Engaged in a firefight at an airport in Lourenco Marques, Rousseau encountered a guerilla fighter armed with an AK-47. In this work she estimated that around 100 Americans served with the Rhodesian Security Forces between 1976 and 1980. [16], The Rhodesian Security Forces were considerably expanded over the war. [62][76], The nationalist groups that were fighting the Rhodesian regime and many progressive groups worldwide considered the volunteers to be mercenaries. The Portuguese forces collaborated with Rhodesia which had experience from the Bush War in the early 1960s to create special forces teams to deal with FRELIMO. Rousseau was fighting at the airport at Loureno Marques, which is now called Maputo. I came about after Rhodesian mercenary Mike Rousseau told the story of an encounter he had in combat at an airport. The Mozambique drill, originally developed by a Rhodesian mercenary, MIke Rousseau, is a standard practice drill for self defense. Rhodesian Mike Rousseau was serving as a mercenary in the Mozambican War of Independence. You sweat just standing still. page. [47], The Rhodesian Special Branch sought to vet all of the foreign volunteers for security risks. [48] The British intelligence agencies also infiltrated agents into the Rhodesian Security Forces.[49]. [63], After completing training, many of the volunteers were assigned to the all-white Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI) and particularly its 3 Commando sub-unit. The ZANU was supported by China and the ZAPU by the Soviet Union, both of which were communist countries. These men were often directed to wear Rhodesian uniforms, and the South African government falsely claimed that some had volunteered for the Rhodesian Security Forces. Blisk's character is based off Rhodesian mercenary Michael Rousseau, who popularized the shooting technique known as the Mozambique drill. In a veritable ocean of blood, one otherwise trivial engagement gained lasting notoriety. He named it after the country where the incident occurred, dubbing his drill the Mozambique Drill.. Soldier of Fortune ran large numbers of articles on foreigners in the Rhodesian Security Forces during the Bush War; each edition published between 1975 and 1980 included at least one article on the subject. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to use this website. Over the years, this drill has morphed into a variety of other drills and, if you put any two firearms instructors together, youll get a different opinion as to how its to be properly executed. Britain and the United Nations Security Council imposed wide-ranging trade and other sanctions on Rhodesia with the objective of forcing it to return to its previous status. He also edited Shooters Bible Guide to Firearms Assembly, Disassembly, and Cleaning; 50 Guns That Changed the World; and Gun Traders Guide. If I were to guess, I would say Rousseaus ammo was a 115-grain with a muzzle velocity of 1,200 fps. During the Mozambique War of Independence (1964-1974) mercenary Mike Rousseau was fighting at the airport in Moputo. So how does a Rhodesian mercenary figure into the story? Jews Can Shoot is a civil rights group that honors the memory of the Holocaust to preserve, protect and defend the Second Amendment and was formed for the purpose of education regarding gun laws, gun rights, legal precedent and cause-related advocacy. Let your fellow shooters know share this article using the Facebook, Twitter and other social media icons below. [96][97] In January 1980 the British Lord Privy Seal, Ian Gilmour, stated that the British government had committed during the negotiations that led to the Lancaster House Agreement to not remove foreigners from the Rhodesian military prior to the election. If a few hundred Jewish fighter in the Warsaw Ghetto could hold off the Wehrmacht for almost a month with only a handful weapons, six million Jews armed with rifles could not so easily have been herded into cattle cars. The failure to stop drill is a great drill but it is only a drill, and one of many. [19][20] In April 1979, 60,000 members of the military and police were on active duty to protect that month's Rhodesian general election. Hitting the T-zone is a challenge. In the 1980s, the Los Angeles Police Department began teaching the drill but renamed it the more politically correct Failure Drill. While a thousand organizations use the Holocaust as a platform for speeches about tolerance, Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Children Of Jewish Holocaust Survivors [Jews Can Shoot]. [80] Many Africans believed that the inaction of the western governments demonstrated their lack of commitment to combating white minority rule in Rhodesia and South Africa. Although the legendary Col. Jeff Cooper is credited with developing the Mozambique Drill, he had a little help. Portugal still maintained strong control over Mozambique. While engaged in fighting at the airport of Loureno Marques (modern-day Maputo), Rousseau was armed with only a Browning HP35 pistol. He has trained with some of the countrys finest firearm instructors in handguns, rifles/carbines, shotguns and long-range shooting. Even better (although much more difficult), make the final shot as youre moving offline. [10] This ideology attracted support from many mainstream conservative politicians and military veterans in the United Kingdom and United States, as well as from some far right groups in those countries. This is an effective way to stop a threat that isnt immediately stopped by two shots to the bodys center mass. Copyright 2023 Jews Can Shoot. The drill was inspired by an incident encountered by Rhodesian mercenary Mike Rousseau during the Mozambican War of Independence (1964 to about 1974). Although two shots to the vitals of an attacker will stop a threat cold in most situations, it doesnt work 100 percent of the time. Rounding a corner Rousseau found himself unexpectedly face to face with a FRELIMO guerilla armed with an AK47 at a range of about ten paces. [4] UDI was illegal under British law, and was regarded as such by almost all other countries and the United Nations. The Carter administration considered taking steps to stop Americans serving in Rhodesia, but this did not result in any policy changes. [22][27] Men with previous military experience, and especially service in wars, were preferred. [61] These pay rates were lower than those in some other armies; for instance, they were around half the levels in the United States Army and between 50 and 60 per cent of the Australian Army's pay scale. [66] The difficult conditions contributed to high desertion rates. The story goes that this technique originated with a Rhodesian mercenary, Mike Rousseau. [81], The British government was opposed to its citizens fighting for Rhodesia. [39][40][41] Sources differ on whether these men were paratroopers or members of the French Foreign Legion. However, even with two new and bleeding nipples, the guerrilla was still coming at him, so Rousseau tried for the head. European colonial powers like Belgium and Portugal fought to defend their interests, but the rebels had little to lose and everything to gain. Before it was even a drill, it was actual shots fired in a gunfight. Click List of battleships of the United States Navy, List of aircraft of the Malaysian Armed Forces, http://practicalfirearmstraining.com/reading/HandgunDrillsPDF.pdf, Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, USMC manual CMC-37R of 8 Feb 2006: METHOD OF TARGET ENGAGEMENTS. Upon hearing the story of Rousseaus encounter, Cooper incorporated a three-shot drill into his training at the famous Gunsite Academy. Rousseaus exploit turned into the Failure Drill and was included in the Academys curriculum starting in the late 1970s. These letters were closely scrutinised, as many of the men who had written them were considered "obviously nuts" by the Rhodesian Army's recruitment officer Major Nick Lamprecht. The Rhodesian Front's ideology held that the end of colonial rule in Africa and the development of African nationalism during the 1950s and 1960s had been the result of international communism aided by a policy of appeasement towards African nationalists by the United Kingdom and other western countries. The bottom line: Accurate head shots are hard. Successful applicants were then offered a rank in the security forces. People have an annoying habit of wanting to move around when you are shooting at them. Seeing that the fighter was still advancing, Rousseau attempted a head shot that hit the guerrilla through the base of his neck, severing the spinal cord. All rights reserved. [22], From the mid-1970s the Rhodesian government began placing advertisements seeking volunteers in the international media. Heres the connection. Rousseau hit an . [98], The ZANU won the February 1980 Southern Rhodesian general election. Transitioning between targets can take some getting used to, especially for shooters still trying to get some experience under their belts. |-- Places The Portuguese government banned Rhodesian recruitment in the late 1970s, but was unable to enforce the legislation. Anything less than three seconds is very good. [82] British citizens were prohibited from joining the Rhodesian Security Forces under the terms of an embargo enacted in 1968, with those who did so potentially facing fines or imprisonment. Guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front (or FRELIMO) became embroiled in a war of independence with Portugal. Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators. This is a great exercise to work on speed, accuracy and self-defense tactics. [34] The Rhodesian government paid the airfares of volunteers who were unable to afford to travel until 1977. You can support the efforts of Jews Can Shoot that Nothing Says Never Again Like an Armed Jew. [66], Under the terms of the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement that ended the war the British government resumed control over Rhodesia in December 1979, with the country temporarily reverting to the colony of Southern Rhodesia until elections could be held. Rousseau immediately performed a double tap two shots to the center of the torso. This unit performed poorly and committed atrocities that included raping women during operations. The volunteers frequently received a hostile response from Rhodesians in the units they were posted to, and many ended their contracts early as a result.