Has anyone taken this before?

I have just gotten a seat and am pretty excited about going.

NO! But I would like to go. Have fun dude and tell us how it was.

My roomate went and from my understanding its pretty sweet if you go through the whole thing and not the condensed course.

Yeah I am doing the full 2 week version.

My friend did the condensed version at TBS...it was like a single day of classes.

Just got back. This course was amazing. The sentiment among the class was unanimous, that this should become required training for all combat arms Marines headed to Centcom AO. Our training cadre from SOI-East AITB was absolute top notch. The two main instructors were Force Reconnaissance and the other subjects were taught by civilian law enforcement SME's. They cover observation, combat tracking, and combat profiling in the course. For obs you learn how to spot things hiding in plain sight, which after all is where the most dangerous things usually are. It is pretty humbling to be staring through a pair of 8x binos and watch an instructor walk over to the treeline and put an AK in the bushes that immediately disappears from your view unless you know exactly how to observe for it.

With tracking we learned how to stalk people over terrain, it was good stuff. For the final exercise the instructors got a 15 minute head start and we had to track them for 4-5 miles with nothing besides their initial footprint to go off of. Profiling was excellent as well, you learn to analyze human behavior and body language which can reveal things such as who the HVI/HVT's are, who you want to keep an eye on, etc. For the final exercise they threw us in MOUT town with a squad size maneuver element patrolling through reacting to IED's and snipers while also having to pursue the target HVI, while your other element provided real-time intel and guidance from a town OP using their optics.

The bottom line of the course was hammering unorthodox thinking, tactical patience, and independent-minded initative at the small-unit leader level. Part of that came from the cadre, Force guys are inculcated in that mindset of being independent operators already. But for this war it is a sorely needed lesson. This course trains Marines to quickly and decisively analyze large amounts of human and terrain data, draw a conclusion, and take the initiative to act first against the enemy. That is exactly what we need more of, not more Pfc's who wait for their team leaders to tell them to go somewhere then take a knee and scan their sectors like a robot. The instructors made a very valid point that so much of our training from the Iraq war has been reactive in nature: how to react to an IED, how to react to a sniper, how to react to an ambush, etc. The goal is to be proactive, "left of bang", and hit first inside your opponent's OODA loop before he forces you to alter yours.

I unequivocally recommend this course to any and all infantry unit leaders. If you get the chance to go, grab it immediately. There are only a handful of training cadres for the entire country and 40-50 students is about all they can do per class so seats are at a premium. ISLC or Mountain Leader can wait, this training is absolutely top notch.

And this material is not something you Devils haven't already learned the hard way and taught yourselves after six years of war??? And you go to a class to learn it??? Here are some real life saving tips from the three previous long drawn out wars. Welcome to warfare in the open.

What you're describing is known as "seizing the initiative" where you force Hostile to react to your constantly changing tactics. This keeps him off balance and he can't dial you in because your patterns always change so he's constantly readjusting thus he can't truly regroup like he wants to.

THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX! Throw away the book as the Enemy has already read it and knows what you're all about. It's known as "improvise, adapt and overcome."

SCAN EVERYTHING SLOWLY. Look for the unexpected and anything that looks out of place. Man made objects have smooth lines which are inconsistent with natural things and vice versa. By the same token anything that looks too natural is highly suspect because it's probably camoflague.

LISTEN INTENTLY.

Anything out of place will stick out big time. If it's quiet a predator is in your zone and if it's noisy the animals are living their normal life. When it's real quiet then detail the man with the best ears to close his eyes and listen for anything out of the ordinary and if it's there he'll hear it.

CHECK THEIR EYES, HANDS AND FEET.

Their eyes will always give them away one way or another. If they're defiant you've got a hostile. If they're shifty the sucker is up to something and it ain't good for you. He's hiding something so lean forward violating his body space, stare deep into his eyes and slightly move the muzzle of your weapon towards him as you use more forceful tones as you jam him with questions. If he acts fearful he's hiding something. If he's angry you've either got a civilian not wanting to be messed with or a hostile/sympatheiser who obviously hates you. If he's docile with a tired blank look you've got a screwed over civilian who just wants no piece of any of it. You'll know for sure either way so don't second guess your instincts as they won't let you down.

Check their hands because soldiers have different callouses as civilians. You'll know by the way they look in comparison to all the legit farmers you've been checking in your AO.

Check their feet big time. Just as in checking their hands, if their callouses don't match up to the farmers in your area you know they're from somewhere else so you jam them accordingly.

LEARN YOUR ENEMY AND THEIR AO, NOT JUST YOUR AO BUT THEIR'S too!

Whatever they're cultural mindset is, that's how they're going to fight you. If they're clannish the locals will hide them out of cultural duty. If they're outsiders the locals will hide them out of fear which becomes a dead giveaway. So if the village elders or leaders seem too smooth you automatically know it's cultural because they've had a lot of practice in hiding their own so it's ingrained into their social thinking.

TEACH EACHOTHER HOW TO TRACK.

You've got Native Americans and Country Boys who can pretty much track anyone on any terrain. Have them teach the rest of you and then supervise as you actually use the skills in the field. Within a brief period of time everyone will come up to speed because your very lives depend on it and you all know it.

Play to your strengths and never put a squad member with weak skills in any area where those skills are critical. Everyone brings something to the unit so apply your individual talents where they'll best serve you all.

Everything you just read was exactly how we from the Vietnam Era learned it from the Korean Era who in turn learned it from the World War II Era. It's the way we executed our wars so I'm totally surprised you all have to go to a class to learn what every PFC was taught in their unit as soon as they joined it. Wow.

No harm no foul Brothers as none of us fought in cities for any length of time so it's all a learning experience. Stay safe and keep doing the great jobs you're all doing out there. We're with you every step of the way.

According to the instructors, the course originated from the top with Gen.Mattis after he saw the Juba sniper videos. The intent was to train Marines to be the hunter and not the hunted. The Marine Corps has tried to pound "take initiative" for a while now but for the average lance corporal on the ground this never translates to much more than "Attack first!" or "Set an ambush first instead of getting ambushed" or "Volunteer for working parties!". This course teaches three critical skills that complement each other and a Marine's warfighting skills to allow him to act first before the enemy can do the same.

As far as I know, this type of formal instruction on observation has until now been given only for snipers and recon types. Tracking is basically a lost art. I am sure Marines have learned to profile human behavior but formal instruction on it has been nonexistent. This was actually a personal point on behalf of our instructors from Force, they stated their displeasure at the status quo where units such as theirs got all the high speed gear and training when the infantrymen who could really use it are not afforded the same instruction or equipment.

Wow Funky, that's telling it like it is from someone who's "been there done that" now so all I can do is support you in anyway that I can Brother.

It's really tragic how you young Marines have to relearn hard learned bitter lessons from the past. The more things change, the more they stay the same. We old guys are here if you ever need us or want to pick our brains.

Whatever it takes to support you, we're in.

In regards to the combat hunters course, It sounds like it might be a good thing. I have a nephew at 29 stumps and am not sure if he has went tru it. I recieved my combat hunter training from my Dad and grandpa growing up hunting since I was old enough to pull the trigger. Then the Corps tied up the loose ends. Intense training is a proven indicator of success but a bullet never lies. Semper Fi.