2 Comments

1. 

   Steve M on January 21st, 2014 at 9:02 pm

   Paul and Jarrad,

   I recently “discovered” your show, on-line training, and available merchandise when Paul hosted Gun Talk Radio a couple of weeks ago. I am now working my way backward through your podcasts and am trolling through the training materials.

   I am posting a comment with respect to SOTG episode 035 – Police Training: Kill People Holding Guns? Regrettably, this is a recurring theme throughout the country, and it is one that does not appear to have an end in sight.

   I am former Army MP and a “certified” range officer. I have been working ranges professionally and in a volunteer capacity for most of my adult life. I would like to share an observation to include along with your comments in the aforementioned episode regarding the necessity for training that forces the shooter to think before pulling the trigger.

   Most police and sheriff departments require their officers to qualify with their firearms once, and in some cases twice, per year. As that dreaded annual qualification cycle rolls around the officers, who haven’t been practicing throughout the year, flock to the range to practice the qualification test so that they are prepared for the exam. You will note I said they practice the qualification test so that they will achieve a passing score. Not so that they develop the appropriate mindset and skills with their tools to effectively deal with a rapid escalation of force.

   Unfortunately, many if not most of these officers haven’t discharged their firearms since the last time they prepared for and fired their qualification rounds. As such, successfully shooting the qualification course is actually difficult and becomes more so every year.

   I hear a litany of excuses from the officers as to why they don’t shoot throughout the year ranging from “I don’t have time; I don’t get paid to practice; the department cut our ammunition budget; ammo is too expensive; I don’t like to shoot in public…” Given they are sworn to serve and protect, the excuses are nauseating. However, they are for the most part well intentioned men and women, and we do our best to coach them back into shape – even if only for a very short time.

   Unfortunately, the qualification test is not training and in no way prepares an officer for the challenges they are going to face in the event they find themselves in a situation where force is escalating beyond their comfort zones.

   Given the challenges they have manipulating their firearms due to a lack of even the most basic regular practice, their ability to think clearly is severely compromised. Furthermore, they lack the confidence required to maintain a level head because they know their firearms handling skills have deteriorated to the point of useless. As a result, the officers are stricken with mortal fear when they face the stress of handling a situation they are not mentally prepared for coupled with their lack of confidence associated with the manipulation of their firearm.

   It is the officer blinded by fear who is capable of shooting a kid with an air-soft gun, someone with a shiny cell phone, or firing blindly and unnecessarily and striking an entire crowd of innocent bystanders. To be sure, law enforcement can be a very dangerous business. Knowing that, I never have been able to understand the self-imposed incompetence and ignorance pervasive in the LE community that could be alleviated or entirely avoided with a little effort.

   If the bad decisions we see are the result of sheer terror, which is the result of failure to properly train, then a big part of the solution is training, trainng, training.

   Thank you for the wonderful resources you have made available on your web-site and for your willingness to speak the truth to the power that is complacence and political correctness.

   s/f,

   Steve

   Reply
2. 

   Steve M on January 14th, 2020 at 3:30 pm

   Paul and Jarrad,

   I recently “discovered” your show, on-line training, and available merchandise when Paul hosted Gun Talk Radio a couple of weeks ago. I am now working my way backward through your podcasts and am trolling through the training materials.

   I am posting a comment with respect to SOTG episode 035 – Police Training: Kill People Holding Guns? Regrettably, this is a recurring theme throughout the country, and it is one that does not appear to have an end in sight.

   I am former Army MP and a “certified” range officer. I have been working ranges professionally and in a volunteer capacity for most of my adult life. I would like to share an observation to include along with your comments in the aforementioned episode regarding the necessity for training that forces the shooter to think before pulling the trigger.

   Most police and sheriff departments require their officers to qualify with their firearms once, and in some cases twice, per year. As that dreaded annual qualification cycle rolls around the officers, who haven’t been practicing throughout the year, flock to the range to practice the qualification test so that they are prepared for the exam. You will note I said they practice the qualification test so that they will achieve a passing score. Not so that they develop the appropriate mindset and skills with their tools to effectively deal with a rapid escalation of force.

   Unfortunately, many if not most of these officers haven’t discharged their firearms since the last time they prepared for and fired their qualification rounds. As such, successfully shooting the qualification course is actually difficult and becomes more so every year.

   I hear a litany of excuses from the officers as to why they don’t shoot throughout the year ranging from “I don’t have time; I don’t get paid to practice; the department cut our ammunition budget; ammo is too expensive; I don’t like to shoot in public…” Given they are sworn to serve and protect, the excuses are nauseating. However, they are for the most part well intentioned men and women, and we do our best to coach them back into shape – even if only for a very short time.

   Unfortunately, the qualification test is not training and in no way prepares an officer for the challenges they are going to face in the event they find themselves in a situation where force is escalating beyond their comfort zones.

   Given the challenges they have manipulating their firearms due to a lack of even the most basic regular practice, their ability to think clearly is severely compromised. Furthermore, they lack the confidence required to maintain a level head because they know their firearms handling skills have deteriorated to the point of useless. As a result, the officers are stricken with mortal fear when they face the stress of handling a situation they are not mentally prepared for coupled with their lack of confidence associated with the manipulation of their firearm.

   It is the officer blinded by fear who is capable of shooting a kid with an air-soft gun, someone with a shiny cell phone, or firing blindly and unnecessarily and striking an entire crowd of innocent bystanders. To be sure, law enforcement can be a very dangerous business. Knowing that, I never have been able to understand the self-imposed incompetence and ignorance pervasive in the LE community that could be alleviated or entirely avoided with a little effort.

   If the bad decisions we see are the result of sheer terror, which is the result of failure to properly train, then a big part of the solution is training, trainng, training.

   Thank you for the wonderful resources you have made available on your web-site and for your willingness to speak the truth to the power that is complacence and political correctness.

   s/f,

   Steve

   Reply