Paul Howe
Sep 30, 20227 min
GENERAL:
GOING GREEN
In the future, students need to bring a Thumb Drive of 64G or larger to class to download the class information. Instead of wasting money/time and resources on DVDs and cases, I will have a multi-port USB attached to the classroom or shop computer that allows students to do a quick transfer to their USB.
THE CSAT WAY ON FACEBOOK AND PATREON
We continue to work on new video content for both the Patreon Operator and Patreon Instructor. As of 1 Jan 2022, we had 170 videos on the site.
I want to add more instructor content that will require extra live bodies to work with in shooting those videos. I look forward to the challenges.
You can visit “The CSAT Way” on Facebook for video updates.
MEDIOCRITY KILLS (or PIN THE BLAME ON THE RIGHT ASSES)
I am going Old MSG Howe in this short section, so if you have tender emotions, you might want to bypass this.
To you 10% who are doing the right thing, leading by example and kicking ass, continue and keep the faith. Push your personal limits and exceed the pathetic standards set by the state and your agency. Thank you for your service.
An old Teammate called me the other night, doing a buddy check and the conversation got around to Uvalde. He asked what the fuck happened? All I could tell him was that Texas Law Enforcement standards are pathetic, and many are on the job for a paycheck.
Our State and the response to the Uvalde response or should I say, non-response can be attributed to four areas:
Politics
LEO inbreeding (Law Enforcement Officer)
LEO quality Control/Neutering
Poor State Standards
In a memo I read, a requirement to get ballistic shields was that you have to go through ALERRT training. ALERRT and ignorant politicians have joined forces to water down the law enforcement community and training standards. By channeling LE products through a sole source organization, they are quietly endorsing them. Further, free training, subsidized by government grants and funds makes it a government organization and you get what you pay for in this case.
If mediocrity in training and performance is the new Gold Standard in Texas, we have reached that goal.
First, most of our politicians don’t know jack or shit about what is good LE training. Cronyism is rampant and they hire good old boys and friends in decision-making processes and advisory roles. They have been told that ALERRT is the gold standard. In a word, bullshit. Maybe in writing academic lesson plans, but they have forgotten what it takes to really conduct training and to be a professional trainer.
Next, Politicians are lazy and don’t do their due diligence regarding LE training. They throw money at failed causes like ALERRT. ALERRT panders to any federal fund site that will pay their bills and allows agencies like the FBI to water down their training as long as the money flows. Tactical Peacocks sums it up. As for the FBI and tactics, their integrity is in question these days in many areas. Also, when taking money from the Feds, there are strings attached and they have input in your law enforcement teachings. Does Texas LE really want more Federal Government input and oversight?
Most LEO Leadership seek a quick fix in their training matrix. Sorry, it is just not there. Many agencies have sold their souls by lowering physical and training standards. Shooting and physical standards are lowered to get more personnel who do not have the life or work ethic to be law enforcement officers. I personally would rather do more with less. Those who are better qualified and have the heart to accomplish the mission would get the job. Further, I would take the pay from those spots not filled and give it to those who earned it.
Next, many current or former LEOs who teach for ALERRT, an organization that does not have any training standards, shooting standards or physical standards, are simply wanna-be instructor meat sacks in kakis pants and a polo shirt regurgitating company information. I put them in the same category as an NRA instructor. A few are qualified to teach, most are not. Don’t tell me what you can do and how it is to be done, show me. Otherwise, you are simply another bullshit artist in the profession.
Shit training is coming home to roost in Texas. This is how you get the Uvaldes.
Some will say the ALERRT free training satisfies the state requirements. Taking a healthy shit every morning satisfies most low-level state requirements. Texas has weak shooting standards and big targets that give inflated and unrealistic data about an officer’s technical skills. The state needs a tactical and technical enema to clean outdated training requirements and courses.
As for Shields for departments, I get it. Free stuff. However, shields are a defensive mindset and don’t have a place in Active Shooter Response. Uvalde had plenty of shields on site. Issue a set of balls to officers instead of a shield. Since officers don’t train on the basics now, when will they find time to train with shields?
Arrogant and know nothing ticket-punching Chiefs and Sheriffs will seek minimal training for their personnel as long as they keep getting promoted or waves are not made within their respective organizations. Leadership in the LEO arena is all but gone for woke ticket punching, ego massaging political stroke jobs pretending to be leaders.
It is easy to understand why parents try and push into schools to rescue their kids when the report of an active shooter comes out. They lost their faith in LE because of Uvalde.
LEOs, you have no one to blame but yourselves for allowing watered-down training and cronyism in your ranks. Uvalde happened because you let your training and standards go to shit. Look in the mirror; you are responsible.
ALERRT is simply an extension of human nature. Do as little as you can and make as much money as possible for little effort. Compromising standards is okay as long as the money flows. Why go the distance and do the right thing when I can make more money doing fantasy training? We have created a generation of posers. It is what it is.
A former commander I once served under (leadership douche bag) said that awards are tools. His meaning was that they were to be used to gain compliance by the troops. The same applies to ink and beards. The current generation of street officers looks at them as a badge of honor. They are mental diversions or bones thrown to them to keep them content. Officers should worry about higher training standards and physical fitness. Why not allow a beard when one can max a physical training test? At least as a civilian I would know they exceeded the standards. The minions in the trenches don’t have to work for the bones they are thrown, much like the current population of our country.
Next, I would take a Guardian Trained Teacher over an ALERRT-trained police officer any day for a real Active Shooter Response Incident. At least I know the Teacher has been through live-fire tactical training and has shooting standards they must maintain to carry a firearm.
Uvalde simply pointed out a National, State and Local training failure of a basic Law Enforcement mission.
Politicians will throw more money toward inadequate training, standards and equipment at LE instead of upping the standards.
If this hits a nerve, good. You can fix it or simply live in your fantasy land of inadequate training. Our kids and communities deserve better. If you are part of the 10% that get it, keep your head up and continue to train and push. Fuck the wussies in your ranks and leadership positions. Be vocal and be exceptional in your job so they cannot afford to fire you. Outlast the bitches and make positive changes.
Finally, leadership in regard to both LEO and Politicians, you have created and allowed to exist a group of public servants that would not go in and save kids and teachers when the time came. They failed. There is a special place in Hell for those who would don the uniform for self-gratification and recognition vs. pushing the good fight for those that cannot protect themselves. For the 90% who don’t measure up, I get it. It is hard to have confidence in your shooting skills and tactics when you know you suck.
Unlimited potential resides in the human ability to excel to higher standards should you choose to. As an officer and future leader, challenge the life and work ethic of those in the profession. Otherwise, mediocrity will prevail. Mediocrity kills; just look at Uvalde.
SELF SAVE 1
A friend asked me to write about Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.
We talk about the Mental aspect of tactical preparation, but we often overlook the individual and where they are in life and their internal struggles.
We don’t get an owner’s manual when we are born and go through vastly different learning and life experiences. All our families are different in how we mentor and raise you. Kids now get a second family through TV and internet videos, often developing an unrealistic view of what life is all about. Reality can hit and then the meltdown begins.
This often happens with people entering the military with the perceptions they see on TV and in movies only to find the reality of service to be quite different. Then combat adds an entirely different to the individual and how they react then and in future years to their experiences.
We also learn to be a Chamaeleon with our emotions to the point where people don’t signal a breakdown but simply implode. This implosion can be self-destruction or destruction of the immediate family or work circles.
In the Law Enforcement arena, LEO (Law Enforcement Officers) see stuff daily that is simply screwed up. The majority of LEOs have a strong sense of right and wrong, and they are exposed to criminal douchebags, dopers, child abusers, molesters, and the like. Sometimes they have to contend with chains of command that are woke and dysfunctional and non-supportive. All this compounds mental cancer that weighs them down in living a somewhat normal life.
On the Civilian side, we all hit breaking points and must adjust our attitudes or issues arise. I have a friend my age that got pissed and hit something harder than his hand resulting in a fracture that gave him several weeks in a cast to reflect. The good news is that he did not hit a person. Bad news, he had to see a doc and sport a cast. He hit a saturation point.
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CSAT TARGETS HOME PAGE
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CLASS UPDATES:
Working on the 2023 schedule as I write.
RANGES
Still mowing…
HUNTING
All quiet…..
The CSAT WAY Book
IN CLOSING
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you on the range.
Paul R. Howe