Editor’s Note: Police1 “First Person” essays are the place where P1 columnists and members candidly share their own unique cop’s-eye-view of the world, from personal insights on issues confronting cops today to observations and advice on living life behind the thin blue line. The author of this column, a Police1 member named Paul Castle, first entered Police Service in Chatham, England in 1976 and since 1999 has been a full-time tactical instructor in the United States, UK, Canada, and throughout Europe. Castle, a Sheriff’s Deputy in Tennessee, posted this letter to his Web site in the midst of a controversy that erupted (and was reported here) after a training session he held for a cadre of snipers from a Virginia Sheriff’s Department. Police1 received his letter from several of our trusted sources, and subsequently spoke with Castle about running this as a First Person column. Do you want to share your own perspective with other P1 Members? Send us an e-mail with your story.
By Paul Castle
Sabre Tactical Training
I am a certified Firearms Instructor through the FBI. I am a State of Tennessee expert witness through training given to me from L.E.S.A.T. I am federally-licensed to use and deal in explosives. I have 31 years experience as a Police Officer and instructor, and I am a sworn Sheriff’s Deputy in Tennessee.
During my 31-year career, I have received training from the British Home Office, British Army, Germany Army, and other Special Forces Units. There are numerous other entities that I have received training from, and in turn, I have now trained numerous Agencies, Military Units, and Private sector Security Companies. I am a US DOD registered contractor.
My company has $1,000,000 liability insurance for my training. My sniper training program is P.O.S.T.-approved. Last year I trained more than 1,000 students, and over the last 14 years I have trained more than 10,000 students in eight countries. I have been given the only letter of recognition for my firearms training from Remington Arms that they have ever given out. I have held training at the Remington Arms range in AR. My sniper training concepts have, and are, being taught to Special Forces Units overseas.
I deemed that in order to develop skills and confidence in a high risk deadly force scenario, that I would permit the class students to take a shot at a fixed target in controlled circumstances with myself being five feet from the target at a range of 50 yards. The average sniper shot taken by US Law Enforcement is currently 54 yards approximately. This is a practice that is common in the community when developing advanced training practices.
Each student had shown the ability to hit a quarter at 100 yards, and a dime at 50 yards. The individual rifles were pre-shot (warm barrel) and scopes had been set to range, and accurate. There was less than a one/two mile wind, of almost nil value. Weather conditions were excellent.
It has come to my notice that there has been an ongoing in-house dispute between certain law enforcement agencies over the use of the facility I was training at. This is the third time I have trained at that facility. No safety issues have come up before to my knowledge.
I had no knowledge of any cameras being moved at the facility, and I can assure you, none were moved to prevent any training being observed to my knowledge. In regard to Lt. Joy Crabaugh remarks, I highly doubt that the officer has any real working knowledge of sniping and what it takes to be a Marine Corps Sniper. To suggest that the Marine Corps do not undertake live fire is a falsehood, probably stated with good intent, but untrue. Research NTOA blogs.
All special Operations take firearms training to an advance level. I have footage of Special Forces doing the exact same thing — live fire while training — how else do you train for reality. Blank ammo, simunitions, only goes so far. As a sniper your training has to go to the higher level, after you have shown competence. This was confirmed by me.
Why did I allow this to happen? Simple, it is risk versus reward. You cannot ask a human being to take a life without there being a legal and needed reason. By definition, the sniper takes a life to save a life, but in a deliberate way. They are not trained to shoot to stop a threat with minimum force, when their personal life is in danger, but rather a trained and disciplined shot taken with deliberate action, and with the intent to cause cessation of thought process. A .308 to the head tends to cause this circumstance.
In order to survive the mental aftershocks, and possible PTSD, along with the legal proceedings, students must be trained in these areas, which they were. Much of my training covers mental preparation for causing death. It should be noted that for every cop killed in the line of duty, four commit suicide in the USA.
In order to understand the responsibilities and in order to the training needs to be real. If there are police senior officers, and other individuals who cannot get that simple fact, then in my opinion, they have either:
• Never been in mortal combat
• Are living in denial
• They have some other motive for their actions
I can tell you what happens to police officers who have no training, insufficient training, inadequate training, and some bad luck: they get killed.
What’s just as bad is sometimes they make mistakes, and somebody else gets killed. Then the witch hunt starts.
The fingers of accusation and the blame game starts: why did you not do this, why did they not do that? What training did they get?
I believe that after being a Stage 3 cancer survivor, having my brother murdered when he was 17 years old, seeing cops shot in front of me, and seeing the devastation to the families of victims, that I will never allow my training concepts to fail the student when they need them the most. I will continue to make judgment calls as I see best, in order to produce the best results that my training will allow. I was there others were not.
I am not unsafe.
My training is not unsafe.
The risk factors were low.
The reward factors were high.
The facts of the matter are this: nobody was made to undertake this part of the training, and nobody was hurt. It was in a controlled environment. I went first. There was no shooting across any berms to my knowledge. Nobody made any complaint. There were senior officers of rank present. I am a qualified Range Instructor. It was good training.
I should like to say this: if your child was the hostage, and a police sniper turns up and decides to take a shot, do you want one that has the confidence to shoot down range where your loved one is being held hostage? Or would you rather a person who has only ever had to shoot at paper targets, has never felt the burden, the feelings of pressure, and does not know what it feels like to have the responsibility to DO IT RIGHT. I know that feeling very wel. What I did was good training, not unsafe training.
Having been a detective for 12 years, a member of the HRH the Queens 2SG protection unit, and a police fficer and Instructor with 31 years on the job, I am saddened for what is clearly a political motive on behalf of some, that officers’ training needs are being put in abeyance, and an active attempt to prevent training from being given. In addition, an attempt to put my training in a bad light and used as ammunition is shameful.
I hope those responsible for this situation will understand that the next officer who gives his or her life in the service of their community does not die through lack of good training. Should that happen, those responsible will have that stain on their souls.
The following page is but one example of my knowledge and skill base, and an attempt to explain my training concepts to the untrained eye. It is a direct written quote, and please note the source.
Paul Castle
Instructor
“When analyzing the events that precede oerator deaths, you must come to the inescapable conclusion that such deaths are the result of a sequence of mistakes…Not just one mistake. These mistakes, when analyzed, often follow a similar and recognizable pattern. This pattern more often than not, consists of:
1. Unrealistic and insufficient training.
2. Inaccurate and / or ignored intelligence.
3. A poor or complete absence of a sound tactical plan.
4. Team chaos created by unexpected suspect action, and the inability to effectively respond due to #’s 1 through 3.
5. Mr. Murphy presenting his ugly head at the worst possible moment.
6. Operator death.The C.A.R. system is the first training system I have experienced that has truly been designed around the idea that operators must train for gun fights. Unlike conventional systems that have evolved into training Operators to address paper targets, from a static line position. Paul Castle has recognized what all true Operators know in their hearts’ to be true. The systems we have been taught (isosceles, weaver) are fairly effective in a range environment, but, have been proven IN BLOOD to be wholly ineffective in real gunfights. Paul Castle has done what the rest of the Tactical Operator Community around the world has failed to do. He has solved the problem.
Paul has developed a system in C.A.R. that works in the real world, in real gunfights, in deadly encounters, that will save your life. Give yourself and your team the greatest gift you can give. A system and a plan to survive. Try this system. Give it a chance to reveal itself to you, you will never look back.”
Garrett Faddis
USN Seal Team 3. Point / Sniper
