Action Target LETC 2012 a Great Success

Action Target’s annual Law Enforcement Training Camp ended Friday as instructors and trainees parted ways after another year of advanced law enforcement training.

This year’s LETC was attended by 147 law enforcement officers and firearms instructors from across the country and the world. More than 20 states were represented with officers from California and Oregon to Florida and New York. While LETC is traditionally a domestic law enforcement camp, as its fame has spread throughout the world, we’ve increasingly received requests to attend from foreign law enforcement agencies. As in years past, we were pleased to welcome officers from Canada, but this year was especially unique with the addition of participants from Brazil and China.

On Monday, Sept. 10, officers arrived at Action Target’s headquarters to sign in and pick up their gear which included personalized water bottles and dog tags. They were also able to tour the facilities where all of Action Target’s products are designed, engineered, and manufactured.

Classes started Tuesday morning at the Utah County Sheriff’s Office Thistle Firing Range. New to this year’s training classes were George Harris’ Combat Skill Drills for Firearms Instructors, Bob Schneider’s Shoot House Training, James Washington’s Training for the Fight with the Pistol, and Brian Hoffner’s Extreme Close Quarter Battle Tactics with Hands, Knife, and Pistol. A total of 12 instructors participated from a variety of organizations including Spartan Tactical Training Group, Safariland Shooting School, Hoffners Training Academy, Glock Training Division, Police Training Division, JDS Tactical, and Fusion Tactical and Combatives.

On the first day of class, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office explosives department set up a demonstration to kick things off with a bang. A charge was placed on the hill next to the uppermost firing range and was connected to several additional charges that ran down the hill and along the periphery of the range. To demonstrate the delay mechanism’s non-electric shock tube technology, a sniper shot the main charge from atop a storage container setting off a series of explosions down the hill. The explosives department also demonstrated several forced entry explosive mechanisms as well as a unique steel puncturing technology consisting of a coil of explosives wrapped around a beer can.

Wednesday night, more than 50 officers at the camp put their skills to the test in the Dirty Harry shooting competition as they vied for free tuition at next year’s LETC. Participants were required to shoot 21 colored knock down targets from three corresponding colored boxes. Shooting the wrong color or shooting one of the six no-shoot targets meant instant disqualification. Law enforcement officers from Utah crushed the competition taking first, second, and third places. Officer Rob Wilkenson of the Utah Highway Patrol took the grand prize winning by more than five seconds with a time of 23:19.

A banquet was held Thursday evening to honor the dedication and sacrifices of law enforcement officers throughout the nation and the world. McKenzie Matthews began the banquet by singing the “Star Spangled Banner” and was followed by Provo Mayor John Curtis who gave the welcome speech. The night’s program centered around the memory of the brave men and women who lost their lives in the protection of our freedoms. The Payson High School Pipe Band performed ‘Amazing Grace’ as photos of law enforcement officers who died by gunfire this year were shown on a projector screen during a special memorial for fallen officers. A memorial was also held for law enforcement who lost their lives in the 9/11 attack. Deputy Chief Steven J. Silks of the New York Police Department, a participant in this year’s camp, spoke of his experiences that day and shared a firsthand account of the bravery exhibited by the brave men and women he served with during that catastrophe.

The camp ended Friday afternoon with a few final classes before attendees began their long journeys home to locations across the nation and the world.

We at Action Target were honored to have so many exceptional officers at this year’s camp, and we hope that each one took home something new that they can share with the men and women they serve with. Superior law enforcement training has always been one of our corporate missions, but we couldn’t make that happen without the continued assistance of our instructors and the participation of the world’s finest. To everyone that attended, instructed, or helped, we thank you and hope you enjoyed your time with us.

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6 thoughts on “Action Target LETC 2012 a Great Success

    1. Glenn, our Law Enforcement Training Camp is always held around the second week of September. We haven’t set the dates for next year’s LETC, but pay attention to our newsletter and our Facebook page for announcements in the future. Enrolment usually opens up in May with a early sign-up discount available through July 31st. We’d love to have you attend.

  1. This has had to be one of the best LETC’s I’ve attended so far! A.T. makes it better every year. Talk about raising the bar! I don’t know how your going to outdo this year’s LETC next year! All the classes & instructors were excellent. I attended the pistol, rifle & medical classes with the guys from Spartan Tactical and I have to say those guys put on one heck of a show! Every single class they put on was high energy, high intensity and some of the most professional training I have ever experienced as an LEO in my career! Krupa and his team of trainers are top shelf. I can’t wait to come back next year.

  2. I’ll piggy back on what the guy @ 21st Sep 2012 11:32 am said. Some of our guys on the SWAT team down here in Georgia attended Spartan Tactical’s pistol and rifle classes at the GTOA (Georgia Tactical Officer’s Association) annual SWAT conference over the last couple of year’s and both of those classes were excellent. When we heard that they were doing instructor development courses at the LETC this year, we had to come. No doubt, the Spartan guys put on a great show. I can’t wait to come back again next year and I’m definitely going to bring some friends.

  3. This was my 3rd LETC in 5 years and I have to say that it keeps getting better every year. The prizes at the banquet are excellent and I know that Action Target has given away at least (1) AR-15 rifle each time I’ve attended! The food has been awesome every year I’ve attended. The instructors are world class. I got a ton out of the rapid deployment rifle class as well as the fighting with the pistol class. Both of those classes exposed me to a whole new level of how to teach people how to fight with those weapon systems. I can’t wait to show this stuff to my guys back at the PD!

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