Night Ambush Part 3: The Ambush

(Read Part 1 here)
(Read Part 2 here)
(Read Part 4 here)
"I hear voices .. someone's coming in!"

There's this cruel dichotomy about an ambush.
Yes, you like hearing voices as Charlie is moving toward his objective.  It means they're coming into the ambush kill-zone feeling fat, dumb and happy. It means that they have no idea that they're about to get their ass kicked.

The down side is ... they are so confident that they bring overwhelming firepower with them, there is no way (in their mind) that they can be overwhelmed by whatever firepower might be brought against them.

And the third thing is .. the patrol was positioned under the assumption that they could spot an attacking force at a distance, and be able to act as spotters.  Their could call artillery into their movement, and never reveal their own position.

Now .. Charlie had obviously cut the corner on the too-precious trail junction, and were coming in behind the American Patrol!

They had assumed that Charlie .. if he ever had the nerve to enter the AO .. would stick to the trails.  Obviously, they had much better understanding of theterrain, and their Point Man had lead them into the slightly much shorter route to their objective.

Two assumptions were immediately obvious to Sarge:

1. Charlie knew where they were and where they were going, and we did not.
2. There were so MANY of them that they assumed they could immediately and with little effort overwhelm whatever firepower we might have available.

The Bad News was that they were probably right.

American Forces set out as Spotters have a distinct advantage, in that they can call in artillery and Charlie has no way of knowing where the Spotters are.  The disadvantage is .. they were too close to call in artillery!

Sarge immediately realized that he didn't know which way Charlie was going to turn.  Was he going to the Village, to the East?  The ARVN Compound, to the South?  Or toward the NDP, toward the South West?  He had over-thought his position.   Seduced by "The Perfect Ambush Site", he had neglected to consider that he had left himself with insufficient perspective to determine the probable course of Charlie's movement.  There was a hole in his defense.

Worse, they were so close that he could not call in artillery on their CURRENT position without accepting the 100% probability that his entire patrol would be killed by their own guns.

Worst, Charlie was so close that even the smallest lapse in light or sound discipline risked discovery by the oncoming VC.   The choices were few, and each more fatal than the other:

1. They could call in artillery on their projected course (bearing South) and risk the consequences of a wrong estimate; if he called in a barrage to the South, Charlie might move West toward the village;
2. They could call in artillery on their alternate goal, West, Charlie might end up moving South toward either the ARVN compound or the NDP
3. Worst case:  Somebody in his ambush might cough, or otherwise give up their position.  In that case, artillery (assuming they had time to call in a fire mission) would perhaps kill Cong, but would most assuredly kill Americans, too.

Faced with no viable artillery solution, Sarge made the only remaining viable decision:

The short squad would attack.

The line of VC in single file just kept getting longer and longer.  This was obviously no harassing attack.   Whatever their goal, Charlie (now there were at least ten men visible in the starlight) had invested a significant number of fighters.  They had not yet bent much to the South, but who knew what they would do when they hit the North/South Trail?  And they were moving through the South .. to the rear of the patrol's position.

Most of the Claymores were oriented toward the trail junction, to the North and West of the Ambush Position.  Only a few of the Claymores were directed toward the rear.  Sarge had made a tactical decision, and it was the wrong one for this situation!

So .. make a 'new' Tactical Decision!

The VC had still not made a 'significant' appearance; because of the high spirits of the VC unit, the patrol knew where they  were and their rate of approach.  There were still a few precious seconds left when Sarge could direct his men without the VC likely hearing him.

To Ernie:
"When I give the word, move your MG pointing SOUTH instead of NORTH.   Have your Assistant Gunner help with moving the ammo when you move the gun. Be quiet, be quick, and when the Claymores blow, shoot your whole ready load moving from left to right.  I don't care about the point man, I just want everyone behind the lead element to see their people die!"

To Brent:
"I'm going to blow this ambush. First, radio TOC and tell them I want maximum artillery flares over our position as soon as they see our tracers.  Light us up like the Fourth of July!  I know they can't  reply before we blow the bush, but as soon as they can is not too soon. Then I want them to bring in support .. tanks, preferably.  But keep everyone away from the South of our position, because that's where the fire is going. And Brent, when we blow the ambush, everyone is going to be pointing South.  You're Rear-Guard .. I want you pointing North, with your rifle, and if you see any thing move ... kill it.  Don't wait for me to tell you, it's a free-fire zone everywhere you can see tonight."

General instructions to everybody else (huddled together .. everyone knows what's happening, but not what's about to happen):

"Listen!  Be quiet!  Charlie is moving through our rear, from left to right.  Everybody point their gun to the South.  Don't make any battle-rattle! When the Claymores blow, I want Johnie and Teddy to open on full auto; sweep the line!  Then reload.  Ernie will be rockin' and rollin'.Then  reload, and Chief, Stehman ... you'll take up the fire on semi-automatic.  As soon as everybody has gone through one magazine and reloaded, take targets of opportunity.  We are in deep shit, so make it count and follow my lead after the claymores blow!"

Everybody, not expecting anything 'bad' to REALLY happen, has doffed their helmets in favor of boonie-hats.  We can't afford the risk of a "CLANK!" if a helmet bumps a gun, so we're blowing this bush the way we are.

Then, to Brent, Sarge says:

"Look, we have four Claymores generally pointed in the right direction.   Toward the enemy.  You take East/Rear and I'll take West/Rear.  Fill your hands, and when I blow my two, you blow your two!  Then I want you to  advise TOC, and pick up your rifle.  You are the new 'rear security.  Face North.  If you see anyone moving there, kill them.  But keep talking to TOC, and for God's Sake, get us some light!"



Brent doesn't waste time protesting that he has already heard most of these instructions. He's unflappable .. Sarge at that moment wants to bear his children.  Brent just picks up the appropriate 'clackers', and waits for the signal to kill some Cong.

There's a few moments, which seem like hours but actually are seconds, and then everyone has move so their weapons are pointed toward the rear.  Brent has his headset between ear and shoulder, and two Claymore Initiators (clackers) in his hands. Sarge is ready.  The men have moved their weapons so they are pointed south.

Sarge gives Brent the nod, and they both squeeze the Clackers ...

BLAM!  BLAM! BLAM!

Pandemonium!

Dust flies up from the Claymores, even the two which aren't really pointed South .. East and West Claymores just add Sound and Fury to the mixture.

Two men, who are already pointed South, open up with their M16s, the rest roll over to point to the South.
Ernie takes two seconds to actually move his gun .. and it's not important whether he's quiet about it or not, because there is a fountain of 5.56 moving south and the echo of the Claymores and the dust they kick up obscure the battlefield!

Brent is online with TOC, calling for back-up and Illumination Rounds.

Sarge is servicing the battlefield with his onboard HE round, and quickly switches to the first StarLight round he finds, and then seeks for and loads a Parachute Flare.

The light from the local illumination round shows a couple of people down in the Kill Zone.  Can't tell where the point man is, and the followers are rushing back toward the woods.

What happens next can only be described as a "Mad Minute". EVERYBODY shoots their initial load.  It doesn't matter what Sarge said, everybody shoots.  They are scared to death, they have a ton of Victor Charlie within spitting distance of them, and all they want to do is to put every body down and then go home!

The best laid plans of mice and men ....

Ernie .. does not run out of ammunition.  He has 300 rounds of linked 7.62 and he is taking nicely timed short bursts.  But they go everywhere that someone is still standing in front of him, or everywhere he thinks someone may be still standing up.  Or where-ever it is dark, and someone may be hiding there.  Or where-ever his barrel may be pointing.  He doesn't care, he's just putting rounds down-range, and that's all that really matters.  Sarge takes a moment, no more, to admire his discipline and his aim.

Ernie's Assistant Gunner (in this case, Johnny, because he ends up on the left side of Ernie) feeds the gun.  Johnie is not an experienced AG, but he has an ammo can in reach and he's doing the best he can to link the new belt with the old.

Thankfully, by the time Ernie runs out of ammo, there's nothing obvious left to shoot at.  The rest of the patrol does an automatic reload, and all are left with the realization that their jaws are dropped and they are looking at a field of nightmares .. but it's not THEIR nightmares.

In the meantime, in the sudden silence, Sarge is shouting.

"RELOAD!  Everybody, Reload!  I don't care whether you need it or not, RELOAD!"

Instinctively, everyone who is still alive obeys.

Thankfully, every American is still alive.

"Okay!"  Sarge shouts.  "We're all locked and loaded.  Everybody UP!  We're going to sweep the kill zone.  Anybody still alive, kill them!  Keep going until I tell you to stop!  Attack!  Attack!  Attack!  Now, Up and At 'Em!"

__________________________

Brent doesn't move.  He's sitting where he started, except he's facing North, where Sarge told him to pull rear security.  He's talking to TOC, asking for artillery illumination.  He's calm, he's fully aware of the tactical situation, but that's not his job.  His job is to (a) get some light on the kill zone, and (b) get tactical support to the battleground ASAP, and (c) let Command what is going on in this most beautiful, most perfectly exquisitely executed ambush anyone has ever seen .. a thing if beauty it is!

And he is STILL watching to the North, in case any tail-gaters try to flank the unit.
__________________________

And while Brent is doing his job with joie de vivre and Great Aplomb .. everyone else is doing THEIR job with savagery and the greatest adrenalin rush they will ever experience.

Their job, as they sweep the battlefield, is to kill everything that moves.

There is no other way to do it.

EVERYONE caught in that limited scope of dead ground, is .. dead.  Nothing less is acceptable.  Anyone found there is assumed to be armed and dangerous.    There is no time to separate the Quick from the Dead.  If they are there ...  they should be dead.  If they are not dead, it is our task to make them dead.

The alternatives are too horrible to consider, even more horrible than shooting wounded soldiers.  They are the enemy; they want to kill us.  That's why we call them "The Enemy".

The Woman:

As Sarge rushes down his lane across The Killing Field, in his peripheral vision he sees a woman in black pajamas, on her back, squirming.  Writhing.  She is assuming the "Dying Cockroach" position .. limbs in the air .. but not yet dead.  In some back part of his mind, he wonders what this woman in black pajamas is doing in a Killing Field?

His wonderment lasts only for a few seconds.  Chief, with his M14, is in the next lane to his left.  The woman is in Chief's lane.  Chief drills the woman with a half-dozen rounds from his M14, and suddenly the woman reverts to dead meat.

Sarge peripherally wonders what the woman was doing here.  Was she a guide?  Was she a captive of the VC?  Was she .. who knows what?

It doesn't matter.  She ended up in the Kill Zone, and now she's dead Dead DEAD.  Who she was, why she was there .. that isn't important.  What is important is that she is now nothing more than a mound of meat.  She will have no effect on the outcome of this battle.  She cannot hurt his men.  That's all that matters.

Sometime, in future years, Sarge may regret her death.

Sometime, in future years, Sarge may wonder at her role in this   ... this "action".

But for now, she's just a target, caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.  For now, she is dismissed.   Target Down; that's all that matters.

Given a choice between here and Chief, Sarge will choose Chief .. every damned time, for now and forever.

Night Ambush: Part 2 - The Set Up

(See here for Part 1)

PART 2:  The Set Up

For the next few days after pulling Road Security for the mine detectors, Lima generally stayed in the NDP during the day, resting and performing equipment maintenance.  At night either. they pulled guard duty in the bunkers, or went on small roving patrols on the Village side of The Road.  Sometimes they just walked around familiarizing themselves with the terrain, sometimes they set up an ambush and stayed hunkered down until daylight.

One night, Sarge and a small squad ware on a night reconnaissance patrol in a clearing which they had seen earlier to have three dry wells dug in an open area between the NDP and the Village.  There was a treeline between the base camp and the wells, and the ground radar couldn’t always get a good look at that small spot.   Daytime recon didn’t see any sign of movement, but about 9pm they got a radio from the TOC (Tactical Operations Center) informing them that radar had picked up a body of men walking along the treeline.

“No, that’s just us” the Sarge reported.  TOC insisted that they not only saw the patrol, but also “two or three other figures” as well.  

Lima platoon had issues with the electronic surveillance;  more than once they had received frantic warnings that there was a “VC Patrol” moving toward them, once even insisting that the VC were now moving through their night ambush position!   The view from the ground, however, was that there was nobody there but themselves.   And so they were dubious about the 20^th Century advances in Electronic Warfare.

The patrol on the ground having no choice in the matter, TOC announced that they were going to have the 105’s work the area over.   Sarge moved the patrol toward The Road, found a shallow drainage just big enough to put the six man patrol in it.  There was no overhead cover except for their steel helmets, so they did their best to crawl into their helmets.

Then the barrage began.  For five minutes, round after round of 105mm HE shells walked across the five-acre opening,  the shrapnel spattering the patrol like iron rain.  When the TOC announced that the fire had been lifted, Limping Lima crawled out of their dubious shelter and performed a sweep of the impact area.

All they found was the impact craters of a few rounds; most of them had been air bursts for maximum dispersal, so there were only a few craters at that.  There were no bodies, no dropped equipment, no sign that anyone but American troops had been discomforted by the #10,000 worth of artillery shells.

Clearly, Artillery was no match for boots on the ground.

During New Years Eve, the base was on 100% all night.   The fear in the heart of the Battalion Commander was that the VC would attempt an attack similar to the Tet Offensive of January, 1968.   Given the evidence that Charlie was resuming large-scale attacks in the AO,  the Colonel decided to try a recently developed infantry tactic:  Shotgun Ambushes.

Previously, overnight infantry patrols were ‘heavy’.  That is,  each platoon would break into two elements, with two squads in each element.  That gave one of the two machine guns to each patrol element.  The Platoon Leader (the Lieutenant, or “LT”) would lead one element, and the Platoon Sergeant (“Sarge”) would lead the other.  Each squad had a squad leader, each squad leader had a radio carried by his Radio Telephone Operator (RTO); that means each element had three radios, allowing night ambushes to be complex and could cover a large area.   It also allowed for two men to be on watch at all times, and since everyone except for the RTO carried a Claymore Mine, each night  ambush (known by the troops as “hold your ass ‘till daylight”) could provide a full 360 degree ring of command-detonated mines to launch a devastating initiation of an attack coming from any direction.

Under the new “shotgun ambush” protocol, the platoon would be broken down into not four, but six patrols.  Four would be led by squad leaders, but with a couple of men broken out of each squad.  The “excess” troops would man two “short squads”,  lead by the Platoon Sergeant and the Platoon Leader, respectively.

Since the short squads would have fewer men, they go the machine guns.  And … ominously … the medics.

The idea, of course, is that the patrols would find a likely spot in the bush (covering a trail, or preferably a trail junction near the NDP, the village, or the ARVN compound) and merely act as spotters for the artillery.  When they sighted movement, they would call for a fire mission and the artillery battery would fire on the reported movement.

During his operational briefing the LT made it clear what colonel and the captain expected of the patrol leaders:

“Before you leave on your patrol tonight,  you will inspect every man in your patrol to ensure that he is fully equipped and aware of the significance and goal of this mission. You will start out from the NDP an hour before dusk, and be seen by any observers to be searching in the general vicinity of your individual AO but well away from your final objective.   Just before dusk you will appear to go to ground, and then just at dusk you will mask your movements to your final objective. 

“As you approach your final objective, you will leave your men in a staging area 100 yards away from your final objective. .  Ensure that every man  urinate or defecate as necessary.  Eat and drink BEFORE you do your final recon, and then perform a recon of your objective.

“You will take one man with you as a scout.  The remaining men will remain at 100% alert.  At that time you will select your ambush position, taking into consideration terrain, cover and concealment and most importantly, coverage of an important tactical feature.  Look for trails ... and there are a lot of them this close to so many vital locations.  

“Having chosen your ambush position, you will leave your scout in place in ‘overwatch’ position, and go back for the rest of your patrol.  Lead them to the final objective, picking up your scout on the way.  Remain at 100% alert for one hour.  At the end of that time you can allow your men to spread their ponchos for bedding, but remain at 100% for another hour.

“What we are trying to do here is to provide Charlie with as much dis-information as he can handle.  He will know that you are in the general area, whatever you do; they will be watching from the woodline to the East, so you will make them think you are setting up in the West.   You will get inside their thinking, you will lull them into self-confidence, and when they move .. you will be where they know you cannot possibly be.

“There are few of you in each patrol.   Deploy your Claymores wisely.  You will be carrying extra ammunition for your MGs … those of you who have them.  Those units without  MGs will not have to hump thirty caliber ammo cans, but will have more men. 

"Be prepared to defend yourselves if necessary.  With luck, you will only have to place yourself so you can call in infantry in case of an attack.

“But do not rely on luck.  Be smart, be aggressive, but make sure you have your final objective registered with artillery as a ‘do not fire’ zone because you may be calling in artillery very close to yourselves.  We don’t want any ‘blue on blue’ casualties tonight.”

As the Platoon Sergeant, “Sarge” drew the short straw; only seven men on his team, including the RTO (who did not carry a claymore).   But HEY!  He got an M60 Machine Gunner, which would dramatically improve his FirePower!

 The final objective for his team was on the East side of The Road.  He chose his staging area as the immediate east side of the road, behind the berm. There was a terrain feature … a slight roll in the terrain .. which would hide his staging area from the woods a mile to the East.  The final objective was somewhere about 100 -200 meters east of that point, but it had not been scouted before.   He didn’t know exactly where they would be, the objective had been chosen strategically based on maps. 
  It had NOT been chosen "tactically" .. based on an intimate knowledge of the terrain. Which they did not have.  He knew there must be trails there somewhere, and it was his job to find them during his ‘scout’.

They left on schedule, departing the NDP through the Eastern main gate, and veering immediately north toward the Village.  They spent some time schlepping around the ‘deception’ area, and on schedule they started jinking through the occasional clumps of “shrub” (large bushes, often as tall as head-high) until they crossed the road.  Men started urinating, as ordered .. he had to admonish them to kneel down because if they stood up to pee, their heads could be seen from the woods.  When everyone had eaten, it was getting close to full nautical twilight so he started his sneak-and peak with his designated scout, Stehman.  

Stehman had been his RTO when he first joined the Division, and had proved to be a steady, reliable man.  They had got to know each other pretty well, and had full confidence in each other.   He knew that Stehman would be a reliable guide.  Stehman yearned to be a 'grunt', not an RTO.  He wanted to fight, not talk!   Sarge had only a few weeks before allowed Stehman to be transferred from his role as an RTO, and become a fighter. This might prove to be the opportunity to fight.

As they moved silently through the scrub, Sarge was looking for trails.  Stehman’s job was to provide security.  Sarge had already decided that when they found their ambush, he would send Stehman back to pick up the rest of the patrol;  he wanted the extra bit of dusk-light to observe the immediate area and scout for the best position within a few yards.

Luck was with them … at that moment and for the rest of the night. They were exactly in the middle of the assigned ambush area when they spotted a well-trodden trail,  moving from East to West.  Just a few dozen yards East of the trail, they found another crossing trail, which ran from North to South.

A Trail Junction!  

It was the perfect place, with one small exception; there was no cover at all, other than a very slight rise on the south side of a small swale 20 yards east of the N/S and 20 yards south of the E/W trail.  Also, they were in an area of knee-high grass, between two lines of scrub.  To the north, and to the south, their view was entirely unobstructed.  They could observe any movement along the N/S trail for a couple of hundred yards; but if they got into a fire fight, they could only hope that Charlie could not spot them.

As Stehmen made his way back to the staging point, Sarge crawled into the slight swale to fully evaluate the tactical position.

It wasn’t as bad as it had first looked.  They could set up Claymores to cover the trail junction, and both the North and East trails. And .. with careful thought, they still had a couple of Claymores to cover the rear of their position.  (This turned out to be more fortuitous than expected.)

 The East trail led West toward the Village; the North trail led South to the ARVN compound.  Either trail would serve as access to the NDP, eventually.

So, yes, as far as being able to monitor movement in their AO, this was the ideal place to set up.

For Defense .. maybe not so much.  They would have to rely on deception and logic.  It was a crappy place to set up an ambush.  The small swale offered them no more than six inches of depression, and there was no way they could improve their position.  They  couldn’t dig in .. nobody carried their shovels, or their gas masks; they were “light infantry” in the purest sense.  They relied on fire and movement, not cover.  

For now, and for this mission, “concealment” would have to suffice.  After all, they were suppose to be spotters, not fighters.   All they had to do was know the map coordinates and see Charley.  The very very good part was, they could see for a couple of hundred yards to the north and the south.  Anyone who tried to attack the tactical positions had to pass within their sight .. if they were alert.

So he reasoned, and hoped that Luck would be a Lady tonight.

He carefully ignored the LT’s admonition that they should not count on luck tonight.

Ten minutes later, Stehman brought the patrol back to him.   Sarge was accustomed to setting up a night ambush on a line, but tonight he had to have eyes looking in every direction.  Instead of a line, he set the men up in a very very small circle.  No more than 15 feet across, every man was bumping shoulders with his neighbor as they sat down to watch.  

Suppose someone had seen them come in?  Suppose he wasn’t as sneaky as he thought he was?

(See below for more of Part 2)

(Read Part 1 here)
(Read Part 2 here)

(Read Part 3 here)
(Read Part 4 here)

Night Ambush: Part I

(Read Part 2 here)

(Read Part 3 here)
(Read Part 4 here)

PART 1:  The Road

They called the highway Thunder Road.   On the maps, it was called "Highway 13".   In truth, it was a rude gash through the outback of Viet Nam, meandering north from Saigon to the Song Be river.    The men of  Lima Platoon, Charley Company, 1/16 1^st Infantry Division (“THE BIG RED ONE”) didn’t know where it went from there, because they never crossed the river.  That part of the country was outside of their Area of Operations, and they didn’t care about it.

In fact, they didn’t much care about the road, one way or the other.  The only thing they cared about was getting fed, staying dry, and not getting shot or blown up.  

Vietnam in January of 1970 was existential for American Infantrymen;  as long as they still consciously existed, they were okay.  They didn’t do anything that they didn’t absolutely HAVE to do (as far as their orders were concerned).  They walked, hid, ate what the army called “food” (which is to food as military music is to music), slept when they could and they were dressed in ‘uniforms’ which were rags that the REMFs (“Rear Echelon Mother Fuckers”) wouldn’t deign to steal from their duffel bags … which in turn were locked in not-very secure containers somewhere in the Division Base camp in Dian.

On the map, Thunder Road was a red line.  In fact, it was a shallow depression in the plains north of Saigon, which was epitomized by the two seasons (Monsoon, when it was mud, and “Not-monsoon”, when it was dust).   Sometimes the tanks and Armored Personnel Carriers of the 11^th ACR or the Second of the Fourth Armored Battalion (“two-quarter horse”) would charge back and forth on their way to a mission.  Their mission was rarely to support the infantrymen of Lima .  “The Big Red One” was, as far as the infantrymen were concerned, both the Division and The Road.

Sometimes ... rarely ... the platoon was transported on those magnificent war machines.  They would huddle on the hull, sometimes holding onto the barrel of the Main Gun while they moved.  They liked it when they drove on The Road on the way back to our base, because it saved them hours of walking.  Of course, during the not-monsoon season the tracks kicked up a lot of dust.  When they got back to base, they would have to do an especially thorough cleaning, which usually involved a dip into a tub of solvent, such as gasoline.  But that took less time than walking ‘home’

They especially liked riding on armor in the bush, which was at waking pace and with very little dust. Except when they would go through The Woods, when the trip almost invariably led to brushing a tree and dumping a nest of stinging, biting ChiCom Ants in their shirts.

It is customary to refer to forested areas in Viet Nam as “Jungle”, but in truth “Three Zone” didn’t have much jungle.  What it had was something that looked like Alder thickets, and bamboo clumps, and Rubber Tree plantations.   So they just called it “The Bush”.

The Infantry man’s view of Viet Nam also included deadly snakes, deadly centipedes, deadly booby traps, deadly Viet Cong, deadly North Vietnamese Army (rarely, there), and sometimes deadly ARVNs.

ARVNS?  Army of the Republic of Viet Nam.  ARVNs were nominal allies, but in the actual event American troops learned to never turn our back on them.  When they were assigned to work with ARVNs, they set up in a circle; the ARVNs took one half of the circle, Americans took the other … and always had as many armed and alert troops watching the ARVNs (on the inside) as were watching for VC on the outside of the circular position.

Along Thunder road … at least in the immediate AO were three communities and a special “area of interest”.

THE VILLAGE:   The village was called ”Phuc Binh” and was home to perhaps 150 souls.   It was east of a straight portion of the road which had been graveled … recently, which was uncommon.  The villagers had an amiable relationship with American troupes.  They would sell us cokes and short time sex during the day, and entertain and feed the roving VC at night.   None never truly believed that they had killed any Americans themselves, but had no doubt that they were giving aid and information to the enemy who had killed Americans.

THE ARVN COMPOUND:  The Army of the Republic of Vietnam had a walled compound across The Road from the village, and a couple of miles further south.   There were approximately 50 ARVN soldiers there, but they usually had their wives and families living with them.  It was a “permanent duty station” in that respect, and the presence of their families presumably encouraged the soldiers to defend its walls enthusiastically.   It’s hard to work with the VC to overwhelm the compound when your family will die with the soldiers.

NOVEMBER2 Night Defensive Position:   The American position was ill-named as a “Night Defensive Position”.  It was actually a Fire Support Base, housing behind its bunker line and barbed wire and mine fields a battery of 105mm mobile guns.  Also, there were positions dug to provide berms for visiting armor units, both tanks and Armored Personnel carriers.    There were latrines with actual sit-downs and walls!  There were shower points; in this case privacy was not important.  It was just a water bladder hanging out in the open, with a shower nozzle on the bottom and a rope you pull to dump the water on you.  Sometimes the men would be taking a shower, totally nude, when a group of nurses or “donut dollies” (female volunteers who would set up temporary stalls where they would hand out pastries and hot coffee and cocoa and sodas to the troops) came into the NDP.   Modesty and shyness were the first civilized aspects to be ignored by infantrymen;  on patrol, there was even a buddy system … one of the other men would come watch over us when we defecated, like bears, in the woods.

The NDP was on the same side of The Road as the Village (the east side) but further south than either the Village or the ARVN compound.   Lima Platoon was currently using the NDP as its base of operations. and had been for just long enough to understand they didn't yet know the terrain as well as they should.

 (click below for more)

Revolvers .... YECH! (response to comments)

I've very much enjoyed the feeble defense of Revolvers by the 12 people who actually read this blog.  My question is .. I've only had five comments, what are the other 7 of you doing?

Here's the story:  I'm a 911 Snob. Always have been, even when I tried to compete in IPSC with a S&W 659 (9mm).

I also tried to shoot ONE IPSC Match with a revolver, and that was in a December "Concealed Carry Match" at TCGC.  (I use my race gun in the annual "Concealed Carry" match the year before.  I didn't understand why the match staff decided to discount my scores; after all, I started each stage with my Open Pistol with my coat completely concealing my 12" pistol and all the 170mm magazines!)

In short, I'm just not man enough to shoot Revolver Division in IPSC.  AI admit that freely.

However, I object to the suggestions that I'm not qualified to be critical about Revolvers.  I think they're just fine!  I just wouldn't want my sister to carry one.

I currently own five revolvers.  There's a .357 4" N-frame and a .38 special 5-shot stubby in two rooms, and in a third there's a Ruger Blackhawk (Single Action) in .41 magnum tucked away.   The other two revolvers are not appropriate for home defense:  One is an ancient .22lr and the other is another Ruger .41 with a 2-1/2x scope mounted on the top.

Frankly, I think revolvers have their place, and that's stashed in the home.  There are no springs to weaken over the years, because there is no tension on them; for example, a magazine spring (which could cause miss-feeds in a semi-auto, or even the tubular ammunition spring in a pump-action shotgun).

In my own defense ... I use revolvers in "My Own Defense".

(PS: For the humor-deprived ... which does not include any of "The Usual Suspect" readers and certainly not those who offered comments ... the video in the original post was, um, satire?)

Revolvers ... yech!

I'm working on a war-story post (part faulty memory, part fiction, all bullshit all the time) which so far is outlined in four parts.  Yes, it's too long to read already, even without all the extra added editorial flourishes!   It may take me a while to get around to actually WRITING the damn thing!

So you'll have someone else to laugh at in the meantime, I'm posting a video made by a man who shares my disdain for Revolvers.  You remember Revolvers, don't you?  Great bud-vases, pretty good doorstops?  Yeah, them.

▶"All Your Base Are Belong To Us!"

▶ Iranian TV simulation video of attack to Israel and United States aircraft career - YouTube: Published on Feb 7, 2014

Iranian TV aired video simulation of attack on Israel and United States aircraft career [sic]. Watch related video [ http://lenziran.com/2014/02/08/kabous...]

Persian Surveillance Drones to destroy New York, and Israel. (12 minutes, and quite boring)



Film at .. well, not real soon now.

New category: "Posturing!"

2 wounded in Georgia supermarket shooting | Fox News

2 wounded in Georgia supermarket shooting | Fox News: LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. –
(February 10, 2014)

 Two women were shot Monday inside a suburban Atlanta supermarket that was busy with customers trying to stock up before a winter storm that's widely predicted to hit the area, police said.

Lawrenceville police spokesman Greg Vaughn told local news outlets the shooting happened at a Kroger and that two people of interest were taken into custody. Vaughn said the shooting came after some sort of fight or argument but didn't have details.

"The scene is a little chaotic," Vaughn told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "You can probably imagine with everybody stocking up on bread and milk," he said. Several shoppers told WSB-TV that they hid in freezers while police cleared the store.

Georgia, huh?

They needed this Alabaman to shop there.  That would have resolved the problem before it became a problem.

Iraqi Bombers Bomb Selves; Unexpected Consequences Ensue

BBC News - Iraq militants 'killed by own bomb':
(February 10, 2014)

At least 21 insurgents have been killed in central Iraq after a car bomb was detonated accidentally, officials say. The explosion occurred in the early afternoon on a desert road, about 20km (12 miles) from the city of Samarra, security sources told the BBC. The explosives-filled vehicle was being escorted from the insurgents' compound to a main road when it blew up.

The expression "Hoist by his own petard" comes immediately to mind.

Sweet!

Freeze, storm, snow, thaw

the thing about a winter storm is that it has four faces, each with its charms and each with its hazards.

At the first freeze, you worry that your car may freeze up. Thankfully, you have kept up your radiator antifreeze to the point where the radiator is protected to sub-zero temperatures. So, havig spent two nights with a lamp with a 60 watt bulb under the hood, you're confident that you have over-reacted.

Second phase .. the storm!

After a while, the Winter storms come. Hail, sleet, and eventually snow ... you're comfortable until you realize that the snow is over a foot deep, and you HAVE to go to the store because you're fast running out of consumables, such as Milk and Cigarettes!

So it takes you a few seconds to rock your car back and forth in he deep drifts, and then that four-wheel drive just floats you out of your drive way and on your way to the grocery.

The snow: The next day the snow is even deeper, but you know that it's a "Dry Cold", and the increasing drifts are just powder. You can DO this! A trip to the store is "No Big Thing"m, and besides the last time you endured such a snow stormn (in 1968 ... so much for Climate Change!) you were driving a 1963 Corvair Spyder Convertible, and you made it though the Mean Streets of Winter okay. Besides, your worst problem in that rear-engine car was steering. So you threw a couple of sandbags in the front trunk, and kept on trucking.1965 ir 2914 ,,, LESS THAN 50 years, and you're still The Man!

The next day, the weatherman speaks of freezing rain, thawing, and "possible power outage". No big deal. Who needs electricity?

I do.

My bed is an electrically heated water bed. IU have candles and a TON of oil lamps, but it gets cold by morning.

And youknow what> The Thaw is not the best thing that can happen,

What is is that the trees have accumulated snow and ice for three days, and then The Thaw makes the ice start to melt. But not evenly. Eventually, the boughs bend, and then they break, and the boughs that hang over power lines?

They break the lines.

That's what happened a half hour ago, and now I'm on UPS power (which lasts about 75 minutes, so I'm typing as fast as I can!

We actually had a major power outage this afternoon. It lasted 82 minutes. But was in the daytime, when the Linemen For The County could see. Now it's dark, and deep, and they have promises to keep. I have no confidence that they can find and repair the breaks in the Main Line before my UPS dies, so I'm typing as fast as I can. (Which is none too fast, considering that the coal-oil lamp doesn't put out enough light for me to see the individual keys on the keyboard; my touch-typing is good, but not THAT GOOD! So I must type slowly, carefully, and use my flashlight when I have typos.)

Am I inconvenienced? Yes, I am. But I wouldn't have it anyother way. Calf-deep snow, freezing cold, power outages ... it sounds funny to say, must sound really weird to read ... but life can become too easy, and we stagnate.

Man needs a challenge from time to time. He NEEDS to understand that life is not without challenges, even if they are only petty inconveniences. I have food, water, air and life. How much more it is appreciated when the conveniences are not available!

---

Last night I found it difficult to go to sleep, because the college students a the end of the block were standing in the street talking loudly. In sub-zero temperatures. At first it was annoying, and then I realized that they were actually enjoying the challenge of the weather! For a while, I thought to join then Then I realized: That's stupid!

NRA Mag Replaces Maxim in Magazine Top 25

NRA Mag Replaces Maxim in Magazine Top 25:
(January, 2014)

According to Ad Age, Maxim's paid circulation fell from 2.5 million to 2 million last year. At the same time. American Rifleman's readership jumped from 1.7 million to 2.2. This puts American Rifleman among the top 25 magazines in circulation. American Rifleman's increased circulation is also indicative of the NRA's growing popularity among Americans. The NRA's Andrew Arulanandam explained: "Last year we had a 25 percent growth in membership. People who sign up for membership get their choice of one of three official journals for the NRA. American Rifleman is one of the most popular journals that we have." It is telling to note that, while gun control proponents continue to claim Americans want more gun control in 2014, rank-and-file Americans are walking past a magazine like Maxim in order to pick up a magazine that covers bolt-action rifles, AR-15s, and shotguns.

This makes sense.

People today reflect the same attitude when Obama took office after the 2008 elections.  Nobody knew where he stood on any issues (he is that good in his rhetoric that we don't know what he's saying, but DAMN he sounded good at the time!) so they voted for him anyway.

Twice.

Even after they knew better.

And both times, people started buying guns, and going to Basic Handgun classes,  and trying desperately to learn how to shoot them.

Why?

First, because they (both times!) were suddenly concerned that their Second Amendment rights would be overturned by Government Fiat, regardless of his solemn promise that "we are not going to take your guns away".

um ... "if you like your health insurance, you can keep your health insurance; if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor".  The jury is still out.  On everything.

So, we have a president who proudly declares "I have a pen, and I have a phone" and apparently that's all he needs to rule.

In the meantime ..digression to a personal story.

In the 1980's I volunteered to tutor an "English as a Second Language" course, as a Teacher's Assistant.  In truth, the teacher was overwhelmed so she halved the class and gave me the second (more 'elementary') class.  I met a young Vietnamese man who probably taught me more about Communism than I taught him about English.

His lesson:  "Pay no attention to what the Communists say; but pay close attention to what they DO!"




I have been applying his warning to my political evaluations since then, and I find the mantra to be entirely applicable more frequently than I find comfortable.

Seems as if I'm not the only one who thinks we should own a gun. 

Washington, DC has begun a firearms registration process which may lead to confiscation ... and even so, they can't keep up with the demand!

The District’s law is the first in the nation to require all firearm registrations to be renewed on a regular basis. A law passed in New York in 2013 requires permits for pistols and assault weapons to be recertified (sic) every five years, though the process only asks for personal information such as the owner’s address and type of weapons owned. Lawmakers intend that information to be used to conduct background checks to determine if a gun owner has become ineligible to own a firearm.

In the District, firearm registration renewal will cost gun owners $48 regardless of the number of guns they own, according to police. The reregistration is completed when the gun owner is fingerprinted, pays the renewal fee, passes a criminal-background check and submits a renewal form that confirms the owner’s home address, the serial number and type of gun owned, and answers a series of questions about their fitness to own a gun.

Any gun owner who does not renew their registration within the designated time frame will have their gun registration canceled, making possession of the firearm illegal.
Possession of an unregistered firearm is a crime punishable by a $1,000 fine or 1 year in jail.

Even so .. DC residents are dancing to the tune.

Washington, DC and Chicago, Illinois are the two most recalcitrant municipals  to (oh so reluctantly) accede to the Supreme Court's ruling that the Constitutional Amendment "Right to Keep And Bear Arms" must be respected.  But it's not necessarily any foot-dragging on the part of the cities to "do the right thing";  there are just so many people who want to finally exercise their constitutional rights to firearms ownership, and only a few policemen who are available to perform the administratrivia necessary to perform the steps required by Local Law.

What if ... what if the Federal Government stepped in and made it as difficult to obey the 2nd Amendment on a National basis?

This is exactly the question which haunts citizens across the country.

And this is exactly the reason why the National Rifle Associations 'rag' is becoming so popular.

WE have only just begun, on a National basis, to understand that our rights are universal and that our government is required to recognize those rights.

But President Obama is almost universally recognized as a Political Wild Card .. we don't know what way he will jump next week.

So, as we did in 2008, and in 2012 .. in 2014 we are frantically doing all we can to ensure that at least we have the physical presence of a firearm for defense of our home, our lives, and our Liberties.

That's what the Founding Fathers had in mine in the 18th Century, and where Our President accepts it or not .. that's what we have in mind today.

The Liberal newspapers in Washington, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle et all be damned!  We know what we want, and it is NOT to feel helpless in our own homes.

Ala + CHL + IRL = DRT

Breaking News: Dallas County Man Killed after Store Shooting in Orrville | CBS 8 News | Top Stories: By Alabama News Network Story Created: Jan 16, 2014 at 3:58 PM CST Story Updated: Jan 16, 2014 at 3:59 PM CST

A Dallas County man is killed after a shooting at a Dollar General store in Orrville. Investigators say the man entered the store with a gun and began waving it around as he walked around the store. They say the man pointed the gun at a customer and forced him to the back of the store. They say the customer then pulled out a gun of his own and shot the man. No arrest has been made and the incident remains under investigation by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office.

If     ALA = Alabama,
and  CHL - Concealed Handgun License,
and  IRL = In Real Life,
then DRT = Dead Right There

In a 'normal world', this announcement would either be (ho hum, dog bites man) a normal news article which was covered widely but without much fanfare.

In an 'imperfect world', it would be covered by major news agencies through-out the land.  Kudos to the hero, and the governor goes on nationwide television to express the thanks of a grateful state for the daring and courage of this man who put his life at risk for the benefit of his fellow citizens.

In this flawed world,  the Media don't want to hear happy endings wherein the good guys take on the bad guys and win .. it's hardly reported at all. And almost ALL of that reportage is by bloggers on the internet.   You can't blame the media; they would rather that nobody but the bad guys have guns.  That way, it's easier to tell the bad guys from the good guys; the bad guys are the ones with the guns.  That IS their mantra, and they are firm believers in the idea that most folks can't tell the players apart when things get complicated.

Unfortunately, it's a complicated world.  Sometimes (but not as often as should be) the Good Guys have guns;  that's why all those people in the Alabama Dollar General Store are still alive.

Well, except for the Bad Guy, of course.  Which is how it should be.

Bearing Arms dot com has more thorough coverage.  According to that source, the villain was one Kevin McLaughlin and the hero was Orrville resident Marlo Ellis.

Ellis was a customer in the store, and while McLaughlin was in the process of herding customers and employees into a store room (with the apparent intent to find "people to shoot"), Ellis pulled out his own (concealed) handgun and shot him dead, Dead, DEAD.

Sheeple are herd critters; heroes shoot the bad guys, and then finish their shopping.

NUANCE:

Sooner or later, some liberal dolt will ask:  "Why didn't he just shoot him in the shoulder?"


We direct their attention to the 1968 movie FIRECREEK, where the bad guy (Henry Fonda) says of the good guy (Jimmy Steward), whom Fonda's character had 'only' shot in the leg:

"I knew better.  Any man worth shootin', is worth killin'"

Today's version: the paperwork is about the same, only you only have to live through the experience to fill out the paperwork.

PS: the store had a sign up which prohibited the open carry of firearms.  There were no restrictions on concealed carry.   That may be something to think about, America.  Best guess is that the man who put up the sign thought it through before he posted it.

Part Time Jobs

I was phoning with my daughter in San Diego,  as we teased each other about the relative climatic advantages of Southern California vs Central Willamette Valley in Oregon.

She and her husband are trying to relocate to Central California.  Her mother (my ex wife) and stepfather (my best friend) are experiencing both  physical and economic challenges.  Daughter wants to move closer to her mom and step-dad, to support them.

The problem is, Daughter and son-in-law can't find jobs which will allow them to support themselves and their families. 

Said daughter:  "I didn't get the job I applied for; I was #2 on the list, and the woman who was #1 hasn't committed to the job yet.  I DID find another job, but it turned out that it was not a full-time job, but two half-time jobs."

To be more clear .. it was the same job with the same employer, except that it had been administratively redefined.  The same number of hours, the same work ... but not a full-time job.

Why?

Nobody knows.

---

Okay, we do know.

Any employer who offers a full-time job is required to provide benefits which meet certain governmental mandates .. including health-care.

Part-time jobs, however, are not addressed under these same mandates.

What is easier to make it possible for a small business to hire new workers, but to define the job as a part-time job?

The employer is then not responsible for providing full benefits ... such as Health Care.  Which is VERY expensive.

No, not as expensive as it was a few years ago, but MUCH more expensive!

The whole theory of governmental mandated health care is that the employer must provide health care benefits which are much more demanding than they were a few years ago.  Failure to meet those demands  results in penalties .. very expensive penalties .. imposed upon the employer.

But if the job is only part-time, the penalties are fewer, less expensive, or not applicable.

Think about it.  If you were a small business employer, would you hire a person full-time, or hire two people part-time?  I think we're seeing a trend, here.

For entry-level, or non-technical jobs, it's much more economically feasible for an employer to give new employees the choice of a part-time job with no health benefits than to hire a new employee with no or fewer benefits. And the most expensive benefit (now more than ever before) is health care.

And apparently, there is no reason why the employer cannot hire a single employee in two positions ... which just happen to overlap.  On a part-time basis.

Admittedly, I don't know the details here.  I don't know the law .. but who does, in a law for which the printed copy is taller than you are?

The point is that Our President, in his drive to revision re-engineer American society, has presented us with a set of laws which are not only difficult to understand, but also REQUIRE us to do the old things in new ways.

And as always, the American people  are looking for ways to get around the arbitrary laws without going out of business.

Who loses?  Well, my daughter loses.  And her family loses.  They have to find their own health care .. if they decide to accept the new job under the new rules.

This does not sound to me as if the new rules are performing in her favor.  Wasn't that the goal?

Are the new rules designed to encourage workers to improve themselves?  Or are they designed only for people with the lowest level of competence and experience?

What happened to Middle Americans?

Have they been thrown under the bus .. again?

No Joy in Muddville ...

Announcement from the Columbia-cascade Section (Area 1) and the IPSC Director of Albany (Oregon) Rifle and Pistol Club:

Sent: Thursday, February 6, 2014 11:48:23 AM
Subject: ARPC USPSA match cancelled

From ARPC Discipline Director Jan ****:

Alex,
Please send out to the section

Points match saturday Feb 8 at ARPC is canceled due to weather.  Currently there is 8 inches of snow on the ground I-5 is closed and chains are required in Albany and south.  Snow is going to continue thru the weekend.

Thanks,
Jan

Here's why:

As you can see, the snow in my driveway is up to the hubcaps on my GeekMobile.  And it's still snowing.   Weather forecast for the next couple of days is "Freezing Rain".

This is the third time in my memory that a CCS match has been cancelled, and it has always been because the prevailing weather conditions has made it unsafe for people to travel.

As for me?   I need groceries, the store is five blocks away, and I think I'll just make do with what I have in the pantry.  Oh, and we've already had two short power outages in my neighborhood ... 20 minutes away from the range.

BALANCE:
Chatted with my daughter in San Diego today.  She and her son are in bed with colds ... even though the weather is in the 80's.  She says my grandson envies me the Oregon Snow.

As well he should!

Black conservative leaders & the NRA

[SHORT VERSION] Black conservative leaders discuss how the NRA was created to protect freed slaves - YouTube:

Published on Feb 23, 2013  - SHORT VERSION 
Black conservative leaders discuss the reason the NRA was founded and how gun control is an effort to control people. 
The Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) hosted a group of prominent figures from the African American community at 9:45A.M. on Friday, February 22nd at the National Press Club to speak out against gun control legislation currently being considered on Capitol Hill. CURE is the largest black conservative think tank in the nation and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. CURE organized the news conference in response to concerns shared by black conservatives that the Senate proposed laws will restrict their ability to defend themselves, their property and their families. They are also concerned that the proposed gun control legislation puts too much power in the hands of politicians.

(Hat tip to "The G-Man")

Thank the Dred Scott slavery trial for putting the spotlight on the questions of whether slaves could be citizens.   The "worst decision the Supreme Court ever made"  (in 1857) went against the then growing acceptance of abolition, and its opponents made it clear that in the minds of most Americans,  all Americans were citizens ... and were "endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights".

Did that single legal decision cause the Civil war?  No, but it certainly was an influencing factor.  Abolition undermined the agrarian ecomomy of the Southern Democrat states, who could not compete in a free market without the advantage of cheap labor.  (Note the current administration's determination to provide "cheap labor" by refusing to prosecute illegal aliens ... for much the same reasons.)

Even through World War II, black Americans were still being repressed by white Americans, through such machinations as literary tests to prove that blacks were capable of understanding the "issues" before they were allowed to vote.  (White citizens were not so closely scrutinized).  And Jim Crow laws, which enforced segregation under a "separate but equal" theory proved in fact to be more separate and less equal than the popular fiction would admit.

After WWII, black American veterans realized that their white neighbors ... including and especially the 'militant arm of Segregation' (the Klu Klux Klan) ... would never allow segregation to end if black Americans were unable to defend themselves.  And so, some took up arms* to defend themselves, their families, and their homes.  As the Founding Fathers said they should. 

(See below for the rest of the story)

Proposed Oregon Bill Treats Private Citizens as Licensed Dealers

SB1551 - SB1551:  (SUMMARY)

Requires person to request criminal background check before transferring firearm to any other person. Specifies exceptions to background check requirement for family members, inherited firearms and antique firearms. 

Punishes violation with maximum term of 30 days’ imprisonment, $1,250 fine,or both, for first offense, maximum term of one year’s imprisonment, $6,250 fine, or both, for second offense and maximum term of five years’ imprisonment, $125,000 fine, or both, for third or subsequent offense.

WHAT?

This 2014 Senate Bill  ("77th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2014 Regular Session")
amends  "S 166.412, 166.432, 166.433, 66.436,166.438, 166.441, 166.460 and 181.150"

This effectively treats private citizens the same as Licensed Firearms dealers when transferring firearms to any other person, with the excepts of antique firearms and if the transferee is a member of the original owner's immediate family (to include step-relationships, grand- parents/children, and aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, etc).

(I note in passing that the available information is that the bill specifically excempts immediate family transfers; this is in direct contradiction to the February 2014 member newsletter from ARPC.  I will be contacting the club .. of whom I am a member .. asking them for a more rigorous evaluation.)

The private citizen has the same responsibility as a licensed firearm dealer to perform a background check, and to maintain records.  The state responsibility is a 'instant' response (or a good faith effort with accountability) to provide a yes/no acknowledgement that the transferee is not proscribed from firearms ownership ... primarily due to a record as a convicted felon.

(see here for possible other informational links to this bill.)

This is NOT to be confused with the 2012 (76th legislative session) Senate Bill 1551, sponsored by Ginny Burdick, "...relating to weapons; amending ORS 166.262 and 166.370 ..." which

Eliminates affirmative defense exempting concealed handgun licensees from crime applicable to possession of firearm or other instrument used as dangerous weapon, while in public building or on grounds adjacent to public building.

WHO?

This bill was sponsored by Senator Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, who stated in a January 23, 2014, OREGONLIVE (opinion) interview that he was not " playing politics" with expanded gun control legislation.


Also, in a January 09, 2014 OREGONLIVE interview, Prozanski said he will "... have the votes to pass it".

Another interviewee quoted in the same article noted that "... Prozanski hasn’t shared the bill draft with his caucus." Regardless, he (the Republican interviewee)  said he won’t support it and that no other Republican is expected to".
The article goes on to observe that "... Democrats maintain a narrow 16-14 majority in the Senate, meaning one defection would crater Prozanski’s chances."

WHY?

Here we enter into the realm of introspection; assume that the following is based not on researched documentation .... the author of the bill has not SPECIFICALLY made this statement, but it is obvious from his parenthetical remarks.

It's all about the "Gun Show Loophole"!

Currently, when you go to a gun show, ALL sales are expected to be carried out on the show-room floor.  Dealers, who constitute the majority of sales tables, are expected to follow the requirements to check all purchasers through NCIC.  And in fact, even private owners (with a table, but no Dealer license) are usually required to perform the same checks.  It's a service that the Gun Show organizers provide, and require.

But if you are wandering through the show floor with a rifle slung over a our shoulder and a 3x5 card saying something like "private sale, $375" (or whatever), anyone is free to follow you out to the parking lot and either complete a cash transaction or ... elsewhere, off the lot.

These are obviously the "Gun Show Loopholes" that this bill is intended to address.

And I don't like it.

WHY NOT?

It has been my experience, and my observation (and it may or may not have been yours, too) that as soon as the "Government" becomes involved in private transactions, all reason climbs on a jetliner to sunnier climes.   Over-regulation, stilted legalistic jargon, and extension by hyperbole soon follow.  (For the purpose of this discussion, the term replies to, roughly, the following definition:  The Government makes a law, and then administratively applies it to coincide with it's preferred definition.  The result? Sometimes, the 'definition' or 'application' seems to bear no immediate relation to the supposed intent of the law, and increased restriction on private activities are justified by arbitrary fiat.)

What we are left with is the conundrum:  Is it better that the Government pass laws to regulate human interactions, or that we prefer the government to stick to its original purpose of serving the people and let us sort out the consequences of our private transactions in the course of normal human experience?

Personally, I think that we are all flawed, and we will make mistakes ... but our private mistakes are in the long run less intrusive than when we invite Government to control our lives in detail!

What would be the benefits?  What the downturn?

If this law were enacted, it would put one more foot on our necks.  As free, law-abiding citizens, I can only see that making criminals of us would only lead to more and greater interference in our private lives.

If we sell a gun to a criminal ... cannot they get the same guns for free by stealing them?  Almost 100% of highly publicized violent crimes involving firearms have shown that the criminals buy guns legally and were not dissuaded by governmental checks because they PASSED those checks;  or they bought them from other criminals; more commonly, that they steal them.

In the case of the highly publicized 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, Seungui Cho bought his guns legally and passed the Instant Check by NCIC.

In the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, Adam Lanza murdered his mother and then stole the guns which she had legally purchased ... after an NCIC referral..

In the 1999 Columbine School Massacre, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold convinced an acquaintance to purchase their firearms ... who passed the NCIC check.  It was a legal transaction.

In this country, we are focused in mass shootings.  And we are traumatized every time we hear about the next one.   Others who are less traumatized see the notoriety, are thrilled by it, and begin to plot to gain the same public recognition for themselves.

What's the answer

One answer might be to muzzle the press.  Require newspapers, radio, TV .. all media to immediately discontinue reporting on "massacres".  This might have the effect of dis-encouraging similarly warped personalities from attempting to emulate these attention-getting 'events'.

But that would violate the First Amendment .. and everybody likes that one!

Instead, Politicians have focused on the Second Amendment as the one to violate.  Or, specifically, to "infringe".

As is the case of all political moves, it's a Popularity Contest.  Can't "infringe" upon the First Amendment?  Hey, kids, let's put on a show!

Let's make a big splash and "show those people" that we're worth listening to.

Sure, the criminals won't pay any attention to it, and it will put a tremendous burden on honest people, but ... heck, they'll vote for us anyway.  Why?  Because we will be seen to be "Doing Something!


Nobody will notice that we're "infringing" .. what the heck does THAT mean? ... if we go after an unpopular group!

Except for the REAL orphans of Society.  You know, the kids that nobody loves.  Like-firearms owners.  And who cares about THEM?

Dud shotgun shell? Two years in jail!

MILLER: D.C. businessman faces two years in jail for unregistered ammunition, brass casing - Washington Times: Mark Witaschek, a successful financial adviser with no criminal record, is facing two years in prison for possession of unregistered ammunition after D.C. police raided his house looking for guns. Mr. Witaschek has never had a firearm in the city, but he is being prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The trial starts on Nov. 4.

 Mark Witaschek is a DC resident whose disgruntled ex-wife turned him into the police for having firearms in his home.  What was illegal in the Federal District.

In a warrant-less search of his home, no firearms were found.  However, police found a 'dud' shotgun shell and charged him with the crime of possessing ammunition ... even though the shotgun shell was obviously (by the firing-pin strike on the primer), not functinable "ammunition".

Witaschek is a shotgun shooter, and does own firearms, but stores his shotguns in the home of his sister in Annapolis ... where possession of firearms is NOT illegal.

He had experienced the 'dud' round while shotgun shooting at a trap range, and kept it as a sourvinier on the desk of his home office, where DC police found it in their 'raid'.

Witaschek was arrested and led away in handcuff as a result of this.  He is out on bail (last word) and awaiting trial and possible incarceration for two years.

Mr. Witaschek’s 14-year-old daughter let inside some 30 armed officers in full tactical gear.
D.C. law requires residents to register every firearm with the police, and only registered gun owners can possess ammunition, which includes spent shells and casings. The maximum penalty for violating these laws is a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.
Police based their search on a charge made by Mr. Witaschek’s estranged wife, who had earlier convinced a court clerk to issue a temporary restraining order against her husband for threatening her with a gun, although a judge later found the charge to be without merit.

Apparently, even the mere possession of expended ammunition ... or "spent shells" ("Brass") ... is cause for arrest and imprisonment in the Demoncratic Non-State of DC.

Ignorance is No Excuse!

Apparently, enforcement of this draconian law has nothing to do with criminal intent, or (since no firearms were found in the home) the ability to act on any supposed criminal intent.  It seems obvious to the casual observer that this man was careless, but not felonious.

Still, he is subject to the letter of the law, and the District of Columbia police department (which, among other needs, is at least partially responsible for security of the Capital and its inhabitants) deems him such a threat to the peace and well-being of the community that they are willing to prosecute him to the full extend of the law .. such as it is, and whatever the cost both fiscal and political.

If I lived in DC, I would be serving a thousand years in jail.  I have 'expended' brass all over my house, and a garage full of gunpowder, primers, bullets, and reloading equipment sufficient to spend weeks reloading ammunition.  In DC, I would be a felon.  In Oregon, I'm just a Gun Nut.

I do not understand these people, really.  Most of my friends are of similar felonious intenr, if simple possession of an empty cartridge would be a felony.

Funny.  People who shoot, who own guns and reload their own ammunition, are among the best people I know.  One wonders why the folks on the East Coast get so worked up about a dud shotgun shell.

I guess they have nothing better to do.  Other than make laws which affect the entire country, I mean.

I'm retired, and I thought *_I_* was bored!



Video here.

We're not talking about camp fire cookies here!

Federal Court Says Connecticut's Aggressive Assault Weapon Ban Is Constitutional - Courant.com: By EDMUND H. MAHONY, emahony@courant.com The Hartford Courant 7:33 p.m. EST, January 30, 2014 HARTFORD —

Gun control advocates were buoyed Thursday by a federal court decision in Hartford that upholds Connecticut's toughest-in-the-nation assault weapons ban, calling it a constitutionally valid means of balancing gun rights and the government's interest in reducing gun violence.
 "The court concludes that the legislation is constitutional," senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello wrote in a decision published late Thursday. "While the act burdens the plaintiffs' Second Amendment rights, it is substantially related to the important governmental interest of public safety and crime control."
The legislature enacted comprehensive restrictions on ownership of semiautomatic weapons and ammunition early last year in the emotionally charged weeks following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. Troubled gunman Adam Lanza killed 20 first-grade students and six women with a now-banned AR-15 Bushmaster assault rifle his mother bought.

What?  Do we now need another "Heller Decision" to ban "lookism"?


The crux of the court decision is this:

In defending the ban, Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen argued that handguns and rifles on the state's list of banned assault weapons were designed for killing people and should not be generally owned and used.

The salient fact which escapes lawmakers in Connecticut is that all guns are designed "to kill people".

Over the centuries since gunpowder was invented, firearms have been historically used in war. As the technology improved, mankind discovered that guns were eminently practical in hunting wild game, to feed ones family.   But even until the 18th Century, guns (in the term of hand-held personal armament, rather than in the sense of "Artillery") were cumbersome, slow to reload, and generally inaccurate ... until long guns with rifle barrels were introduced.  And even then, the smooth-barrelled musket was less efficient and accurate than bows, and took much longer to reload.

The advantage of firearms over archery?  Guns were more intimidating in war, and could maintain their striking power over long distances .. given that actually HITTING a single target was still problematic.  Still, a good archer was the product of decades of training while anyone could use a gun.  This led to the usage of 'massed firepower' in war, because it was cheaper in the long run and was more effective .. if only because of the ease of training more of the yeomanry in their usage.

The charge that "guns are for killing people" is facetious and disingenuous. 

Strong men and fierce warriors, and trained archers (or even crossbow users) were more effective, given body strength and training. Watch the movie "RAN" (Japan, 1985) to see the power of massed archery.

The value of firearms is that it allows even the weakest among us to defend themselves against "strong men and fierce warriors".   

Today, firearms are primarily defensive weapons.   And when federal courts chip away at the Second Amendment, they are making it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves against attack by people who can physically overpower them.

I direct you to the blog of John Lott, of "More Guns, Less Crime" fame.   His post for 1/30/14 chronicles "Some great defensive gun use stories from 2013".   Generally, these are stories were at home alone when strangers attempted to break into their homes.  Typically, they ended up hiding in a closet and shooting through a door.  Some were living in remote rural areas, where police response was very long.  Typically, by the time the police responded to their frantic 911 phone calls, the attackers had cornered the women, who had nobody to protect them ... and the traumatized women had either driven way, wounded, or killed their attackers by using their guns to protect themselves.

When the courts decide that a specific firearm is not permissible for civilian ownership, or that the firearm holds "too many bullets", or concern themselves with asking "why would anyone need to own a ... " (name the currently unacceptable) variety of firearm, they are NOT limiting the firepower available to savage rapists and murderers, but to otherwise helpless innocents.

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Those of us who accept guns as tools know that the most dangerous weapon is one which the attacker has, and the defender has not.   Gun laws don't stop the felon, but they severely restrict the choices of the individual who probably knows better than some overpaid, sanctimonious judge who has never hidden in a closet while on the phone with the notoriously powerless 911 operator.  All the operator can do is to say "the police are on the way" and "please keep on the line!"

Parenthetically, I have great respect for 911 operators.  They deal with family and personal crisis every day.  In some of the videos on Lott's website, the operators are saying "do you have a gun?" and "you do what you have to do, Ma'am".  These people .. often other women ... know what it is like to feel helpless and alone.

This judicial decision .. to suggest that guns are 'bad' and must be proscribed, because they are designed "to kill people" ... have no understanding of the real purpose of firearms ownership.

When you are alone, and locked in a closet, and some brute is battering down your doors, sometimes the best two friends you have are the 911 operator and a gun in your hand.  With enough ammunition to defend yourself against a raging stranger whose intentions are NOT to sell you a box of cookies!

PS:  what is "An Assault Weapon"?  One that holds more ammunition than you think should be needed to drive off or kill a home invader!

UPDATE:

Getting back to Connecticut Firearms Registration Laws:

Connecticut firearms owners are revolting against the new laws.

Gun owners in Connecticut have revolted against a new gun control law, with just 38,000 out of 2.4 million high capacity magazines being registered with authorities.

Following the Sandy Hook shooting in December 2012, Connecticut passed a law which banned ammunition magazines capable of carrying more than 10 rounds. Residents who had acquired such magazines before the law came into effect were mandated to register them with state police by January 1, 2014. The law also banned assault rifles manufactured after 1994, requiring them to be declared to authorities.

Weeks after the deadline expired, authorities revealed that 50,016 assault weapons and 38,290 ammunition magazines had been registered.

CT News Junkie reported that it is, “unclear how many gun owners own the banned weapons and magazines, but chose not to comply with the registration requirement.”

However, a 2011 Office of Legislative Research study found that, “there are over 2.4 million large capacity magazines in Connecticut that originated at the retail level.” This number didn’t even include those not purchased at the retail level.

With a state motto like "he who is transplanted, still sustains", and having elected Joe Lieberman and Joe Biden as your state senators, it's difficult for this old country boy to understand how you gathered the moxie to defy your state legislature.  But still you have, and we are proud of you for finally standing up for your individual rights.

It's too late for you to assume the state motto of "Live Free or Die", but perhaps you could assume the unofficial state motto of Oregon:'
"Never Give An Inch!"
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Gun flight: California has "a Pen and a Phone", too!

Gun flight: Smith & Wesson, Ruger quit California over stamping requirement | Fox News:
(January 26, 3014)

A new gun law proponents say helps law enforcement has driven Smith &Wesson and Sturm Ruger out of California, and affirmed the suspicions of firearms rights advocates that the measure is really about making handguns obsolete. 
 The two companies have announced they will stop selling their wares in the nation's most populous state rather than try to comply with a law that requires some handguns to have technology that imprints a tiny stamp on the bullet so it can be traced back to the gun. The companies, and many gun enthusiasts, say so-called "microstamping" technology is unworkable in its present form and can actually impair a gun's performance. 
 “Smith & Wesson does not and will not include microstamping in its firearms,” the Springfield, Mass.,-based manufacturer said in a statement. “A number of studies have indicated that microstamping is unreliable, serves no safety purpose, is cost prohibitive and, most importantly, is not proven to aid in preventing or solving crimes.”

Okay, everyone who didn't see this one coming, raise your hand.

What?  No hands at all?

We talked about this less than two weeks ago in "Microstamping in California" (January 12) and "Microstamping in California Part II" (January 14).   Our point then was that the scheme is impractical, and that it was just another attempt by California's "Blue-State" Administration to keep firearms out of the hands of lawful citizens.


Ronnie Barrett, the .50 BMG, and California Lawmakers:
You may recall that in 2003, California passed a law which make the .50 BMG illegal to purchase.  Ronnie Barrett, president of Barrett Firearms Manufacturing (which makes the .50 BMG) famously declined to do business with the State of California in a letter in which he stated:

"This is not about protecting any honest citizen" ... "This is not about a reduction of crime. This is not about anything. This is about the nibbling process to totally disarm the American people."

Also:

"Anybody that's anti-Constitution or anti-United States government, I don't do business with them," Barrett said. "I will not be doing any business with any state agency or local agency that tries to disarm the law-abiding citizen."

(A document which purports to be the text of Barrett's letter is available at FreeRepublic.com)

California legislators suggested that  "the public doesn't need the weapon,"  and:

"This is a rifle that is currently treated like a hunting rifle, which means that any 18-year-old with a valid driver's license can get this," ... "It's less regulated than a handgun. We have no idea who has the gun."

At this time, 11 years later, California LEO organizations may "(have) this gun" ... but Ronnie Barrett will not honor the warranty nor will he continue to perform work on them.

So, essentially:  Screw You, California!  (signed) Ronnie Barrett

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Now S&W and Ruger are sending the same message, and for the same reason.

Liberal legislatures are determined to have their own way, dammit, regardless of constitutional issues.  If they can't do it by directly violating your 2nd Amendment rights, they will screw you administratively.

We see the same haughty attitude at the Federal level, now that President Obama has openly declared war on the Constitution.  HE has "... a pen and a phone..." and if Congress will not comply with his vision, he will write Presidential Findings which allow him to dictate, rather than lead, in determining the future of this country.

Yes, this is preaching to the choir, but most people reading this have already decided that the present Administration is approaching a Dictatorship in attempts to further his vision of a Socialist nation.  (At least he hasn't taken over the oil wells ... yet!)

We won't bore you with the list of decisions which the Executive has made.  Congress can make laws, and the Court can judge the validity of the laws ... but it is up to the Executive to enforce them ... or not.

In America in general, and in California specifically, there is a branch of government which is cleverly performing an administrative end-run on Democracy.  And God help you, California, because both your liberal Courts and your Executive branch are fully behind the Legislative branch's determination to violate your 2nd Amendment Rights.

On a personal note:  since I moved out of California in 1976, I have only returned to visit my Children, and I was so pleased when my Son moved his family out of that state this year.

Driving across the southern border of Oregon makes me feel as if I were entering a Communist Country.