Training this Fall

02 Aug 09 Training: Some say that they would "... rather be lucky than good," preferring to avoid the hard work of training. It has been my experience, however, that who train enthusiastically and regularly are most often the "lucky ones!" The shallow focus on objects, such as guns, to act as a talisman, but only the naive really believe in good-luck charms. Self-deception may represent a temporary refuge for some, but a fraudulent one that will predicably unravel when the Test comes. Since last fall, there has been a mad rush among Americans to acquire firearms and ammunition. While diminished somewhat, the feeding-frenzy is still ongoing. However, when newly armed, the untrained are still unarmed, just as a new piano-owner is not automatically a "musician." Capable training provides skills necessary to run guns competently. Superior training provides a moral compass, correct mindset, and interactive skills. While physical skills are critical, they are incomplete without a practiced philosophical overlay that is true and right. And, while superior training is expensive and requires serious commitment, when were you ever sorry that you had the best of anything? My friend and esteemed colleague, Tom Givens, says superior training is always: Realistic, Relevant, and Recent. When was the last time that applied to you? Come and train with us in Columbia, SC this 24-25 Oct, where Rich Wright and I will be offering a Force-on-Force, Scenario-Based training Program, a combination of live-fire and Airsoft. Learn how to run your gun, but, more importantly, learn within the context that will enable you to emerge victorious from your next fight. Get hold of Rich at _labradorone@bellsouth.net_ (mailto:labradorone@bellsouth.net) . Other, similar Programs are scheduled for other places this fall. Get hold of me at _jsfarnam@aol.com_ (mailto:jsfarnam@aol.com) for details. /John

UK's war effort hampered by troops too unfit to deploy

02 Aug 09 "Unfit" in so many ways! An accidentally declassified emergency memo from the UK's military hierarchy reveals that a high percentage of British soldiers are so obese they cannot be deployed! Habitual unfitness is apparently epidemic within Britain 's military. The un-fit are classified as "PUDs" (Personnel Unable to Deploy), and there are thousands. Many more thousands are classified at "LDs" (Limited Deployability), whatever that means. The note concludes with the plaintiff plea that the Army must " ...re-invigorate a warrior ethos." The problem is that Britain's "Warrior Ethos," along with its once-proud Gun Culture, was expelled from the Island by the nanny-state decades ago. They're only just-now noticing some "unintended consequences!" /John