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Things you can do to prepare yourself.
Topic Started: Mar 7 2008, 06:40 AM (63 Views)
Western Warlord
Member
[ *  * ]
I have compiled a detailed list of activities that any aspiring member of our fund should consider if they want to fully prepare themselves for the road ahead. This will be stickied, and I encourage anyone with more ideas to post them so the list can be completely comprehensive.


Get into shape.

If you're an inactive, basement dwelling /b/tard, reverse that now. Being fit will be crucial to your survival in Africa. In many circumstances, you'll need to be able to carry a substantial amount of equipment, such as your weapon (Which you WILL need if you go to Africa, even if it's only a sidearm.) and various other items like food, water, and other things that will sustain you for an indefinite period away from civilisation. You'll need to be able to handle harsh conditions, and be able to run to a destination and run from an enemy.

A training program should emphasize stamina and muscular endurance. Muscular strength would be nice too, though if you get into a fight chances are it's going to involve bullets, not brawn, so being tank should be secondary to being athletic. Personally, I'm going for both, as my time in the army will afford me it.

Even if your contributions do not involve activity in Africa, it is still in your best interests to shape up; we may need you to "deploy" in future. A strong person is also more influential than a weak person with the same social skills (In general), and this would lend itself to any effort to sway people to the cause. Even if nothing comes of our grand designs, being fit has numerous other benefits that will outlast Cincinnatus. Your current/future girlfriend will thank you for it.


Start saving

This is going to be an expensive endeavour, and a largely self funded one. I'd say, at the very least, aim for $5000 in the bank. You'll need a weapon (Primary, sidearm or both), survival gear (Likely to include webbing, pack, good shoes, clothes, food, water and a whole bunch of other stuff.), and a plane ticket. A lot of stuff can be purchased "in theatre", thus reducing cost, but you'll still need cash to sustain yourself once you're over there. I'm personally aiming for $10,000 to ensure I get everything I'd want.

For commonwealth countries; I don't know if you're the same but if you join the territorials/reserves, you get gear issued to take home. Technically it's still army property, but I've been out of the territorials for 6 months and they still haven't asked for it back. And this is some damn nice stuff, all military grade. Definitely worth considering if you're tight for money.


Self defence

Africa is a dangerous place. Very dangerous. It's a place full of corruption and strife. You can be killed or captured merely by the color of your skin (Which I assume is mostly white), and no one will be able to help/avenge you, because law and justice is practically non-existent. It is therefore paramount that you are capable of defending yourself.

So, get your license, get a firearm, and start practising. You don't need to be a stellar marksman; but you will need to understand the basics of the weapon. Things such as which way the magazine goes, how many rounds it has, where the safety is, what recoil feels like, what range it has, what's its stopping power like, how much ammo costs, etc, etc. The more you know, understand and have practised firearm handling, the better off you'll be. Trust me, you'll need it.

You might also want to consider a martial art. Hopefully you won't have to resort to melee combat, but having the knowledge will increase your chances of survival. The army is going to teach me CQC, but you're free to learn whatever you want, as long as it's practical and not just for sport. No rebel is going to be impressed by how high you can kick.


Survival skills

An obviously necessary set of skills. Knowing how to navigate, what you can eat/drink, protection of diseases, setting up camp, stuff like that. Admittedly, my knowledge in this area is lacking, as I was unable to attend this training in the territorials, but I will in the regulars. I'd suggest reading up on the subject to familiarise yourself.


Consider joining the reserve

The reserve will help you shape up, save (And give you gear if your reserve is anything like mine), learn weapon skills and survival skills. A bit of military experience mean you won’t be so green when we eventually get over there.

I can’t say that your reserve will be like mine, but if it is then it will be structured around those in full-time work and study, which in my case usually means one weekend a month. Training in the NZ territorials comes in four modules;

ROT 1 – 1 weekend
ROT 2 – 3 weeks
ROT 3 – 2 weeks
ROT 4 – 1 weekend

Completing those, you’re a fully trained reservist. You can go on deployment and attend longer exercises, which are both on a volunteer basis.

As you can see, the time commitment is not that large. You need only attend 20 days a year to meet your obligations, which means while you’re a reservist you can work/study, as well as have a life!

Of course, your reserve could be entirely different. At any rate, I highly advise checking it out.


Miscellaneous/Optional

Learn another language – Useful for former colonies.
Study Africa – Read book n’ shit. Get to know Earths token chaos continent.


And finally…
Prepare yourself mentally

Success means great wealth, power, pride and perhaps salvation for a continent and even the world. Failure, however, can mean death, torture, amputation, insanity, social isolation or criminal conviction. Truly consider if this is a life you want to lead. This is the kind of adventure legends are made of. It’s also the kind of adventure that can end up on the news, as “another nameless group of mercenaries/activists get decapitated in Sudan”.

You may say you’re serious, but I challenge you to think long and hard. Really, really hard. Is this the life for you? There is no doubt that this endeavour shows great potential, but like all such things, the danger is ever present.

Are you really a bad enough dude to save Africa?
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