Traits of the "Modern Munuteman"

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This article and the accompanying video were spurred by a similar video from Risky Chrisky on Rumble. It's a really good channel for this type of stuff and you should check it out.

I've wanted to cover “skill areas” for the prepared. I think far to many folks probably collect gear and think that's good. But, its skills, experience and mindset that will keep you alive. I used Chrisky's term “modern minuteman” because it seemed appropriate. The Minutemen were the best equipped, trained and generally experience of the militia at the opening of the American Revolution. These are the things that will set you apart from everyone else.

I'm mostly sticking with Chrisky's list but will offer my own take and suggestions on how to achieve them. I also think of them as “traits” rather than skills. Skills suggest something that can be objectively measured and is more specific, skills would be within these traits.

1) Physical Fitness- This is, beyond a doubt the number one thing. The easiest to achieve but the least common (that I see.) If you want to fight you have to be fit, the fitter the better. There are a lot of ways to achieve fitness and different types of fitness, and all of us are at different levels.

2) Skills- There are a myriad of skills that you should practice until they become second nature. Firearms is the obvious one, but medical, comms, land nav, NODs etc. all things know how to do well enough that you can multitask it. The way to achieve that is practice. Shooting drills, progressively complex (starting with your EDC) and dry fire will get you the weapons skills. The others come from practice.

3) Networking- Two or three people that have trained and rehearsed together are gonna beat the 1-3 people that have not, almost every time. You need to have a group of like minded friends that you get out and practice with. Networking doesn't just end with your clique. You need to know your neighbors you need to know people in your town.

4) Be Well Read- You can get started on skills by reading about them. This blog and others like it are a starting point for some things. There are also military and other manuals that will give you a starting point for a lot of skills. I like to read about SHTF events of the past and listen to people's personal experience. You also need to stay ware of local and regional issues that may affect your life.

5) Be Cool Under Pressure- Understanding your body's “fight or flight” response is the first step here. But stress inoculation is a thing. You need to find a way to get your heart rate up while performing at your highest (mental) levels. You need to know how it effects you and become somewhat immune. There are two steps to being cool under pressure 1) be confident in your SKILLS and 2) Deliberately putting yourself in stressful situations, this is called stress inoculation.

6) Situational Awareness- Chrisky did not cover this in the video, but I think it is very important. Situational awareness is your awareness of the world around you. In your immediate area you need to keep you “head on a swivel” identifying people and places where people can hide. You need to identify threats as you pull up to the gas station etc. Practicing this skill now will serve you in the future.

I'd like to spur discussion about this stuff and see some comments. I plan to make some more, detailed, videos specific to these areas.