-Caveat Lector- April 02, 1999 Y2K fears provide new grist for Gritz Christian Patriot leader warns of chaos as 2000 nears By Martin Kuz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> LAS VEGAS SUN Random experiences will steel a man against the uncertainty of the millennium's end. Sucking milk out of a dead goat, for instance. Drinking cow's blood. Seasoning a hunk of animal flesh by dipping it in urine. Just ask Bo Gritz. After surviving the jungles of Vietnam and its assorted delicacies, the retired Army Green Beret can only smile about the anxiety fanned by the Millennium Bug. How could a possibly chaotic start to the 21st century compare to suckling on a goat's teat? "I know something about adversity," the 60-year-old Gritz said, releasing a raspy chuckle. "I like camping out, I've got my German shepherd and my Harley-Davidson, so I'm not looking to have any problems myself." But the Vietnam War hero, onetime presidential candidate and leader of the right-wing Christian Patriot movement is savvy enough to realize plenty of others lack his Year 2000 confidence -- not to mention his gun collection. So Gritz, never one to run from publicity or an unorthodox business opportunity, has found a way to cash in on the Year 2000 Bug. Y2K, as it's more commonly known, refers to the much-discussed computer glitch that has doomsayers penciling in the apocalypse for Jan. 1. In recent weeks, Gritz, who lives in Sandy Valley about 45 miles southwest of Las Vegas, has hopped on the convention circuit to preach Y2K readiness. He attends "preparedness" expos and gun shows across the country, from Tulsa to Philadelphia, urging audiences to hunker down in anticipation of martial law and the advent of a New World Order. At the heart of what the certified Scoutmaster tells his listeners is an amended version of the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared -- and be armed. "If Americans could be as prepared as a Green Beret, they wouldn't be so damn paranoid or so confused or worried about the future and what's happening with Y2K," Gritz said. His convention appearances mark the latest jab into the public eye for the irrepressible Gritz (rhymes with "rights"), who has kept a low profile -- for him, anyway -- since Sept. 20. On that day six months ago, Gritz, distraught that his wife of 24 years, Claudia, had recently requested a divorce, shot himself in the chest with a Colt .45. The bullet ricocheted out his left armpit, leaving him injured but very much alive. Skeptics speculated about Gritz's true intentions -- this is, after all, the soldier credited with killing an estimated 400 Viet Cong, someone who's presumably better than most at taking a human life. That the incident occurred along an Idaho highway -- where it was inevitable that someone would find his bleeding body -- deepened doubts about whether Gritz wanted to die or just needed a hug. Or to make fresh headlines. Relaxing in the living room of his 4,000-square-foot ranch-style home in Sandy Valley, Gritz doesn't necessarily deny harboring a life wish. He instead agreed with the eldest of his four children, Jim, 41, who has said that his father's actions were an extreme display of heartbreak. "I don't know how a bullet can go in and strike my chest and go out my armpit, but it did," Gritz said, his words coated in a slight Oklahoma twang. "So, I get a second chance." Gritz certainly looks no worse from his brush with self-ventilation, appearing more fit than men half his age. A healthy thatch of silver hair sits atop a meat-and-potatoes face. Below Popeye forearms he wears a POW bracelet on his right wrist and a watch the size of a waffle iron on his left. His massive hands idly wield a jackknife with a 5-inch serrated blade. Given Gritz's wartime and post-Vietnam exploits, Y2K preparedness sounds like an unusually tame pursuit. But then so would parachuting into Kosovo. Consider his testosterone-splattered resume: Earned 62 decorations for valor during a 22-year military career, retiring in 1979 with a rank of lieutenant colonel. The memoirs of Gen. William Westmoreland detailed Gritz's heroism in a chapter titled "The American Soldier." Led several POW rescue missions into Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand during the early 1980s. None of Gritz's forays turned up U.S. soldiers, although his efforts partly inspired Sylvester Stallone's "Rambo" movies. In 1989 a U.S. District Court judge acquitted Gritz of passport violations related to the missions. Negotiated a peaceful end to the siege at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992, convincing white separatist Randy Weaver to surrender to federal authorities. Gritz had less success in a similar role three years ago when authorities squared off against the so-called Freemen in Jordan, Mont. Was arrested in September 1996 for allegedly trying to kidnap two brothers on behalf of a Connecticut mother who was seeking to regain custody of them in her divorce case. Police also arrested Jim Gritz, and father and son are scheduled to appear Tuesday in an Enfield, Conn., state superior court on charges of attempted kidnapping. Each faces a maximum sentence of 40 years. Organized a ragtag army of 75 searchers last fall to scour the forests of North Carolina for suspected abortion-clinic bomber Eric Rudolph. They went home empty-handed -- except for gaining the derisive moniker "Bo's Hornet Hunters," a name coined by locals when a few of the group's members received medical treatment for wasp stings. Yet Gritz's interest in Y2K jibes perfectly with his other post-military endeavors, including his 1992 bid for president, in one important respect: a rabid distrust of government. Indeed, he quotes the Book of Revelations, Niccolo Machiavelli and even Maxwell Smart in contending that certain "unelected elitists" that comprise a "shadow government" have known about the Y2K Bug since the 1960s. Those rogue officials envision a world without borders controlled by a unified international government, Gritz said. Their plot will be aided by the Y2K Bug's disruption of the computer networks that run everything from power grids to water systems, triggering a worldwide breakdown that he predicts will last at least a couple of years. The resulting hysteria will reduce the masses to begging for a solution. The new centralized government will offer to restore order only after it imposes two primary conditions: the replacement of monetary systems with an electronic chip implanted in every man, woman and child, and the worship of one God by all people. Or so says Bo. "We have become dependent on the computer as a slave to us. But when the computers fail, do we become slaves to the people who control or understand the computers?" he said, letting the question linger for effect. Whether Gritz really frets about that scenario, or whether he's a shrewd businessman-cum-huckster playing the fringe card to further his own interests, remains up for guess. But for good measure he noted that leaders throughout history -- Julius Caesar, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mao Tse-tung -- have sought to bend the world to their will. "Why wouldn't we have people today who are interested in doing the same thing?" he said. Gritz bolsters his claims by citing sporadic news reports of big business, public utilities and countries with nuclear arsenals such as Russia and China struggling to become Y2K-compliant. He relays these "warning signs" to his convention audiences, listeners of his daily radio show and subscribers to his monthly newsletter, exhorting them to become self-reliant before catastrophe strikes. "It's coming -- get ready," Gritz said. To that end, Gritz urges individuals to invest in a water-filtration system and a backup generator, as well as to stockpile food, clothing and, above all, guns -- lots of guns. Should Y2K cast the world into chaos, he forecasts that firearms -- whether for self-defense, trading or selling -- will prove the hottest commodity of the new millennium. (Asked how many guns he owns, Gritz turned coy: "More than Randy Weaver.") Gritz also plugs his SPIKE (Specially Prepared Individuals for Key Events) training classes that trade on his Delta Force background. He travels from city to city to conduct the course, teaching wannabe survivalists -- who pay $500 apiece -- a range of skills, from counter-terrorist driving to long-range shooting to, naturally, animal preparation. Concerns about Y2K compelled Gritz to establish a "Christian covenant community" in Lewiston, Idaho, four years ago. Almost Heaven, billed as an enclave immune to government intervention, has since lured about 175 families with its promise of tranquility and simple living. In adherence to the patriot credo and as part of Almost Heaven's covenant, residents vow to uphold their neighbors' constitutional rights. In recent months, however, the community has endured severe criticism from both its own residents and those living nearby. They describe Almost Heaven as little more than a militia-minded cult and fault Gritz for destroying what had been a pristine area. Mention of the charges brings a dismissive grunt from Gritz. A cult promotes a church, a self-aggrandizing leader and exclusive membership, none of which apply to Almost Heaven, Gritz argued. "There's no concern for race, religion. You can be a homosexual if you want to. If you're an American, you can own property up there," he said. One person who won't live up there anytime soon is Gritz himself. A judge awarded Almost Heaven to Claudia Gritz as a part of the couple's divorce settlement, prompting Bo Gritz's retreat to Sandy Valley. Gritz doesn't know at this point where he will be when it's time to ring in the new millennium. His only sure plan is to keep his feet planted on terra firma -- a certified flight instructor who owns two small commuter planes, Gritz is wary of how Y2K could effect aircraft computers. Beyond that, he pledges only "to stay in the field to help people until God and government say I can't do it anymore." And, he added with a smile, "If there's trouble in Las Vegas, if there's shooting instead of negotiating, give me a call. I'll be there." Bill DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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