Days four and five of this seminar will include Cover & Concealment, Shoot / No Shoot Scenarios, and Live Fire Drills. These topics will cover the core elements of Controlled F.O.R.C.E. Levels 4 and 5, making this seminar the official unveiling of our advanced levels of training.

For more information, military and law enforcement tactical units should contact:
Controlled F.O.R.C.E. / 630-365-1700 -or- Jim Roncal with APG / 888-524-4108

With over 200 people in attendance during the week of December 11-15, 2006, the 7th Annual U.S.N.S.T.A. National Training Conference had by far the largest turnout to date. Attendees came from twenty-four states from across the U.S. and from all levels of law enforcement, as well as from military, corrections, and security fields.

In essence, the U.S.N.S.T.A. Conference provides a vast knowledge base from which everyone can draw, giving attendees an opportunity to improve their skills by training with their peers and sharing tips and experiences. All of the training offered at the conference is geared toward improving the instructors' ability to transfer the skills and knowledge needed to identify and avoid "tunnel vision" in their respective operating environments to the students they will in turn be training by expanding the "options" available for performing safely and effectively. "Options" are redundant skills-sets that operators can fall back on when any given technique or skill fails, ensuring that the operator is at all times in control of himself/herself and his/her environment.

As the number and diversity of attendees grows each year, the U.S.N.S.T.A. strives to provide a learning experience that benefits everyone equally. This year we instituted a new instructional design model where all attendees were split into one of three job-specific groups for training tailored to each group's operational requirements. We no doubt experienced some growing pains in 2006, and with the valued input from attendees, we are retooling our instructional model to better suit everyone's needs.

By utilizing Controlled F.O.R.C.E. as its cornerstone system, the U.S.N.S.T.A. establishes a minimum standard training blueprint which allows for enhancements and add-on training to be implemented into a credible framework of instructor development. This year we learned that more job-specific enhancements need to be built-in to the system for attendees who are already certified in Controlled F.O.R.C.E. Conversely, we found that we need to spend more time on the core elements for those attendees who have not yet been certified in Controlled F.O.R.C.E. All of these factors are influencing our modifications in-progress for the 2007 instructional model.

Most important, though, the U.S.N.S.T.A. once again pushed the envelop of how much training can be conveyed and retained in a short amount of time. We were once again able to find what can and cannot work toward the establishment of a minimum standard training blueprint -- a blueprint that can be translated into police departments, military units, and security agencies across the country to fit within the time and budget limitations imposed on all.

Furthermore, the U.S.N.S.T.A. proved that the nation's best can join together to help develop training standards that will have immediate benefits for all those serving and protecting our communities and our homeland.

-Nathan Nickels