The U.S. Marine Corps knows how to prepare its men for the physical rigors of combat. Here is the entire classic USMC combat conditioning course as taught at the Officer Candidate School. Besides the Marines' demanding PT program, it includes complete instruction in unarmed combat; use of knives, clubs and silent weapons; pistol disarming; bayonet drills; and more. In the foreword, USMC chief historian Charles Melson gives an insider's history of the development of Marine close-combat programs from the turn of the 20th century to today. He provides little-known details on the contributions of such well-known figures as A.J. Biddle, Fairbairn and Sykes, and John Styers as well as more obscure but equally important contributors Stephen Staver, Dermot O'Neill and "the Three Sams." No library of close combat is complete without this classic manual.
