Just Had Some Amazing Training
As long-time readers know, I was a police officer for 15 years and have been the chief of security for a large, urban public school system for the past 7. As a cop, I attended hundreds of hours of training each year, far exceeding the mandated in-service requirements. Since I left police-work, I've still managed to attend way more training than is typically expected of someone in my position.
This week I had the opportunity to attend what was one of the best training programs I have ever been too. ALERRT is Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training, and is a program designed in Texas to teach active killer response. I went through with college and municipal police from across southeast Virginia, with experience ranging from two years to nearly 40.
Yesterday was classroom in the morning, followed by "blue gun" training in the afternoon to get the basics of team movements down. This morning we had a little more classroom, and moved to Simunitions for the afternoon. When I left police work, "Sims" were typically only used by the SWAT types. The use is much wider spread now, and it is truly an effective force-on-force training tool.
My skills were a little rusty, but quickly came back, and by the end of the day, I felt very comfortable and competent and the cobwebs were getting knocked off.
For the lawdogs out there, if you ever get the chance to attend this training, you really should. For other folks, contact your local PD or Sheriff's Office and ask them to get their officers trained in it. The training is offered free-of-charge through grant programs organized by Texas State University-San Marcos. Information is at www.ALERRT.org.
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