AAR: Rifle Manipulation Primer (RMP) 2 May – Jack
When Max announced the RMP class I was all over it. I signed up for it the first day it was available. Being a handgun guy and new to the AR platform it just made good sense to get instruction from professional AR runners. In a nutshell it was the smartest thing I did in preparation for the CRCD class. If I had not taken the class, the CRCD class would have been much more difficult. (I also should have done more PT but that is another AAR).
Aaron was our instructor. When you meet Aaron you know you have encountered someone special. Soft spoken, well mannered, sincere and serious. For a young man he has way more battle experience than most. He has been there and knows what works and what does not. He understands what we may encounter someday and wants to prepare all of us for that day so we can prevail. That is the kind of man I want teaching me how to run my rifle.
For a 4 hour class it contained tons of information. Safety being the first subject, as it should be, also gets you up to speed for what is expected of you, safety wise, for the CRCD class. All the less for you to absorb the following day. Getting your rifle zeroed, or just confirming you have your rifle zeroed correctly is also included. This has an effect on the following day, you need to make your hits in CRCD. Proper technique for reloading, this comes into major play in CRCD. In the CRCD class you will do more reloads in 2 days than you could possibly keep track of. If you are not up to speed it would make for a long, long two days. The clearing malfunctions portion of the class was worth the price of admission. Aaron’s method of teaching this is brilliant. He teaches you the diagnostic steps to take when you have a malfunction and then uses buddy teams taking turns setting up malfunctions on each others guns. I actually found this fun and exciting using this method to learn. There was so much more information imparted to all of us. Even after class Max and Aaron stood around fielding questions. Everyone at MVT is very generous with their time.
Being a gun guy and being mechanical I did not know how to properly run my AR. I plan to sign up for the CRM (Combat Rifle Manipulation) class before summer ends. I believe I have so much more to learn about this rifle and quite honestly I found the class fun and stimulating. My prediction is that Aaron will become one of our country’s premier tactical instructors if that is what he wanted to do. I would recommend this class to anyone taking any one of Maxes classes even if you feel you are up to speed. Sometimes we just don’t know what we don’t know.
Jack
(Note: RMP runs along with Combat Lifesaver the day prior to all CRCD classes. CRM has now been scheduled, the first class taking place 31 May – 01 June).