AAR: Redback One-Jason Falla (GGT) - Highview, WV 13AUG & 14AUG

[SHIVAN]

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Redback One
www.redbackone.com

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Grey Group Training:
www.greygrouptraining.com

2-day Tactical Carbine (Advanced) - Highview, WV - Echo Valley Training Center

I am not good at these but wanted to get this ball rolling while the others formulate their AAR's

First class with Jason, and I must say his reputation as a quality instructor is understated, if that's even possible. His wit and demeanor carry the urgency of the instruction, but in a manner reminiscent of a couple of buddies out for a day of shooting.

Standout elements of this instruction: "Stress Test", Timed Standards, and not sure what element Jason identifies it in his curriculum, but I called it the URFvcked transitions.

Starting with the URFvcked:

Basically, as we were winding down our loadouts running transition drills from carbine to pistol, Jason told us to keep going until we were completely out of ammo. Use those partial mags up, and reload or transition as many times as necessary to get the required shots in, or go empty getting there. He would require five or six shots, maybe three body, three head or whatever and you may only have one in the carbine, a loose mag, a set-up malfunction, or whatever. You never knew what you were going to get, and had to keep your head in the game or URFvcked. :D

Timed Standards:

Would have liked this see this once more before we left out, but the Stress Test made up for it, in my mind. Jason had a series of drills from 7yds to 25yds, pistol and carbine with par times grounded in reality. Tested offset awareness, transitions, reloading on the fly, and SOM. Loved them. As good a set of standards as I've seen.

Stress Test:

The topography of EVTC is such that you are in the back end of a big bowl. Not quite sure of the elevation change, but you'll see it in the pics, when those show up. I'll call it 250yd linear distance with an elevation change of 200ft. Objective was partnered assault/capture the flag. I would love to see this at more classes, and with a more robust target array. Loved, loved, loved it.

If you have the chance to train with Jason Falla (Redback One), take it without hesitation. You will not be disappointed. I know I wasn't, and I'm a pretty discerning customer on how I spend my free time.

Thanks to Grey Group Training, EVTC and it's owner C.R., and my classmates (Thunderbird 2 aka Michael, Jeff, Alex, Gary, Justin, Martin, Todd, CR, and Doc) for making this weekend an excellent class.

[Jeff Franz]

Questions like “Is this a Threat?” and “where do the rounds need to go?” are the only questions you should be asking yourself in the real world. How those rounds are going to get there should be subconscious. – Jason Falla

Redback One 2-Day Advanced Tactical Carbine
Jason Falla
August 13th and 14th, 2011
Highview, WV

I was fortunate that all the tumblers fell into place, albeit a bit late, and I was able to attend my first class with Redback One and Jason Falla. This class was billed as an advanced tactical carbine class expected to reach higher levels than a standard marksmanship course, and as expected, it lived up to its description. The quote above, paraphrased a bit from the exact words spoken by Jason on training day one, captures the gist of this block of instruction. A brief review of the fundamentals of marksmanship, and “we’re away” as Jason would say.

Training day one started with approximately an hour’s worth of classroom lecture on the course as a whole, and the details there within. Jason’s safety brief at the beginning of the lecture was a bit different from what many who attend organized training are probably accustomed to. Of course, the four golden rules we all have memorized were part of the puzzle, but the broader picture weapons safety, both on a square range and a three dimensional real world battlefield, was the true focus of Redback One’s safety brief. Specifically, Jason did an excellent job of explaining what skills, attitude, and knowledge are required to eliminate unauthorized discharges of our weapons and avoid punching a hole in something or someone that doesn’t deserve it.

Next, Jason introduced the objectives of the course - what we were going to learn and practice and why over the next two days. Many are familiar with the axiom that there is no such thing as advanced marksmanship, on the fundamentals applied at an advanced level. Though Jason did not parrot these exact words, they were none the less the heart of this class. After a brief refresher on the fundamentals of shooting, Jason stressed the importance of practice to the point of these fundamentals occurring in the subconscious so that our stream of conscious thought can turn to completing the task at hand. This course provided a safe environment in which the fundamentals can be mated with the thinking side of shooting to accomplish a task.

Like all carbine classes, we confirmed zero on our weapons. We started at the 25 yard line, and then retreated to the 50 and finally the 100 to confirm. As always, this took just a bit longer than is anticipated. However, having a proper zero and understanding its importance on marksmanship at varying distances is crucial. No matter how many times you’ve been there, done that, it is still good material to cover. Next, we moved closer in to assess and fine tune the fundamentals of stance, grip, trigger control, sight picture, and recoil management. Jason also covered various ready positions, their strengths and drawbacks, and when and how each can or should be employed.

The pace increased significantly towards the end of the first day, and Jason incorporated drills that had us moving the gun a bit, and discriminated between high and low percentage shots that forced us to speed up or slow down to meet time and/or accuracy standards. We ran a bit of a scrambler or meltdown drill that involved less than full magazines, transitions to pistol, and high and low percentage shots. Day one was completed with a series of Redback One standards that were challenging, yet attainable that included both time and accuracy standards from varying distances. Then it was back the hotel for a quick bite, some maintenance on one of my rifles, and a recharge of the batteries for a more challenging day two.

Weather forecasters called for torrential rains on Sunday, with a high temperature in the upper 70’s. Sunday was one of the many times the experts were dead wrong, but for the better. Sunny, humid, and a little on the warm side was the reality, but at least it wasn’t raining. I need to find a job in which I can be right about half the time and still get paid.

Day two began with more classroom instruction, this time on the function of the carbine, and how and why malfunctions typically occur. Jason made a very valid point – we don’t need to run “torture tests” on our guns by putting 100k rounds through them without cleaned them or without using lube, etc. The manufacturers and most likely the US Government have already done that. Clean and lube the damn things, and do a little preventative maintenance by replacing parts known to wear at regular intervals, and we’ll all be happier and less frustrated at the end of the day. We stepped back out on the line for some live fire exercises practicing the appropriate techniques for clearing common malfunctions quickly and efficiently. One of our fellow classmates running Wolf ammo through his Bushmaster had already spent a great deal of his time beating the shit out of the earth with the butt of his rifle trying to clear multiple failure to extracts, so this lesson was particularly pertinent to him. Unfortunately, his troubles did not end until he cleared his weapon after the final drill.

The balance of day two went by in a blur. We rehearsed switching shoulders and shooting from the support side, engaging targets at oblique angles, and moving and communicating while shooting with others. The day culminated with a stress exercise that was physically and mentally demanding. If shooters were expending their energy and focus on marksmanship fundamentals, they were committing errors that on a two way range, would have most likely been met with unpleasant results. After completing this exercise, one could plainly see how months could be spent training in those specifics outside of marksmanship to become truly proficient and increase survivability when the bad guys are moving and shooting back and chaos is introduced.

Conclusions

I’ve had the good fortune to train with several of the top instructors, and without a doubt, Jason Falla and Redback One are firmly among the very best. Jason’s knowledge of and passion for what he teaches is quite evident and resonates with each evolution. Often, once a shooter attends a certain amount of training, he or she may come to feel they reach a point of diminishing returns and further classes become a simple rehash of the same old drills and TTP’s. I can honestly say this course did not fit that portrayal for me. Though we covered many topics I have been exposed to time and time again, I was still able to garner new knowledge and skill from Jason that ultimately will lead to an increase in my shooting ability. Tools in the toolbox, arrows in the quiver, alternate ways to skin a cat, pick your cliché. Some of the concepts or skill sets Jason teaches vary greatly from other top level instructors, and some are simple small nuances that make a difference in speed, accuracy or some other aspect that improves performance and ultimately may lead to an increased chance of survival should, God forbid, they day ever come that you are forced to employ these skills.

A word on gear and malfunctions (because the question always comes up). I experienced my first ever malfunction in a training class. Early on in day one, I had a dead trigger while shooting one of the drills. It went away for a couple of strings, and then came back with a vengeance and the gun locked up completely. I switched to my other rifle and finished out the day. During one of the breaks in the action, I broke the gun open and found a primer rattling around the trigger mechanism. I was shooting Federal XM193 through a BCM rifle with a standard milspec trigger. That night and the hotel, I pulled the trigger assembly, removed the primer, cleaned the inside of the lower receiver, reassembled it and did not have any further problems for the remainder of the class.

We had various broken small parts. I know one shooter had the buffer retaining pin break in his lower. I believe he was shooting a short barreled LWRC upper on a Rock River lower. Our Wolf Ammo shooters seemed to be plagued with multiple problems. At times, it looked as though people were digging fox holes with trenching shovels.

Total round count for the class was close to the course description – nearly 1,000 rifle, and about 300 pistol.

My thanks to Paul and Grey Group for organizing the class, and to CR and Echo Valley Training Facility for hosting it. CR has put together a top notch training facility, and I hope to return again sometime soon. Shivan, it was a pleasure meeting you. Always nice to put a name face to a name on the board.

Thanks for reading. Safe shooting,

JF

[Boss Hogg]

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Redback One
www.redbackone.com

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/va_dinger/logo.jpg

Grey Group Training:
www.greygrouptraining.com


I could only make it for TD1. I was very impressed with what we covered. I've taken classes with trainers such as Pat Rogers, Larry Vickers, Kyle Lamb, and Mike Pannone, and I would absolutely not hesitate to learn from Jason again. He really knows how to present techniques in logical steps, and how to gradually increase the tempo based on class skills. The class was a good crew.

Jason's instruction differed from other classes I've taken in that he's a big fan of high ready. He also covered how to haul your ass and rifle from point A to point B, and the right grip to use. Also a couple of tweaks on mag loading and mag changes.

On the subject of malfunctions, even though I didn't witness the trench digging, I really have to call into question the economy of using Wolf 5.56 ammo. A gun that's choking like Anthony Bourdain on Applebee's is really going to diminish your experience that you paid time and money for. I had issues with two of my 5.45 mags (since rectified with some DuPont teflon lube), but spend the extra bucks on decent ammo like Prvi, PMC or IMI 5.56.

There was one gun- I believe Jeff's- that had a Battlecomp. Hard to believe that the LWRC 8" guns (which ran fine from what I saw, BTW) had less concussion!

CR has put together a great training venue with EVTC, and it's good to see their collaboration with Grey Group. A bit remote- bring your chow and provisions- but it is a nice escape from DC suburbia but just under 90 minutes from Dulles Airport.

Now for some photos.

Haven't seen too many carbine classes where you cover this:

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/Red%20Back%20One%20-%20West%20Virginia%20Aug11/IMG_3325.jpg

discussing weapon balance, shooting stance, etc.
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a compulsory gear shot
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difference between Multicam and ATACS
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[621sig]

Ditto to everything above, fantastic course and great bunch of guys. Thanks to all!

Throughout the course I found Jason to be a very personable instructor and keen to pass on any fonts of knowledge that he has that can make you better/faster/more accurate with the M4/AR15 platform along with some different points of view that really made the training interesting and relevant such as magazine retention (when/why/how) and combatives (when and why you might utilize the high port).

The classroom/instructional sessions were not too long and I personally found the malfunction/cycle of firing theory session particularly interesting, especially his outlook on what's "your fault" and whats "the rifles fault".

Just to add to what Shivan said.

The Stress Test was definitely a bonus and highlighted the key points from both the theory and practical serials of the past 2 days. When to transition and when to fix your f'ing rifle! How to use as cover, use of and tempo of effective fire and high/low percentage accurate shots - all came into play on the final fling!

I hope to be able to attend a RB1 pistol course in the future but to summarize - you know how to fix that? Stop f'ing doing it! :haha:

[VA_Dinger]

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/NewRedbackOnelogo2.jpg

Redback One
www.redbackone.com

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/va_dinger/logo.jpg

Grey Group Training:
www.greygrouptraining.com

Great AAR's so far guys. Thanks for posting them.

We will be getting the rest of the photos posted up today.

[VA_Dinger]

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Redback One
www.redbackone.com

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/va_dinger/logo.jpg

Grey Group Training:
www.greygrouptraining.com

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[VA_Dinger]

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/NewRedbackOnelogo2.jpg

Redback One
www.redbackone.com

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/va_dinger/logo.jpg

Grey Group Training:
www.greygrouptraining.com

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[JeepDriver]

Sounds like a great class, I hope they do a basic carbine and or pistol class at the same location next year.

[SHIVAN]

Somebody talked some shit about a Glock and Jason went hands-on....

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/Red%20Back%20One%20-%20West%20Virginia%20Aug11/IMG_3324.jpg

:jester:

[C45P312]

Looked liked a great class. Nice to see different AAR perspectives in the same class.

[Boss Hogg]

The thing that impressed me most about Jason is that he was wearing full kit and didn't appear to spill a drop of sweat despite humid temps in the 80s.

[Jeff Franz]

A few more pictures

http://aesirtraining.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/RB1-Tactical-Carbine-001-we.jpg

http://aesirtraining.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/RB1-Tactical-Carbine-005-we.jpg

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http://aesirtraining.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/RB1-Tactical-Carbine-053-.jpg

More on My Website (http://aesirtraining.com/home/media/photo-gallery/jason-falla-redback-one-advanced-tactical-carbine/)

[VA_Dinger]

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/NewRedbackOnelogo2.jpg

Redback One
www.redbackone.com

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/va_dinger/logo.jpg

Grey Group Training:
www.greygrouptraining.com

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/Red%20Back%20One%20-%20West%20Virginia%20Aug11/IMG_3311.jpg

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[30 cal slut]

First class with Jason, and I must say his reputation as a quality instructor is understated, if that's even possible. His wit and demeanor carry the urgency of the instruction, but in a manner reminiscent of a couple of buddies out for a day of shooting.


That description is spot-on.