Patrol Vehicle Ambush Survival Skills
The Patrol Vehicle Ambush Survival Skills (PVASS) course is the first course designed for patrol officers and first line supervisors that bridges the gap between emergency vehicle operations and tactical response to potentially lethal threats. Using a modular approach, the course is available in a standardized format as well as a custom, department, or agency which allows for the incorporation of specific policies, procedures, or guidelines.
Whether in its standard format, or a more customized version, teach and every PVASS course is an innovative, intensive training opportunity that places an emphasis on:
- Providing participants an understanding of the impacts – both positive and negative – that Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) technology may have on an officer while confronting a hostile, aggressive adversary in a vehicle ambush or active shooter situation from in or around their patrol vehicle
- Tactics and techniques that address the inherent risks of approaching a scene, arriving on or at the scene, and transitioning from a vehicle in exigent circumstances, while providing a framework for proportional use of force
- Developing the mt and level of situational awareness needed to overcome the stress, volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity of the first moments of a violent encounter
The PVASS Modules include:
- Phase I: Vehicle Ambushes, Theory vs. Reality
This dynamic module provides participants the opportunity to gain an understanding of the role time and distance play in a vehicle ambush, apply the tactical concept of creating defensible space, and learn tactics and techniques that have proven effective for properly managing limited time, limited distance, and limited maneuvering space, in order to create a tactical advantage.
- Phase II: Vehicle Centric Defensive Tactics
This module introduces students to the fundamentals of defending against violent assaults while in or around their patrol vehicles, overcoming the challenges presented by confined interior spaces, applying the concepts of defending and engaging an assailant from vertical and horizontal surfaces, and maintaining an appropriate defensive/protective posture while transitioning from a vehicle.
- Phase III: Vehicle Centric Firearms Tactics
The third module of the PVASS course focuses on the tactics and techniques of transitioning to, and engaging active threats with, a firearm while seated in a vehicle as well as when moving from a seated to a standing position, and proper utilization of a patrol vehicle for cover based on the protection potential of various structures and components of a vehicle.
Lenco BearCat Mission Oriented Driving Skills (MODS) Course
Developed specifically for the numerous variants and generations of BearCat armored rescue vehicle platform at the request of the manufacturer, each BearCat MODS course is customized to meet a particular department or agency’s training goals and objectives, and is presented in either a 2 day or 3 three day format.
Generally speaking, VDI’s BearCat MODS courses, which are mobile training programs intended to be delivered at the host agencies training facility, place an emphasis on:
- Providing participants an understanding of the vehicle’s capabilities and limitation
- Maximizing operator performance in a wide range of situations and environments
- Application of evasive driving techniques to behind-the-wheel emergencies (i.e. potential crashes or directed threats)
- Tactics and techniques for approaching/entering the active scene
- Minimizing the risk of projectile penetration
- Deployment of personnel and equipment from vehicle
- Operating vehicle on unimproved surfaces, off-road, and in rough terrain.