Every year my fellow instructors and I at Indy Arms Company select three to four training classes to attend. When attending these training courses my focus is threefold. First, what skills and techniques can I learn in my own defensive development. Second, what can I learn and adapt to my own teaching style as I develop as an instructor. Third, and most relevant to this article, what can I provide as far as useful information to others thinking about furthering their own training.
Back in 2023, we took the Tactical Carbine course with Battleline Tactical run by Kris Paronto. The level of instruction impressed, so we wanted to go back again in 2024. After the class, I reached out to Battleline Tactical and Kris Paronto offered that we schedule a private class version of Tactical Carbine II. This is exactly what we did, and we were excited to return to the range in Fort Scott, Kansas for another class.
Kris Paronto and Battleline Tactical
Kris Paronto is a former U.S. Army Ranger, CIA security contractor, instructor, author, and businessman (check out his Paronto branded Vodka). He is likely most known by many as one of the CIA security contractors during the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya that ended up costing four Americans their lives. He was played by actor Pablo Schreiber in the movie “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi“ based on the book 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi, written with input by Kris. Since his time serving the United States in the military and as a security contractor, he has opened Battleline Tactical, and through this endeavor works to share his experiences and training with others.
Kris really excels at teaching. He has a very practical style that focuses on the why of each tactic or technique. Paranto explains each drill and the skill it trains and the reason needed, often with a short story relating how to use it in practice. Kris and his co-instructors follow up by demoing the drill, running students through it dry, and then moving forward to a live-fire practice.
Additionally, Kris is very good at explaining and demonstrating how each drill and skill builds on the last to train an overall skill set. My friends and I have taken classes across the country from many different instructors, and we were all impressed with Kris and his staff’s ability to teach to each person’s level of skill while always maintaining a safe learning environment.
The Students
For the level II carbine class, we brought a total of six students working in groups of two. The first group of two are Marines who also are currently senior instructors at Indy Arms Company. The Marines worked together. Next was myself (training director at Indy Arms Company) and my son (active duty combat engineer with the 101st Airborne, U.S. Army). Finally, we had another senior instructor at Indy Arms Company and one of our best perpetual students. The skill levels with rifles obviously varied somewhat across groups. But Kris and his staff worked hard to adjust each drill to make it appropriately challenging for each team.
The Class: Level II Carbine
Battleline Tactical primarily trains out of Fort Scott, Kansas at an outdoor range maintained by Fort Scott Munitions. While the level I carbine class focused on fundamentals (marksmanship) and mechanics (loading, malfunction clearances, reloading), the level II class moved to movement and working as a team. On day one, we covered the basics of safety and lessons previously learned, and then quickly moved to alternate positions of engagement, including kneeling and prone shooting. Once these skills, including getting into and out of various positions, were demonstrated, we started working on various ways to present the firearm from a safe position to engaging targets while maintaining situational awareness. Kris stressed that being aware of your environment is not just looking for threats but also being keenly aware of where friendly people are.
Again, once these skills were clearly demonstrated, we transitioned to moving in all directions while engaging targets. Day one wrapped up with a summary of how each skill built on the last to provide a base of tactical skills. We likely shot through about 300 rounds during day one, somewhat due to our over eagerness to run through some drills multiple times when allowed. After a day of working on the range we retired as a group for a homecooked meal at the training cabins made available to us and we cleaned our firearms (ranging from Colt M-4s, Sig Sauer ARs, Wilson Combat ARs, and an IWI Galil).
Day 2: Teams
Day two added working in teams of two, moving as pairs in a safe way, and keeping constant situational awareness using the teams of two to keep track of all directions. Each drill added to the one before it, and by the end we were moving in tandem, watching each other’s backs, and engaging targets as appropriate.
We ended the second day with a friendly competition including a 100-yard sprint into engaging targets at multiple ranges from different positions. On day two we shot through about 200 rounds of rifle ammunition and 20 or so pistol rounds running transition drills. The day ended with Kris Paronto answering final questions and sharing a few drinks of his branded Vodka.
Saved Rounds
“I have been to a lot of different military and civilian training classes, and this was the best one so far!” That was the honest review of one of the Marines who completed the class with us. This sentiment was held by all. The techniques and drills taught by Kris will be well-known to those who frequently train.
But what is well worth the trip is his way of presenting the information addressing the how and why of each drill and what skills it is meant to work on. This, combined with the clearly communicated additive nature of each drill building on a broader skill set, is what truly makes Kris Paranto and his classes amazing. We were back for less than a week after the class when I was already setting up a Level III class for 2025. Kris has won all of us over. Check out his web page for upcoming classes and make the commitment to travel out to Fort Scott, Kansas to train – it is well worth the time and expense.
