Volume 9, Edition 1Conference Edition 2019
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ILEETA Journal Archive
2019
Training knowledge worth preserving
The 2019 Journal records a consequential year for ILEETA: a large St. Louis conference edition, continued attention to adaptive decision-making and field training, frank discussion of suicide and sleep, and a winter tribute to founder Ed Nowicki. Together, the four editions connect training craft with the people and relationships that gave the association its character.
A note for today’s reader: These articles are preserved in their original historical setting. Law, policy, technology, terminology, medical knowledge, and training practice may have changed. Read the complete article, then compare it with current authority before applying its recommendations.
Volume 9, Edition 1Conference Edition 2019
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Volume 9, Edition 2Spring 2019
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Volume 9, Edition 3Fall 2019
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Volume 9, Edition 4Winter 2019
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Volume 9, Edition 1
Conference Edition 2019
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The conference edition opens with a memorial to Josef Holzer and guides members through St. Louis, the Emerson Hour, officer-safety instruction, adaptive decision-making, physical training, instructional design, wellness, and leadership.
Featured reading
Right of Bang! Adaptive Decision Making in High Risk Environments
Devlin focuses on developing decision-making in officers entering field training. He combines ideas about rapid and deliberate thought, recognition, observation, and adaptation so trainees can act when situations are incomplete and changing. Rather than teaching a single script, the approach asks field trainers to expose officers to varied problems, make their reasoning discussable, and help them build experience before consequences become unforgiving. The article treats decision-making as a skill that can be coached and refined, especially when trainers understand how novices interpret cues differently from experienced officers.
Topics: Adaptive decision-making; field training; cognition; high-risk environments
Citation: Jason Devlin. (2019). Right of Bang! Adaptive Decision Making in High Risk Environments. The ILEETA Journal, 9(1), 25-26.
Tactical Approach to Training Design
Avery compares course design with operational planning. Before an entry or other tactical action, teams assess the situation, define objectives, select resources, anticipate complications, and establish how success will be judged. Training deserves the same discipline. The article walks instructors from performance need through outcomes, assessment, instructional strategy, documentation, and revision. Starting with a favorite lecture or slide deck reverses that process. By approaching design tactically, trainers can control scope, connect every activity to a purpose, and create programs that prepare officers for the decisions and actions the job actually requires.
Topics: Instructional design; operational planning; assessment; course development
Citation: Kerry Avery. (2019). Tactical Approach to Training Design. The ILEETA Journal, 9(1), 50-51.
Volume 9, Edition 2
Spring 2019
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The spring issue reflects on the conference and explores use-of-force instruction, social pressure, field training, personal vision, recruiting, command, anxiety, PTSD, simulation, and wellness.
Featured reading
The Clumsy Iguana: Re-Thinking the Evaluation/Training Process in Field Training
Dworak examines the frustration that arises when a probationary officer struggles during field training. The “clumsy iguana” image encourages field trainers to see awkward early performance as part of learning rather than immediate proof of inability. Evaluation still matters, but ratings and corrective feedback should be tied to observable behavior, appropriate expectations, and a genuine plan for improvement. The article asks FTOs to balance accountability with coaching and to recognize how anxiety, unfamiliarity, and the trainer’s own assumptions shape performance. A trainee should be tested, but also taught.
Topics: Field training; coaching; performance evaluation; probationary officers
Citation: Thom Dworak. (2019). The Clumsy Iguana: Re-Thinking the Evaluation/Training Process in Field Training. The ILEETA Journal, 9(2), 14-15.
Volume 9, Edition 3
Fall 2019
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The fall edition addresses force law, hindsight, fear, ethics, interviewing, cross-cultural policing, sleep, suicide prevention, and interviews with Harvey Hedden and managing editor Kerry Avery.
Featured reading
A Trainer’s Role in Reducing Officer Suicides
Wolfe speaks directly to instructors as influential leaders who can place suicide prevention inside everyday training rather than reserve it for an annual awareness event. He connects sleep, stress, help-seeking, warning signs, organizational resources, and direct conversation. Trainers repeatedly reach officers across assignments and ranks, giving them opportunities to challenge stigma and make support information familiar before a crisis. The article’s practical message is that prevention does not belong only to clinicians or command staff. A prepared instructor can notice, ask, teach, refer, and help create a culture in which intervention is expected.
Topics: Officer suicide prevention; instructor leadership; sleep; wellness
Citation: Duane Wolfe. (2019). A Trainer’s Role in Reducing Officer Suicides. The ILEETA Journal, 9(3), 24-25.
Volume 9, Edition 4
Winter 2019
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The winter issue honors Ed Nowicki while continuing the Journal’s work on force, firearms, instructor education, leadership, suicide statistics, organizational treatment of officers, and safety.
Featured reading
A Tribute to Ed Nowicki
Writing under the name “Coach,” the author remembers Ed Nowicki as a source of light, purpose, and connection during a difficult period in law enforcement. The tribute emphasizes his willingness to teach, gather people, encourage new instructors, and build something larger than himself. It is not a comprehensive institutional history; it is testimony about influence and character from someone who experienced both personally. Preserved alongside the year’s technical articles, the piece reminds readers that ILEETA’s legacy rests not only on courses and publications, but on relationships, mentorship, generosity, and the courage to begin.
Topics: Ed Nowicki; ILEETA history; mentorship; institutional legacy
Citation: Coach. (2019). A Tribute to Ed Nowicki. The ILEETA Journal, 9(4), 9.