The civilian market in firearms training has change quite a bit over the past few years with the legalization of Concealed Carry/License To Carry permits. As recent as only a few years ago, the standards for firearms was mostly limited to heading to a flat range and placing rounds on paper, and for the extreme enthusiasts we had IDPA or IPSC competition style shooting. But recently, we have a rapid influx of course offerings that are titled Tactical Pistols, or Defensive Pistols, or Advance Conceal Carry etc. These courses are often designed to help the civilian shooter improve their real world skills in the use of firearms….or are they not?
Many times these courses are taught by someone with a military background or law enforcement background. Why? Because many of them have had extensive firearms training and some have even seen real world combat where firearm use is quite literally an all day thing. But are they the best resource for civilians to learn from?? In some ways I will say yes, and in other ways I will say no. Their real world experience definitely means something, and having multiple former LE and Military guys on staff, I personally can say that I have learned A LOT from them.
But on the other hand, we also need to understand that what works for them in their lifestyle doesn’t exactly relate to the civilian population or average citizen who wants to be best prepared to protect themselves and their loved ones. Many times, the lessons taught on the flat range by military and law enforcement are great for them in their duties, but horrible for the average Joe. We need to keep in mind a few things,
- Civilians do not work in teams
- Civilians do not walk around all day in ballistic gear like helmets, plate carriers etc
- Civilians will not be making dynamic entry
- Civilians will not have the communication devices for immediate maneuvering, back up, or intelligence
- Civilians will not have the luxury of having intelligence on the situation like who, what, where, how many, etc and be able to formulate a game plan
- Civilians will not have the same firepower. We don’t carry our rifles, pistols, additional ammo, lights, night vision, etc
- Civilians will not know when and where the encounter will take place
- Civilians will not a have a 4 man stack while going into a room where each man takes a sector
Get it?? As civilians, we have completely different ROE’s and basic needs. Yes, we may all be working with firearms but we are doing completely different tasks. The issue comes when the unknowing civilian attends a class and is taught these high speed team tactics as if they are designed for our lifestyle. Simply not appropriate. Extremely fun and challenging but definitely not appropriate.
I should however mention some of the valuable lessons that we CAN learn from LE/Mil experienced instructors. The LE instructors have a great insight on what they see whenever they arrive on a scene. This is critical information because when they show up on a call for “man with gun,” until the facts get sorted out YOU ARE “Man With A Gun.” Having their insight on this will be of big help on understanding how to behave when officers show up. And for Military experienced instructors…they are spot on when it comes to speed, surprise, violence of action. Also a great trait to develop! And nobody is better and weapons manipulations than our special operations veterans! But at the end of the day, as a citizen defender we need to train as such.
I don’t write this short article to insult or dismiss the LE and Military trained instructors. They are a HUGE asset and a great resource for information, and by all means… S2 Strategic Defense will always support and respect our boys and girls in uniform. Period!!! I write this article so that the civilian average Joe can take the lessons that they learn from our high speed instructors and ask one simple question; “Does this apply to my lifestyle?” And if the answer is “No,” then we at least recognize that and put that training in the Fun/Challenge category.
Think about what you are training, and how. Does it truly fit into your lifestyle? Will it be effective in a life threatening event?
