HFTC III T-Shirt designs went out today! Above is a little teaser image. These shirts are going to be given out at our 3rd Annual Hatchet Force Team Challenge. Registrations are going to be closing soon, so make sure you apply today! http://hatchetforce.com/hftc

For anyone who did not receive an invite for this event, now you can apply for one. Your application will be reviewed and, should you be accepted, an invite will be sent to you with instructions on how to register.

For more information and to fill out an application go to: http://hatchetforce.com/hftc

We have been hard at work planning HFTC III, which is going down 20-22 August, 2010. Sunday, we went out and did another recon of the AO, and have been coming up with some really challenging and dynamic scenarios. We have made a couple improvements to this year’s challenge that we think you’ll enjoy. Read on after the jump to so what’s new.

- OPFOR will be split into groups, and will also be evaluated. There will be an award for “Best OPFOR squad”.
- OPFOR will have additional objectives and should expect to be “in the fight” throughout the entire event.

Real Steel range (for Teams) will see a couple changes (we think for the better).
- Shotgun course removed.
- Pistol & AR course with moving targets.
- “Long Gun” sniper course:
– Team chooses best marksman.
– Farthest target not to exceed 800 meters.

Teams and OPFOR will be faced with more dynamic objectives, as well as options to skip certain optional ones which can change the course of the event… for the better or worse, teams will have to think quickly on their feet.

There is going to be a lot of fun & challenging surprises, and plenty of hiking around, so you should be hydrating and PTing now. Expect plenty of Land Nav, it will make things easier for your team if you can read a topo map, and know how to use your compass!

Registrations are still open, but we might have to close ‘em down if we get too many people. If you wanna come to this event, make sure you REGISTER NOW. Tell your team mates they need to get on the site and REGISTER asap.

REGISTRATION LINK:
http://hatchetforce.com/hftc-registration/
password: ********

You should have the password in an email from us. IF YOU DIDNT GET THE EMAIL AND WANT TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT LET US KNOW.

If you have any questions, let us know or join the HFTC discussion on our new forums: http://forums.hatchetforce.com/

If you have already registered don’t worry, your current registration is valid for the new date. If you haven’t registered, DO IT!

It’s coming up soon! I hope you are ready for the next installment of HFTC, 16-18 July 2010 20-22 August 2010. This year will be in a whole new area, and it will be tougher than ever before. As always points will be awarded for using your heads, working as a unit and completing special objectives.

Highlights will include:

• Land Navigation
• Rappelling & Ascending
• Sniper & Counter-Sniper
• Integrated Live Fire Exercise (real steel)
• Lots of hard team work
• HF-Style Surprises
• And a hot meal when you get back.

The Winning team gets to take home the coveted HF trophy and keep it until the next challenge.

We’re looking for:

• Competing Teams (6-8 men)
• OPFOR (teams or individuals)

If you haven’t been out to an HFTC, or just want to see what it’s all about, read about the first event here.

Photos from past HFTC’s here.

The cost is $50 per person for teams, $35 per person for OPFOR. Attendees must provide their own equipment, water, food, transportation to the event and ammunition. This cost is to cover the expenses for special props, and for the dinner that will be served to everyone after the op.

This event is invite-only. You will receive information on how to register for HFTC if you are invited.

About the Hatchet Force Team Challenge:
The Hatchet Force Team Challenge is an annually held, team-based, invite-only, tactical-simulation competition. It is designed to push teams to their mental and physical limits. It consists of objectives that require the use of a wide variety of skills and teamwork, all of which Hatchet Force regularly trains on. No task in the Hatchet Force challenge is one that we have not completed ourselves. Admission is required and goes to cover the cost of that year’s event.

Each year the winning team goes home with the Hatchet Force Team Challenge “ArrowHead” trophy. The winners keep the trophy until the following year, when a new set of teams competes. The winning team is allowed to attend the following year for free as OPFOR.

If you think your team has what it takes to bring home the trophy, sign up and show us what you got.

Want an invite? Contact Us.

We’ve been pretty busy so far this year, attending and staffing events. We’ve recently launched new forums, and can now be found on facebook and twitter. Read on after the jump to see what we’ve been up to, as well as some big plans for 2010…

Recent events:

He had the privilege to be guest instructors, command staff, and game control staff for a few events this year already.

Training the “Angels”

Our good friend John Lu asked us to help him train up his staff of “Lion Claws Angels”. We only had part of a day, but we made the best of it and apparently some of the training held on. The Angels actually do a fair amount of baggin’ & taggin’ in the events along side all the boys.

Operation RED STORM

Hatchet Force was honored to play a command staff role at this intense urban event in Whittier, CA. We were in command of the SF element, and got to work with our friend Helmut who ran the Ranger element. We spent a lot of time planning and building intel maps of the AO, and all the hard work paid off in the end with the US Forces taking home the win. It was a truly rare and exciting event that will be talked about for years to come. Check out the photos here, here and here.

Operation New Horizon IV

For this event at Sanna Ranch in Agua Dulce, CA, we designed the scenario and operated as game control staff. The fictional scenario took place in the Caucus Mountain region of Georgia, where drug and weapons smuggling from Asia into Europe causes a problem. Players had to “smuggle” crates back and fourth between their main camp and drop-off points in order to simulate the trafficking operations. The warlord played by SGT. Kenn Miller (US Ranger ret.) led the RENEGADES to a sweeping victory, his troops gaining control of a “WMD” and destroying a very valuable oil pipeline. Check out the photos here and here.

Upcoming Events

We got some pretty big events coming soon, so read on to find out where you can see Hatchet Force next.

Operation Lion Claws IX – May 28-30 2010

We are proud to once again serve under our long time friend and guest commander COL Danny R. McKnight – U.S. Army RANGER (Ret.). This year we will be up against some pretty tough OPFOR lead by 1SGT Matt Eversmann – U.S. Army RANGER (Ret.). And a third element of “indigenous forces” under the command of that infamous russki Sgt. Igor Dobroff – Soviet Airborne Division (ret.). For more information and sign-up, go to oplionclaws.com.

Hatchet Force Team Challenge III

The 3rd Annual HFTC has been scheduled for 16-18 July 2010. This is an invite-only challenge designed to push teams to their mental and physical limits. It is not for the weak or fainthearted. If you think you got what it takes and want to learn more, head over to the forums.

Hatchet Force Recruitment, Selection and Training Process

We are changing up things a little when it comes to our recruiting and training. We’re still going to train at least once a month, and we are accepting applications, but only during the summer months going forward. Starting in the fall and ending in the spring we will be conduction our Hatchet Force Qualification Course (HFQC) and will not be accepting any new applications until the selection and training process is over. For more information, read about the requirements for joining HF, and the new HF selection process.

See ya in the field!

Event Photos

We are hard at work planning all the good stuff that is going down during our 2nd Hatchet Force Team Challenge (now scheduled for March 21st). This weekend we took some photos of the general AO to give you all something to look at.

If you’re planning to go and you have been invited, don’t forget to register A.S.A.P.

Some spoilers include:
- Slackline/Zipline/Ropebridge
- Ascending
- Integrated Live Fire Exercise (real bullets)
- A few HF-style surprises
- And much more to come…

The Winning team gets to take home the coveted HF trophy and keep it until the next challenge.

We’ll be hosting it and feeding everyone dinner just like the last one.

We’re looking for:
- Teams to compete
- Opfor

If you missed the first one, or ust want to see what it’s all about, read it here.

Photos from our 1st event here.

The cost will be $40 per person for teams, $30 per person for OPFOR. This is to cover the expenses for special props, and for the dinner that will be served to everyone after the op.

This event is invite only. You will receive a password to the registration page if you are invited.

February 8-10, 2008. This was the first Hatchet Force Challenge, a new annual competition where teams will have to use a variety of skills to complete objectives and finish in time to receive the trophy.

This year’s AO was a remote desert location with unforgiving terrain, and plenty of abandoned gold mines. Every individual competing had to be alert at all times not only thinking about his primary objective but concentrating on every step in this environment.

Each team has a required gear list, and limited ammunition to take with them through the Hatchet Force Challenge course, an intense series of objectives putting their organization and team cohesiveness to the test.

They were inserted with a map, and several grid coordinates as objectives. As they moved to the first objective they found an enemy machine gun emplacement and a whole lot of hostile fire. After an intense battle, and casualties, the teams had to organize and rappel down into a canyon (in full gear) which would take them to their next objective.

Fighting through the canyon, they eventually came to their second objective, an enemy missile emplacement with more opposing forces ready and waiting for them. Another battle complete, but the war of the day wasn’t over. They had enough time to communicate a SITREP and re-arm (using the enemy supply crates), before they had to move out to their next task.

The third and primary objective was to locate a core from a crashed U.S. Intelligence satellite. It contained information sensitive to national security and has the highest priority. Information from other satellite and UAV intel reports stated that the satellite core was picked up by an enemy patrol and taken into one of their many mountainside hideouts, an abandoned mining cave.

As they neared the entrance, everything seemed quiet. Too quiet. No sooner did they reach their objective than they were ambushed by more enemy forces. But with all the momentum built up from they day of combat, they weren’t going to let it slow them down. As they moved into a large cave system, filled with 40+ ft. vertical shafts and low-hanging rock ceilings, they were greeted by a familiar voice. A USSF soldier had been fighting his way around this cave system and looking for the core for days. He had lost all contact with the outside world, and even though he was the only survivor of his team, was focused on one thing only; completing his mission. Together they fought through the remaining forces in the cave system and eventually found what they came for. The only problem? It was laying at the bottom of a 90+ft vertical mine shaft. Nominated as their most experienced climbers, each team sent one individual to rappel down into the mineshaft to retrieve the 50lb. satellite core. After it was retrieved, the teams had to work together to pull their man, and their objective to safety.

Exfil. With the primary objective secure, it was time to get the hell outta dodge. The final objective was to get to their extraction point in as little time as possible. After a long and difficult day navigating through canyons, and along steep cliffs, each team fought it’s way back over the same excruciatingly tough terrain. But they made it. They had completed their objectives and were each victorious. The Hatchet Challenge was over.

In the end, there was only one winner, the team which made it to the extraction point in the least amount of time. It was a VERY close call, and with only 13 minutes difference, but Team 2 (Green team), lead by Daniel Alarcon won the day.

This was the first year in what we hope to be a long-running annual challenge in which tactically-minded teams can test their skills in one of the most difficult, mentally and physically, events they have ever attended. Next year will be another time and a different area, but the challenge will be just as tough. If you think you have what it takes to take on the Hatchet Challenge, just let us know.

-Hatchet Force.

HF Photos
CODEREDFOX Photos