Schools Teach Combat Skills to Civilians: Lack of Regulation Troubles Some

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Schools Teach Combat Skills to Civilians
Lack of Regulation Of Private Training Troubles Some
By David A. Fahrenthold
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 28, 2006; Page A03

....Valhalla (Training Center in Montrose, Colorado) is part of a lightly regulated industry thriving in a time of war overseas and terrorism fears at home. Around the country, at least 16 privately run schools teach civilian students skills usually associated with SWAT teams or military combat -- close-in gunfighting, assault-rifle tactics, sniper shooting.

The reasons for the schools' growth include the U.S. military's increasing openness to privately run training, a rise in public demand for personal-defense skills and a new marketing strategy from some schools, which now sell tactical shooting as weekend recreation. Along with this growth have come concerns, voiced by academic observers and even some in the business, about the leeway afforded these schools to choose who and what they teach.

"You're talking about an entirely new industry that has a patchwork-quilt quality. . . . Some parts are regulated, and some parts are entirely unregulated," said Peter W. Singer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He said that such a system would be "one thing if we're talking about clown schools," but "it's different when we're talking about private military schools."

The schools, however, say that they strive to screen out clients who might misuse their training.

"They don't show up for class and have a gun in their hand until they've had a criminal background check," said Timothy Beckman, director of the training arm of the High Desert Special Operations Center in Nevada. "You don't get in the door if you don't have good paper."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/27/AR2006052700854.html

[Davis_X_Machina]

1. Universal military training...

...and a nation-in-arms were once leftist goals, to counterbalance the standing army in service to the State, and its monopoly on deadly force.

Handy in the event of a civil war if you don't want a repeat of what happened to the Paris Commune, or the Spanish Republic.