Church Security Drill with Ken Hackathorn

Ken Hackathorn is well known in tactical circles, having instructed the Special Forces, FBI SWAT, USSOCOM, and many others. His instructional style is entertaining and mesmerizing; he mixes in humor and a vast degree of knowledge with his skills. And he embraces the KISS Principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Today we’re taking a look at a drill that Ken specifically intended for church security. 

Church Security Drill
With churches under attack more often these days, it makes perfect sense to be prepared.

In the church security drill the shooter starts out seated, with his back to the target. Ken points out that, in the real world, it’s different than on the range. When most people go to the range to “train”, they set everything up in front of them and get all set to start shooting. But in the real world, in the office, at home, or in church, it is very likely that we will be seated, and very likely with our back to the threat.

More specifically, when starting the drill, the shooter’s back has to be against the back of the chair; no leaning forward, ready to spring out of the chair (real world, remember?), and the shooter’s hands will be on his knees.

 

church security drill
The drill begins with the shooter seated, back against the chair. His back is to the target, as it likely would be in the real world.

For the drill, at the sound of the timer (in the real world, it would likely be a loud noise), the shooter has to get up, check to locate the threat, and move to the point of domination (a lane of fire where no one is in danger). We can’t assume that at any one point there will be a clear shot because there might be people in the way and in danger. Once in a good position, draw the weapon and fire two accurate shots. For this drill, there is a five-second window to do it with precision shots.

Ken reminds us that accuracy is always the Number One priority because every bullet launched is going to have an attorney attached to it. The best backstop or bullet trap is the torso of the attacker. Speed is important, but accuracy is paramount.

move to point of domination
At the signal, Hackathorn springs into action! Getting off the “X” is important!

Notice that Ken is wearing a long-sleeved cover garment. He doesn’t wear his gun exposed, but always with the cover garment that he will be wearing in the real world. All too often, we see instructors and students on the range with their weapons exposed so that they can draw faster and get better score times. But…that may not be the real world unless that’s how we actually carry. If you carry concealed, train to draw from concealment so that you’re ready to do it for real.

Hackathorn reminds us to be smooth, watch the sight alignment, and pay attention to our trigger press. In other words, watch the basics because being an expert is merely doing the basics very well.

Ken Hackathorn Church Security Drill
Once a position of domination is gained, Hackathorn engages the hostile target with two shots.

In my opinion, this drill is a nice starting point for training for an attack scenario, not only for church security, but also any place you might be seated. I would add to the complexity of this drill. It’s fine to start out addressing a single threat, but having worked my entire career around criminals, I realize that they seldom work alone. Instead, they enjoy working in pairs or even larger groups (they seem to feel emboldened with numbers). Because of this, I eventually would modify this drill to ultimately engage three or four targets as an advanced level drill after mastering one or two targets. At the very worst, you’ll be over-prepared.

Another suggestion I’d make is to start out taking your time and to solidly get those basics down. When you’re smooth with it, you can add another target. Work that until it’s smooth, then add another. Of course, you’ll want to adjust the times slightly.

Ken Hackathorn church security drill
As he moves, Hackathorn sweeps his cover garment to the side and begins his draw. He advocates training from concealment, the same as the real world.

One of the points that Ken made that I really like is this: as soon as you’re out of the chair—MOVE!

Get off the “X.” Standing still, we are basically on the X-ring, we are a stationary target, which is the easiest kind to hit. This applies whether we are fighting with fists, knives, guns, or anything else. We must move and get off that X. Which is something we seldom see people doing when they train on the range; most stand there in a stationary fashion, banging away at a target until the magazine is empty.

Some churches use chairs, as Ken does in this video. That got me to thinking, though; my particular church has pews in place, which would certainly make moving quickly a very difficult proposition. There might be people to either side of the defender in that case, which would make moving difficult, if not impossible. If the defender is at the end of a pew, he might have a
better chance of stepping out into an aisle, providing more chances for movement. Just something to keep in mind as you consider the physical limitations of the building you expect to be operating in.

Ken Hackathorn church security drill
The shooter has five seconds to complete the church security drill, including getting up, locating the threat, moving into position, and delivering two well aimed shots.

Visualizing various church security scenarios for the particular church where you attend might be a helpful thing. “War-gaming,” of sorts. And this doesn’t apply just to your church, it would be beneficial for any defensive scenario that you could conceivably run into. I used to do this for the prison where I worked and thinking about possible scenarios ahead of time paid major dividends more than once. It’s one case where “What if” thinking is definitely an advantage.

Naturally, shooting while we are moving makes hitting the target far more difficult and requires practice and caution. It is not a basic, beginner skill. Again, start slowly.

With the way churches are being targeted in the past few years, it would be prudent to be prepared to defend oneself and other churchgoers.

This is a great video featuring a guy who has major bona fides and experience in the real world. It’s not terribly long and will only cost you a few minutes of viewing time, but the payoff could be huge. And it’s simple. I really like simple. Check it out!

Jim Davis served in the PA Dept. of Corrections for 16 ½ years as a corrections officer in the State Correctional Institute at Graterford and later at SCI Phoenix. He served on the Corrections Emergency Response Team (CERT), several of those years as a sniper, and also the Fire Emergency Response Team (FERT). For 25 years, he was a professional instructor, teaching topics including Defensive Tactics, Riot Control and Tactical Operations, Immediate Responder, and cognitive programs as an adjunct instructor at the DOC Training Academy. He was then promoted to the title of corrections counselor, where he ran a caseload and facilitated cognitive therapy classes to inmates. His total service time was close to 29 years. He was involved in many violent encounters on duty, including incidents of fatalities. He is a dedicated Christian and attributes any skills that he has to the glory of God.

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