We started off this week with RAID (Rapid And Immediate Deployment). An excellent class involving simulated weapons and an abandoned office building.
A simulated weapon is basically an auto pistol which operates exactly like a regular pistol. The only difference is that instead of firing a live round a paintball is ejected from the barrel causing a mark on your intended target.
RAID training is basically similar to building searches which I mentioned earlier in one of my blogs except for the fact that this is a response to an active shooter situation. We had a lot of fun, what a great way to start the week not to mention a Monday morning!
As an avid paintball player I was in my element here, which is probably why I offered to play the bad guy. I was glad I did, I got to shoot a lot, and didn’t have to wait my turn to play. Great training tool, well executed scenarios.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Building Search
On Monday some members from the JCSO Regional SWAT team came in taught us the principles of building searches. We met at a local office building that has been rented for our training purposes and our instruction began.
We started with basic tactical movement, clearing rooms, clearing rooms as a team and eventually looking for a suspect. As you can imagine our instructors are highly trained operatives and have an abundance of knowledge and skill to pass on to us.
This was a great class and a very important skill for Law Enforcements officers to possess. Especially in the first few years of our careers we will be working the graveyard shifts and will be dispatched to many burglar alarms requiring us to perform a search.
I think I understand the basic elements of clearing rooms and moving through corridors. My classmates and I take this very seriously during our training which creates a certain sense of realism. I felt my adrenaline kick up as we searched from room to room looking for a suspect (played by a recruit) and when I found him in the dark corner of one of the rooms it really spiked.
We started with basic tactical movement, clearing rooms, clearing rooms as a team and eventually looking for a suspect. As you can imagine our instructors are highly trained operatives and have an abundance of knowledge and skill to pass on to us.
This was a great class and a very important skill for Law Enforcements officers to possess. Especially in the first few years of our careers we will be working the graveyard shifts and will be dispatched to many burglar alarms requiring us to perform a search.
I think I understand the basic elements of clearing rooms and moving through corridors. My classmates and I take this very seriously during our training which creates a certain sense of realism. I felt my adrenaline kick up as we searched from room to room looking for a suspect (played by a recruit) and when I found him in the dark corner of one of the rooms it really spiked.
Training
So we had an accident in Arrest Control. During one of our ground defense drills one of my fellow recruits was hurt, and I’m sorry to say it was me that hurt him.
Please understand that all our training is done in a safe and professional manner, and that all steps are taken to avoid such injuries; however, with that said we also try and make our drills as realistic as possible so that if were attacked on the street or in the jail we are fully prepared for it and not shocked by the initial confrontation.
During this particular drill I was on top of one of my classmates, his objective was to knock me off and get to his feet. It was a ten minute drill and we were in the last minute or two of it when we both landed funny and he heard a snap. It was his collar bone. Needless to say we took him to the hospital and got him taken care of.
He will not fully heal for about four weeks or so, but the good news is he will be able to complete the academy. (I would feel terrible if he could not go on any further.)
I wanted to talk about this so that people understand what were training for here. We are going into a very dangerous field of work and our training reflects that. Unfortunately accidents happen and sometimes cannot be avoided, the question we have to ask ourselves is what if my collar bone broke, and I was on the street getting attacked, can I fight through the pain and win? The answer is clear for us, we have no choice, and we have to win regardless of what happens.
Please understand that all our training is done in a safe and professional manner, and that all steps are taken to avoid such injuries; however, with that said we also try and make our drills as realistic as possible so that if were attacked on the street or in the jail we are fully prepared for it and not shocked by the initial confrontation.
During this particular drill I was on top of one of my classmates, his objective was to knock me off and get to his feet. It was a ten minute drill and we were in the last minute or two of it when we both landed funny and he heard a snap. It was his collar bone. Needless to say we took him to the hospital and got him taken care of.
He will not fully heal for about four weeks or so, but the good news is he will be able to complete the academy. (I would feel terrible if he could not go on any further.)
I wanted to talk about this so that people understand what were training for here. We are going into a very dangerous field of work and our training reflects that. Unfortunately accidents happen and sometimes cannot be avoided, the question we have to ask ourselves is what if my collar bone broke, and I was on the street getting attacked, can I fight through the pain and win? The answer is clear for us, we have no choice, and we have to win regardless of what happens.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Firearms & Fighting
Today Team B started off with firearms in the morning and arrest control in the afternoon.
We are approaching the half way point in our firearms training and are learning some really cool stuff. We had a night shoot two nights ago which was awesome, manipulating a flashlight and shooting at the same time is a whole new experience for me but it was a lot of fun.
Today we ran through our POST course at the range. This is a timed drill taken a number of different shots from various positions and incorporating reloads and weapons malfunctions. We also got into some tactical drills shooting steel targets, suspect identity and two man shooting drills which were a blast!
After lunch we started our Arrest Control class. We reviewed our holds and takedowns along with handcuffing techniques and then moved on to the basic elements of ground defense; break falls and body weight techniques. Class was great and a lot of fun, not to mention a great work out! Rolling around on the floor trying to kick each other was probably the most interesting, not to mention tiring. One minute fighting on the floor can really take it out of you, certainly proved to me how much better in shape I need to get. It is important to learn how to defend ourselves from the ground as a lot of people anymore train in mix martial arts and the styles associated with UFC style tournaments.
We are approaching the half way point in our firearms training and are learning some really cool stuff. We had a night shoot two nights ago which was awesome, manipulating a flashlight and shooting at the same time is a whole new experience for me but it was a lot of fun.
Today we ran through our POST course at the range. This is a timed drill taken a number of different shots from various positions and incorporating reloads and weapons malfunctions. We also got into some tactical drills shooting steel targets, suspect identity and two man shooting drills which were a blast!
After lunch we started our Arrest Control class. We reviewed our holds and takedowns along with handcuffing techniques and then moved on to the basic elements of ground defense; break falls and body weight techniques. Class was great and a lot of fun, not to mention a great work out! Rolling around on the floor trying to kick each other was probably the most interesting, not to mention tiring. One minute fighting on the floor can really take it out of you, certainly proved to me how much better in shape I need to get. It is important to learn how to defend ourselves from the ground as a lot of people anymore train in mix martial arts and the styles associated with UFC style tournaments.
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