dakotalawdog
Newbie
I've been training / certifying other LE firearms instructors for a number of years. I've had the ability to look at other agencies programs and see a few good programs and a fair number of bad ones. Not necessarily bad, but ones that were lacking in certain areas.
The term may be overused, but regardless, I like to think our goal is to develop gunfighters. And while it's important for them to be able to punch holes in paper, punching holes in paper isn't everything. Don't get me wrong, I really focus on marksmanship and think it has been neglected at many agencies (including mine), but I've seen some mediocre shooters come out of fights on top because they used good tactics and made fast and appropriate decisions.
So these are the aspects I think are important to be covered:
Marksmanship - these are the skills you need to simply hit a target with a gun
Weapon Handling - how you get your gun into the fight and keep it running. Draws, reloads, malfunctions, driving the gun, etc.
Legal - when you can and can't shoot
Mindset - never giving up, always winning
Tactics - How you take and maintain a position of advantage in a fight. Tactics doesn't have to be complex like clearing a room with a team of guys, using movement, cover, light is a tactic. I tell people you can win a gunfight without a shot being fired, and in my career I'm convinced I've avoided at least two gunfights because I had such a drop on the suspects, that they knew trying to fight would be suicide.
Decision Making - Testing your ability to use the rest of this information and apply it appropriately under stress. It's not just identifying a threat vs non threat target, though that is part of it. It is also analyzing all the other factors in a situation or scenario and making sound tactical and use of force decisions - to escalate or disengaged, to move or hold, etc.
Follow through - I recently added that last one to my list because we often train up to the point where the trigger gets pulled and then stop... but there's always work that needs to be done after that. The scene may still be hot, there may be more bad guys to deal with or a suspect to secure or provide aid. At the least, officers need to know what to expect and how to handle themselves as things move from a tactical scenario to an investigative one.
I go into more detail at the link below, but I thought I would share that for other instructors, and for students too who are looking at where else they should take their training. I think we do a pretty good job at my agency incorporating all those things into our firearms training, but we also are fortunate enough that most officers get to shoot at least 5-6 times a year on duty.
If anyone has other ideas or thoughts, I'd be interested to hear them.
http://progunfighter.com/complete-fireams-training-program-aspects/
The term may be overused, but regardless, I like to think our goal is to develop gunfighters. And while it's important for them to be able to punch holes in paper, punching holes in paper isn't everything. Don't get me wrong, I really focus on marksmanship and think it has been neglected at many agencies (including mine), but I've seen some mediocre shooters come out of fights on top because they used good tactics and made fast and appropriate decisions.
So these are the aspects I think are important to be covered:
Marksmanship - these are the skills you need to simply hit a target with a gun
Weapon Handling - how you get your gun into the fight and keep it running. Draws, reloads, malfunctions, driving the gun, etc.
Legal - when you can and can't shoot
Mindset - never giving up, always winning
Tactics - How you take and maintain a position of advantage in a fight. Tactics doesn't have to be complex like clearing a room with a team of guys, using movement, cover, light is a tactic. I tell people you can win a gunfight without a shot being fired, and in my career I'm convinced I've avoided at least two gunfights because I had such a drop on the suspects, that they knew trying to fight would be suicide.
Decision Making - Testing your ability to use the rest of this information and apply it appropriately under stress. It's not just identifying a threat vs non threat target, though that is part of it. It is also analyzing all the other factors in a situation or scenario and making sound tactical and use of force decisions - to escalate or disengaged, to move or hold, etc.
Follow through - I recently added that last one to my list because we often train up to the point where the trigger gets pulled and then stop... but there's always work that needs to be done after that. The scene may still be hot, there may be more bad guys to deal with or a suspect to secure or provide aid. At the least, officers need to know what to expect and how to handle themselves as things move from a tactical scenario to an investigative one.
I go into more detail at the link below, but I thought I would share that for other instructors, and for students too who are looking at where else they should take their training. I think we do a pretty good job at my agency incorporating all those things into our firearms training, but we also are fortunate enough that most officers get to shoot at least 5-6 times a year on duty.
If anyone has other ideas or thoughts, I'd be interested to hear them.
http://progunfighter.com/complete-fireams-training-program-aspects/
