When instructors conduct a debrief after a training scenario, most officers remember a handful of moments, usually anchored to how things ended. The lead-in and the middle of the scenario often shaped their decisions, but those details fade fast—especially if they didn’t feel important at the time. Stress and emotion narrow attention while the experience is happening. What stands out emotionally tends to stick, while smaller or seemingly less significant details fall away.

During a scenario, instructors can track things officers won’t reliably remember later: how information is processed, where decisions are made, policy gray areas that surface, and early signs of stress or hesitation. Those observations matter during the debrief, but only if they’re recalled easily.

The challenge is that instructors are already doing a lot while a scenario is running. They’re managing the simulator, selecting branches, adding distractors, and adjusting cognitive load in real time. Taking eyes off the action to write things down isn’t always realistic.

That’s why every MILO Range simulator includes a simple way to capture those moments without adding friction. Each scenario screen includes a flag icon. One click marks the moment something stands out. A short note can be added if there’s time, but it isn’t required. Instructors aren’t carrying the same emotional load as the participating officer, which makes recalling why a moment mattered far more reliable later.

Those flags give instructors a way to return to specific moments during the debrief without relying on memory or general impressions. And when debriefs are anchored to specific decisions and observations, the conversation stays focused and productive.

 

Here are five moments worth flagging during every scenario.

How the officer enters the scenario

Those first few seconds matter. Where do their eyes go? Are their hands in a neutral position? Do they communicate with dispatch or a partner in the room? How do they carry themselves as they enter the space? Do they start talking right away, or pause to let the person in the scenario initiate contact? If something stands out, flag it. That gives you a clean place to start the debrief.

The first meaningful verbal choice

What’s the first real thing they say? Not the automatic greeting or some filler—the first choice that sets direction. Is it a question, a command, or a reaction? What’s the tone and pace? That opening line often sets a course for everything that follows. If it changes the direction of the interaction, flag it. It gives you a concrete moment to come back to in the debrief.

Decision points

Every scenario has moments where a significant choice is made. Where do they commit to a path? Closing distance. Changing tone. Escalating. Slowing things down. These are the moments where the scenario turns, even if the ending feels inevitable afterward. When you see a clear decision get made, flag it. That’s the moment to revisit when you want to talk through what information they had and why they chose that move.

Signs of stress or hesitation

Watch for changes in breathing, speech, or movement. Do they speed up? Go quiet? Lock in on one thing and miss others? Hesitation often shows up before anyone names it. When you notice a shift like that, flag it. It gives you a place to talk about awareness and regulation without guessing or generalizing.

Changes in the scene

Watch for moments where the situation changes independently of the officer’s actions. New information appears. A subject escalates or disengages. A bystander enters. Dispatch updates the call. These shifts often force a reassessment. Flag the moment when the scene changes, even if the officer stays on the same path. It gives you a clear place to talk about adaptation during the debrief.

 

You don’t need to flag everything, nor should you. Most of it will sort itself out in the debrief with good questions designed for insight and retrieval. What matters is catching the moments that tend to disappear—the early cues, the decisions that felt obvious at the time, the shifts that changed the problem. A few well-placed flags give you somewhere to go back to. They keep the debrief anchored to what actually happened, not just what everyone remembers afterward.