You don't need anyone's permission to be ready.
Your church may take months to decide. You can start today. Second Watch training is open to any individual — no board vote, no committee, no team required.
At West Freeway Church of Christ, the entire attack was over in about six seconds. Whoever was already in the room decided the outcome.
EMS does not enter an unsecured scene. A congregation can be its own first responder for the better part of an hour.
Second Watch Training
- Four live training days a year — six hours each, 24 contact hours annually
- USCCA Elite membership included — self-defense liability coverage, legal protection, LifeLock identity theft protection
- A real skill progression — Foundation, Defender, Protector, Guardian, against a published standard
- Online make-up classes — miss a quarter, don't fall behind
- 10% off every other SierraBravo on Target course
USCCA Elite membership costs $59 a month on its own. Which means all twenty-four hours of training come to about eleven dollars a month. Less than one box of ammunition.
Enroll now — $69.99/moCancel any time. First live session: Sunday, October 25, 2026, 11am–5pm · DoubleTap Training Grounds, Calera AL.
You Always Know Where You Stand
Most training is a weekend you attend and then forget. This is a ladder with a published standard at every rung, and your level travels with you. Twelve hours of instruction per level.
Foundation
Supervised, square range, no clock. The platform: safety, grip, sights, trigger, draw. Nobody moves past this without passing the safety gate.
Defender
3–10 yards from an open-front garment on a generous par time. The minimum standard to serve armed on a church team.
Protector
3–15 yards, closed front or appendix, realistic par times. The standard for a team lead or armed response position.
Guardian
3–25 yards, your actual daily carry, aggressive par times. The instructor track begins here.
Six Hours, Four Times a Year
Every session runs the same shape. Lunch is provided, because the cohort bonds over it and that turns out to matter.
Classroom
Alabama use of force. Behavioral threat assessment. De-escalation. Incident command. The legal and decision-making frame that everything on the range is measured against.
Range, first block
Live fire at your level. Same drill for everyone on the line — distance, concealment and par time are what change.
Range & sim house
Force-on-force. Positive target identification in a room full of people. Movement, cover, turns. Encounters that must not end in a shooting.
Debrief & record
Every result goes to your student record: block, level, raw performance, conditions, evaluator, date. That record is what proves competency later.
Before You Sign Up
I've never taken a formal class. Am I going to be the worst one there?
Level 1 exists precisely for this. It runs supervised, on a square range, with no clock — and everyone on the line is running the same drill regardless of level, so nobody is singled out. Most people arrive thinking they're behind and find out they're normal.
Do I need to be part of a church safety team?
No. Individual membership has no minimum and no affiliation requirement. Plenty of members train because they want to be capable, not because anyone assigned them a role.
What if I miss a quarter?
Take the online make-up module, or catch that same session with another cohort on a different date. All dates are published at the start of the cycle. Your progression doesn't reset.
What do I need to bring?
A reliable handgun, a proper belt and holster that covers the trigger guard, a cover garment, eye and ear protection, and roughly 150 rounds. If you're missing something, tell us before the session — don't just skip it.
What exactly is the USCCA Elite membership?
It's a separate membership carrying self-defense liability coverage, legal protection, and LifeLock identity theft protection. It retails at $59 a month. It's included in yours, in your own name, for as long as you're enrolled.
Can I cancel?
Yes, any time. Annual pre-pay is also available — pay for ten months, get twelve.
Team rates, and a written program to go with them
Individual training is the fastest way to start. But a church safety team also needs a written program — an emergency response plan, a use-of-force policy, an incident command structure. Without it, a team of volunteers isn't a program, and the church has no liability defense.
Courage isn't the variable. Training is.
You can be enrolled in about two minutes.
Enroll — $69.99/mo