TRAINING: With The Association - Training Solutions in Bulgaria

When you first hear about a new training provider in the rather small European market, you become curious. And when you find out that this company is based in Bulgaria, you become rather suspicious. But when you read that the instructors are certified by the US Department of Defense and Department of State, you become attentive.

That's how I felt when I started looking for professional training in shooting techniques and tactics in September 2019 and eventually came across the website of "The Association". Despite my initial skepticism, curiosity won over, and after checking out their Facebook page, I contacted the company regarding my training desires.

After a brief introduction and setting a budget, the company owner Tony Briant started advising me. This included discussing the availability of time, the selection of weapons, and the working environment I would be in. Further details would exceed the scope of this report and should be experienced firsthand.

In the end, we agreed on the following for the period from 2nd to 12th January 2020:

9mm - 1,600 shots, 7.62x39 - 1,600 shots, 5.56x41 - 300 shots

Ten days of training, structured as follows:

Day 1 Short gun basics + advanced 800 shots
Day 2 Dynamic short gun 800 shots
Day 3 CQB basics
Day 4 CQB Advanced/Lowlight
Day 5 Advanced long gun 800 shots
Day 6 Dynamic long gun/Lowlight
Day 7 Lessons: Situational awareness/Mindset
Lessons: Operational security
Lessons: Handling catastrophic situations
Day 8 Lessons: Kidnapping prevention
Lessons: Travel security
Lessons: Combat Life Saver
Day 9 Short & Long gun Dynamic/Lowlight
Day 10 CQB Final Exercise with role players

This comprehensive training was offered to me for a fraction of what the competition demanded. The training was specifically designed for me and my needs, and I was trained and mentored solely by the company's CEO. I will not describe and evaluate each individual day further, as it would exceed the scope of this report. First of all, a few words about my instructor and CEO of "The Association":

Tony Briant

Born in 1989 in Virginia, he joined the US Marine Corps at the age of 17 and was deployed multiple times in the Middle East during his service. After seven years of service, he left the military and began working in the private industry contracting for a company in various countries for a prominent US agency involved in (counter-)intelligence. Today, the 30-year-old is a family man living with his partner in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Given the truly affordable offer and the professional approach of the instructor, I decided to book and flew to Bulgaria on New Year's Day. After some time in the hotel I booked, Tony picked me up, and we discussed the following days over the next few hours.

The next day, I went with a business partner of the company to Dupnitsa, which is about 45 minutes away. There is a private shooting range located in the midst of nature, providing a great view of the Bulgarian mountains.

The range includes a fully drivable 300m 270° range as well as two 50m 270° shooting lanes. We were the only ones on the entire range, with no caliber restrictions. We were provided with local specialties fresh from the butcher for lunch, as well as field fruits. Filter coffee and water were available throughout. The sanitary facilities were clean and heated.

After a detailed safety briefing, following international standards, we started with the theoretical introduction to the first drills.

After a brief assessment of the basic skills through some slow warm-up drills, we began the Benchmark test (Dot Torture Test). Competencies and weaknesses were quickly identified here. By using different targets and techniques, errors in trigger behavior, for example, were quickly identified and corrected.

Every time I reached my competency limit, Tony noticed and tried to improve my performance through challenging drills. If there was a decrease in performance, adjustments were made to the distance, speed, or even changed exercises to match my performance. This was usually interrupted with a magazine change. This adjustment became more noticeable in the course of the upcoming shooting practice than expected.

With the help of this modern and personalized training, the most noticeable errors were quickly corrected within a few hours. According to Tony, I also brought a "very good foundation without major mistakes."

At this point, my personal shooting performance had already improved immensely. This allowed the drills to become more dynamic and challenging. Starting with reload drills and moving on to shooting on the move combined with complex cognitive tasks.

So far, despite only using the pistol, the affordable offer has paid off. The versatile and personalized drills were perfectly tailored to my performance and demanded a lot from me, but didn't overwhelm me for the most part.

However, the training package not only consisted of practical shooting training. In addition, there were theoretical lessons and CQB training with gas-operated simulation weapons in 6mm BB caliber. This was combined with role players to provide the most realistic and safe way of applying the learned skills.

The CQB training was well-organized, with the initial focus on body mechanics. There was a lot of work on transitions and positioning. As competence increased, the tasks became more demanding, as the terrain used, an abandoned Soviet factory, grew larger. Starting with normal man silhouettes as targets, moving on to friend/foe recognition, and working with briefed role players.

Unfortunately, the theoretical training was somewhat inconsistent. The rented facility lacked modern technology, so the prepared presentation slides could not be projected on the wall. Consequently, the lecture was sent to my tablet via Airdrop.

The course content made sense to me, as Tony answered all open questions in detail and was able to incorporate his diverse experience into the training. Many aspects of "Operational Security (OPSEC)", "Travel Security", and "Situational Awareness/Mindset" were explained and substantiated with personal stories.

Particularly with these topics, his professional background was evident, and he knew what he was talking about. He taught the different aspects with passion and went into detail when answering my questions. There were some topics that, in my opinion, were not as in-depth, such as "Kidnapping Prevention" and "Combat Life Saver," or the pre-hospital field in sandy countries. Due to my training as a FREC 3 and my professional background in personal protection, the courses were too basic for me, not practical enough, and very theoretical. At that moment, it became clear that these courses were not designed for professional users but rather for the initial training of civilian end customers.

The Medic Course was too theoretical, with no practical aspects taught. Instead, for example, the human vascular system was presented. Medical basic training should always be practical. Because at the end of the day, lives are saved through practical application, not through potential medical readings.

Expecting a more in-depth seminar with practical exercises in kidnapping prevention and tactical medicine, I was a little disappointed in these two courses. Tony offered to credit the costs for the courses I had already attended, as he noticed that I was familiar with the training content.

Over time, I got to know Tony better as an instructor and person. This revealed his obvious strengths in shooting and tactics training. However, since his company is very new to the market, his training capacity is largely dependent on third-party cooperation. This resulted in delays and cancellations in training. None of this was the fault of "The Association," but due to the collaboration with other companies, there were too many variables.

As a result, one day of the curriculum was skipped. The owner of the CQB facility unexpectedly canceled the day. For a company that would fly their employees to "The Association," this would have led to unnecessary additional costs or interruptions.

However, Tony