CRAS Course After Action Review
Paul Howe’s training facility (CSAT) is located in Nacogdoches, TX and is an excellence place to train. Paul Howe has over 30 years of experience in law enforcement, military Tier 1 Special Operations and security areas, and is a combat veteran of mutliple venues and operations. I would encourage all CCW holders to check out Paul’s website and attend his courses sometime in the future. For more information on CSAT visit:
www.combatshootingandtactics.comDay 1: Friday 2-15-13
0800 Classroom. We were welcomed into the classroom and were provided with a hard copy and digital copy of all of the power point slides. There were 12 students in the course including my 4-man team. Most of the class was shooting Glock 19s and running a mixture of leather and kydex holsters. Paul covered Active Shooter bags and gear that the civilian can carry. We watched footage and stills from Columbine and Mumbai and talked about Aurora Movie Theater and Sandy Hook. Paul graciously answered any question we had about tactics. He explained everything very well and no question was off limits. We also spent a considerable amount of time on Combat Mindset. Paul divided the 12 person class into two teams of 6 with two assigned team leaders.
1230 Range. We met Paul at the Pistol Pit and loaded up. We did some dry fire drills that worked the bugs out of our grip and stance without burning a lot of ammo. We zeroed our pistols and practiced surgical shots on the hostage targets and we did a drill where we used the Sul position while moving around others. From there, we shot around barricades and worked on shooting from cover.
1400 Shoot house. Paul proceeded to put us through Vehicle Deployment and Exterior Contact Modules. We ran through a scenario where we were in a parking lot and a shooting erupted behind us. The drill began by Paul firing a starter pistol to simulate the gunshots. We deployed from our car, identified a threat target amongst non-threat targets and moved to where we could make the shot. As we ran through the drill there was an emphasis on not shooting unless the backstop is safe and executing surgical hits.
Day 2: Saturday 2-16-13
0800 Classroom. We went over Single Person CQB and Tactical Medical Care. There were many questions and Paul answered every one with clear explanations and common sense demonstrations. In an active shooter situation one has three goals, Security, Medical then Link up with Law Enforcement. Paul recommends everyone carry two tourniquets. We went through the differences between the CAT and the Sof-T and how to pre package your med kit for quick access.
1145 Range. Shoot House. Our team met Paul at the Shoot House and we went over Single Room CQB, and Multiple Room CQB. We Paul taught us how to “read doors.” Inward opening, outward opening, left, right, center fed and corner fed and how to navigate them correctly. We practiced with multiple targets in the room and learned to not move faster than your eyes can see and to not shoot faster than you can see. Situational awareness in such a chaotic situation was stressed. We were taught to find a strong point of any room or interior area. Finding a strong point is key because I don’t know if there are multiple shooters, I don’t want to get shot by another CCW civilian and I don’t want to be shot by responding law enforcement.
1400 Residential Shoot House. The team switched locations and we met David (one of Paul’s instructors) at the new shoot house. This house was smaller in size to simulate the confined areas of a residential home, it was equipped with a car in a garage, closets and other smaller rooms. We did the same types of drills at this new location. Single room CQB, multiple room CQB, dragging a dummy victim to safety for medical aid and linking up with law enforcement. We were even given a dead cell phone that we used to actually press the buttons to call for 911. David acted as the 911 dispatcher and asked us questions as we linked up with the arriving officer. Even though the building and the rooms were different, the tactics were exactly the same. This helped instill in my mind the principle of “If you can clear one room, you can clear a thousand rooms.”
Day 3: Sunday 2-17-13
0900 Residential Shoot House. We met Dave and ran through more scenarios. We did single room and multiple rooms again. Each drill was deliberate, methodical and smooth. It was here where I really started to become proficient with always seeing the backstop and identifying it. I was eventually able to see what was behind every target I shot.
1245 Shoot House. Even though we were early Paul was waiting for us and had the range all set up. This was our “culmination exercise.” Paul had designed a scenario that would combine every module that we had learned in the last three days into one drill. We would be faced with a number of problems during this exercise so we had to focus on solving one problem at a time and not getting overwhelmed by the complexity of the situation. The scenario began with us deploying from a vehicle, exterior contact, pieing the barricade, single room and multiple room CQB, victim drag to a strong point and victim aid, navigating a T intersection and then self-aid with resetting target and link up with law enforcement. It forced us to apply what we learned by making us smoothly and methodically execute good tactics, react to stimulus and make decisions under stress with live fire. The drill took approximately 5-6 minutes to complete. I didn’t think about it at the time but later I realized I had just completed a multiple shooter scenario, neutralizing four threats and helping two victims with only the gear I had on me that I normally carry every day in a concealed fashion. I did this in under 5 minutes. Our average 911 response time where I live and work is 6-8 minutes. This gave me a tremendous amount of confidence in myself, my skill set, my weapon, my equipment and most importantly, my team.
1530 Classroom. We debriefed the day and gave Paul feedback on the overall class. Paul handed out certificates and I was proud to be handed mine. Final thoughts, team picture and handshakes.
I found the pace of the course to be very effective. Each module had a learning objective that was clear and each one of us was successful at it. Every drill I was shown, I saw at least twice. Use of props and stimulus was especially valuable. We all learned better by seeing, feeling, hearing and even smelling the different props that were used to enhance the scenario. We did all drills dry before going live. This was an extremely effective learning experience. Paul set up the course so we could understand, process and articulate complex subject matter in a short time. Not only did I learn the tactics, I learned the concept behind the tactic. Not only did I learn the skills. But I learned “how to learn the skills.” And I learned how to teach these skills to the rest of my team. Overall my experience at CSAT was time and money well spent. Course prices are a steal for the level of training you receive. Even though each one of us will react differently in these types of ugly situations, it was good to learn the tactics. I will now apply these tactics and concepts to my specific situation.
For more training AARs and training info, visit us at:
www.avoidthefight.com
