The idea of actually planning ahead for things that have never happened before, but could, is quite rare. Law enforcement has always been more of a reactive rather than proactive job, despite the fact that it shouldn’t be. That can be attributed mostly to the rather narrow thinking of many command officers who believe that if it was done a certain way when they came on the job, then there is no reason to do it any different today. How wrong they are.Take the instance the Columbine Shooting in April of 1999. At that time rapid deployment training and theories were relatively unheard of except for a few very progressive departments. There were a few training companies and progressive law enforcement officials who were screaming about rapid deployment at the time, and the idea that Contain, Isolate, & Negotiate shouldn’t be used in active shooter situations. However, very few agencies and officers were listening. Not only were they not listening, they thought it was worthless and too aggressive. Look at how much has changed in just 10 years. Now if your agency isn’t teaching rapid deployment annually they are shunned by the others. Most states even have requirements that the cadets/recruits be taught in the academy.
Is your agency one of those that teaches and keeps almost all training in house? A lot of tactical teams are like this. They train a guy or two up on a tactic or subject and then have them train the entire team or department for years to come. Never checking the new ideas, tactics, and concepts that have developed or are out there to be tried and tested. This is the full on concept of non progressive thinking. Most law enforcement agencies were relatively unchanged from the early 1900’s into the 1960’s and 1970’s. Now due to technology, consistently harder laws, and the over-all liberal “everyone is a good person views” of our country, law enforcement is changing almost yearly. Officers these days have to be better educated, better trained, more motivated, and paid better than any predecessor. Not only do they need all those qualities, but they have to continue to improve them as there career moves a long or they will not be a an effective officer.
The best way to stay ahead of the learning curve is to send your guys to outside training. Training that is put on by other tactical teams, government agencies, private training companies, or military groups. You don’t have to send your entire team to these courses, but at least a guy or two to simple classes on a wide range of topics. Even if you think your team knows all there is to know about say Hostage Rescue. There is no reason you couldn’t send two guys to a Hostage Rescue class put on by an out of state tactical team. Maybe your guys won’t learn much, but maybe they will. Either way I’d bet they learn at least one or two things that they can bring back to your team and share. At the very least they can bring the new tactics back and you all can try them out in real time with force on force training and see if they work. If you gain more than you lose from the tactic, then incorporate it into your standard operating procedures and consider your team better off. Either way, your team wins.
Outside training can cost money, and with the economy the way it is and the financial hit that many of our teams and agencies are seeing it may be hard. I’ve been able to find all kinds of free outside training just by searching the internet. Many are federally funded organizations that provide free or extremely low cost training to tactical operators from all over the country. A good one I’ve found that seems quite effective and very professional is Fulcrum Tactical. Even if the class costs a little bit of money, ask your guys if they're interested anyway. Myself and other operators have paid our own way to outside training, because we felt it was worth the personal sacrifice. Don't just assume your guys won't go if they have to fork over a few dollars of there own money.
Even if you don’t have much money for outside training, find a way to incorporate new ideas and tactics into your team. Network with operators from other agencies and organizations, read articles in magazines and books, and use the internet material to your advantage. Remember, if you train the way you’ve always trained you’ll only get what you’ve already got. There’s always room for improvement. If you’re satisfied with where your team is, then maybe it’s time for you to move to a job where lives are not on the line. The best tactical teams in this country can still get better.
Keep Doing God’s Work Warriors,
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