Hand to Hand Combatives in the US Army

The Modern Army Combatives Program was adopted by the U.S. Army in 2000. The program is the culmination of a 1995 directive by the Commander of 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, to improve the Armys old and unused combatives program. Modern Army Combatives is a ground-based fighting system that teaches soldiers how to close the gap between themselves and the enemy, gain dominance, and finish the fight. The programs roots are in Brazilian Jujitsu. Is this the right program for the average soldier on todays battlefield In an attempt to answer this question, the author analyzed the Armys program and compared it to programs operated by the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, the Russian military, the Israeli military, and the Korean military. Surveys and interviews with personnel from various organizations within the Army were conducted and in-depth interviews with martial arts experts from outside the military were conducted to provide a greater depth to the research. The results show that the current program provides a good foundation for Army hand-to-hand combat training, but implementing the changes recommended in this thesis will only make it better.