Courses & Training Programs

Our flagship program immerses participants in a demanding 4-week curriculum conducted across our Montana ranch and the surrounding millions of acres of public land. Drawing directly on the training principles of the WWII-era Devil's Brigade, this course pushes operators to excel in mountainous terrain, extreme weather, and austere conditions. Modules include advanced small-unit tactics, long-range reconnaissance, survival and evasion, mountain warfare, and combat leadership under pressure.

Master the full spectrum of UAS operations in one of the most diverse training environments in the nation. Our 2-week program covers platform familiarization, mission planning and execution, sensor payload operations, data exploitation, and counter-UAS awareness. Students gain extensive hands-on flight time across varied terrain — from open meadows to forested ridgelines — preparing them for real-world operational demands.

This 3-week program provides a rigorous grounding in electronic warfare principles and their application in modern conflict. Students learn electromagnetic spectrum operations, electronic support (ES), electronic attack (EA), and electronic protection (EP). The curriculum integrates classroom theory with extensive field exercises across our ranch facility, leveraging the remote Montana environment for realistic signal propagation and interference scenarios.

The Combat Leadership Program forges capable leaders through a demanding progression of decision-making exercises, live scenario lanes, and reflective after-action processes. Conducted across our Montana ranch, the program leverages challenging terrain and realistic conditions to test and develop the judgment, communication, and resilience required of effective combat leaders. Each iteration is mentored by seasoned special operations veterans who bring decades of real-world experience.

Building on foundational UAS skills, this advanced 3-week program focuses on the tactical integration of unmanned systems into broader operational frameworks. Students practice multi-ship operations, combined arms integration, real-time intelligence dissemination, and coordinated targeting. The expansive Montana training area allows for full-scale exercises that replicate the complexity and scale of contemporary operational environments.

First Services Group partners with leading academic institutions to provide unparalleled field access for research and study. Our Montana property and access to millions of acres of surrounding public land offer diverse ecosystems, varied terrain, and operational infrastructure ideal for studies in remote sensing, environmental science, defense technology prototyping, and human performance research. Programs are tailored to institutional needs and can range from one-week intensive field sessions to month-long embedded research residencies.

Montana winters provide the ideal environment for this demanding 2-week cold weather operations course. Students train in sub-zero temperatures across snow-covered mountains, learning winter survival techniques, snowshoe and ski movement, cold weather equipment maintenance, and tactical operations in reduced visibility. The program directly honors the legacy of the First Special Service Force, which trained extensively in winter conditions during WWII.

As the drone threat evolves, so must our defenses. This 2-week counter-UAS program provides comprehensive training in the detection, identification, tracking, and defeat of hostile unmanned systems. Students gain hands-on experience with electronic detection systems, RF analysis, kinetic and non-kinetic defeat mechanisms, and integrated air defense planning. Montana's vast, unrestricted airspace provides ideal conditions for realistic counter-UAS exercises.