The Basic Reconnaissance Course consists of generally four phases: Land Nav, Amphib, Recon Skills, and Patrolling. Depending on the class, these can be in just about any order. My class, 1-05, had Patrol Phase as the final phase.
All four phases can be plenty brutal in their own right, but Patrol Phase takes it to a level most students haven’t experienced before. For eight days, students move around Camp Pendleton with the equivalent of an R&S ruck, coming to around 75-90 lbs, performing just about ever basic reconnaissance mission, while each student cycles through each patrol billet. There are lots of hills climbed, hills fallen off of, brush broken, and cactus shin-checked. Oh, and if you’re lucky you might get 2 hours of sleep per day.
By the time we inserted late Monday night, we’d already been up all day doing mission prep. It wasn’t until the second night that the fun really started. Now, I’m going to be honest, the timeline gets a little blurry from here on out.