Priorities

Your first priority should be towards your safety and the safety of your family. If you are with your family ensure they are together, stay together and seek to evacuate the scene immediately. You will want to get them at least one terrain feature from the attack site. That is code for at least one full city block or enough distance you can worry less about secondary explosions or explosions targeting our first responders. If you can evacuate via your vehicle, then skinny pedal on the right and don’t look back. Get your family to safety first and foremost.

Strong Point

If you cannot evacuate one terrain feature or more and you are forced to strong point then find a secure area and lock it down. Remember, in these events there will be chaos and confusion, you may find it better to strong point until the scene is safe. Try to find a location at least off the beaten path away from the attack site. Secure the door and if possible barricade it with something. This is the time to gather as much information as you can, but also go into power conservation. Create a rotation of about 30 minutes and then power down the remaining devices. Use this time to gather as much information as possible. In particular safe egress routes once you decide to beat feet.

Strength in Numbers

If you are with your family, but you are separated at the time of the attack now is the time to fall back to your link up plan. Hopefully you put one in place that has something basic such as if we are separated in case of an emergency then go to this location and wait so many minutes. If still no link up, then go to this place and wait so many minutes. The goal is to try and gain distance from the attack site while at the same time gather your family members. You also want to have as part of your link up plan some type of communications plan. Should there be an emergency you will touch base with family via a group chat/text with your status and location. Every hour on the hour everyone should check in with a status update. Should you have a family member not check in now you have to retrace their steps in an attempt to locate them.

Separation anxiety

If one of your family members fails to check in, you need to retrace their steps. What was their last known location and start from there. In this case it may be ideal to break into two different parties. Your main body should continue to strong point or evacuate to a safe location. While you look for your missing member. While there are plenty of reason someone missed a comm-check be prepared for the worse. Chances are the scene may still be unsecure and dangerous, but there may be wounded and dead you must confront. Do what you can or what you must.

Worse case scenario

We all know where this is heading, you locating your family member and they severely injured and immobile. Your first priority should be to ensure the scene is safe. Then do your best to treat the injury. The most common fatality in these types of events are blood loss. Since medical teams cannot enter until the scene is safe you are the first responder. Let’s hope you have the bare bones of a medical kit such as tourniquet. Follow all medical protocol for it’s application and stabilize to the best of your ability. Yes, very few things can replace a tourniquet, but should you not have one or other medical supplies; improvise.

It is sad this is part of our landscape these days, but that shouldn’t stop us from preparing. It also shouldn’t stop us from hunting this bastards down.

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Stay focused on the prize

I see so many folks come through our doors and practice the same drills over and over. Many of these drills are “tests” at various schools and some even have cleaver names and titles. I enjoy shooting some of these drills, but the amount of time, energy and resources is relevant to my overall goals. A major focus for most defensive shooters should be mastering being a generalist. You should avoid being a specialist, who is well rounded and capable of adapting to the situation.

Put in the practice

The issue I have centers around the realistic time spent on the firing line practicing, not training. Training is the action of learning a new skill. Practicing is performing a skill or activity regularly in order to improve or sustain performance. I am tickled pink when I can talk with someone who consistently practices on the firing line. To me, that is about ten 2-hour range trips a year firing approximately 100 rounds each trip. While only 1,000 rounds per year it is on the high side for the average shooter. Making it even more important you focus on being well rounded.

Nothing is free

The hard part for many is the desire to get good at something. That seems like it should be a good thing and generally it is until you do so at the sacrifice of the rest of your skills. Developing your skills requires you to acknowledge both your strengths and weaknesses in an honest way. To sustain your strengths and work on your weaknesses requires you to allocate the right number of rounds to ensure you meet both objectives. If you expend more ammunition annually for practicing then great, but if all you have is 1,000 then how much do you want to invest in practicing a test. A test that may be so specific it has less value than originally perceived.

Remember, this is fun

Having said the above, I still want folks to have fun, to enjoy themselves while they practice. For many of us, that is a major secret weapon, the joy it brings us to be practicing a skill. The drive to want to be better and improve. The determination to keep at it, even when failure and frustration are more common than success and gains. If you allocate 20-30% of your time and ammunition budget to practicing a test you might not see any negative affects. If you are spending 70-80% of your time and ammunition budget practicing a test you need to really think about how you are expending your resources. Here’s another way to look at it, if you expend 1,000 rounds per year by visiting the range ten times for 2-hour sessions then 20-30% of your time or 4-6 hours is spent being a specialist. That still gives you 14-16 hours per year to practice being a generalist.

There is something to be said about nothing to excess, everything in moderation. This advise transcends all activities and keeps you focused on being a generalist.

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When Baggy is Bad

One of the problems we see in our Concealed Carry classes occurs when students are attempting to re-holster. The concealment garments loosens and gets funneled into the holster’s mouth prior to the pistol re-holstering. The concealment garment gets shoved further into the holster applying pressure to all parts of the gun, to include the trigger. One of the most important features you look for in a holster is protecting the trigger and trigger guard has sufficient protection. In other words, while the pistol is holstered no object can gain access to the trigger. While you might have chosen an excellent holster that meets this objective, shoving a piece of your concealment garment into the holster as you re-holster will override your efforts.

No One is Exempt

You don’t have to be practicing from concealed to experience this issue. In fact, we brief in the beginning of all our classes the aspect of re-holstering must be conducted in a safe and controlled manner. Insure there is no foreign objects near the mouth of the holster. The most common culprit is the bottom hem of your shirt, but other items to keep an eye out for are drawstring hems & zipper pulls. In fact, I have a good friend who experienced a negligent discharge as a result of a zipper pull. Crazy stuff can happen so be safe and in control. Next, observe the re-holstering process. Look down to ensure there is no foreign object near the mouth of the holster. As you gently re-holster be on the lookout for any resistance. If you feel more resistance than normal…STOP! Identify what is causing the resistance, address the issue and carry on.

There is No Prize for the Fastest Re-holster

If you find yourself in a real world situation consider the fact you will be highly stressed, these procedures will help ensure when you re-hoster you do so safely. Before you re-holster ensure the scene is safe or the target is secure. Once you have completed all scans consider performing some ammunition management, after you complete that final step slowly, very slowly re-holster. Yes, I do suggest you observe the process, but keep things in perspective. The reason you are re-holstering is either you are being relieved, there is no longer a lethal threat or you are off the proverbial “X”. If you have any reason to believe there was still a threat to your safety then you wouldn’t be re-holstering. So, in this case, taking your eyes off your battle space to safely re-holster is the tactical imperative.

Protect the Trigger

For those who carry “off body” I first strongly encourage you to reconsider. I realize it is more difficult for women to carry concealed and this is an option for them. During our Concealed Carry Combatives classes we see so many off body ideas go the way of the dinosaur. If you carry off body I strongly encourage the trigger still be protected. That means light sheaths or in some cases a minimalist holster. I love the Vanguard 2 from Raven Concealment and use them more times than I can count. In the case of “off body” I would affix the holster to an anchor point so when I obtain my firing grip and retrieve the pistol from my off body concealment it separates from the holster on the drawstroke.

It is easy to second guess what happened in these events, but I am more inclined to remind folks of proper concealment protocol. Always re-holster safely and under control.

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Clothing challenges

We have been teaching our Concealed Carry Tactics classes for the last several years with great success. The observations along the way are invaluable to the new practitioner. In the beginning, your clothing choices should support the level of concealment required for your handgun and supporting equipment. As someone new to the endeavor it will pose challenges you probably have not faced in your lifetime. Challenges such as purchasing pants and shorts in larger than normal sizes to accommodate the added bulk. Clothing less flattering to help obscure your loadout and even abstaining from attention getting choices many might have been accustomed to in the past. All this to help create a low profile, someone that doesn’t attract attention to themselves.

Live your life

I am an avid supporter of living your life…and carrying concealed while I do so. You may struggle in the beginning, but at some point you will want to move on with your life. Be with family, attend social events and enjoy the one life God has blessed you with. Make it a point to work your concealment requirements around your lifestyle and not the other way around. No more was this proven than in the American workplace. A workplace devoid of supporting elements such as un-tucked appearances, frumpy clothing and less than professional appearance. Yes, this may be the “uniform” you have to wear weekdays from 9-5, but it doesn’t mean you are without options if you are truly a student of the art.

One of one is none

I have considered it a standard practice to have a primary, secondary and back-up method to carrying concealed. This approach has allowed me to navigate my life armed while blending in or actually looking presentable in high society events. The workplace with its business casual to business attire poses it’s own unique challenges, but if you subscribe to the idea of having a three methods of carry you will more than likely have suitable options. The biggest challenge is the realization you may not be able to carry your Mk1Mod0 blaster you are so accustomed  to on the weekends. You may have to consider reducing your loadout, electing to carry something smaller and more compact. Your decision making matrix should look pretty simple. A choice between no gun or a smaller, compact gun with limited performance.

Workplace challenges

Some of these smaller handgun choices are ideally suited for business attire. Even then, they still require you to work to conceal them well. Some environments are prohibitive environments, workplaces where firearms are banned. Your decision to carry must be metered with the consequences of your decision. If you decide to wade into these waters your ability to conceal with your back-up choice comes with the responsibility of shooting your back-up well, to a minimum standard. The added challenges of workplace attire with compact choices is all manageable and provides you with a capability many avoid because they are unwilling to consider other handgun choices.

The key is your life cannot revolve around concealing a handgun. Live your life and get better at concealing your blaster.

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The ability to discern friend from foe is constant challenge within in the training industry. In fact, I feel often times it is a glossed over subject.

Magic wand

In preparatin for an upcoming advanced tactical class I suggested folks read an older blog on conducting scans in a training environment. The blog was appropriately entitled “Magic Wand Syndrome” and is a good read regardless of your profession. A problem I continue to see on the firing line is the lackluster effort put towards conducting a scan. Most of the time the scan is mentioned as a post shooting task, but the reality is you are pretty much always in scan mode. You are either in a flood beam type scan or more of a spot light beam depending on the situation. If you cannot locate the threat, all your killer commando skills are worthless.

Breaking the target down

While for some, square range training is the closest they will get to reality. Others will eventually move to more realistic type training and depending on your profession again it more than likely will involve a shoothouse or my preferred term a killhouse. As you work the problem you should be faced with a variety of scenarios applying the target discrimination process. Early stages of work in the killhouse sometimes tips the hand for the student because targets are placed out in the open typically on target stands or bullet traps. A major obstacle to overcome is the Pavlovian response of shooting everything on a target stand because thats all you have ever done. While I would like for folks to be able to process the available information in order to make a timely decision I have come to recognize it is not always possible.

The power of pain

Being able to process the available information is a learned skill, the bigger problem learning the skill in the first place. It is hard to develop the ability to process information quickly when you find yourself in a high stress situation. This is where training must step in to fill the gap and where most people have no clue. You have to constantly challenge the student’s target discrimination process as well as have severe consequences for failures. I am a firm believer in the power of pain compelling people to learn.

Split second decision making

As you move to more challenging scenarios the target conditions and locations should also get more challenging or the time get shorter to perform the target discrimination process. At a certain point this must be performed in a split second so learning the skills early on and practicing is the only way to get better. I hate “dirty” targets in a killhouse. Targets that have been shoot over and over as they remove a large portion of the target discrimination process when students fail to truly perform positive target identification.

Being mud-sucked

They see the bullet holes and without really processing the information they fast forward to shooting rather than looking more closely at the target. I am a firm believer of constantly changing the conditions of the target so the student must perform good PID every single time they conduct a run. Even if it is the same target in the same location, you have to change it up and that is where overlays come into the equation. Part of my preparation for this upcoming class was securing appropriate targets and accompanying overlays. Too my surprise they don’t carry the matching overlays anymore. Instead they have generic overlays you are suppose to use to “cover up”. Epic fail target company, the contrast of an image of a right hand on the left hand of the target is not getting it done. Now, students will have a heads up something is wrong versus performing their correct target discrimination process or in other words training is lacking.

This type of training is tough enough, I don’t need any more challenges by having suboptimal gear to train with. Frustration is a result of wanting to put out the best product, but being limited by my terrain.

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Avoiding the scam

It should come as no surprise this is common practice in almost every industry. People who find the unsuspecting and uneducated to prey upon. I have fallen victim to it myself as I’m sure most who are reading this blog and have come to understand there is a lot more to the game. There are professionals and then there are the hobbyist. I have nothing against the hobbyist, they serve a valuable purpose. What I mind is the incessant need to by something more than a hobbyist. There is no middle ground, you are either a professional or a hobbyist…period.

Not everyone has the same opinion

With that being said, each has an opinion, for that matter everyone has an opinion. I’m going to say the opinion carries as much clout as the experience used to generate said opinion. In other words, your opinion is commensurate with the time you put in to accumulate your opinion. There is such a thing as seniority, yet in this industry we don’t discuss it, we don’t pay head to the blood, sweat and tears given to obtain the experience. Often times, those who have obtained that experience don’t talk about it so I can see how it may be difficult to discern the difference. I heard a quote years ago about how people will drink sand thinking it is water, they drink the sand because they don’t know any better.

Judgement-free…not

I value people’s opinion just as I expect people to value mine, but I will also judge a person’s opinion by their experience. Yes, I do judge and so should you. You should judge people off the words they say as it relates to the action they perform. I recently had an example of both the good and bad in this context. One was from someone in the industry who while an important part of the industry is not a professional trainer. When discussing technique I listened to their preferred method and asked some penetrating questions. It was then I realized they were missing much of the problem and rightfully so, it is not their main occupation. The other was a student in a class who failed to recognize his position in the chain of command.

Unteachable and then some

Trying to work with students is always challenging, especially when they reach the point of Unteachable, see this blog for more information. I did value his opinion since I valued him as a professional, but his opinion was formulated on far less experience than my own. It eventually got to the point where I had to remind him of that in order to get through and even then there was still resistance and he failed to reach his performance potential. By the time he was able to recognize his position and work towards making progress the day was over. Just when he started to see the light, the train at the end of the tunnel smacked him in the face.

People have worked hard to gain their experience in their chosen profession and to discount it because you think you know better or are some type of weekend warrior is insulting not to mention a waste of precious resources.

'The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions." Leonardo da Vinci, artist, scientist and inventor

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Remember

As Memorial Day sets I realize many people do not understand the true meaning behind the holiday. I don’t blame them, I blame our society for failing to appreciate the meaning as well as teach the meaning. For many, it is a time to celebrate, vacation, spend time with family. I’m grateful for being able to do so over the past myself, but it was always with a different purpose. Memorial Day is about honoring our fallen, those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives defending our way of life.

My brothers watch over me

I do not need a holiday to remind me of their sacrifice once a year for I live with it daily. I know my brothers are watching me and I am bound by an unwritten code to simply live a life worthy of their sacrifice. To represent them both on and off the battlefield, our code and way of life. I have but one question to ask as we reflect on our fallen, have you yourself lived a life worthy of their sacrifice? Have you given your all, walked the difficult path, made the right choice over the easy one? These are not acts, these are the marks of integrity. My wish is for people across our great country to take a moment to genuinely answer this question.

Never forget

When some one accidentally says “thank you” to me on Memorial Day, I don’t fly off the handle at them. They don’t understand, but their gesture is sincere and if they matter to me in my life I will take the time to explain the difference. I don’t need a thank you, nor recognition. I only ask reverence for our fallen and for you to live the life they could not so their death does not go forgotten. Can you do that, because if you can their sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Represent

It was always my honor to wear the uniform, to represent my country and my brothers. Some will never understand the commitment necessary. It is not important they understand it, but I hope they would recognize the sacrifices of all those who go into harms way. The hours, days, weeks, years lost with family and loved ones as they prepare, train and ready for combat with single-mindedness of purpose. And to those who did not come back, we honor you every day by continuing to live a life worthy of your sacrifice.

Leave nothing unsaid

A great example would be the Hero WOD’s the Crossfit community has created to honor our fallen, but more importantly their sacrifice. To unite with single mindless of purpose to endure discomfort together for just a few moments helps some to live that life. There are too many Hero WOD’s, but the beauty of them is the physical and mental demand. For those fleeting moments you understand and someday you will be able to sit at the table. Cherish your loved ones, hold them tight every chance you have and leave nothing unsaid between you and those who matter in your life.

Time is short, but there are miles and miles to go before you sleep. Don’t wait until the last few minutes of your life, live your life and die like the hero going home.

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Bubble bursting time

The ability to deliver effective fire while on the move or in motion is a critical skill. While it would be nice to have ideal range conditions for any incident, the reality is far from a static condition. In fact, the training hierarchy has a disproportionate amount of rounds fired in training from a static condition. There are four levels of training we all need to go through, each one requiring proficiency if not mastery before ascending. The first level is static, both the shooter and target are stationary. The second level is the shooter is active, the target is stationary. The third level has the shooter stationary and the target active. The fourth and final level has both the shooter and target active. When you think of this training hierarchy, think of a pyramid where level one is on the bottom. As you ascend up the pyramid, the volume is reduced until at the very top were we have fourth level conditions, we spend an infinitesimal amount of our training time and resources. However, the realities of a gunfight will more than likely have one if not both parties active. If you aren’t scratching your head by now, cue the dumbfounded look.

First, best sight picture

It does take effort and commitment to develop proficiency, it is even more perishable. However, it is not the moving part that is “hard” it is the ability to place a round on target while moving. Here is another scared cow we will slay, if you are moving so slow so as to have minimal disruption to your sights you are not moving realistically. The key here is going to be to focus on your “first, best sight picture”. The moment your sight settles on the target zone you will have a window of opportunity to break the shot. In order to be successful, you need above average trigger management skills.

Reverse engineering

Let’s jump ahead real quick. I don’t care what you have been taught, if your shooting platform wasn’t designed from the beginning with movement in mind you will be in for a rude awakening. You will be hard pressed to take a static stance, the ones we see most on the range and get it to move. We recognize the realities and have reversed engineered the shooting platform so it supports movement first, we just tend to shoot static more often. The moment we go active, the benefits to this philosophy come to the surface in a big way. So, I don’t care what you have been taught, they all suck because they either are teaching you to move artificially (slow) or an attempt to teach you a tempo (timing) of your shot. None of this is realistic.

The tactical imperative

There is a lot more to movement than I care to cover in a finite blog, but what I will say is trigger management is the key to delivering effective fire; whether you are standing still or in motion. Yet, for some reason when we start talking about movement we become brain-dead and think it has to do with our ability to move. The reality is you may have to hustle and once you reach a certain speed you will have to acknowledge you will not get the hit and waste your ammunition. This is where the tactical imperative is easily defined. You will need to choose because you will not be effective at both. Choose which is the most important at that exact moment. If it is more important to move, then high port and haul ass. If it is more important to shoot, then stop plant and engage the target.

This is why it is a Thinking Man’s Game, there are no free lunches. Focus on trigger management and not how your lower unit moves.

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What if

The moment any of these tragic events take place there is a major amount of brainwaves dedicated to how we might respond. I’m not saying this is a bad thing at all, these “what if” games are crucial towards developing your situational awareness. A lot of times we hear comments like “keep your head on a swivel” or “stay alert”, but what does that really mean to the average person? I break this down into looking for things out of place, general alertness and high probability. While visualization will help with all of these, I find it very useful to the high probability events. These are events that meet a certain set of circumstances such as; time, location and history. These visualization games help us back things up a bit and look at the precursory clues or indicators in the hopes of spotting them while we are still ahead of the game.

The nitty-gritty

Even then, there are still lots of questions to ask yourself, such as will you make contact, will you seek cover, will you move to an exit. While each of these responses should be well thought out a big consideration is are you alone or are you with loved ones? If you are with family the dynamics are going to be significantly different. Your primary responsibility will be seeking and securing their safety. More than likely that will be moving to an exit or exfil to a known safe/secure location away from the area.

Move with a purpose

Even with the situation narrowed down as above, there are still many things to consider. The tactical imperative should be getting your party to safety in the most expeditious manner possible. While you may not be able to predict with absolute certainty what is going to happen, what you can do is familiarize yourself with the current location you happen to be occupying. I break these down into hasty, fixed, mobile and in extremis. Either case, there are some principles that transcend these scenarios. I’ve mentioned them before, but they are worth restating, any tactical movement you perform should have these principles in mind; where is the enemy, where is your next piece of cover, where is your last piece of cover, where is your exfil/exit and where are friendlies/support.

Be prepared

Yes, this is a lot to think about, but like anything we do practice helps to make things smoother. Chances are you already performing something similar when you drive, you just haven’t thought about it from this perspective. These principles help you make better decisions under pressure, narrowing them down will also speed up the decision making process. My last visit to a well  known restaurant drove this point home during a brief incident. While the commotion happened outside, it happened within eyesight of the customers. Since I was with my family and I had no idea what the commotion was all about I put into place some immediate prerogatives. Fortunately I did not have to initiate any of them, but the point was once again driven home. I believe it is more than reasonable for folks to come up with their own as they see fit.

Even a poorly thought out plan executed swiftly and aggressively will beat not doing anything in these critical incidents. Getting off the proverbial “x” should be your tactical imperative.

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Ugly training

We see so many bad habits as a result of ugly training. I reference ugly training as something you have a hard time looking at, it is just plain ugly. There are two main problems with this subject, the first has to do with marksmanship and the second has to do with tactics. During our marksmanship classes we teach the shooter to place their finger on the trigger once they have aligned their sights. The first reason for this is logical sequence. It does no good to place the finger on the trigger prior to the sights being aligned and being able to confirm the sights are aligned requires the student to see their sights. When the student rushes to put their finger on the trigger before developing an appropriate sight picture they end up rushing their shot. Therefore, the finger should stay on the trigger index until this micro-task has been achieved. Too many will comment how this will slow you down and is unnecessary. If you hear this justification you are probably about to partake in ugly training.

The unnecessary conversation

A big problem with this industry is a desire to put the cart before the horse. To try and fast track the shooting sequence in an effort to be a faster shooter. Again, THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS. There is correct training and then there is ugly training, correct training would isolate these micro-tasks and place them in the correct chronological sequence. The perceived gains in speed are not worth the risk you take on or the extra liability by placing your finger on the trigger prematurely. I also believe it produces a poor attitude towards correct training. One where we preach one thing, but yet do another. For instance, we talk about “safety” and how important it is, but placing the finger on the trigger inappropriately is no big deal.

The fallacy of the flat range

From a tactical point of view, the trigger finger should only move to the trigger once positive target identification has been made. This process is often overlooked in flat range training and has created a precedence where we “feel” it is no big deal to have our finger on the trigger. We are doing a disservice to the student by not forcing trigger finger discipline along with safety manipulation. It is well known it will take far more time to positively identify a threat than move your finger to the trigger and select fire. So why then do we still see training emphasizing unsafe and reckless practices that needlessly expose you to more liability?

And now the courts are involved

The answer however unpleasant is true, we continue to see this type of training because instructors either are ignorant to the fact or complacent in ugly training. Some instructors may not recognize the dangers, the truly are ignorant and with time may come to recognize the importance. There are those who may recognize the dangers yet don’t believe the effort is worth it in the end. The problem is compounded with the courts now recognizing how an officer may no longer be granted qualified immunity during an accidental shooting. I believe these incidents can be avoidable with correct training, training that is not any more difficult to put on or organize.

I do not care what your profession or whether you wear a uniform or not, there is correct training and ugly training. Don’t settle, avoid ugly training and strive to excel.

"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence." Confucius, Chinese teacher and philosopher

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