OEF VET wrote:
Yeah, I've seen the video of the ambush. And, yes, I agree, Yeager dropped the ball on that one.
I should mention that I have never met the man, and don't have any bias towards him. In fact, I'm not entirely fond of him, based on my limited online interaction with him.
me neither. ive never had any interaction with him so really i can't say anything about him directly. i've only read the online stories.
However, I have heard from several folks who have taken his class, and other classes, that his classes are well-run and informative.
i know two guys who recently took a class from him and they really liked it. after they told me all the stuff Yeager taught them, i had two conclusions:
1. the classes he teaches really appeal to civilians who want to learn military-style "team drills." things like an Australian peel, etc.
2. while these have their place in the military, i have heard from many LEO's who have taken his class that most of his information is useless for LE work unless it breaks out into total mass chaos. the LE agency would have your badge if you were shooting that many rounds. also i dont really think there are alot of opportunities CONUS to use his training in real-world scenarios, but hey, the "overseas contractor thing" is the new hot thing in the tacticool world, so hey, if he can make a buck off of it, whynot?
alot of cops i know refuse to take his class. alot of civilians i know want to take his class. like him or not, his classes are almost always full.
alot of guys seem to like his classes because they shoot alot of rounds. one of my buddies said that because they shot 2000 rounds it was a good class. so i was like, ok, my sniper course was like 300 rounds, so it must have been terrible?
i had a friend who's an LEO here, who has taken many classes from Thunder Ranch, Pat Rogers, Triple Canopy, etc. he has taken about 10+ pistol classes from reputable training cadres. he asked Yeager if his prior classes would make him eligible for his advanced handgun class. Yeager told him no. evidently, Yeager's basic handgun class is so good it surpasses that of Thunder Ranch, Pat Rogers, Triple Canopy, etc. that is a pretty ballsy statement. i think putting yourself ahead of Clint Smith, Pat Rogers, and Paul Howe is pretty arrogant.
I am also aware that he's more or less persona non grata in Iraq. That doesn't mean he can't run a good class, however. ("Those who can do, those who can't, teach."? Not to imply he can't do the job, but that if he can't be in-country, at least he's doing what can for the effort.)
i know there are a few guys that talk a big game on internet but seem to have a very bad reputation in the private security/military/LE community. Yeager is one of them and his buddy Gabe Suarez is another. Gabe is a former Santa Monica (CA) PD officer who got busted for some sort of fraud and did jail time. personally if i wanted to build a name for myself i wouldn't be associating myself with either of these two persons.
