06June05
NTI 2005
We'll all now recovering from the 2005 NTI in Harrisburg, PA, nursin g the customary cuts, scrapes, and Simmunitions bruises. Bruised knees, elbows, and egos go with the territory at the NTI, and this year provided it all, in spades! Our sincere thanks, once more, to Skip, Jim, Hersh, and the entire NTI staff for a wonderful and enlightening event.
Live-fire events were entitled:
Don & Kenny's Hard Luck Caf=A9 Dueling Banjos Medical Clinic Skills Demonstration Harmony House ASTA Old Folks' Home Subway Madness
Simmunitions/role-playing events were:
Underground Parking Garage Tattoo Parlor Pawn Shop Bank Robbery Gang Rumble
House/team problem Restaurant/team problem
As always, live-fire targets were three-dimensional mannequins, dressed, reactive (when hit), and mixed in with "non-targets." There were hostages, hostage takers, moving targets, moving non-targets, building mockups, period ic explosions (complete with falling/flying debris), people screaming, loud mus ic, and smoke. Targets were armed, menacing, and some were obviously wearing body armor. Not all were facing you. Side and quartering shots were sometimes required. They were holding pistols, rifles, knives, claw hammer s, RPGs, and, in one exercise, there was an M26 hand grenade rolling around on the floor which apparently belonged to no one!
In the Subway Madness Event, you find yourself in the middle of a terrorist
attack at a downtown, urban intersection. Your goal is to rescue an infant
in a baby carriage (mother has been shot to death and is lying next to the carriage) and get to a subway egress which has a concrete entryway, providin g cover and an escape route. Panicked bystanders are everywhere, holding cameras, handbags, at al. Terrorist suspects have guns, are holding them i n a menacing manner, and clearly represent active threats. With others, it is less clear. There are several items of useable cover: cars, mail boxes, etc. Target identification is difficult, as some people are as far away as one h undred meters. An apparently loaded and functional Kalashnikov rifle is lying on the street, next to its slain (previous) owner.
I quickly gunned down several obvious terrorists while moving to the neares t object of cover. With distant figures, I could not confirm if they represented a threat or not, so I did not engage them, nor did I pick up the Kalashnikov (never saw it). Others did pick it up and use it. Still other s intentionally left it where it was, considering that it may well mark them as terrorists. Still others (like me) left it where it was, because they neve r saw it. My persistent problem is that I often fail to see items for which I =99m not looking. So, when I'm looking only for threatening people, I don 't see things like unattended Kalashnikovs!
Moving from cover to cover, I finally rescued the baby, but I hade trouble getting him out of the carriage, as he was strapped in. In retrospect, I could have taken the entire carriage, but I never thought of it.
Lessons: You must zig-zag when running directly toward or away from threats . Otherwise, from their perspective, you're standing still and thus present a useful, and not particularly challenging, target.
Your defensive handgun skill set must include a well-established ability to
hit human targets at relatively long ranges, as far as fifty meters. Close
threats are most likely, but when you're routinely armed only with a pistol, you must have the ability to effectively deal with a wide spectrum of threa ts. Along that line, Express Sights on pistols present a sight picture that is too coarse to be useful past ten meters. Several participants discovered t his to their frustrated dismay. Express Sights are wonderful on shotguns, but, in view of the foregoing, I don't recommend them on pistols.
In any life-threatening emergency, you have to keep looking for, and considering, options. That way, you can tweak your basic plan in an instan t. Always have a general blueprint (plan) but retain flexibility. However, on ce you make a decision, don't look back! Do one thing. Don=80=99t try to do several things at once, as your focus will become divided, and you'll start to dither. Whatever you decide to do, understand that neither your plan nor your execution will be perfect. Afterward, someone will always point out where you could have done it better. None of that is important! Worry less about fi nding the perfect solution and more about good, aggressive action. Don't become a victim of "The Paralysis of Analysis." A banal plan, execut ed in the nick of time, is better, by far, than is the perfect plan executed a moment too late. In a fight, think less; act more!
The Old Folks' Home Event was staged in the 360 degree range, and ea ch participant was required to go in alone. With all other life-fire events, you have a member of the range staff with you, but with this one, you're on your own. Once in the problem, you're free to move and shoot as fast as you wish, and in any direction!
You find yourself at an old folks' home, visiting relatives who are residents there. As you enter the building trying to find them, there is a loud explosion. Flying debris comes cascading down on you. Simultaneously, gun shots are heard as well as threatening voices, and you then see a hand grenade on the floor in front of you. When you try to retreat back out the door throu gh which you entered, you discover it is now locked. Your task is to live long enough to rescue your (two) relatives and escape, with them, out the back door.
Most threats are not immediately visible, but they lurk everywhere! I had to move quickly, but not too quickly. It is a balance. Stay one place too long, and you'll find yourself outmaneuvered. Move too quickly, and you'll blunder into a trap.
As always, I moved aggressively from cover to cover, gunning down threats a s fast as I could perceive and identify them. Reloading had to be accomplished quickly, and I dared not look at my pistol in the process, lest a threat sneak up on me. I ran out of ammunition at one point and was compelled to transition to by backup gun. My main gun had to be jettisoned, as there was no time to reholster it
At one point, I was confronted by a terrorist who had explosives strapped t o his chest. Range was two meters, and I had sparse cover at the moment. I elected to shoot him in the head, which I did without hesitation. In retrospect, I could have moved to better cover instead of shooting instantly, but I selected the former course of action.
Exhausted and out of breath, I finally rescued and evacuated my relatives!
Lessons: When moving in a dangerous environment, within a building or anywhere threats can be close but unseen, you must practice retention gun-h andling techniques: retention draw, retention reload, and retention movement. Your pistol needs to stay close to your body, particularly when you're holding it with only one hand. For example, when you move while leading with your gun , you may find yourself suddenly blind-sided and forcibly disarmed. Worse, you'll telegraph your presence to all looking your way. They may not see your entire body, but they'll see your hands and gun sticking out from behind a corner. Convenient way for you to alert them to your presence and prepare them to confront you effectively!
You must learn to continually identify, seek, and use cover to your best advantage. Otherwise, you'll find yourself in the open too much of the time. Always present threats and potential threats with a difficult target.
Movement must be swift, smooth, and planned. The best tactic is to move from cover to cover, pieing corners as necessary, and remaining in the open only for brief periods.
Much of your shooting will be one-handed, unsupported. Carrying injured relatives and holding doors open will tie up at least one of your hands mor e or less continuously. You must be practiced and proficient at one-handed shooting, with either hand!
Doors and other subtle clues are easy to miss when you're not lookin g for them. Threats must be dealt with, of course, but don't forget your goal. Your goal is not to chase after and kill every bad guy in the area. Your goal i s to disengage and escape with minimum damage to yourself and your relatives.
The "Harmony House" is your residence. As you arrive home, it becomes obvious from the disarranged furniture that something is wrong. You know t hat your adult son is in the house. Your goal is to find your son and, with hi m, escape with minimum damage.
I drew my pistol and started moving quickly. There were a number of rooms, and I had to call to my son and try to find him. Several armed criminals were confronted and shot to death as fast as they could be identified. Blood (red Koolade) spattered as my bullets found their mark. Some of it ended on me! One armed criminal was wearing body armor and had to be shot in the head. Range was three meters.
When I did locate my son, I saw that he had suffered a neck wound, as blood was pulsing in projectile spurts from his carotid artery. I told him to apply pressure to the wound with his hand and to follow me. There was no t ime to apply a pressure dressing.
When we reached the back door, more armed criminals greeted us. All had to be gunned down before we could make good our escape.
Lessons: Don't relax too soon! Just as I reached the back door, out of breath and exhausted, I thought the end was in sight. No such luck! I sta rted to relax just when I should have been most vigilant. Look before you exit!
In the Skills Demonstration, you are required to quickly and effectively engage targets, from the concealed draw, while moving off the line of force, at extremely close range to short range. You also need to demonstrate that yo u can correctly reload, reduce stoppages, use cover, and scan. Targets are exposed only for a matter of seconds, so you need to be able to move fast.
Lesson: Nearly all participants know how to perform these basic defensive pistol skills, but some still hesitated and fumbled, because they have not practiced enough to be able to perform under the stress of a timed event. Amateurs practice until the get it right. Professional practice until they can't get it wrong!
At the Dueling Banjos Medical Clinic, you find yourself undressed and unarmed (except for a hospital gown), as you are about to undergo a medical examination. In addition, your right leg is in a brace, so you can=80 t move very fast. You do have a flashlight. The entire building is dark. When you en ter the examination room, you find the doctor has been shot and killed. Gunsho ts and threatening voices are heard, along with loud country music. Beside th e dead doctor is a single-shot, break-open rifle in 357 Maximum caliber. A dozen cartridges are scattered on a table. Your goal is to rescue your wif e and adult son, who are also at the clinic, using only the rifle and ammunition that you found.
Grabbing the rifle and scooping up as many cartridges as I could, I got the rifle loaded and cocked as I held my flashlight and cartridges in my left hand, dropping a few as I went along. There were no pockets on the gown.
Hobbling down the darkened hall, I checked the first room. There, in a dar k corner, was my son, with an armed criminal behind him holding a gun to his head. Trying to use the rifle and flashlight at the same time, while not dropping my handful of cartridges, I shot the criminal in the head, once again splattering blood on myself. I don't think anyone looked graceful performing this stage! After engaging several other armed criminals, my family and I were able to escape.
Lesson: In a tactical emergency, spend you time finding a way to win, not looking for an excuse to lose. At every NTI there is a "Mystery Gun " stage, where you are compelled to effectively employ an unfamiliar firearm. This iteration was particularly frustrating. The trick is to stay focused. It is easy to become overwhelmed while trying to juggle too many thoughts and circumstances. You have to keep your objective in mind and keep spinning y our OODA loop as you identify viable options. Whatever the circumstance, whatever t he obstacles, resolve to fight through and fight on.
At Don & Kenny's Hard Luck Caf=A9, once again, you enter looking for a family member. As soon as you walk in, you see armed criminals and several victim s laying on the floor, actively bleeding from gunshot wounds. The entrance i s blocked, and your only choice is to find the back door. In this exercise, bad guys are pneumatic instead of impact activated, so they take a lot of shooting before they go away. I immediately went to work on them with my G 38 as they appeared and disappeared. I went through both magazines and had to transition to my backup. Five shot later, and I had to transition to my se cond backup. Seven shoots at the last bad guy, and I had no more functional gun s on me! Without delay, out came my Cold Steel Vaquero Grande! As the blade snapped into place, the range officer informed me that the exercise was ove r, as he knew I was ready to go at the last mannequin!
Lesson: If you carry a gun for personal protection, carry at least two. When you carry backup guns, you much regularly practice with them and transitioning to them. Going from gun to blade is also an important transi tion that must be practiced.
At the Underground Parking Garage, you are trying to find your car. It =99s dark. A woman nearby is also trying to find hers. A man appears and asks you if you and the woman are together. He then produces a pistol and starts shooting at the terrified woman.
When he asked me the question, I said no. When he subsequently threatened the woman, I grabbed her and placed her in front of me as I used my car for
cover. A gun battle ensued between the armed criminal and me. He was unab le to hit me, because I kept appearing in a different place. Unfortunately, h e did the same thing, and I could not get a clear shot at him either. I fina lly pushed the woman out ahead of me as we left cover and escaped through the entryway. I was not hit, but the woman was, in the leg.
Lesson: When confronted by strangers, don't answer questions. Instead of answering the criminal's question, I should have said, "Sorry, I can't help you."
Rescuing innocent people is a question that must be settled between you and your own conscience. I was unwilling to stand by and watch this woman murdered, but I really didn't know anything about the situation, and it may not have been a smart move. For the record, it was my decision.
I should have used my light in the Harries' Technique while engaging the criminal from behind cover. He later told me that I blinded him at first, but then I put the light away. I should have continued to blind him.
Use verbal challenges. I kept saying "We're police officers . Drop you weapon!" Although he didn't give up, I could tell my comman ds were confusing him and dividing his focus.
At the Tattoo Parlor, nothing happened! Jumpy participants looked in vain for threats, but none appeared. Some even brandished guns, only to be compelled to sheepishly put them away. Others got into pointless, verbal alterations, when all they had to do was walk away.
Lesson: Don't pick fights. Be alert, but don=80=99t start imagi ning threats where there aren't any. When casual conversations deteriorate, disengage immediately. Non-compliance is the best indicator of trouble. When a perf ectly reasonable request is refused or ignored, it's time to leave.
At The Pawn Shop, you're looking over an assortment of guns as you contemplate a purchase. An armed robber bursts in and confronts the owner at gunpoint, mumbling about how he owes him something. He displays little int erest in you.
I assumed the pseudo-submissive position and indicated I wanted to leave, but the robber blocked the exit. I saw no opportunity to draw and shoot, s o I waited. The robber eventually got what he came for and left. I exited immediately thereafter, only to be confronted, at gunpoint, by a second arm ed criminal! Again, there was no opportunity to draw and fire or for a disarm . Eventually, the Sheriff came along and defused the situation.
Lesson: When in the presence of armed criminals, keep as many options open for as long as you can. Look for opportunities. Sometimes, waiting is the best option, at least in the short term. When your options start drying up , such as when criminals want to search you, or demand that you get on your knees, or try to heard you into a freezer, make your move while you still can!
At The Bank, you are again minding your own business, trying to make a cash transaction. In bursts an armed robber brandishing a pistol. This time, h e took a direct interest in me, demanding my wallet. I tossed it to him. He then demanded my watch. When he reached out to take it, I performed a disarm.
Lesson: Sometimes, a forcible disarm is the only viable option, but you hav e to get close enough to make it work. Disarms are something we teach and drill in our Advanced Classes, as they are a vital part of your repertoire .
When you decide to surrender your wallet, toss it on the ground. He may bend over to retrieve it giving you an opportunity to shoot him. I thought about that afterward.
At the Gang Rumble, you find yourself and three friends in the middle of a shooting war between rival gangs, right in the middle of town! A convent escape is down a dark alley as two, armed gang members rush toward you.
It became clear to me that these two gang members were intent on going down the alley. It also became clear that they had no interest in me. I therefore decided to step aside and let them proceed, which they did. They could have shot me on the way, but it appeared they were so intent in getting int o the fight on the other side of the alley that I was just a minor distraction. I was content to remain so.
