Matt in TN

2024 match dates at Dead Zero Shooting Park in Spencer, TN are set! 5 stages with rifle out to 500 yds, super newby-friendly, and we have an ever-growing 2-Gun division for those of you who hate shotgun. All for the bargain basement price of $30/match. Come on out and play! 2/17/2024 - Saturday Night Match 3/17/2024 4/21/2024 5/19/2024 6/16/2024 7/21/2024 8/18/2024 9/15/2024 10/19/2024 - Saturday Night Match 11/17/2024 Follow the Dead Zero 3Gun Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/DeadZero3Gun for all the details!

Just FYI - since this is a new match at a new range, we will be running with completely empty weapons this time (instead of the loaded handgun way we do it at Legion matches). You will be asked to show both weapons are clear before and after shooting each stage, and be allowed to load and make ready while on the run clock before starting the shooting stage timer. Finding a loaded weapon anywhere on the course other than after being given the "load and make ready" command will result in a match DQ. I think I've updated all the relevant info about this - please let me know if I've missed anything anywhere. Thanks!

Don't forget - registration opens tonight at 7pm Central time. Be at your computer clicking "refresh" right at 7 if you want to be sure to get in! https://practiscore.com/tenet-midnight-madness.../register

Remember Stage 1 from the Legion match this year? The one several people called "the best stage they'd ever shot, in ANY kind of competition"? Jay Roberts designed that ONE stage in that match - and he's designing EVERY stage in this match. I'm not saying every stage will have explosions, real live Green Beret teammates, shooting from a moving vehicle, various points of cover, and enemy infiltrating through the woods. I'm just saying you will not want to miss this match! Registration opens this Tuesday January 23rd at 7:00pm Central. Be sure to be sitting at your computer hitting the refresh key if you want to get in! https://practiscore.com/tenet-midnight-madness-night-run-n-gun-2024/register

There will be 2 (possibly 3) locations where competitors must utilize a climbing rope (knotted rope to climb or descend 10-12 feet). Don't forget - registration opens next Tuesday, January 23rd at 7:00pm Central Time. Be there or risk missing out!

Here's two of our Special Friends doing some course recon with the VK Integrated Systems ATAK (Android Tactical Assault Kit or Android Team Awareness Kit, depending on its use details) package. A few select competitors will be outfitted with a special rifle stock that will not only transmit their location data live so all the other competitors can watch their progress back at the start line, but report shot/engagement data as well. VKSYS has a big reveal at the SHOT Show coming up with this system - be sure to check them out if you're going! https://vkintsys.com/

Registration will open at 7:00pm Central Time on Tuesday, January 23rd at the below link. As we do with the Legion day match, payment will be collected on match day (cash only) to avoid taxes and simplify the charitable donation to the Trevor Graves Fund. This is a new match, so we have no idea how this will go - but if it's similar to Legion match registrations it will sell out in less than one minute. Be at your computer on time if you want to get in! If you get registered but have to cancel, PLEASE withdraw through Practiscore as soon as you know this - DON'T BE THAT GUY who just doesn't show up, takes someone else's slot, and reduces the amount we can raise for the fund. https://practiscore.com/tenet-midnight-madness-night-run-n-gun-2024/register

Be warned: Jay wants this night match to be MOAR. To fit all this in and allow as many competitors as possible, this will be a very long night. Expect to have the award ceremony after sunrise. If things go badly and we have unforeseen backlogs, the last runners who have suffered the most MIGHT get the advantage of finishing their match as the sun starts to come up. Thankfully we have a full staff of Green Berets who are used to staying up all night, and will give you no pity as you struggle. Pace yourself, plan accordingly, and... Just. Don't. Quit.

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): 4 miles of wilderness trails, carrying all your gear, stopping to shoot 6 stages (rifle/pistol) along the way. At night. Put on by the Green Berets that brought you the Legion Memorial Run N Gun, so expect that flavor. $200 match fee, with all the match proceeds going to the Trevor Graves Memorial Fund, held under the Special Forces Charitable Trust (https://www.specialforcescharitabletrust.org/). Click "interested" or "going" on the Facebook event page to see all the chatter and details going forward: https://www.facebook.com/events/726579629371579 All the details below. Intro: The 2024 TENET Midnight Madness Run N Gun is a centerfire biathlon – competitors will complete a 4 mile (ish) wilderness trail run combined with a shooting competition. At night. In the dark! The event is a test of man and equipment alike. It is intended to give participants an idea of how being hot, cold, exhausted, and challenged by the environment affects their shooting, and to test the effectiveness of their gear under field conditions. This event is not intended for inexperienced shooters – all participants are expected to be familiar with the operation of their firearms, and to observe basic principles of firearm safety at all times. With the exception of emergencies, Range Officers (ROs) are not allowed to help participants in any way. Good attitudes are a must. If you are the type of person who gets upset when minor changes are made to a plan or when you don’t always get your way, this is not the event for you. Basics: Participants will receive both a score for their run based on how long it took them to complete the course, and a score for their shooting based on how long it took them to clear each course of fire. The run score and shooting score will be equally weighted in determining the participant’s final score. This is true run-what-you-brung field-style shooting. For the most part, if you want to carry it for 4 miles, be our guest. There are two equipment divisions: NVG, in which only IR or passive aiming will allowed to both shoot and navigate the course (penalties will be assessed for any light ND's), and White Light, in which any lights you wish (both weaponlights and navigation lights) will be allowed. For both divisions, a separate light other than your weaponlights MUST be used for navigation. Shooters are expected to have all their firearms sighted in and all their gear ready to go on the evening of the shoot. There will be no zeroing at the event. Think of this as a test of how you and your equipment would perform in a Second Amendment situation if you had to go take care of business at your current state of readiness, whatever that is. Run order will be more or less random. We will try to be accommodating to participants who wish to share firearms or equipment (we can have one person run early and late), or to partners who wish to run together. Due to issues with back-ups and large groups in the past, only two runners can start together. Equipment: The only equipment that is strictly required to participate is a safe center fire rifle, a safe center fire pistol, enough ammo to clear the course (at least twice the minimum required hit count is recommended), eye protection, ear protection, and some form of stopwatch. Rifle targets must be engaged with rifle rounds (no larger than 30-06), and pistol targets must be engaged with pistol rounds. Competitors must carry one rifle and one pistol. Everything else is up to the participant. Shooters may use any type of gear they want to carry their equipment with, the only requirement being that pistols must be carried in a secure holster. Rifles may be carried any way you like, as long as they remain pointed in a safe direction. You may not use tracers or armor piercing bullets that have a hardened penetrator core, as we will be using lots of steel targets that we don’t want to see damaged. To be safe – if your bullet attracts a magnet or has a green tip, leave it at home. Rules: First and foremost, all participants will be expected to comply with basic firearms safety at all times. If you demonstrate inability or unwillingness to follow basic firearm safety, you will be asked to leave, with no refund and no apology. Muzzles must be pointed in a safe direction at all times, and fingers must be off the trigger unless the firearm is pointed at a target. Weapons shall only be loaded when a shooter is at a rifle stage, after the RO has given the “fire” command. Some stages will be active, involving moving and shooting. Firearms may remain loaded during movement, but strict muzzle discipline must be maintained. Shooters will be disqualified (DQ’d) and not allowed to finish the course for the following violations: having a loaded weapon anywhere EXCEPT on a shooting stage after the “beep”, dropping a loaded pistol, pointing a loaded weapon at someone, or having a Negligent Discharge (ND). It is solely the judgement of my Staff that I trust if these should occur, and if you argue with an RO you will lose. Procedures: When a shooter approaches a station, he will be required to show the RO an empty mag well and empty chamber on his weapons. If another shooter is currently on the stage when he arrives, the one who just arrived will be instructed by the RO to start his stopwatch to keep track of his wait time (this will be subtracted off the participant’s run time when his run score is calculated). It is purely the shooter’s responsibility to keep track of his wait time. The ROs have no responsibility whatsoever to help you do this. Even if an RO offers to help you keep track of your time, you have no one but yourself to blame if this is not done. When the shooter is ready to shoot the stage, the RO will record his wait time if any. The shooter will be given a quick summary of the course of fire. The RO will ask if the shooter understands the course of fire. If the answer is yes, the shooter will be given the "load and make ready" command. Then the start buzzer will indicate the start of shooting. All stages will have a zone where the shooter must fire from -- either a particular hole in a barricade that you must shoot through, or a marked zone on the ground, in which every part of your body or equipment which touches the ground must remain inside of when you fire. Hits made from outside the designated area will not count toward completion of the course of fire. Every shooting stage will have a 3 minute time limit at most. This is to keep the runners moving and to prevent large backups of shooters waiting to shoot a stage. At the end of that 3 minute period, the shooter will be stopped and time penalties applied to their score for any target not fully neutralized as per the course of fire requirements. If for any reason the “cease fire” command is given, you will immediately cease fire, holster your handgun, and unload your rifle. You will do likewise when you complete a stage, or time out. The RO should tell you your time for the stage. The RO will record your time on their iPad. You may want to carry a pen and notepad to keep track of your score in there is a mix-up with the scoring. Every shooter must show the RO an empty mag well and chamber on their weapons before leaving each stage. The RO will give directions on where to go to continue down the trail. Shooters are NOT required to leave their rifle’s bolt open during the run… this is actually discouraged, as it will allow lots of that beautiful Kentucky red clay to accumulate inside the action. There will be ample opportunity for this to happen on the course. The Run: The path for participants to follow will be marked with brightly colored flags and/or tape. Shooters must stay close to the marked path. Do not cut corners. Failure to follow the marked trail may take you into the impact area of a hot range!!! If the trail takes you through some difficult terrain, this is on purpose! Parts of the trail may be down a road. Keep to the left edge of the road and watch for traffic. Your Fitness: This event is in a remote area, and you need to be aware of over-exertion. We should have some folks with medical skills on hand, but your health is your responsibility. If you start having problems, slow down... drink some water... listen to your body! There is no shame in walking the course; know yourself and your limitations. Accommodations: Cedar Creek Precision is just outside of Hopkinsville, KY. Primitive camping will be allowed onsite for $10/night, and there is an RV camp park about 3 miles from the range. How to Sign Up: The registration fee for the Tenet Midnight Madness Run N Gun will be $200. Registration will be limited in number so all runners can finish the course before daylight. Registration will be handled through Practiscore, and we will collect full payment (CASH or CHECK ONLY – NO CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS WILL BE ACCEPTED AND THERE IS NO ATM ONSITE - the evening of the match. Make sure you are familiar with all of our rules and procedures before signing up. All participants must register under their true names. Tickets are non-transferable. Pre-registration is mandatory, and no walk-ons will be allowed on match day as space and time is limited. All proceeds from the match will go the Trevor Graves Memorial Fund, held under the Special Forces Charitable Trust (https://www.specialforcescharitabletrust.org/) Cancellation Policy: Please cancel your registration through Practiscore as soon as you know you can’t come. We always have several people on the waitlist, and if you don’t cancel early enough not only can they not get in, but the Special Forces Association won’t max out the contribution we can make to them. DON’T BE THAT GUY who just decides not to show up and doesn’t tell anyone. Directions: The match will be held at Cedar Creek Precision range, which is located at 14298 Melvin West Rd, Hopkinsville, KY 42240. Photos by Lisa Stennett

I am honored and humbled to report that Jay Roberts, Trevor Saunders, and I attended the 62nd Annual Reunion Dinner put on by SFA38 last Friday. We spoke for a few minutes about the match to a couple hundred active and retired Green Berets - spanning almost 7 decades of service. And then presented them a check in the amount of $38,232.18 for this year's net donation. This puts us at almost $120,000 in donations to SFA38 since we started this 7 years ago. What's crazy about this is that only about half of this year's donation came from match fees. The other half came purely from the generosity and hard work of sponsors and regular competitors who took it upon themselves to donate amazing prizes and organize raffles and auctions to help raise extra money. THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for helping to make this happen. I wish I could share all of the amazing comments and appreciation we received at this dinner - but hopefully you'll be able to do it in person next year when many of these same Green Berets will be attending the match in person! Pictures courtesy of Jayson Rivas of JHR Photography

Shared with permission from Trevor Saunders (co-founder of this match), because he says it better than I ever could: 2023 Legion Memorial Run N Gun is hard to sum up in a single post. I've tried sitting down and writing a post more than once, and stared at a blank screen. Matt Stennett and Jay Roberts did an amazing job this year honoring 5th Group's losses, taking care of our Gold Star Families, and running 4 matches over the course of 3 days. My biggest take away this year - witnessing the community that Trevor Graves started building around this match 7 years ago come together to grieve his loss, honor his memory, and care for each other. Our Legion family spent a lot of time processing lessons learned with Trevor's loss and discussing in-depth what we can do to stop the bleeding from unseen wounds in the warrior community. Jamie Korenoski said it best when he encouraged everyone to be invasive in their friendships. There is a lot of work to be done; but this match and the Legion family truly made last weekend a healing experience for me, and I don't think I'm the only one. Some of the most impactful moments of the match were listening to Pete Jones and Shane Kerwin share their experiences and why they support the match. It's not a business opportunity for them. They don't walk away with profit. They do it because they believe in the mission and it's an opportunity to tell the stories of their brothers. I made new friends, caught up with old friends, and lost a few pounds walking up the hill on Stage 1 about 80 times on Sunday. I can't thank the all-volunteer staff enough for coming back year after year to make this event happen. Cumulatively, we crossed the $100,000 mark in funds raised for Special Forces Association, Chapter 38 over the last 7 years. That's not from "mega donors"; that's from the community showing up, competing, and generously giving. That's from individuals leveraging their talents and resources to raffle off paintings, guns, handmade swords. It's humbling and inspiring at the same time. Thank you Dead Zero Shooting Park for hosting us. Even when M240b's show up unexpectedly, you've still been gracious and accommodating. Spike's Tactical - you've been with us since the beginning and your consistent generosity is a testament to the character of your company. Alan's Arsenal LLC - Thank you for your continued support! Your contributions to the prize table are unreal. And your shirts were outstanding this year! I got to sample product from The Star Spangled Brewing Co. Uptown, another Green Beret owned business, and I can't wait until they break into the Kentucky market! Personal Survival Solutions, Aero Precision, Tomahawk Strategic Solutions, VK Integrated Systems, @Nocturnality Night Vision, Innovative Targets, Samson Manufacturing, @Glock Store Nashville - Thank you all! Trevor Saunders carried Trevor Graves' plate carrier in his ruck this year as tribute. He says "The heaviest part of my ruck was Trevor's plate carrier. My small way of carrying him with me. Stay Classy. "

And surely everyone has found them by now, but just in case - scores can be found here: 5k: https://practiscore.com/results/html/0f2a478c-6b92-4527-a76a-161da1a6d444 10k: https://practiscore.com/results/html/92ee34f7-2c42-4dc0-a406-744791059bef Night Team Match: https://practiscore.com/results/html/8303f87a-4327-478c-a225-0e54184afb75

From Lisa (my dear wife, the photographer): 2023 Legion Memorial Run N Gun photos are up. This year, I was fortunate enough to have a helper on the course taking pictures with me. My daughter joined me for the weekend, so there are more photos than usual to browse through. If you find pictures of yourself, keep looking - there may be more in the album somewhere. (Edit to add: I, as well as my 'helper'/daughter, appreciate you all tolerating our presence on the course. Over the years, these matches have proven to be a great outlet for practicing and learning different photography skill sets. This year, my take-away lesson from shooting Legion would be to pay better attention to my shutter speed, which in turn drives my ISO setting, in different conditions. Here's to grainy photos and lessons learned.) I would recommend viewing and downloading from a laptop or desktop computer as using devices can be problematic. Share and enjoy your photos with family and friends. You must contact me and obtain permissions before any use of these photos for commercial or monetary purposes. Friday pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lstennett/albums/72177720311191526 Saturday pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lstennett/albums/72177720311230563 Sunday pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lstennett/albums/72177720311247340

This year's official match video is finally up! It's impossible to fit three days with this much intensity into a 5 minute promo video without it feeling rushed. But hopefully it gets across the almost frantic feeling of being there! Share it with your family and friends to give them just a taste of what you did last weekend. Share it to give the sponsors some additional love and attention. But most importantly, share it to help remember the eight men we honored this year. Continue to say their names out loud and speak their stories any chance you get. https://youtu.be/51hpvAA7Jp0?si=zlsFLIXBHCTS8-3G

I am happy to announce RnG Tactics has joined on as a sponsor, and will be providing almost $1,000 worth of product for the prize table! Check them out at https://rngtactics.com/

Stage 3 will honor MSG David Thuma, who after an amazing career full of accomplishments, died unexpectedly from a heart attack during morning PT in June of 1998. Some 5th Group Soldiers die in training - not just on the battlefield. Sometimes terrible things happen close to home too, and I think the surprise and shock of this almost makes it worse. Read more about MSG Thuma's impressive career and life here: https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=BattleMemoryExt&ID=115120 In this stage: resupply ammo to your teammates while knocking back enemy attack. (HQ1SG)

I am excited to announce that for the first time ever we will have a food truck onsite! Jeremy Swofford with Red's Dinner Bell will be there all day Saturday and Sunday selling from his menu (below), and will have a special fundraising dinner menu Saturday night - part of the proceeds from that dinner will go to SFA.

Samson Manufacturing has been a sponsor since the beginning, and Bryan Ray and Brian Vaught were instrumental in getting me "in" at Rockcastle to do this crazy thing we do the very first year. So it is fair to say that the Briyans and Samson made RNG east of the Mississippi possible! Not only that, but they are bringing $2,000 worth of product to the prize table this year! Samson does so much so support the shooting sports of ALL kinds - be sure to look to them first when you need great handguards or other gear! Check them out at: https://www.samson-mfg.com/

I am happy to report Glockstore Nashville has signed on as a Vendor Level Sponsor and is not only bringing $2,000 worth of product for the prize tables, but also one of their trainers to compete for them! If you have a Glock (or if you NEED a Glock!) and are anywhere near Nashville, you need to get to Glockstore! https://www.glockstore.com/gsntn.html

I don't normally like hidden target stages in a match, but this is such a real world skill Green Berets use we can't ignore it. The honoree for this stage is Billy Waugh, who spent most of his career finding and eliminating targets over a span of several decades - from Vietnam all the way to deploying to Afghanistan at the age of 71 (and further!). We lost Billy in April of this year at the age of 94. Read more about him here, or from MANY different books that tell about just parts of his amazing life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Waugh In this stage: Find and eliminate targets. As in the real world, some targets will be obvious and easy to see/hit. Some will be much more difficult. Use all your tools to figure it out.

Innovative Targets has helped us with this match since the beginning, and I'm excited to announce Jason Agee has increased his support this year to the biggest level yet - supplying $2,400 in targetry to help us make the match flow better and do everything we can to minimize wait times while still providing interesting and challenging target presentations. Definitely check out https://innovativetargets.net/ for any steel target needs you have!

I am excited to welcome Nocturnality Night Vision Devices to the fold as an Obstacle Sponsor. Nocturnality is donating a White Phosphor PVS14 ($3,699 retail value) for us to raffle off at the match! Must be present to win - and the raffle will be drawn at the awards ceremony for the Team Night Match. We still have a few slots left for the night match. Register here: https://practiscore.com/team-night-match-legion-memorial-run-n-gun-2023/register You don't have to be a night competitor to win, but you DO have to stay up all night and physically be at the night awards ceremony. Oh yeah - and have the winning ticket. How bad do you want it??? Check out Nocturnality for all your night vision and training needs at: https://www.nocturnalitygear.com/

I am pleased to share that Tomahawk Strategic Solutions is returning this year as a Stage Sponsor. Tomahawk creates programs to better prepare your organization for evolving threats and emergency situations. Tomahawk personnel include Special Operations Forces (SOF) operators, corporate security experts, SWAT/ESU/Patrol officers (retired and active) hand-selected for their specialized skills and experience, and medical professionals. Check them out at: https://tomahawkstrategicsolutions.com/

Everybody knows SF guys are badass. What most people DON'T realize is how intelligent they are, and how much time they spend working on ways to improve their brainpower and solve really complex problems under stress. Did you know every single one of them speaks at least one foreign language (many of them speak FIVE!)? How many languages do YOU speak? To help showcase this better, for the first time ever we're working with 5SFG(A)'s Cognitive Performance Specialist to help us give competitors just a TASTE of things like this 5th Group does. That means we are really stepping up the mind games this year with his help! In addition to working on your running and shooting, you just might want to pump up that 3lbs of jelly between your ears too. To put your mind at ease: we are not testing any esoteric technical and/or language knowledge. You don't have to KNOW anything - but you do have to be able to observe things and think well under pressure (and while you're exhausted).

Comms warning: just like last year, there will be an advantage to carrying a radio on your kit. Every Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA, the basic team unit of Special Forces) has TWO 18Es (Special Forces Communications Sergeant) - this is how critical comms are to SF. They are the communication "specialists" on the team and make sure the team can communicate internally (short range comms), they can talk back to command/intel/whoever (long range comms), and even communicate with and provide basic air traffic control for supporting aircraft on a mission. To try to give you JUST A TASTE of integrating comms into your match, we're adding a special bonus this year. IF YOU CARRY A RADIO ON YOUR KIT AND KNOW HOW TO USE IT, YOU'LL HAVE AN ADVANTAGE. During the morning brief, you'll be given the "enemy radio frequency" (this will be somewhere in the 70cm UHF ham band) to monitor while you run. If you know how to use your gear and pay attention, you'll hear the enemy transmitting information that can help you. You DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A HAM LICENSE to do this. Anyone can listen to any frequency at any time - no license is needed for that. If you don't want to fool with this at all you don't have to. You can still run the course and complete all the challenges, but you may miss the extra bonus that comes if you know how to run comms on your kit. The night team match may require actual radio communication between team members. Radios will be provided there for those who don't have them, but team match guys will be MUCH more efficient if they have their own radios and have practiced communicating with them while moving and firing. Just sayin' -