On The Tactical Games

On June 22nd and 23rd I competed in the The Tactical Games (www.thetacticalgames.com) at South River Gun Club in Covington Georgia, not too far from Atlanta. The best way to describe The Tactical Games is Cross Fit meets Three Gun on obstacle courses moving heavy loads. Critical differences being its two gun and you ditch your shotgun in exchange for body armor with plates. The Tactical Games is the creation of Tim Burke, a former Army Special Forces soldier who served within the Special Mission Units. Tim’s bio is right here: https://thetacticalgames.com/meet-the-staff/. Tim's vision was to in part create a type of competitive event that we routinely experience in the Special Operations Community.  

I originally signed up for the very first Tactical Game that occurred in Mississippi, but blew my knee out getting ready for it. My only objective this time around was to finish and not be a danger to myself or others. I didn’t prepare much for the event other than to go the range and show up to jazzercise or whatever they are calling it at my local gym. My AR was malfunctioning so I had to borrow my friend’s AR which of course was a big mistake. No firearm malfunctions quite as brilliantly as a weapon in the hands of a person who doesn’t own it. Excuses aside, I got through all the battles (which is what each of the races are called) and didn’t quit. These are a few things I learned at the Tactical Games. I hope they serve you. 

1. Not everyone who showed up and competed was prior military or law enforcement, so there is no reason a person committed to competing can’t decide to get ready for it and do it. 
2. It was the first time in about a decade or more where my physical and cognitive processing systems were stretched to the max at the same time. I don’t know of any other event out there that would expose competitors to live fire conditions to the left and right under conditions of complete exhaustion. Maybe it exists but I haven’t heard of it. 
3. I used to go the gym and sort of just go through the motions. Now that there are events on the calendar to get ready for, I discovered a profound new work ethic at the gym. Couldn’t have found it without a forcing function. No way. Since the Atlanta event, I lost 12 pounds and quite drinking. Been “trying” to do both for >6 years. Four weeks later…done.  Amazing what the threat of embarrassment can do for a person.  
4. Haven’t felt more at home with a group of people since I left uniformed service. It is a serious dose of being with the tribe. Highly recommended for everyone who years later still can't relate to the nonsense that consumes a lot of people's time.
5. Been running around in fatigues and “782 gear” since I was 8 years old. Why stop now? 

Going forward, I am going to be creating an SOFX Competition Team with 1 shooter in each of the 4 competitive categories (Elite, Intermediate, Masters, and Women). I think we are going to do something like "shoot for charities" with the idea being to create pledge drives of a few cents for each of the rounds landed on target. Seems like a fun way to support charities, bring awareness to them, and have a forcing function to not throw rounds during the battles. If you are interested in being on this team, then go to the SOFX website and sign up for the network newsletter because we will only invite SOFX Network members to compete, and more details will be provided there.

Next under are excerpts from a recent note Sarah Williams, the VP of Tactical Games sent all of us the other day. It well captures the spirit and description of what is to come. I will be competing in both Barnwell and Autryville as a part of the Carolina Cup and hope to see some of you there. This is a picture of Sarah, she along with Tim are clearly legitimate bad asses.    

Atlanta

Wow! The summer heat is here and the only thing hotter than the heat is the performance of our Athletes at The Tactical Games! If you missed the event in Atlanta, you missed the largest Tactical Games event to date! We had up to 111 athletes compete at South River Gun Club. That is roughly double the number of our previous events! The Tactical Games is growing!! Despite the heat we encountered at the South River Gun Club, athletes stayed hydrated, drank A LOT of Kill Cliff, and ultimately performed amazingly, competing.  One observation we have is that the competition at the Games is getting stronger and faster as the competitors get stronger and faster. 

If you were at The Tactical Games in Atlanta, then you heard about the young Police Officer, Tara O’Sullivan, who was slain in the line of duty in Sacramento. The elite Division 1st place winner is donating the AR Pistol he won to a raffle. The proceeds of the raffle will be sent to the family of that officer. We are figuring out how to do that online, and we will roll that out in the next week or so. 

South Carolina

The Atlanta event was a huge success and is the perfect Segway into South Carolina in August. August 10-11th, at The Government Training Institute (GTI), we will host our sixth Tactical Games event. GTI is a decommissioned nuclear processing plant. Don’t worry, it was never actually used to process nuclear materials, so there is no danger of contamination. 

The Tactical Games staff visited GTI on Tuesday, after the Games event in Georgia. Once again, we were struck by the magnitude and complexity of the buildings, and the unique Battles and shooting our athletes will be able to do there. The ONLY place our founder has ever been able to shoot or train like we will at GTI was during his military career in a special mission unit. So, if you have wondered what it would be like to train on that level and get to do the super cool things those elite soldiers get to do, this is your chance!  Don’t miss this. The registration for SC is open right now and filling up fast. 

The Carolina Cup

The Carolina Cup is a two-event series including the event in South Carolina and the September event at The Range Complex in North Carolina. How this works: An athlete can sign up for either event individually, or they may sign up for both events and be in the Carolina Cup. Winners for the series are determined by an aggregate of their scores for both events. Single Event If the athlete signs up for an individual event, nothing changes. They are eligible for normal trophies and prizes. Carolina Cup If an athlete chooses to sign up for the Carolina Cup, they are eligible to win trophies and prizes at the events individually, BUT they also are eligible to win the overall trophies and prizes being placed on the table for the Carolina Cup. Athletes who register for the Carolina Cup could win one or both single events, PLUS the Carolina Cup prizes. 

As the Tactical Games grows and popularity, we want to thank you athletes for making this possible. Our Founder, Tim Burke, feels he created an event in which he would have wanted to participate. By doing so, it seems he created an event that appeals to warriors of all walks regardless of what they do for a living. We have everything from firemen, to dentists, to Green Berets, to retired engineers, to law enforcement agents. We aren’t attracting simply police officers or military personnel; we are attracting warriors wherever they are found. 

The Community

At the event on Saturday, we had several visitors come and watch the Games as they were under way. As they stood by the finish line for the Wheelbarrow event and the Horrigan (Modified) event, they noticed the extremely high level of competition among the competitors. But then one of the visitors turned to Tim and asked, “Is this an individual event or a team event?” He asked that because once athletes crossed the finish line, they were turning around to cheer for and encourage the other athletes still on the field. Coming from the civilian sector, the concept was foreign to him. But he LOVED it! 

We have created an atmosphere of brutal competition, but also an atmosphere of camaraderie, synergy, character and honor. We are super proud of our athletes for making that a reality. Among Special Operations troops, there is a very high level of competition, it’s what makes these men great. But there is also a feeling of brotherhood, and although competing much of the time, these men would run through a hail of bullets to save the same guy that beat him out in the last competition. We are seeing that same atmosphere and feeling among our athletes and we LOVE it. Thanks for being the awesome people you are and sharing that with others at The Tactical Games.