firearms

KN, p. 189 “Fifth Anniversary Thank You from the Kerrians”

If there are no paragraph separations in this article, please double-click on the title to create a more readable version.

Kerriansnotebook_FINAL copy

It’s with great pleasure that we thank you, the readers, for hanging out with us for five years.

We’ve taken some really amazing trips to American Civil War battlefields, endured fog and pouring rain on both American and international golf courses, been trapped in elevators, survived bomb scares, witnessed bloody crime scenes, and lived to tell the tales.

Some intriguing people have agreed to do interviews about their jobs and in the process, have opened the eyes of our readers far and wide about the rigors of law enforcement in its many forms.

Police Academies, Fire Fighter Academies, Emergency Medical Training Schools, Firearms Training sites, Criminal Investigation Facilities –  have all generously allowed us to take photos and chat with the instructors at length. Fascinating stuff.

We’ve met with Visiting Detectives – an assortment that included a psychic detective, a vegetarian detective, and a time-traveling detective from the 1800s. Sheila chimed in while they worked on puzzling cases with me. The Vegetarian Detective brought brownies. Yum.

 

Kerrian’s Notebook, Volume 1, which included stories from 2011 and 2012 no longer available on the website, was published in response to the readership that wanted the (over 50) stories from the first year collected into one ebook. Don’t have your copy yet? Click on the link and find it at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HI6YBDG

You’ve made the journey fun. And then some.  🙂

During the years, we kept track of which posts were the most popular, which ones you kept visiting over and over again. For research? For another laugh? To prove a point? For some of you, all three. Here is the result.

Click on the links and take a look at your Top 10 Favorite Kerrian’s Notebook posts in reverse order thru 2016:

10. “Who are the Texas Rangers?” (p.144)

 9. “Are all handcuffs yellow?”

 8. “What does a Texas Ranger do?” (p.145)

 7. “How big is that jail cell?” (p.51)

 6. “Kerrian’s Favorite Chocolate Cheesecake.” (p.45)

 5. “100 Ways to Die an Unnatural Death.” (p.100)

 4. “What does a firefighter wear?” (p.119)

 3. “I Like Pie.” (p.67)

 2. “How many bodies at the scene?” (p.87)

And the most popular post?

 1. “How to become a Texas Ranger.” (p.146)

Thank you, one and all!  🙂
Next time you’re in town, give us a call. We’re always happy to chat about the latest trip or the trickiest case. If you’re lucky, you might even meet one of the Visiting Detectives. There’s always a pot of coffee on and a piece of pie just begging to be eaten.

*Fingerprint photo taken by Patti Phillips at SIRCHIE, in Youngsville, North Carolina.

 

 

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KN, p. 168 “How do you become a US Marshal?”

 

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In the last post, “What does a U.S. Marshal do?” I listed quite a few of the duties that occupy the days of U.S. Marshals working in the various sections of the U.S. Marshal Service.

Part 2 of the series deals with qualifications needed to become a member of the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the United States.

First and foremost, potential candidates must be U.S. citizens and must be between the ages of 21 and 36. There are exceptions to the upper limit, but they are addressed at the time of application.

Before attending academy training, candidates must:

  • Have a bachelor’s degree, plus a year of grad school, preferably in an area of criminal justice – with at least a B average in all coursework.
  • Pass a background check – assume that it will be thorough
  • Complete interviews and various screenings – assume they will be intense
  • Be in top physical shape – not just a gym rat
  • Have at least normal vision and hearing
  • Pass the Fitness Test – see below and decide whether you could qualify to be part of the next Academy class

 

Minimum Fitness Standards for Men (30-39) in order to pass:

Complete 27 pushups, followed by 36 sit-ups, immediately followed by a 1.5 mile run in less than 13 minutes.

The Superior level is pegged at 51 pushups, 50 sit-ups and that same 1.5 mile completed in less than 9 minutes.

 

Minimum Fitness Standards for Women (30-39) in order to pass:

Complete 14 pushups, followed by 27 sit-ups, with the 1.5 miles finished in less than 16 minutes.

Reaching the Superior level requires more than 22 pushups, more than 41 sit-ups and the 1.5 mile run to be completed in less than 12 minutes.

 

The other age charts don’t differ all that much. Let’s face it, if 2-3 pushups more or less would make the difference in your candidacy, you probably aren’t ready yet.

If you are at the minimums when passing the Fitness Test, keep in mind that as an overall candidate, the other parts of your resume will need to be much stronger than at the minimum.

Why is it necessary to be in such good shape? The U.S. Marshals in charge of transporting prisoners or apprehending fugitives will need to work in all kinds of extreme weather conditions. The USA has both Alaska and Florida within its borders, with snowstorms, hurricanes, freezing temps as well as sweltering heat to contend with. At times, Marshals may have to wear Kevlar vests in the heat or resist an assault or run for blocks or be in confined spaces with dangerous criminals…you get the idea.

USMarshalSeal

 

You’ve passed the initial screening and now it’s time for you to:

  • Pass the 21 ½ week basic training program at the United States Marshals Service Training Academy.

United States Marshals Service Basic Training Academy is conducted at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), in Glynco, GA. The training is tough and since it is experienced in the intense heat and humidity of the world that is Georgia (USA), potential candidates are warned that top physical condition means just that. To prepare for the intensity of the Academy training, potential candidates are warned to start hydrating weeks before setting one foot at the Center. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, just to stay alive in the brutal summers of the South – forget about all the intense 1 to 10 mile runs combined with workouts, climbing, obstacle courses, and sprints that are coming at unscheduled times during training.

Some of the subjects covered during training include:

  • Building entry and search
  • Computer training
  • Court security
  • Defensive tactics
  • Driver training
  • Firearms training
  • High profile trials
  • Officer survival
  • Physical conditioning
  • Prisoner search and restraint
  • Search and seizure
  • Surveillance

There are seven exams given during the 21+ weeks. Each test must be passed with a score of at least 70%. There are additional practical exams scored with a pass/fail.

The subjects covered during training are necessary knowledge that a U.S. Marshal must internalize in order to do his/her job well. Lives depend on doing that job well.

 

Post Academy

After successfully completing the training program and getting out into the field, U.S. Marshals are required to attend annual training sessions to maintain proficiency in certain areas or to learn new forensic techniques available.

Every six months, re-qualification is required for primary and off-duty handguns, rifles, shotguns, and perhaps submachine or semi-automatic guns if needed.

Once a year, re-qualification is required for batons and stunguns, as well as other non-lethal devices.

After seven years, the Deputy U.S. Marshals attend an advanced basic training session.

Think the training and ongoing retraining is something you could handle? From all reports, the job is an interesting one most of the time. There are reports to file, stake-outs to sit through and occasional boring parts of the work, but although sometimes dangerous, the job of a US Marshal is  essential to keep our court and judicial system running smoothly.

USMarshalBadge

For more information, please visit www.usmarshals.gov

Photo credits:

Collage of badges edited from the US Marshal website
Middle and bottom badge photos – Wikipedia

 

 

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Kerrian’s Notebook, p. 102 “Do you need firearms training?”

 

Glock

Do you own a handgun? 

Do you know when to use it?

Can you take care of it?

Do you know how to use it?

These are not dumb questions to ask, because not everyone is knowledgeable about firearms, not even the ones they have in their own houses. Sometimes people buy handguns in reaction to a nearby shooting, but don’t take the time to learn about the firearm they have plopped down good money for.  Sometimes one spouse has purchased the gun(s) and the other spouse is not familiar or comfortable with handling it (them).

Luckily, there are licensed, NRA sanctioned, firearms training facilities all across the country where a person can attend classes that teach the laws governing the use of firearms. The classes also cover safety, as well as proficiency, in handling a firearm.

In the USA, you must have a permit to legally purchase a handgun. You fill out a form at the gun shop, and in about a week, after the background check has been completed, you can actually purchase the gun.

If you need to obtain a concealed/carry permit, you must attend a class that includes:

  1. information about the gun laws,
  2. definitions of what is meant by lethal force,
  3. safe care and handling of a handgun,
  4. a written test,
  5. a handgun proficiency test.

If you meet all the requirements, then a stricter background check is run and in 4-6 weeks, the permit may be issued.

You need to know the laws in your state for owning and operating your firearm.

Not all states have the same laws about gun ownership. Some states allow open carrying, some allow concealed carrying, some allow properly licensed handgun owners to cross state lines with their guns, some don’t. Violation of these laws in any of these situations can land you in jail. And, by the way, ignorance of the law is not an excuse to avoid jail time or hefty fines.

There are legal definitions about when (and where) you are allowed to use your gun in self-defense and they vary somewhat from state to state. Ya can’t just go shootin’ your gun off in public. That will land you in jail everywhere.

Even if you have the proper credentials and concealed/carry permits, there are some places where you absolutely cannot take your gun. After a deadly shooting in a health care facility in North Carolina a few years ago, the laws were changed to bar handguns for everyone visiting private health care facilities except for law enforcement personnel. Some restaurants allow handguns, but if liquor is served, the law is different. A training class will point out the most recent changes in the law for a dozen different public settings – parks, bars, parades, etc.

How does one decide when to use a gun for self-defense?

Ask yourself whether firing it is an appropriate use of lethal force, because make no mistake, if the bullet leaves the gun, it can kill somebody.

Think before firing. There are legal ramifications to your decisions. The law requires certain legal hurdles to be met before a shooting can be justified.

Is it reasonable to shoot this person?

If the person is your size or larger, as fit as you or stronger, is threatening you with serious bodily harm, you are sure that walking away will not stop the threat, and if the police won’t get there in time, then you may be within your rights to shoot – but not always.

Is it proportional to what has already happened?

If talking the situation over has not worked, or if the other person has escalated the violence in the situation, if you are being robbed, if you are being beaten, or if you are being threatened with a gun, then you may be within your rights to shoot – but not always.

Is it necessary to shoot this person?

The danger for harm to yourself must be immediate – that is, if you don’t take a shot right then, it will be too late. You may be within your rights to shoot – but not always.

You do not have the right to shoot someone else “just ‘cause they had it coming.”

In every court case where a shooting is involved, when the phrase ‘reasonable force’ is used, the prosecution and the defense alike are looking quite seriously at what led up to the actual shooting – who did what to whom and why.

There is more to owning a gun than buying it and sticking it in a drawer.

Future posts will deal with loading your handgun safely without shooting yourself in the face or foot, proper storage of your firearm, as well as caring for your firearm so that it will fire properly when it’s needed.

 

*photos taken by Patti Phillips at Freedom Firearms Training, in Carthage, NC.

Steve Jones

 

 

Many thanks to Steve Jones and his staff for allowing me to visit during one of his concealed/carry permit classes.

Steve Jones is an experienced NRA firearms instructor and is the owner/operator of Freedom Firearms Training.

 

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