Questions to Badlands Rifleman

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DirtNasty
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Questions to Badlands Rifleman

Post by DirtNasty »

I had a bunch of questions for Badlands Rifleman about the Fieldcraft Class he offers and I thought it would be a good idea to ask them here. Or if anyone else has any questions they can be asked here, I already got his (Badlands Rifleman) permission to ask questions or do this; I would not want to step on any toes!

Q: I have been curious why did Badlands Rifleman start teaching and offering classes?

Q: (This is a biased run on question on my part because I have take the Fieldcraft class) Why do you teach certain skill sets in the Fieldcraft class? Do you believe that what you are teaching is fundamentally some of the most important skill someone should have.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish in offering classes to the public? Is there an end goal?
"It doesn’t matter what you did, it’s what you’re doing now."

~Badlands Rifleman
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Re: Questions to Badlands Rifleman

Post by Badlands Rifleman »

Question one: I got into training for a few reasons. I like the people for one, the guys I meet training are often very inspiring and I think they are the real deal and some of the best men out there. While I don’t consider myself any better or smarter than them, oftentimes I have experience and knowledge that they don’t and I want to help them be better prepared to protect their families, property and liberty. I also started training so that I could challenge myself to be a good instructor and to conduct the type of training I myself would like to go to. I hope that by teaching the things I know how to do I can develop a deeper understanding of the subjects myself and become an even better instructor.

Question two: The skills I chose to teach at the fieldcraft class are indeed fundamental, and while there are a vast array of skills that you could learn, operating in an austere environment is a beast all its own and without a solid grasp of how to do that it really isn’t going to matter how fast your reload is if you’re dying of dehydration or hypothermia. My aim for the class is to equip the student with practical skills that they can utilize in the bush to survive against nature and other men. The fieldcraft course is an introduction to the skills, I have two other classes planned that will build upon the fieldcraft course to further develop those skills and challenge the student further.

Question 3: I guess I don’t really have an end goal in mind as far as training is concerned. I look at training, either as a student or an instructor, as a continuous process for self improvement and I don’t look at that as a race. I think of it like a mountain that you’ll never reach the top of, you just keep climbing everyday, and if you should slip just pick back up and keep going. I hope to meet and train with as many great guys as I can, I’ve learned so much from so many and I hope I can add contribute back as well.
Owner of Badlands Fieldcraft LLC, instructor of the Fieldcraft Course, and writer of the Badlands Fieldcraft blog.
LivingOnTheFault
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Re: Questions to Badlands Rifleman

Post by LivingOnTheFault »

Badlands Rifleman wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 3:34 am Question two: The skills I chose to teach at the fieldcraft class are indeed fundamental, and while there are a vast array of skills that you could learn, operating in an austere environment is a beast all its own and without a solid grasp of how to do that it really isn’t going to matter how fast your reload is if you’re dying of dehydration or hypothermia. My aim for the class is to equip the student with practical skills that they can utilize in the bush to survive against nature and other men. The fieldcraft course is an introduction to the skills, I have two other classes planned that will build upon the fieldcraft course to further develop those skills and challenge the student further.
Like your response. Nature and its elements have destroyed more armies than weapons.
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DirtNasty
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Re: Questions to Badlands Rifleman

Post by DirtNasty »

Badlands Rifleman, would you be willing to share your experiences and training in the Marines as well as talk about what training you have done apart from being in the service? At what point in your life or what experiences changed you that made you decide that training would become a life long activity? or as you put it "as a continuous process for self improvement"?
"It doesn’t matter what you did, it’s what you’re doing now."

~Badlands Rifleman
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Re: Questions to Badlands Rifleman

Post by Badlands Rifleman »

DirtNasty wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 4:59 pm Badlands Rifleman, would you be willing to share your experiences and training in the Marines as well as talk about what training you have done apart from being in the service? At what point in your life or what experiences changed you that made you decide that training would become a life long activity? or as you put it "as a continuous process for self improvement"?
So my experience isn’t anything too wild, I never worked for SOCOM or any thing too high speed. We helped ODA on numerous raids in Iraq and watched a SEAL team fuck one up worse than a bunch of new infantry school drops. That’s another story for another day though.

I was lucky to be in units that had excellent leaders at both the top levels and the bottom. My unit in Iraq was the most deployed Marine infantry unit to combat zones at the time and it was packed with experience. When I deployed with them it was their fourth deployment in as many years to Iraq. There were terminal PFC’s (guys who keep losing rank because they keep getting in trouble in garrison and are doomed to get out as an E2) who had multiple combat tours and could teach you more about patrolling and fire fights (while drunk no less) than most infantry school instructors at the time. It truly was an environment where if you shut your mouth and opened your eyes and ears you would learn a lot. We spent many days and nights patrolling on foot and in vehicles, conducting raids, snap VCP’s, IED cordons, cordon and search operations, border interdictions, LP/OP’s and just generally trying not to get blown up or shot while scrounging for cigarettes. I feel like this time in my life gave me a pretty good first hand experience with insurgency/ counterinsurgency. It wasn’t full blown combat, it was days of tedium broken by moments of extreme violence where we were often the target. It was cat and mouse mixed with minesweeper and played for pink slips.

Prior to that time I was in a unit providing security for strategic weapons. At the time we felt like we were missing out not being in the fleet and getting deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq. In some ways we did, but we did get a lot of training. This was in the days when CQB and designated marksman were tactics only used in small units and we got a lot of training in both. We spent a lot of time patrolling in the woods around our facilities and setting up LP/OP’s. The guys who had re-enlisted from the fleet and had deployments taught us what they could. I also learned a great deal about securing an area, which seemed boring at the time but the concept of securing a town or homestead makes a lot more sense to me now because of those experiences. While there I was selected to go to rifle marksmanship coaches course. I was always in the top 5% of shooters in every unit I was in. While there I shot good enough to get an invite to the battalion shooting team but turned it down because I was about to get orders to the fleet in a few months to deploy and felt I would regret not going later in life. I had very close friends that were getting the same orders and I didn’t want them to go without me, they’d hold it over my head forever. After I went to coaches course we ran some rifle marksmanship training and then I went to Primary Marksmanship Instructor school. Where coaches course was more about teaching people how to shoot, PMI school was more about how to run a range. Teaching rifle marksmanship was the most rewarding time I had in the Marines. I took particular pride in taking shooters who could barely qualify and putting in the extra time to get them to expert, Coke bottle glasses and all.

After I got out I went into the trades in the oil and gas industry. 50-60 hours a week running conduit the size of my arm and pulling wire the size of my thumb as well as detailed control work and programming. I used my GI Bill to buy tools and my correspondence books while I was an apprentice and haven’t looked back. I’ve spent 0 hours on a college campus and make over 100k a year, something I’m very proud of and I encourage every young man I know to get into a trade. Being an apprentice and later a journeyman and then a master has taught me the importance of training. You can read all the books you want (apprentice) but that doesn’t mean you can do it (journeyman) or teach it and plan it (master).

Survivalism has always been a passion of mine, ever since I was a kid. Plus I’m a stubborn Norwegian/ German and the thought of not being self reliant is hard to swallow for me. You’ve seen the landscape out here and it’s not the most hospitable at times. My children are the fifth generation to be born and live within 100 miles of here so I come from a long line of tough people. The stories of their daily lives in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s make a lot of Great Depression stories pretty mild. Prior to that they were moon shiners and coal miners in Kentucky and Missouri. My ancestors were Patriots and Rebels and have fought in every war since the Revolution.

As far as post military training I’ve been to a couple classes at the Pathfinder School in Ohio and trained with NCScout down in Wyoming at the Scout and RTO courses. Him and I had been communicating prior to that and he knew I was interested in potentially teaching. I didn’t bring it up the whole time I was there because I wanted to demonstrate what I could do and I figured if he felt I should be a trainer he would say so. He brought it up after we finished the classes and that was a big boost in confidence for me. After watching the events of the last year I decided to put what I know to use and start helping others. The way I see it it’s the way you live that makes you a warrior. Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for guys who have been places and done things. Those ODA guys in Iraq were some of the most professional warriors I’ve met. On the contrary those SEALs I worked with didn’t do their brothers justice. But what I also want to acknowledge is the fact that just because you didn’t do those things it doesn’t mean you can’t start to learn now, or just because you have done some things doesn’t mean you can’t continue to improve. You still need to be that warrior for your own family and community if need be and I want to equip the good, strong men with the skills and knowledge to do just that.
Owner of Badlands Fieldcraft LLC, instructor of the Fieldcraft Course, and writer of the Badlands Fieldcraft blog.
LivingOnTheFault
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Re: Questions to Badlands Rifleman

Post by LivingOnTheFault »

What are you thoughts on Dave Cantebury?
LivingOnTheFault
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Re: Questions to Badlands Rifleman

Post by LivingOnTheFault »

Only thing I know about is his youtube video, and some of his writings?
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Re: Questions to Badlands Rifleman

Post by Badlands Rifleman »

LivingOnTheFault wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 8:03 pm What are you thoughts on Dave Cantebury?
As an instructor he was very good and down to earth. When I’m at classes I try to maintain what I feel is an appropriate relationship with the instructors. I’m there as a student and I think some people go so they can kiss someone’s ass and I don’t really care for that fan boy stuff. I’m really just there to learn and not try to be somebodies buddy. So I can’t really comment on him personally because I only know him as an instructor. I think he has done a good job sharing a ton of information that others would have tried to sell, and he applies his knowledge to innovating skills and products that I think are geared more towards survivalism than your typical hiking and camping gear. What originally impressed me was his “10 C’s” and the Pathfinder system. As a former trigger puller my survival skills were lacking and his systems organized it in a practical way so I could understand it and build upon it.
Owner of Badlands Fieldcraft LLC, instructor of the Fieldcraft Course, and writer of the Badlands Fieldcraft blog.
LivingOnTheFault
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Re: Questions to Badlands Rifleman

Post by LivingOnTheFault »

I have read Cody Lundin's books, I have just glanced throughs Daves. I like his 10C concept. Both of my kid's first knives were Moras with the ferro rods in the handle. I try carry multiple ways to create fire now. Lighter, Rod, and Waterproof Matches. Some combustible material of some type in a pill bottle. I think the older you get the more you realize you know very little, and so far in life you were lucky. I have debated on buying his Titanium water bottle. But I have decent water filters like Katadyn, and Seychelles sport bottle filter from the LDS. I got a metal cup under the Nalgene. Need to ordered some Iodine tenture. I need to know my dosages are right. Your classes sounds good. I need to learn to shoot at range. In TN, most hunting shots have been less than 300M, typically about 80M or so. So it was top of shoulder, and pull trigger at long range. Normally, we don't see much extreme code in Western TN. So at deer camp, it was always good sleeping bag, eat a hardy dinner, and Heater. I had the Cabella EWCS or similar with me. We have use cargo trailers, crappy fema trailers, pole barns, and tents so survival was not normally a question. Dave's trap line stuff sounds interesting, my cousins trapped. I was in city didn't do much of trapping except occasionally helping them check their traps. Not a fan boy, I just want to learn stuff as well.
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Sand Sock
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Re: Questions to Badlands Rifleman

Post by Sand Sock »

Fascinating article on your orienteering article and your hack.
But doesnt the global needle help with the steep angles?

https://www.americanpartisan.org/2021/0 ... uunto-mc2/