CCJA Basic Tactical

Continued from previous page....

The Academy/Classroom is in a very upscale office building with plenty of secure parking. I went to class early (30 min) as I always do to get a feel for the instructors and program. Upon entering the early students are watching a DVD gun fighting training video which helps focus/prepare and energize the students, great idea. At 9:00 AM introductions are made (accreditations from just about every government agency is mentioned) and I find out I have two (2) former SEALS, one (1) Delta Force and one (1) Force Recon as my instructor package today all of which have spent time in the sandbox, for me this is the jackpot based on my objectives.

Classroom was the usual with breaking down your own weapon and cleaning/lubing it taught by an Armorer. From there we went to “Combat Mindset” and the understanding/mechanics of gun fighting.

At the range things got moving quickly, steady and with purpose. This is where low student to instructor ration really has its VALUE. We started with Failure to Fire, Eject and Load Drills. Then we started shooting drills and after the second skill run the instructors realized they had students capable of running more advance drills like “bounding” for us old guys we called it “shoot and scoot” and for you younger guys in your 30’s it was probably called “leap frogging”. Team tactics are by far my favorite and when we moved into this arena I thought if this is the “beginners” class I can’t wait for the next more advance class. We had excellent range safety, by far one of the best, no muzzle sweeps and no accidental discharges. We did have a few primary weapons go down for multiple reasons so transitions were practiced by many routinely. I really enjoyed the instructors yelling and firing during the drills providing the motivation/stress to get your weapon back into the fight, I almost thought I was…………….well you know, back in the s**t.

The instructors were constantly giving you feedback after you ran the skill and for me I am not interested in how well I did, only how I can improve. I really appreciate the instructor’s efforts at giving you corrective criticism with a positive attitude.

I have been in several classes with wanna-be operators and they get a major chip on their shoulder when an instructor gives them advice on how to be better. In order to deal with a paying customer many instructors shy away and only say “good job” even when the skill was poorly done by the student. This instructor package would have none of it, if you missed one shot on steel, you stayed in position until you properly completed the skill, even doing the stress exercise shooting. That my friend is honesty in training, something you will be hard pressed to find.

I really like the Instructor team, course program, classroom, accommodations and firing range the Commonwealth Criminal Justice Academy has put together; they were so focused on making me better that I ended up leaving there with a satisfaction that it was by far the best $150 I have ever spent on training. I give their beginner M4 Carbine Course a 10 out of a possible 10.

AAR: CCJA Tactical Carbine M4/AR-15 Course 11/21/2009

AAR: CCJA Tactical Carbine I

As always, thanks goes out to the Commonwealth Criminal Justice Academy instructor cadre that was there. Instructor to student ratio was very good. It was obvious that safety was priority to the instructors when it comes to a class of this nature. Cadre consisted of backgrounds from Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. Who all have had at least 2 tours down range and are current PSD Contractors.

Class consisted of the norm: Civilians, Active Duty, but don't think there were any Sworn LEs there. 2 of the other students had taken other CCJA courses so they knew what to expect. Others were first timers, some were refreshers, and the rest were looking to maintain proficiency.

Very brief break down on what we did (recalling from memory)...

Classroom Portion (About 3 hours)
- Paperwork
- Introductions
- Safety Brief
- What to expect
- Tidbits about M4/M16 family of firearms
- Fundamentals of Marksmanship
- AR Nomenclature
- AR Field Strip and Detailed Strip
- AR Cleaning and lubing

Range Portion (no particular order, about 4 hours)
- Geared up
- Transition Drills
- Serpentine Drills
- Fight to your feet Drills
- Stress Drills
- Immediate Action Drills
- Moving and shooting drills
- Bounding Tactics
- Shooting from barricades
- Comms when moving, reloading, weapon down, etc

Comments:
All in all it was a great time. It is always fun to shoot at steel targets in the great outdoors, with a good group of like minded individuals regarding firearm ownership and training.

The staff did a good job of keeping the classroom portion fresh, even for those of us who were very familiar with the topics of nomenclature, cleaning and the fundamentals of marksmanship. The instructor staff was patient, yet firm when it came to correcting individuals on presenting weapons, manipulations and transitions on the range.

Pros:
The price, at $150 I feel that I got my money’s worth and then some from a one day course. Instructor staff, great group of guys, who did not have the “Holier than thou” attitude I have encountered in some training courses. The small team tactics we covered. Not BZO’ing, I felt this saved a lot of time, and after all this is a tactical carbine course and an individual should already have and know how to sight in their rifle.

Cons:
The paper targets we shot were never changed the entire class, it became difficult to tell whether or not you were getting hits towards the end because of the hundreds of other holes in the target. The distance of engagements, I am not sure that we ever went beyond 25 yards.

Now this isn’t really a con, just something I wanted to comment on. In a single day we went from nomenclature and cleaning (very basic) to discussing and practicing small team tactics like bounding and peeling (advanced). I feel that one or the other of these topics should be minimized. If an individual needs help on how to properly clean their firearm, or don’t know what a forward assist is for then I am skeptical of their ability to properly absorb information on tactics in the same day. I did however enjoy talking about barrel twist during the nomenclature portion, but then again I just like talking about firearms.

We will have the photos we took from the class available soon, so check back.