Indigenous Ability

We’re all high-speed, low-drag, “ Keep your head on a swivel, eyes on everything ” sorts, right?  I’m assuming that because I am bombarded with a never-ending posting parade of “ Awareness Musts!” “Situational Readiness Always!” “Eyes of Jack Reacher” or commentary on shared violence-porn, “ This guy got popped because he wasn’t paying attention; what he shoulda done…what I woulda done ” that sort of thing. We’re all wide-wake great ones from what I read. I’ll give you a super-easy quiz to test that assumption in a mo’ but first, a little tale of one who was always eyes-open even amongst other eyes that were also straining to be open and these allied eyes had use of new technology to assist “seeing.” [The following is excerpted from Biographical Sketch of James Bridger: Mountaineer, Trapper, and Guide (1905) by General Grenville M. Dodge. Mind you, a military man not prone to exaggeration.] “ Captain H. E. Palmer, Eleventh Kansas Cavalry, Acting Ass...

[Consider this Part 2 of the offering Move Like a Scout or Indigenous Warrior . You can consume this piece in isolation but to really follow the arc I’d recommend reading the mentioned piece [or even re-reading it] to gather fully where we’re going.] Many of us tout our bona fides as high-speed, low-drag, can-the-noize-boys cuz’ I’m lock ‘n’load from bang to go! It’s a fun little play-acting symptom we see in grown-ass adults who wear the gear, talk the talk, but…do they walk the walk? Before you answer, I’m going to drill down so we get mighty specific with that question of walking the walk. I have zero doubt that there is a squared away cadre that walks a walk some of the time. I wager there is a smaller contingent [not anyone you likely see on the street in the day-to-day] who walk the walk more often than not. I refer to those folks in war-zones, battle-zones, boots-on-the-ground, no time for drill cuz’ this shit’s real. Environment shapes behavio...

In the early days of warfare tightly knitted formation was a martial ideal. From the strictly formed phalanxes of Sparta’s hoplites, to the triplex acies (triple battle order) of the Roman Army, to the rank and file formations of Continental Armies typical of the Napoleonic Wars—tight, coordinated movement en masse was often the semblance of “cover” and defense. When these war-hardened battle-tactics made their way to the early American Continent they encountered a guerrilla style of war in the tactics used by the indigenous peoples. A strategy of stealth, ambush, concealment, quick and seemingly trackless retreat. These tactics were disparagingly called “ the skulking way of war ” or more simply “ skulking. ” The term was not meant as a compliment. It was viewed as a cowardly way to engage. But…it was mighty effective. Here, we have a limited number of warriors without the “blessings of formal training” and in many cases using stone-age weaponry more than holding its o...

Today’s sermon will weave a tale of housecats, early American colonists’ observations regarding battle-prowess in Native Americans, gang-bangers, good ol’ boy hunters, fox-hunters in the Old West, gamers and screen-users, Afghan Combat studies and, if we’ve done our job right, make a case for making risk part and parcel of cogent combat training. Let’s start with the adorable housecat, Felis catus . Study after study has recorded that outdoor housecats are responsible for an astonishing amount of depredation. Any of us who own one of these “awesome prowling machines” [tip of the hat to Les Claypool] is aware that they can go through chipmunks, field mice, and birds like nobody’s business but…the story is deeper than that. For every kill you see, there are likely a double handful that you were not privy to witness.  If you want the skinny on just how serial-killer-esque the common cat can be, Pete Marra, head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center authored a book on ...