(posted July 2024)

Firearms Instructors (FIs) disagree about workspace.

The first time I realized there were controversies regarding workspace, an FI said, “I hate the term workspace!”  Not sure why.  I never had a problem with it, but there were those who did.

In the early 2000s when I first heard the term, our team’s FI explained, “Your workspace is the spherical area in front of your face where you can manipulate your gun and maintain visual awareness of the threat downrange.”  Think, “Eyes, muzzle, threat.”

If you are trying to insert a fresh magazine and are having problems finding the magazine well, you should have your gun in a position where you can quickly shift your focus and peek at your magazine well in reference to your magazine to align them correctly.

The idea was simple.  Or so I thought.

“The workspace is a spherical area, 12 - 18” in diameter centered on the Soldier’s chin and about 12 inches in front of his or her chin.  The workspace where the majority of weapons manipulations occur.”  And further, “Conducting manipulations in the workspace allows the Soldier to keep his or her eyes oriented towards a threat, or the individual sector of fire while conducting critical weapons tasks that require hand-and-eye coordination.  Use of the workspace creates efficiency of motion by minimizing the distance the weapon has to move between the firing position to the workspace and return to the firing position.” (Chapter 8, Pistol, TC 3-23.35, U.S. Department of the Army) 

Later, I would hear further explanations of workspace - describing how it should look.  Bring the gun in front of your face and be able to see the magazine well or through the trigger guard.  I didn’t challenge this because it appeared to generally be in line with my concept of workspace.  

To get some shooters to understand their workspace, I would have them applaud.  When most people clap, their hands are typically 9-12” in front of their face with their eyes focused somewhere in the distance.  If your gun was in your hands, your muzzle would be pointed up.

However, some ranges won’t allow you to point your muzzle up.

Even at law enforcement academies, due to administrative hurdles and outdated policies, trainees are taught to manipulate their guns while at full extension or close to their mid chest.  With either method you are to keep your muzzle pointed at the threat.

Training in the field, we allowed our agents to point their muzzles up as they were conducting weapons manipulations even during qualifications.  We tried to allow for tactical approaches in our advanced firearms training exercises.  Manipulating your firearms in the workspace was encouraged.

Working as a contractor, the “program” defined and equated the workspace as the (compressed) ready pistol position with the gun pointed toward the threat/target.  This departed from the entire concept of workspace.  We also train at a range which won’t allow muzzle up.  

Aside from any required administrative weapons handling and policies of ranges, are we missing something?

I think we’ve put too many restrictions on what manipulating in the workspace looks like.  We should consider the true concepts of workspace.  It is an area where you can control and manipulate the gun most effectively and most efficiently while maintaining visual awareness of the threat/target.  Whether you are reloading, conducting an immediate action, conducting a magazine exchange, if you fumble around, you’re wasting time.  You should be able to take the least amount of time in shifting focus to identify the issue with your gun.  What does this imply?  You should hold the gun somewhere you can quickly reference it with minimal eye movement while maintaining your ability to monitor the threat and be prepared to re-engage the threat.

After careful observation of fast and efficient shooters and running the drills myself, I believe we’ve bastardized the workspace.  We need to go back to thinking about efficiency and efficacy.  Too extreme - bringing the grip of the gun in your line of sight with the muzzle up in the air. Too extreme - keeping the gun at extension aimed at the target.  Too far in & low - gun held at mid chest leveled at target.

Try things at speed.  You need to be the most efficient in manipulating your gun, getting it ready to continue the fight, and potentially putting more rounds into the threat.  Do this drill for time - 1 reload 1 at 7 yards with a 8” circle target or standard A zone.  Load and charge; remove the magazine and replace with an empty magazine; have 1 fully loaded magazine ready for an emergency reload.  Start from the low ready.  At the buzzer, fire 1, reload and fire 1.  Your par time is 3.25 seconds and both shots need to be in the target zone.  

Can we properly manipulate our gun, keep it pointed in the direction of the threat, and in a space where we can most quickly identify any issue?  Yes, we can and whether we need to load or reload it, remedy the malfunction, or whatever it is to get it back in the fight must be done as quickly as possible.  Where is that spatial zone for you?

Included in the Preface to The U.S. Army’s Pistol manual, TC 3-23.35, “Doctrine is descriptive in nature but requires judgement in application.”  We tend to describe how something should look, but we need to focus on the concepts -  what is the intent?  In this case, keeping you in the fight by quickly and efficiently reloading and running your weapon.