 If I don't have night vision, should I even bother going out at night? Hello everyone, Dylan Schumacher, Citadel Defense. And I put out a post recently that I just said something like, hey, you know, the sun's setting early. You know, the December 21st was the shortest day of the year. So these are the time of the year when it gets dark early, right? So get out, take advantage of those early sunsets and get your night work in. And someone had commented and they said, hey, you know, well, I wish, but I don't have night vision. And I come in back and I said, well, hey, you don't need night vision, like get out there, my man. And I said, well, you know, you should talk about that more. And I thought, that's a good idea. So this one's for you, my friend. So is it worth going out at night even if you don't have night vision? Yes, the answer is absolutely yes. Now, again, let's be clear, caveat here, right? If you were ever to go out and fight and someone has night vision and you don't, you were at a severe disadvantage, okay? That's just facts. Like night vision is the one, I've heard it called the one superpower you can buy. It is a significant, significant help, all right? Because you can see at night better. Hence night vision, right? So it really is a big help in that department. However, I do not think that this should preclude you from exercising your nighttime skills. You should still go out at night and patrol at night. Even if you only have a white light on your gun, you should still do that, right? You should still get used to being in the dark. What's it like to be outside at night in the woods or rural area and move through the dark? How are you gonna communicate with your team in the dark? Okay, how far away do we have to be now? Do we have to be like nuts to butts up on each other because nobody can see hand signals anymore? How are we gonna navigate this problem? I think there's, look, night vision is a severe advantage. Again, I'm not disputing that. However, there's gear, night vision is helpful to have, and then there's skill proficiency. And those aren't, while night vision gives a big advantage, no matter how skilled you are, however, I will still say, building your level of skill will never hurt you, right? It would be better for you to go out, train at night, become proficient at night, and then if push comes a shove and you're like, well, we would go out at night, but there are bad guys out there with night vision, we don't have it, so we're just gonna not do that. We're gonna make that tactical strategy decision to not do that, that's fine, I get that. But what I'm saying is, don't let these future possible maybe scenarios prevent you from gaining that proficiency you can gain now. And maybe down the road, you can afford night vision, or maybe down the road, one of your buddies gets it, and then he's able to guide your team better in the dark, whatever, I don't know. But no matter what gear you have now, you can still go out and get good in the dark. Light infantry, which is what we should be as American minute men who are embracing our martial American heritage, should be proficient in the dark time, okay? We just should, we should be at home in the dark, we should wrap ourselves in it like a cloak. That should be one of our main operating times, is at night, and we should get good at that. Look, I tell people all the time, if you have a rifle, a ruck, and a rig, right, like a chest rig, we can do a lot with that, a lot, okay? We can make that work. Do I want you to have some of the fancy tools in the cans and the night vision and the lasers and, you know, whatever? Yes, of course, obviously. However, just having the basics, a rifle, a rig, and a ruck, really allows you to start building your skill base. And then as your budget allows and time allows and you're able to grow into more gear, then you are prepared to receive it, right? Throwing night vision at a novice, it's a waste of good technology, right? Because they're not prepared to receive it. They haven't put in the time to gain the skill sets in order to maximize that technology, right? And what we need to do is, again, with these early sunsets, go out and maximize your skill set so that if the technology ever does come to you, you're prepared to receive it. There's a lot that you can learn from being out at night that doesn't require night vision. Like I said, how are we gonna communicate night? How are we gonna move at night? Do we need to move slower? You do, okay? But experiencing that is a little different thing. How, what's our, do we need different SOPs from when we're out at night during the daytime? Do we need to add a couple of things or tweak a couple of things or change something here? How well do I know the area that I typically go patrolling in? Well, go out at night, you're gonna find out, right? Like, you're gonna learn about this stuff. So, all you need really is a pair of eyes. Make sure, especially if you're wanting through the woods, boys, you're wearing eye protection, especially at night because taking a stick in the eye is not gonna be good for anybody. So, I would just like to encourage you to go out there at night, gain that skill proficiency, start getting good at moving at night. Start getting good at moving quietly at night. Start getting your team used to functioning together at night, regardless of what equipment you have. You should start to get good at night and hopefully one day, the Lord Jesus will bless you with night vision and then you will be able to maximize that benefit. So, I hope that's helpful. I hope that inspires you to get out there at night, boys. This is the best time of the year. I know it's cold depending on where you live. I know it can be uncomfortable, blah, blah, blah. Nobody cares. Go out there at night, learn to be deadly in the dark. Do brave deeds and endure.