I saw an excellent quote from Mr. Roosevelt(is there any other kind?) on the necessity of training
American marksmen, but I can't find it now.I tmay have been in a sig line. I searched here and did a Google search with no luck.


"A hyphenated American is not an American at all. This is just as true of the man who puts 'Native' before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance."

Ah yes, Teddy Roosevelt. One high school in my hometown was built in his era and had a 100 yard high power range integrated into the design. I bet there are few architects who would do that anymore - and can you imagine a high school DESIGNED to have guins in it!

Anyway, you may have seen a part of this excerpt from his 1902 State of the Union Address (delivered 19 Dec 1902 - heck, maybe we can celebrate it's centennial here soon!):

"Both our officers and enlisted men are such that we can take hearty pride in them. No better material can be found. But they must be thoroughly trained, both as individuals and in the mass. The marksmanship of the men must receive special attention. In the circumstances of modern warfare the man must act far more on his own individual responsibility than ever before, and the high individual efficiency of the unit is of the utmost importance. Formerly this unit was the regiment; it is now not the regiment, not even the troop or company; it is the individual soldier. Every effort must be made to develop every workmanlike and soldierly quality in both the officer and the enlisted man."


My favorite Teddy Roosevelt quote is one oft repeated by Jeff Cooper - I am not sure when or where it was delivered:

"But the truth is that all modern rifles are efficient weapons. It is the man behind the gun that makes the difference..."


Am I close?



Adam

"In battle, the only bullets that count are those that hit." - Teddy Roosevelt

Attended a Texas Parks and Wildlife Instructor seminar this past weekend where a TPWD guy said one of the major reasons TR established National Parks was to provide an opportunity for city-raised people to both learn to live in the outdoors AND learn to shoot.  TR was concerned Americans were losing the skills necessary for national defense and saw the parks as an avenue to maintain those skills.