Photo By Sgt. Kayden Bedwell | The Pennsylvania National Guard Army Basic Combatives Course conducted at Fort...... read more read more
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FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania National Guard Army Basic Combatives Course conducted here Feb. 16-20, 2026, saw increased levels of participation, as well as a noticeable increase in attendance from female Soldiers.
“I know a lot of females are standoffish when it comes to combatives,” said Sgt. First Class Melissa Gasdick, a combatives instructor. “They think it's something that it's really not."
The Pennsylvania National Guard Army Combatives Program, conducted Fort Indiantown Gap, is run by the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s Individual Training Branch and the 166th Regiment - Regional Training Institute and is open to all members of the Pennsylvania National Guard.
Army combatives is about learning how to react in hand-to-hand combat situations, should a Soldier ever find themselves in such a situation, Gasdick said.
“This is a very heavily focused learning environment,” she said. “Nobody is going to put you down.”
One of the most common reasons these Soldiers gave for deciding to join this combatives course was their desire to learn different strategies and techniques that translate into self-defense, not from fear, but for capability.
“Even outside of the Army, you need to know how to defend yourself,” said Spc. Sandy Chheng, a combatives course student from Alpha Co., 103rd Brigade Engineer Battalion. “It's [also] a great full body workout. It helps you physically, but it also helps you mentally. This is so physically demanding that it almost makes everything else in life easier.”
“One of the reasons I thought about joining [the combatives course] is to be able to defend myself,” said Sgt. Monica Hinda, a student from Alpha Co., 1st Battalion, 110th Infantry Regiment.
Chheng said she is a black belt in jiu jitsu outside of the Guard, but she is still learning a lot from combatives.
“Today, when we were doing live drills and I was in bottom positions, I was practicing new escapes, things that I don’t normally do,” Chheng said. "But this is the environment to just try something new and see if it works.”
Although Chheng is learning new things from the course, she still holds on to the experiences she gained from jiu jitsu.
“There's a saying in jiu jitsu, it’s getting comfortable being uncomfortable,” Chheng said. “That's what this is, and over time it’s consistency. Consistency is the best thing you can have in this sport.”
Hinda said she did have doubts about joining the combatives course, but knowing there were other female Soldiers participating became a key factor in deciding to enroll.
“There are females of all shapes and sizes and some of them are stronger than me, some of them have more training,” Hinda said. “This is huge!"
| Date Taken: | 02.18.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 02.18.2026 15:35 |
| Story ID: | 558300 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 20 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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