Bringing New Life to Transition Exercises

“Transition exercises” can be one of the most fundamental firearms training concepts, but if you simply train for firearms transitioning, you may be missing out on other weapon options.

The recent Brooklyn Center, Minnesota shooting** brings to mind transitioning from lethal to non-lethal weapons and back again. Keep in mind as we train, it usually involves starting with the pistol, transitioning to patrol rifle, and back to pistol. If you have a skilled instructor, they will have you transition to other weapons based on the scenario.

What if you already have a firearm in your hand and suddenly are confronted with a lethal threat? You confront the threat and fire if needed. Now let’s suppose you are faced with a non-lethal threat, but you already have your firearm in-hand and trained, and suddenly you find yourself in a situation that is rapidly deteriorating. You begin to think Taser®, pepper spray, or baton. The brain is a powerful force that, at times, instructors find nearly impossible to overcome. If your brain says, “threat- nonlethal,” but in your hand lays a firearm, your muscle memory may say, “Deploy Taser,” but in your hand lays the firearm.

The above has outlined my theory, and it is just a theory based on watching officers do things that defy logic but are correctable with training. This in no way concludes Officer Potter was not appropriately trained; it merely points out that training can solve many muscle memory issues and overcome stress-related cognitive challenges.

Imagine another officer confronting an adversary, in this case, the MotoShot Robot, and it complies with all commands. Imagine your fellow officer(s) firing their guns as you approach. Instantly you assume it is a lethal confrontation which is not necessarily a bad thing, but cases of sympathetic fire have been well established. MotoShot Robots can provide a scenario in which responding officers can continually assess the incident, transition to other weapon options, and counter the emotional response. Repeated transitioning, constant confrontation by the MotoShot Robot and frequent debriefing of the scenario are critical exercises in ensuring proper weapon choice and deployment.