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Members of the Fort Leavenworth community recently graduated from a tactical pistol course taught by local Defense Training Institute-certified instructors. The fall course included classroom instruction for students before attending outdoor ranges.
The course was taught by DTI Range Master Tommy Herken, with several certified volunteer instructors. Herken has been teaching tactical shooting since 1994 and has helped about 300 Soldiers, civilians and local law enforcement members of the Fort Leavenworth community.
“Safety is paramount with everything we do,” Herken said. “I enjoy teaching the techniques to students because many of them, like my own son, have gone on to serve tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. We try in our training to give participants additional tools they might need to improve and refine marksmanship skills.”
Classroom sessions covered firearms safety, various pistol techniques, dry practice repetitions of gun handling, the four rules of shooting, understanding a combat mindset, flashlight sight practice in limited visibility, tactical movement skills and basic close-quarters room-clearing procedures.
“I advanced my tactical shooting skills with knowledge gained from the course material and experience shared by the professional instructors,” said course participant Justin White, a military spouse and mixed martial arts instructor. “The course is designed to improve shooting proficiency for combat situations as well as home and personal self defense.”
Range sessions included live-fire drills with multiple targets at various ranges, tactical reloading, malfunction clearance, conditions of readiness, systems checks, battlefield pick-up drills, use of cover, shooting on the move, firing from vehicles, carbine weapon transition, night shooting, building clearance and graduation test exercises.
Prior course graduate Maj. Seth Vieux, an Intermediate Level Edication student, returned for an additional opportunity to shoot.
“This gives me another chance to fire weapons in tactical situations for enhancement of my skills prior to starting a new assignment in the 1st Infantry Division after ILE graduation,” Vieux said.
“The capacity to see and understand potential threat levels in any environment or situation with an ability to properly handle it is important — that’s why we teach gun fighting and not just marksmanship,” Herken said. “We set out to instill a mindset that if someone has to bring out a weapon, they are confident and ready to use it correctly. Trained individuals must think of how to solve the problem by lethal or non-lethal means as the situation dictates.”
The next tactical pistol course will be offered in spring 2012 with an information session Feb. 7. For more information and to register, contact Herken at therken@dti-ks.com or call 683-3703.
Members of the Fort Leavenworth community recently graduated from a tactical pistol course taught by local Defense Training Institute-certified instructors. The fall course included classroom instruction for students before attending outdoor ranges.
The course was taught by DTI Range Master Tommy Herken, with several certified volunteer instructors. Herken has been teaching tactical shooting since 1994 and has helped about 300 Soldiers, civilians and local law enforcement members of the Fort Leavenworth community.
“Safety is paramount with everything we do,” Herken said. “I enjoy teaching the techniques to students because many of them, like my own son, have gone on to serve tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. We try in our training to give participants additional tools they might need to improve and refine marksmanship skills.”
Classroom sessions covered firearms safety, various pistol techniques, dry practice repetitions of gun handling, the four rules of shooting, understanding a combat mindset, flashlight sight practice in limited visibility, tactical movement skills and basic close-quarters room-clearing procedures.
“I advanced my tactical shooting skills with knowledge gained from the course material and experience shared by the professional instructors,” said course participant Justin White, a military spouse and mixed martial arts instructor. “The course is designed to improve shooting proficiency for combat situations as well as home and personal self defense.”
Range sessions included live-fire drills with multiple targets at various ranges, tactical reloading, malfunction clearance, conditions of readiness, systems checks, battlefield pick-up drills, use of cover, shooting on the move, firing from vehicles, carbine weapon transition, night shooting, building clearance and graduation test exercises.
Prior course graduate Maj. Seth Vieux, an Intermediate Level Edication student, returned for an additional opportunity to shoot.
“This gives me another chance to fire weapons in tactical situations for enhancement of my skills prior to starting a new assignment in the 1st Infantry Division after ILE graduation,” Vieux said.
“The capacity to see and understand potential threat levels in any environment or situation with an ability to properly handle it is important — that’s why we teach gun fighting and not just marksmanship,” Herken said. “We set out to instill a mindset that if someone has to bring out a weapon, they are confident and ready to use it correctly. Trained individuals must think of how to solve the problem by lethal or non-lethal means as the situation dictates.”
The next tactical pistol course will be offered in spring 2012 with an information session Feb. 7. For more information and to register, contact Herken at therken@dti-ks.com or call 683-3703.
