Although he aimed for the fighters ocular cavity, the adrenaline coursing through Rousseaus body caused him to miss. Got a message for Democratic Underground? views and opinions of Springfield Armory. You sweat just standing still. [46], In addition to the actual volunteers, thousands of South African Police and South African Defence Force (SADF) personnel were deployed to Rhodesia by the South African government to serve in or alongside the Rhodesian Security Forces. The Guardian reported in 1979 that "his presence is a source of embarrassment to the regime which has always insisted that it does not want foreign mercenaries". If youre looking for some variety in your training, one practical application of the drill is to fire the first two shots to the targets center mass (V1), then take two steps back to create distance before the third shot. [4][5][6], According to anecdotal history, the technique originated with a Rhodesian mercenary, Mike Rousseau, engaged in the Mozambican War of Independence (19641974). These men were often directed to wear Rhodesian uniforms, and the South African government falsely claimed that some had volunteered for the Rhodesian Security Forces. [58], Foreign volunteers who were accepted were required to swear an oath of loyalty to Rhodesia, and the Rhodesian government considered them to be members of the security forces rather than mercenaries. Titanfall Blisk is working under a new long-term contract with the IMC on the Frontier, providing Combat Intel and Counterinsurgency services. Thankfully, the shot hit the attackers throat, severing his spinal cord and eliminating the threat. These two additions to the drill could make a world of difference in a real-life self-defense situation. The volunteers frequently received a hostile response from Rhodesians in the units they were posted to, and many ended their contracts early as a result. If youve been around defensive pistol shooting for a while, youve likely heard of the Mozambique Drill (AKA, failure to stop drill). The volunteers had a range of motivations. | Discussion This proved impossible due to the large numbers and difficulty of checking their backgrounds. Center mass is easier to hit quickly, and in most cases will effectively stop a threat. Sundry populist uprisings supported by distant communist benefactors strived to nip at the forces and institutions of the European colonial powers long enough to draw blood. By September 1964, things began to change. Most of the mercenary soldiers carried FN FAL or HK G3 rifles. One of the earliest versions of this three-shot drill required law enforcement officers to fire two shots at center mass, then lower their weapon to the ready position while assessing the need for the third head shot. |-- General Discussion [23], The expansion of the security forces, increasing battle casualties and a decline in the white population due to high rates of emigration led to serious shortages of white personnel that greatly hindered the Rhodesian war effort. The Mozambique drill is performed for both accuracy and time. and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the [99][100], A range of works have provided positive portrayals of the foreign volunteers. [26], Several individuals and companies recruited United States citizens to fight in Rhodesia. Frankly, I dont know of many shooters who maintain the level of skill to pull this off consistently at 3-5 yards. Click the Go To Forum Thread link below to jump in! Springfield Armory recommends you seek qualified and competent training from a [14] Rhodesia's security situation deteriorated during the mid-1970s when the nationalists were able to establish bases in Mozambique as Portuguese rule faltered and finally ended in 1975. Seeing that the guerrilla was still advancing, Rousseau made an attempt at a head shot that hit the guerrilla through the base of his neck, severing the spinal cord. Now you understand the history and background as well as the importance of the Failure Drill. Rousseau told his harrowing story to Jeff Cooper, who thought that it made a darn good defensive shooting drill. Heres the connection. I came about after Rhodesian mercenary Mike Rousseau told the story of an encounter he had in combat at an airport. Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The story goes that this technique originated with a Rhodesian mercenary, Mike Rousseau. We can either live in a paranoid politically correct world frantically trying not to offend the Hitlers and Mohammeds, and blaming their victims when they kill, or we can be free men and women who have chosen to take the power to defend our rights into our own hands. Sometimes in practice, I will draw my weapon and shoot one shot to the chest . [60] Foreign volunteers who openly expressed extreme racial views were deported. Rousseau relayed this story to Jeff Cooper, who then began employing this failure to stop drill in his teaching at Gunsite. Its a handy tool to have in your defensive tool box just in case shots to center mass dont accomplish what they are supposed to do. FRELIMO attacked targets in typical guerrilla-style warfare and, like other small insurgent forces, they made full use of hit and run tactics, their knowledge of the terrain, and used the monsoon season to their advantage. Silveira v. Lockyer, 2003. The Australian parliament passed legislation banning Australians from serving with Rhodesia in 1978. Until the early 1970s the Rhodesian Security Forces had little difficulty in defeating the guerrillas. List of battleships of the United States Navy, List of aircraft of the Malaysian Armed Forces, http://practicalfirearmstraining.com/reading/HandgunDrillsPDF.pdf, Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, USMC manual CMC-37R of 8 Feb 2006: METHOD OF TARGET ENGAGEMENTS. [102] He also wrote the novel Crippled Eagles which was based on the experiences of American volunteers. This unit performed poorly and committed atrocities that included raping women during operations. a close quarter tactical method of killing a target with two shots to the chest and one follow up shot to the head. The Portuguese government banned Rhodesian recruitment in the late 1970s, but was unable to enforce the legislation. If the target continues to advance despite two well-placed shots to the torso, the shooter follows up with a more precisely aimed (and more difficult to accomplish) head shot. [39] An exception was a group of almost 200 French military personnel who enlisted together in late 1976. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! [22][27] Men with previous military experience, and especially service in wars, were preferred. [15], Foreigners with far right beliefs were often sympathetic to the Rhodesian cause during the war. [101] Robin Moore included profiles of twelve volunteers as part of a non-fiction book he wrote in 1976 that argued that the Rhodesian government was not racist and sanctions against it should be lifted. FRELIMO's Marxist underpinnings earned it support from Russia and China. Easter Lessons by bmt | Mar 29, 2016 | Towsley on Tactical blog No use without the express written permission of Doris Wise Montrose is permitted. [30] Some ads described service in Rhodesia as "fun". Big Forums While a thousand organizations use the Holocaust as a platform for speeches about tolerance, Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Children Of Jewish Holocaust Survivors [Jews Can Shoot]. It is not known how many Vietnam veterans fought in Rhodesia. Historian Michael Raeburn put the figure in 1978 as between 1,500 and 2,000. Rousseau fired two quick shots that struck the enemy soldier in the chest, but failed to stop him. He also wrote that these men were from 38 different nationalities. Home Rousseauarmed onyl with a pistolturned a corner and encountered an enemy soldier carrying an AK-47. While engaged in fighting at the airport of Loureno Marques (modern-day Maputo), Rousseau was armed with only a Browning HP35 pistol. [47], The Rhodesian Special Branch sought to vet all of the foreign volunteers for security risks. If a few hundred Jewish fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto could hold off the Wehrmacht for almost a month with only a handful of weapons, six million Jews armed with rifles could not so easily have been herded into cattle cars." The volunteers were often labelled as mercenaries by opponents of the Rhodesian regime, though the Rhodesian government did not regard or pay them as such. The Mozambique Drill,[1] also known as the Failure Drill, or Failure to Stop drill and, informally, as "two to the body, one to the head,"[2][3] is a close-quarters shooting technique that requires the shooter to fire twice into the torso of a target (known as a double tap or hammered pair to the center of mass), and follow up with a more difficult head shot that, if properly placed, will instantaneously stop the target if the previous shots failed to do so. They could also be wearing body armor. Transitioning between targets can take some getting used to, especially for shooters still trying to get some experience under their belts. LLC. However, since you wont have time to interview your attacker in the heat of the moment, the specific cause of the failure isnt important. You can support the efforts of Jews Can Shoot that Nothing Says Never Again Like an Armed Jew. McAleese had previously led a group of British mercenaries in Angola, and was posted to the elite Rhodesian Special Air Service (SAS) after completing training. Then, they can make a smooth transition to the third V2 shot if it is necessary. It kind of worked. There was a flurry of unrest in Mozambique. Guerrilla fighters were swarming the airport and Rousseau turned a corner and nearly bumped into a FRELIMO fighter wielding an AK-47. Soldier of Fortune ran large numbers of articles on foreigners in the Rhodesian Security Forces during the Bush War; each edition published between 1975 and 1980 included at least one article on the subject. [28] This magazine had been established that year to promote mercenary opportunities, and provided a positive portrayal of the lifestyle available to mercenaries. Handgun Training for Personal Protection. Let your fellow shooters know share this article using the Facebook, Twitter and other social media icons below. "All too many of the other great tragedies of historyStalins atrocities, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Holocaust, to name but a fewwere perpetrated by armed troops against unarmed populations. While engaged in fighting at the airport of Loureno Marques (modern-day Maputo), Rousseau was armed with only a Browning HP35 pistol. [23] Other volunteers were posted to a range of units, including protection companies mainly made up of black soldiers and the largely white Grey's Scouts and Rhodesian Armoured Corps. [18] As the war continued, additional army and police units were raised and the periods of active service reservists were required to undertake was increased. The Mozambique Drill[1] is a close-quarter shooting technique in which the shooter fires twice into the torso of a target (known as a double tap to the center of mass), momentarily assesses the hits, then follows them up with a carefully aimed shot to the head of the target. History. He was fighting in the Mozambican War of Independence 1964-1974. Habah l'hargecha hashkem l'hargo -- "If someone is coming to kill you, rise against him and kill him first.". The Rhodesian military also adopted some of the terminology used by Americans in Vietnam, such as referring to guerrillas as 'gooks' and labelling one of their supply lines the 'Ho Chi Minh trail'. Hearing this story, Cooper later incorporated this three-shot drill into his program of instruction as a way to end a fight that cannot be immediately stopped with bullets fired into the chest. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Those who did so received amnesties as part of the British government measures associated to end of the conflict. [42] Small numbers of black ex-Flechas from Mozambique were also accepted after the end of Portuguese rule in that country; they were paid less than white soldiers. The need for non-Rhodesians to sustain the country's independence was also considered problematic. Due to factors such as body armor, the bolstering effect of drugs, or failure to hit vital organs, the body shots may not be immediately effective, necessitating the third shot. He offered Rhodesia the services of these men after they completed training, though he intended to eventually use them to retake Albania. This drill was popularised by Rhodesian mercenary Mike Rousseau, during the Mozambican War of Independence, who was the inspiration for the character of Kuben Blisk. Engaged in a firefight at an airport in Lourenco Marques, Rousseau encountered a guerilla fighter armed with an AK-47. At least thats what Ive been told. Successful applicants were then offered a rank in the security forces. Copyright 2023 BearingArms.com/Salem Media. [93], The legality of volunteering for the Rhodesian Security Forces varied between other countries. They generally served alongside Rhodesian personnel in a large number of units, though a group of Frenchmen served together in a separate unit. Rumored to have begun with Rhodesian mercenary Mike Rousseau and adopted into coursework at Gunsight Academy, the Mozambique Drill is intended to drop an advancing threat immediately. The Mozambique Drill is a close-quarter shooting technique in which the shooter fires twice into the torso of a target (known as a double tap to the center of mass), momentarily assesses the hits, then follows them up with a carefully aimed shot to the head of the target. Mike Rousseau was friends with Colonel Jeff Cooper, a legend in the firearms training world and the founder of Gunsite Academy. The shots should be fired as fast as you are able, however they shouldnt be so fast that you miss your intended target. the phrase was coined by a rhodesian mercenary named Mike Rousseau while he was serving in Mozambique. He named it after the country where the incident occurred, dubbing his drill the Mozambique Drill., Practical Variations to the Mozambique Drill, El Presidente Drill Assessing Your Shooting Skills, The Best Self Defense Ammo Ballistic Testing. Get 12 Issues a year of the country's best firearms writing. The two movements espoused Marxist beliefs and were regarded as communists by the Rhodesian government. Upon hearing the story of Rousseaus encounter, Cooper incorporated a three-shot drill into his training at the famous Gunsite Academy. Britain and the United Nations Security Council imposed wide-ranging trade and other sanctions on Rhodesia with the objective of forcing it to return to its previous status. [66], Under the terms of the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement that ended the war the British government resumed control over Rhodesia in December 1979, with the country temporarily reverting to the colony of Southern Rhodesia until elections could be held. |-- Latest Breaking News It was also unclear whether serving in the Rhodesian military was illegal under laws that prohibited service in foreign militaries as the British did not recognise Rhodesia's independence. Over the years, this drill has morphed into a variety of other drills and, if you put any two firearms instructors together, youll get a different opinion as to how its to be properly executed. Get the 76th edition of the World's Greatest Gun Book. [31] The ads and other coverage of Rhodesia in Soldier of Fortune led to a "steady stream of volunteers". [35] Organisations representing veterans were another method used to contact potential recruits. Ideally, a more practical application might be to fire two shots to the torso, take two steps back and to the side to keep your distance and, if your attacker is still attacking, attempt the head shot. In this work she estimated that around 100 Americans served with the Rhodesian Security Forces between 1976 and 1980. [30] As a result, White has observed that the volunteers were typically more willing to fight and even die for the ideology of the Rhodesian Front party than for Rhodesia itself. The pelvis does not move as erratically as the head or shoulders, and should be an easier target than a bobbing and weaving head. [7] The party believed that Rhodesia needed to take a stand against the perceived communist threat to protect western civilisation in Africa. During fighting at the. Rousseaus exploit turned into the Failure Drill and was included in the Academys curriculum starting in the late 1970s. Proper tactics can vary greatly depending on the circumstances and situation. So, as the story goes, Rousseau was involved in a firefight at the airport. [39][40][41] Sources differ on whether these men were paratroopers or members of the French Foreign Legion. Oops, there's been an error. [10] This ideology attracted support from many mainstream conservative politicians and military veterans in the United Kingdom and United States, as well as from some far right groups in those countries. Jeff Cooper created The Modern Technique of the Pistol and the Combat Mindset. Two to the body and one to the head is guaranteed to stop a threat. |-- DU Groups 2003) (Kozinski, J. Portugal said it supported the Mozambique people and designated it an overseas territory in the 1950s in lieu of calling it a colony, but it was still a colony no matter how Portugal presented it. Editors Note: Please be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front (or FRELIMO) became embroiled in a war of independence with Portugal. Back in the day when European countries colonized portions of Africa, this area on the east coast of Africa was called Portuguese East Africa. ), Shoulder Holster: 8 Pro Up-Top Carry Options (2023). In 1980, two Los Angeles Police Department SWAT officers, Larry Mudgett and John Helms, attended pistol training at Gunsite and received permission from Cooper to teach the technique to the LAPD, and to rename it the Failure Drill (concerned that "Mozambique" might have racist overtones). Failure in a gunfight is not an option. Come join the discussion about optics, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more! [62] The revelations about Lamb's history embarrassed the Army and led to concerns in Rhodesia about the quality of the foreign volunteers. [5], The Mozambique Drill is intended to ensure that the target is immediately stopped, by first placing two shots into the larger, easier-to-hit mass of the upper body, then, if the target is still active, following with a third, more precisely aimed and difficult head shot.