Modern Minuteman

When the US was founded, the concept was that there would be no standing Army, but instead, a Militia comprised of able-bodied men ready to defend their collective freedom.

Of course, at the time, one of the ideas was that of being a "Minuteman" - to be ready at a minute's notice to go fight. Such a member of an unorganized militia might have had a couple dozen rounds of ammo, powder for same, a rile and some basic tools to bring all stored in one location and easily transported.

Part of what the Constitution mentions with the phrase "well-organized militia" is that each man should know how to follow the orders "make ready, take aim, fire." Back in those days, a certain level of marksmanship was expected - particularly if you had to hunt for food! 

If someone were to take that idea, and expand it to being thusly prepared in the 21st Century, here is a list of tools that would be absolute requirements, at a minimum:

- Rifle (preferably an AR15)
- Ammo (7 mags would be a good start)
- Pocket knife
- Multi-tool
- Flashlight

Of course, depending on what one needed to do, there might be more items that would be necessary or really helpful. Some people put these in "bug out bags." Not a bad idea at all.

Also, please note that there are many acceptable variations of each tool. Just because I suggest one in particular does not mean that I do not value other iterations within their own scope of use. For example - instead of an AR15 (the rifle, ammo, mags, and a bandolier for same might run over $1000 in price), one could use an SKS (total cost would be closer to $500 for same setup) or even an old Mosin-Nagant (total cost might be under $200). As with any tool issue, the question is what can you afford, and what does the extra cost buy you?

A modern minuteman would want to invest some time in basic skills. At a minimum, he would want to be able to hit a 20" x 20" target at 100 yards with all 10 shots using only iron sights. This could be done from any position the minuteman so chooses. If he wants to do so with a bipod, that's fine, but the minuteman must be prepared to bring these items into battle if the need should ever arise (God forbid!). If a minuteman wants to use a scope, that's fine, but a very minimal amount of training is needed to make iron sight hits at 100 yards, so that's my suggestion.


What do you think?


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