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Student Review: 6 Day CRCD / Combat Patrol 28 Jun – 3 Jul: Submariner

Submariner attended with his 3 sons, making a four man team:

The following quote regarding success in completing Pegasus Company training contains the key to success with MVT:

“On and on we went until we were all knackered enough to have a go on a huge, forty-five-foot high piece of scaffolding called the Trainasium…. But the real key to it came from the training staff.  I’d watched others going on the Trainasium rig and noticed that those who trusted the staff and followed their orders and instructions seemed to succeed.  I decided to put my trust in the instructors completely and I just followed the orders they bellowed up at me from below.  It worked.”  John Geddes & Alun Rees, Spearhead Assault: blood, Guts and Glory on the Falklands Frontlines (London: Century, 2007), 38.

Max is quite passionate about passing on his hard-won skills to his students.  He and his AIs will patiently explain what is to be done, demonstrate/rehearse it, and then allow you to perform it until the lesson is learned.  Trust them and do it his way.  You will learn and more than get your money’s worth.

THIS is customer service.

Submariner

5 responses to “Student Review: 6 Day CRCD / Combat Patrol 28 Jun – 3 Jul: Submariner”

  1. I just posted the following 5 star review for Contact! at 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 book 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 http://mountainguerrilla.wordpress.com/ or Max Velocity http://maxvelocitytactical.blogspot.com/. 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.

    Just read the FM, right?

    http://randomthoughtsandguns.blogspot.com/2013/05/just-read-fm-right.html”

  4. My PT level was not good. I have a much better idea of what is required for our next training with Max.

    Max put it best:

    “One final thing: PT. PT is crucial. Fire and movement under enemy direct fire is an anaerobic activity – you will not be able to suck in enough oxygen to make it comfortable. However we are all training to survive here and you may be older or in not such good physical condition. This does not disbar you from these techniques. Yes, when conducting rushes during fire and movement the faster you can cover that ground the less likely you are to be hit. But there is an important distinction between speed and momentum.

    Momentum is keeping up the pressure on the enemy by the use of accurate suppressive fire that is killing the enemy or making them keep their heads down in cover, allowing you to maneuver. If you can locate the enemy and generate such suppressive fire you will allow yourself to move. You may be able to move in a steadier fashion, talking account of your slower speed and utilizing adrenalin to spur you through it. On my ranges, if you are less physically capable, I will not exhort you to efforts beyond your capability. At the very least, this would compromise safety. You will do the techniques at a steadier pace, and take away the fact that you need to work harder on your PT.”

    Get in the best shape you can but get the training before you can’t.

    And once you are on Max’s mountain, don’t quit.

  5. The following was posted on M4Carbine.net to spread the word about MVT.

    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 Two Son shot the target shown here:

    http://www.maxvelocitytactical.com/2014/07/student-review-night-optical-device-firing-nodf-june-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; fieldcraft; 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 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. 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. 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 money. 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.

    We shall return for more of this fine training to reinforce what we have learned and will practice.