COMBATIVE FIREARMS TRAINING - Key Persons
Ron Taylor is a retired sergeant from Bend, Oregon with over 28 years of law enforcement experience. In addition to being a firearms instructor, Ron has been a K-9 handler and K-9 Unit supervisor, a criminal detective, Field Training Officer, Patrol Team supervisor, and Motor & Traffic Team supervisor. Ron is an AR-15/M-16, M-4, Smith & Wesson M&P, and Sig Sauer armorer.
Ron has taught, and assisted in teaching, firearms classes at several law enforcement training conferences across the country including the ILEETA Conference. He has trained with a number of well-known firearms instructors and uses his experience as an instructor and student to help our shooters succeed on the range and prevail on the street.
As our resident lefty, Ron brings a well thought out approach to training shooters regardless of hand dominance. During classes that include bi-lateral instructor skills, Ron is equally capable of conducting demonstrations as a right- or left-handed shooter with any weapon system.
Todd Fletcher has over 30+ years of law enforcement experience. He is a multi-discipline instructor providing Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Handgun, Carbine & Shotgun training. Additionally, Todd is certified to provide training in Integrated Use of Force, Force-on-Force, Empty Hand Control Tactics, Collapsible Baton, Pepper Spray and Use of Force (legal issues). He is also an AR-15/M-16/M-4, Glock armorer, Smith & Wesson M&P Pistol armorer, and SIG Sauer P320 Pistol armorer.
Todd was a staff instructor for the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI) Master Instructor Development Program. He wrote the initial performance objectives and training standards for the handgun portion of the Master Instructor course curriculum. He is also a charter member of the National Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor Association (NLEFIA). He has provided training at various regional, national, and international conferences for law enforcement, private security, and military personnel including numerous International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA) Conferences and IALEFI conferences. He is a member of the ILEETA Advisory Board and was awarded the 2022 ILEETA Trainer-of-the-Year annual award which recognizes a trainer who has gone above and beyond to promote the cause of training and enhance the competence and confidence of the officers they train.
Todd has written a multitude of firearms training articles for professional publications for ILEETA, NLEFIA and IALEFI covering topics such as Coaching the Fundamentals, Concealed Carry, Balancing Speed and Accuracy, Low Light Tactics, Using Lasers, Building Searches, Leadership, and Advanced Firearms Training. He is one of the select Expert Contributors for Police1, the leading online resource for law enforcement with over 3 million visitors per month. In addition, he is a regular columnist for Police & Security News and American Police Beat magazines. He has trained and provided consultation services for law enforcement agencies, contract security, military personnel, and armed citizens from coast to coast. He has also testified as an expert witness in cases involving police training and use of force.
Todd regularly puts into practice the same skills and techniques he teaches by testing them on the competitive shooting stage. He competes several times each month in club level IDPA and USPSA matches frequently finishing as one of the top shooters for the match regardless of division or classification. He also competes regularly at major regional and national level IDPA and USPSA matches.
Todd incorporates this experience when training new shooters to understand and develop fundamental firearms skills. He helps intermediate shooters to take those skills to the next level by combining the fundamentals with real life training scenarios. Finally, Todd teaches intermediate, advanced, and expert shooters how to prevail in today's world using the lessons learned from real life shooting scenarios.
Todd believes in "leadership by example" and uses this approach while teaching classes. He believes students learn best following a philosophy of "hear- see - do". This building block approach to training allows students to hear what they are going to do, then see what they are going to do, then execute what was explained and demonstrated.
Todd believes skill development (the "how's"), is only one of the overall goals of firearms training. A shooter needs to understand how to self-diagnose marksmanship and tactical errors (the "why's") to develop a true proficiency and expertise in firearms. Understanding the "why's" allows shooters to self-correct mistakes leading to a rapid improvement of their knowledge, skills, and abilities.