A Breath of Fresh Air, by NC Scout

Not everything has to be tactical.

The last two weeks have been a total whirlwind and its funny how quickly a situation changes on the ground, for good or bad. In this case a  mighty good way, thanks be to God, for blessing us with a 1k meter range and the opportunity to expand in the manner we have. But this isn’t about that, this is about a whole other thing entirely. Sometimes we have to look back in order to look ahead.

Not everything has to be tactical. And sometimes the best tactics are returning to the old ways.

Heading out to Montana, especially the beauty of Kalispell, is always a wonderful experience and this last one was no different. And in that wonderful time meeting so many new faces, sharing great experiences with them during and after class, a number of themes seemed omnipresent as they always do, this time the old ways, and more importantly, why we place them on a pedestal, being chief among them. Montana is of course home to a strong Cowboy culture and one I naturally feel at home among. There is a connection, a spirit, so to speak, of sameness – the struggle against both nature and mankind. A rebellion against so-called modernity. A sharp juxtaposition between the genuine and the fake. Kalispell and greater Montana, like most formerly conservative states suffering the blight of outsiders with big money bringing in increases in property taxes and with it a completely alien culture, is certainly suffering a fate no different than the rural counties surrounding the cultural cesspool of Research Triangle Park inviting in the same blue and pink haired frivolity.

With that said a breath of fresh air arrives among those recognizing the ways of old. Much great conversation was had and among them was knife design. We talked for hours about blades, blade designs and the designers themselves, anywhere from legends like Bill Bagwell to Daniel Winkler and how, at the end of the day, their designs owed to the ways of old. There’s both a lesson there and an appreciation embedded. The question arose at one point regarding why Winkler’s designs, a great many others of a more traditional flavor, been so popular among special operations and combat arms guys during the GWOT. My answer after great thought is a connection between the hard men of old to the hard men of today. In many ways we have it incredibly easy and chief among those ways is the technology we have afforded to us. But at its heart, these are all enablers that build on basic skill. Somehow, or at least on some level, we recognize that and yearn for that same connection to the past. No matter how we may transform we never shake that underlying quality that produced hard men, as true as it was for Andrew Jackson as it is today.

Most classes take on a unique culture and its one, from a sociological perspective, that carries a highly rewarding feeling. But among that we have a tendency to get to enmeshed with the latest and greatest. The tactical world, as it were, thrives on looking the part. And this is not a piece to admonish but simply reflect. Often looking the part becomes an obsession in and of itself abandoning the original function. In a world filled with replications of replications eventually losing any connection to the intended function, genuineness becomes a welcome light in the darkness.

The students during the practical exercises are always encouraged to run their loadouts – weapons and gear, whatever they envision going into their tactical package – to get that immersion time we do not see often enough. And while the answer often enough is ARs, chest rigs, and all the trimmings, its nice to see other things in the mix. The retired SF CIF Team Sergeant rocking a well worn 1911 with countless thousands of rounds down the pipe. The Wyoming Cowboy carrying his deeply scratched and scarred 357 lever gun, an action yet smooth as glass from much use and regular care. Guys who didn’t ask for nor need anyone’s approval. Men who walk the walk and rarely, if ever, have much else to say. Men who’s CVs don’t begin or end with the frivolities of the ‘tactical’ world, despite the fact they could easily slide into and back out of that role at any time, applying all the other skills they’ve learned from a lifetime of hard living, equally as dangerous. Men I’m proud and honored to share company among.

It was and is a welcome breath of fresh air, carrying with it a challenge to us all. Be that Man. And make others in the same.