by John Piland 

At the big Grand Tactical, held a few years ago at Land Between the Lakes, a great may men, perhaps the vast majority (including all the webfoots I saw!) carried entirely too much gear. They also made some inappropriate choices, and, between the two, paid the price for it. Don’t just take my word for it – ask “Cookie” the next time you see him. His generous nature had him carrying flour for bread making, rice (uses too much water and too much fire), enough food to feed the whole platoon, and even a full 5th of Jamison’s Irish Whiskey (it was St. Patrick’s Day weekend). He really shouldn’t have done any of that (tho if he’d have told me about the Jamison’s sooner. I’ve have volunteered to carry that for him!)