We consider training the most important asset you can have.  Under the stress of a military combat operation, criminal attack, survival situation, or competition, you need to make decisions and perform tasks to win the day.  The last thing you want to be doing when that happens is nothing.  Training provides you with good solutions to common problems ahead of time, and gives you the confidence to rationally solve your way through unexpected challenges you will encounter.

Have confidence that our training will:

• Be safe
• Progress in difficulty
• Be thorough
• Be hands-on and realistic
• Set you up for success 

[contentheading]Safe Training[/contentheading]

Safety is our #1 priority, regardless of the training topic.  We seek to reduce potential risks and hazards.  Due to the nature of certain activities, such as firearms usage, it is not possible to completely eliminate all dangers.

• We maintain a high instructor-to-student ratio, especially during portions of courses with elevated risks.  This is an area where other "economy" training schools will try to cut costs, and we find that unacceptable.
• Our equipment is routinely cleaned, maintenanced, inspected, and certified (where applicable), to ensure safe operation.  Deficient or broken equipment is removed from service, and/or replaced.  A portion of your course fee pays to outfit the course with high-quality equipment for you, and other students, to use.
• We provide easy access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).  For example, we have eye and ear protection for sale, at a nominal fee, during firearms courses.
• We seek expert oversight.  If we are not comfortable with our own level of expertise, we will seek the help of other professionals.  This may include consultation to improve our instruction to you, obtaining training or certifications for our staff, or having a third-party expert provide a specific piece of instruction within one of our courses.

[contentheading]Crawl, Walk, Run[/contentheading]

Military special operations units rely on the "Crawl, Walk, Run" theory, to slowly build up skills to an operational level of capability.  We believe very strongly in this process, and use it in several key ways in our courses.

• Individual Skill Level:  You will gain skills in a participatory and hands-on atmosphere, that will include classroom instruction as necessary, to provide background knowledge and theory for practical application.
• Crawl: For specific skills, we start in the crawl phase, by introducing the skill in a presented, classroom fashion.  We will explain the mechanics of the task, and the theory behind its conduct, as well as alternatives you may encounter.
• Walk: Students then practice the skill in a "dry run" way, such as using props in the classroom.  For dangerous activities, this mitigates risks, while allowing you to safely make mistakes that aid in learning.
• Run: In the run phase, you will demonstrate proficiency with skills, in as real a way as possible.  While some tasks may be limited by safety, training site capabilities, cost, or time, we go above and beyond other trainers by providing you hands-on opportunities to confidently complete the mission.
• Course Tiering: We have endeavored to set up our courses in a logically progressing tiering system, similar to the 100-400 level system used by universities.
• Crawl: Courses in the 100's address basic, critical skills for the individual, or familiarization training on more complex skills, that are required for task or mission completion.  These are considered foundations for the more complicated and dynamic topics covered in higher-tiered courses.  These courses are designed for both novice and experienced students, as they will provide new learning opportunities for even the most knowledgeable veterans.
• Walk:  Courses in the 200's and 300's are intermediate in nature.  Intermediate courses build on essential critical skills covered in 100 level courses, and add increasingly challenging levels of skill mastery.  Many subjects in the 200's and 300's have mandatory prerequisite completions of lower tiered courses, or prearranged approval from our instructors for equivalent preparatory training.
• Run:  Subject offerings in the 400's are designed to be challenging opportunities for expert-level skill refinement.  Topics here often incorporate extensive use of immersive, extended, realistic scenarios, to provide student operators the maximum opportunity to improve their skills, discover deficiencies, and refine their abilities to a professional level.  Some "M" level courses, for "Master" level, will also allow significantly advanced subject exploration, such as achieving instructor certification.  All 400 and "M" level courses have prerequisites, that must be successfully completed prior to attendance, or waived because of equivalent previous instruction by prearrangement with our instructors.

[contentheading]Thorough Topic Coverage[/contentheading]

We hold the highest standards for our course curriculum, and awarding completion certificates to students.  We do not offer abbreviated or condensed courses, that would inadequately prepare our students to be successful in a real operating environment.  Student feedback and performance is closely monitored, and our course curriculums are continuously being improved, to provide you the best training opportunity possible.  Our instructors are all life-long students themselves, and are always attending continuing education training, and evaluating the latest advancements in equipment technology and tactical theory.

One specific concern on this topic is the rampant availability of "One-Evening Concealed Carry Classes".  We will never offer such a course, and caution you to be extremely skeptical of those who would.  Regardless of how little the training requirement is for issuance of a concealed carry license in your area, you owe it to yourself to seek as much training as possible.  Our feeling is that it will take us a minimum of 8-10 hours to teach you a solid understanding of the fundamentals of firearm safety, operation, shooting and laws.  This would prepare you to safely carry your firearm, and employ it with a minimal degree of skill.  We estimate that a further 10-20 hours of training is necessary to provide you with the intermediate skills necessary to have a high degree of success in the stressful dynamics of a self-defense situation.  Ultimately, no amount of training can adequately prepare you for every scenario you may encounter, but you should demand a commitment from your instructors to uphold a standard of training that they honestly believe will set you up for success.

[contentheading]Hands-On Learning and Realism[/contentheading]

Studies have shown that students who actually practice and demonstrate skills, in a hands-on way, learn and retain a significantly higher quantity of the content being taught.  We recognize this as fact, and make extra efforts to maximize the participation of our students.

When you take our classes, you will see how we bring you into the material:

• We make nearly continuous use of visual aids.  If one of our instructors is talking, they are probably showing you something too.  Yes, in classroom portions this may be slide presentations, but we promise not to just "read from the slides".  We also come prepared with posters, charts, graphs, and other things to help you connect to our teaching.
• We have plenty of props to go around.  We try to have as many physical props as possible.  In many cases we may have enough for every student to be actually holding the tools in their hand, as we discuss it in class.  Inert molded training guns, dummy ammunition, cut-away view mechanisms, laser simulator firearms, and training mock-up vehicle doors are just some of the goodies we bring to class, depending on the topic.
• Practical exercises are key.  After you have been taught how and why to do something, we want you to try it.  While not all scenarios we train for are possible to replicate in an educational setting, we go the extra mile to have you get a live experience.  As you participate in our courses, you can expect to do real shooting, talk on real radios, use a real fire extinguisher to put out a real fire, throw a flashbang simulator that really explodes, and more.  Keep in mind, though, that safety is our primary concern, and we may have to tone down reality to make it safe.
• Train how you fight.  Whenever possible, we use as much immersive realism as we can.  This applies especially to our more advanced courses, where you will use many of the skills you've learned it the course to overcome challenges in realistic training scenarios.

[contentheading]Setting You Up For Success[/contentheading]

Our pinnacle goal is to provide you with training that minimizes your chances of failure, and maximizes your chances of success.  This may sound easy, but is a difficult task, that we take very seriously.  This involves an extraordinary attention to detail, to ensure bad habits are spotted and corrected, best practices are introduced to students and that they understand how to employ them properly, and that graduates have obtained a high degree of confidence in their abilities that will allow them to act correctly, decisively, and quickly to solve the problems they encounter.

Your chosen Area of Operation (AO) may be a big game hunt, a weekend rifle match, a high-risk warrant, or on the modern battlefield.  Regardless of where you intend to go, know that the instructors of Paladin Lead Delivery Systems are dedicated to your training, and "setting you up for success".