OTOA Conference pt. II

This is part II of the adventures of the OTOA 2015 Conference.

Day three - should I be doing this?

I had the jitters about this class and I'll explain why, I haven't done much work with a carbine since getting out of the military 20 years ago. Sure, I've shot them at the range but running and gunning. NO! So basically I've slid down to the GED education level of gun manipulation and well, I was taking a doctorate level class from a world class instructor.

Let's start by introducing the instructor Mike Pannone, USMC Force Recon and Delta operator. Here is Mike's bio from his web page. He is no joke, and the work he has done to become an instructor is second to NONE! Even after his injury, he can still knock the wings off a fly a 50M. He has a daunting presence about him, but don't let that fool you, he loves to teach, he loves to pass on knowledge and does an amazing job at it.

The class started as all should, a brief talk, and when I say brief, I mean it. The bio of his web page took longer to read than he spent speaking of himself. He instead used it to explain his teaching methodology and why were were about to learn what we did. We then we zero'd our rifles then moved into target acquisition and sped up from there.

This wasn't, I'm sure a high speed class, we took our time, shot when needed and we discussed flaws that needed to be fixed. Instead of just putting rounds down range we were taught why we put them down there, why the body reacts to certain movements and then we adjusted. Simply put, when someone this good grabs the rifle and demonstrates what you should be doing, everyone pays attention and everyone adjusts. Mr. Pannone means to take you out of your comfort zone and force you to take the advice and to a man, each one of us noticed marked improvements. The majority of those taking the class were veteran SWAT officers, very few had the experience level I had.

Everyone can put 5 shots in a 4" square while walking to a target in 10 yards, but can you do it while reloading? By the end of the drill, we all were doing it, quite flawlessly too. I'm not sure if it was simply because we wanted to prove we could all do it, but I am sure we all had the proper techniques and guidance which lightened the motor skill learning curve.

After lunch we did a few more drills and then moved into the meat and potatoes of the class. Probably the most beneficial for me. We did malfunction drills. So, maybe you just asked why that would be so beneficial, weapon manipulation and familiarization is now at a whole new level. Not to mention, I can clear just about any malfunction in a few seconds.



We teamed up and practiced jamming guns for our partner. Mike's method of clearing isn't rocket science, it's tap, rack, bang but on steroids. I'm sure you can Youtube him doing his system and too boot he does it blindfolded. After several drills he then had us lay three sets of 5 guns out and we all cleared 5 jams and shot at target (50M) until each one of us were feeling just cocky enough to watch a master do it blindfolded in about 4 seconds per rifle. Fun stuff.

The day ended with 100M shots. By the end of a hot day, this was easy. Right up until the guy next to you bury's his shell casings down your shirt! That asisde, my grouping went from about 6" at the start of the day to just under 3". Not that I'm a master marksman, but after the teachings and day we had, my comfort level with the rifle was never better, my patience never greater and my guide on my journey, I couldn't have picked a better one if I tried. Well done Mr. Pannone - Thank you!

Take away of the day - if you have time to set up, line up your sights and take the shot you want, it isn't a gun fight, it's a shooting. (I paraphrase this but it doesn't take away from the sentiment- that's truth).


Day Four - Drawing from a holster.

The prior day, I was out of my comfort zone and worried. When I woke up this day, none of that was there. I'm good with my pistol, it's what I shoot! In fact I shoot it a bunch. We soon found out that this class would further tell us, what we thought we knew, we didn't....

Let me introduce you to Matt Jacques of Victory First and his class, fighting from concealment. We got the news upfront, this was a 3 day course that he compacted into nine hours. Welcome to an eye opening statement. For the next nine hours we would be on the trigger, drawing from the holster and refining a skill that almost everyone stated they didn't get enough of...ever! Drawing your gun. By days end, that was not going to be spoken again, to the tune of almost 300 times, we learned to draw correctly.

We lined up and started with accuracy drills but slowly and methodically. Drawing each time. This wasn't about speed! We were being ever so slightly indoctrinated into his styles, his system.

From that point on 2/3rd 1/3rd was going to be ingrained into us. Speed happened in the 1st 2/3rd of the draw and the final 1/3rd was putting a proper and accurate shot on target. It was then we heard and knew...A gun fight lasts the rest of your life.

It felt like we did a lot of drills, but in reality we didn't do that many but we did do them properly. Accuracy was improving and then...the steel targets came out. We were no longer looking to put the hole in paper on a line or in a circle. We were going to put it on a steel figure from a much further distance. Because you never knew where a gun fight would happen only that you had the rest of your life to do it!

By lunch time I was feeling good about myself. We've been timed, we worked thru clothes hang ups and put many rounds down range. Then Mr. Jacques taps you on the shoulder and tells you - put one on target, one on each target, two on each target - oh and the class is watching you while I time you and write this down. Without really saying so, he just amped up the stress and put 30 sets of eyes on you. Suddenly, things didn't go as smoothly as they once did. You, just, work, thru, it.

After lunch we worked malfunctions, reloads and smoothing out the draw. We touched on one handed shoots and shooting while holding something. Then came the spot we all wanted to be in. Shooting from cover/concealment from about 30 yards. The targets seems smaller all of a sudden. Technique is the key to this series of drills, but now you are tired, hot and dare I say, over confident in your shooting. No doubt, this is a great towards the end of the day drill.

The drills conclude with a duplicate of the cover/concealment drill only this time, you are racing against the shooters next to you, you shoot, move and shoot until you get tapped out or you win. Simple! Until you start to miss or become tired.

At the end, you have a brief discussion and question period. The eye opening thing is how many got the same bit of good out of the class as I, myself did. Repetitive drawing is something more of us should do and by the show at the end of the class, everyone is on that same page.

Because, you only have the rest of your life in a gun fight.


Wrap it up
Sorry for the length of this blog post. It's been fun writing these and recalling all the tid bits of info I've already filed away. All in all, the OTOA is a top notch organization and their philosophy on training is second to none...everyone should have the training they need.

So to my class mates, instructors and fellow 1st responder, thanks - for not only getting proper training but caring enough about the citizens you serve to get better. To the OTOA people in charge, well done. I wish all organizations would care this much on getting all 1st responders trained to this high level.



To learn more on Mike Pannone classes and here. Facebook page.
To learn more on Matt Jacques classes. Facebook page.

OTOA 2015 Conference

This is part I of II of the 2015 Ohio Tactical Officers Association (OTOA) Conference.

Let me start by saying, I'm going to try and be as brief as I can with this blog post. That will not be an easy task. Ohio did/does an amazing job of bringing in as many people in as they can. As long as you want to learn and should be there, it's a go. None of this, SWAT officers ONLY business that so many of these other shows want to try. That is why OTOA had close to 1000 people at the conference. It was a HUGE success. The banquet stated there were people from 14 states and 2 countries. Nicely done OTOA!

Held at Kalahari Resort in Sandusky Ohio, as soon as you make entrance into the place you know it's going to be a big conference. 

Day one TEMS class. 

This is why I attended the show. It featured the TEMS class. A "break-out" as they call it. We arrived after registration at a off site location. The class started a 8 AM sharp and featured about 15 minutes of safety talk and then went right into a brief lecture. The lecture offered all the new and important happenings in TEMS/TCCC. Nothing ground breaking, but just re-affirmation on what we need to do and the changes that Co-TECC has implemented as of late.

They then broke us off into our stations, the day featured 6 different stations. Some creativity and informational stations lead to not being overwhelmed physically for 40 minutes out of every hour for the rest of the day. Each station had a round table debrief and discussion. Solid information all around. 

#1 Moving Vehicle - Featured treating a live patient while in a moving car/back of a pick-up. We got the scenario and were told where the treat was, the rest was up to us as a team (two man). We waved the police cruiser in and moved the victim in the back while we worked on him. Seems simple, but while the car was swaying, turning and accelerating, it added a new dimension to it. Part two was equally as difficult as we had to load the patient into pick-up truck and tube/TQ/IV while moving as mentioned earlier. All in all, moving in a fast moving vehicle is much different than moving in an ambulance.  

#2 Active shooter - This was a school shooting. We get a scenario and are told to move out as a team with a SWAT team. Upon making 1st contact, shots go off and we have to split the team as the call goes out that others are down. The 2nd victim has a cut suit on. We have to surgically cric this victim while the officers with us are actively engaged in shooting at the perp. The added stress and splitting off from the team definitely makes you think. Cutting into a human (or that close to him) scares you no matter if it's a suit or not. Live actors lead to the drama and havoc of this type of situation.  

#3 A/C joint/Shoulder issues - A bit of a lull after 2 solid fast moving sessions. But I got to say, as EMS providers, we don't get as much rehab info as we need. This was a great session taught by two very educated TEMS medics. 

#4 Training - Maybe the best session of the day. Why? We got to met a VERY creative and budget constrained Medical Control doctor. He wanted his guys to train like they played. He had a great imagination and you could tell he loved his job. His training consisted of a slab of ribs over a Styrofoam (pictured) torso with balloons to mimic needle decompression. A remote controlled fish tank pump that sent blood flying in the air at the push of a button and many other home made props that lead to some impressive training. 

#5 Mass Casualty - The one station that dropped the ball. The communication and scenario were given, we have live role players all day, and the lead proctor seemed to be more interested in telling us not to touch the role players rather than letting us know we had people inside and would have an escort of SWAT. Inside, the scene was made chaotic and hectic by screams, blasts and general poor lighting. Every room we moved too had a person down. We moved the casualties out as fast as we could. Never did we get the call to inform us of an Officer down nor were we told the people standing by the triage area were "not supposed to be there" which lead to us getting a firm talking to about abandoning our patients, etc...Lastly, the officer down didn't get the attention a scene like this would have genuinely had, why? We didn't know he was an officer. Leading to some stern discussion by our team vs. the overly concerned proctor who didn't really do his job conveying the scenario. 

#6 Meth lab - A very well set up and acted scenario. By this time, seven hours into the day, we were tired and mentally drained from the day. This set up made us pay attention. It featured a blown up meth lab with kids inside (we didn't know about the kids prior to entry) and a mom and dad more worried about bickering than helping. Well done done controlled chaos and well, lets just say trying to tube a 4 year old while mom keeps kicking you, adds to the increased stress level 

Overall, the TEMS "breakout" was a solid day of reality based training. I wish I had more pictures to show. We had a brief - debrief at the end of the day that really only consisted of applause for the actors and certs being handed out because each evolution offered great discussion. The OTOA tactical doctors, medic providers and med control did a great job with this session.

Day two - in-conference, conference. 

This day was "vendor day" but featured so MUCH more. There were over 150 vendors in attendance and a LOT to see and do. The OTOA staff did an amazing job of having you visit each booth by giving away cards that were to be turned in at the end of the night, if your card was completely filled out you won a door prize. 

Luckily, I was able to meet, collaborate and rub elbows with those I wanted too. North American Rescue, Eleven 10, Combat Swag, Tactical Medical Solutions, 5.11 and maybe my favorite company Tru-Spec. All of these people were unbelievably approachable and friendly. I really enjoyed dealing with each of these companies. I even got invited to tour the facilities of a several of them. 

Along with the vendor showcase, every hour on the hour a new smaller break out was set up. Dealing with topics that included , long range shots, SABA, TQ usage, ballistics, leadership topics...etc. My favorite of the day was meeting and listening to Jim Smith (former Delta operator and veteran of "Black Hawk Down"). He spoke on preparedness for the 21st century in an ever evolving and challenging profession.  Great guy with a great story and message. Worth going for this day alone. More on Mr. Smith can be found here on his website. 

The day ended with the door prize give away but that was not all, we also had a vendor picnic and got to shoot a variety of weapons provided by the vendors including less lethal munitions. And let me say, they did NOT skimp on what they brought out to shoot. 

Overall, two great days of conference gold. OTOA does a great job. But, this is not complete yet. I have two more days to go. Please check out part II coming tomorrow, which features CTT Solutions and Victory 1st both full day firearm classes held by top notch instructors Until then...