What’s in a Name: Celebrating 0311’s on 03/11 Day — the origin of our name and why we exist for the grunts on the ground.
On November 16, 2010, 0311 Tactical was officially formed. The Missouri Secretary of State issued our business license, but the idea had been in the works long before that day. Two Marines — by then both SWAT team members — finally decided to stop talking and start building.
Their paths had run nearly parallel from the start. Both chose service over college straight out of high school. Both signed up as infantrymen. Before joining the Fleet Marine Force, each did time in Marine Security Forces — one guarding nuclear submarines, the other the Presidential Retreat at Camp David. After the Corps, they joined the St. Louis Police Department, worked Patrol, and eventually landed on SWAT together.
So when it came time to name the company, the answer took about thirty seconds.
The Name That Needed No Debate
In the Marine Corps, jobs are called Military Occupational Specialties — MOS for short — and each is assigned a four-digit number. Infantry rifleman: 0311. That was the first job either of them ever held carrying a gun for a living. The first uniform they ever wore.
0311 Tactical.
Civilians thought it was cool. Some veterans rolled their eyes. “0311, real original,” they’d say. Sure — we could have gone with “Thin Blue Line Tactical” or “Brothers in Blue Strategies.” Slapped a skull and crossed rifles on the logo, talk about original. There was never any doubt, though. The name represented everything: where we came from, what we stood for, and who we were going to serve.
There’s nothing glamorous about an 0311. If you sign up open contract — meaning you haven’t been guaranteed a specific job — chances are the Corps gives you 0311. They want ground pounders. Bullet catchers. It’s not a prestige designation. It’s just the work.
The 0311’s of Law Enforcement
The other reason we chose that name: it was the people we planned to train.
Patrol cops are the 0311’s of law enforcement. The grunts. Out on the street every day, often taken for granted, doing thankless work, last to get good equipment, and typically at the bottom when things go sideways up the chain of command. They have more in common with infantry riflemen than most people realize — and most police departments weren’t doing nearly enough to train them.
That was the gap we set out to close. Not for the elite. For the men and women working Patrol every shift.
The Problem with “Tier One” Training
The tactical training market is saturated. New companies pop up every week, many staffed by special operations veterans who have never served in law enforcement. The pitch is compelling: “Tier One results from Special Warfare Operators.” It sounds impressive. It gets attention.
We respect those operators enormously — no one more than us. But the military is measured by its lethality. Law enforcement is measured by its ability to preserve life. That distinction matters. It’s a gap as wide as the Grand Canyon, and what works on the streets of Fallujah does not always translate to Main Street, USA.
The shiny object still works, though. There’s real appeal in being able to say at the bar on Friday night, “I trained with SEALs all week.” And the training is often genuinely hard. But when you ask what was actually learned, the answer is too often “not much.” We’ve seen teams spend three hours a day doing PT. For what? We can run on our own time. We didn’t travel to get in shape. We’ve seen full days burned doing basic movement drills on a 600-yard range — out and back, over and over. Hard on the body. Nothing for the mind.
Mission-Specific. Relevant. Earned.
Our mission is to change that. 0311-style training for the 0311’s on the ground — patrol officers, SWAT teams, Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, and security professionals. Every course is designed with mission-specific outcomes in mind, built around the realities of the job, not around a fitness test or a military ethos that doesn’t apply.
Yes, we are 0311 Tactical. Yes, we are 0311’s. And we are demanding better — on behalf of the Marine infantry, the patrol cop, and every public safety officer and security professional doing the work nobody sees.
We’re grateful for the command elements of our training partners who are already setting that standard and delivering for their people. They know the difference between training that looks good and training that works.
Mock the name if you want. Love the work. We deliver.
TACTICS. TRAINING. MINDSET.
