In many parts of the country, cold weather begins around Thanksgiving — well in advance of the official start of winter. In this video, Street Survival Instructor Dave Smith discusses the importance of training to use your firearm and other equipment when you’re bundled up in a winter parka and gloves, and to be sure to regularly check that equipment for adverse effects that snow and ice can have on things like firearms.

About the Author:

As a police officer, Dave Smith has held positions in patrol, training, narcotics, SWAT, and management. Dave continues to develop new and innovative programs across the spectrum of police training needs designed to assist your agency and your personnel in meeting the challenges of policing in the new millennium. As a trainer, speaker, and consultant Dave brings with him unparalleled access to modern law enforcement trends.

Dave is now the owner of “The Winning Mind LLC,”  the Director of Video Training for PoliceOne Video and author of the new book “In My Sights.” His experiences as officer, trainer, manager, and police spouse lend a unique perspective to his signature class, “The Winning Mind.”  Visit Dave’s website at www.jdbucksavage.com.

Contact Dave Smith and Follow Dave on Twitter

Credits

Article originally posted on PoliceOne, republished with permission from Dave Smith & Associates.

Thunderwear offers different models, The Standard Model and The Combination Model.

The standard model has two pockets, one for the gun and one for an extra magazine or whatever you decide to put in it. They claim the holster is made for the type of gun you specify. I found this to be false as they come in three sizes (small, medium, and large).

The combination holster also comes in three sizes (small, medium, and large). It is a three pocket holster that has two of the same size pockets in the front and a back pocket that is directly behind the front pockets. The back pocket is designed to carry cash, badge, handcuffs, etc.

Construction
Out of the packaging, Thunderwear appeared to be constructed well. It is lightweight and constructed of double layered denim material with binding seams around the edges of the entire holster. The back of the holster that goes against the body features a three layer moisture barrier. The holster attaches around the waist with a six inch Velcro strap.

Concealment
Thunderwear is designed to sit in over the groin area, which for me was different. I first put this holster on with gym clothes. Under Armour All Season Gear workout pants and a t-shirt, to be exact. I was impressed with the ability to conceal a Glock 26 with +1 magazine extension. I asked some of the Blue Line Defense instructors if I was carrying a firearm, and they said no. When I showed them, they were impressed at the holster’s ability to conceal my gun.

Retention
I have not seen any retention issues with this holster. This would definitely be considered a level zero holster as there is no retention to it. The holster is what I would consider a pocket that the gun sits in. The only thing keeping the gun in the holster is gravity and the amount of pressure on it from the elastic around my waist from the pants I was wearing. I did wear this holster while working out at the gym one evening and did not have any problems with it coming out. I have not tested it while running, but have a co-worker who carries in a Thunderwear when he goes running and said he has had no issues with retention.

Comfort
I was skeptical about the comfort of this holster, being that the gun sits in the groin area. The holster is cut so that it sits comfortably over the groin area. If you are not used to carrying in a inside the waistband holster, this holster may not be for you, but if you prefer this type, then this holster is worth a shot.

Safety
My biggest concern with this holster is that it is not ridged, at all. Especially since it sits over the groin area, I believe there should be some rigidness to it to prevent the trigger from being pulled through the soft denim material. With that being said, it would take some effort and pressure to pull the trigger while the gun is in the holster. I just prefer holsters with hard material around the trigger guard to assure me that there is absolutely no way the trigger could be pulled.

As I mentioned, it is a soft holster, so it will not hold its shape when the gun is drawn. This makes holstering a two handed job, which I am not a fan of.

Price
Thunderwear is a very affordable holster, priced from $44.95 for the standard model and $59.95 to $69.95 for the combination model.

Our Overall Ratings:
The Good: If you are looking for a comfortable deep concealment holster, Thunderwear is where it is at!

The Bad: If you choose to carry in this holster, I would be mindful of the safety issues that I addressed.

Overall, this is a good holster for deep concealment at an affordable price.

Ratings out of 5 stars:

Construction        * * * *
Concealment        * * * * *
Retention               * * * *
Access                     * * * *
Comfort                  * * * *
Safety                      * * *
Price                        * * * * *

I’m disappointed — but not surprised — to report that at least 25 percent of the women officers in my “Winning Mind for Women” class report that they are carrying handguns that don’t fit them.

In addition, female officers — and their male counterparts! — are still being injured and killed in vehicle incidents in which a seatbelt or a slower speed may have kept them safe.

And too many officers are filling their heads with negativity, which stifles their growth and endangers their lives.

Here are three keys to improve your career and enhance your officer safety.

Best of all, you can start doing each of these things right now!

1.) Make Sure Your Tools Fit You
Carrying a firearm that doesn’t fit you not only affects your scores on the range, but more importantly your confidence in your own ability to win a gunfight.

The fix is seems to be an easy one (carry a firearm that fits!), but most women and many of their smaller male colleagues are working in agencies which have a “one-size-fits-all” policy when it comes to firearms.

If the department won’t buy you a pistol that fits, ask permission to purchase your own. If that’s not an option, start documenting why you need a different handgun and provide several options for the agency to consider.

Document — in writing, with photos, and in person if possible — how an ill-fitting pistol affects your ability to shoot.

But remember to keep your demeanor positive and keep all emotion out of it. This is what Dave Smithcalls “The Power of Positive Annoyance.”

Don’t give up, be persistent, and carry a back up gun (which you should be doing anyway).

Also, make sure your shotgun and your patrol rifle (if you have them) fit as well. Youth stocks or collapsible stocks make long guns easier to handle for smaller people.

2.) Assess Your Driving
Driving and related activities are perishable skills which need to be practiced. Regularly assess your habits — good and bad — behind the wheel.

Do you tend to drive too fast? Do you spend too much time with your head down, looking at your computer screen, your ticket printer, or your smartphone?

Do you wear your seat belt each and every time you operate a vehicle, and do you practice taking it on and off?

So many officers still claim that “seat belts aren’t tactical.”  If you’re having difficulty getting out of your seat belt, you need to properly configure your gear, get a hard practice seat belt extender and practice.

There is never a reason for a cop to get hurt or killed because they refused to buckle up, on or off duty.

Slow down, wear your seat belt, and stay focused.

3.) Look in the Mirror
What do you see on the outside? Does your uniform or your suit (or whatever you wear on duty) fit you properly? Do you look like a professional? Are you as comfortable as possible? Do you have good boots or shoes?

Does your body armor fit well and provide good coverage?

After you assess the outside, take a look at the inside. What’s going on behind your eyes?

Does your “self talk” help you or hurt you?

You should be your own best coach and motivator —don’t fill your head with negativity. If you make a mistake (who doesn’t?) fix it, learn from, and move on, but don’t shirk your responsibilities.

You are responsible for your own officer safety as well as your own career satisfaction.

Embrace “personal responsibility” in everything you do.

Whatever your assignment is, law enforcement is an incredible challenge and a wonderful adventure, so make the most of it!

About the Author:

Sergeant Betsy Smith has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, retiring as a patrol supervisor in a large Chicago suburb. A graduate of the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety’s School of Staff and Command and a Street Survival seminar instructor for more than 9 years, Betsy is now a speaker, author and a primary PoliceOne Academy consultant. Visit Betsy’s website at www.femaleforces.com.

Contact Betsy Smith and Follow Betsy on Twitter

Credits

Article originally posted on PoliceOne, republished with permission from Dave Smith & Associates.

Blue Line Defense has had the honor of training individuals of all backgrounds from first time shooters to seasoned veterans and even local celebrities. Dave Ryan from the Dave Ryan in the Morning Show joined Blue Line Defense in the classroom today to complete a permit to carry course. Although Dave has been shooting since he was just a kid, he was excited for the opportunity for further hone his skills and complete training for his Minnesota permit to carry.

Dave has been shooting handguns since he was five years old. He reminisced about his fond childhood memories growing up when his dad would take Dave and his brother out to shoot .22 handguns in Colorado. These memories are some that Dave will never forget and he looks forward to creating and sharing similar memories with his son, Carson.

His father carried a 45-caliber pistol as his sidearm when he served in World War II and the pistol was handed down to Dave; he brought it with him today to show us! It has custom grips that his dad added; one that features a photo of Dave’s mother at age 19, and the other grip has his dad’s signature carved into it. Dave holds the same grips that were with his father through countless places that he traveled to while in the military. The gun is a great heirloom that will be passed down and treasured by members of his family.

Joining twenty other students in the class, Dave learned about critical firearm incidents, legal implications for permit holders, how to develop a personal protection plan and many more topics that were led by instructors Matt Wyatt and Terry Pretzloff. After the completion of the classroom instruction, Dave and the other students got some quality time on the gun range practicing handgun fundamentals. Dave enjoys spending time at the shooting range and although he doesn’t get the opportunity to go as often as he’d like, he was a great shot! Students also got to see several different types of ammunition misfires and how to properly clear these malfunctions.

Even though he has been shooting for decades, Dave mentioned that he learned an incredible amount in the classroom. He said it was surprising how much he thought he knew about handguns, but in reality how little he actually knew prior to the class. The knowledge he took in about different stances and grips, Minnesota firearm laws and other handgun tactics will enable him to be a better shot and a responsible permit holder. Dave left excited and looks forward to taking future firearm training courses with Blue Line Defense.

We were honored to have Dave join us today especially because we’re big fans of KDWB’s Dave Ryan in the Morning Show and several members of our staff have been lifelong listeners. After over 25 years in the spotlight and creating one of the most listened to radio shows in the country, Dave Ryan is a true professional and one of the nicest guys we’ve ever met. In the midst of all of the negative media hype around firearms, it’s good to have a firearm advocate like Dave Ryan.

You can listen to Dave’s show every morning from 6-10am on 101.3 KDWB and see more photos from Dave Ryan’s Permit to Carry class here.

Author: Jayme Pretzloff

There isn’t much in the world of handguns that I haven’t fired over the years. Name the brand and caliber, and I’ve probably fired rounds through it. I’ve also owned far more than my fair share, often trading and selling to acquire something else. I’m now at a point where I’ve been extremely content with my current choices for quite some time, and as I’ll discuss later, this is a good thing.

Many of our students look to start with a gun to “keep around the house just in case…”. That’s an excellent purpose for a firearm, but in my opinion it’s not the ideal task for a handgun. Remember, a handgun is what we carry because it’s convenient. When you are in a fixed position such as your home, a long gun is a far superior weapon. For home defense, I’ll take my 12 gauge pump shotgun. An important note on shotguns: there is a myth that shotguns don’t require a shooter to aim; this is indeed a myth. At self defense distances, even cheap buckshot will stay within minute-of-bad-guy. Higher quality ammunition such as the excellent Federal brand law enforcement buckshot may hold a fist sized pattern out to 20 yards or more from my personal experience. A properly used shotgun in the hands of a trained individual is a weapon system that is absolutely devastating.

The classic pump shotgun is the Remington 870 (and is the gun of choice for a number of our instructors), but a Mossberg 500 is another excellent option in the same price range. The Mossberg may be preferable for left-handed shooters, as the safety is an ambidextrous style. Either way, get a version that has an 18.5″ barrel. If you want to have a longer hunting barrel for it as well, that’s fine; keep the shorter barrel on it for social work.

Shotguns are all about the ammo. My recommendation is the law enforcement 00 buckshot from Federal. It’s cheap, easily available, and as I mentioned above, holds a pattern like nothing else on the market. One pull of the trigger is the equivalent of eight or nine (depending on which variation of the buckshot you choose) 9mm rounds on target.
Let’s get the big question of these few months out of the way: does an AR-15 have value as a home defense weapon? My answer is ABSOLUTELY.

I advise folks to have a shotgun available as a primary weapon for inside the house, but an AR-15 with the proper ammunition can be used as well. For inside use, you need to use proper ammunition such as the Federal TRU. If you use standard full metal jacket rounds, you run a high risk of over-penetration.

The AR will have lower recoil, should you have someone in your family that is recoil-adverse.

Where the AR-15 shines is in a SHTF situation. While many will say that this cannot happen, it HAS happened. Los Angeles during the riots. New Orleans during Katrina (until the government illegally confiscated the guns, that is). In those instances, FMJ rounds may be preferable as you could be fighting off a horde of “choirboys”.

Finally, we come to handguns. It has been said by many that a handgun is what we use to fight our way to a long gun, and there is definitely merit to that statement. Handguns are harder to hold steady, less powerful, and overall simply far less effective than a shotgun or rifle. We carry a handgun because it’s convenient, not because it’s the best weapon for the job.

Your mission drives the gear, and everybody’s requirements are different. The first thing to consider when choosing a handgun to carry is how concealed you need to be in your daily life. You CAN conceal a full-size handgun (many of us in the Blue Line Defense instructor cadre do so on a daily basis), but a smaller handgun is certainly more easily hidden. Snubnose revolvers and small semi-automatics such as the Kel-Tec P3AT or Kimber Solo slide easily into a pocket (always use a pocket holster!), and thicker compact guns such as the Glock 26 or M&P Compact can be carried on the belt with a very low risk of detection. Deep cover holsters such as Smart Carry are an option as well.

For those choosing to carry a full-size handgun, holster selection is critical. For inside-the-waistband (IWB) carry, you need a holster that can distribute the weight of the gun on your belt. I use a Comp-Tac Minotaur holster for IWB, and I know at least one other Blue Line instructor does as well. For outside-the-waistband (OWB), you should look for a holster that holds the gun close to your body if you want to keep it concealed. Raven Concealment is a leader in this area, but I haven’t gotten the chance to go hands-on with their gear. That will be changing in about a week when my Phantom holster for my M&P with weaponlight arrives.

That brings me to a final topic…lighting. Whether we talk about shotguns, rifles, or handguns, target identification is critical. Rule #2 of firearm safety: “Never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.” You need to know if the bump in the middle of the night is an intruder looking to do harm…or a loved one getting a glass of water. Anywhere you keep a gun, you need to keep a flashlight right next to it. Flashlights run the gamut. I’ve always been a fan of Surefire quality, but I hate the price tags. Streamlight is a similarly well-known and high-quality brand, and is often a little less expensive. Brands such as Fenix are making fast inroads into the market with excellent lights at low cost due to overseas operation.

I have all of the above…I have a Surefire 9P that has been with me for over a decade. It now sports a LED head and lives on my primary shotgun in a mount alongside the barrel. I have a Streamlight Protac 1L for general use around the house…it also lives within arm’s reach at night. For on-duty use at my federal job, I carry a multitude of lights (following the axiom that “2 is 1, and 1 is none”). I have a Streamlight Stylus in my shirt pocket, a Streamlight Stinger LED dual switch on my duty belt, and a Fenix TK41 for when I need an obnoxious amount of light. My primary M&P 9 VTAC sports a Surefire X300 weaponlight for when I’m out in the world.

Most shootings occur in low-light situations. Don’t be caught without a light source! I also consider night sights to be a necessity whenever possible. My VTAC and even my AR-15 front sight have tritium inserts.

I’ll do in-depth posts about all of the above, but hopefully sharing my choices gives you some food for thought in choosing your defensive tools. As always, if you have questions or would like to discuss training options, we are always available via email or phone (email preferred for me).

Stay safe.

-Mark

One of the things I’ve noticed over my last few decades as a law enforcement trainer is that the good ones never stop learning. I’ve always tried to emulate that, but I must confess, sometimes it is pretty easy to just sit comfortably in my knowledge base and do training today the same way I did it yesterday.

I think that is why conferences and sites like PoliceOne are so important — they get us off our mental butts and getting us growing again.

I’d been getting behind in my reading (and growing) lately when my editor, Doug Wyllie, called to see if I was going to be on time with my article for today. I swore I would [Ed Note: Dave beat deadline by several days!] and wondered how he found out my middle name is Procrastination.

Practicing, Coaching, and Adapting

Going to my “to read” stack I had let get backed up, I grabbed a little tome I had been wanting to finish for a while and suddenly remembered why I had liked it so much.

Doug Lemov’s Practice Perfect is one of those books you can apply to your training programs, your leadership style, and your personal growth. So many times reading I would stop and think, “yep, that’s what I have been saying for years!” and a paragraph later saying to myself, “I wish I had said that!”

The premise of the book is simple, and whether you read it or not keep this mind.

Practice doesn’t make perfect, it only makes permanent. Ten thousand repetitions done improperly will leave you with a student who has some seriously bad habits. In our profession, such things can have dire consequences. Practicing correctly is the key and there are plenty of ideas in the book to help you design your training to be more effective.

But practicing isn’t the only aspect that matters in training — so, too, is how you coach the learner. Too many instructors have one method and one method only.

Being able to adapt to a learner is a sign of a great teacher. I remember a discussion several years ago with several top trainers, and we all agreed the greatest reward wasn’t how well our best cadet had done, but how our class had done (especially when we had one or two who seemed incapable of mastering almost any motor skill).

Proper practice using discrete skills, and enough repetitions, with effective feedback, can turn your apparently-hopeless trainee into a competent performer.

The problem is, we often don’t have enough time in the academy or in service training sessions to make a difference, so how we structure training and practice is very important. Getting the novice learner to a point where they can practice a skill on there is a huge step in developing skills.

Also, instilling a culture of learning and practice in our agencies is the other component that often gets ignored. Too often we just test, not train, in our in-service training. If we want learning and improving to become a basic part of our professional culture, we need to make it rewarding and not punishing, successful and not frustrating. How we design not only training but also supervision is critically important.

Continuing Education

Sergeants and supervisors have got to be considered a basic part of organizational training. They are law enforcement’s courtside coaches and should be trained to not only check paperwork but also all aspects of organization expectations including such things as officer safety, and tactics.

How many times have you watched a video of an officer getting injured or killed and wondered how did their skills get so corrupted?

I’ll tell you how — they’ve had routine erode their performance in repetition after repetition without any coaching from their sergeant. Feedback only works if it is given, and the closer to the performance it is given the more powerful the training effect!

Every activity is a repetition, and just as Lemov says in his book, “Practice all the wrong moves and your team will execute the wrong moves when it comes time to perform.”

He points out whether you are doing a skill or activity right or wrong, do enough repetitions and that skill will become a habit, and in law enforcement your habits are often the difference in life and death. Trainers and supervisors need to monitor performance and give feedback as quickly as possible to that performance.

Another key point is how that feedback or coaching is given is critical to long term success. Focusing on mistakes instead of successful performance simply leads to mistake-avoidance behavior.

The tendency to not try or grow doesn’t build a “success model” in the learner’s mind.

We are a high-risk profession and our folks need to have high levels of faith in their skills and abilities. Trainers and supervisors can play a key role. If you want to be a better trainer (and I believe all good trainers do), run over to the local library and check out Practice Perfect and be prepared to take notes.

Train hard, train safe, but always train correct technique!

About the Author:

As a police officer, Dave Smith has held positions in patrol, training, narcotics, SWAT, and management. Dave continues to develop new and innovative programs across the spectrum of police training needs designed to assist your agency and your personnel in meeting the challenges of policing in the new millennium. As a trainer, speaker, and consultant Dave brings with him unparalleled access to modern law enforcement trends.

Dave is now the owner of “The Winning Mind LLC,”  the Director of Video Training for PoliceOne Video and author of the new book “In My Sights.” His experiences as officer, trainer, manager, and police spouse lend a unique perspective to his signature class, “The Winning Mind.”  Visit Dave’s website at www.jdbucksavage.com.

Contact Dave Smith and Follow Dave on Twitter

Credits

Article originally posted on PoliceOne, republished with permission from Dave Smith & Associates.

When do you need to be prepared to use evasive driving? Always, prepared, right? There’s no such thing as routine. PoliceOne Columnist Dave Smith discusses the need to have your broad external awareness focused on when/then thinking, knowing when you should take action to evade something in your path, and just as importantly, when to drive through the threat.

About the Author:

As a police officer, Dave Smith has held positions in patrol, training, narcotics, SWAT, and management. Dave continues to develop new and innovative programs across the spectrum of police training needs designed to assist your agency and your personnel in meeting the challenges of policing in the new millennium. As a trainer, speaker, and consultant Dave brings with him unparalleled access to modern law enforcement trends.

Dave is now the owner of “The Winning Mind LLC,”  the Director of Video Training for PoliceOne Video and author of the new book “In My Sights.” His experiences as officer, trainer, manager, and police spouse lend a unique perspective to his signature class, “The Winning Mind.”  Visit Dave’s website at www.jdbucksavage.com.

Contact Dave Smith and Follow Dave on Twitter

Credits

Article originally posted on PoliceOne, republished with permission from Dave Smith & Associates.

In the wake of the horrible events of the past week, the AR15 rifle has come under attack in the media. Therefore, let us take an honest look at the facts and fictions surrounding the AR15 platform.

Rumor: “AR” stands for “assault rifle”.
Status: FICTION
Reason: The AR15 rifle was developed by Eugene Stoner, who was working for the ArmaLite corporation at the time. “AR” stands for nothing more than “ArmaLite”. All firearms developed by the ArmaLite corporation have a model number starting with “AR”. Once the AR15 platform was sold to Colt (who then sold it to the military), Colt needed to make up a new definition for “AR” to avoid using the name of their competitor. Hence, Colt said it stood for “automatic rifle”.

Rumor: The AR15 is an automatic weapon / machine gun.
Status: FICTION
Reason: The standard AR15 is a semi-automatic firearm. One pull of the trigger fires one round. Only the military variants of the rifle (e.g. M16, M4) have select-fire capabilities, and those rifles are not available to civilians without extensive federal and local background checks, registration, and regulations, along with costs that are out of the practical range of most firearm owners.

Rumor: The AR15 was originally designed as a military rifle.
Status: FACT
Reason: The AR15 was developed under the United States military’s search for a new rifle which started with Project SALVO. However, it should be noted that even bolt-action “hunting” rifles were originally designed for military use. The AR15 is no different in this regard.

Rumor: The AR15 fires a “high-power” round.
Status: FICTION
Reason: Actually, the AR15 fires a .22 caliber round, the .223 Remington or NATO equivalent 5.56x45mm. This round is small enough to be prohibited for deer hunting in some states (it is legal for deer hunting in our home state of Minnesota).

Rumor: The AR15 can have a bayonet fixed on it.
Status: FACT
Reason: There is indeed a bayonet lug on the AR15.

Rumor: It is simple to turn an AR15 into a fully automatic rifle.
Status: FICTION AND FACT
Reason: The mechanics of the change are simple enough, but I won’t provide them here. However, just buying or making the parts and changing an AR15 into an automatic rifle is extremely illegal, with probable penalties of 20+ years in federal prison. You can go to prison for simply owning the parts without the proper paperwork and registration. It is often stated in the media that you can find the parts you need for such a conversion at gun shows. I’ve been to more gun shows than I can count, and I have never seen any of the restricted parts for sale…not a single part, not even once.

The truth: Rifles that are accepted as “hunting” guns today had their time in the military just like the AR15. The AR15 is considered to be a modern sporting rifle. The caliber is effective for deer hunting with a properly placed shot, and the buffer system reduces the recoil to make the rifle extremely comfortable and safe to use for even young shooters. Ammunition is inexpensive compared to the higher-powered calibers, meaning that target shooting and hunting become more affordable.

The features that are touted in the media as dangerous are either cosmetic or simply for the comfort of the operator (e.g. adjustable stock, pistol-style grip). The inclusion of the bayonet lug in the 1994 assault weapons ban is silly to me. I’ve yet to hear of a murderer yelling “fix bayonets” before committing a crime. It was included by politicians to ensure that the maximum number of firearms would qualify for restriction under the ban.

You will continue to see half-truths and full falsehoods spread through the media and even within the gun community about the AR15. Feel free to use the above points to have meaningful and truthful conversations about this extremely versatile and useful platform. We just ask that you give Blue Line Defense copyright credit if you quote directly from us.

As always, if you have questions or would like to discuss training on the AR15 or any other platform, please call or email us.

We live at the height of human civilization to date. The majority of our citizens in the US live in cities, not in rural America. Most of us will never know what it means to live away from food, shelter, health care, and law enforcement. We live under a blanket of safety provided by society…but sometimes, the monsters under the bed are real, and they are hungry.

For those of us who choose to own a gun as a tool of self defense, today’s events will make things difficult for awhile. We will be faced with politicians who believe that they can stop such tragedies by banning the tools used by the monsters. A fallacy, yes, but emotion is a difficult force to match with fact. We may also be faced with friends and loved ones who do not understand why we choose to own a device designed for violence.

I fully expect the anti-gun lobby to exploit this next part for their own ends and means…if that’s you, let me remind you that copyright law does apply to online writings, especially when written for a commercial entity.

Violence is what we are talking about when we discuss self defense. Let’s not beat around it. Some guns may be designed specifically for target shooting, but guns are weapons. A weapon is a tool meant for the implementation of violence. The problem is that some people believe violence to always be the wrong answer.

Every instructor at Blue Line Defense has worked or does currently work in law enforcement, public safety, corrections, federal security, or the military. We are people who are expected to run toward the monsters while everyone else flees for safety. Our priority is stopping the monster from hurting anyone else. We’re ok with that. It’s how we are wired. It’s what we are paid to do. We don’t use strong language or legislation to accomplish that goal once a monster has shown its true colors and is actively attacking others. Our holsters don’t contain negotiating tools.

A permit holder need not do any such thing. Your safety and the safety of your loved ones is your priority; unfortunately, sometimes the monster makes escape impossible. When that happens, you have two choices. You can die, or you can fight. If you own and carry a gun, you’ve given yourself the tool to fight.

Violence isn’t something to be idolized. It’s a horrible, brutal, cold-hearted thing. It rips children from parents and husbands from wives. It leaves humans broken and shattered, both physically and emotionally. The sad truth, however, is that violence is sometimes entirely necessary. You cannot reason with a monster, nor plead with it, nor cry and hope your tears will soften its hatred. There is no emotion in a monster’s heart, nor feeling in its soul. If you cannot flee the monster, then it must be destroyed. That means bringing violence onto it, with all the strength and resolve you can muster.

Some would ask how that makes us any different from the monster itself. It’s simple. We stop when the monster stops, and we only use violence as the final option, when all other options are no longer available to us. “We shoot to stop the threat.” I’ve uttered those words in front of more students than I can accurately remember. That is what differentiates us. We don’t look for violence, but we can bring it to bear when we have no other choice.

We aren’t monsters because we carry a gun. We carry a gun because we realize that today could be the day when we meet a monster.

More information about obtaining your permit: MN Permit to Carry.

The word “artifact” has many meanings depending on its context or what profession is using it.   Museums are filled with artifacts. So are computer programs. What matters to us is that so do many of our motor programs. The dictionary describes these artifacts as method-depend results. In police lingo we call it, “Playing the way you practice!”

We all know you perform a motor program under stress exactly as you trained it and anything the learner does in the performance of that repetition during training will do it under duress.

Faulty Programmers, Faulty Programming
The problem is, when students do a skill a certain way to fulfill the criteria for measurement, the limitations of the facility — or the whim of the trainer — that student can get programmed with useless or detrimental artifacts.

Firearms’ training is filled with artifacts, from the design of ranges to courses of qualification.

Why are we standing, without cover, at seven, fifteen15, and twenty-five25 yards?

Why is a two-by-four bolted on a pole considered a barricade?

Why are some agencies still having officers shoot two and evaluate? Evaluate what?

If you do enough repetitions, this is will become an artifact that will pop up in the midst of a life-and-death struggle. We shoot until we stop the threat then we look for another…period!

Early firearms simulators simply reinforced the bad artifact of standing in the open. Worse they taught students to continue to stand, frozen in place in the open.

Today, simulators shoot back, cover is often used and video feedback is given to the officer to enhance learning and give feedback that help minimize artifacts. This is sort of the same as scrimmaging in sports to give a skill context and mitigate or eliminate any artifact the initial learning phase may have given the athlete.

In law enforcement the student is an athlete of another sort performing under extreme stress without the benefit of referees, coaches and timekeepers or even boundaries.   Our skills are performed in a purely “open” environment where sports are performed in various degrees of structure or “closed” activities.

Graphically, a continuum of activities or skills it would look something like this:

In darts, the instrument, the distance, and the board are all fixed. As we move down the continuum more and more ambiguity is introduced and the participant needs to have a greater and greater awareness of the outside world — there is little time for introspection or pacing, mostly recognition and reaction.

Whereas darts is one, self-paced skill, law enforcement has no line to stand at, no starting whistle, no clock to run out. There is pure ambiguity as to when a particular crisis will occur and what skill you will need when it does.

The Artifacts of Measurement
Unfortunately, traditional firearms training has been a lot closer to darts than police work. This was due to the need to acquire a training score (versus winning a life-and-death struggle on the street.

Because the artifact we are looking for in our training is a high level of performance designed to win on the street, our training should have a lot more scrimmaging than standing. The need to qualify often leaves the officer with several bad habits which are nothing more than the physical manifestations — the artifacts — of measurement.

Trainers can introduce artifacts by simply doing repetitions a certain way because of facilities or ease of observation, or by the way they measure the progress of the learning, or simply failing to have the learner do the skill in the context it will be performed.   Where does this skill occur, what are the cues that trigger it, what are cues that the performer needs to attend to, and does the officer believe in that skill?

In this day and age, we can use Airsoft, Simunition, and red man gear, to train in context…to scrimmage, and that is an essential element in the training process.   Not only does the brain learn the final parts of the “schema” of a motor program but the trainer can spot any artifacts that are being done and correct them.

Getting smacked with Simunition is a pretty good reinforcement for effectively using cover!

The goal of our training isn’t to just get a certificate or to qualify — it is to WIN on the street and WIN in life.

The trainer is in a unique position to not only provide skills to our officers, but to help them to develop and maintain a winning attitude and faith in their performance that will give our law enforcement folks the edge they need.

The main artifact of training should be a Winning Mind!

About the Author:

As a police officer, Dave Smith has held positions in patrol, training, narcotics, SWAT, and management. Dave continues to develop new and innovative programs across the spectrum of police training needs designed to assist your agency and your personnel in meeting the challenges of policing in the new millennium. As a trainer, speaker, and consultant Dave brings with him unparalleled access to modern law enforcement trends.

Dave is now the owner of “The Winning Mind LLC,”  the Director of Video Training for PoliceOne Video and author of the new book “In My Sights.” His experiences as officer, trainer, manager, and police spouse lend a unique perspective to his signature class, “The Winning Mind.”  Visit Dave’s website at www.jdbucksavage.com.

Contact Dave Smith and Follow Dave on Twitter

Credits

Article originally posted on PoliceOne, republished with permission from Dave Smith & Associates.