From Colonel Cooper:When I used to teach irregular warfare at Quantico, I borrowed a doctrine from Lord Dunsany in his book "Guerilla."
The guerillero does not fight - he kills.
Guerilla warfare is usually conducted with what we might call "spare parts," over- and underage types, wounded, and disabled. Such people cannot be organized into combat units with which to confront regular forces. If a guerilla actually gets into a fight he will almost certainly be wiped out, so he by choice takes the initiative, strikes and vanishes. This sort of thing enrages regular armies, as it did those of the French in the Peninsular War. It usually results in savagery on both sides. It is an ugly thing, but it will not go away just because it's ugly.
Look at the narco-insurgency going on in Mexico for examples of the right and wrong way to pursue violence against larger and better equipped forces. The most success is had by those that hit and vanish. The ones that enter into a stand up fight with either the govt or a rival gang just end up dead.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read articles like this my mind goes back to the old Boy Scout Motto, BE PREPARED. Since the life expectancy would be short by going up against a superior force my thoughts lean away from the 223 caliber (which might take several shots) to the 308 (prefer reloading to subsonic muzzle velocity) and either buy or build a supressor. When the SHTF, laws will be out the window therefore having the silent option shifts the advantage to the "Silent Soldier" Patriot who wishes to live to fight another day. Just my own (silent) opinion.
ReplyDeleteAnon #2 I like you thinking.
ReplyDeleteAs a young teen and a young shooter,a hunter and later a police officer I cut my teeth on the words of this man.
ReplyDeleteMatter of fact my favorite handgun was the .45 auto and when I had to switch to a 9mm Glock for police work, I was depressed for months. I felt I might as well used a pea shooter or started throwing rocks.
I haven't thought about him in a while, even as I lived his lessons for twenty years. It just became part of my every day life.
If one has Cooper & Askins among their martial mentors, it's tough to go wrong. Keep in mind, however, that flexibility is also a virtue.
ReplyDeleteCassandra (of Troy)
Anonymous @ May 23/9:16 PM,
ReplyDeleteYep. Stand up fights are for sport, unless, of course, your side can put more toys & their operators into the fray for a longer period & w/ more vehemence than the opposition can handle. Personally, if I'm a Cyberdyne Systems Model T-1000 & the other person's an Australopithecus, a toe to toe's just fine by me!
Anonymous @ May 24/6:28 AM,
There are 2 other reasons for using a can,: Its use reduces your contribution to an already too noisy environment & scares the living batsh** out of the person/s near the 'catcher'. The effect of a sniper but @ a closer range & w/o the betraying noise/smoke, a 2fer!
archer52,
Me too, but in the right pistol using the right ammo, a .40 cal ain't a bad choice either, IMO. The 9mm is like the .30 carbine & 5.56, it'll do okay if used in a full auto weapon & the opposition's skittish, but other than that, it's more an aggravator than a reliable stopper & so leaves me underwhelmed. Call me a sissy, but the thought of shooting an adversary & only making him/her/it angry gives me the whim whams.
Cassandra (of Troy)