Having attended both courses this year, I am sometimes asked to compare Randall’s Field Survival vs Basic Survival at Pathfinder School. If a handful of people that I regularly interact with are asking this, a few of you must be wondering it, too, so I thought I’d share my thoughts. Both were GREAT courses and this isn’t to find a “better” one, just to compare and contrast the differences for anyone deciding between the two.
AAR: The Pathfinder School Basic Survival Course
A huge priority for my 2023 training plan was to attend some wilderness survival training. Though I felt I had a pretty solid skillset via self-study and practice, there really is no substitute for formal, high-fidelity training. With that in mind I signed up for two classes. The first, Randall’s Adventure Training’s Field Survival was back in March. The second, and the subject of this after-action review, The Pathfinder School Basic Survival Course, was this past weekend.
AAR: Rangemaster Protective Pistolcraft IDC
This is an after-action review of the Rangemaster Protective Pistolcraft Instructor Development Course held in White Hall, Arkansas. This 5-day class was taught by Tom Givens. This is a rundown of the class, the equipment I used, and my thoughts on it. Hopefully this will give you some idea what to expect if you’re planning on attending some Rangemaster training, and encourage you to if you’re not!
GORUCK Tough 30th Anniversary Mogadishu Mile AAR
I recently completed a GORUCK Event, a “Tough”-level event. This was a phenomenal physical training opportunity and a self-inflicted gut-check. If you’re looking for a way to challenge yourself mentally and physically, a GORUCK event is a good way to do it. This post will talk about GORUCK Challenges, how to prepare your gear and yourself, and serve as a brief AAR to the GORUCK Tough Mogadishu Mile event I completed.
On Little League and Tactical Pageantry
Of late I have had the privilege of attending a few of my nephew’s little league baseball games. It is very cool to be in a place in my life where I can come show my support for him. I played little league baseball so this was also fun on its face. But it got me thinking about something else, this meditation on little league and tactical pageantry. I hope my attempt at metaphor isn’t too far gone and that this offers some food for thought.
ATP Podcast 041 – How to Teach a Class
Welcome back to the Across The Peak Podcast, the show Where Rich and Justin discuss preparedness, the birds and the bees, guns, history, tattoos, and… well, basically all the stuff your old man shoulda taught you! After a four-year silence we are re-releasing the ATP archive, including this never-before-aired episode: Across The Peak Episode 041: How to Teach a Class. This show was supposed to air on 04/03/2019, but it was never edited and never listened to (even by us), so you’re hearing it for the first time!
AAR: Gelhaus, Hearne, & Weems’ Cognitive Conclave
It has been quite some time since I have attended a pistol class. I’m not a GM or anything, but I have a decent level of skill with a pistol, and handgun classes just haven’t been a training priority for me over the past few years. This year I ran across the Cognitive Conclave, a pistol class offering something different and I had to do it. This is a detailed, after-action review of that class.
UPDATED AAR: Randall’s Adventure Training Field Survival
“This 3-day class is an aggressive immersion into the challenges of surviving with minimal gear in a field setting. THIS IS NOT A BUSHCRAFT CLASS!” “Significant stressors are placed upon the student in the forms of hunger, physical exertion, thirst, lack of gear, personal discomfort, and sleep deprivation as a means to simulate a 72 hour survival scenario.” “BE WARNED: THIS IS NOT AN EASY CLASS!” These warnings were all present in the literature for the Randall’s Adventure Training Field Survival Course.
Time Management for Instructors
I would like to pose question to my instructor friends out there: why do you teach? I hope the answer is something along the lines of, “to provide my students with valuable information.” Poor time management can completely interrupt the learning process. I’ve written about respecting students’ time before. Today I’m going to delve deeper into the idea of time management for instructors, using a bad example.
Even More Instructorship Lessons
I recently mentioned attending some outdoor Search & Rescue training. The class wasn’t bad but there was definitely some poor instructor behavior. I’ll be honest, I thought I had seen it all until began attending public safety training. Here are a few instructorship lessons that may help make your classes better.