Online Mentoring: Advanced Tactical Tracking / Officer Safety While Trailing/ Tracking
You have made all the steps necessary to become a proficient manhunter with a K9, working rural problems to the city center. Now comes the tough part. Learning how to keep yourself and your team members safe by reading and reacting properly to the four phases of the proximity alert. Trailing/ tracking is the most dangerous K9 deployment possible primarily due to the huge number of unknown variables the team will face on a track. But, the manhunter has one advantage and that is the dog’s nose. If you can read the alert properly not only will you survive the encounter but more often than not, turn the tables on any subject maliciously lying in wait. The training manual provided for this class is Jeff’s world-renowned book, Tactical Tracker Teams.
A detailed instruction to proceed will be given via email.
Course Details
A. Proximity Alert Virtual Classroom/ Hands-on, fieldwork
Jeff will walk you through our tactical tracking program through virtual classroom and/ or video review. Each step will be covered online with plenty of time for Q&A. Once you are ready for the field and your K-9 first trails, Jeff will give you a detailed outline of training steps for your two weeks of training including instructions for videography, video upload, and online Q&A sessions with video review.
Training area: Working in primarily soft surface environments with little to no activity, distractions, or contamination.
B. 4 Phases of the Proximity Alert
*The Far Alert
The far alert is the initial air scent the K9 gets of the subject’s proximity and is wind dependent. It can be as far as 1000 meters away. How you react to it will determine if you close with the subject or lose your track.
*The Near Alert
The near alert is generally the beginning of a consistent air scent closure to the subject and the dog often has a very good idea of the location and distance to the quarry. The problem is the handler reading this behavior and reacting accordingly. Jeff will guide you through this crucial process by video review.
*The Triangulating Alert
The triangulating alert is when the dog has zeroed in on the subject exactly. This response is initially scent-based but may move into a visual response. This is the end of the track and it is important for the handler to be aware of exactly when this occurs to keep the team safe. No other trainer on the planet has Jeff’s experience at this level of the game. Let him help you to track hard but track safely.
*The Danger Close Alert
The Danger close alert is a condition where the handler simply moved in too close due to a lack of awareness of certain dog body language or other mitigating factors. This is where ambushes occur and when the vast majority of police officers killed in the line of duty on high-risk tracks were shot. How you deal with this condition is important and Jeff has practical steps to keep you and your team safe.
*Reactions To The Alert
Reactions to the alert are all based on Jeff’s High and Low Threat Condition training. They include individual and team movement techniques, communication, and general fieldcraft. Jeff’s training in this area is used by our military for tracking work.
*Online exam with certification
Once you’ve completed all of Jeff’s virtual classroom and fieldwork you will be prompted to take the Tactical and Combat Tracker Exam. The final certification is through our University Portal where you will take a 60 multiple choice and essay-style question exam. Then, with an 80% passing rate, graduate with your certificate of completion.
*Your own DropBox Folder
We will set you up with your own Dropbox folder that will give both you and Jeff, concurrent access to all of your training videos and map overlays. We will maintain this folder for you until course completion where you will have the opportunity to download everything you have completed.
*Personal Coaching
Jeff will schedule periodic classroom time with you which may include, slide shows, map overlay review, and training video review. This training will be face to face on your computer screen! You will receive a maximum of four personal coaching sessions for this course. Personal coaching classes are from 20 minutes to a maximum hour long and spread throughout the two-week program. Two hours of maximum coaching per week.
*Daily Email Q&A session
You will have the opportunity to send Jeff a daily Email. This email may consist of up to ten questions. Email Q&A is for each training day. There are ten training days in our two-week program.
Online testing for the Proximity Alert module training manual is Jeff’s book, Tactical Tracker Teams*Books mailed with Free Shipping in the USA. We pay 50% of your Shipping fees to Europe with normal first-class mail. You will receive a certificate of completion for this and all online exams at our university.