While not EVERY person preparing for hard or "SHTF scenarios", or even most folks, have been stricken with the maladies that follow, enough have so that subject is worth bringing to light in the hopes that each person or group so engaged can "inoculate" themselves from further sickness. You might even be reminded of someone you know from the descriptions provided.
Fortunately, there are "cures", which have been provided as well. The first step to healing, as in many maladies, is recognizing the problem exists in the first place. These cures can be applied individually or in group settings, similar to what some groups and/or people call "interventions".
Help all those you possibly can, because we'll need effective men and women should worse come to worse.
Name: Training & Experience Substitution for TV/Movie Simulation (TES/TMS)
- Symptoms – Watch a movie, a mini-series, and substitute entertainment for actual training. "Hey, I've seen 'Blackhawk Down', 'Private Ryan', 'Tears of the Sun' and 'Red Dawn' a half dozen times each! I know what I'm doing…haven't you seen us on 'youtube' doing our 'center peel'??"
- Prescription - First, the sufferer must understand that while movies, TV, and mini-series are great entertainment and sometimes do a wonderful job of documenting brave deeds of great people, it cannot now, and never will take the place of good, quality training. Once that understanding is gained, the sufferer must get off his ever-widening behind and study different tactical doctrines and then translate that to the field where practice occurs. Following practice, objective critique sessions with peers are in order. Do not be alarmed if enlightenment to the disease causes an infected person or group to go a different way. Reports from the field indicate it happens a lot!
Name: Active Duty Equipment/Weapons Replication (ADEWR)
- Symptoms – One of the lesser, but more costly diseases, the sufferer must have anything and everything US active duty troops are issued, especially if it's in desert or MARPAT pattern. "If the Army, Navy, Marines or Air Force have it, that means I need to have it because I wannabe just like them!" This mindset never takes into account the logistical resupply leviathan of our active duty services.
- Prescription - All things being equal and with the assumption that an obvious superiority is not already proven and present in the equipment and/or weapon system desired, the sufferer must be made to use what he has for a couple years in field to learn the strengths and weaknesses of any system in question. This will make the sufferer a stronger and more efficient field troop. Additionally, having the sufferer repeat on a daily basis, "I am NOT the US military!" at least 50 times has been known to help.
Name: Marksmanship Training Revulsion (MTR)
- Symptoms – Sufferers believe just owning a particular weapon and visualizing themselves making almost impossible shots with only rare practice makes them an "expert" shot. "I don't NEED to practice the fundamentals! Snap-in and dry fire exercises are for idiots! My AK/SKS/Dragunov/FPK/Mosin-Nagant/M1A/HK/FAL/Garand/Etc, is THE best and most reliable weapon in the world! IT SHOOTS ITSELF!! I don't NEED to be able to accurately engage from 300 to 500 meters! I CAN ENGAGE AND BEAT PROFESSIONALS WHO SHOOT ALMOST EVERY DAY OUT TO 300 METERS IN MY SLEEP!! By the way….just what IS that "MOA" stuff anyway??"
- Prescription - For problem identification, have the sufferer fire an AQT course of fire next to a trained rifleman. At the conclusion, compare targets without comment save for an occassional, "tsk, tsk, tsk.." For problem resolution, encourage the sufferer to learn and then practice marksmanship fundamentals by requiring AQT qualification monthly for a period of not less than four months, with each stage of fire monitored and evaluated by a trained rifleman. Each stage should be critiqued before moving on to the next. Results will vary: Some have been known to vastly improve their abilities and adopt effective marksmanship programs. Others, unfortunately, have been known to just disappear or move to groups that embrace MTR as an attribute instead of a disease.
Name: Spray, Bump and Pray (SBP)
- Symptoms – Sufferers are enthralled with any sound that either replicates or comes close to replicating full-auto fire. "Man, that bump fire sure SOUNDS cool! Yeah, I know I wouldn't use it for real…but I'd put as many rounds down range as I could…SUPPRESSION fire, man! Resupply? I'll get that from the dead enemy. They pretty much have M4's. What am I shooting? An AK clone…why?"
- Prescription – Sufferers should be required to shoot slow fire exercises for a period of no less than six months and be compelled to compare their "rapid fire" targets to their slow fire targets until such time, if any, that their results demonstrate their ability to hit. In extreme cases, allowing the sufferer to only have one 20 round magazine per patrol or FTX sometimes helps resolve the issue.
Name: Subordination Allergy (SA)
- Symptoms – Sufferers believe they are just as trained, just as command competent, just as able to operate in the field as seasoned veterans having YEARS of training. This malady is closely related to TES/TMS and ADEWR. Statements such as, "I am in charge of me. NOBODY can give me a directive! KMA! I'll participate as long as you don't try to tell me what to do! DO YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH I KNOW???? JUST LOOK AT MY CURRENT ISSUE FATIGUES!!!"
- Prescription – Sufferers should be mentored by a well-trained minuteman and/or proven leader in the group. Applications of "Muddy Boots Leadership" along with an occasional slap upside the head have been known to work as well. In extreme cases, sufferers may, in fact, abandon their group. This should not be cause for alarm, as during a SHTF scenario, the sufferer will make a fine diversionary target for whomever is being faced.
Name: Attrition Warfare Addiction (AWA)
- Symptoms – Sufferers think only "inside the box" and do not embrace any 4GW or Maneuver Warfare concepts, principles, practices, or methodologies. Example: AWA sufferers ensure all pack lists weigh down the Minuteman with 100 pounds of useless gear (useless because if he can't carry it, he can't use it, and useless unless the sufferer were "in garrison" with a LONG supply line, a permanent shelter, and possibly a HUMVEE to carry it). Group suffers require everyone must have a Kevlar or steel helmet, a complete set of body armor so they can run 12 feet before falling out with a heart attack (see PT revulsion). Everyone must carry mess kits, full tents, e-tools, etc. Everyone must use the medium or large ALICE or MOLLE packs. Everyone must use the same contact drills, especially "immediate assault" when in contact with possibly prepared positions. Everyone must swear by "bounding overwatch" and perform a "roll" every time they rush. Everyone must rush straight forward during training with no regard to cover or concealment.
- Prescription – Sufferer must be REQUIRED to read and most likely memorize "The Tiger's Way", or, if a veteran, "The Last Hundred Yards", both by H.John Poole, a retired USMC Gunnery Sergeant. Group sufferers must adopt the concepts taught in said works. This prescription, if followed, will help increase the survivability rate of current sufferers should a "SHTF" scenario occur.
Name: PT Revulsion (PTR)
- Symptoms – The sufferer will look and feel terribly out of shape while having no medical barrier to reasonable exercise and diet. He or she will most likely smoke and have the ability to eat a full 2 pound order of wings along with dessert at one sitting while opining on physical conditioning along the lines of: "PT SUCKS! It's hard. I don't need this crap. Road work? Upper body exercises???? ABDOMINAL strengthening???? Give me a BREAK!! I do NOT need to get in better shape! Sure, I have a 50 inch waist and can't see my feet without bending over a bit, but hey, I'm getting older. I can still fit my belt extended LBV and waddle..err, walk from my vehicle to my shooting point….Wanna go to Hooters?"
- Prescription – Someone with a good rapport with the sufferer should encourage them to get in better shape if for nothing else than their own personal well-being. Once recognition of the problem occurs, encouragement, accountability, and more encouragement are in order. This person will forever be grateful if treatment is accorded properly. Working out with the sufferer may help also. Road marches without equipment/weapons, light jogs, etc. As always, there is the danger that the sufferer will not recognize the disease and move to a group with similar issues or disappear all together.
Name: Cheaper than Cheap (CTC)
- Symptoms – Sufferers invariably can make a penny scream. This malady is not to be confused with those who look for good deals when they can find them. Those people are called "frugal". Sufferers of CTC believe they should never pay what a product is worth unless they can get it from Wal-Mart, K-Mart, or another discount house. They even have this propensity toward their weapons. They will buy five used and abused SKS rifles rather than save for a MBR that will last them their whole life. They are infatuated with instant gratification. "Hey, I got 4,000 rounds of ammo for $100!!! It's only a little moldy! They guaranteed 95% will work just like the day it was made!!! My sleeping bag is rated for 40 below. They guaranteed me it would take ARCTIC cold! How much did it cost? $20 bucks, why?"
- Prescription – The sufferer must be made to endure the consequences of his or her choice. On a FTX, while the $5 dollar UV brightened ACU patterned shelter is leaking like a sieve, supporters of the sufferer should point out (from their warm and dry shelters) that sometimes saving a buck doesn't save your butt. Hopefully, the sufferer will understand this concept and ask for guidance. It is normal to see a CTC sufferer break down into tears during severely inclement weather when his or her brand new "got it for next to nothing at the local Dollar store" gear goes tango uniform at 0300 in a storm. If nothing else, the sufferer will at least continue to provide good entertainment in the field during inclement weather.
Name: Individual Technique Revulsion (ITR)
- Symptoms – Suffers never ask to have their individual techniques evaluated. When asked to perform a low crawl, high crawl, or demonstrate walking silently, invariably they move away from the crowd or announce they cannot participate due to physical limitation. If participation is gained, observation demonstrates that other than emulating the actions of a copulating sea turtle, the sufferer does not have the skill sets required. Before hand, however, sufferers may have outburst similar to: "I am NOT crawling around…I already know how to crawl! (Related to PT revulsion – see above) Besides, I'm training for CQB in an URBAN environment. CAN'T YOU SEE MY CHEST RIG????"
- Prescription – Most sufferers of ITR are simultaneous suffers of PTR. As PTR is treated, ITR sufferers tend to enjoy remission of this malady. Sometimes, due to PTR, ITR sufferers may have to be retaught individual movement techniques and mentored in appropriate field gear selection. In all cases, sufferers can recover from this malady a bit more quickly if they are made to not be afraid of dirt. One practicioner offered the alternative cure of tossing sufferers into mud bogs or puddles.
Name: Edged Weapon Skill Envy (EWSE)
- Symptoms – Sufferers carry 3 to 5 different knives but can do little more than whittle or cut their fingers while opening MRE's. Statements such as, "My knife cost more than my carbine. It'll get me through any fight! What's that you ask? "Have I trained for knife work?"….No… why?" may be heard during training sessions. Additionally, suffers may have a predilection to mount a bayonet on their carbine/rifle during training and talk about "parrying" and "thrusting". When heard, observe the sufferer and ask them to demonstrate. Proof will come shortly thereafter.
- Prescription – The implementation of a basic edged weapon program within the group may help solve this malady very quickly. However, beware of PTR and ITR symptoms as well as edged weapon training does involve physical activity. Require all group members suffering from EWSE to obtain wooden training knives and practice actual techniques. Doing so will provide an immediate drop in symptom activity. |
