next shot - notice how the man on the left of A team has had to shift his SoF as B team moves to their next position.

Now it is B team's job to provide cover for A team. Note B team has very good firepower to the front - and pretty good firepower to the flanks.

This shot show A team approaching thier next position. Note how the man from B team has had to adjust his SoF as A team moves down the field.

Care must be taken so that teams – while moving – do not go in front of the covering team – thus negating any security the covering team could provide. Note that each man has his MBL pointed to his individual AoR. Also check out the SoF of the man that is closest to the moving team. He must adjust is SoF as the other team moves.

Usually the PM of each “sub-team” is the TL or ATL so that order/distance/interval is maintained.

WHILE providing cover for the moving team, the covering team is also identifying their next point of movement - i.e. where they will move to next. It can be something as grand as some rocks to hide behind/provide cover, or as simple as some pieces of 'micro-terrain' - small depressions in the ground or even small clumps of grass, etc.

Using this technique – a team is able to cross a Large Open Danger Area that has high chance of enemy contact – with a high degree of security.

Any questions?

cheers

tire iron

Patrol Formation - Wedge - Traveling Overwatch

2010-04-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

In this article we will discuss the “Wedge” Patrol Formation.

1. The Wedge: Is used in open terrain and crossing large danger areas. It is hard to control in dense brush and is slower than the “Column Formation” it that type of environment.

2. The Strengths of the Wedge formation are:

a. Good all around security

b. Good all around firepower

c. Good for large open areas

3. The Weaknesses of the Wedge formation are:

a. Slower than Column formation in heavy brush

b. Noisier than Column formation

c. Easier to track (there is one ‘trail’ per man)

4. The best circumstances for using the Wedge is when/where there is little cover/concealment – i.e. large open danger areas.

There are a number of ways to use this formation during movement – we will discuss two of the most useful.

The first one is called “Traveling Overwatch”. This is where the team splits into two smaller teams, with one 3 man team leading, and one 3 man team trailing.

Here is a picture.

Also notice that one team is ‘following’ the other. The primary responsibility of the “PM” on the second team to maintain distance from the first team. He doesn’t have a AoR – his only purpose is to not get too far away from the lead team – and also to not be too close. So he maintains the best ‘pace’ to keep the right distance. In this movement technique, the PM is usually the ATL.

In flat open areas, the second team will be only close enough to see hand/arm signals from the first team. However, in area of small hills and/or poor light – the second team will have to be closer in order to maintain sight with the primary team AT ALL TIMES. So – again - it is the responsibility of the “PM” of the second team to maintain proper distance.

Traveling Overwatch is the FASTEST way to get a team across a Large Open Danger Area. It is superior to the Column formation because it provides much better firepower to the front. However – it is not as “secure” as the “Bounding Overwatch” method we will discuss shortly. So – the Traveling Overwatch method is used when the chance of enemy contact is very low.

Here is a illustration of the Sectors of Fire (SoF) for the Traveling Overwatch method.

Note that that there is good firepower to the front and flanks. Also note that each man has his MBL pointed to his individual AoR.

Using this technique – a team is able to cross a Large Open Danger Area that has little chance of enemy contact – the quickest, with a decent amount of security.

Any questions?

cheers

tire iron

Patrolling 101 - Part 3 - Individual Movement Techniques

2010-04-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

This article will cover Individual Movement Techniques (IMT).

First lets cover some “DON’T’s”:

DON’T use a “machete” – the blade “sings” for miles – and you leave behind a 4 lane highway for someone to follow. It also quickly fatigues the person swinging the machete.

DON’T travel on trails or roads. This will allow you to avoid being in a well prepared ambush.

DON’T talk. Talking is a target indicator.

There are three different categories of IMT’s. We will go from simplest to the most complicated.

The simplest IMT is what we called the “Herd of Elephants” (HoE) technique. This was said mostly tongue in cheek – but it is the IMT that is the loudest.

This is how one dresses when performing the HoE IMT - the first photo is a Brit Royal Marine "Recce" unit - our equivalent of USMC Bn Recon;

This photo is US Forces - Branch and unit unknown.

When loaded down if full 1st/2nd and heavy 3rd line gear – it is just too enormous of a load to be able to be as quiet as when one is going with less gear. That is the cold hard truth. Your body is working hard enough to carry the enormous load that it is next to impossible to employ “stealth” techniques. Sure – you try and be as quiet as you can – but you won’t be as quiet as when you are able to lighten your load.

That is why when a deep reconnaissance patrol is called for – the team establishes what is known as an ORP (Objective Rally Point) – which is a place where all the 3rd line gear is left behind with at least two men to provide security – so the “Reconnaissance” element can move forward with a MUCH lighter load – and thus employ “stealth” techniques to a much greater degree.

Our second category would be used when one is just carrying 2nd line and maybe a light 3rd line.

Something like this - this fist photo is Brit Royal Marines 42 Commando.

This is two US soldiers on patrol in Iraq.

With the lighter load – you are able to be quite a bit quieter than the HoE method. Here you will walk – but before really stepping down hard with your foot – you will be able to “feel” under your foot and be able to stop putting weight down if you feel a stick under your foot. The sound of a breaking stick carries quite far – and is unmistakable.

Don’t break branches that you may be walking into/through. Move around them so they don’t break.

The Point Man (PM) needs to try and pick a route that will be the quietest, i.e. the least amount of branches to walk on/through – but that is not always possible or advisable – depending upon a number of factors – but it is his responsibility to pick the best route for the team.

The last IMT is what I call the “tiger mode”. We have all seen pictures of a tiger when he is stalking prey – right?? Well – that is how we want to move when we are in “tiger mode”. Tiger mode is carrying minimum gear (a lot of the time I would just have my 1st line with me along with my longarm and an extra mag or two stuffed into my cargo pockets) – for maximum stealth with less fatigue.

Here is a shot of US Spec Ops personnel in "Tiger Mode" dress. Note that some of them don't have any LBE/LBV - just 1st line gear with a longarm. Others are carrying a few magazines in a chest rig - but none of them have a full blown 2nd line gear. These guys don't *appear* to be in "Tiger Mode" - but they are in "Tiger" dress.

Tiger mode is devoid of any jerky movements. The head swivels SLOWLY on the neck. All movements are slow, calculated, and deliberate. There is NO un-necessary movements of any kind. You are walking in a half crouch. Your hands and arms – if they move at all – move S-L-O-W-L-Y. Your legs – move S-L-O-W-L-Y. Watch a sloth walk. He movements are so slow that is almost appears to not move at all. Same with a tiger or other large cat when it is hunting/stalking. Movement is S-L-O-W – deliberate – focused.

Every step is tested for noise before full weight is applied. The eyes are constantly moving, scanning – near and far. The head moves very little and when it does – it is SLOW movement – and just enough so the eyes can see what they need to see. All senses are on “full alert” – ESPECIALLY the “sixth” sense – you know – when the hair stands up on the back of your neck – and you don’t fully know why?? Your ears are attuned to the surrounding sounds of nature – and will pick up on the slightest change.

Movement speed is SLOW – deliberate – focused.

One needs to be in great shape to do the “Tiger Mode”. It takes a lot of strength and stamina to do it for much more than an hour. While taking steps – stop ALL movement with one leg in the air – as you would if you had to FREEZE. Hold that position for a few minutes. Then go on for a few minutes – then freeze with the other leg in mid step. Do that for a while to build up your muscles and to improve your balance. Do it in full 2nd line to turn it into an exercise that will build up the right muscles.

Any questions??

cheers

tire iron

Patrolling 101 - Part 2 - Individual Equipment

2010-04-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

One MUST make certain that one has all the gear that will be needed for the mission – but also that one doesn’t bring too much gear too.

Gear lists MUST be used and “checked off”

The NUMBER ONE item that needs to be brought on EVERY patrol/training evolution/FTX/day hike/outing, etc. is a small waterproof notebook and pencil. NEVER FORGET IT! ALWAYS BRING IT!

Make a list of all the 1^st line gear you carry. (Be sure and include EVERY item you wear, i.e. boots/socks/trousers/etc.)

The NUMBER ONE item that needs to be brought on EVERY patrol/training evolution/FTX/day hike/outing, etc. is a small waterproof notebook and pencil. NEVER FORGET IT! ALWAYS BRING IT!

Make a list of the “general” 2^nd line gear you carry.

Make a list of the “general” 3^rd line gear you carry.

Once you start this you’ll realize that you will have multiple lists for different “general” missions – such as raids vs reconnaissance vs urban reconnaissance vs CQB – as well as different environments – e.g. artic conditions vs desert conditions vs jungle conditions – etc.

Then you will have “mission specific” lists that will add to your “general” lists that you have made above.

Be like Santa and check your list once – and then check it again! It is considered extremely poor form to show up and to have forgotten mission essential gear.

Once you have all your gear – and have checked off you list once – then gotten a “clean” check-off list and gone through every item again – then you can start preparing your gear for the mission.

The NUMBER ONE item that needs to be brought on EVERY patrol/training evolution/FTX/day hike/outing, etc. is a small waterproof notebook and pencil. NEVER FORGET IT! ALWAYS BRING IT!

It is a good idea to guard against water – as much as it practical – whatever electronic gear/clothes you have. Zip-lock bags work for this – unless you need “waterproof” – then you’ll have buy the more expensive waterproof bags. Yeah they are more expensive – but the $20 you spent on a bag means nothing when you are on the patrol and your radio gives up cause you tried to waterproof it on the cheap and it failed.

Be sure and DUMMY CORD “high loss” items – such as compasses, multi-tools, canteens, small flashlights, knives, etc.

Be sure ALL fasteners on ALL your gear work and are not broken.

Be sure and SILENCE any items that may rattle/squeak/etc.

Be sure to camouflage EVERYTHING.

Go over your gear. Go over it again. Go over it again. Go over it again.

Replace ALL batteries in all battery operated equipment. Be sure to start the mission with NEW batteries in everything!

The NUMBER ONE item that needs to be brought on EVERY patrol/training evolution/FTX/day hike/outing, etc. is a small waterproof notebook and pencil. NEVER FORGET IT! ALWAYS BRING IT!

While out on the mission – review your gear against what was actually used – and KEEP GOOD NOTES in your notebook. Write down what you wish you had – and what you brought but didn’t need. You will use this information to help modify your “lists” back in the rear.

The “gear lists” are ever changing/modifying. They are never “done” – they are always in various stages of completion – but never complete. You’ll get them 95% - but that last 5% is always changing for some reason.

If possible – before every mission you should “function check” your firearms with at least a few magazines per firearm. Then some guys clean them after that before the mission – but some don’t. I fall into that latter category – I figured if it worked – don’t mess with it.

Next is it time to “gun up” – i.e. put everything on – including all “guns” that will be carried – then to some jumping jacks to do a final check on silencing of gear – and dummy cording.

Then – if you aren’t leaving immediately to go the mission – SECURE YOUR GEAR – LOCK IT UP! This way you won’t be tempted to use something from your gear and not put it back before the mission.

Now your gear should be “good to go”!

Any questions??

cheers

tire iron

Patrolling 101 - Part 1 - Target Indicators

2010-04-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

In order for us to discuss how to move during a patrol – and particularly during a patrol in a “denied area” – we must first discuss Target Indicators – which means things that will give you away – and avoidance measures for the target indicators.

Below we will discuss “8SCM” which are all target indicators – to violate one or more of the following is asking to compromised:

1. SHAPE - In nature – you’ll find precious few squares/rectangles and triangles. However – just about everything man made is comprised of those shapes. We need to either rid ourselves of those shapes – or use camouflage to disguise those shapes. That is why it is so important to camo one’s rifle – to break up its shape. So – camo EVERYTHING. Note: BLACK is NOT a camo color. Camo colors are primarily greens, tans and greys. Just look at your AO – and you’ll see what colors are predominant.

2. SHINE – Believe it or not – skin shines in sunlight and moonlight. So – cammie your face! Cover as much skin as you can with clothing, wear a hat of some type (the “boonie hat” is an excellent choice as it does a good job of disguising shape as well as providing cover for the skin). Also – DON’T wear your USGI angle-head flashlight on your “H” harness – as the flat plastic lens is a great reflector of SHINE. Wrist watches need to be covered – a “sweat band” works great for that – but if you are wearing flight gloves to patrol with the cuff will cover the wrist watch too. Some ALICE and older gear has metal buttons – those need to be dulled with a flat paint – paint the fastex buckles on your newer gear, etc. Be sure and use FLAT paint! And remember – NO BLACK!

3. SITING – We have all looked at something – and our subconscious mind has told us “something isn’t right here – something is out of place” – and then we look harder to figure out what is “un-natural”. This is “siting”. We must blend into our surroundings to the point we don’t look “out of place”. Having dry wheat grass stuck into our clothing while walking through a maple tree forest would be an extreme example. The dry wheat grass would look “out of place” – this is “siting”. We must blend into our surroundings. Man made shapes look “out of place” in nature – we must blend into our surroundings.

4. SHADOW – it is easier to hide in shadows than it is in the light – but shadow can be your enemy too. Lets say you are standing behind a brick wall outside – if the sun is at the right angle – it will cast your shadow out into the street/alleyway – thus giving your position away. Lighted hallways can do the same thing. If you are hiding behind a tree – your shadow can give you away….

5. SILHOUETTE – “Skylining” is another name for Silhouette – imagine someone standing on a ridge and you are down in a valley – the person the ridge will stick out like a sore thumb. NEVER walk along a ridge or on the top edge of a building! Stay down from the top of the ridge – and back from the edge of a building. One can also silhouette one’s self against lakes, a flat field or anything that is the same color and basically flat in shape.

6. SPACING – particularly when trying to hide – if each of you are 15 meters apart – that is “human spacing” – nature doesn’t do ANYTHING 15 meters apart. Nature is “random” – “human spacing” is a pattern waiting to be discovered. In “classic” military fashion – men are to be spaced about 5 meters apart. However – to be more “natural” – have your spacing be such that you can see two men ahead and two men behind you. That way you can pass hand and arm signals up and down – but your spacing will vary with the terrain – which will help with the “spacing” issue.

7. SOUND – You know what a guy sounds like that is whistling like a bird?? A guy whistling like bird! LOL Sound can give you away too. Coughing/burping/farting/slapping/piss hitting the ground are all violations of “sound”. So – too bad gents – but we must be on our best behavior while on a mission. Actions being opened/shut – magazines being inserted/removed – Velcro ripping apart – talking – whispering – breaking branches – chopping (machete’s/hatchets) – digging (e-tools) – walking like Frankenstien (thumping) – are all violations. If it is too quiet – in other words there are no bugs buzzing and birds chirping – THAT is a “sound” indicator too! Before a patrol – jump up and down in full gear – do some “Jumping Jacks” – to check for sound violations with your gear. Typically slings/sling swivels are big violators. Half full canteens are big violators.

8. SMELL – Smokers are some of the worst violators of this. Even if they aren’t smoking – their gear and clothes smell like smoke. Chewing tobacco – when spit – leaves behind a “smell” as well as a “siting” violation. Tooth paste, shaving cream, deodorant - ANYTHING that is scented – is a smell violation. Human waste hastily dug is a small violation. Piss on the ground is a smell violation. Most gun oils have high scent factor. The olfactory senses on a smoker are not as acute as a non-smoker – meaning smokers noses don’t work as well as a non-smokers nose does. So – non-smokers are better at picking up on violations than smokers. (If you smoke – QUIT! If not for your sake – for your team-mates!)

9. COLOR – wearing “black” is a huge violation of the “color” part of camo. Wearing woodland camo in the artic is just as bad. Wear clothes that most closely match the AO where you will be operating. Remember – the colors of the AO change sometimes from week to week – but definitely over the months as seasons change. Background colors in an U.S. urban environment – are mostly “greys” – but to wear “grey coveralls” would also look “out of place” – causing a “siting” violation. So – dress accordingly.

10. MOVEMENT – We saved the most dangerous one for last. You can violate one of the above – maybe even two of the above – and still remain undetected. You violate this one (MOVEMENT) – and you WILL be seen. Even if you don’t violate any of the others above – you violate this one (MOVEMENT) and you WILL be seen. Once you are “set” in a position – DON’T MOVE. If skeeters are biting your face – let them dine. If ants are crawling up your back – let them dine. If you have to pee – hold it or piss your pants where you sit. While scanning – move your eyes – keep head motions to a minimum. If you MUST move – think about your movements FIRST – then move SLOWLY. Remember – an object that doesn’t move may be impossible to detect – a very slow moving object will be hard to detect – and FAST/QUICK moving object WILL be seen.

To violate any of the above is asking to get caught. DON’T VIOLATE ANY OF THE ABOVE.

What for when the enemy violates one or more of the above!

Part II will cover actual movement techniques.

Any questions about any of the above??

cheers

tire iron

Patrol Formation - Column

2010-04-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

Patrol Formations are different ways to configure the patrol to meet the desired objective/s with regards to movement. There are a number of “movement” formations – and in this article will discuss the “Column” formation.

1. Column: This is the most ‘natural’ formation to move in – for a number of reasons. Those reasons are:

a. It is easy

b. It is simple

c. We are used to being in ‘lines’

2. The Column formation is typified by all the men being in a ‘line’ – one man behind another – single file fashion.

3. The Strengths of the Column formation are:

a. It is the fastest formation to move in

b. It is the quietest formation to move in (since everyone is walking in the same footprints vice everyone blazing their own trail)

c. It is the easiest to control – everybody is looking at the man in front and behind so communication is fast and easy

d. It is the most difficult for trackers to follow

e. Offers the most firepower to the flanks (sides)

f. Offers a ‘small front’ to the enemy (it is harder to spot a column straight on than if six guys were walking towards you ‘abreast’)

4. The Weaknesses of the Column formation are:

a. Offers very little firepower to the front and rear of the patrol

5. The best circumstances to use this type of patrol formation is in concealment/cover – such as woods, jungle, forest, thick high grass, large open areas during times of darkness/poor visibility, etc. (Crossing large open areas in light is best done using different formations – which will be featured in future articles.)

6. Movement speed it totally METT-T dependant. (METT-T is – Mission; Enemy; Terrain/Weather; Troops/Equipment; - Time. So – the Mission may not allow you to go as slow as you want because you have to be ‘on target’ at a certain time – OR – there is more Enemy activity in the area forcing you to go SLOWER than you originally anticipated – OR – the Terrain is different that you were lead to believe – OR – the Weather is WAY different than you were told – OR – fatigue has sapped your men sooner than you anticipated – OR – because of equipment failures you have to move faster on foot – OR – Time is running out and you must move faster than you planned – etc, etc, etc.)

Here is a picture of a six man patrol in column formation (OK – so it is not actually six MEN but rather six ‘action figures’).

Note the 1^st man – he is called the Point Man (PM). His job is to watch for enemy personnel, booby traps, danger areas (DA) – anything that could compromise the mission.

The 2^nd man is usually the navigator (NAV). He helps keep the team on the correct compass heading (or azimuth).

The 3^rd man is usually the Team Leader (TL). He is the “man in charge”. He is responsible for EVERYTHING the team does or doesn’t do.

The 4^th man is usually the Radio Tele/Operator (RTO). He keeps comms with the base unit/camp.

The 5^th man is usually the Assistant Team Leader (ATL). He is “2^nd in charge” and is the leader in the absence of the TL.

The 6^th man is called Tail End Charlie (TEC). He is responsible for covering the tracks of the patrol after they cross a DA, took make sure that the patrol is not being followed and to alert the patrol if he sees anything that could compromise the patrol from behind.

Note which direction each man has his Main Battle Longarm (MBL).

The PM can choose whether he is right handed or left handed – it doesn’t matter – as his Area of Responsibility (AoR) is from 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock (the direction the team is headed is ALWAYS 12 o’clock).

The 2^nd man can also choose which way he points his MBL – and we are going to say that he choose to be “right handed” so his MBL is pointing naturally to the left. That means his AoR is from 8 o’clock to 11 o’clock. He NEVER looks to the ‘other side’ – as it is NOT his AoR. Every man in the patrol is trusting everyone else to watch THEIR OWN AoR!

The 3^rd man has NO choice in the matter – he MUST “play off” the 2^nd man. Since the 2^nd man chose to point his MBL to the left – then the 3^rd man MUST point his MBL to the right (making him “left handed”). His (the 3^rd man) AoR is from 4 o’clock to 1 o’clock). He NEVER looks to the ‘other side’ – as it is NOT his AoR. Every man in the patrol is trusting everyone else to watch THEIR OWN AoR!

The 4^th man also has no choice – he must “play off” the man in front of him. Since he can see that the man in front of him has his barrel pointed to the right side – the 4^th man must point his barrel to the left side. His AoR is from 8 o’clock to 11 o’clock. He NEVER looks to the ‘other side’ – as it is NOT his AoR. Every man in the patrol is trusting everyone else to watch THEIR OWN AoR!

The 5^th man doesn’t have a choice either – and he must take the right side (same as the 3^rd man) – and his AoR is from 4 o’clock to 1 o’clock. He NEVER looks to the ‘other side’ – as it is NOT his AoR. Every man in the patrol is trusting everyone else to watch THEIR OWN AoR!

The TEC can choose which side he chooses – as his AoR is from 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock – he provides for rear security.

Here is a picture of the “Sectors of Fire” (SoF) for a six man patrol in column formation:

While each man is scanning his SoF – he also has EYE CONTACT with the man in front – and as he scans back – he has EYE CONTACT with the man in back. That way communication gets passed up and down the patrol QUICKLY. The ‘scans’ that one does, typically takes around 4 seconds from one end of his AoR to the other end of his AoR.

For example – the 2^nd man – he begins his scan by looking at the man in front of his (PM) – then scans his AoR rearward from 12 o’clock until he looks at the man behind him (3^rd man) at 6 o’clock – HOWEVER – his MBL only moves from 11 o’clock to 8 o’clock. This way he is not ‘sweeping’ his buddy. (Sweeping is the term used when someone’s muzzle points at another person.) It takes about 4 seconds depending upon a lot of factors – but it is a ‘average’ time frame. He then scans forward from 6 o’clock up to 12 o’clock and looks at the man in front. AGAIN – his MBL only travels from 8 o’clock to 11 o’clock. He (and everyone else in the patrol) repeats this process the whole time that they are moving.

The reason each man LOOKS at the person in front and behind is to pass ANY and ALL hand and arm signals up and down the patrol. Hand and arm signals are beyond the scope of this article – but just remember that for future reference.

The distance between team members on the patrol is dictated by many factors (METT-TC) – but the “rule of thumb” is that if you can see the man in front of you AND the man behind you – that is about right. Increase the distance in thinner areas of cover/concealment – and close it up when in areas of thicker cover/concealment.

Using the Column formation – a team can move through heavy concealment/cover with the most stealth and control while maintaining good firepower to the flanks.

Any questions???

cheers

tire iron

Linear Danger Area Crossing

2010-04-12T01:12:00.000-07:00

Linear Danger Area (LDA) crossings can be done a number of different ways.

We will look at the three basic LDA crossing techniques in order of the speed that a unit can cross.

1. The “BLAST”

2. The “Bump” (or “Patch to Road”)

3. The “Traditional” LDA technique

Now lets look at the three basic LDA crossing techniques in order of security:

1. The “Traditional” LDA technique

2. The “Bump” (or “Patch to Road”)

3. The “Blast”

By looking at the above two lists – one can see that “time” really becomes the factor on which of the above three you will use. In other words – if you are on a 100% “stealth” reconnaissance – the “Traditional” should be used – as it is the most secure, i.e. the odds of being compromised are the least.

If you are “behind” a bit and feel confident that you can speed up without increasing risk a whole lot – the use the “Bump”.

If you HAVE to cross FAST – meaning speed takes priority over security – the Blast is the one to choose.

So – before we proceed – lets review in a nut shell what these three techniques are – and what the strengths and weaknesses of each one are too.

The BLAST is the technique when EVERYONE crosses at the same time.

The pro’s of this technique are:

1. SPEED

2. There is only “one” crossing.

The con’s of this technique are:

1. No far side security

2. If there is enemy on the other side – the whole unit stumbles into them at once

The BUMP is the technique when everyone crosses individually.

The “pro’s” of this technique are:

1. Speed (though this is not as fast as the Blast)

2. If there is contact on the “far” side – the whole unit won’t get hit

The “con’s” of this technique are:

1. It sends a guy off alone (the first man)

2. It leaves the last guy alone (after everyone else has crossed)

3. It has as many crossings as there is men

The TRADITIONAL technique is when the patrol crosses in 2 or 3 man teams – so it is kind of a combination of the BLAST and BUMP.

The “pro’s” are:

1. There is always at least two men together at all times

2. It is the most secure way to cross

3. Leadership is on both sides of the LDA at all times

4. There are at least half as many crossings as there is men in the patrol

The “con’s” are:

1. It takes more time to cross this way than any other technique

I’ll come right out and tell you my favorite technique is the “Traditional”. I have used all three “real world” – and my choice 99% of the time will be the “Traditional” method.

So – I dusted off my little “Action Figures” and ordered them to demonstrate to you a “Traditional” LDA crossing – and I snapped photo’s of them in “action”.

The first photo you can see the Patrol in column formation. The Point Man (PM) see’s the danger area – halts the patrol giving the hand and arm signal for halt. (This is typically the raised hand – open palm – similar to the “swear in” or “oath” position.) Everyone automatically takes a knee – and if they can - they take a step or two to find better cover/concealment – but be sure you can still see your team-mates!

The PM then gives the danger area hand and arm signal – which is a slashing motion across the throat.

The PM then gives the “linear” danger area signal – which is the hand – with thumb and fingers together with the hand making a flat shape – moving in a up and down fashion in front the face – with the outside edge of the hand visible.

The Team Leader (TL) automatically knows to come up to the PM’s position – which he does.

As the TL moves up to the PM’s position – the #3 man gives the “rally up” hand and arm signal – which is sticking his hand straight up and giving a circular motion as if he were pointing the sky and making a circle with his hand/arm/pointing finger. The Assistant TL (ATL), Tail End Charlie (TEC) and 4 man all move up and form a “tight 360”. The TL and PM go up to get a better look at the danger area.

What the TL and PM are doing is checking to see if this is a good spot to cross – or if they should move to a better crossing point. What determines if it is a good place to cross is a place that has obstructed views – so you can’t be seen while crossing from a mile down the road. OTOH – sometimes there is no better place to cross than where you are.

If the road is “straight as an arrow” – find a spot on the road that is in a depression if you can – in other words DON’T cross where you will be silhouetted against the sky for miles around!

Here is the PM and TL checking out the DA – and the rest of the team in a tight 360.

In this next photo – the TL/PM have come back to the “tight 360” and the TL is briefing the whole team as to whether they will cross here – or go left or right to a better spot. If the spot is good right here – he will just give a “thumbs up” – meaning that everything looks good and we will cross right here.

Note that the TL/PM go everywhere together. You NEVER leave your buddy. EVER. (In the daytime – you as long as you are within a few meters you are good – at night – you better be well within arm’s length.)

Now the TL gives the “lets move out” hand and arm signal – the team moves up to the DA. Note the position that everyone takes. The TL/PM are in the center – as they will cross first. The #3 and #4 man are providing flank security – and the ATL/TEC are providing rear security. At night – all team members need to be within touching distance of each other.

Once the #3 and #4 man give a “thumbs up” to the TL – the TL and PM cross the DA. Try to keep a low profile – and – note that the TL and PM have their MBL’s pointed in the correct way.

Once across – the TL/PM will do a “leaders reconnaissance” of an area that is big enough to fit the patrol in. THEY DO NOT SPLIT UP TO DO THIS! (I was told that in VN – a PM was shot by the TL cause they split up and the TL thought the PM was a VC coming through the bush towards him.)

When the TL/PM make it back to where they started – the PM then assumes his position of front security – and TL then gives the signal for the next team to cross. This signal can be a hand/arm signal (if visibility permits) – or it can be a red-lense flashlight that has a boonie hat or something wrapped around it to make a “cone” so only the team across the road can see it.

Note that the ATL and TEC have assumed flank security – and the #3 and #4 man are in the “go” position.

Here is a close up of the men’s positions on the “old” side of the DA.

And – the “new” side:

When the TL gives the signal – the #3 and #4 man take off.

Note that at NO TIME is there a group that is “leader-less”. The TL is part of the first group to cross – and the ATL will be in the last group to cross. At NO TIME will there be men on either side of the DA that don’t have leadership. This is a hallmark of the Traditional method. This way if before the whole team crosses over – and an enemy convoy comes through – and even stops – and the men are now not able to hook up with each other – one group still has the TL and the other group has the ATL.

Once the #3 and #4 man cross – they take up flanking security – the TL and the PM move up to make room for them. The TL and PM are providing front security.

Now the ATL and TEC are given the come across signal – and so they cross the DA.

As they get across the DA – the #3 and #4 man “bump up” to give the ATL and TEC room to occupy.

Everyone continues in the direction of march until they come to where to the PM has stopped – here they do a head-count to make sure no one is lost – and they will stay in a tight 360 for a bit to listen before they head out in the direction of march.

Questions??

cheers

tire iron

14 Days to becoming a better shooter

2010-04-12T00:58:00.000-07:00

All right…so you have acquired a firearm. Now what?? Well, now is when the ‘fun’ begins. Now is when you will learn the ‘personality’ and the little ‘quirks’ that all machines possess.

All you need for the next phase of you training is a few magazines (as few as two but a full combat load is even better), something to carry those magazines in (whether it is old used ALICE gear, or a brand new rig – it really makes no difference at this point), and some ammunition to practice with (you can start out with as little as 100 but you will go through many more than that over the years).

Now I will suggest something that you probably had not considered – a shooting timer. A shooting timer is MANDATORY if you are serious about becoming as good as you can. Your performance can only really improve if you can measure it. Look at the sports world – virtually EVERY aspect of a game is measured. Why? So even the smallest improvement or loss can be recognized and either magnified or stopped. Remember – only PERFECT practice makes perfect. Timers can help us recognize that we are not performing ‘perfect’ practice. They can also help us recognize when we ARE performing perfect practice – and so we can continue to do so. Shooting timers are around $100.00 – and for any serious student of the martial use of firearms – it is money WELL spent. In fact – I would suggest that you buy this timer INSTEAD of ammo – as you can do LOTS of GREAT practice without any ammunition. Then save up for ammo. (I use PACT timers – and have been very satisfied with this brand – but there are others too.)

Next buy some ‘dummy’ rounds – or if you reload (or know a reloader) make some up yourself.

Then download my .pdf files of reduced targets (targets that are reduced in size to approximate distance) and make sure you have 15 feet of room for your ‘practice’ area. Place the target on the wall 15 feet from your ‘dry fire’ line. All of your ‘dry fire shooting practice’ will take place at the 15 foot line. Also, download and read/study the article titled “Fighting Longarm” in .pdf format.

This thread will NOT help you be a better ‘target shooter’ – its intention is to help you train so that you can fight better with your firearm.

Now some comments on safety.

Dry fire is practice performed without live ammunition. ALL aspects of ‘shooting’ can and should be practiced ‘dry’. The only difference will be that there will be no flash, recoil, cycling, ejections of spend rounds and impact of the bullet downrange. However, sight alignment, sight picture, trigger manipulation, follow-through, magazine changes, malfunction clearance drills, movement, etc., can be practiced while ‘dry’.

The FIRST thing one need do before starting a dry fire regimen is to decide WHERE one will dry fire practice. The ‘place’ needs to be somewhere where live rounds are not and will never be kept, or stored. Live rounds should NEVER be in the ‘dry fire room’ – under ANY circumstances. This will avoid any ‘Unintentional Discharges’ (UD’s).

First step for ‘dry fire’ practice is to COMPLETELY unload the firearm prior to entering one’s ‘dry fire room’. I personally go to the extent that I field strip the weapon and carry it to my dry fire room disassembled. At a minimum lock the bolt to the rear and look into the chamber to verify that it is indeed empty. The magazines are ‘empty’ also, with the followers clearly visible. I use ‘blaze orange’ plastic dummy rounds for dry practice, but they are inserted into the magazines while in my ‘dry fire room’.

The most important thing to remember regarding ‘dry fire’ practice is to NEVER dry fire practice where there are live rounds available. Dry practice only when completely separated by at least ‘one closed door’ from live ammunition.

Once in the dry fire room – reassemble your rifle (or handgun or shotgun). Load some DUMMY ammunition into a magazine.

Practice session one

You are now ready for dry fire practice. For this first practice, just load and unload the rifle/handgun. Insert the magazine, manipulate the bolt/slide (chamber a round), pull the bolt/slide back slightly and use your finger to ensure that there is a round in the chamber, close the bolt fully, remove the magazine, manipulate the bolt (clearing the chamber), insert your finger to ensure the chamber is empty, and do this over and over again. Do this SLOWLY. Perform this 50 times. DO NOT TRY TO SPEED UP! (There will be a great temptation to try and do this as fast as you can – AVIOD THIS TEMPTATION! Speed will come all on its own. Speed is the absence of excess movement. When you ‘try’ to speed up – your movements are ‘jerky’ and you will be SLOWER than if you just let speed come all by itself.)

Next perform this same drill, but now practice removing the magazine from the mag pouch to load, and inserting into your ‘dump pouch’ when unloading. REMEMBER TO GO SLOW! Perform this drill 50 times. (Most guys have their magazines in the pouch with the bullets ‘down’ and ‘pointed towards the belly button’.) Grab the magazine by the ‘base’ – as it is ‘up’ and take it directly to the magazine well. Try not to do any other movements. REMEMBER TO GO SLOW! Give your body a chance to ‘learn’ this new movement. It is OK to watch this entire drill with your eyes – this will help the brain learn the different movements.

An alternate method for ensuring you have a chambered round with a rifle is to do the following: using a magazine with a few dummy rounds loaded into it – visually and tactilely (see and feel) which side of the magazine the top round is on. Then insert it into the rifle, and pull the charging handle to the rear and let it go – chambering a round. Now – eject the magazine – and visually and tactilely check to make sure that the round you saw/felt is indeed “gone” – which means it is the chamber. You will know this because the top round in the magazine will now be on the other side of magazine. Perform this 50 times.

Practice session two

Perform 10 ‘load/unload’ drills as above using your magazine pouch to hold mags and your dump pouch for the ‘old’ magazine. Do both methods of ensuring there is a round in the chamber – so you will do this drill a total of 20 times.

Now blindfold yourself and perform this drill 10 times each (so you will do this 20 times). Be sure to ‘check’ to ensure there is a round in the chamber after loading, and be sure to check that the chamber is empty after unloading. Since you are blindfolded – this will all be done with your finger.

Next perform this drill WITHOUT the blindfold 10 times each.

Then put the blindfold back on and perform this drill 20 more times each.

Take the blindfold off and do it another 10 times each WITHOUT watching – keep your eyes fixed on the target on the wall.

Practice session three

Perform 10 ‘load/unload’ drills while ‘watching’ both ways. GO SLOW!

Perform 10 ‘load/unload’ drills while blindfolded both ways. GO SLOW!

Perform 10 ‘load/unload’ drills both ways without watching (but not blindfolded). GO SLOW!

Next, after each time you ‘load’ the rifle/handgun – shoot the target in the chest or head area one time. Then ‘unload’. Perform this 25 times each. GO SLOW! Also – follow through! (Follow through is to continue to watch the front sight/target for a slow count of 3 AFTER pulling the trigger before dropping the muzzle.)

Practice session four

Perform 10 ‘load/unload’ each way WITHOUT looking.

Perform 20 Malfunction type #1 drills while watching. GO SLOW!

Perform 10 Malfunction type #1 drills while blindfolded.

Perform 10 Malfunction type #1 drills without watching.

Practice session five

Perform 10 Malfunction type #1 drills while watching.

Perform 10 Malfunction type #1 drills without watching.

Perform 20 Malfunction type #2 drills while watching.

Perform 10 Malfunction type #2 drills while blindfolded.

Perform 10 Malfunction type #2 drills without watching.

Practice session six

Perform 10 Malfunction type #1 drills without watching.

Perform 10 Malfunction type #2 drills without watching.

Perform 20 Malfunction type #3 drills while watching.

Perform 10 Malfunction type #3 drills while blindfolded.

Perform 10 Malfunction type #3 drills without watching.

Practice session seven

Perform 20 Malfunction type #1 drills without watching.

Perform 20 Malfunction type #2 drills without watching.

Perform 20 Malfunction type #3 drills without watching.

Perform 20 reloads while retaining magazine (without watching).

Perform 20 reloads while ‘dropping’ magazine (without watching).

Practice session eight

With a rifle - Perform 25 head shots at 25 yards – strong side. (Aim near the top of the head and use a good solid ‘fighting stance’ – NOT a ‘target stance’.) GO SLOW!

Perform 25 head shots at 25 yards – weak side. GO SLOW!

Perform 25 body shots at 50 yards – strong side. GO SLOW!

Perform 25 body shots at 50 yards – weak side. GO SLOW!

With a handgun – Perform 25 head shots at 7 yards

Practice reload drills, and malfunction drills.

Practice session nine

Perform 25 body shots at 100 yards. GO SLOW!

Perform 25 body shots at 200 yards. GO SLOW!

Perform 10 head shots at 25 – both strong and weak side.

Perform 10 body shots at 50 yards – both strong and weak side.

Practice session ten

Practice position assumption from standing to squatting and shooting 50 yard target. Perform 50 times.

Practice position assumption from standing to kneeling and shooting 50 yard target – 50 times. Perform 50 times.

Perform reloads and malfunction clearance drills.

Practice session eleven

Practice position assumption from standing to rice paddy prone and shooting 50 yard target. Perform 50 times.

Practice position assumption from standing to modified prone and shooting 50 yard target. Perform 50 times.

Practice position assumption from standing to ‘regular’ prone and shooting 50 yard target. Perform 50 times.

Perform reloads and malfunction clearance drills.

Practice session twelve

Practice moving forward slowly. Try and walk at least 15-20 feet and try to keep the front sight on the 25 meter target. Perform 50 times.

Practice moving backward slowly. Use 25 meter target. Perform 50 times.

Practice moving diagonally to the right moving forward. Use 25 meter target. Perform 50 times.

Practice moving diagonally to the left moving forward. Use 25 meter target. Perform 50 times.

Practice session thirteen

Practice moving diagonally BACKWARD to the right. Use 25 meter target. Perform 50 times.

Practice moving diagonally BACKWARD to the left. Use 25 meter target. Perform 50 times.

Practice moving and reloading.

Practice moving and performing malfunction clearance drills.

Practice moving and then assuming different positions.

Practice session fourteen

Set your timer for the ‘par times’ in the NMS RQC.

WORK SLOWLY – which means perform LOTS MORE dry fire while going slowly – to increase performance.

REPEAT ALL OF THE ABOVE DRILLS AS TIME/CIRCUMSTANCES PERMIT.

Questions?

cheers

tire iron