Let's face it, if you are in a militia, you probably have an agenda or think you are some badass who is ready to fight and be heroic. Kinda sad to see the group of jokers that makeup these clusterfuck groups. Half of the people I see in these groups are so old or out of shape that going from prone to standing would be measured with a calendar. They lack training and are not diligent in consistent practical practice. They have zero consistency of camouflage that works in their own environment. Not that everyone needs to wear the same thing, but stop wearing that gray ACU crap. You look like a dumb ass wannabe. Granted there are some groups that are relatively squared away, but I don't think many of these groups know what they are really doing, or they lack good leadership and experienced members that have done more than LARP (Live Action Role Play). Rant aside, I wanna talk about the role of militias in a time where they would actually be useful. Truly organized and state sanctioned militias may indeed be mobilized in certain cases, and have at least here in Alaska. However, in this article, I want to cover a mission that a militia may be suited for in the sense that they are generally considered expendable. The fact that they can fill roles such as casualty transport, humanitarian jargon, and limited reconnaissance missions would free up special mission units to do more important missions. The subject I am going to cover in this article is going to be how militias can be used for a LRRP (Long Range Recon Patrol) and an OP (Observation Post). MISSION SPECIFICATION First thing we need to cover is the kind of LRRP that a militia may be sent on. There are some missions where you tasks may be open to change like redirecting to sabotage, capture/kill, raid, etc. However, I don't imagine that the militia would be trusted to support such tasks without the aid of SF or other more coordinated and supported ground forces of a legitimate military. Keep in mind that militias are on their own and you may not have access to air support or medical evacuation. This would naturally mean you are better off as a militia to stick to standard reconnaissance and surveillance where you can avoid a possible suicide mission and you can be a valuable asset in gathering important data on enemy units in an AO. Intel is one of the most lacking elements that the military needs and never has enough of. This basically means that you may be doing a combination of a LRRP and setting up an OP for up to a month with the standard probably being around 2 weeks on a solidly based enemy encampment. This gives you enough time to observe important patterns and even ID some HVTs. CHALLENGES AND GOALS One of the challenges you will face on such a mission would be having the manpower to accomplish the mission. This means able bodied men/women who can competently carry out the job and pull their own weight. This requires fit individuals capable of carrying their own weight, literally. These individuals should be expected to have extreme discipline, nerves of steel, a good aptitude, good skills in all fields including firearms and mission essential tasks. This right here is a helluva challenge in itself. Some of the goals you may want to keep in mind on these missions would be constant observation, good speed without compromising security and observation, flawless hide emplacements, and excellent detail collection for HQ. The more the merrier when it comes to details. Down to how the enemy shaves or ties their shoes. Everything points to something, so having that kind of detail in a log is important. Even knowing how often the toilet is used by an individual and when there is a line would be important. Catch them with their pants down or a turd in the chamber when you attack. Everything comes into play and attention to detail is of the utmost importance. As a militia, this will get you respect and be a good credit to your team and give other militias a good example for their operating procedures and even who they accept. Perhaps this would cause them to adopt some set of standards for once. But that may be wishful thinking. GEAR IS PAIN Ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain. Being a gear queer is a way to cause unnecessary pain and destroy your combat effectiveness. On a LRRP, you are already gonna have plenty of crap to haul for the mission and defending and sustaining yourself. So, you need to apply a little sense about the other stuff you take. Learn to do more with less and this will pay dividends in the end. Learn when you can eat less and lower the weight of food. Learn to go long periods without too much water. Select good clothing to save weight and room. Learn to improvise and keep things simple. Again, you will be rewarded with an efficient pack and gear setup that will not be a waste. Anyone who has served in the military and done some of these isolated and long engagements can attest to the fact that you don't really need all the crap most people think you need. On my channel, I made a video about gear for a LRRP. There were a few items missing, but some of it is based off what you know and your capabilities such as medical stuff and radio competence. I got some comments talking about things that were missing from my gear list. This list included some things that were for urban and survival situations, which I would judge as being excessive. I think these individuals don't have much experience in this field or they really think you need all this crap because they heard somewhere that it would be useful somewhere. Well that is not universal and I would recommend people stay within their capability and within reason as far as what will be needed for the mission. OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY Many militias like to model themselves after the military a bit too much. This is a huge failure in my opinion. In my experience, the military gets alot of things wrong in terms of camouflage, standards, leadership, training, etc. as civilians, you have the ability to study things and get advanced training and experience that those in the military couldn't even dream of. Being able to choose your own mission and planning it using your own knowledge of the land and your group. But the greatest gift and opportunity in my opinion is the ability to be flexible. Allowing members to use whatever camouflage they want as long as they are still able to apply it and use it effectively within reason. Having gear that works well as long as they take the time to get highly proficient. Having high quality and well maintained gear that works well for the mission. Keeping things simple and not taking unnecessary risks that those in the military may be forced to do. The list goes on, but my point is that in a unit that focuses on LRRPs, you will want to be flexible, and staying away from the things that the military does and making common sense adjustments is the best option for all involved. LRRP/OP TEAM SETUP As a militia, the only reason you would have to conduct an LRRP would be in the event of an invasion or civil unrest, resulting in the military absorbing, adopting, or mobilizing your militia. This means you may be entrusted to perform an LRRP on behalf of the military in order to collect intel on a certain area or setup an observation post. The primary objective of a reconnaissance patrol is to find an obtrusive enemy like in Vietnam where the enemy would hide in the jungle. However, the more likely use of a LRRP would be to observe patrols or recon a path for troops looking to maneuver into an area known to be occupied by the enemy. The more likely job that a militia may be expected to complete would be an OP on a hard target such as a Forward Operating Base. When you are setting up your team for both of these types of missions, I recommend keeping your team in the 4-8 person capacity. This keeps the patrol tight, small, and allows the group to have a lower profile. Realistically, 4 would be the best option for an OP and 6 is the max I would go with when on a long range recon. However, if you are using 8 people on an OP, I would say this could be an asset if you apply their jobs properly. Consider setting up OPs in different sides of the target. I would recommend having the other OP in an area that can offer support in an emergency, but in general, 8 person OPs does not have to be a negative. However this risks one being spotted by a patrol. The next thing I want to cover is the role each person should have in the patrol or OP. There are specific skills that all members should have at least a basic understanding of. You should have a designated point man or spotter. This person will have great observation skills and be able to keep a competent pace without sacrificing observation. Attention to detail is an important trait for this individual. The next is a designated medic. This might be an EMT or Doctor who will have great ability to treat casualties and booboos along the way. However, this individual also needs to be versatile and able to support in any role. Not every mission will require treatment for gunshot wounds, so put your medic to work. Have them teach the rest of the team or cross train in supporting the other roles. Next role would be a Marksman or sniper. This person will be responsible for scouting, lone recon, and reporting intel to the leader of the patrol or OP. The last role would be the leader. This person is mainly going to dictate movement, shifts, mission changes, comms with HQ, etc. However, this person will also have to be flexible and able to take part in several other roles. There are other roles you may want to set up, but these are the main ones I can think of at the time. MILITIA MISSION The real mission for a militia in an LRRP or OP is to put their money where their mouth is and perform with competence and in a way that will make your unit an asset and respectable. Make sure your unit is trained, fit, prepared, knowledgeable, skilled, loaded with the right gear, and most of all make sure they are disciplined, motivated, and squared away. If you don't want to be seen as a bag of ass, square yourself away, and be an asset. Stop LARPing and start training, practicing, and growing.
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