Training Review of Navy Seal Academy's - SEAL Operator Tactical Pistol / Carbine Cour

[Bandsecurity]

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the SEAL Operator Tactical Pistol / Carbine Course put on by the Navy Seal Academy (http://navySEALacademy.com/). I was in Southern California on business and ran across the website and decided to take this course as it fit in perfectly with my business trip.

Navy Seal Academy has a very interesting model in my mind. As a gun (multiple) owner and a LTC holder, I believe that one must continually test and improve their skills. Having the opportunity to receive instruction from the arguably best weapon operators in world seemed too good to pass up. There are many great training companies and instructors out there and I have had the opportunity to take a few of their courses but this looked like a chance to really learn about the most current tactics and operations.
The lead instructor is Lalo Ronberti. He was involved in Operation Redwing of the “Lone Survivor” lore. The other instructor with us was Mr. “N”, an active duty SEAL and sniper instructor. There were two different classes put on: SEAL Tactical Mini Adventure Course and the course I took - SEAL Operator Tactical Pistol / Carbine Course. For the most part, Mr. N was with the 8 students taking the SEAL Tactical Mini Adventure Course and Lalo was me another student. Talk about instructor to student ratio. For the better part of 5 hours I had a Navy SEAL personally showing me what I was doing wrong (a lot) and right (not so much).
We started off with basic pistol work. Draw and shoot. Two to the body and one to the head. Then we moved to just the carbine and the drill was the same as with the pistol. Finally, we moved to manipulations transitioning between the carbine and the pistol. Again the concept was similar…perfect the movement, increase speed and get better with each repetition. Lalo was constantly finding ways for us to make the transition seamless. The course material states that students will use a 1,000 rounds between the pistol and carbine and I used almost every round. We were running and gunning all day long. We also worked on double tap drills for about an hour which was a blast and it was a great to get the opportunity to improve on this valuable skill.
After about 3 hours we broke for lunch. Lalo and Mr. N sat around and had lunch with all of the students and they talked about life as a SEAL. Both gentlemen are really down to earth guys. If you did not they were SEALs, you would not think they were. They could just as easy be your neighbor. They were just young good dudes. They did not exhibit a superior attitude and they really put the interest of the students first. It was great to receive instruction from SEALs but the fact that these guys were good guys made it all the better.
After lunch, we put the skills we learned in the morning into play by engaging in movement and cover drills. Myself and the other student worked on covering the other as we moved from one barrier to the other transitioning from the carbine to the pistol and back again. The goal was to always have cover fire while the other was moving and then attacking the target moving towards it alternating firining on target between the pistol and carbine.
The final evolution in training was a moving precision competition between all of the students. The competition consisted of a two team relay race consisting of 3 center mass shots with the carbine from 15 yards, six metal plate clearing shots from 5 yards with the pistol and a 10 yard metal plate shot with the pistol. We went through that a couple times. It was a blast as we were putting all of our skills to use – speed, precision and weapon transitions.
Overall, it was an outstanding day. Lalo and Mr. N really tailored the level of training to the skills of the students. I learned a lot and became much more confident with both my pistol and AR. NSA has some very interesting courses and I am positive that I will be a student again in the near future. While I am too old, they have BUDs development and training classes for any anyone that thinks that becoming a SEAL may be their future.

[pc_load_letter]

Is the class held in San Diego? If so, where is the training located? I am in SD and it would be perfect for me to take their courses if they are in SD.

Thanks,
MP

[tzotzo]

sounds pretty compelling. do you have to supply your own eqpt or can you use some SEAL 'rentals' ??

[Caseless]

Originally Posted by Bandsecurity

sounds pretty compelling. do you have to supply your own eqpt or can you use some SEAL 'rentals' ??

I think the carbine portion of the training course would have included burst fire training if that's the case.

[epilepticninja]

Excellent review, thanks.

[Bandsecurity]

Originally Posted by pc_load_letter

Is the class held in San Diego? If so, where is the training located? I am in SD and it would be perfect for me to take their courses if they are in SD.

Thanks,
MP

They have classes in SD and Azuza. They class I attended was in SD at a private defense contractor's facility.

[Bandsecurity]

Originally Posted by tzotzo

sounds pretty compelling. do you have to supply your own eqpt or can you use some SEAL 'rentals' ??

I had my own. They had Glocks and AR's available. The equipment was CA compliant.

[krisjon]

Thanks for the review! I'm taking the same class in April and am really looking forward to it. I hear nothing but good things about Lalo and the other instructors.

[gesundheit]

How would you compare their training to similar training provided by other schools?

By similar I mean their Pistol and Pistol/Carbine courses have the similar curriculum as other guys. What makes this school separate from others?

[Bandsecurity]

Originally Posted by gesundheit

How would you compare their training to similar training provided by other schools?

By similar I mean their Pistol and Pistol/Carbine courses have the similar curriculum as other guys. What makes this school separate from others?

I think that the NSA instruction that I received was excellent. In my opinion it was tactical and offensive based training. Lalo taught me how to use the AR as a primary weapon and the pistol as a secondary weapon. Aside from their mental and physical superiority, SEALs know how to shoot precisely very fast. Lalo showed me how to operate my weapons as fast as I could in an accurate manner.
As I stated above, I have had some great instruction. I am not sure if it is luck or just that the instructors are really good. In fact, I took a carbine/pistol class today and it was awesome with a different company. I think all instructors fill a different niche. Some are strong on theory, others fundamentals and some are teach you new skills.
I really don’t think it can be argued that SEALs are probably, as a group, in combat, the best weapons operators in the world. What is important to a SEAL may not be important to a LEO or another instructor. In my mind SEALs are hunters so that is what you get from the instruction. You need to shoot fast and accurately….you take the fight to the opponent. Lalo is going to push you hard to improve that skill set.
Additionally, there are not that many opportunities that you are going to get to shoot guns with SEALs. I saw instructor N rip off shots so fast and accurate that it was mind blowing. Given, he is a sniper instructor for the SEALs so he has to be good but it was impressive.
At the same time, the class I took today was equally valuable for entirely different reasons. I try and get as much from each class as possible. Lalo and instructor N are great guys and fill a valuable niche. I don’t think they are going to show anyone a top secret method that no one has ever seen before. I do think they will train you for what they feel is important in combat type situations based upon their combat experience, which is extensive.
Most instructors will have a different approach because that is not the goal of the class nor do they have that specific experience. That does not make their instruction any less valuable, just different.

[ramzar]

Thanks Bandsecurity for posting the nice AAR and making us aware of this outfit.

I'm going to check these guys out specially if they'll schedule their 1-day SOT Pistol/Carbine Course at Burro Canyon Shooting Park in Azusa. Don't mind the San Diego location either since it'll just be a long Saturday driving down and back. Worth trying even at the steep price of $299 for the day.

[Kempfer]

They got some youtube videos I think the details says one of the instructors is Lalo, should check them out. Wasn't able to find one for their pistol/carbine but they have videos from pistol 1 and the other courses they offer.

You got to a lot of training ramz, I think you should invest in a head cam to show us some of the action

[ramzar]

Quite a few videos at NSA-TV.

The facilities are the Blackwater (AKA U.S. Training Center & Academi) ones in San Diego about 500 yards from the Mexican border. I've taken courses there before. The shooting range is like a giant bullet-proof vault inside an even more giant warehouse.

[ramzar]

By the way, check out the new movie Act of Valor which opened in L.A. on Friday. It's not a movie you go see for great acting, story or script. Instead it's all about seeing the SEALs in action. These are active duty SEALs using live ammo in their training exercises. Some great nighttime head cam shots similar to what was “possibly” done during Operation Geronimo. This is a movie to see for its action, tactics, various weaponry including some great shots of an actual U.S. Navy nuclear sub in the middle of an ocean. Above all, it's a tribute to these brave men and their support systems.

Here are some videos, news articles, etc. links.

'Act of Valor': Film Review

Movie review: 'Act of Valor'

Navy SEALs cringe over media spotlight, but hope movie 'Act of Valor' draws new recruits

Secretive SEALs Moonlight as Movie Stars, With Navy’s Blessing

Navy SEALs: Obama’s Secret Army

[Kempfer]

Indeed, stay for the credits as it pays homage to those that have served.

[ramzar]

The closing credit lists the 60 SEALs who have been killed in action since 9/11.