Hi!
This is going to be short. Well, the first part is. I have a party to get back to. :) Have you all joined the Five Fall Favorites party over at Read Another Page? (And all the other lovely blogs.) It's been a busy week with lots and lots of books recommended. Today is the final day to enter the giveaway so don't forget! And tell all your friends and family too.
I haven't done a whole lot this week besides party stuff. I did get my Nov. story sent out to beta-readers. I've read some, taught writing classes, and designed a mock cover for my collection of monthly stories. Tonight we get to babysit my nieces and nephews. They haven't all been over for a normal evening of babysitting for a long time! Last night was the final Highway Patrol class. You'll get a report on that later. Since we covered so much stuff in these classes, several reports are going to have to be broken up. But not this week's. It is a bit long, but not long enough to break into two parts.
Enjoy it!
Highway Patrol
Week 3
September 20, 2018
Dad and I managed to arrive a little earlier than last week and found Sgt. Leuckenhoff, his wife, and three other classmates outside. The sergeant was talking to one of the SWAT men about something. Soon we headed inside to our classroom.
Once everyone was there, we were divided into two groups. Dad and I went with the first group to the shooting range in the basement after we picked up our two boxes of bullets. There were eight of us in this group, but one of the ladies didn’t want to shoot.
At the door which led downstairs we had to stop and wait a bit until someone came and unlocked the door. It was a familiar place to me as I had been down there for both the Citizens Police Academy and the Sheriff’s Citizens Academy. We took seats, and Sgt. Lueckenhoff briefly introduced our three instructors. Not only are they Highway Patrol officers, but they are the firearms instructors for the HP. We were given a crash course on handling the guns, and then we were given cases to load with 17 bullets (that’s all that will fit). We all had earplugs and clear glasses to wear. Then four of us went up to shoot first. I was one of the first group.
It was really nice this time as there were more instructors, so you got one-on-one coaching if you needed it. I did. Our first target was a paper with 12 large black dots. Once I was able to relax some, I hit the middle dot. After I finished my first 17 rounds, the instructor reloaded the case for me. (I had managed to get 15 bullets in the first time, but Dad had to get the last two in. My fingers just aren’t strong enough, I guess.) I shot my first 50 bullets and didn’t do too badly. I was still too tense and anticipating the recoil of the trigger when I pulled it. And, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hit anything higher than the middle dots.
It was interesting to sit at the tables and watch others shoot. There were a couple guys who were really good. I think they might shoot on their own.
Later I went up again to shoot the second half of my rounds. This time I was with a different instructor and got a new target. This target was an image of a man with a gun. My first shot wasn’t too good. I shot him in the stomach. Then I was shooting all around his gun. The instructor asked if I was aiming for the gun. No. I was just anticipating that slight recoil. He got me to relax a little more and said to hit him center of mass.
I did. Dead center. After a few more shots in the middle, he said to shoot right between the eyes. That was easier said than done. I got his neck. I got the guy’s ear and the side of his head, but mostly I hit around his mouth and chin. I think I did manage to hit the nose or the eye once. Again my instructor was kind enough to reload for me.
“I saw you struggling to load those first ones,” he told me.
By the time my final round was shot, I almost had a blister on my hand, and my arms were rather tired. But it was fun. I’d do it again if I had the chance.
Sgt. Lueckenhoff came down and, after the final shots were taken, he sent us all outside to see the “bear cat” before it got dark.
No, a “bear cat” is not some half breed creature from some fantasy book. It’s the SWAT team’s armored vehicle. The small one. There’s another one that is large enough for the men to stand up in which is called a “bear,” but this one they have to sit in. We got to climb up inside it and look around. There are no seatbelts, but when they have 8-14 guys fully dressed with all their gear, they’re packed in that thing. We were also told that Sgt. Lueckenhoff was the best “bear cat” driver the SWAT team has ever had.
Before we went inside, we got to see and hear a “flash-bang.” It’s exactly what it sounds like. You pull the pin, toss it in the house or room, and it makes a big flash and a loud bang. Sort of like a very loud firecracker. They won’t use them, though, if there are children or elderly people in the house. And they always have to check first before they toss it in just to make sure no one is directly in the way.
“It works really well on mean dogs,” one of the men said. “After it went off in one house, a large, mean dog ran out of the house as soon as we opened the door, and we never saw him again.”
We all headed back inside and settled in our classroom while the second half of the class went to the shooting range. (They were supposed to already be down there, but no one had caught that part of their instructions.)
Four members of the Highway Patrol SWAT team talked to us. There are twenty men–entry team and snipers–on each HP SWAT team, though I can’t remember how many teams the Missouri HP has. Also on the team are a few negotiators and three paramedics. The team trains two days a months and one full week in the fall. They go shoot one day a month.
Corporal Mike Adams, who is one of the negotiators as well as a road officer, talked a little about what negotiators do. Basically they try to talk the person into giving up. The negotiators will often fill a whiteboard, and more sometimes, with information they learn while talking to the wanted person. They will analyze everything. If there are certain words that set him off, they won’t use them as they are trying to calm him down so he’ll give up. Sometimes everything goes quickly, and other times it takes days.
Corporal David Brown is a sniper and used to be in the Marines. He talked a bit about what snipers do. Often they will go in hours or a day or so before the entry team. They give a lot of information to the entry team about who they see go in or come out. If the entry team had been informed that there were no children at the house, but a sniper sees some children enter, he’ll let the other know so they can change their plans.
One of the SWAT vests was passed around. That thing is heavy. I can’t imagine having to wear it for hours. We were told that the plates in the vest have to be replaced every five years. They also have a first-aid pouch on the right side of the vest. If a team member gets hurt, they will use that person’s first-aid kit to treat them so that their own kit stays intact for themselves.
Since the SWAT team isn’t part of a certain county, they help out in places where they don’t have a SWAT team. But they never go out without being asked. Sometimes they might go out a dozen times in one year, the next year it might only be eight.
There was some talk about different things, but then we were allowed to look at the stuff if we wanted. Some did, others just talked for a bit. We left a little before nine.
Come back next week as we learn about Crash Scenes, Internet crimes, and the K-9 Unit.
Dad and I managed to arrive a little earlier than last week and found Sgt. Leuckenhoff, his wife, and three other classmates outside. The sergeant was talking to one of the SWAT men about something. Soon we headed inside to our classroom.
Once everyone was there, we were divided into two groups. Dad and I went with the first group to the shooting range in the basement after we picked up our two boxes of bullets. There were eight of us in this group, but one of the ladies didn’t want to shoot.
At the door which led downstairs we had to stop and wait a bit until someone came and unlocked the door. It was a familiar place to me as I had been down there for both the Citizens Police Academy and the Sheriff’s Citizens Academy. We took seats, and Sgt. Lueckenhoff briefly introduced our three instructors. Not only are they Highway Patrol officers, but they are the firearms instructors for the HP. We were given a crash course on handling the guns, and then we were given cases to load with 17 bullets (that’s all that will fit). We all had earplugs and clear glasses to wear. Then four of us went up to shoot first. I was one of the first group.
It was really nice this time as there were more instructors, so you got one-on-one coaching if you needed it. I did. Our first target was a paper with 12 large black dots. Once I was able to relax some, I hit the middle dot. After I finished my first 17 rounds, the instructor reloaded the case for me. (I had managed to get 15 bullets in the first time, but Dad had to get the last two in. My fingers just aren’t strong enough, I guess.) I shot my first 50 bullets and didn’t do too badly. I was still too tense and anticipating the recoil of the trigger when I pulled it. And, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hit anything higher than the middle dots.
It was interesting to sit at the tables and watch others shoot. There were a couple guys who were really good. I think they might shoot on their own.
Later I went up again to shoot the second half of my rounds. This time I was with a different instructor and got a new target. This target was an image of a man with a gun. My first shot wasn’t too good. I shot him in the stomach. Then I was shooting all around his gun. The instructor asked if I was aiming for the gun. No. I was just anticipating that slight recoil. He got me to relax a little more and said to hit him center of mass.
I did. Dead center. After a few more shots in the middle, he said to shoot right between the eyes. That was easier said than done. I got his neck. I got the guy’s ear and the side of his head, but mostly I hit around his mouth and chin. I think I did manage to hit the nose or the eye once. Again my instructor was kind enough to reload for me.
“I saw you struggling to load those first ones,” he told me.
By the time my final round was shot, I almost had a blister on my hand, and my arms were rather tired. But it was fun. I’d do it again if I had the chance.
Sgt. Lueckenhoff came down and, after the final shots were taken, he sent us all outside to see the “bear cat” before it got dark.
No, a “bear cat” is not some half breed creature from some fantasy book. It’s the SWAT team’s armored vehicle. The small one. There’s another one that is large enough for the men to stand up in which is called a “bear,” but this one they have to sit in. We got to climb up inside it and look around. There are no seatbelts, but when they have 8-14 guys fully dressed with all their gear, they’re packed in that thing. We were also told that Sgt. Lueckenhoff was the best “bear cat” driver the SWAT team has ever had.
Before we went inside, we got to see and hear a “flash-bang.” It’s exactly what it sounds like. You pull the pin, toss it in the house or room, and it makes a big flash and a loud bang. Sort of like a very loud firecracker. They won’t use them, though, if there are children or elderly people in the house. And they always have to check first before they toss it in just to make sure no one is directly in the way.
“It works really well on mean dogs,” one of the men said. “After it went off in one house, a large, mean dog ran out of the house as soon as we opened the door, and we never saw him again.”
We all headed back inside and settled in our classroom while the second half of the class went to the shooting range. (They were supposed to already be down there, but no one had caught that part of their instructions.)
Four members of the Highway Patrol SWAT team talked to us. There are twenty men–entry team and snipers–on each HP SWAT team, though I can’t remember how many teams the Missouri HP has. Also on the team are a few negotiators and three paramedics. The team trains two days a months and one full week in the fall. They go shoot one day a month.
Corporal Mike Adams, who is one of the negotiators as well as a road officer, talked a little about what negotiators do. Basically they try to talk the person into giving up. The negotiators will often fill a whiteboard, and more sometimes, with information they learn while talking to the wanted person. They will analyze everything. If there are certain words that set him off, they won’t use them as they are trying to calm him down so he’ll give up. Sometimes everything goes quickly, and other times it takes days.
Corporal David Brown is a sniper and used to be in the Marines. He talked a bit about what snipers do. Often they will go in hours or a day or so before the entry team. They give a lot of information to the entry team about who they see go in or come out. If the entry team had been informed that there were no children at the house, but a sniper sees some children enter, he’ll let the other know so they can change their plans.
One of the SWAT vests was passed around. That thing is heavy. I can’t imagine having to wear it for hours. We were told that the plates in the vest have to be replaced every five years. They also have a first-aid pouch on the right side of the vest. If a team member gets hurt, they will use that person’s first-aid kit to treat them so that their own kit stays intact for themselves.
Since the SWAT team isn’t part of a certain county, they help out in places where they don’t have a SWAT team. But they never go out without being asked. Sometimes they might go out a dozen times in one year, the next year it might only be eight.
There was some talk about different things, but then we were allowed to look at the stuff if we wanted. Some did, others just talked for a bit. We left a little before nine.
Come back next week as we learn about Crash Scenes, Internet crimes, and the K-9 Unit.
Have you ever shot a gun before?
Have you come to the party?
Are you enjoying these reports?
These reports are quite informative. Thank you for taking the time to do this for us:) Some of this info might come in handy for one of your future stories!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Yes, it just might. ;)
ReplyDeleteI've shot a few guns before, the 22 being my favorite. I think I missed the first few reports, what exactly are these classes? The reports are super interesting! And the party was awesome, btw;)
ReplyDeleteHi Ryana Lynn,
ReplyDeleteMy dad and I are attending a citizens class about the Highway Patrol. It's pretty much a 5 week crash course on the different aspects of the HP, and what they do. After each class I'm writing a report about what we learned. Some reports are a lot longer as we had a lot more information, so I'm breaking those into two posts. You can go back and read the rest of the reports. You might learn some things. :)
Glad you enjoyed the party. :D I did too.
This is so interesting!
ReplyDelete-Katja L.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the reports, Katja. :)
ReplyDelete