Strike Tactical Solutions

Newsletter 6/2007

GREETINGS! The weather is hot and humid. The bodies of the participants are drenched is sweat. For these guys FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION in a deadly force encounter. They are focused, capabable and deadly serious about the job at hand. Professionalism and honor are their traits. Welcome to STRIKE Tactical Solutions training!

ANNOUNCEMENT

If you wish to complete the 6 levels of Tactical Pistol training this year, this is your very last chance to do so. We have ONE Level 2, ONE Level 3, ONE Level 4, ONE Level 5 and ONE Level 6 left for 2007.

In 2008 the STRIKE training schedule will look much different, as we have decided to upgrade the Police Tactical Pistol Level 1 classes into a TWO DAY event, where we will drill participants in our core skills. New shooting drills etc to make you a better shooter and eventually a better fighter. This is our most popular class and we would like to present you with even more in 2008. We will keep you posted!

Thank You!

I would like to thank my close friend, John Farnam for mentioning STRIKE Tactical Solutions in his monthly column "Gunslingers Guide" in a recent  "Soldier of Fortune" Magazine. Also a hearty thanks for mentioning us in his new book "Guns & Warriors". (See "The Library" in this Newsletter issue). We are humbled.

John was also gracious enough to lend me a helping hand at the IALEFI Conference in San Antonio recently. MUCH APPRECIATED!

John and Vicki Farnam continue to provide life-saving training to our troops and Law Enforcement Officers. Massad Ayoob bestowed the untimate compliment to John at the ILEETA Conference when he recognized  John Farnam as the originator of the "Traveling Academy", copied by so many in modern times.

John and I will be presenting a "Vehicle Defense Class" on 27 - 28/10/07. Please follow the link to our website for more information. http://www.striketactical.com/training/details.asp?id=48

IN THIS ISSUE

1) Product Review: Worden Travel Wrench By Kelly Worden
2) Talking Tactics: Feedback from the NTI By Randy Harris
3) Reflections on a Bygone Era - Part 2 - By Henk Iverson
4) Terrorism and the Law By Jeff Chudwin
5) DTI Quips: CORBON DPX Ammunition By John Farnam
6) Mind, Body, Spirit - Part 5 - By Louis P. Hayes
7) The Library: Guns & Warriors By John Farnam
8) Quote of the Month

PRODUCT REVIEW: WORDEN TRAVEL WRENCH
By Kelly Worden

The Travel Wrench is a Devastatingly Effective Yet Low Profile Non-Lethal Force Tool for Personal Protection. Your Personal Protection Tool designed by Kelly Worden. The Travel Wrench is a Revolutionary Training Tool and Instructional System that compliments while improving tactical efficiency with any Tactical implement! Proficiency in skill is cultivated through repetition and refining conceptual principles of instinctual response! Also available Soft Trainer.

Impact strikes will cause severe pain and injury, the Travel Wrench and other Self Protection tools should only be implemented if no other option exists. The information contained within this book is for defensive use and only to prevent or detour physical harm from being inflected on you or a loved one.


The defensive tools above have specific techniques to assist the user in becoming proficient with defensive maneuvers. This instructional book offers essential options that can be implemented during a physical confrontation. Seek proficiency in the overlapping principles of defense, including physical and psychological.

Originally the Travel Wrench was designed to assist martial artists in developing confidence in empty hand striking skills and precision targeting. The first models were called DTL or Impact Kerambits and changed later to offer a more covert public carry tool for personal protection. The Kerambit of old was a simple yet potential lethal palm knife used in the "barrio" or rough streets of the Philippines.

Re-designed in 1993 by Kelly S. Worden for non-lethal usage, the Travel Wrench has experienced acceptance worldwide. Civilians, bodyguards, police officers, and military personnel have carried the Travel Wrench Kerambit almost everywhere in the world. This includes the United States, Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Kuwait, and other countries as well, again literally Worldwide! As a discrete personal protection tool, it attracts very little attention and allows the carrier to walk with confidence from home to vehicle, parking garages to work, public parks, shopping, cash machines, or sporting events.

Let's face it, the potential for crimes or criminal acts in our society is at an unprecedented high and completely unpredictable. We can become targets for assault or robbery at a moment's notice.
 
Please see: http://www.striketactical.com/store/details.asp?id=105
Also see: http://www.kungfuonline.com/article.php?article=51

TALKING TACTICS: FEEDBACK FROM THE NATIONAL TACTICAL INVITATIONAL
By Randy Harris

I have just returned from my first trip to The National Tactical Invitational in Harrisburg Pa. For those not familiar with it the NTI is learning experience that combines interactive force on force  in the " Village" with building clearing exercises in the Pneumatic house, the mystery gun stage, the "L" house, and the 360degree range. There is also a "standards" stage and another stage that often requires shots at both close range  and 100 yards and farther. It is a true test of skill, equipment and how well the practitioner can run that equipment. The following is my in depth review.I will warn you ..... It is lengthy.

I had read about the NTI since its inception 17 years ago. Like many I wondered just how well I could do at such an event. But really, if you cannot do well there, how well do you really expect to do on the street when it is real? Tom Givens of Rangemaster talked me into signing up and going this year with him and his crew  and I am very glad I did. Actually he kind of shamed me into going by telling me that every serious gunman should go at least once. He is right.And as I said I am very glad I went. I have always looked at Tom as a mentor, but after this trip I look at him as my friend.

I met up with Tom and the gang in Knoxville en route to Pennsylvania. There were 4 of us in the van so there was plenty of room. It is also quite a long drive so it gave us plenty of time to discuss all manner of things from Southern culture and Scots-Irish heritage to what long guns we would like to try out, gunmen of old and  past NTIs. But with such good company it seemed like the time just flew by. Also along on the trip was John Justice, John Hearne and we were joined in Pa by Jeff Boardman all of whom are instructors for Rangemaster. Since three of us are from Tennessee, one from Alabama and one from Mississippi, all armed with multiple pistols, and  heading toward Gettysburg, we became the "Confederate Cavalry".The northern invasion was on! Did I mention it was a fun trip?

We arrived on Tuesday and checked into the hotel and got lunch at the Elephant and Castle English Pub located in the host hotel. How appropriate for a meeting place! That evening we got the overview of the week ahead at the orientation.The three rules of NTI are 1. NO WHINING. 2. NO STUPID GUNHANDLING and 3. NO BOORISH BEHAVIOR. The storyline for the exercise was that you were an expert witness retained to testify in a trial. You would be picked up at the airport, go to your hotel, give a speech in  the local school, and testify in court, go to the mall ,have dinner with the district attorney and go to the doctor. All of this took place in the "Village". In there you would interact with other practitioners and role players and act and react accordingly to what situations ensued. The regular shooting stages somewhat mirrored these force on force stages, they just used voices provided by the safety officers and targets provided by either pneumatic targets that appear and disappear or by stationary targets made of Tactical Ted targets with a thin solid "core" that had to be hit squarely to knock them down.

I have to admit that I was somewhat relieved to be in the first group to shoot. I had been playing "what if" in my head for so long that I was frankly glad to finally get it over with and be thrown into the fire. The first group was given the safety briefing and given our safety equipment (did I mention we use Simmunitions rounds in the village?) and off we went. I elected to wear no extra padding other than the collar they issued and the eye protection and grinders mask used to protect your face. I figure I'd get more out of it by dressing as I normally do and if being shot REALLY hurt.

As Tom and I picked up our bags from baggage claim in the village airport we ducked into the restroom to find our pistols and arm ourselves before hitting the street. Unfortunately the village deputy sheriff ducked into the bathroom and we were detained until the sheriff arrived we could explain why we were pulling guns out of our luggage in a public bathroom. Since our permits were in order we were let go. We rearmed with our J frames and our 10 rounds of sims ammo and went to the hotel. A better tactic would be the one John Hearne employed. He went out and struck up a conversation with the cop while the others armed up in the bathroom.

The hotel acts as a staging area where the practitioners and their individual judges wait until all is clear for the scenarios to begin.From what I heard later if you left your gun behind in the hotel you might find it stolen when you got back. We went immediately to the local school to give a speech. Upon arrival we were confronted with the sheriff who promptly disarmed us. No guns allowed in school so we were disarmed and we entered the school. A short time later during the speech two thuggish individuals entered one with a gas can and one with a lighter. We immediately set to herding the locals out the door and I grabbed a ball bat as I exited in case the thugs decided on assault instead of arson.I intentionally did not attack the gas man with the bat for fear of being shot by the sheriff who I thought was still outside. Of course there was no law enforcement there when you needed them........We debriefed, explained our actions got our guns back, checked to make sure they were loaded and all were led off in separate directions.In the debrief on Saturday we were told that some wandered around with empty guns having never checked to make sure they were loaded after they got them back and yet others forget to get their guns back at all!

Next I was taken to the courthouse where I was again disarmed and seated in front of the gallery. As I sat there a rather large intoxicated man sitting next to me with a bottle of booze tried to strike up a conversation. I asked the bailiff if the man was supposed to be drinking in court. About this time a disturbed individual entered the room and promptly shot the bailiff. I got down on the floor and noticed the bailiff had dropped his SW 5906 service pistol when he fell. But I also noticed the safety was on, figured there was no round in the chamber and that it was a glorified paper weight. I knew I'd likely get shot in the head if I reached for it.Instead I stayed low and waited until the gunman came closer and I sprang off the floor performing a disarm on him to end the scenario. This is where that work with William Aprill at the Warrior Talk Symposiums and with Southnarc in his classes and with Gabe on disarms came in handy. I asked some others why they didn't go for the disarm in their turn in that scenario and they said frankly they didn't have that skill set. I was certainly glad I did.

Next up was a trip to the mall. I'll admit that I was a little apprehensive to enter the mall, and I was right to have been. As I walked down the corridor I was confronted by a large man who blocked my path. I said "Excuse me Sir" and tried to slip past, but he stepped to block it again. Now a note on rules here. The practitioners cannot physically "rough up" the role players. So for those of us who have a bag of hand to hand skills to draw from, that was pretty much negated.Also for those of us who carry impact weapons, that was also a no-no. I attempted to use pretend "pepper spray" but the BG was having none of it and kept advancing. By this time his partner had closed the gap on my other side and this narrow hallway became even tighter and BG #1 was now holding a pistol in a retention position. I offered my card wallet and credit card  but they wanted to check my other pockets and ordered me to my knees firing a shot into the floor to let me know they meant business. I feigned compliance, told them I had a bad back and slowly got down on one knee keeping my left foot on the ground. Bad guy #1 checked my left pockets and finding nothing started to move behind me from left to right. I took this opportunity to hook him with my left arm and spin quickly to my left and around pushing him into his partner ( tying up his gun and his partner) and drawing my own pistol and preparing to start feeding bullets into them when the judge yelled "STOP!!".

We debriefed. I was told I could have done a better job of getting by him and he was right I should have. Frankly I was perplexed at the pepper spray having no effect at all and I was still not sure just how much contact I would be allowed to use to move someone so I did kind of just stall out for a few seconds. The judge explained how much physical force was OK,and  commended me for not getting rattled and using the time I had to formulate a plan, not to panic. He also commented on my quick draw (appendix carry works people!) and said all in all it worked out well for me. The shots were not needed and it was called to a halt for safety purposes. They try to avoid near contact shots on the role players and practitioners if they can. Part of my "calmness" was that I knew I could get the gun in play and make accurate hits. All that work on the range pays off and allows you to worry about solving the problems not worry whether you can get the gun out an make it run. Taking the fight to them when the opening presents itself works well too.There is time to talk and time to fight and they rarely overlap.Unfortunately I got caught in the middle and had to talk long enough for another opening to present itself.

Next we went to the restaurant in the airport where I was to meet with the district attorney for lunch. Of course my quiet meal was interrupted in short order. The same two thugs from the mall entered yelling that I had sent them to jail. I played it like they had the wrong guy and tried to calm them down. The  guy who had blocked my path in the mall now moved  to block my exit from behind the table. I stood and told him to back off  and not to put his hands on me.They both now were within touching distance and I had nowhere to go except to back further into the corner. I again said not to touch me. He did. I quickly drew my pistol and shot him twice from the #2 position, transitioned to his partner and shot him twice in the chest from a 1 handed  #3 at which point I heard "BANG" and felt a hot pain in my neck and  I spun and fired again, hitting my third assailant and the scenario was stopped.

Fortunately the pain was referred pain from a hit I took in the arm (how bizarre) and not a shot to the neck so I survived the shot. I also hit my gun wielding antagonist in the arm. She missed me with her second shot as I turned out of the way in an "inquartata" type movement. She later told me had she not gotten off the line of attack when she shot that the arm hit I delivered on her would have been a torso hit. Hmmm. Maybe getting off the X works?

I then was asked to explain why I shot 2 "unarmed" guys. I replied that they were the ones who had already mugged me so I knew they were likely to be carrying weapons since they were armed the last time I met them, I had testified against them and they were out for revenge, that the disparity of force issue between them and me made lethal force required and that I was acting also in defense of a third person too-the DA. I told the officer he might want to interview the DA and get his story. The DA did not appear to be interested in prosecuting the guy who saved his life so I was released and my time in the village came to an end.

After the village scenarios were over I went on to the live fire stages.First up was  the pneumatic stage where again having been disarmed upon entry I picked up a fallen diner employee's revolver ,loaded it and continued the fight. Some did not check to make sure the revolver was loaded. Some did not see the spare ammo. Some did not make sure the brass in the cylinder was in fact loaded ammo. I conserved ammo, cleared the structure and saved my sister. Ammo management was an issue as some folks used to auto pistols fired 4 or 5 rounds into the first target and used up half their ammo on that one target. I reloaded the revolver as necessary , never  running it dry.

On the "Mystery Gun" stage I was in the doctors office and had to clear my way out of the structure using an exposed hammer double barrel shotgun, 5 rounds picked up off the ground, and a flashlight that should have been thrown away last year! When asked where I was shooting the targets because they fell quickly I told them." In the face". Not the answer they expected apparently, but it was effective.At short range room clearing distance you need to put the BGs down NOW. What better way than a load of 12 gauge shot in the eye? I also "tac loaded" the shotgun. That is I would fire 1 round and reload 1.That way if I had to fire 2 at any point I would be able to. They said some were very uncomfortable with the gun. I was intimately familiar with it from all the time I have spent with "cowboy" guns. It is a good idea to have a working knowledge of more than just the equipment you carry on a regular basis.Interestingly some of the Marine contingent used the shotgun to butt stroke the opponents. Gotta love the Marines!

Next was the standards stage where you shoot several preordained courses of fire. This tests your ability to work your equipment. I will admit I was expecting to do well here, but gremlins reared their ugly heads. On the malfunction clearance my "Tap , Rack" was less than robust and I had to do it twice, eating up precious time. I had spent the prior weekend telling people in the class I taught to not be  worried about hurting their guns. Manipulate them forcefully! Of course I then proceeded to not get a good grip on the slide  and short stroked the rack. Talk about irony!

On the next stage I was sent into the school set up on the 360 degree range to make a speech. As I waited for my guide to lead me to the gym all hell broke loose. With it being a school,I was unarmed of course before I was allowed entry. I grabbed my writing pen in a pikal grip and stabbed the first knife armed target in the jugular with the pen. I then got behind cover and found the security guard laying on the floor unresponsive. I took his  Ruger P85 and checked to make sure it was loaded(it had 3 rounds), found his spare mag (half loaded) and proceeded to work my way through the problem. One issue with the "core" targets is the core only goes to the lower part of the face. So eye socket shots which are what we train for on head shots do no good. Unfortunately I ate up a lot of my ammo discovering that. The range officer who monitors the stage through video and communicates with us through a head set tried to tell me to stop shooting and that the bad guy was "down", but that headset mutes out when gunshots are going off. So now I have an empty gun and 1 target left to engage around a corner. I went back and got the knife from the guy I stabbed with the pen and crouched at the corner. I then leaped out hurling the P85 at the bad guy hitting him squarely in the head and knocking him down. I then pounced on him stabbing him in the carotid artery and ran out the door.

The next stage was the courthouse where I fully expected to be disarmed again. My pepper spray and knives and sap were secured and as I put my spare magazine in the gun box an explosion rocked the courthouse. Oh joy! I got to use my own gun! I used a combination of slow pieing and dynamic movement to clear the building and find my niece who was there to hear me testify.I got the key card from the wounded security officer and called 911 for him. Unfortunately I did not thoroughly check the closet I pulled my niece out of. I missed the guy deep in the closet. My otherwise stellar run was ruined by that foolish blunder. Better to learn this hard lesson here than on the street.Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and stay focused instead of getting caught up in the events unfolding. Lesson learned.

The final stage was an airport scenario where you are being picked up by your sister. All of your firearms are in locked cases per TSA regulations.Along with your pistols you are also in possession of a Stag Arms left handed AR15 you are supposed to evaluate. I will tell you that there is just really no quick way to get cased unloaded guns that are separate from their ammo up and running . We were confronted by several AK armed terrorists at distances from 15 to 100+ yards. You also needed to drag your wounded sister to cover and get her to the medic. I was preparing to put a tourniquet on her when the medic told me to bring her to him. In the heat of things I forgot about the core of the target not going to the ocular window and directed 4 rounds through the head of a target with the AR15 before I remembered they have to be body hits to knock 'em down. This left me using my pistol on the far targets, one at about 100 yards and one at about 120 up on a hill. I hit the far one, but never could dial in on the 100 yard one but I caused him worry and consternation with my near misses. He "ran off" and the stage was over.

That evening we retired to the conference room to hear Tom Givens' presentation on 7 shootings involving his students in Memphis. As always quick violent counter attack launched without hesitation or mercy wins the day and did in these cases as well. Also there was no time to go get a gun. CARRY YOUR GUN ON YOU! Next up was John Hearne's lecture on the culture and experience of the criminals we are likely to face on the street. He postulates (correctly in my humble estimation) that they are in fact a different species and have different life experiences and often much more experience with violence than good people do.

The next day we piled in the van and drove to the Gettysburg  battlefield.  I had of course seen  it on TV before but  until you are there it just doesn't have the same effect. We stood at the Confederate lines where on day two of the battle the Alabama troops finally arrived on the field. They had marched 25 miles that day to arrive at 4pm and their orders upon arrival were to take the steep hill called Little Round Top. The shear determination of those men and their will to fight must have been incredibly  inspiring. We then stood on little round top where Union officer Strong Vincent was wounded by southern sharpshooters while rallying his men to drive back the Alabamans. Again the terrain of the field and steepness of the hill gives you a very different perspective and you see what these men faced. We then toured the confederate position at the base of Little Round top around the Devil's Den and saw just how far those sharpshooters were that took such a heavy toll on the union lines. Amazing. In an age of finely made technologically advanced military rifles, I question whether anyone now could be the match of those sharpshooters. We then went to Cemetery Ridge and the Angle and looked out over the vast expanse that Confederate general Pickett's men had to cross under withering rifle fire and cannon shot to close with and actually penetrate into the union lines before being repulsed in fierce hand to hand fighting with rifle butt and bayonets. We stood at the spot where General Lewis Armistead led his troops into the union lines and fell. There was a marker there surrounded by several small confederate flags that visitors had placed there at its base. I kind of get choked up now writing about it. I crossed over the low stone wall the union soldiers used for cover and walked barefoot in the field that some of the Army of Northern Virginia's bravest charged  barefoot across trying to  take that hill. Powerful stuff that frankly makes me marvel at their fortitude and question whether I could ever even come close to measuring up to that kind of bravery.........And then we retreated back to Harrisburg.

That evening we heard John Holschen's lecture on "Terrorist Techniques and Tactics Update" and a lecture by another presenter who I'm not sure how much I should mention about on the "Evolution of Islamic Militancy." Doctor Glen Meyer also gave a short presentation on some interesting findings from a study on whether what type of gun used effects the sentencing in a bad shooting. Again, as we say all the time ...righteous shootings tend to not matter what gun was used. A good shoot is a good shoot. But then again we live in more reasonable jurisdictions than some.

On Friday we lounged around and that evening there was the panel discussion about teaching people the skills they need versus the skills they think they need. It was a question over how to convince civilian students that what they need to know differs from what police and military use in their work. Also discussed was how to attract students to classes that teach them how to think, not just how to shoot.Then we went for our daily trip to Brewsters Ice Cream. Yes that ice cream stand was frequented every night by some steely eyed gunmen.What can we say ? We like our ice cream. Afterwards we retired to the pub for more story telling and camaraderie.

Saturday brought the pairs force on force. John Hearne and I partnered up for this evolution.I was actually kind of worried that I would get John killed or otherwise let him down. It is one thing to screw up and get yourself killed but to screw up and get your buddy killed..... In the first scenario we were testifying in court(disarmed as usual ) when the defendant's girlfriend entered and tried to help him escape. I warned the bailiff that someone was coming up the hall, but the bailiff was shot before she could react. John jumped up and snatched the gun from the girlfriend as I leaped from the witness stand to assist. We were congratulated on solving it so quickly. John really gets all the credit there for his quick reaction. I was under the gun the whole time she came up the hallway and could only wait for him to make the first move.He didn't hesitate and we survived.

Next was another trip to the school and the obligatory disarming. Do we see a pattern here for the week? I was told to stay with the security guard while the auditorium was prepped. John went to the restroom and then the explosion went off. The security guard called for backup and told me to stay put while he investigated. Of course he was shot immediately as he opened the door. With the school on lock down I could not escape through the door I came in so I picked up his revolver and took cover in that small outer room. Laying there wounded he warned me to not get involved. I gave him a tourniquet and told him to put it on to stop bleeding while I covered the door and waited for the reinforcements to arrive. I could hear the attackers yelling "kill them all". I did not yell to John as I knew if they knew we were there together they would tell me to come out or they'd execute him. I wasn't going to come out because then they would then execute BOTH of us. As I later told the judges, this was not going to be my Little Big Horn. I kept moving so that they would not know where in the room I was and each time they opened the door I would shoot one of them. Finally I think this took their attention off of John long enough for him to escape out the back and link up with the SWAT team. He informed them he is a federal law enforcement officer and asked for a backup gun to go back in, but he was told they were just holding perimeter. I continued to shoot whoever opened the door until the last bad guy and I exchanged shot and he missed and I didn't. The scenario was deemed over.

The way they had envisioned it was that I would exit the room and get a gun from one of the terrorists and clear the building working my way to my friend. Of course my own plan was not what they expected and they were now reacting to me not the other way around.This broke down their OODA loop and gave us the advantage. I had learned my lesson in the courthouse on Wednesday. This time I would be the man in the closet. We not only survived but won the fights in both team FOF scenarios and retired to the hotel for the debriefing and then the banquet.

At the banquet John Farnam gave a moving speech on the importance of passing on what we learn to younger guys so the information is not lost and have to be relearned on some foreign battlefield. Skip Gochenour summarized the story of Beowulf and how a small group of righteous warriors is often what it takes to defend society from evil. A big thanks to Skip and Hirsch and Jim and all the team members for a job well done. It is a LOT of work to put this event on. My hat is off to them.They really deserve a big THANK YOU!!!

As far as equipment goes I used my Glock 34 I carry everyday with 19 rd mags.I carried it A-IWB(appendix inside waistband) in my Blade Tech Universal Fits All Glock holster.I used a Glock 26 with 12 rd mag carried in a Mitch Rosen pocket holster as my backup gun. You can only carry 1 spare mag if you have a hi cap pistol so between primary, backup and spare mag I carried a total of 52 rounds of CCI Gold Dot 124+P ammo. I also carried my Clinch Pick knife, Boston Leather Sap, Fox Labs OC, and my blow out kit(aren't cargo shorts wonderful?) and cell phone and Surefire G2. I never used the flashlight (though I should have in the courthouse) and never even had to draw the backup gun.For that matter, I never even fired a full mag. I did do a proactive reload at least once-just in case-, but didn't ever fire enough to empty a whole mag. Of course most of the scenarios had us unarmed and using picked up guns anyways.

In the FOF scenarios in the village I carried the J frame in a $7 nylon holster made by Double Triple brand I bought at a gun store in West Virginia we stopped to look in on the way to Pennsylvania. Tom suggested we get holsters for the FOF J frames so we would not have to just stick 'em in our pockets or waistbands. Beware those sneaky old bald guys.I carried the revolver A-IWB too. I carried the spare J frame ammo loose in my pocket. Frankly I just didn't think to bring a speed loader, but I didn't need it either. From what I remember John H. used a Sig 220St and a SW640, Tom used a Glock 35 and Khar arms 9mm, John J. used a 1911 and a Khar 9mm, Jeff B. used a Glock 35 and a Khar. I think the only one of us to pull the backup gun was John J. in the courthouse. He pulled it as a "tac load" (his single stack gun was running low) on his way out of the building, but never had to fire it.

Now for some numbers. In FOF scenarios I fired 8 shots and scored 8 hits. I fired 5 shots in the restaurant all one handed using Alternative Indexing Methods. After all I was shooting reactively.I scored 5 hits on 3 targets in a dimly lit room in the span of about 3 seconds. In the courthouse in the team FOF  I fired 3 CAREFULLY aimed shots as I was shooting proactively waiting for them to come to me. As I continuously say it is not either sights or alternative indexing it is all of the above!

More importantly than shooting, I did not get killed in any of the FOF scenarios.I got shot in the arm, but that was ruled survivable.I guess I'm pretty happy with my performance for a first time participant. Did I make some really dumb mistakes that I knew better of in the shoot houses? Yes. But I learned from them and didn't make them in the team FOF. But did my prior training carry me through when it was real live interaction? ABSOLUTELY.It is a big validation of our program when a first timer goes there and survives all the FOF and scores 100% hit ratio. Of course in the future I hope to be able to negotiate the village without having to draw my gun at all.

 I have to thank all the guys who's training has gotten me to where this was possible.Big thanks to Gabe Suarez , Southnarc, Tom Givens, William Aprill, Paul Gomez, Marc Denny , Tom Sotis, Henk Iverson and everyone else who has worked with me in local groups. And a big thanks to Tom for inviting me, and John J. John H. and Jeff B. for making this trip a great experience.And again you just can't say enough about Skip and the NTI crew.  Ice cream anyone?

Randy Harris is a Suarez International staff instructor, Tennessee certified handgun instructor, long time competition shooter, and works in the shooting industry.

REFLECTIONS ON A BYGONE ERA - PART 2
By Henk Iverson

The C130 was flying at treetop level. Excitement bundled up my stomach into a tight knot. A sergeant ran into our cramped sitting space and announced that we will be doing a "hot landing". This meant that we might be under fire from enemy forces on the ground. The sergeant wanted us to haul ass off the plane as soon as the ramp was lowered at the rear. He wanted us to surround the aircraft, go prone as soon as possible and protect the asset against attack.

We looked at each other, trying to figure out what was expected, as we did not have a round of ammunition, never mind a magazine between any of us! The aircraft bounced off the tarmac, the engines roared loud as the C130 landed. Slowly the loading ramp at the back started opening as we taxied. We undid our seatbelts and clung to our R4 rifles, (with no mags and ammo!) scared to death!

As the aircraft stopped, we jumped. We ran like hell to surround the plane. I dove into the concrete, trying to make myself as small as possible against incoming fire. The C130 cut it's engines. Soon after, I could hear another roar ... a roar of laughter as hundreds of troops were standing watching the "green beans" make total fools of themselves. We were in Grootfontein ... a long way off from the actual operational area. Our little escapade was standard for "green" troops on their first tour to the border area!

I got up and moved towards the loading ramp with a stupid smile on my face, trying to hide my red face! The heat was oppressive and dry, making breathing hard. In a blurr of speed the C130 was unloaded. We took our dogs from their "prisons", and fed and watered them. The troops at the large base were on their way home. The had been operational for some time and it was their turn to go home.

A corporal walked up and introduced himself. He was from the SWASPES unit. We were to collect all our gear, including our dogs and report to the ammunition tent. Once there, were were issued with five 35 round R4 (Galil) magazines and one 50 round magazine. We then proceeded to metal ammunition boxes to fill our magazines. The 5.56mm rounds were lying loose in these boxes and were in a poor state. The men that were leaving (they were from the parachute battalion) had dumped their ammo and handed in their mags as they left. We were issued their old ammo!

Filling up my magazines, I spotted two camoflaged 35 round R4 magazines lying near the entrance of the munitions tent. These magazines "jumped" into my hands and I was "forced" to procure them. I did not know where to place all these magazines as our issued web gear was designed for the FN FAL or R1, 7.62 mm magazines! The R4 magazines has a banana shape and is nearly twice as long as the R1 magazines! The corporal had a simple answer: "Why are you making your problem mine?"

I shoved two filled magazines in each side pocket of my battle pants. The others I placed inside my gear. I filled all 6 of my water bottles as soon as I could. Now we were to upload our gear onto a military truck and then take our dogs to the transport area. Here we were split into several groups of troops. The reason for this was that our dogs HATED each other and if we were going to travel in close proximity to each other, a fight was inevitable!

We climbed aboard the armored "Buffels" (Buffalo). The "Buffel" armored vehicle was unique to the South African Military. The vehicle was open-topped, could carry 10 troops and a driver. The vehicle was mine protected with the personnel carry section shaped into a large "V" that deflected the vicious blast from an anti-vehicle landmine. The sides of the vehicles were on hinges and could be lowered when so desired. The side panels was designed to stop most small arms fire but a RPG 7 would cut through it like a hot knife through butter!

The driver's cab had bulletproof glass in the front and the sides. All personnel had to be strapped tight into the seats to protect against landmines, a constant threat in the operational area. The dogs stayed on a leash at our feet. As soon as we were aboard, we were off to "SECTOR ONE ZERO" in Ovamboland - the actual operational area. The SWASPES base was situated just inside Sector 1 Zero, our final destination.
 
As soon as we were outside Grootfontein, the convoy stopped. We were given the order to "load and make ready". I slipped a magazine into my R4, put the selector on "fire" and worked the boltcarrier. The R4 (or Galil rifle) works like an AK47. The selector has to be moved from the "Safe" position to "Fire" to work the boltcarrier and charge the weapon. As I placed the selector back on "Safe", one of the troops in the second vehicle had a negligent discharge. The sound of that shot was burned into my brain. This was for real. A few short months ago I was a student in high school. Now I was a soldier in the operational area, with a loaded rifle in my hands. The learning curve was high!

MORE NEXT MONTH!
 
TERRORISM & THE LAW
By Jeff Chudwin

HOMICIDE/Suicide Bombers Tactics for first-responding officers

Distance, Cover & Movement
 
The blast reduis for hand/body carried explosive devices can comver 100 yards.  Consider where you are, who is around you and where you can move to.  Can you communicate with other law enforcement officers?  What's your best, most-accessible comver position?  How much open ground must you cover to get there?  Do you have a vertical issue (e.g. a stairway or elevator)?  Can you affect an evacuation?  If so, where to and by what route?  Are you behind or in an area of glass or other fragmenting surface that could easily produce secondary projectiles?
 
First Contact
 
When you confront a potential offender, any movement allows the offender the opportunity to trigger the device.  While you may choose to make verbal contact in an effort to gain compliance, doing so from a location directly exposed to a blast is extremely dangerous.
 
Unless you have a very strong belief a bomb is present, you or other law enforcement officers will likely first make verbal contact.  Don't attempt to talk and shoot, however.  Without practice, you will not do both when needed.  Use one talker/negotiator at a time (with an idea of what you desire to accomplish), and have as many shooters as mecessary (and available) at the ready.
 

With a potential suicide bomber, the real problem is the offender can move faster than you can react.  If the suspect intends to deploy a suicide bomb and you don't employ a proactive use of force, you and others may die.

Remember:  As noted trainer Tony Blauer describes, "presumed compliance" leads officers to false expectations, and an offender's "compliance" may be a ploy to set up an attack.  Also, the verbal command "do not move" is unambiguous - any movement is a violation.  Do not allow the offender to bend down or move to a position that allows an attack against violation.  Do not allow the offender to bend down or move to a position that allows an attack against you or others.
 
Your live-fire shooters should stand ready to make a head shot, preferably with a long gun with a high-velocity round or 12-gauge slug.  Further, officers must not direct gunfire at the explosive device.  Shock detonation is possible and very real for certain types of detonators and mixtures in current use by terrorists tody.

Personal Protection Equipment
 
Carry and wear protective eye lenses.  Polycarbonate wraparound lenses defeat high-velocity fragments. Without such glasses, you may survive the blast but be blinded.  I wear Protective Optics' Wiley X PT-2N glasses.  There are other good eye wear manufacturers out there as well.
 
As an officer safety issue, I think officers should wear glasses at all times on the street.  Same with soft body armor.  Richard Davis of Second Chance Body Armor once told me of a bank robbery some years ago in Scandinavia in which the offender detonated himself while wrapped in explosives.  A number of officers were saved by their armor.
 
Multiple Offenders
 
In a suicide-bomber incident, it's likely there will be more than one offender or accomplice.  Establish a perimeter around the threat and away from the threat.  Ask yourself what and where is the method of transport by the offender(s).  How did they arrive? Do not allow a second offender to approach your back.  This has happened too often on SWAT callouts.
 
WHAT DOES A SUICIDE BOMBER LOOK LIKE?
 
As Israel discovered through such attacks, suicede bombers can include men and women, young and old.  Nationality or race may distinguish your sworn enemy, but history tells us such observations are not so easily made.  Throughout the battles of WWII, for example, the Jews who fought the Nazis in the European ghettos disguised themselves. 
 
How does a suicide bomber dress and act?  In hot weather, look for someone wearing too many clothes - long-sleeve coats can hide a device on the body, for instance. This doesn't help in cold weather, obviously.  Female bombers can also prove especially difficult to spot due to dress, pregnancy, etc. Backpacks are so common we have little chance of detecting such a delivery.  Keep them out of crowded events and venues.  Remember the Olympic bombing in Atlanta?
 
A suicide bomber will probably be very anxious.  In Israeli interviews with suicide-bombing bystanders and survivors, offenders are described as sweating heavily, with a preoccupied, "lost" look and an odd walk or movement.
 
SECONDARY DEVICES AND BOOBY TRAPS
 
If an offender with an explosive device is down, do not approach him.  This runs counter to everything law enforcement does in an ordinary arrest, but if you trigger the primary device or a secondary device, you will be another example to others of what not to do.
 
In 1997 abortion clinic bombing in Atlanta is an example of a secondary device timed to initiate against first responders.  The threat is not over after the first blast.  Believe this and act accordingly.  Train with your bomb techs or bring in agents from FBI and ATF to assist with educating your officers as to the tactics and techniques used in the past by criminals and terrorists.  The Israelis work such incidents similarly. I've seen film of an Israeli robot approaching and searching an offender in anticipation of a secondary device or booby trap.
 
REAL OR NOT
 
In 2000, LAPD officers were called to a shopping mall when a security guard was confronted by a man who pulled a hand grenade from a bag.  The offender is said to have had his finger through the grenade pin and made repeated threats to use of the explosive device.  As he moved from an area outside the mall and attempted to re-enter, officers took action and fired on him.  Once down, the bomb squad was called in to check the offender who had fallen on the grenade to determine if the grenade was live.  It was later determinded it was a dummy grenade. The fact that it was not real certainly could not be known by the officers and as to their actions that day;  the officers were legally and morally correct.  No officer can standby and allow a hand grenade to be thrown at themselves or citizens.
 
The Israelis work such incidents similarly.  I've seen film of an Israeli robot approaching and searching an offender in anticipation of a secondary device or booby trap.
 
CONCLUSION
 
As we work to define tactics to defeat or counter the suicide bomber, issues become clearer based on lives lost.  The Israeli's have learned that, at great cost

DTI QUIPS
By John Farnam
 
CORBON DPX AMMUNITION

Gelatin Ballistic Testing: Last weekend in PA, Mike Shovel of Cor-Bon was nice enough to stop by during our Pistol Class and put on a terminal ballistics demonstration, as he has done several times in the past. We fired into large blocks of ballistic gelatin 357SIG, 45ACP, 40S&W, 223, in Cor-Bon DPX as well as Federal Hydra-Shok and Speer Gold Dot.

All bullets had to first penetrate four layers of denim. In some cases, bullets had to, in addition, penetrate a "car-door," which was simulated by two layers of sheet steel, separated by a two-inch air gap. Once again, four layers of denim greatly frustrated conventional, brass/lead hollow-point pistol ammunition, particularly Hydra-Shok, greatly subduing expansion and actually increasing penetration. No conventional hollow-point ammunition was able to penetrate the car door. Some didn't even make it through the first layer. None made it through the second layer.

On the other hand, DPX expanded uniformly, despite the denim, and easily penetrated the car door. This kind of consistently superior performance is the reason I carry DPX daily in my pistols. Velocities were as advertised, 1350 f/s for the 357SIG (from my SIG/229/DAK), 1200 f/s for the 40S&W (from a student's G22), and 1050 f/s for the 45ACP (from my short-barreled Detonics). DPX 223 53gr expanded perfectly when fired out of an eleven-inch barrel, penetrating fifteen inches of gelatin. The bullet looked exactly like the one I extracted from a pig I shot in FL last fall.

However, when I shot the same round from my XCR, with its sixteen-inch barrel, the bullet expanded so violently, the petals broke off as the bullet was propagated through the media, leaving only a perfect, copper cylinder when the missile finally stopped. Our chronograph showed velocity to be just under 3000 f/s. When I fired 62gr DPX from my XCR, expansion was, once again, perfect, with a velocity of 2800 f/s. Ideal velocity will generate consistent expansion, but still leave the bullet in one piece. In 223, I'm thus switching from the 53gr DPX to the 62gr DPX for my sixteen-inch rifles.

223, 55gr hardball uniformly failed the car-door test, penetrating the first layer of steel, but invariably failing to penetrate the second. Conversely, DPX 223, in both bullet weights, went through both steel layers and still penetrated twelve inches of gelatin, every time. Finally I fired seven rounds of 357SIG DPX through my SIG/229/DAK into a denim-clad, gelatin block. I fired as fast as I could stay on target, with all seven rounds launched within two seconds. I wanted to see if penetration depth would see wide variation, with the last rounds penetrating more deeply than the first. Not so! All seven round stopped within an inch of each other, after twelve inches of penetration. All seven expanded perfectly, despite the denim, and, when recovered, all seven were facing forward.

I conclude that any reputable, high-performance, hollow-point pistol ammunition will expand after entering bare flesh, but few expand consistently after first penetrating several layers of clothing, and none, save DPX, will reliably penetrate car doors. In 223, I believe 53gr DPX to a good choice with short-barreled rifles, but 62gr DPX is conclusively the way to go with sixteen-inch and longer-barreled rifles.

John


MIND, BODY & SPIRIT - Part V: Tactical Units
By Louis P. Hayes
 

While many strategy-level decisions are being made by squad leaders and team commanders, other minute-to-minute and second-to-second decisions are being made by operators.  What information is vital to pass on, and how can it affect an upper-level decision? When does an operator just act, without approval by his team leader?  Team decision-making does not rest solely on the shoulders of supervisors.  More teams should be promoting an environment in which logical independent thinkers are rewarded.

Sure SWAT teams have great equipment and choreographed movements. But neither of those make a respectable team.  What matters is the spirit of the team.  Is the team maintaining high ethical and moral standards when it comes down to the wire?  Does the team operate on a quick timeline during operations to force a confrontation with the suspect? Does the team’s ego hinder the right decisions?  Sometimes a team must act violently and aggressively against offenders, but other times need to be balanced with compassion and understanding.  SWAT teams should relish peaceful resolutions. But I know from talking with immature tactical operators all over the nation they’d prefer to duke it out with the suspect.

THE LIBRARY: SUGGESTED READING FOR THE PROFESSIONAL
Bu Henk Iverson

Guns and Warriors by John Farnam

Guns & Warriors is filled with lessons about the defensive use of firearms to prepare you to live in a world that is becoming more dangerous by the day. DTI Quips were written by John Farnam to provide his students with short and accessible references about defensive shooting. Learn from others mistakes and be prepared to act because "When it's least expected, you're elected!"

Guns & Warriors is easy to refer to with 34 Chapters and an extensive or colleagues. "Everything I send out is anonymous, as I don't want to get my friends' names associated with controversial subjects. The training point is what is important. I have strong opinions, and sometimes I have to paraphrase and even alter unimportant details, but, again, it is the training point that I try to emphasize. I have no financial arrangement with any manufacturer or service provider, and I accept no advertising. So, I am free to say terrible things about all of them, and have. In my opinion, the only thing in this world more boring than someone who wonâcome to the point, is someone who keeps talking after he has made his point! Getting good and reliable information to my students is the only thing that matters to me."