ed in night fighting and stealth tactics. Every man learned how to use every weapons system of not just his own unit, but also the enemy's weapons. In addition to learning valuable skills the troops needed to be physically ready for the mission. The days were filled with calisthenics, obstacle courses, and marches in the burning heat with hundred-pound packs as the troops built functional strength. All the training was done at a feverous pace, but not one man quit.

Colonel Fredrick himself was an accomplished mart

At a recent meeting of the International Association of Close Combat Professionals (IACCP), instructors came to discuss business, marketing, and of course; close combat and martial arts.

The instructors who came from all over the United States and Canada were a diverse group with very different backgrounds. Some were veterans of military service and had old school military close combat training. Others were instructors in martial arts like Tae Kwon Do, Judo, wrestling, and Jujutsu. All agreed that though sport combatives and culture martial arts like karate were fun and good for conditioning, there was still a need to teach real self defense techniques.

At one point I had the opportunity to talk to one of our Canadian instructors about the area where he was teaching and his students. He mentioned that the Canadian government puts serious restrictions on the weapons a citizen can own. The need for self defense training was clear and he was making it his mission to help as many people as possible stay safe.

As we talked I mentioned how Canada's military had a rich history when it came to close combat and Special Forces. He looked surprised and I asked him if he had ever heard of the 1st Special Service Force, the Devil's Brigade.

Sadly, few know about the Devil's Brigade; a joint American-Canadian commando unit trained at Fort Harrison Montana.

Founded by Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Frederick, the 1st Special Service Force was activated on July 9, 1942 as a joint Canadian-U.S. force of three small regiments and a service battalion.

The 1800 man volunteer force was recruited from military personnel who had previously worked as lumberjacks, forest rangers, and game wardens all with extensive survival and hunting experience. Many had already fought the Nazis and were eager to head back to Europe.

The men trained in hand-to-hand combat, the use of explosives, amphibious warfare, rock climbing, mountain fighting, artic survival, and cutting-edge parachute deployment tactics.

In order to operate behind enemy lines they trained in night fighting and stealth tactics. Every man learned how to use every weapons system of not just his own unit, but also the enemy's weapons. In addition to learning valuable skills the troops needed to be physically ready for the mission. The days were filled with calisthenics, obstacle courses, and marches in the burning heat with hundred-pound packs as the troops built functional strength. All the training was done at a feverous pace, but not one man quit.

Colonel Fredrick himself was an accomplished marti

batives and culture martial arts like karate were fun and good for conditioning, there was still a need to teach real self defense techniques.

At one point I had the opportunity to talk to one of our Canadian instructors about the area where he was teaching and his students. He mentioned that the Canadian government puts serious restrictions on the weapons a citizen can own. The need for self defense training was clear and he was making it his mission to help as many people as possible stay safe.

As we talked I mentioned how Canada's military had a rich history when it came to close combat and Special Forces. He looked surprised and I asked him if he had ever heard of the 1st Special Service Force, the Devil's Brigade.

Sadly, few know about the Devil's Brigade; a joint American-Canadian commando unit trained at Fort Harrison Montana.

Founded by Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Frederick, the 1st Special Service Force was activated on July 9, 1942 as a joint Canadian-U.S. force of three small regiments and a service battalion.

The 1800 man volunteer force was recruited from military personnel who had previously worked as lumberjacks, forest rangers, and game wardens all with extensive survival and hunting experience. Many had already fought the Nazis and were eager to head back to Europe.

The men trained in hand-to-hand combat, the use of explosives, amphibious warfare, rock climbing, mountain fighting, artic survival, and cutting-edge parachute deployment tactics.

In order to operate behind enemy lines they trained in night fighting and stealth tactics. Every man learned how to use every weapons system of not just his own unit, but also the enemy's weapons. In addition to learning valuable skills the troops needed to be physically ready for the mission. The days were filled with calisthenics, obstacle courses, and marches in the burning heat with hundred-pound packs as the troops built functional strength. All the training was done at a feverous pace, but not one man quit.

Colonel Fredrick himself was an accomplished mart

d I mentioned how Canada's military had a rich history when it came to close combat and Special Forces. He looked surprised and I asked him if he had ever heard of the 1st Special Service Force, the Devil's Brigade.

Sadly, few know about the Devil's Brigade; a joint American-Canadian commando unit trained at Fort Harrison Montana.

Founded by Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Frederick, the 1st Special Service Force was activated on July 9, 1942 as a joint Canadian-U.S. force of three small regiments and a service battalion.

The 1800 man volunteer force was recruited from military personnel who had previously worked as lumberjacks, forest rangers, and game wardens all with extensive survival and hunting experience. Many had already fought the Nazis and were eager to head back to Europe.

The men trained in hand-to-hand combat, the use of explosives, amphibious warfare, rock climbing, mountain fighting, artic survival, and cutting-edge parachute deployment tactics.

In order to operate behind enemy lines they trained in night fighting and stealth tactics. Every man learned how to use every weapons system of not just his own unit, but also the enemy's weapons. In addition to learning valuable skills the troops needed to be physically ready for the mission. The days were filled with calisthenics, obstacle courses, and marches in the burning heat with hundred-pound packs as the troops built functional strength. All the training was done at a feverous pace, but not one man quit.

Colonel Fredrick himself was an accomplished mart

battalion.

The 1800 man volunteer force was recruited from military personnel who had previously worked as lumberjacks, forest rangers, and game wardens all with extensive survival and hunting experience. Many had already fought the Nazis and were eager to head back to Europe.

The men trained in hand-to-hand combat, the use of explosives, amphibious warfare, rock climbing, mountain fighting, artic survival, and cutting-edge parachute deployment tactics.

In order to operate behind enemy lines they trained in night fighting and stealth tactics. Every man learned how to use every weapons system of not just his own unit, but also the enemy's weapons. In addition to learning valuable skills the troops needed to be physically ready for the mission. The days were filled with calisthenics, obstacle courses, and marches in the burning heat with hundred-pound packs as the troops built functional strength. All the training was done at a feverous pace, but not one man quit.

Colonel Fredrick himself was an accomplished mart

ed in night fighting and stealth tactics. Every man learned how to use every weapons system of not just his own unit, but also the enemy's weapons. In addition to learning valuable skills the troops needed to be physically ready for the mission. The days were filled with calisthenics, obstacle courses, and marches in the burning heat with hundred-pound packs as the troops built functional strength. All the training was done at a feverous pace, but not one man quit.

Colonel Fredrick himself was an accomplished martial artist and understood the value of close combat. He was one of the few Americans to recognize the value of Colonels Fairbairn and Sykes close combat training. Many of the commando tactics used by the brigade were also learned from Fairbairn, and even the bridge's trademark V-42 combat knife designed by Colonel Fredrick was inspired by the Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife.

The members of the 1st Special Service Force cut a bloody path through Europe, and saved thousands of allied soldier's lives. At night with faces painted black they would assault German positions would leave stickers reading "Das dicke Ende kommt noch," said to translate to "The Worst is yet to Come", on corpses.

They showed what men could do with good martial arts and close combat training, and would be the foundation of modern Special Forces in both the United States and Canada. This winning partnership continues today as members of Canada's Joint Task Force 2 (JTF 2) and the United States Army's Delta force fight terrorists in Afghanistan.