Phillips' Scout 2008

General Event Information

Event Coordinator: Nathan Kobuck, Nakobuck at gmail dot com.

The event will take place on 1300 acres of private  land outside of Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania. Driving directions will be provided to all attendees upon registration. The event site will be open from noon on Friday, August 1. The event itself will kick off on Friday evening at 6 pm and run through the night until Sunday morning at 11 AM. There will be no scheduled down-times, and action is anticipated to take place throughout the night with attacks and sorties.

          The Site is a mix of open woodlands, hills and some brushy areas. The site is also pockmarked with “ore holes” and gullies that mixed with the thick undergrowth allows a lot of area for ambush. There are also a  number of trails running thru the site. Each side will be given a separate staging area on opposite sides of the property.

The overall goals for the weekend go a little beyond the standard shoot'em up event. Each side will have a set list of goals needed to be completed as well as the tactical aspect of the event. This could include aspects such as dealing with refugees, locating supplies or dealing with causalities.

Event Regulations

Rules of Engagement

1. Alan Krause will command the American troops, while …..will command the Crown troops. Your respect and cooperation will be greatly appreciated in support of their position. It will be at their discretion and choice to organize their subordinate leadership and troop dispositions. If each sides' participants are not going to function in a consolidated single entity, every step will be taken to insure that unit integrity will remain for those coming as a unit, of substantial size, when at all possible. Those attending in an individual capacity will be assigned as seen fit by their respective Commander.

2. Participants under the age of 18 should be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. No participant under the age of 16 will be permitted to be under arms, unless, upon review, prior approval is granted by the consent of the Commanders of both sides.

3. All firelocks are subject to inspection, and will be inspected, prior to being permitted on the field. The commanders will reserve the right to reject any weapon not meeting their standards of safety and authenticity, and conduct inspections when and as often as they deem necessary.. 

4. Absolutely NO live ammunition, i.e. cartridge, ball, buck, etc. shall not be brought on site.

5. All blank cartridges must be properly rolled, of durable paper, with no staples or tape used in their construction. Maximum acceptable powder charges are as follows: Rifles .50 to .62 caliber - 80 grains; Fowling pieces, fusils and carbines up to .66 caliber - 95 grains; military firelocks .69 caliber and up - 125 grains. Those with powder horns may not load directly from the horn, and must use an appropriate sized powder measure.

6. The minimum amount of cartridges for each combatant should be considered 40 to 60 rounds of blank cartridges. Most primary documentation indicates somewhere in the range of these amounts to be the basic load ordered to be carried by the soldiery. Being that our objective is not to engage in sustained, intense simulated combat, you may not use all of this, however, skirmishing and similar activities do eat into ammunition supplies as well.

7. Due to the nature of patrolling operations, rammers may be used to seat the first charge prior to moving out on a patrol. At that time, and, tentatively, following that, the use of rammers will be under the guidance of and at the discretion of the Commanders. Should this be met with disapproval by general consensus, it will be reevaluated and a decision made accordingly. In either case, it must be stressed that all participants must exercise the utmost care, common sense and intelligence at all times when handling cartridges and ramming. During hours of darkness, following the initial charge, rammers will not be used.

8. Bayonets may be fixed, and will be, but only on the order of the Commanders or their designees. Unless used to stack arms, bayonets will not be fixed or used during hours of darkness. Bayonets should be properly fitted and snug to its parent weapon. Sockets which are unreasonably loose may not be fixed.

9. Bayonets and bladed arms must be contained in an intact, serviceable scabbard when not in immediate use in an appropriate capacity. Tomahawks/belt axes must likewise have an adequate blade cover.

10. No weapon will be thrown or otherwise propelled under any circumstances.

11. No abuse of alcohol, nor any use of controlled substances will be tolerated. Period. Period. Period. Responsible consumption on Friday evening is understandable, however, once the tactical operation begins, any abuse of alcohol will be prohibited.

12. Use common sense, be courteous and respect the chain of command. We have the privilege of using this site, and the ability to avoid some of the excessive regulations imposed by government operated or larger private, high profile sites. By adhering to the ideals of common sense and intelligence, we can make this event something to remember, and one to look forward to every year. The key to this will be to act responsibly and maintain the highest degree of awareness and safety.

13. Keep in mind the nature and main objectives of this event; reconnaisance patrols and light foraging. The camps are simply a base of operations, to be used for shelter, recuperation and refitting.  Along with our desires that no sustained combat situations occur, this will likewise not be a game of "Capture the Flag" or "Capture the Enemy Camp". However, camps should be adequately guarded and secure, in the event any patrols reach the proximity of an enemy camp. Looting and otherwise unreasonable disturbing of the camps is not permitted.

Simulated combat will surely occur, and that is completely acceptable. There may even be brief periods where the combat reaches a fairly substantial intensity, but bear in mind that we are small patrols, and relief is likely not near at hand. Hence, it may well be prudent to disengage and displace to avoid committing to a general action. We cannot entirely plan exactly what will occur, but we do discourage the old "line-'em-up-and-blaze-away" mentality. The type of combat situations we foresee are more along the lines of brushing contact during patrols, raids and forays, skirmishing, and the occasional pot-shots at sentinels on post.

No gunfire will take place at distances under 30 yards. This rule is absolute. Elevating will not be required in most cases, but we also rely upon you to use common sense.

14. Close combat, or hand to hand is forbidden. Generally speaking, close combat should be unlikely to occur in an event where tactical operations are not oriented toward storming positions and the like.

15. Under absolutely no circumstance should anyone be "charging bayonets" or assaulting with an edged weapon within 10 yards of an opponent. If you find yourself alone, or with a small force, and a larger force attempts to push you with the bayonet, by all means give ground. Your historical counterparts most likely would have in those situations.

16. Casualties are to be handled on the honor system. This is one area, that, when mishandled or abused, has ruined many events I have attended in the past. Nothing save a real medical emergency or gross safety breach can cause more disruption to an event or tactical situation than the "I got you!; No you didn't!; *^## you, I did too!; That's it, I quit!" mentality. I beg you, please, avoid this situation at all costs. For the "honor system" to work, every participant is depended upon to act honorably and with maturity and sensibility. To meet this end, try to adhere to the following guidelines: If, while you are at a normal paced walk, or standing in the open, or behind an insignificant sapling or light screen of brush, and you observe someone, within 30 to 50 yards from you, level their piece and fire from a standing or concealed position, be honorable, and take the hit, at least 80% of the time. I think it would be safe to lower that percentage by 10% or so for each 10 yards distance over 50 yards. If you are taking position behind a substantial object of cover, a 15 to 25% chance should be reasonable. Running targets I'll give a 10% chance, at best, of a hit. Veteran riflemen could probably up those percentages by about 10% each. If you have a reasonable belief that an opponent has wounded or killed you, be honorable, acknowledge his success and go to ground, in the manner you see fit, but do so safely. Also bear in mind, that, due to the terrain and nature of this event, everyone should realize that there may be instances when the man you shoot at does not know you are shooting at him. If your target fails to acknowledge a hit, no matter how certain you are that you just splattered his innards to the four winds, bite your tongue, reload, and move on. Just remember, the effects of "immortality" are usually contagious, and if you don't take it when you know you've been had, it's likely your counterpart is going to return the favor somewhere along the line. Those who do become casualties, should remain in the position they fall until the action has passed well away from his general vicinity, at which time he may "resurrect", and rejoin his comrades as a fresh combatant or return to camp to await the next foray. NCO's should view it as their responsibility to ensure that, one; their troops are taking sufficient casualties as justified by the intensity of the action, and two; that their casualties are accounted for either in returning to camp or rejoining the element.

17. POW's. Prisoners may be taken during this event. This element of warfare is rarely if ever recreated at events, though being captured was probably one's highest probability of becoming a casualty statistic. As such, one might agree that surrendering to your enemy when circumstances dictate it would be an attractive alternative to death, be it real or, as in our case, simulated warfare. Prisoners should be handled in the following manner: Indications of surrender may be given by holding your firelock in a clubbed position, or by dropping your firelock and raising your hands. Prisoners may not be bound in any way by their captors. They may, however, be searched and temporarily relieved of any item that may be perceived as posing a threat to the captors.. If you find yourself in that unfortunate situation, bear it with courage and fortitude, and resign yourself to your fate. Do not attempt escape under any unrealistic or unreasonable conditions, however, if your captors are careless and you are provided an opportunity to wander off or steal away, take it. If you are discovered in that act, you will likely be shot in the back...take that as well if you miss your opportunity. Prisoner exchanges are encouraged.

18. All patrol leaders should have a whistle on their person at all times. In the event of a real life emergency, whistle should be blown with constant short chirps. This will signal the end of the scenario and all participants should home in on the source of the emergency signal to lend assistance.

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