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MD soldiers tackle Tactical Combatives Course

By Spc. Brianna Kearney, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment—
REISTERSTOWN, Md. (May 25, 2016) — After every fall to the mats, the students stood up, caught their breath and shook themselves off for the next round. Five soldiers practiced combat techniques and maneuvers in the Tactical Combatives Course on May 16-25 at Camp Fretterd Military Reservation in Reisterstown.

The rigorous 10-day course teaches fighting techniques that include chokeholds, blocks, strikes, takedowns, escapes and alternate uses for a rifle.

The first half of the TCC focuses on learning new techniques every day. The second half consists of practicing those techniques at a real-time speed and working them into scenarios soldiers might come across. In order to pass the course, students must demonstrate seven out of 10 techniques correctly and pass a written exam.

“Initially, it’s like drinking from a fire hose,” said 1st Lt. Jonathan Woodworth, a student in the course and a medical-surgical nurse with the 104th Area Support Medical Company, Maryland Army National Guard. “There are a lot of different techniques and maneuvers getting thrown at you, but as you move forward in the course, you realize it’s all compounding.”

The TCC is the Army’s Level II Combatives qualification. The training is meant to teach movements and techniques that soldiers may have to use in violent or unsafe situations when they cannot use or fire a weapon.

Students practice combatives techniques and maneuvers during the Tactical Combatives Course on May 24, 2016, at Camp Fretterd Military Reservation in Reisterstown, Md. During the 10-day course, the students are required to practice all the techniques they learn with and without combat equipment before they are tested. (Photo by Spc. Brianna Kearney, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)

“I think every soldier should at least know the basics [in case] we happen to need to defend ourselves against someone trying to attack us,” said 1st Sgt. Guillermo Aviles, the TCC instructor and an infantryman from C Co., 1st Battalion, 296th Infantry Regiment, Puerto Rico Army National Guard.

He said that soldiers may think they’re invincible because they’re issued a pistol or a rifle, but that’s not the case. Learning combatives helps soldiers feel more comfortable with themselves and confident in their abilities even without a weapon.

Students practice combatives techniques and maneuvers during the Tactical Combatives Course on May 24, 2016, at Camp Fretterd Military Reservation in Reisterstown, Md. During the 10-day course, the students are put into possible real-life scenarios so they can use their tactical combatives techniques in order to control the situation and subdue the enemy. (Photo by Spc. Brianna Kearney, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)

Becoming certified in Modern Army Combatives allows soldiers to bring that experience to their units. Graduates from courses such as the TCC can teach soldiers from their units the basics about close-quarter combat to prepare them for possible future conflicts.

“Understanding the different variations and techniques that we can use for hand-to-hand combat has made me think of the way we fight when we have to enter into a situation where we’re in close quarters with the enemy,” said Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Edwards, a student in the course and a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 29th Combat Aviation Brigade, MDARNG. “I feel more comfortable understanding what I can do.”