First thing I do is complete my morning workout.
I am in the office at 0800 hrs. (8:00 am). Today, I am assigned to
practice my firearms skills in the morning. In the afternoon, I
will instruct dynamic (forceful or active) entry to the rest of our
office personnel and a few members of other law enforcement agencies
After getting to the range, I put on all of my equipment. This
includes protective equipment (safety glasses, protective vest, hearing protection), duty belt
that holds handcuffs, baton, holster for my hand gun and magazines (magazines contain bullets for my hand gun). The U.S. Marshals Service's primary hand gun is the Glock 40 caliber. Each deputy
may
carry a backup hand gun of their choice if it meets certain
requirements. We spend about 3 hours running through numerous scenarios
(plans)
with a combination of hand guns and an AR 15 rifle. We seldom just shoot
paper targets, today we will use moving metal targets. Once we have completed the
different scenarios, we practice with
the 12 gauge shotgun. Our district practices firearm skills as
often as possible. Once we complete
our firearms training, we sit down for a lunch together and discuss the
training we just completed. After any kind of training or lesson,
it is a good idea to discuss what you just learned and how you can do it
better next time.
At 1330 hrs (1:30 pm), I am in the basement of the courthouse getting ready for
the
dynamic entry class that I will teach to 6 deputies. The deputies
dress and carry all the equipment that would be needed in a real event
except their firearms are unloaded. We
take extra precautions (plan ahead for safety) in making sure nobody has any ammunition on their
person. We also have special rifles and hand guns to
practice different ways of entering buildings or rooms. I am
already planning our next class which will be at different locations
because all houses and businesses are different. It is very
important to plan and practice for every possible dangerous situation.
I enjoy instructing the
deputies and I take this task very seriously. Firearm
training and firearm safety are very important parts of being law
enforcement officers. After 3 hours I call it a day and everyone goes
into our conference room and discusses the training. I'm home by 1700
hrs (5:00 pm) and ready for a steak on the barbeque.
