Author – David Sohm
Trainer716@comcast.net
Several dictionaries define stress as: Any real or perceived (adverse) stimulus, physical or psychological, that tends to disturb an individual’s performance or operation. An exaggerated physiological or psychological response or reaction to stimuli, beyond what is needed or necessary to accomplish a given task or goal.
Stress has long been considered a detriment to effective operation and optimal performance for Law Enforcement personnel as well as creating a barrier and destructive environment to learning and task accomplishment in training. Critical Incident Performance Stress has the potential to take any officer capable of effectively performing routine duties under normal circumstances and creating under high stress an overload condition that results in ineffective, delayed or worst case scenario a lack of response during critical moments or events.
The training standard for years has been that stress has a debilitating effect on the officer’s abilities and ultimately results in diminished performance on the physiological, psychological and cognitive processing levels. That stress must be eliminated from training to afford the officer the opportunity to successfully complete the required training task. Secondarily officers under high stress are unable to perform fine and complex motor skills as well as complex cognitive processes creating a less effective and capable officer.
Stress wrongfully or overly applied in training can detract, deteriorate or defeat an officer’s ability to perform optimally, process fully cognitively and ultimately to survive an encounter as well as morally defeat them. Training stress that focuses upon “messing with the officer” as demonstrated by “no win” scenario’s or purposeless training can have significant short term (demoralizing effects) as well as long term ramifications (inability to respond or ineffective response to threats or situations) Training failure can also create a cognitive reset upon the officer and their operational performance setting the stage for later failure or hesitancy in action.
Stress for this purpose or stress wrongfully applied by trainers can have many profound and negative influences on those officers who place their trust and lives in us as trainers. The short and long term affects can be seen and shown in a variety of training and real life consequences.
First we do a huge disservice to our officers by allowing static (stress less) programs and exercises to make up the majority of our training plan. Bland, outdated or appositionally static training may meet department or state guidelines but can break down morale, create apathy and stifle the learning process not to mention a failure in preparing the officer for real life duty.
Second, we fail to challenge officers in reinforcing and practicing task mastery of previously learned skills and tactics (perishable skills set) and in providing the opportunity to rise to the next level of their abilities.
Third, we fail in providing the officer the opportunity to gain new skills and knowledge, but more importantly the technique and decisional confidence in their abilities and the tactics they use, whether the techniques can be applicable to a given situation, if they really work or not, or if the officer can really win or succeed by applying the techniques we teach them.
Fourth, we do not prepare the officer for the “real life duty” challenges they face that will most assuredly fall outside the static drills and sterile responses they learn in the “classroom threats” and certainly not for the dangerous and dynamic situations that evolve in seconds. Training is static, real life is always dynamic.
Lastly, we fail to prepare the officer for the real response stress that they will face operationally and the management of those stressors for an effective trained response both during and what can happen after an encounter. Surviving the encounter is many times only half the battle and the most serious fight may come after the battle.
We have bought into a “stress less” training concept as fact for years without venturing outside the box to see whether or not it is true, but more importantly to see if the theory is changeable through training and it clearly is.
When we consider the introduction of managed stress or the role of stress acclimation (we cannot be inoculated from it) training in the performance and ultimate outcome, these critical considerations and components can have immeasurable benefits for the officer and the outcome of any encounter.
The retraining of the stress process starts first by simply rearranging and reframing the officers thought process and consideration of stress, its influence and purpose. We change not only how they view stress and stressors, but the officer’s mental picture, the purpose of stress and how it is used to enhance their abilities. The true emotion of fear is a motivational factor to survival; stress is no longer considered a negative but a positive factor and motivator to effective performance and higher levels of operation.
Secondly, stress introduced into any training program in structured levels starts a process that will in effect begin to acclimate the officer to some or most of those physiological responses and in turn allows or trains the officer to learn to control or manage stress to their benefit. Since the mind does not differentiate real from artificial stress the benefits in training are the same as in real life. Though the physiological responses can not be stopped, per se, they can be controlled or managed to the officer’s benefit which allows the possibility of functioning and performing well under high stress circumstances. As Sgt Matt Beckman of the Chisago county sheriff’s office so often states: “it’s not stress inoculation but stress acclimation. We cannot stop it, but we can manage it!
Training stress, being appropriately applied using a “Stair Step Stress Training Model tm ” can have a profound affect on the officer’s Critical incident response (Decisional), Critical incident performance (Operational) and Cognitive (Critical thinking) abilities during high stress activities.
Likewise stress education, not necessarily CISM, but utilizing an “Assessment Options and Crisis Response Model tm “threat vs. challenge” assessment thinking and response can reorient the officers processing of any event and can have a profound influence on the critical moment (in time) event assessment and the mental follow through (through time) reaction and response to that event. It simply becomes a problem to be solved and our training provides methods of Resolutions.
By introducing innovative and creative stress acclimation training criteria and program for our officer we begin a process of “Fire and Wire” training and restructuring that re-aligns the thought processes and reframes the pictures of the process, activity and outcome for the officer. We not only reframe the pictures but the officer’s process of thought, meta-cognition strategies and self talk setting the officer up for positive completion training to a new destination and force outcome.
When we approach stress in this new light and concept we then reframe our training, the officers thinking and the old deficiencies of most training programs become easily correctable.
Training for the sake of training (simply mandating action) is ineffective and a waste of everyone’s time. Our programs must reflect true “training with intent”. Training should always have a further purpose or objective and that purpose or objective should create a new or greater destination for the officer. Training with intent sets and defines the goals and outcomes and creates cognitive pre-programming on an unconscious level.
Depending on the type of training being presented, (as reasonably as possible) the program should contain three components to be an effective training endeavor. Classroom with visual demonstrations (cognitive), hands–on with practice (operational) and scenario or experienced based with dynamic application (experiential). The last two of which should always utilize training stress factors to enhance the training goal and process.
The old adage really becomes true in this phase, if it doesn’t work on the street; it’s not worth teaching in the classroom and adding stress is one of the most important ways to help validate a training program. The officer must have the opportunity to break it, bend it and dynamically apply it to test if it works for them and develop the confidence that they can make it work successfully in dynamic application.
Training (and Trainers) should become that cause or influence of illumination, awakening or discovery for the officer. The training discomfort, pain, stress or tension that they encounter during a challenging course is a motivator, a driving force or positive influence to move them towards new knowledge or skill and task mastery. Stress is the catalyst that becomes the force of positive change towards that destination.
Training programs that do not challenge the officer, that do not contain at least incremental stressors or provide a “Stair Step” building process of stress acclimation, progressive training and skill acquisition will only serve to reinforce the five previous training areas of failure that we have highlighted.
The “certification for the price of admission” (credit to my partner Sgt. Brian Reed) training philosophy cheats the department of competency and the officer of the opportunity and challenge of preparing; improving and surviving the real world they face in critical moments.
We must reconsider and retrain stress not only from the standpoint of its influence and affect but as a positive training motivator, a new opportunity and a positive driving force to change, improve and expand the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual boundaries and capabilities of the officers we train. Simply stated we need to frame stress in a different light and make it the positive and necessary force of training, change and survival for our officers.
New dictionary definition:Stress: An external force or condition that harnesses the biological and physiological reactions and motivates the body, mind and spirit to optimal performance during high or critical stress situations or circumstances for effective response.
Dave is a twenty plus years Law Enforcement veteran who began his career as a Special Agent in Special Operation / Narcotics with the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office and later as a Special Agent assigned to Special Operations with the K.B.I. Kansas Bureau of Investigations. He finished his career as a Patrol Officer, Primary FTO and Lead Trainer with the St. Paul Police Department, St. Paul, Minnesota where he also facilitated three St. Paul Police Academies as the Primary Liaison Training Officer. He has served as the Administrative Director for Dakota Technical College’s Customized Law Enforcement Training Program in Rosemount, Minnesota for five years where he specialized in designing, developing and implementing a wide variety of training programs. Dave has an extensive operational training background that includes designing and developing courses for domestic LE and DOD personnel in Use of Force and Deadly Force, Firearms, Legal Liabilities, Pursuit and Emergency Response Operations, Patrol Operations, Basic, Advanced, HRT and Force Tactical Operations, Shoot House Instructor Operations and Active Shooter Solutions. Dave is President of Mission Critical Concepts, LLC based in Forest Lake, Minnesota and currently works for the Evans group as a TSG consultant for Surefire, Trijicon and Springfield.
David Sohm, SPPD (Ret.)
President, MISSION CRITICAL CONCEPTS
Co-owner – Chambermax, LLC
2009 West Broadway Ave. Ste 400, PMB 324
Forest Lake, MN 55025
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