This is one of those subjects that needs to be hauled out from the bin of knowledge and discussed from time to time. Painful though it is, the reality of working from cover is different than the tactical fantasy that most hold of how this is supposed to be done. Hollywood has done a bang up job of totally bollixing things up by showing supposedly skilled operators on screen who look like total numskulls when they plaster their back against a wall and peek around the corner.

A few years ago there was an incident in Dallas, TX where a Police Officer had taken cover at a pillar in front of a building and was trading shots with the bad guy. He made the fatal mistake of searching for his threat on the same side of the pillar where he'd seen him last. The threat quickly flanked the officer and murdered him.

Having been a police officer, I can tell you, as fact, that I was never shown the what’s and how’s of working cover. I learned these skills by going to training and submitting my will to that of an instructor and listening then learning - then practicing. Working cover isn’t as easy as the proverbial “slicing the pie.” It’s a bit more complicated because there are varying degrees of exposure that you are going to be required to take to find the shot on the bad guy. The big question is, how much is too much? If you work cover properly, the threat has little chance to get a shot on you. Here are some basics to consider.

As a Tier 1 Citizen and an instructor I make it a point to attend training with as many folks as I can get out to. The very act of learning is a skill unto itself. It has to be exercised or else it atrophies and one falls into complacency. Work work work!

Train with Tier 1 Citizen: https://tier1citizen.com

Connect with Tier 1 Citizen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tier1citizen/