Cross-posted from the EuroOptic blog.
We had an opportunity to take a few days and travel to the Alliance Police Training range in Alliance, Ohio for an EAG Tactical 3-day carbine course. This turned out to be a fantastic class, and the first time that I’ve been to Alliance for training that didn’t involve either the shoothouse flooding or a tornado warning.
Taking a few shots from the prone position.
This course is a gunfighting course, not a shooting course; I traveled to Alliance with a couple of LE family members. The attendees were made up of all walks – law enforcement, military, and switched-on civilians, and because of the high skill level of the students, the course’s pace was fast and we were able to maximize our material and training time.
For gear, I ran a Mk18 carbine suppressed with a Silencerco Saker 5.56 and standoff end cap and Aimpoint Micro T-2 as a primary, and took along a BCM 14.5″ with a Vortex 2.5-10 PST as a backup rifle, and a Glock 19 as a secondary. We also had an EOTech 517 as a backup holographic optic.
Carbines ready to go.
Day 1 started out with a few hours of classroom and lecture from the primary (and only) instructor, Pat Rogers. We covered the basics of dealing with hostile threats ballistically and covered some of the theory behind past and current drills.
Excerpts from the Book of Pat.
After lecture, we headed out to the square range for the next 2.5 days. Though we were carrying pistols, the focus of this class was the use of the carbine, and with the exception of transition training – and when actual transitions were warranted – the pistols stayed in the holster.
Drills in this class fell into a couple of broad buckets – those that are designed to provide solid repetitions for real gunfights, and scored qualifications that are designed to make the shooter perform under induced stress. Of the former, we did a fair amount of multiple round engagements, multiple target engagements, and shooting on the move. We then combined all of these – shooters were expected to competently engage multiple targets with multiple rounds (to multiple locations on the target) while moving.
Shooting on the move.
The scored qualifications also provided significant challenge. We worked on several qualifications, from the 50 yard line and in, and most were timed.
We also did some technique development. Good examples of useful techniques included various prone positions, and shooters engaged targets from all of these positions.
Round count for the class approached 1500, and this had a lot to do with the aggressive pace we maintained for the whole class. The class attitude was very good and morale very high, and the entire student body moved professionally through all of the course material.
Pat also had a chance to give out a few awards. 
Post-award ceremony. These awards are earned, never given.
I have to say that I absolutely love the Silencerco Saker 5.56. Word to the wise, though, when putting a lot of rounds through a can with a tight mount, it’s not a bad idea to loosen and re-tighten the can from the muzzle device periodically…I egregiously ignored this rule, and got to see firsthand how awesome Silencerco’s customer service is. These guys are awesome – one phone call and my life was simple again.
Pat Roger’s instruction is simply superb – he has given, and continues to give, master-level instruction to all walks of life that are seeking a higher level of shooting and gunfighting proficiency.
Special thanks to EAG Tactical, Pat Rogers, Donna, Joe Weyer and Weyer Tactical, Steve Fisher and Sentinel Concepts for making this course a fantastic experience.
