BklynBacon
Amateur
Course: Lights, Sights & Lasers Tour 2017
Instructor: Wes Doss/Khyber Training
Venue: Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office, Belle Glade, FL
Equipment: HK VP9 w/X300U, Ronin Tactics Senshi Belt, G-Code soft scorpion pouches. PWS MK110 with a Silencerco Saker suppressor. Federal 115gr 9mm, Winchester 55gr 5.56 ammo. No issues with either weapon system.
I attended the lights, sights & lasers tour, hosted by PBSO this week. It was taught by Wes Doss, career military (Army Infantry/CID) and police detective in AZ. He has a PhD in Sports Psychology as well. It was a free course, put on by numerous sponsors, and is a LE-only course (and industry vetted professionals). There were cops/deputies from all over the tri-county South Florida area.
We started off with a classroom lecture, speaking about the history of LSL, how it came about, and the warrior mindset, and officer involved shootings in depth. As cops, we tend to give ourselves props for officers prevailing during an OIS, but never look at how it really went. Wes was not shy in speaking on the success & failure rates of police officers in violent encounters. It was sobering to say the least, that someone who is credible, can speak and keep it real, about how cops can't shoot for shit, and how we need to bring up the other 97% of officers to the 2% that are on their way to joining the 1% of officers who are truly ready for the fight. We spoke about gang/mob mentality, how perps today are conditioned to less lethal devices, such as bean bags and taser ECDs, and our over-reliance on them as cops.
For the range portion of the day, we started off with a diagnostic drill, getting us to work our holsters and general weapon manipulation. It was a good measure to induce a little stress, work our holsters and reloads, along with seeing where you were and others were. We then went into a series of marksmanship, and reaction drills, designed to get out of the holster safe, but efficient, and still maintain our accuracy. As the sun went down, we went to our long guns, and continued with reaction drills. If you didn't already have decent weapon manipulation skills, you were gonna be hurting. Ain't no hand holdin' in this course. There were some drills we did, that I will surely take home with me, and work it into my training regimen, and for future courses I will teach.
As the lights went down, it got interesting. THIS, is where having a weapon-mounted light really brings it together. Especially which one you had. It's no secret I'm a SureFire disciple. And it's for good reason. It works every time, doesn't go flying off my gun like several other brands, and doesn't dim out. We employed lateral and forward/backwards movement into several drills, and finished the day with a shoot-off for a grand prize package. The winner surely burned it down, and came away with a SIRT pistol, M4 hard case and several other goodies. We did a class photo, and I ended up purchasing one of Wes' published books, about training to win.
Takeaways:
Wes was the consummate professional. The class presentation alone was worth the price of admission. He addressed the shortcomings of police training, and cited examples of how to fix it. More brass need to leave their air conditioned offices, and listen to this lecture. Maybe if more did, they could save one of their subordinates' lives, by devoting more resources to training and actual GOOD training; instead of checking a box for "qualification". He managed 2 relays, totaling 40 students with efficiency. It was a good time, I got to work on some things, like how I need to shoot at night more, and that dry fire practice really does help, especially when it comes to "feeling" your gun, in less than desirable lighting conditions.
I only have one negative. And that's for my fellow officers in blue. Get your shit together. Going to a shooting course/qualification/training isn't conscription. Check your ego. There were some guys in the class, when came time to sign up for the shoot-off, were ducking that shit like it was jury duty. You can be the most badass investigator in the world, solving capers...but when it comes time for the shit to get thick, and you can't hit the broad side of the barn, nor will you take sage advice on how to improve yourself...I don't want you. Stay the fuck home. Matter of fact, give me your ammo, and wait patiently behind cover. At least one of us will be able to hit the bad guy(s) with efficiency. This is the one thing that is the most expensive tool on your belt...and if you suck with it, you not only endanger yourself, but everyone around you. You are a walking lawsuit, and I don't want you on my team.
Instructor: Wes Doss/Khyber Training
Venue: Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office, Belle Glade, FL
Equipment: HK VP9 w/X300U, Ronin Tactics Senshi Belt, G-Code soft scorpion pouches. PWS MK110 with a Silencerco Saker suppressor. Federal 115gr 9mm, Winchester 55gr 5.56 ammo. No issues with either weapon system.
I attended the lights, sights & lasers tour, hosted by PBSO this week. It was taught by Wes Doss, career military (Army Infantry/CID) and police detective in AZ. He has a PhD in Sports Psychology as well. It was a free course, put on by numerous sponsors, and is a LE-only course (and industry vetted professionals). There were cops/deputies from all over the tri-county South Florida area.
We started off with a classroom lecture, speaking about the history of LSL, how it came about, and the warrior mindset, and officer involved shootings in depth. As cops, we tend to give ourselves props for officers prevailing during an OIS, but never look at how it really went. Wes was not shy in speaking on the success & failure rates of police officers in violent encounters. It was sobering to say the least, that someone who is credible, can speak and keep it real, about how cops can't shoot for shit, and how we need to bring up the other 97% of officers to the 2% that are on their way to joining the 1% of officers who are truly ready for the fight. We spoke about gang/mob mentality, how perps today are conditioned to less lethal devices, such as bean bags and taser ECDs, and our over-reliance on them as cops.
For the range portion of the day, we started off with a diagnostic drill, getting us to work our holsters and general weapon manipulation. It was a good measure to induce a little stress, work our holsters and reloads, along with seeing where you were and others were. We then went into a series of marksmanship, and reaction drills, designed to get out of the holster safe, but efficient, and still maintain our accuracy. As the sun went down, we went to our long guns, and continued with reaction drills. If you didn't already have decent weapon manipulation skills, you were gonna be hurting. Ain't no hand holdin' in this course. There were some drills we did, that I will surely take home with me, and work it into my training regimen, and for future courses I will teach.
As the lights went down, it got interesting. THIS, is where having a weapon-mounted light really brings it together. Especially which one you had. It's no secret I'm a SureFire disciple. And it's for good reason. It works every time, doesn't go flying off my gun like several other brands, and doesn't dim out. We employed lateral and forward/backwards movement into several drills, and finished the day with a shoot-off for a grand prize package. The winner surely burned it down, and came away with a SIRT pistol, M4 hard case and several other goodies. We did a class photo, and I ended up purchasing one of Wes' published books, about training to win.
Takeaways:
Wes was the consummate professional. The class presentation alone was worth the price of admission. He addressed the shortcomings of police training, and cited examples of how to fix it. More brass need to leave their air conditioned offices, and listen to this lecture. Maybe if more did, they could save one of their subordinates' lives, by devoting more resources to training and actual GOOD training; instead of checking a box for "qualification". He managed 2 relays, totaling 40 students with efficiency. It was a good time, I got to work on some things, like how I need to shoot at night more, and that dry fire practice really does help, especially when it comes to "feeling" your gun, in less than desirable lighting conditions.
I only have one negative. And that's for my fellow officers in blue. Get your shit together. Going to a shooting course/qualification/training isn't conscription. Check your ego. There were some guys in the class, when came time to sign up for the shoot-off, were ducking that shit like it was jury duty. You can be the most badass investigator in the world, solving capers...but when it comes time for the shit to get thick, and you can't hit the broad side of the barn, nor will you take sage advice on how to improve yourself...I don't want you. Stay the fuck home. Matter of fact, give me your ammo, and wait patiently behind cover. At least one of us will be able to hit the bad guy(s) with efficiency. This is the one thing that is the most expensive tool on your belt...and if you suck with it, you not only endanger yourself, but everyone around you. You are a walking lawsuit, and I don't want you on my team.
