Teachers at a Lutheran pre-school spent an hour learning how to off-line various pistols, as continuing education in support of their school’s emergency action plan. There was also some exposure to countering edged weapons attacks. Although we did not expect anyone to achieve mastery in the limited time available, we hoped that this brief exposure at least convinced them they can defend their kids if necessary, even if unarmed and facing kinetic threats. This training summary outlines what was taught and why on February 5, 2024.

The Friday before 2023’s annual AZ CSN Defending the Flock conference, we did four hour sessions to get deeper into subjects we could only touch upon during an hour and half breakout session. Two of those dealt with movement, and how it’s not always possible to get off the X. This annotated training outline covers aspects of hostage rescue and how proxemics affect use of force.

This was the second of two classes for educators at a pre-K to 8th grade school. In this session we practiced movement in response to stimulus (blanks from an AK), communication, and response to thrown IEDs. This summary adds additional detail regarding IED searches and recognition. We finished by practicing evacuation, researching useful escape routes from that mostly glass-walled school.

Students from a Tucson Junior High school learned principles of patient movement, both hand-carried and via improvised and purpose-built litters. This series of outdoor exercises, conducted over two days, developed teamwork, communication, and personal responsibility. But the main lesson was that we don’t NEED to be helpless in an emergency; we can be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.

This class for a young coed en route to college for the first time covered lawful use of force (in the home state as well as at the out of state destination), empty hands control techniques, advantages and drawbacks of different types of OC dispensers, retention, moral and ethical considerations, decontamination, transport, and storage. In addition to various role playing exercises with role players and inert dispensers, our capstone involved shooting real pepper spray and indirect exposure.

This live fire class focused on AK-specific handling and marksmanship skills, although there was one CZ Scorpion in attendance. We learned off-lines and disarms as a vehicle leading us to retention: how to keep your AK when someone close is trying to take it away. We practiced means, such as “junkyard prone” for clearing cover with the muzzle while exposing as little of the sight line as possible, as well as hold over to compensate for mechanical offset at close range.

In this practice session we reviewed Safety, Basic Marksmanship, Impeded Slide Movement, Non-diagnostic Stoppage Reduction, Center Axis Relock, One Handed Pistol Firing, Stoppage Reduction, Projectile Launchers as Impact Tools, Movement off the Line of Attack, Holdover, the Two-Shot Rule for Distant Targets, Zones of Stoppage Reduction, and Transitions.

We used the foundational “Antelope Principle” and two-person teams as building blocks teaching the students how to conduct advanced live fire tactical training safely and productively. Topics included Safety, Antelope Drills (with increasing complexity, culminating in night evasion scenarios), the Ginger Rogers Principle, Negotiating Obstacles, Hasty Slings, How to Maximize Training Time, Role Transitions, Close Order Battle drills, and various aspects of Hostage Rescue.

This course addressed various aspects of fighting in and around vehicles. Topics we practiced included safety, avoidance of roadblocks, how to back out of trouble (we practiced this on a former FLETC EVO track), carjacking, look down / shoot down for passenger safety, pushing around crowds without hurting pedestrians, and engaging through 360 degrees from inside a car,

These two classes, which took place over two days, were Heloderm’s take on Active Violence avoidance and amelioration, although we did address Carjacking and Kidnapping on Day 2. We covered Dynamics of Confrontation, Forward Obliques with Changes of Direction, Movement of the Line of Assault, Flow of Doors, Leadership in Crisis Management (especially delegation), OpSec / ComSec, Timing, Weapons Theory, Off-lines, Disarms, Limb Pins, Fire Extinguishers as APers Tools, Beating the Killer to Secondaries, and Riding / Killing the Dragon.

This state licensed armed security guard was trained and qualified by his agency on a Glock auto pistol. Then they issued him a revolver. There is so much more to mastering a wheel gun than “point, pull and pray”–especially if, like this security professional, you might need to bet your life on it. Fortunately, there are still a few of us “Sgt Roger Murtaughs” around.