Frag Out! Magazine

unexpected attraction has the Targets Creators instructor team prepared for Sunday? Stories from colleagues about one of the summer camps kept running through my head, where after an inno- cent call for a briefing, everyone—with no option to retreat for gear and only with what they had on them—was invi- ted to an overnight survival stint in the forest... Day 2 – Marksmanship Preparation To quote a good teammate, Mada: "Maybe we'll do some shooting?" Sa- turday morning brings a change—the kayaks turn out to be merely an over- ture, and the real feast begins on Sa- turday morning. Divided into sections, we move through the prepared training stations. We start with PID/270 Degree Shooting with Matka. Our task is to engage targets called out by the instructor in a given sequence, assuming various initial placements of the shooters in a buddy team and their positions relative to the threat. An additional complication is the use of Targets Creators paper target variants (armed and unarmed). This is excellent training for navigating courses in for- mats such as PIRO and IDPA or CQB-ty- pe stages during tactical competitions. In addition to practicing shooting fun- damentals, we implement safe move- ment with a weapon on a 3D course, including cooperation within a buddy team. Day 1 - Kayaks We start with the theory... of moving in a kayak. A tactical kayak? Wait a minu- te—that's so "un-tacticool." Kayaking is simple: you sit down, take a paddle, and head forward with a song on your lips. It quickly turns out that weekend trips on the Brda, Vistula, or Warta rivers have nothing to do with how we will spend the next few hours. • First: Teamwork—maintaining kayaks in formation, maintaining speed, and efficient maneuvering for beaching, se- curing the landing site, and inserting or extracting personnel and cargo. • Second: Efficient navigation and mu- tual relocation of separated formation elements. • Third and most important: Safety. Fortunately, I already have my first experiences in operating a kayak with a load on a narrow, rushing river behind me—twice during the Lekka Piechota (Light Infantry) challenge and during summer multi-day trips with my son— but will that be enough? We finish the theoretical session by planning the kay- ak crews and assigning tasks within the formation. There are significantly fewer smiles now; the jokes fall silent, and an omnipresent thrill of excitement and uncertainty appears—but that's exactly what "tigers like best." We head down to the water. Instead of firearms, which are locked in the armo- ry, we will use Airsoft replicas for the exercises, faithfully imitating the origi- nals. The kayaks quickly teach us a fun- damental lesson in humility. And again, firstly—individual equip- ment: how to wear it, which elements to consciously discard, how to put on a life jacket, and how to operate a carbine replica and a paddle simultaneously so that none of these valuable items end up permanently at the bottom of the Pilica River. Secondly: how to distribute the load and operators in the kayak to maintain its maneuverability. Maku (ex-Formoza), a man of unique calm and a sense of humor who always has a smile on his face, quickly shows us a few simple solutions to prevent lo- sing a paddle or valuable gear. We are ready—ahead of us lie 6 hours of exerci- ses on the water. Indeed—the next few hours pass very quickly. The time is filled with repe- titions of exercises and synchroniza- tion between the kayak teams. I admire the persistence of the TC instructors, who, with calm strength and pinpoint guidance, gradually eliminated our mi- stakes. Handi (ex-Formoza) and Rob- son (ex-GROM) control the security maneuvers, beaching, unloading, and loading of the kayaks every single time. We must master this art to at least a satisfactory degree. Step by step, repe- tition after repetition, despite growing fatigue, the maneuvers become smo- other and more confident, until, soaking wet, we hear the command to return. When we left the pier, we resembled an uncoordinated Sunday excursion—we returned to it in a tight formation. Whi- le rhythmically hitting the water with my paddle, I kept asking myself—what www.fragoutmag.com

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