Two Person Tactics

[PeteG]

"Two Person Tactics" is a week-end course for pairs of individuals who wish to work together effectively in an emergency. The course is designed to raise issues of effective communication and coordination of activity between two individuals when immediate action is necessary and there is no time for discussion.

This is a brand new, first-time course, although it follows the structure and some of the content of "Personal Firearms Tactics for Homeowners."

We contemplate having at least some couples enrolled where one party is trained with firearms and the other is not. This appears to be the most common situation today among husbands and wives; one party trained to shoot and the other "not into guns" (but certainly "into" protecting the family).

After talking about the issues, we run exercises where the issues are actually raised. After people see how they did, we work out the rough spots, and do it again, until it looks as though people have the idea. Then we do another exercise that raises different issues.

The course objective is to give participants an "experiential appreciation" of working togehter in chaos (beyond mental "what if" exercises), let people work out some of the signals, and make them flexible in adapting standard techniques to unusual circumstances. (There is no "planned response" that one cannot disrupt with a moment's thought.) Hopefully, people leave the course with a better appreciation of how quickly things change, how clear and simple all messages have to be and how a little planning goes a long way. It is expected participants will leave equipped to continue to refine the process in the context of their own lives on their own training time.

We have room for two more pairs in the course. This course is already sufficiently enrolled that it will go.

In this regard, anyone who intends to shoot in this course must have a basic pistol course of at least three days (21 training hours) duration. Randy Cain is doing Tactical Handgun 101 on August 24-26, also at Pitcarin-Monroeville Sportsman's Club. This course is an excellent place for anyone to begin serious pursuit of competence with a hand gun in an emergency. (There are no emergencies in Randy's course; but he works on the skills necessary to do the presentation, aiming and shooting without conscious thought, which is, at least in my opinion essential to a competent response in an emergency.)

To be clear, one is welcome to participate in "Two Person Tactics" without the training prerequisite; they just cannot handle a live (as opposed to inert training) firearm. This will, of course, be the situation if our couple finds themselves in trouble at the local supermarket one day; one armed, one unarmed.

The course description follows:

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Two-Person Tactics
Saturday September 22 and Sunday September 23, 2012
Pitcairn-Monroeville Sportsman’s Club – 505 Mosside Blvd., N. Versailles (Pgh.) Pa.

In the kind of emergency that warrants the use of a firearm, there will almost certainly more things that need attention than one person can effectively attend to. The situation may well demand that one focus on two things at once, which is impossible. Once cannot, for example, watch his back while facing an immediate threat. The problem may be in one direction and your oblivious child in the other. One cannot shoot and call the police at the same time. With the stress and distraction, one could sure use some help.

Fortunately, most of us have people in our lives who are very likely to be around in the event trouble finds us. Spouses are prime examples of pairs of individuals who would benefit from working out a plan. Others include good friends or family with whom we spend our recreational time, and co-workers with whom we travel. More often than not, there is no plan to make effective use of this important resource.

“Two-person tactics” is about two such people working out ways to more effectively assist one-another in the event of an emergency and make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Much can be gained from organizing and coordinating what you and your partner do in an emergency. This is so even if the person you expect to be with is not one who will be armed. It is about getting signals straight, having a plan that can work, minimizing confusion or indecision, avoiding duplication of effort, and not getting in each other’s way

The instruction is focused on who you actually are, not some idealized warrior. We also determine what resources participants actually have at their disposal day-to-day, and we proceed on the assumption that is what we will be working with.

Issues addressed in the course include:

• Secure communication (verbal and non-verbal);
• How and where to move relative to one-another’
• Being predictable to your partner, without broadcasting your intentions;
• Assigning roles for different emergencies (e.g.: child abduction vs. robbery);
• Taking advantage of all available eyes and ears;
• Recognizing who must be making the decisions, when, and passing off control;
• Planning for extremely difficult decisions (such as when to leave the other behind);
• Weapon selection and training with the other person in mind.

This course assumes that trouble has found you in your home, car or workplace, and the two of you must now address a life-threatening problem.

The course may only be attended by people in pairs. To attend alone would defeat the whole course objective.

At least one in any pair must be a shooter. This is a firearms course. However, many people trained to use firearms share their life with someone who “hates guns,” or otherwise chooses not to train with them. Even where one party will not be armed, the total effectiveness of the pair can be multiplied, and disastrous errors voided, if the two put some effort into learning how to work together. Therefore, one non-shooting member of any team is perfectly acceptable.

Use your firearm of choice. The principles and techniques we address in the course are the same whether you expect to defend your home with a rifle or be on the street armed with a hand gun. You can use whatever firearm(s) you expect to have available under the circumstances for which you and your partner wish to prepare.

Prerequisites: Anyone who will be using a firearm must have at least 21 hours of prior, formal training in whatever firearm discipline they intend to engage during the course, from a school or instructor we know or the content of which training we can identify. All course participants must be at least 18 years of age, and be able to demonstrate they have no criminal history.

Instructor: Rangemaster will be Peter Georgiades. Peter has 16 years’ experience teaching firearms and defensive tactics. He is certified to instruct by the NRA (rifle, pistol, shotgun and personal protection), the State of Arizona (issued CCW Instructor Certificate No. 8769268), and OSG as a contact distance defense instructor. Peter is a member of the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI). He was trained as an instructor through the Gunsite Law Enforcement Carbine Instructor Cert. Course, Marksman's Enterprise 3 day instructor courses (carbine and pistol), in two-day instructor certification courses for hand gun and carbine, and the Contact Defense, LLC "Contact Weapons Defense Instructor" course. Most important, he has worked several hundred hours directly under experienced, professional instructors. He is a a competitive judo practitioner (currently ranked as a third degree black belt under the U.S.J.A.; a medalist at USJA Senior National Championships 2005 and 2007, Masters Division, 100+ kg; and a Gold Medalist, USJA Pa. State Open, 2010 and 2011, Masters Division, 100+ kg.). Other experienced firearms instructors and range officers will assist in the presentation of this course.

Cost: $175 per person, plus $20 per person in range fees for those who are not members of the host club. This covers both days.

Equipment requirements: One may not proceed without the following equipment, whether they are shooting or not:

• Ear protection and Eye protection.
• Cap or hat with baseball-style bill.
• Firearm, clean and zeroed with at least two spare magazines or speed loaders and related carriers. This applies only to those intend to shoot.
• Knee and elbow pads.
• 400 Rounds of Ammunition. We suggest students avoid the very cheapest ammunition and reloads. “Match grade” or “carry” ammunition is unnecessary, and its use would be a waste of money, but your investment of time and money in this course does justify the use of reasonably consistent and reliable ammunition. No incendiary, armor piercing or tracer ammunition is permitted.
• An inert training replica of what ever weapon you will be shooting, with holster to fit. A “red gun,” “blue gun” or similar training replica.
• A carry strap is required for any long gun. If you have trained with a long gun, you know why. If not, you will not be using a long gun in this course.
• A ground cloth, shooting mat or other cover (such as an old blanket), to cover the ground, upon which you may be sitting or lying.

Bring anything else you need to keep your gun running. This course is for people who are trained to handle their firearm, and we cannot stop to fix guns.

Physical Requirements: This course is designed to assist YOU to plan and make decisions using the resources you actually have. Your physical condition is one of the factors you must take into account. Therefore, we will work with you in whatever condition you are in. You should, however, notify the Instructor of any particular disabilities you may have, and we expect you to refrain from attempting any exercise that is beyond your physical capability or presents a risk of injury.

Credentials: Ways to establish a lack of criminal history are discussed on the web site identified below. We may ask for proof of any prior training history. The Course administrator is the final arbiter of whether prior training satisfies the training prerequisite. Military basic training, basic NRA courses and any courses taken more than five years ago do not satisfy the prerequisite.

Certificate: A certificate of completion is awarded to all who complete the course successfully.

Enrollment Information: Enrollment instructions and forms, driving directions to the range and other information can be found at www.fireinstitute.org. Payment in full is required upon enrollment. We do accept credit cards. If you have specific questions, contact Peter Georgiades at (412) 370-9500.

“Having a gun and thinking you are armed
is like buying a piano and thinking you are a musician”

------ LTC. Jeff Cooper (U.S.M.C. Ret.)

[Shawn.L]

I took Tactics 1 with FIRE a few years back and it was an outstanding course. Anyone thinking of taking this course should jump on it.

[Preble Pro]

Are courses ever held in eastern PA? Or do you know of any good instructors in the east?

[PeteG]

Are courses ever held in eastern PA? Or do you know of any good instructors in the east?

Actually, this course is new this year. (I know several of the people enrolled, and I am counting on some of the participants to help us shake out any problems with some honest feed-back.)

There are a fair number of people out there, and I'm sure in Eastern PA, who can teach this. It's just a matter of getting the curriculum worked out.

Get six couples/pairs together, and I will come East. It won't be $175 a person, though!

[PeteG]

I have a fellow who wants to take Two Person Tactics on September 22 and 23, and is looking for a partner. If anybody out there is in the same boat, let me know and I will put you two together.

Peter