 It happens often. The routine execution of a search warrant. Nobody expects trouble until... In middle seconds the body reacts. The heart rate soars. Tunnel vision is common. Fine motor skills are decreasing. The expertise so finely honed on the shooting range is not enough. These officers need tactical knowledge and they need it now. Within the world of low intelligence, it has slowly become apparent. Static target shooting is about the first part of the survival equation. A much larger part of successfully surviving an armed encounter is the possession of certain mental and physical skills. These skills, known as tactics and strategy, are used together to establish tactical competence. It's a formidable training challenge to provide opportunities that mimic armed encounters but maintain safety. The Federal Low Enforcement Training Center has accepted this challenge. In fact, it is building on its training excellence by expanding its tactical training facilities. And now the time has come for the Center to open its doors to a new era of officer survival training. Please, the water is open up! Introducing the Plexi Tactical Firearms Training Facility. It's a sophisticated response to an urgent training need, realistic and challenging. Within this complex, students will face high-risk situations that are tense, uncertain and constantly changing. They will demonstrate the physical mechanics of tactical movements and make the decisions that initiate them. This is tactical thinking. In the end, students will have used reasonable and necessary force on their way to acquiring true tactical competence. The Tactical Firearms Training Facility comprises three buildings. A single-story, non-lethal shoot house. A two-story commercial structure. And a live-fire shoot house. In addition, a 10-station obstacle course has been built adjacent to the complex. Together, the facility provides a flexible environment for both basic and advanced tactical training. Specifically, each shoot house provides its own unique challenges along the use of force model. For example, the single-story, non-lethal shoot house simulates a residence. A setting where officers commonly encounter compliance or non-violent resistance. In this structure, students may practice slow and deliberate searches, among other techniques. It's a place to learn about the fatal funnel. Contact cover to practice non-verbal communications. Wearing proper safety equipment and armed with treating weapons using non-lethal ammunition, such as simunitions, code eagle, laser, planks, or paint gun pellets. Teams face other students in force-on-force training. Here, scripted encounters challenge students in a wide variety of tactical situations. The non-lethal shoot houses were designed to duplicate the kind of rural or urban structures officers can expect to enter. This is especially true of the two-story commercial replication. Here, a number of more complex tactical exercises can be performed. The variety of structural elements allows students to practice more physically and mentally demanding maneuvers. Repelling. Clearing an elevator shaft. Up a stairwell. Down a hallway. All the techniques needed to do room clearing. Strategies that might be required if officers encountered active resistance. But it is the realism allowed by the structure's design that is its true vacuum. Inside pulses race. Tension runs high. When students must choose the best tactic based on the situation, under stress conditions, they sharpen their judgment. Throughout these exercises, students will be able to apply the unified training principles, or UTPs, which they learn during their academic training. These are. One, position of advantage or POA. Two, threat assessment or decision-making. Three, response or action. And four, evaluation or follow-through. This training reinforcement only adds to the effectiveness of the experience. To heighten the challenge, a very special feature was designed into the structure. The ability to use flashbangs. It is a unique training experience to hear the blast. To see the explosive impact. To feel the concussive effect. And to keep on going. The tactical firearms training facility helps students know what to expect. Because in real life, there may be no second chance nor pat answers. It's why the two non-lethal shoot houses were built adjacent to each other. This layout allows for multifunctional exercises in which students move tactically from one building to the other. The result is increased versatility. And added experience. That experience grows when students are exposed to the live fire shoot house. Live rounds makes every move crucial. Here is the ultimate in simulated situational response. The flash of gunfire. The explosion of sound. The wisps of smoke. The TFTF's live fire shoot house brings a degree of realism to tactical training that is unparalleled at the center. Unparalleled in realism and safety. From the bullet absorbing material, it coats every inch of wall and ceiling and prevents ricochets. To the sophisticated ventilation design that operates at negative pressure to capture smoke. And particles in the air filtering system. Safety is never forgotten. To further ensure safety, the instructor's student ratio is decreased. A one to one or one to two situation is the norm. The result is a realistic urban setting in which to train for armed encounters. A not to be missed opportunity for students to experience the tension and demands of a deadly force situation. Together the live fire and two non-lethal shoot houses represent a new thrust in tactical training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Still committed to basic marksmanship. Still committed to safety first. The tactical firearms training facility expands officer survival training. It is a total effort and it is designed with the total student in mind. Complete with its own 10 station obstacle course. In this planned complex, individuals are pitted against themselves. By attacking the course with its poles, nets, walls and water jumps, students are physiologically stressed. Their heart rates elevate. Their concentration test. The resulting impact on their fine motor skills can be dramatically seen when participants are asked to complete the course and then move into one of the shoot houses. It is a lesson learned both mentally and physically. Just another part of the diverse capabilities of the tactical firearms training facility. How agencies use those capabilities is up to them. The facilities design allows for customized operations to meet each agency's needs. You not only get realism, you get relevancy. Since no law enforcement situation is routine and no two confrontations are alike, officers need to be familiar with a variety of tactical options. The tactical firearms training facility cannot only complement basic training with hands-on experience. It can provide advanced training to meet almost any tactical challenge. In a world where officers may face deadly force from the moment they enter the field, the advantages of safe, realistic tactical training can only influence the chances of survival.