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Brian Blanco / Reuters
Jim Foster, leader of the North Florida Survival Group, radios group members to check their status as they perform a land navigation drill.
Brian Blanco / Reuters
A member of the North Florida Survival Group puts a mask on his son as they gear up to perform enemy contact drills in a wooded area during a field training exercise in Old Town, Florida.
Reuters -- The North Florida Survival Group group trains children and adults to handle weapons and survive in the wild. The group passionately supports the right of U.S. citizens to bear arms and its website states that it aims to teach "patriots to survive in order to protect and defend our Constitution against all enemy threats." Photographer Brian Blanco writes about his experience:
Jim Foster is a 57-year-old former police officer and the leader of the North Florida Survival Group. Jim was the man who, after feeling out my intentions in a two-hour meeting at a chain restaurant a few weeks earlier, had granted me permission to photograph his group’s field training exercise. It was an opportunity I snatched up without hesitation. It’s not every day that a photojournalist gets an invitation to shoot a militia gathering. Understandably, they tend to be fairly secretive groups who don’t exactly keep the media on their Christmas card lists.
Foremost on their minds was gun confiscations. Meeting the group just a few weeks after the re-election of Barack Obama, the prevailing concern among the group was when the next gun ban would be coming and how they should stockpile ammunition and weapons to prepare for it.
Read more on the Reuters Photographers Blog.
Editor's note: Pictures taken on Dec. 8, 2012 and made available to NBC News today.
Brian Blanco / Reuters
Brianna, 9, of the North Florida Survival Group hands an AK-47 rifle to Jim Foster, 57, the group's leader, before heading out to conduct enemy contact drills.
Brian Blanco / Reuters
A young boy sits on a toy, upset because his sister got to carry the rifle that he wanted.
Brian Blanco / Reuters
Jim Foster (center) critiques the performance of group members during an enemy contact drill.
Related on PhotoBlog:
- 'Teeth of the Constitution:' Light Foot Militia rises in Idaho's backcountry
- Missile launcher appears at Seattle gun buyback event
- White House releases photo of Obama firing gun
Leave a Comment:
Hmmm...Will this be featured on Sesame Street any time soon ...
Know Sesame Street teaches about how to surrender your liberty and freedom to the Supreme Power, The One, the King of Kings and the Holiest of Holies, barack obama.
Sesame Street is now the property of George Soros, subsidized by taxpayers. You know.. the Nazi Collaborator who pays no US taxes but controls about 60 percent of the liberal media.
Besides.. what about your militia group. You were on herre once bragging about your gay, Pink Pistols shooting group.
To..navyvet """
Well that's just silly ..but even you know that
No never bragged about anything ..just stated a fact
Such an avid follower
why don't you just send me your e.mail and I'll send you my bi -millennial newsletter complete with updates color illustrations and recipes... the recipe for this bi- millennial edition is for "Mushroom Clouds " served on a bed of republican rudibarkers
Teaching kids how to properly handle firearms... good.
Teaching kids how to survive out in the woods... good.
Teaching kids how to stalk food prey... good
Teaching kids how to stalk other humans... not so good.
As for AK-47s... cheep sloppy (but reliable) tools.
Get a good bolt action and learn to aim rather than spray.
good call, Sane. I have said the same thing about police departments for years. Rather than spending zillions of dollars on shiny new Glocks and assault rifles, maybe they should spend more time at the range, emphasizing the accuracy of the very first shot, obviating the need to spray...and the AK is a piece of crap. Although you basically can't jam the thing....
This is no worse than liberal parents feeding their kids a bunch of PC garbage. At this these kids are learning something that might save their life one day.
OR TAKE ANOTHER LIFE AT SCHOOL.
*note to self... if one of these kids grows up and shoots one of JOe's loved ones.. it's okay, they learned something
Teaching kids to prepare for Armageddon and an impending tyrannical government by training them in firearms is no worse than teaching them to be polite, and considerate of others.
Got it.
I grew up in a home with guns -- pistols and rifles -- but this is insanity.
And we wonder why our children worship guns instead of God although no doubt these folks consider themselves "good Christians."
By the way, wasn't Adam Lanza trained by his mother to shoot? A lot of good that did her. He shot her in the face.
'Nuff said?
Worship guns? Really? Don't think you might be over exaggerating a bit.
No exaggeration....look at the news when one of these red-faced fools is screaming "you aint a-takin' mah gun!". You think they show this much passion in church? So what do they really worship?
From the looks of the gut on some of those "survivalists," it appears they've been "surviving" mostly on McDonald's and Burger King.
Klan approved no doubt. Where are all the minorities?
Cashing welfare checks and voting obama.. where else? Funny the left wing loons never worry about the militias in Chicago or Detroit. Guess as long as gang bangers vote obama its ok.
In Chicago or Detroit they're not known as militias, they're known as gangs. And the only difference between them and these yahoos is racial makeup. And, no, all minorities don't collect welfare and vote Obama, you racist piece of crap......
Got to have them children ready when the G-man in the black helocpters comes to take your guns. Right Jethro.
Nope.. just obama's drones that he thinks give his him the right to kill Americans.
Is that all you learned in the Navy, racist paranoia and shower sex?
Most of these Gomers and Jethros gun calibers are obviously bigger then their IQs. Can you say wack jobs.
well armed and trained wack jobs...the very best kind.....er...worst kind.....the lefties always get edgy when they see the righties gunning up. As they should.
I feel bad for these people for having to put up with all this criticism about how they live. Maybe if they moved to Syria or Yemen or something, where adults and kids alike are free run the streets with AK-47's without the fear of being judged they would be much happier. I think they would be much more comfortable around people with their same values.
Actually it is the obama's that support those values of which you speak. You know.. a dictatorship. Those that love the Constitution and democracy should stay here.
OB wants a standing Army to protect the A___OLes in Washington. For you who don't want to know what that means. They will be chosen and swear to kill anyone Even their parents.. IF they rebel against Our so Called Leaders.! Put your heads in the covers and Believe what they are driving for. To Protect their a__s! There are NO AK -47s in the pictures shown on this site Just Media Lies.
If you retract your head and wipe off the brown stuff, you will be able to see the light.
Interesting stats: The simple presence of a gun in the home can increase the homicide rate in that home home by 60%. This may be due to the increased thoughts of aggression and violence that have been connected with the simple presence of a violent weapon. It is clear that the presence of a gun causes the average non-hunter to be more aggressive. A U.S. survey found that guns in the home are more likely to be used by men to intimidate women than against strangers. It is often said: “gun’s don’t kill people, people kill people.” When people do kill people, however, they are much more likely to use a gun than any other weapon. Analysis of crime records found that people who had been shot with a gun were 4.5 times more likely than average to be carrying a gun themselves at the time. Thus, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot. The increased availability of guns in a community is also related to the number of police officers killed by guns. One additional problem with guns is they can lead to rapid violent escalation of conflicts. Similar findings have been reported in 20 other countries.[14] For example, after a 1996 firearm massacre in Tasmania in which 35 people died, the Australian government passed laws to remove semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns from civilians. An analysis showed that in the 18 years before the gun law reforms there had been 13 mass shootings, but none in the subsequent decade. In summary, the main benefits of gun ownership are feeling safe, free, independent, and powerful. However, if you own a gun it is 22 times more likely to be used to kill you (suicide) or someone you love (accident, homicide in a heated argument) than a stranger in self-defense
and your ridiculous sources are????.
So what are the stats on generational welfare, drug dealing, and gang violence.
They're not ridiculous at all - I've seen the same sorts of data come out of the CDC and the Harvard School of Public Health, among others.
This can be construed as child abuse: it models so many negative things to children:
Paranoia, distrust of others, that violence solves problems, and other really neurotic behavior.
Violence and gun collecting is multi-generational and this is why.
ROTFLMAO....Child abuse??? Spending time with your kids, teaching them skills that may be useful, teamwork.
Just where is the abuse? Of course teaching them to sing songs about obama, the benefits of communism, how to hate their County.. that you cal public education.
Give it a rest.. you just focused on the guns.
Oh Yeah , this is what we need. Nut cases teaching our kids to be nut cases. Kids used as suicide bombers anyone? Now these children that have been taught how to kill people can go to school and be much more effective. Why not send them to an intelligent Sunday School and teach them the PEACEFUL ways of Christ instead of the TEA GARBAGE way of HATRED?
Know. the Nut cases teaching our kids to be nut cases are the unionized public school teachers. I think this is great.. to teach your kids how to survive on their own.
My god, Obama is out to get you, liberals are out to get you, unionized school teachers are out to get you, drug dealers and gangs are out to get you......in your fantasy world, you must be a pretty important person.....
I love this because it makes liberals and obamas alike pee their pants.
Vet, it is "no" not "know" for this usage. Once is a typo, twice is a GED. I love listening to your paranoid rantings, but please improve your grammar.
For crying out loud, yes and no are two of the first words any human learns, how can you go through life not knowing how to spell them?
I'm all for kids learning gun safety. Both my kids (one daughter one son) have taken their hunter safety class with the Missouri DNR. Nothing wrong with that at all.
This story though - a little weird, sorry. Tracking enemies? Enemy contact drills? Kids don't need this crap. Most gun owners agree with the liberals on this one. This is a goofy group...
Consider:
The terms used in the article - militia (yes, self described, survival; and the visuals - kids, guns, camo. It certainly does illicit posible outcomes, but all based on conjecture, and at worst on our fears.
All of us have no facts on what was said, taught, or expressed, but the concerns of infringement of the 2nd Amendment and possible confiscation.
The discourse on violence "could be" productive by the Administration by simply reinforcing that the 2nd Amendment is settled law. Period. End of story. Yet the rhetoric creates these scenarios we so despise. No one wants violence, let alone innocent children. But consider the fact that inner city kids have been dying in droves for a long time now without alot of outcry. Consider the question, "Why do gangs exist in the first place?"
What are the root causes? Destruction of the nuclear family? Rise of illegal drugs? Rampant overuse of legal pharma? Loss of parenting? Crime? Poverty? Is there a correlation?
Have we considered that the framing of the question is simply wrong?
The government is not interested in getting to the root of the problem.
Ultimately the human species original primate genetics will influence our species to be violent tribal and reactive rather than proactive. Unless humans genetic makeup changes the problems will continue.
The only group that does not have monkey blood in them are the RH negative group which is most likely a mutation. I would be interesting to see if this group is more sensitive or gentle but given humans also develop behaviors as a result of environmental factors that also would have to be taken into account.
Combining hard and soft sciences are always interesting but can never be seen as pure science.
That's ridiculous - you don't know squat about genetics, you're just making that up.
Tim research it instead of refuting it without proof. Most of the population's blood is RH positive. RH stands for Rhesus Monkey. Monkeys are primates. Our closest primate relative is the chimpanzee. The chimpanzee exhibits reactive tribal and violent behaviors. They also use tools grieve laugh kiss hold hands and have cultural behaviors passed down from one generation to another. There is a small percentage of the human population that has RH negative blood in them and the scientists have yet to determine where is conclusively comes from. Some think it is a mutation some think it came from a separate gene pool that did not evolve from the Monkey.
Aliens, perhaps?
Like I said, you don't know what you're talking about.
It is the parents right to teach their children the skills they think necessary for survival. I would rather see kids learn how to handle guns responsibly and understand how dangerous they can be than to remain ignorant and curious with only the glizzy violent tv shows as their guide.. When I was a young child I became curious about the shotgun in my fathers closet. My mother caught me touching the case. The very next weekend we went to my grandfathers farm and grandad gathered all his grandchildren beside him placed one of his gardens watermelons on the ground and shot it with a double barrel shotgun. He then said that could be your head if you play with a gun. When your old enough you will be taught how handle a gun until then you don't touch them. That watermelon's red flesh flying all over the ground left an indelible mark on my mind as to how dangerous a gun can be and I never touched my fathers gun until I was older and was taught how to handle it. I was five years old and yet I understood. If a child can not understand or be trusted then the guns should be locked up. Parents should be held responsible for the safety of their children.
With all due respect to your grandad's lesson, and I agree that that was the right thing to do, I don't think this is the same thing. For example, did he teach you how to track and hunt other people?
Tim did you read the article? It did not say they were teaching these kids to hunt people. It did say they were teaching these kids to survive and if necessary defend themselves. The man conducting these lessons is an retired police officer.
With regards to my grandad he did teach me tracking and hunting skills. He also taught me herb lore. You see he was half Indian. My ancestors did not murder Indians they married them.
These guys should also show these kids . . . . photos of the injuries inflicted upon its victims! So they also understand the ramifications and . . . possible prison times associated with use . . . of such a deadly weapon!
It's a wonder. Two decades ago, kids were given military rifles and force to join the rebels in a warzone in third-world African country and the world was shock. Today there's people in a develop country call USA spending time to show little kids how to use a military rifle in the wilderness as fun activities.
The question to ask is did the invention of ak47 military rifle made for purpose of teaching little kids to use it? So, why even consider it a subject to study?
For example, do you teach little kids to drive a car and take it on the expressway/freeway? Of course kids are smart and can know how if you teach them. So, sarcastically asking, why not teach them little ones to drive the car on the expressway? How much does a military rifle weighs anyway and is the safety switch easy to flip? Yup, easy so let's teach the kids! Besides, a military rifle is not even a car! So, what's the real story? Christian values is bloated moral values so playing with guns is nothing like Christianity? A relief from constant pressure to attend church???
Great, another generations of wackos in the making.
Good for them, never too young to learn gun safety.
Or how to hunt humans
...which is the antithesis of gun safety...
Better dead than red.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxyISsA0Oh0
So many victims of liberalism out here .. MSNBC newsvine has become...." I'm just another poor victim of liberalism " pity pot ..my goodness the machination's of you conservatives and your constant liberal victim-hood whine ...what a hoot
how'd you ever make it this far in life
Oh that's right... because of a liberal ideology
After reading a lot of posts regarding gun control, I have to say that far too many of the anti gun people rely too much on shallow insults and non supported criticisms. It is just a lame and lazy tactic to attack pro gun posters with your waco your delusional paranoid etc etc. Look at the history of the twentieth history and how fascism and communism murdered hundreds of millions of civilians who did not have any means of defense. If you study history you will find that civilian weapons had been either severely restricted or seized. To say it could not happen again is beyond naive it is irresponsible.
With regards to the naysayers laws don't protect people. People protect themselves and the government could care less about your safety. The government leaders are interested in their own safety not the American citizens safety. Gun sales have been steadily rising and criminal violence has decreased. Those are the facts. Check the FBI stats.
Exactly, this article clearly illustrates how these anti-government militias are just sane regular folk going out into the woods to play "Army" for a few days.
There's a lot of name calling in both directions, but there are also a lot of solid data to show that gun violence is caused by the ready availability of guns, and the more guns the more gun violence there will be. The U.S. has by far the highest gun homicide rate of any industrialized country in the world, because it has the most guns. Half the guns held by private citizens in the world are in the U.S., and a third of Americans own one or more guns. 20% of American gun owners own 65% of the guns. On average, 85 people are killed every day with a gun, 25 of them homicides, and 85% of the children in the world who are killed with a gun are killed in the U.S. The U.S. gun homicide rate is 92.5 time that of the U.K. and even 7 times that of Switzerland where guns are common but well regulated. Contrary to what the gun lobby would say, defensive gun use is relatively rare but a gun in the home is far more likely to be used against someone living there, especially in a suicide or domestic violence incident. People living in a home where there is a gun are up to 20 times more likely to be a victim of gun violence.
The U.S. gun market is not well regulated and that is the core problem with gun violence here. Gun proponents flatly deny these obvious, documented truths, and even seek to suppress their availability by lobbying Congress to outlaw collecting more such data, so it is no wonder that some might become frustrated with their behavior and apparently callous disregard for human life.
I have seen far more abusive behaviors by the anti gun posters than the pro gun ones. If gun bans worked then why has Mexico had over 55,000 murders by guns in the past three years? Mexican criminals get their guns from sources other than the US. Australia had an increase in violence when they had their little gun back program. 6.5% increase homicide 9.6% increase assaults 44% increase armed robberies. Even if you could manage to get all the weapons from the criminals they would still use violence to hurt people especially women children the weak or elderly. You may think it is rare that guns protect citizens only because the mainstream media does not report on it often. Ever ask yourself why?
Passing even more gun control laws is on par with the same strategy of the Patriot Act which was signed into law by Bush Jr which was then followed by s1867 signed by Obama. Both these laws are not Constitutional. When in history has a omnipotent governing structure ever been a safe government to live under?
The last thing I would ask you to consider is to carefully research the twentieth century's rise in Fascism and Communism how it happened how many civilians died and why. Did you know that in just 20 years Communism went from 6 percent of the worlds population to over 50 percent? There is a reason why Red became synonymous with death and war. Documentaries are an easy way to start the research.
I wanted to address you assertion that 85% of children in the world killed by guns is in America. While an interesting stat it is not accurate but a manipulation of the reality of what life is like for the average foreign civilian who can not afford or is not allowed to own a weapon. Most of the children's deaths due to criminal behavior and guns is not the US. Look at Mexico who has a gun ban. Look at the Middle East and North Africa where gun ownership is restricted and criminal gangs called insurgents or Jihadists or some of the so called Christian armies in Africa have murdered thousands of innocent children.
,,
Manipulation in what sense? Actually, gun ownership is one of the greatest threats to kids in the American home, certainly not a deterrent.
I was paraphrasing Mark Kelley, Gabby Gifford's husband. What's your source?
Tim Wikipedia could be a place for you to start with gun violence. Google world statistics on violent crime. There are stats in the Wikipedia article. Notice the US is considerably lower than what you think. Yes the US is higher than Europe but America has had to contend with South Americas extremely high rate of crime and since our government continues to not close the border that will continue to be a problem. So trying to compare US stats on violence with European figures is not a rational comparitive study and does not lend credence to the idea that more gun control is the only way to reduce crime in the US. I might add that eastern Europe has been plagued with civil wars during the last two decades with civilians largely unarmed and vulnerable to being butchered and those figures have not been included in the Wikipedia figures. There is also an interesting article that you can read Do gun bans reduce violent crime? Ask the Aussies and Brits by Glen Tschirigi. It is brief and to the point. No matter how you slice it a criminal intent on harming others will get weapons to harm those who can not defend themselves.
One technique of manipulating an argument is to isolate a number and not show as much of the whole picture as possible. While trying to give a whole picture would be difficutl if not possible in this arena we can at least acknowlege the problem and try to give as much information in order to reach a better informed analysis of the pros and cons of gun control. Given the level of corruption in the world given the level of corruption and ineptness in our government it is in my opinion unwise to give them even greater power to restrict guns. Make no mistake the end goal of the government is to disarm the population and they will try do it through laws and taxes to make gun ownership a thing of the past.
Oh I left a note about the primate genetics issue you may wish to read it and research it for yourself.
1. Wikipedia is not a primary data source.
2. The U.S. is about 14th in gun homicides, worldwide. Look at the first 13....third world countries, all of them.
3. There are plenty of authoritative sources to support the concept that more guns means more gun violence, Harvard among them.
4. You're making excuses for gun violence in the U.S. Classy.
Tim
1. paraphrasing politicians is not any data source
2. violence is violence whether it is carried out by clubs fists knives or guns etc. South America is no longer considered a third world country and Australia is certainly not a third world country. Parts of eastern Europe are not considered third world countries. Europe once before allowed guns to be restricted and the end result was Nazi Germany. Fascism is beginning to grow again in Europe. You may see in your lifetime the horrors of Fascism or a Communist takeover. Lets hope not.
3. Harvard is owned by rich corporate sources who has a vested interest in not having guns in this country. I would hardly call Universities an unbiased sources of data. I graduated from a University of over 35,000 students I can attest to the manipulation by sponsors on research be it scientific or political.
4. Insults are the last resort of those who can not deal with the frustration of someone who does not agree with them. I make no excuse I accept that gun ownership gives a method of causing harm be it due to criminal or negligent use. However, I weigh the pro and cons and choose the wisdom of our forefathers rather than using insults in an effort to win a debate. When I become frustrated I acknowledge it for what it is. I am sorry you can not understand your forefathers wisdom and hope you never become the victim of your own acceptance of giving up your rights for the safety you think to achieve by doing so. Take care.
Mark Kelley is not a politician and never has been. Australian gun violence is a fraction of ours. Harvards credentials are impeccable, and again you're making excuses for the carnage.
Stay classy.
Being insulting is not being classy. I have not insulted but disagreed with some of your suppositions and completely disagreed with further controls of American rights. The Patriot Act as well as s1867 should be revoked and until that happens most Americans will be resistant to any further restriction on the rights guaranteed in the Constitution. If you think a socialistic government is the way to go Europe or Canada would be a better option for you. I think you would feel safer there. I am signing off so if you feel the need to go for one more dig well what can I say.
You don't understand the meaning of the word socialistic, and if you're insulted by being accused of making excuses for gun violence, well, that's your own doing. I said nothing about you personally. We have a huge gun violence problem, and pretending otherwise deserves no respect whatsoever.
Rule #1 - Cardio - That group leader spent far too long on stakeouts with the doughnut box to be of any use to anyone in a 'survival situation'(read: citizen uprising, civil rebellion) requiring more than camping in the woods and playing with guns.