Scout Course AAR, by VADeputy

The following is my after action report of the recent Scout Course, held October 7th thru October 9th 2022, at the G Camp in rural northern North Carolina. The Scout Course is a 3 day crash course in how to operate at the small unit partisan level and engage in irregular warfare tactics.

I am a law enforcement officer in Virginia, and last year a couple coworkers and I cut our teeth in the Brushbeater Fighting Carbine course. Taking the Scout course was the natural extension of our training, and in addition to the three of us returning, we brought another coworker and a civilian buddy as well. All of us in our group were stoked, except the crusty old Marine who hates everybody before his morning coffee.

When we pulled up to the G Camp right before the 9am start on Friday, we were amazed to see that in addition to ourselves, there were close to 30 others attending. Scout is running platoon level training operations now, it seems. A far cry from the 10 students in last summer’s Carbine course. And awesome, considering that there are so many patriots willing to commit their time, effort and resources to attend quality training and prepare for what’s coming. A special guest assistant was also there helping Scout, Mike from Von Steuben Training. It was awesome to make his acquaintance.

Day 1: Introduction and Range

Despite everyone strolling into the classroom at 9am loaded for bear with web gear and packs, day 1 of the Scout course is spent at the outdoor range, fine tuning our weapon systems to hit at extended distances. In addition to students wearing every type of camo pattern imaginable, there were various weapons systems employed as well. The vast majority were AR pattern rifles, with an AK or two thrown in, and a couple of .308 battle rifles for good measure. I observed various optics on weapons; a ton of LPVOs, some red dots (with and without magnifiers) and a lot of fixed power prism optics (ie ACOGs and Primary Arms units). After a classroom primer on camouflage, aiming and zero distances, we then zeroed our weapons at either 25m, 50 yards, or 100 (if your optic required it). After that, we started hitting targets at extended ranges. Before long, Scout and Mike had the whole class hitting ¾ size silhouette targets at 200 and 325m within the first couple boxes of ammo. Even a 15 year old kid who hadn’t spent much time with an AR prior to class was hitting at 300+ . If that’s not a testament to excellent quality instruction, I don’t know what is.

After the live fire portion of the class and after a break, we went back into the classroom, where Scout discussed the principles of patrolling, the types of combat patrols, the basics of an operations order, and how a partisan force would target the enemy using METTC. Class ended around 6pm, and the after-hours session began; having drinks and smoking cigars with great patriots, networking and pontificating late into the night. Scout’s family was even kind enough to bring the whole class dinner.

Day 2: Camouflage, Ambushes, and Night Raids

Day 2 began at 9am and started in the classroom, where we went over the basic types of ambushes and how to camouflage ourselves effectively. Scout also discussed ways to reduce thermal signature with thermal tarps and using the vegetation around you. We also discovered that thermal devices are not necessarily as effective as everyone has made them out to be. Thermal bloom is a thing, and at certain times of the day, thermals are all but useless except at close range. About half a dozen students brought thermal optics with them, and NCS had a unit as well.

Scout taught us the basics of movement while patrolling, using 2 types of unit formations and hand signals; we then trekked out to a nearby hill while in full gear in order to practice team movement and conduct battle drills.

Making it back for a lunch break and then to the classroom again, we safety checked one another for no live ammo, loaded up on blank rounds and put blank firing adapters (BFAs) onto our weapons. We then split the class in two and spent a few hours ambushing and counter-ambushing each other, with periods in-between to stop and listen to Scout and Mike offer us pointers and tips on how to do it better. The usage of blanks added another level of realism to the training. Scout mentioned a few times that training with blanks helps you understand the seriousness of the situation; you are here training to lethally engage the enemy.

After a dinner break, we reconvened again in the classroom as night started to fall. Scout went over how to effectively conduct a raid with a squad or platoon sized force. We once again safety checked our weapons, loaded up on a few blanks, and began a platoon sized movement to contact with the OPFOR (about a dozen former military and friends of NCS). Operating at night is a completely different animal than moving during the day, and we clumsily made our way up and down several hills. We then engaged in a running, tripping, stumbling gun battle with the “enemy,” finally taking our objective, an enemy camp on the hill we had just practiced on a few hours earlier. Having more or less successfully conducted the night raid, Scout let us off at 10pm to relax and have a drink.

Day 3: The Big Raid

The final day of training began in the classroom, where we went over the basics and importance of an Operations Order. After that, Scout gave us a scenario; we were to hit an enemy supply area and take out a high-value target, more or less causing some serious trouble for the “bad guys” operating in the area. As a platoon, we were left alone to formulate our own operations order. We then presented our op order to Scout, geared up, grabbed a few magazines of blank ammo and headed out to defeat the enemy. Having traveled no more than a few hundred feet into our mission however, we had to scatter in all directions; drones are a real threat and the OPFOR was using one to its advantage by buzzing our position.

After the drone passed by, our partisan force split into 4 different teams and proceeded to our positions before raiding the “enemy” encampment. Much like in real conflict however, our well-thought out plan didn’t survive first enemy contact, as they managed to hear us coming and start the shooting early. Relying on our training from the past few days, we kept things together and still conducted the raid in an orderly fashion, taking down the OPFOR.

The raid was a success, but we still weren’t done. Just like during a real operation, we wouldn’t be safe until we made it back to our G camp, and the “enemy” was still lurking around. We redistributed ammo among ourselves and headed into the thick North Carolina woods back towards camp. As we patrolled towards the camp, we were ambushed a few times by the OPFOR and had to fight our way uphill thru them. Fighting up a steep hill, tripping over rocks and stumbling thru brambles and weeds was a tough go, but no one on the team gave up, and we successfully completed our mission. After the mission concluded, we linked up at the classroom for the final time, where Scout gave us some important closing remarks. Some of the class would be staying for the start of the next day’s RECCE course, most of us would be leaving.

My thoughts on the class (in no particular order):

– Everyone started day 1 with full kits; loaded packs, web gear and plate carriers. By the end of the course, we had slimmed down to the basics; weapons, ammo, med gear, radios, and water. Mission dictates gear, and while a lengthy patrol would require far more support stuff, a lot of the time you can fight light.

– To that end, I’m reworking my gear, removing some stuff and slimming my fighting load down to only what I really need.

– Having the ability to hit a target 300+ meters out is an excellent skill to have. Primary Arm’s ACSS reticle makes this a lot easier.

– Exercise and stamina are crucial to patrolling and fighting with a weapon. Several in my group (myself included) are in serious need of some more PT.

– Training with blanks is training well done; my group is looking to integrate blanks into some of our drills.

– The after-hours portions of class are almost as good as the actual training. Being able to hang out with Scout, Mike and my fellow classmates was awesome.

– This is my second class with Scout, and he is as low key and chill as ever.

– I and several others will definitely be back next year for RTO.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, my group and I thought the Brushbeater Scout Course was fantastic. As the saying goes, cramming all of the relevant information and skills into 3 days is ‘like drinking through a fire hose.’ However, I’ve talked with my guys, and for those of us who attended, we feel confident that we can bring some of the skills learned back to our mutual assistance group and train others. And at the end of the day, that’s the purpose of Scout’s training style.

Scout, and other former .mil guys like himself are deadly serious in training others to prepare for what’s coming. As a country, the road ahead is dark, and we don’t know what is going to happen. But the only way that one is going to get through the coming dark times is thru prepping, getting quality training, keeping it local, and relying on God.

And Scout/Brushbeater has you covered on the training.

Stay frosty folks, and keep your head on a swivel.

VAdeputy