Feral Jundi

Friday, August 28, 2009

Books: The Tactical Trainer: A Few Thoughts On Training And Training Management From A Former Special Operations Soldier, By Msg. Paul R. Howe, U.S. Army Retired

Filed under: Books,Training — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:46 AM

    Add this to your reading list.  Paul Howe has produced another outstanding resource for the military/police/contractor community.  For the record, I have not read this book because it just came out.  If any FJ readers have anything to say about the book, let it rip in the comments section, because I would be very interested to hear any feedback on the thing. –Matt

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The Tactical Trainer: A Few Thoughts On Training And Training Management From A Former Special Operations Soldier

By Msg. Paul R. Howe, U.S. Army Retired

     I will be describing how to structure high risk tactical courses in this book.  I have developed these courses through my years of instruction with CSAT (Combat Shooting and Tactics).  While I describe various techniques, I will limit any description of tactics as the bad guys have a tendency to study our work.  Sometimes, I will be generic and it will be so on purpose.

     I will also describe some “near misses” and training accidents in this work.  This is not to demean or cast a shadow on those involved.  It is necessary to learn from our mistakes.  If we cover them up, they will be repeated at the same price-the loss of a human life.  My goal is to always give safer and more efficient training techniques to fix the problem.  These safety techniques will come through a logical stair-stepped methodology.

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Sunday, June 14, 2009

Training: ‘Mindless’ Basic Training Gets Some Smarts

Filed under: Training — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:32 PM

“It’s a revolution,” said Col. Dan Kessler, who directs the training here. He’s one of the young Turks who’s come back from combat determined to change the old ways.

In addition to a sense of urgency, combat has brought one other influence back home: you have to innovate, take risks, and try new things. That’s always acceptable out in the field. It’s not been so acceptable in garrison, where promotions seemed to come from “following procedure” and not making mistakes. 

   An excellent little article about what we are doing differently in boot camp to make better soldiers for the war effort.  I posted this as an example as to what is required of today’s military, but it also has application to the way security contractors should think out there. Good stuff and it certainly highlights the importance of the kind of concepts being brought up under Jundism. –Matt 

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‘Mindless’ Basic Training Gets Some Smarts

06/12/09

FORT BENNING, Ga. — When seasoned combat soldiers began returning from the war to help train new recruits here, the first thing they did was to stop training for what the Army called “convoy live fire.”

Nobody actually does that in Iraq or Afghanistan, they explained.

In fact, they said, much of what the Army was teaching its new recruits at this premier training center was wrong or irrelevant to actual combat.

Instead, what was being force-fed to recruits seemed drearily familiar to old soldiers who’d gone through “basic” here a generation ago. Marching in formation, for instance; rifle bayonet training that dated to World War I (“Lunge! Kill!”). And convoy live fire, a technique invented after Jessica Lynch was abducted in 2003, which became dangerously outdated almost immediately.

That it took five years to get this stopped says something about the Army.

It also provides a glimpse into a struggle inside the Army and, indeed, across the entire U.S. military. Let’s call it the combat military versus the “garrison” or “headquarters” or “always done it this way” military.

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Monday, June 8, 2009

Medical: Lots of Medical Training Videos, Websites, and the TCCC 2009 Guidelines

Filed under: Medical,Training — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 10:12 PM

   I thought I would collect some interesting videos and websites on everything dealing with ‘tactical medicine’.  The big one here is to read the TCCC guidelines I posted at the end of the list if you want to know the latest and greatest procedures and equipment to focus on. –Matt

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battlefield wounds, wikimedia

An illustration showing a variety of wounds from the Feldbuch der Wundarznei (Field manual for the treatment of wounds) by Hans von Gersdorff, (1517). 

Treatment of an open chest injury

Wound packing

SOF tactical tourniquet instructional video

Combat application tourniquet

FAST IO device self insertion

How to start an IV

Surgical Skills.net

ARS for needle decompression 

Blue Force Gear Trauma Kit Now

Adult compression only CPR

TacMedSolutions blog ‘Techniques of Tactical Medicine’

TCCC 2009 guidelines pdf

Monday, June 1, 2009

Training: Tactical Impact TV, With Larry Vickers and Aaron Roberts

    Wow, talk about a cool show!  Larry Vickers is an incredible force of influence in today’s combat arms and training, and it is just a treat to be able to listen to what these guys have to say.  The link I provided below has a bunch of episodes to watch, and they will easily keep you captivated with all the industry best practices for shooting and tactics. Check it out. –Matt

Edit:  Be sure to check out more episodes on Youtube here.

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Tactical Impact TV

From clearing a house to mounting a night assault on a fortified enemy, each episode of Tactical Impact will examine a real life tactical problem and the arms, accessories and tactics to prevail. Unlike traditional shooting shows that focus on gun reviews, features and interviews, Tactical Impact looks through the eyes of the guys who have really been there to tell the intriguing stories about the guns that have changed our world.

Watch the Episodes Here.

*****

Larry Vickers is a retired career special operations soldier, having served more than 20 years in the Army’s most elite forces. He is a longtime firearms industry consultant, firearms trainer and a founding member of IDPA. 

Aaron Roberts is a former U.S. Army soldier. After the military he went on to become a Texas State Police Officer and was a Primary Firearms and Tactics Instructor at Blackwater Training Center. He is a highly regarded firearms and tactics instructor.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Training: Private Security Forces Ltd.- Private Security Contractor Program

Filed under: Israel,Training — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:24 AM

After finishing our instruction program successfully, the most promising recruits will be selected and deployed in several international situations. The remaining recruits will find a position within weeks.-PSF Press Release 

   Ok gang, this is not an endorsement, nor do I know anyone with this company. But I just wanted to give a heads up on a company that is offering a lot.(please read the quote up top)  I am somewhat skeptical when companies offer employment after paying for training, because I have usually seen and experienced the exact opposite.  So with that said, if you take this course, hold them to their promise they have made in their company ad and read the fine print of the training agreement.  

   Also, these guys have been in the news, and I see this as just a way for them to capitalize on that free advertising and success.  I am sure they will get more contractor trainees, and I certainly wish them luck in obtaining more contracts for those job hungry folk.  Like I said though, buyer beware. 

   On the flip side, these training gigs with all of the big companies out there, are also a selection course of sorts.  I have seen companies take the best of the class and use them for projects, and then kind of string along the rest of the class graduates.  So do well in courses, and don’t just float through the thing.  Everyone is watching, to include your classmates.  And to me, the big advantage of courses is networking and making friends in the industry.  The more you expand your network, the higher the potential of getting information about jobs. 

   I recommend this type of thing, if you are just starting out or have reached a dry spell in contracts.  Mostly you want to get your training when you join up with a company.  But for further education for kaizen purposes, this is cool.  It’s just your goal as a contract at first is to just get the job, because experience is what guys really need to be marketable.  But if you are a guy with no military or law enforcement background, or no combat experience, seeking out excellent training to balance out that deficiency on your resume is a good tactic.  For me, my strategy was to get training, get my first gig, get some more training, get another gig, and constantly work both angles until my resume started getting full and substantial.  You want balance, so get those jobs and get the training to make you look like a well rounded contractor. 

   Finally, I will say that respected and ‘industry best practices’ training is a good thing to get and I fully endorse the concept of seeking out good training throughout the world. Of course you also have to be practical, and do the math for finances and proximity. In my career, I have met tons of contractors from other countries, paying for training in the US and elsewhere because they wanted respected schools on their resume.  It is an investment, and you should do a cost benefit analysis on the thing.  Can you do this, and how will it benefit you?  This is also Israeli-centric training, and it would be very cool to get trained in their methods for protective assignments.  And if these guys have a job for you after the course, then that is the cherry on top. –Matt

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Private Security Forces Ltd. (PSF) is hiring new security agents world-wide.

Conflicts in Afghanistan, pirates in Somalia, humanitarian convoys in war territories…The need for well-trained security agents has never been bigger. To meet the increasing demand, Private Security Forces Ltd. (PSF) recently announced that it will hire new recruits for its prominent, international Private Security Contractor instruction program.

The PSF instruction program is not meant for just anybody. We are looking for adventurous and enterprising candidates who are in good shape. In exchange, we offer them a promising future. If you finish our Private Security Contractor instruction program successfully, we will guarantee you a secure and well-paid job at home or abroad.

Salaries ranging from $200 to $1,000 per day are no exceptions.

Not your average instruction program

Of course, you will have to deserve your salary. The PSF instruction program can under no circumstances be compared to other training courses for security agents that are being organized in our country. Usually, security agents end up protecting factory gates, shopping malls or pop stars, whereas PSF recruits will be deployed in problem areas or war zones. They will fight kidnappers in Colombia and Venezuela, combat pirates in Somalia, enhance security in conflict areas such as Afghanistan and Iraq etc.

Israeli elite

PSF organizes two kinds of instruction programs, for which both men and women are able to enroll. The first one is being organized in Israel – the only country where it is allowed to train with live ammunition. Our instructors are all part of elite forces: they have been recruited from the Israeli army and are part of the IDF elite units

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