Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Zane Craig | Approximately 30 U.S. Army Soldiers with the Pennsylvania National Guard participate...... read more read more
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FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – 30 U.S. Soldiers with the Pennsylvania National Guard participated in a five-day Army combatives training program, August 12-16, 2024, here.
Army combatives is used to prepare Soldiers for hand-to-hand combat. The goal of the course is to take what they learned from their training class and share it with their unit.
Sgt. 1st Class William Dougherty has been an instructor for combatives training for over 10 years. He has gone through the former level three and four courses and the Master Combatives Trainer Course at Fort Moore, Georgia.
“The Modern Army Combatives Program is an essential tool for Soldiers to possess during Large Scale Combat Operations,” Dougherty said. “Given the global threats our Army continues to face during Offensive, Defensive, Stability and Defense Support of Civil Authorities Operations, it is paramount that our Soldiers have the skill sets necessary to defeat any threat. It provides the Solider with hand-to-hand combat training, detainee operations, weapons retention training, riot control, stand up fighting techniques and ground fighting techniques which will give our Soldiers the upper hand in Combat.”
The current combatives courses the Pennsylvania Army National Guard offers are the basic and tactical combatives courses. The current course is the 40 hours long basic combatives course which covers the fundamentals and basic techniques that will build upon each other to the end of the course. Students then will be broken down into groups to learn and teach back the techniques taught that day.
The major training events the students must pass are the Option III drill, formally known as the “clinch drill,” the react to contact drill, then test out on a written evaluation and a hands-on technical evaluation. During the training, there is always a medic on scene, for safety precautions. They are also screened during the in-processing, to ensure their body is strong enough to endure the training course.
Sgt. 1st Class Tessa Whittlesey, a medical readiness noncommissioned officer with the 166th Regiment Medic support for combatives, pre-screened for existing injuries during in-processing.
“The injuries that you’re likely to see here come from heads smacking the mat and fists to heads," shares Sgt. 1st Class Whittlesey.
"They did the punch drill this morning and there were a couple of guys who raised their hands and said they absolutely got their bell rung. These instructors have been doing this a long time and they are very big on safety, it’s at the forefront of their training."
The importance of this training course is to start building Soldier’s personal confidence, courage and test their resiliency. It checks everyone’s responsiveness to situations and threats that they may encounter. It also certifies that the Soldier’s unit will be combat ready. They want to have more people trained and qualified in this area of technique, so that they can continue the skills and tactics to improve every Soldier in self-defense.
“This program does not exist without the support of our chains of command, we need to break the mold and myths about what combatives is,” Dougherty said. “Army Combatives is not a 'fight house' or an 'LOD' factory. It is a tactical based training program that gives Soldiers a set of skills to help survivability on the battlefield. It is a train-to-trainer program to assist units in conducting their training requirements throughout the training year. We need the support of those in positions of responsibility to understand that having Modern Army Combatives Program-certified Soldiers in their ranks is a combat multiplier and increases lethality across the Pennsylvania National Guard."
The next basic combatives course is scheduled for Sept. 15-20, 2024. If interested, contact SFC William Dougherty at william.p.dougherty.mil@army.mil
| Date Taken: | 08.16.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.21.2024 18:08 |
| Story ID: | 479164 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP , PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 128 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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