The American Civil War is filled with lessons for politicians and warfighters alike. You could write a book about all that we could learn from the losses that were suffered by soldier and civilian alike. The war that our new nation was immersed in was an entertaining spectacle for the rest of the world. The Civil War changed warfare for the world in some ways, but in other ways, it took WW1 for the rest of the world to see the light. From my understanding of the Civil War, we are running a parallel course and at risk of repeating some of the same conceptual mistakes made back then. In this article, I am just going to hit some of the wave top subjects, or else this piece will take forever to get published.
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I spent 5 years and change in the Marine Corps infantry. I was wounded in Afghanistan and was stabilized before being medically retired at the ripe old age of 23. My military experience gave me incredible experience and exposure (though limited for sure) to how a battalion is run and how it fights. More than that, I got to see the small & large picture of serving during a time of war and experienced its benefits and shortfalls. In this article, I am merely going to describe my analysis from 50,000ft (so to speak) of what it is like to serve in the military. This is not going to be fully detailed, but should hit the wavetops of how it affects the psychological state of a US citizen as they serve in our volunteer military (during my time, anyways). Just remember this is my isolated experience being condensed down to be honest and comparable for someone unexposed to military life. I cannot speak for current Marines or even other branches.
Think of all the physical skills you have learned over the span of your life to this point (hammering nails, throwing a baseball/football, doing tricks on a skateboard, shooting a bow, etc.) If you were to try to perform those skills after not doing them for a while, you’d find you have deteriorated in your ability to perform as you did when you actively focused on it (people call it being rusty). Even walking away from certain physical skills for a week will cause your brain to start overwriting these physical skills with others that you are CURRENTLY using. Your shooting skills work very much the same, and I dare say they are more vulnerable to being overwritten due to how precise your movements must be and how isolated the skills are from your normal day to day activities. On top of that, each platform (rifle, pistol, shotgun, revolver, muzzle loader) is going to require specific and unique physical coordination. Most people will struggle to maintain proficiency with multiple shooting platforms, let alone master a single one.
The events of the last decade have sparked a growing interest in preparedness against everything from common crime to tyrannical government action. America is undoubtedly crumbling as the Roman Empire did, and there is a fear that people are going to be alone and have to fend for themselves. On the other hand, there are those out there that believe in and are promoting the Minuteman concept. The idea is to “Be Ready” at a moment’s notice to throw on your war belt and assemble into an irregular defense force of sorts. Feel free to leave a comment and your input.
The current method of providing block-style firearms training (8 hours straight) is absolutely unique in that it is the only martial skill that is taught in block training and then left to the end user to figure out the rest. Any other sport or art is taught for at least an hour a day for several days a week. Shooting is definitely, if not more, physically demanding as any other martial art or sport. Whether in self-defense or competition, the shooter must perform several fine motor skills to achieve a desired result within the shortest time possible. The pressure of meeting a time standard in competition is still going to cause a release of adrenaline, though the stakes are in winning a prize vs preserving life. I believe that firearms training can be done in a scalable and adaptive manner, much like Krav Maga.
I am sure that every one of us has been told to focus on the front sight in order to get an accurate shot off. Unfortunately, this is a concept that was misapplied and misinterpreted for decades. Imagine if you were told to focus and stare at the front of your vehicle while travelling a hundred miles per hour while the rest of the world is completely blurry. This is practically the same thing, especially when people recommend this technique for combat shooting where your threat and you are both moving.
In the years since I retired from the military, I have grown and adapted to life outside of a world that condemned individualism and critiqued through attention to detail. As the Sheriff of Baghdad John McPhee has said, "You don't learn anything by being all highspeed in a team. If you want to really learn how to solve problems, go out alone and without support." That statement he made on the Combat Story YouTube interview really struck me as wisdom. When you are out of the military, the real test of a man and a warrior begins.
While growing up in the Dallas suburbs, it was likely for my parents to get out of work only to be in standstill traffic, sometimes for hours. My mother and brother have a medical condition that required frequent attention at the time, so being stuck in traffic without supplies just for a few hours could have literally been a death sentence for them. Being responsible parents/adults, my parents stored supplies in the vehicle(s) just in case. I use my parents for this subject because this is how a responsible parent/adult should prepare at a minimum. At no point did they store guns or bug out bags or active shooter response kits. They simply prepared for the likely scenarios, plus some extras here and there to keep my brother and I from complaining during long drives. They stored enough food and water for all four of us (not MREs), a basic first aid kit (Not IFAK-style), bad weather attire, and some basic hygiene items. And best of all is that they weren't afraid to use any of it. We never felt like any of it was off limits. Only storing "just in case" supplies that you can't touch until an emergency is about as sensible as a scuba suit in the desert, because "just in case".
As a student of history with an interest in how things work and why, I find myself questioning a lot of things. It seems that we private citizens have all this freedom to choose and purchase our own gear and learn the best tactics, yet people are so lazy that they just default to what the military is doing/using without even questioning if there is a better way. Sadly, our country hasn’t won a major land war in over 75 years despite all our technology. So, I fail to see why the US military is a shining example of a premiere fighting force.
I am not one who believes in putting a gun on safe during immediate action (Tap, Rack, Bang) or slide lock/bolt lock reloads. The point of these manipulations is to correct the issue as fast as possible because you need to have the gun back in the fight as soon as possible. The last thing you should be doing during these times is a form of virtue signaling. Perhaps focusing on weapons handling and proper adherence to the safety rules is more reasonable than adding steps to manipulations and mechanics that can't even be universally applied.
The US veteran community is on fire over pulling out of Afghanistan in the fashion that we are. I have been hearing a lot of different things about this situation from how we failed the country after 20 years to how we are leaving Americans and our allies behind in hostile country. I have my own opinion about this whole thing going on, but you must remember that I am writing this while everything is still unfolding.
To all out there who suffer from public anxiety due to PTSD from a combat environment, I wanted to share a method of handling crowds and how to manage yourself in public. As a combat veteran myself and someone who would not voluntarily or idly step into a crowd or a packed building, I have had to find ways to cope in order to accomplish certain tasks such as paying bills, assisting a family member, etc. Public anxiety is a real thing that I am challenged with on nearly a daily basis, and it never seems to get better. However, I have come up with a mental state of mind that morphs the anxiety into something chewable when you are in public or a crowd for a task. Unlike you were in the military, you are all alone, and there is not a bunch of likeminded and competent people to have your back. The unfortunate truth is that once you are out, you have to take care of yourself. You will learn quickly that the military did not actually train you to be independent, but it is actually quite easy.
A couple of days ago I had to relieve my Service Dog Ruth of her pain. She lost the ability to walk on her own and often was quite confused about it. She was also developing other similar joint and back issues that were normal for her age, size, and breed. This did not make the decision easier or harder, but just verified that it was the right thing to do. She was my first and longest love. It was unconditional, undying and never changed. This is a little story about our time together over ten years. It is short for a ten year recollection and highly abbreviated, but I can't possibly recall every graphic detail in this article. My hope is that this article illustrates just how much this dog changed my life, healed me, and continued to help me. She was the first in my life that I felt loved me unconditionally and I could love back, and that made her incredibly special. This is our little story.
Yesterday, I had to lay my Service Dog and best friend of ten years to rest. Her name was Ruth and she was as much a part of me as my skin. She had been the most consistent and loyal thing I had ever known and I rewarded her for it. Now I am not sure how to go on without that consistency and presence that I can have 100% trust in. It has caused a grief that I did not know I had the ability to feel. I literally have felt physical pain by not having her around. Unfortunately, it was time to let her go due to medical conditions. Laying her to rest was the last gift I could give to her, aside for some McDonalds before she left.
For those who do not know, I wake up at 5:30 in the morning, every day. After retiring from the Marines, I went on for years without structure and leaders telling me what to do. I developed my own structure over a year ago, and I have been improving on it through constant trial and error. Though there is a lot that goes into structure development, one of the most crucial parts is having a standard and consistent wakeup time.
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