AAR: Unthinkable - William Aprill, 11/21/2015 Council Bluffs, IA
5W's / 1H
Who: William Aprill - Aprill Risk Consulting
What: Unthinkable - Concepts and Techniques for the Gravest Extreme
When: November 21, 2015
Where: Council Bluffs, IA
Why: Development of adaptive Defensive Mindset
How: Lecture, Discussion and Practical application.
Instructor - William Aprill:
Licensed mental health professional with over 15 years experience across the continuum of care. He presently maintains a private practice and consultancy specializing in post-traumatic interventions and other disciplines.
Former deputy sheriff (Orleans Parish, LA, Criminal Sheriffs Office) and Special Deputy US Marshal (Eastern District of Louisiana).
Decorated competitive shooter.
Has taught civilian, law enforcement, and military personnel in various fighting skills since 1990.
Students:
13, 9 males and 4 female.
Course Format:
Morning - Lecture / Discussion.
Afternoon - Practical / Hands On and Lecture / Discussion.
Course Overview / Topics:
Violent Criminal Actors (VCA's) - What they are, Why / how they do what they do.
Targets - What are they, how they are selected, how they are de-selected.
Victims - What are they, how are they selected, profiles.
Antisocial Personality Disorders - Who, Why, What they do.
Sociopaths - Who, Why, What they do.
Psychopaths - Who, Why, What they do.
Decision Making in Criminology - Sanity vs. Insanity.
Offenders - Morals, Beliefs, Values.
Thin Slicing - Targets, Victims and VCA's...how it's done, why it's done, who does it.
Sexual Assaults - Victim Profiles.
LEOKA Reports - Murders and Assaults.
The "Go" and "No-Go" of victim selection.
5W's of Risk.
Pre-Crisis Factors - Bad things do happen.
Survival Options - De-selection, Mindset shifts, EDNDO.
Verbalization during violent encounters.
Ready Positions / Extended and Compressed Shooting Positions (Blue Guns) - Handguns.
Handgun Disarms (Blue Guns) - Right and Left hand.
Handgun Retention (Blue Guns) - Extension and Compression.
Summary:
Lecture / Discussion - William presents an incredible amount of content in Unthinkable covering the full spectrum of what you may expect in a course designed to help you build a Defensive Mindset; everything from being targeted and selected as a victim to the criminals themselves is hit in this one. While the amount and depth of the content could easily be overwhelming, William's approach to the material and his layout of the blocks make this one very manageable to digest.
Practical / Hands On - Simple, straight forward with easily understandable objectives. While the main focus of the practical block in Unthinkable was the Disarming and Retention of handguns, William also hit on some key points to think about with ready positions, presentation from the holster and verbal commands...all valuable!
Instruction - William's knowledge of the subject at hand is evident from the start and he easily articulates and explains the material to the students in a way that not only gets the point across, but also encourages deeper thinking. When it came to the practical blocks, he performed the techniques to standard in an easy to follow format that again, helped the students learn. He is an approachable instructor, easy to listen, will gladly elaborate when asked too, and lastly, a guy that truly wants to help others!
Unthinkable hit the nail on the head and delivered more than I hoped in the form of helping to build a Defensive Mindset. Simple, straight forward concepts and techniques built for anyone looking to step up their game mentally...no need to be a "gun guy or gal" to walk away with a ton of beneficial information that will help to keep you safer!
V/r - Rob
