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Established
This course is designed as an “add-on” course for facilities that allow for low light shooting. It will allow shooters to utilize the techniques taught by HiTS to be shot in actual low light conditions. HiTS teaches both hand-held and weapon mounted light techniques used in conjunction with one another.
This was my third course that incorporated a large amount of low-light training. I had previously taken a low-light pistol course with Kenan Flasowski (former SFOD-D, a truly underrated instructor) and a pistol course with a strong focus on low-light tactics and manipulation with Combative Weapon Solutions, along with various pistol manipulation courses with Larry Vickers and Todd Louis Green, and a pistol-oriented combatives type course with Craig Douglas. I used an H&K P30LS with the Grayguns Reduced Reset Carry Perfection Package carried in condition 1, with an X400 Ultra - Green laser mounted with the DG-11 and zeroed for 25 yards; sights were Heinie Straight Eights with the front sight painted bright orange with nail polish. I appendix carried the P30LS using a slightly modified RCS Phantom at about the 0130 position. I carried the magazines using Kytex Shooting Gear open top magazine carriers, and had Taylor Freelance Border Special +5 magazine extensions (with the aftermarket springs) on all magazines. My handheld was the Surefire E1B, slightly modified with a zip tie and two Scünci No Damage elastic hair bands to form a jury rigged lanyard. Besides the usage of an addition of a second magazine carrier, my set-up was identical to my EDC: t-shirt with relatively form-fitting jeans, The Wilderness Ti Instructor belt, SFB, folder, phone, etc.
Darryl Bolke was the primary (and only) instructor. Class started at about 1410 in the classroom; weather was irrelevant, as it was hosted at an indoor range, allowing for the removal of light on demand. There were 13 students, with one active duty member of the military, one active LEO, and a couple of retired military/LE folks. All of the students had some prior training; I was also acquainted with well 75% of the students, either from other formal classes or else via informal shooting events.
We started out with Darryl giving his background: his main source of experience was being a LEO in southern CA for over 19 years before being medically retired due to an on-the-job injury. After his years in LEO, he did a stint in executive protection, before eventually moving to Texas and starting up HiTS. Besides HiTS, he also currently does work for Aimpoint, along with occasional writing for Surefire. During his years as a LEO, he was directly involved in (and also observed) multiple low-light OISes. He stated that any technique can be said to be a "theory-based implementation"; however, one still needs to actually test these techniques, and Darryl has found that LE work is a great laboratory of sorts in figuring out what works and what doesn't. He also noted that, somewhat ironically, he often did things a different way than his partner in HiTS, Wayne Dobbs (who was busy this weekend and could not make it), thus forcing both of them to not be so dogmatic about things. We then went over student backgrounds, where everyone expressed a desire to learn low-light techniques that were actually relevant to the civilian world.
This class was thrown together very quickly; I recall it being discussed around a month ago by an employee of the range (whom I consider a very good friend), and the confirmation going out only about a week ago. I was very fortunate to have found Shiloh Shooting, the venue that hosted the class, as most of the folks working there are extremely squared away; I actually had my first interaction with one of their employees at a ShivWorks class. I had also previously taken a HiTS class, and was very familiar with Darryl's background through his online persona (nyeti), especially his low-light experience, so this class was a no-brainer.
Darryl then went what to expect from the class. To begin with, Darryl was up front that what he was teaching would not guarantee a good outcome, nor would it cover every single possible low-light scenario. Instead, what he was going to teach us was simple techniques that would work for the vast majority of civilian encountered problems (99% of problems, as he put it). He wanted the students' takeaway to be "I know how and what to practice at home/the range", rather than "I know how to do low-light shooting" straight up. He also stressed here that he thought that inert training guns were hugely helpful in training, and that we would be able to practice at home most of what he was going to teach today with just blue guns and our handhelds. In fact, he would go on to make very heavy use of the blue gun for the rest of the class.
After that, Darryl then went over in greater detail his low-light background. He started shooting in only after getting into college, but went all in on this hobby, reading books, working at the gun store, etc. He wound up being the first officer in his department to be hired straight out of college. Originally, Darryl was supremely confident of his skills, due to what he had thought was an excellent education in the various gunfighting TTPs that he had read. After graduating from the academy, since he was a rookie, he wound up having the graveyard shift; on his very first night, he had to respond to seven different shootings (not OIS). He quickly figured out that essentially everything he had learned before was next to useless, and he had to do a hard reset on everything he had been taught. It was here that he switched to using the Harries technique... or at least attempted to, though he as actually doing it wrong at the time. In just over a year after graduating from the academy, Darryl became the lead SWAT instructor of his department, at the age of 24. Luckily, he was smart enough to realize that his own skillset was severely lacking, and went out and sought instruction from the various LAPD SWAT instructors to learn what to do. At this time, he was also able to get in touch and start training with, and eventually taught under, Michael Harries, inventor of the technique that carries his name.
Eventually, with the invention of the world wide web, Darryl started having very spirited debates on Tactical Forums (http://tacticalforums.com) with another well-known and well-regarded low-light instructor, Ken Good. Ken spent many years in NSW, and had done a tremendous amount of force-on-force training in low-light scenarios. However, as Darryl noted, Ken's background and testing limited the applicability of his skills in a civilian environment, especially when considering how sustainment intensive his techniques were, and the fact that the average civilian would not be able to put in the amount of time to be able to use Ken's techniques effectively. Essentially, Ken's techniques could definitely cover the final 1% that Darryl's did not, but would require far more investment in time in order keep those skills at an effective level, an amount of time that most people would find unrealistic. Eventually, Darryl and Ken reconciled after teaching together, and both came away understanding why the other party did something a certain a way.
Darryl then went over the various basic uses of a light. Lights are useful since humans are diurnal animals, since they provide illumination that can allow us to navigate unknown terrain, identify foreign objects, search for known objects, or even shoot a firearm, since the sights are now once again usable. Some light designs could also be used as force tools; the C and D cell Maglites as the stereotypical impact weapon examples, or the various Surefire lights that have crenelated strike bezels. As Darryl noted, humans are generally a tool killing animal, i.e., humans are far more effective at killing using a tool, such a spear or a rifle or a JDAM, than using just bare hands and feet. A curious note is that, with today's technology, the 500 or 1000 lumen lights could be viewed as force tools just from the sheer amount of light being outputted; all that light going into an opponent's eye could easily dazzle them, generally enough to reset their OODA loop, and perhaps enough to force compliance or open up an opportunity for the light wielder's escape. While it's generally accepted that a light is a target indicator, a very skilled user can use the light to deceive and misdirect and opponent à la Ken Good. Finally, Darryl explains a fundamental concept of what needs to be done during an incident, by using the acronym SEE: see, evaluate, eliminate. In a low-light situation, a light can help one in all three steps.