I have been a student of assaults for the better part of my adult life. I’ve studied, practiced and perfected the art and managed to infuse a little science to the affair.

Seeing The Big Picture

When you are first learning how to conduct CQB operations or assaults there is so much to take onboard. I’m not going to lie, it is overwhelming. Every action or inaction has both a postive and negative outcome. If you go to the right, you miss a target to the left. If you fail to clear this deadspace you expose your teammates to deadly force. The list is mind boggling, but the answer lies within the chaos. Underneath all the crazy there is a simple yet effect symphhony of movement that reduces the dangers you face, while increasing the danger the bad guy faces. The real question is how do you get tickets to the symphony?

Practice Makes Perfect

It all starts with an acknowledgement it will take time. While every force, unit and team will vary there is an agreed upon notion it is weeks, sometimes months to grasp a minimum level of competency to be safe among those who have mastered the art. One of the greatest dangers as an experienced operator is being in close proximity to someone who is still learning. Obviously, the dangers increase as you add live fire practice, varous explosive and of course a living, breathing advesary. So, what is the secret? It’s really no secret, it is practice. What you have to understand is what type of practice. There are various forms of practice, but the type of practice that produces the best results is a deep type of practice.

Working From The Known To Unknown

Within this deep practice, the student is given a set of parameters to work within. Then, they are put into practicals they must apply their understanding of the parameters. It is impossible to get it right on the first attempt, even the 1000th attempt for some. But that’s the point, there is sciene in failure. Failing is a key ingredient to success. You have to be put in these situations often and fail often. This failure brings about a problem solving mindset that is constantly adapting to the environment within the type of individual that makes a good operator.

Understanding The Look

The ideal environment for CQB is one where it starts simple and works to complex. That should come as no surprise, but even a simple square room can get uber complex when you start adding doors, oddities and dead spaces. The trick is to incrementally expose the operator to each of these scenarios. To provide them with what I call “the look”. This look is essential because it gives the operator a frame of reference. In the real world, no live target building will look like the training kill houses we virtually live in when practicing. What you are trying to accomplish is to build a database the operator can quickly review. What they are looking for is not the exact copy, but something close enough. This close enough will allow decrease the reaction and processing time. Providing a workable solution. It may not be perfect, but perfection is the enemy of good.

Being Disciplined and Hungry

How does this help the average person. The lesson to take away is anything you want to be good at is going to require hard work, practice. But not just any practice, deep practice. The type of practice that will produce errors, that you can review and reflect upon. Then try to avoid repeating the same errors in the future. I teach a four part system. First you have to identify the error. Then you need to intercept the error before it occurs. Replace the error with the preferred action then repeat until reliable. What I mean by reliable is repeat until this new action becomes the new habit. I’m always pushing our students to fail, I want a 20% failure rate. This gives the student enough positive to stay motivated and enough negative to stay hungry.

I can go on and on regarding teaching CQB, but that is for another day. What I love is within all the chaos is simplicty.

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At our recent Concealed Carry FoF class we saw a lot of examples of some good verbal commands to control. We define a good verbal command as word or phrase that is immediately followed and which immediately improves your situation.

Using Force Starts With Verbal Commands

I can remember my very first fighting course I went to in the Navy. It was an amazing experience because it was so real. The role players performed their scripts brilliantly, you honestly forgot where you were. It left an indelible mark on my psyche. This experience was instrumental in my ability to handle situations I would face further in my career and current profession. Aside from feeling real resistance and having to use force judiciously probably one of the biggest take away was verbal and nonverbal communication. I add nonverbal because in the performance of my duties I needed to anticipate a language barrier would be present. The verbal communications were broken down into three phases; attention, control and command.

Controlling The Most Dangerous Person

During an assault or a raid it was common to run into a lot of people on target. We quickly had to process the available information and make split second decisions based on that information. How were we able to get it right the majority of the time? Because we chunked things down into bite size pieces. First, there are three conditions a person can be on target. They can be a shoot, a no shoot or an unknown. Shoot threats were easy to manage, I say easy in the sense of identification. A no shoot was a little more challenging, but the most dangerous condition was an unknown. This was a person who may have meet a physical description of a threat, but did not visible display a weapon.

How We Improved The Success Of Commands

Because there were a lot of people in a confined space the worst thing we could do was add to the confusion so someone had to take charge. This was usually based around sectors so if there was a person in your sector it was your responsibility to manage. The hard part was making sure they know who to listen to in all the commotion. A lot of times this was made easy because teammates knew who’s responsibility the person was as a result of their location. Once they knew who was giving commands it reduced the confusion and more importantly improved the chances the commands would be followed.

A Strong Command & Compliance

To establish control there were two levels, immediate and follow-up. Immediate was the most important since it was in this compressed time period deadly force was most likely necessary if you could not establish control. The most important action I wanted was an immediate cessation of movement, action or intention. The best example that worked for me and worked pretty much anywhere in the world was the word “stop”. It is short, easy to modulate based on the persons reaction and somewhat multilingual. A secondary reason we are attempting to gain control through verbal commands is to determine whether they will be compliment or if I have to ascend the force continuum to match their level of force. Depending on the situation, you can ask, tell or command a person to stop. Each of these is not only based on the persons actions, but their proximity to you. The more distance or cover you have, the better the situation. You can start at the lower end with cover and distance versus immediately escalating to a command due to their proximity.

Control, Then Command To Improve The Situation

My number one goal is to get them to stop whatever they were doing first. If they were moving for a weapon, stop. If they were moving their hands, stop. If they were moving towards me, stop. Once I have used verbal commands to control then I can move to the disadvantage. A lot of this has to do with context, but when it comes to commands this is where I will order them to perform some task. I may ask them to step back, put their hands up, turn around around, leave this place or get on the ground. The point is I am commanding them into a position of disadvantage. If I really wanted to make the most of this, I would put them in a position they would have to do three things to hurt me. The key is if you did not establish control, you will not be able to command. Their action are being scrutinized very closely for compliance, because if at any point they do not comply it provides me greater justification to escalate my use of force. That use of force can escalate all the way up to deadly force if necessary, but the plan is to control, then command to improve your situation.

The biggest mistake we saw in our FoF class was not really establishing control, then not really thinking before hand how to improve the situation. Do yourself a favor and think about it now.

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Its All Fun & Games Until

Maybe math is more important than you think. You might appreciate it more if you have to work tactical problems. Where you need to clear around corners to a dead space at the far end of the wall; what is called a hard corner. Years ago when I was working as OPFOR for my guys I witnessed an amazing phenomenon. The further back into the angle I got, the less I had to expose in order to gain ground down range. I saw the reverse play out when teammates would hug the corner as they attempted to clear the hard corner. While not ideal, both of these skills are important in the grand schemes of tactical movement repertoire. The problem was how this thinking it went against the grain from conventional wisdom.

It Is Not Always The Why

I remember when teaching a tactical team Active Hostage Rescue skills where managing corners was heavily emphasized. One of the members in their previous career was an architect. As I was explaining corners and the approach towards a corner I talked about obtaining the best vantage point. The better the vantage point the more down range hazards you can clear. Leaving usually the hard corner to visually clear with a dynamic movement. As we worked in commercial buildings we had the opportunity to explore a variety of these types of problems. His curiously was piqued and in the evening after class he pulled out his old drawing program. He created a large scale representation of not why it works, but how it works. I remember his excitement rolling this large piece of paper across his patrol car hood and the careful explanation as to the how.

You Can Only Look One Way

While I cannot remember the technical terms, it was impressive. When you are working in smaller and smaller units the ability to cover all the angles becomes more challenging, almost impossible. Since you can only look in one direction the importance behind achieving the best vantage point becomes huge. Of course, there are points of diminishing returns such as when you have to clear a weak side corner. This forces you to expose more of your body since it typically crosses the plane before your firearm does. A maximum we teach is to maximize your distance and minimize your exposure. When you accomplish these in tandem you create a significant tactical advantage. In order to minimize your exposure you may have to develop the skill of transferring to your weak side to help reduce your exposure. I caveat this technique with a statement that focuses on safety and competency. If either of those are suspect, then you are better off exposing more for improved fighting capacity.

See First Always

There will always be those who have a hard time accepting this technique is simple and effective. Going down range to get the bad guy’s perspective helps. Even then it still takes time to accept; which usually comes with application. When placed in a situation where it doesn’t matter how skilled, how cool your gear is or who’s side you are on it generally boils down to who sees who first. If you are exposing less and seeing more you will come to recognize the value with time. If you step back as an observer you eventually see the light bulbs turn on as they perform more and more runs through a simulator.

When you are playing an adult hide-n-seek game, you will come to appreciate the importance behind these maximums. You will develop these skills out of self preservation.

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The Honest Truth

Is it important for homeowners to understand advanced assault tactics. Is there an argument to be made these and other similar tactics will be beneficial to their situation. Honestly, not really. I’m not saying it is not fun or you will not learn some cool tactics. I’m saying there is not as close a correlation to what they do and what you will have to do in these in extremis situations. Team tactics are complex and work because of a high level of skill and application of tactics. Without constant maintenance there is a degradation and team safety becomes an issue. For the average homeowner, a better approach is to consider the two most likely scenarios; you come home to intruders or intruders come into your home.

I’ve Got a Bad Feeling About This

I can speak on first-hand knowledge to coming home to intruders. Half way into clearing my home by myself I realized it was a terrible idea. In the end there were no intruders, but at the time I was under a different assumption. I had the advantage of knowing the layout, the dead spaces and hard corners I would need to clear. What I took for granted was manpower in a situation like this and how it is impossible to safeguard all hazards by yourself. My purpose was to secure the house so my family waiting up the road could safely return. As I continued to probe deeper into the house I took away many things. Distance is your friend, do not go any deeper into the house than necessary. If you identify intruders, back out and call the police. Move to a safe area where the bad guys can escape, do not put you or your family between them an freedom. If there are family members home that is a whole different story.

The Worse Case

Coming home to intruders in your home along with family members present is probably the worse situation. One you need to think long and hard before taking action. Do the intruders know you are present is the first question. If you can maintain the element of surprise do so at all costs. Ideally you would want to move to a location you can strong point, put yourself between your family and danger. Even more ideal is leaving the exit to the bad guys back so they can flee when they realize it is not worth the effort. If however, they are aware of your presence it makes things a lot more complicated. Think long and hard before you act. This is where thinking through the worst case scenario beforehand will pay off. Yes, I mean if you were contemplating advanced SWAT tactics then you better have given this scenario some thought.

Strong Point

If you are home and intruders illegally enter your home you have some decisions to make. If you have some type of early warning to give you a heads up then strong pointing and calling the police is your best move. If you have family members home what next. If movement is required in an effort to place yourself between them and the bad guys here are some down and dirty tips. Retain the element of surprise as long as possible. If you manage to move steathfully to strong point your family then call the police at your first opportunity. If there is no way to get to a secure location to strong point without drawing attention then when you decide to move it’s not about tactics, it’s about covering the ground as quickly as you can and setting up a defensive positions or strong point.

Considerations

The specific movement tactics will vary, but don’t bite off more than you can chew until you are ready to commit. Use the advantage of knowing your layout and plot your course. It may be simple or it could be complex. Think about your fall back positions should things not go according to plan. Maximize your distance and use cover to the best of your ability. Before you break cover, know where the bad guys are and where you’re going. When choosing the defensive firearm it is easy to think of the big guns; like a rifle or shotgun. However, in confined spaces, having to marshal family members or engage in close combat a handgun will serve you better.

While these types of situations are rare, they are horribly challenging in the moment. There is no easy answer, there is just doing your homework before test time.

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Great honor

During our training classes I cannot wait to get to evolutions involving drawing from the holster. Think about it for a second, how amazing is it we as free men and women can carry a gun in a holster. Take a moment to appreciate how fortunate we are as citizens and a nation. Many throughout the world do not have this right. They may criticize, condemn or vilify those of us who exercise our right. Others it boils down jealously. For me, teaching the fundamentals of drawing from the holster to target is one of my greatest honors. I am passionate about the effort and product we produce.

Crawl first, then run

Drawing from the holster is not difficult, but there are important steps you cannot mess up if you expect to deliver effective fire on the target. We teach the drawstroke in a series of steps that are virtually identical going to the target as they are returning to the holster. The added fluidity of returning to the holster only helps to create a stronger grasp of the drawstroke. We begin new students with a simple three step process from their strong side hip using an on the belt holster. Like anything else you need to crawl before you run so obtaining a solid firing grip while the gun is still in your holster represents the most important step. I know it seems silly, but the mistake people make is thinking they know the best grip while the pistol is in the holster. What they need to do is obtain the best grip pointed at the target then slowly holster without changing the grip. Every time you draw from the holster this is the grip you want.

Danger close

The second step is often overlooked or not given attention; which is close contact. It is possible you will lack sufficient distance to fully extend the gun to the target. In times like this, coming to close contact to deal with an immediate threat may be your best option. Practicing from this position will provide you with this contingency in advance. You want to be familiar with this position, to be prepared in advance. It will be unlikely having not practiced this it will be of much use to you.

Drive it hard

The final step is driving the gun straight to the intended strike point on the target. Not the target in general, but a specific point on the target you intend to strike with your projectile. From close contact your hands will come together first then drive straight to the target using the most economical motion. Do not add extra movement, movement not required or that adds more time overall. Move the pistol in a fluid motion with the idea the front sight comes to rest exactly where you want the bullet to strike. Moving the gun so fast, you experience sight bounce at full extension is another mistake. Whatever time you might have made up by moving fast you throw away searching for your sights or worse you pull the trigger without confirming your sight’s position.

Holster work is a core skill for handgunning. Whether you are practicing on the range, attending a training class or carrying concealed you need to make working from the holster a priority.

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The harsh reality

Let’s put aside the utility of a good handheld light for a moment. Disregard how you will reload more batteries hunting for your keys, than reloading magazines and hunting for bad guys. It is one of the must useful items to have not just for everyday carry, but life in general. You can take one almost anyplace and if you understand how to employ it as an impact weapon that gives you a huge advantage. While it is pretty hard to find yourself in a completely dark environment, it is easy to find yourself in a position where you cannot with 100% certainty identify a potential threat outside of arms reach.

It’s just a light

The moment you move past a double arm internal, is that someone coming at you or someone trying to move by you. There is a big difference. Would you be in the wrong having your handheld light in your hand for either of these events. I don’t see any compelling reason you cannot pull your handheld light out even during day time conditions when things just don’t feel right. It should be your first stage towards escalation and possible engagement, but there is still a vitally important factor to remember. You must be able to illuminate the unknown.

Identifying the unknown

The discussion in class had to deal with the lights position when in a search mode. There is no reason you cannot move the light in order to provide you the best advantage. It doesn’t always have to be in a shoot ready position, in fact it probably won’t be. During the initial moments of an unknown encounter you may find it prudent to have the light in your hand way before you can justify having a gun in your hand. When you decide to illuminate the unknown you have to do so in a manner that allows you the ability to positively identify friend from foe. If you use the light and it’s energy in a manner that fails to do so, it is not the light’s fault. It is your own fault for using poor technique.

Human, hands and handgun

Your technique should aim to illuminate the unknown with enough light to see what you need to see to make the choice to employ lethal force. You will need to start big, with what we call “human”. Then work small to the “hands” and finish up with an apology for temporarily blinding the suspect. If the situation was worse case then transitioning to your drawstroke as you seek to maintain the tactical advantage provided by the disruptive nature of your high intensity light. So, it is either; human, hands then handgun or human, hands and humility for blinding them. If you were able to identify in those initial seconds they were an immediate threat to your life then transitioning to your handgun is the next step so your one hand clearance method better be legit. The real question becomes do you keep the light trained on them or extinguished. A lot will depend on what you saw in the first few moments that convinced you to draw your handgun. Things like distance, action and whether you can move and move to a better location help determine the right course of action. The bottom line, the situation will dictate.

Having a good handheld light should be on everyone’s loadout. Then know how to use it effectively, otherwise it is nothing more than an expensive torch.

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It’s not a science

Mental health disorders are difficult to diagnose. Now add to the process determining whether they are a danger to themselves or others requiring involuntary confinement and you are wading into some difficult waters. I believe we need to do more for our fellow citizens who do suffer from mental illnesses, I believe it needs to be metered with compassion and recognition of their civil rights. What I don’t believe in is knee jerk reactions to violence in our country using mental illness as the scapegoat. I honestly don’t believe dumping money into medical research or medical wellness programs will stop violence in our country, I don’t think it will even curb it. What I do believe in is pursuing mental health goals adjacent to personal safety discussions.

Accept reality

Violence exists in our world and there is no getting around it despite best intentions or feel good agendas. Instead, we need to acknowledge violence is a part of our life and empower people to manage their own safety. This doesn’t mean we condone violence, it simply means we refuse to be a volunteer victim. I believe educating people on how protecting their families is important sends a message to evil doers. When the masses are vested in their own safety, criminal enterprise will be faced with a dwindling pool of volunteer victims.

Responsible versus violent

Thinking the government can regulate our safety is nothing more than a pipe dream at best, cognitive dissonance at worse. Another misconception we need to dispel is because I choose violence does not make me violent. It simply means I’m willing to defend my family, to put their well being and safety above those who seek do them harm.  We have laws governing civil conduct, but criminals are criminals because they do not value or respect the law. When response times for life threatening emergencies are measured in minutes you have seconds to take action. This is a difficult concept to grasp for some, but hoping a violent criminal will not be violent in the commission of a crime because you are cooperating is reckless. I’m not saying there are not times when cooperation is ideal, but to base your whole argument around a single concept is sketchy.

The elephant in the room

The most recent incident in Florida illustrates two major issues. The suspect was evaluated and deemed not a danger to himself or the public and the incident occurred within a “gun free” zone. These two facts further compound the whole discussion. Mental health professionals have a difficult task and is anything but a science. There was nothing in the evaluation warranting involuntary confinement. Gun free zones are nothing more than criminal empowerment zones. Florida is one of six states who prohibit legal firearms within public regions of airports. When you combine these two variables it creates ideal circumstances for tragedy. While everyone wants to discuss mental health issues, no one has brought up gun free zones. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out if they choose to act in an area they stand to face little resistance they have greater chance of success.

We are a compassionate country, we do care for our fellow man. We should not let that trait supersede our rights and more importantly responsibility for our safety.

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Slap it baby

Some of these false positives are not too bad. A good example would be when you seat your magazine and the slide moves forward. It was unintentional, but the positive result misleads people into believing it was a valid technique. There are several other examples in the tactical world, but one happened to be discussed at our last class. I resisted the urge to talk about it for only so long because it will create a bunch of drama so try to stay focused on the point. We had a retired officer from a large department who during our discussion on multiple threats and the use of cover commented about an incident he was in while on the job.

I give up said the bad guy

The incident happened around his patrol vehicle, where initially the officer was being fired upon by a large caliber rifle. As his vehicle is taking rounds he dismounts and seeks cover behind the wheel well as commonly taught. There was no active engagement or returning of fire and the incident was resolved when the suspect either ran out of ammunition or the rifle malfunction. Either case the “lull” afforded other officers to approach and confront the suspect who by this time had dropped the rifle and was taken into custody unharmed. The officer who had taken temporary cover believed his action were a positive reinforcement of his tactics. He did not account for the fact the suspect surrendered due to the stoppage and fearing for his life.

The key is mindset

The problem I have is the vehicle did not save his life despite what he thinks and despite what many want to think. The use of a vehicle as cover is temporary at best and while the subject has been the source of numerous discussion the main problem I have is the difference in mindset. There are so many “what if’s” it is hard to draw any accurate conclusions and I like that, it’s important you acknowledge the limitless number of variables present. Honestly it has been the main reason I have stayed clear, because no two scenarios will be the same, that outside of a true scientific laboratory it is difficult to replicate results.

Feeder vs. receiver

Here is the problem with cover, it will become your coffin if your opponent is willing and able to maneuver. The moment the threat is no longer static, the moment he is willing to move in an effort to kill you all bets are off. The real question is what tactics you choose to use, tactics versus a stationary target or tactics versus someone who will maneuver on you aggressively. People want to think it is some form of higher learning to be able to maneuver. It’s not, it’s simply a mindset issue and the best way I can describe it is the difference between a feeder and receiver. These terms were shared with me years ago and I have yet to discover something better to describe the two mentalities.

Intention behind action

Had the suspect from the vehicle incident choose to move the outcome could have been dramatically different. When I asked the officer had he maintained visual contact with the suspect he replied he had not, so he had no way of reacting to the suspects actions and was left to receive whatever outcome the suspect was willing to feed. It took some time for that to soak in, to absorb how the vehicle did not save his life how is actions were receiver like despite him taking action to get out of the vehicle. That’s my point, just because you perform some action does not guarantee it will have a positive outcome. While taking action, any action can be better than taking no action it is the intention behind the action I am pointing out.

Here is a summation of the two mindsets; a feeder sees cover in these terms. His first form of cover are his bullets, then body armor, then buddy and lastly ballistic protection. A receiver sees cover in these terms; ballistic protection, buddy, body armor and lastly bullets.

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." Napoleon Bonaparte, French Military and Political Leader

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You’re doing what???

There is always crazy stuff hitting the industry. All it takes a quick search on YouTube to see some of the silliness and worse the time we waste discussing much of it online. Something to consider is most discussion on tactics are cyclical. Meaning they come back around after a certain period of time. They began to loose their luster for some, probably because someone comes along trying to re-invent themselves. Then when enough time goes by someone “discovers” these old tactics again and now they are all the rage.

Feel good versus effective

Negotiating cover and or concealment is a subject everyone has an opinion on, but here are some cold hard facts to consider. Hugging the cover/concealment is more feel good than effective; which is why we call it the vertical fetal position. On the battlefield, it is not always who is the “best”, a lot of times it is who sees who first. Being able to search, locate and identify within your sector is what separates the good from the bad regarding tactics. If dealing with threats off the ground floor such as the second deck or roof tops, hugging cover would be ideal. Provided it is the tactical imperative, but managing good offset should be your default.

You have to see to do

We see it often in our assault classes where students out-run their headlights. They are not trained properly on target discrimination practices and therefore have little experience in really breaking targets down. You either don’t recognize a shoot threat, or you shoot a no-shoot threat. Both outcomes are the result of poor training, specifically not building tactics that allow you to process your battle space in real time. If you are right up on your edge or corner and you pop out or over, you have milliseconds to search, locate and identify the new space you are viewing.

Working angles

It doesn’t take much, sometimes a few feet to provide you the offset you need. Usually if you can fully mount your weapon that is good enough. At this point it is all about angles, I could break it down, but it would require a lot of coffee and a bunch of crayons. Suffice it to say you can be deliberate or dynamic. You can slowly work the problem, or quickly bust the corner. Once you have good offset and decide to clear around to the unknown the next main principle to adhere to is what we call the “three eye” principle. It is pretty simple, when ever possible keep your eyes, weapon and potential target all in line. In so doing you give yourself a degree of time to process through your target discrimination process then engage if necessary.

Cover is temporary

If performed correctly it also allows you to minimize your exposure, though in tight quarters this is not always available. The proverbial boogieman around the corner should compel you to compress your position in anticipation of a close quarters fight. However, the idea of backing off cover should be the default, followed by being up close when the situation dictates. One last comment, just remember cover is always temporary, either through degradation from projectiles or defeating through angles. If you are hunkered down behind something and it is getting rung like a bell recognize the danger. Move to your next piece of cover or more likely your last. Now, here is the kicker, if your opponent is willing to maneuver on you, don’t let that cover become your coffin. That is where the standoff will come into play.

Avoid the vertical fetal position when working cover. Mind your offset.

'Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.' Sun Tzu, Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher

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Setting the stage

We use various selection processes in our classes, selection meaning which group a student may fall into during class. While we have several groups, the one you want to avoid is “high risk”. A high risk student is someone who consistently displays behavior that can put himself or other classmates in danger. You obviously don’t want these types of students, but as firearms training continues to become popular and concealed carriers increase it’s a subject that must be addressed. The aspect of safety is central to everything we do, lip service is not tolerated.

The snowball theory

I remind students tragedies are not the result of a single action. They are the culmination of several seemingly insignificant actions adding up to a tragedy. An important point to understand is many accidents are preventable. Through careful evaluation of previous accidents we take away lessons learned. We take these lessons and create corrective strategies to prevent them from happening again to the best of our ability. After providing clear and concise instruction, at some point we as instructors must trust the students to act safely.

Building trust

It is this trust we need in order to move forward in the curriculum. It starts the moment we meet a student with the very basic ability to follow instructions. Some instructions can be followed “loosely”, while others must be followed strictly. As an instructor you must enforce safety and there is very little margin for error. It is rare you get a student who deliberately fails to follow instructions. Many times they want to, but are overwhelmed with learning new skills and pressure to do well. When so much is going on they cannot process all the information in a timely manner or in the correct sequence bad things can happen.

The fine line

I don’t get too wrapped around the axle these days, but every now and then you’ll see me jump someone’s ass. I don’t much care how you load, my instructions are to safely load your firearm then protect your eyes and ears. No big deal if you choose to load a magazine then cycle the slide or lock the slide and release it using the slide stop…I don’t care. However, when the instructions are to observe your trigger finger straight on the pistol’s frame and off the trigger guard that’s non-negotiable.

Logical reasoning

As part of our safety protocol in our Concealed Carry Tactics classes we have students visually confirm their finger is off the trigger. There are only two ways the firearm can discharge, either you press the trigger with your finger or the trigger is pressed by a foreign object. There are two times your finger could inadvertently press the trigger, as you are drawing and as you’re re-holstering. We try to eliminated the possibility of a negligent discharge as a result of improper trigger finger placement during both phases. I had one student who either kept forgetting or wouldn’t follow instructions as I had to repeatedly correct him on the line. So, if he is having difficulty with these simple instruction is it reasonable to expect more problems?

Calamity of errors

The answer is yes. We ask students to visually inspect their holster prior to inserting the muzzle then reholster with control. The student in question felt it was OK to shove the pistol into his holster after continued corrections. Why is this a big deal, think back to the earlier comment about the little, insignificant actions that add up. Since this was a concealment class we had a variety of cover garments throughout. Each provided challenges, but the safe protocol for re-holstering was the same. When I watch a student fail to confirm their trigger finger, fail to confirm any holster obstructions then shove this pistol into their holster without looking it’s a problem.

Luckily nothing bad happened, but not by providence. Safety is non-negotiable and if you cannot follow the simplest of instructions like what equipment is required for class, then cannot follow safety protocols while in class don’t be surprised by the results.

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