The Definitive Spec Ops Resource
Back to the gym today. Unlike last week where we went heavier weight with less reps, we’re going the opposite this time, building up the endurance.
Training:
More Preparation for the UBRR:
Run 3 miles and record your time
Then, head into the gym:
3 x Front Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)
3 x Goblet Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter dumbbell)
3 x 10 Pull-ups
3 x 10 reps Standing Arnold Press
3 x 20 Push ups
30 x “V”ups
Stretch well after completion
Continue to prep for the UBRR and focus on some speed work today with the runs. Speed work will help with your endurance and gives your muscles a different workout.
Training:
Stretch well after completion
Back out on the rucking trails today. This week we’ll try a few different things to break it up.
Training:
More Preparation for the UBRR:
100 pushups (no time limit)
100 situps (no time limit)
100 crunches
Rucksack march: Go as hard and as fast as you can for 1 hour. Do this without running. See what your distance is and make a notation. This will give a goal to achieve in later training sessions.
Stretch well after completion
Back to the gym today, many of you will be dealing with the ice in the aftermath of the storm we had on the East Coast. So, we’ll deal with that accordingly.
Training:
More Preparation for the UBRR:
3 x 12 Lat Pull downs, behind the neck (go as heavy as possible)
3 x 12 Lat Pull downs, front
3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises
3 x 10 Dumbbell Front Raises
3 x 10 Dumbbell Shoulder Press
3 x 8 Shoulder Shrugs
4 x 25-meter Shuttle Run
3 x 3 Cone Drill (break up the schedule by putting a little NFL Combine work in)
Stretch well after completion
So, you’ve volunteered to be in Special Forces and you’re getting ready to go to SFAS. This is the time to prepare yourself for the grind that is to come. There are certain tips, such as the PT program which will help you attain the level of physical fitness that you’ll need to not just pass the course but to excel where the course isn’t as tough as you’ll see other people struggling.
Now, we get to the elephant in the room, the Land Navigation course and many students fail at either SFAS or the SFQC because they failed the land navigation course. The course is tough, it is the toughest individual land navigation course you’ll find in the US military.
In previous segments, we touched on Map reading, pace count, orienting the map and plotting your starting location as well as your point. Now we need to get to our points. Here are some of the tips for walking the course in the Hoffman area.
Fold Your Map – Sounds like a no-brainer but it is simple and saves a ton of time without having to unfold your map every time you want to make a map check. Fold it down to where it fits perfectly in your map case so that only the part you are traveling shows, it simplifies your task immeasurably. This way every time you make a quick check of the map, only where you are and where you are going next is visible.
A technique that many orienteers use while navigating is what they call thumbing. I’ve talked to some and what they do is to keep their thumb on the spot on the map where they are and it speeds in finding where you are while walking and doing a quick map check. The thought being as you walk along you move your thumb slightly forward to reduce the confusion of scanning for your location on the map, especially in the dark.
Navigating Techniques – So, you’ve plotted your starting location, your first point that you’re looking for. You’ve folded the map and placed it and your protractor carefully inside your map case. The next thing you must do orient the map into the direction that you are traveling. Now the terrain is laid out exactly the way it is in front of you.
Weapon tied down? Check. Compass tied down and easily accessible? Check. You should have a red lens flashlight a notebook that will allow you to write in it, even if it is wet in your pocket or map case. Ensure you have all of your gear and do a quick check of the area before you leave and don’t forget anything.
Pull out the compass and take a quick reading. If you can see far enough in the distance, do the cheek hold method where the notch is the rear sight, and the wire is the front sight. Pick out a point as far in the distance as you can and get to it as quickly as you can.
If you’re following a basic azimuth, rotate your bezel ring so that your North seeking arrow aligns with the bubble. So, say if you are traveling on an azimuth of 65 degrees, your North seeking arrow will be in the approximate 10 o’clock position, rotate the bezel ring so the bubble aligns with the North seeking arrow and it is a quick way to keep on your azimuth, especially in the dark. Also, remember that each click in the bezel ring is three degrees.
Remember, to read the red ring which is in degrees and not the black which is in mils.
Trust your map, pace count, and your azimuth as you move out on the course. During the practical exercises in the course, you’ll notice you’ll veer a bit in the dark. Everyone’s perception changes during hours of darkness and it will vary.
As you encounter ways around the draws, you’ll no doubt see where others have tread before you and those well-worn paths are a good indicator that this is the best spot to cross a draw…if you must. But the best rule of thumb for the course is to veer around them if at all possible. But if you do cross one, make sure you check your compass every 20-25 paces. It is so easy to get turned around in those, don’t let it happen to you.
In SFAS an instructor will be present at your points but you’ll no doubt come across green engineer stakes with a dog tag on them. If you do, do yourself a favor and stop and check them out. These are an eight-digit grid coordinate that is built in GPS. There’s no better way to check your location.
Don’t talk to other students. Don’t be a road runner. Nothing will get you in hot water faster than doing those things.
When crossing the roads, the rule of thumb is at a 90-degree angle….and they’ll be watching.
Take advantage of the practical exercises and learn the terrain and the area as best you can. Do try to do the minimum, it will cost you in the end. Talk with other candidates AFTER the course is complete every day and share notes and experiences about what you find on the course. It will come in handy. It is no different than doing a debrief of another unit when planning a mission.
Get used to moving at night and make night movement a breeze. It will serve you well once you get in one of the operational Groups.
Move with a purpose but never out of control. Land Nav is like Selection is to a smaller extent. It can be a lot more difficult if you’re not using your head. Think everything thru and don’t let doubt creep in. Your training will get you thru this. Thousands of students have done it before you and you can too.
You get familiar with a bunch of landmarks out there on the course. I researched thru several social media pages and made note of what different people mentioned. Many of the names remain from my time.
Five Points
Puppy Palace
Lake Baggett
Bones Fork Creek
3 Wire Road…and some new names
Jurassic Park
Scuba Road
Dagobah (I don’t know who named this area in the north, but he deserves an impact award) My personal favorite.
Photo courtesy of DOD
Today is a gym day, if you’re one of those unfortunate souls who lives in the Northeast, you may have to shovel out from two feet of wet, heavy snow. In which case that may be all the work out you’ll get today as most everything is shut down.
For the rest…hit the weights today and get some running in.
Training:
More Preparation for the UBRR:
Run 5 miles (record your time) “Do the best you can.” Get used to hearing that.
Then, head into the gym:
3 x Front Squat 10 reps (heavy but doable weight)
3 x Goblet Squats 10 reps (heavy dumbbell)
3 x 10 Pull-ups
3 x 10 reps Standing Arnold Press
25 x Push ups
30 x “V”ups
Stretch well after completion
Monday is Fun-day! Special Operations Selection is not easy and demands a lot of upper body strength and stamina. Let’s get the week off to a good start.
Training:
More Preparation for the UBRR:
Warm Up – 3 x 25 meter shuttle run
Stretch well after completion
So, you’ve volunteered to be in Special Forces and you’re getting ready to go to SFAS. This is the time to prepare yourself for the grind that is to come. There are certain tips, such as the PT program which will help you attain the level of physical fitness that you’ll need to not just pass the course but to excel where the course isn’t as tough as you’ll see other people struggling.
Now, we get to the elephant in the room, the Land Navigation course and many students fail at either SFAS or the SFQC because they failed the land navigation course. The course is tough, it is the toughest individual land navigation course you’ll find in the US military.
In previous segments, we touched on Map reading and the importance of your pace count. Now we’ll move on to the next step in finding your way around Hoffman. That begins with orienting your map and then plotting your start point on the course.
Prior to Starting Out:
Orienting the Map – This makes map reading and using the available terrain features much easier to read. What does it mean to have the map oriented? The schoolbook answer is: A map is oriented when it is in a horizontal position with its north and south corresponding to the north and south on the ground. In layman’s terms, it means when you’re holding the map in front of you, the terrain matches up exactly as it is shown on the map.
It makes it much harder to try to read your terrain features upside down or sideways. If you are using an Army lensatic compass, remember that a compass measures magnetic North. So, don’t forget your declination diagram which is located on your marginal information at the bottom of your map. Most military issue maps take the guesswork right out of it and tell you how to convert the declination of azimuths from grid to magnetic and from magnetic to grid next to the declination diagram.
It sounds simple but many people mess this up and start off on the wrong foot. Don’t be Ned the Navigator. Take your time and do it right the first time.
With the map in a horizontal position, take the straightedge on the left side of the compass and place it alongside the north-south grid line with the cover of the compass pointing toward the top of the map. This procedure places the fixed black index line of the compass parallel to north-south grid lines of the map.
Keeping the compass aligned as we said in the last paragraph, rotate the map and compass together until the magnetic arrow is below the fixed black index line on the compass. You’re close but not there yet!
Now rotate the map and compass in the direction of the declination diagram.
If the magnetic north arrow on the map is to the left of the grid north, check the compass reading to see if it equals the G-M angle (if memory serves me well it is 8 degrees for the Hoffman area) given in the declination diagram. Voila! The map is now oriented. Take your time and try to pick out the terrain features as they lay out in front of you. Just be advised, in the Hoffman area, the terrain features aren’t as distinct and are a bit harder to distinguish.
In certain areas, you’ll be able to orient your map using terrain features. And when the terrain allows, it is quicker and easier to navigate using the available terrain. If you’ve ever navigated in the mountains, you’ll find this is much easier and you’ll find that this way is much more preferable than dead reckoning. And it definitely comes in handy when having to call for fire in a jiffy…(that is for another time perhaps)
Creating a Start Point – Now the map is oriented in the direction that you’re going to be walking and the next thing is you must create a starting location. The starting point is where you are standing at. Now pull out your handy, dandy Army protractor. But wait.
Don’t lose your protractor, always keep it secured inside your map case until you need it and ensure it is in there before taking off and hitting your points, especially at night! Nothing worse than losing a protractor during land navigation. While you can get by without one, it makes things unnecessarily much harder. So, take the few seconds to check.
Now read the grid lines to the right and up and make sure that you’re using the 1/50,000 scale for the map, which is in the upper right corner of the protractor. That will automatically ensure that the protractor is facing the right way and isn’t flipped over.
Remember a four-digit grid, gets you to within the grid square or 1000 meters. A six-digit grid to within 100 meters and an eight-digit grid gets you within 10 meters. A good rule of thumb to remember is to forget about where the plastic is cut out of the protractor. Always align the 0’s and check it twice. Ensure you plot it twice to get the exact spot.
Now we have a starting point, and the next time out we’ll look at plotting and plan a route.
Photo courtesy DOD
Training:
Continue to prep for the UBRR:
Rest one minute between sets, shoot for the maximum each time.
So, you’ve volunteered to be in Special Forces and you’re getting ready to go to SFAS. This is the time to prepare yourself for the grind that is to come. There are certain tips, such as the PT program which will help you attain the level of physical fitness that you’ll need to not just pass the course but to excel where the course isn’t as tough as you’ll see other people struggling.
We’ll break this up into different parts and the first and most important is your feet. You’ll hear this 100 times from 100 different people and although you may get different advice, this much is true: Your feet are your lifeline in Special Forces. Take care of them and they’ll take care of you. Next to your brain, your feet are the most important part of your body when taking on the grind of SFAS, the SFQC and your career in the Regiment.
For troops who are coming from a light infantry, airborne or the Ranger Regiment, they’ll already know all these tips and if you have any of those guys in your unit, seek them out for advice.
Boots: This area is self-explanatory, boots are very important. Forget about the high-speed Merrells, Vasques, et al until you get to an A-team. Find two pair of boots that were issued to you via CIF and break them in like you would a baseball glove. You probably won’t be allowed to wear them anyway. Walk everywhere in them until they feel like an extension of your leg.
Why two pairs? There’s nothing worse than having a well-worn pair of boots blow out just before you have a long-range movement or a ruck march for time. Then you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Especially if your feet are getting wet daily. At least you can change them out daily, stuff the wet ones with newspaper or paper towels and allow them to dry out.
During one February class when I worked at SFAS, we had heavy rain for nearly the entire course. The students’ feet looked like hamburger because they were wet all the time and still having to deal with the various runs, ruck marches, and movements during the course.
The key for proper fitting boots is ensuring that the boot’s heel sits tightly to the rear of the foot, while giving the toes some wiggle room up front. If your foot is sliding around too much, either front to back or side to side, you’ll have friction, which leads to blisters. If your boots are too tight, your toes will be curled up inside and that is a blister waiting to happen. Some people advise buying boots a half-size too large because your feet will swell on a long-range ruck march. I wouldn’t recommend that at all.
Prepping the Dogs: Some guys spray their feet with antiperspirant which is supposed to stop the sweating which is the cause of blisters. I was never a big believer in this. However, if your feet sweat profusely, then by all means, try it during your prep phase to see if it works for you.
Other guys, I’ve seen use Vaseline or some type of oil or cream to reduce friction. Again, it isn’t something I’d recommend.
The best way is to use just a small amount of Gold Bond powder on your feet and in your socks before going on a ruck march. Not too much, like anything else if you put half a tin in your socks, it will clump up and create just as many problems.
It cuts down on friction which creates blisters. I’d recommend putting some around your crotch as well. If you get rubbed raw “down south” it isn’t pleasant walking for miles that way.
Socks: The best way to approach this is, is to know what cause blisters. Heat, friction, and moisture. Initially, get a good pair of tightly fit synthetic socks that will wick the moisture away from your feet. Turn them inside out so that the stitching inside won’t rub your toes and create hot spots.
The thick issue Army wool socks go over the inner layer of socks and again inside out to prevent the stitching from creating hot spots. The second sock reduces the friction and absorbs the moisture from the inner sock while cushioning your foot inside the boot.
This was explained to me once by someone smarter than me that the friction will occur between the layers of socks rather than between the socks and your feet.
Start Slowly: So, you’ve got your boots and socks on, work your way up to a speed march and distance gradually. Start by just wearing them around the house or your unit and getting used to your own system.
One other thing about wearing your boots and socks for distance rucking. Some guys lace their boots in different ways. Whenever we had a 20 miler to do in Group, I always skipped the eyelet right smack in the middle of my favorite jungle boots. That was where the bend in the top of the foot was and always seemed to be a sore spot. You’ll probably find something similar….whatever works.
Start with small distances and gradually increase the distance and speed in which you walk. Take the time during your prep work to note where you feel hot spots and/or blisters. Once you figure out what works for you, you’ll be ready to start putting some miles on your feet, hopefully, pain-free.
Next time…blisters, everyone gets them and we’ll look at the best ways of treating them.
Photo courtesy of US AF