D.I.R.E 1 & 2 AAR
The idea and main thrust behind
the classes is being prepared for an event that would force you to leave your
home or vehicle and head to your bug-out location.
Russ is a great instructor with a
no-frills approach to training. What I mean is he is not and will not teach tactics
or techniques that are not relevant within the context of the class. While some
of the tactics and techniques we have all seen look cool and super high speed,
they have no practical purpose in the WROL/SHTF scenario.
On Day 1 we started with a short
lecture period followed by a scenario and then some shooting drills. The drills were designed to force the group to
shoot and communicate without a hesitation in the rate of fire. For example if
one student’s gun went empty he would yell “Cover!” and the next student would
immediately fire at the previous students targets and then fire his iteration.
After a lunch break we got into
basic buddy/team movements. This was a good warm-up for the next day.
After concluding day 1, we
grabbed all of our gear and humped it to the camp site. While this may sound innocuous
enough, be prepared to feel the sustained weight of your kit after a day of
moving and shooting. It was the last thing I wanted to do as the sun went down
but it was a good test of your limitations. I wanted to sleep so I knew I had
to get my gear to campsite in order to do that. Mission accomplished.
Day 2 began with a campfire and a
realization that my sleeping arrangement sucks. My next purchase will be a
legitimate sleeping bag that will keep me warm. Day 2 was probably my favorite
of the day because we really dug into team movements.
We worked on patrolling across
open ground and maneuvering road intersections. This was extremely beneficial
to me as I had never trained for maneuvering around intersections. We realized
that not everyone has to shoot in order to cross an enemy occupied
intersection. The idea is shoot as many targets as quickly as possible and then
to get away from the contact as expeditiously with your team. In the context of
SHTF, we don’t want to get into sustained gunfights with bad guys because we
have limited ammunition, supplies, and ultimately a limited number of bodies. Again,
the idea is not a sustained gunfight, it is getting away from contact quickly.
As an aside, think about this. 3
out of 4 guys had suppressors on their rifles. It made communication much easier
because we could hear one another. Yes it can be a hassle and an expense to get
a suppressor. But it sure beats the heck out of screaming my head off! Just an
observation.
After the morning session of
patrol work we humped all of our gear back from the camp to the range. We then
practiced assaulting a location that was occupied by looters who had done some
pretty bad stuff and needed to be put down according to our scenario. We
assaulted the position using the same principals as earlier: shoot, move,
communicate. In this, I realized I hated my sling. It kept getting in the way.
I normally don’t wear it while shooting but forgot to take it off. This really
slowed me down in reloading. Granted, I should have just used my handgun since
it was ready to go. We ran this scenario a few times.
Day 2 ended early in the
afternoon. Things I learned from the 2 day course:
-
My kit needs some changes. I need to eliminate
some things and change some gear placement.
-
My sleep systems sucks – yes, I already said
that but it does. This will change soon.
-
My ruck needs some re-packing and reorganizing.
Need to eliminate some things that added weight but had no value.
-
A chest rig is in my future. The need for this
in order to distribute weight makes too much sense to ignore.
-
Change your socks. I knew this going in but got
lazy after day 1 at the campsite. I went home with some blisters and wet feet.
Not fun. Changing my socks and letting my feet dry out would have been the
smart thing to do. Adding a container of foot powder to my ruck is a good idea.
-
Train with your gear.
-
Keep it simple
-
Keep food seasonings in your pack.
-
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
Again, Russ was a great instructor. I highly
recommend the DIRE classes. I would recommend taking DIRE 1 & 2 so you get
the overnight experience of living out of your ruck. This class will show your
limitations and ways for you to improve your gear and mindset to be better
suited for a (wait for it) DIRE situation. Seriously though, take these
courses. You won’t be disappointed.
- JL
Freedom has no compromise. By definition it is absolute.
