EAG Tactical Carbine Operators Course, Kathleen, FL 11-13 Dec 09

[RogerinTPA]

The class was held at Southern Exposure in Kathleen, FL, North of Lakeland. The weather was overcast and the temp was in the 50's for the first day, but in the high 70's and low 80's for the next two days. The host, Irv, has provided an excellent training facility, that is well maintained, has one long rifle range with 3 side bay pistol ranges, and a covered staging area. The rifle range, can go back as far a 400 yards if necessary. It is one of the most well groomed outdoor shooting ranges I've been to and is my "Go To" Range, for quality firearms instruction. I saw a lot of familiar faces from previous instruction, met some new folks and many M4C members (the usual suspects). The class was full with folks on a waiting list. I also like thank the following sponsors for the nice gifts they contributed to the course, of which I personally own lots of their gear: Bravo Company (and for the T&E weapons), Magpul, LaRue Tactical, and Slip 2000 weapons lube.

Pat Rogers, what can I say?

Calling him an excellent Instructor, would be an understatement. I've been trying to snag his course for quite a while, and finally got the opportunity this weekend. His "colorful" explanation, descriptions and banter, were classic, and were equally enjoyable. His AI Mike, also has in-depth knowledge and equally "colorful" explanations and humor. I fired one of EAG's T&E weapons, a BCM CFH Middy, with T-1 Aimpoint and Vtac sling, with my Pmags, shooting Wolf, with no ammo issues I might add. Pat was gracious to have some of the students run those T&E weapons, throughout the 3 day course, one with over 26,000 rounds through it.

TD1:

Pat started with a safety briefing, and then proceeded to brief us on the purpose of the course, which is a Fighting Carbine course and his methodology, followed by an in-depth weapons parts 'show and tell" covering several generations of Mags, RDSs, and Magnified Optics, broken AR parts, expected life span on certain parts (according to Crane), etc... It was a very knowledgeable briefing to say the least. We proceeded to zero our weapons at the 50 yard line, then go through a series of drills (Failure, ASR, Navy) at various ranges from the 50 down to 3 yards.


TD2:

Covered another briefing, then back on the range with more of the same from TD1, malfunction drills ad-nauseam, Transition drills, Box drills, then adding "turn and shoot", "move and shoot" drills, shooting the Failure drill, while advancing on the targets, following a couple of Navy drills, standing 5 rounds, mag change, 5 rounds kneeling, mag change, 5 rounds prone, in under 25 seconds, then the MEUSOC qual, a Timed event, which involves running, shooting from the stationary after the run, then shoot on the move, under a timer, in prep for the record fire on TD 3. The Navy and MEUSOC Drills were performed several times.

TD3:

Involved another briefing, followed by more of TD1 & 2, followed by record qualification on both the Navy and MEUSOC Drills, then finishing off with Ocular Shooting, covering the front end of the RDS, while accurately engaging your target, then turning the Dot off, while using the RDS as a large rear sight while accurately engaging the target.

Their were not too many weapon issues that I witnessed, except for one of the students using one of the T&E weapons of another manufacturer, a piston, that had various issues for the entire class. My BCM CFH Middy, ran like a champ for the entire class, with only one double feed from a bad mag, which I quickly replaced. I had some reservations with using the Aimpoint T-1, because of the 4 MOA dot prior, but was glad to see it was mounted on my T&E weapon and use it for the 3 days. The 4 MOA dot is a Non issue and a great little RDS. I'll be getting one in the very near future. I learned a ton of new TTPs to be a more effective shooter in both carbine and pistol. Everyone present were very good shooters in there own right. Everyone came away with additional skills and high praise for Pat and Mike. I would highly recommend getting in a class or two with Pat Rogers and EAG Tactical. If you get the chance, check out Southern Exposure online and sign up for class schedules and updates. Pics to follow...





















Next three pics, the "Crescendo of Death". You turn and shoot (a ASR Drill, 7 rounds to the body as fast as possible) only when you see the person in front of you move.







Let's see how many recognize this movie: The person, who lost his leg to an IED, rigged this on his prosthetic.....Yes he is shooting it!








Recognize the movie now?

[RogerinTPA]

Pics are up.

[irv]

Hi Roger

Thanks for the kind words about the range but it is really the instructors I bring in that really make the students coming back. Pat has been coming for 6 or 7 years and his class is always sold out and that is a testament to his ability to teach and entertain. Mike has been his AI for the last 3 or 4 years and deserves a good portion of the praise, he really compliments Pat.

I pride myself in only hosting the best of the best and Pat is certainly one of those.

Thanks to all the students who attended and adhered to safety rules (our record on no injuries continues) without them the range would have been closed years ago.

Thanks again.

be safe irv

[rob_s]

I'll have more later, but here is my one-photo AAR, indicative of my performance over the course of the three days.

[Submariner]

Pat demonstrates drill.

Is that Pat's carbine? Is he now running his VFG all the way forward?

[C45P312]

Rob: Are you wearing your armor in these pics?

[Submariner]

Sorry to be a dumb-!@#$. but I assume a "moosecock" isn't a good thing? Could someone elaborate what it is for the new guy? Thanks.

I have the dubious distinction of two being awarded from one drill. This burned the transgression(s) into my brain so that, hopefully, I will never, ever repeat them. Worse (or better), the humiliation/learning occurred in the presence of five of my children who were also shooting. They don't let me forget.

[rob_s]

This was my fourth time with Pat and Mike in Lakeland. It's been interesting over the years to see how the classes morph and change and what new lessons and drills they bring with them.

For those that haven't attended one of Pat's classes, everything is building one lesson on another from the first shot fired to the last, stringing skills together and building and stacking them as the drills get more and more complex.

TD1 began with a discussion of safety and then moved quickly on to gear. Magazines, optics, etc. Pat gets to see a lot of gear every year, and spending the morning getting a little bit of insight into that experience is one of the benefits of attending EAG classes. The shooting began shortly after lunch when we all moved out to the 50 for a lesson on prone before checking and getting a zero at 50 yards.

shooters getting their zero




After lunch we moved close in to work on mechanical offset of optics as well as trigger control. Drills were fired with each step on command starting from the 3 yard line and then repeated at various distances out to the 15. Drill was fire, holding the trigger to the rear, ease to reset, fire again, ease to reset and fire a third time, all done on the verbal command.

Pat demonstrates drill


shooters working the drill a little further out




We next learned several target engagement methods that we would use over the course of the three days to include controlled pairs, hammers, failure drills, and tthe Non-Standard Response (NSR). We then worked these drills at various distances from the 5 to the 25 yard line.

student fires NSR




Then it was on to the 25 yard line where Pat and Mike demonstrated various positions from braced kneel, to quick kneel, double kneel ("Monica") and squat.

Pat and Mike demonstrating squat


students work Monica from high, low, leaning right, leaning left




The next skill is the speed reload. As usual Pat and Mike demonstrate, and then we get our chance to try it and practice what they demonstrate. The building begins from here. We begin to string the basics together by firing a drill going from standing to kneeling to prone with a speed reload in between. While this may sound like a simplistic drill, it is deceiving based on the number of shooters that bumble such a seemingly easy drill.

shooter reloads before going to prone (note two magazines on the deck, first from standing to kneeling)




We finished the day going over controlled pairs, hammers, failure drills, and NSRs at close range again

shooters finishing out TD1

[rob_s]

TD3

Training Day 3 began just like TD2, with a zero confirmation at 50 yards beginning at 09:00. Still more fiddling by still more shooters, an odd phenomena to be sure. TD3 is "test day" and most of the emphasis after zeroing is on getting the shooters warmed up and back in the groove before they shoot the Modified Navy and MEU/SOC for score.

zeroing, TD3






Beginning around 09:30 we did practice runs on the Modified Navy (5 rounds standing, 5 rounds kneeling, 5 rounds prone; speed reload at each elevation change) from 50 yards. Before lunch we would shoot this for score. This is part of the building blocks approach. We started out shooting this drill with full magazines at the 25, then we added magazines downloaded to 5 rounds which requires the shooter to drop the bolt, then we moved it out to 35, then 50, and finally we would eventually shoot for recorded score against the clock.

two shooters in kneeling at 50 yards




We then slowly worked our way in shooting various warm-up drills that incorporated all of the lessons of the previous two days. We ended with various turn and pivot drills at the 10 yard line (or thereabouts).

shooters firing a drill somewhere around the 15 yard line.




turning left, as a group, in a wave of death. this is prior to the crescendo.




Just before breaking for lunch, all students shot the Modified Navy at 50 yards for score. I have mostly video of these that will require further editing, cropping, and resizing. I have not found a tool to do this as efficiently as with photos so it will have to wait.




After lunch, it was all about the warmup for the MEU/SOC Qual. Running from the 50 to the 25 and engaging targets, various shooting on the move, etc. Each portion was run multiple times to get the students familiar with what they would be doing for score later on. Again, introduce a skill, introduce another skill, and another, and another... put them all together into a drill, introduce more skills and add them in, demonstrate and give the students a chance to practice the "test", and finally put it all together and shoot for score to gauge your ability to absorb all of the above. We finished out with all shooters doing just that, with Pat and Mike scoring the targets when each evolution was done.

(this is another area where almost all of my documentation is video)




We wound up with a little bit of time left at the end of the day, so Pat and Mike introduced one more training block. Having been in previous classes this is something I've seen before and is an incentive to shooters to keep their shit together over the course of the three days and not waste a lot of time. If you burn up time then the MEU/SOC test winds up the last thing you do. We were fortunate this time that we had time remaining and got a chance to go over this extra block.

Optical sights are not infallible. They are electronic, battery-operated, and made by man. They can get occluded by mud, snow, or other materials. This block of instruction is on what to do in those cases. First we all taped over the objective end of our optical sights (that's the end that points towards the target). We then used the optics as an occluded-eye sight. This is an interesting experiment for many shooters that have not done this before. All manner of eye infirmities can yield interesting results, not the least of which is an astigmatism (which I have) which can cause a shift in the POI (which I experienced). After this we all switched off our optical sights, removed the tape, and Pat explained how to use the optic as a large ghost-ring rear sight to get acceptable hits at close range. We fired hammers, NSRs, Box Drills, etc. with both sighting methods.

This block of instruction is one of my favorites at these classes and I wish we had more time to go over this segment. I would really like to get more practice with both of these techniques at various ranges and with multiple targets. While I have never had an Aimpoint go down on me, it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility and I'd like to have more practice with the technique if it ever does occur. It also reinforces the benefit of having a fixed from iron sight.





WRAP-UP

As mentioned this was my fourth EAG class with Pat and Mike at Southern Exposure. The first time was my first formal rifle training, the second I started to get my groove, the third I shot with my AK, and this time I originally intended to shoot all irons sights but wimped out in the end and used my optic. What I was hoping to get was a lot of trigger time on my Colt 6933 which has become my do-all carbine. What I got, instead, was a lot of stuck cases in that gun and wound up using my BCM carbine instead.

GUNS

Firearms were the above mentioned Colt 6933 with Magpul MOE furniture, Magpul BAD, Blue Force Gear Vickers sling modified to work as a convertible 1-to-2-point and an Aimpoint T-1 in Larue mount. Until it went down, and then the complete BCM 16" midlength carbine with Redi-Mag and Boonie Packer sling with 2 MOA Aimpoint C3 in ADM mount. Pistol was a Glock 19 with extreme grip reduction by Boresight Solutions and a Surefire X200 attached to it. Carbine magazines were almost exclusively Pmags (both from my paint test and DEET test) and pistol magazines were Glock 17 mags. No malfunctions in any gun attributed to magazines.

The 6933 has run fine in the past with the Wolf 75 grain ammo I fired in this class, but prior to class I changed out the stock "H" buffer for an "improved" aftermarket buffer (no, not an Enidine) that uses powdered tungsten instead of the solid weights in the original buffer. I don't know why that would matter, but it did, and subsequent to the class and replacement of the original buffer and the gun runs fine.

GEAR

On TD1 I used a Blue Force Gear SOC-C MOLLE belt with two Eagle M4-FB carbine mag pouches, two of the same for the Glock magazines, a CSM Gear mini dump pouch, a Blue Force Gear Trauma Kit NOW!, a Raven Concealment holster, and an Eagle Leatherman pouch. I generally went to the line with two loaded carbine magazines in the dump pouch and one in each mag pouch. I found that dumper to be a little cramped but it was a necesary tradeoff for me when using this belt and getting everything else I want on the belt. On TD2 I added a Mayflower armor carrier with soft inserts only (haven't settled on plates yet) and US Grunt Gear chest rig attached and moved the Trauma Kit NOW! from the belt to the chest rig. I also replaced the Eagle M4-FB carbine pouches with the ITW Fast-Mag. On TD3 I went to my carry holster IWB, a spare carbine and pistol magazine on the pants belt, and removed the armor and added the shoulder straps to the US Grunt Gear chest rig.

In terms of load carriage I had zero issues or complaints, and in fact it was a pleasant surprise to switch the systems up so much and still be able to forget about things completely and concentrate on the task at hand. I will definitely be expounding on this overall concept in the future, and the Load Carriage for Training Classes article on my site will be getting a refresh. I still stand by what is there now, but I have found a system and products that appear to work better for me now, and that weren't collectively available at the time of the original writing.

PERSONAL

Due to health issues (both personal and family) the last few years have seen me loose weight due to a decrease in my old fitness routine. Unlike many others I have cut calories to keep from becoming a fatbody, but this class was tough to get through sometimes. I was also recovering from a back injury that was plaguing me in the back of my mind for all three days. Couple that with wondering constantly if the carbine was going to go "click" or "bang", and my head just wasn't in the training. My reward, of course, was the Moose-Cock patch on TD1 and eventually the "THAT GUY" hat on TD3. Lessons learned here are to get back on the fitness wagon. I also wish I had figured out the buffer issue during the class as shooting the much lighter 6933 would have helped in the physical department.

CLASS IMPRESSIONS

Overall most of the students were very squared away. I saw fewer gear issues than I'm used to seeing, fewer gun issues, and generally a bunch that was pretty capable in the marksmanship department. Of course there are always straps covering holsters, chest rigs that puke mags on the deck when going prone, etc. but that really was kept to a minimum here and Pat and Mike did a great job of getting these people squared away before it became an issue. There was also FAR less bumble-****ing of guns and gear than what I've seen in the past. Finally there were very few infirmities. People got down into prone, and back up again, with reasonable quickness and did so safely. All of this combined to allow us to get to the alternative sighting block of training, so I am grateful to my fellow students for this.

GENERAL COMMENTS

Pat's classes have become a great year-ender for me. Often a way to finalize guns, gear, or techniques that I've worked with all year. They are also always a good learning environment, and Pat and Mike are both excellent at offering suggestions at all skill and experience levels as students need them.

Southern Exposure also remains my sole training location. With all that they have to offer I've had little to no reason to look elsewhere. The environment is friendly and fun, the facilities well kept, the admin taken care of (which allows the instructors to focus on, you know, instructing!), and the needs of the students well met.

[Peanut]

Outstanding write up Rob_s. Please keep up the good work.
I can't wait to get into one of Pat's classes to keep up my skills and to learn.