Scout & Recce Recap

I spent six days as the OPFOR (Opposing Force) for NC Scout’s most recent Scout and Recce Courses. This will recap the events and learnings. It’s a Train-The-Trainer course, much like this Tactical Wisdom from the Bible:

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

2 Timothy 2:2

Each is a separate 3-day course, Scout and Recce, and one builds on the other. While both NC Scout and I recommend taking them together, you can take one and then come back at a later date and take another. While there is no prerequisite to take the course, it is recommended that you either take RTO/Advanced RTO first or have some radio knowledge. It’s not required at all, but it does help.

The course opens with a designated marksman workshop. This involves zeroing your platform and developing skills at various ranges. Some specialized techniques are taught by NC Scout, a qualified sniper who has done it on the two-way range. The day culminates with students building confidence by engaging targets at long range (want to know how far – come to class).

The next two days of the Scout course involve team and individual movement, camouflage, gathering and reporting information, and some basic ambush and counter-ambush skills. The students learn to defeat thermal imaging and conduct operations at night.

After the Scout Course, Recce picks up with more advanced skillsets. Students learn some more advanced ambush formations and more advanced team movement skills. The squad hasty attack is perfected and drilled.

The event culminates with a couple of real-world missions using blanks that up the realism and show you how the skills can apply in real life. Students get real-world repetitions of the skills learned and trigger time with all their own gear, including radios.

Outside of the course content, which is fantastic, there are MANY other learnings that happen. The first is learning what gear really works, and what you really need to carry. Most students start out carrying all their Gucci cool-guy gear, and by the end of the class patrolling up and down the NC Hills, they’ve lightened the load considerably.

A lot of it is learning about your gear set up. For example, you might decide to carry your radio in a different spot, route your antenna differently (or get a different antenna), or reduce the number of magazines you carry. The only way to learn this is by using it all in a force-on-force environment. You can’t learn all this by simply rucking – the movement dynamic is different during an actual encounter.

Another great piece of all of the NC Scout courses is the camaraderie in the Team Room or around the fire. After class, the students mingle and chat, and a lot of solid friendships develop. It’s a great time to associate with like-minded people and build community.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25

Over the last 2 years, I’ve filled 2 complete Rite-In-The-Rain notebooks with tips, techniques, and knowledge from various NC Scout courses and I keep them for training and review purposes. I’ve met a lot of fantastic folks, including the guy who tricked me into drinking MALORT – I’ll never forgive you, Dan, but you’re still my homie.

The next Scout and Recce course package is scheduled for Feb 16-21 and they are available as 3 day packages, links below. He is also offering an RTO/Advanced RTO/Signals Intelligence course in January (link below).

Scout Course 16-18 Feb: Registration Link

Recce Course 19-21 Feb: Registration Link

RTO Course Package 9-14 Jan: Registration Link

Get out and train. Meet like-minded folks and spend time building community while learning real-world skills and testing your gear.

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