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Old September 23, 2007, 12:49 PM   #1
Denny Hansen
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AAR: EAG Carbine Operators, Casa Grande, AZ

Last week daughter Ashleigh (19) and I attended an EAG Tactical Operator’s course in Casa Grande. Lead instructor was Pat Rogers assisted by Mike Hueser and Josh K.

I don’t train family members as I learned long ago that one has a tendency to be either too easy on them (causing to believe they are a gunfighter after a few trips to the range) or too hard on them making them lose interest. I only gave Ashleigh enough pre-training to ensure her gunhandling was safe. While I shot on the same relay as Ashleigh I did not shoot close to her, leaving all comments and instruction to the EAG crew.

Ashleigh ran her new pink Cavalry Arms carbine. I started by using one of Pat’s S&W AR-15’s, but after it proved to be a less than stellar performer I switched to my SLR-15. (Pat has three of the S&W carbines and after he has 5K rounds though each of them he plans to report his findings in S.W.A.T.)

Training Day 1 (TD-1) began with a lecture by Pat on safety, ballistics, the fighting stance, placement of equipment on the body, etc. The class of 22 students broke into two relays and we began by zeroing all rifles at 50 yards. Most students were good to go, but a few needed to make some adjustments. After that we went up close, around five yards or so, and fired controlled pairs, hammers and non-standard responses (NSRs, more than two rounds, up to as many as needed.) For the purposes of this class, an NSR, when called for, was seven rounds. This showed some folks for the first time how important the offset between the bore and sights/optics are with an AR-type carbine. After that we were shown and fired from braced kneeling, speed kneeling, double kneeling and squatting.

TD-2 started by zeroing again at 50 yards. A few mounts had loosened and adjustments were needed by a couple of shooters. We progressed with a drill I had never performed before which consisted of firing two rounds from prone, speed loading, and repeating the drill with every magazine on your body. This showed many students very quickly how important proper placement of gear is. We then went onto firing on multiple targets using “roadhouse rules” and box drills (including manipulating the carbine with only one hand). Dynamic movement and shooting on the move were also introduced.

TD-3 was a lot like TD-2, except we fired the MEU (SOC) drill twice; once for practice and once for score. The high point of the class for me may have been when Ashleigh scored higher than I did on the first run. The methodology of letting the pros train her was showing, and I was a proud papa despite good-natured ribbing by the rest of the class.

Other Observations:
WX conditions were hot—real hot. Temperatures most days hovered around 113 and hydrating was paramount. Mike Hueser did a stellar job of looking after the students and made sure there were no heat casualties. Josh K. did a great job of diagnosing problems and keeping students’ carbines running. Josh replaced an extractor that had lost its edge and an extractor spring that had gone flat in Ashleigh’s carbine. I did not observe any major problems with anyone’s carbines.

One student dropped out at the end of TD-2 because he could not take constructive criticism. Folks, that is the reason we attend training. Pat, Josh and Mike corrected some bad habits that had crept into my technique and I ended up the better for it. If you can’t take criticism and think you already know it all, save the money and buy a new “warrior” video game.

The above only begins to scratch the surface of the EAG Tactical Carbine Operators course. Ashleigh plans on writing an article on the class from a female’s perspective for an upcoming issue of S.W.A.T.

Many thanks to Pat, Josh and Mike, and to course host Chris Lapre.

(Pic is Ashleigh shooting on the move)

Denny
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Old September 25, 2007, 07:46 AM   #2
Pat Rogers
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Thanks for the kind words Denny. It was great shooting with you again, and of course great to meet Ashleigh.
That was our 4th class in 2 weeks- 2 military and two open, and of the 12 days on the range, 9 were in temps exceeding 100 degrees.
Whew!
The quality of the classes in AZ always seem to be better then in most other places- probably because of the fighting mindset within not only the cops but those civilians in the class.
The noteable exception being microsoft of course....
Looking forward to next March!
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Old September 25, 2007, 09:46 AM   #3
armoredman
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Mike Novack from Wilderness Tactical Products was asking me if I was going, since that's my back yard. Didn't even know about it. Looks/sounds like good fun and good training.
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Old September 25, 2007, 09:50 AM   #4
Pat Rogers
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Sorry that you missed it. We'll be back in CG and PHX in Mar 08 for 3 classes.
You'll need to look at forums other than this for training options. Someplace where zombies aren't the big draw
Try my website, Lightfighter, M4Carbine. Alumni or 10-8.
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Old September 25, 2007, 09:53 AM   #5
buzz_knox
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Quote:
One student dropped out at the end of TD-2 because he could not take constructive criticism. Folks, that is the reason we attend training.
Pat, that "constructive criticism" didn't involve postive reinforcement via the use of your binder, did it?
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Old September 25, 2007, 09:59 AM   #6
Pat Rogers
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Not hardly. He had all of the right gear and was very clean and neat, but also very soft and non aggressive. Nice guy.
After waiting for the 413th time for him not to be the last on line, last to be ready, last to reload, I stated that "Now you know how we feel when we are waiting on the help line".
We dubbed him microsoft, and he was offended.
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Old September 25, 2007, 11:59 AM   #7
Hard Ball
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It sounds like a good class.
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Old September 25, 2007, 12:29 PM   #8
Denny Hansen
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The gentleman (emphasis on gentle) in question shot to to me on "Relay 2." Truly a nice guy, but he could not get his brain wrapped around the TTPs given by the instructors.

Quote:
We dubbed him microsoft, and he was offended.
And I was a bit offended while shooting on the move to hear shots fired to my rear and feel muzzle blast on the back of my neck because he stopped to shoot and did not keep moving. Kudos to Pat for moving in quickly, taking control of MS's muzzle and stopping the drill.

(see, I told ya the AAR only scratched the surface)

Denny
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Old September 25, 2007, 01:30 PM   #9
Pat Rogers
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The ability to understand what is being taught, after listening to it and watching it, and then processing that information should not be taken lightly.

Apparently some are incapable of doing that..
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