WayneF
Member
Intro to Mechanical and Ballistic Breaching Course
12 Jul 2011
Alliance PD (Oh)
This course was actually the final exam for another course that TEES was running. The last day of their 4 day Mechanical and Ballistic Breaching Instructor course is having the student/instructors actually teach a 8 hour course to other LE/.mil types while under the supervision of the TEES staff.
The morning started out introductions and the prerequisite safety briefings. With that out of the way we quickly moved on to gear placement and setup. While most of us have found the way we like to run our vest or carriers, the fact that things will change is quickly apparent when you start adding Haligans, sledges, shotguns and their respective holders and lanyards to your kit.
The tips on gear placement and rigging alone were worth the trip in my opinion.
Once we set everything up the way we “thought” it should be we were quickly able to test that with a couple of obstacles.
The first was an approximately 7 foot wall that we had to get all of our members and team equipment across. Trying to go over and lower yourself down a wall helps to quickly bring your attention to any loose equipment or snag hazards.
Next up was a 5 foot or so tall chain link fence. We used galvanized pipes with duct tape to create a ladder that two team members could climb at once. This exercise also helped to point out any gear issues we may have while in various positions.
We then made our way over to the shoothouse where we got into the fundamentals of breaching with a ram. We covered things like positioning of the team and breacher, the “tactical” side of the door, how to quickly spot if it is a “push” or a “pull” door and other tips that we would use throughout the course along with ram specific info. The student instructors showed us various types of rams while explaining some of the pros and cons of each, proper stance, technique and other items such as what to do with the ram after breaching the door.
Moving to the other side of the house we had a chance to work on a pull door while using a haligan tool. Once again the student instructors did a great job touching on various tools and their proper use. They were quick to point out how it is all of the details that matter as far as stance, balance and movement before, during and after getting the door open.
After each student got multiple repetitions using both the haligan and sledge or ram we started to get into the proper use of the breaching shotgun. One of the student instructors went over several of the breaching specific rounds that are available and the pros and cons of each. After a dry run to work out any hand jive issues and allow everyone to a get a warm and fuzzy with the Mossberg and Remington shotguns we went live. TEES has a slick setup that allows you to quickly reset between drills with literally seconds in between.
This quick turn around made it possible for each student to again get multiple reps in. This was more than needed my *ahem* some people, to help fight muscle memory from kicking in and racking a live round after breaching the door.
Moving back to the house we covered how to break and rake a window. We quickly went from dry runs and step by step runs to breaching a window and inserting a full team via a ladder. Once I started to use the tool to rip the window sill out it was quickly apparent that I need to start eating my Wheaties (or start practicing on my loud ass neighbor’s house)
Back on the other side of the house we started with exterior breaches leading into breaching and clearing multiple rooms. This required the team to move throughout the house and identify and solve the problem each door presented.
After multiple runs that required us to use everything from the ram, haligan and shotgun to make our way through the house we moved outside for a small break while the student instructors set up the house for our final exercise.
We made our way to the classroom for a mission brief and short planning session before moving out to perform a simulated hostage rescue that encompassed all of the skills we had worked on.
And with that the day was all but over except for the handing out of certificates and saying of goodbyes.
This was my exposure to TEES and I am already trying to figure out a way to attend one of their full breaching courses. Even though the information was actually presented through the student instructors the TEES staff was there jump in and give further explanations or add their experience.
This course marks my third trip to the Alliance PD facility in about four months and as always it was a great experience. They are truly a class act.
The student instructors were all very experienced operators from their respective agencies (ranging from Alliance to a couple of rather large Canadians) and it showed. Their ability to blend their personal knowledge, expertise and the TEES curriculum made for a very informative day that certainly exceeded my expectations. They were all very approachable, willing to work with everyone and meshed well together. Thanks for the great experience guys.[/quote]
12 Jul 2011
Alliance PD (Oh)
This course was actually the final exam for another course that TEES was running. The last day of their 4 day Mechanical and Ballistic Breaching Instructor course is having the student/instructors actually teach a 8 hour course to other LE/.mil types while under the supervision of the TEES staff.
The morning started out introductions and the prerequisite safety briefings. With that out of the way we quickly moved on to gear placement and setup. While most of us have found the way we like to run our vest or carriers, the fact that things will change is quickly apparent when you start adding Haligans, sledges, shotguns and their respective holders and lanyards to your kit.
The tips on gear placement and rigging alone were worth the trip in my opinion.
Once we set everything up the way we “thought” it should be we were quickly able to test that with a couple of obstacles.
The first was an approximately 7 foot wall that we had to get all of our members and team equipment across. Trying to go over and lower yourself down a wall helps to quickly bring your attention to any loose equipment or snag hazards.
Next up was a 5 foot or so tall chain link fence. We used galvanized pipes with duct tape to create a ladder that two team members could climb at once. This exercise also helped to point out any gear issues we may have while in various positions.
We then made our way over to the shoothouse where we got into the fundamentals of breaching with a ram. We covered things like positioning of the team and breacher, the “tactical” side of the door, how to quickly spot if it is a “push” or a “pull” door and other tips that we would use throughout the course along with ram specific info. The student instructors showed us various types of rams while explaining some of the pros and cons of each, proper stance, technique and other items such as what to do with the ram after breaching the door.
Moving to the other side of the house we had a chance to work on a pull door while using a haligan tool. Once again the student instructors did a great job touching on various tools and their proper use. They were quick to point out how it is all of the details that matter as far as stance, balance and movement before, during and after getting the door open.
After each student got multiple repetitions using both the haligan and sledge or ram we started to get into the proper use of the breaching shotgun. One of the student instructors went over several of the breaching specific rounds that are available and the pros and cons of each. After a dry run to work out any hand jive issues and allow everyone to a get a warm and fuzzy with the Mossberg and Remington shotguns we went live. TEES has a slick setup that allows you to quickly reset between drills with literally seconds in between.
This quick turn around made it possible for each student to again get multiple reps in. This was more than needed my *ahem* some people, to help fight muscle memory from kicking in and racking a live round after breaching the door.
Moving back to the house we covered how to break and rake a window. We quickly went from dry runs and step by step runs to breaching a window and inserting a full team via a ladder. Once I started to use the tool to rip the window sill out it was quickly apparent that I need to start eating my Wheaties (or start practicing on my loud ass neighbor’s house)
Back on the other side of the house we started with exterior breaches leading into breaching and clearing multiple rooms. This required the team to move throughout the house and identify and solve the problem each door presented.
After multiple runs that required us to use everything from the ram, haligan and shotgun to make our way through the house we moved outside for a small break while the student instructors set up the house for our final exercise.
We made our way to the classroom for a mission brief and short planning session before moving out to perform a simulated hostage rescue that encompassed all of the skills we had worked on.
And with that the day was all but over except for the handing out of certificates and saying of goodbyes.
This was my exposure to TEES and I am already trying to figure out a way to attend one of their full breaching courses. Even though the information was actually presented through the student instructors the TEES staff was there jump in and give further explanations or add their experience.
This course marks my third trip to the Alliance PD facility in about four months and as always it was a great experience. They are truly a class act.
The student instructors were all very experienced operators from their respective agencies (ranging from Alliance to a couple of rather large Canadians) and it showed. Their ability to blend their personal knowledge, expertise and the TEES curriculum made for a very informative day that certainly exceeded my expectations. They were all very approachable, willing to work with everyone and meshed well together. Thanks for the great experience guys.[/quote]