SEVEN RANKS. A PUBLISHED STANDARD AT EVERY ONE. THIS IS THE LAST, AND IT IS NOT GIVEN.
RANK 7 OF 7
Board + teach block · two-instructor review · score at or above Distinguished · one 60-minute teaching block · public graduation
“I AM CERTIFIED. THIS IS WHO I AM NOW.”
Who this is for
The operator who has done the work and wants it certified in public, by people with the standing to refuse. Master Protector is not a class. It is a board review, a course of fire designed above the published Distinguished standard, and a teaching block in front of a live class.
What changes
You stop being a graduate and start being the person the next ones are handed to.
YOUR CERTIFICATION
A board review by two instructors who can fail you, against a course of fire set at or above the published Distinguished standard.
YOUR TEACHING
You teach one 60-minute block to a live class, observed and scored. You cannot certify what you cannot explain to someone else.
YOUR NAME
A formal graduation, held quarterly, family invited, your name read out loud. The finish line on this Path is public on purpose.
Before & after
Same person. Three sessions apart.
BEFORE
X Six ranks completed and no formal review of any of it
X You have never been failed by anyone qualified to fail you
X Nobody outside your own class has ever watched you teach
X It is private. It is not certified.
AFTER
✓ A two-instructor board review, unanimous, on the record
✓ A board-designed course of fire at or above the Distinguished standard
✓ One 60-minute teaching block observed and scored
✓ A quarterly public graduation, with your family in the room
What’s included
✓ The capstone: board review plus the teaching block, run as one assessed event
✓ Board review by two instructors: a unanimous decision is required, and the board may fail you
✓ Board-designed course of fire: set at or above the published Distinguished standard, not to a fixed course
✓ Teaching block: one 60-minute module taught to a live class, observed and scored
✓ The award: Master medal, framed certificate and engraved coin — presented at the quarterly public graduation, with family seats
NOT INCLUDED
– ammunition
– the graduation is ticketed, and family seats are reserved rather than unlimited
– other fees where applicable
The standard – published in full
Every rank is earned against a published standard, scored by an instructor and signed. This is Rank 7’s, in full.
| Assessment | What you must do | Pass threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Board review | Two instructors review the full record and the capstone performance | Two-instructor unanimous board decision. A split decision is a fail |
| Board-designed course of fire | A course of fire designed by the board, at or above the published Distinguished standard | Score at or above the published Distinguished standard |
| Teaching block | One 60-minute block taught to a live class | Observed and scored. You cannot certify what you cannot explain |
| NRA MQP benchmark | The Distinguished benchmark plus the YRT board, and the two are not the same credential | Distinguished Expert benchmark — “NRA Distinguished Expert benchmark plus the YRT Master Protector capstone and board review.” |
The board is required to be unanimous. Any safety violation fails the rank outright, and there is no appeal against the safety clause – at any rank, by anyone.
Rank 7 is the highest-margin item on the ladder because the student does the work — but it is also the only rank where the instruction is that a fail is available to the board and must actually be used. A rank nobody can fail is not a rank.
The award
Awards are presented formally, at a graduation – not handed over in a parking lot. That is what makes them worth earning.
- Embroidered patch – the Rank 7 insignia
- Framed Certificate
- Engraved Coin
- Public Graduation
- Numbered and Publicly Listed
Yellow Rose Tactical awards are Yellow Rose Tactical issued. Nothing in this kit is an NRA award, and no part of it implies an official NRA program. NRA Marksmanship Qualification awards are purchased separately by the student from the NRA Program Materials Center.
Prerequisites & bypass
PREREQUISITE
RANK 6 – STEWARD
Steward is the last rank before the board. Master Protector does not add a new skill; it certifies that the six below it are real, in front of instructors who have the standing to say no.
BYPASS – FOR EXPERIENCED SHOOTERS
Private Skills Check – $149
(90 minutes)
You do not have to start at Rank 1 to enter the Path. The Skills Check places you at the rank you have already earned, so an operator is never sent back to First Steps.
EIGHT WEEKS FROM NOW, YOUR NAME GETS READ OUT LOUD.
Not ready for this? See Steward.