Vaerg dit Land
"Protect this Country"
Explanation of the name
This is an AAR and explanation of my experience as well as a lot of tips and tricks that I used during the event. Read previous post some of the rules. In addition, only the weight in your counted. Nothing on a FLC/LBV/Plate Carrier would count. A combat uniform is required, so regular OCPs or the under armor type shirts with regular sleeves. Must be a military issued ruck.
Women's regulations were the same except they had 5:15:00, so an extra 45 minutes. If you were 35 or older congratulations! You get a whopping 5 more minutes. I think this speaks to the Norwegian military mindset: STFU and perform a soldier's task. The test was originally designed to show that for recruits and as I understand it, this is part of their basic training. Very similar to 12 mile rucks with usually 45 lbs or more in the U.S. Army. during Basic Training or Basic Camp for ROTC Cadets. The Norwegian Foot March has to be run, but I think it's relatively safe with the 25 lbs before water. The U.S. Army has a different method of a lot heavier weight for a shorter distance at a slightly slower pace. 45+ lbs in 3 hours vs. 25+ lbs in 4.5 hours. There's a clear ratio of what they expect someone to be capable of and move it where they see it better fits their methods of operation.
I finished in 4:22:something, about 23/90. My pacing was 1 minute running and 1.5 - minutes of range walking. My range walk was roughly 4 inches a second slower than most people's airborne shuffles that I saw for the first 2 thirds of the event. Our Stage was set up in 3 laps around 6.1 perimeter with an extra 300 meters stuck at the back. I slowed done quite a bit during the last two miles because my groin muscles were tightening. I was afraid of not being able to walk to class on Monday or pulling my groin. I have very important assessment training coming up, so I ended up letting 10 or so people pass. I finished 4th out of my unit, but 2 of them passed me in the last 400 meters. I actually sprinted the last 50 meters to motivate someone next to me and then continued to motivate others after dropping my ruck. I helped a guy pass who probably wouldn't have made the time otherwise, so I feel really good about that. I reported a guy I saw cheating on the trail(he only cut 10 meters off at most, I have no idea why he did it), but he ended up not passing anyways, so it didn't matter.
My feet:
I wore 2 Fox River Fatigue Fighter socks
https://www.amazon.com/FoxRiver-Fat...+Mills,+Inc.&qid=1553389947&s=apparel&sr=1-85
I wore the first pair inside out and the outer pair right side out. This way the fuzzy parts would connect and reduce friction. I had foot powder in each sock and my boots. I pre-applied a large moleskin padding to the front balls of my feet where I get blisters as my feet are not very tough. Lesson learned: Good idea, but have the moleskin wrap up on the side as 3 of my 6 blisters are on the sides of my big toe knuckles. They are also the worst ones. The rest of them were higher up my foot up on my toes. Cutting the moles skin better would have really helped me and would have only taken an extra 30 seconds. Try and have a buddy help and use a pencil/pen to mark it.
With wearing two socks, it comes from one of two schools of thought on feet with rucks, so we have to go back. The goal: reduce friction as much as possible so as to keep your skin layers from separating. That's what blisters are. 1st school - make your feet slick. This train of thought usually involves dress socks and or packaging/duct tape on your actual feet. It definitely works, but not the route I wanted to go. Your feet can't breath too well and that bothers me as I sweat through my feet quite a bit.
2nd school - Fill the boot and reduce space to move while applying lots of friction through your socks, rather than your feet. You might go with a thinner inside sock, say a dress sock, but the point is that you fill out your boots and have little to no room for the foot to move. If the foot can't move inside, then friction can't be applied against it nearly as well. This is due to inertia and the frictional force of your socks against each other and the boot. This worked really well for me and it was the first time I tried it. I'm going to have to get more socks now though lol.
As to my blisters, I think the primary reasons I had blisters were because my feet are not tough rn and I was wearing very lightweight boots.
http://www.garmont.com/en/products/tactical/t8-nfs-670-gtx
I recommend Garmont. There are many great boots, but Garmont has been in the business the longest(Vietnam) and a really great product line.
Boots:
There are very good reasons for wearing heavy boots and very good reasons to wear lightweight boots.
Lightweight:
It's WAAAAY Easier.
https://adventure.howstuffworks.com...g/one-pound-off-feet-five-pounds-off-back.htm
Soldiers have known for a really long time that the lighter the boot you have to swing with every step, the less energy you have to expend. The Army studied this back in the 80s. The above link references that study and others.
While not exact, the general rule is - 1 lb off your feet is 5 lbs off your ruck in energy expenditure.
The downsides though are also big, IF you don't have tough feet. Lighter weight boots do not protect your feet from impacts nearly as much. You will feel every rock and every slip a lot more in your feet. If your feet are tough and or don't have to ruck for work, then it doesn't matter too much.
If you don't have to comply with Army/Air Force boots regulations, GORuck makes the best available for this type. It doesn't comply because the boots aren't tall enough and therefore don't provide as much ankle protection. These aren't the boots you want to go rucking in Afghanistan with. Go with the Garmonts, Danner tacticals or Oakleys if you want lightweight. A few extra ounces for a lot more ankle support.
https://www.goruck.com/macv-1-lookbook/
Heavy boots:
They will exhaust you and slow you down. But there are 2 big advantages to heavier boots. 1, your feet are much more protect from fatigue. 2, you have a lot more mass on your boot for kicking down doors. Kind of a niche thing, but physics gets a vote and the door is more likely to break with less kicks. Another bonus is that these are generally cheaper to mass produce because there is no knew research involved.
The standard issue U.S. Army boots are pretty good for this role, but there are others. Most brands only make middleweight or lightweight boots, but Garmont has some well respected heavier boots. The Army has noted that around 50% of all soldiers are buying aftermarket boots. The G.I.'s are either tolerated or hated.
Recently, the Army has expressed interest in moving to a lighter weight boot as this is what most soldiers complain about. It's probably good idea considering the veeery small amount of many soldiers get paid.
Rucks at the event:
I used a Molle 2 rucksack.
https://www.amazon.com/MOLLE-II-Ruc...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0046QT4BA
I have this exact ruck. Most ROTC haven't switched over to the OCP patter and still use the ACUs, unless they're SMP and receive their kit from their guard unit. I saw well over 10 people with the old alice packs from the 70s. As someone who heavily uses my hips with the waist strap, I felt really bad for them. The alice pack system is heavier without a capacity or compartmentalization gain and also only really uses the shoulder straps according to an old army study I don't want to look up rn. The current molle system was designed and is field by the British and American militaries. It's a pretty effective ruck system, but I think there will be a replacement by 2030 now that the military has finished the Gerald R. Ford class carriers and the F35s. Money will hopefully go towards developing better standard issue equipment or (and this is better) having a preapproved list of equipment with clothing allowance. I wouldn't advise that for someone coming into basic as enlisted, but it would be much easier for a lot of people who are NCOs or Officers and are more established financially.
How I set up my ruck:
I went to Wal-Mart and bought one 5 lb plate, one 10 lb plate, a strap that I didn't use and the highest strength paracord they had. I paracord the plates together with the 5 lb offset to one edge of the 10 lb plate. I then set up that edge of the plate as high as possible on my ruck, just under the flap. I ran paracord through it and the shoulder buttresses(idk what else to call it) with as little play as I could get. I made a thick paracord handle inbetween with a nub in the center so I would be able to index my hand on it without looking. I ran the back down the ruck and across my camelbak that was strapped across the top, above the flap. I took the last bit and strapped to the bottom of the plastic ruck frame tightly before finishing it with a simple stop knot. I made sure my ruck as strapped as tight as possible to reduce everything down and then I taped up the straps with black duct tape. 1" bike tire inner tubes are better and serve as a great fire starter, but I didn't have any around at the time.
The above weighed in at 26.9 lbs. I probably could have dropped my sustainment pouches on the sides to get it at exactly 25, but I really didn't want to have to put them back on later, so I left them.
It worked very well in that the weights didn't swing around at all, which would have sucked. The whole thing like I was wearing a weight vest with only 5 lbs at the top, so it worked like a charm. I got a good look at all of the rucks there and I definitely has the best packed one. It pays to pack and repack your ruck. I restrapped the weights and packed the ruck 3 times. Each time I got better at it and it felt better. Practice makes perfect. 1st time took me 1.5 hours(including time to strap the weights together, which I didn't repeat). 3rd and final time, I did it in 5 minutes and better than before. All I did was experiment with a solid working knowledge of the fundamentals of packing a ruck.
1. Concentrate the weight.
2. Keep the weight high.
3. Ensure mobility, comfort and symmetry
Steps to packing a ruck
Pack the ruck with the heaviest stuff at the top. Try to only use the topmost compartments of your ruck. Now, sit on the floor with your ruck and press your feet into the frame while the other end is against a wall or your buddy is hold it down. Pull the main straps as you push with your feet. Don't tighten as much as you possibly can, 95% it. Do this on the other side. Repeat and get 10-20% on each side. DO this process 2-3x and your ruck will be as tight as it can possibly be. If you're tall with your legs like me then this will be more difficult, but that also makes you a better runner and overall a better build for a soldier as you can ruck more easily with smaller vitals area, but that's just a theory of mine and maybe for another post.