Of Fads and Perception

I have been working with LEO’s (Law Enforcement Officers) for over 30 years and have
 watched the roller coaster of fads come and go.

Tactically, I see “New and Special Ops Approved CQB” (if you call it that) systems
 taught that are taking years to master. It cannot be handed down to patrol types
 because it is too complicated. Further, instructors who attempt to learn the system
 cannot explain what is gained by using these new techniques.

 I know, the Spec Ops Bearded ones look cool, but that is where it ends with me. I have
 been there and worked with guys that looked cool, but I would not want to be taught by
 them. They might be a great soldier, but as far as teaching goes, they leave much to be
 desired.

 Take for example, room CQB and a point person. New systems teach old school stuff
 that is made for sterile big rooms which are in most military shoot houses. The tactics
 don’t work so well in the average house with furniture and clutter.

 Some instructors teach the point person to enter, shoot the bad guy and continue to roll
 to the unknown. There are a couple of problems with this. First, bad guys don’t die like
 in the movies. They can fall with a gun in their hand, next to the gun and can flop for 60
 seconds before they expire or relax. As point, do you want to give this this threat up
 visually and lose sight of this person? Why not hit and commit? You are entering the
 room with a team or a partner, why try and clear it all by yourself?

Next, some systems being taught promote pushing to the corner, even though you
 might see it from the outside of the room instead of taking the threat which is obvious
 when you roll your scan from the corner as a point person prior to entry. I have watched
 many a student see the threat, then look at their corner and then shoot the threat.
 Guess what guys, reaction time has started when the bad guy sees you. You can look
 at an empty corner that you can see from the outside prior to entry and then look at it
 again prior to shooting the bad guy, but it is time consuming.

 The old thought process of getting out of the “fatal funnel” is okay, but running to a
 corner first before you shoot is not putting rounds in the bad guy. It has been said that it
 was three and four man always getting shot on entries as the bad guy would shoot at
 the doorway. This is likely because one and two were busy doing dumb stuff and not
 putting rounds into them. 1 and 2 were running to corners they could see outside the
 breach point and ignoring the obvious threat. This is why 3-4 were getting hit. Again, 1
 and 2 were not putting rounds into the bad guy because they were “digging” a corner
 they could already see.

While the military has some good tactics in special units, much of the standard tactics
 simply suck. I have to constantly break former military guys of throwing their rifle up at
 every corner when entering a room. I have to explain to them that this is America and
 walls do not stop bullets like the ones overseas. I have to also explain to them that
 there are other officers and innocents in those rooms that don’t need weapons pointed
 at them.

In regards Special Ops units, I have seen them use tactics that were poor, but because
 they are classified, you don’t here when their tactics fail and the have to reinvent the
 wheel. This includes training accidents that they have.

In the end, don’t be afraid to use common sense. Dynamic tactics are fun, but you have to still use common sense when
 applying them. You are in “Close
 Quarters” and have to get effective
 rounds on the bad guy before he gets
 rounds into you. Remember, we push
 to save life.

If we move this “Fad” discussion to
 appearances, the obvious discussion is
 that of beards and tattoos.

As for the current trends of beards and
 tattoos, I don’t care. The question is,“Does it enhance the uniform.” While you think you look like this war-torn operator fresh from the Snack bar province of Trashcanistan, you might just look goofy.

As a LEO, you have probably the noblest professions in the world. You are charged
 with protecting and serving the community. You get a rifle, pistol, ammo, training and
 get to chase bad guys and extract them from the community both upright and
 sometimes prone. It should be one of the best jobs of your life. The problem is that
 many times the command climate is which makes the job crappy and not the civilians
 you interact with.

 Commands that promote training and excellence have higher moral, better agencies
 and retention. Commands that are weak, let officers have beards to appease them, like
 throwing a dog a bone. It is a command bone of no substance.
 Does your appearance enhance the uniform or detract from it? You don’t need a high
 and tight haircut, a business one will do. This also applies to being fat as well and not
 having any physical training standards to adhere to. You as an individual need to make
 that call. Cosmetic CQB and Fad appearances do the same for you, nothing.

As to the serve and protect part at the end of your article. Just my humble
 thoughts a police Officer has the duty to protect the Constitutional rights of
 everyone they are charge to protect and bring to justice those they take into
 custody (even if that means using deadly force). I have always felt the American
 soldier from George Washington’s army to today’s soldier have secured our
 freedoms and the American police officer ensure those in our communities have
 their constitutional rights to pursue the rights to live free.

Paul R. Howe is a 20-year veteran and former Special Operations soldier and instructor. He owns Combat Shooting and Tactics (CSAT), where he consults with, trains and evaluates law enforcement and government agencies in technical and tactical techniques throughout the special operations spectrum.