Team Building

Last week we were lucky enough to teach a few classes for a local IT company. We started with an Oregon/Utah combo class and then transitioned to the range for a few hours. It was a lot of fun and was an important team building exercise. It was great to see a local small business invest in the safety and security of their employees, plus some of their customers. Training together outside of work can increase camaraderie which can help with productivity. What was important for me was to see the layout of the building. In a defensive knowing the egress in and out of the building is important. 95% of all mass killings happen inside of a gun free zone. Businesses that take a moral position about their customers being able to lawfully defend themselves while on their property is a disservice to the public. When they put a sticker on their door that states that guns are not welcome on their property it is a good way to put a big target on the side of their building. What is important to realize is that a store policy is NOT law and you can still carry into those locations. It is completely legal and I encourage you to carry into GFZ (gun free zones.) Having a secure, quality holster that is discrete will help you keep yourself and others safe.

After walking into the office, I noticed upgrades that company made since the last time I had been there. We do a team building exercise every year and last year there were gaps in their security. They made capital improvements over the past year, which made the building safer and more secure. This is a value added to their employees and their customers that may come into the office. The company now has less to worry about in terms of security, this will help improve productivity. They also had a company policy that allows their employees to carry at work. This is huge! Most companies these days are making policies that are disarming their employees, so it was refreshing to have a company go the other direction. There is liability involved, but there is liability for companies that put their employees or customers at risk because they are disarmed. Giving their employees a fighting chance in the event of an active killer is admirable.

Setting their company up for success was our goal. We started by going over types of firearms, basic safety, holster selection, and Oregon law. We want to help show the class very popular and common concealable handguns. We want them to understand the principles and features that make them the most popular. There are things to look for and things too look out for. Some gun manufacturers do well, others miss the mark. We advocate a quality handgun, a stiff belt, and a high quality holster. They work together as a system. A separate mag carrier is also very important. I’d rather have too much ammo than not enough. A couple of other things that I incorporate in my EDC is a high quality blade, a medical kit, and a Surefire hand held light. Every part of my EDC serves a purpose. Buy quality gear that you can trust because you never know when it could be your time, trust me. I found this out the hard way. It was a situation that changed my life forever. As laws change being discrete is important. A inside the waistband holster and loose fitting clothing will hide your gun well. The belt helps keep everything where it goes, securely. Most belts work with your holsters to control retention. You never want your gun to leave your holster unless you intended for it to leave the holster. We then cover laws pertaining to use of force. It’s really important to give them all of the information relevant to their use of a firearm for self defense. Liability is huge in the state of Oregon and your freedom really is on the line if you make a mistake, all while crime skyrockets, drug abuse, and mental health situations really elevate the probability that we could need our gun sometime to defend ourselves or others. Knowing what to do or what we cannot do in this situation is key.

Once done in the class we headed for the range. It was there that we were able to implement all that we discussed earlier. We have a selection of rental guns available. That way folks were able to try different handguns to see what works best for your lifestyle and body type. We start with a thorough safety brief on the range. This designates and assigns tasks in the event of an accident. We then cover the safety rules and start with the basic fundamentals. We cover the stance, grip, sight picture, and alignment. The goal is to get them up to speed safely and uniformly, as a team. This class was especially fun because they all get along well so spirits were high. Sometimes intimidation can make some fearful and it takes time for them to all feel comfortable. Once comfortable we can increase the difficulty. This adds stress which helps them understand how their bodies will react under duress. Repetitions create habits that can be replicated. It was fun to see smiles in between rounds as they topped off their mags. This gave them something to focus on while back at the office. As a team, team building gives your company the experience that they need to work together if the need should ever arise. Training and consistent carry helps protect their investment in their employees and the public in general. It is money well spent. You can contact us and we can give you a quote for a team building class for your company. Until next time. Be Safe!!