Commonwealth Attorney’s Office Trains for Proficiency Outside the Courtroom
Aug 26th, 2008 | By Lee | Category: Handgun
Aggressive Defensive Solutions provided an intensive two day Basic Pistol course that was modified for the unique requirement of the Virginia Beach Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. 20 lawyers from the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office joined AggDefSol in August 2008 for what was for many students their first introduction to handguns. Day one was an informative lecture series which sought to drive home the mental basics. Ric. covered the tools, the handgun, and drilled down into the functionality of both the semi-automatic and the revolver. The students were quickly throwing around gun toting terms like SA (single action), DA (double action), DAO (double action only), tang, and slide.
While the introduction to the physical handgun is very important and what most students think is the most important. The students quickly learned why they were in the course as we moved into the section mindset. This is where shooters are born or lost. We can teach the predator versus prey mentality and by using Jeff Cooper’s Color Code teach you how to not to go through life in “condition white”, but each student was there for one reason, to get training to carry a concealed firearm. With that in mind each student was posed with the question: will I use deadly force …to protect myself? …to protect my family, …to stop a violent crime? Wide eyed the students were being given a question many had never asked themselves, of course, in the classroom, in an academic setting is a much better time to mull over the question: will I, if necessary, fire a gun at another human being to protect (insert the three questions here)? than asking that question while facing one of the three situations. The lawyers learned quickly the handgun is a tool which requires a great level of commitment. you cannot carry a gun and when presented a threat think you can pull it out and wave it at the bad guy and think, oh, now he will go away. Carrying a gun is a commitment to use it, if and when it is necessary.
The class moved on to post shooting procedures which AggDefSol places in seven priorities. Priority One starts with ensuring the fight is actually over and we progressed through self assessments, First Aid, getting help, and finally, Priority Seven leads to counseling and aiding in the investigation.
As day one wound to a close a lecture on the effective placement of bullets, using the workspace, ready positions, the draw, and recovery.
Day two started by drilling the students on The Cardinal Rules of Firearm Safety and then the students got a chance to start stretching their legs as they learned the fundamentals of marksmanship. From grip to follow-through the students grasped each step and progressed until they started looking like shooters! The students ran through series after series of drills each on building on what they had learned. 
They progressed from single shots to multiple shot engagements while drawing their weapon from the holster. The class spent a long day on the range and made such impressive gains that, at times, the instructors forgot this was a Basic Handgun course. In the end each student fired over 350 rounds through their respective weapon, and in turn each student passed the qualification course. They came as novices and left with a confidence and proficiency knowing they can employ the tools whenever necessary to win the fight !
