Mechanical Breaching Instructor Course
From Jun 17 – 19, 2017, Team One Network conducted a Mechanical Breaching Instructor Course for the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department in Wayne, NJ. In addition to five members of the county SWAT Team we trained members of four additional departments from as far away as Washington, DC. The three-day course uses a crawl, walk, run approach to instructor training.
Day One:
On the first day of the course we focus on the technical aspects of breaching. From understanding the various mechanical options to ultimately selecting and employing the most tactically sound techniques. By the end of the first day the participants are employing the three most common mechanical breaching techniques on Ruhl-Tech Breaching Doors; Ram, Pry, and Bolt-Cutters. The officers use a variety of tool options from both Blackhawk and Ruhl-Tech.
Day Two:
The second day starts off with a recap of the first day, complete with hands-on application of the three primary methods again. Other topics addressed on the second day include:
- Hydraulic tools such as the Ogura Hydraulic Rescue System.
- Circular Rescue Saws
- Break ad Rake Techniques
- Shotgun Breaching using Benelli Shotguns
The remainder of the day is spent in full kit doing breaching run after breaching run. Each student has the opportunity to try serving in a variety of positions in the stick. Breaches are completed using a shield as well as without. Students had the opportunity to train with a Point Blank Phalanx shield. We finish out the day by giving students their teach-back assignments for the third day. Although the course was conducted during daylight hours we used Streamlight Flashlights mounted on our blue training guns to demonstrate and discuss the breaching techniques during limited visibility operations. Special thanks to ProEars and Edge Tactical Eyewear for protecting our eyes and ears.
Day Three:
The third and final day are devoted entirely to teach-backs. Teach backs are when the students have the opportunity to practice presenting the skills they’ve worked on for the past two days. Students are divided into teams of two and given the chance to present 15 to 20 minutes of instruction on a breaching topic.