Intelligence Part 1

Intelligence is vital for any effective operation. We need to learn about how to gather intel, and how to make use of it for the times ahead of us. Please add this information to your training, you will not regret it in the future. We cannot be effective fighters if we do not know how to scout, gather intel, and know how to make use of it.

Parent Article

This is the first article in a series about using intelligence for preparedness. I’m starting from square zero in order to introduce a new crop of Americans to the concept of using intelligence, to prove that there’s a need for intelligence and to get readers quickly up to speed on how to incorporate it into their security planning. After getting caught up to speed, if you’d like to read more in-depth and put theory into practice, a book entitled SHTF Intelligence will show you the way forward. You can find a small homework exercise here.

Why do I need intelligence?

You need intelligence because everyone has blind spots. A common theme in the preparedness community is beans, bullets, and band-aids. We need food and water to survive, we need medicine to treat injuries and illness, and we need guns and ammo for defense… but against whom?

In a S***-Hits-The-Fan (SHTF) or survival situation, if we’re dumping hundreds or thousands or more dollars into beans, bullets, and baid-aids, doesn’t it stand to reason that we should investigate our surroundings as well?

I think so. I was a military and contract intelligence analyst, and we in this country are likely to face a lot of the same types of situations that we dealt with in Iraq and Afghanistan. We need to look at:

•Our neighbors and the populace. Are they for us or against us? What are their politics and attitudes? Which households should we approach to build community security in a SHTF situation? Which households will be adversarial to us?

•Key human terrain. Who wields influence in the area? Where do the nearest tradesmen, engineers, and medical professionals live, in case we need their help?

•Known bad guys. Who are the active criminals and gangs in the area? What are their activities, and how can we identify their indicators?

•Future bad guys. Who’s likely to engage in criminality in the future? Which parts of the population are going to resort to criminal behavior in a time of need? Most importantly, in what areas will they be active, and how will they affect my community?

•Law enforcement. How will they respond to a SHTF situation? If they’re going home, as is often assumed, then where do they live and how can we work with them?

•Critical infrastructure. What keeps the world spinning in our area? Do we have critical infrastructure that would invite armed security or suggest an increase in criminal activity? Where can we get the things we need to maintain our survivability?

These are just a few questions that intelligence can answer. At the heart of intelligence is the ability to reduce uncertainty. If you’re concerned about grid-down or financial collapse or the Golden Horde or some other event or threat, then some basic intelligence work should be at the top of your To Do list. Ultimately, what intelligence brings to the table is an ability to make well-informed, time-sensitive decisions.

Colonel John Boyd, an Air Force fighter pilot, was the first to describe the decision-making process he called the OODA Loop. Because fighter pilots have to make split-second decisions, their ability to Observe a development, Orient to what that means, Decide which course of action they should take, and then Act on it is a critical part of their survivability in combat. Similarly, lots of tactical shooting trainers have incorporated the OODA Loop into their curriculum for the exact same reason.

That ability to Observe and Orient is the informational phase of the decision-making process. Can you imagine getting into a gunfight, if you can’t see or hear your opponent? Yet that’s exactly what many are preparing to do on a larger level. We’re limited by our field of vision and line of sight, but with an intelligence effort, we can begin to see well beyond just our line of sight.

So what intelligence allows us to do during a SHTF scenario is not just see our opponent but potentially observe him before a conflict arises. This is called Early Warning, and it’s one of the two key responsibilities of our community security element.

The second major responsibility is producing Threat Intelligence. Knowing that a gang is active in your area is a good first step. We need to move beyond our intuitive approach to information and start using a structured, methodical process to completely remove our blind spots. In essence, we need to graduate from mere information and start producing intelligence.

The difference between information and intelligence is simple: information is raw data, and intelligence is the evaluated, assessed, and synthesized information that answers, “So what?” Hearing that there was a murder in your community is not intelligence; it’s just information. Identifying the perpetrator and his current location, finding out where and why the murder took place, determining how it’s going to affect the community, and compiling it into a consumable product is intelligence.

Intelligence_Cycle

We do this through the Intelligence Cycle. There are five phases, and I’ll briefly detail them in order. In Phase One, we understand our mission, assign analytic tasks and responsibilities, and begin generating our intelligence requirements (covered in the next section). In Phase Two, we task those requirements out for collection. Once that information is collected and reported, we start with Phase Three, where we analyze the incoming information. After filtering out the bad information and analyzing the good information, we produce the actual intelligence. We provide predictive intelligence, which is describing what might or is likely to happen in the future, or estimative intelligence, which is describing an organization’s strength and capabilities. Finally, once we produce the intelligence, we need to ensure that it gets into the hands of the right people. In Phase Five, we disseminate the intelligence to our leadership, our community security team, or the community at large.

Let’s start with Phase One. We need to generate some intelligence requirements or, in other words, statements or questions that describe intelligence gaps.

Let’s say that you do have a gang in the area. What don’t we know about that gang but need to? Do we know how many members are associated with the gang? Do we know where those gang members hang out? Do we know where those gangs are criminally active? Do we know if certain areas are at a higher risk than others (and have we mapped out those areas)? There are potentially lots of intelligence gaps we have, especially if we expect them to be active in a SHTF scenario.

So we can take these questions and start a list:

1.How many members are in the Leroy Jenkins Gang?
2.What are the known hangout spots for Leroy Jenkins Gang members?
3.Identify all high-risk areas for Leroy Jenkins Gang activity.
4.Et cetera…

If we’re building a house, or in our case an intelligence product, then this list of requirements represents our building materials. This is all the information– the lumber, nails, bolts, roofing shingles, doors, and windows– we need to finish our intelligence estimate. Without knowing what we need, we won’t build a very good house.

And thus ends lesson one. Head on over to our homework page for a practical exercise. I’ve also posted a video that will step you through the process of analyzing your community from multiple angles.

Samuel Culper is the Executive Editor of Forward Observer Magazine

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Constitution Party

Sorry, but I had to add in some politics, seeing as our nation is in severe trouble right now, and coming into this election cycle. I think and hope that the readers of this blog believe in and support/defend our Constitution, so how to better do that then to vote for a member of the Constitution Party. Anyway, check this out and think about it.

Article Source

Constitution Party Candidate, Darrell Castle, Says He’s More Libertarian Than Gary Johnson

Darrell Castle is The Constitution Party’s candidate for president this year, and I was fortunate enough to come in contact with his campaign. They were very kind, and when I asked Mr. Castle for an interview he was more than willing to do so. The following are the questions and answers which were given through email.

For any who may be unfamiliar with you, could you please tell a little about yourself and about The Constitution Party?

I was born on a small farm in East Tennessee. I have degrees in History and Political science from East Tennessee State University and a Law degree from The University of Memphis. I was a Commissioned Officer in the United States Marine Corps with foreign service around the world.

In 1992 the Constitution Party was founded by a group of men who were all inspired by one man, Howard Phillips. I was one of those men so 24 years in the Constitution Party. It was founded on the principle that the original intent of the founders was still relevant and could be intellectually defended to the nation. I still believe that today.

I served 3 terms as National Vice Chairman of the Party and 3 terms as chairman of the Platform Committee. In 2008 I was a candidate for Vice President of the United States.

This year’s political climate is ripe for a third party, what is your plan to stand out to voters as a viable alternative to Trump and Clinton?

My plan to stand out is to travel the country and speak to as many people as possible. It is easier to stand out now with the new technology of social media and Internet but more difficult with a virtually total media blackout of my campaign in the mainstream media. I distinguish myself as the only candidate who seeks to save the Constitution and the rule of law in general. It will be dead if one of the others is elected.

With the nomination of Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, many Libertarians, myself included, are feeling disenfranchised. What is your pitch to those voters? Why should libertarians support you?

Libertarians should support me because I am more Libertarian than the two candidates of that Party. They are both CFR members, both open borders and both pro abortion. I am the opposite on those issues while holding Libertarian like views on many other issues.

I’ve heard you say that you’re in favor of a “secure border.” What exactly would your immigration policy entail? Is it the same or similar to Donald Trump’s and what is the constitutional basis for your policy?

I believe that securing the border, i.e. protecting it so that no one enters without consent and halting immigration completely until that is accomplished is one of the most important issues America faces. The halt to immigration would last until we could be sure who is coming in and with what intent.

Do you see yourself taking an interventionist approach or non-interventionist approach to foreign policy? How would a Castle administration handle our foreign conflicts?

I am a non-interventionist, mind your own business candidate. I would only involve us in foreign conflicts if the United States was directly threatened and in danger.

What’s your view of the drug war? And what would be your approach to drugs, as President, from a constitutional standing?

I view the drug war as a total failure and would stop it immediately. The United States certainly has a right to determine what crosses its borders but in general drug policy should be on the state level. I personally favor decriminalization of drugs.

This next question ties in with drug policy. Do you see a role for the federal government in regulating and/or prohibiting things such as prostitution, gambling, smoking, polygamous relationships or any other activities made by consenting adults?

No I really don’t. The states are free of course to regulate if their people prefer but I see no Constitutional role in such things except possibly to control the spread of pandemic disease or something of that nature.

If you are elected president and could only accomplish 3 things, what would they be?

Secure the borders/Control immigration.

Withdraw from the United Nations, NATO, TPP, Nafta, Cafta, Gatt, WTO, etc.

End the Federal Reserve and return monetary policy to Congress where the Constitution places it.

Rapid Fire:

Who would you nominate for the supreme court?

Herb Titus. He’s a Harvard lawyer and Constitutional lawyer and an old friend.

How many states do you plan on having ballot access in?

I plan on 42 and we are working hard on it.

In 2008, Ron Paul endorsed Chuck Baldwin and yourself when you were the VP candidate for The Constitution Party. Are you seeking Dr. Paul’s endorsement now?

Yes I am seeking Dr. Paul’s endorsement and would be honored by it.

And finally, is taxation theft?

Yes, especially when we are directly taxed by the federal government

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Tuning FAL Gas Systems

I found this interesting article and thought that those of you who own FALs would be interested. Also those of you unfortunate souls who do not own one might think about it, it is a serious battle rifle, I love them for what they are, they are not tack drivers, but they are reliable workhorses that I would trust my life to.

Considering the political climate these days, a lot of people are buying semi-automatic rifles in fear of looming restrictions. Although there are many choices out there, for those looking for a full-size 7.62x51 mm gun, the FAL-pattern rifle can make an excellent choice. Adopted by nearly 100 countries and manufactured in massive numbers, the FAL represents a proven and established design.

The FAL has many positive attributes, including impressive power, good reliability, plentiful spare parts, etc. It also has one other unique attribute—a highly adjustable gas system that allows users to tune the rifle to a particular loading.

Devil's in the Details

On its surface, the metric-pattern FAL's adjustable gas system seems reasonably simple and straightforward. Located in the gas block in the forward portion of the handguard and integral to the front sight assembly, the gas system features a large gas plug on its forward face that retains the FAL's gas-piston assembly. The rotating gas plug has two settings—"A" for open and "Gr" for closed. The "A" setting is the normal setting that allows gas through to cycle the action. The "Gr" setting cuts the gas system off completely for when the rifle would be used to fire grenades.

But a closer look reveals more. To the rear of the gas block is a regulator sleeve that wraps around the rifle's gas tube. This regulator controls the amount of gas bled from the bore used to drive back the piston and cycle the action. Rather than simply two or three settings as is common with other systems, this regulator features 14 adjustment settings with seven numbered markings. It is important to note that some standard-pattern (as opposed to metric) L1A1-style rifles do not have numbered markings on their regulators.

These finely tuned points of adjustment on the regulator sleeve allow users to tune the system. Shooters can allow just enough gas through to the piston to cycle the action while minimizing fouling and unnecessary wear and tear on the rifle.

My Turn

So, how does a new FAL owner get his rifle set up for his preferred loading? I actually had an opportunity to learn this for myself recently, as I decided to add an FAL to my collection. The rifle I selected was a DS Arms STG58 (www.dsarms.com), one of the best deals on the market right now in my opinion. It combines original new-condition Austrian parts with new U.S.-made parts for an FAL retailing just under $1,200.

Included with every FAL rifle from DS Arms is an FN FAL owner's manual with concise directions on the operation and maintenance of the rifle. A quick flip through it brought me to a section on adjusting the gas setting of the rifle, and it had me up to speed in no time. I then headed out to the range with the rifle, the manual and a few boxes of Black Hills Match 168-grain boat-tail hollow-point ammunition.

Following the instructions, tuning the FAL's gas system proved to be quite simple. Adjustments to the regulator sleeve can be made with either a special wrench or by using the tip of a bullet inserted into the numbered holes on the sleeve.

Step by Step

The user should begin with the rifle empty and clear. Adjust the regulator so it is fully closed against the gas block and the "1" setting is visible on the top portion. This setting allows the maximum amount of gas through to impact the piston. Conversely, the "7" vents the most gas away, allowing only a small amount through to impact the piston.

Operation 1: Unscrew the regulator sleeve from the gas block until it is in the fully open position with "7" visible on top. After inserting an empty magazine into the rifle, single load a cartridge through the ejection port and then fire the rifle. This should result in a short recoil that does not allow the magazine to engage the hold-open device.

Operation 2: Screw the regulator sleeve forward click-by-click, firing one round after each change until the action is locked open by the empty magazine. At this point, you know enough gas is being allowed against the piston to cycle the action.

Operation 3: Fire several more rounds in this method to verify it will reliably cycle the action fully.

Operation 4: If any shot results in a short recoil failing to lock the action open, click the regulator forward one more setting and test again.

Operation 5: Repeat operations 3 and 4 as needed until the rifle cycles reliably.

Operation 6: The correct gas setting should now be determined. However, it is a good idea to click the regulator forward two more settings. For example, if you found that setting "4" cycled the rifle, click two more positions down. Counting the half-position setting between "4" and "3," this would put you on the "3" setting.

Just Right

With just a little bit of effort, thanks to its highly adjustable gas system, an FAL owner can tune the rifle to a particular loading. This allows you to regulate the system so enough gas gets through to cycle the action, but not so much that you cause premature wear and tear on your rifle. This is just the sort of firearm regulation we can live with!

Original Article

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Force on Force Training

I know this is a long post, but it is well worth your time to read it. I love the stuff Max puts out, and his training concepts. It is important that we "DO", and not just "TALK", just like Max talks about in this post. Please go to him for training if there is any way at all you can possibly do it. Training is vital like I have said so many times in the blog, we have to be ready. So, please go to his site, and check out the classes he offers, where they are, and when they are, and do everything you can to get to some of them.

So the following post comes from two different posts, the first one from the MVT Forums, and the second, or main post is from the MVT Blog, see link in the body.

In comments on the forum version of ‘Tactical Notes: Force on Force Team Tactics‘ Diz and Robert make some pertinent comments.

Diz: You know, this is the irony of the internet. This is probably one of the most important posts on this subject ever to be published on line. Yet I would wager that the vast majority of guys in the co-called tactical community, or even the patriot movement if you want to go there, are off in the weeds arguing over stupid things, or discussing the latest spring fashions.

I don’t know how you could get closer to an actual firefight than this. Theory and opinion are one thing. What actually works in realistic training is another. Regardless of all the pet theories on-line, or what your buddy told you, etc, it either works, or it doesn’t.

Kudos to Max for doing this. And to all the lab rats who went through the first class. You guys (and gals) all rock.

Robert: Can I get an amen!

I wrote that fiction story that comprised our first engagement Sunday at the class, with some embellishments added in (retreat, drone, FLIR) to make the material applicable to SHTF stuff. I posted it far and wide on the internet and got a lot of Monday morning QB’ing from people not there (of course) but my FAVORITE was one guy on a survival forum telling me that

“almost nobody has that level of training…”
Really? Well damn who knew???

I can hear the discussion in the PAW, “Frank, Ted, Bill, Ed, Jones and Smith got whacked out.” “Who killed them?”

“Almost nobody got them…”

These things illustrate the entrenchment of the patriot and survival community behind their walls of self delusion, bitterly defending their (false) pride and ego.

But alas, there is always a remnant!!! :good: And it’s those 5% or less that will learn the lessons ahead of time, that will keep their mouths shut and LEARN, that will be willing to risk their vanity and false pride to put their skills in the crucible.

THOSE are the ones we need to focus on, let the talkers keep talking- that’s all they ever do. Blah blah blah “I would have done this…” blah blah blah “almost nobody has that level of training…” blah blah blah “why do I need to know that…” blah blah blah. They will realize one day no one is both listening or caring a rip….

The ones that truly want to make it, WILL put in the work, will make the sacrifices necessary, those are the ones that attend training, that are constantly trying to better themselves, to prepare, etc.

So I ask you, please help to spread the word. Best to use the blog version of the post, which can be found HERE. Link: http://www.maxvelocitytactical.com/2016/03/tactical-notes-force-on-force-team-tactics/

You will also note that I have social media buttons at the bottom of the blog posts, which you are able to use.

There is something very relevant in those comments. Here at MVT we are running a unique thing, real combat proven well thought out tactical training. We have invested heavily in training equipment such as the electronic pop-up targets, the training facility, the steel target shields to take the show on the road, the UTM bolts. The real deal. The problem is getting the word out, and weaning people off of the ‘tacticool’ BS.

If you find this website/blog/forum/training helpful, then please help to spread the word. Put it out there on other sites.

We know that there is whole lot of ignorance out there, and worse than that, there is the deliberate desire by those we may call ‘mainstream’ ‘tacticool’ trainers to prevent the emergence of training such as MVT. I know, I have experienced it. These are the same law enforcement focused trainers who do not believe that civilians should be taught small unit tactics, or anything above buddy pairs. These are the same clowns who only allow ‘vetted’ civilians to join them to run through SWAT fantasy camp, where BS dangerous ‘tactics’ are taught.

I am absolutely convinced that MVT has it right, and is offering unique and real combat proven training, and the word needs to be spread, and the ignorance needs to be pushed back.

Thank you.

Max

Team Coyote

Max Velocity Tactical

Tactical Notes: Force on Force Team Tactics

Posted by Max in Small Unit Tactics, Tactical Comment, Training, Uncategorized on March 29, 2016

Combat Team Tactics (CTT) can be viewed as the MVT ‘basic training’ class, which acts as a gateway to the more advanced classes. CTT puts everyone on the same page with a solid view of ‘what right looks like’ and ensures that everyone has a good grasp of safety and TTPs moving forward. CTT is a prerequisite for both Combat Patrol (CP) and Force on Force Team Tactics (FoF). Both CP and FoF complement each other, with CP teaching TTPs that will help during FoF, and FoF giving immediate feedback on whether or not you are doing things right or not.

You may have noticed that I have reduced prices on the 3 day CTT class (from $600 to $500), and made an effort to promote the Rifle Skills (RS) day along with CTT as a 4 day training event, total price $600, which is the same as the previous 3 day CTT price. This is an effort to not only promote the idea of more and better training, but to get students in through the gateway of CTT in order to allow them to progress to the more advanced classes, such as CP and FoF. CP is a 4 day class at $650 and FoF is a 2 day class at $350 (plus the UTM ammo purchase).

Thus, I want students to see the RS/CTT class not as something that must be crammed in at the weekend, in order to ‘tick the box’ but as a significant training event that requires investment of time. With tactical training, you cannot simply ‘tick the box’ by showing up once. I suggest a professional class such as CTT, CP or FoF at least annually, with your own regular training thrown in. Otherwise, these skills will perish. Many students who return to CTT time after time will attest to how perishable these skills are, and how much more you understand and retain if you return. A single attendance equals a superficial grasp of the concepts, that will soon degrade if it is not reinforced by both home and return training classes. It is possible to reach a very high skill level at small unit tactics, but you have to put the time in on the ground to do so.

This leads me on to FoF Team Tactics. I am enthused by the class not only because of the value of the class itself to the training and readiness levels of the students, but also because of how well it progresses the student from CTT/CP, and illustrates many areas in which lip service can be paid during the live fire training. The live training such as CTT/CP has such value in terms of the basic understanding of TTP’s, of safety, of battle inoculation and operating in an immersive small unit tactics (SUT) environment. However, for the very reason that the CTT/CP class may be only the first, perhaps second exposure of a student to such things, it means that some of it escapes them, or lip service is paid, which is where FoF comes in and delivers the hammer blow, and really nails this down. In effect, there is so much going on in CTT/CP that is new to the student, that some of it will escape him; FoF illustrates the basics, and the importance of them.

Tactical Notes from FoF Team Tactics:

I found myself going over many of the same basic points again and again at FoF Team Tactics, which are the same points that I hammer at CTT and CP classes, and it took a lot of ‘dying’ on behalf of the students to really hoist these things in. At CTT, a mix of poor physical preparation on behalf of the student, plus the ‘firehose’ information dump of the class, often result in poor attention to some of the basic areas that will keep them alive in combat, such as taking effective cover, and moving rapidly from cover to cover, or no movement without effective suppressing fire. Ivan does not shoot back, but in FoF when the live enemy is putting UTM rounds at you, and they are striking you in the face, or zipping past your head, it really makes the point. Here are some notes:

Rehearsal of team SOPs is vital.

Make a plan, and have a leader. Follow the leader, and allow him to direct you to achieve the mission, which means paying attention.

Effective scanning is essential. Head out of your weapon! Situational awareness, which includes scanning to the flanks, or you will be rolled up. How many times do cadre tell the students “get your head out of your weapon” and “scan means scan” on a CTT class? Tunnel vision and staring at where Ivan last was seems to be the trend!

Ensure you look in often for hand signals, otherwise you will be in your own zone, and have no clue what is going on.

Hand signals are essential during silent patrolling. The leader needs to be able to signal intent. Some of the things that you will need to consider hand signals for, that you may not have considered before, are as follows (examples will be given at FoF classes):
•Axis of advance / on line.
•Enemy direction
•Hasty ambush
•Bounding overwatch – forwards and backwards
•Peeling
•Flanking
•Move up / get on line / change axis

None of these hand signals will work if team members are not paying attention, by regular scanning of their sectors and to their buddies. If you get a hand signal, react to it and make it happen.

When it goes noisy, you need to be able to yell. Team members must listen, and every man is a link man and must pass the direction on. You may still have use for hand signals at this time, particularly if units become separated on something like a flanking move. Ensure that if you see something, you also communicate it effectively to other team members and the team leader. No secrets!

Do not be too hasty to rush to your death – do not attempt fire and movement if the enemy is not effectively suppressed. Rounds whacking into your team members every time they get up to run forward means the enemy is not suppressed, and in fact you are under effective enemy fire.

Ensure you identify cover before you move to it – and do not be hasty to rush to your death.

Ensure that if you have any type of stoppage, you improve your position of cover. Kneeling in the open to take care of a malfunction is not the recipe for a long life. This is taught all the way from the square range.

Suppressing the enemy means exactly that – effective accurate fire that will change the behavior of the enemy to where he can no longer suppress you.

To suppress the enemy you have to ensure team members have located him/them – use target indication ( 3 D’s) and ensure the information is communicated along the line. If team members are having their own individual fights with ‘their’ enemy, it means as one group gets up to bound forwards, ‘their’ enemy is not suppressed, and will kill them. SCAN! Do not get tunnel vision.

You must suppress the entirety of the enemy facing your team if you are to move without casualties. Due to inherent safety angles of moving groups (target obscuration), this will entail breaking the F&M down into smaller groups along the line as you get closer (i.e. breaking down from pairs to buddy fire and movement as the team gets closer – now taught on both the CTT and FoF classes).

Ensure that you are actually doing ‘short bounds’ and not ‘hero bounds.’ Move fast and low from cover to cover. ‘Keep low, move fast.’

Never underestimate the actual and psychological effect of a flanking move. BUT: ensure you are watching your flank so it does not happen to you, and ensure that separating groups does not lead to blue on blue situations.

Positively Identify (PID) your target before you engage. Not everything out there is the enemy, and just because it is moving, it may well be an injured team member that you just lit up.

Untrained armed teams will be responsible for a large amount of fracticide, both due to incompetence when first encountering the enemy and attempting to effectively return fire, and also due to indiscriminate target engagement. A large focus of MVT training is on buddy awareness, and breaking the tunnel vision of your ‘relationship’ with ‘Ivan’ so that you do not kill your buddies. This is something that is not understood in the ‘tacticool’ world of the square range, and is applicable to real combat.

Training, or ‘operant conditioning’ will reduce freezing, something that was also apparent on the FoF class. Yes, you should not be too hasty to rush to your death and you should suppress the enemy as best you can before you move, and you should identify your next piece of cover before you move to it, but at the same time, if you are doing a maneuver, such as a peel, then do it, don’t freeze and become unresponsive to the team. That will likely lead to the team’s death in place.

If you have a competent leader with a plan, then you as a team member should allow him to ‘use you’ as a ‘tool’ to accomplish that plan. If you are a follower, be a follower. That still allows you, as a ‘battlefield sensor’ to input information on newly located enemy, or flanking moves, or whatever, but you should do that and remain as a responsive weapon that the team leader can use to accomplish the mission. In team tactics, the leaders are using the ‘resources’ to put effective fire on the enemy and maneuver to accomplish the mission. Team members must be an active and useful part of that scheme, or the maneuver will stall, and you will start to die.

You can only develop the competence stated in the paragraph above, where everyone is a useful and active/attentive member of a team, alert to the situation, if you have trained and moved past the tendency to be an unresponsive blob, locked in tunnel vision.

That’s all that comes to mind right now, but I will update as appropriate if/when I realize that I have missed something.

You may note that most of what I have mentioned here is to do with the actual practical application of fire and movement, and SUT. This is not the sort of thing that will be grasped by reading manuals or watching videos. It needs to be trained, and it needs to be trained enough, through a mixture of live firing and FoF training, so that students will grasp this at a deep and unconscious level, thus significantly enhancing their chances of survival in a combat situation.

I cannot stress enough how I urge you, if you are a one-time or some-time-ago alumni or simply a blog or forum reader, to invest the time to get to a training class. It should be at least an annual event, with home based training for the rest of the year. If you can get CTT, CP and FoF done in the first year, you are hitting the jackpot and will be making significant advances not only towards the survivability of your tribe, but also in becoming dangerous to your enemies.

‘Team Coyote’

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A Message to Garcia

This is an important message, one that I hope you will get. Think about what you read here, it is an important lesson we all need to remember, and to be like Rowan. Please read and pass on to anyone you think needs to read or hear this message, I will be reading it to my youngest tonight when I get home.

1899

A Message to Garcia

By Elbert Hubbard

In all this Cuban business there is one man stands out on the horizon of my memory like Mars at perihelion. When war broke out between Spain & the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents. Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastness of Cuba- no one knew where. No mail nor telegraph message could reach him. The President must secure his cooperation, and quickly.

What to do!

Some one said to the President, “There’s a fellow by the name of Rowan will find Garcia for you, if anybody can.”

Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia. How “the fellow by the name of Rowan” took the letter, sealed it up in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, & in three weeks came out on the other side of the Island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia, are things I have no special desire now to tell in detail.

The point I wish to make is this: McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the letter and did not ask, “Where is he at?” By the Eternal! there is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college of the land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies: do the thing- “Carry a message to Garcia!”

General Garcia is dead now, but there are other Garcias.

No man, who has endeavored to carry out an enterprise where many hands were needed, but has been well nigh appalled at times by the imbecility of the average man- the inability or unwillingness to concentrate on a thing and do it. Slip-shod assistance, foolish inattention, dowdy indifference, & half-hearted work seem the rule; and no man succeeds, unless by hook or crook, or threat, he forces or bribes other men to assist him; or mayhap, God in His goodness performs a miracle, & sends him an Angel of Light for an assistant. You, reader, put this matter to a test: You are sitting now in your office- six clerks are within call.

Summon any one and make this request: “Please look in the encyclopedia and make a brief memorandum for me concerning the life of Correggio”.

Will the clerk quietly say, “Yes, sir,” and go do the task?

On your life, he will not. He will look at you out of a fishy eye and ask one or more of the following questions:

Who was he?

Which encyclopedia?

Where is the encyclopedia?

Was I hired for that?

Don’t you mean Bismarck?

What’s the matter with Charlie doing it?

Is he dead?

Is there any hurry?

Shan’t I bring you the book and let you look it up yourself?

What do you want to know for?

And I will lay you ten to one that after you have answered the questions, and explained how to find the information, and why you want it, the clerk will go off and get one of the other clerks to help him try to find Garcia- and then come back and tell you there is no such man. Of course I may lose my bet, but according to the Law of Average, I will not.

Now if you are wise you will not bother to explain to your “assistant” that Correggio is indexed under the C’s, not in the K’s, but you will smile sweetly and say, “Never mind,” and go look it up yourself.

And this incapacity for independent action, this moral stupidity, this infirmity of the will, this unwillingness to cheerfully catch hold and lift, are the things that put pure Socialism so far into the future. If men will not act for themselves, what will they do when the benefit of their effort is for all? A first-mate with knotted club seems necessary; and the dread of getting “the bounce” Saturday night, holds many a worker to his place.

Advertise for a stenographer, and nine out of ten who apply, can neither spell nor punctuate- and do not think it necessary to.

Can such a one write a letter to Garcia?

“You see that bookkeeper,” said the foreman to me in a large factory.

“Yes, what about him?”

“Well he’s a fine accountant, but if I’d send him up town on an errand, he might accomplish the errand all right, and on the other hand, might stop at four saloons on the way, and when he got to Main Street, would forget what he had been sent for.”

Can such a man be entrusted to carry a message to Garcia?

We have recently been hearing much maudlin sympathy expressed for the “downtrodden denizen of the sweat-shop” and the “homeless wanderer searching for honest employment,” & with it all often go many hard words for the men in power.

Nothing is said about the employer who grows old before his time in a vain attempt to get frowsy ne’er-do-wells to do intelligent work; and his long patient striving with “help” that does nothing but loaf when his back is turned. In every store and factory there is a constant weeding-out process going on. The employer is constantly sending away “help” that have shown their incapacity to further the interests of the business, and others are being taken on. No matter how good times are, this sorting continues, only if times are hard and work is scarce, the sorting is done finer- but out and forever out, the incompetent and unworthy go.

It is the survival of the fittest. Self-interest prompts every employer to keep the best- those who can carry a message to Garcia.

I know one man of really brilliant parts who has not the ability to manage a business of his own, and yet who is absolutely worthless to any one else, because he carries with him constantly the insane suspicion that his employer is oppressing, or intending to oppress him. He cannot give orders; and he will not receive them. Should a message be given him to take to Garcia, his answer would probably be, “Take it yourself.”

Tonight this man walks the streets looking for work, the wind whistling through his threadbare coat. No one who knows him dare employ him, for he is a regular fire-brand of discontent. He is impervious to reason, and the only thing that can impress him is the toe of a thick-soled No. 9 boot.

Of course I know that one so morally deformed is no less to be pitied than a physical cripple; but in our pitying, let us drop a tear, too, for the men who are striving to carry on a great enterprise, whose working hours are not limited by the whistle, and whose hair is fast turning white through the struggle to hold in line dowdy indifference, slip-shod imbecility, and the heartless ingratitude, which, but for their enterprise, would be both hungry & homeless.

Have I put the matter too strongly? Possibly I have; but when all the world has gone a-slumming I wish to speak a word of sympathy for the man who succeeds- the man who, against great odds has directed the efforts of others, and having succeeded, finds there’s nothing in it: nothing but bare board and clothes.

I have carried a dinner pail & worked for day’s wages, and I have also been an employer of labor, and I know there is something to be said on both sides. There is no excellence, per se, in poverty; rags are no recommendation; & all employers are not rapacious and high-handed, any more than all poor men are virtuous.

My heart goes out to the man who does his work when the “boss” is away, as well as when he is at home. And the man who, when given a letter for Garcia, quietly take the missive, without asking any idiotic questions, and with no lurking intention of chucking it into the nearest sewer, or of doing aught else but deliver it, never gets “laid off,” nor has to go on a strike for higher wages. Civilization is one long anxious search for just such individuals. Anything such a man asks shall be granted; his kind is so rare that no employer can afford to let him go. He is wanted in every city, town and village- in every office, shop, store and factory. The world cries out for such: he is needed, & needed badly- the man who can carry a message to Garcia.

THE END-

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Info you can use 7/1/16

Check out this tool for AR-15 users: Manual bolt extraction device

Check out what Silver is doing: Kitco Silver Chart

Site for really good quality tactical gear/uniforms: Tactical Performance Corp

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How Much Ammo?

This information is from Max Velocity's site. I thought it is good information for you guys to read, and to think about when you are deciding how much ammunition you will need.

Some questions answered: Ammo & Rates of Fire

Question via email:

You have written that a fighter can often expect to go through 4 AR magazines in a Break Contact drill (or the real thing) – correct me if my number of mags is incorrect. I am reading guys who carry 6-12 rifle mags on their gear loads – chest rigs, belts, etc. (I suspect they carry more in their rucks?).

From a simple logistical perspective, for a guy like me who has never been .mil, what is the play when a patrol gets caught by OpFor at the far-reaches of a patrol route, breaks contact and burns through ½ or more of the ammo they are carrying on their bodies? They could easily run dry of ammo very quickly if OpFor pursues with any intensity. For the CUTT with little or no support, that could get ugly.

To which I responded:

True.

You may expend that much breaking contact, and on follow ups by the enemy you may expend more, such as putting in a hasty ambush. You have what you carry unless you have means of resupply or QRF. You should have extra in your patrol pack. If you truly cannot break contact, then you are in trouble.

The flip side is this: you may well expend a lot of ammo breaking contact, because you need to put the fire down, even if it is cover shooting. It is not, however a mag dump Beirut unload! After that, if you utilize fire discipline, you can make your shots count more. One round into a pursuing enemy scout/ tracker will slow down the pursuit. Fire discipline is often sadly lacking!

For example sake, if you plan on 4 mags breaking contact (ballpark, it will be what it will be), and you are carrying 8 or 9 ready mags on your gear, then another 4 mags in your patrol pack replenishes that back to full load. Add a couple more, up to maybe 6, and you are good to go.

The above is of course a generalization but I hope I make the point?

A comment on the ‘Citizen Unconventional Tactical Team (CUTT): Order of Battle‘ Post:

My comment is about the info you post regarding ammo consumption during training vs. real combat. Although I can’t argue on it’s credibility (I’m pretty sure you are correct) my understanding is that this has very much to do with the dominance of support/heavy weapons during actual combat.

What I mean is, maybe the rifleman has less opportunities to fire in actual combat because of the fact that his own heavy weapons are doing most of the job anyway or the enemy’s heavy weapons are not letting him a chance to fire (he has to keep cover).

You argue on the less ammo carried by 7,62 riflemen with the fact that this doesn’t really matter because, unlike in training, they’ll not have to shoot so much in combat. But you whole article is based on the fact that they’ll not have support/heavy weapons at hand.

Please, can you explain this part more thoroughly?

Absolutes and how long is a piece of string? It is true that in combat you can fire an extremely high amount of rounds. If you learn your tactics from tacticool YouTube videos, or helmet cam of troops hosing down a hillside in Afghanistan, then you will do that. If you have easy resupply, vehicles, or you just don’t want to hand back in any live rounds at the end of your range day due to quartermaster accounting madness, then that is fine. Or you are Navy SEAL doing a demonstration break contact video for YouTube…..

What is missing are basic rifleman skills, professionalism, and fire discipline. If you want to hose down the hillside while you wait for the aircraft to arrive to fulfill your call for fire, then fine. If your fire is not accurate it will not be effective. If it is not striking at, or close to, an enemy fighter, it will not suppress him. You need to locate the enemy (hardest part) and apply accurate disciplined fire to positively identified enemy/enemy positions. If you do that, you are firing less than if you are firing at static targets on the range. Making accurate shots at a ducking and diving enemy.

Tie that in with the top part, and you have the reality of how much ammunition you are carrying. Ammunition = time when in enemy contact, to allow you to fire and maneuver. So you need to make it count. There are times when ammunition expenditure will be higher, such as in the initial stages of a break contact drill, and at times when you cannot actually see the enemy – but you still need to put fire down in order to move. You may be cover shooting. You may be using rapid fire to initially win the firefight before maneuvering on the enemy. But once the enemy is suppressed, fire control and discipline will reduce the amount of ammunition, striking accurately into the cover, that will keep the enemy suppressed.

You need team leaders to control fire. And team members who will listen. It’s about professionalism.

That is why I tell you that you will fire less in combat than you may on the range. Unless you decide not to, and blow through all your ammunition to little effect.

If you look at the live fire scenario in the video below that I made yesterday, I could easily have lit up the woods with some pew-pew. But I didn’t. It was a mixture of reflexive fire as a reaction to contact, and accurate follow up shots, not to mention follow ups to ensure the enemy was dead. Don’t pass over live enemy.

Regarding the heavy support weapons part, or the lack of, my point is to train rifleman in basic rifle discipline so that their fire is accurate, perhaps supplemented by a mobility support group (MSG)/support gunner, as described in the CUTT article. The idea is to use accurate fire as a replacement for volume of fire by automatic support weapons. In fact, much fire by automatic weapons is ineffective due to accuracy issues. Support weapons are best fired in short disciplined bursts, unless using them for area suppression in a defensive role. A properly outfitted support gunner with a semi-automatic .308 rifle can chew up an enemy position in the same way a 240 gunner firing 7.62 in short bursts can. They both have to be accurate, or it is wasted noise.

If you hear accounts of ‘going cyclic’, however high speed the unit is, then you know they lost discipline. Much of that cyclic fire would have been wasted, and simply expended ammunition.

Although to paraphrase Rommel: ‘There is no substitute for simply plastering the enemy with fire!’ So long as it is accurate! If it is over the top of the enemy, or on the next hillside, then so what?

You can be as tacticool pew-pew as you want, but a disciplined rifleman will take cover, locate the enemy, and put a round or two into him. Job done.

Shoot to kill.

Max

Original Post


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Practice, Practice, Practice!

When was the last time you actually performed good quality training on weapon manipulation drills? Reloads (under stress), clearing weapon malfunctions, re-checked your zero? Has it been a long time? I hope your answer is no longer than a month ago for most of the items I listed above, and more like a week on the rest of them.

Just because you have taken a class or two, or have trained with your buddies, and long ago learned how to perform these actions does not mean that you are done and you will be able to react correctly in a stressful encounter.

These are perishable skills guys and gals, if you do not perform them on a regular basis you will become less and less effective at these skills. What you really want to do is to get to the point of “Unconscious Competence”. This is when you will just react and perform the action correctly in a timely manner without thinking about it.

Sometimes you will need to go back and cover the basics, professionals do it all the time. They practice the basics until they can not get it wrong (well very rarely anyway). That is what makes them the best at what they do. Even the most highly trained operator will continuously train on the basics as well as the more exciting stuff. They train each way, each action so many times that it becomes second nature. Most people do not have the time and money to train this often, but we need to be doing what we can, we need to be training as often as possible. Train on the basics by yourself, practice employing your weapon systems in various conditions, and reloads at home, this can be done anywhere anytime, so there is no excuse guys and gals.

I highly encourage you to get effective tactical training, but to also take the knowledge from there and train your team/group/family/friends in those skills. Become the "force multiplier" for your group by getting this higher end training, then going back and training them on the things you learned.

Check out a past post here on The Tactical Patriot about training, and links to training sites and schools here in the United States.

Training link post

Here is a little motivational video for you Patriots out there, keep in the fight! We need you to be ready!


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Guerrilla Warfare Information

I found these sites, and had to share them with you. These sites have tons of great information, and reference material that will help you improve your training, and give you some vital information you will need. Gain as much information from these sites as you can, take full advantage of what is available. Print everything you can so you can have a hard copy for when/if we no longer have access to electronic information.

Rural vs Urban Guerrilla

CIA Guerilla Warfare Manual

Guerilla Warfare Manual

Guerrilla

Guerrilla Warfare
By Ernesto "Che" Guevara

Here is a HOOYAA video for you guys. This is the attitude we all should have!


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Dogs and Tracking Part 3

Part three of the series. I hope you are getting something out of this, it is just good information to know.

As you can see, the dogs are the least of your worries. They are just one of the tools that are used to accomplish the overall goal of catching you. They are used for direction and tracking, and they supply information to the other searchers. A K9 may also be used to grab you, just as they would anywhere else they are used.

Even if you could somehow trick or neutralize the dog, you are still going to have to deal with quite a bit of other things. To get into range of doing harm to the dog or handler is to get very close to the people who are trying to find you, and help is only a radio call away. You will never encounter just the handler and the dog by themselves. The handler is armed, and behind them is a few more people who are armed and focused on support.

They don’t have to run you down. They just have to follow until someone else corners you or you give up. They will be constantly resupplied with water and rotated out for rest. They know your chances of that are slim. Many give a good long chase only to walk out and give up, because they are dying of thirst.

Understanding The Handlers

These guys are usually professionals. They have schools, certifications, experience, and decades of methods behind the art and science of using dogs. They will have learned from people who spent their lives doing this very thing. Many are dedicated to the cause and are driven to succeed for one reason or another. To them, the dog is a tool. The handler learns to read the dog like an instrument. He knows a great many things by observation, such as how hard the dog pulls and how eager he is. He can watch the dog lift its nose at a tree or lean in a direction. He can read confusion or if the dog is unsure. When he does read these things, he knows how to bring the dog back to a point it was sure or canvass another area. They can hold position and let the escorts fan out. Handlers will read maps and approach trails from angles they think will give them the best track. They will report a wealth of information to the other chasers. If they don’t catch you themselves, there is a good chance they had something to do with it.

Some departments don’t have their own tracking teams. They may have K9 units that consist of bomb or drug dogs but no actual trackers. A department like this will usually call on another department or hire a third-party civilian dog company. These civilian companies are usually made up of former military or police K9 handlers. They, in my experience, are more knowledgeable. They are the ones who chose to pursue a career in K9 services after leaving the military or police force. Their K9 companies do not deal with anything other than dogs. The don’t have to take classes on domestic violence or writing tickets, for example. The handlers are also people, which is to be kept in mind when trying to avoid being tracked.

How To “Win”

It is not the dog you have to beat; it is the handler. What you want is a morale win. You want the handler to give up. As I said before, the handler is a person. He or she has bad days and good days. They may have been called in off vacation or a day off to work on finding you. They get tired or are out of shape. They may be sick or have just been passed up for promotion. These things are not something you’ll likely be able control, but keep them in mind if you’re attempting a morale win. Every little bit counts.

Remember previously my notes on attacking the handler or the dog. Doing either of these things can harden the will of those looking for you. They will push through a lot more discomfort, if they have some payback in mind. They may let the bite dog chew on you for a little while longer before calling it off.

I have seen a handler show up at the start of a track wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He got out of his van took about 30 seconds to look an area over and then declare the dog couldn’t find anything. The dog never got out of the van. He didn’t feel like working that day. He didn’t feel like slogging through a wet jungle. This worked because he was the professional making the call on the dog’s ability. It also worked because tracking dogs were only one small part of a search.

Tracking dogs are usually on a leash. Sometimes, depending on the area, those leashes are thirty feet long. The dog tracks ahead, and the handler follows. I’ve seen more than one handler give up and declare a lost trail after they spent an hour unwrapping the dog from being twisted around tree after tree. It was almost as if the runner was doing it on purpose. Doing something like this takes a lot of time and will seriously hamper your forward progress.

Anywhere you go the tracker has to go and he has to take the dog with him. More often than not, the dog is leading him and may get into a situation or area that will take the handler more time to negotiate. A four of five foot climb or drop will cause them to lower or lift the dog up, or go around. The handler might have to crawl through very thick saw grass or briars. This can get annoying when it happens over and over again.

Some handlers don’t want to get wet. They will call a lost trail to avoid doing so. The handler on the government dime is getting paid whether they find you or not. That handler may be wearing body armor and/or weapons. This can add significantly to his ability and will to keep chasing you. They get hot and tired, as well.

Terrain dangerous enough to cause the handler concern is another deterrent. He’s got a dog pulling on a leash and walking close to perilous cliffs can cause him to back off. He may be afraid of heights or drowning. Knowledge that you’ve booby trapped the area can cause them to give up (the tracking portion).

Additional Notes

Some of the most successful people that avoided our teams, causing us to give up, were the ones that picked an easy and fast route and headed away in pretty much a straight line. They didn’t make any attempts to fool us and didn’t even try to cover their tracks. Speed and distance were their only concern. As we slowly followed them in full armor at the pace the dogs set, they kept increasing their distance. No one wanted to sleep in the jungle at night. By the end of the second day, they were far enough forward that the trail was getting weaker. Rain on the second day was almost a guarantee that the handlers would call it off. The further we had to go in, the further our resupply lines were stretched. We also knew that walking for days forward meant walking for days back. It just wasn’t worth it for what we were chasing them for. Even when the handlers wanted to go forward, the escort teams in full armor were getting tired and suggesting that he “got away”. If the person we were pursuing made it to any kind of civilization (even a small village), the tracking portion was over as far as dogs were concerned.

Remember what they are chasing you for. If there is a full-blown state-wide man-hunt in progress, you’ve probably done something (or they think you have) that is going to keep them looking for you for a long, long time. If they’ve decided to chase you for some lesser reason, you may be able to avoid capture by making it not worth the trouble, expense, or time it would take to catch you. Just stay away or ahead of them long enough and they’ll give up.

Helicopters can cost thousands of dollars an hour to keep in the air. If the searchers have this asset available, it will have specific areas to search and most likely be on stand-by to be called in when they need an overhead look at an area. Overtime, funds for third-party contractors, supplies, gas, et cetera are factors. Someone is keeping track of how much all of this is going to cost.

Get to an area with a lot of people, such as a city. This won’t stop the search and will bring its own problems, but it will pretty much stop the dogs from tracking you in the classic sense.

You can make things worse by trying. If for instance you stole a car, got involved in a high-speed chase, and then ran into the woods, they might look for you for hours before giving up. They got the car back. The rest is standard police work. Set up a booby trap that kills an officer and you’ll have major media reporting it and several departments and counties in on the search. They will NEVER EVER give up on you.

Dogs can be commanded to bark in attempt to flush you. Many people, upon hearing the dog is closer, make a panicked run for it. I’ve seen handlers, when they think they are close, yell something like “We see you! Come out with your hands up”. This actually works. A few people have come out and done just that.

Tracking Dogs Part 3

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Dogs and Tracking Part 2

Here is part 2 of the Tracking Dogs article. Please read, and take into account when working on your preparedness plans.

Cross a River

I specifically brought this one up. They laughed at this as a common misconception. They will have maps, and if they think you ran in the direction of a river, there is probably someone working their way up already without a dog. They will just run a dog up and down both sides of the river until they regain the trail. If they are close on your trail, they will send runners up and down both sides to see where you exited by finding the water trail and will actually gain time on you. Moving through water on foot slows you down, as well. Not even a swamp was a serious hindrance to the dogs’ ability to track.

Tarzan (tree top to tree top)

This didn’t work, because even in the jungle it couldn’t be kept up for long. The dogs would come to the tree and stop. At that point the handlers would fan out and start over, as they did when the dog originally found the trail. There were few options on which tree to go to, so it was obvious where they’d take the dog to start first. Hiding in a tree didn’t work for this same reason.

Climb or Descend

This didn’t work because they would just go around and start looking for a trail once at the bottom. They would run the dog along both the top and the bottom of the cliff, until they regained the trail. Looking at a rock face will tell them a likely climbing route.

Shedding Clothes

Many are of the mind that if you drop clothes, the dog will “find” the target, as in training, and give up. The handler will immediately set the dog on the new trail or use a different dog.

In the case of a bite dog, most dogs are trained to grab meat not clothing. They are trained to bite firm, solid, and to reacquire if they don’t have a good bite. If you think you are going to drop a jacket or shoes and the dog is going to focus on that while you get away, you are probably wrong.

Covering the Scent

A dog’s nose is sensitive to the range of parts per million. They WILL smell you through anything, including large amounts of bleach or ammonia. If the fumes are too strong, the handlers will skirt the area and have the dog regain the trail. They will swing as wide as possible to relocate you. Even changing clothes completely doesn’t help.

Outrun the Dog

This isn’t going to happen. The dogs have four legs and conditioning. Their diet is specific, and they live for the purpose they were trained for and are eager to please. You will tire out long before a dog will, even in the heat of a jungle. If for some reason the dog goes down, they will replace it with another.

Doubling Back

The dog will just follow the double back and eventually find the trail again. Once again, the handlers will see this coming and fan out to find where you eventually broke off. They may use multiple dogs to follow multiple trails.

Bait the Dog (including poison)

Most dogs are trained not to take food from anyone other than a handler. Dogs are usually not rewarded with food. Working dogs get a minute or so to play with a favorite toy or ball, as a reward for doing so well. Tracking dogs are almost always on a leash and the handler is right there to prevent it from eating anything.

Dogs also shouldn’t be allowed to contaminate evidence, so they are trained not to touch things. In the case of bombs or drugs, you can see why they wouldn’t want the dogs to come in contact with what they have found, possibly causing an explosion or poisoning themselves. Therefore the dog, once it finds what it is looking for, will give a sign, usually sitting down. Most signs are not verbal (from the dog). This is especially the case with bomb dogs, or when they are sneaking up on someone. If the dog encounters something it will probably just sit down next to it until the handler gets there to reward the dog for doing a good job and then continue on.

The dog may stop at each item and await directions from the handler. It would take more items than you can reasonably carry to make a difference in slowing them down. Also, you would be leaving a serious trail to follow.

Kill The Dog

To get close enough to kill a dog, you are going to have to get close to the handler and anyone else with him (see Kill the Handler). This might buy you some time, but the only thing it is going to do is harden their will to find you. In many states attacking a police or military dog is considered the same as attacking an actual officer. Even if it isn’t, once you show your willingness to use lethal force you have probably guaranteed a much harder or lethal response if they do catch you. Now you have royally pissed off a handler, done thousands of dollars in damage to government equipment, and may have shown them you are armed and willing to kill.

After you have gone and done that, they will bring in another dog and the game will start over, except now the ending is much more grim.

Kill The Handler

I’ll let you guess the serious consequences of doing this. Attacking someone, regardless of whether you kill them, is going to get you a lethal response. If the dog is bite trained, it will defend the handler, especially if the handler gets a command off. It is to be noted that there will never be just one handler or a handler by himself with the dog. The handler works the dog and is usually followed by several armed people who will do the apprehending. These people are almost always in radio contact with many other people. If they get a call out, your location will be pinpointed. If you somehow eliminate everyone with a radio, the fact that a team is not reporting in will be an indicator, too. Now that you have ensured your capture, you have murder on your list of offenses, as well.

Booby Traps

This has the same effect as attacking the dog or handler. You have to have the materials, knowledge, and time to set things like this up. Once a tracking team encounters something like this, it will slow them down as they anticipate more of the same. Even if your trap doesn’t kill or injure someone, you will suffer the same effects as if you had actually used lethal force on an officer.

Factors That May Help You

I’ve listed some things that really don’t help your situation. Here are some that may:

•Time- This is by far the biggest concern of the handlers I spoke with. The older the trail, the harder it is to follow. A day makes a big difference. A week makes it all but impossible. The fresher the trail, the easier it is to follow.
•Heavy Rain- This destroys scent trails. It’s not fool proof, but it is a big inhibitor. It spreads things out, and if you have heavy cover (like a forest or jungle), it will mix things up and bring other things down.
•Heavy Wind- This can disperse scent or give the dog trouble holding the trail.
•Open Areas- You might not think so, but this kind of terrain can be helpful. There just isn’t as much to rub up against or “hold” the scent. Rain and wind have a greater effect in this terrain. The down side to these areas is that you can be spotted easier.

Factors That May Hinder You

There are some factors that make things worse, and these include:

•Not having a place to go- Hauling butt into the deep woods at high speed for days is going to get you what? Yes, they didn’t catch you, but you got yourself killed from exposure.
•Heavy/unique scent- The stronger the odor of whatever you have, the more of a trail you’ll lay down and the harder it is for time or mother nature to get rid of it.
•Regularly Traveled Trails- Not only are these visible to the eye, they are often scented by you multiple times.
•Lack of Physical Fitness- If you aren’t up for a run, then you aren’t up for a chase.
•Carrying Weight- The more you carry, the more you’re going to have to rest and the slower you’re going to be. If you are shedding things, like water bottles, food wrappers, et cetera, it will only aid in finding you.
•Lack of Supplies- Two days without water, especially if you are on the run, and you’re done. They will be looking for you for more than two days. They will stake out the places you can get something to eat or drink.

Understanding the Chase

What most people think of, when considering being tracked by dogs, is a hillbilly in overalls leading a pack of baying blood hounds. The runner is fearfully trying to catch a few minutes of rest while listening to the dogs get closer and closer. That’s not going to happen.

First of all, all the tracking dogs I worked with never made a sound. The closer the team thinks they are getting, the less sounds they’ll try to make, unless they are trying to flush you. The exception is when tracking dogs are let off the leash, which can bay and howl in pursuit.

Most chases are not long drawn out affairs. It takes a day or two. What will happen is that someone will have decided a man-hunt is called for. A command post will be established. They will seal down a large area and start patrolling roads, streets, and intersections. They will look at maps and decide where to focus their searches. They will understand how fast a person on foot moves. They will start flushing out hiding spots. Imagine a commander looking down at a map. He knows about what time you started running. He’ll pinpoint the starting position and then, calculating how fast he figures you can run in that amount of time, he’ll draw a circle on the map and inform everyone of the main search area. Other assets from helicopters to neighboring state law enforcement will be close in on that area. When (and if) they decide to use dogs, it will be to initially get a bearing and direction. The dog will locate the trail, and this will cut down the search area significantly.

The dog team will then proceed to track, while all of those other assets close in on you from above and other directions. Depending on the terrain and direction, they may sprint forward and start hitting those hiding spots and choke points. Sending people forward can sometimes mess up a scent trail, but they’ll know this and avoid the most likely routes. Everyone will be in contact with each other via radio. That previously mentioned map will get updated constantly. Searchers will be rotated in and out to keep them fresh, though you get no such break. As time wears on, they know you will have to eat and drink. You may just give up. Eventually they’ll catch you crossing a road, river, lake, or hiding in an abandoned house, cave, bush, et cetera. If it is actually the tracking team that has cornered you or caught up enough to identify you, the escorts accompanying them will move in. This will be handled much like the chases you see on TV. The officers will call it in and everyone will converge while they run you down or hold you in position until you’re surrounded. Maybe a bite dog will be sent in to pin you. The rest is history.

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Dogs and Tracking

Here is some good information I found about tracking dogs over on the Survival Blog. I am posting it because I think it is good information that the American Patriot should know about, and to have knowledge of.

I had read an article some time ago about tracking dogs, and I didn’t get to respond to it then. However, here is my experience. It’s not the dog you are trying to beat; it is the handler.

I have a lot of experience with tracking dogs. I used to guard the copper pipeline in Indonesia. The copper mine (also containing some gold) was on top of a mountain. Once the material was taken from the ground, it was mixed into a slurry and pumped miles through the jungle to the port. This pipeline was under constant attack. People would cut into the pipe, fill some buckets, and run off into the jungle. We would have to track them with dogs, in the hopes of arresting them. Usually it was the military or police doing the cutting, so there was plenty of incentive to get away.

I spoke to most of the dog handlers about how to get away if a person were being tracked. They were adamant that there was very little a person could do to cover their tracks or fool the dogs. We had people climbing trees and jumping from tree to tree in order to break the trail. Some would run through rivers, ponds, and swamps or even climb and descend cliff faces.

You also have to understand that when the authorities decide to put on a manhunt, you are not coming up against just dogs and handlers; you are coming up against entire departments. They won’t send a couple of guys and a dog into the woods after you. They will set up a command post that sends and receives constants updates, as professionals coordinate the search for you. They can put up helicopters with heat cameras. They will drive along roads or get ahead of you and/or send other teams from another direction. They can seal off huge areas and blanket it with searchers or just wait you out. Even if you could take off at high speed into an endless woods, you would eventually run out of supplies.

Many times when someone is on the run, they don’t even use dogs to find them. Almost all of them are caught and caught quickly. The dog tracking team is gravy. If they see that you have only one way to go or few options, they’ll just high-tail to those spots and send fast chase teams after you without a dog.

Understanding Dogs

These dogs are multi-thousand dollar pieces of equipment. All professionally-trained dogs are certified regularly on their ability to do what they are trained to do. All handlers are certified and trained on not only their ability to handle a dog but to handle specific dogs. Both the dog and the handler have training requirements, records, and certifications. Any department worth mentioning is going to have a well-maintained team. Just like any other equipment, these dogs will be regularly evaluated for serviceability.

Some are good at some things, and some are good at others. For instance, drug dogs range widely on their ability to find certain drugs. Some will be good at finding cocaine, while others excel at finding marijuana. If the authorities know what they are looking for or suspect something specific, they will pull out their heavy hitter for that specific thing. If a dog fails, they will use another.

Finding you is a game to the dog. They work for rewards, and that reward is usually a few minutes with a favorite toy. Just like any other trick, the dog is taught and rewarded for doing well. The dog is eager to please and is fairly simple minded in its pursuit of you.

It is not a relentless machine hunting you down. Think of a dog that enjoys playing fetch rather than the “Terminator”.

There are generally four kinds of law enforcement dogs: Attack (Bite), Drug, Bomb, and Tracking. Of course, there are many more specialties, such as agricultural, cadaver, money, et cetera. All of these dogs specialize in finding something.

Most dogs are single purpose, but you will occasionally find one that is cross trained. When dogs are cross trained, they are usually primarily trained in one of the nose-oriented jobs and then taught to be a bite dog. Cross-training is more likely to happen in departments with smaller budgets or K9 facilities.

Tracking dogs are very similar. Some dogs excel at finding people under different conditions. Some do better at finding people in the forest or jungle. Some are used to locating a scent, and others follow it. Some are slower and more reliable, while others are runners and will bolt in the direction of the scent trail and then reacquire it. You may come up against more than one kind of dog. For instance, they may use their sure-fire slow and steady dogs to negotiate difficult terrain or an area they think a runner is using counter-measures. They then may switch to fast dogs over terrain where there is limited choice of direction or to finally run someone down when they see him. You may get tracked by a tracking dog, and then upon seeing you they may release the bite dogs.

Tracking dogs can be of any breed. I’ve seen mixed-breed mutts taken from shelters and trained to sniff out one thing or another.

Bite Dogs

These are the dogs you will most likely encounter at the end of the chase. They are the ones most likely not to be on a leash when you do. They can be used to flush you out of a bush, attic, or any other hiding place. If the tracking dogs come to a stop and are going nuts barking at a bush, cave, et cetera, it’s the bite dog coming in after you. A bite dog is normally released when a target is in site and distinguishable to the dog by the handler.

Almost always the dog will latch onto you and hold you until the handler arrives. Bite dogs are trained to grab you in a specific way, usually by an arm or a leg. I saw one dog that was trained to grab a person by the ankle and rotate in circles until the handler got there. This caused the victim to fall down and be spun around. This is so that the victim cannot kick at the dog.

If available, or if they think there will be trouble, or if a dog is having a hard time, or you are attacking the dog, they will release another one or just shoot you (with a bullet or taser). No matter what you do, once a dog has been told to stop you, you are going to be seriously hindered as far as escaping any further. The handler and the rest of the team will be right on top of you, either way.

Bite Dog Training

There are several things that make up a good bite dog.
1.Its ability to bite you, when commanded to do so, and where/how trained to do so.
2.Its ability to firmly hold that bite as long as necessary.
3.Its ability to reacquire a bite, if it loses it.
4.Its ability to let go and back off when commanded to do so.

The following problems may occur:

Problems with #1– The dog bites without command. It may bite other officers, or the handler, or you. It may bite you in an “unauthorized” place, such as the crotch or throat.

Problems with #2– The dog bites but does not grip. This may cause the dog to repeatedly bite you over and over again, causing injury.

Problems with #3– Sometimes once a dog loses the bite, it will not bite again, which is bad for the officers.

Problems with #4– The biggest and most common failure (in my experience) is #4. With an aggressive breed and after a chase, the dog just will not let go. The handler constantly yells commands at the dog, and the dog doesn’t listen. This causes a rush of officers on the victim to pin him while the handler physically removes the dog from the person, sometimes injuring him at the same time. I’ve seen dogs bite officers at this point or rush back and bite the victim once he’s in handcuffs.

Most bite dogs are larger, aggressive breeds that have the body weight to seriously challenge a full-grown man. Once it has you by a leg or an arm, you are not lifting 150+ lbs and dragging it around, especially when it doesn’t want you to and is actively fighting you. Even if you could do this, you’re not going to be able to move fast enough to avoid the tracking team.

The Bloodhound

This dog is better at smelling things out, because of the shape of its head, ears, and posture. The of the way the dog is built, it has its head low to the ground and level. Its ears are out and actually catch and keep the scent in its face, keeping a kind of pocket around the face and nose of the dog. On top of this, it has a very powerful nose. In my experience an actual bloodhound is rare. They excel at smelling things, and any department that put money into a bloodhound will always train it to locate something. I’ve never seen a bite trained or cross trained blood hound.

Tracking Dogs

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Four Stages of Competence

This is an important concept to know about, the ideas of having the four stages of competence makes total sense. Read this and you will understand, that this is a very important concept to know about, and to shoot for Unconscious Competence since it is the highest level, and the level at which you just react correctly in situations. This post came from the Max Velocity Blog, see link at end of article

The Four Stages of Competence:

Unconscious incompetence

The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. They may deny the usefulness of the skill. The individual must recognize their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage. The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn.
Comment: Sound familiar? All those across the internet heaping scorn on those who would tactically train, not recognizing their own incompetence or even the need to train? This is the bulk of ‘the internet.’ The reference to the ‘stimulus to learn’ is also very interesting, if taken in the light of the many comments you see along the lines of “things are still too comfortable right now.” For most of these people when they finally wake up, it will be too late.

Because why? Because PT is a basis for being able to conduct small unit tactics (SUT) and if neglected cannot be gained at short notice. Also, whether or not you can, or think you can shoot, anyone who trains at MVT knows that it is not a shooting class, but a team class about how to ‘shoot, move, and communicate.’ See those linked posts at the top of this page for more information on why that is not as easy at it reads on the internet.

Conscious incompetence

Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage.
Comment: This is the stage that many MVT students will come from. They recognize the need for the skill, and the value in gaining it. That value being the increased survival chances of themselves and their family. MVT offers an environment where mistakes can be made and learned from, where the price is not your life, or that of your kids.

The flip side to that is those that recognize the need, but will not train due to ego, or fear of failure at class in front of others. These are the types who try and eke out the knowledge solely from the internet, or who will only ‘train’ when surrounded by people they trust will not embarrass them: and thus, they avoid effective training due to false belief built on ego, and do not recognize that a training environment is designed to tolerate mistakes on the way to success. Perhaps they heard that in the middle of a simulated gunfight on the live ranges at MVT, a cadre would perhaps yell once or twice? Wow. They should have trained in Idaho, where the mobility training area was covered in numerous ‘Big Holes’ created by badgers (class joke – watch out for the ‘Big Hole’).

Conscious competence

The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill.
Comment: This is where many alumni are, who have trained and built the basic skills, yet need to conduct continuation training back home in a competence environment, and would benefit from returning for more advanced classes and repetition of the basic classes. These are perishable skills and you cannot just train once and ‘be done.’ Those military or retired military who train may be here also, because they may have skill fade due to not operating any longer, or for some time, in an infantry role.

One of the reasons the 6 day combined CTT/CP class went away at the VTC (with the exception of remote classes) was due to this mindset where people could come in and ‘get it done.’ Yes, it was economical for flights from California etc, but so many times students would show up and then immediately realize that, for example, their PT sucked, but at that time they were locked into the class. It’s not that I don’t bang on about the need for at least a basic level of PT for these classes, but it seems many people are not listening. Oh, wait: Unconscious incompetence in the PT realm! I find it better for people to come and do CTT, go away and fix their PT and gear etc, then come back for either another CTT, or Combat Patrol, or Force On Force etc. If you are doing a combined class as part of remote training in Texas or Idaho, then please listen and go out and do some PT, even if it’s just hiking with some gear on. Please do same for CTT also!

Unconscious competence

The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become “second nature” and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned.
Comment: if you show up to class with this level of skill, then you are in danger of being snapped up as cadre, so long as you show an ability to translate that skill into an ability to teach others. You have to be able to look inside yourself at what you are doing, and break it down into teachable parts.

To conclude, the D-K effect, and the Four Stages of Competence, are an interesting way to asses your own level of competence, and also that of those you come across on the internet. However, at the end of the day, always remember that despite your best efforts, “you can’t fix stupid!”

Max Velocity

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Mutual Assistance Groups

Here is a good video I found about this vital thing we all need to be a part of. The whole idea of Mutual Assistance Group should be very appealing to you, since there is no way any of us will be able to make it on our own. We have to band together to help each other out. None of us can stand watch over our families, or our selves by ourselves, we cannot stay awake 24 hours a day. We need to form groups to train with, prepare with, and then to band together with when it is needed. Watch and enjoy.


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Adapting the Mossberg Shotgun

Here is an interesting kit for Mossberg shotguns allowing owners to have a detachable magazine fed shotgun. I really do not see the point in this, but hey that is just my opinion. Check out the information below from the "American Rifleman.org".

Ingenious adaptation For the Mossberg owner who has everything else. Detachable Magazine Kit For the Mossberg 500

There is no doubt that pump-action shotguns are a viable self-defense option due to the manual, simplistic and almost fail-safe operation they employ. However, some shooters wind up shying away from the scattergun because of the difficulty in reloading it quickly—something that is even more frustrating during high-stress situations. Adaptive Tactical, LLC, has devised a solution in the form of a detachable-box magazine kit for the Mossberg Model 500, 590 and Maverick 88 shotguns.

In conjunction with Mossberg engineers, Adaptive designed a replacement magazine tube/well that offers a hook-and-rock style engagement that not only works well, it cleanly blends with Mossberg’s factory action. The Sidewinder Venom-SE 10-round box kit reviewed here contains all parts necessary for conversion along with the company’s Ex Performance stock and pistol grip, Wraptor fore-end and detachable 10-round Sidewinder Venom magazine.

Installation is very straightforward, although a bit of custom work is required. Removing the factory magazine tube was a bit of a chore, and some hand-fitting was required to install the replacement. Indexing the magazine tube perfectly required a bit of material removal via the supplied emery cloth.

The furniture provided within the kit completely changed the gun’s performance and handling. Despite the change of balance and downward-protruding 10-round magazine, range testing proved the system to be a viable option. Only one magazine ships with the kit, but additional magazines are available on the company’s website starting for around $50. Price: $300 (black), $340 (camouflage). Contact: Adaptive Tactical, LLC.; (208) 442-8000; adaptivetactical.com.

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