AAR: Redback One 3 Day Home Defense 4-6 OCT

[Jason Falla]

We were also asked to post this AAR for the members of M4C as Scott does not have his login at this time. Thanks to Scott W for a great write up on the course.

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AAR: Redback One – 3 Day Home Defense and Personal Protection

Course dates. 4-6 Oct

Summary
Redback One conducted an advanced-level, 37-hour period of instruction, focusing upon defensive techniques relevant to the identification, interdiction and mitigation of threats associated with home-invasion/home-defense and personal-security scenarios. Training on both topics comprised of theoretical instruction for single and tandem operators, implemented via critiqued dry-training/rehearsal drills, culminating in assessed live-fire and force-on-force drills utilizing simunitions. Instruction was also presented on the criminal behavioral mindset and criminal methods of operation, specifically for sexual assault and home invasion. Furthermore, lectures where presented on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC)/pre-hospital casualty care, implementation of dedicated and improvised tourniquets, and finally Warrior Mindset/Aptitude. Throughout the course of instruction, the RB1 Cadre Staff displayed professionalism and competency with respect to their knowledge base and skillset proficiency; coupled with a determined and focused instructional technique to not only maximize knowledge transfer across the duration of the course, but more importantly to ensure students understood the basic fundamentals and principals underpinning the techniques – to help student apply the techniques across different training scenarios. This course of instruction exposed the students to a training facility (the ballistic house), training techniques (force-on-force utilizing simunitions) and finally training aides (rifle suppressors & level IV body armor), which aren’t frequently accessible to non-military/LE personnel. The incorporation of these features maximized training realism, as well as elevated the training tempo, allowing the student to more accurately assess how they perform under physical and mental duress. All training was conducted under a safety-first mandate, which is imperative considering the complex and dynamic nature of the defensive drills, within close confines. Overall, the RB1 Home Defense and Personal Protection Training Course provided students with significant insight and knowledge into the fundamentals & techniques necessary to mitigate and prevail against threats within home-defense and personal-security scenarios, which are becoming more and more common-place in our society.

Conduct and Content of Course
This being my second RB1 training course, I anticipated the focused, high-intensity, extended-duration format style of course, that is a characteristic hall mark of RB1 courses, and I wasn’t disappointed. I expect and demand a goal-orientated and logically structured course of instruction, professionally and motivationally delivered by individuals, who not only possess the relevant competencies and skills, but have the ability to instruct and convey the fundamentals & concepts to the students, minimizing ambiguity and maximizing knowledge transfer. With the individual always needing to be conscientious with respect to both time and total-course costs when selecting instruction (particularly if air-travel is involved), few of us can tolerate or justify a training course which is little more than a day at the range. Through my previous training with RB1, I’ve found their cadre staff possesses and display the knowledge, experience and instructional ability to achieve these training expectations, and do so with an approachable, down-to-earth attitude. This course was no different. As a side note, tips for new players attending RB1 courses in the future: prepare for the extended duration of the course by arriving well rested, maximize your fitness prior (note to self), always bring a notebook for formalized lectures and expect & embrace instruction/taskings undertaken with a ‘sense of urgency and purpose’ - RB1 courses aren’t about learning to play croquet.

ControlledPairs2 above captured the mainstay of the course content. Additional instruction within the Home Defense component included elements of stalking and observation of a target building, as well as priority of threats within a room during clearance drills – again the RB1 cadre staff reinforcing the fundamentals & building blocks to assist the student in fully comprehending and cognitively-owning the technique, to allow the student to transfer it to their particular home scenario. Within the personal protection/security component, break –contact drills for two-man security teams were instructed and rehearsed, the constant focus always being maintenance of situational awareness and the safe extraction of your loved one from the fight – rather than getting entrenched into a prolonged gun battle.

Another formalized lecture presented during the course was ‘the Warrior Mindset’. This topic wasn’t just relegated to lip-service only, with Jason detailing the critical characteristics and fundamentals that must underpin the combatant’s mindset for the individual to prevail against adversity – this is the glue that holds the individual’s suite of skillsets together to perform on demand , its importance can’t be underestimated, nor ignored in training. RB1’s response to individuals or teams missing shots on targets within the shoot house – a 200 yard run in full gear for self-reflection - is a clear example of RB1 applying aspects of the warrior mindset to their training doctrine – only hits counts, and the consequences of misses applied a further psychological duress to the shooter to focus their thinking on the fundamentals of accuracy and heighten the realism. I seriously doubt this ‘hit or run’ approach is rolled out blanket fashion across all of RB1’s courses, yet it was suitable for the advanced nature of this class – to encourage the individual to focus on the task at hand, balance out the induced stress and give further preparation for the force-on-force drills.

The stress-inducing and re-enforcement value of force-on-force training can’t be understated – engaging a live target that interacts dynamically – both proactively & reactively, adds leaps and bounds in terms of training value and self-assessment for the individual compared to paper targets. Knowledge and competency within the tested skill sets – or otherwise – is rapidly exposed in force-on-force, and is a more apt culmination of training than simply live-fire on a paper target. As mentioned above, home defense and personal security force-on-force scenarios were conducted. The scenarios were critiqued by the RB1 Cadre Staff, which along with self-assessment, clearly helped identify the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. This is a very necessary training tool when the defensive tactics being taught & assessed can’t easily be replicated by flat targets on a square range.

Conclusion
I concur with ControlledPairs2 above; the course had an outstanding, substantial and structured curriculum, the instructors were professional, competent & enthusiastic, and prepared to invest the extended time (37 hrs. of instruction in 3 days) to maximize the students’ opportunity to assimilate the training. The course presented fantastic value for money, in consideration of the training duration, the unique training facility and training aides. I look very forward to subsequent training with RB1 in the future.

[C45P312]

And another AAR from Mike of GSS Gear in Va Beach who attended the course. He doesn't have an account here so I'm posting this up for him. Long time lurker but never joined. Told him it was a great forum to join for the information from valued members.

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A week ago I finished a Personal Protection and Home Defense Course at the G4S Schacklefords facility with Jason and Muz of Redback One. I can't begin to tell you how well put-together this course is and how well it's taught in a way that would do it proper justice. Jason and Muz are both extremely knowledgeable and proficient in the subject matter they are conveying, but almost more importantly they are good at teaching it. I made my fair share of mistakes (probably more) throughout the course and both were there to reprimand me, reinforce training, and properly snap me into the mindset that I had to do it right and mistakes would not be tolerated. They did all of this without harassment or humiliation; they weren't petty about it at all. When mistakes were made (by anyone) and we had to run (in full kit) and run more if someone fell behind; everyone was on-board and understood that it was there to focus us. People slowed down and thought about what they were doing. Rushing a shot and not hitting the face means running, for everyone, so slow down and make a proper shot. Focus on the safety of others. Keep your muzzle up. Can't hit what you're not aiming at...

The personal protection portion focused on protecting a significant other, family member, or VIP from harm and screening them from harassment. In the event a threat presents itself we were taught the proper way to address that threat (hint: bullets) and then to get that protected person to cover. From cover we're shown how to assess the aggressors condition and scan for additional threats such as others coming to join the fight. Once satisfied that nothing else needs to be dealt with, we're then directed to yoke that person up and move to the next bit of cover. Of note is the fact that the person may be panicking which could make them freeze or resist your direction, which is something I never really thought about. Getting a person to cover means literally railroading them there physically and verbally and telling them along the way how we're making out way. All of this was demonstrated and explained to us multiple times and we performed the drills until everyone was up to speed. After addressing the threat, getting to cover, re-addressing the threat, getting to cover, etc, one makes their way as quickly as is viable out of the room/area/building to greater safety. We did these drills dry, with live fire against paper, and then we participated in groups (four against one plus VIP) with simunition. Drilling it dry and with paper was good, but having people crowd around you and having to figure out your moves under the threat of being shot is a whole new level of reinforcement.

In the home defense portion we were taught how to move within a home with a rifle. From door appreciation (does it open in or out, how are we going to approach it, how to open it quickly with as little exposure as possible), to properly pieing a door, to the correct way to enter a room, to the way to address threats once met (hint: bullets). We were put through scenarios where we were beginning outside the house knowing that someone we cared about is inside and in danger. How do we approach? How can we minimize our time in fire lanes? How do we make entry without being detected until last minute? How do we identify ourselves to our loved ones as not to have a friendly fire issue? We were put through scenarios where we were clearing from the inside of the house, both as a single person and as a two-man team. Maybe you're lucky enough to have a family member that can handle a long gun? Well, having a second person with you to help you scan the house and make it to your children can be extremely beneficial as long as you know how to do it efficiently and not trip all over each other. Exercises run in the house were done dry, live on paper, then culminated in force-on-force simunition where we were placed into the middle of a middle-of-the-night home invasion where we're woken up and have to make our way to our loved ones and protect them from the people who kicked our door in.

We also had a great medical section where we discussed providing aid to ourselves and others in and out of combat. We discussed large range of medical devices and their use, and even how to make some on the fly out of found materials. We discuss TCCC and how we might best arrange the acts of: shooting back, finding cover, getting the person immediate care, getting the person to a higher level of care. Obviously a gash and a sucking chest would are on different orders of magnitude and will be treated differently. Knowing what kind of woulds require what kind of immediate action and knowing what kinds of wounds can wait a few minutes/hours is important. Even things I thought I knew, like applying a tourniquet, presented challenges in some cases. The differences between a CAT tourniquet and a SOF-T tourniquet are something I hadn't thought about before, but they should be applied differently, work better depending on the situation, and with a little bit of prior manipulation and staging can become more effective and easy to deploy. Besides addressing various traumas and their treatments, we also have a look at an aid bag and the materials one finds inside. This is important not only for recognizing materials so that we can use them in an emergency, but also so that we can make/improve our own individual kits and larger group bags.

Over the course of the three days I was challenged. I was put in stressful situations and given clear instructions on the best ways to deal with them. I made friends who I feel I can count on in an emergency. I saw people I already knew come alive and step up to face threats and challenges that most would run away from. Speaking of running, I ran. Did I mention in full kit? That's important because I realized that all I had really done in armor before is stand for hours or walk to and from. Running makes a difference. My kind changed pretty dramatically over the three days as well. Things that work standing in place on a range don't work as well when you're on the go. This would seem obvious, but I had a lot of those moments smack me in the face and I was forced to hone down my setup to increase efficiency. Discussion during lunch and our brief breaks between scenarios helped lead me in the right direction. Everyone else has either tightened down their setup or had their own issues to discuss and it all helped me. This included everything from moving pouches, to changing slings, to pulling crap off my rifle, to re-thinking eye pro. I had an constructive and awesome time with like-minded people and top-notch instructors and really the only thing that disappointed me about the course was that it had to end.

Thanks again to Jason and Muz for the excellent instruction, my fellow students who were at times backing-me up and other times shooting at me (but always pushing me, either way), and Carlo for convincing me to come out in the first place. I had a solid time and Redback One has my vote for future training dollars, no question. -Mike

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By far one of the best tactical retail stores on the east coast. Definitely worth your time to stop in and say hello to them

Location:
1569 Diamond Springs Road, Suite C
Virginia Beach, VA, 23455

Phone: 757.227.6757
Fax: 757.227.6769
E-mail: cs@gssgear.com
www.gssgear.com