Honing the Edge

Without a doubt, Osen-Hunter’s most valuable resource is our people. An investment in our people is an investment in our ability to provide our clients with the highest quality services. Understanding our employees’ knowledge, skills, abilities, and personalities enables us to better provide solutions to client problems and support their missions. By improving our existing skills, developing new ones, and fostering teamwork, we can bring more benefits to our company, clients, and employees. To this end, Osen-Hunter has resumed conducting the “Employee Development Course” after a nearly two-year hiatus. Formally held at the Mid-South near Memphis, Tennessee, the course now takes place at the O’Gara Operational Training Facility in Montross, Virginia.

The inaugural Montross course was held in December, and involved 15 employees and independent contractors selected from three company programs. The Osen-Hunter training cadre consisted of personnel from across the company, as well as Rodney May, a top-ranked professional shooter and world-class instructor. O’Gara provided full access to their facilities, hotel-style lodging, and the finest meals any of our attendees have ever eaten at any training facility. O’Gara also provided driving instructors, training vehicles, and driving tracks. O’Gara’s support was superb, allowing the cadre and course participants to focus on training execution.

Training focused on enhanced shooting skills that emphasized speed and accuracy with both the Glock pistol and AR-platform, vehicle dynamics, off-road driving — common tactical skills needed for our programs, and “scenario-based” events. A modest dose of adversity was mixed-in, including physical challenges, wet conditions, and varying degrees of cold. The training not only improved relevant employee skills; it also helped the cadre evaluate each participant’s demeanor, sense of teamwork, and leadership. For participants, the experience provided a way to connect with other employees they may not have worked with before, developed improved confidence in other participants, and helped them better understand Osen-Hunter’s company culture.

The December course received high marks from those that attended. The next course is scheduled for May and will routinely occur each fall and spring, thereafter.