There seems to be some misconceptions floating around as to what exactly goes on in these classes, so I'm going to try and explain exactly what my experiences were and the takeaways from it all.
Combat Team Tactics introduces you to the basics of team fire and maneuver, starting at the 2-man level, building to the 4-man team, and then giving you a little taste of how an 8-man team operates. This is all done live fire, on a rural range in West Virginia, with electronic pop-up targets. It culminates in a squad live fire assault on an objective. Night Observation Devices Firing gives you an introduction to the same thing, using night vision gear, and culminating in a live fire assault on another objective.
The COI:
Day One starts out with time on the square range, to insure everyone's weapons and equipment is up to par, and their weapons manipulation skills are GTG. You start out with a briefing, which includes safety, admin, and a general run-down of what you're going to accomplish. Then you check zero, and make a few adjustments as required. Once that's dialed in, you move on to practicing your mag changes, both emergency and "tac" reloads. Then malfunctions are covered and practiced. After that you do ready-up drills to build your position, sight picture, and trigger squeeze into a smooth flow. Then you add movement to it, simulating reacting to contact on patrol. MVT teaches the RTR drill. That's 1) return fire, 2) take cover, and 3) return effective (or appropriate) fire. This is your basic react to contact drill. At this point, you, your rifle, and your kit should all be squared away and ready for team training. Just a quick note: After 6 classes and a few thousand rounds this year I discovered my Aimpoint mount had come loose. Had to re-tighten it and re-zero. It was a high-end QD mount, but it's still mechanical. Now as part of my "pre-combat" checks, I also check scope mount tightness.
Day Two introduces you to working in conjunction with others, in a tactical environment. You start out with a buddy, and patrol the lanes. Targets will appear and you have engage them together. For those of you that have never done this, this will come as somewhat of a surprise. All your previous training has been on the square range; now you are out in the woods. The targets are not just standing there, right in the open, in front of you. You have to look for then in the bush. The "Ivan" target will only show you a head and shoulders of someone behind cover aiming in at you. So you quickly come to understand that in reality, you have to SCAN and see the targets as they appear, and hopefully beat him to the draw. So now all that practice you did yesterday comes into play. "Ivan" pops up, and you quickly get off a couple of AIMED shots at him, then move to cover. Now on the square range, this is simulated, by just moving a step or two. Out here you actually DO it. Get into cover. Prone out if you can. If not take whatever position necessary to see and engage "Ivan". Sight in. Squeeze the trigger. Knock him down. Back up he comes. Give him the good news again. So now you must actually HIT the target and make it fall. Another change for some. But wait, there's more. Remember I said you're with a buddy. Now you learn how to work together with someone else. When you first reacted, so did he. Since he was behind you, he couldn't just return fire. So he had to move out to the side. Again, on the square range, the targets are at 90 degress to everyone in a straight line. Even if you do "facing" drills, everyone is always "on-line" and perpendicular to the targets. Out in the real world, targets can come at you at any angle, In this case. let's say he's at 10 o'clock, off to your left front. Since you moved left, your buddy now moves right, and comes up even with you. This is important because he needs to get perpendicular to the target so you both have a good (and safe) firing angles to engage from. This is no longer automatic. YOU have to provide it. Now you can both shoot and move. You decide to move forward and assault through his position. Once there you "consolidate", which means you take turns tac reloading, making sure your buddy is OK, etc. Or you may decide to bound back (really good idea) and then you "rally" together and do the same thing, once you have broken contact.
Once you can do this as a buddy team, two buddy teams are joined together, giving you a nice, 4-man team. You now move in conjunction with your buddy, and bound as two buddy teams. This gets a little more complex, as you now have to keep track of your buddy, and the other team as well. Now it becomes even more important to get those angles right, facing the enemy position. Communication becomes vital. In order to keep continuous fire on the enemy, as well as continuous movement, either to, or away from him. You find out real quick that you can't just zone in on one target, and forget about everything else. You have to be constantly scanning for targets (there's more than one out there), engaging targets, checking in with your buddy, and the other buddy team. It's a constant loop of scan, shoot, link up. Move. Scan, shoot, link up. If you're spending more than a few seconds on any one task, you're probably screwing up. You do make a few mistakes. The cadre critique each run. You get valuable feedback to use the next time.
A couple of notes. Each run is accompanied by two cadre. So each 1 or 2 man element is directly supervised (and corrected if necessary) by an instructor. One instructor has a radio-controlled target activator. As you patrol, the targets will appear at various distances. You have trouble finding them at first, but quickly learn to scan as you move, and then start seeing them. The runs are up draws with "berms" on three sides. So you have about a 120 degree arc of fire range. This is real woodland terrain in West Virginia. You will find it's a lot tougher to move over, than a nice, flat, square range. You will also find that the terrain also affects your firing position. You may have to adjust it, to fit the cover, or to see the target. Lots of little nuances begin to appear that you never thought about.
Day Three builds upon what you learned in day two. You do single runs down a "jungle" trail, which refines and improves your individual "RTR" or react to contact drill. You are doing things much smoother now. You move to another, larger run, with more complex target set ups. You continue to refine your 4-man team tactics. It's starting to all come together. You learn to change mags while all this is going on, and not slow up your team. In fact, you start automatically tac reloading and plus-ing up your mags whenever there's a break in the action. You learn to put sustained fire on the enemy, instead of just shooting like hell until you run out of ammo. You learn to move quickly but carefully through the bush. Your team can now bound forward, or break contact while keeping continuous (accurate) fire on the enemy. You start to learn Small Unit Tactics. What formations to travel in. How to deploy. Deciding to fight forward, or break contact. You also learn to peel as well as bound back. Your head is swimming with all this new info. But you get breaks and "chalk talks" in between runs, to explain and demonstrate.
Another note. Each new skill is taught as a natural progression. You do a brief lecture or "chalk talk". Then you practice dry fire and work out the kinks. Then you do it live fire. Critique it. Then take a quick break and move on to the next step. You also get breaks as the other teams are moving through the lanes, so you have "admin" time to snack, hydrate, etc. as well as do a few practice dryr uns on your own if you like.
Day three culminates with a squad live fire assault on a prepared enemy position. There is a fire support element, an assault element, and a command element, consisting of all the cadre. This gives you a taste of what it's like to work together in a larger unit, if you might be so lucky as to have that many buddies. Or just to know what someone else could do coming against you. Anyways, it gives you a nice look at small unit tactics, as in how to assault an enemy position. The base of fire gets into position, and on signal, opens fire, pinning the enemy down. The maneuver element moves into flanking position. On signal, the support fire shifts, as the maneuver element moves in to deal with the enemy. You consolidate on the objective. And critique the exercise. Congratualtions, you made it.
One more note. The fires are strictly controlled during this exercise. As a safety measure, the maneuver element signals when ready to assault. As a positive control measure, the base of fire signals back when the fires have shifted or lifted. So the maneuver element never moves in until all supporting fires are shifted or lifted. Cadre are with each element to ensure this is so.
I want to reiterate what makes this training so different from everything else you've done on the square range. First of all, you have to scan, and find targets. Next, you have to engage, and knock them down. Then you have to move over rough, uneven terrain. Finally, you have to learn how to do this with several of your buddies. The angles to the targets (and your buddies) are constantly changing. You have to adjust to that, all the while staying out of each other's sector of fire. It talks a little training but with the right attitude and motivation, it can be learned in three days. So in effect, this class takes up where all your square range classes leave off. It's a natural progression past weapons manipulation drills.
As an added bonus, you can also take the NOD-F class on Day/Night 1. Everything you just learned on the square range on day one, you repeat in low light with your NV gear. You then learn how to move and shoot together, rehearsing the assault on the square range. You then brief out, gear up, and deploy for the actual night assault. I have to say, this is one of the most exciting things I've ever done in training. You get to patrol, then form up for the assault, then on signal assault through an enemy position, at night, under NV. That was just awesome. All the stuff you see and read about NV; it's nothing compared to actually doing it. I highly recommend doing this class if you can.
The Cadre. The instructors there are all top notch. Max himself is former British Para Regiment. He also has extensive time as a contractor in the sand box. For those of you that are not aware of it, the British are some of the best light infantry on the planet. Many of our guys from Ranger Batt, SF, NSW, and MarSoc cross train with these guys, and these slots are highly prized and sought after. I also trained under Chris, who is a former Ranger Captain, and contractor with extensive time down range. And then there's 1st Sgt, who was just that, and a combat vet with 10th Mountain. Finally there's Lee, who is a former Marine, with extensive time down range, including with the scout/sniper bubbas. These guys are all combat vets, with a lot of experience to share, but not only that, they're all really good instructors who can teach you how to do it. A quick word here. There has been talk about Max "yelling" at students. Or beating them and treating them mean. Well, for starters, you sometimes have to yell at folks, this is live fire you know. And yes, if you fuck up, they will correct you, especially if it's a safety issue. This just comes with the territory of live fire training. Now if you want to characterize that as abusive, well, that's bullshit, but whatever.
The Facilities. Are primitive, but there's everything you need to train. You have places to park, to shoot, to hear lectures, to eat, even to, well, use the porta-potty. Water is on site for re-supply but you need to bring everything else, on a daily basis. Primitive tent camping area is available, with a 15 minute run into town for re-supply or the odd meal. There are two motel in town and a few restaurants. There are now two square ranges, and two "jungle walk" ranges in the woods. Plus a land nav course, with marked objectives. And a mean two mile ruck run trail if you are so inclined.
The Terrain. It's hilly and wooded. You will be challenged by it. Most training is conducted in draws, which provide natural "berms", which means you're either going up, or down. Or sometimes sideways! It is wooded but not heavily so. Movement is relatively easy through the brush. Deep woods Off is a real good idea, depending on the season. Ticks and chiggers were not much of a factor. Some guys found one (tick) on them, but you're not covered in them like some places I've been. I've had real good luck with Deep Woods Off sprayed on liberally each morning.
Weather. I've been up there spring, summer, and fall. Weather is generally mild in spring and fall, with some hotter weather in summer (well duh). By that I mean up in the hills, it's a little cooler, especially under canopy, than back in town. But it does get hot, especially when you're moving, and doubly so under ruck. Bring multiple clothing layers, weights, so you can mix and match per conditions. Rain so far has tended to come and go, rather than squat in place, due to the winds that are prevalent up in the hills. So if it does rain, there's a good chance it will move off.
Weapons. So much has been written on this, I hesitate, but here it goes. I tend to stick with fairly stock, AR set-ups. I have found, through the years, that bringing another type of rifle to class is just asking Murphy for trouble. Of course, YMMV. I ran BCM uppers, with various lowers, and stock LPK's. I ran MI rails, with Magpul furniture. Aimpoint RDS. Two point sling. Magpul Gen II mags. OIL. I use Slip 2000. Use whatever you want, but OIL THAT PIECE. I can't tell you how many times I see guys show up with practically dry weapons and then proceed to have issues. Once they OIL up, most disappear.
Ammo. For shit, Tula 55 gr ammo. Zero malfunctions, except for shooter induced stuff, like failing to fully seat the mag a couple of times. Say what you will about this stuff (Max absolutely HATES it) but I've shot thousands of rounds of that godless commie ammo and have had very few malfunctions. Of course now I have completely fucked myself. The next class my rifle will probably blow up.
Equipment. I'll try and keep this brief, since I am the world's biggest gear queer, BUT, there are some things. You need some kind of system to access ready mags. And some kind of pouches that make that happen. I have seen all manner of set ups brought to class. I prefer a simple low profile chest rig, with 4-6 mags, and a battlelbelt, with two more. That gives me 7-9 mags, which is a good load out. With another 6-8 in the ruck, you should be GTG for most occasions. If you're running pistol gear, then holster, and two pistol mags, dumper, IFAK, and maybe a fixed blade knife. I am currently running prototypes of my own designs and seeing what works best out there. I also run a Yote assault pack, with 3L water and spare mags, plus odds n ends. I am currently experimenting with open top pouches, with kydex inserts, to develop a pouch that is quick to get into but still has good retention. The HSGI "Tacos" are very similar, as well as the Eagle "FB" pouches if you can find them. The main thing is to equip with pouches that you can operate out of, quickly, smoothly, with minimum fuss.
Clothing. I have had good luck with the issue OCP cammies. They wear well, and dry out fast. You will probably want some kind of knee pro. I use the insert pads, but others like the strap ons. Use what works for you. And gloves. Hands get shredded with this kind of work. I prefer Mechanix. I also like the new "ECWS" line of clothing in "OCP". I ran the level 5 softshell parka, through a couple of classes, with dizzly rain and it worked well, shedding light rain but not baking you with WP barrier. I also used the level 6 hardshell parka, for really pouring rain. And in between there's the level 4 "windshirt" that works great as a light jacket in cool or windy weather. With a 215 gear operator hat I was GTG throughout all training cycles. I would also recommend synthetic underwear. I prefer compression style boxer briefs. I also use Mennen Power Stick as a chaffing guard in the crotch, and pit areas. Smart wool heavy duty wool socks and foot powder, every morning, and noon chow break if required. This ensemble served me well throughout 6 classes there.
Boots. I have also had good luck with Lowa Zephr (non-gtx) boots. You need a good light hiker, with good ankle support on uneven terrain. These fit the bill nicely. I prefer non-gtx, because I have found that boots get wet, sooner or later, and non-gtx boots dry out much faster, as in usually overnight, as opposed to gtx which usually takes several days. Been rotating two pairs now for the last year with zero issues.
NV Gear. I run a simple, economic set up. A PVS-14, with Wilcox filter, GI "J" arm, and "Rhino" mount, with VAS shroud, and Crye Night Cap. The -14 is dummy-corded to the cap. I wear clear safety glasses, with the optic off-set to accommodate glasses. The Wilcox filter prevents "raccoon" eye. With that I run a simple OTAL IR laser, and a SF scout with Vampire IR head. This set up is simple and worked really well. The only thing I have found, is the OTAL will momentarily shut off under recoil sometimes. I think this might be battery bounce in the housing, similar to the early Eotech issues. I run the rig on the non-dominant eye, at the lowest gain setting possible, with focus at about 50m. I always use the clear sacrificial lens in front. This set up works well in woodland patrol because with the offset gained by using safety glasses and a Wilcox filter, I now have some peripheral vison on both sides (at the cost of some field of view) which allows me to move at night, and not stumble into shit on my "blind" side. You can just see out the gap between the filter and your eyes, giving you real good situational awareness of your close surroundings. I also run the best batteries I can find, the new lithium AA's. No re-chargeables.
Round Count: CTT: approx. 1,000 NOD-F: approx. 400 I am probably high side, as I did as many extra runs as I could.
PT. You need to be in reasonable physical shape to run the courses. But in general, if you can run a square range course, you should be able to run this one. That being said, the better shape you're in, the more you'll get out of it.
Sustain: Good, safe, live fire training. Good instruction with cadre that has both real-world experience, and teaching skills.
Improve: Facilities at ranges. (under-going upgrades, as we speak). Getting the word out.
Final Thoughts. Max Velocity Tactical is legit. I learned a metric shit-ton there. The CTT class is the first step to getting off the square range. It will get you up and running as a small team, using fire and maneuver to react to any contacts you may encounter, as an armed civilian in a WROL type situation. I have attended this course three times and learned new things each time. I would highly recommend it to those of you looking to advance your training. Or, if you're just getting started, check out the course curriculum for beginner courses to prepare you for it.
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