Deadly Force Options

This is a good time to take stock of yourself and willingness to defend life. Periodically, you may need to revisit your own personal rules of engagement and adjust as necessary.

The Never Ending Cycle Of Change

We are in a constant state of flux, forever changing. Maybe things are cyclical, maybe we are just seeing a lot of crazy happening at one time. Maybe there is a subversive movement to remove a democratically elected government. The truth is it doesn’t matter. As our world changes, so too must we change. Or maybe a better word is adapt. We need to adapt to our new surroundings and that includes our gear, methods and choices. I didn’t really put much thought into this idea at first. The idea of adapting to my new surroundings fresh out of the Navy was my first experience. I was looking at a job in Arizona while I was currently living in California. The two states could not be more different on guns. Having been brainwashed by California I was freaked out by the freedoms and liberties of Arizona. It took some adjusting, but that is exactly what was necessary. Taking stock of my new situation and environment then adjusting accordingly.

Don’t be Lazy

We need to do this somewhat regularly, but definitely anytime there is a major life change. Whether that is the addition of a spouse, children, new job, new home or new city do not assume things will remain the same. I’m speaking about your self-defense plan and emergency action plans. You have to resist the urge to keep doing the same thing because that is how you always did them. While it is possible the outcome would be tactically sound, it is laziness. Take a moment and address the newness in your life and ask yourself does this alter my plans. If so, then take a moment to address how. Then come up with new solutions. Practice and rehearse your new plans until they replace your old ones.

What Was Old, Is New Again

A good example for me was when my first kid was born. My spouse was not too keen on self defense and I was use to doing things on a team. It took some time for me to adapt to being alone in the tactical sense. Then there was another change when my new job had me traveling all over the country. Each city I visited had different rules and laws. Then as my children become old enough for their own self-defense needs to be a dinner time topic. Of course, there is this global pandemic thing, but probably the biggest change is the rioting and violence. This alone has had me rethink my daily loadout, my responses and my emergency action plans.

Evolution Is A Thing

When the pandemic was in full swing we saw some societal decay. Namely in the form of consumables being limited or not available. At the time, my daily carry firearm was a sub-compact pistol. The likelihood of having to engage multiple targets at various distance through intermediate barriers was hard to justify at the time. The sub-combat was looking more and more like a good choice even if it meant a downgrade in class and capability. It took me time to evolve to the sub-compact. I was fighting the smaller capacity, smaller frame and reduced capabilities. Truthfully, I got use to the change pretty quickly with some dedicated practice.

Thinking Worst Case

Currently, I have had to change not just my pistol, but other force options as well. I’m back to carrying a compact pistol with the larger capacity and capabilities. I returned to ammunition historically superior at intermediate barrier penetration and lethality at extended ranges. I opted to include less lethal tools both on body at within close proximity. I have modified my carry rifle to be lighter and smaller, thus easier to carry discretely. Probably the most important change has to do with my rules of engagement. I’m sure everyone has their own ROE’s or whatever they wish to call them, but taking stock of the current situation will more than likely lead to a change. I’m fine with the changes, but are you. Have you sat down to rethink a whole bunch of scenarios using negative visualization?

Times are tough, but we are tougher. We have to adapt and overcome our new situation in an effort to bring order back.