Well, to answer that question, let’s presume you are not affiliated with any group right now, but you want to be trained to do your part in the event of a disaster, catastrophe, or other “bad thing”. The best of all options is to find an established group in your area, like the Michigan Patriot Alliance. Since you’re reading this on the www.michiganpatriotalliance.com web page, let me direct you to our membership page: A quick ‘once-over’ will inform you of who we are, what we do, and more importantly, what we don’t do and won’t allow. If you’re of a mind to, come check us out and maybe we can help you out.

If you’re not in Michigan, or just want to work with folks in your own area, something you should be aware of, is that like all organizations, not all groups like ours or militias are the same. I’ve put together a few questions that may seem obvious, but the answers are essential to your making a decision to train with or join a group.

1. Does the group you are thinking of aligning yourself with publicly espouse their loyalty to the Constitution for the United States followed by the constitution for your particular State over all other organizations?

2. After the “howdy-do’s”, when group members start to talk with you, instead of discussing preparedness for emergencies, defense of hearth and home, marksmanship, weapons’ pluses and minuses, do any of them make statements about how much they hope for open insurrection, attacks on government facilities or people, or a particular group of peaceable citizens?

          o If they do, leave immediately and DO NOT go back!! Most likely it’s all hot air, but
             even so, that group is not the kind of people you want to get involved with. Besides, in
             my experience, those who talk a load of crap are not the kind who stands tall when
             trouble comes.

          o If they don’t, and all they talk about are preparations for bad times, helping others,
             defending the community against attack, etc, stick around. They may be a good group
             to be with. Time will tell. Go to a couple more meetings or training sessions and listen
             carefully. Measure their reaction to new comers who spout crap.

3. Do they welcome new members, have Rules & Regulations (or Articles of Confederation), and a hierarchy in the organization? In other words, do they have their stuff all in one bucket?

If you can answer these three questions in a positive manner, chances are you will have a great experience with your new group. If you don’t have military experience, there are sure to be a handful or more of veterans in the group who will share their knowledge with you. If you do have military experience, whether field related or not, you’ll find that the group will welcome your help.

What if you don’t have a local group or militia? What do you do then? First, you need to get educated on what groups like the Michigan Patriot Alliance or militia are and what they are not.

Let’s take the “not” side first:

1. They are not some group aimed at overthrowing government, settling scores with local officials, bomb makers, law breakers, and ne’er-do-well malcontents who sit around waiting for anarchy.

2. They are not a club, fraternity, or political organization. They can be, however, private or public.

3. They are not illegal—historical precedent set by the Constitution itself and an outstanding series of articles by Dr. Edwin P. Viera explains much better than I ever could the purposes, history and potential of any group or militia (in my opinion, it should be ‘required reading’ for anyone considering participation). Here’s a link: http://www.newswithviews.com/Vieira/edwin16.htm

Now, let’s take the “is” side:

1. They are the best form of homeland security and defense because their members live in the area being defended!

2. They are a vital part of any community’s infrastructure, especially when disasters, unrest (like riots or attacks from nefarious groups/nations/parties), or other peace-destroying incident occurs. Why? Because their members are the ones protecting family, friends, the community, and most likely the ones who can lend a hand to those unable to help themselves.

3. They are involved in training themselves and others in a myriad of subjects ranging from first aid, disaster preparedness, safe weapons handling, effective shooting, and woodsmanship to scores of other subjects.

4. They are a welcoming organization. Only one “ism” is preached: Constitutionalism.

I could go on, but I think the basic point is made about what groups like the Michigan Patriot Alliance or a local militia are and most especially, what they are not.

Education begun, you now need to determine if you have a battle capable rifle. Get the best you can afford. Don’t worry about starting out with all the latest tactical gadgets and firepower. Your hunting rifle will do if that’s all you have--a .30-.30 lever gun puts you in business. You can save for a military type rifle, and some of the older surplus bolt guns, like the Enfield Mk 4 or surplus 8mm Mauser are nothing to be looked down on! Here are some basic steps on how to start:

1. Get up, get out, and go to the range! Practice. Get some instruction from various on-line sources and field manuals. Find out when the MPA or local militia group is going to shoot and go learn!

2. Find some friends, take them with you. Have a great time, and afterwards, when you’re cleaning your rifles, talk to them about what you’ve read on the Michigan Militia site and see what they think. Don’t push the subject, just talk with your buddies.

3. Make range time a regularly monthly event. In between times, read some US Army Field Manuals. Check out things like First Aid, Individual Camouflage, Movement, etc. Start on the road to learning or refreshing things you learned but may have forgotten since getting out of the service.

4. Check out local surplus stores for your gear. Hunting clothes may not be a good choice if you have all sorts of day-glow orange! Old military uniforms in camouflage or olive drab will work nicely, especially if they fit!

5. Speaking of ‘fit’, start an exercise program. Start it with getting a physical from your doctor and tell him you want to get in shape. Take it from there. If you’re really out of shape, just walk every night. Start with going around the block. Then around two blocks, etc. Try to do one push up every night before you go to bed until you can do two pushups, from there, get to three and so on. Take it gradually, and before long, you’ll be in better shape than you have been for a long, long time.

6. Don’t get caught up in trying to look like you’re just back from Iraq, either. No reason to walk around with a camouflaged shirt with 20 different patches saying ‘militia sniper’ or ‘militia special forces’ or 3 stars and gold braid all over your “digi-flage” whatever with your jeans and a bush hat on when you’re in the local grocery store while you keep reaching under your jacket. Nobody likes a ‘poser’. That’s how people get real nervous and how the groups like ours and the militia in general has gotten and sometimes, unfortunately, continues to get a bad name. So, act accordingly. We need to be viewed in a positive light and trusted by people who are not active; otherwise, we are of no use to our community. This is accomplished by being open, friendly, above board, professional and most of all, someone who can be counted on when the chips are down.

7. Write established groups like ours or established militia groups on the web and ask them for their ideas on what you’re trying to do. They will help you.

8. Don’t worry about size. As your group stays true to its purpose, and others hear by word of mouth, new members will come. Your basic unit is the 2 man “buddy team”, and if you have that, you’re world’s ahead of the game! Remember though, all these groups are volunteer organizations and members will come and go as they please. All you really need for a reliable team is two men training together who know each other well and can depend on each other. They will be able to extraordinary feats in an emergency situation providing they train seriously. And, as time goes by, word will spread, believe me, and your group, if it’s on the “up and up”, will grow.

9. Start a web site. You can get a blog going for free these days. All you invest is your time. It also lets your community know you’re out there and what you believe. Your web site will tip the scale in your development one way or another. If you are a real militia, true to the Constitution and do not let any crackpots in, you’ll flourish. If you become the opposite, you’ll fold, and that will be a good thing.

There you have it. Black Jack’s ideas on how you get started training. I wish you the best, good luck.

See you in the field.