Impact of Fire Arms Training in a Virtual Reality Environment on Occupational Performance (Marksmanship) in a Polytrauma Population

Introduction Polytrauma, to include major limb amputation, in a military population presents unique rehabilitation challenges with the overarching goal of restoring function leading to the primary question, “Is this Service Member (SM) capable of returning to duty following rehabilitation?” The US military has a vested interest in maximizing injured SMs occupational performance to allow for return to duty. The purpose of this report is to describe marksmanship (shot grouping and weapon qualification) and return to duty outcomes following a course of VRE-based firearm training in a polytrauma patient population. Methods The medical records, stored in the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA), of all patients who received rehabilitative care at the Center for the Intrepid (CFI) to include VRE-based firearms training between 01OCT2015 and 01AUG2016 were manually reviewed for inclusion. Subjects included all adult (18 years and older) SMs (active duty at time of admission) with a diagnosis of polytrauma who had been referred to and treated (received additional services such as physical and or occupational therapy) at the CFI. Approval for this research was received from the Brooke Army Medical Center Department of Clinical Investigation Office of the Institutional Review Board. Results Medical records of 30 SMs with a polytrauma diagnosis met the inclusion criteria. Mean shot group sizes for the M9 and M4 weapon decreased between initial and post training time points for the M9 zero (p = 0.009) and M4 zero (p = 0.020). There was no significant difference between initial and post training time points at the other shooting distances with either weapon. There was an 89% qualification rate for both the M9 (n = 18) and M4 (n = 19) weapons for those who attempted qualification; 43% of the population (n = 13) did not attempt qualification with either weapon. Conclusion SMs with polytrauma demonstrated a high rate of weapon qualification (accuracy) following VRE-based firearm training. Shot group size (precision) at short distances with a M9 pistol and M4 rifle also improved with training. While overall marksmanship appeared to improve, high return to duty rates were not directly related to firearm training or marksmanship. Future efforts need to focus on consistent clinical documentation of firearm training procedure and the establishment of psychometric properties for marksmanship outcome measures.

Organization of firearm training in the territorial bodies of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia

The article is about basics of the organization of firearm training. Algorithms of the head of firing practice, the assistant to the head of firing practice are revealed. Specific recommendations are given to optimize the process of fire training organization. Attention is focused on some features of the organization and conduct of fire training in the territorial bodies of the Ministry of internal Affairs of Russia.

Formal firearm training among adults in the USA: results of a national survey

Despite broad support for policies requiring that prospective firearm owners receive training before acquiring a firearm, little is known about the scope and content of firearm training in the USA. Nationally representative surveys conducted in 1994 estimated that 56%-58% of the US firearm owners had received formal firearm training. We conducted a nationally representative survey in 2015 (n=3932; completion proportion=55%) to update those estimates and characterise training contents. 61% of firearm owners and 14% of non-owners living with a firearm owner reported having received formal firearm training. The most commonly reported combination of training topics was safe handling, safe storage and preventing accidents. 15% of firearm owners reported that their training included information about suicide prevention. The proportion of the US firearm owners with formal firearm training has not meaningfully changed since two decades ago. Training programme contents vary widely. Efforts to standardise and evaluate the effectiveness of firearm training are warranted.

Stress Recognition In Law Enforcement Organizations

The study identified more critically the role of organizational stressors and impacts on police officer functions while on duty. Those aspects of stress-related responses were shown to be associated with agency managerial, administrative, and procedural responsibilities. Even so, while there appears to be some level of trepidation on a managerial level, the administrator has yet to effectively address problematic policies and procedures regarding stress recognition and supervisory accountability. In the study, the determinants of decision characteristics, perception characteristics, and motor act characteristics correlate with an officer’s control of complex tasks (Violanti 1995). The focus of this study was to measure an officer’s ability in stressful environments utilizing the Polar heart rate monitor during specific police activities. The highlighted areas of the study consisted of a physical agility test, firearm training, emergency vehicle operation, and voluntary exposure to taser deployment. The data collected were used for general observation into an officer’s optimal performance in both low and high stress incidents.