Planning for this training session began back in October or November of 2009. Through the course of normal business, I have regular contact with Chris Sharon, and through him, Taylor White. Both are former USMC Scout Snipers and have teamed up to form Adaptive Consulting and Training Services (http://www.actsvirginia.com/). They are the creators of the FDAC that many of you are now familiar with.
Chris and I had discussed recent accomplishments within my LE agency that gained us the usage of both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft along with trained pilots. Through some discussions with my team boss, as well as our higher ups, we were allowed to put together plans to allow for our team snipers to be able to shoot from the helicopter. Granted, in the LE world, this is not something that would be required on even a semi regular basis, but we didn't want to be caught off-guard if we were presented with the problem.
Much like any shooting skill, shooting from an aerial platform is not easy. Severe angles and vibrations can cause differing impacts. Most of those attending this class were using either an Aimpoint or EoTech RDS, though a bolt rifle with magnified optic was taken up on one pass. Steel targets painted blaze orange gave a visible indication (even from the air) of hits. Sandbags around the base and legs of the steel hid some of the normal bullet impacts, but in the interest of safety, they were necessary.
Day one started with ground aspects of the topic, getting set up in the helo, weapon selections, communication with pilot and do's/don'ts while in the air. Our primary rotary pilot flies his helo like he is on crack....in a good way. He knows how to handle it, knows how to give you just the right angle for shots and is a very open-minded guy. He wants to land and go home safely, just like we do.
Later on day one, we were up in the air and getting a feel for aiming at targets and how things looked from differing altitudes. We have set parameters for dealing with bad guys and altitude requirements change due to threats involved....nothing that I will get into on open forums.
Day two was nothing but shooting. With any type of aerial shooting, unless you own six helos and can afford to fly them all at the same time, you're going to have down time for those not shooting. Time spent loading mags and talking with other shooters helped us correct our mistakes next time up. Chris and Taylor alternated going up in the helo with us, and were on the ground to answer questions.
I cannot go into too many details about our agency TTP for obvious reasons. Suffice to say, our aerial program is doing well and has opened many doors that were once slammed shut.
I will say that Chris and Taylor have a solid grasp on this topic, in addition to being solid trainers amongst an ever growing field of folks getting into the training business. If you're looking for LE/MIL training, I'd highly recommend them.
Chris and I had discussed recent accomplishments within my LE agency that gained us the usage of both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft along with trained pilots. Through some discussions with my team boss, as well as our higher ups, we were allowed to put together plans to allow for our team snipers to be able to shoot from the helicopter. Granted, in the LE world, this is not something that would be required on even a semi regular basis, but we didn't want to be caught off-guard if we were presented with the problem.
Much like any shooting skill, shooting from an aerial platform is not easy. Severe angles and vibrations can cause differing impacts. Most of those attending this class were using either an Aimpoint or EoTech RDS, though a bolt rifle with magnified optic was taken up on one pass. Steel targets painted blaze orange gave a visible indication (even from the air) of hits. Sandbags around the base and legs of the steel hid some of the normal bullet impacts, but in the interest of safety, they were necessary.
Day one started with ground aspects of the topic, getting set up in the helo, weapon selections, communication with pilot and do's/don'ts while in the air. Our primary rotary pilot flies his helo like he is on crack....in a good way. He knows how to handle it, knows how to give you just the right angle for shots and is a very open-minded guy. He wants to land and go home safely, just like we do.
Later on day one, we were up in the air and getting a feel for aiming at targets and how things looked from differing altitudes. We have set parameters for dealing with bad guys and altitude requirements change due to threats involved....nothing that I will get into on open forums.
Day two was nothing but shooting. With any type of aerial shooting, unless you own six helos and can afford to fly them all at the same time, you're going to have down time for those not shooting. Time spent loading mags and talking with other shooters helped us correct our mistakes next time up. Chris and Taylor alternated going up in the helo with us, and were on the ground to answer questions.
I cannot go into too many details about our agency TTP for obvious reasons. Suffice to say, our aerial program is doing well and has opened many doors that were once slammed shut.
I will say that Chris and Taylor have a solid grasp on this topic, in addition to being solid trainers amongst an ever growing field of folks getting into the training business. If you're looking for LE/MIL training, I'd highly recommend them.
