I and three other members of the Georgia Militia arrived in Virginia Saturday evening. On Sunday we met up with Daniel and about twenty other volunteers for a pre-event recon of route and both sites. Since the four of us in the Georgia Militia had brought our gear which included IFAK and comm, we volunteered to be positioned in separate areas of the event.

The event went off without a hitch. Only four counter demonstrators showed up. One of them thanked me for my service, so I said thank you. I didn't know she was a protester, and she didn't know I was militia. If you see pics of them, she is the one with the "they are terrorists, not patriots" poster.

I took position in the parking lot and moved to the rear as more cars arrived. It gave me a chance to talk to many people who had no idea what was going on. I would say that 80% of the comments were positive. One woman with her child immediately called her husband and brother-in-law to come down. The husband showed up in a Nobama tee-shirt and brought a really nice AR.

I had the opportunity to talk to many of the LEOs there. One SWAT officer I spoke at length with told me that he spent a lot of time telling the beat cops that we were very professional and presented no danger. As a side note, if you want to get a SWAT officer to really talk to you, start out by asking him what firearm he normally carries.

I was very disappointed at the turn out, but I can understand that many feared some sort of violence could have taken place. I did meet a whole bunch of great people. Everyone on the security detail were johnny-on-the-spot with both eyes open. We identified several plain clothes officers which was confirmed after talking to the individuals. Many of the reporters said they were happy because they knew their cars would not get broken into during the event.

I had several interviews with reporters. The international reporters were especially interested in talking about militias in the US. It gave me the opportunity to try to dispel some myths that are perpetuated in the US media.

In all, I am very happy with how the event turned out. It was nice to get a chance to actually use the training and the gear I have acquired while in the Georgia Militia.