pleaforwar
01-13-11, 23:15
AAR: Trident Concepts Level 3 Carbine Course
On 20110111-13 Trident Concepts conducted a Level 3 Carbine Operator’s Course in the town of Surprise, AZ. This was my first advanced carbine course that I have attended and I was very impressed with the various challenges the course offered, the level of professionalism from the instructor Jeff Gonzales, and the dedication and focus from my fellow students.
The lessons I have learned from this course are numerous and invaluable. I could ramble on for pages about what I have learned in this course, but to save your time from my amateur writing I will summarize to my best ability.
Marksmanship Fundamentals:
I expected Jeff to cover the fundamentals of marksmanship. What I did not expect was his tremendous dedication to ensuring his pupils really grasped and understood what he was teaching. From the fighting stance, proper grip, trigger control, and everything in-between, Jeff spent a great amount of time instructing and using drills to emphasize the importance of marksmanship and accuracy. I heavily benefited from this as my shooting position improved day to day.
Standards:
Trident Concepts is dedicated to pursuing standards that are not the easiest to achieve. All students are not guaranteed to pass the course by attendance alone. There are three tests on T3 that have varying degrees of difficulty. These tests are excellent tools in gauging the student’s progress in grasping the fundamentals taught in class. This expectation to meet standards had a profound effect on myself as they separated the practice attitude of drills with the demand for results in the tests. I quickly realized that doing well in drills means little when you can’t perform in the spotlight.
Gear:
A lot of lessons were learned in this category. First, I learned an important lesson about what I should wear for load-bearing usage in courses like this. On T-1 I showed up with a DBT carrier (w/plates) and all the trimmings (2x pistol mag pouch, 4x M4 mag pouch, IFAK). My attitude was to “train as I would fight”. That sounds great in a practical sense, but my progress was inhibited by the fatigue that resulted from shooting with such a heavy load out. After discussing the subject with Jeff and some thinking, I decided to transition to my US PALM Defender carrier. While being able to fit hard armor, this carrier is also marketed as being used as a discreet solution for defense against handgun threats. The weight difference was exponential and my performance increased accordingly. From now on I will use my personal time to apply lessons learned from professional instruction in conjunction with “training as I would fight”.
My rifle ran like a sewing machine, the only malfunctions being attributed to bad ammo and poor operation of the charging handle on my behalf. I am really impressed with the LMT enhanced BCG I have used in the class and before, and will continue to use it in every course I attend until failure.
This is the second course I have used MPro7 LPX to lubricate my rifle and I am thoroughly impressed with the success I have had with it.
This course was the first time I had the opportunity to witness a Robinson XCR go through the motions. The rifle performed well on T-1 and T-2, but ran into a few issues on T-3, to include a failure to extract malfunctions. It is definitely a cool concept, but I am hesitant of considering one after witnessing these issues.
Conclusion:
I would recommend this course to anyone who has a good foundation in carbine operation and wants a good challenge. Through a productive examination of fundamentals and high expectations I believe any shooter, professional or not, can leave with a heightened skill-set on the application of carbine operation. I know I left this course with a wealth of knowledge and a tremendous amount of respect for Jeff and for the students that where in attendance.
Thanks for taking the time to read my report. Following are some photos from the course.
S/F,
Dan
http://pleaforwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/navyq1.jpg
Myself during a navy qualification at the 35 yd line.
http://pleaforwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/tricon.jpg
Students performing dry-fire drills in the morning.
On 20110111-13 Trident Concepts conducted a Level 3 Carbine Operator’s Course in the town of Surprise, AZ. This was my first advanced carbine course that I have attended and I was very impressed with the various challenges the course offered, the level of professionalism from the instructor Jeff Gonzales, and the dedication and focus from my fellow students.
The lessons I have learned from this course are numerous and invaluable. I could ramble on for pages about what I have learned in this course, but to save your time from my amateur writing I will summarize to my best ability.
Marksmanship Fundamentals:
I expected Jeff to cover the fundamentals of marksmanship. What I did not expect was his tremendous dedication to ensuring his pupils really grasped and understood what he was teaching. From the fighting stance, proper grip, trigger control, and everything in-between, Jeff spent a great amount of time instructing and using drills to emphasize the importance of marksmanship and accuracy. I heavily benefited from this as my shooting position improved day to day.
Standards:
Trident Concepts is dedicated to pursuing standards that are not the easiest to achieve. All students are not guaranteed to pass the course by attendance alone. There are three tests on T3 that have varying degrees of difficulty. These tests are excellent tools in gauging the student’s progress in grasping the fundamentals taught in class. This expectation to meet standards had a profound effect on myself as they separated the practice attitude of drills with the demand for results in the tests. I quickly realized that doing well in drills means little when you can’t perform in the spotlight.
Gear:
A lot of lessons were learned in this category. First, I learned an important lesson about what I should wear for load-bearing usage in courses like this. On T-1 I showed up with a DBT carrier (w/plates) and all the trimmings (2x pistol mag pouch, 4x M4 mag pouch, IFAK). My attitude was to “train as I would fight”. That sounds great in a practical sense, but my progress was inhibited by the fatigue that resulted from shooting with such a heavy load out. After discussing the subject with Jeff and some thinking, I decided to transition to my US PALM Defender carrier. While being able to fit hard armor, this carrier is also marketed as being used as a discreet solution for defense against handgun threats. The weight difference was exponential and my performance increased accordingly. From now on I will use my personal time to apply lessons learned from professional instruction in conjunction with “training as I would fight”.
My rifle ran like a sewing machine, the only malfunctions being attributed to bad ammo and poor operation of the charging handle on my behalf. I am really impressed with the LMT enhanced BCG I have used in the class and before, and will continue to use it in every course I attend until failure.
This is the second course I have used MPro7 LPX to lubricate my rifle and I am thoroughly impressed with the success I have had with it.
This course was the first time I had the opportunity to witness a Robinson XCR go through the motions. The rifle performed well on T-1 and T-2, but ran into a few issues on T-3, to include a failure to extract malfunctions. It is definitely a cool concept, but I am hesitant of considering one after witnessing these issues.
Conclusion:
I would recommend this course to anyone who has a good foundation in carbine operation and wants a good challenge. Through a productive examination of fundamentals and high expectations I believe any shooter, professional or not, can leave with a heightened skill-set on the application of carbine operation. I know I left this course with a wealth of knowledge and a tremendous amount of respect for Jeff and for the students that where in attendance.
Thanks for taking the time to read my report. Following are some photos from the course.
S/F,
Dan
http://pleaforwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/navyq1.jpg
Myself during a navy qualification at the 35 yd line.
http://pleaforwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/tricon.jpg
Students performing dry-fire drills in the morning.