Tactical — Not A Dirty Word
The word "tactical" has been co-opted by the sales industry and has largely lost its meaning. Tactical is not just a word you attach to something to sell; its meaning has driven success for as [...]
A New School Year And A New Mindset — Preparedness For Teachers
My wife is a schoolteacher and is just starting her 23rd year in the classroom. As one of my primary responsibilities, I have been training people in active shooter preparedness for over a decade. I [...]
Suicide Is Not Painless, It Is Permanent
It was eight or nine nights after an event I was involved in. The community activists, the media (local and national), and several politicians had gone absolutely sideways and turned into a mob. The only [...]
The Role Of Inert Weapons In Law Enforcement Training
The use of inert training weapons is paramount for ensuring safety while honing critical skills. Two prominent brands in this field are Armament Systems and Procedures (ASP)Red Guns® and Ring's Manufacturing Blueguns®. Both are meticulously [...]
Off The Beaten [Training] Path: Wisdom Is Where You Find It
When I was promoted to sergeant in 1974 I went from Investigations back to Patrol and took over a squad on the graveyard shift. The squad’s senior officer, I learned, was Gene Chouinard. He had [...]
The Walking Wounded
Stepping out of the car is the only viable option for drawing from a front pocket holster. I’m going to put you in a boot for a month,” the doctor said with [...]
Six Shots For Six Sergeants
This came out of a scratch gathering of sergeants, discussing the drumbeat of petty details, the constant “white noise” and perpetual distractions that plague the job, and their worst effect: distracting them from the core [...]
Teacher Or Instructor … Which Are You?
Look back to your youth and ponder your school days. Did you have teachers you admired, who made the learning process fun and exciting? Could you see their passion for the subject and did they [...]
The Danger of Higher Ready Positions
There’s a balance to maintain between safety and acceptable risk We can agree that there's room for a variety of techniques in firearms training and law enforcement tactics. However, we must also honor fundamental principles. [...]
Target Selection
What targets do you use for practice, qualification, and teaching classes? Does it matter? I believe so. Saying that it doesn’t discount a lot of research, experience, and anatomical factors in defensive shootings. These are [...]
Large Scale Event Prep For The Individual Officer
Most communities have hosted a festival, Fourth Of July weekend, a car show, or a marathon race - some multi-day event. Many bigger cities that have major league or college sports teams that have won [...]
Code 3 vs. Pursuit Driving: Is There A Difference?
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure most of us became cops so we could drive fast legally. Who can deny the attraction of having droves of people get out of your way [...]
SEAL THE BOX | Treating Sucking Chest Wounds
With an open chest wound, the victim may develop tension pneumothorax. Tension pneumothorax is the second leading cause of preventable trauma deaths on the battlefield. It is the progressive build-up of air within the [...]
STOP THE BLEED, SAVE A LIFE | An Overview of Hemostatic Agents for Tactical Field Use
Trauma is the leading cause of death for Americans age 45 or younger. Hemorrhage Is the leading cause of preventable death in combat trauma. It is the secondary cause of death in civilian trauma. [...]
THE TOURNIQUET An Essential Component of EDC
Is a tourniquet part of your everyday carry (EDC)? If not, it should be. The capability of being able to take a life with the moral responsibility of being able to save a life. And [...]
Trauma Care
In the middle of nowhere. How long will it take you to get an ambulance? What if the ambulance was for you? Most of you probably keep some sort of medical bag in your patrol [...]
Dry Practicing Safely
It's good to see that there is a solid consensus on the importance of dry practice. Trainers of all backgrounds are recommending it to their students. There is a lot of discussion about what to [...]
A BUG From My Pocket
While revolvers are filling a retro niche these days, they are often overlooked and unappreciated by a fair amount of law enforcement. And there are many generational and equipment reliability reasons behind that. Reasons [...]
50 ROUNDS | A Minimalist Approach To Practice
It’s a constant mantra for American police, “Do more with less.” Today, with officers taking pay and benefit cuts it can be trying for LEOs to stay motivated and focused on training. Addressing personal fitness [...]
Why? Why did they choose their gun? Why do they continue training?
Why anyone makes the decisions they make is an interesting topic. What are the Whys behind the firearm someone chooses, taking their first class, venturing across the country to train once, and then doing it [...]