Issue link: http://lawandordermag.epubxp.com/i/189636
ON THE JOB NEWS DISCIPLINE JUST HANDED DOWN SOCIAL MEDIA RANGEMASTER MISSION CRITICAL SYSTEMS Transition Drills begin with empty chamber and empty magazine. This ensures students get the feel of a click for empty chamber or mushy trigger signaling an internal malfunction or bolt lock back. Transition Drills for Patrol Rife A transition may be faster than clearing a jam. By Ron Yanor Ron Yanor is retired after a 25-year law enforcement career. He spent 19 years on a 22-operator, multi-jurisdictional tactical unit, nine years as the training and intel offcer. Since 1999, he has been a contract trainer and currently operates Adamax Tactical Academy in Illinois. He is also on the staff of Tactical Energetic Entry Systems. 18 LAW and ORDER I October 2013 H aving frst learned transition drills almost 20 years ago, there has been an evolution in teaching this drill. Initially learning the drill at T.E.E.S. using MP5s and UZIs, it was a straightforward methodology. The M4s and other patrol rifes were still in the future for law enforcement. Showing these drills to colleagues brought comments of astonishment like, "Why didn't we think of that?" The drill was still something new. Lately we have seen students coming to courses with modifed versions of this method. Some methods are OK, but some methods are slow and/or hazardous. The transition drill was developed for room combat when the primary weapon, usually a SMG, either ran dry or malfunctioned. The theory was it was quicker to change over to a pistol in close quarters than trying to reload or remedy the problem. The same holds true for patrol rife engagements up to 15-20 yards. What we teach is that same basic drill with a couple of slight modifcations to compensate for the AR15/M4 weapon platform and changes in holster design. Quite frankly, the original method is sound and leaves very little room for improvement.