My need for serious “firepower” in striking combative is not driven by civilian motivations such as combat sports superiority or civilian self defense. The need is driven by military combative in high threat and high risk environments.
Back in the private military contractor’s training, we were not allowed to take a good night’s rest. Every evening up to early morning when the formal training ceases, we were instructed to secure our training facility which is a large real estate with urban structures inside, and sitting in the middle of an open field in a tropical geographic location and because we were only 7 trainees, there is a lot of patrolling happening around the perimeter and inside the facility as well as security on entry and exit areas, and a quick reaction force on stand-by which has the leeway to take a few hours sleep.
I had the chance to monitor my patrols and measure the approximate distances every night and it takes me a good 30km walk during patrol for the whole duration of my 2 shifts every night which covers the perimeter patrol as well as patrol within the facility premises checking a lot of rooms, stairs, rooftops. Basically covering everything.
The situation is not ideal because apart from the long walks for the patrol, only a few lights is present for the main building, and the main entrance to the facility. Other than that, there are no lights along the length of the facility’s perimeter and even other rooms, structures, and rooftops. Add to this that the issued carbines didn’t have a sling in it, imagine me walking hours during patrol while my arms are not resting and continuously holding the carbine in low ready position and this is because we have weapon-mounted lights. By doing the low ready position for the carbine during patrols, I can point the muzzle to my field of vision and can lit up the area for a few seconds when light is needed but most of the time I just flash the area in a split second to blind any adversary in the area waiting for me and to have a quick good view of the area. Low ready also points the light to the ground without giving off unnecessary lights towards the sky which an adversary from afar could take advantage. Lights are only powered on when needed to conserve the weapon-mounted light’s battery. On top of this, we were all tired from the day’s training from mentally and physically demanding activities. Clothes are dirty, no good shower. Most of the time we were hungry and thirsty.
At one point, two days before the final test mission on hostage rescue operations and a day before the brutal torture (yes, we were brutally tortured), unknown to our team is an adversary already taking down members of the team where I was assigned for perimeter security and patrol while another team was resting and served as the quick reaction force. Before the covert attack, early in the evening the training staff left the facility area and gave us instructions regarding securing the facility. I had to ask the director how to deal with sudden security breach because it is a training and I want to understand what are the limits of our action once a security breach happens. The director told me that he does not want a phone call in the middle of the night just because I injured someone and escalated to a life threatening emergency. This was in the assumption that the attacker is from the training staff.
Later that night I was on my typical patrol routine. Unknowingly, an adversary was already inside the facility and was observing every security element’s position and movements. I was on my fourth round on the patrol just before transition to static security at the gate. After the patrol on the perimeter and on to the urban structures inside the facility, I kept on my usual routine, assessing the area ahead of me and then checking the corners of the building and inside the rooms. Totally dark so I have to use my carbine mounted lights just lighting up the area for a split second if I can’t asses the silhouette in the foreground.
In one of the buildings inside the facility while I was approaching the corner and just in time when I lit up the area with my carbine’s mounted light for a split second, a figure suddenly appeared at the same time in balaclava with his right hand raised with a knife closing the distance towards me in a split second and using his other hand to deflect my carbines muzzle away from him. After the light was off in that split second, I can still visualize the attacker’s silhouette. He stabbed me quick two times on top of my left collar bone and at that moment adrenaline surge fast and mind was able go on survival fight mode. I firmly gripped my carbine and I can feel his force pulling it while the muzzle is away from him. It is dark so he is blind from that split second light and I was blind too but I quickly strike him with my right elbow while both hands holding my carbine firmly. The force of the elbow strike impact sent him on his right side outbalanced and hitting the ground with the knife out of his hands. After hitting him with my right elbow and because my carbine is out of his hands already I immediately pointed it to him lighting him up. The attacker was on the ground on all fours trying to feel the ground for the knife and at that moment I said “your dead” and he lift up both his hands. I helped him locate his plastic knife and he removed his balaclava. Turns out it was the french guy, an ex-military with stints in Malaysia and part of the staff that was teaching us CQB during the training. Turns out he was actually left in the facility premises because he is living in one of the buildings there. He owns the facility and during that night he already took down my team ahead of me single-handedly armed only with a knife, the other patrolling guy complimenting my patrol from the other side and the static security at the gate. The consequence of his knife attack on me could either have led me in real life with a non-life threatening wound or a more serious fatal wound that could take me down after I neutralize the adversary within minutes. The consolation on that incident is that I was able to neutralize the adversary with me potentially dying after a few minutes from the loss of blood with the complication of a collapse lung. The downside is that my team got taken down by a lone wolf adversary and the quick reaction force resting on their quarters has no idea what was happening.
There’s lesson in that incident during the patrol and is part of the learning process during the private military contractor training. The feedback on the other hand from the french guy to the rest of the training staff and the director was that I got fast reflexes which are not ordinary.
Lessons there is during approach to corners, even in patrols where there is no immediate threat, every time a corner is being approached it should be with caution and should be in CQB mode. That corner I should have approached using slicing the pie and taking advantage of the space behind me to cover more distance from the corner to buy time if an adversary suddenly attacks from that corner.
Another lesson there is on the first aid trauma kit. I realized that every operator should have the basic first aid trauma kit of a combat medic so that in isolation from the team while under an injury, the kit is there to keep the operator chances of survival high.
Lesson also on radio communications or communications in general. A scheduled radio check should be in place specially for patrolling elements. Such process mitigates the risk of having a patrol element taken down without the team realizing it.
The main point though is actually the elbow strike and the demand for more “firepower” on the empty hand strikes. A more real life situation would be me engaging an adversary in close quarter combat while carrying a heavy backpack, and that my rifle or carbine, or whatever weapon in my hands got tangled in the moment or the adversary got a hold of it trying to take it away from me. That is where the close quarter combat strikes comes in, in the form of punches, elbow strikes, knee strikes, kicks, or even locks, breaks, and throws. The force of the impact of my elbow strike that time was already good throwing the adversary to the ground and loosing grip on his knife but I still want to increase its power and all of my striking power. Real combat could impose more restrictions on the body mechanics during a fight, a trained body to impart more power on impact of strikes increases the probability or chances of survival during close quarter combat.
That private military contractor training was provided by a former British SAS. One of the best trainings that I went thru.
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