'Camp Close Battle' trains state's law enforcement warriors

On a remote compound off Highway 95A somewhere north of Silver Springs, a team of former military and law enforcement trainers is showing policemen, deputies, drug agents and soldiers how to save lives in lethal situations.

The 40 acres of target ranges and converted shipping containers is called Camp CQB, for Close Quarters Battle.

Founder and former Marine anti-terrorism instructor Michael Taylor started the business 11 years ago after realizing the training of many policemen and deputies did not equip them for crisis situations that were costing their lives and the lives of the civilians they were trying to protect.

"You perform the way you're trained and in most cases they were getting shortchanged on training," Taylor said. "Instead of getting everything they needed A to Z, it's a check-the-box thing, lazy trainers who said, 'I know you know this, so I'll just certify you;' lazy students who stand around telling jokes and smoking most of the training time."

The rigorous, military-style training style at Camp CQB appeared to leave little time for sharing jokes.

Four deputies from the Etowah County, Ala., Sheriff's Department were training as a hostage rescue/critical incident response team.

As instructor Ty Lambert issued orders through a bullhorn, the deputies used precise, snappy moves as they assumed firing positions and fired M-14 carbine sniper rifles at 2-inch squares 200 yards away. A stiff, irregular Nevada crosswind increased the challenge as the deputies squeezed off two shots, then walked to the targets to judge the results.

Most of the bullet holes fell within the squares or less than an inch away.

"These guys are tired, too," Taylor said. "We work them 17, 18 hours a day, keep the pressure on and take them out of their comfort zones. When they're back home and something comes up, it won't be under ideal, controlled conditions.

"I've worked the double shifts, come up against a man with a gun at the end of it. If you've been trained under stress, under pressure, you have the confidence and ability to make the right decision despite exhaustion.

Taylor said the Lyon County camp, which he and the instructors began building about 30 months ago, so far has been used almost entirely to train the instructors and develop courses for his company, called Advanced Tactics and Survival at its formation but currently switching to Camp CQB with the completion of the camp.

"Over 90 percent of our training has been off-site, at facilities close to the students. We haven't made a dollar from this facility so far, but that's changing now," he said.

Another expected change is who will pay for the training, he said.

Almost all of the law officers who have taken Taylor's courses have paid for the training themselves to enhance their abilities and judgment and increase their own chances of survival.

"Every 54 minutes, a law officer is killed in this country. Most of those deaths come from bad decision making, caused by inadequate training," he said. "But when budgets get tight, one of the first things administrators do is cut training funds."

In Etowah County, two incidents prompted a decision to invest in training offered by Camp CQB.

An officer was killed in 1998 and an attempt to serve a "routine" warrant turned into a firefight where two officers were wounded and a hostage situation developed.

"We had to call in the folks trained to handle it from the state patrol and we ended up waiting six hours for them to arrive," said deputy Paul Hawk, leader of the county's new hostage rescue team in training.

"Our sheriff decided that we could not continue to operate like that and committed to training this team."

It is a substantial commitment, Taylor said. The Alabama deputies are at Camp CQB for 21 days, but the company's instructors conducted two months of training in Alabama before the deputies came to Nevada.

"After they go home, we'll be back out there several times in the next few months, verifying their skills and conducting exercises," Taylor said. "Before we're done, we'll run a live-fire simulated situation where they won't know its not the real thing."

Between training and equipping the new team, Etowah County will spend nearly $250,000, he said.

But Camp CQB's training itself is not especially expensive. A five-day course for law officers runs $500, a four-day pistol course for a civilian is $300, he said.

"We're not here to get rich, we're not militia men or gun nuts. We're filling a gap in training that will save lives," Taylor said.

"A well-trained, confident officer who knows he can hit his target will not empty his weapon in hopes of hitting something. He'll have time to determine if a suspect is reaching for a wallet or a cell phone instead of a gun."