training

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 7

Back in the gym this Saturday morning for a shoulder and back workout. Pull-ups if you have no access to ropes, but use climbing ropes if they are available. Followed by a four-mile run in 32 minutes or less.

Log your numbers down in the workout notebook and prepare for a long ruck on Sunday morning. And as always, remember to stay hydrated.

Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 10 Lat Pulldowns, rear

3 x 10 Barbell Dead Lift

3 x 10 Wide Grip Pull-ups

3 x 10 Seated Rows

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Seated Bent-Over Delt Raise

3 x 10 Dumbbell Shoulder Press

3 x 10 Arnold Dumbbell Press

4-mile run (32 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Getting Back to the A-B-Cs of Land Navigation – Resection

For the benefit of some of the aspiring members of the Special Operations community, we’ve been going back to the basics of passing Land Navigation. This was after a recent article that stated the Army has noticed a lack of expertise at junior NCOs with a map and compass.

Waiting until one gets to Selection isn’t the time to learn that your Land Navigation skills are not up to snuff and will result in a very long face especially in SFAS once you experience the loveliness of Hoffman. As we mentioned in our piece last week three of the biggest issues that stop candidates from being selected are Physical Fitness Preparation, Rucking, and Land Navigation.

SFAS will combine all three of those issues in the very early days of the course, as candidates will be running for time, rucking and then join the three into the Land Navigation course, known as the Star Course in Hoffman.

Today, we are going to look at the way to find your location if you are unsure of your exact map placement. And before you say “I’ll never get lost that way!” I’ll say this, ‘wait until you get there first.’ There is going to be times in the course that you won’t be certain of your exact location. If you are unsure of your exact location, you can find your location easily if you can pick out some distant landmarks. It is called Resection.

Resection is defined as the method for finding your exact location on a map by determining the grid azimuth to two or more well-defined locations that can be pinpointed on the map. For greater accuracy, the desired method of resection would be to use three or more well-defined locations.

For the purposes of our practical application, we used only two however, obviously, three or more is ideal. There are three methods of using resection, using the map and compass method, the straightedge method and the modified method. In this exercise, we used the map and compass method, but we’ll go over the other methods as well.

Map and Compass Method

Orient the map using the compass and terrain association
Identify two or three known distant locations on the ground and mark them on the map.
Measure the magnetic azimuth to one of the known positions from your location using a compass.
Convert the magnetic azimuth to a grid azimuth.
Convert the grid azimuth to a back azimuth. If the magnetic azimuth is less than 180 degrees add 180. If the azimuth is more than 180 degrees subtract 180.
Using a protractor, draw a line for the back azimuth on the map from the known position back toward your unknown position.
Repeat the same steps for a second position and a third position if desired.

The intersection of the lines is your location. Determine the grid coordinates to the desired accuracy, an eight-digit grid being the preferred accuracy for our purposes.

Straightedge Method:

To accurately find your position, the successful navigator must:

Orient his map using his compass and/or terrain association
Locate at least two known distant locations or prominent features on the ground and mark them on the map.
Lay a straightedge on the map, in this case using the compass and a known position as a pivot point.
Rotate the straightedge until the known position on the map is aligned with the known position on the ground.
Draw a line along the straightedge away from the known position on the ground toward your position.
Repeat the same process using a second known position that you can see from your location.

Where the intersection of the lines meets on the map is your location. Determine the grid coordinates to the desired accuracy. You then should be able to get an eight-digit grid coordinate and find your way to your point.

Modified Method:

The modified method is the least preferred method but is useful in certain situations. If you’re not certain of your exact location but are located on a linear terrain feature such as a road, creek or similar body of water, this can pinpoint your position.

Orient the map using a compass and/or by terrain association.
Locate a point in the distance that can be easily identified on the ground and on the map.
Determine the magnetic azimuth from your location to the distant known point.
Convert the magnetic azimuth to a grid azimuth.
Convert the grid azimuth to a back azimuth, using the add or subtract 180 accordingly depending on the degrees.
Using a protractor, draw a line for the back azimuth on the map from the known position back toward your unknown position.

Your location is where the line on the map crosses the linear feature. Determine the grid coordinates to the desired accuracy, for our purposes an eight-digit grid coordinate.

For our video demonstration, practical exercise, we were moving along our azimuth and came across a railroad track. Just barely visible in the far distance is a wind turbine that sits high upon a hilltop. Once we are able to locate the wind turbine on the map, we take an azimuth, using our compass, and determine the grid azimuth.

Then we draw a back azimuth using the “more than 180 degrees subtract 180 or less than 180 degrees add 180” rule and draw a line on our map. Where the line intersects the railroad line is our exact location.

If this were close to our point during a Land Navigation course, this would be a prime attack point as you’d have a very good place to search for the point. However, if you’re still far from your point, it is a great place to check your exact location and ensure that you’re heading on the correct azimuth.

Check out the short video from two years ago and see how it works out. If anyone has any questions, feel free to email me [email protected] or at my Twitter account @SteveB7SFG

Photos courtesy of DOD, Video: Author

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 6

It is Leg Day at the gym. Starting with Squats – (front, dumbbell goblet, and barbell), then some lunges and the weighted sled push.

And then finish the workout with a five-mile run in 40 minutes or less. Mark your progress down in your workout log book and stretch well after the session.

Training:

Continue to prep for the UBRR.

3 x Front Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

3 x Goblet Dumbbell Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

3 x 10 Barbell Squats

3 x 10 Deadlifts

3 x 10 Dumbbell Lunges

3 x Weighted Sled Push or Fireman’s Carry

3 x 10 V-Ups (Lying on the floor)

5-mile run (40-minute maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 5

Back to the gym this morning and start with a Chest and Triceps workout today before a 5-mile run (40 minutes maximum). You must build up that upper body strength and today’s workout will definitely help that.

Remember to stretch well before and after and to stay hydrated. Mark your progress down in your workout log book.

UBRR Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 12 Bench Press

3 x 10 Dumbbell Flies

3 x 10 Dumbbell Incline press

3 x 20 Pushups (alternate sets with wide, narrow and shoulder width)

3 x 10 Kip Ups

3 x 20 Sit-ups

3 x 20 Cable Push Downs (rope)

3 x 20 Dips or until muscle failure

5-mile run (40 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 4

Wednesday is a back and shoulder day at the gym followed by a 6-mile rucksack march. Look to better the time that is the standard (90-minutes).

And remember to hydrate throughout the march. Don’t forget to mark your progress in the workout log book, it would also be a good day to wear those second pair of boots.

UBRR Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, behind the neck (go as heavy as possible)

3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, front

3 x 12 Seated Rows

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Front Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Arnold Press

3 x 8 Shoulder Shrugs

6-mile Rucksack march (45-pound minimum, 90-minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 3

So, a good way to begin Tuesday is head to the gym for Leg Day. This is a very important day in our preparation training as it builds up that lower body and core strength that will be so important in the Selection course and beyond. Begin with pull-ups and a rope climb if you have access to climbing ropes. Then squats, lunges, deadlifts and the sled followed by a three-mile run.

Building up the legs will definitely help to tote that rucksack.

UBRR Training:

Continue to prep for the UBRR

3 x Pullups 10 reps or muscle failure

2 x Rope climb (if available)

3 x Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

3 x Goblet Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

3 x 10 Deadlifts

4 x Sled push with a heavier weight or substitute a Fireman’s Carry

3 x 10 reps Kip Ups

3 x 20 Side Planks

3-Mile run (24 minutes or less)

Stretch well after completion

What Happens Next at the Special Warfare Center at Ft. Bragg?

Opinion: The Special Warfare Center, specifically the JFKSWC at Ft. Bragg, NC, which trains the Green Berets, Psyops and Civil Affairs soldiers has been in a state of flux for the past two years. And the news that broke late last week won’t lessen it at all in the coming months.

Breitbart News’ Kristina Wong broke the story that the JFKSWC’s commander Major General Kurt Sonntag is being forced to retire after reports of his conduct being investigated by the Pentagon for ruining the careers of several Special Forces officers and NCOs for speaking out against the softening and lowering of standards. Wong wrote last week:

They alleged Sonntag wrongfully retaliated against instructors who expressed concern over his lowering of standards for the Special Forces Qualification Course, punished instructors seen as too tough on students, and is a toxic leader who created a climate of fear at SWCS.

Where the story, the center, and schoolhouse for Green Berets go from here is unclear. But there will be no easy answers and/or solutions for the school, the training cadre or the incoming commander.

Wong was originally the one who broke the story that Sonntag was being investigated after several current and former Green Beret instructors voiced their concerns over Sonntag’s policies were levied.

Sonntag completed a two-year tour at SWC and asked for a one-year extension. That was denied and he was given no further General Officer assignment, which ostensibly means that the general is being forced to retire.

When Sonntag took over the SWC in 2017, he faced many problems, not the least of which the school wasn’t graduating enough Green Berets to fully field the force. The toll of unending wars and an unsustainable OPTEMPO has left Special Forces without enough soldiers across the board.

Sonntag immediately began to formulate plans to streamline and shorten the pipeline for Special Forces Green Berets to be trained. He finished it up in the fall of 2018. Copies of the slides he used were leaked to us and we contacted the School and although we didn’t speak with the General himself, the PAO Officer answered our questions.

We wrote about the changes that Sonntag had spelled out here: They answered our questions to the shortening of the course as follows.

“1st Special Forces Command outlined the individual tasks required for each MOS to meet their operational needs. Instead of adding collective tasks into MOS, this concept focuses solely on individual tasks and incorporates application through historical vignettes (lessons-learned). The practical application at a team level will come in tactical skills. Currently, the course orientation and history phase is six weeks. This concept incorporates the introductory individual tasks into MOS training and the collective tasks into tactical skills. History modules and other tasks now taught in course orientation will be taught throughout all phases of the course. This concept found efficiencies in training by reorganizing where we teach certain tasks, which provides opportunities to combine complimentary tasks in a logical manner.”

Sonntag’s policies were met by charges by the training cadre of the school that the standards were being lowered. Now, it should be mentioned, that those charges are nothing new to the SF school. Every generation has heard that and we have to deal with it. I heard it when I went thru the SFQC, and I heard it several years later when assigned to SWC at SFAS.

However, what transpired next was anything but usual with the resultant “night letter” and the search for the authors of such. Which brings us to where we are today. Sonntag is being forced to retire and a new commander is coming in. Maj. Gen. Patrick B. Roberson is slated to be the next SWC commander. Roberson is coming from Special Operations Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and is slated to change command this summer.

In Wong’s report, she credited a source who told her that Roberson was the second choice for the new SWC commander. Her source told her that MG Miguel A. Correa was first chosen to take over for Sonntag, but Correa supposedly turned down the SWC assignment because he “didn’t want to take on the s**t show that Sonntag created.”

Roberson has to still face the same daunting tasks that Sonntag did but now has to do so with a training cadre that will view him (whether the allegations of Sonntag are all true or not), with a level of distrust. And hanging over Roberson’s head, unfairly or not is the fate of the two SF NCOs who were singled out for punishment by Sonntag and are scheduled for termination of service. Green Berets Sergeant First Class Micah Robertson, 33, and Sergeant First Class Michael Squires, 31, are both looking at the end of their careers by the end of the month. Their fates will be decided long before Roberson takes command.

However, the Army could do the school and Roberson a tremendous service by keeping both of those NCOs on active duty until the investigation they’re conducting is complete. There are also several other cases of careers being ruined that should be looked at before those NCOs and Officers are lost to the service. It would go a long way in re-establishing trust between the command and the incoming commander. Then let the chips fall where they may. Will this happen? It is doubtful at this point.

Which takes us back to square one, what happens with the courses, SFAS (Special Forces Assessment and Selection), and the SFQC (Special Forces Qualification Course)? One of Special Operations core “Truths” from 1988 is #3 “Special Operations Forces can’t be mass produced.”

The incoming commander MG Roberson certainly understands it. The training cadre in charge of producing the next group of Green Berets for the Regiment certainly understands it better than most. They know when their tour at SWC is up, they’ll return to the Regiment. And the troops that they assess, train, and graduate this year will be the teammates of the same cadre when they return to the Regiment.

That responsibility isn’t lost on them and they take it seriously. One hopes that the next commander MG Roberson and his entire school staff find a way to work together to produce the best Special Forces operators that have ever come thru the pipeline.

All eyes will be watching what transpires the schoolhouse for the foreseeable future. No one wants that. But it is what it is…

“May you live in interesting times.”

Photo of then BG Kurt Sonntag: USASOC

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 2

A quick workout to start the day early and head off to the rest of our day. Remember, no days off here. With the sweat you break here every day, you’ll be better for it once the course starts.

Hitting the gym early, then off to start the week, so let’s do it right.

Start off with the basics of pushups, sit-ups, and crunches, then to the bar for V-ups, pull-ups, and dips before a 5-mile run in a mini UBRR test. 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 (maximum 40 minutes)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 1

The best way to start our Sunday before the sun comes up is our Sunday Rucksack March. Grab your training partner (or my case my bulldog) and hit the trail. A little warm-up and a good long (8-mile) rucksack march. As always be sure to stay hydrated during the ruck march. It should be a habit that will carry over to Selection and training afterward.

Becoming dehydrated during a long training event such as a ruck march or long-range movement is a guarantee for bigger problems and failure, keep sipping on the water during the march. Ensure you mark down your times in your workout log book. Wear your second pair of boots to ensure they’re ready for the course.

Training:

Warm up

2 x 20 Pushups

2 x 20 Sit-ups

8-mile rucksack march over varied terrain. Try to keep your pace better than the standard (120 minutes). And mark your times in your workout log book.

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 9, Day 7

Back in the gym this Saturday morning for a shoulder and back workout. Towel pull-ups if you have no access to ropes or climbing ropes if they are available. Followed by a four-mile run. Log your numbers down in the workout notebook

Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 10 Lat Pulldowns, rear

3 x 10 Barbell Dead Lift

3 x 10 Wide Grip Pull-ups

3 x 10 Towel Pull-ups

3 x 10 Seated Rows

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Seated Bent-Over Delt Raise

3 x 10 Dumbbell Shoulder Press

3 x 10 Arnold Dumbbell Press

4-mile run

Stretch well after completion