Review: CQBC is a ‘must have course’: D Close

By “D Close”

By now, most folks reading this know that there are some things broken that won’t get fixed any time soon. The need to be able to fight inside structures is something you take seriously. The need for Close Quarter Battle (CQB) skills is obvious when one considers the likelihood of a minimum of temporary social disorder, rising violence and a decline in the ability of the state to respond to growing threats. CQBC is a fairly recent addition to the MVT syllabus and one that should be taken ASAP.

The recent addition of John as a new Cadre is fortunate. His extensive military experience over the last eight years becomes apparent. His passion for instructing and his demand for professionalism from his students sets the bar at a height most here will appreciate. The result is a graduate who is familiar with “fighting in someone’s house.” (FISH) You will know what is required to enter a room and fight at close quarters and survive. This may very well be on the test.

Day One includes live-fire marksmanship and work on fire and movement, use of cover vs concealment and reactive shooting techniques. Target recognition was stressed. There is a minimum amount of weapons manipulation to help the instructor pace the class appropriately. I really liked the structure of this day and felt it was very helpful in demonstrating what basic skills were important.

Day Two we moved to the MOUT site. Max has done great work in designing a couple buildings where the learning curve can be steepened. Corner and center fed rooms are available to practice different techniques. Pie-ing the door and step-center techniques are practiced over and over. You are taught when each is appropriate. Threat recognition and target priority are taught and students have a great opportunity to use realistic targets that test shooting and mental skills. Breaching. With Shotguns. Awesome.

Speed, surprise and violence of action are the principles of CQB. How to achieve these are the problem that the team must solve in a limited time.

Both two and four man teams are introduced here. MVT seems to recognize that it is valuable for the citizen with these skills to be very familiar with two man tactics. This may be the best one can hope for in a WROL scenario. As John relates, during operations in Afghanistan, room clearing would have to be done rapidly by small teams. The sheer number of rooms in some areas necessitated buddy pairs or even individuals clearing.

Day Three is force on force. Using UTM rounds, realistic room and house clearing is introduced. Context is given to shape what doctrine states and adapted to various scenarios. Real time debrief on tactical execution is invaluable in rapid progression. You become very self-critical as footwork begins to become natural and gaining entry to a room is the challenge, even against a prepared defense. The margin for victory is measured in milliseconds. Sometimes one for one exchanges are the best you can do so the rest of the team can press forward to the next room.

I’ve been immersed in thought since leaving the VTC this past weekend. The lessons learned are giving me another reason to ramp up my training. Need a reason to get good plates? CQB will do. If any of us is forced to defend our family, this is likely how it will go down. It is up to you to make the fight brutal and short. You can win that fight but your chances of surviving go up dramatically when you learn from professionals. John and his AI team were just phenomenal. Their patience, encouragement and determination were unbelievable. It is a credit to Max and previous cadre that John felt we were well prepared. All students were alumni, but they didn’t have to be. I recommend combat rifle skills as a minimum pre req. In a few days we came a long way.

This course might be my favorite yet.

Some points: For CQB class, cover or remove your optic. But be ready to use sights for long cover engagements in adjoining rooms or with hostages. Wear plates to class and have them ready for immediate deployment at home. Strongly recommend a one piece helmet and mask cover. Open top mag pouch is quicker. Practice reloads and malfunctions before class. Keep doing so. Buy a pair of hard knuckle gloves. Bring multiple cleaning rods. Go home and walk through your house. Attack each room. Be prepared to shoot through doors, walls and furniture if necessary, to kill the enemy. Plan on shooting him in the face. Get signed up and beg for CQB 200 level class.

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Next CQBC Class: August 18 – 20. We have some spaces available at this time.

We do teach one-day CQB intro classes as part of the Force on Force Team Tactics weekends. These are optional add-on days on the Friday prior to the weekend. These will not replace CQBC, but they will give you a clue. They are primarily intended to give you a leg-up on the Force on Force weekends, because the CQB huts are included in some of those scenarios as the objective. We are offering a huge discount the class coming up on Father’s Day: ‘Massive Father’s Day Discount! Force on Force + CQB June (16) 17 – 18.‘

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For the detail on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Force on Force (UTM ammunition), click the link below:

Guidance on UTM Force on Force / CQB Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

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