Student Review: Combat Patrol 24-26 Oct: Antony

Combat Patrol 24-26 October

For those of you who are really serious about your training Cadre, then the next phase of your tactical training experiences should include MVT’s Combat Team Tactics (CTT) and Combat Patrol Class (CP).

These 2 classes are not for your average guy. They are advanced courses that command higher levels of both physical and firearm handling skills. I recommend establishing a training regimen at least 3 months prior to your trip. For those of you in rural areas I would recommend biking up as many hills as you can find or backpacking. For those in urban areas, find a building with many floors and train on the stairs. The training site is located in a mountainous area at the bottom of 3 large draws to be exact. There is not one level piece of ground to be found at MVT, except maybe for the parking lot and the new square range!

The people:

Each time I have attended classes at MVT, I have met awesome like-minded folks from all across the country, from a wide spectrum of career fields. Everyone came there to learn and maintained great attitudes. I can’t say enough about the quality of people I have met and will keep in touch with while hopefully training again with them in the future. All of us shared similar concerns for our future and have made decisions to better prepare ourselves in hopes we will never need said training.

The instructors:

Max and Chris are top notch instructors. Chris and I were class mates for CRCD/ CTT 6 months ago. He had just come off of a Contract overseas and wanted to brush up on some training. Due to his vast experience as an Army Ranger, combat veteran and contractor, Chris and Max hit it off and he started assisting classes with Max. Chris makes an awesome addition to the MVT team!

Max is a very dedicated, experienced and knowledgeable instructor. He has a no B.S. and FUTW approach sometimes. He may also jump all over you like a D.I. when you screw up or do something stupid, so get over it butter cup and don’t be “that guy” as most of us were at some point over the three days. Max runs a well-planned course and maintains a high safety factor in a dangerous environment.

The class:

the Patrol class is the closest thing to experiencing what infantry field life is about and gives you the fundamental experience of working as a team. All the combat drills such as Break Contact, MVT Box Peel, Fight Through, Ambush, and the Raid are top notch and Max goes all out to make sure they are as realistic as possible. One of the most difficult tasks I found was navigating the terrain at night to find an objective without night vision.

In closing, I highly recommend training at MVT for any of the classes. It is high value training money well spent!

Antony / JAFO