Ebb & flow

2015 Course Calendar

Feb 2-3, Tactical Pistol, Kent WA

March 2-4, High Risk Warrant Service, Spokane County, WA

March 5-6, Ballistic Shield User, Spokane County, WA

April 13-15, Carbine/Submachine Gun User, Kent, WA

May 25-27, High Risk Warrant Service, Kent, WA

June 15-19, Pistol Instructor, Kent, WA

August 17-21, Basic SWAT School, Spokane County, WA

Sept 14-16, Tactical Pistol, Kent, WA

Oct. 19-21, Carbine/Submachine Gun User, Spokane County, WA

Oct 22-23, Tactical Pistol, Spokane County, WA

Nov 16-18, Hostage Rescue, Spokane County, WA

Dec 14-16, SWAT Team Leader, Spokane County, WA

As everyone is aware there is a ton of bad tongue being laid on Law Enforcement right now. We are all racists, murderers, heavy handed, authority abusing assholes. I see alot of my friends getting upset by this, certainly on facebook there is a ton of post sharing about how the above is simply not true. I have some advice, treat this current storm the same way you would treat the media after a shooting. Ignore it.

I started my LE career about the same time as Ruby Ridge, Waco and Rodney King. Guess what, it was exactly the same then, as it is now. Media was stirring the pot, activists were coming out of the woodwork, vocal minority outcry of police practice and tactics. Guess what changed? Not one damn thing. Ebb & flow. We still use force under the same guidelines – Graham V Connor & Tenn. V Garner. As long as the majority of cops continue to be good people, this wont change.

It has been my experience that bad cops get rooted out very quickly. We handle our own, and the disgrace and shame they bring on the profession, and our own badges, is sufficient to kick them the hell out. I have absolutely no issue whatsoever with snatching a “bad cop” and clapping him/her in irons. In fact, it is one of the arrests that I would take the most pride in. Bear in mind that none of the recent events in the media portrays a “bad cop”. I have seen very few of those in my career, and I assure you I am watchful.

The honor, pride and satisfaction of being a police officer is sufficient for me to feel good about what I do. A nod from my peers is more than enough to let me know I am doing the job well. I am smart enough to realize that the VAST majority of citizens appreciates our efforts and sacrifices. So don’t get wrapped up in the shameful, negligent and inflammatory reports forwarded by the media to spark stories. It is the same behavior as the guy taunting you to fight, threatening to harm your family, and bumping his gums about what he would do if you didn’t have on that badge; AFTER he is wearing the cuffs. It is the blathering of a punk, just like the punk media. Ebb & flow homies.

 

 

First line fighting leadership – Is that you?

Dec 1-3 2014,  SWAT Team Leader, Richland, WA.

2015 Courses thus far –

Feb 2-3 Tactical Pistol, Kent WA

April 13-15 Carbine/Subgun User, Kent WA

May 18-20 High Risk Warrant Service, Kent WA

June 15-19 Pistol Instructor, Kent WA

Sept, 14-15, Tactical Pistol, Kent WA

I still have room in the SWAT team leader course in Richland. Contact me if you’re interested. On the note of team leading, I had in service training yesterday and one of the topics covered was leadership. Same buzz words, same traits, same qualities were discussed. They always are, if we believe it, why are there so many crappy leaders?

In the LE profession, some things are universal truths. One of those things is that crooks get younger while you get older. This mandates physical fitness for the life of your career. You have to PT until you’re 53.

Another truth is that there are some crazy people out there who would like to hurt you or others. Some of them are just mean. Either way, you should be very proficient at defending yourself and others. It’s why you became a cop, protect & serve, remember? I want to be very good with handguns, because I always have one. But the handgun does have limitations. Although I could make a 500 yard head shot with a pistol, I would prefer to do it with a rifle. So I have to be good at short ranges and long ranges with two different weapons.

With that in mind, I should be good with my personal long and short range weapons. We can debate all day about the best fighting style for LE – MMA, Muay Thai, Boxing, Wrestling and so forth. If you are actively working on any fighting discipline then you are likely ahead of the game. I have no style, I want to be able launch decent kicks with both legs at all levels, and I want to be able to throw my hands, move my head and keep my ear muffs on. Kick, punch, defend. I guess I adhere to the KPD style of fighting.

I also want to be able to instinctively draw on TTP’s that have been proven to work. That takes more than a single class and annual FoF training. If I am spending more time thinking about what to do than actually doing, my proficiency is out of whack. I need to get my collective  shit together to be successful in the worst scenario.

All of these things are a must as a SWAT team leader. I have the honor and privilege of leading men who get it. They will not suffer laziness, incompetence or fools. I demand no less from them so I must lead by example. Last but not least I need to manage risk. I need to plan to get shot at, and god forbid, to get shot. Have I done enough to ensure the planning was thorough for this specific mission? Have I instilled enough responsibility and decision making to the men so if I do get shot, there is an instant transition of leadership and continued decision making? If I can’t answer “Yes” to those questions with conviction, then I am failing as a leader. The one thing that drives me more than anything else, is fear of failing the men. So I won’t. Will you?

Militirization of the police

Upcoming Courses

Oct. 20-21, Ballistic Shield User, Spokane WA
Nov 3-5, Tactical Carbine/SubGun, Union Gap, WA
Nov 6 & 7, Tactical Pistol, Union Gap, WA…
Dec 1-3, SWAT Team Leader, Richland, WA.

2015 Course

Feb 2-3 Tactical Pistol, Kent WA

April 13-15 Carbine/Subgun User, Kent WA

May 18-20 High Risk Warrant Service, Kent WA

June 15-19 Pistol Instructor, Kent WA

Sept, 14-15, Tactical Pistol, Kent WA

Spokane should be confirming course dates within the next few weeks. If you want to host a course, get in touch with me. Hosting is easy, it is free and you get free training for your agency.

Lots of talk about the militirization of the police. Well, what about it? We have certainly become more tactically proficient in the last 22 years I have been a cop. The level, frequency and amount of training available to cops is at an extreme high. Lots of agencies supporting officer safety initiatives, this in turn leads to better trained, equipped and smart cops. Active shooter and terrorist threats have required it. So why deny it? We are, and it’s a really good thing.

More importantly, how about those military guys becoming more like the cops? I mean they are using suround and callout tactics to great affect in foreign lands. More than ever they are forced to target discriminate to ensure only bad people are killed. They have ROE that are strikingly similar to Tennessee V Garner. They have to document and articulate their uses of force. What the hell?

Maybe whats really happening is that the military is becoming more like the police, and unfortunately citizens are presuming that we are morphing into them when the opposite is actually true. Maybe. At a time when more police officers are killed domestically than soldiers in Afghanistan, maybe it’s time for citizens to take a harder look on what officers have to deal with.

Dont take this as a “Sheepdog” or “Blue Angels” blitz. You all know I hate that shit. I got into this job knowing full well what the risks were. I dont want medals or accolades or parades, I’m not with that cop shit so I’m not gonna yell that. I am going to continue to do my job, being reasonable, acting within the law, and being prepared; mentally, physically and emotionally. Thanks are not needed. When citizens decide that we can only shoot folks if they have a gun, then that’s what I will do. If they say we can’t use guns on “unarmed” people ever, then my iron fists will have to suffice. If they say shooting dangerous felons in the back is illegal, then I will let them escape. But today, all of those things are legal in the right circumstances, and EXPECTED of me by the citizens I have sworn to protect. So I will.

Tactical Sophistication

2014 courses

August 18-22, Carbine/Subgun Instructor – Yakima
AUGUST 25-29, PISTOL INSTRUCTOR, Kent WA
Sept. 22-26, Basic SWAT School, Spokane WA
Oct. 20-21, Ballistic Shield User, Spokane WA
Nov 3-5, Tactical Carbine/SubGun, Union Gap, WA
Nov 6 & 7, Tactical Pistol, Union Gap, WA
Dec 1-3, SWAT Team Leader, Richland, WA.

My team has been busy as hell lately with callouts. I’m not complaining, I dig the work otherwise I wouldn’t be doing the job. I also attended a two day rifle/pistol class as a student and then the team had a week of training from an outside vendor.

During the weapon class the instructor was BS’ing during a loading break with the students. We were all talking about previous courses we had attended, quality of instruction, etc. Pretty typical. The instructor then chimes in that all that training from different dudes could be bad. It make you a “mutt” with no real skill in any specific system. I could not disagree more.

None of us is as smart as all of us. And since I can take the best from each guy, my “system” becomes the best. If I only went to one guy, then I start to parrot him, both good and bad. Since we are all shaped by our experiences, the more experiences I can get the better I will be in the martial arts. Now if he meant that I got to instructor A and adopt his stuff, then go to B and change to his stuff and so forth, I agree. But I dont do that, and neither should you. Keep what works for you from each guy and then make your own “system”. Other than that, it was a good gun class

The Hostage Rescue class I attended was interesting. A complete 180 of how I teach it and how my team conducts business. Obviously wont go into tactics here on the internet. I will say that I got very few tidbits out of the class, but I did get a few. What I did get was a higher level of tactical sophistication. I dont agree with the tactics, but I am glad I was exposed. It allows me to speak at a higher level of knowledge about why I teach it the way I do. If you know nothing about quantum physics, you simply cant join the conversation. Same is true with tactics. He was n’t teaching anything unsafe, it was just different. I had seen and heard his ideas before. He presented them slightly different. Mo overall tactical knowledge has improved even though we will not adopt anything he taught. Some of the guys on my team were pissed about the cost. I think it was cheap for the validation of our current tactics and increase in experiential knowledge. If I ever have a beer with the guy I can talk more intelligently about why his stuff sucked and our stuff is superior.

Please note that the Carbine/Subgun Instructor course dates have changed to AUGUST 18-22 in Yakima. I still have a few seats.

“Instructor” Courses

2014 Training Calendar

JULY 28- AUGUST 1 – Carbine/Subgun Instructor – Yakima
AUGUST 25-29, PISTOL INSTRUCTOR, Kent WA
Sept. 22-26, Basic SWAT School, Spokane WA
Oct. 20-21, Ballistic Shield User, Spokane WA
Nov 3-5, Tactical Carbine/SubGun, Union Gap, WA
Nov 6 & 7, Tactical Pistol, Union Gap, WA
Dec 1-3, SWAT Team Leader, Richland, WA.

I have been teaching a Subgun/Carbine Instructor course for a long time. I initially started the course because there was a lack of these courses for the MP5’s that were prevalent in the 90’s and early 2000’s. My team transitioned to AUTO Colt Commando’s in the late 90’s and there was very little for instructor courses on the AUTO 5.56 guns. As time went on, the AUTO subguns and carbines started to disappear, so I kept the course going for SEMI carbines. I have taught the course from it’s inception with a SEMI gun, I would borrow students AUTO guns for demos. Just a little history there.

Recently I was asked why I don’t teach a pistol instructor course. I started to build a pistol course several years ago because several Oregon agencies wanted it. The class ended up not going forward so it got put on hold. For the current inquiry, I started thinking about how an instructor course should be set up. This was timely since guys on my team have also been having the conversation with me. My experience with instructor courses are thus; you go through a user course to learn the guys doctrine, then you do a teachback, then you get the sheet of paper. A sprinkling of lesson plan development, adult learning, etc. Indeed my subgun/carbine course is set up just like that. But is this the best way?

I dont think so. As a result I am revamping the carbine/subgun class and the pistol instructor course that I will be teaching soon. (Dates above) In lieu of that, I am structuring the courses more in line with what most police instructors do at their agencies. They teach/coach individuals, not large classes. In addition, the focus is always on the “problem” shooter, but what about the slightly above average shooter? What are we doing as an industry to improve that guy? He wants more knowledge, more time on the gun, he will do some things on his own; but we never get to him because we are stuck with “keep pressing” as if that solves everything. Documentation is huge, and once we wear the mantle of instructor, you automatically become risk managers for the organization. Last, I have been involved with my agencies firearms program for over 20 years, as a coach, instructor, training officer and now as the supervisor of the unit. I have learned more than a few lessons on boss relations to meet the end goal; get better equipment and more training for the officers in my agency. I think it’s important to pass on those lessons as best I can.

So, the courses will not look like anything you’ve ever attended before. These first two will likely be improved upon as I get student feedback and time teaching. I am confident that they will produce a better end product than other courses. More than anything I hope to pass on that instructorship, like team selection, is a never ending process. You are never done learning, you don’t have all the answers and you are required to continue to improve your craft. Because in the end, it’s not about you.

And we will shoot. I have developed the “Jill Drill” in honor of Mrs. Tap-Rack. Fail not, at your peril.

“You’re confusing”

2014 Training Calendar

JULY 28- AUGUST 1 – Carbine/Subgun Instructor – Yakima
AUGUST 25-29, PISTOL INSTRUCTOR, Kent WA
Sept. 22-26, Basic SWAT School, Spokane WA
Oct. 20-21, Ballistic Shield User, Spokane WA
Nov 3-5, Tactical Carbine/SubGun, Union Gap, WA
Nov 6 & 7, Tactical Pistol, Union Gap, WA
Dec 1-3, SWAT Team Leader, Richland, WA.

On the list above, please take note that the Carbine/Subgun Instructor course in Yakima has been updated with dates. In addition, I will be doing a pistol instructor course in Kent, August 25-29. The course is only one week and the tuition will be $600 per person.

This blog tells me how many days it has been since my last post and it shows 55 days. During the last two months I have done a few classes, open enrollment and closed courses. I leave to day for a closed course. I had a really hard time with one of those classes. The course itself is one that I have taught many times, I know the material very well, I have received positive feedback from students on many occasions, and being as subjective as I can about it I think it is an excellent program.

For some reason this one class seemed to struggle. Not everyone, but some of the guys. I preach in the instructor courses that I teach that if the student is getting it, it’s your fault. You’re delivery of the material, the order it is presented, the means to deliver (Tell, Show, Do) is lacking or isn’t working. On those occasions you have to modifiy/adapt/re-work what you’re doing on a nightly basis. Figure out how to touch each student so that they get the most out of the class. If need be, start back at the beginning. I tried this during this class on several occasions, and at the end one student in particular told me “You are the most confusing person I have ever listened to”.

Now I gotta tell you that this comment is not normal for me. In fact the opposite is true as far as feedback from students is concerned. I have certainly had some classes sruggle more than others, and without some students pick things up faster than others. But confusing?! The comment stung me and it made me wonder where I had gone wrong. I re-evalauted what I had taught and how I had presented the material. Did I change something without realizing it? I asked other students on the side if they were confused to determine if this was a class wide issue or just this guy?

Some people would say that just becasue he was confused doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m confusing. He might get confused trying to figure out which shoe goes on which foot. He might be out of his element regarding the tactics being taught, meaning he might need more time than others or his brain might not be wired to do this kind of work. Even though he might think it is. It could also be that I failed as an instructor. It is easy to blame the student, but the reality is that I was unable to get this guy straight in the time allotted. Due to his honest feedback, I have changed the method with which I will deliver the material in future courses, hopefully making it easier for everyone to understand and apply. I have to check my ego, even though I dont like it. I beleive that is the hallmark of a great instructor, and goddamnit I want to be considered a great instructor. 

Last point is that I was also told the critiques after each run with role players were “too hard”. After much consideration, I intend to continue pointing out major mistakes. If there are a lot of mistakes, then I will tell you. I will never go easy and hand everyone a blue ribbon. I dont waste time pointing out every little thing you did right, that is the expectation. I will tell you everything you did or didn’t do that could cost someone their life. If that costs me future students, then so be it. I would recommend that you read the paragraph above this one, check your ego, and recognize that when your performance doesn’t match your impression of yourself, you re-group, re-think, and re-apply yourself to the task at hand. Maybe it’s you? Either way, dont come to my classes expecting to get a pat on the ass every time you walk through a house without falling down. It’s simply not going to happen.  

As always, I apologize for typos.   

What am I supposed to do at training?

1 Comment

2014 Training Calendar

Feb 3-5, Team Leader, Thurston County, WA
March 24-26, Hostage Rescue, Spokane WA
April 14-16, Tactical Carbine, Kent WA
April 21-22, Tactical Pistol, Kent WA
May 19-21, High Risk Warrant Service, Kent WA
JULY TBA – Carbine/Subgun Instructor – Yakima Area
August 25-26, Ballistic Shield User, Kent WA
Sept. 22-26, Basic SWAT School, Spokane WA
Oct. 20-21, Ballistic Shield User, Spokane WA
Nov 3-5, Tactical Carbine/SubGun, Union Gap, WA
Nov 6 & 7, Tactical Pistol, Union Gap, WA
Dec 1-3, SWAT Team Leader, Richland, WA.

I have been doing alot of classes lately; as a student, with Tap-Rack and with my team. We are in the process of changing up how we deliver firearms to our team, I am confident that the plan will work as deisgned. However, I am pessimistic that we will get full support from command. We’ll see.

Anyway, in my classes and with my team it dawned on me that some fellas just dont what the hell they are supposed to do at “training”. This became apparent to me as I watched a guy go through a drill, in this case it was speed loads with the rifle. My man is lightning fast on the reload. He is also lightning fast on the trigger. He was also producing a 10″ group at 10 yards. Now you can say “Well hell, 10″ on a man size chest is more than sufficient!” I would agree, I would also say that if he can maintain those splits while shooting 1″ groups that is better. Hence this blog.

There was no time standard set for that drill. It was simply shoot two, speed reload, shoot two more. In his mind he was only focusing on the reload. Tighter marksmanship might have challenged him since he is already very competent. Attempting to put all four rounds in the same hole is a challenge. Add his already super fast reload and then he can self challenge by determining if he can still get the drill done before others on the line, even though they are shooting 10″ groups. In this way he is getting way more out of the drill than the simple reload. Or, he could have spent time trying to break down and refine his own reload. Like I said, it is fast, but is there anything in there that is inefficient? By slowing down the reload or breaking it into separate parts, he might have figured out that moving the pouch one row forward or one row back gives him a consistent 1/10th of a second in speed. He might have figured out that he has excessive body movement while acquiring the new magazine. By getting rid of that movement maybe he gets another 10th? He might have figured out that he can acquire his dot on target WHILE he is moving his support hand forward, taking advantage of that moment in time, another 10th. By the time he was done working on his individual skill set, he may have shaved .50 off of a really fast reload.  And gang when you’re getting it done in 1.5 seconds, .5 is a HUGE improvement. 

As warriors we should be constantly improving and refining our craft. The fact that you are faster to reload than me is not the measure of competence. The measure is how fast YOU can do it, with repeatable results. I have been to training where the instructor puts the class through a drill. I always try to break that drill down into it’s separate parts. What is the instructor trying to squeeze out of me? Some things I feel I am doing very efficiently already, not just efficient for me but actually pushing the threshhold of human performance for that very specific thing. Placing the selector from safe to fire for instance. It just happens, there are not many ways to do it, so working on that specific thing doesnt require work anymore. I just do it. That frees up time and energy to work on other things, like presenting the pistol or rifle as fluidly as possible, or maybe better marksmanship, or manipulation of something if the drill requires it. I am trying to maximize my learning and shooting experience by re-hashing or putting focused effort toward one part of that drill that I think can be improved. If I am successfull, I might get a 10th or even a 100th of second faster. Meanwhile others on the line are just making noise quickly because they dont want to be last. What a shame and waste of time.  

To determine whether or not I am being consistent, I have to track performance. I ask guys all the time in gun classes, How much can you bench? How fast can you run a Mile? What is your PR in a crossfit WOD? In most cases guys can tell me with some degree of accuracy. When I ask what is your average 1st shot draw time? Or what is your average time on a Bill Drill? I get blank faces. The same way I track physical fitness, I use that same concept toward my guns. And I record the times. And then I review them to determine my range plan when I go to live fire. It’s right in front of me, so it’s easier to see what I need to work on, where I am weak, where I am slipping and so forth. If you arent doing this, identify some drills, establish an accuracy standard, and then shoot those drills and record your times and hits. Break down the drill and ask where you are losing time, then work on that specific skill. Wait 90 days and then shoot the drills again. Record your times and hits. Did you improve or stay the same? If you didnt improve, your training plan SUCKS. Revamp it and go again. This becomes a never ending process and is constantly challenging because there is no “pass” or minimum score. It is based on your individual performance. 

Of course if you cant hit a sheet of paper at 5 yards with no time limit, well then keep pressing, keep pressing, keep pressing………Sheesh.   

Rising to the Challenge

2014 Training Calendar

Feb 3-5, Team Leader, Thurston County, WA
March 24-26, Hostage Rescue, Spokane WA
April 14-16, Tactical Carbine, Kent WA
April 21-22, Tactical Pistol, Kent WA
May 19-21, High Risk Warrant Service, Kent WA
August 25-26, Ballistic Shield User, Kent WA
Sept. 22-26, Basic SWAT School, Spokane WA
Oct. 20-21, Ballistic Shield User, Spokane WA
Nov 3-5, Tactical Carbine/SubGun, Union Gap, WA
Nov 6 & 7, Tactical Pistol, Union Gap, WA
Dec 1-3, SWAT Team Leader, Richland, WA.

So I have been trying to institute new Pistol and Carbine qualification courses for almost a year now. Our old courses are infant easy, as such they are not befitting a Special Weapons team. I put together a crack group of instructors from the team and we spent a day developing and proof-shooting the courses. Both courses are very good and I did very little in the process of putting them together. The guys came up with the stages, the times, and the passing score. Both courses will test your skill at arms, no doubt about it.

Now to the reason for this blog. The courses were developed by the best shooters on my team. They are aggressive, but passable by every single officer on the team. Some of those officers have some work to do, from alot of work to just a little work. All of us will have to work hard at TRAINING to continue to pass these qualification courses. With all that said I am astonished at just how much push back I am getting from this. I would never shy away from any challenge presented to me. If I really sucked with my pistol and/or carbine, I would not spend one minute crying about it, I would fix it. As fighting men we do not get to pick the time and circumstances of our fight, it just happens. How can any SWAT team member say that any gun related course is too hard?

I suppose if the pistol course was only passable by Robert Vogel we might have to look at it again. If my team was only given one bullet per man and one minute a month to train, maybe we should take that into conderation as well. Maybe. Rather than wax poetic with Sheepdog analogies or try to scare you with sentences about “What if your family was held hostage”, how about we all just agree that this is your J-O-B! Plenty of people have tried to list the order of importance for SWAT skills; Tactics (encompasses everything from knowledge, to decision making, to stress performance), Guns, Physical Fitness. There is no order, they all work in harmony to produce a successful outcome. Lose one, the rest may fall down. I will say that being an extremely competent shooter is a Must-Have skill. By the time you reach that level, you will have touched your guns many thousands of times, you will have experienced a variety of shooting positions, gun failures, and stress shoots so that when the day comes your response to the shooting will be perfect. Thay may require personal time and personal expense in the form of bullets.  

Often times guys have a fantasy about their gunfight. Mine always includes a catastrophic failure of my carbine, which means I get stuck with my pistol. By the time this has occurred, I am way behind the curve. So as I am drawing my pistol and my hands just start to come together, I get hit in the right hand. Well suck. I go WHO to stay in the fight and get a few rounds off, unfortunately my pistol decides to shit and provides a Type 8 malfunction. I clear it WHO, and then drain the gun, causing a WHO speed reload. Gun is back hot and I eventually win the fight without having to switch to Tomahawk. That Crap storm is what I’m training for, it’s why a Special WEAPONS team needs to be able to fight with guns very well. It is why you should have a very tough set of standards for your team. 

Or you can keep hoping that your primary wont go down and you can fart unicorn dust on your adversaries to win the day. I prefer lead and a very unique set of skills earned with hard work. So please, stow your stupid morale patches and “operator” talk, show me.   

Professionalism & Dry Fire

2014 Training Schedule

Feb 3-5, Team Leader, Thurston County, WA
March 24-26, Hostage Rescue, Spokane WA
April 14-16, Tactical Carbine, Kent WA
April 21-22, Tactical Pistol, Kent WA
May 19-21, High Risk Warrant Service, Kent WA
June – TBA, Likely Team Leader
August 25-26, Ballistic Shield User, Kent WA
Sept. 22-26, Basic SWAT School, Spokane WA
Oct. 20-21, Ballistic Shield User, Spokane WA
Nov 3-5, Tactical Carbine/SubGun, Union Gap, WA
Nov 6 & 7, Tactical Pistol, Union Gap, WA

If you’re interested in attending any of the courses above, shoot me an email for registration info.

I had a conversation with a friend of mine who is now retired from LE. He still has frequent contact with coppers and the topic moved to my training. He made mention that “A guy he knows” had attended one of my courses and liked what I was throwing down. However, due to my use of profanity he did not think he could attend future classes or host training at his agency. The language was deemed “unprofessional”. I have often heard about “professionalism” and what amounts to “unprofessional” behavior. In my case it usually has some connection to the adjectives I select in training courses. I guess sometimes they are nouns, verbs, and adverbs depending on where they fall in the sentence. Regardless of all that, I decided to look up the definition of professionalism. “The competence or skill expected of a professional”. Weird, nothing about profanity. Lets check “Professional – 1. Of, relating to or connected with a profession. 2. engaged in a specified activity as one’s paid occupation rather than as a pasttime”. Interesting. I think context, time, place and audience have more to do with whether profanity is acceptable or not.

Patton once said “When I want my men to remember something important, to really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty. It may not sound nice to some bunch of little old ladies at an afternoon tea party, but it helps my soldiers to remember. You can’t run an army without profanity; and it has to be eloquent profanity. An army without profanity couldn’t fight its way out of a piss-soaked paper bag. … As for the types of comments I make, sometimes I just, By God, get carried away with my own eloquence”.

So please, pardon my eloquence and hear the message. I tell every class that if profanity offends you, tell me, and I’ll try to tone it down. No one has ever said anything to my face, twice I have heard after the fact. Don’t be an old lady at a tea party, for the love of Pete your job is too engage in conflict as a cop. Tell me and I’ll try to tone it down. Or not. Either way your critique can include that you asked and I still didn’t stop. Or just dont come to my training, we’ll both be happier. 

People think I’m bullshitting when I say I dry fire every Sunday. I do, usually 30 minutes on each gun. Some have asked so here are a few examples of the things I do. Remember 4 universal rules and read up on dry fire procedure. Proceed at your own risk, Tap-Rack does not recommend this to the untrained and you should always use a back stop that will stop a round. With handgun:
Shot timer on random start and a second beep at 1.25 seconds. Target is a sheet of paper at 7 yards. Hands in interview position or resting at sides. On beep, draw and “fire” before second beep. You gotta call your shots and you should be able to say whether or not you would have hit the target.  Do this ten times under the mark with hits. (set your own par)
Slide locked open, empty mag in gun, spare mag with dummies. On beep, speed reload and “fire” before second beep. Same par time of 1.25, you still have to make the hit. Ten times under YOUR par time.
Ten “eyes closed” Tac reloads. No time, just smooth and perfect with everything stored where I want it before I start again. Drill starts aimed in and ends aimed in.

Same thing with rifle. Not that hard, doesn’t take very long, and it pays HUGE dividends on the range. As always, pardon the typos.

Tactical Leadership

2014 is filling up fast, if you want to host or attend one of the classes below, contact me.

SWAT T/L, Feb 3-5, Thurston County
Hostage Rescue, March 24-26, Spokane
Tac Pistol, April 21-22, Kent
Tac Carbine, April 14-16, Kent
High Risk Warrant Service, May 19-21, Kent
Basic SWAT school, Sept. 22-26, Spokane
Shield User Course, Oct 20-21, Spokane

The team leader class will be starting in a few weeks in Spokane. I do my best to pass on lessons learned during the course and I try to live up to the standards I espouse during the course. I try to read as much as I can about leadership, but I also try to extract leadership lessons from day to day events and recreational reading. It’s not that hard to see lessons everywhere if you are inclined to actually look. 

I recently read an article from a well known dude. I have always enjoyed his columns because he is a career SWAT guy and also an Officer in the reserves where he commanded Special Forces soldiers. This guy is legit and as such, I should listen to what he has to say. Two things pooped out of the aritcle at me and I think they bear discussion and thought. 

1. “It’s not about you, it’s about what you produce.” His point is that you should be less concerned about career management and more concerned about doing what’s right. I hear the same banter as you thrown around the office, “Do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason”, “Put the right people in the right seat on the bus” Blah-blah-blah. Dont just say it, or write it on a mission statement, you have to LIVE IT. If we do our best always and live an honorable life, the men will SEE it! Goddamn, it’s not that hard to do! That doesn’t mean that good leaders won’t make mistakes, lord knows I have plenty of them. But I hope that I am a 95% leader, meaning that most of the time I practice what I preach. And when I do fail, I have the seeds to admit it. Nobody likes a bullshitter and everyone knows when you are. So don’t do that. Seek advice and listen to it, one of the best leaders I ever worked for used to say, “If you want to look good, surround yourself with good people.” It wasn’t that he was riding others successes, his point was that he took the best from everyone in the squad, for the good of the squad. The WE in team was strong and he constantly deflected praise from himself to the squad. When we screwed up, he stood up and took the blame. Coaches lose games, players win them.  

2. “SWAT is not something we do, it is something we are.” This is the kind of talk that alot of dudes roll their eyes at. As soon as I see the eye roll, I know they are a turd. If you don’t immerse yourself into the SWAT role and more to the point of this discussion, the team leader role, then you will be a terrible T/L. Again it is popular to say words like duty & honor. Something else to live it. I have left the CP twice where I was ashamed of myself for not being more direct and for voicing some very hard words at those superior in rank to me. The second time I swore I would never do it again and I haven’t. As I look back on my career, and my reputation for being outspoken, it makes me proud. Of all the times in my life where I said something that got me in trouble, I regret none of them. It is the times I held my tongue that I regret and often wish for the time machine so I could go back and do it right. If nothing is more important to you than the title of “SWAT Team Leader”, then you are a douch bag and you need to quit. There is a distinct order to things – The Mission, The Men and Then Me. You dont like that? Tough shit and for gods sake dont come to my class. Your presence would offend me and the others in the class who get it. 

As always, I apologize for typos.