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Militia prepares for disaster, not revolution
Valley County group teaches survival skills to members
"Let's say the wheels fall off the bus - and / hope they don't - we want to be prepared. "--
Dennis Stewart
BY MONICA GOKEY
for The Star -News
Dennis Stewart is the first to admit the term 'militia" is not well -liked by people. Nicknames like "Vanilla
ISIS" and "Ya'll Qaeda" don't do him any favors.
But for three years, the bad rap hasn't stopped Stewart
from trying to grow the 85th Light Horse Battalion in Valley
County.
"There's good and bad militia out there," said Stewart, of
Lake Fork. "We're not the wild critters, and we're not here to
cause harm."
As far as militias go, the 85th is small. Ada County's unit
has hundreds of members, but Stewart guessed the local
unit has about 15 active members.
At the group's recent monthly meeting in Donnelly, nine
people were present. Most were in their 40s, 50s and 60s
with an equal mix of men and women.
Roma" The Sus- Ne.., by
Dennis Stewart, center, conducts a session on radio
communications during a recent meeting of the
85th Light Horse Battalion in Donnelly.
The meeting, held at the Donnelly Community Center, was
focused on communications.
Militias prefer low -tech methods if major infrastructure fails - topographic maps over GPS devices, and
ham radios over cellphones.
Survivalist skills are at the core of what the 85th Light Horse Battalion practices. Other meetings have
focused on identifying wild edibles and medicines, preserving food and cleaning and maintaining
weapon, Stewart said.
These skills are in the vein of what Stewart says the group is all about - preparedness.
"Let's say the wheels fall off the bus - and I hope they don't - we want to be prepared," he said.
Fruit & Rumors
Small talk at the meeting varied from where to get the best fruit this time of year to the latest rumors
posted on the Internet.
Various postings say President Obama plans to impose martial law, the Orlando mass shooting was
organized by the federal government, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is quietly
building concentration camps to imprison the American people.
Members of the 85th know they can't believe everything they read on the Internet, but on the other
hand, "I wouldn't put it past our govemment," said Kevin Lukens of Donnelly.
"Yes, we prepare for our govemment to go down, but it's not likely," Lukens said.
"A natural disaster is more likely to affect us than anything else," Stewart said.
And if nothing ever happens, that's fine by Stewart, too.
"If the wheels don't fall off the bus, then we've still made new friends, spent time in the woods and
leamed new stuff," he said.
Valley County's 85th battalion is an independent militia unit organized similarly to 12 other county -
based Idaho militias. They identify as Constitutional militias - a nod to the Idaho Constitution, which
provides for a state militia.
Jeff Stankiewicz of Bonner County is the pivot point for Idaho's 12 Constitutional militias.
In his neck of the woods, the militia units are generally well received, even ignored, Stankiewicz said.
But elsewhere in Idaho, that's not the case.
"Most people are just afraid of the word," he said. "It's been ruined by people that form private
paramilitary groups."
"You can't just form your own army in this country," he said. "That's when someone ends up doing
something stupid."
Stankiewicz echoed Stewart's idea that militias serve their communities first, generally through the
local sheriffs office, but also at the state level should the governor summon them.
However, Valley County Sheriff Patti Bolen said she couldn't foresee a scenario when her office would
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call upon the 85th Light Horse Battalion.
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