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View Full Version : Some more "Light Bulb" moments



vmi-mo
06-24-2011, 02:00 PM
Now that I have some free time I wanted to share a few things I "light bulbed" during 18 days of live fire and FOF.

1)Know how to use your assets, or better yet, be proficient with them. Just because you carry something doesnt mean you know how to use it. So if its a civillian who carrys a fixed blade knife, or a trooper that carries a 40mm, know how to use your shit.

2)Dont forget about the shit you brought with you. I have noticed alot of guys get hyperfocused on one primary means of dealing with a problem rather than looking for other solutions they may have on or around them. This might be remembering that knife in your back pocket when you are gun grappling with a guy, or it might be the mobile 120mm gun that is right outside waiting to shoot someone for you. Dont forget what you brought to the fight. If you dont use it, all it is is dead weight.

3)The world is dark. Even in the middle of the day in the desert there are still places that are dark. Always be prepared to fight in the dark (ie WML or handheld light). Even if it really isnt dark, your eyes still may have to adjust, which is already putting you behind in the power curve.

4) Hard target yourself. Dont make it easy for the En to shoot you. One specific example for me that really stands out is seeing a MMG crew reload their gun standing straight up in a window, exposed. Cover is your friend. Dont make it easy for the bad guys to kill you.

5)The world is not right or left handed. Learn to shoot and manipulate the weapon system from both sides. You might be forced to shoot weakside from an injury, the terrain or simply the fact you do not want to give up an extra 3" of your body to get shot.


PJ

Jay Cunningham
06-24-2011, 02:13 PM
I always like reading these kind of "lessons learned" threads. Thanks for sharing!

Al T.
06-25-2011, 06:58 AM
One good thing about going to different instructors is having techniques explained different ways. Finally understood the thumbs forward grip the third time it was explained to me. Or maybe I'm just dense. :D

seabiscuit
06-25-2011, 08:03 AM
I noticed numbers one and five in Black Hawk Down. It'd also be a good idea to know how to use your buddy's assets, like when the Delta sniper handed Durand his silenced M4.

dsfirefight
07-21-2011, 10:41 PM
I couldnt agree more with this mind set. I am a firefighter and we train with our tools of the trade over and over. One the key things we make sure of is that you can start, run, and use every tool on the engine in complete darkness. You never know when that is going to be the circumstances you find yourself in. It could be using the jaws of life in pitch blackness and sub zero temps or finding your way out of a burning building that you cant see your hand in front of your face. You have to be able to use what you have and improvise everything else. I just wish I

JHC
07-22-2011, 12:57 PM
FLASH! of lightbulb - the times when I've responded to some sort of trouble that might call for a gun - two guns, three guns, two lights, nothing seemed like "enough". Cracked me up to no end later. I just could not get enough kit. [non professional gunman here] :o
Like the one armed deputy in "Unforgiven" loading up.

JDM
07-23-2011, 09:20 PM
Tried the large backstrap on my M&P today. It was like I couldn't miss. I could get more meat on the gun, recoil control improved markedly. My reloads were a little slower, but I think that will dissipate with dryfire.