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worn made visibility even worse because they constantly fogged up due to our physical exertion. Students were told not to pad up for the AirSoft FoF. We wore the face masks for safety’s sake. The sting of AirSoft would reinforce the lessons learned. We were informed that it would be possible to emerge unscathed if we did everything correctly. But in actuality, we all took hits and emerged with welts on our arms and torsos. We later discovered we were facing adversaries who were very experienced with the structure’s nuances and outgunned us with AirSoft rifles and SMGs. All in all it was good, realistic training that cannot be achieved on the range for obvious reasons. This exercise demonstrated the importance of being able to move smoothly and in coordination with your partner, as well as the advantage of being familiar with flashlight techniques. The Insight Technology M3X and BlackHawk Gladius I brought with me were invaluable. While I know weapon-mounted lights are frowned upon due to the weapon’s covering what the light is illuminating, for me this was the only way to go while moving, searching and engaging targets in such a chaotic environment. TRAINING DAY THREE Day 3 started at the school with twoman teams joined together into five- or six-man stacks charged with clearing the two-story, 10,000-square-foot structure against determined opposition. Role players were told to go down if hit well, while students were charged with driving on no matter what occurred. This was to instill the mindset of never giving up or quitting. The clearing operations, while done with gusto and the best effort of students, quickly deteriorated into chaotic firefights with teams getting separated. It only reinforced what Rod and his instructors had been communicating about the difficulties encountered with clearing a structure against a determined, organized foe. However, the silver lining was that all SOURCES: Storm Mountain Training Center Dept. S.W.A.T. Rt. 1 Box 60 Elk Garden, WV 26717 (304) 446-5526 www.stormmountain.com BlackHawk! Products Group Dept. S.W.A.T. 6160 Commander Pkwy Norfolk, VA 23502 (757) 436-3101 www.blackhawk.com Black Hills Ammunition Dept. S.W.A.T. P.O. Box 3090 Rapid City, SD 57709 (605) 348-5150 www.black-hills.com Insight Tech Gear Dept. S.W.A.T. 9 Akira Way Londonderry, NH 03053 (877) 744-4802 www.insightlights.com 80 S.W.A.T. » MARCH 2010 Copyrighted Material: Reprinted by Permission of SWAT Magazine SWATMAG.COM
STORM MTN. TEAM TACTICS Dark hallways offered realistic low-light training, with opponents lying in wait and ready to inflict damage on students who operated in a tactically unsound manner. Lancer Systems 7566 Morris Crt, Suite 300 Allentown, PA 18106 610 973-2600 sales@lancer-systems.com Translucent Magazine LIKE NO OTHER POLYMER MAGAZINE YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCE www.lancer-systems.com the participants emerged with a much clearer understanding of the tactics and techniques needed to engage in roomclearing operations, whether in one’s own home or some other property. All came away much better prepared to handle the mental stress of having to move through their home when they hear the mysterious bump in the night. As Rod pointed out, in that scenario they will be on home turf with all of the advantages that conveys, against adversaries not as well versed in CQB tactics. Overall, Team Tactics is a culmination of the weapon-based courses I had previously taken at SMTC. Team Tactics is about applying learned weapon skills into a tactical situation and succeeding. Training never ends, and Storm Mountain’s Team Tactics course clearly showed me that more hard work is necessary to gain even a basic proficiency with CQB tactics. However, everyone who participated left Storm Mountain with a leg up on the huge percentage of the population with no training in such matters. This is what all of us are after—an advantage. £ Bring a smile to a deserving child! The children of active duty reservists are living in a stressful situation. Help these deserving children know they are loved while their parents are away! Your donation benefits all branches of the military. This effort is operated under the Vessey Chapter of the Association of the United States Army (501c3 non-profit education institution TX ID#53-0193361). —Les Hanson 651-428-0834 Please make donation payable to: Vessey Chapter of the AUSA and mail to: PO Box 11804, Saint Paul, MN 55111 TOYS 4 MILITARY CHILDREN SWATMAG.COM Copyrighted Material: Reprinted by Permission of SWAT Magazine S.W.A.T. » MARCH 2010 81
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