Assault course


An assault course is a trail that combines running and exercising. It is often used in military training. The prime use is to evaluate progress and weaknesses of the individual or the team involved.
There are specific urban obstacle courses and night obstacles Courses. An obstacle course race is a civilian sporting and fitness challenge event which combines obstacles and cross country running.

Military training

Running, jumping, vaulting, climbing, and crawling are basic activities required of all soldiers. They are also excellent means for developing' endurance, agility, confidence, and self-reliance. Instruction and training in these basic activities are best conducted on an obstacle course.
Assault courses are used in military training to increase fitness, to demonstrate techniques that can be used for crossing obstacles, and to increase teamwork and self-confidence.
Military Assault Courses help develop:
  • Physical Fitness: Strength; Stamina; Mobility.
  • Technique: Such as how to climb over walls and lower oneself safely.
  • Teamwork: Especially on obstacles that can only be crossed as a team such a high walls.
  • Mental Ability: Overcoming challenges and fears by personal courage and determination.
Often military assault courses will be standardized and will have, for example, a six-foot and a ten-foot wall, a climbing net, some type of bar to climb over, and a high rope or net that must be crossed. The standardization means that every course will be of the same quality, though it also means that there will be certain parts that may be familiar if practiced.

Purpose and types

Military training courses have different purposes. For example, they can be short with a rifle range on the end, or long as at Thetford. This is partially because of space restraints and training objectives. The short one can be run as an individual course and a warmup for the range. The long Thetford course is more of an exercise in endurance and teamwork.
Individual obstacles can be for general fitness, or for quite specific tasks such as cargo nets that simulate soldiers climbing down nets from ships into landing craft for beachhead landings. Climbing through windows, over wall and up ladders are useful skills when operating in built-up areas. Kevin Yates, manager at Fitness First, notes that Monkey Bars are good for working: biceps; core; forearms; shoulders; chests; abs and obliques. A great exercise for building arms, grip strength and core power.
Common assault course obstacles include barbed wire or nets to crawl under, pipes or tunnels to crawl through, walls to climb over, beams, walls or planks to balance on, steps to climb up, walls with window size holes to climb through, and mazes to navigate. Overhead traverse bars are popular.
The primary role of a military assault course is to improve fitness, they are also used for the assessment of personnel to see if they are suitable for a specific role. For example in the British Military potential paratroopers have to complete the British Army's Parachute Regiment's Trainasium, as one of the test, to be allowed to progress to Parachute Training, and the Royal Marine's Bottom Field Assault Course has to be completed as one of the test for the award of the Commando Green Beret. Both of these assault courses have obstacles which provide a physical and psychological challenge to those completing them, the Trainasium has a lot of high obstacles and Bottom Field include a lot of obstacles with water.
The German Army's Einzelkampferlehrgang, a combat survival course, uses a timed assault course as one of its entry test. For the basic Einzelkampferlehrgang course it must be completed in 2 min 15 sec, and for the Advanced Course in 1 min 50 sec. German Army Paratroopers are required to complete a standard German Army Obstacle Course in 1 min 30 sec as part of Paratrooper Selection.

International Military Assault Courses

The Conseil International du Sport Militaire's Military Pentathlon has five parts: Shooting; Obstacle Swimming; Grenade Throwing; Cross Country Running and an Obstacle Course.
The Obstacle Course is the signature event of the Military Pentathlon, and is 500 metres long with 20 standard obstacles: Rope ladder; Double beam; Trip wires; Crawl; Stepping-stones; Vault; Balance beam; Sloping wall with rope; Horizontal beams; Irish table; Tunnel and twin beams; Four steps; Ramp and ditch; Low wall; 2m deep Pit; Vertical ladder; High wall; Zigzag balance beam; Chicane; Three low walls close together. The women's competition omits the rope ladder, sloping wall with rope, four steps and vertical ladder.
International Naval Obstacle Course Competitions are similar and have additional naval type task such as closing and securing hatches. These competitions are run in sports clothing, and can be individual or team events with each team member covering a section of the course. The Military Pentathalon Obstacle Course are completed in around 2 minutes. The CISM Obstacle Course design is used by many armed forces around the world.

China

The Chinese People's Liberation Army has a standard Assault Course Test which is 400m long and the soldier negotiates 16 obstacles. The Assault Course is 100m long with 8 obstacles. The Test starts with a 100m run along the side of the Assault Course and then turn about. Then:
  1. cross the stepping stones using only 3 in one row
  2. leap across a 2m wide, 2m deep vertical sided trench
  3. climb over a 1.1m high wall
  4. climb onto a 1.8m high platform, cross over on to two other lower platforms to
  5. move along the top of a horizontal ladder
  6. traverse the balance beam
  7. climb over the high wall
  8. crawl under six tripwires, then turn around
  9. step over six tripwires
  10. climb over the high wall
  11. weave in and out of the 4 support post for the balance beam
  12. swing under the horizontal ladder
  13. cross two platforms to the 1.8m high platform and jump down
  14. climb through a 0.5m wide and 0.4m high hole in the low wall
  15. climb into the 2m wide 2m deep trench and out the other side
  16. cross all 5 stepping stones, then turn around and sprint the final 100m to the start/finish
The standard for under 24 year olds is 2 minutes and 35 seconds, with 2 minutes 20 seconds being good and 2 minutes 5 seconds being excellent. The 400m obstacle course is considered by Chinese soldiers to be harder than a 5 km run, or a 5 km speed march with 10 kg. Artillery NCOs Zhang Heng and Li Xiaohoi have both achieved a time of 1 minute 23 seconds.

France

The standard French military assault course is 500m long and has the following 20 obstacles:
  1. 5m high Rope Ladder
  2. Double Beam 1 and 1.4m high
  3. 6 Trip Wires 0.6m high 2m apart
  4. 20m long Low Crawl under 0.5m
  5. 5 Stepping Stones
  6. 3 Bar Vault 2.3m high
  7.  Balance Beam 1m high and 8.5m long
  8. 5m high Vertical Ladder
  9. Over and Under Beams 1.2m and 0.7m high
  10. 2m high Irish Table
  11. 0.8m high Low vault
  12. 0.5m deep ditch
  13. Ramp and Ditch
  14. 1m Low wall
  15. 0.7m deep ditch a 1.5 High Bund and a 0.7m Ditch
  16. 2m High Wall
  17. 2.2m deep Pit
  18. 4m high Climbing Wall
  19. 8m long Chicane
  20. 3 Trenches the first narrow and 0.85 deep, the second 4m wide and 1.1m deep, the third narrow and 0.85 deep.
Many of the obstacle are similar to those on the CISM obstacle course used for Military Pentathlon such as the Irish Table which is a plank 2m above the ground which requires both technique and strength to overcome. The 4m high climbing wall is particular to French assault courses and also requires good technique to climb. To be a sergeant you have to complete the course in 3'15"

Germany

The German Armed Forces' Obstacle Course, Hindernisbahn-Bundeswehr, is 250m long and has 12 obstacles: an 'Erdwall' an earthwall or barricade of logs about.6m high; a log on 1.3m high metal post to roll over; 7 log steps to a height of 2.5m; 6 X shapes to climb over – like the US Army's Tough Nut; 2 bar vault, the first bar.5m high, the second bar is.3m further and.8 m high; 2m high wooden wall;.5m vault, with a.5m deep ditch on the far side; balance log over a wide ditch; low wires to crawl under; trip wires to step over; a 1.8m deep and 1.8m wide trench to climb in and out of; a fox hole from which dummy grenades are then thrown at targets.
The German Democratic Republic's standard Sturmbahn was 200m long and had the following obstacles:
  1. 20m of 10 thigh high bars to step over or 6 concrete-semi circles to crawl under.
  2. Ditch 2 m wide.
  3. Climb a 3m rope to a 15-20m long horizontal rope and then climb down.
  4. Climb a 2 m wall.
  5. Climb onto the side of a pipe, jump onto a small platform, and then onto the side of another pipe.
  6. A 10m tunnel accessed by a short vertical shafts.
  7. Two trenches, divided by a fence. Jump over the first trench onto the foundation of the fence, climbed over the fence and jump over the second section of the trench.
  8. Gable wall with upper and lower window with a rope. Then cross a plank, jump onto a 3 m high concrete platform, then a 1.5 m high concrete platform.
  9. Seesaw
  10. Climb into a foxhole, throw hand grenade, put on a gas mask and run back to the start of the Sturmbahn.

    India

India's National Cadet Corps is a Tri-Service Military Youth Organization with cadet units at schools, colleges and universities. It has a standard Obstacle Course pattern consisting of 10 obstacles about 30 foot apart. The obstacles are suitable for cadets of a wide age range and are:
  1. Straight Balance - a 12' long 4" wide balance beam, 1.5' above the ground.
  2. Clear Jump – a 2' bar to be cleared in one clear jump.
  3. Zig-Zag balance – an 18' long 3" wide 3 zig-zag beam starting at 1.5' high and rising to 3.5'.
  4. High wall – 6' high brick wall
  5. Double Ditch – 2 ditches about 6' wide and about 4' apart.
  6. Right hand vault – a 3.5' high bar which is vaulted supported by the right hand on the bar.
  7. Left hand vault – a 3.5' high bar which is vaulted supported by the left hand on the bar.
  8. Gate vault – a 2 bar vault with the first bar at 3' and the top bar at 5'.
  9. Ramp - up to 4.5'.
  10. Straight Balance again.