AAR: Green Ops Defensive Carbine I (Culpepper, VA) - 06/24/2023
AAR Originally posted at lightfighter.net
I attended the Green Ops Defensive Carbine 1 course on Saturday 24 June 2023 in Culpepper, Va. I went with my son as his high school graduation gift; overall it was a great experience (and I think it put me in the running for “Father of the Year”).
On the morning of the course, the rural gas station that served as the rally point was quickly transformed into the most heavily armed parking lot this side of Kandahar. After a quick check-in and waiver collection we convoyed the short distance to the range.
The outdoor range was good sized and had everything required for our class of 20-30 students. The “amenities” were sparse but that was made clear in advance so everyone should have been prepared.
The instructors - Lucas, Fred, and Steph - set the tone for the course. With a mix of backgrounds from military, LE, contractor, and competition, they were friendly, approachable and knowledgeable. The safety briefing was thorough and comprehensive. Every demonstration was clear and concise, they communicated well, and they kept the line safe. It was obscenely hot and humid and with little shade, but the instructors kept an eye on the class for heat stress and made sure to give frequent breaks for water.
The class content was solid and focused on fundamentals. We first confirmed our zeroes and then got to work. We worked on making adjustments for height over bore at different ranges, kneeling, from low ready , from high ready, multiple rounds, varying cadence, tactical and emergency reloads. We worked multiple positions behind barricades, and transitioning from strong side to weak side shooting. The drills were easy to learn, and multiple options were presented to accommodate variations in gear (e.g., I did well with my extra mags just in a back pocket instead of top of the line war belt with mag carriers), personal preferences, and physical limitations (e.g., certain dropping to the knee variations were much more comfortable than the others). We were put through some friendly competition and the Green Ops qual course, both of which were challenging but fun. Of particular value was the instructors’ collective experience, and their resulting practical advice: this is how to actually lube the rifle; yes, you could technically completely fill the mag to max capacity but you might not want to (I think half of us tried anyways and had mags not seat correctly; lesson learned); yes, you can actually use your mag as a support while zeroing and it will feed fine; etc.
I was most impressed by the camaraderie and supportive atmosphere in general. There were lots of smiles (not egos) and friendly advice (not condescending comments). The “tech support” was amazing, with instructors really going above and beyond to help students get their rifles back up and running to stay in the game. When there were any actual issues/broken parts rendering guns inoperable, multiple students came forward with their spare rifle to act as loaners for the rest of the day. It really felt like a team, which was great.
in terms of gear there was an assortment of ARs (from PSA to DD, several of which were suppressed) and a few outliers like CZ BREN 2 and the new Springfield Hellion. There were red dots and LPVOs; I had an LPVO but was overkill for this course; I would have been faster w basic red dot.
The only advice I’d give for other students is to “no kidding” zero your rifle before arrival to save time (so you aren’t “that guy” holding up the class), and to plan to be outside exposed for 8 full hours (sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, I wore one of those long sleeve fishing shirts that give UV protection, cooler w ice, water, electrolytes, snacks, etc).
All in all the course was well worth the money, I learned a lot and had a great time. Green Ops is a class act and I highly recommend them. I’m already looking to schedule my next course