Welcome back Street Survivors

It seems every time I write this column lately; there’s a major horrible event happening across this great country. During this week alone, we’ve had 3 major horrible tragedies take place starting with the demonic slaughter of a beautiful young Ukranian woman, Iryna Zarutska just a few miles North of us in Charlotte, NC, followed by the assassination of Turning Point Founder, Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah, and another school shooting, this time at Evergreen High School in Colorado leaving 2 teenage students in critical condition in its wake. America is experiencing dark times and if we can focus back on God in this country, and start loving and respecting each other again, we can reverse this horrible trend. Likely or not, you decide.

Technology is our focus today, and how cutting-edge technology can help us train smarter and quicker to face the changing climate of today’s real threats.  I recently purchased an excellent training platform from VNSH, called the Laser Strike Training System. This program has many benefits, but one of the best in my mind is that you can train at home without spending time at a gun range, or money to buy ammo. You do need the real-world experience of shooting your weapon with the appropriate ammo to understand the recoil, the sound effects and even the smell of the gun powder. But in the absence of an available place to shoot, or the money to buy the ammo, this system will greatly help in developing accuracy, trigger control, reducing the recoil flinch sometimes anticipated by new shooters, and developing better shooting skills. The system is 100% safe to use with your existing guns, is very quiet so you can train without disrupting the family day or night, and very easy to set up in minutes. You simply add the laser cartridge with the appropriate caliber into your weapon, set up your target, open the free app on your smart phone, aim and fire. This system is designed to be used indoors, in distances from 3 yards up to 20 yards away. The App can provide feedback on accuracy to help troubleshoot and correct problems which is very helpful. The cost of the system is only a couple hundred dollars which will easily pay for itself in the ammo savings alone. You can find more information at: VNSH.com.

Just a few days ago I was honored to be able to experience the VirTra Law Enforcement Simulator at Anderson’s Law Enforcement Training Center, only one of a few in the entire country. This very advanced laser system can be customized to create almost any scenario you can imagine, and is used by local law enforcement departments, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and even the military to help evaluate new recruits, and provide advanced training for experienced operators.

Lt. Jonathan Williams oversees the operation and training of the simulator, and Sgt. Mitchell is the technician driving the training and modifying in real time how the system will respond based on the verbal commands and actions the trainee takes. She also teaches Krav Maga, the Israel Defense Forces self-defense system, in addition to being a firearms instructor for the Sheriffs Department. 

The VirTra system in Anderson is a large 5 screen 300-degree simulator that the trainee stands in the middle of, with multiple overhead speakers and lighting to provide as close to a real-world experience as you can get. Each engagement begins with choosing the appropriate weapon from a Glock style handgun to an M4/AR15 style rifle, taser or other less than lethal option. Once the weapon is charged with a CO2 cartridge to provide simulated recoil, the trainee stands in the center of the simulator and hears the dispatcher notify the officer with as much information as they have, such as multiple active shooters in a movie theater dressed in camouflage jackets, or domestic dispute reported from multiple neighbors, traffic stop with multiple occupants driving aggressively threatening other drivers, etc.

Once the dispatcher disconnects, the scenario begins, and believe me, the heart rate goes up quickly along with an adrenaline rush!

Each scenario may require conflict resolution, de-escalation, staying calm under pressure, neutralizing a threat quickly and accurately so they cannot even pull a trigger on a possible hostage. Sgt. Mitchell was very kind and allowed me to run through 5 different scenarios and provided an honest critique on my performance, showing me exactly where my laser bullets struck or where they missed the target, and if I would have likely been hit by return fire. There are so many things you may not see until the critique is complete and you review the scenario again in slow motion. This is an incredibly powerful training tool, and I’m very glad our local law enforcement officers have access to this advanced training. 

Lt. Williams kindly wrapped up my visit with a detailed tour of the rest of their facility, explaining how they do additional training and evaluation, and introduced me to several of the patrol officers and staff on site. It was an incredible experience to see how far both technology and personal expertise have come since my days back in the military a few decades ago. Many thanks for this unique opportunity.

Rick ‘Pirate Hunter’ Grover strongly believes we are all in this together, and the more we learn and train, the better we will be prepared for any eventuality. This makes all of us part of an amazing neighborhood team of American Patriots. 

God Bless America! 

Drop us a comment or question at email: StreeTactics@gmail.com

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