Without the right training, you are just pretending

by / Tuesday, 24 February 2015 / Published in Blog

“If the day ever comes where you have to employ your weapon to defend yourself or others you will always fall to your level of training that you have mastered.” Ray Mancini

I truly believe that without intensive expert training on the weapon system that you carry on duty, you are way MORE dangerous to yourself, and the public than you were without one.

Carrying a firearm for duty as an armed professional whether you’re a law enforcement officer or private armed security, without regular and proper training you’re just pretending and it’s only a matter of time before something goes wrong and you will be caught out in real trouble.

The ugly truth is: the law enforcement training and the private security firearms training and requirements, does NOT equip or prepare officers for a real life situation, under extreme stress where they will need to use their firearms to defend themselves and/or the public.

Let’s face it, the firearms qualifying assessment for law enforcement and the private security industry in WA is so basic and far from sufficient enough to prepare officer to be able to effectively use their firearms in a real life threatening situation.

Law enforcement and armed security personnel in WA have the exact same firearms qualifying assessment, except police officers only qualify once every 12 months and armed security must qualify once every six months, in an exact identical very basic course of fire, which can be achieved with only 24 rounds of ammunition from stationary static positions over a maximum distance of 8 meters with one basic tap / rack malfunction clearance drill.

With no dynamic movements or shooting on the move, no moving targets or the proper use of barricades for cover and concealment, no firearms tactical defensive scenarios, no low-light shooting, no comprehensive officer survival training, no training for clearing all different firearm malfunctions under stress, no engagement of multiple threats and shooting from different positions, no Loading / unloading under stress and no comprehensive mental conditioning and defensive combat mindset training, will ever prepare you for a gunfight in a real life threatening situation.

A gunfight is an extremely dynamic, violent encounter that happens very fast and you will need to react even faster, fighting your way to the nearest cover or concealment if you want to increase your chances of survival.

You will have to be completely delusional if you truly believe that shooting 24 rounds once or twice or even three times a year will prepare you for a gun fight in a life threatening situation, and I have more bad news for you; there are a lot more different malfunctions that you could experience and different things that can go wrong with your firearm that will not be fixed with a tap / rack and you must know and understand how to get your firearm operational and working ASAP under stress if your gun stops and you experience any type of malfunction.

Now let me say this: getting you on the range on a firing line with 5, 10 or 20 other officers where you all stand side-by-side squared up facing your targets, in almost perfect conditions and perfect lighting, firing at static paper-target, is NOT the way a gunfight works.

To increase your chances of survival in a gunfight, you must be very proficient, fluid and confident with your weapon system that you’re carrying, you must be able to move from point to point, using cover and concealment to gain tactical advantage, while successfully and effectively engaging targets as well as being able to clear most gun malfunctions that you could encounter under extreme stress. Now ask yourself if your training will help you achieve any of that and help save your life or others when that day comes, and I guarantee you, the answer is NO.

How can anyone become proficient and confident in anything if they ONLY train once or twice a year? So the sooner you quit pretending you know what you’re doing and start investing in your own professional development and continuous improvement by seeking professional training and getting enough proper trigger time, you will be better prepared for when that unfortunate time comes and could save your life and possibly someone else’s life.

Train smart, train hard and stay safe.

Ray Mancini

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