At this point in my life the things I did for a living over 40 years ago should be much harder to do. The creases around my eyes and the grey in my beard lend credence to that statement but I believe it’s a man’s heart that determines what he is capable of.
I spent last week in a small town in northern Florida at a law enforcement training facility with sixteen other men, with the shared objective of successfully navigating the NRA Law Enforcement Patrol Rifle Instructor course. The bar is set intentionally high with a near perfect score at shooting and academics as the passing grade. This was an advanced instructor course and over half of the class were seasoned SWAT Operators. Monday is designed to weed out those that don’t meet the performance standards. Tuesday is an extension of Monday. Wednesday is about advanced skills and it was a marathon that started bright and early and ran until well after sunset. Thursday was even more advanced with increased time, skill, and accuracy pressure. Friday was the celebration of all we had learned by putting it and each other to the test.
You can’t describe a time like I had last week, you have to be there to fully absorb the experience. The men there were not theoretical, hope-to-be, or wannabe warriors. Everyone at this course had been there and done that, either in deadly encounters domestically or overseas in service to our great nation. Everyone had experience to draw upon, and to share, and despite the room being filled with Alpha Males, they were all shockingly humble. I find that common among those that have brushed against life or death experiences, they have a tendency to want to learn as much as they can and have an insatiable desire to improve so they survive the next one.
Everyone was at the expert level and everyone performed exceedingly well, but the Instructors were also some of the very best in the business and they were able to bring out the best in everyone and we all went home shooting even better than we were when we got there. They did it by forcing everyone to be honest and humble.
Day two began with three questions:
– What did you struggle with?
– What are you doing to improve?
– What did you do well?
The day before we had been paired with another student, one playing the role of the instructor and the other as the student. You had to answer honestly because your partner knew the truth. Everyone got humble and honest and that is when the best learning starts. That is when a good instructor can help with sage advice, and that is why every day when we moved out to the range, we got better and better with every drill.
Everyone started sharing experiences, tips and critiques meant to make each other better, and it worked. Every man there was an expert level operator on their rifle and every man there went home even better.
I came home with a brain stuffed with new information, new and perfected skills, and the tools I will need to be an even better firearm instructor than I was the week before. And it happened because every man there made the decision to to accept criticism, and be humble enough to learn from every other man there as well as the instructors.
