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Old 05-15-2008, 18:30   #1
exsquid
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US Army Combat Tracking School

Anyone been to the US Army Combat Tracking School at FT Huachuca? If so, what is your impression?

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Old 05-23-2008, 16:39   #2
Froggy
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I have been to this school. If you are a hunter, some of the course material will sound familiar but you will learn to get inside the head of a human quarry versus an animal. The man who runs the course is very experienced and has some outlandish stories. This is an excellent school for the light infantry-based small unit leader. You will look at the ground and your surroundings in a different way after this course. The bang-for-buck ratio is pretty good. I am sending some of my guys out there in July.
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Old 08-31-2010, 03:58   #3
Bushranger
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I heard that this school is discontinued, is it right??
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Old 08-31-2010, 09:08   #4
TraininDummy
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According to one of my buddies who's an instructor at Huachuca, the course is still ongoing.
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Old 08-31-2010, 09:16   #5
wet dog
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The Malaysian Man Tracker course is the one you really want.

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Old 08-31-2010, 09:18   #6
f50lrrp
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I concur! The Malasian course was great.
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Old 08-31-2010, 21:51   #7
alright4u
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Rhade Yards and trcking/reading trails/bent grass

Rhade yards could look at a darn foot print in cloudy water and state- " NVA come back soon or VC gone." They had hunted all their life. Not wise to fool them. Now,experienced trackers are invaluable. How do you track the taliban in humvees? Pehaps only SF gets out off the road? I do not know?
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Old 08-31-2010, 22:07   #8
wet dog
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I concur! The Malasian course was great.
I had to follow a snake for 8 hours, and not get closer than 30 feet. Once you picked up on trial signs, it was ok.

The first half of the day (4 hrs. ), really sucked.
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Old 08-31-2010, 23:23   #9
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Its a good tracking course. I went thru the course in Nov 08' while on terminal leave. Got to do some tracking in Baghdad for the Army later. (tracks still can be found in the city).

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Old 09-01-2010, 05:37   #10
bravo22b
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If the course is still ongoing, you can register for it at:

https://ikn.army.mil/

Look on the front page for a link to the Combat Tracking Course. Their website has a page which you can use to register for the course. I don't know how that works as far as getting funding or permission from your unit; as far as I'm aware, the course is not in ATRRS. My NG unit told me that I could go, but that I would have to submit a memorandum explaining why the training should be funded, and get State approval.

I have heard different things. A while back I was told by someone affiliated with the course that the funding was not in place for FY 11, and that they weren't sure whether the course would stay, move to a different location, or go away. I have tried calling down there several times over the past few months, but have not gotten a definitive answer. I do know that as of a day or two ago, their website still did not show any classes scheduled going into FY 11. This may not be conclusive, but it doesn't seem like a good sign.

I, for one, REALLY want to go to this course if it continues. If anyone has reliable information on what is going on with it, or finds anything out, please post it here. I will probably call down there again in a few weeks, and if I find out anything useful, will do the same.
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Old 09-01-2010, 09:11   #11
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How hard is it to get into the course? I am going to apply for it, worst they can do is say no.
Better than applying for it, it's a course you "want to be sent to". Figure out who in the chain of command, (most likely the O5, budget officer) who approves such things. Then figure out who the last person from your unit went, how long ago, and did it help with unit strength or deployability. Consider writing a training program to teach other soldiers in your unit when you return. Write a business case that explains the cost benefit for the unit, if they send you. Consider all the "no you can't go" answers and have a "I should go because", response.

Good Luck,

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Old 09-02-2010, 20:48   #12
Bushranger
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tracking

I read that Israelis run their own tracking school, I bet it´s gonna be top notch. Any experiences with this?

Last edited by Bushranger; 06-28-2011 at 23:53.
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Old 09-03-2010, 06:00   #13
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Combat Tracker Course

I was intimately involved in working the funding of that course when it started, I also took the OCONUS MTT course overseas, and my buddy was an instructor at the Huachuca course.

The course is much like language school, it is as valuable as you make it, and your proficiency is equal to your usage. The unofficial opinion from the joint service perspective is that the USMC Combat Hunter course is slightly better, and the Malaysian tracker course (which I don’t think we can take anymore) is the best. But as the Army goes, the course teaches you some decent skills, like staring at the ground for hours.

Typically you would need a group of people to go, if you need a POC at the school to ask questions of let me know. The class sizes are 24 students and as far as I can see their last scheduled class for FY10 just ended. The CTC was funded through the end of this FY after which it should be picked up by the Army, to my knowledge it was going to be funded.

I'll have to have a guy, call a guy and find out.
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Last edited by the boy; 09-03-2010 at 06:19.
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Old 09-07-2010, 07:17   #14
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Update

According to my source, the USAIC elected to discontinue the course because it was not MI related. Through some influence from the hill, TRADOC is now looking at whether it will be included in thier endorsed C-IED training courses. The indication is that the course will be continued under TRADOC, it is not clear who, where, when, how, the course will be provided in the future. More to follow on that.

As I mentioned before, the USMC Combat Hunter Course is another very good tracking course and I have been told that their MTT’s will service Army units. If you are interested, drop me a line and I’ll pass you some POC info.
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Last edited by the boy; 09-07-2010 at 07:20.
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Old 09-11-2010, 10:21   #15
MAB32
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Does David-Scott-Donelan teach any of the schools lately? Did he teach anywhere in the Army before? If so was he good?

MAB32
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