This was hands-down the best class I've ever attended.  In my opinion, this is the best class available for qualified civilians to learn combat pistol marksmanship.  I know that is a strong statement and I will endeavor to prove it.  Northern Red is still relatively new on the scene, in that they are only recently expanding to more open enrollment classes.  They normally train under contract with various government agencies.  I believe their instructor cadre consists of the most qualified, recent combat experienced group of individuals available.  Depending on class size, you may get 1-2  primary instructors, and in our case, we were extremely lucky that several instructors showed up to shoot with (and coach) students, in preparation for up-coming classes.  So all told, we had 4-5 guys, with on average 30 months of combat deployment time, with SF or a SMU.  This was literally the experience from hundreds of gunfights, distilled down to a POI.  This is why I say I don't know of any other group that has this kind of depth to their program.

Why is this important?  Well, lots of T,T,P's I've learned, over the years, were proven to be incorrect.  In fact, I would go as far as to say that we are entering into a new era, where extremely experienced, recent combat vets are now finally available to disseminate the knowledge of what they found to work in the last ten years of combat.  And also what didn't work.  This is not theoretical.  This is not one or two (or three or four) gunfight experiences.  This is the distilled knowledge of ten years of constant combat.  You and I as qualified citizens, can now learn this stuff.  Because we may soon need it.  More on that later.

The course itself is broken down into three days of instruction.  You build the basics in a progression that shows you how to diagnose where you're at now, how to work on individual skill sets, and then how to build your own training program.  It consists of the usual subjects such as stance, grip, sight picture, trigger squeeze, etc. but what is different is how these things have changed after ten years of combat.  What "old sarge" or your favorite instructor taught you years ago may not still be the best technique today.  Lots of old techniques were updated to what actually worked in numerous gunfights, of several different individuals.  I hate to keep banging on that drum, but that's the crux of the issue here.  Lots of different schools are teaching lots of different techniques, that may not be the optimum T,T,P's for your use.  So if you are a serious student of the combat arts, and not just playing games, this is an important point for you.  More on that later as well.  

For me it was basically rebuilding my entire pistol technique.  I was forced to re-examine my stance, grip, sights, and trigger squeeze.  Fundamentals at a decent range were the key.  Not banging away at the 5 yd line.  Once I could hit a stationary target reasonably well, I learned to hit simulated moving targets, then moving myself while shooting, then target discrimination.  By the end of the class you have all the "chicken bones" as JD says, to take home and practice.  It is then up to you to hone these techniques to proficiency.

The facilities were excellent.  I hadn't been to "Trigger Time" in Carthage, NC in awhile.  As always, Tom opened his gates to veterans and citizens alike to train.

Weather was shitty.  Intermittent rain most of the weekend.  When we weren't wet, we were being baked by the sun.  How I can be water-logged and sun-burnt at the same time I can't figure out.  But we had overhead cover and excellent instruction so it was no factor.  

Weapons were mostly Glocks, of one sort or another.  As a note, my G-19 is an excellent carry gun, but suffered some in the pure accuracy department, especially at range.  Trade-offs, as usual.  There were some malfunctions.  I had failure of some mags to drop free, which was technique-related (tilting hand while ejecting) but also I believe something mechanical as well.  Will check out mag releases and go through old mags for possible replacement.  Also there was one firing pin plunger that was scored or scratched, which caused some failures to fire.  Be careful with aftermarket parts and custom gun-smithing.  Perhaps better to stay stock or near-stock for reliability's sake.  Am thinking about switching to a G-17, based on what I saw in class.  

Equipment.  The light-weight Crye belts were popular.  The Safariland ALS holster was practically standard issue.  Lots of HSGI tacos in evidence as well.  

Clothing.  Rain gear was a must for this particular class.  I used the Redledge "Thunder Light" jacket which worked perfect.  The trick was integrating it with a overt gun belt set up.  I ended up just tucking the jacket into my pants so I still had good access to my belt kit.  Practically the whole class was in Salomon's, except for me and one other guy.  I prefer Lowa TF Zephrs, which performed well as usual.  I gotta think those guys feet were getting soaked in those highly vented light hikers.  But then these guys are hard-core and don't care.

Round count was about 300 rds per day.  A little more on the last day when you are putting it all together and running lots of drills at a fast pace (less thinkin', more shootin').

So sustain:  Quality of instruction, POI, and warrior mentality.

Improve:  Access to armed citizens.

The class culminates in a talk that transcends the physical skill sets and gets into the realm of the warrior mentality and spirit.  This is what truly separates Northern Red from any other group I know of.  You are given a glimpse of the warrior mentality and encouraged to embrace it.  Lots of places teach physical skills in pretty much of a vacuum; what you use it for is pretty much left up to you.  With Northern Red, it is made perfectly clear what these skill sets are designed for.  You have to examine yourself and decide if you truly have it in you to kill someone to protect your loved ones, or others.  These guys have all done it, and they are sharing with you what it takes to do so.  I was literally blown away by this presentation.  Lots of guys talk shit about this stuff.  You see the movies and TV.  But these guys have actually done it.  And they explain the how and why of it.  This one presentation is worth the cost of the entire course alone.  If you are serious about using weapons in defense of life, you need to hear this talk.  Everyone in the military, law enforcement, and armed citizen first responders should hear this.  

And a word about Mission 22.  We as a "modern" society totally suck about re-integrating our warriors back into society.  A twenty-something, government approved psychiatrist is not the answer these guys need.  They need other senior warriors to help them back.  So check out the website, pay attention to your warrior buddies.  If it looks like they're going side-ways, reach out and help them.  

And finally, as Chris said, I want to thank all the veterans who laid it on the line for me and you.  And thanks to all the LEO's who protect the home fires.  And thanks to all the armed citizens out there who have decided to join the fight.  We live in uncertain times.  Terrorism, other acts of violence may be coming soon "to a theatre near you".  If you are seriously considering defending yourself, I would highly recommend training with these guys.

Sounds like a good one, id like to get some training from them this year. Do they have a website or somewhere I can get a course calendar from them?


ETA: oops, their website was stupid easy to find via Google

good write up