History of the National Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association

Jason Wuestenberg founded NLEFIA in 2015 and served as its Executive Director for its first decade. He created NLEFIA with a simple goal: to give law enforcement firearms instructors a different kind of organization—one that emphasized networking and offered a wide variety of instructor development opportunities across the nation, rather than relying on a single annual conference that reached only a small percentage of its membership.

NLEFIA began with a single course (Advanced Firearms Instructor), a small group of staff instructors and approximately 300 members. A decade on, the organization offers more than 15 development and certification courses and employs 20 staff instructors who represent agencies and bring experience from across the nation. By 2026, NLEFIA had issued more than 4,000 memberships.

Advanced Firearms Instructor remains one of NLEFIA’s most popular programs more than a decade after its introduction. The course was groundbreaking in its approach and has influenced how many law enforcement agencies conduct in-service firearms training. NLEFIA has continued that tradition of innovation, becoming one of the first organizations to offer dedicated instructor development courses for Red Dot Sights for Duty Pistols and Variable-Power Optics for Patrol Rifles. NLEFIA also introduced the first hybrid* 40-hour Semi-Auto Pistol Instructor Certification course and the first hybrid* 40-hour Semi-Auto Rifle Instructor Certification course.

Throughout its history, NLEFIA courses have emphasized unique training methodologies designed to help firearms instructors in law enforcement, military and the security industry continually develop, adapt and evolve.

Andrew Butts became Executive Director following Wuestenberg’s retirement in January 2025. Butts had served as a staff instructor for several years before assuming the role, providing continuity while advancing the organization’s mission of developing and supporting firearms instructors in law enforcement, military and the security industry.

*Hybrid - 12 hours of online training followed by 3 days/28 hours of in-person training