johnb007
Active Member
- Jul 6, 2011
- 317
I signed up for their Carbine 1 and Carbine 2 course at Commonwealth Criminal Justice Academy, each of which is a full day (each class was $200, that's not bad for 1 full day of training).
Day 1: Carbine 1
The day finally arrived for Carbine 1.
The non-descript training facility
The nondescript training facility
As I expected we started out with classroom lecture, and it was very good. I grew to see, that these people knew what they were talking about, and had real world experience.
Firearms Safety Rules
Nomenclature
Fundamentals of Marksmanship Focusing on Front Sight & Trigger Control
Then we moved on to Armorer Maintenance & Proper Lubrication (field stripping and proper lubrication of our chosen carbines). This was very fortunate for a few of the class participants, because it was apparent, that these were brand new rifles, and had never been any lubrication on them. Those bolt carrier groups were bone dry. If you know anything about the AR-15 platform, then you know those students would have had a pretty crappy day, full of malfunctions and a potentially ruined rifle.
We broke for lunch and headed to the outdoor range.
At the range the instructors assisted those who needed to zero in their rifles.
Time to start the training drills, and because I was there, it started raining, hard.
We got some very solid training for a Carbine 1 class, I didn't expect this level of thoroughness.
Magazine Changes & Weapons Handling Skills
Malfunctions Drills Type I, Type II, Type III & Status Check
Shooting behind cover and from barricades
Transition from Carbine to Handgun
At the end of day 1, I was exhausted, but thrilled at the sheer amount of training and drills that we did. It was a long day, and the instruction was top notch.
Day 2: Carbine 2
Day 2 was horrible weather, it was raining, sleeting and freezing cold. I was sure I'd die.
The instructor gave the class a choice. We could head to the range for Carbine 2, in the rain and cold, or switch classes to Entry Level Room Clearing (Day 1 of a 2 day course) and head over to the indoor "Shoot House". The students voted and it was unanimous, we all wanted the "Shoot House"!
Day 2: Entry Level Room Clearing
This was the kind of class I was really really interested in. They train with the Simunition FX marking cartridges, which means you get some experience with trying to identify and engage targets while potentially being shot at and potentially shot.
We were trained on the principals of Entry Level room clearing, the methodology and theory around it,t hen put through countless dry runs and the "footwork" you'd expect from training.
Then we went hot.
We broke up into 2 person teams and did single room clearing, and on to 2 rooms, 3 rooms, etc.
You never knew what to expect. Sometimes the bad guys were complacent, sometimes some were belligerent but unarmed and would not cooperate. There was scenarios where you'd come flying into a room read to go, and the one of the bad guys would be holding a baby. Come on, a freaking baby?
"Drop the baby and get on the floor!".... really? Geeze these guys were good!
Another time a bad guy came in the open front door behind us when we'd moved on from the first room and were deeper in the house, so you had to be aware of threats on all sides of you.
Let me tell you that Simunition FX marking cartridges sting and you really don't want to get shot, so it makes the scenarios really intense! It's amazing how adrenalin can cloud your mind, there were times that things had happened so fast, that I couldn't provide any details about what really occurred. That's exactly the high caliber of training I was hoping to get
I came home bruised up, and a bit bloody from the gunfights, but it was well worth it!
Was this Tactical Training worth the money?
I'd say "Heck YES!".
I learned so much, that it took me 2 days to get my head around how I was going to put this post together. Even better I learned that I don't know what I don't know. The instructors all have real world training and service. I'm not going to get into their credentials, but I was flattered, to be getting training from this caliber of instructor.
I am going back to Commonwealth Criminal Justice Academy, I plan to take every bit of the Tactical Training for Civilians, that they have to offer.
Day 1: Carbine 1
The day finally arrived for Carbine 1.
The non-descript training facility
The nondescript training facility
As I expected we started out with classroom lecture, and it was very good. I grew to see, that these people knew what they were talking about, and had real world experience.
Firearms Safety Rules
Nomenclature
Fundamentals of Marksmanship Focusing on Front Sight & Trigger Control
Then we moved on to Armorer Maintenance & Proper Lubrication (field stripping and proper lubrication of our chosen carbines). This was very fortunate for a few of the class participants, because it was apparent, that these were brand new rifles, and had never been any lubrication on them. Those bolt carrier groups were bone dry. If you know anything about the AR-15 platform, then you know those students would have had a pretty crappy day, full of malfunctions and a potentially ruined rifle.
We broke for lunch and headed to the outdoor range.
At the range the instructors assisted those who needed to zero in their rifles.
Time to start the training drills, and because I was there, it started raining, hard.
We got some very solid training for a Carbine 1 class, I didn't expect this level of thoroughness.
Magazine Changes & Weapons Handling Skills
Malfunctions Drills Type I, Type II, Type III & Status Check
Shooting behind cover and from barricades
Transition from Carbine to Handgun
At the end of day 1, I was exhausted, but thrilled at the sheer amount of training and drills that we did. It was a long day, and the instruction was top notch.
Day 2: Carbine 2
Day 2 was horrible weather, it was raining, sleeting and freezing cold. I was sure I'd die.
The instructor gave the class a choice. We could head to the range for Carbine 2, in the rain and cold, or switch classes to Entry Level Room Clearing (Day 1 of a 2 day course) and head over to the indoor "Shoot House". The students voted and it was unanimous, we all wanted the "Shoot House"!
Day 2: Entry Level Room Clearing
This was the kind of class I was really really interested in. They train with the Simunition FX marking cartridges, which means you get some experience with trying to identify and engage targets while potentially being shot at and potentially shot.
We were trained on the principals of Entry Level room clearing, the methodology and theory around it,t hen put through countless dry runs and the "footwork" you'd expect from training.
Then we went hot.
We broke up into 2 person teams and did single room clearing, and on to 2 rooms, 3 rooms, etc.
You never knew what to expect. Sometimes the bad guys were complacent, sometimes some were belligerent but unarmed and would not cooperate. There was scenarios where you'd come flying into a room read to go, and the one of the bad guys would be holding a baby. Come on, a freaking baby?
"Drop the baby and get on the floor!".... really? Geeze these guys were good!
Another time a bad guy came in the open front door behind us when we'd moved on from the first room and were deeper in the house, so you had to be aware of threats on all sides of you.
Let me tell you that Simunition FX marking cartridges sting and you really don't want to get shot, so it makes the scenarios really intense! It's amazing how adrenalin can cloud your mind, there were times that things had happened so fast, that I couldn't provide any details about what really occurred. That's exactly the high caliber of training I was hoping to get
I came home bruised up, and a bit bloody from the gunfights, but it was well worth it!
Was this Tactical Training worth the money?
I'd say "Heck YES!".
I learned so much, that it took me 2 days to get my head around how I was going to put this post together. Even better I learned that I don't know what I don't know. The instructors all have real world training and service. I'm not going to get into their credentials, but I was flattered, to be getting training from this caliber of instructor.
I am going back to Commonwealth Criminal Justice Academy, I plan to take every bit of the Tactical Training for Civilians, that they have to offer.
