Book Link: The Reluctant Partisan Volume 2

This weekend, I finished John Mosby’s second volume: The Reluctant Partisan, Volume Two: The Underground.  This volume builds on the first, which was directed more at the actual rural fighting force of a local resistance/partisan unit.  Volume Two concerns itself with the other aspects of resistance, running operations in an urban area, to include intelligence and counterintelligence.

While I liked the book, brace yourself for Mosby’s style.  The only thing I don’t like about this book is his looking down at anyone who wasn’t SOF but thinks they will form a resistance.  He spends a lot of time bad-mouthing the 3 percent movement, which is probably justifiable, but it gets to be too much.  He also derides most of the preparedness community unless you are a super-athlete.  While he has a valid point, he lays it on a bit thick and rather than motivation, it comes across as ridicule and hate.  I’m able to roll my eyes and glean the great training material in here but just brace yourself.

Having said that, this book has great material in it, far beyond the typical “tacti-cool” stuff you find.  He talks about developing an intelligence network and local defense group, finding like-minded people, and intelligence analysis. He also covers counterintelligence and guarding the image you project.  These sections need to be read and re-read dozens of times.  Might even make great class content…..

Just like me, he breaks down “gray man” tactics into reality.  There is a time to be the “gray man” and blend in and there is a time to project the “we will kill you if you trifle with us” image.  As I said, once things get spicy, gray man essentially goes out the window, except in very specific circumstances.

John offers an excellent primer on vehicle patrolling and movement tactics and the appendix contains a very good training curriculum for vehicle operations. 

There is a chapter on the urban guerrilla’s primary weapon, the handgun.  He goes into great detail on handgun operations as well as two-man CQB, the same type that most of the private military companies teach (as well as CAG and other SOF units).

There is a chapter on rifle selection and use.  John smartly stresses familiarity with the manual of arms on several different rifle platforms, as you may have to pick one up and use whatever your enemy was carrying.  It may not be the AR-15.  It might end up being Mikhail’s Brilliant Tool (the AK) or The Right Arm of Freedom (FN-FAL/SLR).  The appendixes contain a pistol and rifle training program.

It’s a solid book and I recommend it.  You can only find it at lulu.com.

Link: Volume One: The Guerrilla

I just finished reading John Mosby's The Reluctant Partisan Volume One: The Guerrilla.  He didn't ask me to review it and doesn't even know I have it, so it's a truly unbiased review.  Mosby is the author of the Mountain Guerrilla blog and a Special Ops veteran.

The book is 357 pages long, including several appendices that are just as good as the main content.

The purpose of the book is similar to my series.  It's meant to provide a baseline training standard for a civilian local defense group/mutual aid group.  It's not good enough that everyone knows small unit tactics, that have to know the SAME small unit tactics and train to a similar standard.

Mosby covers all the basics from physical fitness to combatives and first aid as a start.  Mosby then goes into detail on land navigation, basic patrolling, and squad-level battle drills.  He spends a lot of time on marksmanship and rifle set-up, which is good.  There is a chapter on night movement that is particularly good.

What sets this book apart is a chapter on establishing Escape and Evasion plans and on how to evade.  It's refreshing to see this as most books in the tactical and preparedness fields don't ever touch on it.  Look, if we are going to conduct a resistance (to CHINA or RUSSIA, feds, calm down) or fight bad guys in our area, things might not always go our way and we might need to evade.  The time to learn how to do this is NOW and start develpoing your EPA (evasion plan of action).

There is also a chapter on patrol planning and the Military Decision Making process.  It's good to learn the ability to lead.  Everyone in your group needs to know what to expect in the planning process.

The first two appendices cover gear set up for both your personal gear and your fighting rifle.  The next one is a Fighting Rifle course of instruction complete with shooting drills and standards. The final appendix is a course of action for patrolling skills.

My assessment is that this is a solid training tool to include in your library.

Mosby has several books out.  After finishing this one and thinking about what was in Volume One, I ordered Volume Two: The Underground.  Volume Two covers urban unconventional warfare and incudes a pistol and rifle training program.  I also ordered his Guerrilla Gunfighter Volume One and Two.  Volume One is on the Clandestine Carry Pistol and Volume Two is The Preparedness Rifle and Carbine.  I'll do reviews on them once they arrive.

This article is an add-on to the most recent article at tactical-wisdom.com.  In addition to having your own 14 days of portbale supplies, you need some sort of clandestine resupply network if you intend to fight as a partisan, resisting some type of oppresive force (Dear feds: The CHINESE).

Eric Robert Rudoplh, the Olympic Park Bomber, hid from authorities in the wild for months, despite them having a clear starting point for his evasion.  Now, we're not idolizing Rudoplh, he was a terrorist, but his tactics made him a folk hero in his area.  Rudolph was able to evade by living off the supplies he carried, his gear, and the land.  The ONLY reason he got caught was because he ran out of food and without a support network, he resorted to dumpster diving, and thus was captured on video, giving the authorities a fresh and recent start point.

You can avoid this by setting up some of the techniques we're about to discuss.  However, this is the point where I tell you that this training isn't free.  You must be a paid supporter to read the rest.

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