Training – Aurora – Of course it will happen again . . . . .

 

It’s mid-March – 1971, about 30 days and a “wakeup” left. I’d just survived my last fire fight (I didn’t know that at the time . . .). We’d had sappers on base for a very long night. Runway tower looked like Swiss cheese, a couple A1’s were burnt hulks, Garza and I were beginning to scramble to wire in a mobile comm console to let the controllers bring down the aircraft that had launched, our radio shed had its roof gone . . . . there were a couple long, thick black bags alongside the terminal . . . . friends that had entered that agelessness of soldiers that were so easily designated KIA . . . .

The “end was near”, Christmas 1970 had seen a huge airlift of troops headed “back to the world” well before their DEROS date. We’d pulled the plug on an ALCE unit I had been attached to. Our presence was contracting, becoming fewer . . . . weaker. We were focused on going home . . . . not dealing with threats that remained. We were lazy, complacent, in-attentive.

Yet, the enemy remained, pressed their advantage and claimed a few more souls for their cause. We’d been attacked many times before. We’d forgotten . . . .

Of course it will happen again . . . .

And so will another Aurora. Later this evening. Later in the week. Next month. Next year. It will happen. While evil does take a break now and then, it is never dormant. Like the local VC, it will find a time to once again press its advantage and claim innocent souls. It is, after all, what evil does.

Once our aircraft were recovered, the VC that sought to hide on base were hunted and killed. After a meal, some sleep . . . . individual areas gathered for the AAR – After Action Reports. It was a time to evaluate security (I’d tell you how badly ARVN security sucked – but to what end), evaluate our OWN security, evaluate targets and ways to harden them, evaluate communications and what needed to happen over the next days and weeks. It provided us time to evaluate our own performance – how did we respond, where were we lax, what mistakes did we make. We reviewed our enemy, his determination, his skill – it reminded us that being “short” was no guarantee of not going home in a box.

After Action Reports . . . . an opportunity to learn from failure.

Make no mistake – Aurora WAS a failure. A failure to even recognize the existence of true evil. A failure of a local government to allow citizens to defend themselves. A failure of a company to comprehend the possibility of evil committed against their guests as they were trapped in their little warren of seats and closed doors.

If you were a patron that night – what would you do different?? Remember, you have ALL THE TIME YOU NEED NOW to prepare for the next time . . . .

Some thoughts.

Take your damn gun!!! Yes, I know it was a “No Carry” facility, yet if I read the Colorado law right, they must ask you to leave. There is only a problem if you refuse to leave.

Regardless of this single facility – one more time – take your damn gun with you each and every day.

Capacity counts. You meet a fellow with body armor – it will take you a few rounds to realize that, probably while you may be knocking him back – and you notice he’s still on his feet. A 5-shot revolver doesn’t give you much opportunity to “learn while doing”. Capacity counts.

Sit on the outside. I have sat on the outside site since I rolled over 50 (you older fellows will understand why). Sit with your gun-side out. Watch more than just the movie. Where are the exits? Anyone really seem off the wall? Watch folks as they enter the theater (or restaurant or grocery store or Wal-Mart) and see if any of them feel off to you.

Don’t sit way in the back. The farther you are from the exits, the longer your fight. Most theaters I go to are simply kill boxes. You enter from the bottom; walk up risers – with no exit available except down the risers again. Fighting down half a riser is better than from the very back row. Same in restaurants – face the door, gun-side open, close to an exit if at all possible; resist the labyrinth restaurants (the Rain Forest Café in the Mall of America flashes to mind).

Who is your first responsibility? As calculating as it sounds, if it’s a choice between my granddaughter and the wonderful stranger sitting next to me – family takes priority. Three young men sacrificed themselves covering their dates – I’m proud of them.

Take Responsibility. You are responsible for your survival – no one else. If your choice is to cower between seats and die – or jump the attacker and die – what do you want to be remembered for? Help is not coming. It is your responsibility to fight evil, not bend a knee to it.

Stay focused. Easy to say, a real bitch to do. Even guys in full body armor are vulnerable. Even guys armed with an AR, shotgun and pistol are vulnerable. Even guys in gas masks and helmets are vulnerable. But, you cannot take advantage of their vulnerabilities if you lose your head. Again, easy to say, a bitch to do.

So how the hell is a shooter in body armor, helmet and gas mask – shooting an AR or pistol or shotgun – vulnerable??

Vision: I’ve spent more hours in a gas mask than I care to count. Visibility – even in the new versions – sucks. This provides you an advantage to get outside his field of vision. Pay attention, see how much of their face is covered, stay in a blind spot until you can escape or kill him.

Use the noise. Shots fired in an enclosed area effect everyone – including the shooter. Again, take advantage of the noise to move, close and kill him.

All Body Armor has points of vulnerability. The throat, underarms, rear thighs, pelvis, feet, through the glass in the gas mask. Even a full on engagement against a chest plate will surly get the shooters attention and allow you to press your attack.

There are many weapons. Always carry your knife. Find a fire extinguisher. A loose chair. A glass of liquid thrown against his mask. Teeth. Knees. If your choice is to cower and die or attack and die – how do you want to be remembered?

Kill Him. If you engage an evil like this, make sure one of you leaves in a bag. A threat down and armed is a threat. A threat dead and armed is dead. There is no middle ground.

Honestly, this whole thing has chewed on me today. Old memories. A need to do something. An anger at the foolishness of politicians who hold out the carrot of security while surrendering all our safety to a little plastic sign. The pain the families are feeling. The pride in those who remembered where their duty truly lay.

We have survived an attack. 12 were left behind, three died heroes defending their loved ones – the majority walked away. Don’t waste their lives. Learn from this. Plan your defense. Look for evil. Stand between evil and those who need protection.

Because . . . . it will happen again.

Just the Basics – What Makes It Go BLAMMMMM?

 

A few posts back we went through a training accident – a gunshot to your leg. Not fatal, but one of those “learning experiences” that we can all do without. So how did you get there, with a wounded leg and surviving only through the timely arrival of a shooting buddy? This is the first in a series of posts that will consider all the components of the event starting with:

What Makes It Go BLAMMMMM?

While there are many things that can propel a projectile that has enough velocity and mass to penetrate a human (or animal) and inflict a killing wound, for the purpose of this discussion, let’s confine ourselves to handguns / long guns/ shotguns.

The reason a handgun goes BLAMMMMM!!! Is this:

The development date varies, but by as early as the 7^th century, China had developed the above formula for a mixture of Potassium Nitrate (or Saltpeter), Charcoal and Sulfur into a mixture that is, today known generically as “Gunpowder”. Beginning with a basic formula of 76% Potassium Nitrate, 14% Charcoal and 10% Sulfur, they developed at least 6 different formulas for use in everything from hand cannons to rocket propelled arrows:

     

The basic chemical reaction is that the sulfur is ignited; this begins a chemical reaction with the Potassium Nitrate that releases oxygen to sustain the reaction and nitrogen. This increases the temperature enough to ignite the Charcoal – which then releases larger quantities of Carbon Dioxide and Monoxide. This reaction continues until the accelerant (the Potassium Nitrate since it “accelerates” the chemical reaction) and the fuel (the Charcoal and Sulfur) are consumed. The resultant gases – a mixture of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen and a tad of sulfur dioxide) are the true propellants that expel the bullet down the barrel of the hand cannon, hand gun, long gun, shotgun or shoot the rocket into the air.

Of course, to use this chemical reaction most efficiently, the combustion of these materials must be confined and the discharge of the gasses must be “aimed” – hence the development of a long cylinder strong enough to hold the hot gasses – yet with a hole to both direct the gasses and to control the direction of the projectile – the barrel.

Early weapons depended on fuses that were embedded with gunpowder. Once lit, they delivered fire through a small port in the barrel that ignited the weapon’s charge which then fired, sending gas and projectile down the barrel. This controlled explosion of gunpowder is, indeed, the BLAMMMMM that we all hear on the firing line or in the field when we gently press the trigger to the rear until the hammer strikes the firing pin in a modern day weapon.

Early weapons evolved into the next most prevalent firearm – the Flintlock.

One of the earliest and most reliable ways to build a fire was with flint and steel. A piece of flint is struck with a piece of steel and the collision is enough to generate an energized particle we call a “spark”. The temperature of this spark is high enough to ignite gunpowder.

One of the earliest weapons to take advantage of this was the “Flintlock” rifle or pistol.

 

Basically the weapon is upended. A measured powder charge is poured into the end of the barrel. A projectile – usually a “ball”, surrounded by a “wad” is fit down the barrel and “rammed” to the bottom of the barrel. A small amount of gunpowder is poured into the “Pan”. A piece of flint is locked into the hammer and, when the trigger is pulled, it strikes against the “Frizzen” (a steel plate) generating a spark. This spark ignites the powder in the “Pan”, its fire then travels through a small port in the side of the barrel, ignites the powder charge within the barrel and . . . . BLAMMMMM!!

In the interest of reliability – the powder in the “Pan” could easily become damp and not ignite, the Flint and Steel were eventually replaced by “Primers”.

    

The “Primer” is essentially what you see today in the rear of a center fire cartridge. The material on the inside of the primer ignites when it is struck sharply. Again, the fire generated by the striking the primer travels through a port in the barrel and ignites the charge at the bottom of the barrel and . . . . BLAMMMMM!!!

The “focus” changed from the “Flintlock” aspect of firing the weapon to the “Muzzle Loading” aspect of the weapon. So, even though the basics of loading the weapon did not change between a “Flintlock Rifle” (or pistol) to a “Muzzle Loading Rifle” (or pistol), from this point on they were called by the loading process – “Muzzle Loaders”.

As these weapons became the weapon of choice in armed conflict – the need to load them quicker became apparent. The development of the “Cartridge” began.

Early efforts were to simply combine the powder charge and the bullet and/or shot into a single paper-wrapped cartridge.

To load the weapon, the bottom is torn off; the powder charge is poured down the barrel and the paper wrapping the bullet acts as the wad to allow the bullet and/or shot to be tamped down the barrel. This process eliminated the need to measure powder, prepare a wad, tamp the bullet and prime the weapon to simply tearing, tamping, priming (inserting a new primer cap) and BLAMMMMM, greatly increasing the rate of fire of the single soldier.

The final step was the development of the “modern day” cartridge – essentially unchanged for over 150 years.

The casing (1) is the “chassis” that holds all the components together. Today it is typically made of brass (you can reload these), steel (one shot only) or aluminum (again, one shot only). Pressed into the center of the rear of the casing (think “center fire”) is the (2) primer. The Primer Mix ignites when struck sharply by the firing pin. In the center of the Anvil is a “flash hole”. The Anvil insures a small amount of gunpowder is very close to the Primer Mix. The primer is struck, the Primer Mix ignites, the flame travel through the “flash hole”, it ignites the gunpowder (3), and the gas expands and propels the Bullet (4) down the barrel, out the muzzle – BLAMMMMM!!!

This final development, the self-contained cartridge, again significantly increased the rate of fire of the soldier on the battle field. Next were the developments in the “actions” that allowed for a mechanical increase in the rate at which an expended cartridge could be replaced with a cartridge that was ready to fire. But . . . . that’s for another segment.

So, why does our weapon go BLAMMMMM!!!!!??

Gunpowder - confined, rapidly generated gas - gas expelled down a barrel behind a bullet - bullet exits the barrel at the muzzle - BLAMMMMM!!!!

And there ya go – BLAMMMMM!!!!

Grossman Essay - Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs . . .

 

A H/T to BlackFive for his 2004 post of a Grossman essay.  In light of Friday’s shooting, well worth your time to read!

On Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves
By Dave Grossman

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.

Commentary – A willingness for violence . . .

 

I have committed true violence in my life. I’ve had a very few instances (gratefully), where my options were simply to engage and kill or submit and die – yet here I am, with the memories still intact and air still flowing through my lungs.

The core of violence can’t be explained. Many of the gunnie blogs I read are written by, read by or haunted by men and women who have experienced this core event called violence, whether in combat or civilian life. It’s effect on them varies from long term struggles with PTSD to quiet acceptance of the experience and a prayer to never – ever – enter the “core” again. The very core of violence simply can’t be explained to someone who has been fortunate enough to avoid its embrace.

Still, it seems as though our society has developed a hunger for violence . . . .

What prompted this post was reading the stories of the massacre at the new Batman premier in Aurora, Colorado last night. I’ve not seen the movie. Probably won’t. Yet even the previews seem to reveal an orgy of violence. It’s a trend I’ve noticed over the past 30 years or so. The depictions of violence have become very detailed, very intimate, extremely visual . . . .

There have been a number of discussions on the boards I frequent about the flash mob of a Wal-Mart store in Oregon – 300+ kids running through the store, smashing watermelons, terrorizing the folks in the store. When you see the video you realize it was a joyful experience for them . . . .

South of me in St. Louis the city has struggled with the knock-out game. An attacker simply runs up to a victim and does their very best to knock out the person with a single blow to the head.  An interview with one of the attackers revealed he had over 300 “confirmed” . . . .

Just a few days ago Chicago experienced this “game” with a 13 year old and a 15 year old killing an older man with a single blow to the head . . . 13 . . . 15

It is safer in the valleys of Afghanistan that the canyons of Chicago – LA – Atlanta – Detroit – New Orleans – NYC . . . .

We have a President who has glommed on to the simplest of re-election strategies . . . . they’re rich, you’re not – I’ll take what’s theirs and give it to you . . . . he’s consciously feeding hatred towards folks that others see as better off. And as the economy worsens – that bar is being lowered every day. In the very near future – VERY NEAR FUTURE – simply having a job will make you better off. As he destroys more jobs, puts more small business out of business – the bar for “wealth” lowers, the envy is stoked, the job creators are made the villains, frustrations grow, OWS movements evolve and devolve into chaos . . . .

And, the very core of violence comes closer to each and every person.

I freely admit to being fearful for my country. I live in rural Iowa. When folks take by weapons classes and express that they are beginning to feel unsafe . . . . well, Iowa is the canary in the coalmine, and the canary is having a hard time breathing right now.

“Something Wicked This Way Comes” – with all its seduction and promises. It’s emotional release. Its power. Its empowerment – even though that empowerment is very fleeting.

More and more there is a Willingness for Violence . . . .

Scares the hell out of me . . . .

UPDATE – 7/23/12

And so it continues . . . . .

Prosecutor: Teens killed man in ‘knock ‘em down’ game

e.IA.f.t. – Defensive Pistol I & II Aug 25 & 26

 

e.IA.f.t. is holding a Defensive Pistol I & II course on August 25 & 26.  They will be held back-to-back with DP I on Saturday the 25th and DP II on Sunday the 26th.

The normal cost for each course is $175 per course plus $20 per course range fee.  If you take both together, the cost will be $300  plus the $40 for the range fee.  This represents a savings of $50 for both courses taken together.

The round count for the two days will be between 500 and 750 rounds depending on your rounds per string.

Please look at the course description for an equipment list.

The course will be held at:

• Red Cedar Chapter – Izaak Walton League
• 5667 24th Avenue Drive
• Vinton, Iowa  52349

To register, email the following information to:  wkeller@eiaft.com

• Name
• Age
• Address
• City, State  zip
• Phone Number

Of course, you are always welcome to call me as well, my phone number is on our website linked above.

Training – Threat Evaluation and Reaction

 

Humans (well . . . let’s say those living in the “West”) are in an odd state of evolution. We live – on the whole – in a safe world. Yes – robberies happen, murders surly do, assaults, rapes – but, when compared to those folks living in “third world” countries, we live in a very safe place. It makes us lazy, complacent,  secure in our own safety.

Those that have traveled the world – military, missionary, adventurer – have seen the “look” in the eyes of those whose very lives are constantly “on the edge”. I have seen those eyes in Vietnam, the Philippines, Panama, Haiti to name a few. It is an acknowledgement that their lives hang by a thread. That said – they have a tremendous advantage to the average westerner – they know they are under threat, they operate in condition Orange for much of their life and they react much more quickly to a “possible” threat because they are much “closer” to it. As I sit in my air conditioned home, tapping away on my netbook, most threats seem very distant. What examples can we see locally, in our own environment, of “Threat Evaluation and Reaction:? Actually, they are all around us.

My internet died tonight. Doing a “ping plot”, it appeared the problem was at my office. Fortunately for me I built my office building on the opposite edge of my property so a visit simply meant a walk across the yard. (temps at 6 PM?? 100+, heavy sigh) I walk out the door, step across the porch and hear this raucous, squeaking, chattering sound and a little fuzzy ball went screaming across the yard and into the woods. No hesitation, no “identification”, no evaluation – simply instant flight! Ensuring a maximum chance for survival.

I am surrounded by wild life – everything from chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits to raccoons, deer to the infrequent sightings of mountain lions. Their immediate response to a perceived – one more time, PERCEIVED – threat? Leave, without question or hesitation.

There is much to learn from those people unfortunate enough to live under constant threat or from the wild life all around us when it comes to Threat Evaluation and Reaction. When a PERCEIVED threat is observed – ACT! NOW! Your best response – if at all possible, get yourself and your family or friends out the area immediately. Trust your “gut”, if something feels “off” then something IS off – listen to your instincts. There is nothing wrong with chirping loudly and heading to the woods to protect yourself or your family.

However, in the event you must face a threat, yet another example can be found in even the smallest critter’s response – fight! Now! With all your skill and with all weapons at hand.

A Warm Welcome to Rob . . .

Rob tapped the "Follow" button yesterday - nice to have a fellow Iowan tagging along.  Take a minute to visit him in his bunker!

Welcome sir!