Student Review: Texas Combat Patrol Class February 2016: Justin
Max continues to deliver! This year I was able to continue my training with Max Velocity Tactical by attending the Combat Team Tactics (CTT)/Combat Patrol (CP) class in Texas. I am an alumni of the 2015 CTT/Mobility class. That training so VALUABLE I knew if I doubled down on my investment that I would not be disappointed in 2016. I was right!
Returning for additional training allows a student to refresh, confirm and expand lessons learned at previous classes. The lessons I took away from CTT in 2015 were solidified and enhanced this year. The drills and classroom instruction were familiar, yet, with the introduction of the electronic pop up targets, the training took on a new dynamic. Patrolling forward and reacting to an unknown enemy allowed me to understand the importance of scanning, the mechanics of the RTR drill, the value of accurate fire, and the danger that is target fixation.
Constant scanning is something that can be overlooked when engaging static, “stick-in” targets. The pop-up targets allow realism of a moving and reacting enemy. When patrolling forward, the pop-up targets force students to scan and be situationally aware. Directly following contact, the team would roll into the RTR drill. Understanding the importance of the initial R – Return Fire, became apparent with the pop ups. Acting as point man for our team, often I was the only person able to initially return fire. I was able to feel the responsibility of my team’s safety as they got to cover and get on line. As we continued the drill, the importance of accurate fire made itself clear. As we were breaking contact, one buddy pair would engage the pop-ups allowing the other pair to move. The pop-ups gave instant feedback if you were in fact covering your team’s movement. The dynamic nature of the targets introduced the danger that is target fixation. As you were focused on firing to cover the others pairs movement, you could get lost in keeping the target down that you forgot the next step of the drill. DON’T GET IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH IVAN!
The CP portion of the class was all new material for me. Having read Max’s book, “Contact”, I had an idea of the theory that we would be discussing, but putting that knowledge into practice is invaluable. The class balanced lecture with practical rehearsals and actual patrols. In addition to the lectures, we had a run down on gear that works, shelter set-up, and hand signals. The night reconnaissance was our first opportunity to put the theory into practice as a team and it was amazing. We patrolled out and observed our objective through magnification, night optics and FLIR. We documented things we could see and hear and reported back at the scheduled time. The following day we departed on our patrol and practiced the theory Max had given us in rehearsal. We occupied a lay-up position for our evening meal, established a hasty ambush, set up a patrol base including sentry duty, evening stand-to, and comms cord. We finalized the patrol by setting and initiating an ambush. NEEDLESS TO SAY, YOU CAN’T LEARN THIS STUFF BY READING!
We finished the last day of class with the Raid drill and were yet again amazed at our progress in 6 days. The Patrol Class blew the doors off misconceptions formed by Hollywood and glamorized stereotypes. I cannot begin to express the level of confidence I feel as a result of training with Max Velocity Tactical. The training opens your mind to situations that are representative of an actual contact situation you may be faced with. No “pew, pew” on a square range. If you are reading this looking for an answer of whether or not train with Max, the answer is hell yes.
Live hard, die free.
Excellent review, Justin!
I agree 100% with all of your take-aways. A couple of things I will add:
1) The way the recce, overnight patrol, ambush, and raid all flowed together was pretty cool, and I think very valuable training. Not a lot of “pew pew”, but the hours and hours of just living and functioning out in the brush, followed by only a minute or so of shooting stuff up, was a small dose of reality for us non-mil guys.
2) I worked for a Vietnam LRRP veteran 20+ years ago guiding elk hunts in a wilderness area in Idaho. He once told me, “What I was doing in ‘Nam was a lot like hunting elk, except the elk had AK’s and were trying to kill us.” After guiding for 4 years, this class brought back a LOT of memories of back-country elk hunting and really made his statement hit home.
I think folks would be well served to not focus so much on SHOOTING stuff, and start spending a more time and effort learning how to pack a ruck, how to carry a ruck in rough terrain (for miles), how to live out of a ruck (quietly and in the dark), how to set up and tear down a camp quickly and quietly, etc. If SHTF, they’ll be doing a LOT more of that kind of thing than actually pulling a trigger.