ou observe a vehicle running a red light at a major intersection. You call it in and find a safe place to pull the car over. You exit your car, approach the vehicle and observe a woman driver with a car seat in the back passenger side and a toddler sitting in the seat.

As you start to identify yourself to the driver you see a small caliber firearm protrude through the driver's side window and fire a round directly at you...you react quickly by creating distant as you start to move away from the vehicle; your ears are ringing from the gunshot, you see the car door open, hear the baby crying, your careful not to step into traffic; and you start to draw your firearm from your holster – the only problem is the last time you actually inspected your holster was the first time they issued it.

Through all your department range qualifications and personal training, if there was any, you have not tightened the screws, replaced any of the retention screws, cleaned the safety snap or the rotating hood and as you draw your firearm you experience;

1. The snap not releasing... 2. The hood not rotating... 3. The firearm not coming out of the holster... 4. An internal locking mechanism is not function properly... 5. The screws falling off your holster platform... 6. The holster breaking free from your belt... 7. The belts loop of the holster caused the holster to shift when drawing... 8. My light got caught inside the holster during the draw... 9. The guard flap bent and hinders the grip or draw of your firearm... 10. The screws rusted or are too tight and hinder the firearm from being drawn smoothly...

Unfortunately every piece of equipment needs to be cleaned, inspected and maintenance regardless of what ANYONE tells you, I mean after you are the one using it! ?

"In the gladiator days – a warrior was judged by the performance in the arena; and their lives depended on their performance – they were given the best equipment-weapons, best food, best training and the best and dedicated practices " -Dave Young

For most Americans the holidays start at Thanksgiving and go until January 5 of the following year. Unfortunately it is not like that now. We do not issue the real warriors the best gear, serve them the best foods or give them the best and most dedicated training – not as a common form of practice.

The gear that is purchased for most officers are done by administrators that do not use, wear or will have their lives accountable for the gear they are being issued – not with all but with most. This was highlighted in a class last month when officers came to a Crowd Management Class with gas masks dating back to 1972 and their filters were even more out dated never mind expired by a few decades.

Their riot shields were cheaply made and most of the riot shields broke within the first 5 minutes of conducting basic riot shield exercises. The gear they were issued to protect themselves from blunt trauma injury was needless to say criminal because they were unable to sustain strikes and kicks from each other using their hands and feet never mind a harder object – and most of their equipment was flammable. Can you imagine having to pull your partner on the line out if they were on fire only to be ignited yourself!

So with this all being said – even though it is the holidays for most this is when real warriors go to work. May God send you legions of angels to protect you, keep you and your families safe, and THANK YOU for allowing us to have a holiday season?

At the end of this past year I recently conducted a few "Fight for Life" – Officer Survival Seminars in Baton Rouge. The students in these classes were highly motivated, dedicated and skilled officers – all of the great ingredient's to a great class, and believe me these were great classes, as it is my honor to train with the real world warriors such as these. Unfortunately some were very, and I mean very surprised, shocked, and even embarrassed at the results they received from their own issued duty gear. Like many officers they wear what is issued however some of the officers in these classes were involved in their own selection process of their gear.

1. How does it really perform – This is a tough question; I mean the gear was made in controlled and organized environments, and followed a series of set instructions – and when the gear was tested to ensure it would perform when needed in the correct manner and purpose of their design – this only seems logical

a. However logic, organized, and controlled doesn't come close to the situations, encounters and environments we work in as law enforcement. In fact we work in environments that will require use to access our firearm and draw our weapons wearing cold weather gloves or with slippery fluids on our hands or even with a broken or badly sprained hand or fingers.

b. We will have to access and draw our firearms in situations that demand us to be focused on other more serious concerns like breaking away from a threat, attempting to control a subject or even fighting for our own lives.

2. During our "Fight for Life' seminar the officers realized their gear failed them in the most common situations we get into as law enforcement and it takes not only familiarization with your gear but gear that is designed to be functional under the most sever situations.

So please – get this information NOW – so when SHOWTIME occurs you are in control of the outcome!

"For this new year's resolution – shouldn't it be the most important one of your lives" – Dave Young

According to the ACLU, the UCR in the last few months shows that more officers have died in ambushes then any time in US History – this brings to light a few important issues we need to discuss and not take for granted. If officers are ambushed then we can agree that when the attacks occurs the officers involved will be responding – reacting – either through a trained, practiced and rehearsed response or out of anxiety, fear or panic.

We NEVER KNOW when the time will come when our lives or the lives of others WILL depend on OUR PERFORMANCE! This is a phase I want you to very intimately associate yourself with. And for the sake of some who might not know what I am talking about break it down.

• We NEVER KNOW - for a police officer - there is not any one time of the day that is more dangerous then another. In the beginning of the shift, during lunch, writing a report in our cars, or at the end of the shift – bad guys are on 24/7 and so are we!

• When the time will come – A.M. or P.M, Christmas or New Years, on the first day of your shift or the last day – we need to adopt this small but important acronym – A.A.A.- meaning anytime, anywhere and any place!

• When our lives – for as long as blood pumps through our veins and our heart beats we live and our loved ones count on us

• Or the lives of others - our partners, co-workers, family, friends, the society we are sworn to protect

• WILL depend on OUR PERFORMANCE – this is simple – the only last or second place in life is a controlled sporting event – in our world if the other guy is better we could die – so our commitment to excellence is not only on paper but in the performance of ourselves, our gear and our weapons

Now is the time to stand – NOW is the time to practice....why some might ask....because lives depend on it. May God send you legions of angels to protect you, keep you and your families safe, and THANK YOU for allowing us to be safe.

"No matter where your religious beliefs may lay, if we are not practicing today for our opponent tomorrow there is a strong chance our tomorrow could be TODAY" – for some of us the word practice can mean many different things. However in our field of protecting and serving – this takes a more intimate meaning. A long time ago I was told if I wanted to get better in anything I am trying to do then I need to dedicate a certain amount of time daily to work on the things I am terrible at. As I grew older this piece if wisdom as not only been true but life altering. If we only practice on the things we are good at then only certain things get better – and the things we are still terrible at will actually get worst. But if we practice on the things we are terrible at those things get better and then the things we are already good at will progress naturally.

Take for instance the presentation or drawing of our firearm. Trigger control is definitely important however – the inability to draw our firearm smoothly and when we need to then trigger control actually means nothing. One of the most famous saying from Wyatt Earp was, "Fast is fine but accuracy is everything." Most have translated this to the actual pulling of the trigger with control, breathing, aiming etc...when in reality I believed this encompassed the entire act of firearm handling – it is not how fast you pull the trigger or how fast you can grab your firearm; but how accurately grip your firearm from the draw and get it to target for accuracy.

So designate some time each day to practice your firearm accessibility, drawing, presentation of the firearm just as much if not more than the actual pulling of the trigger. Stay Safe, Stay Strong and most importantly Stay Alive!

"What do you wear vs. what do you use – there is a big difference between the two" -Dave Young

Many times I ask an officer – what type of firearm they carry – and I get a fast and confident reply; however when I ask what holster they carry – MANY do not know the answer to that question. The truth is most officers do not buy their holsters or equipment and many are issued gear and equipment with little to no training on the functionality of their own gear.

1. What you wear– Every officer who works in patrol wears a uniform and a duty belt with all of their equipment, defensive tools and firearm. Wearing your equipment is a far cry from actually using your equipment. Having your duty belt on your body is a far cry from actually using your gear. So until that moment happens – the reality of it working and performing as you expect is still a myth, and a myth that could get you killed.

2. What you use– Many people wear running shoes, but until they actually run, they are only running shoes. This is the same category of officers who are issued duty gear without actually going through a series of familiarization exercises to get the proper feel and performance level of their gear. In closing think about these possible scenarios; you are sitting in your car and have to draw your firearm or you are on your back and have to draw your firearm or you are fighting for your life and you have to draw your firearm--now! If you are not 100% confident in the performance of your gear, the moment to find this out is not during the moment of truth; don't you think? Comments (Comment Moderation is enabled. Your comment will not appear until approved.)