Thoughts on Tactical Training – or – ‘Into the Woods’

Yeah. I watched that movie with the kids. ‘Into the Woods’. Cue a little song that will not leave your brain, Little Red Riding Hood skipping along with a basket of sweetbread, singing “Into the Woods, Into the Woods…and home before dark….”…etc.

Well there were some comments recently at class that many suburbanites are actually scared of the woods. We aim to fix that a little by bringing back a square range class. It won’t be combat rifle, but it will be homestead/suburban focused, all on the square range to basically teach you the skills to fight with a buddy (wife?) around your home location, including the High Threat CQB drills we started adding to the MVT Rifleman Challenge. Yeah, I get it, now you can do the CQB without having to run the 2-Miler….BFYTW…;-)

Still looking for a name. Urban combat essentials? Suburban home defense? Ugghhh. it’s all in a name. We will put the classes on the same weekends as CTT, on the square range, so students can hear CTT cooking off, see the trees around them, and realize that they are not that scary.

So there is the rural/woods thing. Why do Combat Team Tactics (CTT) when I live in a subdivision, and Max just teaches stuff that works out in the woods right? Well, Diz had some thoughts on the forum LINK HERE:

Some more thoughts on Tac Training…

…or why MVT is the real deal. I wanted to add some more thoughts about this, after reading the student reviews from last weekend’s CTT class.

One guy really hit the nail on the head. A lot of folks are under the mistaken impression that what Max is teaching is just applicable to the light infantry unit in an active insurgency. While it is that, it also is applicable your present-day circumstances, or what you may find yourself in the near future.

The key here is learning to work in conjunction with another person or persons in a tactical situation. Aka TEAMWORK. Most square range training is done on the individual level. Very little involves working with another person. And when it does, it is invariably static. What you learn to do at MVT, is fire AND maneuver, in conjunction with another person, and then with a 4-man team. This could be applicable for you and your wife in defending your home, or with your own team, defending your neighborhood. The point is you have a live fire range where you can practice this. It might be out in the woods, or it might be in your neighborhood. The terrain doesn’t matter. The principles you are learning and practicing are the same.

Also I wanted to point out the difference between typical drills on the square range, and what you do at MVT. On the square range, targets are always visible. You merely point and shoot on command. At MVT, targets must be FOUND (observation) before you can decide to engage. This is an important point. Your target is not always going to be standing up, in full view, for you to service. You have to actively seek out targets, not knowing exactly where they are at. Yes, that’s a lot harder, but also a lot more realistic.

And, unlike blank fire or most other scenario training, you have to get HITS on target before it falls. This forces you to aim in, apply BRM, and actually hit the target, not just make a lot of noise.

These are two important points that you don’t get from typical square range or tactical training. The fact that you have to actually find the targets, and then get accurate fire onto them.

MVT also teaches good weapon’s manipulation. I learned many new T,T,P’s which were not done in my time, but have evolved since the GWOT.

To sum up, teamwork, fire and maneuver, observation, BRM, and also good weapons manipulation. These are the skill sets you get from MVT training. The fact that it is done in a woodland setting, obviously means it applies there, BUT, it can be applied to any terrain and situation as well.

Yep. Its good solid basic drills, that will work whether you are taking cover behind a tree, or a car.