Realistic preparation for operational duty requires active simulation training, which places student officers in monitored situations that require them to evaluate and make decisions among available control tactics. In the case of aerosol weapon training, officers are required to make appropriate use of an active aerosol weapon when faced by a role-playing subject who is given wide latitude for various types of resistant or assaultive behavior. Active simulation training with aerosol weapons presents several instructional challenges. Class discipline must be maintained, and close supervision is required. Instructors should consider using protective equipment for participants, which allows the intensity of resistance to be raised within the training situation. The goal throughout the training program is to give each student an uncomfortable, yet invaluable "taste" of reality and thus avoid misconceptions about field application. This training method for aerosol weapons use is superior to the "passive exposure" training method, which allows students to experience contamination with chemical sprays in a predictable, noncombative setting. Active simulation training also has advantages over "sterile" training, which does not use active aerosol to prepare officers. 6 footnotes