Brushbeater Sigint Course Review by Madman Actual

Friday Night

This was my first time attending a Brushbeater course. I was unable to get there for the RTO/Advanced RTO classes. I showed up Friday evening and was greeted by a man with a ceee-gar and firm handshake. I was introduced to the students that were already there or that had been there for RTO/Advanced. Everyone was very friendly and I felt right at home. We all eventually went to bed that night but I can’t exactly remember what time.

Saturday

We started Saturday instruction around 0900. We reviewed a few basic concepts of push to talk radio functions and some very cool tools to use with a digital device. We then went and scanned for frequencies in the AO. Which was particularly fun for me since my AO is just HAM guys talking about wattage and AARP. Just kidding, love y’all. There were very interesting signals that I just haven’t encountered and of course, my questions about what they were, were answered. Once back inside we talked about the importance of scanning your area and to know what signals are likely to be around any given day. We then went over the use of the Yagi antennas that were built in the RTO/Adavanced RTO class earlier in the week.

Time to Direction Find!

We went back out and saw the practical application of a Yagi to determine the direction of an RF emitter. NCScout explained some tips and tricks when actually using one to pick up an RF signal and some useful scanner options to assist in being more accurate. After our sun tanning session, we went back to the classroom and Scout had us find a signal that was on an unknown RF band. We used our collective Sigint might to find the frequency. The Alinco DJx11T gets the game ball for that exercise. Truly an impressive piece of equipment in a very compact format.

After we knew how to direction find, Scout showed us how to use that same method and add some funk to it. Electronic Warfare funk. EW is a broad term that is hard to define since it covers so much. We obviously aren’t hacking satellites or jamming radars for B2’s. We were trolling each other, which I can only imagine would make a real enemy very uneasy if we played the same games with them. Some good old digital EW talk happened, then we all jumped for a freeze frame high five.

That about wrapped Saturday instruction. We went on a supply run with a few interesting sightings along the way and had an awesome time that evening. It was more than just conversations, it’s better described as fellowship. Satisfying food and tasty beverages, some iced, some neat. Overall 10/10 for Saturday night.

Sunday

Most of us stirred around 0630 or 0700. Ate a breakfast fit for kings and jumped back into class mode around 0900. We were told that there would a special guest appearance to assist with the day’s exercise. The day was what I call a ‘Capstone’. Take everything you’ve learned, no matter if you just showed up Saturday morning or had been there for RTO. I’ve run Capstone events before and I must say, this one was actually fun. Two opposing Sigint forces with at least 3 teams, fighting for control of the airwaves. Direction Finding, counter direction finding, Electronic warfare/counter, the works.

Once we heard ‘Endex’ (end exercise) we all met back at the classroom and did a solid After Action Report of Sustains and Improves. There were so many lessons learned, most notably, that a good SOI is critical in real situations. Though, ours wasn’t bad for a few minutes before we rolled out into the woods. Once the AAR was over, some left almost immediately, and some including myself stuck around for a bit. I really didn’t want to leave and regretted not taking off work for all 3 classes. Next time.

Overall it was great experience with a tons of knowledge flying around one room. It makes me miss my instructor days. Just constantly gaining all those tips and programs and learning new troubleshooting methods. Anyone that doesn’t know much about radios or how to find them needs to take this class. It’s such a critical skill to learn. Imagine losing your pal on one of your cell phone(less) hikes, good thing you have radios and a Yagi to find them. You also learn methods that can easily take a would be instigated riot and extinguish any hope of your local dummies from organizing.