About
What differentiates CMS and Erick Gelhaus from the other competent, talented instructors out there? Why take a class from CMS? Good questions. Quite simply, Gelhaus brings real experience from both the academic and practical application worlds to the classroom.
After lengthy careers in the military and law enforcement, Erick's grad school coursework focused on communicating about use-of-force issues. He is a well-published author, with articles appearing in numerous print magazines and several online publications.
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Gelhaus has taught the defensive use of firearms and tactics in the private sector – for Gunsite, Aimpoint, and others – to vetted citizens, peace officers, and service members since for more than 20 years.
Erick Gelhaus
Founder & Lead Instructor
Erick is the owner of Cougar Mountain Solutions.
He has a Master of Public Administration degree from Norwich University. Over the last twenty years, he has written for several publications in print and online. He has presented at numerous training conferences and symposiums.
From the Cold War into the early GWOT, Erick served in all three components of the US Army. The highlight was a ground combat deployment as a heavy weapons squad leader.
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He began teaching at Gunsite in 2001, became a lead instructor (rangemaster) there, and developed their pistol-mounted optics program.
Erick's law enforcement career was nearly thirty years long in a large California sheriff's office. During that time, as a deputy sheriff, he worked assignments in patrol, gang suppression, narcotics investigations/federal task force, and field training. He was the lead firearms instructor for several years. As a sergeant, Erick supervised a patrol shift and the use of force/firearms program as well as the field training & special operations technical support programs. He was decorated for valor and service by his agency and the State of California's EMS Authority.
His path as a student started in 1991. Since then, he has trained with numerous significant names and entities. He also shoots competitively.
*A complete CV is available upon request to fulfill any contractual requirements.