For the fifth consecutive year, the National Rifle Association's Law Enforcement Activities Division (LEAD) trained a record number of police firearm instructors from the ranks of city, state and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as military units and security contractors.
In 2006, NRA trained 2,056 law enforcement instructors in the tactical use of handguns, shotguns, patrol rifles, select-fire and long-range rifles. Police instructors trained by NRA are offered classroom and dynamic range instruction in order to help them develop and conduct safe, effective and reality-based firearm training for their own departments and agencies.
"The need for contemporary firearm and tactical training for law enforcement officers is greater than ever," said Ron Kirkland, Director, NRA Law Enforcement Activities Division. "NRA is proud to respond with state-of-the-art training that police instructors can implement when teaching their own officers the specialized skills they need to protect the public."
NRA has also expanded its efforts with the military to train combat troops in police tactics, as soldiers in overseas urban areas take on duties such as house-to-house searches. In addition, with the increased privatization of U.S. military security, NRA has continued to expand its role in the training of private contractors, as well as traditional military security forces, in police firearm tactics.
Such efforts take NRA trainers around the globe. In 2006, for the first time, NRA conducted military training at the U.S. Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan. Military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have also benefited from NRA training.
Qualified officers who cannot personally attend NRA training classes may still purchase the highly regarded training manuals used in the courses, available in print and on CD-ROM, and other police training aids as well. Visit the NRA Program Materials Center for more information.
Since its inception in 1960, LEAD has trained more than 50,000 law enforcement instructors, and more than 12,000 NRA Certified Instructors are currently training police officers and military personnel at home and abroad. For more information on law enforcement firearm training, or to attend an NRA Law Enforcement Firearm Instructor Development School, contact the NRA Law Enforcement Activities Division at (703) 267-1640, send an e-mail to LEAD@nrahq.org or visit www.nrahq.org/law.