[Hugo Teufel]

[The following article is scheduled for publication in an upcoming issue of <A HREF="http://www.tacticalshooter.com">Tactical Shooter</A> magazine.]


Global Studies Group, Inc.’s Police Precision Rifle Course
By Hugo Teufel


Weapons are an important fact in war, but not the decisive one; it is the man and not the material that counts.
-- Mao Tse Tung

The soft, arid breeze of the southern Arizona afternoon was deceptive. Had I been in Tucson on vacation, I might be enjoying a tall, cool drink while resting in the shade, sitting next to a pool. Instead, I was preparing for yet another movement exercise with my primary weapon, an Armament Technology AT1-M24. I was hot, tired and thirsty as I hefted the nearly fifteen-pound rifle for an “Australian peel” exercise. I was going through yet another sniper school: Global Studies Group, Incorporated’s (GSGI) Police Precision Rifle course. “Why was I doing this to myself again?” I asked.

My trip to Arizona had begun weeks earlier with a facsimile transmission I had received from GSGI. The facsimile was in response to inquiries I had made in 1998 regarding training under GSGI’s renowned instructors. For those not familiar with the school, GSGI is a California-based company that specializes in security-related services, training programs, and crisis management. GSGI is composed of former U.S. Navy SEALs, highly experienced law enforcement agents, and martial artists who have had a wide range of experience in various military and law enforcement disciplines. GSGI offers training and technical support services in the areas of small arms, executive protection, and asset protection.

I called GSGI and spoke with Kathryn Humphries. A vivacious and engaging woman, Kathryn gave me a quick rundown on the course and advised that I speak with her husband, Harry, for more details. Harry Humphries is, of course, the founder of GSGI. A former Navy SEAL, Humphries has been training for over 40 years, both in the military and with academic institutions such as Illinois University and Eastern Michigan University. While in SEAL Team Two, Humphries – Harry the Hump – served with the legendary Dick Marcinko in Vietnam. Not one to slow down, Humphries is engaged in a number of endeavors, from bringing Marcinko’s story to the big screen to traveling to the former Yugoslavia to report on the conflict.

I contacted Humphries and we completed our arrangements. What surprised me was Humphries’ knowledge of my background. I was impressed with his thoroughness and attention to detail. I knew my shooting partner, Ofc. Graham Dunne of Aurora, Colorado PD SWAT, and I would have to be on our toes during the course.

Humphries had mentioned that Jack Furr and Marshall Teague would join him in the instruction of the course. Devotees of Gunsite Orange should be familiar with Jack Furr. In addition to having over 25 years’ law enforcement experience working with various state and federal agencies, Furr was the Chief/Senior Range Master at Gunsite Training Center. Furr also was the Senior Instructor, Firearms and Tactics, with the U.S. Department of Energy Central Training Academy.

Marshall Teague spent eight years in the U.S. Navy, with extensive experience assigned to PBRs in Southeast Asia. Teague also has law enforcement experience. In addition to being an instructor in sniper/long gun tactics, Teague has 32 years’ experience in hand to hand fighting disciplines. A bell sounded in my head when I heard Teague’s name, though I did not know why. I would remember soon enough.

Humphries also had mentioned that GSGI would have a local (Tucson) associate in this course, Ronin International. I decided to contact one of Ronin International’s principals, Jim Navarro, to get a better sense of their involvement. Navarro, a friendly, high-spirited former serviceman, clued me in to their participation. Ronin provides top-rate tactical equipment at good prices to law enforcement agencies and personnel in the Tucson area. Hearing that some of the Southern Arizona-based teams were in need of training and certification of new sniper team members, Navarro worked with GSGI to make the course a reality. Ronin would have an important logistical role during the course, one I would appreciate greatly as the temperature soared into the triple digits and the sun mercilessly beat down on us.

GSGI would be using two facilities for this course: the Pima County Sheriff’s Office, Denis D. Concini High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Training Center; and the Three Points Firing Range, a private, members-only range in the Tucson area. The HIDTA Training Center would be the primary facility.

For those unfamiliar with the Tucson area HIDTA Facility, it is a tremendous example of federal, state, and local governments working together towards a common goal. Constructed by Joint Task Force Six, the facility is a state-of-the-art training center designed to train federal and state law enforcement agents, with an emphasis on drug trafficking in the Southwestern United States. The facility has a 200-meter rifle range, two 50-meter handgun/subgun ranges, a Hogan’s Alley, a SWAT tower, three classrooms, showers, a cafeteria, and office space. Federal government agencies using HIDTA include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs, Secret Service and Bureau of Prisons. Local agencies using the facility include Tucson and South Tucson PDs, and Pima and Cochise County Sheriff’s Departments. The Facility is run/overseen by Earl Hines, a dedicated veteran law enforcement agent and active High Power competitor. (Readers of Precision Shooting may recognize Earl’s name. He is quite an accomplished competitor.)

As I mentioned previously, my partner for this course would be Graham Dunne. A member of Aurora’s SWAT Sniper Team and a former Marine, Dunne has been in law enforcement for five years, with the last two on SWAT, and is a firearms and personal weapons instructor both at Aurora’s Police Academy and within his department. Having trained with Dunne previously, I knew he would be a great teammate, but a high-intensity one.

We had arrived at Tucson on Sunday afternoon to acclimatize and get a good night’s sleep before the start of the course on Monday. The following morning we headed off to the HIDTA facility for class. As with most sniper schools, the course began promptly, with Humphries giving a brief discussion on GSGI. Next, he addressed a number of important issues, prior to starting the sniping portions of the lecture. Importantly, Humphries emphasized, there would be stress throughout the course. I was glad to hear this. Though stress is not always a pleasurable thing for the student to undergo in a sniper course, it is a critical component to the proper training of snipers. The presence of stress is what separates real sniper courses from “gentlemen’s” courses.

Safety is paramount to GSGI and Humphries spent a significant amount of time covering the four general safety rules and GSGI and Precision Rifle-specific safety rules. Though Humphries covered the usual safety subjects, he also addressed a safety concern I had not previously heard in a firearms course: lead. Humphries and Furr discussed the effects of lead particulates on shooters. Shooters often think of lead poisoning as something that occurs when shooting indoors and breathing lead particulates, failing to appreciate that one can become contaminated through skin and mucous membrane absorption. I will never again use my head cover to gather brass at the end of the day.

Humphries next covered mindset. Through the induction of stress in training, one develops the proper mindset for operations. Though Humphries gave a thorough lecture on the subject, he recommended that students read Bruce Siddell’s Sharpening the Warrior’s Edge, and Lt. Col. David Grossman’s On Killing.

At the conclusion of the morning’s lectures, we broke for lunch. Ronin International was catering a number of meals throughout the week. Properly run, sniper courses are high-intensity affairs. Proper nourishment, hydration, and rest are important to students. Having hot meals on-premises would give us the food we needed and allow us to catch a few minutes of rest when we could.

After lunch we returned to the classroom. Furr covered a number of sniping-related topics. One thing heartened me tremendously; Furr made specific and favorable mention of the sock, or “girlie sock.” Of course, we would be expected to carry all operational gear with us at all times throughout the course, and we would not be allowed to use shooting mats unless they were also drag bags. Unfortunately for me, I had left my Eagle Industries DB-BS Rifle Cover and Shooting Mat (drag bag) at home in Littleton. I would be down in the dirt throughout the week. Finally, Furr informed us that we would be cleaning our rifles frequently. In fact, we would be cleaning every 1-20 rounds. On completion of the day’s lectures, we headed to the range.

We zeroed our rifles in the afternoon. I was shooting my Armament Technology AT1-M24, which Andy Webber had custom built for me. I had not shot this rifle in some time, and never at a school. Knowing the rifle’s capability (3/8 MOA 5-shot groups) gave me no comfort. Nor did the first 5-shot group; I could not find them on the 100-yard target! (I didn’t find the cloverleaf group at the upper left-hand corner of the target until after I had zeroed the rifle.) As I began printing on paper, my concern level decreased dramatically; I knew what the rifle could do and the rest was up to me.

I looked around to see what the other students were shooting. The Remington 700 was the overwhelming favorite, with a lone Savage Tactical. Of the Remingtons, Robar built quite a few. The majority of day telescopes were Leupold Vari-X III’s with mildot reticles. The Tucson PD shooters’ rifles were equipped with the ITT Day/Night Weaponsight, F7201A. The integrated day and night optic provides a variable power (2.5x-10x) day telescope with ¼ MOA turret adjustment and mildot reticle, along with a Generation 3 night scope with resolution of 45 lp/mm and a signal-to-noise ratio of 20:1. The integrated scope was very impressive. Unfortunately, it would cause problems later in the course.

After zeroing our rifles and doing some 100-yard precision work, we broke for the day at around 5 PM. It was a “gentlemen’s day at the range” and, as with many sniper courses, along with the qualification day, it would be shortest day of the course. Woe to the student who failed to realize that the tempo would increase substantially tomorrow.

Did I mention that the only easy day was yesterday? Tuesday came early, and Humphries didn’t wait long before adding stress to the training. After verifying zeroes, we ran our first stress course. Students would run 30 to 40 yards before engaging targets at 200 and 100 yards. Some shots could be taken from the prone, others from seated or kneeling positions. There was no time limit. Nevertheless, many students rushed themselves, jerking shots in their hurry to complete the course.

Because the standing order at most sniper schools, as at this one, is “do whatever it takes to win,” I decided to take with me a field expedient tripod made of aluminum arrow shafts and 550 cord. I engaged the targets successfully, though at some cost in time. However, remember that on this exercise there was no time limit placed on completion. The goal was 100% target interdiction.

Furr also joined in on the “fun” of stressing the students. From here on out, he ordered that whenever the students checked targets, the students would run to the targets and do so as a team. Furr would bark other orders at the students throughout the rest of the week. We ran some additional stress courses, now under time constraints, and then broke for a wonderful midday meal that Ronin had provided.

After lunch, we worked on unsupported shooting. Humphries and Furr observed that a police sniper often does not have the luxury of making a 100-yard supported prone shot. The sniper must be able to take the shot from various unsupported positions at various distances. Furr, calling on the experiences of law enforcement officers whom he knows throughout the country, related to us sniper deployments in which shots from unsupported positions were necessary to save lives. Accordingly, we worked on shooting in the standing, kneeling, and seated positions, at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards. Seemingly easy, unsupported shooting with a modern sniper rifle – often weighing as much as 15 pounds – will tire a shooter quickly.

As we sucked wind and searched for some water to drink, Furr stressed as well that it was imperative that a sniper be not just a good shoot, but also in top physical condition. Using Steve Rodriguez of Albuquerque, N.M. PD as an example, Furr described a call-out on which Rodriguez had to run several hundred yards before taking the shot on a deranged subject who was threatening to kill a 15 month old infant. We would hear Rodriguez’ name a lot during the course, given the number of times Rodriguez acted decisively to save lives. But first, we would run 300 yards, as a group, up a berm, around the edge of the range, and then back to our rifles, where we would engage hostage rescue targets. Yes, physically and mentally-induced stress had arrived.

Our next training evolution would be a team effort. We would be tasked with specific targets, at both 200 and 100 yards, which we would have to find and engage as a two-man team. With the added stress, we all found our shot groups opening up some. It is important to note that proper sniper dialogue, something usually neglected in training, was critical to the successful completion of this evolution. Those who communicated well with their partners hit their targets and did so in a minimum of time.

After the day’s shooting, we would have further lectures on tactical subjects. The final event of the day would be the first KIM’s game. Many of the students had not played the game before, and so were unfamiliar with its nuances (always cheat; never get caught). Nevertheless, being experienced, sworn peace officers, all performed very well on the exercise.

Tuesday was coming to a close. Throughout the previous two days, we had heard of Teague’s imminent arrival and the even faster tempo he would demand. Though I believed these “warnings” to be a means of inducing psychological stress, I had no doubt that there was quite a bit of truth to them. At the end of the day, Furr and Humphries warned us again to be prepared for Teague, as he would be taking over the instruction on Wednesday. The most effective form of stress is psychological and our instructors’ “warnings” about Teague were beginning to have some effect.

With the completion of Tuesday’s evolutions, Dunne and I headed back to the hotel. Upon arrival, a very physically fit man with close-cropped graying hair and Hollywood movie star good looks, smoking a cigar greeted us; it was Teague. Teague, seeing we were in BDUs and correctly deducing that we were sniper students, introduced himself and asked if we had seen Humphries and Furr. We had not, and spoke with him briefly before returning to our room to clean up. Realizing that Teague was alone, and having a thirst for cold, fermented beverages, we asked Teague if he cared to join us. He agreed and we headed off to a country bar in the area, Mavericks.

Upon our arrival at Mavericks, we ran into Dale Poling of GG&G For those not familiar with the company, GG&G makes some of the best rail equipment, mounts and rings available for the tactical operator. GG&G’s subsidiary company, DVC ARMAMENTS, provides custom weaponry, enhancing proven designs for the tactical operator. The mysterious Mr. Poling – with the aura of “been there, done that” about him – had recently left the employ of McMillan to come down to Tucson to join GG&G. He and Teague knew each other well and began discussing small, medium, and heavy caliber ballistics.

Dunne ordered the first round. As it was happy hour, we each received two beers. It was a long and very interesting conversation, ending sometime around midnight, and we all had several beers. Normally, I would not be consuming any alcohol nor staying up late during a course, but the opportunity to chat with Teague and Poling was one I couldn’t pass up. While Dunne and I spoke with Teague about his background, the sense of recognition became clearer. Dunne knew. In addition to his experience in the military and law enforcement, he was an accomplished film and television actor! I was dumbstruck. Teague handled my surprise with the aplomb of an experienced operator.

After a few too many malted beverages, Teague, Dunne, and I called it an evening and headed back to the hotel. Before retiring for the evening, Dunne and I drank as much water as possible, and took painkillers. Tomorrow was going to come early and it wouldn’t be especially pleasant.

“Funny,” I thought. I just put my head down on the pillow and the phone is ringing. It was our wake-up call. In addition to the perceived lack of sleep, I could feel a slight dehydration. I was glad that we would not be stalking during this course, because of the heat. Still, the day promised to be strenuous.

Collecting our gear, we headed off to join the caravan out to Three Points. A private, members-only range West of Tucson, Three Points boasts a 20-position, 1000-yard known distance range. After the morning’s lecture, we would be shooting on this range. Though the lecture was outdoors, it was under cover. I would be drinking as much water as possible to rehydrate fully before we got into the next shooting evolution.

Teague began the morning lecture. His presence (or, if you prefer, self-possession) was evident and what one would expect of an operator. Teague covered a number of important topics, punctuating them with his own life experiences to emphasize his points. Teague may have spent time in Hollywood, but he was no “Hollywood” instructor. There definitely was something to the warnings we had received. Teague was a firm believer in consistency and attention to detail. He also had a sense of humor.

After a quick lunch, we headed off to the High Power range for the next evolution. We would shoot from the 200, 300, and 600-yard distances. The purpose of this evolution was four-fold: to improve our groups; to read wind; to gain confidence in distance shooting; and to determine our come-ups. Of course, the added bonus would be that we would have to run as a team from our firing positions to the targets every time we inspected them. Our initial groups had opened up, but after shooting the distances, we got into our bubbles and tightened up our shooting. We also learned a lot about reading and calling wind, making use first of flags placed at various distances from the targets, and then using natural signs (e.g., mirage, trees and bushes).

After shooing from 600 yards, we received the order to move back to the 200-yard line. We would be shooting moving targets, specifically, plastic Tactical Products’ “Tactical Ted”™ shells (supplied by Ronin). The Ted™ would be mounted on a long pole, an instructor would then lift the Ted™ up from the butts, and walk from left to right, or vice-versa, waiting for a team to engage the target. Teams would have a set period of time to find the target and engage it. We had previously received classroom instruction on the three methods of moving target shooting: track; trap (or ambush); and track/hold. A successful engagement would result in Ted™ dropping into the butts. Teams would have the opportunity to engage targets moving from both directions and at different speeds.

Without question, this was an exciting and difficult event, made even more so by the slowly setting sun that played havoc with the teams observing targets coming from the left (or targets moving to the left that teams had not engaged in a timely fashion). Nevertheless, there were a number of solid hits on the poor Ted™ and even one called headshot. Upon completion of this evolution, we cleaned our rifles. We were all getting dehydrated. Fortunately, Ronin came through with another cooler full of water.

Wednesday had been a long day, but it was not yet over. We broke for a quick pizza and salad dinner at 19:30 (catered, of course, by Ronin). Following the meal, Tom Newhall, principal of GG&G, lectured us on the use of night vision. Newhall provided an outstanding briefing on the fundamentals of night vision. As well, he made available to all of us handouts on the subject from his company, ITT Night Vision, the U.S. Department of Justice, National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center, publication, “Scoping Out Night Vision,” dated March 1996, and a chart from Mil Spec MIL-I-49052 P3.6.21 Table III, covering the acceptable number of dark spots on image intensifier tubes (an important criterion for night vision).

We all were careful to maintain our night vision for the final evolution of the day; live fire with suppressed and night optic device (NOD) equipped weapons. GG&G made available for us the following: the DVC 700 SRS sniper system, a suppressed, Remington 700 action-based rifle with the ITT F7201A Day/Night Weaponsight; a Blaser 93 in .308, also with the F7201A; and an assortment of M4 carbines with the ITT F6015 Tactical Monocular (the AN/PVS-14) and either the Aimpoint Comp M XD or the Trijicon aiming system. NOD-equipped shooting, especially with a suppressed or select-fire weapon, is simply something that must be experienced.

At 22:00, we finally broke. Tomorrow we would be back at the HIDTA facility. The primary evolution for Thursday would be shooting through media – No, not gunwriters or network news reporters, but glass, wood, and aluminum.

Thursday also came early. The pace would change slightly, given that the primary evolution involved glass (tempered, safety, and Lexan), wood, and aluminum at distances from 20 to 100 yards. Having lectured us previously on the Coordinated Target Selection System, the instructors demanded cohesiveness of the various sniper teams. Shots would be on time, on target, and simultaneous. Shooting at targets, often with hostages close by, gave us all a good understanding of what one can and can’t do in a hostage rescue situation. Media shooting can be unpredictable, if not done correctly. Shooting through vehicle, home, and office windows – all provided by Ronin – allowed us to take some of the unpredictability out of the equation.

One unfortunate aspect of training at a federally-funded facility is that Uncle Sam’s boys get priority on the range. The Tucson area U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons Sniper Team had scheduled a regular practice session on the range in the afternoon. We had temporarily lost our range. Not a problem. Snipers adapt, improvise, and overcome. Furr and Teague moved up the evolution on maneuvering into and out of position. We worked on a number of different techniques that we might use on our own or as part of a team. This evolution was one of the more demanding, and with the heat (approaching 100 degrees) and bright sun we were becoming fatigued. I was fantasizing about olive-skinned, dark-haired beauties bringing me clear bottles of cold water as I pushed aside thoughts of how heavy my AT1-M24 was and how much I wished I had retrieved my Colt CAR to use.

We wrapped up the movement evolution and took a short break for rehydration and then returned to our media work. It was late afternoon before we finished the day’s media shooting evolution. Next on the agenda was angle fire. We had previously received a lecture on angle fire, and now we would get an opportunity to see what happens when shooting up or down at a target.

The shooting platform would be the SWAT tower at the HIDTA facility. With the distance and angle involved, we would have a change in the point of impact of around ¼ to ½ MOA. Plus, there was a significant (12-15 MPH, gusting occasionally to 20 MPH), full-value wind into which we would be shooting.

But these are minor issues; first we had to get up the tower. I had only been up one SWAT tower before. At the Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Facility in Douglas County, Colorado, I had shot a pistol qualification course for the law enforcement academy off that tower. That tower was significantly shorter than the one in Tucson, there was no wind when I was on it, and one navigated the tower at Highlands Ranch by using stairs, not a metal ladder, as with the tower at Tucson. I sucked it up and climbed the ladder.

If I had thought getting to the top would calm me down, I was mistaken. That full-value wind I mentioned previously was causing the tower to sway noticeably. The pucker factor had increasing slightly. Just then I looked over to see Dunne jump up and grab a metal bar, part of a frame for an awning to cover the top of the tower. Dunne had decided that he was going to exercise. I was so amused at the sight of my shooting partner briskly knocking off a set of pull-ups, that I forgot about my discomfort. We shot several rounds from the tower. Carefully logging each shot we saw that, indeed, there was a slight change in point of impact because of the angle.

As the sun set, we assembled on the range for additional precision work and then cleaned our rifles. The final evolution of the day was an observation exercise. We were briefed on the situation and then were given 10 minutes to find a final firing position and set up our gear. We could use our optics (binoculars, spotting scope, rifle scope) or our naked eyes to observe a selected location on the range. Sometime within the next hour, something would happen, and we would log everything that we saw or heard. After the exercise, we would all regroup and give our oral reports on the exercise.

Operations have two tempos: excruciatingly slow; and unbelievably fast. We waited for a period of time before the role players showed up. Dunne and I had worked out in advance how we would approach the scenario. Once it began, we implemented our prior plan, choosing the suspects we would observe, and taking notes. The scenario ran its course and we feverishly finished our descriptions. In the spirit of “always cheat, never get caught,” I waited for the role players to come back from the range, as they traveled behind the berms on the right side of the range. Unfortunately, one of the role players, Furr, sees me! Though I am not dinged, I have broken the rule: I have been caught.

We gave our presentations on the scenarios. Though all of the teams had done well, the Cochise County team received the highest score.

As of the end of Thursday, we had covered a lot of material in this course, though we had not completed all the training evolutions necessary before shooting the qualification course and taking the final examination. If students hadn’t felt stress before, they would be tonight in anticipation of the final day.

Friday morning found us engaged in additional media shooting and unsupported shooting from various ranges. It may have been the last day of the course, but it wasn’t to be the shortest. Unfortunately for one of the Tucson PD shooters, Scott Kendrick, the day telescope on his rifle was malfunctioning. Kendrick didn’t give up; he overcame. Quickly heading back to TPD’s armory, he and TPD’s Sniper Team Leader, Bob Callan, swapped out the ITT day scope for a Leupold Vari-X III. Kendrick got back on-line, established his zero, continued on with the course. Malfunctions happen; how operators handle them determines their level of expertise.

We finished covering the remaining subject matter for the course and broke for lunch. Our qual shoot would be a simple one: one cold bore shot and a group of five additional shots. Simple enough, right? The cold bore shot would be into a 0.9 MOA circle between the eyes of a balaclava-wearing suspect partially obscured behind a hostage. The five additional shots would be into a target in the area of the suspect’s nose and mouth. Seventy points was a perfect score; 20 points for the 0.9 MOA target (10 points if the edge of the target was broken by the bullet) and 50 points total for the 5 additional shots. One more thing: we would all run approximately 300 yards up and around sandy berms with all of our gear before setting up to take the shots.

Focus and the fundamentals. Nothing else matters. I knew to a certitude that if I could survive the run (and I knew that I could), I would not fail to get the points. Why? I was focused. Moreover, I had picked up on a very important aspect of the qual shoot; there was no time limit on the qual. Students who failed to appreciate this fact might allow the induced stress of the run and the qual shoot to rush their shots.

We ran, dropped behind our rifles, and shot the course. Because of the high level of proficiency among the various teams, all passed. Notwithstanding, there were a number whose scores were significantly lower than they would have been had there had not been stress.

We cleaned our rifles and headed for the classroom for the written portion of the qualification. Sniper students often get tripped up on written examinations. They figure that good shooting is good enough. It’s not. A proper understanding of the legal, technical and tactical issues surrounding sniping is also crucial.

While the instructors graded the examinations we went back out to the range for one final scenario. We were briefed that a well-organized crew of bank robbers had just taken down a bank. The crew was spotted in a Jeep Cherokee in an open field. The requirements for use of deadly force had been met and the teams would take a coordinated shot on the subjects. We were given a limited amount of time to locate and occupy our final firing positions. When in place, using radios, we would coordinate with the sniper team leader (Callan). On command, we would fire at pre-designated subjects in and around the Cherokee.

Anything fun is worth waiting for, and wait we did. The cool water from my Camelbak kept me hydrated while we stood by for the command. After 20-25 minutes, we got the command. Observers commented that the coordinated fire sounded as if it were one shot. Participating in the coordinated fire exercise was exhilarating and well worth the heat, the dust, the cactus underneath me, and the insects, many of whom enjoyed stinging me as we held in position.

We cleaned our rifles one more time and packed our gear. Graduation followed. Dunne and I agreed that we had had a lot of fun, learned some new things, and enjoyed the camaraderie of the other teams. It was, without question, a “High Speed, Low Drag” course.



[This message has been edited by Hugo Teufel (edited July 04, 1999).]