15 Responses to “Costa on Training”

1. PLiner says:

   May 28, 2012 at 22:36

   While I don’t disagree with what he has to say with regards to being an instructor and it’s demands, I do have issue with the cut scene where we hear costa telling guys about stepping over their dead buddy and driving on. If Costa had that type of experience under his belt it wouldn’t be an issue from an instructional standpoint but using that scenario when he has never been in it and expressing it a manner that suggest that he has and that the methodology is correct is something instructors should avoid like the plague. If you don’t have that first hand experience, espousing a technique in that manner is misleading. You might as well add to the beginning/end of such statements “but I did stay at a holiday inn express” because thats about sums the truth of the matter up.

   • SSD says:

     May 28, 2012 at 23:40

     So the training point isn’t true then? Simply because he wasn’t in combat, the issue is now somehow false?

     • PLiner says:

       May 29, 2012 at 00:27

       OK, I’ll say this in 11B speak since I was apparently too verbose above. If you’ve never been in combat and never been in a stack or had to step over your dead/wounded buddy don’t say shit like that when instructing as you have no grounds to speak from. Even if it is technically and tactically correct, don’t parrot shit like that if you have no background experience to back it up. As an instructor you lose all credibility when the students around you do have experience or when a student asks you to explain how you as an instructor came to that conclusion or if you’ve used it in combat yourself. There is a way to teach and instill an understanding of the drill/concept/teaching point of any subject in a technically and tactically correct manner without using an analogy that suggests that you are speaking from first hand experience. Teach what you know, and in his case, he is a proficient shooter so he should stick to that, how to shoot, and leave all the comments about stepping over dead buddies and anything related to being on a two way range to those who actually have that experience.

       • SSD says:

         May 29, 2012 at 00:37

         Way back in the 90s few instructors had actual combat experience, but they’d say things like that.

         By your standard Top Gun pilots shouldn’t tell students what to do since they haven’t been in dogfights. Or maybe an airborne instructor shouldn’t tell students how to handle a parachute malfunction if they haven’t sustained one before.

2. 11B? says:

   May 29, 2012 at 00:42

   So… with that logic all NFL coaches should just keep their mouth shut? All college professors should just close their books and not hold class? Prior to the GWOT, there were SOCOM personnel that never deployed in combat. Are they essentially useless to learn from?

   I think not.

   • PLiner says:

     May 29, 2012 at 01:21

     You both are are still missing the point. So I will say this in the bluntest way possible in hopes that you can grasp it.

     Don’t tell fucking stories about shit that make students think you’ve done it if you haven’t done it yourself. An instructor can teach a technique/method/step/procedure to anything without telling lies/half truths or whatever you want to call it. If you are teaching tactical boot tying techniques to a group of people and you’ve never had to tie your boots while taking fire don’t teach it in a manner that would suggest that you have been in that situation when teaching it to students. IMPLYING that you have done something and or are speaking from experience when teaching a subject you have never done in your life is fucking lying period. If you’ve never been in combat or taken fire and you are on a flat range teaching people to do a task and saying shit like “This is how its done it combat” and “this is what happens in combat” all it takes is one person to ask you ” How much combat experience do you have?” or “have you ever been in combat before?”. All of which are legitimate questions a student might ask after hearing statements like that. There is a distinct difference in presenting training and the use of stories, analogies, sayings to support them that might be applicable if you have that experience but simply parroting a story,analogy etc because you heard it used by another is setting yourself up for failure and loss of credibility with your students if questioned.

     • SSD says:

       May 29, 2012 at 01:29

       Fair enough. I know where your head is.

3. gusto says:

   May 29, 2012 at 01:44

   I couldn’t agree with more PLiner both as an exsoldier and LEO.

4. KLiP says:

   May 29, 2012 at 05:02

   Erm. Do we KNOW that Costa does NOT have this experience? As far as I’ve read *on the internet* he was about as high-speed as the USCG gets so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s seen buddies go down from cartel shooters or Pakistani opium dealers.

   I don’t have an opinion either way on that particular statement but I’d like to know. Maybe he’s got something you’re not giving him credit for. Or not. But there’s the possibility.

   Admittedly, his former counterpart, Haley, has a fairly known career and I don’t think anyone questions his experience, and his experience-telling.

   • SWAT COP says:

     May 30, 2012 at 13:29

     Was he a member of these units? I’ve been told he was not. So far all I can verify is that he was basically an MP on a USCG ship. Simple searches, boater DUI, etc. Nothing even remotely “High-Speed”. About the equivalent of a regular LEO. Except it was on water.

     • CC718 says:

       May 30, 2012 at 14:54

       On the Costa Ludus website it says he “conducted counter drug operations and special missions in Europe, the Middle East, and South America with such units as; the International Training Division, Maritime Law Enforcement Academy, Plank-Owner of Port Security Unit 302 and the Taclet Law Enforcement Team North”. During his time with USCG. From what I understand “TACLET” is a “High Speed” operational detachment of the USCG that deploys all over the world to combat drug trafficking, piracy, and maritime security threats. In my book Costa is more than qualified to do what he does.

5. Ishootmorethensteelandpaper says:

   May 29, 2012 at 05:32

   To be fair to Costa, the question should be presented to him…

   How do you know “that’s the mentality you have to have”?

6. .308 says:

   May 29, 2012 at 10:25

   I get that he is a great shooter and possibly a good instructor.. but who cares? Just not impressed at all…

7. SWAT COP says:

   June 1, 2012 at 11:20

   You guys ever heard of Google?

   International Training Division;
   Does nothing more than provide training to foreign countries in maritime operations.

   Hint: No actual operations

   Maritime Law Enforcement Academy

   Is an internal USCG training command to “Train USCG Personal to be Maritime Law Enforcement Officers.”.

   Hint: No actual operations

   Port Security Unit 302

   This is a reserve unit. “Service in PSU 302 is a collateral duty for these Coast Guardsmen and all are assigned to other Coast Guard units around the nation”.

   Hint: No actual operations

   Taclet Law Enforcement Team North

   This is a disbanded unit that was later merged with the Maritime Safety and Security Team 91102 to create MSRT. MSRT is the USCG’s top team. Costa only claims to be a “Plank-Owner” in the old Taclet North that means he did port security primarily, but to include ship searches, etc. Nothing even remotely “High-Speed”.

   Hint: Equivalent to a small city SWAT team.

   • James says:

     June 1, 2012 at 16:43

     Lots of fluff…I could’ve guessed it earlier. I could smell the fluff from the beginning.