White Light Drill

Idea

A drill focused on observation and target identification rather than shooting. The shooter shines a flashlight around a corner and sees a target (or scene), then is asked “what did you see?” — testing awareness, threat identification, and recall under stress.

There could optionally be a target to shoot, but the primary evaluation is verbal: can the officer accurately describe what they observed during the brief exposure?

Motivation

• Suggested by an actual law enforcement officer
• Real-world LE encounters require split-second observation and decision-making before any shots are fired
• Trains the “identify before you engage” discipline that is critical in low-light scenarios
• Most drills focus on marksmanship — this fills a gap in observation and situational awareness training
• Directly relevant to church security and LE use cases (RDP’s target audience)

Open Questions

• How is the response scored? Free-text recall vs. checklist of observable details?
• Does the system present the target/scene digitally, or is this scored by a human proctor?
• Time limit on the light exposure? (e.g., 1-2 second flash)
• Could pair with a shoot/no-shoot decision component
• How does this integrate with the drill builder — new drill type or a variant of an existing type?