South Eastern SWAT Association 2009, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Publication Review
Monthly Review of Related Publications
Book Review
Leadership and Training for the Fight---$13.31 at www.amazon.com
At first glance, Leadership and Training for the Fight by MSgt (ret) Paul Howe, has the look of a field manual. But upon opening it you discover a clear, concise, treasure trove of information concerning tactical operations and training that is unrivalled to date. To back up the content of the book you must only look as far as Paul Howe’s credentials. Paul Howe spent twenty years active duty in the Army, ten of those years in Special Operations. You need only to read Mark Bowden’s “Blackhawk Down” to understand Paul’s role in Spec Ops. He worked his way up the latter in his unit and eventually made it to a Team Leader role. He is currently the owner of Combat Shooting and Tactics, a business he founded in 2000 which serves the Law Enforcement, Military, Government Security and Civilian community. It is from this deep experience that Paul was able to draw from, and put into words, lessons learned over a long period of time in high stress environments. It appears that his hope is that we will learn by reading the book instead of making the mistakes that have plagued units and government operations in the past.
Every chapter of the book is preceded by first hand account of a particular operation that Paul was involved in. I found those accounts to be fascinating. They link up perfectly with the lessons and ideas that the author is trying to convey throughout each chapter. They give context to the ideas he is trying to present. Each lesson is well organized and thought out. It is clear that the author has taught the material countless times before finally putting it into a written form for the benefit of all.
The book is quite useful for tactical teams that are looking for ways to maximize their training time. As we all know, we don’t train enough. When we do train we need to get the most out of it. I found his example training schedules to be very detailed and perfectly tailored to the part time tactical teams struggling to maximize their limited resources and training assets. His addition of “Gut Checks” in training are also quite useful. “Gut Checks” refer to certain training evolutions that tax the mind and body and force the individual operator to question whether or not he really wants to be on the team. The author feels it is best to sprinkle these evolutions out to maybe 2-3 a year to give the operators a goal to shoot for throughout the year. As we all know, it is tough, if not impossible, to be in top physical condition 24/7/365. This is a fantastic way to keep your team members focused and foster a positive competitive atmosphere within your team.
In closing, this book is a must read for any tactical officer. However, it should not be limited to military and tactical team usage. This is an excellent book for patrol officers and supervisors. I also highly recommend it for command staff members. I’ll finish this article with this piece of advice: Have a highlighter in your hand when you read this book. This will allow you to mark key points that you will want to implement with your team. It will save you time and provide you with an excellent guide that you can keep with you.
Reviewed by: Bill Kish (Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office)
