Armed Citizen Response to the Active Shooter (ACRASE) Event Training in NH

commodon

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Hosted by Critical Dynamics, Inc. and Londonderry Fish & Game Club, Inc.

When: Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 8 AM – 7 PM
Where: Londonderry Fish and Game Club 5 Lund Street Litchfield, NH 03052
Cost: $99

Tickets available from Eventbrite at ACRASE™ The Armed Citizen Response to an Active Shooter Event (Manchester, NH - 07APR2019)

Details:

An 'Active Shooter' is defined as an individual or group of individuals who are actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; generally with unrestricted access to additional victims and meeting with little to no resistance. In most cases, active shooters use firearms(s) and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.

Increasingly, religious fanatics and political extremists, as well as people with extensive psychiatric issues and chemical dependencies, are seeking to make dramatic political, religious or social statements. These individuals recognize the immediacy and totality of the media coverage which will follow their actions, and most do not expect to survive the duration of the event.

Over the past twenty-five years, Department of Justice (DOJ) along with the National Institute for Justice (NIJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) statistics show that the average duration of an active shooter/active killer event is a mere six minutes, with the greatest loss of life occurring during the first NINETY SECONDS from the time the first shot is fired.

In an active shooter/active killer situation, the responsible and law-abiding citizen armed citizen IS the first responder.

'The Armed Citizen Response to an Active Shooter Event' training is a comprehensive program designed to expose students to the legal, ethical and tactical considerations that must be understood in order to mitigate the outcome of an active shooter event, thus reducing the number of injuries and even deaths that may occur.

Also included in this powerful, comprehensive program is a new module on the basics of TECC, or Tactical Emergency Casualty Care and will focus on the basics of gunshot wound first-aid.

This program is taught by active, federally-certified law enforcement active shooter response instructors and tactical counterterrorism trainers.

'The Armed Citizen Response to an Active Shooter Event' draws from cutting-edge, up-to-the-minute federally-recognized law enforcement active shooter response and tactical counterterrorism protocols to give the student a technical and tactical advantage during a rapidly-evolving critical incident.

This one-day, ten-hour program is broken into two segments:

4-1/2 hours in the classroom with presentations, discussions and tabletop exercises;
5-1/2 hours outdoors utilizing practical exercises, range exercises, and live-fire drills.

Modules include (but are not limited to):

+ The historical evolution of the active shooter event;
+ State statutes relevant to the defensive use of deadly and non-deadly force;
+ Civil liability relating to the use of deadly and non-deadly force;
+ What to expect when law enforcement & medical first responders arrive;
+ How a scene is triaged (ICS Compliance);
+ When to act, and when NOT to act;
+ Understanding 'Combat Psychology';
+ Tactical Situational Awareness, and Decision-Making under elevated/critical stress levels;
+ Understanding safe firearm handling in a critical situation;
+ Range drills involving limited movements as well as turns, pivots, and shooting on the move;
+ Stress induction drills;
+ Basics of 'Tactical Emergency Casualty Care';
and much more!
 
I took *most* of this course today 19May but chose to depart an hour or so early. Let me explain.

The instructor is definitely well qualified and taught a 900am-200pm classroom session, with breaks, water and snacks, on all of the topics above. The contents are very good, focused on the matter at hand, and the instructor presented very well, with an easy style and good interaction with the class of nine. We did a 20min pizza lunch and then moved from the Wilson Hill Pistol Club clubhouse room to the adjoining 25yd indoor range. We partnered up and did what the instructor termed a Qualifier - the 65rd course of fire that he uses to qualify attendees at his LEO-Only certification course. We shot numerous 1-8rd strings at 5yd, both hands, strong hand, weak hand, strong-to-weak transitions with reloads, on an 8sec timer. LEOs fire at 7yd on a 7sec timer. Pass was 85% in on head and COM zones for us with LEOs requiring 90% to proceed with training. The instructor said he regularly sends home LEOs who can’t shoot well enough - 7 in one whack from WV one time. Only two of nine passed the informal relaxed civilian standard - I missed out by several low/left headshots myself.

While I missed the end-of-course debrief, I would think the notion is that you should Hold yourself to some proficiency before drawing a gun at an Active Shooter event if you intend to hit your target without hitting others. That’s reasonable, as citizen’s don’t generally respond to Active Shooter events from afar as do LEOs.

I was paired with a woman who probably never shot under stress before. She said she shoots with a friend and did well. She startled at rounds fired, moved her support hand to her head when hit by brass, etc. She often muzzled her feet and those of others around her, pointed the muzzle at walls and ceiling when manipulating the mag release, limp-wristed single-hand shots to cause FTF, crossed her thumbs behind the slide, etc. She only hit the target with 10 of 65rd. Partners were supposed to “coach” but I was doing all I could to keep her from hurting herself and others. I had to grab her gun arm often to steer her muzzle down range. At one point, she had a FTE and turned to walk back sweeping me and others until another attendee and I steered her gun and body back to the line.

I grabbed the assisting instructor (club sponsor) and said I really cannot teach her and he would have to be her partner. His partner was a former military MA Campus LEO who didn’t need guidance. He stood with her one string and then came back over to the LEO to send me back to her. I wasn’t too happy but soldiered on. Until he kept telling me I was missing her safety errors (crossed thumbs, finger on trigger, etc. We were almost shoulder-to-shoulder in the tiny range with no more than 2ft between shooters, so he didn’t understand that he could see what I couldn’t from his angle. Finally, after he came over to criticize my “coaching” I said “I have to leave now - I’m not here to coach her safety.” I packed up and walked out. Presumably they had to leave the LEO alone and watch the woman so she wouldn’t hurt herself or others.

I think the demand was to great for the qualifications of this woman, and didn’t feel I sould challenge their decision to not sideline her, so I exited myself. I’ll follow up with them and explain. I just left w/o raising a stink.

I found a lot of value in the classroom section and would have found the shooting section very useful, had I not had to worry about this one attendee - my coaching partner. While a few others missed a few range directions (turning to walk back with a gun in slidelock, muzzle down, instead or reholstering) this is what you see at clubs and ranges without constant RSO oversight.

SIG Sauer Academy has 3-4 instructors at their Handgun 101/102 and manages 1-on-1 with beginners. I’ve seen them pull someone out of Handgun 103 who had poor muzzle control and Rifle 102 who swept feet once too often. The skills in this ACRASE Qualifier were introduced at SIG’s 102, practiced at 103 and honed under time stress in 104.

I’m glad I attended but sorry I had to leave early. I’ll recommend the course with the caveat that, depending on range, attendees and your tolerance level, you may find the shooting aspect disconcerting for a controlled range course.
 
It sounds like it was less, "Here's what you can expect if you find yourself in this situation and here's what you can do to improve your odds of survival and that of those around you," and more, "You aren't good enough to even bother trying. In fact, you're a poor excuse for a human being."

In other words, somebody may well have the skills and knowledge to share but his ego gets in the way.
 
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