Nicholas Italiano in Events

Into the Unknown at UNDISCLOSED

In This Article

Why the Secrecy Mattered Leading up to UNDISCLOSED
First Lessons
The Mission Begins
Watching from the Shadows
Sunrise Hostage Rescue
Cavalry to the Ambush Site
Gun Fire and Explosions
After Action
Final Thoughts
Meet The Instructors of Undisclosed
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Invitations gave almost nothing away, which was the point. Applicants filled out an authorization request, waited for a quiet yes, and then booked flights to Pittsburgh. Staff met them at the airport, made small talk that revealed little, and waved them into an SUV that rolled out of the city and into an undisclosed location in the Pennsylvania hills. Phones lost signal as the road wound past farms and timber lots, and conversation settled into the kind of silence that comes when people realize the plan belongs to someone else for the moment.

An hour later the vehicles turned into the driveway of the Ben Franklin Range, a sprawling property with steep ridgelines and pockets of cedar swamp. The lodge felt like a modern hunting camp built for small units, with common rooms that encouraged conversation and bedrooms that promised short nights. Bags went on bunks, boots lined up under bed frames, and the group filed into a classroom where a flatscreen threw the word UNDISCLOSED across the display.

The intro brief was simple and carried weight. Rather than a themed vacation, this would be an inoculation against chaos. The organizers wanted participants to feel uncertainty in a controlled way, build skill under pressure, and leave with a mindset that would serve family and neighbors when systems faltered or failed. The staff would issue all needed gear, teach core skills, and then hand the class a mission that would run through the night and into the next day. Every decision would matter, and the unknown would stay part of the experience from start to finish.

Why the Secrecy Mattered Leading up to UNDISCLOSED

Keeping details under wraps changes how people prepare. Applicants for UNDISCLOSED could not game the packing list or rehearse a route. They had to show up ready to learn and adapt, which are the most transferable skills in any crisis. The selection capped at eight, which kept teams tight and allowed instructors to watch every rep. VIP tickets covered food, lodging, equipment, instruction, and the live mission.

Before anyone touched a rifle or a radio, the staff set the stakes with stories that set the tone for UNDISCLOSED. One highlighted Hurricane Katrina, the famous storm that put most of New Orleans underwater, during which, a man named Robert Green commandeered a small boat and pulled neighbors from rooftops. He had no credentials on a lanyard and no uniform in a plastic bag. What he did have was the will to act, and he improvised care with what he could find while navigating debris, downed lines, and the threat of violence.

Next, the class was reminded about the chaos in Ferguson, Missouri. After the police shooting of Michael Brown, protests grew into nights of unrest, and the cellular network strained. Shop owners guarded glass, families maneuvered around barricades and tear gas, and ordinary people used improvised first aid on strangers because ambulances were not responding to every call.

The room also heard about Susan Walters, a hospital worker who fought off a hired attacker who came to her door with a delivery ruse and a hammer. She had training, she had a reason to live, and she refused to give up. Finally, one more story came from Alaska, where a woman abducted by a serial killer escaped into thick forest and survived by masking her trail in rivers and moving when the landscape hid her.

Numbers followed the narratives and gave the class an even deeper perspective. Forecasts point to more large-scale natural disasters in the near term. Grid stress will push power outages higher. Insurers expect more looting and burglary. Emergency response times already stretch beyond 15 minutes in many places, and call centers report regular disruptions.

The conclusion: You must become your own first responder.

First Lessons

UNDISCLOSED’s safety brief was more of a reality check rather than a legal checking of the box. Timber rattlers live in those rocks and wasps populated the region. Ticks thrive in Pennsylvania’s summer vegetation. A family of black bears had made the Ben Franklin Range part of their home. Poisonous plants grow in riparian zones. Firearms, blades, and vehicles multiply risk when fatigue and weather arrive. Heat, humidity, and sudden rain would be a factor. The staff did not polish the edges off the environment, which made the training feel more honest. Afterward, the class split into two groups of four, and each elected a team leader to represent their group. This first night was concluded with a catered meal, and a chance to pick the brains of the instructors around a campfire.

There was not much time to prep newly acquired gear. Any adjustments needed to be addressed in the field whenever a lull in the action presented itself.

Issued gear was arranged in a neat line of cases and packs. UNDISCLOSED participants stowed personal items, learned what each pouch was for, and started their first morning rotating through training blocks that built a common language. Camouflage and concealment emphasized light and noise discipline, while the teams built their own ghillie veils. Land navigation covered terrain association, handrails, and lost person behavior in addition to how to maximize the use of apps like OnX. Traumatic injury triage focused on MARCH, airway management, bleeding control, and time management under stress. Long-range marksmanship returned everyone to fundamentals that actually hold up on demand. Clandestine bivouac gave teams a new perspective on how to shelter without being noticed. ATV operation connected terrain to momentum and risk. Close-quarters battle sharpened communication and movement. Escape and evasion taught people to disappear with intent.

Nobody knew what challenges they were going to face until it was revealed. Instructors used everything from unscripted scenarios to organized presentations to keep VIPs on their toes.

The Mission Begins

Late in the second day, while the sun was starting to set, gunfire echoed from the distance and somewhere out beyond tree line, the Islamic call to prayer floated in. Everyone was gathered in the classroom again and the instructors handed over the next phase. The UNDISCLOSED scenario called itself “Operation Free Franklandia.”

The setup was this: a non-governmental worker named William T. Riker had been snatched around 1700 and moved to the south end of the range. The motive connected to the class in a way that tightened jaws. The hostage was likely being worked for information on the training site and the participants who were on the property.

Enthusiastic enemy role players gave the event an element of realism you can’t get training against paper targets.

The mission walked through a sequence that required patience and unanimity. Navigate to a prescribed area without being compromised. Establish a clandestine patrol base. Put listening and observation posts in positions that could watch the structure where Riker was believed to be held. Observe and report through the night. Use what you learn to design a hostage rescue at 0700. Every team needed to reach agreement on their plans before stepping off. Teams could combine or move independently. Everyone had to depart no later than 2000, which kept the timeline real.

Headlamps blinked for a few minutes while people sorted kit and batteries, then the property grew quiet. Small groups slipped into the woods with the kind of energy that makes you breathe deeper without thinking about it. Radios stayed on low volume and voices stayed close to the mic. The moon worked its way over the ridges, and the night drew out the senses.

Undisclosed was an immersive and dynamic experience. No two scenarios were the same, and covered environmental transitions and different modes of travel.

Watching from the Shadows

The observation sites required patience. Vegetation scratched as ghillied teams crawled into position, while insects found their way to exposed skin. Closer to the target building, the movement picked up. Shadows flexed behind dimly lit windows, and roving patrols of enemy role players were on high alert for any activity in the surrounding wood line.

Soon an SUV pulled up, and a man with a machete and keffiyeh pulled a hooded and bound person from the back. This was the hostage they needed to rescue. Watching from their vantage points in the wood line, they observed the hostage being moved roughly into the building. Muffled shouts came and went. Shots rang out, and blood splattered the windows. Everyone realized that the stakes were high, and that the hostage was not faring well.

Outside the building, the outline of long-guns stood against a wall in familiar shapes. AK pattern rifles, and a large, ominous-looking tube near enemy combatants drew whispers. Teams rotated overwatch positions through the night. They took notes on guards, light patterns, and how often a door opened. Teams kept discipline on comms and moved slowly when they had to move at all.

It wouldn’t be a RECOIL event without guns, and VIPs were schooled in several forms of defensive firearm methodologies.

Sunrise Hostage Rescue

At first light, the teams formed up and the instructors gathered everyone at the shoot house for the rescue phase. Participants carried ATAC ADER rifles with simunition, donned their protective gear, and readied themselves to neutralize enemy targets. Role players brought energy and uncertainty to every doorway. Using the skills acquired mere hours ago, teams systematically cleared the building. Rooms fell one by one until the building sat quiet.

Tactical site exploitation followed. Teams looked for papers, maps, and devices that gave up clues pointing toward the next phase of their mission. Participants were directed toward a drop site a short distance away where valuable assets had been left by friendly forces. They also found intel about the location of a potential ambush site that needed to be verified. Intel in hand, they set off on foot to the coordinates of the assets.

Cavalry to the Ambush Site

ATVs waited at a drop site found through collected intel. It wasn’t long before an entire pack of quads were keyed up and throaty engines revved. Skies shifted while the teams ate the distance across the range to the ambush location, and heavy rain moved in. Water beaded on goggles, mud threw rooster tails, and adrenaline surged as the weather fed the excitement.

Arrival near the ambush location forced a change in pace. Parking the quads in a herring bone formation, teams dismounted and moved tactically into the shadows of a nearby cedar swamp. Movement slowed to a crawl as sectors of fire were covered. Sim fire cracked between trunks as enemy role players surfaced. Quick decisions made a difference in tight lanes with low visibility. As the noise faded, a grim reveal replaced it. Friendly forces had already been hit in the tree line, flipping the script to a mass casualty response.

Training turned into muscle memory, and triage took shape. Immediate threats to life were corrected in an order that preserved as many as possible. Tourniquets bit down, airways were cleared, and shock management began. Voices stayed calm when adrenaline spiked, and partners checked work. Lessons learned during instruction the day before paid out in a very human way, even within a controlled scenario.

Hitting small targets at far distances can be tricky. Those who did were rewarded with a satisfying 2-pound Tannerite explosion.

Gun Fire and Explosions

With the wounded handled and the lane secure, another tasking came in. Remaining hostiles had emplaced a mortar site and were preparing to launch a barrage toward the Ben Franklin lodge. ATVs hummed again as the teams rode to their next location. Upon arrival, they discovered a pre-staged firing position equipped with 6.5 Creedmoor rifles running suppressors and good glass. Mortar tubes downrange wore a little chemistry to make success unmistakable. Large Tannerite cannisters fastened to the mortars were the targets that needed to be hit.

The rain lightened then stopped completely. RECOIL Editor-in-Chief Iain Harrison stood behind the rifles and checked mounts. He ran the teams through a quick confirm on natural point of aim, body position, trigger press, and follow through. Shooters settled in, and spotters searched for splash.

A shooter pressed a first round that went high. The spotter called correction. The second round kicked up dust at the base of the tube, and the shooter walked the reticle onto the center of the Tannerite cannister. The third shot hit clean. A white flash ripped through the air and a deep, percussive boom punched the hillside. Cheers rolled across the line. No barrage on the lodge today.

After Action

UNDISCLOSED Mission complete, the teams rode back in through wet fields and gravel. Fatigue loosened smiles, and gear found benches again. After action discussions started while plate carriers came off and hats got wrung out. People called out personal wins and hard lessons. Points of friction became opportunities for improvement. The afternoon brought a catered spread and music that cut through tired ears. A bonfire collected small groups into a single circle. Stories started and rolled well past sunset. Strangers now had a shared language built out of an adversity they navigated through without quitting.

Feedback matters more than a schedule or a slick flyer, and participants did not hold back. One participant said that the team and the mental tests led to a major mindset shift. Another thanked the staff for a program that pushed hard while still giving a bed and a shower at night. For an entry-level cohort, the balance hit the mark.

Even though instructors applied steady pressure during the entire event, they were always ready to mentor the VIPs through any sticking points.

A participant who works at a desk wrote that he would return to the gym on Monday with a new reason to train. Fitness started to feel less like a hobby and more like a duty to his family. Another said he came with no mentor in firearms or hunting. He had searched for years for a place where professionals would treat a civilian with respect and still demand high performance. He found it here.

Praise for the cadre of UNDISCLOSED was universal. One graduate said the event and the facility were excellent on their own, yet the instructors elevated everything. He appreciated that they could bark when needed while never making a student feel small. Corrections landed like guidance, not insult. One participant called UNDISCLOSED unlike anything they had experienced and described how the air of uncertainty set a tone from arrival to the last fire ember. Another said the instructors were not just experts — legends is the word they used. Hands-on access and immediate application under pressure pushed people past their self-imposed limits.

Ultimately, out of all the feedback on the UNDISCLOSED event, one refrain stood out. Assembling a crew of instructors with different backgrounds and beliefs could have turned into noise. It did not. Students picked up on a single current running through the group. A sincere desire to pass on knowledge that might save lives.

Final Thoughts

A training event can feel like theater if the narrative never leaves the classroom. UNDISCLOSED chose a different path. It asked for presence inside a moving story, and for decisions that mattered minute by minute. It rewarded good choices with momentum and consequences that taught hard lessons without lasting harm. The result was a room full of ordinary people who looked in the mirror and saw leaders in the making.

If leadership has a feel, it feels like the ride back from the last target. It feels like mud on boots and a grin that will not quit. It feels like a notebook full of details that add up to a plan. It feels like the moment you realize that help is not on the way, yet the people around you are ready. That is a dynamic that changes families and strengthens a community. That is the power of a weekend thrown into the deep end of the unknown.

Meet The Instructors of Undisclosed

Iain Harrison

Serves as editor-in-chief for the RECOIL group. He is a former British infantry officer with decades behind rifles and an ongoing connection to current conflict. He has spent time on the front lines in Ukraine and brings a clear view of modern small unit problems. His presence on the range matched the calm of someone who has seen the real thing.

Patrick Diedrich

Carries the voice of RECOIL OFFGRID as senior editor and host of the OFFGRID Podcast. He has a professional background in combat reconnaissance, and as a SAR Training Officer. He has responded to terrorist insurgencies and natural disasters alike. His instruction favors field results over cool theory, and keeps the focus on people, decisions, and what wins under stress.

Michael Caughran

Founded American Reconstruction Concepts. He is a full-time survival and tactics instructor with a background as a USAF SERE Specialist. He graduated Selection with distinction and teaches a mindset of stewardship along with hard skills. When he speaks about personnel recovery or advanced field craft, you sense a mentor, not a lecturer.

Freddy Osuna

Founded Greenside Training and wrote a respected guide on human and animal tracking. He blends Native American field craft with modern tactics and teaches people how to weaponize their senses. His work and mentorship with military, border patrol, law enforcement, and countless others has changed the way people interact with their surroundings.

Kristopher Hasenauer

A board-certified physician assistant, veteran Special Operations medic and founder of T1RX. He moved through a decade of operational and advisory experience, and brings precise, repeatable protocols for traumatic injury. He also brings intensity that drives home the difference between theory and competence.