Tactics & Tactical Supplies

Preparedness Dilettante (2nd meaning): I have a tactical shotgun as well as a tactical flashlight, watch and pen.


Wry Observer: Do you have any tactics?


Dilettante: Any what?

Tactical gear and supplies have a single purpose -- to enable you to reach a tactical objective. But to do so, you must use them tactically.

Tactics are simply the actions you take to achieve your objective. If you lack the knowledge, skill or physical capability to take the appropriate action (i.e., if you can't execute tactics), then all the gear in the world is useless to you.

For example, I've recently given some attention to my first aid gear. But it has been a few years since I got my First Responder certificate, so I've been thinking about finding a class where I can refresh my skills. The equipment is not enough.

Also, your tactical gear doesn't have to come from an expensive paramilitary outfit and sport camo paint in order to serve your tactical needs. (Boyoboy, don't you just love how that nifty camo stuff makes you really stand out in a crowd?)

In order put my body in a state of readiness, I like to take a big glass of tactical prune juice, every Saturday morning. It's a tactical supply because it enables me to take action appropriate to achieving my tactical objective.
;-)

Memorial Day Thoughts

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

I've heard this verse quoted in reference to those who have died in service to our country, and I think it contains a general truth that applies to Memorial Day. Those who have laid their lives on the line to defend homeland, home and family have demonstrated a level of sacrifice that deserves our respect.

We must never forget, though, two inescapable truths that also come out of that passage:

1. First, Jesus was talking about Himself and His imminent death for His people when He spoke those words to His disciples. His death accomplished eternal redemption -- something all the lives of all our soldiers in all our wars could never achieve.
2. To benefit from Christ's redemption, you must be His "friend." In other words, faith in Christ alone saves men.

A military man willing to die defending his cherished home and family deserves our respect. He certainly has mine.

But as Christians, we must never cross the line here and imply (as we often hear, even from preachers who ought to know better) that a soldier's last full measure of devotion purchases him a ticket to eternal peace. Only by full faith in Christ can anyone be assured of peace with God.

It distresses me to think that the souls some people who died for my safety may be in hell today. It distresses me more that we, as Christians, may have given some of them the impression that their sacrifice would somehow put them in right standing with God.

As we remember our honored dead, let's pray for our military folk. Let's pray not only for their safety, but that they put their trust fully in the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Let's also pray that God will preserve them morally and mentally as well as physically.

And while we're at it, let's pray that our policy-makers not put them in harm's way for profit or political gain.

Christian Martialist Fellowship

A couple of summers ago, we attended a Christian conference sponsored by the Federation of Reformed Churches in the finger lakes region of New York. One of my youngest daughter's online friends -- another home-educated gal -- lives in the area, which gave them an opportunity to get together.

First, however, her dad came by to check us out. As the father of four daughters, I understood and appreciated his mindset.

Within the last month or so, my daughter's friend gave her father the link to this blog and told him it might interest him. He liked what he read, perusing as many as 50 pages in a day. Then his daughter told him that her friend's father writes the blog.

Long story short, they arrived yesterday afternoon here in Possum Kingdom to visit for a few days. We had a great time of Christian Martialist fellowship yesterday.

You know how some people bring the hostess a bottle of wine when they visit? This guy brought a box of 12 gauge 00 shotgun shells.

Over the course of the evening, we talked about the Lord, martial arts, guns and our faith experiences, in a seamless conversation -- the kind that grows out of lives that express a Biblical mindset and philosophy.

Today, we will attend the Highland Games and Scottish festival together. I don't know how the bagpipes will play on his Italian ears -- actually the Romans had bagpipes before the Scots, but their mournful skirl fits the Scottish temperament so much better -- but I am looking forward to good time.

If I don't get my Memorial Day post up before tomorrow, let me wish you well and thank all of you who have, in good conscience, served our military.

4Sevens Memorial Day Discount

First, a personal note: DLR informs me that not only did my son-in-law win the rifle match last week-end (for the second year in a row), but that his wife/my daughter came in a solid 7th place. It's good to know that the RKBA lives even in the hearts of folk who suffer under the yoke of oppression in the foreign state of Illinois.

As you may remember from my review of the Quark AA2 Tactical Flashlight, I have been very happy with the quality and performance of this 4Sevens product. That's why I'm passing on the following message that I received from the company:

From right now through Memorial Day, May 30th, you can receive 15% OFF your purchase at 4Sevens.com!

Simply use the following discount code when checking out on our website: MEM2011

Pressure Bandage

Here's an item I'm adding to my first-aid kit:

Thanks to my barber for drawint this to my attention.

Another Soldier Down

There is a young soldier in God's army who has been struggling for some time. He's on my daily prayer list.

I'm sure there are others like him, engaged in spiritual warfare, struggling, standing for the King, though wounded with failing strength. I dedicate this song to all Christian Martialists who share in those struggles, and to all of you who hold each other up.

My prayers are with you.

Thanks to my daughter Merrianna for the link to this video.

Daddy, why do we live in a police state? -- 6

Continued from "Daddy, why do we live in a police state? --5"

Four year old Joel Guerena cannot ask his daddy that question, because his daddy is dead. Twenty six year old Jose Guerena had served this country as a Marine in two combat tours, died defending his family from a home invasion.

The invaders happened to be a SWAT team from the local sheriff's office apparently serving a no-knock warrant to search for evidence of a "drug conspiracy". In the process, they terrorized a young mother and her children, shot the husband and father, and then denied paramedics access for an hour-and-a-quarter as they seemingly waited for him to die.

Police found no drugs and no money (?) -- it seems that possession of legal tender is now evidence of criminal activity -- in the home. All they found was a family with a brave young husband and father whose inalienable right to be secure in his life and property was trampled upon by the jackboots.

It's so easy to excuse police-state tactics. We say the criminals shouldn't have rights, and that we mustn't tie the hands of the police as they protect us. But once we kiss the constitutional safeguards goodbye, there is no one to protect us from the police.

Read the whole story here:

"Why Did Police Kill My Dad?"

You can watch a news clip here:



It will wrench your heart, but you can listen here to Vanessa Guerena's impassioned pleas to the 911 operator for her dying husband:

Nostalgic Moment: Short & Sweet

[Sorry this post is so late. I was pretty sick for a couple of days, and when I came back to post, the host had suspended access for "maintenance". I'm finally back. Missed you guys.]

When my daughters were younger and we passed a stone house, I would make a comment. And I repeated it so often that R_____ or M________ took to finishing it for me. If you had been in the car, you'd have heard something like this:

Gravelbelly: "Look! A stone house. I love stone houses. There's just something so . . .

A Daughter: ". . . BULLETPROOF about stone."

Ahh, nostalgia.

And, what did you think I would look for in a house?

There Be Goats!!

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens. (Proverbs 27:23-27)

I noticed the passage above several years ago, before it became popular with survivalist/preparedness gurus. I re-read it today, with a sense of contentedness after we picked up two milk goats.

In January, Laura sold our milk goat so we could get away to attend our 3rd daughter's wedding. After a good deal of prayer, the Lord's gracious providence (through some Christian acquaintances) provided us with two milkers at a price we can afford.

Their kids were just weaned, so they are not used to being milked. My wife will milk them for the first time tonight, and I will be on hand to help, in case they show skittishness at the milk stand.

Training them to the milk stand may take a little time, but we are looking forward to fresh, raw milk and also the homemade cheeses (mozzarella, chevre and feta are my wife's specialties), yogurt and kefir. Those delicacies along with eggs from our chickens could easily supply the three of us with more protein and probiotics than we need.

It should go without saying that we must put our trust in the Lord, not in our possessions and preparations. Nevertheless, our God works through the circumstances and resources that He puts at our disposal.

Therefore, today I breathed a sigh of relief as I reviewed the state of our flocks. Bless the name of Jehovah and His anointed King.

Clearing Your Home -- Update

A couple of months ago, I posted an entry that included a video on clearing your home. (The link is here.)

Since the arrival of our Ithaca Model 37, Laura & I have been practicing. We started out by dry firing, then added the drill of loading it with our eyes closed in order to learn to properly index the shells by touch. Now, we have begun a walk-through of house clearing, working in tandem -- she with the Model 37 and I with my 1911.

As the video suggests, there's no easy or safe way to do it. In the past, when I've cleared the house from the front door, I followed a logical progression from one end of the house to the other. Now, however, we start from our bedroom, and entering the hallway exposes us in three directions: daughter's bedroom to the immediate right, the bathroom directly ahead, and the hallway to the left.

Thankfully, with two of us, I can cover two directions while Laura clears our daughter's room, and then we leap-frog through the rest of the house. Since she is left-handed, she takes rooms to the right, and as a righty, I take the ones to the left.

Our house is actually quite small, but its layout presents problems when it comes to clearing. Have you ever done a walk-through exercise of clearing your home? I urge you to try it.

And don't ignore potential problems. Solve them.

Model 1911: Inner Workings

My barber sent me the following link:

STI International

Once you're there, you can select which parts of the weapon you want to view as it goes through a firing cycle. As my  barber said, "Hypnotic . . ."

The Death of Osama Bin Laden

Very rarely do I read an essay that so completely expresses my own thoughts as one that deolexrex called to my attention yesterday. It's called "Thoughts on the Death of Bin Laden" by James B. Jordan.

Here are some quotes that I hope will move you to click the link and read the whole article.

On September 11, 2001, Jesus brought judgment upon the United States of America. Following His normal procedure, He used an even more evil force to do it (Habakkuk 1-3).


Certainly the United States has not repented. It burns Bibles sent to Afghanistan. It promotes child murder. It steals from future generations in order to preserve prosperity by increasing debt. It does all but promote homosexual activity in its military. And so forth. The election of The Fool in 2008 shows the willingness of the American people to promote antichrist through the most sickeningly degenerate association of people the United States has ever known: the Democrat Party.


. . . as Christians we tread a tightrope between being favorable to much of what America used to stand for (because it was Biblical), and against almost everything America stands for today (because it is anti-Christ).

I will not quote what Jordan says about the actual death of Bin Laden. I'll let you read than for yourself.

Oh, and by the way, have you noticed that the liberal media have dropped the "O" from Bin Laden's first name and replaced it with a "U"? I suppose they want to deemphasize any similarities between the antichristian terrorist and President Ubama.

Til the Storm Passes By

This is a song we learned some 40 years ago, and I'm posting it here in honor of Christ's sheepdogs who protected their families through the tornadoes last week.

Click here to hear the music

Or go here for both words and music.


In the dark of the midnight,
Have I oft hid my face;
While the storm howls above me,
And there's no hiding place;
'Mid the crash of the thunder,
Precious Lord, hear my cry;
"Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by."

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

Many times Satan whispers,
"There is no need to try;
For there's no end of sorrow,
There's no hope by and by";
But I know Thou art with me,
And tomorrow I'll rise;
Where the storms never darken the skies.

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

When the long night has ended,
And the storms come no more,
Let me stand in Thy presence.
On that bright, peaceful shore.
In that land where the tempest
Never comes, Lord may I
Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.

'Til the storm passes over,
'Til the thunder sounds no more;
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

Hold me fast, Let me stand,
In the hollow of Thy hand;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.

'Til the storm passes by.

Heroic Father Dies Protecting Family

I could comment on the death of Osama bin Laden, but I will put that off to share an incredible video interview with the eldest son of a man who died during one of the tornadoes late last week. He shielded some of his 13 children with his own body and died praying for their safety.

The young man's maturity, focus and dedication to Christ are an amazing testimony to his upbringing. This is a must-see video.