Matt in TN

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' -

I am happy to share that Bachstein Consulting LLC has confirmed they are in as a Stage Sponsor this year. Bachstein Consulting offers a unique assortment of skills from engineering design, contract submissions, project management, test and evaluation, and quality assurance. They have years of experience in the firearms industry and government test centers. Check them out at: https://bachsteinconsulting.com/

I am thrilled to share that Spike's Tactical is returning again as a title sponsor this year. They have been a big supporter since day one, and we're thankful to have them come back yet again! If you ever are in the market for a great AR, be sure to start at https://www.spikestactical.com/

In another "humbling first" for us, Stage 2 will be designed by a teammate of the fallen we are honoring: SSG Jason L. Brown. In this stage: defend against a surprise attack, apply first aid to your downed teammate, then eliminate the enemy before they can escape.

Pete Jones with Alan's Arsenal LLC has been a huge Legion supporter every year since our very first match. I'm thrilled (and not surprised) to announce that he's returning for a SEVENTH year as a title sponsor! If you need anything gun part related, please look to https://alansarsenal.3dcartstores.com/ first. Support those who support us!

Our very first stage this year will set the sentiment for the entire match: Stage 1 honors CPT Trevor Graves. Co-founder of the Legion Memorial Run N Gun. Deep conversationalist (in five different languages!) and enthusiast in so many varied subjects it was impossible to keep track. A guy with truly big ideas who poured his heart and soul into making each one happen - usually at a frenetic pace most of us struggled to keep up with. In this stage: react to an attack, work at an insane optempo, improvise adapt and overcome on the fly, shoot from a moving vehicle, and partner with actual Green Berets to overcome the enemy.

We honored Kenton Stacy at the 2018 Legion Memorial Run N Gun (Stage 3: Raqqah Rumble: https://youtu.be/_Y-38wzV29A). He was grievously injured in a blast in Syria in 2017 - but survived! Every day has been a struggle since then, for both he and his family. His wife created a Facebook page for him to keep everyone updated on his progress (and his setbacks). PLEASE take a few dollars and a few minutes from your day to mail him a birthday card for his 40th birthday. Share it with all your friends. I would love nothing more than for this to go viral and we'll see him get so many cards they won't all fit on the cruise ship!

Registration will open at 10:00am Central Time on Saturday, June 10th. This is 90 days before match day, and should give you plenty of time to train up and find make travel plans. Lodging is limited in this area and there is another event at the nearby State Park this weekend, so secure lodging ASAP or you might end up camping onsite ($10/night - purely primitive camping). This is the 5k registration link: https://practiscore.com/5k-legion-9-11-memorial-run-n-gun-2023/register This is the 10k registration link: https://practiscore.com/10k-legion-memorial-run-n-gun-2023/register This is the Team Night Match registration link: https://practiscore.com/team-night-match-legion-memorial-run-n-gun-2023/register Competitors will only be allowed to register for ONE match at this time to allow as many different people in as possible. If you register for more than one, I'm going to delete it. If there are openings as we get closer to match day, we may allow multiple match entries. The past several years this match has sold out in under one minute. If you want in, make plans to be near a computer and hitting the "refresh" key repeatedly right at 10:00am on June 10th. If you don't get in - be sure to get on the waitlist as I'm holding several slots for active duty 5SFG that may become available to the public at the last minute. Approved staff should have just received an email with instructions on how to register ahead of the masses. Let me know if you think you're staff but haven't received this.

We are streamlining and refining the equipment divisions this year. There will only be two equipment classes to reflect the different ways Green Berets fight: “Lightfighter” in which you can carry whatever you want, but are limited to one pistol and one rifle; or “Operator” in which you must FINISH the race with a pack weighing at least 45 lbs (not including your main rifle, pistol, and belt/chest rig) – but that pack may (and should) contain ANYTHING that can give you an advantage. The only limit is that pistol targets must be engaged with pistol rounds, and rifle targets must be engaged with rifle rounds. Want to carry a PCC? Be our guest. Think a scoped bolt gun or different upper in 6.5 Creedmore will give you an advantage? Go for it. You can even carry a shotgun to engage steel pistol targets if you want (birdshot only). Any weapons carried must be IN ADDITION to a primary rifle and pistol, and weight of the pack MAY include the weight of armor plates if you want to either wear or carry them in the pack. Packs may be removed prior to shooting, as that is how 5th Group would generally do it as well – but this will be done on your run time and BEFORE any wait time starts. The Team Night Match will have no equipment divisions. Anything you want to carry for the entire course and that will not damage props/targets or cause a safety issue is allowed.

Literally every single person who has been involved with this match has told us we don't charge enough. Between that and selling out in under a minute yet again last year, we are listening and raising the match fees this year to try to raise as much money as we can to help our friends from the 5th Special Forces Group. Match Fees for 2023 are as follows: 5k: $150 10k: $200 Team Night Match: $500 ($250/shooter)

I am excited to announce Jay Roberts will be Match Director for our first ever Team Night Match this year! I will be MD for the day match as usual while he tries to sleep a little. Fair warning: the Team Night Match is designed for Special Forces guys, along with all of their skills and equipment capabilities. Civilians are welcome to participate, but may be frustrated trying to complete the tasks with civilian-grade equipment. This is a true "Anything goes" match with no equipment rules/limitations other than you have to carry it for the entire 5k-ish course. There will be times when white light is your best tool, times with high power IR is your best tool, and could be times when zero emissions are necessary. The basic course will be the daytime 5k trail and stages, but with some team and night oriented special challenges along the way. Expect rifle shots to 4-500 yds and several skills tests focused toward SF skills including "Split Team Operations" And above all, expect surprises. Improvise, adapt, and overcome! The match fee will be high, but in line with other team matches at $500 per team ($250/competitor), and there will be VERY limited slots available to the general public - this will only take place on Saturday night. Pair up now and start your training!