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(Ohio State Highway Patrol F.A.S.T Offers Survival Training for Women in Law Enforcement
According to Colonel Kenneth L. Morckel, superintendent of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, both training officers and instructors must adapt to the changes and incorporate realistic situations into all facets of training.
“Trainers must take on the responsibility of training new recruits and veteran officers with updated realistic tactics. There are too many trainers willing to take your money without giving you quality training in return," Colonel Morckel said.
Many challenges confront women in law enforcement today and they, like their male counterparts, must be mentally and physically trained to react in any given situation. In the fall of 1998, several female Ohio State Highway Patrol officers attended a national conference for women in law enforcement and returned with suggestions for survival training designed exclusively for women. Conceptually, the course could address specific survival issues related to female officers through both classroom instruction and practical exercises.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol has been on the leading edge of realistic survival training since 1980, when now retired Captain Robert F. Welsh created the premier survival school - Firearms Arrest and Self-defense Tactics (F.A.S.T.). The F.A.S.T. program, now in its 22nd year, attracts officers from all over the United States and around the world. Captain Welsh also developed other realistic training exercises, including React-Fire-Win.
In the vast majority of critical incidents, an officer must respond to the aggression of an assailant. Their survival is predicated upon reacting, returning fire, thus emerging the winner.
React-Fire-Win involves two different but associated live-fire training exercises. The Red Handle Gun exercise utilizes modified handguns that fire cotton projectiles. The training involves a variety of realistic traffic stop scenarios in which the officer reacts to any aggression that is presented.
Shot avoidance training uses ‘simunition’ rounds (paint ball). An officer is fired upon by a live target, and is taught to get low and move laterally while returning fire and seeking cover.
In 1999, female law enforcement officers from across the nation began requesting gender specific survival courses. Even though the Patrol's F.A.S.T. program already incorporated females into the program, the course director at the time, now retired Lieutenant J. Doug Miller, also recognized the need for a strictly female survival program.
After attending several courses around the country, Lieutenant Miller implemented the first Female F.A.S.T. School in the spring of 1999. Though the female program has similar course material as the non-gender specific F.A.S.T. program, female students also have the opportunity to express issues and concerns without being concerned with scrutiny from their male colleagues.
Female officers are trained in realistic practical scenarios in conjunction with mental training. For example, during Subject Control Tactics, female officers learn how to defend themselves from larger, stronger suspects by utilizing large muscle groups. During Tactical Firearms, women are instructed on a modified grip of their primary weapon to gain confidence in the use of firearms. Other topics covered in the five-day school include: React-Fire-Win, Deadly Errors, Psyche of Survival, and survival training through a computerized shooting simulator.
According to Colonel Morckel, the mission of the F.A.S.T. training is to teach women in law enforcement survival skills they can utilize throughout their careers. Female officers gain confidence in their abilities to handle survival situations when they participate in the F.A.S.T. program rather than loosing their tactical edge and becoming complacent in their operations. They also have a great opportunity to network with others while learning the latest survival tactics.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s F.A.S.T. program remains the premier officer survival school in the country. If you have any questions about the F.A.S.T. Program, contact Sergeant Toby J. Smith at the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy at (614) 466-4896 or tjsmith@dps.state.oh.us.
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As law enforcement officers continue to
face new challenges everyday when performing their duties, the Ohio State
Highway Patrol’s mission “to serve and protect” continues to take on new
meaning.