Soldiers Take Part in Level Two Combatives

By Alex McVeigh, Pentagram Staff WriterApril 2, 2010

Soldiers Take Part in Level Two Combatives
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Soldiers Take Part in Level Two Combatives
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Soldiers Take Part in Level Two Combatives
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

While a standard eight-hour office day sitting at a desk in front of a computer might seem boring, some will argue that it beats the training that more than 20 National Capital Region Soldiers have undergone for the last two weeks. The Soldiers were participating in level two of Modern Army Combatives at the Fort Myer Fitness Center.

Modern Army Combatives was started in 2002 by then Sgt. 1st Class Matt Larsen, who created the U.S. Army Combatives School at Fort Benning, Ga. As a member of the 2nd Ranger Battalion at Fort Lewis, Wash., he began to rewrite the Army's combatives doctrine. Eventually he wrote Army Field Manual 3-25.150, which is the Army's official manual for combatives.

Combatives is the official hand-to-hand martial art of the Army, and it incorporates fighting techniques from many different martial arts, as well as combat sports.

The combatives field manual stresses the importance of learning combatives, saying, "proficiency in combatives is one of the fundamental building blocks for training the modern Soldier."

Several Soldiers from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall took a level three combatives course at Fort Benning in June 2008, and began teaching Soldiers, training more than 100 in the first five months alone. Since Soldiers who are level three and above can teach the skill levels below them, more and more Soldiers can be trained as time goes on.

For most of last year, Soldiers were taught level one combatives, which involves 18 basic drills. It is a one-week, 40-hour course, which instructors at JBM-HH stretched out to ten days to fit in with Soldiers' busy schedules. The Army's goal is to have one level-one trainer per platoon.

Level two is much more intense, a two-week, 80-hour course designed to expand upon the original techniques as well as give the philosophy and methodology behind each of the moves. There are more than 60 techniques to learn at level two. The Army's goal is to have one level-two trainer per company. More than 20 Soldiers joined the level-two class that went from March 22 to today, and it was a tough outing for most of them.

"It was really tough physically, but it's also really hard memorizing all the moves and what they're called," said Spc. Khryshell Bermel, 289th Military Police Company.

One of the tougher exercises took place Tuesday, the drill instructors call "the gauntlet." Soldiers paired up, and ran from one side of the basketball court to the other. When they reached the end of the mat, one Soldier would throw their partner to the ground using the move called out by the instructor. After the Soldier got up, they would run to the other side and reverse roles.

Though many of the Soldiers were from the same unit, the instructors kept a sharp eye out for anyone caught throwing their partner down with anything less than 100 percent. Threats of extending the exercise were all the Soldiers needed to make sure they were throwing Soldiers as hard as they could.

One of the most feared maneuvers was the "tree top" which requires Soldier A to pick up Soldier B by the leg, and while the Soldier B tries to hop around keeping his balance, Soldier A picks him up and throws him down on his back.

The tree top requires knowledge from both Soldier A and Soldier B, because Soldier B needs to know how to fall correctly. The instructors teach you to land on your back and shoulders, with the arms hugging yourself and elbows up.

This prevents shoulders, arms and wrists from being broken in the fall. Instructors also recommend that the person falling lets air out as they hit the ground to avoid getting the wind knocked out of them.

"The tree top is tough. Someone is basically taking your body to its apex, and then taking you down hard," said Staff Sgt. Baron Fulp, 289th MP Co. "It wakes you up, that's for sure. Better than a cup of coffee," Fulp said.

As the gauntlet wore on, Soldiers were staying on the ground longer after hitting the ground, but they managed to pull themselves up and complete the exercise.

While it was one of the tougher days, Sgt. Terry Maddox of the 529th Regimental Support Company - who is one of the instructors - says keeping your form while tired is part of the training as well.

"A lot of combatives is training while you're already tired," Maddox said. "If you're deployed, and you haven't slept much, you're carrying all your equipment and you're exhausted, you have to be ready to defend yourself at all times."

While the training was exhausting, the Soldiers wouldn't be doing it if they didn't think it would help them become better Soldiers. Some of them even go through the grueling training because they enjoy it.

"I love combatives," Fulp said. "It's a fun program, and unlike a few other martial arts, it has a lot of real life applications."