BORELLI CONSULTING: Tactical Equipment Reviews

TTPOA 2007 Annual Conference
9 April 2007

I recently had the great pleasure of attending, and presenting at, the Texas Tactical Police Officers' Association annual conference held in Houston. Held March 30th through April 2nd, the conference sported more than 110 vendors and over 700 attendees. It was the first conference I'd attended hosted by a tactical officers' association and it was a great honor to present a program there about the evolution of police response, policies and tactics across the past four decades and then looking into the decade ahead at our greatest threats. Before I go any further I'd like to thank Shannon, Gary, Paul and many other great guys down there for having worked so hard to make this event the success that it was. The way that the board members of the TTPOA and all of the other officers working the event coordinated with the vendors made two things very obvious:
1) The event really was all about the attendees - even the exhibit floor time. Door prizes from each vendors booth gave to the community and spotlighted each vendor, and
2) "Southern Hospitality" is far from dead. The TTPOA really worked hard to make sure that breakfast and lunch was served each day of the exhibit portion of the conference from the exhibit floor, and that there were always "information" officers available to assist any attendee in need.

The conference was held at the Wyndham Greenspoint hotel and I have to say: very sweet. The hotel is of modern design and layout with an excellent eye on service as one would expect from a higher end establishment. The fact that the hotel is apparently located in a not-so-friendly neighborhood of Houston is NOT a reflection on the hotel. I found it poetic that the lobby bar is called "The Crucible". I'm not sure how busy the bar usually is on the weekend, but it was for certain busy on all the nights I was there.

Friday and Saturday saw the exhibit floor open. With over 700 attendees the floor was both busy and packed. At times it was like trying to walk through SHOT Show. There were enough vendors that the 15,000 square foot conference room was insufficient to hold them all and some had to set up outside the conference room in the main lobby area. Break out sessions and classes were held in various other rooms that ringed the lobby on the second floor.

While walking the exhibit floor on Friday it was my great pleasure to meet Mr. Dick Kramer. As it worked out I happened to have an idea for some artwork and it was something Dick was already working on "between his ears". I look forward to seeing the work when it's complete. A small hint: compassionate warrior. That's all I'm saying.

I was happy to see the guys from XS Sights, CamelBak, BlackHawk and others on the exhibit floor. As the exhibit "show" was going on, the guys from TTPOA were walking around to different booths handing out door prizes and spotlighting the contributions of each particular vendor the TTPOA organization. It's not something I'd seen done before but it was impressive and appreciated. It specifically called attention to the support from a specific sponsor / vendor and gave them a few minutes in the limelight.

It was also my great pleasure and honor to meet Chief Jeff Chudwin face-to-face for the first time. Chief Chudwin was the keynote speaker at the banquet on Sunday night and he received several standing ovations during his speech. I must say, in all honesty and not kissing up to Chief Chudwin, I wish he could travel and deliver classes on leadership technique. His focus on "being the real police" - defending the innocents and our country without doubt or hesitation within the confines of the law - was most refreshing. I applaud him for his attitude and congratulate him on not being drowned by the political cesspool all chiefs have to deal with. Jeff - thank you for your time and keep up the GREAT work!

I was privileged to deliver a program about the past four decades of police policy and tactics evolution which then concluded with a look ahead into the next decade. I was both blessed and cursed to be delivering my program after lunch both Sunday and Monday. The blessings were:
- I was there. TTPOA treated me spectacularly well and the attendees to my program were self-motivated to be there.
- The feedback I received from experienced and educated operators will help me improve the program for its next delivery.

The curses were:
- I was delivering my presentation both days immediately after lunch. Heads did bob here and there. I thought about getting a bunch of foam grenades from one of the vendors to throw at those nodding and then realized who I was dealing with. Throwing objects resembling explosives at SWAT cops is a bad idea no matter how tired or food-lethargic they are.
- Sunday and Monday morning Mr. Ken Murray taught in the same classroom. For anyone who has had the pleasure of attending one of Ken's programs about reality based scenario training, you know how high-energy he is. He's a difficult act to follow at best. I enjoyed lunch with him and some very educational conversation. It's always a delight. Ken - thanks for joining me for lunch.

While I was in Houston for the weekend I also had the pleasure of visiting with a friend for dinner. "Breaking bread" is something many of us put a particular emphasis on in today's world and it was a great delight to do this with my friend, his family, and some of his friends that I can now call my friends. I met a SWAT veteran from Houston who is affectionately known by the current teams as "a legend". It was a pleasure to meet you Jim. I met another gentleman who seems far too young and energetic to be retired, but due to an injury received in the line of duty he is indeed retired. His heart, energy and motivation are still in the game though and I wouldn't count him out for very long. It was a pleasure to meet you Rich. Finally, I met a man who looked like he had just stepped off the streets of Baghdad and put on American clothes. If he had been wearing the traditional robes and headdress typically attributed to middle-eastern culture I'd have probably looked at him pretty funny. With a beard and thick moustache he certainly would pass for a middle-eastern male. His fantastic sense of humor and the fact that he's a former Navy SEAL, however, made him an excellent dinner companion. I enjoyed his stories and although I'm sure I'll spell it wrong, it was a great pleasure to meet you Yanni.

This was my first ever trip to Houston - or to Texas for that matter. The people at TTPOA did it right. Whether I go back as a presenter next year or merely as an attendee, it's something I truly look forward to. Some of the SWAT guys attending were from Brazil and others from Portugal. English may not have been their first language, but their presence, appearance and behavior proved one thing: cops are cops no matter where they're from. You can pick them out a mile away and they trade barbs with the best of us. If you can get the time to attend the TTPOA conference in 2008 I highly recommend it. Good material was presented. Great people were in attendance. The atmosphere was warm and many new relationships were built. It's definitely worth the registration fee, time and trip.

BE SAFE!

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This week's Training Article, discussing movies we enjoy and the parallels that exist in their plots or expressed values with real life.

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