Combat Studies Group

"Resistance to sudden violence, for the preservation not only of my person, my limbs and life, but of my property, is an indisputable right of nature which I have never surrendered to the public by the compact of society, and which perhaps, I could not surrender if I would." -- John Adams

The 16-17 June Carbine course in the Willamette valley is now full. If you were unable to get into this course drop me an email and I will try and schedule another one. The 23-24 June Kidnap Defense - E&E course still has openings at this time and will be held in the central Oregon area. Check the Courses page for details...

Read and ponder the implications....... HERE .....frustrating to say the least......

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." -- Ambrose Redmoon

Had the occasion to utilize one of these recently; great piece of kit to have in your IFAK / Blow-out bag. It's versatility has earned it a place in all my gear.

"People who waited and did not shoot, did not live more than first few weeks after SHTF, or if they were and if they could not get themselves to shoot at living beings, they were just hiding somewhere." Read on  HERE

December 1944....Private Kurt Vonnegut is captured by German troops during the Rhineland Campaign and is later interned at a Dresden work camp. His letter below describes one man's journey of survival.... ____________________________________________ FROM: Pfo. K. Vonnegut, Jr., 12102964 U. S. Army. TO: Kurt Vonnegut, Williams Creek, Indianapolis, Indiana. Dear people: I'm told that you were probably never informed that I was anything other than "missing in action." Chances are that you also failed to receive any of the letters I wrote from Germany. That leaves me a lot of explaining to do -- in precis: I've been a prisoner of war since December 19th, 1944, when our division was cut to ribbons by Hitler's last desperate thrust through Luxemburg and Belgium. Seven Fanatical Panzer Divisions hit us and cut us off from the rest of Hodges' First Army. The other American Divisions on our flanks managed to pull out: We were obliged to stay

"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks." -- Thomas Jefferson    As any of my former students can attest to, Jefferson's point is something I strive to integrate into all my shooting courses. Gunfights generally take place under less than ideal circumstances and I feel training must reflect that reality. It is a difficult thing to maintain an acceptable degree of marksmanship while cold, tired, wet, dirty or injured. A couple concepts to ponder... 1. You rapidly exit your helicopter on a hot LZ and immediately find yourself up to your knees in soft mud. The barrel of your rifle is now packed with mud....do you have the tools avail

 “We have problems . . . The federal government is preparing for civil uprising,” he added, “so every time you hear about troop movements, every time you hear about movements of military equipment, the militarization of the police, the buying of the ammunition, all of this is . . . they (DHS) are preparing for a massive uprising.” Read the rest  HERE   Whatever your political leanings are matters not. We are, as a nation, headed for trouble one way or another and you would be well advised to see that you are able to weather the storm.

The Bail Out Bag (or BOB, for short) has become a staple in an era of vehicle borne military and PSD operations. It is generally a small to medium sized pack or shoulder bag stuffed with the bare essentials to get you through a bad situation. It's specific contents can vary depending on your own operational concerns, but may include extra magazines, signaling devices, water, Escape & Evasion supplies and medical adjuncts; which would all be pretty typical for military or para-military needs.    When planning a BOB for personal use, I advocate taking a scenario based approach to deciding what goes in and what stays on the shelf. For example: if you periodically travel a mountain/wilderness area to visit relatives, you would want to envision a scenario where you perhaps have a vehicle breakdown - in the worst possible weather and at the worst possible hour - so, right away we can see some obvious needs to add to the list... 1) Signal devices (flashlights, road flares,