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    Default Need For Realistic Training

    Hate to say it, but one handed point shooting blends in nicely with this article:


    Officer.com Home > Operations & Tactics

    12 Elements of Firearms Training
    The dozen critical elements of modern firearms training

    Posted: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
    Updated: November 16th, 2009 09:14 AM EDT

    BANK MILLER
    Training Contributor

    It can easily be argued that the job of a law enforcement firearms instructor is more difficult today than ever before. With everything now required from our already strained training resources, it has become increasingly difficult to even establish what the right questions are, let alone find the right answers. To help build a solid foundation and establish some basic criteria for what a law enforcement training program should include International Training, Inc. has adopted the 12 critical elements outlined below.

    The information gathered for this analysis was obtained from several surveys conducted by the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) and the FBI. The FBI has collected data on officers killed and assaulted since 1945, and California POST started collecting such data in 1980. The surveys cited in this study encompass those conducted by the FBI from 1995 through 2004. After summarizing these studies, the following guidelines were drawn for police firearms training.

    FBI Analysis of Officers Feloniously Killed from 1995-200

    545 total officers feloniously killed with firearms

    Broken down into two category distances: under seven yards and over seven yards.

    Under Seven Yards:

    * 0-5 feet, 268 officers killed, 49% of total
    * 6-10 feet, 107 officers killed, 20% of total
    * 11-20 feet, 65 officers killed, 12% of total

    Note that the percentage totals indicate that 440 officers killed (81%) with firearms in the time frame specified were killed at distances under seven yards.

    Over Seven Yards:

    * 21-50 feet, 47 officers killed, 8% of total
    * over 50 feet, 41 officers killed, 7% of total
    * distance not reported, 17 officers killed, 3% of total

    Totals for officers killed at distances over seven yards (or not reported) was 105 officers or 19%

    1. Prepare officers for immediate, spontaneous, lethal attacks

    Why?
    Based on the above statistics, one can see that close quarter tactics and techniques are a must for officer survival. Personal communication with unknown individuals is a big part of our officers' daily routine, and they have to be close enough to them to do it effectively. The difficulty arises when these unknown individuals turn out to be bad guys. When this happens, a mastery of drawing and firing from various close quarter positions, weapon retention, physical strikes, and other close-quarter combat skills are obviously critical.

    How?
    To satisfy the close distance issue, a basic cardboard target holder that is sturdy enough to withstand muzzle blast, palm strikes, and an occasional flying ticket book should serve you well. As far as sudden and spontaneous goes, a high-speed turning target system that suddenly presents a threat just when the officer glances away can add a tremendous amount of stress to the situation.

    2. Prepare officers for assaults by multiple threats and uninvolved subjects

    Why?
    Statistics tell us there is about a 60% chance that an assault will involve more than one attacker. At the same time, we need to be aware of uninvolved, innocent bystanders as well. In many domestic abuse calls, the spouse or other family members can start out as uninvolved, but then join in against the officer if a conflict ensues. Learning to break the tunnel vision phenomenon and engage multiple threats with total awareness of uninvolved subjects justifies shoot / no-shoot training, increases survivability, and decreases liability issues.

    How?
    The most obvious approach here is lots of targets. Tall ones, short ones, some closer, some farther away, some clustered in a group, and some off by themselves. Another particularly effective technique also employs turning targets, but they have to be individually controlled. As your officer is engaging targets 1 and 2 as they edge and face right in front of him, try facing target 6 and see if he notices. Better yet, use a 180 degree turning target that can show you a bad guy or a good guy in the same place at any given time.

    3. Integrate the sudden transition to firearms from arrest and control techniques, including searching and handcuffing

    Why?
    Many potentially lethal assaults occur as the officer is searching and/or attempting to handcuff the subject. This sudden shift to a deadly force situation can be exceptionally dangerous if the officer has not been conditioned with the proper response techniques. Glaring examples of insufficient training and conditioning would be the officer failing to create distance if the chance arises, or attempting to draw his firearm with his handcuffs still in his hand.

    How?
    The use of drag dummies, CPR dummies, and turning targets are all effective here. The dummies provide realism and a platform for practicing control techniques, while the turning targets provide the sudden visual indicator that the situation has escalated.

    4. Base training on the fact that most officers are killed at short distances

    Why?
    The statistics presented earlier clearly establish where most officer fatalities occur. However, it is important to note that this element does not say Teach your officers how to shoot at close distances. It says to base your training on the fact that most fatalities occur up close. It's like the guy who tells his doctor that he broke his leg in 2 places and the doctor says So, don't go to those places! If most fatalities occur at close distances, we should all be aware of when it is appropriate to be farther away.

    How?
    In addition to the close-quarter combat techniques discussed in elements 1-3 above, a moving target that charges straight at the officer can be extremely effective at illustrating the importance of creating distance and demonstrating the best ways to move quickly and effectively in various situations.

    5. Base training on the fact that officers will have limited fine and complex motor control

    Why?
    We should all be aware of the various physiological responses our bodies undergo during a combat situation. Manual dexterity is the one we are focusing on here. As blood flows away from our extremities and towards our core, we lose fine and complex motor control in our fingers and hands. Unfortunately, elements of good marksmanship like trigger control can be the first to go. Now before a panic ensues, we believe that teaching basic marksmanship skills (like proper trigger manipulation) is absolutely vital and should not be abandoned! However, make room in your training for the fact that fine and complex motor control will be decreased, and that the officer can still make good hits despite this.

    How?
    The best way to demonstrate the effects of stress to your officers is to immerse them in it. Make them run, get their heart pumping and their adrenaline flowing, then send them into an interactive scenario with dye marking rounds and role-players shooting back at them. The breakdowns in technique will be startling.

    6. Integrate two-person contact and cover teams involved in realistic scenarios

    Why?
    Just because one of your officers knows how to safely and effectively engage multiple threats, reload efficiently, and move from one piece of cover to another doesn’t mean he knows how to do those things with 2 or 3 other officers running around him trying to do the same thing at the same time. Where is my muzzle? Where is my partner? Where is my partner's muzzle? Proper tactical communication is absolutely critical!

    How?
    Have 2 and 3 man teams go through tactical scenarios together. Use portable cardboard and steel targets in a variety of locations and configurations. Have the teams shoot side by side so their partner's brass is bouncing off the bill of their cap or down their shirt collar. Condition them to be profoundly muzzle conscious, and make them realize the importance of communication when it comes to moving, reloading, and staying in the fight.

    7. Emphasize the survival mindset and the will to win in all skills training

    Why?
    Quite often, what you bring to the fight will dictate the outcome of the fight. Having a winning mindset and a positive attitude will enhance the officer's odds of survival. While our work is dangerous, we have a high risk of being a victim off the street rather than on the street, and at times the biggest threat we face is the one in the mirror. Particularly with younger officers, movies and television have shaped much of what they perceive as the realities of a gunfight. For example, the perp that flies back 15 feet and crashes into a pile of trash cans after being hit with a single handgun round. Clint Smith said if you get into a fist fight you might get punched, if you get in to a knife fight you might get cut, and if you get in to a gunfight you might get shot. It doesn't mean the fight is over, it just means you may have to finish the fight a little differently than you had originally planned.

    How?
    Knowing how to shoot, reload, and clear stoppages with only one hand (both left and right) is imperative. Our officers must be confident in their ability to win the fight even if they are injured, and they must be comfortable with these techniques in order to gain that confidence.

    8. Integrate one-handed firing of a handgun. Include dominant and support hand, plus drawing, reloading, and stoppage clearing

    Why?
    Many law enforcement shootings occur with one hand, and using a single hand is often to your tactical benefit based on the situation. Even if you are not injured, a traditional 2-handed grip may be impractical or even dangerous if means giving up too much cover or concealment.

    How?
    Primarily for safety reasons, one-handed skills training is best executed in small groups. Because officers will be presenting and handling their weapons in untraditional and perhaps unfamiliar ways, muzzle awareness is critically important in these drills.

    9. Integrate close-quarter structure searching and clearing plus indoor combat tactics

    Why?
    When a family comes home to find their back door kicked in, they call the police. Does the call go to the SWAT team? Of course not - it goes to the nearest officers on patrol. Either alone or with a partner, every single officer needs to know how to perform basic close-quarter techniques like tactical entry, hallway navigation, and room clearing. They need to know things like which way a door swings if you can see the hinges (towards you), and they need to know not to expose body parts around corners, don't rub you back along the wall as you move, and don't hang out in doorways.

    How?
    A live-fire ballistic shoot house is the ultimate training tool for these situations. It provides a structure for all the tactical movement and navigation training, plus it escalates the stress and realism of the training by incorporating threat engagement with actual duty weapons. It's one thing to fire a gun in a nice straight line out on the qualification range. It is another thing entirely when you are inside a building trying to be aware of 360 or 540 degree environment.

    10. Emphasize dim or no light situations as much as daylight training

    Why?
    Because 70% or more of law enforcement shootings occur under reduced or diminishing light conditions, significant training with your duty illumination tools is a must. Target identification and threat recognition are critical parts of this training as well, and keep in mind that flashlights are needed in the day time just as much as in the night time because you never know where you may end up. The illumination tools you carry will have a significant impact on how you handle your weapon and ultimately on how you fight, so you must be extremely comfortable using them under a wide variety of tactical situations. Many departments have adopted the use of lasers, so your training must include the proper use of these tools as well.

    How?
    If you already have a shoot house that can be darkened, you have an ideal venue for all kinds of low-light training. An indoor range also serves this purpose well. If you don’t have access to either of these facilities, night time on your outdoor range should provide some pretty good darkness.

    11. Integrate moving then shooting and moving while shooting techniques

    Why?
    If you maintain a picture-perfect stance during a gunfight, you are not doing it right. If you are not moving to create distance then you should be moving to cover. The ability to shoot effectively while incorporating lots of movement gives you a dramatic tactical advantage, increases your chances of survival, and decreases the chance of hitting something you didn't want to hit. Remember, when shooting while moving you should move no faster than you can hit, see, and in some cases, hear.

    How?
    Effective movement techniques can be taught with just about any target equipment you have available. Running man targets and automated turning targets can make the experience more realistic and intense by allowing the trainer to control the scenario and respond to the trainee's actions.

    12. Integrate engagement techniques for moving targets, both laterally and charging

    Why?
    Training on moving targets has become mandatory for law enforcement agencies across the country, and rightfully so. When was the last time you were in a violent confrontation with someone who just stood still? Because running seems to be a part of most gunfights, the ability to fire safely and accurately at moving threats can be one of an officer's greatest assets. It is important to train for both lateral threat movement and charging movement because each requires a specific skill set and response from the trainee.

    How?
    Some portable moving target systems are very effective and flexible because they can be configured for both types of threat movement (lateral and charging). A heavier-duty track mounted system can be equipped with a steel target plate to enhance muscle memory through the immediate positive feedback of clanging steel

    Again, being a law enforcement firearms trainer today is an extremely difficult job. You have to be part teacher, part motivator, part mechanical engineer, part lawyer, part drill sergeant, part counselor, part maintenance staff, part etc., etc. We pay tribute to you trainers who dedicate your efforts to developing the next generation of warriors, and we hope the information presented here serve to focus and clarify the process.

    Source - http://www.officer.com/web/online/Operat....raining/3$49345

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Need For Realistic Training

    Quote Originally Posted by Matthew Temkin View Post
    Hate to say it, but one handed point shooting blends in nicely with this article:


    545 total officers feloniously killed with firearms

    Broken down into two category distances: under seven yards and over seven yards.

    Under Seven Yards:

    * 0-5 feet, 268 officers killed, 49% of total
    * 6-10 feet, 107 officers killed, 20% of total
    * 11-20 feet, 65 officers killed, 12% of total

    Note that the percentage totals indicate that 440 officers killed (81%) with firearms in the time frame specified were killed at distances under seven yards.

    Over Seven Yards:

    * 21-50 feet, 47 officers killed, 8% of total
    * over 50 feet, 41 officers killed, 7% of total
    * distance not reported, 17 officers killed, 3% of total
    Dunno why you hate to say it... I think it's obvious that that's the system your fond of.

    But all that aside....

    If you have 50% of fatalities occurring within 5 feet...no amount of marksmanship training or shooting fundamentals will change the outcome of a gunfight at arms length.

    IMO, this reads more like a reason for increased training and education of grappling range fighting techniques, gun grappling techniques, the deployment of contact weapons at close ranges, and general avoidance of close range encounters (to as much of an extent as possible).

    If you have numbers like that (where most lethal force encounters are at 5' or not much over), it just goes to show you that marksmanship is less important than tactics (in those circumstances). At least that's what I take away from that.

    Thanks for sharing.

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    Default Re: Need For Realistic Training

    Quote Originally Posted by synergy View Post
    Dunno why you hate to say it... I think it's obvious that that's the system your fond of.

    But all that aside....

    If you have 50% of fatalities occurring within 5 feet...no amount of marksmanship training or shooting fundamentals will change the outcome of a gunfight at arms length.

    IMO, this reads more like a reason for increased training and education of grappling range fighting techniques, gun grappling techniques, the deployment of contact weapons at close ranges, and general avoidance of close range encounters (to as much of an extent as possible).

    If you have numbers like that (where most lethal force encounters are at 5' or not much over), it just goes to show you that marksmanship is less important than tactics (in those circumstances). At least that's what I take away from that.

    Thanks for sharing.

    That's exactly what I got out of it too.
    Quote Originally Posted by GunLawyer001 View Post
    If the police could confiscate all of your guns and ammo using just one van, then you didn't own enough guns or ammo.
    WTB - NDS3 or NDS1 receiver FTF

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    Default Re: Need For Realistic Training

    Quote Originally Posted by synergy View Post
    Dunno why you hate to say it... I think it's obvious that that's the system your fond of.

    But all that aside....

    If you have 50% of fatalities occurring within 5 feet...no amount of marksmanship training or shooting fundamentals will change the outcome of a gunfight at arms length.

    IMO, this reads more like a reason for increased training and education of grappling range fighting techniques, gun grappling techniques, the deployment of contact weapons at close ranges, and general avoidance of close range encounters (to as much of an extent as possible).

    If you have numbers like that (where most lethal force encounters are at 5' or not much over), it just goes to show you that marksmanship is less important than tactics (in those circumstances). At least that's what I take away from that.

    Thanks for sharing.
    This has been my question all along everytime PS is discussed. At contact distances where it "can" be used effectively, the firearm is usually not the first, best option.

    I can't wrap my head around "when" PS becomes a viable option.

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    Default Re: Need For Realistic Training

    the thing that kept popping into my head when reading this is that the answer to almost every point they make seems to me to obviously be "more force-on-force training".

    yet the author speaks only of changing the way they train with paper/steel targets rather than incorporating FoF training.
    F*S=k

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    Default Re: Need For Realistic Training

    Quote Originally Posted by LittleRedToyota View Post
    the thing that kept popping into my head when reading this is that the answer to almost every point they make seems to me to obviously be "more force-on-force training".

    yet the author speaks only of changing the way they train with paper/steel targets rather than incorporating FoF training.
    Yeah, that'd be like trying to move a glacier when it comes to most LE depts training programs, though.

    Baby steps in the right direction is still progress....just not enough progress.

    It's very seldom that anyone graduates a training program and is "good to go". You see LEO's all the time that come to the range a week before qualifications to "practice". Well, what were you guys planning on using for the other 51 weeks that year, to hit your targets? Prayer?

    Guys who want to feel comfortable when it comes to shooting almost always seek out additional training and practice on their own.

    I've always thought it would be a good idea for every dept to bring in a different trainer year, who runs them through a different shooting program, and exposes them to different drills, tips, etc. No-one wants to tell the chief he cant shoot for shit...but the guy who is contracted to teach shooting, then leave the next day, probably won't mind correcting each shooter on the line, and not getting caught up on the internal pecking order in the dept.

    Bring in a different guy every year, and make it a requirement for each officer to attend at least every 3 years, or whatever your dept can afford.

    Department training programs often just teach to the test...and guys that can barely pass, still pass. It's like that old joke: what do you call the guy who came in last at Med School? Answer: Doctor.

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    Default Re: Need For Realistic Training

    Nothing really new in those stats, the FBI Officer Killed summaries have been pretty much the same for the last several decades, most officers are killed up close. Why - Because business is done up close. Hard to make any kind of contact from 30 - 45 feet.

    As a former LEO Firearms instructor, one of the things that my department did back in the early-mid 90s was implement a Use of Force Team concept for training. The Firearms guys, the DT guys, the K9 guys, the pursuit driving guys, etc... got together as a team and set about designing our training to make sure that when the officers did firearms or DT training or pursuit training, the techniques being taught would mesh together.

    This was done on the square range, the DT mat, live fire training exercises, and roll playing exercises (i.e. FATS decision makers, mock scenes, and force on force using simunitions). All of these different types of training are vital for officer safety.

    Sometimes, firearms trainers believe that the answer to any problem is the gun, when in reality, it might be hand-to-hand combatives or something else altogether.

    The cool thing that I have noticed in the last decade or so is that many more instructors and training establishments are starting to offer/provide this type of training, for LEO and law abiding ccw holders.

    The key is to keep training, try the different techniques to see if they work or don't work for you, and then practice regularly.
    Tomorrow's battle is won during today's practice.

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    Default Re: Need For Realistic Training

    Quote Originally Posted by synergy View Post
    Dunno why you hate to say it... I think it's obvious that that's the system your fond of.

    But all that aside....

    If you have 50% of fatalities occurring within 5 feet...no amount of marksmanship training or shooting fundamentals will change the outcome of a gunfight at arms length.

    IMO, this reads more like a reason for increased training and education of grappling range fighting techniques, gun grappling techniques, the deployment of contact weapons at close ranges, and general avoidance of close range encounters (to as much of an extent as possible).

    If you have numbers like that (where most lethal force encounters are at 5' or not much over), it just goes to show you that marksmanship is less important than tactics (in those circumstances). At least that's what I take away from that.

    Thanks for sharing.
    Yes, that is true.
    Along with instilling a ruthless kill or be killed attitude needed for close combat.
    But what agency would have the guts to admit this?

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    Default Re: Need For Realistic Training

    The vast majority of police recruits are sheep, just like the people they want to serve. We have taken fighting out of schools, God forbid little Johnny defends himself from a bully, now both students get disciplined. There's a GREAT line from 'Demolition Man" - "We're police officers, we're not trained for this kind of violence..."

    My own Academy was spent with cops who had been involved in shootings. We were told there isn't time to make a moral decision, if you aren't ready to drop the hammer on someone, leave. By the end of "Officer Survival Week", most of us were paranoid wrecks. Instructors would walk by, and randomly go for your weapon. You'd BETTER be prepared to exercise every weapon retention technique up to pulling it to shoot. (Obviously, live ammo wasn't allowed ANYWHERE near the recruits at this point).

    We were taught a position called "Speed Rock", where the gun barely clears the holster, you plant the but of the pistol against your hip, and instinctively fire two rounds into your assailant. Aim is not as important as brushing them back. But, at arm's length from the target, you basically put the first one in the stomach, and walk the second round up to the chest. Given time, you could get two more in, and probably get to the head, but we're only interested in getting them off us, pulling back, and assessing...

    Good thing to practice.
    MedPig: Part paramedic, part cop, fully retired

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    Default Re: Need For Realistic Training

    Quote Originally Posted by Matthew Temkin View Post
    Yes, that is true.
    Along with instilling a ruthless kill or be killed attitude needed for close combat.
    But what agency would have the guts to admit this?
    Probably none in the LE community....aside from the relatively elite minority of "good" tact team officers who don't play by the same rules the lawyers wrote for the beat cops (out on their own)...and elements of federal LE programs which are heavily participating in undercover CT work. So that's what..1% of LEO's? IF that?

    Shit, we've had soldiers shooting at "evil ivan" targets at 300m with either a RDS or irons for how long now? Only within the past few years (after blood was shed in the GWOT) was there a shift towards shooting from barricades/ kneeling/ getting your heart rate up...etc. And that's still only supplemental training...the "qual" is still prone on plastic pop-ups. The APFT still grades the fitness of a solder by their two mile run time, and how many pushups they can do.....not really a good measurement of how well a soldier can keep up kicking in doors and fighting in urban settings....nor pursuing a enemy through the mountains of Afghanistan

    Some depts still prohibit LEO's from carrying blades. Pretty much all depts are moving away from impact weapons towards chemical sprays and Tasers. No one wants to get their hands dirty anymore...and the PC bullshit of allowing female officers to serve in roles which they can't physically handle (without a lower set of standards being accepted because of their gender) is just perpetuating this idea that the widgets on your Bat-Belt are all you need to save the day.

    Breaking these institutional attitudes usually won't even begin to happen until lives are lost and political pressure is put on the higher-ups. And that's only because the liability pendulum came swinging back hard, the other way.

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