Sorry I'm getting behind. I'm also sorry that my writing skills will drop since I am too busy studying, but I want to keep this moderatly up to date. I'm really enjoying some of the comments. Firearms Tuesday We went over some basic combat tactics: How to approach and enter a doorway, how to identify tagets, stuff like that. Then we went on the range and shot. There were barricades and 6 targets consisting of 5 threats (people with guns), one friendly, and one threat holding a hostage. I think only one of us didn't shoot the hostage (wasn't me, I shot her), and the friendly unfortunatly didn't make it(I shot him too). Then we had to go through another course with 7 targets and three types of barrricades. Each target had to be hit a certain number of times and two tagets could only be shot while they were facing you, then they would spin sideways again. Neat stuff huh? Firearms Wednesday We had class in the morning discussing case laws and Galveston Police Department Policy and Procedures involving Critical Incidents. They're called Critical incidents so that anything involving serious bocily inury or death can be covered in one policy. So car accidents are lumped in with shooting incidents. We came back from lunch and went to the Prism Trainer. OK, this thing is neat. There are real guns and various levels of use of force items; i.e. pepperspray and tazers. None can be fired. They operate with these pneumatic bullets that recoild the slide and reload the next round. When the air pressure is released into the barrel, it activates a laser that shows where the bullet would have hit. The computer times from when you should have recognized the threat until the shot was fired. I had my gun trained on a man with a knife in his hand and right after the knife was dropped this other guy dreew on me. I shot two rounds just below his ribcage in less than half a second after the gun was visible. Then I went back to the guy who dropped the knife and the guy on the ground shot at me, but luckily I was behind a barricade which would have made me a more difficult target. Then I shot him again. There was also a woman on the floor screaming for help and all three kept yelling. Very hectic. Oh yeah, there's this air gun under a camera under the screen so that when the subject in the scenario shoots you this 12 ga nylon ball shoots you to help you to remember to keep your cover. Luckily it was turned off. That was neat and fun. I hope in never really happens. One of the other guys had a scenario where the subject was a transient who just wouldn't do what he was told and bitched the whole time while walking away, then threw a can at the officer. The cadet didn't shoot him. That's what these trainers are for. Then we all went home. Tommorrow we go back to the Range and go through the Combat courses again for qualifications. I'll let you know how that goes. meanwhile I have some more studies and sleep.