ITS Tactical 2011 SOFIC Special Operations Forces Industry Conference Coverage

Posted on May 18, 2011 by The ITS Crew

We’re coming to you live from Tampa, FL for the 2011 NDIA SOFIC Conference (May 17th – May 19th) and already bringing you updates direct from the convention center via Twitter and Facebook!

SOFIC admission is generally for Industry, Government and Military only and very closed in terms of what we’re able to cover. This is all with good reason too, as certain developments in Special Operations technology isn’t something everyone has a need to know.

That being said, we do have press access to the show and will not only be updating throughout the day, but feature a recap article here on ITS tonight and tomorrow evening as well. We’re of course not going to take photos or release any information we haven’t cleared with the vendors here at the show. This isn’t like our 2011 SHOT Show coverage where we were walking the show taking photos of anything and everything, but we know you’ll still enjoy this year’s SOFIC Coverage.

Thanks for all your support and be sure to follow the updates on our Twitter account, Facebook Page and check back for our wrap-up articles tonight and tomorrow night.

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Dogs of War: Why the Navy SEALs would use Dogs as a Force Multiplier

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Joel Ryals
1 of 6 in the series Dogs of War

With the recent news release about a K-9 being part of the raid on the Bin Laden compound and having an active role in Special Operations military actions, many people are asking themselves, “What was that dog doing on the raid?”

Speculation abounds regarding the breed and possible surgical alterations to the dog, like titanium teeth to “rip through body armor.”

Much of the talk is sensationalism and fails to really capture what capabilities dogs have to offer and how we can best integrate dogs into our Special Operations teams. I hope to open your eyes to things you either never thought of, or previously thought were impossible with dogs.

There are tremendous advantages to integrating dogs into military operations, to include Special Operations teams. But to be completely honest, there are also a few disadvantages that should be considered. You can determine if the advantages out-weigh the disadvantages.

It seems apparent that, at least for this mission, the SEALs determined that the advantages were worth the work. So let’s examine what these disadvantages are before we start talking about how dogs are assets.

Disadvantages of Dogs in Combat

Dogs require additional training. As with any soldier, you must train a dog to do what you require it to do. One of the benefits that Special Operations teams have is that most of their lives consist of training. But there’s certainly an aspect of training that must become specific to the dog. However, if you use a little imagination, you can integrate most of this training into other team training to minimize this aspect.

It would be particularly useful if the initial training (obedience, scent work and bite work introduction) of the dog is complete prior to introducing the dog to the team. Once a dog has been introduced to the techniques needed to be useful to a Special Operations team, the dog is simply integrated into all training with the team from that time forward. So just as all Special Operations under go an initial training period where they learn the tactics, techniques and procedures needed to be useful to the teams they are about to join, the dog must undergo the same training. Is this really a disadvantage?

Dogs require their own equipment

There is equipment specific to the dog that is required for much of the things that a Special Operations team would do. Harnesses are required for airborne operations, rappelling and the like. Long lines may or may not be required for certain applications of tracking and scent work. During close quarters combat, ballistic vests may be needed as well. Some handlers might want to put boots on dogs for certain applications, or even goggles. So while adding a dog to a team may require specific equipment be used, which of the other soldiers on the team don’t require this equipment as well. While this is a planning consideration, is it really a disadvantage?

Dogs can make noise, act unexpectedly or get in the way

This is the number one complaint or objection I hear when introducing this idea to Law Enforcement SWAT Teams, and standard military units. I have also heard this argument used by Tier 1 Operators, but thankfully they are almost always open to the “show me” counter argument. Dogs certainly can have these disadvantages, but they don’t necessarily have them. Just as the SEALs have a rigorous selection process, the dogs used for these applications must also be selected to be capable of performing.

Dogs from a highly capable breeder can ensure that the lines of dogs have far more dogs that can perform these functions that not. The Germans had almost perfected this breeding technique during WWII and Baden K-9 of Ontario, Canada carries on their breeding techniques to this day. We’ll discuss how to ensure that these disadvantages don’t show up mid-mission in this series.

Dogs can’t do everything that humans can do

While it’s true that dogs don’t have opposing thumbs and thus can’t hold a cell phone, or grasp a standard round door knob, there are creative ways of training a dog to do almost anything they would need to do on a mission without assistance from their team. Dogs can climb vertical ladders; open almost any door (assuming it is not locked) and many other tasks that your average dog owner would consider “tricks.”

For an operator, these “tricks” are essential to all team members whether they walk on two legs or four. So this disadvantage really plays back into the first, there’s going to be additional training time involved. One great benefit to the trainer however, is that once a few dogs are trained, you can train the rest of the dogs with and around these trained dogs and the rate of learning will go up dramatically. Puppies always learn faster with adult dogs around.

So now that you are aware of the primary reasons people say that dogs can’t be integrated into Special Operations teams, or at least why these opponents would say they shouldn’t be integrated, let’s discuss the reasons these dogs are being integrated onto these teams at an ever increasing rate.

Psychological Benefits of a Dog

No, I am not talking about the warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you pat a dog on the head or scratch him behind the ears. I am talking about the cold shiver that runs up the spine of the enemy when they see the arms being ripped off their buddy while taking fire from you and your team.

This is the psychological advantage that the dog brings to the battlefield. Especially among the religious peoples of the world who believe that being touched, much less bitten, by an “unclean” dog damns them to hell if they die without cleansing themselves.

Dogs as Force Multipliers

In simple terms, a force multiplier is anything that gives you a strategic advantage with fewer personnel. It makes 10 men able to effectively combat 100 men. While there are many types of force multipliers, let’s consider a few that the dog can bring to the battlefield.

Fear

When your enemy is afraid, it gives you a tremendous advantage on the battlefield. I don’t know if soldiers actually dipped bullets in pig’s blood during the Vietnam conflict, but just the reputation that they might be gave them a fear advantage over their enemy. The same is true of dogs on the battlefield. People fear fearsome dogs. Seeing your friend fall to the ground screaming for no apparent reason because they are being bitten in the leg by a dog is a terrifying thing. This brings us to the second force multiplier…

Surprise

There are so many ways that dogs can be used for surprise. Dogs can be deployed through small spaces to emerge from locations the enemy would never suspect an attack from. They can deploy through windows with no warning. When men are shooting at one another during a firefight, dogs are practically never even seen before they strike. Their reduced size and incredible speed mean that they can be across a room much faster than a man can, causing confusion in the enemy during a raid.

Deception

There are many ways that deception can be used, it is most effective when combined with distraction. Deception can be giving the enemy the impression that they are surrounded when they are not. A dog moving in and around combatants causing them to be attacked from varying different angles, quickly throws them into confusion and gives the organized raiding force a distinct advantage.

Technology

Many may raise an eyebrow at this, but give me a second to explain. Dogs are the ultimate in low technology, brute force and destruction to men, but they give a technological advantage on the battlefield. Dogs can be used to carry equipment into locations that men cannot go, or that would take men much longer to get to. Dogs can move through narrow tunnels or pipes where men simply cannot be effective.

With radio receivers in their ear (yes, these exist) and infrared cameras mounted on their backs, these dogs can be highly effective intelligence gatherers. Dogs can be trained to take detailed commands such as “turn right,” “stop,” back up” and so on. Anything that you can mount on a robot, you can mount on a dog, and robots can’t bite you.

K-9 Capabilities

In addition to assisting soldiers with the above force multipliers, dogs also bring something to the battlefield that simply cannot be reproduced by any machine or technology that we yet possess. Let’s consider the primary capabilities a dog can offer a Special Operations team.

Scent

One of the greatest capabilities a dog can bring and the primary reason they are used by law enforcement and military, is their sense of smell. While humans walk into a restaurant and smell the food (they may even distinguish the types of meals being prepared) the dog detects whether it is electric, gas or wood stoves being used; the type of meat being cooked; the spices being added; the cleanliness of the cooks; the sicknesses of the patrons; who is carrying weapons; and if there are any explosives of drugs present on the grounds. Wouldn’t you love to be able to tell all that with just your sense of smell?

From a tactical standpoint, dogs are the fastest way to detect explosive booby traps so that team members can avoid or disarm them. They can indicate on rooms that have people in them or are vacant. And in the situation of a fleeing suspect, or even the case where you find no one, they can indicate that there was someone there and be used to track that person down. These capabilities are impossible to replicate.

Sure, operators can carefully search for, detect and avoid or disarm booby traps without dogs. Certainly, infrared technology exists to determine if there are occupants in a room or not. Absolutely, there are men who can track down suspects through the use of observation. But none of these things can be done by man at anywhere near the speed that the dog can do them. And each of these capabilities are highly specialized and take years of training to become proficient at. But the dog does them all naturally. We must simply communicate to the dog what we want them to detect.

Hearing

Dogs don’t have all that much better hearing than humans in the ranges of sound that we both detect. But a dog has a much larger range of noises they can hear than humans do. When I was training dogs in counter sniper techniques, during our testing stage we had various military and law enforcement sniper teams moving in the field. I was amazed to discover that the primary sense used to detect these teams was not scent, but hearing. The dog could detect the slightest clink of metal, or crack of stick, or fence being disturbed. During 4 days of testing, every team in the field was detected multiple times and tracked down as a result of the sense of hearing of my dog.

For a team of operators, you should never shrug off the specific indication of your dog on sound. Always pay special attention to the area they are focused on. Ears erect, eyes focused, and tense body almost always means there is someone there.

Size and Agility

This has been mentioned briefly, but the size and agility of the dog offers a distinct advantage to the Special Operations team. I have deployed dogs, or seen dogs deployed, into air conditioning ducts, small culverts or holes in cave walls that it would have been very difficult for men to get into or through. Dogs can also leap obstacles that men simply cannot, or that would cause noise and give away their position. I even have several dogs trained that can climb trees. (I have won a few bets with this one.) But dogs can be placed in various positions awaiting their handlers command to join him or attack from a different angle to cause confusion in the enemy.

Combat

I have mentioned several options above, but wanted to make sure that the capability of the dog to combat humans is tremendous. Unfortunately, most of the training methodologies out there render many of the dog’s natural instincts in a fight useless. We will discuss the training and requirements for a Special Operations dog’s bite training and employment in the next article.

Conclusion

Dogs are tremendous assets to a Special Operations team. They can be integrated into practically any mission you can imagine. They are force multipliers and bring capabilities to the battle that humans cannot replicate, or at least they can perform these functions at a much higher rate of speed.

Join us next time as we discuss in more detail, the combat capabilities of a dog and what a Tactical K-9 must be able to do to be effective in battle. Until next time, this is Joel with Dunetos K-9, helping sharpen our world…one dog at a time.

Editor-in-Chief’s Note: Please join us in welcoming Joel Rylas as a contributing author on ITS Tactical. Joel is the founder and head trainer of Dunetos K-9, a training facility and equipment manufacturer specializing in Tactical and standard K-9 equipment. He’s been training and handling dogs for over 10 years and works closely with Baden K-9, a highly respected training facility in Ontario, Canada. Joel has served in the United States Army for 11 years as a Military Police Officer deploying to the Pentagon days after the 9/11 attack, Afghanistan (2003), Iraq (2007) and is currently serving in Bogota, Colombia in the War on Drugs. Joel has specialized in integrating dogs into every aspect of life, from personal obedience and protection to specialized military application.

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Support Our Law Enforcement Officers during National Police Week

Posted on May 16, 2011 by The ITS Crew

Police WeekThis week is the start of National Police Week across the country and in Washington D.C., where it attracts thousands of survivors and law enforcement officers each year.

Started by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, National Police Week starts with Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15th and has grown into many planned events that honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

We’d ask that you keep our officers past and present in your minds this week and take the opportunity to say thank you and show your support for all they do to protect our freedoms.

To all our LE brothers and sisters out there, ITS Tactical thanks you for all that you do and would like to offer you 10% off your total order this week at ITS Tactical. Simply email us to claim your discount code.

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An Introduction to Lightweight Backpacking

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Brian Green
1 of 4 in the series Lightweight Backpacking

The most frequent question I get asked by people I meet on the trail or who read my blog is how do they get started with lightweight backpacking?

Usually they’ve read some articles online, seen some gear reviews in a magazine, or hiked with someone who had a much lighter pack they theirs. They’re typically already convinced of the benefits of going lighter, but just don’t know where to start.

What’s Lightweight Backpacking?

Let me start by saying it’s a journey. Don’t expect to accomplish this overnight or by just reading this blog post. It takes time. Lightweight backpacking is getting your overall pack weight (minus food, water, and fuel) down to around 25 lbs for a multi-day trip. If you want to get more extreme, you can become an ultralight backpacker and shave your pack weight down to a meager 15 lbs or less — but that’s a whole other blog topic that we’ll save for later.

What are the Benefits?

Right off the bat I’d say the difference between carrying a 60 lb backpack and a 25 lb one is an enormous weight saving. You will be able to hike at a faster pace, you’ll be able to hike for much further distances, and the reduced strain on your body will mean there’s less likelihood of injuring yourself. If you like being outdoors and enjoying nature, you’ll be able to see a lot more of it with a lighter weight pack. Bottom line, you’re probably going to start enjoying backpacking trips a whole more with a lightweight pack than you were in the past with a huge one.

How do you get Started?

I start by telling people that they need to adjust their expectations of backpacking. If you try to take along all of the creature comforts of home while you’re out on the trail, you are going to end up with a heavy pack — it’s inevitable. So, step one is to realize that you’ll need to take less to be able to do more.

There are several tried-and-tested techniques to successfully reducing your pack weight without sacrificing all of the little luxuries. I’ll touch on three of them as part of this post and expand on the details and other techniques as part of a future series.

Weigh all of Your Gear — Knowledge is Power

In order to figure out how much pack weight you need to lose, you need to know where you are. This is the first and most important step towards reducing your pack weight. Don’t assume the weight of something is negligible until you’ve weighed it.

If you already have a set of scales around the house you may be able to use of them. But I’d recommend you invest in a set of digital kitchen scales ($20 on Amazon or ebay) in order to have accurate readings.

Take out every piece of backpacking gear that you currently use, have taken on a trip in the past, or might take on a trip in the future. Weigh every piece of gear and write down the weight. Be sure to describe each piece of gear accurately (don’t just write ‘pants’) so you’ll know what you were talking about three months from now when you look at this list again. Weigh all of the individual component parts of your gear. Your first aid kit is a particularly good example of this.

Weigh all the pieces and break everything down into its components. Now add up all of the clothing and equipment (excluding consumables – your food, water, and fuel) that you would take on a normal backpacking trip. This is called your base weight.

Introduction to Lightweight Backpacking

Take Less Stuff — Leave Things at Home

On your next backpacking trip, keep careful track of all of the gear and clothing items that you did not need or use. I like to carry a small 3×5 Rite in the Rain (RITR) notepad and pencil to help me organize my notes. When you get back home from your trip, you can subtract these items from your gear total and quickly see how much weight you could have saved if you had left those items behind. You’ll probably be very surprised by just the results of this first step, but if you’re not totally convinced about leaving the items behind, repeat this step on your next trip.

Introduction to Lightweight Backpacking

Take Smaller Amounts of Things

Similar to simply taking less stuff with you is taking smaller quantities of things. If you’ve done your homework and weighed all of your backpacking items, you’ve probably already noticed how things like soap, insect repellent, sunscreen, and lotions really start to add up in weight. The chances are that you’ve grabbed a small travel size container for all of your toiletry items but only ended up using 1/5 or less of each one. BY keeping track of how much of any given item you use on a multi-day or overnight backpacking trip you can start to fine tune how much you carry on future trips. Mini containers and small eye-dropper bottles are a great way to carry smaller amounts of liquid items with you. There are also lots of websites (such as minimus.biz) that sell tiny individual packets of all sorts of consumables.

Introduction to Lightweight Backpacking

Multiple Use Gear

Once you’ve eliminated all of the items of gear that you no longer need to carry and have gone through a process of reducing the amounts of items that you take, there is one other reliable method for reducing some additional weight — take items of gear that can serve multiple purposes. An example of this is trekking poles. I carry a set of lightweight trekking poles with me when I go hiking or backpacking. The trekking poles double as my tarp support poles letting me leave the original and heavier poles at home. Another example is my backpack and sleeping pad. I carry a frameless Gossamer Gear Gorilla pack for most of my hiking and backpacking trips. I use my sleeping pad, in a special pocket on the back of the pack, to stabilize the structure of the pack and to provide padding for my back. Even something as simple as a bandanna can function in multiple ways such as a washcloth, towel, bandage, hat, water pre-filter, and handkerchief – you get the idea.

Introduction to Lightweight Backpacking

Conclusion

Going from a 60lb pack weight to 20lbs or less is not going to happen overnight. The process of reducing your base weight and applying the principles listed above could easily last throughout an entire backpacking season, or longer. It’s a journey. Experiment, take good notes, and observe your gear usage carefully. I highly recommend going on “practice” trips to test out your gear and see what works and what doesn’t. Most important of all, get outside and go backpacking!

Editor’s Note: Please join us in welcoming Brian Green as a contributor to ITS Tactical! Brian is an avid lightweight backpacker and author of the popular Brian’s Backpacking Blog. Originally from Southampton, England, Brian has lived in the US for over 14 years, finally settling in North Carolina. His love of the outdoors started at a very early age, almost as far back as he can remember. Now he spends as much time backpacking as his work schedule and family life will allow. Be sure to check out his blog for other great backpacking tips & tricks and gear reviews.

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GORUCK Tough: An account of GORUCK Challenge Class 031

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Mike Petrucci

On May 7th, I completed the GORUCK Challenge (class 031) in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and will be forever changed. If you aren’t familiar with the Challenge, it’s billed as a team event that lasts 15-20 miles and around 8-10 hours. Although, the cadre loves to under promise and over deliver.

Straight from their site, here is the Challenge in a nutshell:

You and your fellow Challenge takers all wear GORUCK backpacks throughout the Challenge. Yes, your bags will be weighted down with bricks, but if the Challenge were easy you wouldn’t sign up. In fact, the greatest hurdle is signing up. We are proud that the pass rate is over 98%.

You won’t know the route but it showcases the best of every city. Think of it as a guided tour. The miles don’t disappear on their own, and 8 to 10 hours can feel like a lifetime. Welcome to our version of good livin’.

GORUCK Sunrise Beach

Why did you decide to do the GORUCK Challenge?

I’ve always wanted to be tested and see what I am made of. To test the strength of my steel. To truly look hardship and difficulty in the eye and face it. The GORUCK Challenge seemed to be exactly just that test. Not many people take the hard way anymore and I decided to pursue it.

When I brought up the Challenge idea to others, a few people had ‘that’ look on their face. Almost as if they wanted to say it was impossible but they didn’t want to seem rude. One guy even flat out told me that I couldn’t do it. What makes them think that? I intended to prove them wrong. It’s hard but I try to give no energy to the critics.

The other reason I signed up is because the Challenge wouldn’t be back in my general area for months. I wanted to get in while it was still within driving distance and the Challenge was still relatively unknown.

How did you prepare for the GORUCK Challenge?

I started off by doing some simple Google searches and reading about the experiences of past Challengers. I also chatted back and forth on Twitter with a couple of guys who signed up for the Challenge as well. Eventually I learned that my type of training should match the Challenge; unconventional.

I decided to break down each element of the Challenge and tried to figure out exactly what would be required of me. Nowhere is it listed what elements the Challenge will enlist so I had to rely on they’ve done in the past. This is the basic list:

  • 15-20 mile run
  • Log carry
  • Buddy carry
  • Pushups
  • Flutter kicks
  • All of these done with at least a 20 pound ruck.

The moment I heard about the Challenge, I wanted to see how feasible it was for me. I’ve never run with any serious amount of weight on my back before so I went outside, found a rock I thought was 20 pounds and ran with it. When I got home and weighed the rock, I realized I made a gross miscalculation. Turns out my rock was 40 pounds exactly.

I kept the rock and even ran with it one more time (a 4 miler) but I put it on the back burner because I didn’t plan on doing the Challenge for some time. I decided to wait until I was ready (which usually means it’s not going to happen).

When my birthday rolled around, my wife surprised me by teaming up with my in laws and getting me a GR1. When I picked up the ruck from Polly & Sophie at their DC office, I started to think more seriously about the challenge. They asked if I was going to do one and I just replied that I would like to but I don’t feel ready at the moment. They said I really should just do it. That’s when I started prepping with the GR1.

Building up courage and deciding to jump in with both feet, I signed up for the Challenge. I had 17 days. The weekend before I made the decision to officially sign up, I thought I’d go for a long run under load. In addition to a 25 lb dumbbell, my ruck with water, a jacket, multi-tool (basically a ton of EDC stuff) weighed in at 35 lbs. I did just under 10 miles nonstop and felt pretty good.

In a way, I’ve been gently prepping myself for this Challenge for months. Living in Northern Virginia and working in DC means I have a decently long public transit commute. I bring everything I might need throughout the day in my backpack including that days lunch and water etc. I was curious as to what my ‘daily ruck’ weight was because it doesn’t feel very heavy at all so I hopped on the scale and it came in just shy of an even 20 lbs. Not too bad! While it’s only weight I’ve carried while walking, it’s still weight that my body & back should have built up some tolerance against.

Over Analyzing vs Preparation; A Fine Line

I like to be prepared in everything I do. Some may see it as over analyzing and I understand that. But I just want to be as ready as possible so I’ll be able to focus on the experience.

What did I do to improve my odds? Well, I focused on getting gear that would make it easier for my body to do the real work. No amount of high end gear will get you through this Challenge, always remember that. It’s also worth noting that while I tried to find gear I thought would be perfect, there’s no real ‘right’ solution. What worked for me may not work for you and even more importantly, this is not a recipe that will guarantee you success.

I had to keep things on a strict budget so while I’m sure there are better options, I decided to go with a judicious mix of quality vs cost.

Carrying a loaded ruck while literally hitting pavement has got to have some sort impact on your feet. So I went looking for a cushioned trail running shoe. I have a very worn pair of Salomons I wanted to use but they are just too thrashed; the soles are slick with no more tread and the heels are tearing which gives cuts and blisters. With the amount of running I was going to be up against I knew I should spend the cash on some new shoes just for the Challenge.

I went to my local City Sports and tried on a few pairs. I was looking for a blend of features (trail grip, cushion, weight) and price. While I couldn’t really afford to get new shoes for the Challenge but I decided it was a necessary purchase; something that I would be extremely thankful for later. Luckily they were lower end and I had some ‘City Sports cash’ to redeem.

I worked hard on breaking in the new shoes and they seemed to be working very well. I ran in and through mud and up to my knees in the river to see how they took took on and shed water and just handle a mixture of elements. I’m happy with them.

A Looming Deadline

My day is getting closer. As I check the Events tab on the GORUCK Facebook Page, I get a feeling in my stomach of anxiousness. My class is at the top of the list, next in line for evaluation. 5 days away. Gosh that seems sudden.

It doesn’t matter. I don’t need to feel worried or anxious. Why? Because I know I’m going to finish and complete the Challenge. I want the GORUCK Tough patch. How does one get it? By completing the GORUCK Challenge. So it’s pretty simple really. I know what I have to do.

GORUCK Challenge Bricks and Food

Countdown: 3 Days

I still haven’t bought my bricks and it’s Wednesday. I think I’ll go tonight though.

I also need to get my fuel, which will most likely be in the form of candy and energy bars/GU/beans/gum/etc. I’m planning on raiding City Sports tomorrow and getting a bunch of different stuff to offer some variety.

I have no idea what I’ll be hungry for, or what I can even stomach so I need to get it all. I’d rather carry the extra weight than drop out of the Challenge due to lack of energy.

Packing

As I wrapped the bricks with duct tape, I felt an odd sense of calm. I was expecting to get more anxious at that point. After a good bit of duct tape, a t-shirt, and part of a contractors bag (for waterproofness), the bricks weighed in at 17 pounds exactly. Now my scale isn’t the most accurate but it made me feel really good because I’ve been running with a 25 pound dumbbell.

Packed everything for the weekend and checked it three or four times, not wanting to leave anything behind. I’m pretty sure that I have everything I need, for the most part anyway. It’s hard to really have everything. I also am trying to keep things as light as possible.

Countdown: 6 Hours

Almost on my way to the in-laws (drop the wife off) then onto Rehoboth Beach and my mind is wandering. It’s good stuff though. I mean, if I’m not careful, my mind tries to sneak in the thoughts of pain and cold and hunger but I quickly look at it differently. ‘It’s only a few hours! Not even a full day! How many times have my friends and coworkers (and myself) gone through an entire weekend having done absolutely nothing!?’

I could be sitting on my butt all weekend, sleeping in and watching movies. But I chose to do this Challenge. Once I start, there is only short amount of time that ‘uncomfortableness’ has to endure. After that, it’s back to relaxing with friends and family. Sitting on the porch or hammock, enjoying the breeze like a sane human being (yeah, I think there is a certain level of ‘good’ crazy needed for the GORUCK Challenge). How many people choose to remain comfortable?

What is your biggest fear/demon for the Challenge?

If I were forced to pick something, I would say that I’m worried there is too big a difference in the physical abilities of myself and the others. From the photos and videos I’ve seen of past Challenges, the dudes (and ladies) looked extremely well built. Some were full on race horses without an ounce of unnecessary fat. Well that’s not me. I mean, I’ve been steadily losing weight, gaining strength, and intensifying my running speed and distance but I still feel like an average soggy 20 something.

What do you feel is your biggest strength for the Challenge?

My heart. My mind is weak and my body is weaker but my heart is strong. My heart will command my body to do the things my mind says are impossible. While my mind may be going through a constant battle, in my heart, I know this battle is won.

On the physical side, I feel I have a very solid running foundation. I’ve been known to run for miles with no goal in mind and no hint of stopping. I can become an unstoppable train and while I may not always get there first, I get there. I also am used to carrying 20 pounds on a daily basis and have done some significant runs with weight up to 35 and 40 pounds. I think the sheer miles mess with most Challengers but I’m actually excited to see how I perform.

Does anything about the Rehoboth Beach Challenge specifically make you excited or nervous?

The soft sand running is going to be tough and slow. A real suck. I know we are going to spend time in the ocean and the ocean in the black of night can be a bit of a demon. I grew up in Delaware and have been to the Rehoboth Beach a number of times but I’m mostly excited about seeing it in a completely different light than I ever imagined. Also, watching the sun rise on the beach is always fun.

Rehoboth Sign

The Evolution

Note: While I’m including a lot of different elements in this write up, there are also some things I didn’t include because you just have to experience it yourself.

1AM start.

GORUCK Start

Within the first few minutes, we hit the surf and were on our backs doing flutter kicks. We had to lock arms to keep the waves that were crashing over our heads from pulling us into the dark and chilly waters. Sand instantly penetrated every crevice it could find. After doing enough flutter kicks (which looked a bit more like synchronized swimming), we were up and back in formation running down the beach.

While attempting to find a better system for our Indian sprints and taking too long, we were ordered back in the surf. Pushup position.

Jason decided we weren’t ready to run so we did bear crawls. The sand just barely giving any support to our outstretched arms and legs, it was slow going for what seemed like miles.

GORUCK Bear Crawls

“Why are we doing bear crawls when we’re at the beach?” Good point actually, so we were ordered into the crab-walk position but the rucks were not allowed to touch the ground. After a good distance of crab-walks, we were up doing lunges.

Eventually we graduated to trying running again. We developed decent system down and proceeded to do our Indian sprints and soon hit solid ground. Just as we left the beach, we found our first coupon (redeemable for extra “good living”). A beach chair. Fitting.

Everyone was still all smiles and having a good ol’ time so Jason bounded ahead while we continued our two column formation. We soon caught up to Jason who found us our second coupon, a well worn and stained box spring.

More Indian sprints up the boardwalk, fist pumping our coupons, we circled around back to the main drag and stopped for a snack & pee break. You can’t be a team when one of you goes around the corner to pee (who knew!?) so we were immediately put in the pushup position. This is something Jason doesn’t take pleasure in. It was stupid that we had to do pushups, no need. We had a long way to go before we truly became a team. So when one peed, we all peed. Together.

GORUCK Pushups

Then came the buddy carries. We were instructed to get two men up in a fireman carry. While taking too long to figure it out, the order for three men up came. No more foolin’ around. We got em up and started the long march down the street. It didn’t stop until we got the word so we took very quick breaks just long enough to switch partners when necessary. Eventually we set our man down and continued fist pumping our coupons down the boardwalk.

This was all before sunrise.

When the boardwalk ran out, we transitioned to soft sand. Sometimes we were lucky and steered towards some harder pack sand for a bit. What a treat.

Jason broke off from our group and ran away from the surf. While we maintained our position and pace we started whispering to each other as to what was next. Oh crap, he was standing next to a pile of logs. I’m still not entirely sure if he motioned for us to meet up with him or if we just steered ourselves toward him because we knew there was no escaping what was to come. I think it was the latter.

So we got next to the log to inspect it. According to Jason, it was just a ‘starter log.’ We got it up without too much trouble and started the journey. We brought the log out onto a paved path which was much easier than the sand. Eventually the sun started to rise and Jason remarked at how beautiful the sky was so we should get closer to the water and enjoy it. It was hard to see much because I was really focusing on what appeared to be my biggest challenge.

GORUCK Log

The only spot on the log that I could last for any amount of time was right at the front but once I was there, I could walk for a good distance. I would just position the log to ride on my ruck and into my neck so I could use my legs to really carry it. I spent most of the log carry either at the front staring at my feet or wincing in pain as I tried to hold the log from the side. My taller height was not cooperating.

Somewhere during our journey with the log we had to give ourselves a short rest. We all knew that if we set the log down, it was not coming back up so we stood it up vertically and had a few sips of water. Then we continued the carry until we were directed to set the log down and move on. I can’t say that I’ll miss that log one bit.

I think we then moved up the beach in more Indian sprints. Stopping at some old bunkers and snapping a few pics, spirits were still pretty high. We eventually made it up to the Cape Henlopen State Park and refilled our water before moving on down the trails. It felt great to be running on pavement, at least for me.

GORUCK Bunker

It was at this point that one of the guys was having some real trouble with his legs. Either it was cramping up or just giving out, he was suffering for a while now. We carried his ruck to lighten the load but it was still not looking good. He made the hard decision of pulling himself out. But he’s doing another one as soon as he recovers and I have immense respect for him staying as long as he did.

We were soon back on the sand, dancing along surf in our typical Indian sprint fashion. Jason saw a lone woman, walking the beach and told us to beat her to the jetty or we would be sent to the water to cool off. Well, we tried but failed, so in the water we went.

GORUCK in water

Jason decided to give us another chance although this time the stakes were higher. He found another woman walking the beach and told us to pass her before she got in line with the hotels or we would have a seriously epic Challenge. You could tell by his tone that he wasn’t joking around. We set up a system of pushing hard for 20-30 seconds followed by a shuffle to cool down. Slowly we made ground. Soon we overtook her and we were ecstatic. As we followed Jason up the beach and onto the sidewalk, we ran by what would have been our ‘prize’ for losing to the lady; a pile of seriously nasty logs. Jason even commented on how lucky we were that we beat her.

So another quick drink and snack fill up and we soon were running through the now bustling streets of Rehoboth. Getting some strange looks but feeling strong. After rounding some corners, we realized we were on the home stretch. But Jason instructed us we needed to buddy carry some guys. We got them up and I even carried 2 extra rucks to make it easier on those guys because my back was pretty much shot.

GORUCK Street

GORUCK Tourists

Slowly making it down the main drag and getting some very odd looks, we were within just feet of the rally point. I decided we were too quiet and needed to let Rehoboth know of our presence so I led the team in the GORUCK yell. “When I say ‘GO’ you say ‘RUCK.’ ‘GO’ ‘RUCK’ ‘GO’ ‘RUCK’ ‘GO’ ‘RUCK’ We all set foot on the band stand and cheered. After snapping a class pic, Jason gave us the good news. It wasn’t over.

GORUCK False Ending

We needed a 50% carry to the surf. That meant everyone was either carrying or being carried and they all had to have their rucks on. While we just had to get to the surf, I’ll be the first to admit it seemed impossibly far away.

GORUCK Carry

Everyone carefully but quickly got someone on their back. Ryan and I were both equally shot but I tried to get him up on me and ended up dropping him, hard. We decided the only way that would work for us was piggy back. We made it almost halfway before a few of us slipped so we stopped to reposition. Jason stated that if we stopped again, we would start the whole carry over. I told Ryan I had no more gas left and he said he could take me. I hopped up and soon we all were hobbling towards the surf. Ryan started to turn colors and his breathing sounded awful but he took step after step without faltering and made it all the way to the surf. We did it!!! We did it!!! I quickly got off and grabbed his ruck allowing him to breathe. I looked around and we were all huffing and puffing with the beachgoers either just sitting with jaws dropped or cheering. It was incredible.

GORUCK Finish

Slowly we made it back up the beach to the boardwalk. Jason congratulated us and gave us our patches. New guys first. I have never felt so alive and I am not ashamed to say I started to well up with tears. Around 17 miles and almost 13 hours later, a lot of emotions were running through me. I just did something I never thought was possible. I worked hard to capture as much about that moment as possible so I could hold onto that moment forever.

After changing my shirt and putting some fresh socks on, my new best friends and I enjoyed a nice lunch at Dogfish Head. I was in awe at how amazing my burger tasted and even more amazed I couldn’t finish my fries! I was truly exhausted. We paid our checks and parted ways. That may have been the last time we’ll ever have seen each other but I’ll never forget them. This was truly a defining moment in my life.

One of my teammates actually summed it up extremely well:

“We finished more than as we started. We finished in the sand. In the waves. Tired. Sore. Elated. Unsure if it was all really over. But more than anything, we finished as a team. Of all the times we got wet on the beach this Challenge, this last dip was a cleansing. Washing off the doubts, the flaky unsure skin we stepped up in. We left the beach in a new skin. Worn and weathered. GORUCK Tough.“

GORUCK Tough

What got you through the tough moments?

My team, for one. They were right there when I needed relief on the log or to pass a coupon off. I broke each action into manageable goals. I didn’t worry about what was next because I knew that eventually, it would be over. Simple as that. I also was actually really enjoying myself. I remember a moment when I was lying on the beach, panting and soaking wet during our bounding maneuvers. Staring at my sand covered hands I thought to myself: “I should be wishing for time to pause and get a break but instead I’m thinking about how this is truly good living.”

Support

I needed a lot of support to even sign up and for that I’d like to thank Natalia Melia, Joe Gannon, Jon Gaffney and of course my always lovely and ever patient wife, Jenni. Thank you for believing in me even when I didn’t.

Under my own power, I was only able to carry someone for the first half of the final push to the surf. Thank you Ryan for transforming into a machine and taking me the rest of the way. I couldn’t have finished without you.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Jason for even making this possible. You opened my eyes to a whole new world. A world where there are no boundaries. My mind is forever set free from a prison of “can’t.” And for that, I am in your debt.

What also helped me were some quotes that I’ve come across. Read below if you care to get inspired and motivated.

  • There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If you quit, however, it lasts forever.
    • Lance Armstrong
  • The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.
    • John Steinbeck
  • It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
    • Theodore Roosevelt
  • “Whatever it is you choose to do, do it safety, but do it. Don’t be afraid to live, rather be afraid to die old and have done nothing.”
    • No source
  • “Why tip-toe through life to arrive safely at death?”
    • No source
  • You can’t volunteer to go to War and then bitch about getting shot at.
    • COL Ferrando, 1st Recon BN
  • In the final analysis, the soldiers pack is not so heavy a burden as a prisoner’s chains.
    • Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • Monotony is the awful reward of the careful.
    • Magpul.com
  • Adversity introduces us to ourselves.
    • Magpul.com
  • Put up with the discomfort and the pain, keep going and never give up, and understand that if you’re moving up, then you’re always getting closer.
    • Bear Grylls
  • Familiarity breeds contempt, while rarity wins admiration.
    • Apuleius
  • All men dream, but not equally, those that dream by the night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act upon their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.
    • T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
  • Beware: strength is often hidden in absurdity.
    • The Kid Who Climbed Everest
  • Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.
    • Ronald Osborn
  • Be sure of this, that I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
    • Matthew 28:20
  • If you live cautiously, your friends will call you wise. You just won’t move many mountains.
    • Bill Johnson
  • Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
    • Mark Twain
  • Do everything without complaining or arguing,
    • Philippians 2:14
  • If you want something you never had, you have to do something you never did.
    • Thinking Like A Mountain — Tumblr
  • You’ve got to stop living for the people who’ve hurt you and the things that have happened to you, and you’ve got to start living for yourself. Do the things that make you joyful inside.
    • Jolie O’Dell
  • Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
    • T.S. Eliot
  • If you have to sign a release form, it’s probably worth doing.
    • The Most Interesting Man in The World
  • Why do I succeed?
    • I succeed because I am willing to do things you are not.
    • I will fight against the odds.
    • I will sacrifice.
    • I am not shackled by fear, insecurity or doubt.
    • I feel those emotions – drink them in and then swallow them away to the blackness of hell.
    • I am motivated by accomplishment, not pride.
    • Pride consumes the weak – kills their heart from within.
    • If I fall – I will get up.
    • If I am beaten – I will return.
    • I will never stop getting better.
    • I will never give up – ever.
    • That is why I succeed.
    • Tough Mudder Fan
  • Never, never, never give up!
    • Winston Churchill
  • We WILL fall. We CAN rise.
  • Greatest Motivational Speech Ever
  • Ironman — Till I Collapse
  • The gates of manhood are guarded by the demons of mens souls, and those demons differ for each man. That is the test of manhood; to find what those demons are, and to slay them. That is the only way the gates can be made to open. My demon is that I’m not sure if I am the man I want to be.
    • “Nick Sadler”
  • You cannot know who you are or what you are capable of until you face adversity. You cannot know the strength of the steel you hold until it strikes something solid. And you cannot know what kind of a man you are until you look hardship and difficulty in the eye, face it, and rise to it’s challenge. Without that test, you just don’t know.
    • “Nick Sadler”
  • It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of the deer and sets me on high places. He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand has held me up. Your gentleness has made me great. You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip. I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them. Neither did I turn back again until they were destroyed.
    • Psalm 18:32-37
  • And in this moment I will not run. it is my place to stand. We few shall carry hope. Within our bloodied hands.
    • Cruxshadows Winterborn
  • “The Hard Way” by The Art of Manliness
  • I’m not quitting now. Inside me, something clicked. It no longer mattered what we did next. I didn’t care. This has got to end sometime.  Deprived of support in our environment and the support of our own bodies, the only thing propping us up was our belief in accomplishing the mission–complete Hell Week. In psychology this belief is called self-efficacy. Even when the mission seems impossible, it is the strength of our belief that makes success possible. The absence of this belief guarantees failure. A strong belief in the mission fuels our ability to focus, put forth effort, and persist. Believing allows us to see the goal (complete Hell Week) and break the goal down into more manageable objectives (one evolution at a time). If the evolution is a boat race, it can be broken down into even smaller objectives such as paddling. Believing allows us to seek out strategies to accomplish the objectives, such as using the larger shoulder muscles to paddle rather than the smaller forearm muscles. Then, when the race is done, move on to the next evolution. Thinking too much about what happened and what is about to happen will wear you down. Live in the moment and take it one step at a time.

Interested in the GORUCK Challenge?

Of course you are. Go for some weighted runs, carry a log, enlist some friends and sign up. I highly recommend it. You’ll meet some extraordinary people. And remember, it’s much more of a mental battle than a physical one.

Learn more by spending time on the Challenge page and on Facebook. I’m proud to call myself GORUCK Tough and I can’t wait for you to do the same.

To view all the photos, visit the GORUCK Flickr Page

Further Reading on the GORUCK Challenge

Special thanks to Jason for capturing our transformation in photos. I continually look over them and relive every moment.

One More Thing

While we were only out there for half a day with Jason, I have a renewed respect for our Military’s Special Operations Community. Jason brings experience as a former Green Beret and it shows in both the manner at which he conducts himself and the authority in his voice. He is undoubtedly the guy you want to have on your team.

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Prevail Morale Patch Update!

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Bryan Black

First off, a HUGE thank you to all those that have put in an order for a Prevail Patch to commemorate 5.1.11 and support America’s Mighty Warriors!

We’ve received the sample image back from the embroiderer and not only wanted to share that, but also that they quoted us two weeks for delivery to ITS HQ. While there’s been an overwhelming amount of support pouring in we’d still like to encourage everyone to help spread the word with our handy flyer that you can download and distribute.

We’re just as anxious as you are to get these in and it won’t be much longer! Thanks again for supporting our Military men and women with your purchase of this patch, where profits will be going directly to those in need!

Pre-Order Your Patch Here Today!

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Tactical Medical Training with Lone Star Medics Medicine X Course

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Bryan Black

This past weekend I had awesome experience of attending the ITS Tactical hosted Lone Star Medics Medicine X Course, which as the name implies, means to get yourself and any injury out of harms way and off the “X”.

Remaining static on a line at your local range can build bad training scars in my humble opinion. Training like Lone Star Medics provides not only gets you moving, shooting, communicating and thinking, but also throws in a surprise element not found in many tactical training scenarios; unforeseen care under fire.

TCCC

Based largely on TCCC (Tactical Combat Casualty Care), Medicine X is solely focused on the first phase of treatment, Care Under Fire. This can be summed up in the short list below taken from the 2010 TCCC guidelines, but it’s so much more complex than it sounds when negotiating the stress of unknown scenarios and having to return fire.

  1. Return fire and take cover.
  2. Direct or expect casualty to remain engaged as a combatant if  appropriate.
  3. Direct casualty to move to cover and apply self-aid if able.
  4. Try to keep the casualty from sustaining additional wounds.
  5. Casualties should be extricated from burning vehicles or buildings and moved to places of relative safety. Do what is necessary to stop the burning process.
  6. Airway management is generally best deferred until the Tactical Field  Care phase.
  7. Stop life-threatening external hemorrhage if tactically feasible:
    – Direct casualty to control hemorrhage by self-aid if able.
    – Use a CoTCCC-recommended tourniquet for hemorrhage that is  anatomically amenable to tourniquet application.
    – Apply the tourniquet proximal to the bleeding site, over the uniform,  tighten, and move the casualty to cover.

I’d urge everyone to familiarize yourself with TCCC if you haven’t yet. This military methodology for dealing with the treatment of life threatening injuries is becoming more widely adopted every day. Not just military wide, but Police Departments are starting to take these guidelines on board as well as evidenced by the recent Tuscon Tragedy. TCCC is also constantly evolving as tactical medicine should.

Self Aid = Self Sufficiency

[flickr id=”5704946862″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”false” size=”medium” group=”” align=”right”] Where I feel that TCCC is largely needed right now is with Police Departments. Something that has always struck a chord with me is how more often than not, departments are requiring their officers to rely solely on EMS to get treatment during a life threatening emergency, just as most civilians do. I’ve always know not to count on EMS to save my life and that of my loved ones in certain situations, especially during a national disaster or state of emergency when local resources will be otherwise occupied and stretched to capacity.

Let’s face it, that’s why ITS Tactical is here too, to provide a resource for learning skill-set information and practical applications that could one day save your life! It’s all about self-sufficiency. As Caleb Causey, the founder of Lone Star Medics, quoted in our Medicine X class, 9-12 minutes is the national average for EMS response time and you need 4 out of the 6 liters of your blood in your body to get to the OR not just the ER!

How long do you think it takes for a 2 Liter bottle full of blood to leave your body? Of course that depends on the injury, but suffice to say it will happen in a lot less than 9 minutes in any situation that deals with the first out of the three leading causes of death in the field; extremity hemorrhage, tension pneumothorax and airway obstruction! Considering that extremity hemorrhage is the number one killer, how do you keep that precious blood in your body?

Priority #1

[flickr id=”5704947276″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”false” size=”medium” group=”” align=”right”] Engage the threat. Going off of Care Under Fire, the first priority taught by Lone Star Medics is to return fire. This means not running right up to your injured buddy until the scene is safe and the threat is neutralized. Casualties are expensive! For every casualty it takes an average of 1 1/2 guys to take their guns out of the fight and render aid. If the most effective medicine in combat is superior firepower, how effective is it if you’re having to pull guns off the fight to render aid?

When dealing with casualties during a firefight first find out if they’re responsive by verbally calling out to them. If they are responsive and can hear you, direct them to continue to engage the threat, move to cover and render self-aid. If they’re unresponsive, you don’t just run out into the fight to pull them out. Remember how expensive casualties are? You don’t want to be the next one! Use your situational awareness and best judgement on when the right time is to get them. You don’t want to put yourself on the X any longer than you have to be.

Priority #2

[flickr id=”5704946976″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”false” size=”medium” group=”” align=”right”] Get the casualty off the “X” using drags or carries. The next critical step in Care Under Fire is to get your casualty somewhere where they can be further evaluated to address any life-threatening bleeding with a tourniquet if they haven’t already themselves using self-aid. As the TCCC guidelines mention, this is IF it’s tactically feasible. If the bullets are flying and you’re negotiating threats you definitely don’t have the time to try and treat a casualty. This may seem simple, but as I experienced first hand in our scenarios, it can be challenging to do the right thing under the stress of rounds flying.

The first thing we were taught is to approach the casualty from their feet if possible, so as to be visually recognized as a non-threat. We went over a slew of different drags and carries and the positives and negatives of each. We even got into using different commercially available products to aid in dragging and carrying, but remember, time is of the essence and attaching devices to your casualty is only going to cost you more time! You can argue this fact if you’d like, but I’d urge you to practice and find out what works for you. For me, even the thought of using these devices adds one more step to the equation, more time and one more piece of equipment that can fail.

[flickr id=”5704946858″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”false” size=”medium” group=”” align=”right”] That Hollywood method of hooking someone up to your Rigger’s Belt and dragging them as you move backwards while firing, is crap. Not only is it hard to even negotiate threats moving backwards like that, but guess where your barrel is pointed when you trip and fall? Yep, at your casualty. The Lone Star Medics mission statement is “To cause no further injury to my patient…” This method doesn’t really fall in line with that.

What I found worked the best when working alone on an unconscious casualty was a technique taught in class. It’s to sling your rifle, sit the casualty up, squat while facing the casualty’s back with your toes near their tailbone, lock your arms under their armpits and stand up. You then move backwards to safety. As a team of at least two, the best method for us was for one man to move the casualty using the aforementioned method while the other provided cover fire. If we weren’t taking fire it was for both to hook an arm under an armpit and pull, or to grab a shoulder strap from their rig and pull them.

Working with “Rescue Randy,” our 180+ lb. dummy wearing a flack jacket and LBE was challenging to say the least. I did however like how realistic his weight was, as it brought even more realism to the course. One last thing to mention here is that in any drag/carry method employed, the goal is to get your casualty up as high as possible. Think about that for a second and what muscle group you’re using when you’re bent over dragging something vs. standing up dragging something. There are some that think you need to keep a low profile, but as Caleb noted, you need to keep a FAST profile when you’re moving off the X! Use the larger muscle group to get the casualty to safety, i.e. your legs, not your back.

Priority # 3

[flickr id=”5704380257″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”false” size=”medium” group=”” align=”right”] Buy back seconds. We’ve all heard of the ABC’s, right? Airway, Breathing, Circulation. The first thing that Medicine X teaches is to put circulation first on your patient in a tactical environment, above airway and breathing. This is done through the use of a Tourniquet first and foremost if extremity hemorrhage is a factor. In a normal setting you’d start with a pressure dressing like an Israeli Bandage, but when time is of the essence you don’t have time to wait and see if a pressure dressing is going to be enough. The TCCC recommends a tourniquet is applied first and foremost in situations that would cause you to question a pressure dressing over a tourniquet.

Currently the TCCC recommends either the TacMed Solutions SOFTT or NARP CAT. There’s been a long debate over the merits of each and with the introduction of the SOFTT-W (wide) and removal of the set screw, I feel the SOFTT-W is superior in many ways. While I’ll leave this comparison for a future article, I will say that there’s positives and negatives of each, but I found the SOFTT-W to be faster and more user friendly when seconds count.

When placing a Tourniquet the important things to note are to put it up as high as possible on the extremity, never place it on a joint, keep the windlass inboard or towards the body and turn it until ALL BLEEDING STOPS. Not just the bright red blood! Also make sure nothing is in a pocket that lies underneath where you may be placing a tourniquet.

As far as removing a tourniquet, that’s hopefully something you won’t have to deal with as the person making that decision will be higher echelon care. Anything over 6 hours is going to require amputation and loosening a tourniquet can be dangerous as you have the potential to recirculate blood clots.

For bleeding that doesn’t warrant a tourniquet, or even as a backup to a tourniquet, a pressure dressing can be applied if time permits. None of the compact pressure dressings easily carried in a Blow Out Kit or IFAK are perfect, but the one I had the best success with in a training environment is the Israeli Dressing, this is also the dressing of choice in our ETA Kit designed by an 18D Corpsman. Again, I’ll save the comparison for a future article.

Practical Exercises and Scenarios

[flickr id=”5704946078″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”false” size=”medium” group=”” align=”right”] What’s truly remarkable about the experience at Lone Star Medics is how we not only went into classroom discussion with all the Care Under Fire procedures (without death by powerpoint), but actually had to put them into play while shooting, moving and communicating to locate a casualty. Rescue Randy was our objective in all our exercises which ranged from hanging out in a local Wal-Mart with a concealed carry, when your buddy Randy takes fire and becomes a casualty, to a bad day in Baghdad working as a team to move a casualty to safety and properly treating them.

Adding live-fire into any training scenario just makes sense, especially doing so out of the confines of a static range. Yes, safety is always the number one concern and as you’ll see on the video below, there were times the action stopped when the RSOs Caleb and Andrew saw any potential of a questionable situation. Safety is always paramount, but I’m a big believer in training like you fight. Moving dynamically on a range with others is something I’d highly recommend everyone works into their training regimen. When you throw in the extra stressors of having to communicate with a casualty, dynamically assessing them and moving them to safety, it’s a whole different ballgame!

[flickr id=”5704946026″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”false” size=”medium” group=”” align=”right”] Our FTX consisted of locating our injured teammate Rescue Randy on foot and humping him out with a Med Sled VLR litter to be MEDEVAC’d. We lucked out in getting to T&E the Med Sled VLR during the class and it’s 6 lb. weight was a welcome change to other heavier flexible litters I’ve seen. Throughout our transition to extract Randy, we had to engage threats, cross streams and work as a team. We got thrown curve balls along the way as members of our team received injuries that required self-aid and buddy aid.

http://youtu.be/F7qZV4Qu4hw

Wrap-up

[flickr id=”5704380485″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”false” size=”medium” group=”” align=”right”] We also went in to many other topics outside of Care Under Fire such as the use of hemostatic agents like QuickClot Combat Gauze, treating Tension Pneumothorax, airway adjuncts like an NPA (Nasopharyngeal Airway), wound packing and treating for shock. Although these are all used outside of the Care Under Fire phase of TCCC, it was great that we covered them and got a chance to hear Caleb’s knowledge on the subjects.

Lone Star Medics put on a fantastic course of instruction with Medicine X. I truly feel that the professionalism and knowledge that Caleb, Andrew and the crew of Lone Star Medics brought to the table was delivered in a way that allowed everyone to learn on an equal footing. Our class was largely made up of prior military guys, which I feel contributed to the ease of working together as a team, but Lone Star Medics classes are open to all qualified trainees.

[flickr id=”5704379043″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”false” size=”medium” group=”” align=”right”] The information was presented in a very practical manner of learning the skills and ingraining them with practical application scenarios. While already having some medical experience and knowledge I felt this class to be a even better than what I’d expected. I’m a strong believer in being a student for life and learning from every opportunity. These scenarios were a perfect opportunity to put my new and past knowledge into practice and find out what worked.

I wholeheartedly recommend Lone Star Medics’ Medicine X course for everyone that carries a gun and takes their life and those around them seriously. Do yourself a favor and learn what to do when EMS is 9-12 minutes away! As a final note, I want to recommend to everyone that at the very least you buy extras of the medical supplies you carry and practice with it prior to using it in a real situation. Your speed and familiarity with a product’s uses and limitations could mean the difference between life and death.

Thank You’s

Of course a huge thank you to Caleb and Lone Star Medics for allowing me the opportunity to organize and host this Medicine X class for ITS Tactical. I’d also like to thank Andrew of Lone Star Armory for his instruction, providing lunch on Saturday and helping out as RSO during the class. You should really check out some of the awesomeness that Andrew produces over at Lone Star Armory, he had a sick 300 Blackout he was shooting that made me pretty jealous. He did want my Mayflower R&C Lo-Pro Carrier I was wearing though, so maybe we make a deal! Hah!

I’d also like to thank Kyle of Fire Fight Underwater Recovery for personally cooking an outstanding lunch on Sunday, TacMed Solutions and JBC Corp for providing training equipment, XS Sight Systems and to Quail Creek Shooting Range for allowing us the use of their classroom and police range for the course. A huge thank you to all those that came out and attended the course and for taking time out of your Mother’s Day Weekend to learn skills that might save mom one day!

[flickrset id=”72157626560358161″ thumbnail=”thumbnail” photos=”” overlay=”true” size=”medium”]

Click here to view the full photo set on Flickr

Posted in Medical | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Limited Edition 5.1.11 Prevail Morale Patch to Benefit America’s Mighty Warriors

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Bryan Black

I’m excited to announce a special limited-edition patch commemorating May 1st 2011 and the fantastic operation that the SEALs from DevGru executed in killing Osama Bin Laden.

Profits from the sale of this patch will be going directly to America’s Mighty Warriors, a charitable organization very near to my heart. America’s Mighty Warriors is run by Gold Star Mom Debbie Lee, mother of Marc Lee, the first SEAL killed in Iraq on August, 2nd 2006.

Marc perished during house-to-house clearing in Ramadi, Iraq and earlier that day put him self in the direct line of fire not once, but twice, to draw attention away from an injured teammate. The second time to allow a medic to reach the fortified position on the rooftop they were on.

I was in BUD/s with Marc in Class 251 until I was rolled post Pool Comp for a torn hip flexor. He will always be someone that I remember for his easy going personality, strong character and leadership. Continue reading →

Posted in ITS Information | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Raptor Buckles offer American Made Alternative to AustriAlpin Cobra Buckles

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Bryan Black

You’ve no doubt heard us talk about AustriAlpin Cobra Buckles and seen them utilized on products we’ve reviewed, like the 215 Gear Ultimate Rigger’s Belt and the Jones Tactical Cobra EveryDay Belt.

While Cobra Buckles are excellent buckles, I’ve recently been introduced to a new SRB (slide release buckle) called the Raptor at TTPOA last week. I definitely consider the Raptor to have been one of the best new products at the show and I’ll tell you why. Continue reading →

Posted in Load Bearing | Tagged , , , , , , | 32 Comments

Bye Bye Bin Laden Workout

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Bryan Black

In celebration of Osama Bin Laden’s death I couldn’t sleep a wink last night and was up bright and early with a workout to honor all our brave men and women that have put their lives on the line for this day. I wanted to say thank you in my own way this morning and have often followed the lead of the CrossFit crowd in participating or creating “honor” workouts.

I thought I’d share the workout I did today to hopefully inspire those reading this to do something today to honor the tireless efforts by our military, law enforcement, first responders and counterterrorism professionals that all contributed in some way shape or form to this day and America’s celebration! It doesn’t necessarily have to be a workout, but please recognize their sacrifice for our nation! Continue reading →

Posted in Functional Strength | Tagged , , | 4 Comments