|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts." Justice Robert Jackson, WV St. Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
"I don’t care how many pull ups and sit ups you can do. I care that you can move yourself across the ground with a fighting load and engage the enemy." Max Velocity
Well, I mean, it's nothing major, just think of it in that, the way the class content will change the way you think about deploying yourself, so will your ideas of what gear you need in relation to how you plan to deploy yourself.Originally Posted by Submariner
For example, if you're (and I use "you/you're/etc." in a broad sense here, not directed at specifically anyone) a "I only needto carry 2 mags to the firing line" sort of fellow, after one of these I think one would realize that IRL, 2 mags won't cut it- especially when you realize that through the whole CRCD class, you're still only supressing/engaging 1 target in 1 direction- and look at the ammo you burn through just firing slow aimed shots at that!
On the flip side, it can also be said that loading yourself down with full armor and 15 mags, plus ancillary gear will f*** you over just as quickly since you won't be able to move at more than a snails pace. I think what has been said about armor being more suited for vehicle/urban operation may have some truth to it.
I guess overall it's just about finding a balance between what you think you need and what you actually need, and then what will work for you.
Like I said, nothing groundbreaking, just a change in the way one will think about their loadout off the square range, if you're preparing for any eventuality like that.
That being said, for any potential attendees here, if all you have is your range loadout, run with it- you can make it through a CRCD class with a super-light load like that- just be prepared to re-up between shooting phases, and possibly run dry during more prolonged, or consecutive sets of drills
"Once we get some iron in our souls, we'll get some iron in our hands..."
"...A rapid, aggressive response will let you get away with some pretty audacious things if you are willing to be mean, fast, and naked."-Failure2Stop
"The Right can meme; the Left can organize. I guess now we know which one is important." - Random internet comment
After attending six days of training with MVT, I posted this review of Contact! on amazon.com.:
"Fire and move! Fire and move! That's the mantra of the infantryman and when it is all said and done, motivated and well trained as they are, paras are infantrymen.... Firing without moving gets you nowhere. Moving without one of your mates supporting you is a recipe for disaster. So the British infantryman fires and then he moves while his mates support him with fire. Then his mates move while he supports them in turn. We call it fire and manoeuver and British soldiers excel at it." John Geddes & Alun Rees, Spearhead Assault: Blood, Guts and Glory on the Falklands Frontlines (London: Century, 2007), 50.
Nobody does it better. Right!
So how does someone desirous of learning such skills actually go about acquiring them? Start with reading Max Velocity's book, Contact! Written by a former ranker and, after being graduated from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, a commissioned officer in The Parachute Regiment, the book is a common sense approach to the how as well as the why of reacting to contact, contact drills and patrolling - the bread and butter of light infantry operations.
My first introduction to this topic was a book bought back in the late `90s, McAleese's Fighting Handbook. It is reputed to be one of the best books on modern soldiering and small-unit tactics by a former member of The Parachute Regiment and both 22nd SAS and the Rhodesian SAS. The tried and proven basics Max teaches in Contact! are the same as those expounded by McAleese. Trust but verify.
The book, however, simply the first step. Knowing and doing are two completely different things. Initial training under the watchful eye of a skilled instructor who provides immediate correction and feedback is paramount. Self-training with no frame of reference only reinforces bad practices.
Earlier this month, my three sons and I completed six days of training with Max on his mountain and ranges in West Virginia. The words of the book came alive and even had the proper English accent. Priceless! We can now train these newly acquired skill sets with a much better appreciation for the meaning and implementation of the words. Perfect practice makes permanent.
A blogger and recent commander of a US Army parachute infantry company in Afghanistan, AmericanMercenary, wrote, "Gentlemen and Ladies, if you want to be a better fighter, you need to go out and actually train. If you can't train yourself by all means pick up a class from John Mosby or Max Velocity. I had to sign away years of my life to get my training, a few hundred bucks and some time sleeping on the dirt is a damn good bargain in comparison.... You get skills by training. And training always costs time and money."
"The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts." Justice Robert Jackson, WV St. Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
"I don’t care how many pull ups and sit ups you can do. I care that you can move yourself across the ground with a fighting load and engage the enemy." Max Velocity
The quality of instruction was on par with EAG classes we have taken over the last 10+ years.
TD1 consisted of a four hour block of instruction in TCCC including MARCH protocol. (Max is a 68W in USAR.) Note that Blue Force Gear SOC belt/suspenders do not survive casualty drag. Next up was four hours on the flat range for basic combat rifle manipulation. Max and his crew teach diagnostic malfunction clearance techniques; we learned non-diagnostic techniques with EAG. Both work if performed properly. Last block of instruction was Night Observation Device Firing. Starting on the square range to zero lasers (most folks used DBAL I2s), we then walked about on the range to get "comfortable" moving and observing with NODs. Finale was moving into an ambush position twenty or so meters off the trail to engage targets marked with chem lights. Number One Son shot the target shown here:
http://www.maxvelocitytactical.com/2...ne-28-wattage/
TD2 was the first day of Combat Rifle/Contact Drills. Starting with individual RTR (Return Fire/Take Cover/Return Appropriate Fire) drills, we then learned to break cover a acquire a new position of cover. Each student then did an individual jungle walk against pop up targets. Next, buddy pairs learned to fire and move together, both fighting forward and fighting back. This was followed by two buddy pairs operating together as a fire team.
TD3 was the last day of CR/CD. Break contact drills, including fighting back and peels, with reorganization at a covered rally point were the focus of the day's training. The finale was a three fire team assault on a bunker. Max and his AIs gave the theory for each evolution, we rehearsed off the range and then executed it on the range. Good stuff!
TD4 was the theory of patrolling, including, but not limited to, types of patrols; planning; movement; field craft; actions on contact, etc.; patrol movement/security; gear requirements and packing. Afternoon was live firing as a squad: Offensive react to contact – squad hasty attack; Squad level break contact drills – options; and The MVT Box Peel – an MVT designed drill for withdrawing for contact front/flank simultaneously. Think reaction to an L-Shaped ambush or enemy flanking move.
TD5 they conducted an equipment check to weed out unnecessary items and taught us how to set up a basha/tarp in the field. Practical instruction on living in the field and how to operate in a patrol base followed. Then that afternoon, we commenced the 24-hour tactical exercise: Patrolling out; Occupy Patrol Base; Routine in Patrol Base, including Evening Stand-To in Patrol Base; Night Recce Patrol; Routine in Patrol Base overnight, including sentry duty.
TD6 began with Morning Stand-To in Patrol Base; a Proprietary tactical exercise – live firing; AM: Live ambush; PM: Live Raid; Patrolling in. Again, theory of ambushes and raids were presented; rehearsals were conducted and the evolutions were run until we got it right.
Max's mountain has a high canopy which holds in the humidity. He said it was, essentially, mountainous jungle. We sweat continuously over the six days. Wet kit/dry kit routine overnight was the order of the day. The only flat spots are the parking lot and flat range. The ground is populated by rocks, thousands of rocks, as well as creeping vines, both of which conspire to trip the unwary.
PT prior to an MVT class is vital, even more so for a six-day class. Hiking in gear up and down hills and over uneven terrain would be ideal preparation. After seeing a "burpee" demonstrated, I'm going to learn to perform them to train for the "I'm up; he see's me; I'm down" portion of fire and movement. Gravity is great for getting down; it works against you when you break cover. Max works hard to accommodate those who begin to falter as the class progresses so learning continues to occur. We combined CRCD and Patrol to save travel time and get a price break on class fees. They are generally taken as separate classes.
All-in-all, this was great training. After a solid foundation in mindset, manipulation and marksmanship with Pat Rogers, tactics with Max is the next logical stepping stone in the training progression. The excellent EAG Shoot House is tactics, too, but confined to shooting, moving and communicating in structures. Max's training covers the rest of the spectrum. Both run safe live-fire training.
We shall return for more of this fine training to reinforce what we have learned and will practice at home.
Last edited by Submariner; 07-30-14 at 15:53. Reason: add link
"The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts." Justice Robert Jackson, WV St. Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
"I don’t care how many pull ups and sit ups you can do. I care that you can move yourself across the ground with a fighting load and engage the enemy." Max Velocity
Excellent review, Submariner! I will use it as a "selling point" with the landowner in my quest to host Max here in Texas.
We are all victims of our own perspective.
If you cannot make it to his facility, by all means bring him to you. You can still learn the good solid basics he teaches without his ranges and pop-up targets. As you know from hosting others, the key to learning these skills is theory, rehearsal and performance under the watchful eye of a competent and passionate instructor who provides immediate feedback.
Last edited by Submariner; 07-30-14 at 15:43.
"The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts." Justice Robert Jackson, WV St. Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
"I don’t care how many pull ups and sit ups you can do. I care that you can move yourself across the ground with a fighting load and engage the enemy." Max Velocity
What's class attendees' purpose for doing a class like this?
Learn basic light infantry skills for those who never served or never acquired them in the service.
Look at this quote from LAV circa 2006:
How does one "effectively use the standard-issue service rifle (M16)" apart from the context of fire and maneuver?I am a believer that every adult male in this country should be able to effectively use the standard-issue service rifle (M16) and service pistol (M9). I know this is a pipe dream, but my reasons are infallible; the patriots of this country should be able to defend her at a moment's notice. We should take a page out of the Swiss book in this regard.
https://www.m4carbine.net/archive/index.php/t-2741.html
How effective is the Swiss model if we only teach folks to shoot the rifle (throw the football) but not to shoot, move, and communicate as light infantrymen (play as a football team) as the Swiss do?... The "Buddy Team" is the basis for all maneuver. But this isn't rocket surgery, it's a simple concept that is scalable from a two man team all the way up to Echelons Above Reality.
...
So what does this have to do with "A Nation of Riflemen?" Well first is that a nation of Riflemen is NOT a National Army. The vaunted "Hunters of Wisconsin" being the whatever largest Army in the world is pure horse crap. Yes they can shoot, and yes there is potential there, but it takes more than a rifle and the ability to shoot it to make an Army. It is easier to teach a Soldier to shoot than it is to teach a shooter to soldier. I'm not going to say that shooters don't have the skills to provide a credible threat against a modern military force, just that if you can't transition your INDIVIDUAL skills into a TEAM EFFORT then you are likely to get destroyed by those who can. As a historical note, the Boers were excellent at combining their individual skills into a group effort.
...
So what do you need to know about Fire and Maneuver at the ground level? First off the basics all apply, Shoot, Move, Communicate. You shoot so your buddy can move, he moves, then he gets set and communicates to you that he is shooting so you can move. It really is that simple, but when other guys are shooting back at you things get complicated in a hurry.
The basics:
Know where you are, know where your buddy is, and know where the bad guys are. Don't run in front of your buddy who is trying to give you cover. Friendly fire is even more accurate than enemy fire. Maintain Situational Awareness, don't "tunnel in" on your objective. The "lone sniper" you see is really the point man for an Infantry Platoon.
When things go to hell, a "Break Contact Drill" is just fire and maneuver AWAY from the enemy. Using disciplined fire to suppress or kill the enemy while you gain space in as orderly a manner as you can manage.
When you are the "Fire" element you need to be smart with your bullets. Belt Fed Machineguns can provide suppressive fire to make them keep their heads down. You can't carry enough ammo or reload fast enough to do the same with an M4gery (and if you can then you can't do it accurately). If every time the bad guy sticks his head up you put a ding in his helmet that is every bit as effective "suppression" as you can achieve. Don't waste bullets, but use them to achieve the effect you desire, which is keeping the bad guy pinned down until your buddy can move to a position to decisively end the fight.
Fire and Maneuver.
And, indeed, this includes patrolling techniques.
Last edited by Submariner; 07-30-14 at 18:24. Reason: add quote and link
"The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts." Justice Robert Jackson, WV St. Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
"I don’t care how many pull ups and sit ups you can do. I care that you can move yourself across the ground with a fighting load and engage the enemy." Max Velocity
Bookmarks