As the agent of your own executive protection detail, you must realize that just because that you have a gun, does not mean that you are armed. A confrontation, more than likely, is going to go physical way before it goes lethal. So… learn some basic fight. Even if that means learning how to throw a proper one-two with a lateral move. Make it–habitual.
-Pat McNamara
When it comes to confrontation, escalation of force must be considered: Avoid at all costs; if it goes to physical, strike without hesitation and purpose to achieve separation; if it goes to lethal, well… I’m being lethal.
For the last few years my firearms training has been on the tactical side of the equation such as low light, vehicle engagements, “cqb/cqc”, etc. I started to notice I was getting sloppy so back to the basics. Unless I was getting sent to a class, I decide my training money and time would be for a fundamental class in each basic platform. So far I’ve hit a basic 3-position rifle class and a 3-day competition pistol class. Next up sporting clays. Has it helped…definitely. My positions are solid behind my scoped rifles and my pistol work is at least 1 zone tighter for my normal COFs.
It’s good to be honest in your self assessments and back to the fountain.
Ari is a good dude. I trained with him a couple times while I was still living out west. I respect what he’s trying to accomplish with Invictus and the #makeitmanditory initiative for getting LE involved in BJJ. He works hard.
We are in dire need of a culture change in LE. The gap between where we are in terms of fitness, combative, firearms, mindset etc and where we need to be is huge. I’ve got all the time in the world for a guy who steps up and tries to change this.
Edit: IMHO, no art/style/system is truly ‘free from bullshit’. They all have their own dogma, bias, inbreeding, etc. It’s more a question of where your system lies along the “bullshit continuum”.
Great post and I agree. I have noticed that if I have been training CQB for extended periods of time, or help teach a class or certify some new people, I have a tendency to start shooting very fast, but, sloppy. Hits may be a few inches off all the time, accuracy begins to suffer. Trading speed for accuracy is ok in critical moments when you need to get a bullet into that 18 inch line, but, over time ( like erosion) you fundamentals will diminish. Steel plates are the worst for this.
Damn, you are so right. I see it all the time and yet old dogma still rules a lot of the brass. On the federal side, it is getting worse because they are going to “SF Model”, meaning about only one percent of one percent actually do anything. The theory that it takes 8 personnel to support one war-fighter is alive an well in Federal work. I just saw this last week in teaching an in-service class. Half the people there would not survive a lethal encounter.
On the local and state side, tactical units are becoming more and more in demand to do everything from serving high risk warrants to active shooters. General patrol officers actually need more training than tact teams, because they go hands on everyday, arrive during medical crises, listen to screaming domestics, and then are expected to be the parents of every civilian out there. With the constant threat of active shooters along with everything else, we need new leadership. In the states the main concern is not dead cops, but, are you kissing the population’s ass enough? Are we friendly enough, do we have enough cameras? Does everyone like us? In the states now, an LEO is killed every 58 hours, but, hell they can be replaced, why train them?
The Sunday Comics: Since I am ranting about training in law enforcement, perhaps this officer needs cultural sensitivity training along with a few bottles of Slim Fast.
Completely agree concerning the readiness demands of patrol vs tactical officers. Tactical rolls on a scene with mobile incident command, negotiators, sniper support, floor plans, K-9, trauma medics, superior gear etc, etc.
They are generally addressing a known threat as part of a planned event with superior numbers and a handpicked team that trains and drills together full time. Perhaps most importantly, they usually have the initiative.
Patrol rolls on scene often as a single officer or with whoever else was close by at the time. Usually we’re working with incomplete information or no information at all (traffic stops etc). We have whatever gear we brought with us and as often as not our best gear (long guns, rifle plates etc) is still in the PC when things touch off. Perhaps most importantly, we almost never have the initiative. We are reacting. We don’t have hours to plan.
So, who needs to be more ready? Yet how many patrol guys train? How many are in shape? How many can shoot? How many can fight? How many can maneuver, communicate and make good decisions in the moment? I’ve read that the obesity rate in LE is over 80%. That’s literally insane to me.
Maybe it’s an issue with leadership, but at what point do the guys on the ground just need to own it and say, ‘OK, it’s my ass out there on the line and no one is coming to save me. I need to devote some time to becoming more capable and harder to kill’?
Management isn’t going to bleed out on a gravel road or get their asses kicked in a back alley. That’s us.
If you’re so debilitated by your lifestyle that you can’t reasonably expect to execute the duties you swore to perform that’s on you, not management. I dunno Brother…
In the last two days, a North Carolina K-9 officer was shot and killed on a traffic stop and last night, a Biloxi , Mississippi officer was assassinated walking out of his precinct. With the current rate of officers deaths, you would think that would be motivation enough to train, but, sadly it isn’t. Getting killed in US law enforcement has become so common, even the brass don’t give a shit. I could write a book on this and all the reasons why, but here is the bottom line:
Its your decision to be a cop, it you choose that route then know this, if you respond to a situation and you are not in physical shape, then you are just part of the problem.
Something extra:
This book details K-9 units in 47 countries, thought you might be interested.
Handguns and shotguns are no match for a barricaded sniper with a scoped rifle. But upgraded equipment and weapons are useless without upgraded training to match.
Thought for the day (2): They do one of the hardest, most dangerous jobs out there without any recognition, if the are any CO’s on here, you my respect. be safe, brothers.
By the way gents, it’s Ramadan til the next moon cycle. The USS Abraham Lincoln was sent East as u likely know bc of Iran crap, and we have more bombers deployed on the Arabian peninsula.
The hajis love to blow shit up this time of year (even more than usual) anyway, so watch your six, and every other position…there be trouble out there.
Thought for the day: According to a police website that I read, a cop is now killed every 58 hours. IMHO, no one outside the first responder family even gives a crap. So, all my respect to the brothers and sisters who made the ultimate sacrifice for their community and country.
Thought for the day:Are you an asset or a liability?
Three days ago, I was stuck in a terminal that was over populated with fat men in too tight polo shirts and fat women in too tight yoga pants. I was leaning back against the wall of a book kiosk, trying to avoid this sea of non commitment , when I saw the headline for an article, “Are you an asset or an liability?” The author was making his case that we have (in the tactical world) became too specialized, that we focus on becoming experts on one skill and not learn how to handle multiple situations.
I agree. Ten years ago, skills were more general than the specialization of today. Now, that might seem like I am going the way of dinosaur, but, it does me no good to teach you CQB and you are not physically fit to fight. I am not an expert in anything, but, I have a general working knowledge of many things.
You can kill the target from a thousand yards, but, can you slap on a tourniquet? You can bench press 400 hundred pounds, but, can you save a two year old choking on a Lego? You can complete a biathlon, but can you throw a straight right or apply an arm bar? You have a PhD in economics, but can you build a fire in the wilderness?
Ask yourself today: Am I an asset or a liability to my:
Further to the above post, the post the other day with a bear and overweight female officer, and other stuff posted a good while back, I wonder; Is it the norm for a female officer like the one in this story to face a stop in the middle of the night, and manage to bag him on a warrant after taking a punch in the face?
Part of what has me post this was a reference someone made in conversation a few years ago at some place I was when a ream of police were screaming up the street. An observer said, “Ah, it’s probably someone spouting off to the Super and she can’t handle it without backup”. Something close to that.
There’s a need for specialists and generalist in any subject matter. Across the width of the tactical community skill set, I’d argue that one should be a journeyman of many trades and a master of a couple. Then build the team to put together a group to cover as many bases as possible. I recently explained my physical training philosophy as “lift more than the runners and run more than the lifters”. I have the same idea for any complimentary skill sets. One maybe a top notch pre-hospital medic but if you can’t get to me and extract me, you might as well be a sushi chef.
