Kerodin posts the second part to this opener.
From his lips to God's ears...but you'd be advised to have a Plan B (and not put all of your eggs in the Plan A basket).
As part of thinking through these issues, Witchwood sent this series of vids on the Chechen rebellion via comment here:
Immortal Fortress - Part I
Immortal Fortress - Part II
Immortal Fortress - Part III
Immortal Fortress - Part IV
Immortal Fortress - Part V
Watch all five videos, then consider The Trainer's comments in the same string:
What I gathered from it:
1 - Homogenous people with strong sense of nationalism provides the 'glue' of unit cohesion.
2 - Self-concept of the average Chechen was that he was a warrior. Not so in the US. Not anymore, anyway. That will be an obstacle.
3 - Commitment is key. Dedication, motivation, and sincere loathing of one's enemy.
4 - MW against AW. Chechen MW attempted to keep the initiative which demoralized the Russians in many instances, including when Chechens could instigate fratricide.
5 - Chechen units relied heavily on "commander's intent" rather than strict orders. "Kill the Russians" was more important than strategic victory. To steal a line from a movie, they wanted to 'kill all they send' for the most part.
6 - Spiritual belief commonality. In this case, Muslim. In the US case, we must renew the sense of at least Judeo-Christian commonality in belief or there will be no 'glue'. [Editor's note: Using the Declaration of Independence as a foundational document will be an important adjunct, at the very least. I do not want to exclude right-minded folks who, for their own reasons, say 'meh' to the J-C framework but do live by recognizably-common ethics; e.g., Sikhs.]
7 - Spritual beliefs defeated fear.
8 - Force multiplication and 'OJT' training team deployment to 'new' groups idea.
9 - Scavanging of newly taken positions/equipment essential.
10 - Tactical errors by AW forces magnified by significant lack of preparation compounded by 'conscription force' mentality.
This is a great documentary to demonstrate what can be done to repel an invading force.
Hope for the best.
Plan and train for the worst.
Other suggestions welcome.
1) Scavenging of bad guys' comm is especially useful. Gives opportunities for misdirection. However, be aware that comm may be trackable, so remove power source ASAP and only reinstall when necessary. Of course, trackability can be an advantage at times - if you have excess, set one device in an area you can surveil and wait for them to show up. Properly situated, you may have an excellent killing field for many.
ReplyDelete2) What they fear MOST is lone wolf. Expect that they have infiltrated any larger units to incite and indict.
3) SOME physical fitness is necessary. However, if your ops plan required more than the capability to move two large sacks of groceries from the car to the kitchen without getting winded, it's probably a suicide pact. In urban areas, the collaborators and cameras will rapidly identify any individual carrying heavy gear any significant distance. FAR BETTER to drive close, (making sure you don't park in sight of a camera) do your thing, then load up and drive out as one of the masses.
In rural areas, same idea but use side roads with separate access to arterials if possible. One shot, then leave. And MAKE SURE your brake lights don't ID your position as you depart. And from behind is best since there are RARELY any cameras there. The issue with rucking out rurally? Unless and until you suppress air, you're an easy target for copters with FLIR, which the Feds through their militarization of local police have spread far and wide.
Good advice, Mark.
ReplyDeleteI watched Part I. They sound like the Apaches. Patton would have loved them. "When someone close to you is killed, your heart becomes like stone." Much like "When you stick your hand in a puddle of goo that used to be your best friend's face, you'll know what to do."
It's good to be reminded of RUSSIAN imperialism. All we hear about from our beloved media is the American kind. Ol' Pooty-poot wouldn't oppress his neighbors, would he, George? You can take the boy out of the KGB, but you can't take the KGB out of the boy.
CA - Thanks for the links.
ReplyDelete"From his lips to God's ears...but you'd be advised to have a Plan B"
Plan B is well articulated by Captain Parker: "Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."
Though I understand if marching into martyrdom isn't everyone's cup of tea... ;)
For those folks who recognize the problems with my decidedly idealistic and optimistic essay, and believe me, I know the weaknesses, instead of simply casting the suggestion aside please be constructive to the discussion and recommend a few alternatives?
There don't seem to be many in-depth, articulated plans out there, aside from the typical "They'd better not come to my house..." and Red Dawn silliness.
Is there no middleground between voting and armaggedon?
Thanks again,
Sam
III
In the event of an imminent takeover by hostile forces, step one is for folks to learn the vital points in their AO, defined as one-half tank of fuel in all directions from their base. That's a lot of inventorying.
ReplyDeleteStep two is to step into the OpFor shoes and ask yourself what must be held by them in order to prevail.
Step three is to devise tactics so as to deny those assets.
Local conditions will dictate everything else.
Good luck and good hunting, once the hostile forces arrive.
I am glad that we live in America, where we deal with important governance issues via voting.
CA - without trying to put words in your mouth, do you think we have reached or passed a critical mass? Is total war inevitable in the near term? (Say, 18 months or fewer)
ReplyDeleteI think a complete collapse of the economy is inevitable, within that time frame, with all of the associated resulting chaos to be expected. But I also think that without a major social problem such as an economic collapse, America probably won't come to blows...because the vast majority are simply too comfortable and uninspired by real Liberty to ever stand up.
Sam
III
Many thanks, PA. I've been fascinated by (and sometimes in awe of) the Chechens for several years, and the First Chechen War is the example I usually cite when someone makes the tiresome "but the government has tanks!" argument. In my opinion, there are many parallels between the FCW and a potential civil war in this country, but also many differences:
ReplyDelete1) Numbers - The potential number of men-at-arms here is many times greater than the total population of Chechnya.
2) Gun Culture - We have not only a gun culture but access to arms that approach the quality and mechanism of military small arms. There are tens of millions of these arms in circulation, while Chechnya was a former Soviet subject and thoroughly disarmed. Even disarmed, motivated men were able to defeat a modern army in an urban environment.
3) Drive/Religion - The Trainer touched on this. The Chechens were raised to hate Russians, for good reason, and opposition to Russia has been part of the national character for centuries. Islam aids this drive and sometimes boosts it to acts of incredible violence. While we have two rebellions against federal power in our history, the modern American is far more concerned with the latest football scores than preserving his liberty. Most self-professing Christians are functionally agnostic and convinced that Christianity is a pacifist religion. This is a huge obstacle on both counts.
4) OPFOR - The Russian Army in 1994 was a disgrace. Its leadership was criminally incompetent on nearly all levels and often drunk, most of the infantry were conscripts, and its logistics struggled to even feed its troops. The exact nature of the Federal Army in a civil war remains to be seen, but it can be assumed that it will prove superior to the Russian Army on all levels.
5) An ethnic divide exists between the Russians and Chechens, which aids an Us vs Them mentality. No such divide will exist here. The enemy will be your neighbors and colleagues.
Further thoughts:
ReplyDeleteLeave NOTHING with your fingerprints at the point of action. What, you say you've never been arrested? Well, were you in the military? Or did you ever have a job that required a background check? Guess what! You're in their database. And NOTHING includes brass if you may have handled it with your bare hands. If you AREN'T positive you're going to be able to retrieve all your brass after an action, put any bullets you may have handled into your practice lot, and load your clips or magazines using gloves.
By the way, fingerprints CAN work both ways. If you know where a bad guy lives, collect a Pepsi can or Bud bottle from his recycle bin, and leave it at the point of action. Make sure you don't get YOUR prints on it, of course. Even better if you know of several - leave a different one at each site. Sow the same suspicion in their ranks as they do with their infiltrators into the militia.
11. We will have a number of very intelligent people handy, who, though they want to fight, lack the age and physical requirements neccessary. If inclined and capable, these could be used to formulate a lot of Sun-Tzu strategies and moves, making everyones job multiple times more effective, and easier. We will need intelligence in every case.
ReplyDeleteCA: I am glad that we live in America, where we deal with important governance issues via voting.
ReplyDeleteThat remains to be seen. Let's talk after this Tues.
The right needs to win by at least 4-5 points to overcome the fraud by the Leftist scum. They only need it to be close, with a Demorat and SEIU in charge of the count and maintainence of the machines.
Richard
III
My father in law lost a war for the control of his country - in his words, had they not "suspended disbelief" and handled what the Western left called a "civil war" and actively addressed the public representatives of the opposition that were in reach, instead of settling everything on the battlefield against the real enemy. i.e. if they had eliminated the reachable domestic opposition instead of playing the "meatgrinder" game and later allowing their allies to co-opt the purpose of their fight they could have EASILY won. Address the genuinely domestic opposition and the enemy loses its legitimacy. The second it goes to guns, hit hard, hit surgically, have a plan, have alternative measures for when those fail, and you won't even have to win the opinion war because you'll be the only formidable force left.
ReplyDeleteSam:
ReplyDeleteWe have no fate but what we make.
CA
Johnnyreb:
ReplyDeleteYou might have missed the intended irony in my summary comment.
Apologies, that should have been "CA." It was late. :)
ReplyDeleteWe have no fate but what we make.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. As I stack more rice, I'll keep looking for a path with promise...until there is no more time.
Thanks,
Sam
III