FNH USA-Training Blog

I am pleased to announce the hiring of Ernie Beckwith to the position of Manager — Training with FNH USA, LLC, and effective March 16, 2011.

In this role, Ernie will be responsible for managing the LE/Commercial training program to include curriculum and program development, on-site training and oversight and management of the independent contractor training program.

Ernie will also be responsible for growing the FNH USA training program throughout the U.S. in an effort to generate new training business and sales contacts for the LE/Commercial Sales Team.

Ernie has extensive experience in the firearms industry and was most recently employed by American Shooters/Adapt Solutions as Director of Training and Special Projects, and LMS Defense as Instructor for the Southwest Region. Ernie has also served as the Director of American Heroes Challenge, a charity tactical competition for law enforcement and military special operations teams benefitting the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial Project.

Ernie holds a BA degree from Central Connecticut State University and resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Ernie as he joins the FNH USA Law Enforcement/ Commercial Team.

Terry Miller
Director, Training

Imagine if you will, you are a seasoned driver.  You have been driving a variety of cars and trucks for as long as you can remember, and you are a good driver.  It comes that time in your life where you need or want to own a motorcycle.  You find the perfect street bike.  Now you are told you need to have an additional license.  What how can this be?  You have been a good driver for years and besides you know how to ride a bike. After all you have been riding dirt bikes for years.  So why would do you need another license?

Deep down you know the pre-license training will be invaluable, teaching you a number of specifics about riding that you did not know or you had forgotten.   And you know that the license renewal process is designed for you and everyone that will be sharing the roadways with you.

We, FNHUSA, can liken the FN 303 compliance training to the same process. You have been trained on the use of force continuum and other less lethal products.  You a proven operator with a number of years of experience and you have used less lethal options on numerous occasions.  So why would you need to be trained again?

The FN303 is a unique and specialized piece of less lethal equipment; a tool to make your job easier and ultimately safer.

When your agency bought your FN 303 it was shipped with a new equipment warning.  A warning that is a mandate not to use the equipment until properly trained.  No other less lethal training is applicable and no other less lethal training will fill the liability gaps.  FNH USA offers a structured and accountable NET (new equipment training) and operator training program for the FN 303, tendering a certification with a life cycle of two years.   At the end of this cycle the operator must be re-certified to use the FN 303.

Selected operators can continue to advance their education and proficiency in association to the FN 303 by completing a FN 303 armorer course and an agency instructor course.

Check your credentials.  Make sure your training is up-to-date.  Keeping your training and operational credentials up to speed will keep you informed of product changes, ensure that you are properly trained, and addresses liability issues that may be associated to your training history and deployment strategy.

This is something we hear from time to time from the men and women of law enforcement and corrections.  FNH USA clearly understands the state of the economy.  We have heard from a number of law enforcement and corrections agencies and they really like the performance and dependability of the FN 303, but, funds for buying a number of FN 303’s are just not available.

Budget cuts and cost reductions seem to be the standard response when requests for new equipment are made.   It is difficult to understand but at times it is necessary to reduce costs to meet shrinking budgets.  These budgets must be met for your agency to be successful.  All of that being said there are alternative funding venues available or at least some that are worth exploring.

Today one of the accessible funding streams for law enforcement and corrections agencies is the temporary funding stream of asset forfeiture funds, domestic violence grants, local and federal grants.

Now, free money is not free.  It will take an experienced grant writer to help you prepare a grant for review and potential award.  It does not have to be difficult or challenging, but it does take some effort.

My suggestion to you is that you take this on in steps.  First, if you don’t have a grant writer within your agency, go to school.  Learn how to write grants.  It is an easy and fundamental sound course of instruction.  Then find a grant, one that will address your specific needs.  A good starting point is recovery.gov.  This web site lists over 200 billion…yes with a ‘b’ in grants, some of which may be very appropriate for your agency.

Write the grant to realistic performance expectations.  But you know that now because you went to school and learned how to write an applicable grant.  Be prepared to document the progress of your grant accounting for the funds you have received.

You will have to be patient and you will have to develop a contact to check on the progress of your grant.

Good luck in your grant writing.  It is an exciting and rewarding process.

During a recent training session an interesting question was asked?  Can I recharge the air reservoir while it is still attached to the FN 303 launcher.  The answer is yes.  The air reservoir does not need to be taken off the launcher to fill.

Given the example of a municipal police agency attempting to quell rowdy post game crowd, the less lethal officers deploy projectiles with pava powder.  The air reservoir runs low and needs to be recharged.  The FN 303 operator can have the air reservoir  refilled while still on target.

The air reservoir can be charged while still attached to the  launcher.  Simply attach the air supply hose to the exposed fitting and charge the air reservoir.  Once the air reservoir gauge reads full, this should take just a few seconds,  shut down the supply tank, remove the supply hose  and put your FN 303 back into service.

Breaking the glass in an automobile can be beneficial and achievable with the FNH USA FN 303.

When an operator is deploying the FN 303 on an automobile windshield at ground level, the operator will not be able to break the windshield, but only mark it to whereas the driver’s vision is impaired.  The majority of the projectiles fragment against the windshield and the unbroken projectiles ricochet upwards.

I have only been successful in creating a spider web effect upon a windshield when I was in an elevated position deploying perpendicular at the windshield.  I was standing above the target approximately 20 to 30 feet from the windshield parallel to the ground when I deployed the FN 303 with a temporary marking round.  I found that the combination of the vehicle speed and driver’s reactions (usually the driver will turn on the windshield wipers in an attempt to clean the windshield, but this merely smears the paint).  This combination may create an advantage for additional responding officers.

It is my recommendation the FN 303 operator should try to deploy the FN 303 at the windshield knowing it will only mark the windshield (a good example of a marking projectile is the temporary marking paint), resulting in the driver vision to be obstructed.
When the FN 303 operator is deploying at the car door windows, they will be successful if they are parallel to the ground and perpendicular to the glass window prior to deploying.  The FN 303 operator must strike the glass in the area of the lower right corner where the safety stamp is displayed.  Nothing scientific here it just seems to work a lot better.    If the operator is not parallel to the ground and at an angle to the automobile glass window, the projectile usually will ricochet off the glass.  The FN 303 operator should avoid shooting the glass in the center.  I have found that the automobile glass will generally flex and the contents of the projectile will ricochet off.

Finally, I would recommend that you do some additional research through your training programs establishing what works and what doesn’t work for you.  When you discover something new, don’t hesitate to share your findings.

By:  Terry L. Miller

Director-Training

FN 303 Less Lethal Launcher Training July 20^th, 21^s , and 22^nd, 2010

Where:

FNH USA –DEVTEC

Stafford/Quantico, Virginia

When:

July 20^th FN 303 Armorer Training

July 21^st FN 303 Agency Instructor Training

July 22^nd FN 303 Armorer Training

Cost:

$295 for the FN 303 Armorer Course

$295 for the FN 303 Agency Instructor Course

$400 for the combination of the FN 303 Armorer and FN 303 Agency Instructor Course

The FNH USA National Training Team is offering the training combination of the FN 303 Armorer and FN 303 Agency Instructor Course:  You select the combination of two training dates that best addresses your training schedule.

Contact Bill Buie at billbu@fnhusa.com or Terry Miller at terrym@fnhusa.com for course registration details.

Transportation, lodging, meals and mandatory course materials are the responsibility of the attending student.

New this year for the FNH USA less lethal program is the FN 303 training round.  This round is a cost effective addition to your training efforts.  Be sure to contact your local law enforcement distributor for pricing details.  The training rounds are available in a 150 round sleeve and a 750 round bucket of rounds.

The training round is designed to be used with the new FN 303 training launchers.  These special training launchers are designed for interactive agency training and economical training sessions.

The new training rounds by FNH USA have a lot of similarities with the standard FN 303 projectiles.  They are .68 caliber, fin stabilized, and frangible domed projectiles, fired from a smooth bore launcher.

So, what are the differences between the training projectile and the standard FN 303 deployment projectiles?   First, the training projectile is much lighter than the standard projectile.  It is weighing on average .309 grams opposed to the 8.5 grams of the standard deployment projectile.

Next, the training projectile is void of the standard Bismuth weighting and void of the selective payload (e.g. washable paint, permanent marking paint, PAVA, inert powder impact, and clear impact projectiles).  The FN 303 training projectile has a white inert liquid primarily used for marking, making it easy to identify impact point on your training target and even easier to clean-up after training.

Give you local law enforcement distributor a call for a price quote on the training projectiles.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised, generally costing about one quarter of the standard deployment round.

I would encourage you to get your hands on some training projectiles and start aggressively training with your FN 303 less lethal launcher.  The cost of these new projectiles certainly makes it well worth your efforts.

FNH USA Training

The National Training Team is very enthusiastic about the changes we have made to our Less Lethal training program.

We are still offering the same agency based personalized training.  But, we have kicked it up a notch and have re-designed the course curriculum for our less lethal program.  We are now teaching three stand alone courses of instruction associated to the FNH USA less lethal program and the FN 303, FN 303P and the F4.

The first is our NET/Operator course.  Imagine if you will, you have just purchased the FN 303 less lethal launcher for your agency.  The very first step to putting the launcher into service is to complete the mandatory compliance training.  This training program is designed to familiarize the new operator with the basic operational functions and maintenance of the FN 303.  After completing the classroom sessions, the operator is guided to the range for a live fire practical 45 round course.   This is fun course with a fast moving pace.  You will come away from this course of instruction with working on how to operate, fill the air reservoir, load the magazine, cycle fire the FN 303, and break down and clean the launcher.

The next course of instruction offered is the FN 303 armorer course.  This course has also undergone a dramatic change.  This eight hour course of instruction is specifically designed to help the end user understand all of the functions of FN 303.  We have listened to our end users and they have spoke loud and clear.  The course includes more practical time working on the FN 303.  The armorer will perpetuate learning as they disassemble the launcher, replacing worn or damaged O rings, identifying dynamic internal operations, and methodically reassembling launcher preparing it for calibration.  The classroom sessions are followed with a dynamic 90 round range experience confirming your classroom efforts.  This is compliance plus course of instruction with a mandatory 2 year certification renewal.

Next and certainly not the least is the FN 303 agency instructor course.  This course of instruction allows your agency to have a FN 303 operator trained to the level of instructor, for your agency only.  A fun and comprehensive course of instruction with a focus on teaching course curriculum for net/operators is a mandatory compliance plus course and instructors must recertify every two years.

Your FNH USA National Training Team is excited about these comprehensive courses of instruction.

We are looking forward to working with you and your agency in obtaining your training goals.  Keep those liability loops closed…maintain your certifications.

Welcome to our training blog.  The FNH USA National Training Team is really excited about the opportunity to share training through this informative venue.

We believe our training blog will allow us to stay in touch with our valued clients and training partners.  We are looking forward to keeping all of our associations abreast of changes in FNH USA training programs, advances in industry trends, and emerging training associations.

We hope you enjoy our thoughts and comments.  FNH USA is committed to excellence through performance and information sharing.

FNH USA, LLC National Training Team would like to hear from you.

Thanks

Terry L. Miller

Director of Training Services

FNH USA, LLC