AAR - LMS Vehicle Tactics Shooting Package - Okanogan WA- July 6 - 7 2011

[Scimitar2]

Now that I have soaked away some of the stiffness, from running and gunning in this course, it is time to get to a short AAR.

Kevin made the long drive yet again and dragged Jordan along for good measure to come out to sunny (in this case, very sunny Okanogan) for the two day Vehicle Tactics Shooting Package course.

This class was an "intimate" course of 6.5 students with a mixture of LE and civilian's, one or two of which were attending an LMS class for the first time.

I missed out on last years class due to military leave-

http://www.lmsdefense.com/forum/index.php?topic=6766.0

This year, I was able to at least make the second day to train, so I guess I am improving.

I was at the range on the morning of day 1 for the first few hours to get everything running and make sure that everything was in place. I had to leave after the first few hours in order to go to work and missed out on most of day 1. You will have to get the scoop on day 1 from someone else.

There were a few ammo, optic and weapon failures that were identified during the zero confirmation. These issues seemed to have been resolved by day 2.

Day 2 started at 0800 in an effort to beat the heat that smoked a few guys on day 1. We started out with rifles firing a couple of different drills. The high scorer for the 40 round aggregate won a PWS comp. Pretty quickly, we moved into pistol work and shooting through and around barricades with both pistols and rifle.

After spending the morning shooting various drills with both pistol and rifle, we slowed things down a bit and went into more of a lab type environment where we would see the practical effects of shooting through glass and skipping rounds off hoods and trunks of cars.

The pace then picked back up and we conducted drills on shooting from inside the car as well a how to quickly and safely move from a car to cover. We did this individually, in pairs and eventually in groups of three to four shooters. By having a small class like this, two instructors and four junker cars to work with, we were able to run these drills for multiple iterations firing from a variety of angles and at multiple targets.

We then went through three team scenarios all of which started with a rapid approach to a hot scene, shooting out of the vehicle, dismounting and engaging the targets while performing a task and getting everyone back in the vehicle to get out of there. With the shear amount of flying lead in so many directions and all the bodies moving in different directions, it really drove home the importance of team communication and situational awareness that was practiced earlier in less hectic scenarios. I found myself engaging a target with 3-5 rounds, pausing to look around at where my teammates were, where the bad guys were, where my next piece of cover was, etc and then going back to engaging a target for another few rounds.

Once the scenario's were complete, we moved onto some more team movement/communication drills and ended the training day with one on one competitions.

After putting away the targets and barricades and grabbing everyone's gear (you have gotta love coming to a class and not having to police up the brass/shattered glass/misc shot up car parts because we will be bringing some local inmates out to clean up as part of their debt to society) we met back in the classroom for the final AAR and passing out of certificates.

As part of the AAR, every student had to state one thing they learned form the class and one thing they will be working on the the future as a result of the class. My "learning point" was to remind myself to break out of the tunnel vision that naturally comes from being in a gunfight and maintain my situational awareness of what is going on around me. The thing I am going to be working on is to work more on the mechanics of getting to my pistol efficiently and safely while in a car and the mechanics of making a quick and safe exit out of one.

Over all, I was very happy with the class. All shooters came in with good starting skill sets and great attitudes. There was no glaringly obvious "that guy" other then "that guy that does not show up on time" and "that guy that cannot get his rifle zeroed". Maybe that means that I was in fact "that guy"?

The ammo count was WAY off. I don't know how many rounds I shot just on day two, but it was not a ton. Apparently due to the small fast paced course on day one, they burned through some serious rounds.

I personally want to thank Kevin for coming out to my neck of the woods yet again. As always, it is a pleasure to train with you. Jordan, you are always welcome out here. I hope we do not go years before we meet on the range again.

To all the students that took the time and money to drive out here from Western WA, I know your pain. The travel time and extra expense is pretty much THE reason I spend as much time as I do hosting classes out here. I could not get these courses going without you.

For me, the quote of the course was not one that came from an instructor or was heard by very many people. It came from a student that has taken a not insignificant amount of courses prior to this when I asked him if he felt the training was worth the time and money it cost him to attend. I may be paraphrasing because I do not remember the exact words, but this is as close as I can make it.

"out of all the courses I have taken, this is the one that I would not mind paying to do all over again."

As a post script, anyone that has attended a course out here in the last two years knows that we have a fairly nice range complex. Certainly nicer then most LE ranges I have been to. Yesterday, I was able to secure the ability to use the range you drive past by the gravel quarry for courses. The crushing operation they have going on is supposed to push the range back to 300y by the 15th of August. The other big news is that yesterday we got word that we have the funding to construct a new building with a mat room for Defensive Tactics and an indoor sim/airsoft shoot house. This building should be complete by next spring.

Expect the opportunities to just keep on getting better and better out here.

Thanks again to all the instructors/participants and if you missed out on this one, then you REALLY missed out.

[krm375]

Nice write up, Being able to shoot and move from a vehicle is clearly an important task. As much as the movies would like to show, cars don't stop bullets and its best to find true cover. Shooting through the windshield is also important as the slope of the windshield will pull the impact of a bullet up or down depending if you are shooting into a car or out of a car. (Pistol caliber)

[GlockWRX]

I can't do a full write up yet, but this class was amazing. Well worth the effort. I'd encourage anyone to attend. If you carry a gun in a car this class will teach you something.

[GlockWRX]

Apologies for this belated AAR.

I won’t go over the details of the curriculum as Scimitar covered it well. I will explain what I learned and took away from the course.

I was one of the two civilians in this class. It was my first class with LMS.

Here is a run down of my gear:

Rifle: KAC SR-15E3 with Aimpoint T-1 and VCAS sling. No issues. It ran like a top despite the dusty conditions. It’s filthy and covered in dirt and grime. It’s beautiful.

Pistol: Glock 17. No problems.

1st Line: Raven Concealment holster and mag pouches for the 17 and a Blade-Tech AR-15 mag pouch. I like this set-up as it’s pretty basic and essentially my EDC with an AR pouch added.

2nd Line: Eagle FB chest rig with three mags. Again, pretty basic. This was a benefit when working in the cars and getting into alternate positions. I am glad I have resisted the temptation to load up the chest rig with all manner of stuff.

Ear pro: MSA Sordins Pro-X. I love my Sordins and I feel electronic ear pro is a must for these kinds of situations. Communication is a vital component of situational awareness, and electronic ear pro makes it much, much easier

Knee and Elbow pads: I used this stuff for about 75% of the course. I wish I used it for the other 25%. I got beat up pretty bad, so I would recommend using them for sure.

The key lesson I took away from the course is that every shooting position is a compromise between cover, concealment, situational awareness, and mobility. And while something may work during a simple exercise, the same position will be problematic when the drills become more complex.

During the early drills, we practiced various prone positions that would enable us to shoot under cars. They were effective and all of us were ringing steel. But given the terrain, dust would kick up after the first few shots, and visibility would be lost completely. This was not a big deal around the VTAC barricades, but the dust would get trapped under the cars and obscure my view of the targets.

Once we started team movement drills, those positions became a little less useful in my opinion. This was primarily because of compromised visibility and situational awareness. While in rollover prone or hunched up over the gun with dust swirling around me, it became difficult to keep track of my teammates especially during the scenarios. More often, I ended up using the ‘junkyard prone’ over the hood or some form of squatting or kneeling. This allowed me to keep my head on a swivel and maintain situational awareness. It was also easy to duck in and out from behind the vehicle to facilitate movement or reload.

So does this mean I think the various prone positions are useless for fighting around cars? No way. They are vital tools in the tool box. And I can’t forget that the second shooter in the North Hollywood incident was perforated by an LAPD SWAT officer shooting prone under a car. But knowing when NOT to use a particular tool is just as vital as knowing when to use it.

For me, as a civilian, the other component of training that I found especially beneficial was using the pistol inside the car. Obviously this is something I don’t get to do every day, and drills we did while buckled in expanded my understanding about employing a gun inside a vehicle. My primary weapon is a pistol, and I spend a lot of time driving. This was a big hole in my training and this class went a long way to filling that gap.

I am the student Scimitar quoted above about being willing to take the class again (and again). I will try to fill in some context for my reasoning. Most other classes I have taken were foundational, meaning you learn the basics of employing the weapon, grip, stance, manipulations, etc. This class integrated all of those fundamentals and added other components including teamwork, obstacles, and objectives. It forced me to shoot, move, and communicate. And that really is the true value of this class. Nearly all of us have access to a square range, but rarely do we get the opportunity to shoot out of, around, and through cars while coordinating movement with other shooters. In every iteration we did, I learned something new. I could have spent a week running through more of Kevin’s scenarios. To quote Pat Rogers, “It’s not about shooting, it’s about fighting with a gun.” This class gave me the opportunity to learn how to fight with a gun, and I’m thankful for it.

Kevin and Jordan provided excellent instruction and kept us from shooting each other. Well done! Many thanks to Sheriff Rogers and Deputy Wolak for allowing us into their playground. The OCSO has an excellent facility and it sounds like it’s going to get better and better. I look forward to training with LMS again, getting a chance to return to the OCSO range in the future.