MISSOURI MILITIAS FOCUS ON FREEDOM

GRAIN VALLEY -- This small Jackson County community on the eastern edge of the Kansas City metropolitan area is the headquarters of the Missouri 51st Militia.

You would be hard-pressed, however, to locate the nerve center of the paramilitary citizens' unit. The headquarters of the 51st militia is really "a state of mind," says one of its leaders, Harold Sheil, a retired battalion chief with 35 years of service to the Kansas City Fire Department and a Korean War veteran.

As for military maneuvers or displays of armed strength, Missouri militias are planning a big event next month: a family picnic, where the theme will be a study of wild herbs known for their food and medicinal value. The June meeting will include militia members, their wives and their children. No weapons will be allowed.

The 51st Militia is at the center of the existing groups in Missouri, which include the 24th Brigade at Springfield, the 25th Brigade at St. Joseph, the 1st Brigade at Polo and the First Missouri Volunteers in the St. Louis area. These units have a total of 1,000 members, with about half of them coming from the 51st militia.

According to Sheil, the first organizational efforts of the militia in Missouri began late last year, and the unit's first charter and policy statement was formally drawn up and approved in December.

Although aware of activities by the Michigan Militia and those in western states, the Missouri group decided early on to forgo an emphasis on military operations. The policy of the 51st Militia states the group's first priority will be to uphold and defend the constitutions of the United States and Missouri, while its additional aims will be to "serve the people of Missouri," embrace the philosophy of the 10th Amendment and engage in political activities to elect candidates with traditional American values.

Militia officials say a general dissatisfaction with several policies of the federal government and what they term a "general disregard of constitutional restraints" by U.S. officials at the disaster at Waco in 1993 prompted the formation of the 51st Militia and subsequent units in the state.

As a matter of fact, militia officers in the state have few kind words for the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Agency or the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They believe the EPA, BATF and DEA should be abolished or placed in another agency, while the power of the FBI should be limited, although they are willing to concede the FBI is still needed, only with less authority and funding.

Top officers of each of the units meet once a month, usually at Columbia, to discuss programs, including both the legality and liability of citizen groups. Training periods for most of the units occur on an average of once a month, but the emphasis is on political philosophy and instruction. Some units occasionally schedule exercises in weapons safety.

What is described as a "traditional military" exercise has been scheduled for three days in August. Topics to be covered at this event include map reading, search-and-rescue operations and some old-fashioned Missouri barbecuing. No weapons will be allowed.

Officers from the 51st Militia, which gets its numerical designation from the 51-day siege at Waco, recently appeared on the "MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour" to discuss concerns with the federal government following the Oklahoma City bombing.

On the panel in addition to Sheil were its commanding officer, Jim McKinzey, a Kansas City roofing company president; Bill Johnson, who was the Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. senator last November; and Chuck Wittig, president of the Missouri chapter of the Gun Owners of America.

Militia officials say they hope to make a "change in the state" by supporting candidates who will espouse states' rights, concentrating on legislative and statewide contests. Sheil said the militia plans to make unofficial endorsements of candidates when the time comes but will ask nothing in return for their support.

Sheil brushed aside any connection with the National Rifle Association, which "doesn't want to sleep with us."