The Loadout Room
Professional Gear Reviews
Recently we have revisited some of the basics of Land Navigation, one of the trio of the biggest obstacles that Special Operations candidates will face in their individual Selection courses. And now we’ll move on to the next one, and one we always get a lot of questions about. Rucking. I look upon rucking just […]
About six months ago in our SFAS training tips, we hit the trails with our rucksack and were hitting the hills as they present issues that as a Selection candidate that you will encounter in the various courses that the services will offer. With the rain, we had in the area as the remnants of […]
In our Selection preparation, we always stress the importance of Rucking and the value that all of the services put on it in the Special Operations community. The services will all stress the 45-pound minimum in training and one of the frequent questions we get is why train with 45-pounds when in reality the amount […]
One of the hardest things to do for all of us is to break out of our comfort zone. And that not only goes for training, which we’re talking about today but in everyday life situations. However, that same comfort zone can and will lead to stagnation both personally and professionally. And we have to […]
We are always preaching about staying hydrated during the Selection course as well as in your preparation train up beforehand. And practicing proper hydration has to be practiced during the Selection course, regardless of the season or you will most assuredly fail. The military is unlike almost every other profession because we work outside, regardless […]
About 8-9 months ago we posted a piece on boots and not only having ones that fit properly but having at least one backup, broken-in pair when you start Selection. With new classes starting up, we’ve gotten some questions about the different gates and events at Selection and we’ve posted on those and will revisit […]
When we think about Special Forces Selection and Assessment (SFAS), nothing fun, funny or silly immediately comes to mind. You’ll hear about the horror stories of the ruck marches, the soft sand of nearly every Camp Mackall firebreak, the Star land navigation course and the various conveyances constructed during Team Week. It is known more […]
There’s a limited set of training options for rucking other than rucking itself. But, rucking is the one sport that requires practice in that act, only, to improve. To ruck you have to ruck. But, I say that with one caveat – endurance running helps a ton. Embracing longer runs, ten or more miles every […]
As always during the winter months, we get a lot of questions about Selection once the cold weather classes begin. And as per usual, the majority of questions pertain to rucking, land navigation (the Hoffman “Dagobah System”) and general preparedness. So, to answer the questions, the best way to answer is to actually go out […]
Because most of our military bases are in the southern United States, one area that can be neglected, especially when preparing for Special Operations training is cold weather training.  It is surprising how many young people who enter the military don’t know or understand the basics of cold weather preparation. First some of the basics; […]