Tactical Reactive Movement- "The Pit" near Covington, LA: April 25th and 26th, 2015
Since I saw that this course was scheduled by Phobos Solutions I marked it as a "must-attend" on my training calendar, and it didn't disappoint. My training up until this class involved strictly one to two square range training weekends per month for pistol and carbine, so I viewed this class as a way to evaluate and grade my skills on an open and constantly changing scenario-based course. Due to the nature and terrain of The Pit, Lewis and Nick of Phobos Solutions were able to create different courses of fire that mimicked open spaces as well as more constrained hallway-type areas.
The first hour of training Saturday morning was spent knocking off the rust by getting online and getting some pistol and carbine accuracy and reload drills on IPSC targets. All the students are very experienced shooters that I had taken other classes with before, so there was a good amount of firing range banter and humor going on, which only adds to the fun. After working on the firing line the students then took their turns going through the initial course where we encountered various IPSC and steel targets, which included bad guys, hostage type IPSC targets (white no shoot in front shoot targets with only small available areas to target), along with smaller targets that were easily missed if you weren't scanning properly. The instructors evaluated how each student moved through the course in terms of footwork, utilizing cover and concealment and the acquisition and engagement of targets. You quickly realized that all the necessary skills that you learned on the square ranges- especially scanning and tac reloading- come into play. Lewis and Nick changed up target locations in each different scenario, but they placed the targets in a way that would entice you to become target fixated on an initial threat and miss less visible or flank targets if you weren't on your A game and hunting for additional threats. We went through three or four different scenarios on Saturday before inclement weather cut our day short, and they involved everything from being "wounded" in your strong side arm and applying a tourniquet while running a carbine and having to switch to pistol using your other strong arm, to having been wounded in your eye (i.e. having your shooting glasses taped over on one side forcing you to really scan for threats). The whole purpose was to get you out of your comfort zones and see how you would react to the additional stress. and after each course of fire the instructor spent several minutes individually with each student critiquing and assessing the targets and tactics used to navigate the scenario.
On Sunday we got started up early in order to make up the time that was lost due to the previous day's storm and jumped right into additional scenarios. Two in particular that day really stood out for me, with one involving partnering up with one of the instructors and clearing the course as a team, with the student being responsible for directing the instructor and calling out movement and targeting commands. The purpose of that drill was twofold- to make you realize the benefits of working as a team in terms of splitting up the area of responsibility and also to emphasize the importance of communication. No shoot or hostage targets were presented and if a student did not call them out and the instructor walked up on them an "accident" may occur. The other scenario involved the instructor acting as a loved one or child and the student was responsible for communicating and issuing commands as they moved through the course. While this proved to be somewhat comical with the instructor saying "I'm so scared, what are we going to do?" or "You're such a good shot" in his best female voice as he clung to your back and tapped you in a panicked way the scenario really hit home for me. As Nick explained after, if a situation occurs like this and your loved ones are present it will be imperative that you constantly communicate and tell them to stay behind you, or to take cover in a particular spot until you clear the area and deal with any threats. Chances are also good that your loved ones may not necessarily listen and obey all of your initial commands due to the stress of the situation, so you have to communicate until they follow your directives.
I can't recommend Phobos Solutions more highly, and I will mark this class and others offered by them down on my calendar every time that I see that one is offered- they are that good. Nick and Lewis are top-notch instructors who take their jobs seriously and are always open for questions and genuinely care about making sure that you are better prepared to deal with a use of force situation if you find yourselves in one. You could tell that a lot of thought went into each scenario and they constantly stressed the importance of scanning, target discrimination, movement, clearing areas from the outside, and pieing around corners to locate and engage threats. These guys have real-world experience and they don't hesitate to pass those lessons to their students. When you get the chance to take one of their courses you need to jump on the opportunity- you won't regret it!
Since I saw that this course was scheduled by Phobos Solutions I marked it as a "must-attend" on my training calendar, and it didn't disappoint. My training up until this class involved strictly one to two square range training weekends per month for pistol and carbine, so I viewed this class as a way to evaluate and grade my skills on an open and constantly changing scenario-based course. Due to the nature and terrain of The Pit, Lewis and Nick of Phobos Solutions were able to create different courses of fire that mimicked open spaces as well as more constrained hallway-type areas.
The first hour of training Saturday morning was spent knocking off the rust by getting online and getting some pistol and carbine accuracy and reload drills on IPSC targets. All the students are very experienced shooters that I had taken other classes with before, so there was a good amount of firing range banter and humor going on, which only adds to the fun. After working on the firing line the students then took their turns going through the initial course where we encountered various IPSC and steel targets, which included bad guys, hostage type IPSC targets (white no shoot in front shoot targets with only small available areas to target), along with smaller targets that were easily missed if you weren't scanning properly. The instructors evaluated how each student moved through the course in terms of footwork, utilizing cover and concealment and the acquisition and engagement of targets. You quickly realized that all the necessary skills that you learned on the square ranges- especially scanning and tac reloading- come into play. Lewis and Nick changed up target locations in each different scenario, but they placed the targets in a way that would entice you to become target fixated on an initial threat and miss less visible or flank targets if you weren't on your A game and hunting for additional threats. We went through three or four different scenarios on Saturday before inclement weather cut our day short, and they involved everything from being "wounded" in your strong side arm and applying a tourniquet while running a carbine and having to switch to pistol using your other strong arm, to having been wounded in your eye (i.e. having your shooting glasses taped over on one side forcing you to really scan for threats). The whole purpose was to get you out of your comfort zones and see how you would react to the additional stress. and after each course of fire the instructor spent several minutes individually with each student critiquing and assessing the targets and tactics used to navigate the scenario.
On Sunday we got started up early in order to make up the time that was lost due to the previous day's storm and jumped right into additional scenarios. Two in particular that day really stood out for me, with one involving partnering up with one of the instructors and clearing the course as a team, with the student being responsible for directing the instructor and calling out movement and targeting commands. The purpose of that drill was twofold- to make you realize the benefits of working as a team in terms of splitting up the area of responsibility and also to emphasize the importance of communication. No shoot or hostage targets were presented and if a student did not call them out and the instructor walked up on them an "accident" may occur. The other scenario involved the instructor acting as a loved one or child and the student was responsible for communicating and issuing commands as they moved through the course. While this proved to be somewhat comical with the instructor saying "I'm so scared, what are we going to do?" or "You're such a good shot" in his best female voice as he clung to your back and tapped you in a panicked way the scenario really hit home for me. As Nick explained after, if a situation occurs like this and your loved ones are present it will be imperative that you constantly communicate and tell them to stay behind you, or to take cover in a particular spot until you clear the area and deal with any threats. Chances are also good that your loved ones may not necessarily listen and obey all of your initial commands due to the stress of the situation, so you have to communicate until they follow your directives.
I can't recommend Phobos Solutions more highly, and I will mark this class and others offered by them down on my calendar every time that I see that one is offered- they are that good. Nick and Lewis are top-notch instructors who take their jobs seriously and are always open for questions and genuinely care about making sure that you are better prepared to deal with a use of force situation if you find yourselves in one. You could tell that a lot of thought went into each scenario and they constantly stressed the importance of scanning, target discrimination, movement, clearing areas from the outside, and pieing around corners to locate and engage threats. These guys have real-world experience and they don't hesitate to pass those lessons to their students. When you get the chance to take one of their courses you need to jump on the opportunity- you won't regret it!
