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A whole case for one post??? You can have one when you cross the finish line! ;-)Originally Posted by 20xclean
Other than that, the plan sounds great. "Not hurting myself" is often overlooked and should always be the first goal. It's not uncommon for people to overtrain, get injured, and then miss the event all together. That is NOT what we are goong for!
See you soon -
Member
This year I'm going to try to tell a little bit more about the men we honor with each stage. Please do take the time to read about them. Tell your friends about them. Say their names out loud and remember them well.
Stage 1 of the 5k (and night matches) honors MSG Anthony R. C. Yost. In this stage: Search a building for insurgents in Mosul, Iraq. React to contact and neutralize the threats. (18Z – Operations SGT)
Silver Star: Awarded For Actions During Global War on Terror
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/3876
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Master Sergeant Anthony Ray Charles Yost, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with 3d Battalion, 3d Special Forces Group (Airborne), while assigned to Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 381 (ODA-381), 3d Battalion, 3d Special Forces Group (Airborne), FOB 51, Mosul, Iraq, during combat operations in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, on 19 November 2005, at Mosul, Iraq. Master Sergeant Yost's personal bravery and selfless actions are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
NARRATIVE TO ACCOMPANY AWARD: Master Sergeant Anthony Ray Charles Yost distinguished himself exceptionally valorous conduct while engaged in combat operations against enemies of the United States during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, 3d Battalion, 3d Special Forces Group (Airborne), while assigned to Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 381 (ODA-381), FOB 51, Mosul, Iraq. In the early morning hours of 19 November 2005, while serving as the Detachment Operations Sergeant, Master Sergeant Yost was called into action to respond to distress calls from elements of the Iraqi Police Service and 2-1 Infantry, 172d Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) that were engaged in a furious battle with heavily armed insurgents in northeastern Mosul. In a dense urban area against determined opposition, the Iraqi Police (IP) had suffered four KIA and many more wounded while the U.S. infantry had already suffered 11 wounded, two of whom would later die of wounds. Master Sergeant Yost responded to their urgent calls for assistance by rapidly assembling his detachment and elements from the 2d Iraqi Army Division that had been trained and advised by SFODA 381. After organizing this response force and moving to the objective area, Master Sergeant Yost was informed that U.S. infantry had been engaged from multiple locations and were unable to secure and clear the house. Even rocket fire from U.S. helicopters had been unable to dislodge this determined enemy force. Without regard for his own safety, Master Sergeant Yost volunteered to lead an assault to secure the house. He quickly assembled a group of Special Forces and IA soldiers, and led them into the target house where they were rapidly engaged by insurgents, both inside as well as outside of the house. As the firefight raged, Master Sergeant Yost, accompanied by a squad of Iraqi Army Soldiers, fearlessly moved forward and entered the enemy stronghold. Once inside the house, Master Sergeant Yost led his Iraqi Soldiers on a room to room search, once again with total disregard for his own safety, and eliminated the insurgents inside the house. As he was consolidating his force, an enormous explosion from a hidden demolition charge engulfed the house, instantly reducing most of it to rubble and fatally wounding Master Sergeant Yost and several of the Iraqi Soldiers accompanying him. The corpses of seven insurgents were recovered from the rubble of the house as well as a cache containing explosives, mines, remote detonating devices, and a scoped rifle. Master Sergeant Yost died leading a group of Iraqi soldiers from the front, soldiers that he had trained. Rather than simply have the Iraqi Army unilaterally clear the house, Master Sergeant Yost voluntarily and audaciously led the assault element, going far above and beyond what was required of him as a combat advisor. Master Sergeant Yost's exceptional courage and leadership inspired the inexperienced Iraqi soldiers to follow him and assault a determined enemy that had already inflicted significant casualties on friendly forces, despite the immediate danger they faced. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, the Command, Special Operations Command Central, and the United States Army.
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Stage 2 (5k) or 4 (10k): SFC Eugene Ashley, Jr.
In this stage: React to a machine gun attack, assault 5 different positions while dealing with high explosives, illuminating the sky with mortar rounds, and calling in airstrikes to free the Lang Vei Special Forces camp and rescue your teammates. (18F – Intelligence SGT)
Congressional Medal Of Honor Citation
https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/eugene-ashley-jr
SFC Ashley distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with Detachment A-101, Company C. Sfc. Ashley was the senior Special Forces Advisor of a hastily organized assault force whose mission was to rescue entrapped U.S. Special Forces advisers at Camp Lang Vei. During the initial attack on the Special Forces camp by North Vietnamese Army forces, Sfc. Ashley supported the camp with high-explosive and illumination mortar rounds. When communications were lost with the main camp, he assumed the additional responsibility of directing air strikes and artillery support. Sfc. Ashley organized and equipped a small assault force composed of local friendly personnel. During the ensuing battle, Sfc. Ashley led a total of five vigorous assaults against the enemy, continuously exposing himself to a voluminous hail of enemy grenades, machine gun and automatic-weapons fire. Throughout these assaults, he was plagued by numerous boobytrapped satchel charges in all bunkers on his avenue of approach. During his fifth and final assault, he adjusted air strikes nearly on top of his assault element, forcing the enemy to withdraw and resulting in friendly control of the summit of the hill. While exposing himself to intense enemy fire, he was seriously wounded by machine-gun fire but continued his mission without regard for his personal safety. After the fifth assault he lost consciousness and was carried from the summit by his comrades only to suffer a fatal wound when an enemy artillery round landed in the area. Sfc. Ashley displayed extraordinary heroism in risking his life in an attempt to save the lives of his entrapped comrades and commanding officer. His total disregard for his personal safety while exposed to enemy observation and automatic-weapons fire was an inspiration to all men committed to the assault. The resolute valor with which he led five gallant charges placed critical diversionary pressure on the attacking enemy and his valiant efforts carved a channel in the overpowering enemy forces and weapons positions through which the survivors of Camp Lang Vei eventually escaped to freedom. SFC. Ashley's bravery at the cost of his life was in the highest traditions of the military service, and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
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Stage 3 (5k) or 5 (10k): SGM Michael B. Stack
In this stage: React to a convoy attack near Baghdad, Iraq. Assault the enemy position, evacuate casualties, and reinforce your position before a counterattack.
Silver Star: Awarded For Actions During Global War on Terror
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/29117
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Sergeant Major Michael Boyd Stack, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as Company Sergeant Major with Company C, 2d Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), during combat operations in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, near Baghdad, Iraq, on 11 April 2004. On that date, Sergeant Major Sack's Special Forces team was traveling from Baghdad to Al Hillah, Iraq, when they came under enemy fire. His vehicle was pulling rear security for the convoy and Sergeant Major Stack immediately began to fire upon the enemy so that the others in the kill zone could escape from the hail of enemy fire. He then led a security force into the kill zone to eliminate the remaining threat and allow for the safe evacuation of casualties. After the casualties were evacuated, Sergeant Major Stack began preparation for a counterattack on the enemy position. He manned a .50 caliber machine gun to cover the elements movement toward the enemy position but, because of a damaged vehicle, the counterattack was abandoned, so Sergeant Major Stack directed a link-up with a nearby quick reaction Force and returned to Forward Operation Base 52 to refit. Knowing that the element was in danger of being attacked, he began leading the soldiers in reinforcing their position. That night, as their convoy moved toward Al Hillah, the Special Forces element was ambushed several times from several directions by a high volume of enemy fire in a multiple-kilometer kill zone. In the midst of the ambush, Sergeant Major Stack remained calm and continued to direct fire upon the enemy while keeping control of his element and allowing other vehicles to maneuver to covered and concealed positions. After seeing Sergeant Major Stack's actions, which helped to lead the Special Forces element out of the kill zone, the enemy began to concentrate fire on his vehicle. An explosion killed him instantly. Sergeant Major Stack's personal sacrifice and courage allowed the remainder of the attack t fight its way out of the ambush and ultimately, to survive the attack. His intrepid actions, at the cost of his life, exemplified the highest traditions of the military forces and reflects great credit upon himself, the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), and the United States Army.
Member
What an outstanding event. Great route, challenging course of fire. ROs and staff we’re top notch. Deadzero had everything on point. If anything wasn’t smooth as silk I couldn’t see it from a competitor standpoint. One of my top two favorite events of the year again this year.
Very nice to include the dog tags. Tim spent about an hours talking about the three men he knew. Not necessarily the events that led to them falling but the men themselves and some of the times he had with them. Very special to get him to open up like that.
Thank you, Matt.
Chris
Last edited by 20xclean; 09-13-22 at 12:29. Reason: Spelling
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If you haven't seen them already, scores from the day matches are posted here:
5k: https://practiscore.com/results/html...f-a77e86ea6245
10k: https://practiscore.com/results/html...f-4ad7bafc1266
Ellis is old-school, so scores for the night matches were emailed out to all competitors.
Pictures from Friday (Staff & VIP run day) are up at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lstenn...77720302120383 Lisa has over 3,000 pictures to go through, so it'll take some time before she publishes the rest. Shortly after those get out I'll get the official match video done and published.
Thank you so much to everyone who participated!
Member
Thank you, sir! I'm glad this got him talking and sharing about those guys - that is EXACTLY the point. Thanks for bringing him out!
Member
From Lisa:
Legion Memorial Run N Gun photos for Friday and Saturday are up. Sunday pictures are in the works and should be up soon. Feel free to share pics with friends and family. Any other uses of these photos must have permissions and photo credits. Leave the watermark, it's a small thing to ask. These albums are best viewed and downloaded from a desktop or laptop, devices can be problematic.
**Edited to add: I had some difficulties with some internal settings in one camera and this has led to the photos being a bit jumbled between days. 95% of you will find your photos in the correct album. The other 5% are going to have to look around a bit. I tried to sort this out as best I could, but at this point - it is what it is. My apologies.
Saturday pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lstenn...77720302204432
Friday pics: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lstenn...77720302120383 (many have been added since first posting)
Last edited by Matt in TN; 09-19-22 at 10:52.
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AAR
Legion Memorial Run-n-Gun
9/11/22
Dead Zero Shooting Park
Spencer, TN
This is my sixth R-n-G event, and my first Legion. The main sponsor of this event is the Special Forces Association Chapter 38. Other sponsors include Alan’s Arsenal, Spike’s Tactical, Night Force, Magpul, and a whole host of others. A big THANK YOU goes out to the sponsors, Match Director Matt Stennett, the staff of Dead Zero, and all the RO’s and other helpers along the way. The entire process from sign up to the finish line went just as smooth as silk.
I really dig the RnG, get wet & dirty, crawl under shit/climb over shit mindset, because it gives a more strenuous test of mind and gear than does any other competitive shooting event. I won’t say much about the stages here on M4C, because you can read about them all above. Suffice it to say that all shooting stages were safe, fun and challenging. RO's were helpful and professional. One can do things at a RnG event that very few people get a chance to do…shoot from a vehicle, from an elevated position, from a muddy pond, (I hope that was just mud,) or from a creek that wants to suck your shoes off. There’s more, but this AAR is going to be long as it is….
My gear was the same as usual. Rifle is a BCM 14.5” with a NF 1-8 ATACR in a NF Ultralight 1.5” one-piece mount, completely stock except for the Giessle SD-C trigger/hammer/springs. I also used a Vickers/Blue Force Gear quick-adjustable sling…but more on trigger & sling later. My pistol is a stock G19 Gen 5 MOS with a Forward Controls Design plate mounting a Trijicon RMR CC, Safariland 6354DO ALS Red Dot Holster, on an Emdom belt. On my belt are two, Emdom pistol mag holders and about a 20-year old unknown mfg plastic rifle mag holder. Chest rig is an old Eagle Industries. Backpack is a generic cheapo, but it only carries a couple water bottles, extra mags and a snickers bar.
I had eight failures to fire out of 172 rifle shots. Since each occurred in the midst of a stage of fire, I quickly did remedial action and kept going. I found only three of those eight errant rounds, and each had a light hit on the primer. I use my own reloads, and I’m super-anal-retentive with my match ammo. Most every RnG has long rifle shots, so with that in mind I use 77 grain Sierra Match King bullets. I sort all the brass and use only known once-fired Lake City, I trim it after sizing, and individually weigh about 15% of powder charges even though I use the Dillon powder check die 100% of the time. I individually measure for overall length another 15-20%. I carefully inspect every round before loading. In my prep for this match (including the Guardian last month,) I shot about 400 rounds from this lot; and a LOT more with my generic 55-grain load, with zero issues.
However, rifle and magazines were dirty AF, from about 6 barbed-wire fences that runners had to crawl under in the mud, and one exceptionally muddy pond. (I tell myself it was just mud in that water, despite the plethora of cow-chips all around…) I like the Giessle trigger and will probably put it in a different rifle, but I think the gun was simply to dirty for a fancy-pants trigger. After the match I switched back to the original BCM factory trigger and have shot it out to 300 yards, with the same lot of 77’s, with no noticeable effect on accuracy. I have high hopes to see what happens in regards to reliability.
I’ve used the Vickers/BFG QA sling for all RnG’s so far, but have never been happy with it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s anything less than top-quality, it’s just not “quick-adjustable enough” for me. No matter how I adjusted the non-QA portion, the sling was either to loose when tightened up, or to tight when loose. A comparison of Vickers vs. Viking Tactics showed the VTAC is significantly longer than the Vickers, and the VTAC has about 17” of additional “quick” adjustability. I swapped out the Vickers in favor of the VTAC, and have had one full day of training with it. With rifle plates and backpack, I can easily tighten the VTAC sling tight enough to run (OK, walk fast…) without it bouncing around, and can loosen it enough to shoot without having to shrug out of it. Since the VTAC is a lot longer overall, there may be a price to pay with all that extra sling trailing around and perhaps getting caught up in the weeds, but the VTAC has found a home at least through my next RnG.
Pistol ran 100% with my reloads…mixed brass, RMR 124 grain JHP’s and 3.8 grains of Clays.
10K runners…and run/walkers…had a minimum of 80 rifle hits and 60 pistol hits. (Oh, and for that matter, only in the RnG world does “10K” = 7.3 miles. That’s some funky RnG MD math but not unique to the Legion.)
I’ve worked a few of these and have seen folks run out of ammo….but not necessarily because they shot it all up. Sometimes the mud/woods/gremlins have a way of making entire mags disappear and now suddenly you’re Winchester on ammo. That sucks. I don’t want to run out so I carried 8 rifle mags and 8 pistol mags. I shot 172 rifle rounds and 75 pistol rounds.
A unique thing abut the Legion is the close association with the military, especially the Army Special Forces. The Special Forces Association provided a dog tag for every fallen soldier in 5th Group History, including those from other branches who passed while attached to 5th Group, and every runner had the opportunity to pick one up and “run with” a fallen soldier. I ran with SFC Thomas L. Wadkins, who passed on September 27, 2010. He left behind a wife and two sons. I picked his dog tag at random, but when I saw the date he died, it struck me, as he passed on my wife’s birthday.
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Great AAR - thanks for coming!
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