I enjoy teaching people who have already trained in martial arts how to apply their skills to real conflict. I like teaching officers- people who might need it- the simple, practical skills they need to stay alive or the equally simple and practical skills they need to restrain a threat without getting sued…and I like teaching the difference. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in experimental psychology with a minor in biology from Oregon State. I’d planned on a double major, but Biochem killed me. While at OSU I earned varsities in Judo and Fencing and dabbled in Karate, Tae Kwon Do and European weapons. I’ve studied Martial Arts since 1981. I’ve been a corrections officer since 1991. I've spent many of my work hours in Maximum Security and Booking. In 1998 a lot of things happened. I earned my teaching certificate in Sosuishitsu-ryu jujutsu; I published two articles in national magazines; I was named to the CERT (Corrections Emergency Response Team) and was made the DT and Hand-to-Hand instructor for the team. I was also promoted to sergeant. By the end of the year I was designing and teaching classes for the rest of the agency, both Corrections and Enforcement. I’ve been the CERT leader since 2002. CERT has been a huge force in my life and career. By 1998 I already had lots of “dirt time” in Booking, something over two hundred uses of force, some ugly (PCP and/or outnumbered and/or ambushed and/or weapons) but I’d only had to take care of myself. Suddenly I was responsible for teaching rookies how to do what I did. I had to really think about what made things work. Being responsible for their lives upped the ante. CERT also allowed me access to huge amounts of training- I’m currently certified with distraction devices (flash-bang grenades), a wide variety of less-lethal technology (40 mm and 37 mm grenade launchers used to fire everything from gas to rubber balls; paintball guns that fire pellets filled with pepper spray, a variety of chemical munitions and shotgun-fired impact devices, pepper spray, and electrical stun devices). I’ve had the opportunity for specialized high-risk transport EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operations Course) and have trained with the local US Marshals in close combat handgun skills. More importantly, I’ve had the opportunity to use some of these tools and learn what was left out of class. There has been other agency training as well- I’ve done CNT (Crisis Negotiations Team, sometimes called Hostage Negotiators) classes, though a CERT leader won’t be in that role; been through the introductory Weapons of Mass Destruction class from FEMA; attended school for the Incident Command System; certified as a Use of Force and Confrontational Simulation instructor, recently received a certification as a “Challenge Course Facilitator” in case anyone wants to walk a high wire and do some team building. When I’m not on swing shift, I’ve been a volunteer for the Search and Rescue unit. Swing shift or not, I’m a peer counselor for my deputies. I was a medic, NBC defense instructor and rappel master in the National Guard long ago; studied EMT I and II; bounced in a casino for a couple of years and attended Tom Brown’s survival and tracking basic course… and I grew up in the Eastern Oregon desert without electricity or running water.