Assault 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 wall 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 standardised, and will have, for example (in the UK), 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 (these being or representing the most likely difficult terrain that a soldier will come across). The standardisation means that every course will be to the same quality, though it also means that there will be certain parts that may be familiar if practised.

However, they have different purposes. For example, they can be short (less than a minute) with a rifle range on the end (e.g. Junior Leaders, Folkestone), or long (five minutes) 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.

Obstacles can be for general fitness, of for quite specific task such as cargo nets which simulates soldiers climbing down nets into Landing Craft for Beachhead Landings. Climbing through windows is a useful skill when operating in built-up areas, and climbing ladders and over walls has proved useful in operations in Afghanistan.

Worldwide 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 negotiate. Overhead traverse (monkey bars) are popular.

International Military Obstacle Course Competitions use a standard pattern Assault Course with 20 obstacles over 500m, including 2 m deep pits to climb into and out of, ladders to climb up and down, balance beams, and walls. 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.

Russian Federation Army Assault Courses have: a maze; walls with holes to crawl through; steps; balance beams; tunnels and often include throwing a dummy Hand Grenade from the final trench. Russian Assault Courses' often have monkey bars in an inverted V shape, higher in the middle.

The standard French Assault Course is 1640 feet long and has 20 obstacles.

The British Army has two standard designs. Type A, for trained soldiers and Type B, for training establishments.

The design for trained soldiers has 18 different obstacles, and is usually wide enough to allow two teams to compete. The design includes: 4 steps up to 1.7m; monkey bars 5.4m long and 2.8m high; stepping-stones; 5.8m high cargo net; 10m long pipe crawl; rope swing over a 6.7m wide ditch; 8ft high OBUA (Operations in Built Up Area) double wall with ladders up and between the walls with window openings; and 8m high climbing ropes.

The design for British Army training establishments has 9 different obstacles. Most obstacles are built with 3 levels of difficulty: the vault has heights of 1.2m, 1.5m, and 2m; the high wall has heights of 2.1m, 2.5m and 3m; this allows the recruit to progress form easier to more challenging versions of the same obstacle as they progress through their training. The design also includes ramps; ditches wet and dry; ropes and ladders to climb up 4.8m and then cross 7.3m; and a 5m long maze. The maze is one of the newer obstacles.

Both designs are adjusted to fit the available space and terrain features, obstacles are between 5 and 10 yards apart, not all obstacles are always used, and obstacles from Type A (Trained soldiers) may be used in a course at a Training Camp, for example the Assault Course used by British Army recruits at Pirbright has 10 obstacles, including a maze, 2 dry ditches and a cargo net, whilst the Assault Course at Worthy Down Camp has only 8 obstacles. The Royal Air Force uses the British Army designs, and has Assault Courses at RAF Honnington, RAF Halton (with 9 obstacles), and the Royal Air Force College at RAF Cranwell. HMS Collingwood, a Royal Navy, shore establishment has an Assault Course which has water obstacles which are crossed with ropes and pulleys, as well as a wall to climb over and pipes, on a slope, to crawl up. HMS Raleigh (another RN shore establishment) also has an Assault Course.

Whilst 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. On the British Army’s Parachute Regiment’s Trainasium soldiers have to complete as one of the test to be allowed to progress to Parachute Training, 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 (Individual Battle Course), a combat survival course, has 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.

The term "trim trail" has also been applied to a series of wooden exercise stations, scattered in parkland or other locations beside a jogging or walking trail, which can be used to develop balance, strength and coordination. They are suitable for both adults and children, and the individual stations have been scientifically designed to provide a range of exercises. A key difference between a Trim Trail and an Assault Course is that at each exercise station the exercise is usually repeated multiple times as an exercise set, on an Assault Course the obstacle is only crossed once.

• Obstacle course
• Fitness trail