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Night Aerial Target Engagement: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience for the Elite Shooter

Monday, January 8th, 2024

South Florida, February 9-10 – Greenline Tactical, led by renowned tactical expert Don Edwards, wants to share an unprecedented opportunity for shooting enthusiasts: the Night Aerial Target Engagement Course. Partnered with Airborne Tactical Training Solutions, a leader in tactical helicopter training, this course is designed for anyone who seeks an extraordinary shooting experience.

A Unique Blend of Ground and Aerial Training The course unfolds in three phases, starting with ground-based training focusing on safety and live fire assessment. Phase two introduces participants to helicopter safety and operations, culminating in phase three, where attendees engage in live aerial target shooting from a helicopter, guided by experienced Greenline and ATTS instructors.

Exclusive and Unforgettable “Imagine the adrenaline rush of identifying and engaging targets from a helicopter at night. This isn’t just a course; it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” says Don Edwards. This course is designed for those with a passion for tactical shooting and an adventurous spirit.

Requirements and Gear Participants should bring their own gear, including a helmet, NVGs, and an AR-style rifle, among other essentials. Full details are available on the Greenline Tactical website, night vision is available for rent if needed. Spaces are limited, and advance registration is required.

Join Us for an Unmatched Shooting Adventure Visit www.greenlinetactical.com for registration and more information. Experience the thrill of Night Aerial Target Engagement under the guidance of the industry’s best.

Posted in Press Release, Training | Comments Off on Night Aerial Target Engagement: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience for the Elite Shooter

Attn Airmen & Guardians – Want to Go to Ranger School?

Saturday, January 6th, 2024

Want to go to Ranger School?

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) —

It’s been called “a laboratory of human endurance,” testing the physical, mental and spiritual grit of the officer and enlisted leaders who undertake it. It’s the Army Ranger School and the Department of the Air Force is looking for Airmen and Guardians who are ready for the challenge.

Through the Air Force Security Forces Center’s Ranger Assessment Course, DAF candidates are taught, coached, tested and evaluated for nomination to the grueling 62-day Ranger School experience.

“The Air Force RAC delivers dynamic leadership evaluation and training, mirroring what a candidate will face at Ranger School, which helps drive increased success rates at Army Ranger School. Attendance to both courses ties directly into the Air Force chief of staff’s priority of strengthening joint leaders and teams by directly placing them in joint leadership school and roles which have proven to build military leaders,” said Gabriel Rodriguez, readiness training and RAC program manager at the AFSFC.

The next RAC, about a third of the length of Ranger School, is set for early spring at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis. Anyone from any Air Force or Space Force career field can attend.

“While the majority of Ranger School attendees come from combat arms career fields, individuals from other Air Force specialty codes can also attend if they meet the necessary prerequisites and requirements,” Rodriguez said. “Ranger School can provide valuable leadership and tactical skills, regardless of the individual’s primary AFSC.”

One of the many misconceptions of the RAC and Ranger School is “that you must be 100% ready before you even attend the course – but that’s where most people are wrong,” said Master Sgt. Keegan Donnelly, RAC instructor with the AFSFC.

The RAC curriculum has undergone an intense review and rewrite to craft a leadership laboratory, he said, designed to teach and coach students before assessing their abilities.

Capt. Daniel Reynolds, assistant director of operations for the 4th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, is the only Space Force Ranger School graduate to date. In his position, he interacts with tactical joint force warfighters on a daily basis to develop more resilient satellite communications toolkits. That warfighter-centric focus in his day-to-day job is what led him to the RAC and ultimately Ranger School.

“Ranger School, as the world’s premiere combat leadership course, expertly teaches resilience, grit and perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds,” Reynolds said. “It teaches leaders how to break down complex problems and craft decisive solutions to dynamic combat scenarios. This is incredibly relevant to any career field in any branch of military service.”

According to its website, Ranger School is a small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to missions that engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. It’s held at various locations in Georgia and Florida and is open to U.S. military members from all branches, as well as selected students from U.S. allied nations.

With less than 40% of those who attempt Ranger School succeeding, the Air Force developed a form of RAC, or pre-Ranger training, in the mid-1980s to send more competitive candidates forward to increase the odds of success.

Ranger students train to exhaustion, pushing the limits of their minds and bodies during three phases – Darby, Mountain and Swamp – which follow the crawl, walk, run training methodology, Rodriguez said.

With the punishing nature of Ranger School, preparation and an understanding of what attendees will encounter before they get to both the RAC and Ranger School is extremely important, he said.

“Candidates can increase their success at both RAC and Ranger School by focusing pre-training on being successful during the weeklong Ranger Assessment Phase,” Rodriguez said. “At RAC, we hone in on tasks that could hinder a candidate from being successful at Ranger School. This includes strictly executing push-ups, sustaining the mental and physical toughness to meet the time standard on the 12-mile foot march, and honing the basic navigation skills required to pass the land navigation test on the first attempt.

“A proven method to increase success at Ranger School is to take advantage of local training and attending RAC, then followed by Ranger School,” he added.

“The bar to gain acceptance to Ranger School is high, and rightfully so,” Reynolds said. “RAC allows prospective students to understand what will be expected of them if they accept the challenge to attend Ranger School. It also provides them with the tactical skillset necessary to be successful there, both in the assessment phase and in the course’s three patrolling phases.

“Developing Ranger-qualified leaders within the Space Force is critical to our continued defense of the contested warfighting regime of space,” Reynolds said.

“Every career field has a need for decisive, brave, tough and purpose-driven leaders of character. To put it simply, learning how to lead is something that Ranger School does on a world-class level. This is an invaluable resource to have for any service member in any career field,” Reynolds said.

“The RAC and Ranger School were the catalysts for some of my life’s greatest transformations,” the captain said. “The experience transformed me into a much more confident, capable and purpose-driven human being and that has affected every aspect of my leadership development for the better.”

Airmen and Guardians who qualify to attend RAC, and ultimately the Army’s Ranger Course, should be prepared for the monumental experience, Reynolds added, with “feeling drawn to attend” being the most important component to possess in preparation for it.

“A significant proportion of people who fail the course do so because they arrived without deciding that the experience was something that their life needed,” the captain said. “Take the time to decide for yourself what your reasons for Ranger School are, and how important joining the community is to you. When you’re more cold, wet, tired and hungry than you’ve ever been in your life, those reasons will be what you will lean on to carry you through.”

“Regardless of their recommendation to move onto Ranger School or not, [RAC attendees] are still returning to their units better trained, more lethal and adaptable leaders in the joint arena,” Donnelly said.

To apply for RAC attendance or more information on the program, go to the Air Force Portal under Air Force Forces Generation Connect or email AFSFC.S3T.AFSFC_RAC_Program@us.af.mil.

By Debbie Aragon, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Training | Comments Off on Attn Airmen & Guardians – Want to Go to Ranger School?

U.S. Soldier Conquers French Desert Commando Course

Saturday, January 6th, 2024

For nearly 50 years, French soldiers stationed in Djibouti have made their way to Arta Mountains for the French Desert Commando course, a grueling five-day course designed to test soldiers’ physical, emotional and mental limits. This year 40 U.S. service members signed up for the challenge, among them was U.S. Army Sgt. Liliana Munday.

Growing up, Munday, a Soldier with the 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, South Carolina National Guard, gravitated toward physical activities that kept her outdoors as often as possible. She was immediately interested in the French Desert Commando Course but hearing about the physical demands of the course brought on feelings of doubt.

“I didn’t think I was ready for it,” she said. “But Staff Sgt. (Samuel) Perez kept pushing me to try out because he saw that I wanted to do it and he had faith in me that I could do it.”

The FDCC has two phases, the pre-assessment and commando phase. The first phase ensured service members met the basic physical requirements and evolved into a preparation program over several weeks. During this period service members consistently trained to earn a spot in the commando phase. The second phase took them out to the field where they faced numerous courses including a night obstacle course, a ropes course and a swimming course incorporated with various combative and desert survival skills.

With the paperwork submitted the next step was to prepare. Her training regimen began in September and included rucks and runs around the installation before dawn, weight lifting, and dynamic, high-intensity exercises nearly every day. At the peak of her training, she fit in three workouts each day while balancing her regular work schedule.

After three months of training Munday remembers the nerves she felt on the drive out to Arta Mountains where her hard work was put to the test immediately.

“I almost had an aneurysm, I was so scared,” she said. “On the way out there I kept thinking, ‘Am I ready? Am I gonna do this? These guys are gonna smoke me, I’m just gonna be out here stranded and be sent home on day one’.”

Day one consisted of a five kilometer ruck-run with a full kit, followed by a PT test and rope climbs.

“I was nervous because rope climbs are very hard for me and in training, I could only do one,” she recalled.

Her training partner, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Samuel Perez, was there to support and encourage her, watching as she steadily made her way to the top.

“I could see she was nervous because we saw the other competitors struggling with this climb,” Perez said. “I was there telling her she could do it; I knew she could. She got up there and when she came back down she had a big smile beaming from her face she was so excited and she ran over and gave me a big hug.”

With the first big hurdle behind her, Munday moved forward in the course with a newfound confidence.

“For some reason, after completing that first day I was good. I started to feel like I could do this thing and I proved to my squad that I was here to work and I deserved to be here,” she said.

Each day and night Munday and her squad faced a new obstacle, the most difficult for her she says was the mountain obstacle course.

Positioned 200 meters above the ground, participants were required to jump across five platforms spaced several meters apart, jump and grab on to a steel pole and slide down to the ground.

“When you’re doing that mountain obstacle course you don’t realize how far each platform is from one another and there are points when you’re not clipped in,” she explained. “I thought, if I missed even a little bit, I’m going down.”

On day three, after pushing herself through numerous challenges and rucking non-stop from one training location to another, she thought she had reached her breaking point and seriously considered quitting.

“Your joints just start to scream. It’s painful,” she confessed. “I kept thinking I cannot take this pain anymore. I’m almost done but I cannot do it anymore.”

Through the dirt, mud, sweat and pain, it was Munday’s spirit and drive within her that helped her push through. That spirit and drive, she said, comes from two of the strongest people she knows.

“My mom and my grandma—they’re such strong women and they never let me quit when I was younger. They have strong personalities and it’s within me,” she said. “It was very nice to tell them that I did this. They were like, ‘No way, that’s awesome!’ and when I told them I was the only female they said, ‘You’re kicking ass!’.”

At the end of it all, the feeling of accomplishment came when she received the French Desert Commando pin at graduation. Black and gold in color, the pin prominently features a scorpion resting on the outline of the country of Djibouti. Along the rim are the words “Aguerrissement Zone Desertique” which translates to “Desert Zone Hardening”.

“I’m now able to look back and say, I did that. We did that,” she said with a smile. “Completing something and not giving up even though you may want to … it sticks with you forever. I use this as fuel to my fire when I feel like I can’t do something. I think to myself, ‘You can, because you have already’.”

Beyond the support she received from her family and teammates, Munday’s success is a testament to the old adage ‘preparation is the key to success.’ It’s a message she’s taken to heart and shared with her fellow soldiers since completing the course.

“Someone I work with said he wanted to do the FDCC but he didn’t think he was ready,” she said. “I said, ‘Sir, you’re never going to be ready.’ I didn’t think I was ready. But I got ready. So if you truly think or know that you want to do something no matter the current status that you’re in, if you want to pursue it you’re just gonna have to train and do what it takes to get to that point. There is no other way.”

By MSG Jerilyn Quintanilla

Posted in Army, Guest Post, International, Profession of Arms, Training | 3 Comments »

5th SFG (A) Engineer Course Looks to Cut Cost, Familiarize Force

Thursday, January 4th, 2024

Engineers from 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) created a force multiplier that eventually spread across the Special Forces footprint. The “18C Construction Course” provides the Special Forces Engineer Sergeants (18C) and other Special Operations Forces (SOF) personnel, the opportunity to sharpen their construction skillset, and benefits the individual as well as the Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA).

The Group Support Battalion’s (GSB) engineers instruct one to two classes quarterly depending on the demand signal, with eight to twelve Soldiers per class. The Engineer shops’ youngest Private First Class all the way through Staff Sergeants give expert electrical, carpentry, and plumbing instruction that can be tailored to individual or team needs.

The genesis of this course started in 2021. Dan, a Construction Engineer Supervisor (12H) with 5th SFG (A) saw the need for a class during his time as the platoon sergeant. He developed slides, training material, and a basic outline for how the course would run. He said he saw a need for the teams to get training and showcase what the Engineers can do for the 5th Special Forces Group. To date, Dan has trained 60 personnel for five Special Forces Groups, and spent over 500 hours as the lead instructor for the course. The skillsets taught to the personnel impact the command-and-control network nodes for SOF operations by upholding electrical grid and support for SOF personnel, influencing five Combatant Commands battlespace integration across six continents. By training the enabler population, he magnifies the small Engineer footprint across the Group’s area of responsibility by creating trained personnel able to implement solutions with the crucial knowledge learned throughout the course.

“While the 18C course enables team members to execute construction skills and drills required for their mission sets in austere environments, the real benefit is its ability to link the Special Forces Teams to a whole host of Engineer enablers, building the network for reach back support, increasing awareness and ultimately pushing capabilities to the Teams where they need it most, the front lines,” said Dave, the lead Group Engineer for 5th SFG (A). “Resourcing these classes is a no-brainer, even with the rising costs of Class IV. The engineer trades get sets and reps, the Special Forces Soldiers get skills to refresh while improving their reach back networks, and a whole number of additional enablers get cross-trained, adding to their enabler skill pool. Ultimately, it allows us to reduce contract costs, CONUS (Continental United States) and OCONUS (Outside Continental United States), and leverage existing DOD (Department of Defense) and Army supply networks to enable success in support of the ARSOF (Army Special Operations Forces) mission set.”

The Engineers of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) continue to refine and showcase the hallmark vision of Dan, the Non-Commissioned Officer who created the course. They’re looking at the curriculum to include project management, concrete, and concrete masonry units into a new curriculum. The course of instruction can be tailored to implement other Engineers or enablers to ascertain the knowledge needed for future projects that can enable the appropriate amount of resourcing of staffing needed to accomplish missions and projects expediently and overcome hurdles. The ability to quickly train Soldiers with basic skills they can perfect with on-the-job training has the potential to enable the Group to reduce million-dollar construction projects to a fraction of the price. It will save money, enable cross-functional teams to emerge and execute a construction portfolio quicker and cheaper while completing construction projects sooner.

Courtesy of 5th SFG(A)

Posted in Guest Post, SOF, Training | 1 Comment »

Light Fighter Course, 3-5 May 2024, Alabama

Wednesday, December 27th, 2023

From crew who brought you Light Fighter Manifesto. Based on the pilot course conducted earlier in this year in Switzerland, CR2 is holding their inaugural US Light Fighter Course, 3-5 May 2024, at Steel City Precision in Alabama.

The 3-day Light Fighter Course offers training in skills for target interdiction and reconnaissance and surveillance (R&S) operations including precision shooting techniques, radio communications encompassing both voice and data, utilization of Software Defined Radios (SDRs) for spectrum analysis, monitoring, and directional finding.

Additionally, the course includes extensive training in comprehensive drone planning, flight operations, and culminates in a mission planning exercise integrating all learned skills.

www.cr2supplycage.com/products/Light-Fighter-Course-3-5-May-2024-Alabama

Posted in Training | 1 Comment »

Military Intelligence Gunner Entry Program at Fort Stewart

Monday, December 18th, 2023

FORT STEWART Ga.- Soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia, participated in the Gunner Entry Program (GEP) to learn about the multiple intelligence systems used in the Army, Dec. 4-8, 2023.

The course, which is available to all Soldiers regardless of Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), bridges the gap between the Digital Intelligence Systems Foundations Course (DISFC) and the Digital Intelligence Systems Master Gunner Course (DISMGC). The 40-hour course familiarizes Soldiers with the various intelligence systems used by the Army and teaches Soldiers how to utilize those systems within their own field.

“Students are interested in the Gunner Entry Program because it provides them a high level of training in understanding multiple intelligence disciplines and how information gathered from each is turned into actual intelligence and shared at the tactical and eventually the strategic level as well as enabling decision makers, like unit commanders, to make decisions on the battlefield,” said Warrant Officer Donald Blanchard, the instructor of the Gunner Entry Program.

Blanchard encourages Soldiers to take the Gunner Entry Program because the skills and experience gathered helps Soldiers stand out amongst their peers. The Gunner Entry Program teaches Soldiers skills beyond the given material making them crucial assets in their unit.

“A graduate of the Gunner Entry Program is going to be a well versed intel professional or understand how to integrate with intelligence systems,” added Blanchard.

Most of the Soldiers taking the course have a background or an MOS relating to military intelligence and although it’s helpful to have a baseline understanding, these skills are not required for the course.

“They’ve done a really good job of enabling soldiers to learn this program no matter what rank or what experience level you are,” said 1st Lt. Sean Murphy, a student at the GEP course assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, a student at the GEP course.

The GEP also affords students the opportunity to learn from a diverse group of peers. Throughout the course Soldiers participate in group discussions and have the chance to share and teach others about their own experiences.

“Working with all these different people you meet a lot of people that have different backgrounds from you and they have a lot more experiences that you just haven’t gotten the chance to experience yet. I like to take that information and I make notes of it and I like to learn a lot from what these people have to offer to me,” said Spc. Gabriel Bouchard, a student at the GEP assigned to 1st ABCT, 3rd ID.

Graduates of the course are awarded a certificate of completion that can be attached to their Soldier Record Brief. Besides the certificate, the course offers the best avenue for Soldiers striving to excel in the military intelligence field.

“Since being a drill sergeant, I’ve been out of the discipline for quite a long time, this is the best attempt at remaining relevant while still on the trail of becoming more diverse in my military intelligence field,” said Sgt. 1st Class Mason Baker, a signals intelligence analyst and drill sergeant instructor at the Army Drill Sergeant Academy, Columbia, South Carolina.

Story by PFC Luciano Alcala, 50th Public Affairs Detachment

Posted in Army, Guest Post, ISR, Training | 2 Comments »

USSOCOM Enterprise Training Solution Assessment Event

Wednesday, December 6th, 2023

SOFWERX, in collaboration with USSOCOM Program Executive Office-Services (PEO-SV), is hosting a series of ongoing events to identify, collaborate, and find solutions to streamline the acquisition, purchasing, and scheduling of enterprise training. The purpose of this effort is to alleviate the burden on units of ordering and purchasing required training multiple times throughout the year. The next event is scheduled for 30 January – 01 February 2024.

In February of this year, the USSOCOM Commanding General initiated a series of round tables to discover areas of burden being experienced by the USSOCOM Enterprise. Acquiring, purchasing, and scheduling training is one of the top issues. A Government Purchase Card (GPC) can be used for any training requirement under $25K, but if the training occurs multiple times per year, and you make several purchases, it is flagged as a split purchase. If the training is over $25K, you can execute a Purchase Order, which requires multiple quotes before a contract can be let for the requirement. A Request for Proposal (RFP) for an open bid and source selection is also required before the contract can be awarded. This process traditionally takes between six to twelve months.

The goal of this series of events is to identify capabilities for a tool that will enable government stakeholders to sort through a menu of available training options from available companies. The tool should allow customers to rate companies’ past performance and allow units to purchase and schedule training without resoliciting and/or renegotiating a contract or purchase order. Ideally, the tool will also provide firewalls to protect company proprietary data and ITAR information and reside on the unclassified network.

Submit NLT 05 January 2024 11:59 PM ET.

Learn more about participating here.

Posted in SOF, Training | Comments Off on USSOCOM Enterprise Training Solution Assessment Event

Green Berets Complete Dive Requalification

Wednesday, November 29th, 2023

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — In the uncertainty of the Pacific Ocean, combat divers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) successfully completed their annual dive requalification exercise on Oct. 10 – 27, 2023.

With overcast skies, fast winds and cold waters, the combat diving teams planned and executed multiple maritime operations, enhancing their effectiveness in various tactics and procedures.

“We want to familiarize our divers [old and new] with different team tactics and procedures as well as exposing the team in a progression and operational glide path,” said a team captain. “We test ourselves in more advanced and punishing conditions such as intense surf, cold water, low visibility and an overall more demanding environment.”

During the 17-day training period, the two combat diving teams initiated their preparation by acquainting themselves with the Zodiac, a boat used within special operations, and diving equipment. This familiarization helps combat divers develop confidence and comfort with their equipment.

The teams then carried out a series of exercises focused on extensive swimming, beach landing techniques, infiltration, extraction, navigation at depths reaching up to 120 feet beneath the water’s surface and long-distance navigation. Some of these operations were conducted in daylight and under the cover of night.

By being proficient in these skills, combat divers can use their abilities as a method of infiltration to access target points in real life operations.

“For us [combat divers], diving is an ability and a skill to apply on unconventional warfare settings, which is our expertise as Green Berets,” said one of the team sergeants. “It makes Green Berets calmer and more lethal underwater and even more in any real-world situations.”

The divers also had the opportunity to work alongside the U.S. Navy, performing long range movement. This tactic is used to infiltrate target points within the intercoastal or coastal waters.

The teams also took advantage of practicing with a landing craft air cushion, or LCAC. The LCAC is a type of hovercraft used to carry out smaller boats for longer distances in more demanding conditions to complete this exercise.

“We are always looking to do joint exercises with other U.S. military branches and even with partner allies,” said a team captain. “Today, we had the opportunity to work with the U.S. Navy in this operation and it was a success.”

Lt. Col. Matthew Mesko, 2nd Battalion, 10th SFG (A) commander, emphasized the importance of mastering different operation domains as the special operations command finds new ways of mitigating operational strategic threats in the maritime domain.

Green Berets defy the belief that they excel only on land; they excel in maritime environments too, proving their expertise in any conditions.

“Our teams here are practicing their mastery in waterborne infiltration methods, improving their lethality across all kinds of domains,” said Mesko. “10th SFG (A) has a proud track record of presenting the best maritime dive capabilities. These gentlemen right here work hard to foster and cultivate that reputation within the country and with our allies.”

An old saying tells that water is unforgiving, however, these elite warriors operate silently and unseen in both, the shadowy depths of the water, and the unpredictable demanding surface. They represent a unique and highly specialized branch of the U.S. Army and the Special Forces Operations Command.

Photos and Story by SGT Luis Solorio

Photos by SSG Isaih Vega

Posted in Army, Guest Post, Maritime, SOF, Training | Comments Off on Green Berets Complete Dive Requalification