Whetstone Home Newsletter Home NewsLetter Archives


USMC and Navy Rules of Combat


USMC Rules for Combat

1. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your
friends who have guns.
2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. life is expensive.
3. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.
4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough nor using cover correctly.
5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)
6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun and a friend with a long gun.
7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running.
9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be more dependent on "pucker factor" than the inherent accuracy of the gun.
9.5 Use a gun that works EVERY TIME. "All skill is in vain when an Angel pisses in the flintlock of your musket."
10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. Have a plan.
13. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work.
14. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
15. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
16. Don't drop your guard.
17. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees.
18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them).
19. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.
21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
22. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
23. Your number one Option for Personal Security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.
24. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with a "4."

Navy Rules for Combat
1. Go to Sea
2. Send the Marines
3. Drink Coffee and watch movies

(Continued from page 1)

Proud of firing the first shots, the men also wanted credit for sinking the sub. They were delighted when it was found. The sub has shell damage in its conning tower and still has both of its torpedoes.

"We'd been telling them that for 60 years, and now they know it," said Orville Ethier of St. Paul, president of the First Shot Naval Vets.

Lehner traveled to Hawaii two years ago to help Ballard find the sub. Ballard searched for two weeks, and Lehner was on the ship every day.

"The thing is, he didn't want to take anyone else's advice," Lehner said of the legendary shipwreck finder. "I thought we were out too far. I kept telling him we need to move over toward the entrance to the channel. And he'd say, 'Oh, no, I know where it is.' "

Over the years, Lehner had encountered many doubters. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you think you sunk it,'' Lehner said people would say. "I said, 'I know we sunk it.' "

It didn't help that Ballard couldn't find it. "I think Ballard thought that when he didn't find it that we didn't sink it," Lehner said.

Wiltshire said the Japanese sub is the most important modern marine archaeological treasure ever found in the Pacific Ocean and, overall, second only to the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean.

The precise location of the sub has not been released, and there are no plans to raise it, Wiltshire said. The U.S. government has indicated it would like to have the site become a marine sanctuary.

"The federal government wants to protect it where it is," Wiltshire said.

Inside the sub are likely the first casualties of Pearl Harbor.

The Discovery Channel is working on a documentary about the sub and took Lehner down to look at it in October in one of the research laboratory subs.

"I think this is very, very significant for the crew of the Ward because this validates the very accurate information they transmitted to headquarters an hour before the attack began," Wiltshire said. "It's unfortunate that the Ward's report was not heeded.''

More than one hour before the 8 a.m. attack on Pearl Harbor, the commander of the Ward sent this message to headquarters in Honolulu:

"We have attacked, fired upon and dropped depth charges upon submarine operating in defensive sea area."

It was a warning that could have changed history.

"They were absolutely right," Wiltshire said. "They sounded the warning and  no one listened."

Now Hear This!

Be sure to check the ships Website at www.usswhetstone.net

also remember:

We have a message board at yahoo groups. If you join the group, all messages will be sent to your E-Mail. A great way to keep in touch.


Go to Next Page

Page 4