OFFICER eHandbook: Firearms Training and Tactics

Download the eHandbook below

Firearms training doesn’t just happen at the shooting range. It doesn’t just happen in the classroom. And it doesn’t just happen at the beginning of an officer’s career and never expand from there. Firearms training starts in the classroom, should move to the range, include projected simulation assessment scenarios, and also include tools for use-of-force assessment training. The holistic approach to firearms training must be embraced to provide the officer with the greatest base of knowledge and experience to call upon when the use of force is necessary and survival/victory is the reward for doing everything right. Unfortunately, the penalty for doing something wrong can be death or serious injury.

As you read through the paragraphs, think about what your firearms training program offers… and what it doesn’t. What should you add? What are you wasting time on? Are there bad habits being trained or necessary skills being neglected? None of us ever want to find ourselves in a shooting situation, but if necessary, none of us want to find out that our training fell short. Worse yet, no training officer or firearms instructor wants to see an officer injured (or worse) for not training. The responsibility that we, firearms trainers, bear is enormous and we had better commit ourselves to it than others can understand.

All articles in this eHandbook were written by Lindsey Bertomen. Lindsey is a retired police officer and retired military small arms trainer who contributed to OFFICER Magazine for years. He teaches criminal justice at Hartnell College in Salinas, California, where he serves as POST administrator and firearms instructor.