I recently attended Suarez International's Small Unit Tactics class at their
training facility in Ider Alabama, which is just south of Chatnooga TN. The
instructors were Randy Harris and SOFRGR.
I would like to give a brief review of that class, but I will not go into too
much detail about what was taught, as I feel that would be in poor taste
to reveal all of their secrets. :D And besides, I had to pay for it, and so
can you.
Day one
Day one, or rather night one, as it turned out, was spent in the
classroom. Subject matter included troop movements, formations,
crossing danger areas, squad structure, and also a brief explaination of
hand signals. This had the benifit of getting everyone on the same page
and saving time when we actually got into the field. I felt this was an
outstanding call by the instructors, and showed a lot of forethought on
their part. They had no idea of the skill level of those who would be
attending this class, and this classroom portion made things much easier.
Day two
Day two started at the assembly area at their training facility. First thing
was a brief review of the previous night's class, along with an opprotunity
for any questions we may have had up to this point. Next was a safety
briefing from Randy as to his safety rules. After everyone geared up, and
Having a final safety check from Randy we proceded to move out.
In the assembly are there is a small field where we formed up as two
separate squads. We then actually did the formations and movements we
had discussed and seen in the diagrams in the previous night's class.
After a brief discussion of hand signals, what do do when you receive
them, and how to pass them up and down the squad, we hit the field.
Throughout the course of the day, we practiced various squad level
tactics and movements, such as crossing linear danger areas, like roads
and trails, as well as larger danger areas like fields and clearings. Moving
from different squad formations, and when and why to do so. SOFRGR
also touched briefly on land navigation, and was very patient with the
deluge of questions from all of us throughout the day, as was Randy.
After this portion of the class, which lasted until late afternoon, we took
a short break until it got dark, after which we took to the field again, and
did the same movements under the cover of darkness, which introduces
a whole different dynamic into the equation. After a short talk from Randy
and SOFRGR about what went wrong and what went right during the day,
we ended day two.
Day three
Day three started on the firing range. In this portion of the class, we
were exposed to different firing positions, when and why to use them, as
well as firing around and over cover. We then used these different
positions and techniques to fire and manouver through a course Randy
had set up for us. Other techniques such as the Aussie peel, and
bounding overwatch were walked through, and done with live fire.
The final portion of this class, which was also the most fun part, was a
full mission profile. We were given a certain set of circumstances, and
a certain problem to solve. Our instructors were either acting as role-
players, or were observing our actions, and would accasionally provide
feedback to assist us. After completion of our objective, Randy and
SOFRGR critiqued our performance, and gave us valuable feedback on
what we did right, as well as what could be inproved upon.
After the awarding of graduation certificates and our chance to critique
our instructors, the class was officially over.
Likes
I felt the class was presented in a very professional manner, there were
no attitudes whatsoever. No "boot camp" mentality. Both instructors
were very helpful, and accomidating. This is very difficult material to
teach in such a short time frame. We pretty much just got a crash
course in tactics in these 2-1/2 days. It will be up to us to take what we
learned here and further refine it to become more proficient at it.
Dislikes
Even though it was fun, and even though I did pick up a few pointers and
useful tips from it, I feel that the live fire portion of the class could have
been omitted. This is not a shooting centric class. This class is about
tactics, not about shooting for the sake of shooting. Randy states in the
description for this class that it is not for beginers. This could not
be more true. One must have a firm grasp of safety, weapons handling,
as well as basic weapons manipulations, to get the most from this class.
Another thing I would have liked to have seen was more night operations.
We did a small bit of it, and I do understand that we did have some time
constraints, but perhaps a fourth day, or night could help with this.
The Bottom Line
For those of us who want to take our skills "to the next level" I have to
highly recommend this class. There are several situations where I can see
the skills I learned and refined in this class to be of use. There might come
a day where the safety of us and our families rests solely upon our own
shoulders. It is comforting to know that one has the skills and training to
deal with it, and most likely survive it.
Randy and SOFRGR are truely two unique individuals, and I for one, was
glad to have the opprotunity to "pick their brains" for a few days.
Best regards,
Scott
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