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I was speaking with an LEO friend recently who was recounting his department’s yearly training at US Training Center (formerly Blackwater) and he used the cliche of being satisfied if he learned just one thing at a class than it was worth it.  For an LEO traveling and training with taxpayer money that may be OK but for me I would definitely not be happy if I learned only one new thing.  I have attended courses where I had one strong take-away lesson but that wasn’t the only thing I learned.

As an example, when I attended TDI-Ohio’s Tac Rifle II program I was able to get through most of the drills with little trouble as I’d done most of the drills (or variations) before.  The best thing about the course was their methodology of single man room clearing, especially in low light.  They teach a “sweep” method with the light vs. strobing or leaving the light on.  Their explanation of corners and how to clear them was both new to me and convincing.  The class was excellent and I strongly recommend it to anyone who has already attended a basic course.  I’m looking forward to taking their inaugural Tac Rifle III class later this year.

As a comparison, when I took the Hackathorn/Vickers Low Light class I thought their method of target acquisition was valid but did not think their use of light is practical for most people.  They teach Locate, Identify and Engage (LIE) which is fairly standard but they only illuminate for split second(s) before each step.  The problem with that method is that most people, me included, don’t train enough in low light.  To take a mental “snap shot” of what you saw for a split second means you are betting your life that you were able to absorb all the critical information you needed to continue.  So if someone is attempting to hide from you they will not provide a full frontal IPSC sized target for you to Locate or Identify, you may only be able to see a shoe or an elbow, if you don’t see it than you’ve “cleared” an area that still contains a potential threat.  For most people who don’t train often and even less frequently in low light this is a dangerous assumption.  The last step of the sequence is to Engage meaning you will illuminate for a split second before turning off the light, continuing to move before engaging where you last saw the target. Meaning at the time you fired your shots the target was not illuminated; this is something that will be extremely difficult to defend in court if any of those rounds don’t hit the intended target or even if you engage the target but have misidentified the person as a threat.

Consider all the factors: low light, high stress, less than optimal training and having to exercise high level thinking and target discrimination using only split seconds of illumination.  An experienced Federal LEO dismissed the technique as not being practical since it violated his agency’s use of force guidelines.

This is not to say I didn’t learn a lot at the course, I learned a great deal from Larry Vickers and appreciated him taking the time to answer my questions.  The multi-man room clearing and various drills were immensely beneficial to me and I would train with him again.

Training has never been inexpensive and may be even more expensive now with the increased cost of ammunition.  Add travel and course fees and spending over $1,000 for a 2 Day class is not that farfetched.

It is always difficult to select a course but I would hope that you learn more than just one thing…