What Comes After Appleseed?

First in a series by Habcan:

My Gunny would have suggested ‘Mindset’, I think. He was a very practical NCO, with much experience, and I listened to him then, so it stands to reason to listen now.

Appleseed or any basic rifle program gives the newbie a handle on how to produce multiple hits in a limited time under some stress accompanied with much noise, as in a battle, and rewards a certain required score.

What do you do next? You come down out of the Nirvana of achieving ‘Rifleman’ status and get practical, that’s what! Appleseed is FAMILIARITY TRAINING – nothing less, but also nothing more.

Now, how to put that ‘familiarity’ to practical use? Somehow, I don’t see patriots engaging in any set-piece battles – at least if they want to live to see tomorrow. What folks have to learn instead is how to survive in a hostile environment. To survive, they have to think. So people have to learn HOW to think and WHAT to think about, until they do it as subconsciously as they have learned to change the mags of their prized M1A or charge their M1. In other words, one must develop a warrior’s mindset.

It is simply not enough for people to only know HOW to use their weapon of choice. They must also know WHEN. To use it effectively, they have to be constantly AWARE, so that WHEN doesn’t sneak up on them and grab their ass. To be AWARE involves having a proper warrior’s MINDSET.

“Which is what?”, you ask. Well, you sure don’t want to come on like Rambo. You want to be as unobtrusive as possible, but always AWARE.

Colonel Cooper taught graphically with his ‘Conditions’. ‘Condition White’ signified total unawareness. ‘Condition Yellow’ signified normal watchfulness for potential threats, ‘Condition Orange’ signified awareness of particular threats, and ‘Condition Red’ signified appropriate reaction to an actual, real threat. If you observe 99.9% of people walking down the street, (or driving the freeways for that matter!), you will quickly identify them as being in ‘Condition White’.

That’s how folks get themselves mugged or into auto accidents. That’s also what can get you DEAD.

We want freedom-loving Americans to stay alive, so starting NOW - implement the good Colonel’s ‘Conditions’ in your everyday life until you use them subconsciously. Later on in this series, we’ll get into a little fieldcraft/streetcraft, and your success will largely depend on this ability to be AWARE of surroundings so as to take appropriate reactions utilizing skills with a variety of weapons.

You will please note that I said REACTIONS. We are NOT - repeat NOT - advocating that our folks INITIATE any ‘rumbles’. We just want you to SURVIVE them. In these turbulent times, trouble is coming soon enough for anyone who believes that the citizen, and not the state, is the ultimate source of political power.