A Story of Preparedness and Not Drawing

 I think I've told this story before, but it bears repeating.

 Very early in the morning while stopping at a gas station to put air in my tire, I was approached by a stranger. The first words out of his mouth were to ask if I was from around here, immediately sending me into condition orange.

It’s interesting to note that this happened just a day after I got into a good discussion about mugging, vehicle thefts and how you’d react during those situations.

We all have our preconceived notions of how we’d react in a violent encounter, but the truth is that we’ll never truly know until we’re put in that exact situation.

3/4/14 threat Cons and Training

I’d like to explain my statement earlier about condition orange and provide a brief example of the Cooper Color Code here for reference.  Colonel Jeff Cooper is known for advocating a color code to describe a person’s state of mind. Not so much in regard to a level of alertness, but purely the mental state.

The following comes from his book, Principles of Personal Defense:

Condition White - You are unprepared and unready to take lethal action. If you are attacked in White, you will probably die unless your adversary is totally inept.

Condition Yellow - You bring yourself to the understanding that your life may be in danger and that you may have to do something about it.

Condition Orange - You have determined upon a specific adversary and are prepared to take action which may result in his death, but you are not in a lethal mode.

Condition Red - You are in a lethal mode and will shoot if circumstances warrant.

Condition Orange is what my body kicked into when presented with this stranger that approached me in the parking lot of the gas station. I’d like to explain one more principle of what occurred to me though, before going into the rest of the story.

Body Alarm Response

The body alarm response is what naturally happens to your body during an elevated state of awareness and the adrenaline dump that comes along with it. This is typically referred to as “fight or flight,” but more appropriately described as BAR.

During a body alarm response, the characteristics exhibited are rapid heartbeat and its counterpart, rapid breathing; tingling of the extremities, degradation in fine motor skills, tunnel vision and that sinking sensation in your stomach. You should embrace these characteristics as your body’s early warning system and be glad, they’re working, not let them control you and succumb to the “fear” you might think this means.

As blood is drawn into your core from your extremities (that tingling sensation and possibly numbness), you may recall the smallest of details during this heightened level of awareness. Blood being drawn away is also what can cause loss of fine motor skills, which aren’t as “fine” as you might expect. 

There are ways to control body alarm response though, meaning that through training and preparing yourself, you can mitigate its effects.

Now back to my story. What happened is, as I was walking inside to get change for the air pump at the gas station, I was approached by a cleanly-dressed stranger. He had come from the direction of a nicer vehicle that was parked alongside the convenience store building of the gas station. I immediately assumed that it was his vehicle, but I quickly flipped through a memory of just a few seconds ago where I’d noticed him floating around a gas pump.

As he approached my path to the convenience store entrance, my plan was to ignore him and keep walking inside. This plan quickly went out the window, as he encroached rapidly while asking the question, “Are you from around here?” That particular question, along with the quick approach into my personal space, immediately sent me into condition orange.

My first reaction, even before answering him, was to look at his hands and start walking backwards. I’m actually really proud of myself, as this is what I’ve been over repeatedly with in my head, “watch their hands, watch their hands.” I’ll ding myself on walking backwards rather than stopping prior to when I did, but I think a lot of that is how we realistically encounter people every day.

In a perfect world, I’d like to say that I follow the 21 ft. rule.   It states that a healthy adult male can cover the distance of 7 yards (about 21 ft.) in 1.5 seconds. Coincidently, that’s also about how many seconds it takes to draw a sidearm and put two rounds center mass on a human-size target at 7 yards.

You make that quickly approaching adult male an armed attacker and you can see why it’s called the 21 ft. rule. Realistically, we allow people within this 21 ft. perimeter each and every day; for me this day was no exception.

Putting distance between myself and this stranger was also something I was proud of, although moving backwards is never a good thing. “If you’re moving in reverse, things come from behind.”

As I put distance between myself and the stranger I answered yes to his question. At this point he continued to approach with his hands down by his side, while stating “Do you know if there’s a Walmart around”, I cut into his statement, putting up my left hand and saying, “Just wait right there and I’ll answer your question.” My right hand also moved backwards towards my gun. I never placed my hand on it, or gave away its position, I was just cognizant of where I was moving my hand to.

His immediate response was to put both his hands up and say “Ok, I was just trying to find the Walmart, I found the HEB, I just can’t find the Walmart.” By now I think he realized that I didn’t like him invading my personal space and he finally seemed aware of me putting distance between us.

I gave him some simple directions to Walmart, but was very short with him, continuing to watch his body position. After he said thanks for the directions, he turned around and walked off as I walked closer to the building’s door. I noticed him walk right past the car I had assumed belonged to him and round the corner behind the building. After paying for my gas, I exited the building.

Ensuring to keep my head on a swivel all the way back to my vehicle I didn’t see the stranger again. I brushed off the encounter until I was back in my vehicle and on the road. It was then that I really took stock of what happened and the indicators that warranted my elevated condition. I truly feel that my actions prevented me from becoming a victim or at least made me appear to be a hard target. I think this was an innocent event.  I think he honestly needed directions.

I wanted to share my story with you, because I think it helps to reinforce how important it is to listen to the Spirit, what some call your gut feeling, and an example of how your conditioning can take over, even when you don’t plan for it. I think that If I hadn’t mentally rehearsed this scenario thousands of times in my head and been exposed to it during my training, the outcome would have been dramatically different.

 

Carrying a gun is a big responsibility.  Knowing when to draw, and when not to draw your weapon is sometimes tricky.  You must make the correct decision.  Use wisdom and do not react to emotion.  Act, don’t react. Train well and work scenarios out in your head.

 

Semper Paratus

Check 6

Burn

Secure Schools Need To Take Note, It's Not Enough!

 

Again another school shooting.  This time in Bend, Oregon.  Oregon’s laws also make it a crime for the citizen who stopped the killer.  As of today nothing is known about whether this will affect the citizen who saved lives in spite of the law that told him he couldn’t.  Law makers just don’t get it.  I don’t know why they think laws stop criminals.  I mean, the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks laws.  So these laws they have made to keep bad guys with guns away from schools seem to do the opposite.  Like any thinking person would knows, laws don’t stop the lawless. 

Also, this begs to make school boards get serious about school security.  I have many children.  But all of those children are no longer school age.  I have two who are finishing their higher scholastic degrees.  But my experience with public school is the same I had with the military.  When I left the military I could see it changing.  I knew that I could not deal with those changes.  It’s similar to public schools.  When our oldest was in kindergarten my wife FLAG and I could see the writing on the wall for public schools of which we both experienced as kids in two different states.  We wanted our children to have something different so we started home schooling.  This was when home schooling had a stigma of being substandard.  It is not.  Never has been.  Now since COVID educating online and at home has become the norm for many families.  When I was in high school, I had some friends who drove pickups with rifle racks in them.  Those racks had loaded rifles and shotguns in them.  No one cared and it wasn’t an issue.  Now with kids that are not being raised to be resilient, who can’t seem to handle life, shooting up a school is sadly common.  Yet the schools don’t understand the seriousness of this and are a little light on security.  They say they don’t want schools to resemble prisons.  In Oregon this kid shot his way through their security and started to kill.  If it wasn’t for a guy serious about his own security, then more kids and staff would have been killed, I’m sure.  The police were on site in 3 minutes.  3 Minutes!  3 Children and 1 teacher were killed, others were injured.  And the police were there in 3 minutes!  Think of that.  One nut case with a shotgun, not an assault weapon, went through security doors and started to kill.  A father with 2 kids at the school shot and killed the killer.  He broke the law to do it.  What’s wrong with that picture?  The police had just been through active killer training.  They just trained for what they were called to.  The father was not trained in active killer tactics.  He was right behind the killer yet 3 kids, 1 teacher, and at least 2 others were shot in that short time.  School Districts take note.

Watch this Colion Noir video:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RBKoms2T9o  Colion lays it out quite nicely.

If you want to know how to protect schools learn from Israel.  They have immense experience!

 Israeli law currently requires a guard in schools of 100 or more students. These guards are generally employed by private security companies, while the Israel Police (the country's civilian police force) have overall responsibility for guidance, oversight, and control for the entire security system of educational institutions, from kindergartens through universities. The law permits certain individuals to carry firearms in schools.

By law, the guard must check the school site 30 minutes before school starts. He or she then checks people and vehicles entering the school and can permit or refuse entry to unauthorized people. The guard is generally stationed at the school entrance and is responsible for security outside the school (but not internal security issues, like fights between students). In the event of actual hostile activity (essentially terrorist in nature), the guard must engage with the attacker or attackers.

Many Americans think everyone is a gun owner in Israel.  This not true.  In fact it’s easier to get and carry a gun in the U.S. than Israel.  But their schools are secure.  They are serious about the safety of their schools.  And it shows in the amount of attacks they have experienced.  There have been attacks but rarely and rarely are these few attacks successful. 

I want U.S. children to have a good experience in school.  My opinion of public schools is not that great.  Some have become a babysitting system that lasts 13 or 14 years long.  Extra curricular activities I think are out of hand including sports.  Public schools need to teach more and play less.  Schools need to teach and stop including politics and stupid social commentary.  Part of the problem in parenting is that the schools do too much of it.  Parents need to cowboy up and parent!  Stop coddling your little “babies” and teach them to be good citizens and good students.  Many will dump on me and call me sexist but I don’t really care.  I know times are difficult but Mother’s come home.  Two incomes are not necessary if you plan, sacrifice, and learn to live within your means.  Stay out of debt!  It can be done and should be.  Mothers need to nurture their kids and Fathers need to provide.  I realize there are some who think this can’t be done.  But I think it can.  Anyway, if some families would stop giving into society and what society thinks, we’d have stronger families.  I know that home schooling is not easy.  It costs more and requires more time and effort.  My wife taught our children for 36 years!  Sorry about that gigantic opinion fest I just experienced.

Public schools need to be serious about their security.  Law makers need to actually make laws that help that security.  I think my church also needs to take our security seriously too but that’s another article.

My heart goes out to those families that were affected by this killing.  I hope they can be comforted and strengthened.  My heart also goes out the brave guy who killed this killer.  He will have to deal with having killed another human regardless of the need.  I’ve experienced this difficulty.  I hope he too is comforted and strengthened.

I hope U.S. school systems, including institutions of higher learning, will change their weak position on security and decide to protect our kids.  I also hope law makers will stop this crazy fight between left and right concerning guns.  Our country and its freedoms were conceived and maintained by guns and righteous force.  Let’s stop fighting and be realistic in making laws.  No other country has a God given right of its citizens written into its laws. It’s there for a reason.  Let’s stop trying to undermine the document that grants us the freedom to do so.  Let’s strengthen ourselves and learn to live with defense and to grant others that same right.   

I’ve written about this before in 2018 and 2022.

Check out: Reprint From 2018:  Do We Want Our Schools Secure, Or Not? 5/27/22

Do We Want Our Schools Secure, Or Not?  5/22/18

Sorry this was a bit of a rant...

Semper Paratus

Check 6

Burn

Train Like You Mean It!

 Train like you mean it! What does this mean? I’ve heard it said many times that you Fight like you train and train like you fight. What this means dear gun brothers and sisters is that we need to rethink the reason for our training. If you are competing your training is different from defense. Some things will cross over such as grip, aim, control. But this is where competition stops being beneficial.

Many years ago I was a small arms instructor in the military. I’d get all kinds of experienced military members. I remember a particular young guy who could shoot more accurately than I’ve ever seen anyone shoot. I saw him put 10 rounds of 5.56 into one hole in a target. I was skeptical until I asked him to do it while I was watching 50 yards away through a spotting scope. He did it two more times while I was watching! He learned as a boy in Tennessee hunting with his father. He said he would spend hours shooting at cans in the forest. That’s what practice will get you! Anyway, I got hunters and competitors and those who thought they could shoot. It was more difficult for them once movement was introduced. Even if they moved and then stopped it was enough to throw them off. The closest competition I’ve seen that is good training for personal defense is 3 gun. This involves multiple targets from different distances and positions. This is realistic training. I used to go to the range and set up my training scenario. It involved shooting around barricades, over benches, and through tables. It also had a small jog between barricades. Increasing your heart rate, increasing the stress. It also involves transition to another weapon and magazines changes. What I really like is a shoot house but most of us don’t have access to one of those. Don’t misunderstand me. I learned and taught standing on a range and shooting at a static paper target. This type of bull’s eye shooting is enjoyable and desirable. There are many things that can be learned with this type of shooting, and I still do it when I want to shoot 50 rounds and get a 15-minute practice in. But for serious defense training a run and gun is the way to go. The term run and gun implies quite a bit less than what is actually required though. In professional competitive setups, shooters are required to run a short distance between target locations, engage multiple targets, shoot around “barricades,” drop to and shoot from the prone position, or go into kneeling, squatting, and prone positions to shoot through various sized openings in plywood partitions to hit targets. In some setups, competitors are also required to transition from a pistol to a rifle and to a shotgun; not necessarily in that order.
How is training in this manner beneficial? Physiologically; (1) the physical activity portion gets the heart and lungs pumping to create physical stress; a negative force that needs to be overcome when pressed to perform under duress. (2) Engaging multiple targets, (most being “shoot targets” but some designated as no-shoot “noncombatants”) plus mandatory mag changes while on the move, creates mental stress; another negative force encountered when under pressure. (3) It develops hand / eye coordination which creates muscle memory.
From a tactical standpoint, it helps instill the use of cover and the need to safely move; to either advance on or retreat away from the opposing threat.
There are some drills that may assist you with this training.
Reloading Drill:
Engage the target, fire six shots and while moving, go through the motions required to reload and prepare your weapon for continued use. Conclude the exercise by lowering your weapon to the low ready position; scan left and right for additional threats then secure your weapon.
The purpose of this drill is to acclimate you to the divided attention skills required to (1) reload your weapon and (2) make your weapon ready for use while on the move.
The desired results are; you will reflexively eject the magazine, (or spent brass in the case of revolvers) insert a fresh magazine (or load the revolver cylinder) and make the weapon ready to fire again while, quickly moving to change cover locations, retreat or advance on the threat.
Transition Drill:
This drill will require the use of either a rifle or shotgun (or both) with a sling. With the rifle or shotgun slung in the front muzzle down position, Draw your handgun and engage the target with six shots. Re-holster and transition to the long gun, while moving, to engage another target with four shots. At this point, if you have opted for a third long gun, un-sling the third weapon while moving back to the first target, engage and fire four shots.
Once you have become comfortable at performing this last exercise and the movements feel more reflexive, it’s time to return to the beginning, but with some changes.
Begin by drawing the handgun and engaging the target with six shots. While on the move reload, making the weapon ready then engage a second target with six shots. Holster the handgun, transition to the rifle while moving to a second target and engage that target with five shots. On the move, reload the rifle and engage a third target with five shots. If you’ve opted to lug around that third weapon, repeat the steps you just completed with the rifle. At the end of the exercise, holding the last weapon at a low ready position, scan the area for any additional threats then secure the weapon.
These are just two drills you can use to make your training more realistic. If you feel you will never need to transition, then just implement your handgun and magazine changes.
If possible (I know indoor ranges have limits on how you can train) put together a simple program for yourself. Keep track of what you do and how well you do it in a notebook to track your progress. Change up your drills and put variety in your training. You don’t need an elaborate range, but you do need some freedom of movement and multiple targets.
Being realistic in your training is something we should all maintain. It’s more serious and you train like you mean it!

Semper Paratus

Check 6

Burn

Use of Force Continuum and Concealed Carry

 An example of a use-of-force continuum follows:

• Officer Presence — No force is used. Considered the best way to resolve a situation.
o The mere presence of a law enforcement officer works to deter crime or diffuse a situation.
o Officers' attitudes are professional and nonthreatening.
• Verbalization — Force is not-physical.
o Officers issue calm, nonthreatening commands, such as "Let me see your identification and registration."
o Officers may increase their volume and shorten commands in an attempt to gain compliance. Short commands might include "Stop," or "Don't move."
• Empty-Hand Control — Officers use bodily force to gain control of a situation.
o Soft technique. Officers use grabs, holds and joint locks to restrain an individual.
o Hard technique. Officers use punches and kicks to restrain an individual.
• Less-Lethal Methods — Officers use less-lethal technologies to gain control of a situation.

o Blunt impact. Officers may use a baton or projectile to immobilize a combative person.
o Chemical. Officers may use chemical sprays or projectiles embedded with chemicals to restrain an individual (e.g., pepper spray).
o Conducted Energy Devices (CEDs). Officers may use CEDs to immobilize an individual. CEDs discharge a high-voltage, low-amperage jolt of electricity at a distance.
• Lethal Force — Officers use lethal weapons to gain control of a situation. Should only be used if a suspect poses a serious threat to the officer or another individual.
o Officers use deadly weapons such as firearms to stop an individual's actions.
Concealed Carry Use of Force Continuum

Unlike a police officer, the presence of a concealed carry civilian is not a deterrent. I think we should add a first step in place of “Officer presence” with “Get out of dodge”. If you can see something developing, violence, riot, a fight, have an exit strategy. You should be practicing good situational awareness and should be able to see something developing. Get yourself out of harms way.
Verbalization-Force is not physical.
You can calmly try to defuse the situation as a police officer might. If things escalate make sure your words are clear and concise.
Empty-hand control
As a civilian you really cannot grab someone. But if you think you can throw someone to deflect them and to escape, then do so.

Less-lethal methods
Cops are equipped with an array of weapons on their duty belts and are taught the "use of force continuum," which clarifies how to match the right tool to the threat level. For example, if a bad boy wants to grapple at close distance, the police can break him down with an impact weapon. If he squares off against an officer from 10-feet away, he could get a blast of pepper spray. And if he looks crazy or amped on dope, he will get a jolt with the Taser. The cops I know don't want to shoot anybody any more than you do. You might want to think about having a second, less-than-lethal weapon on your person whether you carry a firearm or not. Dual-force will give you additional response options and/or provide you with something in your hand that should be recognized by a street-wise criminal as a potential defensive weapon. Remembering a key point in risk avoidance, if you look like a hard target, predators are more likely to pass you by in favor of an easier mark.

Lethal force
You had better make sure there is a reason to use lethal force. Also make sure you issue commands that can be heard by witnesses or a 911 call. Remember also, you should not hesitate if faced with a risk to your life, but just pulling your gun doesn’t mean you have to shoot. Often the presence of a gun is similar to the presence of law enforcement. It can stop the situation and give you a chance to leave. But remember, this is your last resort, and there should be a clear and present threat. If you draw your weapon, you’d better be prepared to use it.  Don’t draw your gun and hope that’s enough.  If you must shoot, make sure your reason will convince a jury.  It may not come to that, but it could ultimately come to a trial.  Just saying “I feared for my life” may not be enough to keep you out of jail. If there is a threat do not hesitate, but be sure about a threat.

Using a similar adapted Use of Force Continuum is of benefit to any concealed carry participant. If you can learn these steps and review them, if the time comes you are better prepared to meet the challenge and come out on top. Being prepared for most contingencies is a mindset.

Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn

Speed, Surprise , and Violence of Action

Speed, surprise, violence of action. The essence of close quarter battle. (CQB)  Often CQB is talked about with that 1000 yard stare.  It’s supposed to be the pinnacle of battle.  As one who has experienced it I’ll tell you nuts!  It’s no fun and very dangerous, I guess that’s why it’s made out to be so sexy.

I was a young man in a foreign country going through a combat experience.  At one point, two other guys and I were hauling ammo from our position to another.  We were experiencing a lull in firefights and were moving through a series of bunkers and berms with relative cover.  Another guy and I had the ammo in our hands and on our backs.  The third guy was security, and we were glad he was there.  We went around a corner and ran into a roving patrol of 9 enemy soldiers who were pretty lax in their patrol discipline.  We met them and it surprised us both.  But our security guy was doing his job and took out 3 enemy before we could drop our ammo and get our rifles on target.  Fortunately, it took the enemy a little longer to figure out that they just bumped into the enemy, and we neutralized them before they could get their rifles pointed in our direction.  But had our security man being a little hesitant, the story would have turned out different.  He was ready even though it was a surprise.  He closed the small distance between us and hit them with such a heavy force, and then as we followed, the enemy didn’t know what hit them.  This is classic violence of action.  In close quarter battle there are 3 principles that must be used without hesitation, without thinking, to win the short gun fight.  They are Speed, Surprise, and Violence of action.  In our case, we won this scary confrontation even though we were outnumbered.  We walked away without a scratch because these principles were adhered to.  Because of the security man’s speed, even though we too were surprised, the violence of action was successful.  

Violence of action is the principle by which we neutralize the threat as soon as possible. If I were to sum up the concept in one word, it would be dominance. We must dominate the enemy both physically and psychologically to prevent them from defending their position or mounting a counter-attack against us. When it comes to Violence of Action, overwhelming force is the name of the game. Think of it like this. You're watching a UFC or boxing match. You see one of the fighters launch a brutal series of punches into his opponent with the speed and ferocity of a machine gun. You can literally hear his fists smash into the other dude's head as he shreds him into a bloody pulp. The beaten fighter buckles under the unrelenting storm of punches, unable to fight back or protect himself. Eventually, the referee steps in to stop the fight before someone gets seriously hurt. The fight is over. Pitted against such overwhelming force, the other guy never had a chance. Can we apply that to CQB? If our goal is to overwhelm and dominate the enemy, there's a number of ways we can get that done. From a military or law enforcement perspective, we can begin by: using demolitions to breach the door, tossing a flash-bang into the room blasting holes or using a vehicle to ram open additional entry points into the wall.

Follow it up with a well trained team flooding the room with guns and that's violence of action in a perfect world.

But what about in a civilian context? Does violence of action apply to a security-minded citizen? Yes it can. If you have to clear your house or enter a shopping mall to retrieve a loved one during an active shooter event, violence of action is especially critical. And while you may not have breaching assets or demolitions handy, you can still establish violence of action. 

Utilizing fast, aggressive maneuver and fire superiority may be all you have. But if you do it right, it may be all you need. Anything that allows you to gain and maintain dominance over the enemy is what we're looking for.

In my combat experience there was a point where the enemy focused on my position.  There was a concentrated, overwhelming force heaped on my position to where I could not return fire in any way.  I had my friends firing from other positions but I just sat down behind 4 walls of sand bags and waited to be killed or over run.  I did have others come to my aid and a mortar team quickly neutralized my attackers who stopped the onslaught enough to where we could exchange fire.  I was the most scared I had been that day and thought this was how I was going to die.   

The principles of speed, surprise, and violence of action all have a synergistic relationship to the others. Gaining the element of surprise will help you with speed. Moving with speed will help you sustain violence of action. Speed and violence of action can help you gain the element of surprise. They all work together. But just like with speed and surprise, there are common mistakes shooters make when implementing violence of action. We could go down a large rabbit hole in talking about all this but let’s focus on three mistakes that can overturn all of these principles.

Failure to commit is the first mistake.

You know about the fatal funnel, usually a doorway or threshold you must cross to advance toward the threat.  These funnels are where you are the most vulnerable. Moving through them quickly is imperative but moving deliberately and quickly when you don’t know where the threat is. Because of this danger new shooters may freeze causing many problems.  A static target in a fatal funnel is of course very dangerous but also stops the other team members from entering.

Danger is danger.  If you are going into a place where you know a bad guy is, there will be danger. So, when you must go, go! Move in a controlled and aggressive manner.  Dominate the space.  Commit to move, and then work the plan.  You should be flexible because combat is often unpredictable.

The second mistake is inadequate weapon skills.  You must know your weapon if you are to take it into combat.  You need to be able to reload it in the dark.  You need to be able to clear it in a moment.  You should also know how to transition to a backup weapon.  When I taught tactics in the military, I found that even those with training and experience can fail at weapons manipulation, clearing malfunctions, and transitioning was always a hang up.  You must practice these three things until you have the muscle memory to do them without thinking or in your sleep.  This is no joke, I saw people die in combat because they could not clear a weapon! 

When training close quarter battle there are many things you may not be told will happen that can affect your performance.  The stress, fear, and overload of battle is something you need to think about and be ready for.  You should learn safety in battle such as: not flagging team members, keeping your finger off the trigger until you know what and who you are engaging, muzzle discipline.  Combat is a mess.  It’s usually quite loud. It can be very confusing in terms of where the enemy is, where rounds are coming from, and who should be shooting where.  You need to neutralize the bad guys, not your team mates, ourselves, or other friendlies. The point is, we want to our weapon handling skills to be on point.  We need to also talk about malfunctions.  Shooting guns for a sustained period makes it hot.  When jams or malfunctions happen on a flat range without being fired upon, they are fairly easy to correct.  But in close quarters a malfunction can kill you.  You must have a plan of action of what to do and when.  It should be part of your personal training.

The sights, deafening sounds and even smells are different than anything you’ve experienced.

 The third mistake is targeting.  This happens in two parts, shot placement and target identification.  This is why a good light must be in your EDC.  CQB is fast and furious.  You must see the room or space and shoot the enemy and not non combatants (bystanders if there are any) or team mates.  You can only move as fast as your eyes can process.  Move with controlled speed and controlled violence of action.  You will have to discriminate friend and foe.  Then there is shot placement.  Stopping the threat in CQB must be immediate.  Missing the target is no good, but wounding is almost as bad.  Dying threats are still a threat.  They can pull a trigger even while bleeding out.  Well placed head shots are a must.  I know, this isn’t a nice thing to talk about but the truth is, kill or be killed.  Many people practice for center of mass but make sure you do the full Mozambique drill. (Drill described at the end of this post) Make sure head shots are in your training.  It is not sick, it is reality.  Plus, body armor is not that difficult to obtain. Head shots aren't something we're accustomed to doing on the move. And while chest shots that enter the heart and lungs are normally fatal, it may take several seconds for the threat to expire. Again, that's enough time for him to return effective fire on you.

To gain immediate incapacitation, aim for the area approximately in the center of the face, below the middle of the forehead, but above the upper lip. That will "turn off the lights."
Can't we achieve incapacitation with a shot to the spinal column? Yes, a hit to the spinal column (anywhere below the jaw and the top of the sternum) can get it done, but that's a very narrow target. If you're off by even a few centimeters, you may leave him with enough gas in the tank to deliver a fatal shot to you. Train yourself to make well-placed head shots and you avoid the problem altogether. There is another way to approach the issue of shot placement.  I know of some units that don't train their personnel to take head shots per se.  Instead, they prefer to teach "shoot the threat center mass and continue shooting until the threat is down" approach.  That works too.

All of these are the very raw basics.  Practice, practice, practice!  There are nuances to CQB that you will learn with practice.  Read everything you can and watch everything you can get a hold of.  Be selective.  If you have a chance for “live fire” CQB, take it.  This would be paintball, airsoft, or simunition training.  The best training is force-on-force in a shoot house or other safe facility.  I know that’s not readily available but you may have an opportunity.  Remember that a flat range is not real tactical training.  Shooting from barriers, around things and corners is better than a weaver stance and paper.  Be creative, you don’t need to spend a lot of money if you can shoot around a shooting bench.

Good luck and keep on shooting.

The Mozambique Drill (or Failure To Stop drill)  was developed by my past instructor Jeff Cooper.

A mercenary named Mike Rousseau fought in the Mozambican War for Independence. He told a story to Jeff about rounding a corner and came face-to-face with an enemy and an AK. He raised his Browning Hi-Power and shot two 9mm rounds into the combatant's chest. But the man failed to fall or stop, and a wounded man with an AK-47 is still a very dangerous man. He quickly fired a third and final shot into the combatant. The round was aimed at his head but went through the neck, severing his spinal cord. This stopped the threat.

The Drill

Usually it's fired from a holstered position, but it's not required.

The drill involves firing two shots to the center of mass (chest) and one to the head.  

You can start the drill with a double-tap to the chest of the target.  Just so we’re clear, a double-tap is two rounds fired rapidly to the chest. Then two shots with a single sight picture.  This entire drill is a three-round string fired from 7 yards: two rounds to the center of the chest, then one deliberate round to the head.  It’s simple but all important for CQB.

Semper Paratus

Check 6

Burn

Church Security (or lack, thereof) Can Someone Make Sense of This to Me!?

 This is a list of acts of vandalism, arson, aggression, and active killer events of the last 10 years that have happened on property of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As the Church grows, I understand that these incidents will increase just from the number of buildings being used and built.  But one thing I have noticed is an escalation in violence.  I’m not sure it will diminish. I think it will continue to rise.

I know this seems to be criticism; I don’t mean it to be.  I think the Church is navigating legal and many local country's laws.  They also don’t want to alarm the general membership, which I understand.  

I am currently in a calling where I discuss and counsel with my Bishop.  We are pretty close friends.  In our discussions of security in our chapels and meetings we see a lack of almost any type of security.  The Church’s answer to this is in my opinion, “Run, Hide, Fight” and call the police.  I’m so glad that was not the policy when I was in combat.  The whole idea of an ambush is mostly surprise.  Running away is preferable, but not likely to happen.  Calling for protection is also futile.  And so, it is.

This is part of a list from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attacks_against_Latter-day_Saint_churches

·         March 25–26, 2016 – The construction site of the Meridian Idaho Temple was vandalized.^{[128][129][130]}

·         April 9, 2016 – A meetinghouse in Vancouver, Washington was vandalized.^[131]

·         July 26, 2016 – A meetinghouse in Las Vegas, Nevada was burned in an act of arson. A firefighter's union hall across the street was also targeted.^[132]

·         November 12, 2016 – The outbuilding of a meetinghouse in Rexburg, Idaho was vandalized with spray paint.^[133]

·         December 10, 2016 – A meetinghouse in Guelph, Ontario was damaged in an act of vandalism.^[134]

·         October 18–19, 2017 – A meetinghouse in Dublin, Ohio was vandalized.^[135]

·         January 9, 2018 – A meetinghouse in Twin Falls, Idaho was vandalized with graffiti.^[136]

·         May 7, 2018 – A meetinghouse in Idaho Falls, Idaho was vandalized with graffiti.^[137]

·         May 12, 2018 – A man broke into the St. George Utah Temple, broke its windows, attacked some of its temple workers, and smeared blood through an area of the temple.^[138][139]

·         July 14–15, 2018 – A meetinghouse in Millcreek, Utah was vandalized.^[140]

·         July 22, 2018 – A gunman entered a meetinghouse in Fallon, Nevada, killing one person and injuring another.^[141][142]

·         August 26–27, 2018 – The interior of a meetinghouse in Spanish Fork, Utah was vandalized, resulting in $5,000 worth of damages.^[143][144]

·         November 17, 2018 – A teenager assaulted and strangled a 70-year-old female organist who was rehearsing on the organ at a meetinghouse in Centerville, Utah; the attacker is believed to have gained entry to the meetinghouse by throwing a rock through one of its windows.^[145][146]

·         December 2, 2018 – Five people were injured in a mass knife attack at a meetinghouse in Goiânia, Brazil.^[147]

·         December 4, 2018 – A couch was set on fire in an attempt to burn down a meetinghouse in Fort Collins, Colorado.^[148]

·         January 26, 2019 – A meetinghouse in St. George, Utah was burned down in an act of arson. An Episcopal church was also targeted.^[149]

·         March 13, 2019 – Two meetinghouses in Greymouth and Christchurch, New Zealand, were burned in acts of arson.^[150][151]

·         March 29, 2019 – Two meetinghouses in Orem, Utah were burned and defaced with the words "Satan Lives".^[152]

·         March 29, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Concepción, Chile was attacked and burned via Molotov cocktail.^{[153][154][155][156]}

·         April 7, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Tejupilco de Hidalgo, México State was burned in an act of arson; a Catholic church was also burned.^[157][158]

·         May 15, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho was vandalized, one of its windowpanes being damaged.^[159]

·         May 18–19, 2019 – A meetinghouse and its fence in Provo, Utah were vandalized with graffiti with hateful religious and political speech.^[160]

·         June 1, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho was broken into, with some of its glass being broken.^[159]

·         June 1, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Farmington, New Mexico was burned in an act of arson.^[161][162]

·         June 21, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Cedar City, Utah was vandalized, causing thousands of dollars' worth of damage.^[163]

·         June 28, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Ogden, Utah was burned in an act of arson.^{[164][165][166]}

·         July 6, 2019 – The roof of a meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho was vandalized with spray paint.^[159]

·         July 6, 2019 – The exterior walls of a meetinghouse in Shoreline, Washington was vandalized with spray paint.^[167]

·         July 10, 2019 – An outside wall of a meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho was vandalized with graffiti.^[159]

·         July 14, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Cottonwood Heights, Utah was burned in an act of arson.^[168][169]

·         July 21, 2019 – An intruder attempted to set fire in a bathroom of a meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho.^[159]

·         July 21, 2019 – Two seminary buildings in Herriman, Utah were vandalized with racist graffiti.^[170]

·         July 23, 2019 – A gunman fired his weapon at a group of individuals at a meetinghouse parking lot in St. George, Utah.^[171]

·         August 12, 2019 – An intentional fire was set in a meetinghouse in Layton, Utah.^[172]

·         August 16, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Logandale, Nevada was targeted in an act of attempted arson.^[173]

·         October 11–12, 2019 – A meetinghouse in Boise, Idaho was vandalized.^[159][174]

·         December 24, 2019 – A man broke into and vandalized the Logan Utah Temple.^[175]

·         January 9, 2020 – Joshua Adams Hale pled guilty to willfully and maliciously set fire to and burned the chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cherry Creek, South Dakota.^[176]

·         February 5, 2020 – A missionary training center in São Paulo, Brazil was infiltrated by an intruder armed with a knife; the intruder was shot and killed by police.^[177]

·         May 26, 2020 – Honolulu police launched an arson investigation involving an early morning church fire in Kalaeloa, Hawaii that investigators determined was intentionally set.^[178]

·         June 2, 2020 – A meetinghouse in Plano, Texas suffered under $30,000 worth of damage on one of the exterior walls of its property.^[179]

·         August 3, 2020 – A gunman fired shots at the church's missionary training center in Provo, Utah.^[180]

·         September 7, 2020 – A meetinghouse in Eagle Mountain, Utah was vandalized and partially burned.^[181]

·         November 12, 2020 – A meetinghouse was vandalized in Moab, Utah.^[182]

2021–present

·         January 17, 2021 – Randy Louis White, 35, of Sacramento admitted to breaking the window of a meetinghouse in Willows, California, entering the building and purposely starting fire to the building.^{[183][184][185]}

·         February 25, 2021 – A meetinghouse in Provo, Utah was damaged in an act of arson.^[186]

·         April 18, 2021 – A meetinghouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri was burned down in an act of arson.^{[187][188][189][190][191]} The offender was sentenced to serve 111 months in prison and to pay $6,968,223.36 in restitution for damages.^[192]

·         April 26, 2021 – A meetinghouse in Fruita, Colorado was burned down in an act of arson.^[193][194]

·         June 15, 2021 – A meetinghouse in West Jordan, Utah was vandalized, resulting in $50,000 worth of damage.^[195]

·         August 31, 2021 – Three meetinghouses in St. George, Utah were damaged in acts of arson.^{[196][197][198][199][200][201]}

·         October 9, 2021 – A meetinghouse in Syracuse, Utah was damaged in acts of arson and vandalism.^[202][203]

·         November 12, 2021 – Two men carrying firearms entered a meetinghouse in Torreón, Coahuila during a zone conference among the missionaries of the Church in that area. There were 70 missionaries (57 elders, 13 sisters) in attendance along with the mission president and his wife. The two men demanded cell phones, tablets, and wallets, assaulting some of the missionaries in the process; the mission president and his wife were also assaulted and threatened with a knife.^{[204][205][206]}

·         November 7, 2021 – The Brigham Young Family Cemetery, a historical site owned by the Church, was damaged in acts of vandalism.^[207][208]

·         December 2, 2021 – A monument at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site in Presidio Park in San Diego, California was vandalized.^[209]

·         December 4, 2021 – A missionary was shot five times in a meetinghouse in Birmingham, Alabama.^{[210][211][212][213][214][215][216]}

·         December 28 or 29, 2021 – $30,000 in property damage occurred during a break-in at a meetinghouse in Kirtland, New Mexico.^[217]

·         January 2, 2022 – A meetinghouse's windows were damaged in an act of vandalism in Park City, Utah.^[218][219]

·         March 27, 2022 – Windows of the Brigham Young Winter Home and Office (a historic site and museum of the church) in St. George, Utah were broken in an act of vandalism, resulting in approximately $4,000 in damage.^[220]

·         April 28, 2022 – The roof of a meetinghouse in Modesto, California was intentionally but minimally damaged in an act of vandalism.^[221]

·         May 21, 2022 – A pro-abortion group vandalized a meetinghouse in Olympia, Washington as well as the buildings of three other faiths in the area.^[222]

·         June 29, 2022 – A meetinghouse in Monroe, Utah was tagged with graffiti.^[223]

·         July 20, 2022 – Fourteen meetinghouses were vandalized in St. George, Utah, in Hurricane, Utah, and in Washington, Utah by a group of three individuals.^{[224][225][226]}

·         July 25, 2022 – The Orem Utah Temple was damaged in an act of arson while it was being built.^{[227][228][229][230]}

·         August 2, 2022 – A meetinghouse was damaged in an act of arson in Boise, Idaho.^{[231][232][233]}

·         August 16, 2022 – Several meetinghouses were damaged in acts of vandalism in Sandy, Utah and in Draper, Utah.^[234]

·         October 14, 2022 – A meetinghouse in Pocatello, Idaho was damaged in an act of vandalism.^[235][236]

·         November 13, 2022 – A meetinghouse in Perry, Utah was damaged in an act of vandalism; it is estimated that thousands of dollars' worth of damage was done.^[237]

·         November 18, 2022 – The Logan Tabernacle in Logan, Utah was damaged in an act of vandalism.^[238][239]

·         November 25, 2022 – A meetinghouse in Saanich, British Columbia was damaged in an apparent act of arson.^[240]

·         January 11, 2023 – A Molotov cocktail was thrown at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.^[241]

·         February 12, 2023 – A meetinghouse in Elko, Nevada was damaged during a break-in, wherein two fires were set.^[242]

·         May 10, 2023 – The windows and property inside of a meetinghouse in Johnstone, Scotland were vandalized.^[243]

·         July 2, 2023 – The Bountiful Utah Temple in Bountiful, Utah was vandalized with graffiti.^[244]

·         September 21, 2023 – Nearly 3 dozen meetinghouses in the southwest portion of the Salt Lake Valley, Utah were burglarized and vandalized.^{[245][246][247][248][249]}

·         September 27, 2023 – A meetinghouse in Berthoud, Colorado was vandalized with graffiti depicting obscene language, phallic images, and antagonistic statements.^{[250][251][252]}

·         October 1, 2023 – A meetinghouse in Idaho Falls, Idaho was vandalized by two juveniles.^[253]

·         December 12, 2023 – The Provo Utah Temple in Provo, Utah was vandalized by a man with a hammer.^[254][255]

·         March 27, 2024 – At least three people attacked a meetinghouse in Henderson, Nevada by throwing an explosive into the meetinghouse while it was occupied; four people inside the meetinghouse were injured.^{[256][257][258]}

·         June 6, 2024 – A meetinghouse in Brentwood, California was vandalized with politically charged claims written in graffiti and two windows broken.^[259][260]

·         July 7, 2024 – A meetinghouse in Wiggins, Mississippi was vandalized and subjected to arson by a homeless, convicted sex offender.^{[261][262][263]} The offender has been found guilty of two counts of arson, damaging of religious property, and use of fire to commit a felony; he faces up to life in prison, and will receive his sentence in January 2026.^[264][265]

·         July 28–30, 2024 – A meetinghouse in Magna, Utah was vandalized, resulting in damages totaling at least $60,000.^{[266][267][268]}

·         October 4, 2024 – A meetinghouse in Santa Clara, Utah was vandalized.^[269][270]

·         October 8, 2024 – An arsonist set a fire at a meetinghouse in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.^[271][272]

·         December 17, 2024 – The Church History Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah was vandalized, resulting in an Oceanic tapa cloth (valued at approximately $10,000) being destroyed.^[273][274]

·         January 9, 2025 – A meetinghouse in Calgary, Alberta was damaged in an act of arson.^[275][276]

·         April 29, 2025 – A meetinghouse in Provo, Utah was vandalized, resulting in thousands of dollars' worth of damage.^[277][278]

·         September 28, 2025 – Grand Blanc Township church attack: A meetinghouse in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan was attacked by an active shooter. At least five people were killed, including the shooter.^[279] The building was also set on fire in an act of arson.^[280] The attack received significant national and international^[281] media attention, as it came during a time of heightened political and religious tensions in the United States.^[282]

·         December 8, 2025 – The windows of a meetinghouse in Idaho Falls, Idaho were shot out.^[283]

·         December 14, 2025 – At a meetinghouse in Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic, a man attempted to intimidate and assault Church members with a toy gun designed to resemble a real firearm and with a homemade caustic substance.^[284][285] No casualties were reported.

Please don’t misunderstand.  I am not encouraging breaking the law or church

policy.  But I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do.  On one hand the church insinuates having faith in God’s protection.  Then on the other they say call someone with a gun or hope law enforcement attends the meeting you are attending and that they are carrying.  Does this make any sense to anyone?

I have been a firearms and tactical training instructor for over 35 years.  I don’t see the preparedness or self-sufficiency the Church teaches in any of this!  I’m sure the reasoning is something I’m not aware of.  Liability or something!  Whatever the reason, I will defend my family.

There are those out there who think the Church’s culture is violent.  I’m not sure what religion does not have a violent past.  From the Crusade’s to the Ku Klux Klan, religion has embraced violence.  I’d like to think that most Christian religions have overcome its past and progressed.  But passiveness, in my experience, will get you killed! 

 

I know what you’re thinking. “That Burn guy is going off about Church security again!”  And you would be right.  I just wish someone would make sense of this attitude and policy to me.  How can anyone protect anyone this way?

I’ll entertain any and all answers…

Semper Paratus

Check 6

Burn