FBI Tactical Shooting & Response Techniques 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When conducting a building search as part of a two-person team, which door-entry method minimizes the 'fatal funnel' exposure?
- Both agents enter simultaneously through the center of the doorway
- One agent enters while the other provides cover from outside the doorway
- Agents buttonhook or cross-entry from opposite sides of the doorway (Correct answer)
- The lead agent enters first while the second agent remains 10 feet back
Correct answer: Agents buttonhook or cross-entry from opposite sides of the doorway
Buttonhook and cross-entry techniques allow both agents to clear the door threshold from the sides, reducing the time either spends in the doorway's fatal funnel.
Question 2: What effect does adrenaline-induced tachypsychia have on a shooter during a high-stress encounter?
- It improves fine motor skills and precision aiming
- It can cause time distortion and tunnel vision, impairing situational awareness (Correct answer)
- It has no measurable effect on trained agents
- It increases peripheral vision and auditory processing
Correct answer: It can cause time distortion and tunnel vision, impairing situational awareness
Tachypsychia under stress commonly causes time distortion, tunnel vision, and auditory exclusion, which can degrade tactical awareness.
Question 3: In the FBI's marksmanship doctrine, what is the minimum standard for considering a shot 'effective' on a human threat?
- Any hit to the torso regardless of outcome
- Hits that immediately incapacitate or stop the threat's hostile action (Correct answer)
- A hit confirmed by the target falling to the ground
- Three rounds delivered to center of mass
Correct answer: Hits that immediately incapacitate or stop the threat's hostile action
Effectiveness is defined by whether the shot stops the threat's hostile action, not simply by hit location or round count.
Question 4: An agent is engaging a moving target at 25 yards. What adjustment is required compared to a stationary target?
- No adjustment is needed if the front sight is clear
- Lead the target in the direction of movement to account for travel during bullet flight (Correct answer)
- Aim behind the target to cause them to run into the bullet
- Reduce the trigger pull weight to compensate for tracking
Correct answer: Lead the target in the direction of movement to account for travel during bullet flight
Leading a moving target means aiming slightly ahead of the direction of travel so the bullet arrives where the target will be, not where they are when the trigger is pressed.
Question 5: What is the tactical rationale for using 'controlled pairs' rather than a single shot when engaging a threat?
- Department policy mandates firing in pairs regardless of threat status
- Physiological stopping power of a single round is uncertain, so two rapid shots improve incapacitation probability (Correct answer)
- Controlled pairs are faster to fire than a single aimed shot
- Two rounds are required to qualify for any FBI certification
Correct answer: Physiological stopping power of a single round is uncertain, so two rapid shots improve incapacitation probability
Because a single handgun round cannot guarantee incapacitation, two rapid well-placed shots increase the probability of stopping the threat quickly.
Question 6: When providing cover for a partner who is moving to a new position, what is the covering agent's primary responsibility?
- Reload their own weapon to full capacity
- Maintain observation and fire superiority on the threat to suppress movement toward the partner (Correct answer)
- Follow the partner at a five-foot interval
- Document the incident for after-action reporting
Correct answer: Maintain observation and fire superiority on the threat to suppress movement toward the partner
The covering agent must watch the threat and be prepared to engage to prevent the threat from targeting the moving partner.
Question 7: What does 'positive target identification' require before an FBI agent may fire?
- Visual confirmation that the target is wearing dark clothing
- Certainty that the target presents an imminent threat and is not an innocent bystander or fellow officer (Correct answer)
- A verbal challenge responded to with a threatening gesture
- Confirmation from a supervisor via radio before engaging
Correct answer: Certainty that the target presents an imminent threat and is not an innocent bystander or fellow officer
Agents must positively identify the threat to prevent fratricide and civilian casualties, which requires clear identification of hostile intent and action.
FBI Tactical Shooting & Response Techniques 3
When conducting a building search as part of a two-person team, which door-entry method minimizes the 'fatal funnel' exposure?