AAR: Vickers Tactical 3-Day Home Defense Class Level II July 17-19, 2013
Instructor: Larry Vickers with Mr. D
Location: ITI (G4S) Shacklefords, VA
Dates: July 17-19, 2013
Class: 3 Day Home Defense II
This was the second LAV Home Defense I had the pleasure of attending, the first being a Level I class instructed at Blackwater back in November 2011. Mr. D, the AI was new to us. Mr. D has a background in Naval Surface Warfare.
Day 1
Our first order of business was for Larry to evaluate our basic shooting skills on the square range before we entered the shoothouse with live weapons. All shooting on TD 1 was done with a pistol. Larry evaluated us against the NRA B-8 repair center on an IPSC Target backing he is famous for using. Larry emphasizes the importance of maintaining a high standard of accuracy due to degradation under stress and the fact that in the real world, the target may only present a small aspect to shoot at.
The afternoon of TD-1 consisted of dry runs thru the shoothouse followed by a live run using handgun. These were one-man clears. One lane was set-up on either side of the shoot-house. Larry took one side and Mr. D took the other.
The weather was oppressively hot and humid with temps in the mid to high nineties each day. Temps in the shoot house itself were likely in excess of 110 degrees.
Day 2:
TD-2 started with carbine work that eventually morphed into confidence drills. There was also barricade work done to simulate entry into an interior room. This allowed Larry to better observe our basic room clearing techniques and to apply correction before entering the shoot-house that afternoon.
After lunch, we went back in the shoothouse and did four runs with both pistol and carbine. As with the day before, one group went with Larry while another group went with Mr. D. After running one lane, the shooter changed instructors and lanes. We used ‘cartoon’ photorealistic targets inside the shoothouse. Larry explained the necessity of a high standard of accuracy due to the fact that under the stress of the shoothouse, accuracy would degrade. During day 2, we also paired-up and did some two man entry drills. This allowed us to work on communication between team members which was essential in clearing dead spaces. Larry discussed how the first man thru the door needs to be at half-speed while the second man needs to go at double-speed. It was also discussed the necessity of clearing the corner behind you, checking behind doors and keeping alert with regard to rear security. The layout of the shoothouse also forced the team to frequently re-clear the space behind them when re-entering a hall or room.
Day 3:
Day 3 was spent entirely in the shoothouse. As with the previous days, we broke up into two lanes with one group going with Larry and the other going Mr. D. We switched off finishing one lane so each shooter would have an opportunity to complete both lanes. Most of us switched back to doing one man clears instead of working in two man teams as we did part of the previous day. Larry set up a scenario where we were led into the heart of the shoothouse blind and had to fight our way from the inside out.
The shoothouse provided a challenging training environment. It allowed multiple configurations and provided multiple scenarios where one had to negotiate large rooms with multiple smaller rooms as well as interior hallways. The extreme heat only added to the stress.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Larry and his AI for their unflinching instruction in spite of the heat. While the students could rotate in and out of an air-conditioned classroom, Larry and Mr. D spent the most of the three days (and the two prior with an LE class) inside the oppressively hot shoothouse in body armor and yet neither skipped a single beat. The facility proved up to the task at hand as well. I would recommend both the class and the location for any parties interested in this type of training.