“We inserted in Garmsir at the very end of April, and for about three weeks we were always in some type of fight in the morning and every evening,” said Young. On May 4, 2008, while providing suppressive fire in support of a route clearance mission to establish the battalion line of communication, Young and his platoon endured a barrage of enemy indirect fire. As rounds impacted in close proximity of Young, he ensured the safety and protection of his Marines while simultaneously directing an artillery attack onto the enemies’ fortified position, successfully deterring enemy fire to allow the route clearance mission to advance. First Lieutenant Christopher M. Young (left), the Combined Anti Armor Team platoon commander with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, stands with Col. Paul J. Kennedy, the 2nd Marine Regiment commanding officer, after receiving the Bronze Star Medal with combat distinguishing device, last August for combat actions while serving in Garmsir District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan during March 15 to August 10, 2008, in support of Operation Azada Wosa. Within the first 30 days of the operation, as a second lieutenant, Young led his Marines on 40 direct-fire engagements, protected his Marines and accomplished other achievements in connection with combat operations against the enemy as platoon commander of 3rd platoon, Company A, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Photo: Lance Cpl. Brian D. Jones The following day, he successfully foiled an enemy ambush that attempted to engage his Marines while on patrol. “An [insurgent] appeared through the tree line about 10 meters from me, and he shot at me and [my sergeant],” recalled Young. “He hit [the sergeant], fortunately in the side [small arms protective insert]. We returned fire killing him. Other enemy fighters fled the tree line. We were able to prosecute more enemy who were fleeing from the area.” Young’s instinct and skills as a battlefield leader stopped the enemy in their tracks, giving his Marines the opportunity for numerous victories. Young said his platoon’s actions secured the company’s southern flank, preventing further assaults by the enemy. Young has a new group to lead now as a first lieutenant. He serves as the platoon commander for the Combined Anti-Armor Team, Weapons Co., 1/6, and his new Marines can rest assured following his closing statements at the ceremony, that their personal well being is a major priority. Young ended by saying his biggest fear was letting down his Marines. —Lance Cpl. Brian D. Jones, USMC And that Churchill does, through case studies, exploring how Founding-era insurgent violence precedents were adopted in the Fries Rebellion, an armed uprising against a house and land tax in late 18th century Pennsylvania. Churchill provides a guided tour for how the nation strayed from the vision of the Founders, supplanting libertarian revolutionary memories with an ethos of national patriotism, noting the profound shift this marked in the relationship between individual and state. VIEWS, NEWS AND REVIEWS TO SHAKE THEIR GUNS IN THE TYRANT’S FACE T On May 15, exhausted from a night’s operations behind the enemy’s defensive line, Young successfully employed an ambush on four insurgents, killing two and mortally wounding the others. “In the midst of all that was happening we caught a fire team of [insurgents] out in an open poppy field coming to man their positions and we successfully [engaged them],” Young recalled. 70 here are essential books those interested in truly understanding the militia and its relevance to our times need to have in their libraries. This is one of them. Robert H. Churchill is a professor and historian who, per his University of Hartford biography page, “specializes in the history of the American Revolution, early national political culture, and American political violence.” Attorney David T. Hardy had this to say on his “Of Arms and the Law” blog: “Robert Churchill, an excellent historian (we cited him several times in our [Academics for the Second Amendment] Heller brief), has out a new book on the militia movements. I put it in the plural because he documents how the recent movement fits into the long term historical context.” And we see resulting conflicts, from the Civil War-era Sons of Liberty conspiracy through to the Great Depression, with the Brown Scare response to the rise of the Black Legions. He continues on through the post-Waco/Ruby Ridge militia resurgence to where we are now, introducing us to key leaders of a movement that is not the monolithic stereotype many assume, as evidenced by the schism separating malignant factions promoting hate from Constitutionalists promoting rights for all. If we truly believe that the Constitutional militia “consists… of the whole people,” this book is vital to understanding our proper and moral role. —David Codrea To Shake Their Guns in the Tyrant’s Face: Libertarian Political Violence and the Origins of the Militia Movement, Robert H. Churchill, ©2009, Cloth, 6"x9", 384 pages, $35, ISBN: 978-0-47211682-9, University of Michigan Press, c/o Perseus Distribution, 1094 Flex Dr. Jackson, TN 38301, www.press.umich.edu. WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • FEBRUARY 2010
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