A Citizen's Guide to Individual Basic Readiness

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A Citizen's Guide to Individual Basic Readiness

 

 

 

LEVEL 1 - BASIC READINESS:

We consider Level 1 the absolute minimum level of preparedness necessary to be an active line member of the West Michigan Volunteer Militia as well as vote in WMVM activities. These, when met, will be sufficient to be considered "capable of bearing arms"; the militia being defined as "all citizens capable of bearing arms". Once you have started testing for Level One, you will have 60 days to complete it, though it can easily be achieved in a single training session. This will give everyone at least two sessions in which to try it. You can always start again if necessary.

 

 

 

 

Basic Equipment:

 

1) Rifle.

 

2) 100 rounds of ammunition for same rifle.

 

3) Water container, one quart minimum.

 

4) Cleaning kit for above rifle.

 

5) Suitable carrying gear to transport personal equipment.

 

6) Individual first-aid kit.

 

7) Combat or hiking boots.

 

8) Copy of the US Constitution (the document, not the boat) and Declaration of Independence.

 

Basic Abilities:

 

A) Complete a two-mile hike with all basic equipment within 40 minutes.

 

B) Field strip weapon for cleaning and re-assemble.

 

C) Score 190 minimum, marksman, on AQT (Army Qualifaction Test) You will be able to attemp this only 3 times in one training day, if you cannot qualify the first 3 times, we have some work to do!

 

BASIC ABILITIES – A DETAILED LOOK

Having looked at the basic equipment, we will examine three simple abilities. We feel that, after demonstrating these abilities, you can be considered "able-bodied and capable of bearing arms".

 

 

 

A) COMPLETE A TWO-MILE HIKE WITH ALL BASIC EQUIPMENT WITHIN 40 MINUTES. You will also be required to carry any shooting aid that you intend to use in your rifle qualification.

 

It is important to be able to get around on foot. It is possible that, under any number of circumstances, travel by other means will be difficult or impossible. A short, two-mile hike at a slow to moderate pace is a good measure of your mobility.

 

Please do not be alarmed by the distance. Two miles is actually a very short walk. Most of us cover many more miles in our daily lives.

 

You will be given as many attempts as you need to complete this walk. If, for some reason, you do not succeed the first time, additional attempts will be allowed after a brief rest period of not less than 15 minutes. It is very possible that persons who do not make it the first time could easily make it if they merely pick up the pace a bit.

 

As there are few roads along which a militia hike would fail to attract unwanted attention, the hike will take place on a private road or trail.

 

The hike may occur in any weather or road condition.

 

Please do not attempt this hike if it may jeopardize your health.

 

 

 

B) FIELD STRIP YOUR WEAPON FOR CLEANING. Since there are many types of weapons available, this guide cannot possibly cover even a fraction of them.

 

There are several ways to learn how to break down your rifle. You can learn from the manual that will come with any new rifle. You can learn from instructions published in some other sources, such as certain issues of "Guns & Ammo", and the like. You can also ask someone who is already familiar with that type of firearm. Any gathering of friendly militia people is bound to be brimming over with firearms knowledge, and they will be more than willing to help you. Do not be embarrassed to ask someone for help- the only dumb question is the one that you don't ask.

 

You will need to break your weapon down so that the bore, bolt, and gas system (if it has one) may be properly cleaned. There will be additional items that it is possible to break down (buffer springs, extractor pins, hand guards, etc.), but for now, this simple field-stripping will suffice.

 

YOU WILL ALSO NEED TO PUT YOUR RIFLE BACK TOGETHER.

 

In many instances, there will be a special tool or device required to break down a certain piece or aspect of a particular rifle. If you are aware of this, it is very important that you obtain this special tool, preferably when you buy the rifle. Sometimes, however, the requirement of a special tool is a warning that you should not remove that certain part at all, so any time a tool is required, exercise extreme caution. Consult your manual, or someone who is thoroughly knowledgeable about your weapon before using any "special tools".

 

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: NEVER ATTEMPT TO DO ANYTHING WITH A WEAPON UNLESS YOU UNLOAD AND CLEAR IT FIRST! NEVER, EVER POINT YOUR WEAPON AT ANYONE! ALWAYS BE SAFETY CONSCIOUS! __________________

 

C) PLACE 8 OUT OF 10 SHOTS INTO A 9" TARGET AT 100 YARDS. From a field expedient position, using any item that you carried on your two-mile hike, place 8 out of 10 shots into a 9" target at 100 yards. No bench rests will be allowed, and there will be no coaching while you are firing your 10 round string. You will be required to complete this within 5 minutes. You may use a bipod, sleeping pad, rucksack, or whatever, as long as it was carried on your hike. You are not required to use anything. If time permits, you will be allowed to sight in prior to actual qualifying.

 

 

Multiple attempts will be allowed, after everyone has had a first attempt. Following your first attempt, you are free to request a critique of your shooting. In fact, such critiques are often provided without any request at all.

 

Hitting a 9" target at 100 yards should be relatively easy. (At higher levels, the target will get smaller.) Almost any militia person will help you accomplish this. If you just show up at any range training, we'll be glad to help. (Some training sessions do not require firearms, so please check first.) The final word on shooting, and you will hear this repeated often, is "practice, practice, practice."

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

This completes what you need for Level 1. Upon fulfilling these, providing contact information of some sort, and being issued an ID, one may be considered an active line member of the WMV. That is, we will count you as "able-bodied and capable of bearing arms", and you are now able to vote in WMV activities.

 

If you do not complete this, for whatever reason, but are still interested in helping out and participating as much as you can, we we still welcome you as reserve or support members. Some of our most dedicated participants have been unable, due to illness or injury, to fully complete Level One. They do as much as they can when they are out there, and more than most in other areas.

 

There is no time requirement to begin Level 1, other than those dictated by outside events. It makes sense of course, to get it done as quickly as possible.

 

Persons achieving Level 1 are eligible to join a team, can vote in WMV scheduled meetings, can be placed on the phone tree, will be issued a "Militia" patch, and can be issued a "Michigan Militia" ID card (which is required by the Geneva convention for militias and other volunteer corps).

 

*Note: These are basic minimum requirements. The WMVM reserves the right to modify any requirement to fit the needs of the unit.*

 

We welcome your comments and suggestions regarding these simple requirements.

 

 

 

This section borrowed from the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia website. Thank You