This course was announced here https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=62317.
This AAR was also posted at FT&T.
I have just returned from a night fighting/night vision class taught by a Special Operator Senior Chief who goes by nickname Frogman. He is recently retired but continues to provide contribution that would not be discussed here, hence no name or initials will be mentioned. He is a SEAL with extensive combat experience, a Wounded Warrior, and a decorated hero.
Class was held in Surprize, AZ on local PD’s range, October 15-18, 2010. The range was rather basic, which was compensated, above and beyond by an excellent host. Mike, thanks again. As this was a night class, the host arranged a rather Spartan dinner - salad, BBQ chicken and steak, coffee, ice cream delivered right to the range… This will never be surpassed.
Here are the reasons I decided to pay $750 and drive 700 miles one way:
1. Very little low-light/no-light training is offered in general as many ranges have no-shoot-after-whatever-pm rules.
2. This was specifically night vision class with industry support – night visions and lasers were provided for those who didn’t have their own. This was huge as I have no experience with NOD and am reluctant to spend a ton of money on equipment I am not sure I need. As is, the content was absolutely new to me and presented a lot of theoretical and practical interest.
3. An ability to take a class from somebody who has recent combat experience should not be passed on, and it goes beyond TTPs.
As a frame of reference, I am a civilian with, in my opinion, intermediate level skills. In carbine, I have trained with LAV on couple of occasions, Farnam, Magpul, LMS, EAG.
TD/TN1 lasted 14 hours, from 2 pm till 4 am.
TN2 lasted from 3 pm till 10 pm, and that concluded night portion.
TD3 was 9 am-5 pm, with 90% of time spent on pistol.
Approximate round count 600 for rifle and 450 for pistol.
There were 14 or so students, all vetted and with extensive prior training and/or real life experiences.
Everybody was switched on and very safe. This was very important given additional stressors such as new equipment, disorientation at night etc. A few of us, me included, wore ballistic plates out of safety concerns, but, again, we had no issues.
Night vision loaners and lasers were provided by Frogman and TNVC.
Special thanks to industry professionals who gave their support and attended the class – J.B. from Grey Group, J.C. from TangoDown, J.H. from Crimson Trace.
When I write all my AARs I, on principle, do not disclose drills done during the class. I don’t believe this is my information to post. One thing I will mention were repetitive runs of different drills first done at daylight, then later – with white light, and finally under NOD. The drills were scored and scores compared, between shooters and “within a shooter” – between different conditions – very illustrative.
For this particular class, I would also not write any critique: Frogman stated at the very beginning that we were, in some sense, a test group, and few things will likely be polished. Hence, I don’t feel the critique is appropriate at this point; admittedly, I personally didn’t have much of any issues with class.
Observations:
1. No light messes you up. It is almost surreal to take an aim at static target and see it disappear just before you want to squeeze a trigger.
2. Badly set up night vision gear messes you up as equally as does no light. Spatial awareness went to hell on TN1 for me; with different setup it was much better on TN2.
3. Different lighting conditions changed how I perceived a dot on my Aimpoint (astigmatism here) and that led to change in zero.
4. Dust signature from prone at 100 yards led to no-shoot conditions for several seconds for all of us, almost irrespective of type of muzzle device. I regret of not having time to put a Battlecomp on to try it out.
5. Nobody wanted less powerful light. Light small setups like rifle-mounted handgun lights or Surefire G2 are all the rage now. After this experience, I would consider them a 50 yard lights, especially in prone when cone of light doesn’t spread. I actually shot few drills from kneeling rather than prone because of that. We were shooting at EAG targets that have a nice white background, and even then they were hard to see at 100; the steel torsos I shot almost guessing where they should be. I had a SF scout light, and I may consider finding stronger bulb. However, at ranges 50 and in, handgun lights and G2s on rifles were adequate.
6. Laser-aimed shooting 50 and out is noooot that easy at all.
7. On semi-romantic note, looking at skies with NOD really lets you see how many stars are out there.
Gear: there were no issues of any substance for the entire class, to the best of my knowledge. One Noveske had leaky gas carrier, and one Aimpoint lost a zero. My SCAR continues to run non-stop, and so does my BCM. Aimpoint worked as it was supposed to, so did Eotech. I continue to dig Mayflower low-pro carrier. There was a bunch of 1911s in class, and I am aware of only one malfunction.
I have no reference for comparison as I have never done a night vision class. The low-light portion of this class was far and beyond more extensive than any other low light training I’ve done, and night vision portion added another dimension. Below is a quote from one of students “Frogman taught a subject that is, outside of tier units, very, very hard to get”. Despite high cost, I have gotten my money worth.
I am grateful I had an opportunity to take this class. I thank Frogman for giving this class and Mike for hosting it.
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