Mindfulness...essential for first detection...Chinese Bandit Patrolling

[Chinese Bandit 13]

'Mindfulness'...First Detection Skills of the Chinese Bandit Recon LRRP
Point Team by RANGER Jerry Conners, Chinese Bandit 13

Having hunted with SE Asian hill tribesmen prior to my tour with the
Chinese Bandits, I had the opportunity to observe hunters with quarry
detection skills that were superior to those that I had developed as a
child while hunting with relatives and friends in North America and
Europe. I was not fluent in the language of these hill tribes and the
communications barrier preventing me from discussing complex detection
methods with them; however, I was able to observe them when they first
appeared to be alerted to things of interest, things that I had not
yet detected. On several occasions I was located in a position where
I could study their movements and facial expressions when they became
aware of something that warranted investigation. In each situation,
the individual maintained a slow sweep of the eyes while advancing 'in
slow motion' and then would freeze and staring in a specific direction
and focusing all senses in an effort to analyze what had been
detected.

When I returned to Bangkok, I attempted to discuss these observations
with a hunting gardener and our family military driver who was fluent
in English. The gardener who had made my first crossbow and taught me
to use throw and gill nets in the nearby klongs and ponds believed
that I was describing the initial phase of detection when something is
noticed but not yet 'categorized'...identified. When I described 'hair
standing up at the back of my neck", the gardener smiled and replied
yes. I had experienced the sensation many times while hunting and
when traveling alone at night and believed that the experience was
something that was more associated with my imagination and fear than
that microsecond of time between detecting something and then
'knowing' what that something was. Our military driver volunteered
many comments while translating the discussion taking place with
myself and the gardener and several times mentioned Buddhist teachings
that addressed the mental process that proceeds 'knowing' yet
sensing.

One of my Thai schoolmates had recently completed his required service
as a Buddhist monk, rising at 3 AM and begging in the markets of
Bangkok. He had a new 1960 MGA sports car and I drove with him to a
coffee house near the Royal Bangkok Sports Club where he explained the
practice routines that were used in his training to developed
'mindfulness' and the spiritual importance of the unbiased state of
mind that occurred when something is first detected but not
identified. We also discussed the application for earliest detection
while hunting. He offered to provide some pamphlets that were written
in English and described several training drills to better understand
and experience mindfulness. He later provided the document and
assisted me in performing some of the training drills, including
analyzing my breathing.

When I returned upcountry on my next hunting trip, I attempted to
heighten my 'first detection' skills and better observe the tribesmen
while stalking prey. I was easily able to do so but the strain of my
efforts was initially mentally fatiguing and uncomfortable. After two
weeks of hunting, my 'mindfulness' efforts became more habitual and
pleasant. I was succeeding in detecting and observing new sights of
all kinds and the experience became a lifetime pursuit.

When I entered the military in 1963 I sought to apply 'mindfulness' to
the training exercises and prior to my deployment to the Chinese
Bandits I attempted to develop this skill with my Recon Scout Squad in
the local training areas. We patrolled day and night and I carried my
long bow to hunt squirrels and other small game while stalking deer
and attempting to experience prolonged periods of mindfulness.

In 1965 I was assigned to the Chinese Bandits and began to train my
scout squad in optimizing detection skills, including mindfulness.
While observing different members performing lead point duties, I
determined that Tyler had excellent field observation abilities and
spent many hours explaining and practicing mindfulness. After several
weeks his detection and tracking skills were significantly improved
and we were to spend many months using those skills while tracking the
NVA in our efforts to locate their units and determine any activity in
the areas where we patrolled.

Integrating tracking skills, where sight, sounds, smell, and feel
senses and the sketching of leaves, animal tracks, soils, insects,
ground cover, etc., with mindfulness are essential for developing and
enhancing first detection capabilities where seeing before being seen
is critical. I recorded many of my first NVA sightings and evaluated
those experiences in detail. I would not have survived my combat
experiences if my efforts at mindfulness had not been used.

RANGER Jerry Conners, Captain jconne...@att.net 775-847-0214
Master Parachutist (Honor Graduate of 101st ABN Jumpmaster Class),
Special Forces Weapons Expert (1964-65 SF MOI, Weapons & Branch
Courses), 101st RECONDO (Brand Number 1919), Army Aviator, AMOC
Chinese Bandit 13
"Spirit of Robert Rogers in the Footsteps of Lauri Torni and Tutelage
of Frenchy Theriault ...Chinese Bandits Penetrate Deeper and Where
Others Feared to Tread!"

Chinese Bandit Recon LRRP Team 1st Bn (ABN) 8th Cav 1965-66
http://www.geocities.com/d6566mustangs
http://www.geocities.com/d6566mustangs/history ... for more articles
on the combat and reconnaissance patrols performed by the Chinese
Bandits