Luke Brooks
Newbie
- Class Name: Green Ops Tactical, Defensive Carbine 1
- Date of Class: April 29, 2017
- Class Location: Culpeper, VA 4H
- Class Duration: 9am to 5pm
- Class Size: 14 students broken down into 2 relays
- Weather: Sunny and low 90’s
- Gear used:
- BCM AR15 (5.56)
- Vortex SPARC red dot
- BDS Tactical sling (with personal modifications)
- Homemade kydex mag carrier. I never needed more than 2 extra magazines.
- BCM AR15 (5.56)
- Round Count: 280
The class started out like any other class. The instructors introduced themselves to the group. We had 3 instructors, Mike Green who is the owner of Green Ops and has a SF background, Brett, who has a LE background and Andy, who had a competitive background. More of their information can be found here https://www.green-ops.com/instructors-.html . After the introductions Brett went over all the safety information for the class. The safety brief included all the usual things, 4 rules of firearms safety, medical plan if there is an accident, polling of the group to see who has medical training. I am glazing over this part but the brief was a thorough brief with detailed information.
The formal learning started with a class room portion which lasted about an hour. It covered justified use of force. They covered the 5 elements of justification, Ability, Opportunity, Intent, Jeopardy and Preclusion. This part of the class was well presented and something I got a lot of value from. Knowing how to use the firearm and when to use the firearm are two different subjects and Brett did a great job explaining the 5 elements in a short period of time.
While still in a class room setting Mike talked about how the class is set up to give us the tools to go home and practice what we learned to become a much better shooter. We were not going to finish this class and be the best shooters ever. Mike explained that Green Ops would give us the tools in this class to take back home and practice, and through practice and hard work we would become better shooters. He also told us what he thought was the secret sauce to becoming a better shooter. These were, dry-fire, use a shot timer, live fire, participating in competitions and video yourself.
After the one hour classroom portion we were off to the range to start shooting. We began with a zero confirmation drill which we shot 2 times. If your zero was off by a lot then you did not have enough time to get a perfect zero but if you were close you were able to make fine adjustments to hone your zero. From there we moved on to 1 round up drills, 2 round up drills, reloads, malfunctions, multiple targets, standing to kneeling, barricades, El Prez drill, and the VA Police Qual. For each and every drill that we performed one of the instructors demoed the drill while another instructor explained what was going on. During this time if you had any questions they were answered. While we were performing the drills each instructor was making their way up and down the line to help any students with any issues that they were having. They were always watching and adjusting the students to make sure we were doing everything correctly. There were 14 total students broken down into 2 relays for most of the drills. Having 3 instructors looking over the line of 7 shooters made for a recipe where ever shooter got the individual attention they needed during the drills.
Final Thoughts:
Green Ops Carbine 1 was a great class for anyone looking into taking some rifle training. As a civilian this class was exactly what I needed. To add to the great training Mike followed up the class with an e mail that included a power point of all the class room material, a list of all the drills we ran during the class as well as book recommendations and other useful resources. I would not say that this course was a high speed course but for someone like me that is wanting to learn how to run the carbine this class is perfect. Green Ops will teach you how to run a carbine and keep it running. The class gives you the tools to take back home and become efficient and effective with a rifle. Mike, Brett and Andy really knew their craft and were great instructors. I will absolutely be taking another class with Green Ops and if you are looking to develop rifle skills you should consider training with them as well.
