16Oct05

State Patrol Qualification, from a friend and SP Trooper:

'Yesterday, I went to our range in order to meet with others on our

instructor staff. We were preparing for our upcoming, bi-annual pistol tra ining and qualification. I had been told that our range masters had just been to a b ig meeting and that lots of new, beneficial changes would be forthcoming. Silly me for allowing myself to believe anything 'good' migh t come from this incognizant group!

Off to the range we went, with everyone (except me) carrying an empty gun.

That was the first clue! We started with 'speed drills.' Draw and fire as fast as you can at a ten-inch circle at five meters. I looked at targets t o my right and left. Most hits were not within two feet of the circle. Many

missed the cardboard entirely! The phrase I kept hearing was , 'Spe ed to Accuracy.' I was told, 'Just shoot as fast as you can. Ac curacy will come. The most important thing is to get your rounds off fast!'

Well, accuracy didn't come! Accuracy never arrived for any of them . When I asked about it, I was told that several of our folks recently attended a course where this motto is taught. When I asked who put on this 'c ourse,' everyone suddenly suffered from amnesia.

What consumed most of the day was instructors competing against one another . On my first bout, I put two hits, dead-center in the circle. My challenger

got off his second round an instant faster than mine, but he completely missed the circle, by over a foot, with both rounds. The winner? He was, f or being 'faster!' I commented that I was under the impression that 'winning' had something to do with hitting the target. 'That's old-fashi oned,' was the reply.

Of course, during the entire day of 'training,' there was no t even mention of such subjects as movement, use of cover, tactical communication, reloadin g, stoppage reduction, patrol rifle, rifle/pistol transition, et al. It was the ubiquitous 'match mentality' that, as always, dominated what is supposed to be a day of teaching and learning life-saving skills.

John, I, for one, and weary one of spending valuable time in the company of

people who have 'display-orientated' personalities (to phras e it politely). Their shallow superficiality invariably leaks into the broader context of th e event, degrading courses of fire and curriculum. I ask myself, is any benefit I may glean from this fiasco worth the revolting moral cost of keepi ng company with such clueless lightweights?"

Comment: Rubbish like, "speed to accuracy" rears its ugly he ad every few years. It lasts only as long as it takes for its promoters to amply demonstrate that even they themselves can't hit anything, nor can th ey train anybody to hit anything! They cling to the political notion, popular among the curren t generation of neo-Marxists, that "results" are unimportant. Only "intent" counts! As long as your intent was "good," you miserable f ailures are forgiven. Clueless lightweights? The terms hardly does them justice!

/John