These Great Men

How Mark and The ARA are just the most recent in a long line of failed and corrupt leaders

By now, everyone should be aware of what has gone down involving the Appalachian Rangers Association and their leader.  The ever popular Mark.  A leader of an organization that we all thought was squared away but instead, it was a hot mess led by a buffoon of a man.  It is obvious that Mark believed himself to be a leader within the preparedness community.  Unfortunately, he is only a symptom of what has been an ongoing problem within this community.  A problem of groups being led by those who see themselves as “Great Men”.  These would be great men saw themselves as leaders and pioneers of the movement.  They sought power and influence thinking they would cause sweeping change across the country.  Instead, their hubris would cause the downfall of their organizations.

Ammon Bundy

A need for the spotlight nearly collapsed the Patriot Movement

The great man that really energized the militia movement actually had no involvement within either the militia or preparedness communities.  Rancher Ammon Bundy rose to prominence back in 2014, when several militias came to his family’s defense after his cattle was seized by the Bureau of Land Management due to issues over fees and grazing rights on public land.  The presence of armed militiamen caused the federal agents to stand down and release the cattle.  This event gave militias a major victory against the federal government and thrusted the Bundy Family into the spotlight.  Ammon himself became an increasingly popular figure within the greater patriot movement.  He began gathering supporters to his cause though he claimed that he wasn’t a leader.  His growing activism would lead to Bundy and his followers occupying the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.  An act of protest in support of a similar family that was soon to be incarcerated.  The standoff would end when Bundy was arrested after a brief vehicle chase that would end with the death of follower LaVoy Finicum who was gunned down by federal agents in what the authorities ruled to be self defense.  Bundy would go on to disavow the militia movement in 2018 but continues his activism and controversy generation.

Bundy’s great man fallacy comes from his need to be the voice and face of a movement greater than his own.  It is likely that he would not have occupied Malheur if he did not have the backing of the Pacific Patriot Network.  A network of Militias that formed in the wake.  The problems began when he was also joined by the Idaho chapter of the 3 Percenters.  The national 3 Percent organizations were divided in regards to how to respond to the situation.  All commanders at the national level of these organizations gave a stand down order to all states to not get involved with the occupation.  As I was working with one such national commander at the time, I was able to ask him why such an order was given.  He stated to me that the occupation was not something to get involved in.  That many commanders were not supportive of Bundy’s actions.  The 3 Percenters were not the only ones as local residents wanted the occupiers to leave.  Also the family that Bundy was in Oregon to support the Hammonds, never wanted Bundy’s help in the first place and were more than willing to serve the prison sentences.  In the following months many 3 Percenter organizations would become less organized and split into further 3 Percent adjacent organizations.  The group I belonged to fell apart completely.  It was as if all the momentum from the original Bundy Standoff in 2014 had faded away.  Bundy decided to become the voice of people who did not want to be spoken for and in the aftermath, caused a prominent organization to become a shell of its former self.

Stewart Rhodes

Political activist turned militarized Oath Breaker

Stewart Rhodes is the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers was one of the first organizations formed in the modern militia movement.  Incorporated in 2009, Oath Keepers started as a political organization of former law enforcement and military veterans who sought to encourage those who currently serve to disobey what they saw as unlawful orders that would target American citizens.  Beyond the usual criticisms of militias, the Oath Keepers have also been accused of being nothing more than a money making scheme under the false claim of being a non profit organization.  In 2013, Oath Keeper membership was instructed to militarize fearing societal breakdown and oppression from the government.  After the election of Donald Trump, Rhodes became increasingly radicalized.  This was to the point where instead of being skeptical of the government to being a resolute Trump loyalist.  Things would eventually culminate in the January 6 Protests where several Oath Keepers were observed preparing to enter the capitol with several members even live streaming their actions within the capitol rotunda.  During the ensuing investigations and political hearings, it came to light that Rhodes sought armed individuals to act as a quick reaction force for the protests.  It is also believed that Rhodes had communications with a member of White House staff or even someone within Trump’s  inner circle seeking orders from the president to enact a coup to keep Trump in power.  Rhodes would eventually be found guilty of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Before Jan 6, fissures were already forming within the Oath Keepers because of Rhodes.  Board members stated that Rhodes' increasingly radical ideology was tearing apart the group causing the Virginia and North Carolina separated themselves from the national organization feeling that leadership had strayed from its original goals.  After Jan 6, the organization’s largest chapter in Arizona severed ties due to the actions taken at the capitol.  Rhodes was referred to by the chapter’s vice as winning the ultimate dumbass contest.  It was believed the actions taken at the capitol were in contradiction to the organization’s founding principles.  The actions of Rhodes were not in any sort of loyalty to the constitution or the oath that he was supposedly keeping. He was instead serving his own personal ambition and was willing to sacrifice his own organization to do it.

Chris Hill

A need for attention and control leads to mutiny

The 3 Percent Security Force has become the bane of my existence.  Its leader Chris Hill has become a walking meme in the process.  Callsigns are nothing new for many in the community.  Hill has 3 of his own calling himself General Holy War, General Blood Agent and has been seen with a name tape saying Doberman on his plate carrier.  Hill came to prominence due to his apparent love of media attention.  There are numerous videos from all sides of the political spectrum featuring Hill and his organization.  While he obviously welcomes their presence, he must not be aware of how few favors it does for him and his people.  Every video shows that his group lacks proper equipment, training and fitness.  It has come to the point that some in the community have made a drinking game to the videos of their training.  It became obvious to me that Hill loves the attention.  It was also apparent that Hill had made his organization all about him.  He is shown conducting drills flawlessly even though anyone with actual training would see the opposite.  During team exercises he has been shown to make sure he’s always in the middle of the action.  It is also shown that he needs to have a say in every state chapter’s decisions as shown when voting in a new member from a state that was not under his direct command.  Hill has also been known to shoot his mouth off having what would be called strong opinions regarding Muslims.  Which is ironic given there is a video circulating the web that depicts the 3 Percent Security Force in what looks like a carbon copy of an ISIS video.  Except with hick boomers.  It was such actions that caused the 3 Percent Security Force to be disavowed by the greater 3 Percent organization.

The 3 Percent Security Force suffered a major fracture in 2019.  This happened when The commanders of his Ohio chapter requested a meeting among other state commanders in order to challenge Hill’s leadership.  Instead, Hill removed the Ohio chapter from all channels of communication.  This caused a major rift throughout the entire organization.  Of the 9 chapters of the organization, 6 of them abandoned Hill and joined up with the Ohio chapter.  This new organization would be called the American Constitutional Elites.  Though Hill remains active to some degree, it is obvious that the 3 Percent Security Force is a shell of its former self.  As for the American Constitutional Elites, I have not been able to find any social media or record of the organization.  It is likely that they fell apart in a similar manner like many of the groups before.

Mike Dunn

Inexperience and youth ruin what could have been a good thing

The Boogaloo movement could have been revolutionary for the armed preparedness community.  Then Mike Dunn had to show up and fucking ruin everything.  Boogaloo started as a sarcastic reference to a SHTF scenario and underground gun culture.  It was Mike Dunn that made it into an organization.  Dunn was originally the leader of a 3% style group called the Virginia Knights.  Amid the George Floyd protests, he developed a Boogaloo style ideology and began leading protests.  During such protests he often made sure to wear a Hawaiian shirt and made several attempts to antagonize law enforcement.  He was also being interviewed by Vice News at the time where he continually made an ass of himself.  Dunn would make numerous veiled threats against law enforcement and platitudes on behalf of the greater Boogaloo community.  Dunn has been known to routinely put his foot in his mouth to the media, showing a lack of tact and professional behavior.  Dunn, chose to be a self made figurehead of a greater movement yet, his behavior has done more harm than good.

Luckily, Dunn was never taken seriously by anyone in the armed preparedness community.  He had taken further hits to his credibility due to several accusations regarding him potentially being a federal informant.  Further complications arose thanks to a failed and rather embarrassing attempt to join foreign volunteers in the war in Ukraine.  Unfortunately, he still appears to have followers as he led a protest in Gloucester County, Virginia.  However, he appears to have dropped his Boogaloo persona as his group appears to be a more conventional militia.  Dunn’s credibility has taken damage though still appears to believe himself to be a leader.  As long as people continue to follow him, he could be a continued problem for the community as a whole.

George Curbelo

Trying to be the next George Washington ends in a coup

George Curbelo is a militia leader that I have a great deal of animus for as I actually had to personally deal with him.  Curbelo was the founder of the New York Revolution.  A 3%er associated militia formed in 2013 and one of 4 that were operating in the state at the time.  He acted more like a politician than a militia leader.  Often quoting John Adams and touting that he was a board member of a regional militia council.  He would go on to announce that the New York Revolution was joining up with 2 other statewide groups to form the New York Militia.  It was at that time that I determined I needed to distance myself from the greater 3%er movement as I began to believe Curbelo saw himself as a George Washington figure for the greater militia movement.

Things would eventually come to a head for Curbelo in 2017,  when he gained the national spotlight.  Curbelo, led a subset of the greater NYM known as the New York Lightfoot Militia down to Charlottesville, Virginia in order to help keep the peace at the now infamous Unite the Right rally.  He and his organization were seen on national television intermingling with protesters on both sides while carrying rifles and wearing tactical gear.  These actions were heavily criticized by the greater community as his actions were considered to be questionable due to the extremes as the opposing viewpoints.  The NY Lightfoot’s were eventually included in a lawsuit due to the events that took place that day.  Curbelo took advantage of the situation by creating patches and referring to him and his men as the Charlottesville 32.  An act that many saw as Curbelo trying to make martyrs out of his organization.  The greater NY was done with his antics and separated themselves from Curbelo. The New York Militia is still trying to rebuild from the ground up and would eventually suffer another split over philosophical differences.  Curbelo saw himself as a leader and now has no one to lead.

Mark

Deception, ambition a need for control and the uprising of a community

Now we get to the man of the moment, Mark.  Founder of the Appalachian Rangers Association.  Mark presented the organization as a tax exempt community organization.  This would lead to many respected people in the community singing his praises and giving Mark a platform to increase his reach.  This was beneficial to Mark as he had intentions of expanding the ARA into a nationwide organization.  However, as we all now know this was not this case.  Mark has now been exposed as a liar and control freak.  It has now been discovered that not only did Mark like about his organization’s 501(c)(3) status and his service as a “Peace Officer” was just armed security.  It was also discovered that Mark had the ulterior motive of using the ARA as his own personal army and make himself a warlord in a potential SHTF scenario.  Upon learning this information, all of the people of influence have revoked their endorsements of the ARA and have openly condemned Mark’s behavior and actions.

The ARA as we know it is no more.  Smokey the Applachistani released a series of articles exposing the public to all of these actions.  Almost immediately, Mark resigned from the ARA and shut down all social media, web pages and internal communications networks of the organization.  Most in the organization were left out in the cold as Mark had decided to take his ball and go home as opposed to addressing the information that has come to light.  As of right now, the remnants of the organization are attempting to rebuild from the ground up and avoid the mistakes made by its former leader.

History has shown that Mark is not the first of these would be great men.  Unfortunately, he more than likely will not be the last.  However the ARA has left what I hope will be a lasting effect in the community.  Many have called for an increase in self policing within the community to ensure situations like these do not happen again.  The spotlight is now on those who would attempt to become the next great man.  One can only hope that with a desire for a better class of organization that the community will better scrutinize those who think themselves as such.