Student Review: Force on Force Team Tactics March 2015: HelloKitty

Force on Force Team Tactics
March 2016

2 day course using UTM (similar to simunition) in woodland WV training in Small Unit Tactics.

Weather- cold, wet, snowing and raining.

15 students formed into 4 teams and 2 squads.

Prerequisite to taking this class is Combat Team Tactics (CTT). However I highly recommend you also take Combat Patrol (CP) so you are familiar with squad attacks concept.

I have also earned a Rifleman tab at MVT.

This is not my first force on force course. I have taken cqb courses with Sims. However this course is unique in that it is woodland based and training in SUT. I know of no other course like this available outside military. Force on force courses are the pinnacle of training. You cannot test your tactics, abilities, equipment any better without actually doing it for real. The only limitation with UTM is range. But in a woodland environment it is ideal.

So you have taken Max’s CTT and possibly CP courses? You got this bounding thing down, huh? Nope. You have the basic principles. Sure. But you have to apply it with a human trying to shoot you. You will really understand what MVT is trying to teach you by taking this course.

You will learn nuances in SUT in this class that you cannot get on a range. Like reading terrain, what is good cover, what really is suppressing an enemy, reading the battlefield, micro terrain can help but also keep you from mutual support, blue on blue incidents. We learned A LOT. We did not learn this by Max lecturing. We did it ourselves and learned from mistakes. No theory here. You will fail and get shot. You will learn and get little better each time.

You wear helmets and masks for protection but this also introduces stress and simulates battle conditions. The masks make hearing commands difficult ( auditory exclusion), the mask reduces visibility and induces tunnel vision requiring scanning, also having a mask on makes it harder to get oxygen making exertion harder.

This class gives you opportunity to lead a team or squad. Which is an invaluable learning experience in itself.

I learned that SUT is something you have to practice a lot to get really good at it.

I cannot stress how excellent any force on force course is if you want to really learn a tactical skill, much less this course. And Max has pulled off a winner here. If you have taken CTT and you don’t plan on taking this course, then you are as wrong as dick cancer and I don’t want you on my team.

Hello Kitty