Training AAR: TNVC Night Fighter Level 1
Training AAR: TNVC Night Fighter Level 1
TNVC Conducted a Night Fighter Level 1 training class on July 21-22 at the Alliance Police Department Training Facility in Alliance, Ohio. This class was open enrollment and designed to provide skills-based training with night vision and white light technologies. We offer this class as a beginner level course.
This was a small class due to some last minute cancelations. While small classes are never the most profitable monetarily, they are always the most profitable experience-wise. Students had no down-time beyond the allotted breaks for chow and refit. Small classes are very rewarding for students due to their receiving a lot more attention from instructors.
Instructors:
•John Chapman
•Chip Lasky
•Eric Butler
T1
Weather: Overcast
Temperature: Low 70’s
The class assembled at 1600 in the classroom where we made instructor and student introductions. While Level 1 is open enrollment and almost always contains civilians, this class was more biased towards armed professionals. The majority of the students were law enforcement officers and security professionals. Our single civilian student was a very experienced shooter and regular attendee of training.
The class began with a lecture and Q/A session that revolved around the technology and physiology behind low-light/no-light operations. We employed a PowerPoint presentation with tons of graphics and images designed to aid in students’ understanding of the topics. We discussed:
•How night vision works
•How to properly focus night vision
•When to employ night vision vs. white light
•Accessory equipment needs
•Lasers and laser safety
•How to set up your gear depending on SOP’s and TTP’s
•Basic movement and communication
•Gear selection
Students took copious notes and had time to ask questions. From there, we proceeded to hands-on classroom instruction with weapons handling. While basic weapons handling is pretty rudimentary, it is a necessary thing to practice before any training or real world operation. Being able to manipulate your weapon is often taken for granted because we often find ourselves shooting during the day when we can see everything clearly. Students used dry guns on line to conduct various manipulation and position changes with their weapon to smooth out any edges. Then, they donned their PPE and we did it again. A lot of things change when you’re wearing armor and helmet, so it’s important to train as you fight. It’s also a good time to find out if you’re gear is working together smoothly. Things become way more complex in the dark. Students were able to identify some changes they should make in gear placement on their bodies and guns. Learning had already occurred and we hadn’t even set foot on the range.
After the students were feeling pretty good about their weapons manipulation, we headed outside to the range. Everyone put into the practice the lessons from the lecture on how to properly focus their goggle at various ranges. We then broke up into partner teams to zero lasers. For the sake of time and practical LE application on domestic soil, we achieved converging zeros on all guns. While not a major task, this class set the record on breezing through the process! Starting with carbines, we performed some basic up-drills. Being Summer, it was still plenty light out at 2100, so we began with some warm-up shooting through red dots. Emphasis was on shot placement and achieving combat effective hits on cartoon aggressor targets. Shots to the assailant’s hands, arms, or weapon were no-go. As the sun set, we progressed into white light engagement, and eventually into NVG’s. Students were able to see how well they performed between the different technologies as we inspected targets. Accuracy naturally declined as we moved from optics to lasers, while the class became more comfortable with the offset of the laser versus the red dot.
Throughout the shooting, students had to be mindful of ND’s of lights/lasers. We progressed into partner movement/shooting drills where students learned about off line of attack and vectoring before performing live fire drills. Next, we incorporated pistols. Glock was the sole handgun represented on the line. But those without red dots on their pistol quickly found out the major downside to not embracing technology. In fact, one of the students was the Under Sheriff of his county and made the decision to write a pistol optic authorization on the spot.
It’s a rare occurrence to have command elements attend tactical training classes. As trainers, we often hear students gripe about the lack of progressive thought in gear, tactics, training, and procedures at their agencies. We see a lot of students come through with dated or inappropriate gear for the job. When they return to work and report the lessons learned at classes, they are often met with a lack of enthusiasm to make any changes by the older brass who see the younger guys as overzealous and under experienced. So, it was incredibly refreshing to see a commander who cared enough about his team to attend the training with an open mind for learning.
That concluded T1 shooting. After ditching all mags and ammo in the classroom, students began moving drills in teams. They practiced small unit patrolling and multi-story assault. By that, we mean that they practiced walking up and down stairs without making noise (a harder task under NVG’s). Next, students walked the balance beam and practiced scaling an obstacle course wall – all under goggles.
T2
Weather: Rain/Overcast
Temperature: high 60’s
T2 kicked off at 1900 with some more dry weapons manipulation practice. After the warmup, the class proceeded to the range where they shot a SWAT qualification course. The course was shot under white light and then NVG’s. Some more buddy movement and shooting drills were done (offline of attack and vector). After that, we moved back to the 75 yard line and began shooting at steel from supported barricade positions. This was another equipment learning moment when students began having trouble getting their Class1 lasers to provide enough useable illumination to ID targets against the berm. Oddly enough, the police and security students were all using Class1 ATPIAL and DBAL lasers while the one civilian was running a full power laser. The professionals were quite underwhelmed with their gear’s performance at this relatively close distance. Chip showed them the difference between their C1 lasers and a C1+ MAWL. The benefit of the C1+ was immediately apparent, making the other lasers look like toys. If you are a professional, then you should get full power lasers from your department.
That concluded the first half of the evening. After lunch, students ditched all ammo and proceeded to the movement portion of the class. They worked on staggered column maneuver as a team, through the training compound and surrounding water treatment facility (who graciously allowed us access because nobody was there at night). Students learned about using IR illuminators as flash lights for their NVG’s, to penetrate the darker areas they could not see with goggles alone. They patrolled through the facility, covering corners and danger areas as a team before proceeding into one of the water treatment buildings.
Once inside, we worked on stairs again. But this time, students had to clear them rather than simply walk them. Taking stairs is risky business, but needs to be done. It sucks to do it during daylight, let alone under goggles. Lessons were learned about going slow and so you don’t face plant. It’s not that we were worried so much about students’ faces; we were worried they’d break their night vision goggles. One of the students, a hard-charging former Marine, could run up and down stairs like it was completely light. His impressive agility upped the other students’ confidence (one of which almost had a spill), but the students stayed safe. We finished up with some hallway movement and corners before heading back to the classroom to debrief and AAR.
This class was full of students who had a real thirst for knowledge and genuinely wanted to be there. They could hang all night and didn’t show signs of getting of tired. Two of the cops from Arkansas were there to get some basic instruction on night vision. Their department had just gotten PVS-14’s and lasers for the SWAT team. Rather than simply issuing it out, they did the responsible thing: sought training. As we AAR’d, they commented on how much they learned and that they were still not going to simply issue the goggles when they get back. They are coming back for more training at Night Fighter: Armed Professional in October for more training with more guys first. Everyone in the class had a wonderful attitude. As instructors, we truly appreciate this. Students showed up rested each night, ready to work. They practiced things in their hotel rooms and rearranged gear based on what they discovered the first night.
The instructor cadre truly appreciated this class. Everyone was safe, motivated, and ready to learn.
Training AAR: TNVC Night Fighter Level 1
TNVC Conducted a Night Fighter Level 1 training class on July 21-22 at the Alliance Police Department Training Facility in Alliance, Ohio. This class was open enrollment and designed to provide skills-based training with night vision and white light technologies. We offer this class as a beginner level course.
This was a small class due to some last minute cancelations. While small classes are never the most profitable monetarily, they are always the most profitable experience-wise. Students had no down-time beyond the allotted breaks for chow and refit. Small classes are very rewarding for students due to their receiving a lot more attention from instructors.
Instructors:
•John Chapman
•Chip Lasky
•Eric Butler
T1
Weather: Overcast
Temperature: Low 70’s
The class assembled at 1600 in the classroom where we made instructor and student introductions. While Level 1 is open enrollment and almost always contains civilians, this class was more biased towards armed professionals. The majority of the students were law enforcement officers and security professionals. Our single civilian student was a very experienced shooter and regular attendee of training.
The class began with a lecture and Q/A session that revolved around the technology and physiology behind low-light/no-light operations. We employed a PowerPoint presentation with tons of graphics and images designed to aid in students’ understanding of the topics. We discussed:
•How night vision works
•How to properly focus night vision
•When to employ night vision vs. white light
•Accessory equipment needs
•Lasers and laser safety
•How to set up your gear depending on SOP’s and TTP’s
•Basic movement and communication
•Gear selection
Students took copious notes and had time to ask questions. From there, we proceeded to hands-on classroom instruction with weapons handling. While basic weapons handling is pretty rudimentary, it is a necessary thing to practice before any training or real world operation. Being able to manipulate your weapon is often taken for granted because we often find ourselves shooting during the day when we can see everything clearly. Students used dry guns on line to conduct various manipulation and position changes with their weapon to smooth out any edges. Then, they donned their PPE and we did it again. A lot of things change when you’re wearing armor and helmet, so it’s important to train as you fight. It’s also a good time to find out if you’re gear is working together smoothly. Things become way more complex in the dark. Students were able to identify some changes they should make in gear placement on their bodies and guns. Learning had already occurred and we hadn’t even set foot on the range.
After the students were feeling pretty good about their weapons manipulation, we headed outside to the range. Everyone put into the practice the lessons from the lecture on how to properly focus their goggle at various ranges. We then broke up into partner teams to zero lasers. For the sake of time and practical LE application on domestic soil, we achieved converging zeros on all guns. While not a major task, this class set the record on breezing through the process! Starting with carbines, we performed some basic up-drills. Being Summer, it was still plenty light out at 2100, so we began with some warm-up shooting through red dots. Emphasis was on shot placement and achieving combat effective hits on cartoon aggressor targets. Shots to the assailant’s hands, arms, or weapon were no-go. As the sun set, we progressed into white light engagement, and eventually into NVG’s. Students were able to see how well they performed between the different technologies as we inspected targets. Accuracy naturally declined as we moved from optics to lasers, while the class became more comfortable with the offset of the laser versus the red dot.
Throughout the shooting, students had to be mindful of ND’s of lights/lasers. We progressed into partner movement/shooting drills where students learned about off line of attack and vectoring before performing live fire drills. Next, we incorporated pistols. Glock was the sole handgun represented on the line. But those without red dots on their pistol quickly found out the major downside to not embracing technology. In fact, one of the students was the Under Sheriff of his county and made the decision to write a pistol optic authorization on the spot.
It’s a rare occurrence to have command elements attend tactical training classes. As trainers, we often hear students gripe about the lack of progressive thought in gear, tactics, training, and procedures at their agencies. We see a lot of students come through with dated or inappropriate gear for the job. When they return to work and report the lessons learned at classes, they are often met with a lack of enthusiasm to make any changes by the older brass who see the younger guys as overzealous and under experienced. So, it was incredibly refreshing to see a commander who cared enough about his team to attend the training with an open mind for learning.
That concluded T1 shooting. After ditching all mags and ammo in the classroom, students began moving drills in teams. They practiced small unit patrolling and multi-story assault. By that, we mean that they practiced walking up and down stairs without making noise (a harder task under NVG’s). Next, students walked the balance beam and practiced scaling an obstacle course wall – all under goggles.
T2
Weather: Rain/Overcast
Temperature: high 60’s
T2 kicked off at 1900 with some more dry weapons manipulation practice. After the warmup, the class proceeded to the range where they shot a SWAT qualification course. The course was shot under white light and then NVG’s. Some more buddy movement and shooting drills were done (offline of attack and vector). After that, we moved back to the 75 yard line and began shooting at steel from supported barricade positions. This was another equipment learning moment when students began having trouble getting their Class1 lasers to provide enough useable illumination to ID targets against the berm. Oddly enough, the police and security students were all using Class1 ATPIAL and DBAL lasers while the one civilian was running a full power laser. The professionals were quite underwhelmed with their gear’s performance at this relatively close distance. Chip showed them the difference between their C1 lasers and a C1+ MAWL. The benefit of the C1+ was immediately apparent, making the other lasers look like toys. If you are a professional, then you should get full power lasers from your department.
That concluded the first half of the evening. After lunch, students ditched all ammo and proceeded to the movement portion of the class. They worked on staggered column maneuver as a team, through the training compound and surrounding water treatment facility (who graciously allowed us access because nobody was there at night). Students learned about using IR illuminators as flash lights for their NVG’s, to penetrate the darker areas they could not see with goggles alone. They patrolled through the facility, covering corners and danger areas as a team before proceeding into one of the water treatment buildings.
Once inside, we worked on stairs again. But this time, students had to clear them rather than simply walk them. Taking stairs is risky business, but needs to be done. It sucks to do it during daylight, let alone under goggles. Lessons were learned about going slow and so you don’t face plant. It’s not that we were worried so much about students’ faces; we were worried they’d break their night vision goggles. One of the students, a hard-charging former Marine, could run up and down stairs like it was completely light. His impressive agility upped the other students’ confidence (one of which almost had a spill), but the students stayed safe. We finished up with some hallway movement and corners before heading back to the classroom to debrief and AAR.
This class was full of students who had a real thirst for knowledge and genuinely wanted to be there. They could hang all night and didn’t show signs of getting of tired. Two of the cops from Arkansas were there to get some basic instruction on night vision. Their department had just gotten PVS-14’s and lasers for the SWAT team. Rather than simply issuing it out, they did the responsible thing: sought training. As we AAR’d, they commented on how much they learned and that they were still not going to simply issue the goggles when they get back. They are coming back for more training at Night Fighter: Armed Professional in October for more training with more guys first. Everyone in the class had a wonderful attitude. As instructors, we truly appreciate this. Students showed up rested each night, ready to work. They practiced things in their hotel rooms and rearranged gear based on what they discovered the first night.
The instructor cadre truly appreciated this class. Everyone was safe, motivated, and ready to learn.
