# Tactical Site Exploitation Training



## Diamondback 2/2 (May 13, 2011)

Anyone have any links to classes open to soldiers, POC's or other wise general info regarding TSE?

I did a 3 day round robin in Kuwait back in 2008, did not learn much from it.....more of a how to search for evidence and log it down. But I would like to take a more indepth class in it, or if someone would not mind pushing me in the direction of some good reading material. I just got the bug to learn more about the new tech being used and the methods and trends used now.

In my doorkicking days we took pictures/video, sandbagged or tagged all military aged men and just through everything  documents/phones/computer tech into big black trash bags and took to the Intel dude......I keep hearing about some 007 ninja toys being deployed now.


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## TLDR20 (May 13, 2011)

I did the big army's TSE class a Coupla years ago it sucked. Was not made for an ODA to go through


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## Diamondback 2/2 (May 13, 2011)

cback0220 said:


> I did the big army's TSE class a Coupla years ago it sucked. Was not made for an ODA to go through


 
lol, was it in Kuwait? :-/ I thought that TSE course was a joke as well, but again I have been hearing alot of conventional and SOF units using some CSI type shit now a days. Eye scanners, DNA sample kits, finger print readers, ect.... It's got me wanting to know more.


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## TLDR20 (May 13, 2011)

Yep there was lots of cool techno shit. But they tried to teach SOPs and we were not at all having it


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## Diamondback 2/2 (May 13, 2011)

cback0220 said:


> Yep there was lots of cool techno shit. But they tried to teach SOPs and we were not at all having it


 
Right on, do you have a link, POC to the course you went too?


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## Marauder06 (May 13, 2011)

SWCS and JSOC teamed up to create a bad-ass exploitation training program.  I don't know what it's called now but at one point it was the Joint SOF Exploitation Training Center.  They have (or at least had) a program for enablers and a separate one for operators.  Probably the best training anywhere on the subject material being taught.


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## TLDR20 (May 14, 2011)

Marauder06 said:


> SWCS and JSOC teamed up to create a bad-ass exploitation training program. I don't know what it's called now but at one point it was the Joint SOF Exploitation Training Center. They have (or at least had) a program for enablers and a separate one for operators. Probably the best training anywhere on the subject material being taught.



Yeah it is a good class. only for 18 series as far as I know.


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## Marauder06 (May 14, 2011)

I'm pretty sure they have one for 18-series and one for specifically for enablers.  At least that was the original plan.


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## surgicalcric (May 14, 2011)

Marauder06 said:


> I'm pretty sure they have one for 18-series and one for specifically for enablers. At least that was the original plan.



They do/did. We have some CRD guys who have attended and they thought it was a good course.

Last course I was able to attend was in the UK; it was by far the most professionally organized and led POI thus far...


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## Marauder06 (May 14, 2011)

Yeah, IIRC some groups gave the mission of either operating the detention facility or handling site exploitation to the CRDs.  I never understood that, other than they had a pool of manpower that didn't have a high-demand mission, and a mission that needed bodies.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (May 14, 2011)

Yeah I doubt I am going to be able to attend anything up at that level, I was thinking maybe I could get into one that was run like a troop school or something......Work a dope deal and get there on some P-TDY or something.

Only thing I have found is set up for deploying units out of Camp Shelby, I am going to call around some on Monday and see what might be available here at FT Sam or up at FT Hood.


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## TLDR20 (May 14, 2011)

The one SWCS runs is in conjunction with SFARETEC or at least out of Range 37. The one in the UK is the best. But good luck with that JAB.


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## Marauder06 (May 14, 2011)

JAB said:


> Yeah I doubt I am going to be able to attend anything up at that level...



If you're going to go, go big ;)



cback0220 said:


> ..The one in the UK is the best. .



What school is it in the UK, who runs it?  Is it for shooters or for enablers?  I haven't heard of an exploitation school in the UK, might be useful to talk to them for my thesis.


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## surgicalcric (May 14, 2011)

M06:

It is more commonly known around Group by the name Merlin (the over arching name for all three core disciplines) but TSOAC (Technical Surveillance Operators Advanced Course) is the portion dealing with CTR/SSE/Surveillance.  It was created and is managed by former SAS/SBS/SRR personnel who take a lot of pride in what they have done operationally and attempt to pass that down to us.

Slots for the course are managed through the USASFC 3X office with there being one or two green suiters in Hereford as representatives.  Both team guys and enablers attend, though slots for support personnel are very limited (meaning they get slots when the Groups cannot fill all the slots with 18-series.)

If you want to know more about the course feel free to PM me.  Not sure I am comfortable passing much more about it in the open as we have ODAs downrange utilizing this stuff...

Crip


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## Marauder06 (May 14, 2011)

Sounds good- I'll hit you up offline.  Thanks.


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## TLDR20 (May 14, 2011)

I already PM'd him some info Crip. You can take it from here though


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## The Hate Ape (Nov 3, 2012)

I'm in my SOCC pipeline currently. We just came out of a comm FINEX and for the past three months I've been paired up with a pretty seasoned 72 from 3rd MSOB.  Usually when we talk we bs about our wives or laugh at some of our ridiculous friends but the other day he was talking to me about how much of a pain in the ass its been to hit his ASO requirements between school seats and deployments. MERLIN came up and another guy mentioned that it is indeed open to enablers but neither of the two had attended yet. My buddy did know an enabler who went, out of UK as mentioned above. Said it's a pain in the ass to get in but is do-able. I'm interested if anyone here still has information regarding the topic.


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## 18C4V (Nov 5, 2012)

I went to MERLIN back in 2007, they changed the name but I do remember enablers going though the courses. There are other courses being run which have a similary POI to MERLIN since I heard that MERLIN is going away.


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## Vagrant (Dec 14, 2012)

Marauder06 said:


> I'm pretty sure they have one for 18-series and one for specifically for enablers. At least that was the original plan.


 
I attended the SOF SSE course for enablers back in early 2011 at JFKSWCS, very well ran course with lots of take home supplies/training materials. I was aware of an advanced course for the team members being ran parallel that went more in depth. But i did hear it lost funding or was being re-structured. Could this be what you mentioned?


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## Marauder06 (Dec 14, 2012)

I was at JSOC when this was getting stood up, I think it is one of the smartest things that USASFC has done in recent history.


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## Vagrant (Dec 14, 2012)

Marauder06 said:


> I was at JSOC when this was getting stood up, I think it is one of the smartest things that USASFC has done in recent history.


 
It was three weeks and it covered everything modern SSE deals with from on site, to processing in prep for the lab. As soon as i leave the cat box im going to do my best to attend the advanced portion. Unfortunately im back on an all humint team so its debriefing schools for me.


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## Marauder06 (Dec 14, 2012)

That's the kind of stuff I was involved in during my last deployment to Afghanistan.

Do they still teach F3EAD?


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## Vagrant (Dec 14, 2012)

Yes that was day 1.


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## Marauder06 (Dec 14, 2012)

That's where it all starts, F3EAD.  Getting certain people to buy into that "D" has been an ongoing problem, though.


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## Vagrant (Dec 14, 2012)

My never ending struggle, fortunately there are still normal people out there that use phones.


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