Thank you, and Happy New Year. A while back I had to put together a bio for a training outfit. I pasted it in below. This is kind of lengthy, so feel free to skim it.
Howard is a career police officer with a law enforcement tenure spanning three decades. After graduating High School in 1984, Howard enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as an MP. During the course of his military training, Howard received the intensive firearms instruction accorded to all Marines, as well as the specialized training reserved for Military Police. During the remainder of his enlistment, he conducted law enforcement operations on military installations in the US and abroad.
Upon leaving the Marine Corps, Howard began the pursuit of a civilian law enforcement career. After receiving his initial commission as an officer, he attended the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy. Upon successfully completing his academy training, he was certified as a Peace Officer in the State of Ohio.
In 1992, at the urging of his Captain, Howard became a police firearms instructor. Eventually, he was certified by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission to instruct officers in the use of revolvers, semi-automatic pistols, shotguns, patrol rifles, scope-sighted rifles, and submachine guns. Concurrent to his development as a firearms instructor, Howard joined his department’s SWAT team. Initially, he served as a member of the entry team, but shortly thereafter he was trained as a Sniper. In 1999, upon being promoted to the rank of Sergeant, Howard assumed duties as his department’s SWAT team leader. As such, he oversaw the training, organization, and operation of his team; planned tactical missions; and, coordinated activities with tactical elements from other departments. In the fall of 2002, Howard relinquished his team-leader position, but continued to operate as a Sniper, department armorer, and Senior Firearms Instructor until retiring from the department in 2014.
As a firearms instructor, and SWAT operator, Howard recognized the growing threat of domestic and foreign based terrorism. After the tragedies of the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Columbine massacre, Howard began directing his training efforts toward “Active-Threat Interdiction.” To that end, he instituted training within his department to improve the response of patrol officers to active threat incidents. Understanding too, that trained individuals outside the law enforcement community could help curb the threat posed by active killers, Howard began instructing civilians interested in obtaining their Ohio Concealed Handgun License in 2006. In order to better instruct those citizens, Howard attended training to become an NRA Certified firearms instructor. Currently, he is certified by the NRA as Pistol, Home Firearm Safety, Refuse to be a Victim, and Personal Protection in the Home, instructor.
In addition to his professional pursuits, Howard is a competitive marksman who enjoys the challenge of long-range precision rifle shooting. He is also a life-long martial artist with rankings of third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and first degree black belt in Tai Ho Jitsu. Howard is a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership College, and an NRA Endowment Life Member.
