I am honored to have participated in the GRC 4th of July event with all of you. I am humbled by the event and what it means to be a teammate and not an individual. I want to commend ALL of our team leaders for doing a fan-damn-tastic job. At the end of every event it is good to log what information you have learned from the event for future use. In the civilian world these are called Lessons Learned and in the military world these are typically referred to as After Action Reviews. I have created two categories for the GRC. I believe everything can be broken down under pre-event and during-event categories. Prior To The Event Planning/Training: Broken bite valves - I believe there were 3 bite valves broken during the event. On the preventative side if you can get a bite valve cover that might help protect it during the event. You should also pack an extra bite valve. There is a saying two is one, one is none. Water bladder - consider bringing some patches or some type of tape to patch up your bladder in case you get a puncture in your bladder from your gear poking it. Electrolyte tablets - you seat an insane amount. These will help prevent cramping and muscle fatigue. Testing food to see how it affects your body - You want to make sure certain types of food dont cause stomach cramps or have any other negative side affects like explosive diarrhea. Improper training and supplements - Simulate what the real event will be the best you can. Dont load up on supplements prior to the event that you wouldnt normally load up on when training. Footwear - test your footwear thoroughly before hand. Get your feet wet - see how your feet feel and perform in wet socks and shoes then switch socks and compare the difference. During The Event: Positive mental attitude - this helps you and the team immensely. A negative attitude can bring the team down a notch and spread like wildfire throughout the team. Proper hydration - know how much water you should be consuming. Make sure you are consuming electrolytes as well. Not eating enough food - when you take a break all you might be thinking about is resting but you need to eat in order to consume calories for future use. Pain - pain is what happens before success. If youre in pain dont quit, get a reward from it. Event Tasks(subcategory of during the event for team leaders): Team attributes - understand the attributes(height, fitness, etc.) of your team. When coordinating paired support put likes with likes. Construction - if you are given an allotted time to construct something use all of that time. Scavenging - when there is a need to search for materials use all team members available to do the search. The more the better. Task assignment - when assigning tasks its OK to ask for volunteers first if not present themselves dont hesitate to pick people to assign the tasks to. This way you have a better chance of getting those who are more motivated to help first. If any of you have anything you want to contribute please do. Thank you all.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 13:20:57 +0000