In This Issue

• Letter From The Editor
• LMS Defense News
• Training Topics: Ego in Training
• Feature Class AAR: Family Protection Fundamentals
• Gear Review: Blackhawk Battle Bag

Letter From The Editor
Yancey Harrington

This is LMS Defense’s second newsletter and it comes on the heels of the 6th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on our country. We as a country must never forget the attack, nor the loss of life. There is a saying that Pat Rogers coined, “Never forget those who died, never forgive those that killed them”.

The month of September is another anniversary of another horrific terrorist attack, the Beslan Massacre in Southern Russia that took place September 4, 2004. Some people are familiar with this murderous action perpetrated by Chechen and Arab terrorists, but most do not know the intimate details of what happened. The book 'Terror in Beslan', by John Giduck is a book that cannot be missed. If you have not had the chance to read this book, get it and read it as soon as you possibly can.

We at LMS Defense continually stress the importance of being prepared. We do not expect you to engage 40 heavily armed terrorists taking over a school all by yourself, however, being prepared is of vital importance.  We can no longer simply go to the local range, fire a few rounds at a target, and go home feeling good about our "training". We need to be well prepared for the worst possible situation, not only by engaging the enemy but tending to the wounded. We need to be able to treat not only a stranger, but be able to treat loved ones and even ourselves if needed.  LMS Defense encourages you to train with anyone that can provide good, realistic training. Please just make sure you train, both to stop threats and to save lives.

Be well and train hard!

LMS Defense News
John Chapman

The LMS Defense crew is freshly returned from Valhalla Training Center (VTC).  We spent four great days at VTC both teaching and learning.  Valhalla, located at Elk Mountain Resort, is an unbelievable training location; combining world class facilities, training and comfort to make any experience there worth the time and effort.  Look for a complete review on the LMS Defense forum and in the next newsletter.  Visit Valhalla's website for info. 



LMS Defense is pleased to announce Trooper Chalenge 2008, a type of three gun match that is a collaboration of LMS Defense and Valhalla Training Center. It is a match that will test your determination, fortitude, skills and endurance. It will take place at Valhalla Training Center, Montrose, CO in May 2008. LMS Defense will be fielding a team comprised of  Bill Toy and Jason Little.  They have begun their workups and training regimen, and we are expecting great things from them.  Look for more Trooper Challenge 2008 news to be released later this month.  Keep watching Trooper Challenge Website for updates, and visit the Trooper Challenge room at our forum at http://www.lmsdefense.com/forum/.   

LMS Defense is teaching our first course in Vegas on September 22-23, 2007!  Look for reviews and more courses to hit the schedule for Las Vegas very soon.   

Always Fight, Never Quit.

Training Topics
Dennis Jordan

Ego in Training

I would like to touch on a topic that I feel is of great importance. Ego and how it effects not only how we train but what we get out of the training we do. 

To make the most out of our time spent training we should look at our performance with eyes open and our egos set aside so we can accurately judge how our strengths and weaknesses effect our performance. A common trap we sometimes fall into is to train to our strengths instead of our weaknesses. Let’s face it, training in something that you know you are good at, especially in front of our peers, makes our ego feel great. Consequently training in an area in which we do not already excel, in front of our peers, is not something that many of us enjoy. 

Ultimately, if you cannot set aside your ego, you and your performance will be hindered. Given the fact that we train to defend our own lives or the lives of others, letting our ego get in the way is clearly unacceptable. For those that have taken up the duty of defending others this is doubly true.  It is all too easy to find excuses for our lack of skill. Whether you verbalize it to others or even just internalize it, the end result is the same. It hinders our ability to learn from our mistakes or recognize our inexperience.   

We have all seen it and mostly likely done it at one time or another. "It’s a new holster" or "I need a new scope" or how about "I used to be better"? The warning signs are subtle at times. Always looking for new gear to compensate for a skill deficiency, telling yourself that you don’t need to train in one area of self-defense because your skills in another area will compensate or living in the past when your skills were better honed do to more practice than they are now. 



SWAT Magazine's Denny Hansen and Valhalla's Rob Pincus providing perfect examples of professionals having no egos while training with LMS Defense.

Not long ago, I spent a weekend training in a variety of skills. I went directly from one exercise that was extremely physically challenging to a different exercise that required focus and finesse. Plain and simple, I did poorly in the second exercise. My forearms were burnt out and my hands were shaking from the physical exertion so much that my marksmanship suffered greatly. At the time I let my ego plant the seed of the almighty excuse in my mind that "Well I was wearing a tactical vest with soft armor, rifle plates and a basic load that was double that of the people I was shooting against." That seed started to grow in the warm recesses of my ego giving me solace when I thought about the men next to me who did their pushups faster than I did and then shot better than me in head to head competition. That is bullshit, plain and simple. That was my ego trying to hide the truth from me because my substandard performance was a bitter pill for me to swallow. The reality that my ego hid from me was that I needed to be in better shape if I expected to operate at peak performance when I pushed myself.

The next time I caught my ego trying to hide the bitter truth from me was after running through a course of fire that consisted of making close and far rifle and pistol shots with a moderate amount of movement. During that course I did poorly at engaging some of the steel targets at the farther distances. At the time I recognized the shortcoming in my skill but later I found myself researching new optics. I was looking at a variety of variable power optics. 

While there is certainly nothing wrong with new gear or looking for an edge, the optics on my rifle were more than up to the task. While new optics would have no doubt made me feel warm and fuzzy inside it would have been a false sense of security because I had not addressed the real problem. 

Recently, I had the opportunity to privately train with a small group of men who were well trained and skilled weapons handlers. Though everyone was confident and proficient, we set our egos aside from the very beginning. This enabled us to constructively critique and coach each other as we trained. When ego is added to equation, the group dynamic changes and this can be a difficult undertaking. To do less is to sacrifice your friends or teammates at the alter of their own egos or worse your own. 

  Ego is an important thing. It is a major part of our confidence which in turn helps fuel our mindset. Ego gives and it takes away depending on how it is used. At times it distorts our perception of reality to make the harshness of the truth easier to hide. Other times it sees us through the worst life can throw at us because down deep you know you can handle anything. 

Just make sure that you are using your ego and your ego is not using you. 

Feature Class After Action Report
Brenda

Family Protection Fundamentals Course

The LMS Defense Family Protection Fundamentals class in Hollidaysburg, PA was my first formal firearms training ever.   I am a physical therapist by day and mother by night.  My husband has taken numerous courses in firearms and he felt that it would be very beneficial for me, and our family to take this class.  I would advise anyone just starting out to take LMS Defense’s Pistol Intro course first, as designed, then the Family Protection Fundamentals course.   I was clearly at a disadvantage, comfort-wise, given my lack of familiarity with a pistol.  However, I know that there were at least two to three others in the course that were in the same boat, which was great!  




 Day One: Scared as hell. I didn't know what exactly to expect. I was not really comfortable with handling a loaded firearm in close proximity to so many others and was afraid I would hurt someone else or myself. The instructors, Troy Price and Tony Siciliano, had me work at getting use the front site and get the right grip. I finally got it, then I needed to get the left hand correct and relax the right more to get my grip correct.  We worked on ready positions, proper loading/unloading, sight alignment, sight picture and trigger control.  All drills shot over the two day class were from concealment as this course emphasizes "train as you fight"; meaning if you will be carrying a weapon, concealed, then train that way.  We moved onto target engagement drills including controlled head shot and pelvic shots. For me, this was very different from just shooting at a standard target.   The instructors covered proper grip-from a holster, the draw, the “steady ready”, presentation to the target, and how to deal with misfeeds.  Next we worked on shooting from natural "pause points". 

 The drills throughout the day were invaluable. The jargon and terminology for a "newbie" were challenging, making me wonder what language the instructors were speaking. It was a good thing they understand the "deer in the headlights" look and would repeat the instructions when necessary. The first day I was too nervous to ask many questions, but neither instructor ever made me feel stupid. I guess I was doing something right when we did the distance shooting at the 8” diamond target; I am still not sure how I could have beat 8 other participants out and hit the target at 75 yards, but I won a nice Glock hat!! It is always really cool when you earn it!

 I don't remember exactly why I stopped shooting the XP and started with the Glock 19. It did take a little time to get used to the new pistol.  I would also like to encourage anyone, who is starting out, too definitely have someone determine your eye dominance. I thought it was really neat to try shooting with alternating hands. I think it helped to really get you out of your 'hemisphere' (right/left brain), which for a new shooter, made me feel a lot better about how I was shooting. 




 Day Two--Awesome!!!! We reviewed what we learned on day one and then shot a qualifying drill.  I did not like shooting cold, though that is real life. With my nerves and adrenalin rush behind me, I was much more relaxed to learn more.  Next we went into “Deadly Force”. Troy and Tony answered the questions of what it is, when is it justified, and how will I know when to use it?  We learned about the principles of family protection including family member responsibilities, situational awareness and color codes of mental awareness. These lead into areas to watch out for when with the family, including danger areas to you and your family unit. The classification of family members and family unit movement were also covered, which I felt was very useful for my husband and I.  We both now have a clear idea of what we will do in an emergency or threatening situation. This was all very new and very informative to me. We talked about places we frequent and exit strategies from these places and threat recognition was covered. Some topics included body language, behavior and mitigation tactics with respect to the family and location. These topics were also very new and informative. We finished up day two with the topics of trigger points and what to do after the fight, back-up guns and "off body" carry. We also did a drill covering the chance you are attacked by a dog. Very fast, scary, but really cool drill.  We covered car jacking and how to shoot from a vehicle. The practical application drills, the scenarios, the lectures/discussions were all excellent. It was very different moving from shooting at bull's eye targets to 'people targets', to a 3D target called "Dude" and the moving dog targets!




In summary, the competency, patience, and likeable personalities of the instructors, Troy and Tony, the course delivery and LMS Defense were absolutely phenomenal!  I would recommend taking a LMS Defense course to anyone I know.  I would like to say a very big THANK YOU TO OUR INSTRUCTORS, LMS Defense and to everyone who attended the course. The instructors and participants alike helped to make the course a positive memorable experience!! 


-Brenda

What other students have to say about the FPF course:

"...this class ROCKED " - Cush

"...I have seen a mindset shift in my wife after this training."- Nacho

Visit our website for upcoming classes and additional information.

Gear Review
Yancey Harrington

Blackhawk Battle Bag

Call it a “Go Bag”, a “Get Home Bag”, or even a “Jack Bauer” bag, but in the end, you need one. The need for an easily accessible, well stocked bag increases with every day that passes. It's nice to know that if it hits the fan, I can grab this bag and have enough essentials in it to take care of myself for a few days. Whether it be a medical, survival, or combat scenario, I will have what I need in a small portable bag, that doesn't draw too much attention. I carry this bag everyday in my car, and it normally makes my rounds with me too.

Lets look at what I have in my bag:

• Glock 17 w/ TLR1
• 3 spare G17 magazines
• 6 30rd AR-15 magazines
• 1 ALS smoke grenade
• 2 ALS pocket smoke grenades
• 1 Personal Blowout Kit
• 1 Cinch Tight bandage
• 6 ChemLights
• 3 oral hydration salts
• 1 QuikClot pad
• 4 rolls of gauze
• 1 EMT sheer
• 5 set of latex gloves
• 1 Pelican 1040 case with OTC medicine
• 1 Surefire 6P
• 1 Blackhawk Night-Ops Sentinel PL1
• 6 CR-123 batteries
• 1 Brunton GPS

Things I like about the Battle Bag:

• Size. It's small enough to be carried as a man-bag, and doesn't take up too much space. Large enough to carry enough supplies to let you be ready for almost anything.
• It does not scream “I have a gun in here”, like some other “tactical” purses do.
• The included internal pistol holster is a really neat feature. It lets you put the pistol inside the bag, where you want it, and at what angle you want it.

  Things I don't like:

• The sides of the external pistol magazine holders do not cover up enough of the side of the magazine, allowing it to be easily visible. The sides should be about another ½ to ¾ taller. This is not as much of a concern with the M4 magazine pockets.You have to move the map pocket, and unzip the bag to gain access to your firearm. I feel that as a battle bag, your weapon should be more easily accessible.
• The shoulder strap could use a pad on it to keep it in place on your shoulder during movement.

 

All in all, this is a very good bag. It's lightweight, compact, and inconspicuous enough to use as an everyday man-purse, even though it may be concealing a small cache of survival tools.

Specifications

Features:
 

• 1000 denier NyTaneon® construction.  
• YKK® zippers.
• Integral shoulder and waist strap (stowable)
• Map pocket (9.5x13-in) inside protective storm flap with side release closure.
• Internal pouch for hand-held radio with antenna access.
• Internal elastic loops for chemical lights.
• Internal hook and loop section for handgun and spare pistol magazine (or any modular hook and loop pouches).
• 2 dividers creating 3 internal sections.
• External triple M16/M4 magazine pouch holds 2 magazines in each pouch, adjustable lid design.
•  External double pistol magazine pouch with adjustable lids, and GPS/Utility pouch (3x5-in).
• Available in Black, OD, Foliage Green, and Coyote Brown  

  Dimensions: 11” x 5” x 10”
MSRP $100.00