24 The Firearms Instructor Issue 50 both can address the threat while reducing the risk to each other? I think so. So how do we achieve this as trainers given the tra- ditional online shooting mentality that we have grown accustomed to? Unless you have an open range area with sufficient berms and impact zones that go in all directions this is nearly impossible. You are stuck by the limits of a traditional shooting range. Now enter the shoot house environment. No longer are you restricted by the limita- tions of a single “down range” area. A whole realm of directions now becomes available to you! Gone are the days that the shoot house is the exclusive territory of special tactical teams only. This is a training facility avail- able to all officers. The trick is creating a safe learning environment and laying the building blocks for your officers to make this very cut- ting edge transition. Make no mistake about it; this is not a training evolution that can be taken lightly or that can be jumped into with- out sufficient preparation. First, you need a properly constructed shoot house designed for this type of training. Second, you need a staff that is properly trained to function as instructors in this environment. Finally, you must have built the core skills of muzzle dis- cipline, straight trigger finger, team tactics, and communication among your officers. Beginning a live fire shoot house evolution without doing so is a recipe for disaster. Develop a written lesson plan that estab- lishes the goals and parameters of the train- ing. Keep the evolution simple when first starting. Don’t try to do too much at first. Remember, we are not trying to create “SWAT” officers out of the average street officer. If the situation is too complicated, they should be establishing a perimeter and calling for a tactical team in the first place. However, we are trying to better prepare them for the shock of shooting their weapons in a dynamic environment where they must be cognizant of each other, friendlies, and foes. Explain the specific safety protocols of a shoot house training environment before even going down range and explain the basic tactics that you expect them to employ. Once they are down range, re-explain it within the shoot house while providing them dry fire demonstrations of what is expected of them. After this has been done, have them go through the evolution in a Simunition or marking cartridge capacity while engaging paper targets. This is where as instructors you will be able to correct mistakes and identify officers who might have problems in a live fire environment. Make sure to fully debrief the officers after they go through their evolu- tions room by room; identifying the bad and the good that they did. This reinforces the positive skills they demonstrated and cor- rects the mistakes they made. Make sure each officer understands what you are explaining. Don’t assume that just because they are nod- ding their head in the affirmative that they truly get it! Use shoot and don’t shoot targets as this will require the officers to assess their targets and not just shoot at everything. Also require your officers to turn all of their tar- gets away as they will have to handle their subjects in a real environment. Too often we end our drill as soon as the shots are fired and do not require the officers to complete the next step, thereby building a training scar. This will also require them to think and com- municate as they problem solve the situation before them. One of the biggest problems I have seen is officers failing to communicate with each other while in a stressful environ- ment. Emphasize to them that they should move slowly and deliberately and talk to each other before taking action or moving on. Officers are so used to functioning on their own that they have a hard time letting go and trusting other officers to help them and do their part to resolve a situation. Once you are comfortable that your officers understand what to do and have demonstrated the ability to do so safely, then you can move on to the live fire portion of the training. But remem- ber that getting to go live with this training Wearedoing[officers] adisserviceifallwedo isstandonastaticline andshootpaperorsteel targets.Ifthatisallthey everknow,howarewe toexpectthemtoreact properlywhenfacinga threatinadynamic360 degreeenvironment?