Here is the start of a standardized couch to minuteman gear list. Remember I made this list in about 20 minutes. It’s a start to a much bigger SOP that needs to be developed.

Let’s not get hung up on brands and specific items. To make it simple we start with broad definitions of what’s needed. The specifics will differ anyways based on many variables. This is a quick list. I will add more as it comes to me.
First we need to put the gear into categories. I think we can use the old trusty 1st, 2nd, and 3rd line gear approach but we will add a EDC category since most of the time we are not minutemen but since we never know when an emergency might happen EDCing a few items might be a good idea.

Yes, I want NVGs, DBALs, night force scopes and all that but we are talking the average Joe, not Seal team 87! Keep it simple and cheap, but always use DUTY ready gear!!

For now we are not going to talk about rifle specifics. Use what you are comfortable with. I will suggest something in a common caliber and a rifle that is common for obvious reasons.

I think later we can add on a Long term gear/survival category but that could be a whole thread by itself.


EDC:

We will assume most people already EDC a pistol. You also need at least an extra mag in a pocket or a small carrier on your belt.

The next thing you should EDC is a Small messenger bag, small backpack, satchel, man purse, you get the idea.
The color should be, subdued but not tactical. Think greys, blues, even a dark red. No bright colors, the key to this is nothing that stands out. Nothing tactical. No molle or Velcro patches.
Jansport backpack, old style canvas messenger bags are good. TAD gear, 5.11, crye precision is a no-go (unless it’s a specific grey man item).

Included items:
-Pressure dressing
-Tourniquets
-Chem-lights
-Whistle
-Flash light (on your person is better)
-Extra mags
-Knife (on your person is better)
-Sharpie


1st line gear:

This is where the “tactical” starts. It’s also where you may add your primary weapon/long gun/battle rifle. It’s the first thing you put on and the last thing you take off. You should have enough on your 1st line gear to get through a battle or incident.

War belt/ pistol belt. Something with molle for attaching pouches and stuff.

Included on Belt:

-Pistol Mag pouches
-Rifle Mag pouches
-Dedicated IFAK
-Holster for your sidearm
-A GP pouch for various other items items

2nd line gear:

A lot of people consider this your main fighting gear. It is usually a chest rig, or plate carrier of some sort. Get a plate carrier and add plates when you can afford them.

Included on PC or chest rig

-more medical stuff
-Absolutely more Rifle mags
-Maybe more pistol mags
-Maybe a GP pouch for various items
-Hydration of some sort (This can also be on your 1st line gear)
-Communication equipment (could also be on your first line or even third line)

There are a few different schools of thought with this.

Option one is attach your pouches directly to your plate carrier.

Pros:

-Easier to don everything
-Easier to store everything

Cons:

-You lose the flexibility to have different setups for different situations (multiple chest rigs)
- You can’t shed things you don’t need without shedding your armor

The other option is run your PC slick and use a separate chest rig over it.

Pros:

-You can have multiple rigs for different scenarios
-You can remove your rig without removing your armor
- You can train with your rig without the weight of your armor (But why? Train like you fight.)

Cons:

-Takes longer to Don and Doff
-With multiple rigs means you must train with each rig (it also means there is a bigger chance of error during a fight)

I go with option 1. If I am training with second line gear then I am wearing my plates. I don’t want multiple setups. I tailor 1 setup to work and figure out how to make the most efficient use of space for all items needed for multiple scenarios. I want it to be easier to put on and take off.
On your second line is more fighting stuff to go with your first line plus the armor, water, commo.

No way is “THE WAY”. Choose what works best for you.


3rd line gear:

This is the long term stuff. Think of it as overnight bag or things you might need in extreme scenarios. This could include many things. I am going to break it down simple and we can change it up from there.
It needs to start with a backpack or rucksack of some sort. A three day size around 20-40 liters.

Included in or on bag:

-Food
-More ammo
-More water
-More first aid
-Signaling
-Land nav (could be on 2nd line as well)
-Socks
-Layered clothing for inclement weather
-Weapons cleaning kit
-Spare parts
-Trading/bartering items or money
-Some survival items (fire, shelter, wire, sewing kit)

There are a lot of obvious items that I have not included. NVGs, helmet, smoke and other things. Those things are what I call novelty items. They are nice to have but you should have the basics first. Later we can add a “nice to have” category. Some of you will disagree and say a helmet is a must have. I think it depends on the situation. If you want it, add it. If you don’t, then don’t. If enough people think helmet is a must have, then we can add it to 2nd line gear.

I know I am missing a lot but I wanted to get something out quick to get our wheels turning. We can adjust it, add to, and take away as needed.

Please stay on track. Be constructive and open minded. Everybody will have different load outs. Remember this is the start of the Couch to Minuteman SOP.  

Here is an example of first-line and second-line gear. These are really basic setups that I used this summer for a run and Gun. The things that stay constant no matter what my setup is are my locations of my pistol and magazines other things like IFAK position and even knife position sometimes changes.


-Smithy

This could be a dumb idea, but could be a good one. I never know



So I had this idea about making a thread (you're in it) that would detail training (physicaly,mentally, tacticaly), gear, drills, and whatever else  that could be relevant to a modern day Minuteman.

With all of the threats, the riots, the unrest, now is as good a time as any to honor what our founders wanted us to be.

Basic goal is to get someone who is a noob, non .mil, non professionally trained, out of shape etc, to be able to defend themselves, their house, their neighborhood, their city, from those who wish to destroy. I don't want this to be a circle jerk thread, a mall ninja thread, I would like it to be a serious(as serious as GD can get) attempt to treat the subject with respect, and honesty(no one is going to lone dog it against a 60 person strong riot on their street).

Since I'm some dumbass dude in his early 20s, I'm not looking to teach anyone anything. Rather I would like SME's and those knowledgeable in the fields to contribute in this thread, as well links to other threads here and on the Web that we can learn from. The community here will shape the content, I'll just compile it.

This OP will be updated and changed if this goes well.



TL;DR OP is retarded.

1. Don't be a fat, lazy bastard.
2. Maintain your skills
3. Maintain your weapons.
4. Don't be retarded.

For many people , all of the above steps might not be as obvious as they are to you.
 

That's what I'm thinking.

Plus we could all learn more I'm sure.

Physical fitness is absolutely more important than firearms in any regard.


Flame on.

The teachings of the most holy of savage instructors Pat Mac is what you seek.

I'm of a similar thought. You'll notice the order I put things for training.

You only have to fire two volleys

I love him

Reminds me of a ginger macho man savage with an actual bad ass resume

Bang a Ging.

Train in some way everyday.
Doesn't matter if it's hitting the gym or practicing drawing from concealment.
There is no excuse to go a day without doing something.

Buy some sort of fighting load carrier doesn't have to be cheap but don't buy Chinese nylon shit.
Your FLC should have ammo and first aid items, and water.



I'm not very good at explaining this shit, Currahe has some very good ideas on this subject.

I felt pretty awesome when I found his videos, and a lot of the way he teaches, the philosophies he pushes, and the research he's done mirrors the way I was teaching and training people for mentality almost 100%.


It saves me a TON of time too, because instead of having to write out responses to people based on my own thought, research and feelings, I just post pat mac video's. It used to be I would write something, and people would be all like "says who, no one says! that cite your source or you're wrong! because internet".   Now... fuck it, Pat mac vid. he says the same shit I would have, way more entertainingly, and has the credibility that I could never have.

Don't be a fatass.
Be aerobically fit.
Learn how to choot.

That's lost on a lot of people though.
Many think they'll just be able to do this shit knowing nothing.

A big part of "Minuteman" is to be ready to roll if there's a problem.  Mags loaded.  Medical gear gtg.  Batteries charged, bag packed.  Your CCW should ALWAYS be with you.  No excuses.

1. physical fitness
2. physical fitness
3. physical fitness
4. communication
5. command and control structure
6. squad movement fundamentals
7. platoon movements
...
87. stuff related to firearms

This is a great one. I've been seeing people copy the Tactical Response hokey pokey search and asses a bunch recently. Makes me

I'm staying on the couch.

On a serious note, I'm ready to rock and roll but I have let my physical fitness slide a bit.  Used to regularly go to the gym and run and I need to get back to it.  
All my personal gear is good to go and my shoot-move-communicate skills are kept up.

In reality, if shit goes south here I am going to be going to work and suiting up there.  If shit really goes south, I have a few like minded buddies here and we have HAM radios, but we haven't discussed frequencies and all of that.

2 ATF agents, an FBI agent and the "Couch to Minuteman" founder.

Can we just give you a 240 and a fuck ton of ammo spare barrels dip/cigarettes energy  drinks and porn?

Not really what I was going for.

Sure.  We'll move the couch to the roof.

Gonna have to procure you some kind of shade so you don't get all moldy.

Tagging this to see where it leads. I've never been interested in running through the woods in full gear, joining a militia etc, but I think it's important to have the ability to fight if need be, on a scale larger than just basic home defense.

I'm with ya on the milita thing.

The closest I would get to that is teaming with friends and family.

So let's try and get a concensus on something that I can put in the OP.

Shooting gear:

Let's get some minimum and optimal gear lists going.

Personal opinions on styles (chest rigs, H gear, battle belts, plate carriers, armor etc)

This would be an easy one to tackle since we have a gear forum I can link threads with.

Take Pat Mac's CST class
Take Pat Mac's TAPS class
Practice new skills in gym/on range consistently
Repeat until war

And get a two way radio.

Eh be the best you can be with whatever you have on hand.

I've done more practice running rifles switching mags from my back pocket than trying to be all geared up, because that's the most likely way I'd even get stuck using a rifle. It's wy I practice with dumb esoteric stuff like DA wheelguns and thompsons, modern rifles and pistols whatever.


The Minimum gear list is stark ass naked with what god gave you. Feet, hands knees, elbows, teeth, skull, big ole' brain asymmetric brain.



Start there and work your way up.

 
. Important, to be sure. Does not trump firearms. If I need to put together a fire team a fit guy with his dick in his hand isn't nearly as useful as the the fat guy with a rifle.

I'll take a trainable fit guy with a weapon over a fat dude with a weapon.  The fitness level of an individual is an observable indicator of their potential performance expectations.   It's a historic fact that recruits that are physically fit do much better both in training and later perform better than those that are not.

Yes !!!!!! it is very important indeed.

False.

 

The fit guy will be faster, be able to sustain higher op tempo's longer, need less sleep and food, be better able to handle low water supply, as well as have a reduced chance of injury during training or during actual getting down to business.


A fireteam is only as strong as it's weakest link, why would you chose to put a plastic one in at the get go?

It might be a good choice for guard duty or opfor, but not for anything that would require people not hinder the job.  


I mean, you can try to defend your opinion on it, that's cool. But even run of the mill military training breaks healthy people in the prime of their life. Saw a guy get shit canned in school of Infantry, tripped with a pack on.  Broke his pelvis. That was with a light school load.  Real life combat load would be heavier. Now imagine a fat guy with 20-30-50 extra pounds?  



Meanwhile the fit guy can be taught how to shoot faster than the fat guy will be able to lose weight.



In real life the fat guy gives up the weapon to the fit guy or just gets stuck on guard.

Even in flat out, open warfare most of the time is spent ... not shooting.  Movement, assessment, communication ... I think there's a whole lot more of that than range drill stuff.

Hit the gym regularly, walk your neighborhood regularly.  The walk is good both for fitness and for understanding your potential situation.

On a forum like this, we shouldn't have to tell anyone to maintain their zeros or general firearm skills.

Neva been done befoe

You can't ride a whopper chopper into battle.

This is #1 on my list and should be on a main list also.

As an out of shape non active duty Marine  (injured) I hate how I let myself go. now when I grab my pack and rifle for hunting the hilly terrain here I kills me physically and mentally I have started to do light activities and trying to eat better but it's gonna be a long road to get where I want to be

This

Is that you in your avatar by chance?

Fire team or competitive sausage eating team?

Two to three hours a day, 4 to 5 days a week of Krav Maga and BJJ.

Sight picture practice at home (getting used to RMR on G19)

Don't get to the range as much as I want/need to.

Not all fights are gunfights, but if you're carrying all fights HAVE a gun in them. Prepare accordingly. One wrong move and your adversary will be armed and you will not be any longer.

You're gonna need an A gunner. Dibs.

I'm glad a conversation is getting started.

So maybe start off with some fitness programs.

Starting Strength/Strong lifts is what I'm familiar with.

Maybe some calisthenics style stuff for dudes without equipment.

I can't remember it right now, but I know a marine  (officer I think) had a 100 pullup program, but I can't remember the name.


So as far as fitness goes. What do you guys think is an acceptable level? Benchmarks and goals are important(imo) to stuff like that.

Will there be any imitation crab meat or model trains?

You make some great points.

Fitness is a given. That's obvious and should be assumed.

Go shoot a USPSA match. Ask them for feedback as you shoot. You will quickly learn what you need to work on. Focus on these areas next time you go practice.

When you shoot for fun, make it meaningful. Shoot common drills, get a shot timer, and push yourself to go faster and miss less. Dry fire as often as you can, preferably every day. Buy Stoeger's books if you want reading material--most people regard his dry fire book as canon.

You don't need a ton of ammo for this, either. A box of 9mm at Walmart is $10-12, and you could shoot something simple but effective like a Dot Torture that will force you to focus on your shooting. If your shots are going exactly where you want them, every time, then you're going too slow. If you're missing most shots, slow it down and focus more on your front sight.

Shoot another match and apply what you learned in the first one, as well as what you've worked on in practice. Rinse and repeat. You will improve.