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By Sean Moeller
Anthony Grano and Don Roberts won’t work with just anyone.
The chief instructors of defense tactics for Controlled F.O.R.C.E., a division of the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, are working with Bettendorf’s Pat Miletich
Miletich, a five-time Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion and personal trainer, has been helping Grano and Roberts for roughly a year, developing hand-to-hand combat systems to better prepare law enforcement officers for the irregular situations that call for a higher level of training.
“When we went through our selection process, we went to the people of the UFC and hand-picked people out of there,” Grano said. “We’ve gone through every possible fighter that the UFC’s had in the past and at the present time. Out of all of them, we kind of singled Pat out. Everything’s been working forward since then.
“By far, he was the best choice for what we’re looking for. We’ve dealt a little bit with some other fighters. I don’t care to say their names right now, but how can I say it, they just didn’t cut the mustard.”
Roberts cited Miletich’s willingness to adapt what he knows about fighting to jibe with the regulations and boundaries that fence in law enforcement’s use of force.
“That’s one of the reasons we went with Pat,” he said. “He’s open-minded enough to see where we’re going. He’s willing to cross that bridge and get to our world to see what we’ve got. And we go into his world to see what he’s got. What we’re doing is we’re going to put the two together and come up with the best systems around.
“We’re showing everybody right now that we’re not going to sit still and stay in one area. Why waste a guy who’s been in so many fights? Why not learn from him?”
Miletich is scheduled to become one of 13 national instructors in January. His domain with F.O.R.C.E. includes takedowns, working with a partner, knife defense and ground escapes. Much of the training is geared toward safely defusing situations without unnecessary force.
“They say that 95 percent of all fights end on the ground, but 100 percent of all fights start standing up,” Grano said.
The measures being created by Miletich and other trainers are meant to keep officers in a position of advantage.
“The bottom line is that we’re the No. 1 training system in the United States for Homeland Security as well as training federal law enforcement and military personnel. We train the instructors that actually train the Navy SEALs,” Grano said.
“What we’re doing is building up a strong team to be able to cater to what the government’s looking for, which is top-notch training. We’re real selective about who we go after, who we choose to be a part of this team because law enforcement’s a different breed in itself,” he added.
“Federal agents, government trainers that are retiring, we’re bringing them all into the picture to develop every issue from the time they get up in the morning and get dressed, to the time they go back home and get undressed, and everything in between.”
Miletich has been sporadically involved with police training for seven years.
“We’re going to start some facilities in conjunction with some Homeland Defense money,” he said. “Just basically helping the community and helping the United States.”
He is attending the U.S. National Standards of Training Association training conference in Las Vegas in two weeks. He will assist with the seminar, which is attended by members of the Pentagon security staff and other law enforcement officers.
The Department of Homeland Security was developed after the 9/11 attacks as a conglomeration of 22 domestic agencies to help protect the nation against threats to the homeland and to protect the rights of American citizens.
Anthony Grano and Don Roberts won’t work with just anyone.
The chief instructors of defense tactics for Controlled F.O.R.C.E., a division of the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, are working with Bettendorf’s Pat Miletich
Miletich, a five-time Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion and personal trainer, has been helping Grano and Roberts for roughly a year, developing hand-to-hand combat systems to better prepare law enforcement officers for the irregular situations that call for a higher level of training.
“When we went through our selection process, we went to the people of the UFC and hand-picked people out of there,” Grano said. “We’ve gone through every possible fighter that the UFC’s had in the past and at the present time. Out of all of them, we kind of singled Pat out. Everything’s been working forward since then.
“By far, he was the best choice for what we’re looking for. We’ve dealt a little bit with some other fighters. I don’t care to say their names right now, but how can I say it, they just didn’t cut the mustard.”
Roberts cited Miletich’s willingness to adapt what he knows about fighting to jibe with the regulations and boundaries that fence in law enforcement’s use of force.
“That’s one of the reasons we went with Pat,” he said. “He’s open-minded enough to see where we’re going. He’s willing to cross that bridge and get to our world to see what we’ve got. And we go into his world to see what he’s got. What we’re doing is we’re going to put the two together and come up with the best systems around.
“We’re showing everybody right now that we’re not going to sit still and stay in one area. Why waste a guy who’s been in so many fights? Why not learn from him?”
Miletich is scheduled to become one of 13 national instructors in January. His domain with F.O.R.C.E. includes takedowns, working with a partner, knife defense and ground escapes. Much of the training is geared toward safely defusing situations without unnecessary force.
“They say that 95 percent of all fights end on the ground, but 100 percent of all fights start standing up,” Grano said.
The measures being created by Miletich and other trainers are meant to keep officers in a position of advantage.
“The bottom line is that we’re the No. 1 training system in the United States for Homeland Security as well as training federal law enforcement and military personnel. We train the instructors that actually train the Navy SEALs,” Grano said.
“What we’re doing is building up a strong team to be able to cater to what the government’s looking for, which is top-notch training. We’re real selective about who we go after, who we choose to be a part of this team because law enforcement’s a different breed in itself,” he added.
“Federal agents, government trainers that are retiring, we’re bringing them all into the picture to develop every issue from the time they get up in the morning and get dressed, to the time they go back home and get undressed, and everything in between.”
Miletich has been sporadically involved with police training for seven years.
“We’re going to start some facilities in conjunction with some Homeland Defense money,” he said. “Just basically helping the community and helping the United States.”
He is attending the U.S. National Standards of Training Association training conference in Las Vegas in two weeks. He will assist with the seminar, which is attended by members of the Pentagon security staff and other law enforcement officers.
The Department of Homeland Security was developed after the 9/11 attacks as a conglomeration of 22 domestic agencies to help protect the nation against threats to the homeland and to protect the rights of American citizens.
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