SpecOps

Days of Guns: MP5 Submachine Gun

The MP5 sub machine gun is one of those guns that even non gun enthusiasts can easily recognize. It was a trailblazing cutting edge serious piece of military hardware when it was released in the mid 1960’s. Even though over 40 years has passed and it’s been largely replaced by reliable short barreled rifles like the AR15 based MK18 rifle by Daniel Defense, it still holds a special place in the gun community.

The MP5 has been a service rifle for more than 80 countries, including dozens of the worlds premier Special Operations Forces. That’s not including the endless numbers that have been issued to Police and other law enforcement agencies. British Special Air Service, U.S. Navy Seals, German GSG 9, US Army SFOD-D, France’s GIGN anti terror teams and even the Vatican’s Swiss Guards have used the MP5 to guard the Catholic Popes. Anyway you slice it that’s an impressive list of users.

I happen to own an MP5 clone, it’s a legally owned and papered short barrel rifle. The only downside to mine is it’s a semi auto. The purists and haters out there will say I should have gotten a fully automatic MP5 but I don’t have an extra $25,000 and a Federal Firearms License. I did however have a little less than that and decided to have this D54 variant built by Dakota Tactical of Canton, Michigan. Yes you read that right, a U.S. Made MP5.

The MP5 was the gun that as a child made me want to get into shooting and owning firearms. I had very little idea of what it was, but I just knew that someday I would own one. Little did I know it would take over 25 years to get around to it. My dream was almost sunk due to ridiculous Clinton Era assault weapons bans and Heckler & Koch’s withdrawal from the rifle market at the time. That’s where Dakota Tactical comes in and my dream was revived.

Not a “Real” H&K

I hear that comment all the time and it tells me the person speaking is ignorant of gun history or design. We don’t refer to all non Armalite AR15 style rifles as “Armalite Clones” do we ? We also don’t refer to polymer guns as “Glock clones”. I’ve placed my Dakota Tactical rifle next to H&K stamped MP5’s and its built every bit as well. The firearms industry is one industry where imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, unless their is a lawsuit attached.

My MP5 is my favorite gun I own, no question at all in my mind. I own a lot of guns, including all the usual guns you would expect like AK47 variants, AR15’s, PPs43 sub machine guns, more pistols than I can remember. To put it mildly I’ve owned a lot of guns and still if I had to choose only one this is it.

Quirks and Issues

If you ever decide to own an MP5 variant there are a few idiosyncrasies you should know first. Remember this gun was designed over 40 year ago and firearms technology and though processes have evolved. If you can live with these quirks then you can own a gun that is always fun to shoot and will always draw a crowd at the range.

The MP5 lacks a last round hold open on all models except the few made in .40 S&W.
Magazines are expensive
Trigger is long
Weighs 6.0 lbs
Diopter style rear sight
People will ask questions and want to shoot it
Accessories are expensive

loadout-mp5-2 — Heart of the MP5, The rotating bolt head. Rollers clearly seen

The world of the MP5 is not for everyone, and not all MP5’s are created equal. I will cover that topic and more in the near future when we hopefully interview Dakota Tactical’s owner and get into the world of Heckler & Koch clones along with the new and expanding product lines Dakota Tactical has been working on. I won’t spoil it, you’ll just have to check back for that article.

I can’t say it enough, this gun is flat out fun to shoot. Even being a semi automatic variant, I’ve yet to have anyone turn down a chance to shoot it when they ask about it at the range. It’s well built thanks to the superior craftsmanship of Joe Stoppiello and his crew at Dakota Tactical. I’ have no idea how many rounds I’ve fed this sub machine gun in the last three years but I can tell you I hardly ever go to the range without it.

The accuracy of my particular MP5 clone is every bit as good as a Heckler & Koch produced rifle. It’s not designed to shoot hundreds of yards and have stunning groupings. It’s designed to shoot bad guys that are at much closer ranges than a traditional full sized rifle. Discreet operations like personal protective details and undercover work is where the MP5 shines.

loadout-mp5-3 — 3 lug set up for silencer use

As I mentioned in the beginning of the article I waited a long time for this gun, 25 years then another 331 Days while the ATF processed my BATFE Form 1. That’s a long time to wait even for a patient man. Would I do it all over again ? spend more than $2500 on a pistol and make it into a rifle ? Hell Yes I would. Every gun enthusiast has a wish list of guns they hope to own one day and when you get a chance to grab one off that list you better never hesitate.

Hope you enjoyed this installment of Days of Guns, It’s been fun to show you some of the toys in the toy box that I have .If you have any questions about this short barrel rifle or comments just drop them in the comments section below or use the FRAGO. Here’s a little video of one of the best features of any MP5.

– Rick Dembroski for LoadoutRoom.com

US Military’s working dogs are the worst nightmare for the enemy

Cry havoc…

Since the time of Greece and the Roman Empire, the dog has been a valued and trusted member of the military. The Romans used a breed of Mastiff that is now extinct. Then, they covered their canines in armor with spiked collars and used them to wreak havoc on their enemies.

The use of military dogs by the United States was largely an unknown to the general population until a Belgian Malinois named “Cairo” was thrust into the spotlight after the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by US Navy SEALs.

But the use of military dogs goes far back from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The first well-known military dog was SGT Stubby who was a stray Bull Terrier that was adopted by the 102^nd Infantry Regiment of the 26^th Infantry Division (The Yankee Division).

SGT Stubby with uniform coat and decorations in WWI.

Stubby was smuggled on the troop ship to France but quickly proved his worth. He could warn the troops of impending poison gas attacks, could hear artillery shells coming before human ears could detect them, he could find American wounded in no man’s land and even caught a German prisoner, grabbing the enemy by the seat of his pants and holding him until the soldiers made him a prisoner.

Stubby met three US Presidents, marched in numerous parades and even received a half-page obituary in the New York Times when he died in his sleep in 1926. But dogs have been used in every conflict since the Revolutionary War, but only officially used since World War II.

Today the training and use of military dogs are extensive and there are a few thousand serving in the armed forces. Many of them are in harm’s way in the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, among other hotspots and they’ve proved invaluable.

America’s military dogs can find illicit drugs, sniff out bombs and IEDs (improvised explosive devices), search out and find enemy combatants. They’re almost all trained at the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland as part of the Department of Defense Military Working Dog Program (MWD). The military has been training their canines there since 1958.

German shepherds and retrievers are commonly used, but the Belgian Malinois (i.e.Cairo) has proven to be one of the most outstanding working dogs used in military service. The vast majority of military working dogs are purchased in Germany or the Netherlands, where they have been breeding dogs for military purposes for hundreds of years. But because of the uptick in operational tempo as well as the demand, the breeding programs in the United States are flourishing.

The dogs must exhibit focused, aggressive behavior, with a heightened sense of smell and a strong desire to work for reward before they are assigned to operators worldwide.

Typically, pups begin their training very early. When they’re very young, (6-8 weeks of age), they’re sent to homes for socialization skills in a stable, home setting. They’ll come back to the school between 7-9 months where they’ll be observed for consideration as a working dog. The puppies must exhibit a strong drive, are adaptable to a host of different environments and respond to reward-for-work motivation before they can begin the pre-training program.

The training is long and difficult and only 50 percent of the dogs pass thru their dog school “Selection.” After the dogs are a year-old and pass their advanced training, they’ll have two primary roles. Either as an operator in search for explosives or narcotics detection or as patrol member for apprehension and search for the enemy.

Malinois’ are favored because of their agility, speed, focused aggressive behavior and the fact that their sense of smell is 40 times that of their human handlers. Military dogs frequently are used in airborne operations, rappelling, and helo-casting.

Dogs that work with Special Operations units are specifically trained in just a handful of locations. CBS’ Lara Logan did a story on former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland who trains dogs for the dangerous world of Special Operations as well as for the FBI and SWAT teams.

In the same story, Logan did a story on Chris Corbin from the 7^th Special Forces Group and his dog Ax. They both almost lost their lives on the same day in Afghanistan on their final mission. Ax had already found one bomb and the two were moving toward an area that had already been cleared.

Corbin missed Ax’s signal, thinking he was just smelling another dog in the cleared area when the bomb went off. Ax was shaken but ok, Corbin lost both of his lower legs. But a few months later he was back on active duty…with Ax and the two grew inseparable.

Corbin told Logan that the bond was there when his teammates brought Ax to see him at Walter Reed Army Hospital. “They brought him up for a visit. And I heard him, getting him out of the back of the truck. And opening his kennel, and he just being a stir-crazy dog, just, ‘Hey, let me out of here. Let’s do a look around.’ I just said something simple. Hey, where’s my boy at? and he stopped. He froze. He looked around. And he went into a panic until he found me and he jumped on my legs. Painful. Just– I was just happy to see him. I didn’t care how much it hurt.”

Some dogs, like their human counterparts, can suffer from the throes of PTSD. Many of the dogs are treated for such and return to have successful completions to their military careers. When one of these canine operators is wounded, they’re transported via medevac just like a wounded soldier would.

Sadly 42 dogs have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country and their handlers. But a good indicator of their worth is how the enemy feels about them. The Taliban and ISIS hate the military working dogs and have a healthy respect for them. The Taliban soldiers have orders to shoot the dogs first and American soldiers second.

The unfortunate footnote to this story is that prior to November 2000, military working dogs were euthanized upon the finish of their career. Now, most are adopted by their handlers. A few each year go to civilians who apply for adoption rights. The waiting list for an adoptable military working dog is about a year.

Our military forces continue to keep us safe, at home and abroad. And their four-legged counterparts are doing their share as well. And SGT Stubby? He’s being immortalized in an upcoming animated feature film that is being released in 2018.

Photos Courtesy DOD

What Makes a Successful Special Operation Forces Candidate?

“…We are what we repeatedly do, Excellence then is not an act but a habit”

Aristotle

One of the biggest questions we get here at SpecialOperations.com and over at SOFREP for the aspiring SOF candidates is, “What do I have to do to get Selected?” It is a legitimate question if a bit simplistic. There is no one specific thing that a candidate has to do to pass but many.

Selection and Assessment hasn’t changed all that much since the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in World War II when General William “Wild Bill” Donovan and his band of glorious amateurs were looking for “PH.D.s who can win a bar fight.”

While the force isn’t necessarily looking for a Ph.D., most Special Operations candidates have some advanced education, is a bit older than the average Joe, more mature, and most have families. The closest thing the OSS Selection came to in the modern era is the 18X program. While there were quite a few young kids straight out of high school, you’d easily find several candidates who graduated from college and had high paying jobs on the outside.

The obvious draw for them was the opportunity to go straight to a Special Forces unit from the street. While there is plenty of criticism of the program from the community, (isn’t there always?), overall the 18X is deemed a success. A good friend was the Battalion Commander at the Special Warfare Center and spoke quite highly of it. That’s good enough for me.

But back to the question at hand, “What do I have to do to get Selected?” The first thing we have to examine is this; What trait do all successful Selection candidates share?

It begins with what Special Operations is. It is a complex, dynamic environment that doesn’t function from the orders of the officers for the troops to carry out, but the leadership of the units comes from within.

Last year we conducted a two-part interview with former Major Brian Decker who had revamped the SFAS course to bring it back up to what we needed it to be. Decker improved the way the candidates were evaluated and the success rate for candidates who passed Selection who went on to success in SFQC (Special Forces Qualification Course) soared.

Decker’s evaluation system works not only in Special Operations but in just about any line of work. You’d just have to change the parameters of what makes a successful candidate in any profession. While many people compare SOF personnel and NFL players, there are pretty big differences between the two.

However, Decker’s method of evaluating caught the eye of the NFL and he had just started an evaluation system for the Cleveland Browns when they cleaned house and fired the entire staff. He has since taken it to the Indianapolis Colts, where he’s been for the last few seasons.

Decker spoke about the Selection course and what a successful candidate and future leader in Special Operations because everyone in Special Operations is a leader, will show in the course.

“During the events of Week 3, we select the future leaders of the Regiment based on their ability to lead or contribute to the performance of a team in a dynamic and complex environment.”

“What we’re looking for is a candidate that isn’t looking for external solutions, you look internally and you look to the group for solutions. And it was at this point that we moved away from the two-event day (during Team Week). Because the solution to any problem in Selection is stability. Because during those events, all you are doing is measuring a candidate’s ability to persevere.”

So what is the one factor that every successful Special Operations candidates possess? Each successful candidate responded to stress in their lives with a heightened sense of motivation.

Someone once told me that the difference between a regular person and a Special Forces soldier was that a regular person looked upon everything that happened in their lives as either a blessing or a curse. The Special Forces soldier looks upon everything that happens in his life as a challenge.

Special Forces utilizes the “Whole Man” Selection Process concept and the six main attributes that every successful SF Operator should possess include:

Intelligence
Trainability
Physical Fitness
Motivation
Influence
Judgment

Every unit will be different and have a different set of attributes that they’re looking for to accomplish their mission. What makes a good Ranger, SEAL or Delta Operator may not be the exact same as what makes a good SF trooper who will fight in an Unconventional Warfare environment. But they all share some of the same attributes.

As Decker said in the interview with us, “The most successful people in any profession all have the same attributes. They all have grit, they all have extremely good work habits. They all have the mental toughness, the confidence which comes from practice and preparation and the optimism and belief that they can achieve. They are extremely intelligent. What makes a good operator…there is a lot of similarities with other professions.”

SOF guys can make decisions in a high-stakes environment so rapidly without having the time to think through every outcome which allows them to make sense of their environment.

The successful candidate knows that he’s always being evaluated and that evaluation doesn’t stop once a man graduates and gets to one of the Special Operations units in the force. If anything, the evaluation gets harder as the stakes that they play for, get much, much higher.

Photo: US Army

Basic Training Will Be A Breeze by Following Some Simple Steps

A friend is leaving in a matter of days for basic training, followed by Airborne School and then on to one of our Special Operations Units where, hopefully, after he navigates the Selection and Assessment courses, will get qualified and serve as a member of one of our very best units in the force.

But first comes basic training followed by advanced individual training, i.e. infantry school where they teach the basics of being part of the Queen of Battle. When all is said and done, the vast majority of us who’ve served in Special Operations units look back on the time in basic training as a piece of cake.

But it comes with challenges, mainly, this is all new. These young men and women are leaving home, most for the first time in their lives and are entering a realm that is totally alien to what they’ve been accustomed to. It is a culture shock, something the military plays upon to help integrate the boots into military life. It is an eye-opener for some when you first get off of the bus. “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

So, for my friend, and the rest of those young people heading to basic training soon, here a few tips that will make navigating the first gate of your military career an easy walk in the park.

Tip #1 – Embrace the Suck: Trust me, the suck factor in basic is nothing compared to what you’ll experience when you begin your Special Operations journey. It will register about 0.2 on the Richter scale of suck factors. But this is all new and people will be screaming at you from every conceivable direction. Your head will be spinning at first.

For many of our readers, you’ll see that we always say that the breakdown of mental to physical factors for Selection is mental for the vast majority. In basic training, it is even more so. The Drill Sergeants will play a constant mind f**k with the boots. Don’t worry about it, don’t stress about it. It is going to happen regardless. Learn early on to roll with the flow and embrace what they’re throwing at you. It will just make you stronger and better prepare you for what ultimately lies ahead.

Tip #2 – Be a Team Player Now: It is imperative to begin building your military self from Day 1. And in basic, it is all about the unit, the whole, being successful. Another thing we always say is, “you’re always being evaluated.” And that is also true in boot camp. The Drill Sergeants will always look for the lone wolf that is only interested in himself. Don’t be that person.

While you’re all in the same boat, be the guy who helps along his fellow grunts when they need a hand up. They’ll do the same for you. The more your unit shows that they’re looking out for one another and are sticking together, the less mind games BS they’ll throw at you collectively.

The more you use the term “we” instead of “I” in basic, the better life will be. Some of the troops you serve with in basic may indeed become the guy that will sweat, bleed and share his last drop of water with you once you get to your unit.

Tip #3 – Remember, We Defend Democracy, Not Practice It: This above all else will save you untold heartache and massive amounts of pushups in basic training if you remember this one small fact. Much of what you will experience will seem grossly unfair. It may well be just that. But that just follows right along with Tip #1.

Never, ever talk back to a Drill Sergeant or any other member of the cadre. It is a losing proposition and you will lose every single time. A good rule of thumb is to never talk to a Drill Sergeant unless spoken to.

Remember the scene from “Full Metal Jacket”, Pvt Joker tells the Sr. Drill Instructor (The Gunny), “Sir, the private believes any answer he gives will be wrong and the Senior Drill Instructor will only beat him harder if he reverses himself, SIR!”

Of course, there are exceptions to this. If he’s teaching something and he asks for questions or you don’t understand what is going on, then ask. But always do so in a respectful manner and don’t try to sharpshoot the DIs. That won’t end well either.

Tip # 4 – Lead By Example: Now is the time (as stated above) to forging your own military identity. If you desire to become part of the Special Operations community, then you’ll already be familiar with or should be the term, “Quiet Professional.”

Do your absolute best at everything and give 110 percent with everything you do. But don’t beat your chest over every single thing you do correctly. Show the Drill Sergeants that you are a serious-minded individual that they and more importantly your unit can count on.

It could mean that you become a squad leader or platoon guide which puts more on your own plate. Because then you’ll be responsible for not only your own success but the rest of the unit as well. It doesn’t seem like much of a daunting task until the first time you’re put in charge of the group. Don’t run from it, embrace the leadership challenge and learn from it. You’ll be better off in the long run.

Tip #5 – Never Quit or Lose Focus: This is the first of several gut checks you will experience in the military but by the easiest. It may not seem like it at the time, but this is a relatively easy task to excel in. They get progressively harder down the road.

Remember to stay focused on your tasks in the short term. Airborne School? Nope. Selection? No way Jose. Worry about you are doing right this very minute and don’t deviate from that. What seems like a million light years away will be on you much faster than you’d have thought possible.

Everything you do or say is evaluated. Never quit or give in. A drill instructor today may be a leader of a Special Operations team in the future and they will remember the good troops and the poor ones.

Photo: Wikipedia

The Secret to Getting Selected in SFAS? There Isn’t One

I know what you’re thinking,…” here’s this FOG (F***ing Old Guy) preaching again about being in the last hard class.” Okay, first let’s dispense with the myths and get right to the crux of the matter. Every Special Forces guy you will meet, regardless of era went thru the last hard class and everyone since then or before his was an absolute cakewalk.

It is true, ask anyone and you’ll bound to get the same answer. Years from now when some of you do get selected and sent to one of the Operational Groups, you’ll be doing the same thing. I swore back in the day, that I would never, ever do that. But then in my last year or so in the military, I was talking to a good friend of mine who was at the schoolhouse teaching SF medics and he was lamenting the quality of his latest class and we fell into the “man things were sure tougher when WE went thru the course.” Yikes!. “When did we turn into the old MFers that we used to make fun of?” But I digress

Passing Selection is the rite of passage for every Special Operations unit in the world. And that is why we are all here right? The courses are designed to be incredibly hard for a reason and a very good one. The operating environment that Special Operations many times must perform in is often extreme. Carrying a lot of gear on your back in the heat of Iraq, Syria or in the mountains of Afghanistan or 100 other places isn’t a walk in the park. And all the while you’ll have a determined, hardened enemy that is trying very hard to kill you.

So, we get all kinds of email from prospective Special Operations asking about what the secret is for getting selected and the magic elixir that’s required to pass. The short answer is, there isn’t one. It is so simple it is hard sometimes for young troops to get. So we’ll go thru the quick guide again and the first one is probably a total no-brainer.

Be in the Best Shape You Possibly Can Be: We’ve set out the physical training pieces that we’ve felt will help you prepare physically for the challenge that is ahead. And make no mistake you will be challenged. You will get smoked, rinsed off, dusted and do it all over again. There will be plenty of times where you are tired, hungry, beat up and mentally taxed. That is normal, it also is exactly what the course is designed to do, once you show up for selection.

But there is no reason to be in arguably the best shape in your life when you show up for selection. I know at times a lot of guys get hurt during their prep time and they are not all the way back by the time their class date begins. I’ve seen that as a cadre member and the only thing to do in Selection is to just gut it out the best way you can unless you are seriously injured, where you can’t do it. Then try to get your class date changed.

I was levied for SWC (Special Warfare Center), the schoolhouse while on a deployment to Central America back in the day. As soon as I got back, I was assigned to Selection and since I went thru the SFQC (Special Forces Qualification Course) in the days before SFAS, I had to attend the next class…the only issue? While down south I had got a case of dysentery and was still getting over it when reporting in …about 25 pounds light. Carrying the “Sandman” while having the screen door $hits isn’t the best way to go thru the course. So I feel your pain if you’ve had to endure the task with going thru Selection, while not at 100 percent thru no fault of your own.

Leave the Assessing to the Assessors: This is a big one and a total no-brainer. Far too many candidates take a look around themselves and the daunting task that is selection and psyche themselves right out of the course. They become so self-critical that they’ll convince themselves that they are doing terribly. It is a common trait among most successful people and many Special Operators that we are usually our own worst critics. But Selection isn’t the time for that part of your psyche to come out.

One class in SFAS, there was senior NCO who came from an LRSU unit and he positively smoked every run and ruck march during the course. But instead of being back in his unit where he was far out in front of every such event, in SFAS among many equally impressive troops, he wasn’t. He took it to mean he was performing substandardly when the total opposite was true. He self-assessed himself and did a poor job of it. He voluntarily withdrew until “I can get my shit together and come back to do the course right.”

You don’t know what or how the cadre is assessing you at any given time and that isn’t your job. To quote my favorite BB, “Do Your Job”. Let the cadre do theirs. If you’re still giving 100 percent every day and still standing there in the formation, that is all you should be worrying about. If you’re self-assessing yourself, you’ll be looking at a sad face in the mirror.

Remember, You Are Always Being Assessed: This will sound crazy perhaps but many of the candidates get off on the wrong foot on Day 1 and it can end up costing them down the road. Many of the young soldiers coming into Selection are focused on the physical side (which is good) but never forget that everything in Selection is evaluated which means…”everything”. And now I repeat it, (listen for the foot stomp as if in the classroom) “Assessment Never Ends”, you’ll hear this often. Remember it, file it away and don’t ever forget it.

You’ll be asked to take a battery of psychological tests and they’re quite lengthy. Some of the questions will seem odd (they are) and often make no sense. And you’ll get asked the same questions multiple times but it will be worded differently. It is designed that way to see if you’re telling the truth and taking it seriously. It is designed to identify potential psychopathic or sociopathic tendencies in some candidates.

While working at SFAS, there were a few, not a lot of soldiers who took this part of Selection as a joke, it isn’t. This isn’t the time to be cavalier or a smartass with your answers. It matters everything does. Not answering truthfully will raise its head in the test and it may ultimately cost you.

Another thing, from the time you sign in until the time that you sign out and return to your unit at the end of the course, you are being evaluated. Act like it and as if you under a microscope. There is no off time save for the few hours of sleep you’ll get.

Be a Team Player: This one is self-explanatory. Selection is an individual assessment conducted in a team environment. So yes, you’re being assessed as an individual. But part of that assessment and a VERY BIG part of it is how well you work within a team. Being part of a team is the very essence of what makes Special Operations and Special Forces in this case so successful.

Lone Wolves don’t cut it. You can ace every individual event but if you aren’t a team player, the cadre will notice and so will your peers. And peer evaluation can sink a soldier’s chances easily. Certain soldiers will have areas that they’re stronger in than their peers. A team player will recognize this and step up and help their teammates during team events. If they don’t help their teammates, then they’ll ultimately fail.

This is an area where many of the officers not selected ultimately fail. They perform very well when in charge of an event but balk at taking orders from lower-ranking candidates when it becomes their turn to lead an event. And “spotlight Rangers” who thrive when it is their turn in the box while being a leader, but then try to ghost into the background once it is over are easily spotted.

Don’t Be Late, Light, or Last: These three little sins are my favorites will get a candidate washed out and doing the duffel bag drag quicker than any other. And add a 4th, don’t be out of uniform. If there are 150 candidates standing there in PT gear and two guys show up are in fatigues, do you think that would fly?

You’re being assessed on your potential to be in one of the premier Special Operations units in the world. And showing up late ever or out of uniform isn’t the way to impress upon the cadre that you want to be there.

Unless things have changed drastically, at Selection the students are kept in the dark about what event is coming next until shortly before it happens. The cadre will update a dry erase board usually 15 minutes or so before the next event and will have the uniform that the candidates must be in. Most classes learn quickly to have a candidate from each hut placed outside near the board to keep everyone apprised of updates.

Being light is a cardinal sin and there is no excuse for it. Your rucksack has to weigh what they said it must weigh and it is always the weight specified without food and water. The instructors will always use the same scales that the candidates use so there will never be a discrepancy there. If the standard says 45 pounds, then 44 pounds,15 ounces is a fail. That doesn’t mean to go overboard either.

One winter class in SFAS, one candidate came in straggling at the rear. His rucksack weighed 75 pounds! That didn’t curry favor with the instructors, in fact, it had the opposite effect. Be safe, and err on the side of caution and be in the green but don’t overdo it. A pound or two over the limit won’t hurt you physically and gives the psychological reassurance that you’re well within the standards.

Being last is, next to being light the kiss of death in selection. One has to be pragmatic here. Do the math, the failure rate for selection is high, even those who make it to the very end of the course aren’t guaranteed to be selected, so being last in any event isn’t a good thing. But one event isn’t going to sink you or your chances if you do well in everything else.. We’ll expand on this more below but you never, ever want to be the last guy in at anything.

Ignore the Noise: The SFAS “rumor mill” used to kill me. There is something about Selection that turns good, troops into a ladies’ sewing circle. This goes right along with self-assessment. Listening to the rumor mill is an unnecessary drain on your energy and serves no purpose. And invariably the rumors are as wrong as the National Enquirer, to begin with unless you’re a fan of “Men in Black.”

Many nights, my bud Doug P. and I as well as other cadre members would move between the huts dressed as the candidates were and gauged their reactions to the training for the day. And to check to see if candidates were sleeping before lights out or eating in the barracks, (heel stomp…you’re always being assessed back up to #2). By the second week of the course, they rarely if ever noticed our presence as cadre.

And by far, the rumor mill was always the most entertaining. As the course went along the rumors always got better. By Team Week, many of the candidates were so burned out, we’d have long conversations with some and they never knew they were talking to cadre members.

My advice to candidates is to have a book handy. When the rumors start flying, save your energy and brain matter and read a book.

Sounds like a walk in the park right? And yeah, Don’t quit!

Photo: US Army

Can You Pass the Navy SEAL Physical Screening Test?

The Navy SEAL + SWCC Scout Team identifies and engages high-quality potential SEAL and SWCC candidates, informs them of a career in Naval Special Warfare, and assists them with the recruiting process.

Physically prepare to the best of your ability in advance of BUD/S. If you arrive already making competitive scores versus minimum standards, you’ll be in a much better position to successfully complete training and become a Navy SEAL.

The Physical Screening Test, or PST, is designed to test your overall physical readiness to participate in the rigorous Naval Special Warfare or special operations training pipelines.

Remember, everyone who has entered BUD/S passed the PST to get there, and more than half of them didn’t finish.

Points of performance

Swim

You must perform the test using either a side stroke or a breast stroke.

Push-ups

Must be performed with a straight back and feet and hands in contact with the deck at all times. No slouching
allowed; proper form must be strictly maintained.

Sit-ups

Sit on the floor with your knees bent approximately 90 degrees. Cross your arms in front of you with fingertips touching your shoulders. Exercise through the full range of motion. Again, proper form must be strictly maintained.

Pull-ups

Grip pull-up bar with palms facing away from you. Hands are to be shoulder width apart. Do not swing, kick, or bicycle to assist. Make sure you go all the way up (chin above bar) then ALL THE WAY DOWN.

SEAL Physical Screening Test (PST) minimum requirements

PST	Minimums
SWIM 500 YDS. side stroke/breast stroke	12:30 min
REST 10 MIN.
PUSH-UPS (within 2 min)	42
Rest 2 minutes
SIT-UPS (within 2 min)	50
Rest 2 minutes
PULL-UPS (no time limit)	6
Rest 10 minutes
1.5 MILE RUN	11:00 min

Prepping For Selection, the Right Way is the Only Way

This is the time of year when the Selection courses are in full swing and the guys…and gals who want to be part of Special Operations units are deciding to get ready and give it their best shot at becoming members in the best fraternity in the world.

The US military has embraced Special Operations Forces after many decades of hating on “elite units” and the services have a unified command structure to ensure they all work well with each other as well as conventional units. The services have plenty of specialized units with varying missions and each has their own specialties carved out thru years of intense training. Whether it be the Army, Navy, Air Force, or the Marines, each service has their own Special Operations Forces. And all of them are excellent.

For our purposes, we’re going to deal with the US Army Special Forces, popularly known as the “Green Berets.” Having been in Special Forces units for more than a decade in the military, it is easy to say, there’s no place better to be. But the rest of what you’ll read here will serve you well regardless of your choice of unit.

Some of you’ve may have already decided that Special Forces is for you and you’re getting ready to prep for SFAS and a chance to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course or “Q” course. Good. That’s the easy part.

First and most importantly, Is your head screwed on straight? Are you wanting to be SF to be a part of the best and willing to put everything into your choice? If so, then you’re definitely on the right track.

Now to dispel some myths. We’ve all heard the wives’ tales and myths of the Special Forces soldier, right? “You have to be 10-feet tall and bulletproof.” LOL, don’t laugh. “SF guys have to have the athletic ability and look like NFL players.” Having gone thru the Warrant Officer Candidate School at Ft. Rucker with a former defensive lineman for the NY Giants (but in a different MOS), I can tell you with 100 percent certainty, we looked nothing alike.

There isn’t any big secret about passing selection, in fact to those of us who worked out there the saying used to be, “the answer is so simple that it is hard.” It is all about you the individual. Selection is 70 percent mental and 30 percent physical. And not the reverse. You don’t have to look like an NFL linebacker to pass the course as I mentioned above. I certainly didn’t and the vast majority of guys I finished with didn’t either.

In fact, most of the guys who looked like that passed by the wayside, it becomes simply a matter of mind over matter. You will have to want it and won’t let anything stop you from reaching that ultimate goal. That may sound a little simplistic but that is it in a nutshell. So, after getting several emails about Selection and the tips of the trade to be selected…here they are…(Cue the Dating Game music and spin the board around. OK, I dated myself there.)

#1 – Don’t Ever Quit: There will be times when you are exhausted beyond belief, between either selection or the Q-course and that is when the SF guys get separated from the other guys who thought they wanted to be there.

Selection is a test of will, nothing more. Don’t let your mind play tricks on you and focus only on what you’re doing today. Get thru the day and don’t worry about what comes tomorrow. That doesn’t exist. Sometimes and during some training events, you can’t even look past the next few hours or smoke sessions. Be standing there when it is over, that may be your goal. Survive until lunch, if you get it. Be there at sundown when guys are dropping like flies all around you.

You’ll get no feedback from the cadre other than the stock “do the best you can”, and I for one think that’s the best way. Special Forces doesn’t want or need guys who must have constant reassurance. They want soldiers who will go the extra mile and keep on going. If the cadre members don’t tell you anything, then you’re good to go. When you think you’ve reached Hell…keep going. It WILL get hotter.

#2 – Prepare, Prepare, Prepare: Don’t come to Selection fresh from being a couch potato. There are plenty of guides on how to properly prepare for the rigors of the course and they all will get you into the arena. You don’t have to be the fastest runner, but it certainly won’t hurt. But the biggest obstacle in your path is your rucksack. Soldiers who can strap the big pain pill on and continue to drive on are what the cadre are looking for.

Soldiers who came from a light infantry or a Ranger battalion will have already mastered that art. For soldiers coming from a different background, that is where they are sailing into uncharted waters. And that is where the will to continue comes in. Even the most hardened troops get worn out and tired, that is what the course is designed to do.

If you want a good PT program, there are plenty of great ones on the internet. I am no professional physical trainer, but I did work at Selection so I believe I know what works. And this being our site, I will recommend our PT Training Program here:

I recall the adage that fatigue makes cowards of us all is quite telling but not entirely true. The Special Forces soldier won’t give in to his fatigue and keep on going. If you allow doubt to creep into your mind, you are already defeated. So tip #1 ties into tip #2. In my post-SF life, I’ve had the privilege of covering the NFL and one of the most intriguing people I’ve met is Bill Belichick the coach of the New England Patriots. He has stated that if a player is thinking about retiring, then he’s already retired. It is the same thing. If you allow doubt to creep into your mind, that little voice will screw you every time.

#3 – Don’t Worry About What the Instructors: As soldiers, we’ve been weaned on immediate feedback. As basic trainees or boots, everything you did was wrong. Forget all that. It’s over. Time to use your head, that is that lump three feet above your ass. Give it your all and when the event is over, forget it, it is in the past. Focus on the next one and try to do even better.

Too many times I saw candidates withdraw because of the lack of feedback from the instructors they took as a sign that the instructors want them to fail. Nothing could be further from the truth.

They’ve been where you are and experienced all the same things. They want to see you succeed. But only if you meet the standards. Then they’ll be happy to be standing next to you in the Regiment. You may not think so today, but you will see soon enough.

#4 The Gray Man: My views on this run counter what you’ll read everywhere else but here it is. And this is one of those subjects I feel strongly about so my take on this is a bit biased. So, you can take it for what it is, ignore it, or tell me to GFY.

You’ll hear many people tell you to be the “Gray Man” in SFAS, and if that means to you, just keeping a low profile while doing the best that you can, then that is fine. But to others it means trying to purposely fly under the radar, to hide behind the masses. You know who those types are, and you’ll find some in your class. Whenever as a Selection Cadre member, I’d see someone trying to ghost during team events and do just enough to get by while some guy was in the spotlight in being assessed in a leadership position, I’d evaluate that guy very poorly.

Everybody’s different. Certain guys (Many SF guys) are Type-A personalities and are demonstrative, take charge guys. Others are more quiet, low-key and lead by example types. Be yourself. The cadre will know by then which type you are. If you are a guy who by his nature is one of those personalities who motivates people by being a stud or by making people laugh (which we’ll get to), then do it. That is WHO you are. Every team needs those kinds of people and you won’t be judged harshly if that is who you truly are.

You came to Special Operations to be part of the top 1 percent in the military. That doesn’t mean to go beating your chest every time you accomplish anything. That will put a bullseye on your back quickly. And if you’re looking to slide under the radar in training, then you’ll do it on a team. As a cadre member, I didn’t evaluate too kindly on those trying that either. Screw the gray man, be yourself.

#5 Laugh Every Day and Find the Humor in Everything: One of the things we preach all the time is and #5 could easily be called “Embrace the Suck”. And that follows along with everything else It is going to be hard, it will suck. You WILL be tested and no doubt, you’ll have your dick (metaphorical, I know we have women now), dragging into the dirt at some point. But it doesn’t mean it can’t be fun or at times even funny.

There should be times every day when you find the humor in the crazy shit that you’ll be asked to do. And it will accomplish a couple of things. One is that it will break the tension that builds up during the course, especially as things progress. And it will surprisingly build your morale up, more than you’d believe…time for an SF anecdote.

Carrying some very heavy shit one day, I believe it was, by the weight of it, a section of a high-rise skyscraper, we slowly heaved it up and placed it on our rucks and immediately shrunk an inch. Yours truly wasn’t having a good day, I was sick with the flu, still had the remnants of dysentery from my last deployment and felt like a horse apple.

One of my buds looked over and said, “Steve, you just made a great face when you lifted that. You missed your calling bro…you should have gone into porn.”

Tension broken, we all laughed our butts off, and the rucks got lighter. The rest of the day was much easier.

Photo: US Army

SERE Level C Course And the truth will set you free…

Most of what we write here at SpecialOperations.com deals with the training side of the house. What you’ll need to do to pass the Selection and Assessment courses. But today we’ll leap ahead to the second phase of the Special Forces Qualification Course or SFQC for Special Forces students and talk about SERE training.

Since the Army revamped the training and made SERE a part of the SFQC about a decade ago, every prospective SF soldier goes thru it before their patrolling phase (Phase III). And it makes more sense, in the old days, candidates would go through a survival portion of the training and then after graduation, selected members would get tasked to attend SERE. Now everyone does and it allows training for the entire force.

The only drawback is, the survival portion of the SFQC was very good training that candidates did on their own. They had a lot of tasks to complete while isolated in a survival situation. Now the survival training is done in groups. But apparently, the school didn’t think it was as important as in the past. Times change…

Breaking the Myths of What SERE Is and Isn’t: SERE School is a training program to teach military members, Department of Defense civilians and military contractors survival skills, training in evading capture and the military’s Code of Conduct.

The JFLSWC’s SERE course focuses its training on:

Code of conduct applications in wartime, peacetime, governmental and/or hostage detention environments
General survival skills
Evasion planning
Resistance to exploitation & political indoctrination
Escape planning

But we must get the BS out of the way. Like everyone else, we read what is out there in social media. And the myths that are perpetrated about SERE rival those of Selection. You’ve seen all of these myths and some of you candidates have probably already repeated them without realizing they are false.

Myth #1, the Cadre are allowed to break one bone in your body: Really? I was going to use more colorful language but suffice to say, that this is total horse dump. I’ve even seen the “It may just a small one like a pinky”…. Jeez. No one is breaking bones out there, folks. We don’t do it to detainees in Gitmo, we’re not going to purposely break the bones of future Special Operations troops.

Myth #2 SERE is a “Torture” School designed to break you: Wrong again. It isn’t a torture school at all. It is tough, it will push you in ways you probably haven’t been pushed before and it isn’t fun. But when all is said and done, SERE is one of those courses that no one wants to go to but looks back upon it as a great learning experience. Treat it as such and learn from it. That is what is designed to do.

Myth #3 Troops come out of SERE with PTSD and Psychotic: This one has to be my favorite. Most of the great unwashed who repeat this use the 24-hour rule after SERE is over as a means to justify this myth. It is akin to saying 1+1 = 6. After SERE is complete, students are given a 24-hour break to decompress before the out briefs are given. This is because the final week or more, the candidates get very little sleep and they are generally hungry as hell. The out briefings are important teaching points and the students must retain them.

If you get PTSD from SERE school, perhaps you need to rethink a career in Special Operations and take up something other than combat arms as a primary MOS. My officer class was released at the conclusion of the course and we met that night en masse at Chi Chi’s in Fayetteville. The staff at the restaurant was alarmed, not our psychotic behavior but at how much Mexican food was put away as we put on a serious feed bag that night….but PTSD? No.

Sere training is broken down into three levels. As the JFKSWC puts out in a letter of instruction to students:

Level-A is initial-entry-level training that all soldiers, enlisted and officers receive upon entering the service. It provides a minimum level of understanding of the Code of Conduct.

Level-B is designed for personnel whose “jobs, specialties or assignments entail moderate risk of capture and exploitation.” DoD 1300.21 lists as examples, “members of ground combat units, security forces for high threat targets and anyone in the immediate vicinity of the forward edge of the battle area or the forward line of troops.” Current combat operations have shown that practically everyone deployed in theater falls under this category. Consequently, demand for Level-B training has proliferated exponentially, and it has become mandatory for most deploying forces. Level-B is conducted at the unit level, through the use of training-support packets containing a series of standardized lesson plans and videos.

Level-C is designed for personnel whose “jobs, specialties or assignments entail a significant or high risk of capture and exploitation.” AR 350-30 supports DoD 1300.21’s mandate: “As a minimum, the following categories of personnel shall receive formal Level-C training at least once in their careers: combat aircrews, special operations forces (e.g., Navy special warfare combat swimmers and special boat units, Army Special Forces and Rangers, Marine Corps Special Operations and force reconnaissance units, Air Force special tactics teams, and psychological operations units) and military attaché.”

The SERE Level-C training facility at Camp Mackall is one of only five facilities within the DoD that is authorized to conduct Level-C training. The Air Force conducts training at Fairchild AFB, Wash., and the Navy has facilities in Brunswick, Maine, and at North Island, Calif. The Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., has their own another Level-C facility for aviation pilots in the Army.

SERE was developed by LTC Nick Rowe because, during his five years in captivity as a POW of the Viet Cong, he saw difficulties in how the troops were being trained. It used to be “The Big Three” (Name, Rank and Serial Number) and nothing more. But while a captive, Rowe saw that he had to change that outlook and approach things in a different manner or else he’d suffer the fate of CPT Rocky Versace, who fought the Viet Cong at every turn and so incensed his captors, that he was executed by the Cong. And with minor tweaks, the course has remained largely the way he envisioned it.

The SERE course spans three weeks with three phases of instruction, with the first phase consisting of approximately 10 days of academic instruction on the Code of Conduct and in SERE techniques that incorporate both classroom learning and hands-on field craft. One of the highlights of the course is that the cadre brings in former POWs to talk to the students about what to expect and how they coped with being a captive. Our class had Dan Pitzer who was a POW with Col. Rowe in Vietnam. Suffice to say, you could have heard a pin drop during his presentation.

The second phase is a five-day field training exercise in which the students practice their survival and evasion skills by procuring food and water, constructing small evasion fires and shelters and evading tracker dogs and aggressor forces for long distances. This was by far the best part of the course.

Trying to defeat the tracking dogs is not easy. And to dispel another myth, tracking dogs don’t bay while on your scent. You won’t hear a peep from them until they can see you. Hollywood-perpetrated this one as a means of building suspense on film. It isn’t very suspenseful when the escaped cons from the prison farm stop and hear silence. Once you hear the dogs baying, it is too late. One morning we made it to our hide site, camouflaged it and I was already sacked out asleep when I was woken by a basset hound licking my face.

The final phase takes place in the resistance training laboratory, a mock prisoner-of-war camp, where students are tested on their individual and collective abilities to resist interrogation and exploitation and to properly apply the six articles of the Code of Conduct in a realistic captivity scenario. That’s as far as we’ll go in that phase, as the school house has some strict rules on that.

But by now, many prospective Special Operations troops will have read the horror stories of SERE and psyche themselves out before ever touching foot in the place. Don’t pay attention to that, to quote my man Bill, “ignore the noise.”

The course finishes with a day of debriefings in which the students receive individual and group feedback from the cadre. These critiques help students process everything they have been through to solidify the skills they applied properly and to correct areas using constructive criticism.

SERE is an excellent course that each of the services has tailored to meet the needs of their particular mission. But the core elements for each service remain the same for each course. It is a great learning experience and prepares you as best the services can what a survival situation may entail in the real world.

“Boots, boots… There’s no discharge in the war…” This will eventually make sense to you, for the grads of SERE, no explanation is necessary.

Photo courtesy: US Army

Why the Rangers Scaling Cliffs at Pointe du Hoc 75 Years Later is Important

The message that members of the 2nd Ranger Battalion of today carried forth to the few…and dwindling survivors of the original assault on Pointe du Hoc from 75 years ago was respect. They re-enacted the climb up the cliffs made by their forebearers on that fateful day in 1944 and it wasn’t an easy slog up a hill.

On June 6, 1944, Rangers from the 2nd Battalion were weighed down by assault vests, gas masks, ammunition, helmet, grenades, sub-machine guns, pistols, a box of rope and a hand projector rocket that would launch the ropes attached to grappling hooks up the cliffs. And the Germans on top pouring fire and grenades down on them to boot.

The Rangers of today already had a healthy respect for the men of 75 years ago, but after seeing the cliffs up close and personal and climbing up it, albeit not under fire this time, the respect given was quadrupled. And as they finished the climb, the surviving members of the original Pointe du Hoc assault were there to greet them. It was a powerful moment and one that will live in their memories forever.

In every pivotal battle, there are always several smaller actions that take place that define the scope and bravery that takes place. In Normandy, you could point to 100 different actions. But some of the more notable:

Major John Howard’s glider-borne assault with the Ox and Bucks infantry that landed within 50 feet of the Orne River “Pegasus Bridge” just minutes after midnight. Howard’s men, using surprise, speed, and violence of action overwhelmed the German defenders in less than 15 minutes. Howard’s men were later reinforced by men from the British 7th Parachute Battalion and held the vital bridge until relieved by Commandos under the command of Lord Lovat. One of the paratroopers at the bridge from the 7th Battalion was a young trooper named Richard Todd. He would later portray Howard in the war film epic, “The Longest Day”.

Lt. Dick Winters and the men of Easy Co. 506th Parachute Infantry (101st Airborne) and the assault on Brecourt Manor was an exercise in tactical leadership and tactics. Winters, and Lt.s Buck Compton and Ronald Spiers led a group of determined paratroopers who were vastly outnumbered and successfully assaulted prepared German defenses and destroyed four 105mm howitzers that threatened nearby Utah Beach. This was immortalized in the book and later the miniseries, “Band of Brothers”.

Which brings us to the Rangers’ assault on the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc. The Germans had built gun emplacements on the cliffs where the six 155mm coastal guns could easily engage American assault troops on Omaha Beach or the Americans at Utah Beach.

The Rangers were initially going ashore at the wrong place, at Pointe du la Percee due to heavy seas and navigational error. LTC James Rudder, commander of the Ranger Group saw this and had the landing craft turn toward the correct landing beach.

The Germans recognized it and took the assault craft under fire. Due to this, the Rangers arrived late to their landing beach and were taken under heavy fire and grenades from the defenders on top of the cliffs.

The commanders of the destroyers U.S.S. Satterlee and H.M.S. Talybont risked running their ships aground and closed their ships in very shallow water offshore and raked the German positions with every weapon at their disposal, including 5-inch guns, 40mm and 20mm anti-aircraft guns to keep the defenders at bay.

The Rangers made the perilous climb and once reaching the top immediately went about the deadly task of clearing the gun emplacements. Unbeknownst to them. The Germans had removed the 155mm guns and replaced them with telephone poles.

However, coming ashore wounded was 1SG Bud Lomell, who along with SSG Jack Kuhn who saw ruts in a dirt lane that they believed were the gun carriages. Following the tracks, they found five of the 155mm guns 200 meters off the cliffs, concealed under camouflage nets. The guns were pointed toward Utah Beach and had ammunition stacked beside them, ready to go.

Lomell and Kuhn smashed the gun sights with rifle butts and then burned the barrels and traversing mechanisms with thermite grenades. Nearby, another Ranger patrol found the 6th 155mm gun in a hedgerow. They destroyed it with thermite and blew up the ammunition. Mission accomplished. Of the 225 men that came ashore with the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc, only 80 would still be in action two days later.

On the 40th anniversary of the assault, President Ronald Reagan delivered his famous “Boys of Pointe du Hoc” speech. Last week, 35 years later, few of the “boys” remain. It is imperative we never forget the service and sacrifice of the brave men who swept the cliffs of the German defenders and thereby saved countless lives of men on the beaches of Omaha and Utah beaches.

Photo: US Army

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 15, Day 2

Monday morning means our weekly mini-UBRR test to judge where our fitness level is at. Start off with pushups, sit-ups, and crunches, then to the bar for V-ups, Pull-ups, and dips before a 5-mile run.

Remember to stay hydrated and mark your progress in your workout log book.

UBRR Training:

More preparation for the UBRR

1 x 1-minute Pushups

1 x 1-minute Sit-ups

1 x 1-minute, Crunches

1 x 1-minute, V-ups

1 x Dips as many as possible to muscle failure (No time limit)

1 x Pullups as many as possible or to muscle failure (No time limit)

5-mile run (40-minute maximum)

Stretch well after completion