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I started by obtaining an MBA and a PHd in Applied Math and Computer Science.

I have prior military service.
I spent 4 years on active duty with the US Air Force.
When I left the Air Force, I had the rank of Captain.
Given the importance some people seem to place on titles,
I should probably refer to myself as Captain, but I don't do this.

During the first 2 years in the Air Force, I had a great job. I was an
asshole for various Generals. I would review and critique work by junior
officers when the General didn't want to be critical of subordinates in
public. For the last two years, I was on assignment to The Rand Corporation.
I worked on management of spare parts around Europe, helped design scenarios
for a gaming facility to teach generals how to fight a war, and make
predictions using computer models to determine the amount of time
until defense communications satellite coverage was lost after
a shuttle explosion.

All of the work I did was coordinated with members of the Air Staff
at the Pentagon and was used to influence policies that directly
effected budgets, the abilities of general officers, and the front line
pilots and support staff on the ground.

After I left the Air Force, I worked for 15 years for a defense contractor.
Add that up: 4 + 15 = 19 years. This is typically the amount of time that
an active duty military person spends before retiring. So, this is a whole career
devoted to the military and hard core weapons systems.

During the first 7 years, I worked on building ground
systems for processing all sorts of satellite data. The data that we processed
went straight to the highest levels -- the President and the Secretary of Defense.
In order to do this work, I had a Top Secret Security Clearance as well as clearances
with all sorts of 3 letter agencies at the highest levels.

Then, I worked on tactical systems -- I was one of the lead engineers on the development
of "big arms", as opposed to the small arms we use in firearms training. Among the
systems I worked on included the Tow Missle Control System for Cobra helicopters,
night vision systems for the Apache and Cobra helicopters, a control system for
a smart missile that used GPS and imagery to guide the missile to a very precise
target location, automated target recognitions systems to identify friend and foe
from infrared imagery, and target recognitions systems for the F14 radars.
Frankly, these are all hard core weapons technology that would be a pile of wasted
metal without the design skills and software skills that I applied to development.
Many of our tactical systems, like the Tow Missile Control System, were in the
first Gulf War. One of our engineers went out (not me, unfortunately) and came back
with requested improvements. We made these improvements and published the upgrades
in a short time period.

As far as I know, these tactical systems are still in use today
and have saved lots of American lives. I am proud to have been one of the
the lead engineers of these systems and feel they played an important part in
our ability to win the wars in which we are engaged

Additionally, I have about 30 years of experience developing ballistic computer
codes that are still in use today by various military organizations throughout
the world. One of these is used by Navies of several countries, including ours,
to determine how far away to put other buildings from a building that stores
explosives. The pieces of the walls of the building would move ballistically if
the building explodes. We worked with universities and sometimes military units
to validate these computer codes with real world data

After completing 19 years of working on weapons and information systems for our military,
I chose to start my own software consulting firm. One of the first projects we decided to
implement was a hand-held computer for snipers to setup their shots. This was the reason
that I was able to get involved with the LE and Marine Sniper training. I wanted the system
to use the same process that real snipers use to set up a long distance shot. I ultimately
was able to make this system work. I included stuff like wind cues, libraries of typical target
sizes, and a ballistic algorithm that used your actual dope to predict trajectory.
Not theoretical but practical based on what I learned. I spent lots of hours at the Marine Sniper
School and at various LE Sniper classes validating the accuracy of the predictive algorithm against
real world shooting. I documented the existence of this system in 2001 through a registered trademark.
This was the first system of this type ever available. I know this because
my trademark was used to bust a phone patent on a device that came after mine was on sale.

After thinking about the system, I voluntarily chose to remove the
the system from the marketplace. I felt that training snipers to use this system would cause
them to stop learning the mechanics of the shot, would make them dependent on a device that
could fail -- dead batteries, and would ultimately put their lives at risk. More importantly, they
would be less successful at getting hits because they had not internalized ballistic theory and
used that knowledge to make the hits.

Now, to my involvement with Sniper Training. When I started the hand held computer project,
I realized that my product would not be good unless I had sniper training. I explained what
I wanted to do and was invited by several groups, such as the Chandlers at Iron Brigage Armory,
to participate in a lot of LE only training. I did a bunch of these classes and have the certificates
to prove it. One of the classes was at Camp Pendleton. Gunnery Sgt Bill Skiles (now First Sergeant)
asked me to teach a full day of ballistics to each incoming sniper class for the next two years.
In exchange for volunteering my time, I was allowed to take all of the training. I did the 10 weeks
in weekly pieces spread over a long time. I also did the infamous hell week. Had a blast. If you
take one of my classes, you will hear the stories. Part of my agreement was that I would be able
to state that I was a Part Time Instructor at the school.

After completing all the training, I was awarded two hog's teeth as given to all graduates. For those
of you who don't know this tradition, the hog's tooth is a 308 bullet on a piece of paracord given to
all graduates. One was given to me by Gunny Skiles. The other was given to me by the Scout Sniper
Association and presented to me by Chuck Mawhinney, who has 105 confirmed sniper kills in Vietnam.

During the two years that I spent helping at the Sniper School at Camp Pendleton, I donated about 10 days
of help to every 50 day class -- 10/50 = 20%, 8 classes over 2 years. In addition to my full day of
ballistics lecture, I began helping to instruct in other areas, such as stalking, land navigation,
and mantracking. I wrote a lot of handouts that were used for a while and probably lost in transition
between teaching staff. My 3 page handout on stalking rules was quite well accepted.
Ten days out of 50 days (20%) of donated time certainly constitutes a part time instructor role, and that's
probably why Bill Skiles was comfortable with my using that title. This was all on top of the training
weeks that I put in to get the training. All these days cost me quite a bit in lost income, but I was very
happy to donate the time in exchange for the training, as I felt I was contributing. By the way, Bill Skiles
has taught several classes for me over the years. Hopefully, when he returns from his Virginia assignment,
we will teach more classes for and with me. Don't miss any of these if he does.

So, here are the claims I make in my classes.

I was a Part-Time Civilian Instructor at the Marine Sniper School at Camp Pendleton.
I took the whole ten week class -- which I can still describe in gory detail,
although admittedly I spread this out over ten different weeks.
I am the only civilian that has taken the training.
I took a bunch of LE Sniper classes, and received college credits for at least one of them.

While I do have an extensive military background -- way more that most dweebs -- I have never
claimed to be an operator or a Marine Sniper.

However, I do know the material cold, more than just the theory or the shooting mechanics part.
I teach 3 courses in this area -- precision shooting, ballistics theory and application, field methods.
I will be adding a 4th course in advanced field methods. In these classe, I teach a very detailed
mix of LE and Marine Sniper techniques that you won't likely get in other schools. And, we do a lot
of work out under real field conditions in the desert. I've developed lots of very cogent, clear, and
precise handouts in these areas as well as the areas of land navigation using the MGRS, stalking, and
mantracking. These are NOT theoretical BS handouts but step by step clear instructions that allow a
student to acquire these skills quickly.

The classes that I teach combine a lot of information that I learned while taking and teaching in
the various sniper communities. Most people who take the classes see this right away.

If you take one of my classes, you will realize within minutes
that I know what I am talking about and that you are getting good information. After you leave the class,
you will have acquired and used much of the skills and information that I impart due to my teaching ability.

Over the past 7 years, I have taught many hundreds of students -- real operators, real LE snipers, and all
types of civilians. If I had not accomplished the things that I claim, and could not deliver real information
and skills based on those experiences, I would not have students, much less repeating students. The actual
LE Snipers and operators who take my classes ask me not to reveal their existance in the class or
afterwards. I feel that I am obligated to respect these requests, since their lives may depend on my silence.
In the past, I was hired by Accuracy International to teach a private class for the CEO, USA Sales Manager,
and the National Marketing Mgr.

Don't take my word for all of this -- ask some of my current and former students.

In addition to these classes, I teach Tactical Handgun, Carbine, and Shotgun. Our classes are very
reasonably priced and cover in 1 day what many famous instructors teach in 3 days and charge 6 times
as much. If you really want to see how you will operate under stress, come take some of these classes.
I am a master at applying stress without pushups and situps. I use techniques in curriculum design that
I learned at the Marine Sniper School from FSgt Bill Skiles.