NOVEMBER 2026 Training Update
NOVEMBER 2026
CSAT
Below is an article I worked on this past month and my friend and fellow instructor Bryan “Wilkie” was kind enough to add his story.
Readers are authorized to republish this as you see fit.
Addicted to the Hit-Part I
History repeats itself.
It usually does.
Within the past two weeks, American Law Enforcement has had several officers shot up and at least one killed.
One was in New Jersey, where a warrant was served and shots were fired at a breach point. Officers were working with a mechanical spreader on the front door. They elected to push a day-time hard hit on an offender in a fortified position instead of picking him off with another option.
Next, in Texas, another agency pushed a warrant on a man’s home where he was ready. It is reported that over 800 rounds were fired by the offender. Sounds like he was ready as well. One Deputy was killed on that one and another officer was shot.
Could he have been apprehended at another location? Most likely.
General Observations:
Pushing the hit will eventually result in gunfire. I am not sure how the decision-making process went during the planning of both operations.
Sometimes LE watches and emulates Special Ops. Many former Military go into Law Enforcement as it is a natural path with structure and discipline.
Some Special Ops types take the path of Instructor, wanting to pass on lessons learned. Some just need a job. Some want to stroke their egos. This is where the problems start. Many cannot make the transition to training in the civilian LE world. They do not understand limited training time, budgets, training facilities, manpower and structure.
Next, military special ops generally conduct kill-or-capture missions.
Law Enforcement focuses on taking individuals into custody with minimal or no collateral damage.
As in the military, life in SWAT can be cyclic, where an organization is on its game, then they fall and go through a rebuilding process. They might fail a mission they were not prepared for and their world crashes down on them for a period of time. This applies to both LE and Military units. Generally, the less prepared they are, the faster they meet the situation that changes their course.
Apples and Oranges:
Spec Ops conducting operations, or should I say “Hits” or raids, were routine. They train day in and day out, many with unlimited budgets and training time. Use of Force or ROE (Rules of Engagement) are very loose and sometimes non-existent due to secrecy requirements. Unless the chain of command enforces rules, some things are let slide.
Next, the training of a street-savvy police officer compared to a third-world indigenous person is vastly different. Some officers gobble up all that is said via in-person classes, or by way of YouTube. Other officers have much more tactical experience than they let on and quietly say, we will not use that technique for a variety of reasons. The problem is that the new officer does not have the experience to make that determination and this also applies to small departments with limited training budgets. It is easy for them to go down the wrong path.
Law Enforcement is under the Legal and Tactical microscope. From the news to body cams, they have constant review from all directions. Leadership from SWAT to agency command are impacted by less-than-stellar incidents, and especially when an operation is a “train wreck.” I have watched Tactical Teams lose their way for two years trying to re-establish credibility in the agency and the people they serve in the community.
Shawn Ryan Famous
Shaw Ryan has made many military people famous, some who should not be. Some, at best, are BS artists and legends in their own minds. Some are squared away. I remember some of the stories they tell differently, as I was around when they happened.
I prefer not to become involved in man drama, but some teach tactics that are unsafe and I have followed after a few and their training sessions only to be told by students I trust, they lost count on how many times they were swept by the instructor’s weapon.
Some rely on a Rolex watch and war stories to fill in the tactical gaps.
Most recently, I watched a YouTube reel of how a former Tier 1 Operator teaches single person processing of doors. It is beyond dated and not safe in my view. The LE and Civilian communities have much better ways of handling open and closed doors. Special Ops get lucky like everyone else from time to time. Also, they are pushing the fight against some less-than-combat-savvy individuals with low-tech abilities.
American Law Enforcement must deal with high- and low-tech-savvy criminals, or just the average American who can watch his front porch and the surroundings of his house from his cell phone. Also, Police Officers are taught from day one not to stand in the middle of a potential breach point.
Special Ops/SWAT Addiction:
I watched YouTube videos of former Spec Ops soldiers doing their first interviews years ago and then I watch the current ones. It is night and day as their “recovery” or deprogramming can be witnessed in both videos. Most are positive transformations. I knew many from the day.
I can see the same happening in LE, with SWAT Operators not wanting to go through the chain of command but wanting to stay in the trenches as long as possible. Some make it for a long time and thousands of hits. Others make it until they self-destruct or their world starts to crumble.
Leaders rarely pull these officers or rotate them. Leadership is reactive and will wait until they self-destruct and then migrate them out. Replacements are easy and readily available with others who are addicted to the hit.
Adrenaline Junkies
Skydiving is one area where people get addicted and push to failure. There are many stories out there with negative results. I remember one where jumper was so into it, they forgot their chute. They only did it one time. Their dirt alert went off and they were done.
In another case, I watched a new downhill skier want one more run because of the thrill and that was the run that put him in one of those wire splints with a severe leg injury, and non-operational status for a year.
I see the same happening with Spec Ops and SWAT LEO in some cases. They become addicts and do not want to self-extract. Ego and perception can play a large part of this. They think they will lose their self-identity and this plays into their ego. Ego takes priority over common sense and physical and mental health.
Being on the Hit becomes more important than the reason for the hit.
Legal, Moral, Ethical and Common Sense
The Military can write off operations and people as they use secrecy to protect their screw ups and bad decisions.
Law Enforcement cannot do that. Everyone is watching from the outside, and patrol is watching from the inside. Eventually the truth of what happened will get out.
A military commander once said, “We can go where we want, when we want and stay as long as we want.” I will simply add that in the military, we must kill people to do that. In the military, the big question is: is the upper chain of command willing to absorb the fallout, and will they back the command and the players on the ground if things go bad, or will they cover it up?
This is where Common Sense comes into play.
LE can pretty much do the same. The problem is the ripple effect is instantaneous with LE, along with the media reporting and questions immediately being asked.
Chain of Command
I have observed Chains of Command crumble in the military when things got tough and careers were on the line. They failed their soldiers because they valued promotions over taking care of those under their command.
If the same happens in LE, Law Enforcement Chain of Commands can be much, much worse. Criminal litigation can lead to civil litigation and then there is the press to deal with.
Some Chiefs are four stars with no substance. They will throw an officer/officers under the bus if there is a possibility that their career will be tarnished. Falling on their sword is a term that most will not adhere to.
Conclusion:
Questions to ask yourself if you are in one of these positions:
Is the next hit you do worth your life, the life of a team member, or an innocent civilian?
Are we capable, or are we ego-driven?
Is there way that takes a little more work to make it a safer apprehension available?
Are we lazy or complacent?
Is your current professional drive healthy for you or draining you of your common sense or thinking ability?
What do outsiders think?
Is it impacting your family life?
What does my family think?
Self-extracting and serving can simply mean redirecting your life energies in a positive way, which can ensure a better quality of life for you and those around you.
Extract when you need to, not when you have to.
We are capable of unlimited drive and push. Generally, we do not see when it weakens us, but those outside our circle do. Sometimes all you need to do is listen.
There will always be more bad guys and more hits. When the hit becomes more important than everything else, it might be time to take a hard look at things.
Finally, when are you going to take the time to train the next generation of Officers and Leadership and release the reigns?
About the Author
I self-extracted years ago. Not suicide, but by voting with my feet and repurposing my life. After the 1993 Mogadishu, Somalia raids, I watched leadership from ground level military to the President play out. I was disgusted.
I had six years until retirement. I spent the next two years in a senior instructor position in Special Ops, where after hours, I completed my first degree to help channel my disappointment. I spent the last four years of my enlistment teaching at an ROTC assignment where, “finding positive work,” in my spare time, I knocked out a master’s after the duty day. Still wanting to give back after the military, I started my business/profession with my main goal of helping Law Enforcement become safer during their high-risk missions. I taught logically sequenced, well-thought-out training and how it applies to their missions.
I was first requested by a major Texas city Tactical Team Commander to teach multiple breach points for hostage rescue missions as the Cobb County Incident had recently taken place. Two officers were killed and others wounded during a hostage rescue operation.
During the past 26 years of running my business/profession, I watched GWOT 1, Iraq unfold and then GWOT 2, Afghanistan.
The cycle continues.
PART II
The Hit - Experience, Ego, Leadership, and Knowing When Not to.
Bryan Wilkinson
My name is Bryan Wilkinson. I began my career in 1990 with a six-year enlistment in the United States Marine Corps. It was a pre-GWOT enlistment, but I still had the opportunity to deploy multiple times, including during the first Gulf War and to Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1992–1993. I ended my enlistment in 1996, serving as a Marine Scout Sniper and Scout Sniper Instructor with the 1st Marine Division.
After transitioning out of the Marine Corps, I began my law enforcement career in 1999. That career spanned more than 27 years and several agencies. I spent 19 years at a mid-sized sheriff’s office in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, where I worked special operations inside a detention facility, spent a short time in patrol, and devoted most of my career to SWAT, special crimes, narcotics, and fugitive-warrant investigations. I ultimately retired as a lieutenant overseeing a fugitive-warrant unit and special operations, and I served as a SWAT commander.
I share that background because Paul makes several important points in his article that I have watched play out over the years. The profession has evolved. Tactics have evolved. If you intend to remain effective, you must be willing to evolve with them.
When I first left the Marine Corps, I was approached about teaching law enforcement sniping. Yes, I had been a Marine Scout Sniper and Scout Sniper Instructor, but I remember thinking, I don’t know how to be a law enforcement sniper.
There are certainly parallels. Shooting is shooting, and fieldcraft is fieldcraft. But the missions are not the same. The rules of engagement, legal considerations, distances, operating environments, accountability, and consequences are different.
That is why I did not teach a formal law enforcement sniper course for almost 20 years. Before stepping into that role, I needed experience that could only come from deploying on real critical incidents—as a sniper, sniper team leader, entry-team leader, primary team leader, and eventually a SWAT commander. Those different responsibilities taught me to see more than the problem immediately in front of me. They gave me the thousand-foot view—or what I sometimes call the balcony view.
Military veterans often leave the service wanting to pass along what they learned during their military career, and that has real value. Some also want to make money teaching, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that either.
The problem begins when we assume that because something worked in one environment, it automatically belongs in another.
Then there is the ego.
I will admit that when I was younger, I was one of those guys who wanted to hit everything. If there was a door to hit, let’s hit the damn door.
When I had been on a SWAT team for only two or three years, our technique sometimes seemed to consist of pouring gasoline on each other, setting our hair on fire, and running through the structure as fast as possible—yelling, screaming, and pointing guns at everything. A high five and chest bump was the debrief.
I didn't yet know everything I needed to know, but I knew enough to understand that the way we had been doing things wasn't always the best way to accomplish the mission and at that point, I was seriously considering leaving the team.
Then we had a critical incident in 2005 that ended with a sniper resolution. That incident forced us to recognize that we needed better training, and it became a turning point. It was also when I had the opportunity to work with some great operators and leaders who looked at problems from different perspectives, considered multiple courses of action, and used common sense to select the most appropriate one.
I began seeking better training and learning from more experienced people. As the years accumulated, I realized there were far better ways to conduct many operations. Sometimes the better answer was surveillance. Sometimes it was waiting someone out. Sometimes it was transitioning from covert to overt at the right moment. Sometimes it was using six people in two vehicles instead of bringing the entire circus.
Catch the suspect where you want him. Knock him down. Secure him. Debrief him. Sometimes you can walk him right back through the same door with you.
That approach can mean less manpower, less overtime, less exposure, and less danger to the officers, the suspect, and the public.
That is still tactics. In fact, sometimes it is better tactics.
The critical ingredient is common sense.
Ego gets involved when people want to bring out all the cool equipment. They want the large team, the armored vehicles, the explosive breach, and the dynamic entry because those things are exciting.
But not every problem is a nail, and we do not always have to be a hammer.
Sometimes we need to be a torque wrench and dial the response to the proper setting.
There is absolutely a time and place for dynamic operations. During a hostage rescue or an active-shooter event, you may have to go right fucking now. But a barricaded subject is not automatically a hostage rescue. Sometimes the right decision is to hold what you have, slow everything down, and let time work in your favor.
Boredom is not a tactical justification.
Paul also nailed the leadership issue.
I have watched people rise through the ranks until every decision they make becomes connected to their next promotion. They seem to have forgotten their origins and lost common sense. If standing behind their people might damage their careers, some leaders will throw someone under the bus in a heartbeat.
I have seen it happen, and it has happened to me.
That was one reason I eventually voted with my feet and retired early from an agency after 19 years. I later worked for two other agencies and helped establish another SWAT team. Even then, I encountered people who placed more value on college degrees and time spent in classrooms than on actual experience, judgment, and demonstrated leadership.
Education is important, but it does not replace experience. A degree cannot tell you what it feels like to make a decision when lives are on the line, information is incomplete, and there is no perfect option.
That is also why a good after-action review matters: What happened? Why did it happen? What did we do right? What did we screw up? Who genuinely needs to be held accountable? What can we learn from it? How do we move forward and make the organization better?
People must be allowed to make honest mistakes, learn from them, and evolve. Accountability still matters, but accountability and organizational self-protection are not the same thing. If every honest mistake becomes a career-ending event, eventually no one will tell leadership the truth.
Don’t ask me how I know, but honest mistakes happen. You just have to own them and fix them.
Another lesson I learned is that law enforcement can become accustomed to compliance. Most people eventually comply—until you encounter someone who does not.
As Mike Tyson famously put it, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
When you finally come up against a truly committed adversary—or several committed adversaries—your assumptions disappear quickly. Ego can be deflated in a hurry when the person on the other side is every bit as committed to his mission as you are to yours.
Those experiences changed the way I looked at tactics, training, and leadership.
I am glad I evolved.
Tactical maturity is a real thing—if you actually mature.
I cannot deny that I once chased the hit. My wife would snitch me off if I tried to deny it. But I stopped chasing it a long time ago. I never needed all the cool-guy equipment or the identity that sometimes comes with it. I stayed grounded in the fundamentals while allowing my equipment, training, and tactics to evolve with the times.
The objective is to accomplish the mission, manage the risk, protect your people and the public, and get everyone home.
That is it.
Sometimes accomplishing that objective requires going through the door. Sometimes it requires sitting on a location for six hours and waiting for someone to come outside. Sometimes the smartest tactical decision is ensuring that you never have to go through the door in the first place.
That is experience—and, more importantly, learned experience.
Later in my tactical career, my team faced an incident remarkably similar to the one we experienced in 2005. This time, I watched a mature team recognize the problem, slow things down, and handle it appropriately. That moment demonstrated how far we had come—not because we had acquired more equipment, but because we had developed better judgment.
- Leadership matters.
- Ego matters.
- Judgment matters.
It is also important not to allow the profession to become your entire identity. Find interests outside the job. Better yet, find interests that complement it without consuming you.
For me, the profession was always more of an adventure than an adrenaline rush. I found that same challenge and sense of discovery through backpacking, kayaking, fishing, trail running, and spending time outdoors with my family. Those activities kept me grounded and reminded me that there was a much larger life beyond the badge, the team, and the next operation.
Train hard enough to use every tool available when you truly need it. Develop the experience, discipline, and humility to recognize when you do not.
The day may come when those skills are required, so prepare accordingly. But understand that leadership is not demonstrated by how often you deploy your capabilities. Sometimes it is demonstrated by your restraint.
Over the years, I also had the opportunity to teach shooting and tactics professionally and full-time, passing along the tactics, techniques, procedures, mistakes, and hard-earned lessons accumulated throughout my career. This, along with my current path, has been my way to give back what I have had the opportunity to learn from others and experience in real time.
Today, I work alongside an old partner as a security supervisor in a large school district in the DFW Metroplex. The environment is different, but the fundamental mission remains the same: Lead and mentor people, deter threats, detect problems, respond, when necessary, develop our people, and protect lives.
The lessons still apply.
Leadership still matters. Awareness still matters. Preparation still matters. Ego still gets people into trouble.
After more than three decades in the military, law enforcement, tactical operations, teaching, and security, I have learned that true capability is not measured by how eager someone is to act. It is measured by whether that person possesses the judgment to choose the correct action at the correct time—and the humility to recognize that the loudest, fastest, or most aggressive option is not always the best one.
Conclusion:
- Lead by example, with humility and consistency.
- Have the tools.
- Master the fundamentals.
- Train for the day when you must go through the door.
- But develop enough experience, common sense, and humility to know when not to.
- Do not let the job become your entire identity. Know when it is time to go walkabout.
- Believe me, that day will come, and you will know it. You just have to act on it.
That is not weakness.
That is tactical maturity.
THE MIGHTY NETWORK
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The CSAT WAY Book
NEW CSAT CLASSROOM
The New CSAT Classroom is located at the Instructor House on the 110 side. Make a right up the hill at the sign.
The classroom is now in the old garage and has AC.
We can comfortably accommodate 18-21 students, and we have Wi-Fi hard-lined in.
The new classroom is ready. Just waiting for the grass to grow in the parking area.
HUNTING
While doing an exercise walk with a light ruck, I ran across a herd (sounder). I was on a road close to the bottom and was starting to cut across a long-range hunter lane onto another.
My eye picked up movement and I stopped. I had deer looking at me about 60 yards to my left front. They were eating acorns below a big property line oak tree. To my right, I caught more movement. Pigs.
One big and two medium sized ground plows. They were head down rooting acorns and did not see me. I slowly moved up a few paces, placed my hiking staff on the ground and kept scanning and looking for a shot. I knew I would get only one, as they would scatter deeper into the bottom from which they came.
The deer saw me, spooked and moved off, but the hogs kept rooting. I drew my Gen 3 G26, loaded with 124 Speer Gold Dots and yes, iron sights.
I caught another group of hogs coming out of the bottom to the right and one was one of those black Russian type as best as I can describe it.
I waited until I could thread the shot through some trees and the big one came through my line of fire and I squeezed off one round center mass as that was the only shot I was able to take.
I used front sight focus and have tuned my sights on my pistol to point of aim, point of impact at 25 yards with my carry ammo.
Everything on the ground bolted when I touched it off and I watched her direction of travel. I waited a minute and then started tracking.
The initial shot was from 25-35 yards and I found her in the bottom about 50-60 yards away.
Gold Dot is my carry ammo and is probably over 6 years old. I have never had an issue with it. You can see test results on Lucky Gunner.
This round punched all the way through, I am guessing 8-10” and did its job.
Finally, armadillos have been tearing my yard up. This is the second in about a week with a bolt action .22 WMR and Suppressor. The ammo is CCI 40 grain Game Point.
RANGE
The Temps are perfect and the grass has almost stopped growing.
IN CLOSING
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you on the range.
Paul R. Howe
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