111. In any scenario of usurpation unto totalitarianism, I am confident that the military would turn on the regime. Nevertheless, we need to be prepared for the contingency that they won’t, and while some, even most, of the military may desert if that happens, we could still wind up fighting a large portion of the US military. More threatening than regular military (for reasons of numbers and ruthlessness, not training) are the purple shirts who will back the regime under any circumstance, and are prepared to use violence even for trivial reasons.
To deal with infantry and purple shirt thugs, we need superior numbers. We can’t possibly have superior firepower to the US military, so we need to replace skill with numbers. Many rebels will bring their own rifles and ammo, but it won’t be enough. Vietnam vets like yourself have great experience, and thus would make great regiment and battalion commanders, but we need able bodied men between the ages of 16 and 25, most of whom won’t own their own rifles. This means many Patriots will need to bring at least two rifles- one for themselves, and one a new recruit who needs a weapon. The Patriots will also need plenty of food and medical supplies.
Now to obtain recruits, the best source is veterans and deserters from the regular and reserve military forces. However, the regime will be too powerful for us to take down with just vets and military personnel loyal to the Constitution. We will still need to recruit a lot of teens and young adults. Some will join simply to rebel against the establishment; others will join for treasure, given that civil war means hyperinflation and total devastation of the economy, leaving them with no means to earn a living. We can’t endorse these motives, but we can’t afford to turn them away, either. Most of our recruits will be true believers, who only need someone to organize and arm them.
The biggest problem is dealing with tanks. The only things that can take out a tank are heavy artillery and nuclear weapons. A tactical nuke isn’t hard to build, but the materials are very hard to come by. I doubt heavy artillery could be considered to be any easier. The only thing effective against a tank without artillery or nukes is human wave tactics. Use explosives to take out their tracks to immobilize them, and then plug up the cannon to prevent it from firing. That will be bloody; nigh suicidal.
What do we have on our side? Popular support will turn martyrs into recruiters. Also, we can make makeshift WMD. Poison gas is easy to make- mix nitric acid and a base metal and you’ll get NO2, a poisonous and highly corrosive gas.
Taken together, I figure the regime can’t hold out forever, and would eventually fall. However, if any significant portion of the military sides with the regime, we could be looking at casualties in the millions. Only a fool would welcome this scenario. Therefore, I implore all my fellow Patriots to be patient. Only after exhausting all peaceful means shall we take up arms. Meanwhile, let us prepare ourselves morally, mentally, spiritually and physically for the contingency that we do need to take up arms. Our founders built in three barriers against tyranny: 1. separation of powers and a free press to check all three branches of government, 2. a military that swears loyalty to no man, but to the Constitution, and 3. an armed population. Pray that the first two render the third unnecessary, but prepare for the scenario that they don’t.
