The Range (Outpost)
Thirteen Pax, took the Daily Red Pill (DRP) this morning and got better.
The Pax: Bullseye, Chitwood, Flying tomato, Rifleman, T-Bone, FroYo, Roadhouse, Napalm, Xbox, Rafiki, Josey and Aruba (Q Squirrel)
The Scene: 38 degrees, winds light
WarmUp: SSH, Abe Vigoda’s, Good mornings and side stretch
The Thang:
- 25 Blockees
- Bear Crawl 25 yards
- 50 Merkins
- 3 legged Bear Crawl 15 yards
- 75 Walking Lunges w/ coupon
- Bear Crawl 25 yards
- 100 Squats w/ coupon
- Lunge Walk 25 yards
- 75 Walking Lunges w/ coupon
- 50 Squats with coupon
- 50 Merkins
- Slow lap around the pitch
25 Blockees
Finish off with some Abs
- The 100
- 20 Freddy Mercury’s In cadence
- Left ankle over right knee, Right elbow to left knee – 20 IC….flapjack
It’s been two months since I’ve Q’d and it felt great. Thank you men for allowing me to lead.
Announcements/Prayer requests:
- Blessed to have Bullseye back in the gloom! Keep coming out brother, it helps… You, me, all of us.
- The Pax in attendance were honored to signed the lid of the CrapOn for Winchester’s 2.0
- Keep an eye on Slack and TeamUp app for upcoming events. Calendars are filling in with many good things.
- Speaking of good things we’ve got GQ VQ (no sleeves) and Gamecocks VQ coming up. Let’s get out there and support them
Squirrel led out in prayer
MOLESKINE: The Range (an exercise in trust)
One of the most common missions new junior leaders struggle to perform effectively is the qualification range. A regular Army run range is a significant allocation of resources – time, personnel, equipment. However, most ranges are minimally effective, filled with hurry-up-and-wait, and negligible training value.
That’s what I had been exposed to until I was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta.
When I was offered the opportunity to move from a radio technician to a direct support radio operator I jumped at it. But first I had to first complete the Operator Training Course (OTC). This 6-month course teaches all aspects of what is required to be a Delta operator. The culmination of OTC is being assigned to one of the active Delta Force squadrons.
The unit took nothing for granted. Everyone started at zero. So day one of OTC (and every day following) we did physical fitness for two hours and then went to the range. For folks not familiar with the term “range” it’s a patch of ground that includes firing lines and positions, maybe some maneuver areas, berms to shoot into and buffer zones with restricted access so you don’t shoot things you’re not supposed to.
The first two weeks we trained on the M-4, which at the time was different from the standard Army M16. Same round, just with a shorter stock that could collapse. After that we moved to the sidearm – the 1911 (aka .45). Our instructors were very methodical in their approach. They would show us then we would do it. We’d start with no rounds in the weapon – draw – focus on the front site post – reholster. Again and again and again…. After a couple days of this we’d put rounds in, draw – focus on the front site post – fire one shot – reholster. Then we’d all walk down shoulder to shoulder about 25 meters to see where we hit our target. Another few days ticked by following this method. Then it was draw – focus on the front site post – fire two (or three or four shots) – reholster before we walked down shoulder to shoulder to check our targets. By this time we were all “hitting paper.”
Well, I don’t really recall how long it was but we got so proficient we were given the green light to check our targets as others were still shooting from the firing line.
Let me pause there.
The targets on the range were about 6’ from center to center. So if I stood with the center of my chest at my bullseye I could touch the targets to the left and right of me.
Ok, back to the story. Now the class had shrunk a bit since the beginning of OTC. By design it’s made to flush folks out for lots of different reasons. We were probably 15 strong at this point, that’s operators and direct support. When the cadre said, “you’re cleared to check your targets while the firing line is hot” I think we all looked at each other in surprise. The cadre paused training for a minute and said, “you gotta get used to bullets flying close to you. That’s what war is like…at least here you know you’ve been trained.”
And we were off. Shooting, moving down to check our target while our team mates were blasting at their targets a few feet away.
There’s a couple things the instructors said we initially laughed at:
- “You’ll fire enough rounds here that you will see the brass filings fly out of the chamber as your bullet leaves the barrel.” – Yep, each of us saw it eventually.
- “You’ll get used to the sounds of a bullet, be it the buzzing of a .45 round or the crack of a 5.56 round.” – This was true as well.
There were so many lessons we learned on the ranges out at the unit. Yes, Marksmanship was high on the list, trigger control, muzzle awareness, but most of all was Trust. Big-T trust that I still hold for each of those men today. Funny, at the last First Friday event I saw one of my OTC mates and we shared what life has brought us over the years. It was as if we’d seen each other yesterday and you know what? He said something that drove this writing….”Love ya brother, trust ya.”
How are you implementing trust at your workplace or home? The kind that instills a knowing confidence in on another?
Aye!