GORUCK GVL FAD 2025

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Tuesday, Jul 22:

After the USPSA match, I did Glute and Pec PT v2 in 20:27, then JBF "Smooth is Fast" 20 min AMRAP with a 30#R with 5 rounds and 22 reps, then 90s each of plank with ruck, 6 min hold, dead hang.

I did a recovery ruck afterwards with 30# wearing MACV1s, ending after midnight.  I'm trying to fit in what I can before the weekend.

Wednesday, Jul 23:

I was in the Greenville area for work, so I was able to stop by my friend's place to help cut out the VTAC boards.

When I got back home, I did the JBF HH PT test with 45 pushups in 2 min, 84 situps in 2 min, and a 22:20 2-mile ruck with 30# wearing Salomon XA Comps.

Thursday, Jul 24:

Made the drive down to GVL.  Picked up a friend from the airport.  Stopped by a Publix near where I used to live for about 7 years.  It felt so weird being back there again.

GORUCK PISTOL ASI

I got to be battle buddies with a friend who I was helping advice-wise on how to get started in shooting, which was awesome.

We started with triple bull, all at 10yd with 3x10, but with 20s, 10s, and 5s time hacks.  I got 269, and the goal was 270.

We did cadence drills with 3x10 with a focus on trigger resets at 3yd onto what would be our event patch.

Slow aim fire at 3yd on a 1-in square with 3x5 with reloads on our own.

3yd turn and shoot on a 1" circle with 3x5.

4x5 one-handed (both, right, left, your choice at 3yd.

3yd chase the bullet with 10 rounds

10rd of a variation of Scott's drill to practice reloads (insert a spare mag to get slide lock)

4x6 Bill Drill from 10yd

2x Bill Drill with a 5s goal (got it, at least on their larger target)

2x El Pres with a 10s goal - I had one drop each time.  I was slow on the mag change since it didn't auto-reload

4x5 VTAC standing, crouching, kneeling, prone (I was clean until I went to prone then somehow missed everything, maybe high right at 25yd... need to figure that out)

Stress shoot:

- 6x50# sandball to shoulder

- 6x35#KBS

- Shoot 6 standing from 25yd

- Carry a 60#SB up to the 10yd line and shoot 6 standing

- Carry the SB back to the 25yd and shoot 6 rounds double-kneeling on your butt.

Thing to remember: Thumb up when drawing to help invite the other hand in.

GORUCK NIGHT CAR THAT WAS JUST A NIGHT RIFLE

I got to be BBs with another friend who was just getting into competitive shooting, which was nice.  He was the one who helped me take some awesome pics at TTG.

People got a chance to zero if needed, but they got corrections from the instructors using glass to check the targets at 25yd to speed things up.

We did AltC 1.5x, since there was an issue with people knowing which target was theirs, we came to find out.  I barely got a 40/40.  

I did try bracing my left hand on my right shoulder this time, and it actually did feel more stable, but I switched back to putting my left hand on the handguard for the second mag (we had forced mag changes this time halfway through each series) out of familiarity, or maybe I had burned out the small muscles from the first go-around.

Afterwards, we got some tips on techniques.  The instructor wanted us to do AltC without extra guidance ahead of time, so that we could see the difference afterwards.

We did pistol with 4x5 with controlled pairs and target transitions plus trigger prep back on the first target, 4 rounds at a time.

3x5 standing, kneeling, standing with 1 mag/position.

4x5 from the chair, standing, kneeling, standing with controlled pairs on multiple targets.

4x5 with a light in 1 hand from the chest or out angled from standing, kneeling, standing, kneeling.

2x10 walk, stop shoot

2x 3x10R, 4x5P using rifle until dry, transition to pistol, then reset, with a reload of the pistol on the last go-around.

- 2x30R, 2x5P for walk to shoot

At night, tried some Bourbon.

GORUCK PSD

I had a new-to-me BB this time. 

We had classroom time where we learned about the different roles involved in PSD... 

- "Agent In Charge" within 1-arm's reach of the principle and off to the right and rear, whose job it is to get the principal off the X and be a wall between the threat and the principal, keeping them safe.  

- "Shift Leader" is the tactical organizer of everything and knows where the advance teams are and what the formation is doing

- "Driver" should understand the vehicle and its capabilities

- "Advance Team" builds rapport and gains as much control of the establishment as they can

I used my G19C with irons in the Eclipse holster for the first time with a hot gun for the first time during this class.  It was good to practice with it, make it less scary in my mind.

3x10 with single shot draws, then all at once, then cadence, at 3yd

3x10 cadence with faster trigger resets

3x10 the same but one-handed with the right foot back to start practicing for the zipper drill.

4x5 with the zipper drill but no second mag for more shooting.. just reholster after stepping back and prepping the trigger after the reload.

4x5 same as before but use the second mag after reload

I had trouble getting my glock mags to come out... I wonder if the polymer in the mag well is chewed up too much.

We practiced diamond formations with barrel plugs, responding to contact form the left, right, front, or rear.

We did that live a bunch of times, too.

TEAM TACTICS NIGHT

We had classroom time in a barn that was perfect for learning center-fed strong wall, center-fed points of domination, and corner-fed points of domination.  

We split up into troops 1 and 2 and practiced room clearing.

- #2 squeezes then releases #1's shoulder with non-dominant hand once the stack is ready to go
- Can either say "clear left / clear right / all clear" or go by the fact that all WMLs are off
- Process the room, living, dead, mark.
- #1 should have the gun trained on the door, stepped back a couple of feet to not have the gun exposed and get grabbed
- Make your first exposure into the room show you plus the gun simultaneously, because one without the other is useless
- You can go deliberate instead of dynamic if you're alone or don't want to give yourself away.  Pie as much as you can, with an offset away from the door
- Say "go deep" when you're ready to start processing the room

- Say "go long" if you are obstructed and need #2 to take 2 corners

- The benefit of #1 not doing the harder button-hook around the corner is that if there is a guy in the harder corner, he'll have to engage a moving target, and while he's distracted, #2 will come in and get him... I had never considered that before and had previously thought that #1 taking the harder corner since he had more info already was best

- Look over your sights, not through

- You can have the last man open and hold the door that opens towards our current position

- Use your light to methodically search the room for details, like a foot under the curtain

- Approaching a T-intersection in a hallway, when you feel uncomfortably close to the T, on the mutual dip, button-hook, shoot if necessary, then call out what you see

- Approaching an L-intersection, on the the dip from the guy staying close, the first guy who had been holding on the hallway can go to the opposite side with the dipper ready to take the near side

- You're only allowed to take 1 extra room before coming back to process the first room, and only do that if absolutely necessary

We did mission planning to figure out how how we'd get to a place where a captured pilot needed to be rescued.  We had the brief, rehearsals, execution, then AARs.

TDM

The classroom time for this one was eye-opening, hearing about a real use of force case and getting to talk to someone who went through it.  There was video footage, too, and we discovered how limiting that can be and how it can give false impressions or incomplete impressions of what happened.  Cops have such a tough job.

Typical inoculation drills and figuring out time vs distance and how hard it is to shoot properly under pressure and actually use sights...

Scenario 1: Meeting your friend at a playground, who's getting into an altercation with someone, and the friend won't let up.  I call the cops, since there seems to be no imminent threat.

Scenario 2: Cafe robbery, where I was unarmed.  I tried to act like myself as much as possible.

Scenario 3: House party with a stabbing... it was hard for me to tell what was going on, since everyone was masked up, and it was dark, and everyone was moving erratically.  People may not respond to being stabbed the way they would in real life, so I was stabbed myself after the whole room had already gotten stabbed, before I knew what was happening.  In real life, people would've screamed, went down, but maybe I would've thought that was normal house party stuff anyways.  In real life, I wouldn't go to a house party to begin with.

Scenario 4: Sister and fiance in a cafe, with a no-win situation.  The main point of this one was to see if you were aware enough to listen to the details of the convo they were having.  Almost nobody did, even though it was clear as day.  In the heat of the moment, I think we're more focused on reading body language, hands, etc.

4th USPSA Match

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Sunday, Jul 13:

Did 5 miles (2.5 each way) along the South Fork Catawba River with my parents in 2:21:31 with a 30#R wearing Garmont T8s.

Monday, Jul 14:

I signed up for a month of Joe Baker Fitness training to help me do more sandbag work ahead of the GORUCK SERE-themed double heavy.  I started with "Drunk on a Plane" with a 40#SB and a 30#R in 1:08:15 with a high HR in a warm garage.  Afterwards, I did 3 miles, but my watch only recorded 2, since I didn't start it properly.  I did the 2 recorded miels in 43:58 with a 30#RPC after changing out of soaked clothes, wearing Salomon XA comps.

Tuesday, Jul 15:

Glute and pec PT v1 in 23:44, JBF 125m zercher carry warmup with 2x20#DB and 30#RPC, then JBF "On/Off Switch" 25 min AMRAP with a 30#RPC with 4 rounds and 7 reps.  Then a 4mph paced treadmill ruck with a 30#RPC with 0.25 mi intervals at 2, 7, 12, 7, 2, 7, 12, 7 degrees of incline.

I chose one that I'd be able to do at my work gym, without having to use SBs, since those would get sand everywhere and be bothersome to take inside.

Wednesday, Jul 16:

Went to the airport overlook with my parents at sunset after work.

Thursday, Jul 17:

0.5 mi warmup, then 4x(0.25 @9mph, 0.25 @7.5mph) on a 2 degree incline treadmill with Brooks Pureflow after a light dinner, so I was still digesting and had a 171bpm ave HR, and I averaged 7:31/mi for 18:47.  

Then JBF "Here for the Party" BW workout in 14:26, then "Let Me Down Easy" 76ers  min AMRAP with 2 rounds and 16 reps, then I tried "Knee Strength Routine".  Afterwards, I did a 2 mile Pokemon cooldown in 44:37 with Ballistic Trainers around the office campus.

Friday, Jul 18:

Trust the Process & Day 25 - Love | BREATH yoga with Adriene.  Needed it today.  Stretching felt good!

Saturday, Jul 19:

Did JBF in the morning before going down to SC to prep a friend's range for upcoming GORUCK classes.  5x50m 40#SKB suitcase carry, then "Primer" 16 min EMOM, then "Clear Coat" 15 min AMRAP with a 40#SB, 30#R with 3 rounds, 7 reps, and lots of recovery time between exercises and 1 min OH holds.

After range prep, I did a mile with a 60#SB and 40#R in 21:21 in MACV1s, followed by 1 mile of recovery with a 30#R.

Sunday, Jul 20:

I went to Blackstone to zero my red dot on the DWX, now that it had proper short screws.  The dot was holding now, although I would get chambering but no bang on the last rounds of the mag.

After I zeroed, I did some cadence work at 7yd.  I had one round mid-mag where the slide didn't go all the way forward.

I finished with slow aim fire to reinforce good habits.

Stocked up on increasingly expensive chocolate at TJ afterwards.

18A "Upper Body Prep" in 20:51, then JBF 4X50m zercher with a 40#SB and 30#R, then "Godzilla" in 24 min EMOM8 with a 30#RPC.  Afterwards, I did a 2-mi cooldown with a 50#R and MACV1s to re-acquaint myself with the weight on my shoulders.

Monday, Jul 21:

Day 6 - Burn | BREATH & Yoga for Digestion - Bija Practice yoga with Adriene because my right glute was sore today.

4th USPSA MATCH

Stage 1: <COMSTOCK>

- Start loaded and holstered facing downrange with feet on XXs

- Shoot 9 targets with 3 rounds each w/ 5 from 10-15yd from back right, 4 from window @3yd.

Learnings/Outcomes: 9/13 Div, 27/33 Overall

- 21A, 6C in 23.22 = 5.30%HF

- Point shot from teh window accidentally, but felt comfortable with it

- Maybe could've sped up a little on some of the far shots

- Checked my dot prior

- No jitters, despite going 2nd

- Remembered to start with bent knees, after learning from last time

- After watching others practice dry, I decided to go L->R at the window, since you see the left ones first as you approach the window.

- Lots of peoples' shots landed on the left side of the leftmost window target... they probably overshot on the run.

- My spare mag fell out as I ran to the window

Stage 2: <COMSTOCK>

- Start unloaded and holstered with feet on XXs.

- Shoot 10 targets with 2 rounds each, with 3 from 15yd in the center of the room, 3 in the first room up front @5yd, 4 in the 2nd room @5yd

Learnings/Outcomes: 10/13 Div, 27/33 Overall

- 14A, 6C in 22.39 = 3.93% HF

- Tried to push the pace a bit more, but I might've been a bit too sloppy on the close ones

- It was my turn a little sooner than I expected

- I saw Cs on the close targets but didn't go back for them.

- Everyone shot high on the upside down target where the A-zone would be closer to the bottom.

Stage 4: <COMSTOCK>

- Start loaded and holstered, starting from anywhere outside of the shooting area

- Shoot 13 targets with 2 rounds each with 1 extra target in the first room and 2 extra in the second room.

Learnings/Outcomes: 10/13 Div, 30/33 Overall

- Decided to step in from the left side of the square

- 40A, 20C, 2M, 1 procedural in 22.91 = 3.57%HF

- I didn't count how many rounds I needed and ran out... I needed 2 more

- I had reloaded on the long run but needed to wait until after the first room.

- My other mistake was not bringing a spare mag to bail me out of such a situation

- I was a bit distracted with having to do some work via my smartphone deploying code for a production issue

- Always count, even if you just ran a similar stage... no complacency

- I hesitated on when to shoot the far right front target and almost did it from the back, before I realized that I'd be getting that one from the front.

- I also went in an odd sequence, not L->R on the front array... I defaulted to close->near instead

- I was "out of it"

- Use every shooter as a visualization rep

Stage 3: <comstock>

- Start unloaded and holstered with feet on XXs

- Shoot 10 targets with 2 rounds each, with 5 on right from back right @10-15yd, 5 from window @3yd

Learnings/Outcomes: 10/13 Div, 30/33 Overall

- 16A, 4C in 19.11 = 4.81 HF

- Tried point shooting again but got more Cs on the close targets than on the far targets... I need to practice it if I'm going to do it

- Good to experiment, though

Overall: 9/13 Div, 27/33 Overall

- PCC people go really fast, including a girl who said she's only been doing this for 5 months!

- I may try walking and shooting in the future

- Always double-check how many rounds you need

- Always bring a spare mag

- Distraction from work makes a difference

- Remember to shoot the A-zone even on upside-down targets... pay attention to which targets are upside-down.