Michigan
Downriver Volunteer Militia
SMVM 2009 Field Day
LFB’s after action report.
05:30 the alarm goes off. We roll out of bed. Call Diesel and make sure he’s up. Kick No Eyes out of bed. Make the coffee. This is too early for a day off. I hope its going to be a nice day.
LFB, Diesel and No Eyes, we take our first trip to Camp Stasa. I (LFB) have been looking forward to training with the SMVM for some time now. Having served 8 years in the United States Army, I am not happy with the way things with our future governing bodies are looking. I spent that time to ensure our freedoms would remain our freedoms. I put my life on the line to defend our Flag, Liberty and way of life. My wife also spent 8 years in the Army.
Originally I was supposed to work on the day of the Field Day. I dismissed it as just another missed opportunity due to the restraints of working in a steel mill. No Eyes was of course not happy with the notion of having to miss such a big event. So I did the honorable thing and took a vacation day in order to go. I was not disappointed.
I don’t like to miss anything, so the plan was to leave early. Early
enough so even with the inevitable delay that always seems to come up
when you want to be on time, we would still be early.
The car was packed with everything but the guns the night before. Diesel showed up on time (for once) and we were only 15 minutes behind schedule. We can make that up on the road. Coffee in hand we head out for Camp Stasa. This is going to ROCK!
We were one of the first cars on the scene. We found the place ok, thanks to an earlier action report describing the no trespassing sign. I will ad for anyone else who is going for the first time. The Quonset Huts are a big give away. We were able to talk the fellas to let me drive my AWD Mountaineer to the
back in order to unload our gear. Three gear heads and their guns is a lot of stuff to carry. Two tracking through the mud in AWD was a great way to start this day out.
We couldn’t have asked for a better day. The sun was out, not too cold and the coffee was hot. We got our table and gear set up. Weapon M brought gear back and we helped him get it where it needed to go.
Let me say I was impressed with the range and facilities. Not the most elaborate “club” atmosphere, but a very usable area for what is needed. Latrine, Check. Firing Range, Check. What else could you ask for? Let’s start throwing some lead down range.
We loaded some magazines and headed down range. I had a malfunction with my AR-15 and was not able to get more than about 15 shots off. Diesel and No Eyes did however throw lots of lead into paper.
No Eyes got in some competition on the rifle range. LFB and Diesel both
made into the second round of the pistol 5 pin shootout. I don’t yet
own a sidearm so Diesel loaned me a Berretta 9mm. I had never shot it
before, so I was a little nervous using it for a competition. Other
than two hiccups with the confusion of double single action at the
beginning, I did good enough to make it into the second round. The
second round did not fair as well. I was a little over confident and
did not aim as carefully as I did in the first round. It was still a
riot.
I was glad to see the families that showed up. 05:30 was too early for
my girls. Next year they won’t have a choice.
Next was the .50 Cal. This was definitely going to be the highlight of the day. It did not disappoint.
No Eyes did quite good.
Diesel was a natural.
LFB Looking good.
After the .50 Cal, we packed up and headed home. Tired from the day adrenaline still flowing, sleep did come easy later that night.
To see the rest of LFB’s picture click here.