Gear Standardization for Prepared Citizen Groups by Mike VonSteuben
If you look at a photograph of a squad of US Marines, you will see that everyone has the same uniform, weapons, optics, and load-bearing equipment (excluding special weapons like automatic rifles). This is partly due to logistical simplicity of the military buying a single piece of kit for everyone, and partly due to effectiveness on the battlefield. If you need to use your buddy’s weapon, you can because it’s exactly like yours. If you need to strip ammo and radios off of your buddy so he can be MEDEVAC’d, you know where everything is because your gear is set up the same way.For the Minuteman/prepared citizen, however, it is not always feasible to achieve this level of uniformity. This does not mean that the concept is discarded, just that we need to take a different approach when working with other volunteers in a team. In this article I will describe the advantages of standardization, how to approach this topic with your team, and a list of goals to strive for.
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Excellent post as always, Mike.
Thanks.
I’ve tried for untold yrs to explain LBE to these civilians and they look at you like you have 3 eyes. Then IF they do buy something, it’s junk and not what you told them to get.
And try telling them to carry cleaning gear and a shit pot of extra mags, ha. Haven’t met 1 who will listen to experience, they know more from watching movies.
(Former grunt S-2 scout, Recon and armorer, VN era)
The only way to teach people like that is through experience. Run a training event where they have to hike with their gear on, do some shooting, and hike back. Or have them low crawl in their kit. People will find out quickly that their gear needs to change.