IALEFI® ATC Instructor Briefing
PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION NOW!
As the presenter of a class involving firearms (live fire, dry fire, or simulator), you have primary responsibility for running a safe program. This sheet is intended to supplement a face-to-face instructor briefing. If you have not had such a briefing, please contact the IALEFI® Safety Committee Representative, Program Committee Chairman, Conference Host, or any member of the IALEFI® Staff or Board of Directors prior to your presentation.
1. As always, you are in charge of safety at your class. You have the absolute power to terminate the participation in your class of any student you feel poses a safety hazard to himself or others, and we request that you do so if necessary.
2. On rare occasions, a student may be enrolled in your class whose abilities or prior training are not adequate for your subject. See #1 above. Ask them to observe rather than participate, if appropriate.
3. All attendees will have received the attached handout “Firearms Safety at the IALEFI® Training Conference,” and are expected to follow it, as are you. Please read it for your own information. Please help us to enforce the requirement that everyone on your range (shooter or observer) wears wraparound eye protection, ear protection, and a baseball cap. (These items are all available for sale at the conference should anyone forget them. In a pinch, host range staff or fellow students can probably find “loaners.”) Students have also been encourage (but, not required) to wear their soft body armor.
4. Try to visit your range and/or classroom ahead of time to familiarize yourself with the facility and bring any special needs or problems to our attention in advance.
5. A range officer from the host agency will be available at your request to assist you as a safety officer. If you want a safety officer and don’t see one there, ask any IALEFI® Staff or Board member, or host range staffer. If you need more than one assistant, either make your own arrangements if possible, or let us know in advance. In any event, modify the program or ask for help without what you feel is sufficient assistance.
6. In addition to the firing line on your range itself, safe gun handling areas have been designated at various locations at the range facility. Students arriving late or leaving early in an emergency, or who need to handle their guns (for repair, etc.) can do so at these designated areas. Attendees have been told that “naked” guns (uncased or unholstered) should not be carried or handled on the buses, in the parking lots, or anywhere else in public except on the firing line or at one of these safe handling areas. Please help us to enforce this.
7. Students should arrive at your class with their firearms cased or holstered. Some of them may already have their weapons loaded, while others will be unloaded. Give students whose firearms are cased an opportunity to uncase and check the condition of their firearms. Have everyone load or unload as you wish at the start of your class.
8. At the end of your class, have everyone on the line unload their firearms and case or holster them on the line prior to leaving your range. Those who want to load their handguns with service ammo because they will be continuing to carry them can then do so either on your firing line (under your supervision), or on their own at any designated safe handling area.
9. Your own range safety rules and procedures are largely up to you within reasonable limits, i.e., hot range or cold range, etc. However, some things are so fundamental that we must insist on compliance by all instructors. These include the following:
A. No live ammunition maybe used in classroom demonstrations. All operable firearms used in classroom demonstrations should first be opened and demonstrated to be unloaded to the class. Even then, operable firearms should be pointed in a safe direction all times. Deactivated or simulator guns should be clearly marked, and should be explained to the class before use.
B. Whether in classroom or on the range, no operable firearms (whether believed to be loaded or unloaded) will be intentionally pointed at any person, including the instructor. (Special rules, arrangements, and precautions apply to classes involving simulations, disarming, weapon retention, etc. - see #10 below.)
10. If your presentation involves simulations, disarming, weapon retention, defensive tactics, etc., in which the participants will or may point guns at one another or at the instructor, the Safety Committee Chairman should have discussed your program with you in advance to make any necessary safety arrangements. If this has not occurred, please contact the Safety Committee representative immediately, or any member of the IALEFI® staff or Board of Directors. IALEFI® requires the use of non-firing training guns for such purposes (molded plastic, rubber, or metal training guns, deactivated “red handle” guns, etc.), or the use of safety devices other precautions that render firearms inoperable for training purposes. (See IALEFI® Firearms Training Standards for Law Enforcement Personnel, Section 8.3.) Training of this sort should be conducted in physically secured areas (closed training rooms, cordoned off outdoor areas, etc.) to prevent non-participants who may be carrying live weapons from entering the area. Anyone entering, leaving, or re-entering the secured area should be checked to ensure that no training guns leave the secured area, and no live guns or ammunition enter it. NO LIVE FIREARMS OR AMMUNITION WHATSOEVER ARE PERMITTED WITHIN THE SECURED AREA, AT ANY TIME, FOR ANY PURPOSE, BY ANYONE! One or more safety officers should be appointed to help monitor the security of the training area. These safety officers should have no other responsibility during the time they are monitoring safety. If you need additional manpower for this purpose, please advise and it will be provided. In specific cases on a case-by-case basis, IALEFI® may permit such training to be conducted with operable, unaltered firearms, provided IALEFI® is convinced that adequate precautions will be enforced to positively prevent the presence of any live ammunition in the training area and to prevent any possibility of a loaded firearm being used. Permission will not be given for any class that “mixes” segments of live fire instruction with other segments using operable firearms as props. AGAIN, ALL SUCH TRAINING MUST BE CLEARED AND APPROVED IN ADVANCE BY DISCUSSION WITH THE SAFETY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN. IF THIS HAS NOT OCCURRED, PLEASE CONTACT THE CHAIR AT ONCE.
Thank you for your attention to these matters. Our intent is certainly not to inhibit your freedom as an instructor, or to interfere with your training. After all, you have been invited to present because we believe you are an outstanding instructor. The purpose of this briefing is simply to assist you in conducting the safest, most effective training session possible with the context of our conference, and to help maintain our excellent safety record.
If you have any questions or problems, please ask and we will make every effort to assist you.