2 Shake 'n Bake: NCOC

The Beginning:
In February of 1969, I completed my Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Lewis, Washington. I was given a short leave and ordered to report to the Non-Commissioned Officer Candidate Course at Fort Benning, Washingon by the end of the month.

My bride of six months delivered me to the Portland Airport, and after a long plane ride and a not-so-long taxi ride I arrived the night before scheduled at Fort Benning.

I was welcomed by the Night Charge Of Quarters (COQ) and assigned to "take any empty bunk" in my assigned barracks. It was about 10pm, I had no assigned duties for the next day, and so I found the nearest bunk (there was nobody else in the barracks) and fell into an unmade bed as soon as I could strip off my Dress Jacket and trousers and shoes, with no more covering than my field jacket.

Nobody expected 'early arrivals', so I was not issued bedding.

The next morning at"Oh-Dark-Thirty" I was awakened by the COQ and given 20 minutes to dress in the "Uniform Of The Day" (Fatigues), and directed to the mess hall for breakfast. Because this was the first day upon which Candidates (I was no longer a "Trainee"!) were expected to arrive, there were no assigned duties.

I wandered into the mess hall and had a leisurely breakfast. This was my introduction to The South. What I had taken for Cream of Rice cereal was in fact some Southern gruel made from bleached corn. (I believe it was referred to as "corn pone", but I'm not certain about this.) It was gruesome, and I never took it on my plate again. Fortunately, as I was the only member of my company present, I was not castigated when I scraped it into the wet garbage can.

I had already learned about Salisbury Steak, and although I was not offered this viand I would not have taken it.

I had also, it may be noted, learned that the dreaded "Shit On A Shingle" (Chipped beef on Toast, in a white sauce which invariably looked blue under Mess Hall lights), was more tasty than it looked. There was all the milk I could drink, reconstituted Scrambled Eggs, and lots of yummy greasy bacon ... not to mention the Corned Beef Hash for which I retain a liking to this day.

Sorting ourselves out:
As the company gathered through the day, I discovered that I had earned a certain cachet by virtue of having arrived 'early'. I was the Old Man of the company, and while the situation did not degenerate to the point that I was considered an authority about all things NCOC-related, at least nobody muttered the dreaded term "Lifer" in my presence.

It should be noted that a "Lifer" was a volunteer who had willingly joined The Army with the goal of making it a career. There was no lower designation in the Draft Army in those years than a "Lifer", unless it was a 17 year-old RA (Regular Army ... volunteer, or 'non-draftee) from California. (We had one of these in our Basic Training company at Fort Lewis, and he was demonstrably the lowest form of life.)

The People:
As I came to be acquainted with the members of my company, as they arrived, I noted one single characteristic about these young men with whom I had chosen to to be affiliated for the next 13 weeks: they were bright, athletic, and motivated.

I was not the only College Graduate, but I was accustomed to that. My Basic Training company had been at least 90% college graduates and they were 99% draftees. This group didn't have such a high percentage of college men, but they were no dummies.

(In my Advanced Infantry Training class ... A.I.T. ... we had one man who was clearly unable to think for himself. I had been informally assigned to make sure that he learned enough to pass the course, regardless of his lack of native abilities. I had drilled him on nomenclature for two hours every night, and he eventually passes his tests, if narrowly. Later, I was to learn that he was sent to Viet Nam and his comrades soon learned to never assign him to a Bunker by himself. He never went on patrol, when his company left he was left behind, and he frightened everyone who was assigned to accompany him on guard duty because he never learned his job. The men assigned to guard duty with him learned to expect him to hide under a bunk. He spent 12 months on guard duty, and went home with an Honorable Discharge. I have often wondered how a man who was the Army's equivalent of Charlie Gordon of Flowers for Algernon spent his life, but by the time I left the Army I had more personal concerns to deal with.)

Back to the NCOC Company.

NCOC school was much like Basic and AIT. Because The Army was 'highly motivated' to graduate as many Candidates as possible, our personal inspections were minimal. We did have Locker Inspections, which were designed to determine that we possessed the minimal uniforms requiered ... but it was also heavy on insuring that we had not, for example, kept live ammunition which we had been issued on the Live Fire Range.

In fact, these inspections were not regularly scheduled ... they were always "Surprise Inspections" and mostly conducted after a live-fire exercise. Most inspections found a few Live Rounds, but after the ammunition was confiscated their possession was always listed as n "oversight" and no punishments were inflicted.

In Basic and AIT I had seen a few men busted out of the Army for similar offenses, but they were invariably those who had also been busted for possession of drugs. We had no such experiences in NCOC: everyone in this course just wanted to come home alive, and bring as many men as possible home with us. The minimal requirements were that that we complete our course-work accurately, we demonstrated a determination to achieve the assigned goals, we kept our belt buckles shined and we didn't run naked through the night where the Company Commander could see us.

The C.O. was effectively blind. And our Belt Buckles glowed due to nightly application of Brasso ... which we could purchase for fifty-nine cents a can at the local PX, to which we were marched (in formation ) every Saturday as soon as we had completed our trip to the Barber Shop for a touch-up on our haircut (also marched to in formation.)

Helmets:

Early in our training, it was impressed upon us that we were training in the same environment as the Candidates in the Officer Candidate School (OCS). This was a program of no longer (13 weeks, 15 weeks, whateve) than ours, with the same instructors and much the same courses, but these Candidates would graduate as Officers ... well Second Lieutenants, which were universally recognized as The Lowest Form of Life even below Buck Private Trainees. Well, an new Enlistee with zero time in grade (E-1) was not expected to know better'; an Officer Candidate had no excuse, so "He Had Better Not Fuck Up". Upon reporting for training, OCS Candidates were assigned the nominal rank of Sergeant (E-5) and were held to the same standards of behavior, responsibility, decorum and accomplishment.

NCOC Candidates, upon reporting for training, were assigned the nominal rank of Corporal (E-4) and were held to the same standards of behavior, responsibility, decorum and accomplishment.

Rank:
Most enlisted men in a Combat Unit were enlisted as Buck Private (E-1), graduated from Basic Training as E-2 (Private), and Honor Graduates were graduated as E-3 (Private First Class). From there they were expected to advance in the non-command "specialist" grades, such as Spec 4 (E-4).

You will note that a Corporal (E-4) and a "Spec-4" (E-4) have the same rank nomenclature. However, their TITLE was different. Essentially, the rank of Corporal was no longer an active rank-title ... except in NCOC training.

A man who went to combat as an E-3 could expect to make the rank of E-4 (Specialist 4th Class) before his tour ended.

A man who completed the NCOC course could be expected to be advanced to the rank of E-5 (Sergeant), which was a Command Line Rank. A Spec-4 would be lucky to be advanced in rank, unless he earned the Sergeant designation upon which event he would be promoted to E-5.

But promotion for an E-5 was always within the Command Line Rank ... the next step was E-6 ... Staff Sergeant.

Company Organization:
To completely understand the responsibilities of a graduate of NCOC, it's essential that you understand the way Platoons were organized in Viet Nam:

An E-5 commands a Fireteam, usually 4 men (one Automatic-Rifleman, one Grenadier, and two Rifleman) plus himself. Often a Radio Telephone Operator (RTO) is included.

An E-6 commands a Squad -- nine men: two Fireteams, plus himself. Often a Radio Telephone Operator (RTO) is included, but he may also double as a Rifleman.

An E-7 (Sergeant First Class) commands a Platoon -- four Squads, plus a designated Radio Telephone Operator (RTO), a Machine Gunner and Assistant gunner (ammo carrier), plus himself for a total of 'about' 30 men. The number is deliberately left flexible, because (a) the duty assignments may vary, and (b) the number of available men may also vary depending upon availability.

An Officer, usually an O-2 (Lieutenant) but barely possibly a Second Lieutenant (O-1) will be assigned as Platoon Leader. This Officer will command the Platoon Sgt. (whose primary purpose is Administrative .. he looks out for his men and carries out the orders of this L.T. or El-Tee), and will be in over-all command of his Platoon. As well as the (30+/-) men in the platoon who are overseen by the Platoon Sgt, the LT's staff includes another RTO, the Platoon Medic ("Doc") and the Platoon RTO.

The Command Group of a platoon includes the LT, his RTO and "Doc", and (if the Platoon is operating as a group) the Platoon Sgt and his RTO - a total of 4 men, minimum. Squad Leaders may be included in the Command Group, depending on whether Platoon is operating as a unit.

In the actual event in Viet Nam, the Platoon was most frequently operating as two units: two squads would work with the Platoon Leader, two squads would work with the Platoon Leader. Unit commands would be responsible to either the Platoon Leader or the Platoon Sgt, depending upon which half they were assigned to.

In Viet Nam, a Squad was rarely lead by an E-6 Staff Sgt, because of the rarity of men who had achieved this rank; instead, they were usually lead by an E-5 Sergeant ... and the officers in command of the Company (usually O-3 Captains, but often O-2 First Lieutenants)

Note that I have referred to Staff Sergeants (E-6) as being "in command" of platoons. This is confusing, but Sergeants were NEVER placed in 'command' of platoons, unless they were under fire and their officer was killed or otherwise incapacitated. A Sergeant was ALWAYS under the nominal command of an officer ( if available ... see above), but a Sergeant was TYPICALLY in command of a 'half-company' (two squads) group of soldiers, and as such was responsible for that Unit.

Training Exigencies:
Moving back from Combat Organization to the Training Phase of NCOC operations, the Training Program had three clear divisions: Physical, Leadership, Tactical.

The Physical training was merely and extension of Basic and A.I.T. training ... endure that whatever physical challenge was presented to the non-NCO soldier, the NCO was trained to meet or exceed it. This included common exercises such as the Jumping Jack, the 4-Point and the 6-Point Burphy (jumping jack, lateral extention, and possibly a push-up), Pull-ups before entering the Chow Hall (not only the pull-up, but hang-time as well), marching in double-time, and running.

I recall vividly the day when we were required to speed-march 12 miles, in the company of a Major of the U.S. Army Rangers. We did it in two hours. Nobody dropped out, and we took a 10-minute break in the middle of the course. Most of us changed our socks then, because as Infrantrymen we had been trained to take care of our feet.

At the end of the march, I unwisely drank too much water too fast and consequently suffered severe cramps. Because the guy who bunked under me, Brunner, had already left for Chow when I crawled onto my upper bunk and resisted the temptation to throw up, I imposed by a near-bunkmate of my same name (bunks having been assigned alphabetically) to turn in my weapon and inform my Platoon Sgt. that I was not available.

True to the traditions, my Friend returned my check-in slip and went to chow. I slept for 12 hours and awoke at the usual time (5am) with no cramps and ready for duty.

Lesson: sometimes The Army doesn't quite have it's head up its ass, even if I do.

END OF PART II:

Possible subjects for future Shake 'N Bake posts --


The Plan vs Reality:


Ratting On Your Friends:

Brunner:

The March Up River:

Field Training Exercise:

Confidence Course:

Detroit Guys:

Disneyland:

The End:

Sitting Duck or .. is the 2nd Amendment about Duck Hunting?

Hog On Ice has this excellent comparison between a "Gun Free Zone" and a place where you have a chance of safety.

I can't say it better.

H/T Sondra K

Reading to Samantha on Thanksgiving Weekend

This video report is of interest only to immediate family members.

My daughter brought her family from California to Oregon for Thanksgiving. We met my newest grandson, Jack, for the first time ... he had his first birthday in September. And we were amazed at how big my youngest granddaughter, Samantha, had grown since we last saw her two years ago.

On Saturday, the family gathered for a Spaghetti feed at my sister's house. After dinner, as we were trying to digest all that pasta, I gave Samantha her copy of "The Dangerous Book for Boys". I also gave her a second copy to give to my son's children, who also live in California.

Samantha liked the books, so she crawled onto my lap so I could read to her from 'her' book while she held onto the other book.

She liked the pictures.



Then we got to Page 53: "Famous Battles -- Part 1".

And the rest ... is history.



In case it didn't strike you immediately, my granddaughter is very expressive and highly opinionated.

She didn't get that from my side of the family.




Technical Note:
While I wanted to post these videos to share with my family, this is also a experiment in using BLOGGER (Google Blog) to post videos which are destined primarily for this blog.

I've been using You Tube as an 'upload application'. Sometimes, I don't really want to post to You Tube, and this is an attractive alternative.

For bloggers who, like me, are not using the New Blogger software, it's worth the effort to use Windows Movie Maker to do the first edit. Blogger doesn't allow you to edit (including titles, which I've used here) like WMM does. Also, I wanted to send small files to Blogger. The first video was originally 50MB, the second was 27MB. Blogger can handle them, but by using WMM to make 'less dense' (smaller) files, the Blogger upload/conversion process was shortened dramatically. It took me 3-1/2 minutes to provide shorter files to Blogger, and it took at least that much time to convert the resulting 5MB files to whatever density/size are provided.

Besides, I don't have to copy&paste the HTML coding that I get from You Tube, and my 'personal' videos don't end up on a highly visible website.

Shake 'n Bake Sergeant

A funny thing happened to me last week. I received a flyer in the mail. It advertised a book about the Non-Commissioned Officer Candidate Course ... of which I was a graduate in 1969.

The flyer alone triggered memories which I had thought were buried over 35 years ago.

Assuming I can resist the impulse to lay a bunch of "NSTRH" (No Shit, This Really Happened!) stories on you, I'd like to give you some idea what it was like in 1968 and 1969 for a 23-year-old draftee with a college education in America.

I graduated from State University (where I now work) in 1968, and was immediately drafted. I had applied for a post-graduate job with The Teacher Corps, which intended to send me to East St. Louis as a Teaching Assistant, but the draft notice arrived first. (This was before the days of The Draft Lottery.) I wrote my state senator and my congressman for support, but the Army had me and wouldn't let me go. I even offered to go to East St. Lewis for a year, and then report for military service ... but it wasn't acceptable. (I later discovered that Fate had not been that unkind to me; ESL was a war zone, but the Teacher Corps didn't give you combat training before your posting, and they didn't let you carry a gun.)

The next thing I did was to marry my college sweetheart. Six days later, I reported for duty and was sworn into the U.S. Army (September 20, 1968).

I was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington ... the nearest Basic Training Center. On the bus to Fort Lewis, I discovered that every man on the bus was a recent college graduate. Bummer, man!

Upon arriving we met an unpleasant man who randomly picked me out of the group to be the Platoon Guide. (Not so random; I later determined that I was the only married man in the group. Apparently the army considers this a measure of maturity. It was my first indication that the U.S. Army had its head up its ass.)

At the end of the nine-week Basic Training, my platoon was found to be no better or worse than any other platoon in the company. We couldn't compare ourselves directly against any other platoon because there was a Meningitis Epidemic in the army at the time, and we were quarantined in our platoon barracks for the entire period.

On Thanksgiving Day, 1968, we had a 'Family Visitation Day'. My parents drove my wife up from Oregon to have a lunch with me. My father brought me beer in a thermos bottle, and my wife and I held hands (and other parts, under the table) as we spent two hours in a large room with most of the members of the Company. Meningitis was officially declared a non-issue for this period. Then our families went back to where-ever they had come from (no "Married Enlisted Men's Quarters" were made available for Conjugal Visitations) and we went back to our barracks.

Over the Christmas/New Years holiday, we were granted leave. I went back to my wife's apartment in Corvallis, my parents having granted her the loan of their car. On New Year's Eve we held a huge party in her apartment, where we all got drunk as skunks and I beat the crap out of my best friend (who was in college as an R.O.T.C. scholarship student.) At 6am the next morning I tracked my bruised best friend down at his apartment and made him drive me and my wife back to Fort Lewis. We were all hung-over, my wife was nauseus the whole time. It was snowing, the freeway was so inundated with snow that we put on tire chains even though the terrain was flat. We broke three chains on the 12-hour trip to drive 300 miles, and my wife threw up every time we stopped for food. I was 2 hours late for my 6pm return deadline ... and I was one of the first in my company to get back on post.

Immediately after graduation from Basic Training, and I mean five minutes after, I was notified that I was "11-Bravo" (assigned to Infantry) and trucked 300 yards to my Advanced Infantry Training company. After 13 weeks in the army, training, I was assigned to another 13 weeks of training in 'advanced tactics'. The good news: I wasn't selected to be Platoon Guide; instead, some other dweeb was. I spent the next 13 weeks making his life a living hell. Nothing against him, it's just that I was spoiling for a fight the whole time.

During my induction, because of my test scores, I was offered the opportunity to volunteer for Officer's Candidate School. After long and serious consideration (as long as it took me to recover from an uncontrollable fit of laughter), I rejected the offer. It required a 4-year term of enlistment (instead of the two-year term to which I was already obligated by the draft) and I was unlikely to survive the experience. I may have been a college graduate, but I wasn't THAT stupid!

More tests, and they offered me a slot in Helicopter Flight School, from which a successful candidate would graduate as a Warrant Officer qualified to fly helicopters in combat. They carried me out laughing hysterically. I knew people who had fallen for that trick; they were readily identifiable by their snappy uniforms and their crutches and/or canes. I did not take kindly to the idea of having my ass literally shot off.

Besides, this was another four-year deal, and if you flunked out ... you still had your 4-year obligation, but as a Private Soldier. I had no qualms about my ability to pass the course-work but they wouldn't give you the physical until after you signed the paperwork.

However, late in the Advanced Infantry Training course, a few of us were quietly told to report to the captain. At that meeting, we were individually informed that we had been selected for the Non-Commissioned Officer Candidate Course (NCOCC). It was another 13-week course of training, very much like Officer Candidate School, taught at Fort Benning, Ga. by the same instructors and officers and cadre who taught OCS. Following that, there would be a 13-week period of On the Job training (OJT) in-country as Cadre in a Basic Training Company. Then we would be assigned to our Permanent Unit (we already knew we were going to Viet Nam). This option did NOT require re-enlisting for a four-year term.

I figured, this was my best chance to grab as much training as possible before going to The Nam. Also, I would be an NCO ... a Sergeant ... which gave me much more control over the way my war would be fought. I would be making the decisions which determined my assignments. Not a bad deal.

First, I had to pass an oral exam. I stood before the Company Commander and his two Tactical NCO's and was given this conundrum:

"Suppose you are in charge of a squad, and your entire company was pinned down by a machine gun nest in the jungle. There is no way to get around it, the only possible approach is a frontal assault. You know that most of your men will be killed; it's very possible that you will be killed, since you will lead the assault. What do you do?"

I spent five minutes suggesting one alternate solution after another, only to have them shot down in turn by the C.O. who seemed incapable of saying anything other than: "No, that won't work."

Finally, frustrated and exasperated, I blurted out: "It's not going to do anybody any good for a whole squad to die in a failed attempt. I would find another way, even if my commander had given me a direct order to charge the bunker. That's just stupid!"

The interview was over, I left the captain's office feeling that I had just blown the only chance I had at grasping some control over my own fate.

That afternoon a runner called me back to the captain's office. I had been recommended for NCOCC school.

That was my second indication that the army had its head up its ass.

---

More on Shake 'n Bake Sergeant later.

He's B-a-a-c-k!

John Rambo

Attacking in a theater near you, January 25, 2008.

Moscow, Idaho shooting

May 19, 2007:
(May 21, 2007 -- AP)

MOSCOW, Idaho - A sniper sprayed dozens of bullets on a courthouse in an attack that left one dead and two wounded, then hid in a nearby church for several hours before police stormed in Sunday and found his body and another man’s inside, police said.

The shooting began late Saturday, fatally wounding one officer and injuring another and a civilian, said David Duke, Moscow’s assistant police chief. Duke said the attack was apparently an ambush, with the gunman firing into the Latah County Courthouse to lure people into his line of fire.

Around 6 a.m., three SWAT teams entered the First Presbyterian Church and found the two bodies on the main floor but not in the same room, Duke said. An automatic assault rifle, ammunition and spent shells were found with one of the men, he said.

Another area which subject to Mad Dog shooting is that of Public Buildings.

But during the May 19 - 20, 2007 period in Moscow, Idaho, a crazed man took on the City Police there.

Other reports:

Fox News; May 21, 2007:

"These kinds of things aren't supposed to happen in this community,"Police Chief Dan Weaver said Sunday at a news conference.

Police said the gunman started shooting from a parking lot across from the courthouse shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday. A hail of more than 30 bullets ripped through the county's emergency dispatch center, an apparent attempt to lure people into the line of fire.

"Whoever the shooter is wanted to draw people to the courthouse," assistant Chief David Duke said. "When officers responded, he did open fire on them."

Officer Lee Newbill was killed as he rushed to the courthouse, and a Latah County Sheriff's deputy helped pull the officer out of the way before being shot, Duke said.

And ...

POLICE ONE, May 21, 2007:
Sergeant Lee Newbill was shot and killed in a planned attack on law enforcement.

The suspect fired into an emergency dispatch center inside the Latah County Courthouse intending to lure people into the line of fire. Sergeant Newbill was killed as he rushed to the courthouse, and a deputy helped pull the officer out of the way before being shot and wounded.

And ...

(AP -- May 22, 2007):

MOSCOW, Idaho — Jason Hamilton unleashed his deadly rampage on people he knew: his wife, sheriff's deputies at the courthouse where she worked, the caretaker of a church across the street.

The 36-year-old was already known in the small college town of Moscow for a troubled past before Saturday night's shooting rampage. He had been arrested for domestic violence, had attempted suicide and had warned a mental health worker that if he did kill himself, he would take others with him.

But in the end, Hamilton left no obvious reason for the violence that left four people, including himself, dead.

"We have not found any note," said David Duke, assistant chief of the Moscow Police Department. "We do not have any motive at this time. We have no idea."

And ...

(May 22, 2007 - Spokesman Review.com: Moscow Shooter had Violent History)
The gunman in a weekend shooting has been identified as Jason Hamilton, a 36-year-old man with a history of violence and arrests. Assistant Moscow Police Chief David Duke said that Hamilton's wife, Crystal Hamilton, also has been found dead in her Moscow home, killed with a single gunshot to the head.

...

"We've had many contacts with Jason Hamilton," said Duke.

Duke said Hamilton has a history of domestic violence and had been charged in 2005 with felony strangulation of a girlfriend. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sent to jail for 180 days and then given probation.

After attempting suicide by overdose in February, Hamilton was placed in protective custody. He was given two psychiatric evaluations and then released.

"He stated that if he wanted to commit suicide he wouldn't do it this way," said Duke, adding that Hamilton threatened to take others with him. Despite those threats, Hamilton was not placed in custody.

The picture which emerges here is, by now, a familiar one: a man who is alienated from his friends and family, takes up a gun in some undefined and undefinable saga, understandable only in his own personal alienation against Society, with the result that several people end up dead at his hand ... including himself.

The obvious question is: why can't these lostlings shoot themselves first? Why do they feel obliged to kill their family, then their privately defined symbols of society? Is it a mere act of rebellion, or is it a matter of deliberately acting against Society as a whole?

Examining several violent acts within the past few days, we're tempted to act as if we knew the underlying turmoil of the individual psyche. But this is not possible. If an ignorant lone blogger could predict the acts of the ignorant long gunman, surely professional head-shrinkers could do the same.

The fact is, the box-score of professional psychologists and psychiatrists in predicting random acts of violence visited by their patients is no better than your local meteorologist in predicting the weather.

Rain happens, as is evident in this month's flooding in Washington.

Similarly, as heartless as it may sound, murder happens. The recent events demonstrate the truth of that statement.

We've mentioned before that "when seconds count, the police are only minutes away".

Unfortunately, even the police can't defend themselves against this kind of predation.

It's impossible to defend against a determined assassin who intends his own death to be the last act of his random violence.

The best we can do is to protect ourselves in the situations where armed policemen are NOT present, and hope that we can do better than armed policemen ... when the venue is a "Gun Free Zone" and the predator doesn't expect us to defend ourselves.


My son is engaging upon a path which will (he hopes) result in a LEO career. He will be his own personal First Line of Defense. He expects "To Protect and to Serve" his community, and I hope he can do that.

More important, to me and to his mother and to his wife and children, we hope that he can defend himself from this kind of unpredictable random attack.

I've already done all I can do to teach him gun-handling and shooting skills which might aid in that goal. I have no delusions that I have taught him all of the skills he needs, but I have done the best I could.

In the worst possible case, he would be a "Sergeant Lee Newbill was shot and killed in a planned attack on law enforcement."

In the best possible case, he would be an "(officer) Ken Hubbard", who saved many lives by counter-attacking a Mall Shooter in Salt Lake City on February 13, 2007.

I can't save my son by teaching him skills I don't really have. And I can't feel sanguine about metaphorically placing him in a position of danger for the benefit of a bunch of strangers.

I can only hope that, wherever he ends up working as a LEO, the local laws allow private citizens to protect themselves and others in Malls, Churches, Schools and Public Buildings.

I don't expect it, but I do so sincerely hope for it to happen by the time my son begins his term of service as an American Law Enforcement Officer.

(Thanks to reader Bill E. who brought this Moscow, Idaho story to my attention.)

Sunday horror: Church shootings in Colorado; gunman killed by armed female church security staffer

Michelle Malkin � Sunday horror: Church shootings in Colorado; gunman killed by armed female church security staffer

We mentioned recently that two of the most dangerous Gun Free Zones were schools and shopping malls.

A third is ... churches.

"Why would anyone want to wear a gun to church?" we hear.

This is why.

Thanx to Michelle Malkin
(H/T: Traction Control)

Omaha Mall Update

At the risk of 'glorifying' the mad dog shooter in Omaha, there are some updates which help place the massacre in perspective.

First (uncited) are later reports that the weapon was an AK-type, not an SKS type rifle.

Next, linked from the Michael Bane blog, a blogger named 'JoeMerchant24' has some first-person reports, and some fallout. I'll link the first four articles in case the articles drop off the 'current' list on his blog:

First-person #1

"A Modest Proposal", the Von Maur Drill

The notorious "Rules of Conduct" signs (#14 makes the mall a 'gun free zone') have been removed.

First-person #2: a First Responder report
(This also refers to the weapon as an "AK (NOT AN SKS)", and specifically describes "2-30 round magazines taped in reverse".)

There has been a lot of traffic in the Blogosphere, including RKBA websites, during the past few days talking about the "Gun Free Zones" which constitute much of our Public Areas. Schools and shopping malls are the most common locations cited.

When the Virginia Tech campus suffered from the predations of a Mad Dog Killer, there were 'some' complaints that a recent policy announcement from the V.T. Administration rejecting a proposal (that 'Concealed Carry Weapon' Licensees ... "CCW" ... should be allowed to carry on-campus) did not hold the well-being of the students, faculty and staff as a priority. Generally, the published comments supported this administrative 'theory'.

This incident, however, may lend more weight to the CCW argument.


What's new here?
I did an Internet search on "Omaha + gun free zone", expecting to report the usual finding that "the blogosphere is all over this, but the Main Stream Media remains silent".

To my surprise, I found this article from the Business Section of Omaha.com (website of the Omaha World-Herald) ... which, for this purpose I will consider the MSM:

Published Wednesday | March 28, 2007
Few merchants see need to post no-weapons sign
BY JOHN KEENAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Signs you'll see at the entrance of O'Connor's Irish Pub in the Old Market:

"Restrooms are for customers only."

"City Council: Please Send in the Non-Smokers."

What you won't see is a "No Concealed Weapons" sign reminding customers that bars are among the few businesses in Nebraska where it is illegal to carry a gun.

Almost three months after the start of a state law allowing people to carry concealed weapons, signs banning guns from privately owned businesses haven't exactly popped up all over the Omaha area.

In fact, although some chains such as Bag 'N Save have posted signs and shopping malls such as Westroads Mall have added "no weapons" clauses to their posted codes of conduct, many small businesses haven't seen the need. And at least one that did later reconsidered.

Under the law, concealed handguns are banned from some businesses, including bars and financial institutions. Other businesses and employers can ban concealed weapons from their property by posting a sign that guns are not allowed.

O'Connor's Pub owner Katie O'Connor said she didn't think a sign was necessary.

"The ones you need to be afraid of don't have licenses for their guns anyway," she said.

At the Nebraska Clothing Co. in the Old Market, owner Brad Ashford said he intended to put up signs but never got around to it.

And now, he said, "It does not seem to be a problem."

If he saw a customer carrying a gun, he'd probably ask the person to leave the store, said Ashford, who also is a state senator.

"Of course," he added, "if I could see the gun, it wouldn't be concealed."

Note the date of this article: March 28, 2007 ... over eight months ago.

Also note the specific reference to the Westwood Mall, identified as one of the "... shopping malls ... [which] ... have added "no weapons" clauses to their posted codes of conduct...".

The article continues:

Greg Cutchall put up a "No Concealed Weapons" sign at his Famous Dave's barbecue restaurant at 71st Street and Ames Avenue, but a customer's reaction persuaded Cutchall to remove it within days.

"He wrote that he was no longer going to do business with us," Cutchall said. "He went on to say how difficult it is for an individual to actually obtain a concealed weapon permit, and that they're law-abiding citizens."

One of the customer's points, Cutchall said, really resonated: The sign wouldn't keep out someone who wanted to rob the place.

"Your business is more important to me than one of 1,000 ways people could sue us," Cutchall wrote back, adding that he would take down the sign.

After he removed the sign, Cutchall said, he received e-mails from other customers applauding his decision and telling him they planned to eat at the restaurant.

"It's a little controversial," Cutchall acknowledged. "There's a group of people who'll say, 'You're going to allow concealed weapons in your restaurant?'"

We can expect that the people who were in the Westwood Mall last week will be inclined to take their dinner guests to Cutchall's restaurant, which reinforces the idea that allowing honest people the legal means to protect themselves is just good business.

Perhaps I was wrong when I predicted a Liberal knee-jerk reaction to the Omaha Mall Shootings. Perhaps Nebraskans, who are proud of their recently enacted 'shall issue' legislation, will stand up to their elected politicians who may attempt to use this tragedy to re-establish gun-control laws which have now been proven to be contrary to the best interests of the public.

There may be other Unintended Consequences of this tragedy.

The Ledger.com (a "... New York Times Regional Media Group Florida site...") Lakeland (Polk County), Florida, has an online Forum feature. Visitors here are reading and commenting on John Lott's article which emphasizes the "Gun Free Zone" in the Omaha mall, and while the responses so far are minimal, they are 'not amused' by the concept.

Here's another article from the Omaha World-Herald, dated August 12, 2007:

Omaha Housing Authority to ban guns in homes
BY ERIN GRACE
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Residents of Omaha Housing Authority properties will not be allowed to have guns - even if they own them legally - in their homes under a new policy due to take effect in October.

The state's largest provider of public housing adopted the new rule in June. It followed the passage of a separate rule in April that prohibits anyone other than sanctioned OHA employees or police officers from carrying concealed weapons in shared spaces such as lobbies and elevators or OHA offices.

Executive Director Stan Timm said the rules are "one more tool in trying to be ahead of and prevent crime."

"We're always looking for ways to improve safety," Timm said.

Obviously, Nebraska has been working to fit the new Concealed Carry laws into the preconceived notion that private ownership of firearms is 'bad'. The politicians are looking for more places to ban guns. The small-business owners (at least) are accepting current law 'as written', and when they discover that private citizens are unwilling to 'give up an essential liberty for temporary security', they yield to whatever measure best attracts their customers.

We have been shown that Gun Free Zones are decidedly NOT what the public wants. We have seen this in the marketplace, surely the best measure of a Capitalistic society. And we have seen demonstrated in the Real World that Gun Free Zones not only do nothing to secure the safety of patrons, but rather makes targets of our families.

It may be that the politicians which we have elected might learn from this experience, and might be convinced that imposing draconian Gun Control laws neither protects the electorate or (mor important, to them) assures their re-election.

We don't expect them to learn this lesson, but it is an outcome devoutly to be wished.

Nota Bene:
Previous Geek posts on Nebraska Concealed Handgun Carry act:

CCW in Nebraska? (January 8, 2006)

Nebraska Joins RKBA America! (March 30, 2006)
Money-quote:

The political opposition to passage of this bill was evident even after passage of the bill, as the Journal Star reporting demonstrates:

“There is no justification for it which would be considered rational,” said Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha. “Nebraska is not engulfed in a crime wave.”

The Nebraska State Patrol did not take a stance on the bill. The Police Officers Association of Nebraska opposes the measure.

Sen. Joel Johnson of Kearney questioned why the “safest people in the safest place on Earth” — Nebraska — need to carry concealed guns.

More About Nebraska Shall Issue Law (March 31, 2006)

Summary:

H. L. Mencken:
The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.

Being John Cusack

I like John Cusack. Who doesn't?

No no, that's a rhetorical question. You're not meant to answer it. If you don't like John Cusack, I don't even want to talk to you. Just ... go away.

What's to like about John Cusack? Well, just for starter there's his sister ... Joan Cusack. I am in total absolute love with Joan Cusack. Don't bother running to SWMBO with this breaking news. She already knows, and she can live with it.

This fondness for John Cusack (or more accurately, the characters which he so adroitly plays) didn't evolve slowly as I viewed all of his movies as they were produced. Instead, it happened in about two hours as I first watched "Grosse Point Blank" (1997). There he played Martin Q. Blank, an alumni of Grosse Point (Michigan) High School reacting to an invitation to his ten-year high school reunion.

It's not merely incidental that for the entire period since his high school graduation, after which he immediately disappeared, Blank has earned his living as an assassin. That's Professional Killer to the uninitiated. Blank's professional philosophy ("If I have to come see you, chances are you deserve it") has worn thin over the years, which is probably why he has hijacked Psychologist Dr. Oatman (frenetically played by Alan Arkin) into seeing him every Tuesday for one hour ... and Oatman must take Blank's neurotic phone calls because, see ... "You know what I do. If I couldn't trust you, I would have to kill you."


Blank's receptionist/secretary (Joan Cusack: "I ordered a thousand rounds of nine millimeter. What's so fucking hard about that?") is so rabidly over-the-top that you can't help but love her, even as she wanders around the office splashing gasoline from five-gallon containers, because "We've been exposed, we have to close the office."

I can put up with the execrable Minnie Driver as Blank's high-school sweetheart ("You kill people for a living! Don't you get it? You ... can't ... HAVE ... me!") because this is probably her Personal Best performance. Besides, Dan Akroyd plays Blank's nemisis ("What about that job up in Washington? Where you had to kill the dog? A Poodle? Hah ... Poodle Puncher!") and Akroyd is one of the best comics in the business: a veteran of the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players. (Think: Chevy Chase, Gilda, Belushi, etc.)

By the time the movie was over, I was surfing the net for my own personal copy of Grosse Point Blank.


But it got worse. I watched "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" because Cusack was in it. Serves me right. I even BOUGHT the DVD of "Pushing Tin", and put up with the inherent ugliness of both Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett. Heck, even Angelina Jolie (in what turns out to be her first "big" film) paled by comparison to Cusack's performance.


Cusack is often not credited for his contribution to the Nick Cage movie "Con Air" (1997), which came out immediately after "Blank". Surprisingly, this featured both Cusack and John Malkovich who were paired again in 1999 in "Being John Malcovich".

The point of this whole exposition is that today I found a website which purports to list "John Cusack's Most Memorable Performances". You can go there, read what THEY think are significant performances, and vote for your favorite.

You'll be surprised to learn that, of the 11,000+ votes registered to date, 23% agree with me. But nobody, NOBODY, has yet complained that "Con Air" wasn't on the list.

No problem. It was only his SECOND best performance (ignoring the fact that he played against Anette Bening and Anjelica Huston in 1990's depressing "The Grifters")

Other personal John Cusack Favorites:

• Sixteen Candles (1984)
• Stand By Me (1986)
• Eight Men Out (1988)
• Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
• The Thin Red Line (1998)

(Get the Point?)

Omaha Mall Massacre

Once again, a crazed lone gunman slaughters innocents, and once again nobody who is there has the ability to stop him.



9 Dead, Including Gunman, at Omaha Mall
Shooter, 19, Left Behind Suicide Note

Nine people were found dead -- including the gunman -- and five others injured during an afternoon shooting spree inside a busy Omaha shopping mall during the height of the holiday shopping season, police said.

The article included the following comments:

Hawkins opened fire with an automatic rifle and later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was found on the third-floor customer service counter of the Von Maur department store.

"Automatic Rifle"? I doubt it. The Associated Press maintains its standard for accuracy, which is to say none at all. There are no reports that an 'automatic rifle' has been used here. "Semi-Automatic" -- maybe, but we're still waiting for definitive information.

One witness told MSNBC that the shooter shot victims indiscriminately and even shot a teddy bear.

Kevin Kleine, 29, of Omaha, a shopper, was there with her 4-year-old daughter. She said she hid in a dressing room with four other shoppers and an employee, The Associated Press reported.

"My knees rocked. I didn't know what to do, so I just ran with everybody else," Kleine told the AP.

Some witnesses reported seeing a man shot in the head. "I just came back from lunch and was standing around getting ready to go back to work … All of a sudden I heard bang, bang, bang and thought it was someone shooting fireworks," said a witness at the scene.

"I heard some more shots and we all just ran into rooms to hide. We didn't know what was going to happen.. [A co-worker] saw the shooter shoot someone in the head."

Varying reports put the number of shots fired between 10 and 50.

A woman who answered a call by the AP at the Old Navy store said 20 to 30 customers were huddled with employees in a back storeroom.

"All we know was people were running and screaming down the hallway by Von Maur saying there was a shooting, and then they locked us down," said the woman, who said her name was Heidi.

Some of the early reports are dubious, such as citing a (female) identified as "Kevin Kleine". The always biased news-source AP refers to the shooting of "a teddy bear" for color. This may be fact, but it doesn't confirm any implied supposition that the shooter was 'a sniper' who deliberately targeted a toy.

Radio reports more believably describe a shooter who leaned over the third-floor balcony and cut loose with a number of (aimed or un-aimed?) shots in the direction of a Christmas Shopping Season crowd, some of which hit people and some of which hit nothing of particular importance ... details added to lend color to the story.

I listened to the Lars Larson radio commentary on my drive home from work. This locally hosted (Oregon), nationally hosted conservative radio talk show emphasized an important point:

What if there was no cultural onus on Concealed Handgun Carry across the nation, and what if there were CHL licensees present at the upper-class Von Maur Department store today. Would they have been able and willing to engage this Urban Terrorist? Even a single shot fired at him would have distracted him, at least; at best, it would have hit him and rendered him unable to continue his predation upon Christmas-shopping innocents.

To paraphrase Larson:

You know, because I have discussed this on the show before, that I have a Concealed Handgun license and I carry a handgun. People ask me: why do you want to carry a handgun in a church, in a school, in a shopping mall? It's because this is exactly the kind of places where this kind of thing may happen. A crazy with a gun may show up anywhere, and places where guns are forbidden are the best place, in their mind, to carry out this kind of attack.

[ED: Because I was unable to take notes, and because a transcript of the show is not immediately available, I can't quote from the radio show. If/when precise quotes are available I will use them.]

I think Larson is on to something here.

Although Nebraska has enacted (March 30, 2006) Concealed Carry laws thanks to Sen. Jeanne Combs of Milligan, this law (as is true in any state) doesn't necessarily permit Concealed Carry in EVERY public (or private) place in Nebraska.

It may be significant that "... Nebraska’s bill is different ... [because it may] allow cities to ban concealed weapons. Lincoln Mayor Coleen Seng and Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey wrote letters to the Legislature ... expressing opposition to the bill." [ED: Emphasis added]

Whatever laws and local restrictions may apply, it seems clear that either nobody at the Von Maur department store HAD a gun to engage the shooter, or else those who did were too intimidated to do so, or they weren't in a position to use their personal defense weapon.

The result, and the consequences were, that (cited to date) 9 people were killed, 5 people were wounded, and the slaughter continued until the shooter voluntarily discontinued the killing by the simple expedient by turning his gun on himself.

There is confusion over what kind of gun he had. At this point we just don't know, due to the unreliable and incomplete reports from the Main Stream Media. If it was a handgun the MSM would certainly have said so. The reports to date refer to the gun only as an "automatic rifle", which is non-specific and questionable, but definitely rules out usage of a handgun.

[Note: later reports describe the weapon as "an SKS semiautomatic Russian military rifle". This may be no more accurate, but it is certainly more specific.]

Another report, from MSNBC, suggests a motive for the murders. It's mundane, mercurial and probably mendacious (given that it is both early-times and MSNBC), but it may provide some motive:

OMAHA, Neb. - Robert Hawkins had been kicked out of his family’s house, had broken up with his girlfriend and was recently fired from his job at McDonald's, where he had been accused of stealing $17.

Hawkins called Debora Maruca-Kovac, the woman whose home he was living in, about 1 p.m. on Wednesday "very upset," telling her that he had left a note for her in his bedroom, she said.

She tried to get him to explain, but he hung up after telling her "I love you, and I’m sorry for any pain I’ve caused you," she told a local television station.

Maruca-Kovac found what the 20-year-old had left in the home: A suicide note, in which he said he was "going out in style," and that he'd never been anything in his life but after Wednesday he would be famous.

This describes another loser in life's crap-shoot, perhaps a self-made loser who habitually broke the rules of society in his egocentricity. When his self-image was so damaged by the consequences of his own actions, he took his final revenge on the society which rejected him in a final Berserker act of defiance.

Or, he was truly a victim of circumstance, a loner without the skills to succeed alone, a pawn of fate. When we try to understand the actions of the individual, we find ourself in a confusing maze of possibilities. We will never know, really, what drove this young man to a final act of desperation.

But we do know that this is not the first time this bit of street theater has played in a public market ... or school, or office building ... and it will certainly not be the last.

There is a facet of society which seeks to contain these random acts of violence by controlling the tools of violence. The Gun Control Lobby is tireless in its efforts, randomly successful in its intermediate goals, and completely ineffectual in the final analysis.

Gun control will not stop a despairing madman from vicious attack, especially the madman with the declared purpose of "going out in style". We should make an effort to forget the names of these pitiful beleaguered creatures if only to deny themselves the name the try so hard to make known.

Forgetting their names would be a far easier task than finding a true solution to this cancer in the breast of civilization, this madness of market mayhem. And again, we may never know how to foresee, or to forestall it.

The best we can hope is to minimize the damage.

The news reports describe herd-animal responses to a predator. "The sound of gunfire sent people fleeing in all directions while others hid in clothes racks and dressing rooms." " I didn't know what to do, so I just ran with everybody else ...".

It sounds like the scene from the movie "Jurassic Park" depicting a herd of herbivores running from a marauding T-Rex. We are uncomfortable in that image, but those who yesterday found themselves in the unwanted role of victims had few choices in the Fight or Flight scenario, and it's probable that their instinctive panic saved some lives, if in the most ignominious manner our nature provides.

Some people advocate turning ourselves into an Armed Society. There are some advantages to that. Science Fiction master Robert Heinlein postulates that "An Armed Society is a Polite Society". And there are others, perhaps a majority, to are even less comfortable with that image.

As long as we are unwilling to tolerate random massacre, we will search for the best alternatives. In doing so, we will doubtless sink to a compromise which offers little of either security or comfort, but one which requires the least personal effort. We will let someone else take the blame for the atrocities of the past, and we will allow them to push us still further into the herd mentality by attacking our few personal options. When we impose the responsibility for our safety on our lawmakers, they will respond by imposing their laws on us. Laws are not typically designed to enhance our freedoms; they restrict our freedoms.

Within days, not hours the Nebraska legislature will take action to curb their recently enacted "Right to Carry" act. If not the state legislature, at least the city of Omaha will propose draconian actions which, had they already been in place, would not have had much chance of preventing the massacre.

"When seconds count, the police are just minutes away." Laws won't stop this, police can't stop this. The only thing which DID stop the killing in Omaha was another killing ... the killer killed himself.

Would it have made a difference if an armed citizen had counter-attacked?

(*Click on image for full-size version*)
It made a huge difference in the market mayhem in Utah last February, when an off-duty policeman used his concealed carry weapon and engaged the shooter ... in a posted "Gun Free Zone". When the herd was in full flight, hiding behind glass display counters and weeping in fear, one brave man with a gun stopped the predation. Yes, he turned it from a 'slaughter' to a 'gun battle'. A single snub-nose .38 protected a hundred people long enough for armed police units to arrive ... those forces for justice (who "protect and serve") who were just minutes away.

Obviously, an Armed Society is not an acceptable solution. But a society which recognizes the value of personal defense, and which will not deprive the individual of the tools which are needed in the most vulnerable public areas, may find a way to curb the excesses of the losers and maniacs for which we have found no other defense.

The Gun Control Lobby will not readily accede to this solution. They will cry out against 'gun-battles in the mall', but the people in Omaha Von Maur department store would have been glad to have found themselves in the middle of a 'gun-battle' instead of the killing field which was their reality. At the least, even with the possibility of stopping a random bullet, nobody would have been deliberately targeting them.

UPDATE: Thursday, December 6, 2007

John Lott on Malls as "Gun-Free Zones".

Here's Lott's summation:

Despite the lack of news coverage, people are beginning to notice what research has shown for years: Multiple-victim public shootings keep occurring in places where guns already are banned. Forty states have broad right-to-carry laws, but even within these states it is the "gun-free zones," not other public places, where the attacks happen.

People know the list: Virginia Tech saw 32 murdered earlier this year; the Columbine High School shooting left 13 murdered in 1999; Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, had 23 who were fatally shot by a deranged man in 1991; and a McDonald's in Southern California had 21 people shot dead by an unemployed security guard in 1984.

All these attacks — indeed, all attacks involving more than a small number of people being killed — happened in gun-free zones.

In recent years, similar attacks have occurred across the world, including in Australia, France, Germany and Britain. Do all these countries lack enough gun-control laws? Hardly. The reverse is more accurate.

The law-abiding, not criminals, are obeying the rules. Disarming the victims simply means that the killers have less to fear. As Wednesday's attack demonstrated yet again, police are important, but they almost always arrive at the crime scene after the crime has occurred.

The longer it takes for someone to arrive on the scene with a gun, the more people who will be harmed by such an attack.

Most people understand that guns deter criminals. If a killer were stalking your family, would you feel safer putting a sign out front announcing, "This Home Is a Gun-Free Zone"? But that is what the Westroads Mall did.

Reputation - ARPC and Mac

The reputation of the Albany Rifle and Pistol Club (ARPC) has been proliferating throughout the Western Stages, and I can't tell you how delighted I am to report that within the past two weeks I have learned of two out-of-state shooters who are considering a move to the mid-Willamette valley for the primary purpose of joining ARPC.


One is a Practical Pistol shooter from California: time frame is about two years from now.

The other is a physician from Idaho, both a Practical Pistol shooter and a Long Range Rifle Shooter (I'm talking about a guy who brings a .50 BMG to Joe Huffman's Boomer Shoot).

These are people who love shooting, and who are seeking proximity to a top-of-the-line Shooting Club.

The Albany Rifle and Pistol Club seems to meet their criteria, and I can only say that this speaks well for both ARPC and their judgment.

I have spoken frequently and volubly about the quality of facilities, training opportunities, and the wide range of competitive venues at ARPC.


ARPC wasn't always this forward thinking.

About ten years ago, I was living in Portland (80 miles from the Albany club). I would attend an ARPC IPSC match maybe every other month. It wasn't that the drive was so long or so difficult ... after all, it's a straight shot on the I-5 Freeway, and another 7 miles on a well-maintained secondary road.

The problem was that ARPC was experiencing a crisis of leadership, especially in the Practical Pistol Discipline Department.

First, unless you went there in the summer, the six ARPC North Range bays were a literal quagmire.

The bays were not surfaced ... no cover at all to the clay dirt .. and the North Range is immediately adjacent to the north face of Saddle Butte, which is a 200' high saddle butte. The rains would wash the dirt from the hillside onto the bays, and there was nowhere for the water to go when the slurry met the hard-packed access road. It pooled where the road ended, with the inevitable result that the bays were water saturated six months out of the year.

I've known times when it was so mucky that your boots would sink four inches into the mud. Do you realize how difficult it is to move fast (while holding a pistol with the safety off) when your boots are picking up pounds of mud with every step?

Then there were the leadership problems. A couple of well-intentioned guys worked hard to keep the IPSC program going, but they were not organizers. They tried to do everything themselves, and they couldn't attract volunteers to help with such problems as providing stage designs, and showing up early enough on Match Day to actually set up the stages.

Add to that, the only shelter was a 10-year-old shed on skids, which leaked and had no heaters to take the winter chill off the rain-soaked competitors after a match. Few competitors stuck around for an Awards Ceremony, because the just wanted to get into their cars and leave, with the fond hope of drying out during the drive home.

Finally, competitors were often so cold and shivery and disgruntled that they were reluctant to even help tear the stages down and put the props back in the (inadequate) storage shed.

There came a day when the Match Director made an announcement during the pre-walkthrough Shooters' Meeting:

He said "If you don't stay after the match and help with tear-down, all of your stage scores will be zeroed and a zero score will be sent to USPSA for your classifier. I'll be watching you!"

While his concern was not entirely unjustified, I was among those who always stayed to help with the tear-down, and I thought "Why is he tarring us all with the same brush? I do my part. Why should I allow myself to be talked down to this way?"

That's when I decided that this was my last match at ARPC, and I kept that resolution for several years.

That poor guy didn't last much longer, because it appears that I was not the only competitor who was offended by the way he chose to demonstrate that he was burned out.

Burn Out!

There was another brave soul who volunteered to MD the matches, but he didn't last too long, either. He tried to do all the work himself, and burned out in less than a year. The other clubs in the Section announced that ARPC had discontinued IPSC competition until a new Club President could be elected who would either personally take over the conduct of the Practical Pistol matches, or could find someone to do the job for him.

There was a breathless moment (lasting about two months) when local Practical Pistol competitors looked around to see who would volunteer to be the next 'fish in a barrel'. And about the time we had all resigned ourselves to the apparent fact that nobody was that masochistic, Mike McCarter stepped into the breach. He took over the Practical Pistol Discipline at ARPC, looked around, and identified the problems ... and found some creating solutions.

How to put a limping club back on it's feet (Shhhh... it's cheating. But it works.)
First, the equipment (including targets, props, etc.) were old and deteriorating, and there was no money to replace them.

The problem was that the various Disciplines turned all match fees over to the club, and then petitioned for operating expenses. Even though the Practical Pistol club provided more income (match fees) than all other Disciplines combined, the Board of Directors did not, at that time, recognize that it was a primary income source. It was difficult to acquire funding to even replace the cardboard targets which were the basis of competition, let alone replace broken steel targets, build new vision barriers and other props.

McCarter's solution was "we pay ourself first". When he ran a match, he deducted the expenses for the match from the income. Then he bought a couple of steel targets, and put a few dollars into a slush fund set aside to build new props. The remaining Match Fees were given to the BOD ... and then he petitioned for expenses to run the next Monthly Match.

Slowly the quality of the equipment (and variety of equipment, such as Disappearing Target Stands and Bobbers) began to improve. As the quality of the materials improved, the stage designs became more varied ... and more interesting.

As the stages became more interesting, more shooters showed up at the next match.

And with each match attracting more competitors the take from the Match Fees became more lucrative. At a club which had formerly been lucky to attract 20 competitors, ARPC was now fielding 40 - 50 - even 60 competitors to each monthly match.

About then, Mac started recruiting 'volunteers' to help with that match. Mac wasn't lazy; he designed most of the stages himself (still does) but he was ... and remains ... the kind of guy who wasn't shy about walking up to a competitor and asking him to help out with the setup of the next match, or whatever he needed help doing.

In fact, while he was Section Coordinator (see below) it took him about 90 seconds to talk me into volunteering to be Section Competition Director. Me, the consummate "I'm just here to pay my match fees and shoot" guy. It was the most difficult year of my life, and I didn't have the energy to try to keep up with Mac for another year.

Given his proven success at attracting financing (in the form of Match Fees), McCarter was soon seen to be a Money Magnet. The second year of his term of Practical Pistol Director, McCarter was elected President of ARPC (a post which he held for more than three years.)

As President, McCarter was able to apply more funding to the money-making sport. Here's a short list of the improvements made during his tenure as ARPC President:
. Level the 6 bays on the North Range

• Level the 6 bays on the North Range
• Install drainage on all those bays
• Cover the surface with a 'visquine' or other moisture-barrier material, and cover that in six inches of gravel
  
• Built 3-sided building, with roofs, the width of 'some' bays (eventually, all bays on the North Range had shelters) which were set on concrete pads so competitors weren't required to stand around in ankle-deep mud while waiting to shoot.
• Get rid of the 'shed on a sled' club house, and replace it with a permanent building on a concrete pad. This building eventually featured electricity, a 'garage' for storage of moisture-sensitive material (such as cardboard targets), and a good, reliable computer.
• Establish access to an internet-connected GOOD computer, which allows the statistician to confirm USPSA membership and classification during match sign-up.
• Build another (7th) bay on the North Range, improve the berms, improve drainage on all bays
• Design and promote and host new non-club matches, including the Annual Single Stack Tournament and, more recently, the Annual Glock Match. Other matches include a couple of "Pistol Caliber Carbine" matches. Catering was supplied at most of these 'special' matches, as well as prize tables.
• Encourage the participation on the North Range of 'other' disciplines, such as Single Action Society "Cowboy" matches and monthly "Speed Steel" matches (the special targets and props for these disciplines were funded by ARPC ... they repaid the investment in the first year.)
• Added storage for props in several manners, including (eventually) a couple of 'semi' trailers and purpose-built storage shed within the protective 'bay' building.

After a few years, Mac conceded the ARPC Presidency to new candidates ... who just happen to be Practical Pistol shooters, and often adherents of other shooting sports.

Somewhere in here, he was also elected Columbia Cascade Section (CSS) Section Coordinator, where he served with distinction for several years and brought a couple of Area 1 matches to the CCS area.

This didn't slow down the McCarter range improvements. Here's a short list of other accomplishments since his de-evolution to being 'merely' the Practical (Action) Director:

• Bid for, and was awarded (as part of his North American Shooting Sports project, along with USPSA RM Tom Chambers) the 2003 Area 1 Championship in Bend; the 2003 Open/Limited Nationals and the 2004 Open/Limited Nationals in Bend.
• Acceptance of the office of Section Coordinator for the Columbia Cascade Section.
• Hosting at least two Area 1 USPSA Championships (at Bend, and Sherwood).
• Hosting the USPSA Multi-Gun Championship in 2006 at ARPC.
• Hosting the "R&R Racing Area 1 Championship at ARPC.
• Hosting the 2007 "Shootout at Saddle Butte" match at ARPC.

There are others, including 11 years of a Single-Stack Tournament at ARPC, hosting the Glock challenge at ARPC, etc. I've left out many significant matches during the past 10 years, but you get the picture.

Mac Rocks.

Oh, and he also assumed the duties of USPSA Junior Coordinator for the past couple of years, established a flourishing (and sponsored) Junior Program at ARPC, and ran for USPSA President for 2007.

He lost to Michael V. Not our proudest moment, USPSA, because McCarter is a Man of Vision, someone who knows where we need to go and how to get there.

Recent Accomplishments:

Mac is a professional "nursery man" who ran a business for several years and was president of something called something like the "USA Nurserymen's Association".

Mac has retired from his private business, but still he retains his connection as a consultant. He also has contracted with ARPC as the "Executive Director" at ARPC, spending several days a week working at the ARPC range ... making repairs, making contacts, promoting the club and the sport.

Here are some of the things which Mac has done 'recently' to promote the shooting sports, and to promote the local community in the name of ARPC:

Point: recently, a Cypress Sequoia tree was vandalized in the Mid-Willamette valley. ARPC Executive Director Mike "Mac" McCarter and past president of ARPC John M. are nurserymen. They deal in trees, friend. Mac and John combined resources and, in the name of ARPC, offered (and planted) an adult replacement tree at no cost to the community.


Point: Mac attended a recent black-tie dinner at Portland. Mac was an invited speaker, at an event which included movers-and-shakers including Business Leaders, politicians and local celebrities. For the occasion, Mac found, and wore, a camouflage-patterned tuxedo.

Point: In his capacity as Executive Director, Mac is working with Oregon State University's Engineering department to develop a machine which will 'mine' shooting ranges for the lead resources in the berms and backstops. This will not only address a potential problem with poisonous metallic element buildup and pollution of groundwater, which is a situation of interest the the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) but will also provide lead for recasting into bullets, which may be made available to local ammunition reloaders. The club provides the leadership (Mac), the university provides the technical expertise (this is a multi-year practical training project to the benefit of the Engineering students), and the funding is provided by an Oregon State gun-rights organization.

I regret that this last report is not the result of a formal interview, so my notes are not as precise as they should be. I'm pretty sure that Mac can furnish me with more details later, so I can link to the organization involved in this latest MAC project.
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Here's the important part.

Mac volunteered to take over the highest-potential (but least supported) program in a club with a strong member base, but weak leadership.

In a short time, using good management principles and exerting powerful Leadership skills, he turned the club around from a money-loser to a money-maker, and in the process initiated a program of growth and service to the community which had never been exhibited in that organization.

He accomplished goals which had never been recognized, let alone identified as a target, via a combination of personal vision, hard work, and a recognition that other club members were an untapped resource. He wasn't shy about asking for their assistance, and every person he ever talked to agreed to help ... just because he demonstrated that 'someone' cared enough to ask.

Mac is a visionary and a leader. But there is no magic in what he has accomplished, or in what he may accomplish yet.

Any range, any club, can do as well if some one person is willing to devote his or her energy, enthusiasm and willingness to ask for help in the endeavor to build a club.

It's not that complicated.

But it's not easy.

USPSA 2008 Rule Book: 1.1.5.4 (last 6 shots)

I received an email from Evil Bill yesterday, in response to my recent series of articles about the CRO (Level II) Seminar I took this weekend.

Good questions deserve more than one opinion, so I've taken the liberty of providing the text of the rule from the 2008 USPSA Rule Book, Bill's question, and my response.

We report, you decide:
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Rule 1.1.5.4: Medium or Long courses of fire may stipulate the use of either strong or weak hand, provided that only one hand, either strong or weak, is specified for no more than the last six (6) shots required."

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Hi Jerry, The more I think about 1.1.5.4 the more confused I'm getting. Since you are going to be in the class tomorrow, perhaps you can get an answer.

You set up a course of fire. Freestyle, shoot-em-as-ya-see-em. Multiple shooting solutions. (It doesn't matter HOW you wanted it to be shot--someone will figure out at least one other way).

You specify as per 1.1.5.4 that the last 6 shots must be weak hand per 1.1.5.4.

SO---lets say the last 6 shots are 3 paper targets only visible through a port.
Or maybe the last 6 are a plate rack---doesn't matter. Shooter engages the final array weak hand. Fires 6 shots weakhand. Can't hit S$%( weakhand, has a few misses. Actually needs 10 shots to get the last array. So the 4 extra shots are freestyle again? Shooter already did the maximum required 6 weakhand. And if the extra 4 shots are freestyle, then 4 of the last 6 shots fired don't meet the "last 6 shots weakhand" requirement of the WSB??

What if the shooter does the last 6 weakhand, then sees another target that was missed?

Back to freestyle?

This one is a little confusing.

Bill

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Hi Bill!

Good question, and one we asked in class.

The answer is: the last "scorable" hits [ED: are defined as those which must be engaged 'limited hand only', not the last six shots actually fired].

So if "the last six shots" must be taken weak hand, that could be the last 3 Metric Targets (mustn't say "IPSC Targets" ... we're all USPSA, all the time!) or it could be the last six plates on the plate rack.

[if the competitor ...] Can't get hits on all the last six shots? Then miss/FTE penalties apply.

[If you as MD ...] Think this is excessive? Well, maybe.

In fact, the explanation for this rule was a little thin. What we got was essentially "the choice of six shots was to make it revolver friendly". [Or maybe I spaced out during the discussion and missed a more comprehensive explanation from the instructor. If so, I apologize to you and to the instructor.]

Still think this was excessive? Well, maybe.

[If you as MD] (d)on't use this on any stages, you avoid the entire controversy.

But if you DO use it, and controversy is the result ... it's your choice whether you choose to use this [article] as an 'authoritative source'. At the present time, though, I'm afraid this is going to be as 'authoritative' as you can get, since the answer comes from a certified RM and NROI Instructor (Carl Schmidt) during the conduct of an NROI Level II Seminar. [As far as I know, no clarifications are yet available from John Amidon, USPSA V.P. and NROI Director.]

My concern is [also] how you define "the last six shots"[, but perhaps in a different sense ... 'you' as the competitor]. If you have [this is] a truly freestyle COF, not everyone may choose the same target array to finish the stage. My thoughts are that this is entirely in keeping with the 'freestyle' definition in the 2008 USPSA Rule Book. You're the competitor, you get to choose which are the "last six shots".

You're responsible for your own actions ... which is another facet of the new USPSA rule book which is intended to allow the competitor to choose the best way to shoot a COF. So I'm thinking that the "last six shots" are whatever targets chosen at the end of the COF, as long as no shots are fired at other targets.

What are the penalties involved if shots are fired AFTER the 'weak hand' or 'strong hand' targets? Good question. I'm open for discussion here.

(Note [to Evil Bill]: assuming your permission, I expect to post [have posted] this on the Cogito Ergo Geek blog and [will] reference it for further discussion to the Unofficial IPSC List.)

USPSA CRO Seminar - Day 2

The second day of the CRO seminar sponsored by ARPC started at 8:30 am and was completed by 11:30am. The three hours were as intensive as any 3 hours in the first day, and introduced some things which were familiar from my 1997 CRO seminar experience, and some new things as well.

I'll be going into more detail about the individual subjects than I did yesterday, because the subject matter is closer to the syllabus used in my original 1997 Level II seminar and as such it seemed more familiar. That class used a "work book" printed "7/15/92 7:43", and the "Director NROI" was identified as "Andy Hollar, V.P." This work book was 57 pages long; the current work book is 67 pages long and omits such sections as "welcome to the students" and "basic rules of safety".

The course material this year was designed to reflect criteria established by the 2004 USPSA Rule Book, but (again) actually uses criteria established by the (not yet 'current') 2008 USPSA Rule Book.

Comparing my experience this year with that 10 years ago provided me some perspective, and also allowed me to identify some points which I didn't find as significant then as I do now.

...

Yesterday we had been given a half-hour to rough-design stages using the 2008 rules as basic design criteria, a sample of which were then subject to analysis and discussion by the group.

Today, we were given completed design stages which had been submitted to USPSA for approval under the 2004 rule book, and we were asked to analyze and discuss them as well.

We were told by Mr. Schmidt that "some of the rules that are commonly violated in courses of fire presented for Sanction are: 1.1.5, 1.2.1 and 10.2.8". (This is, of course right out of the syllabus.) This may be taken as a guide to future course designs.

After discussing the Course Design Critique, we found that the examples included a plethora of problems, including failure to provide the minimum basic information required to set up the stage and/or minimum basic information in the Written Stage Briefing (WSB).

Arbitrations:
"Arbitrations are due to poor course design or management."
Then Mr. Schmidt announced that we would discuss Arbitrations ... and good-naturedly mentioned that he had read my blog from the previous evening and hoped that this met with my approval. Yes, it did, thank you sir.

One thing we discovered in reading Arbitration documentation is that it is important for the competitor who requested arbitration to include the actions which he would wish the Arbitration committed to take. These might include, in the case of a Match DQ: "I request reinstatement under rule 10.5.3.1 ... I request a reshoot because ...".

Since the competitor's Request for Arbitration is the document which initiates the Arbitration process, it's essential for the RO/CRO who has imposed the penalty to clearly cite all rules which apply to the original action, and to describe all circumstances which lead to imposition of the penalty.

For example, a competitor took a fall and when he stood up he didn't have his pistol in his hand. The CRO DQ'd him.

Here's the Competitor's explanation:

I slipped on the catalog coming out of the outhouse and fell. My gun and I were on the ground. I let go when I tried to get up, I couldn't. My fingers were still on the4 gun when the RO's helped me up. I cleared the gun. I maintained control of the gun until that point. The gun was not dropped. The muzzle was down range and the safety was on.

The RO's statement included (this is a summary):

The RO controlling the competitor saw the competitor fall, then saw the gun beyond his reach on the ground, muzzle pointing downrange. The RO checked to be sure the competitor was OK, preceded to have the competitor gather himself up, and asked him to unload and show clear. The RO then disqualified the competitor for unsafe gun handling, dropped firearm.

In the class evaluation, the Competitor's request was upheld.

What was not presented was a statement (missing from the summarized RO statement) that the RO picked up the handgun, and the safety was off. This information wasn't available to the Arbitration Committee, but it made all the difference in the results of the Arbitration.

...

The last part of the day's lesson was assignment of a Stage Design project for certification.

In 1997, we were required to submit one stage design (by mail) to the instructor, who would return his evaluation. A stage for a Level I match was acceptable. Generally speaking, anything which seemed 'close' was accepted (although the acceptance may ... as was the case in my submitted stage design ... be accompanied by some pithy criticism).

In 2007 we are required to submit TWO stage designs:

1) National Classification Stage: A course of fire requiring between 6 and 18 rounds.
The maximum range is 25 yards. no more than 4 Pepper poppers may be used, and barricades and props should be ones that are readily available to clubs (or ones that may be easily built). The course of fire must meet the criteria for a short, medium or long course. Scoring method may be Comstock, Virginia Count, or Fixed Time.

2) National Championship stage: A course of fire requiring between 18 and 32 rounds. The maximum range is 40 yards. Any special equipment or props must be designed and sketched out so that ordinary range crews can build them. Scoring method must be Comstock.

For each stage include score sheets, an overhead or "birds-eye view" scale drawing, a stage information form, a written stage briefing clearly stating the stage procedure and a stage work-order that lists the supplies and equipment needed for 100 shooters.

If I was impressed by these requirements, I was very impressed by the review process.

Both stage designs must be submitted for review (to the instructor), and approved, for certification to be granted.

Mr. Schmidt noted that (to date) he has not yet accepted both stages on the first review.

This is not the standard to which we were held in my 1997 class ... far from it. It's much, much more difficult, and much more likely to provide a true learning experience.

We were given a CD which included some software which we could use to create these documents. We were also advised to use MS-EZSCORE to create the required score sheets, as the provided software failed to include the Signature Lines and Time-of-Day block. Further, other computer software resources were identified if we would rather not use any of these tools.

But for the scale drawings (usually on the 'overhead' view), we were advised to use graph paper, and either snail-mail them to the instructor or scan them for email submittal.

Since I was essentially auditing the course ... I already have my CRO certification, albeit under much less rigorous standards ... I discussed my own expectations with Mr. Schmidt. Since he was likely to spend more time evaluating stage designs from this group than he did teaching the class (including travel time from and back to California from Oregon) I was reluctant to add to his burden. Or mine. We agreed that I would complete the course by submitting my two stage designs, and send them to him for critique. He would evaluate them, and send his evaluation to me for my benefit. Whether I learn from this abbreviated process is up to me, and I'll impose no more upon his time.

I admit, I'm a little relieved at not having to go through the entire process. If I haven't make myself clear, this is NOT an easy course of instruction, and the Final Exam is at least as challenging as anything I experienced in six years of college.

...

This is a seminar which I recommend most highly to anyone who has one year experience as a Range Officer. We do need to learn the new rules, and the course certainly met my hopes and expectations to meet that goal. More important, it should provide USPSA with my other hope ... Level II Range Officers who know how to design stages who are competent to meet the new, much higher standards for Stage Design.

USPSA has taken the bold and unique step forward by establishing itself as a region which has the resources and determination to a degree of independence from the International Confederation. We have asserted ourselves, and now we must meet what we perceive as a level of competence equivalent to the International standards.

This won't happen automatically. It will require a huge volunteer effort to follow up on our claims of capability. USPSA is obviously willing to provide the individual competitor, the individual clubs with the tools to meet this test of competency. The gauntlet has been cast, and it remains for the USPSA membership to take steps (make personal sacrifices) to prove that we are as good as we claim to be.

Again, if you are a Range Officer with at least one year of experience, I suggest that you seek out CRO Seminars in your area. Sign up for them, show up, do the work, pay back the sport with your unique contribution.

If you are a member of a USPSA club, contact USPSA and do whatever is necessary to host a Level II seminar. Attendees at this seminar paid only $35 each for the instruction, and nobody went away feeling cheated. *(Rather, we all went home feeling just a little bit stunned ... but full of enthusiasm.)*

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In all good conscience, I can't close this without one more anecdote.

Mr. Schmidt, in his closing comments, mentioned that there was "one rule which I still argue with, and I can see a Blog Article coming out of this". Who could ignore such a challenge?

Rule 5.2.4: During the course of fire, unless stipulated otherwise in the stage procedure. spare ammunition, magazines and speed loading devices shall be carried in retention devices attached to the competitor's belt and specifically designed for that purpose. A competitor may also carry additional magazines or speed loading devices in his pockets and retrieve and use them without penalty once having dropped or exhausted his primary magazines. [ED: emphasis added.]

Point: no penalty is defined.

So what is the purpose and/or of this rule?

(This is left for the edification of the student.)