Practice, Brother, Practice!

 I’m going to the range today after work.  I usually go every Thursday.  When I mention this to other people, I usually get an incredulous look.  Sometimes a question.  “Why do you shoot so often?”  They don’t know that in my head I’m asking, “Why don’t you shoot more often?”  I shoot weekly (sometimes twice a week) and when I miss a week I don’t see much of a difference.  But I can tell you that when I miss a month or more, I see a definite difference.  Shooting is a perishable skill.  I have a friend who is a big bow hunter.  He is deadly with a bow.  Occasionally he will shoot a gun, and he will do well.  I think there is a connection between using a bow and using a gun.  But in just everyday life your gun shooting will suffer without practice. 

My son in law is a prosecuting lawyer.  He relies on evidence to prove his cases to a jury.  GSR or gunshot residue, consists of all the particles that are expelled from the muzzle of a gun following the discharge of a bullet. It is principally composed of burnt and unburnt particles from the explosive primer, the propellant (gunpowder), stabilizers and other additives. The act of firing a bullet incites a highly pressurized, explosive reaction that is contained within the barrel of the firearm, which expels the bullet. This can cause the bullet, the barrel, or the cartridge to become damaged, meaning gunshot residue may also include metallic particles from the cartridge casing, the bullet jacket, as well as any other dirt or residue contained within the barrel that could have become dislodged.

Law enforcement commonly use swabbing, adhesives and vacuums with very fine filters to collect GSR.

If they did a test on your hands for GSR would it show that you recently fired a weapon?  It should.  What I have noticed over the years of instructing is that most people, including law enforcement, seldom practice.  It seems you have to be a “gun person” to get the motivation to go to the range often.  I understand this situation, even though I go often.  To some it can become a chore, like exercising.  If you don’t enjoy exercising it can become the same sort of chore.  But like exercising we must prioritize our lives to include going to the range.  What I have found is gun owners will take a class, learn safety and how to shoot, but then it turns into recreational shooting.  That only happens 3 or 4 times a year.  I can’t tell you the number of law enforcement that have come to me with “I need to qualify next week, and I haven’t been to the range since I qualified last!”  They think I have a “magic bullet” they can use to replace 6 months of practice.  Qualifying at shooting is not a test you can cram for.  Make your training a priority.  Choose a time that can work for you.  It doesn’t have to be weekly, but it should be often enough that you can stay proficient.  For someone that may not be a gun guy I would suggest once or twice a month as a minimum.  As a competitor I would shoot about 4 to 5 days a week.  But I don’t think that is necessary to stay proficient.  Once you have determined a time then put together a “workout” routine.  Find drills that will work on your weaknesses and try to keep variety in your training.  If you’re not sure what to do, contact a competent instructor.  They can usually watch you shoot for a few shots and tell you what you need to work on.  But if you take a class by the time you are finished, you should have a good idea of areas you need to work on and drills that will help you.  I try to teach classes that can help get the students to the next level.  My level 3 classes will help you to continue to maintain the high level you are but also tweak things to not find yourself stuck in a rut. 

Get some training.  Use that training to your advantage and capitalize on it by using what you learned to develop a training program.  Implement that training program by coming up with a schedule and a budget to practice and train.  The budget can be a real thing.  When I was training to compete, I would go through about 300 rounds a session.  I would have 4 to 5 sessions a week.  That was 900 rounds a week.  That got pricey.  Now I limit myself to 50 rounds a workout.  That’s not a lot of rounds so I make each shot count.  Occasionally I will supplement my training with .22 rounds.  But if I don’t limit myself to 50 rounds, I’ll blow off 200.  My problem is I love to shoot and will want to keep going.  I will also alternate between my primary 9mm round with a 38 special revolver round.  I have a rifle regime also that I will usually work into a session once a month.  I want to stay proficient with a rifle although I think it is unlikely I’ll ever get into a firefight with a rifle again.  I will do a shotgun run a few times a year too.

My argument is you decide you want a gun for protection.  You decide to carry concealed.  You go through the expense of buying the right gun and holster.  You get your concealed license.  You realize you need training, so you seek out a competent instructor and pay for classes.  You learn safety and how to shoot.  You buy a safe to house your defensive tool.  You invest in ammo.  You go through all this and then only shoot the gun 3 times a year?  If you’ve gone through the expense and time of all of this you should complete the task and practice, practice, practice!

Remember also that practice does not make perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect!

Do what it takes and if you ever have the need, you will be well prepared.  And hopefully, you'll be found with GSR.

Semper Paratus

Check 6

Burn

Breathing: It's Not Just For Living Anymore (repost from 9/19/18)

 One of my friends that I grew up with was describing a few days of firefighting that he experienced to his kids and they asked, “Weren’t you scared? How did you keep going?” The answer to this is “I was scared beyond belief! But I was able to do my job because of oxygen. Air. I kept breathing.” 

I learned through helping my wife through all of our children’s births a good way to stay calm and focused. But how can you control adrenaline? You might ask. Easy. It’s called tactical breathing.

Special Forces, law enforcement, and UFC fighters use tactical breathing to keep a calm head in situations where adrenaline kicks in and tries to obscure their clarity.
You can learn how to run through your own tactical breathing exercises so that when you are in stressful situations at work, home, on the street, you are able to operate effectively.
Tactical breathing is a way to control adrenaline, stress, and anxiety caused by situations out of the norm. It could be when someone is injured, when you are in a fight, when someone breaks bad news, or when you are just having a horrible day at work. This type of meditative breathing is a quick one-minute trick to regain control of yourself.
More specifically, this combat breathing technique is used to control an adrenaline dump actually. It is something you have probably experienced several times in your own life. It is when a large dose of adrenaline is released throughout the body as a response to a stressful event.
That stressful event might be a car accident, a physical altercation, or a personal emotional occurrence where your ‘fight or flight’ mode has been triggered. So how do you control that stress response? Simple, you run your body through a short series of breathing exercises designed to calm the body and clear the head.
US Army Ranger Lieutenant Colonel David Grossman developed what has come to be referred to as ‘square breathing’ in his book “On Combat.” Basically it works like this:
• Breath in through your nose filling up your lungs and stomach for 4 seconds
• Hold for 4 seconds
• Exhale through your mouth for 4 seconds
• Hold for 4 seconds
• Repeat x 4
It is called box breathing in his book because that’s an easy way to visualize this breathing technique. You are essentially breathing in a box shape by figuring each of the four seconds as one side of the box. After each round, you should have completed one box breath.

When the body enters a stressful scenario, the body becomes chemically aroused to the point where it can cloud your judgment and often automatically control some of its functions. To diffuse this, we can use breathing exercises such as box breathing to keep a clear, logical, head.
For instance, in a gunman attack, once we realize that we are involved in what could be deemed to be a lone gunman incident or terrorist attack our body undergoes several reactions. Before you even realize it, your body has transformed into a heightened state of alertness. As soon as you see something like this, subconsciously you are under stress. Your body has just released a heap of stored sugars, fats and your adrenaline levels are through the roof. Your breathing has increased rapidly, your pupils have just dilated and your sense of smell and hearing has just picked up. On top of that, your muscles have tensed to prepare for action. Your blood clotting mechanisms are activated and you are in survival mode.
So now what? The next thing you do decides whether you are stunned with fear, start running for your life, or you stay and assist victims or move to attack an aggressor. This is the fight or flight response and a very mental element of survival.
For military, law enforcement and emergency medicine professionals, this is where their training and the use of tactical breathing exercises becomes important to diffuse their own stress indicators before being able to assist in an emergency.
To overcome that automatically induced stress, you can go through your own stress management systems. This includes understanding the situation and what is happening around you by using skills in situational awareness and by automatically running through the primary and most important, being tactical/box breathing.
For you to practice tactical breathing, it allows you to approach a stressful situation with clear judgment and a logical thinking pattern.
And it’s not just for when things go wrong or whenever you feel stress. Try this technique. You will be surprised how well it works as a form of meditation and a way to relax the body, mind and heart rate.
Not only is this a hard-stress reliever for military and law enforcement, it is also a strong meditation method and covers the basics of what most breathing meditation exercises consist of.
The guys from the SEALFIT team use that same box breathing exercise they were taught in Navy SEAL training in meditation aspects.
When you work on your breathing techniques with meditation and breathing exercises, it can also have a direct effect on:
• Performance in exercise and concentration
• Thinking more clearly and quicker
• Making better decisions while under duress
• Practice more control over body and mind
This is a little thing but can make a world of difference. It also works well for handling pain. That’s why it was taught in La Maze training for easier birthing techniques.
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn

Stripper Clips For Reloading Magazines

 Stripper-clips are a handy way of loading your magazines. Often people without stripper-clip experience will say they are a waste of time and to just load your magazines. I do keep magazines loaded, but what happens after those rounds are shot? A stripper-clip is very handy to re load those magazines quickly. When would you ever need this type of speed? Probably never. Although, once in combat I ran out of ammo.  I was in a fighting position and could get more but that horrible feeling  was there and I vowed it would never happen again. But preparation is not about “probably”, it’s about being ready. If you are under fire, you will find that your motor skills will suffer. Grabbing a stripper-clip with 10 rounds and slamming it into a mag is much easier than loading 10 rounds individually.

Pre-loaded magazines are fine, but pre-loaded stripper-clips will ensure that your mags stay fully loaded.
Magazines are expensive and stripper-clips are cheap. In the military all your 5.56 ammo comes in boxes loaded in stripper-clips and a bandolier. In the military we threw away thousands of these stripper-clips. This is why I have a large collection of them. They also came with a “spoon” which fits on the magazine and lets you load the stripper straight into the mag.
This is how you use it:
.223/5.56 stripper-clips hold 10 rounds. For instance, if you have 100 clips that would give you 1,000 rounds. With 5, 30 round magazines that would be reloading all your magazines 6 times with some left over.
You can put 10 rounds on a stripper-clip and if you have 100 stripper clips you can have 1,000 rounds readily accessible for when you go out shooting. If you have say 5, 30-round magazines, you can reload them 6 times with some left over.
Loading a stripper-clip is easy. On each end is a little tab. Bend one tab down and start sliding the rounds into the clip. When the clip is full of 10 rounds bend the tab up so that no rounds will slip off the clip and fall out.
Now take the spoon (or speed loader/charger) and slip the loaded clip into the skinny side of the spoon. The wide end of the spoon will fit right over the edge of the magazine.
Now take your thumb and push your rounds into the magazine. Some people use a table to push the rounds into the mag but if you’re in the field you might not have a table to use so I always practice with my thumb. Use however many stripper-clips you need depending on the size of your magazine.
I had someone in a handgun class whose whole gun experience was with the M4. He had only ever loaded 5.56 in magazines with stripper clips. When I was teaching how to load a 9mm magazine he said, “Where are the stripper-clips?” He thought all magazines were loaded that way!
There are other guns that have magazines that load with stripper clips. But most magazines are just loaded the old-fashioned way one at a time by hand.
Midway has 96 items alone that have to do with speed loading magazines. So, there are other speed loader options for more than just an AR or AK.
Speed loading is available for revolvers also.
There are two main brands currently available that have withstood the test of time: Safariland and HKS. Keep in mind that both these models got their baptism by fire via rough law enforcement service. In 40 years of time, I have never seen either brand break or malfunction. I can’t say the same of pistol magazines.
The Safariland charges the cylinders in one motion, and it is nearly impossible to unintentionally release the loaded rounds. All three types of Safariland loaders—Comp I, Comp II, and Comp III—utilize a coil spring locking mechanism to hold the rounds in place. To load the Safariland loaders, place the loose rounds in the loader, then place the noses of the bullets against a flat surface and push in while twisting the center knob clockwise until the loader clicks and locks the rounds in place. In the center of the loader is a plastic star that engages the ejector star on the revolver’s cylinder. To load the revolver, hold the loader by the cylindrical portion and align the rounds in the chamber holes and ease the rounds partially in until the loader stops. Pushing further engages the plastic star release, and all rounds will fall freely into the empty cylinder. The Safariland Comp I, II, and III have progressively larger knobs that allow you to grab them easier. The Comp III’s are best reserved for competitive revolver shooting as they are very long. Comp I loaders are the only ones made for five-shot revolvers. The downside of Safariland speed loaders is that caliber selection is limited to .357 Magnum/.38 Special and .44 Magnum/.44 Special.
HKS is probably the most popular cylinder loader and has been on the market for the longest time. It is a good loader, but not as fast as a Safariland loader, since two motions are needed to charge the chambers. Live rounds are held in the HKS loader by a ball/detent locking mechanism. To load an HKS speed loader, twist the silver knob to the right until it clicks, then insert the rounds. Once they are inserted, twist the silver knob to the left until it locks. To load the revolver, hold the loader by the black cylinder of the loader—NOT the silver knob—and ease the rounds into the chambers. If you hold the loader by the knob, the insertion won’t be as positive—plus there is a chance of prematurely releasing the rounds. The rounds should seat halfway into the chambers. Turn the silver knob to the right, and the rounds will drop in the chambers.
There are two advantages that HKS loaders have over Safariland loaders. First, they are the brand I most often see available at gun stores. Second, they are available in a much wider variety of calibers and handgun models. Calibers listed are .38/357, .22 LR, .22 Magnum, .44 Magnum/.44 Special, .45 Auto Rim, .45 Colt, .41 Magnum, 9mm, and .32 Magnum. Loaders are available for five-, six-, and six-plus capacity revolvers.
Speed Strips
Bianchi was the originator of the non-mechanical rubberized speed strip. The advantage of any speed strip is its flat profile, which allows a bulge free fit in a pants pocket. The downside is that only a maximum of two rounds can be loaded simultaneously. Bianchi’s speed strips are only available in six-shot configurations in .38/357 and .44 Special/.45 Colt calibers. If you have a five-shot revolver, you should download to only five rounds in the strip to avoid confusion during a reload.
TUFF Products Quick Strips are different. TUFF Products has embraced the speed strip concept, going way beyond what Bianchi envisioned. In fact, there are so many choices available, in five, six and more round count configurations, including 40mm grenade and 12-gauge shotgun strips, that they can’t be listed here.
To load a revolver cylinder with a Quick Strip, simply insert one or two cartridges in the chambers, and pull the loader up against the cartridges. The rounds will clear the rubber strip and slide into the chamber.
Ever see Jerry Miculek shoot? He reloads with what is called a moon clip. This is fast but the gun must be modified to use one. A speed loader can be used on all guns. Most revolver speed shooters use a moon clip. I think a regular speed loader is fine for my applications. If I was into quick draw or revolver shooting, I’d probably use a moon clip.
Speed loading is something that is handy to look into. It’s generally not expensive and it can really enhance your reloading in a time of need. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn

Reality Training For A Gunfight

 In the 80’s I was asked to write a curriculum for training military police in situational awareness.  I was asked to write it with a shooting buddy of mine.  We did this and I notice it is still part of their curriculum today.  Anyway, as we were writing and discussing situational awareness we talked about the mindset of shooting and defending yourself.  Combat is a little different than personal defense.  In combat sometimes the military just kills the enemy.  In personal defense it is less “kill ‘em all” and more stop the threat.  But putting yourself in a state of mind where you may have to use a weapon against another human being is important from the sense of dealing with the mental anguish that comes with such an act.  But most of all, surviving a defensive event is imperative.

Being able to practice this type of defense is not very easy.  Most of the civilian world does not use force-on-force training.  If it is available it is usually in a more advanced portion of training.  When I teach shooting, I teach it different from what I see as only focusing on safety and technical shooting.  Don’t get me wrong, safety is the top of training.  But a little more realistic training should follow.  Thinking and mindset should be next.  Technical gun handling and shooting is important because the more automatic from muscle memory your gun handling is, the more brain power can be used to do important things such as moving to cover or deciding if you need to shoot at all!

Sometimes I think that traditional training has been derived from competition or just plain technical shooting.  Being able to hit the target is important but being able to survive an attack or a gunfight is equally important or even more important.  You must be able to get around the fear, the tunnel vision, the anxiety, and the adrenalin rush, of a gunfight to be able to walk away from one.

In combat I had a few close quarter experiences.  What they taught me is that doing the right thing is survival.  Finding cover quickly, being able to reload and shoot while moving is something that is rarely taught.  In the military we learn Shoot, Move, Communicate.  This phrase describes the basic skills of a soldier in combat.  It means to engage the enemy with accurate fire, maneuver to a better position, and maintain contact with your guys.  As a civilian it can be adapted to imply the ability to defend yourself, get out of the situation, and call for help. 

In a firefight it is very advantageous to think ahead.  If you can consistently do this, you can win.  Don’t think of this as a competition, it is a fight, possibly to the death.  You need to be willing to do anything to win.  It should not be an even match; you should do all you can to get the advantage.  Sometimes a BIG advantage.  When it comes to life or death, I will cheat, fight dirty, or do something against my code of ethics, if it means I will survive.  Being the good guy will get you killed when confronted by evil.  Evil doesn’t care about you or your family.  Evil doesn’t care about laws.  Evil is evil and often can be avoided.  But occasionally evil attacks good.  Good should be very, very good.

If you watch body cam footage from police, you’ll occasionally see major shooters. But what we see most of the time is people that are barely surviving the confrontation primarily because they suck less than their opponents.

There’s nothing wrong with drills, they help with the fundamentals of shooting and building muscle memory.  But in a gunfight, very little of drills make a difference.  Obviously, if you can shoot and manipulate your weapon well without a lot of thought then that is good.  But to endlessly run drill after drill is a waste of time if that’s all you do.  You will have great skills of shooting but have no idea how to think with a gun in your hand.   The beginning of a shooting event does not start with an audible sound like shooting on a range.  It starts with a visual signal.  Being able to think with your gun is much more realistic. I’ve heard it described as problem solving at the speed of fight.  Adapting to reality and making decisions and choices is so very different than shooting a drill.

There is a good example in a tragic event that is used in training law enforcement. Deputy Kyle Dinkheller was murdered in Georgia. If you go back and look at the training on Dinkheller, his co-workers thought he was the best shot in the police department. If they had to pick one person to win a gunfight, they would have picked Kyle.  Watch the video and you will see that he did not handle that fight the way that he should have. We wanted the good guy to have won. So that would be a classic example that everybody is very familiar with. Somebody not being able to perform well the moment the balloon goes up.  The Dinkheller murder is shown as an example of what not to do in officer survival training.

Technical skill is important.  I don’t want to discount it.  We have only so much brain capacity.  We can only handle so much at once.  So, in a very stressful situation you must be able to do things correctly from experience, muscle memory, or you will run into problems that can get you killed.  A happy dose of both, the skill and the mindset, is the combination that you need.  But the right kind of skill.  Standing in a weaver stance, readjusting your grip, and then concentrating on your sight picture and trigger squeeze, is great on the range.  But in an actual firefight I can’t emphasize enough how that range experience does not apply.  What does apply is reloading, clearing a jam, and hitting your target.  Getting off the “X” or getting to cover should be at the forefront of your mind.  Thinking. The ONLY time you worry about stance and grip is on a range.  But being able to do some things, like reloading, without thinking or looking are skills that will save your life.  A high level of skill can free up the mind to think.

In another body-cam police video that shows the LEO in a gunfight.  He tries several times to reload his auto and keeps indexing the magazine backward!  Muscle memory and practice for him may have pai off.  If he’s struggling with reloading, how can he be trying to maneuver to cover or a better angle of fire. 

Evil is an interesting animal.  Often, they have a loose plan.  Basically, evil will do what has worked before.  Surprising the unsuspecting civilian who can’t believe this is happening to them.  Evil will have an OODA loop (observe, orient, decide, act) that they go through because it’s easy to just repeat.  If the defender can get in evils OODA loop it will mess with evils mind.

There is a concept called the normalcy bias. Normalcy bias is the tendency to underestimate the likelihood or impact of a negative event. Normalcy bias prevents us from understanding the possibility or the seriousness of a crisis or a natural disaster.  In other words, “I can’t believe this is happening to me.”  You must fight the normalcy bias with training.  Running scenarios in your mind or practicing them, will give your mind somewhere to go.  Instead of “I can’t believe this is happening to me,” your mind is saying “I thought this would happen to me one day and I’m prepared.”  Instead of denial of what is happening, you can be ready.

If your skill is strong, then that will help you to solve your shooting problem.  Getting over the shock of reality is a big part of that problem and once that is under control the rest is easier.

Your personality figures into this equation but you can make some small changes and adjust to compensate if your personality doesn’t fit. Controlling emotion is something that can be actively practiced.  If you panic and are fearful, things can be worse than they actually are.  If you can be more subjective and handle that kind of stress, you can experience this kind of event and win.  Win means stopping the threat or getting off the “X” and out of the situation, or help taking over.  Emotional control is a big bonus.  If your rational mind is in control, then it’s easier to control the problem. Your sub-conscious mind must have confidence in your rational mind.  That would mean you are confident in your skill.  There are several high-risk recreational activities that may help like racing, or sky diving.  People that do these kinds of recreational activities have a different definition of how bad things can be.  So, when the bad things come up, they are used to that kind of stimuli. 

When it comes down to it if you have trigger and sight control, that would be enough to keep you on track with the shooting part.  Pulling the trigger without effecting the sights is one of the most important skills to learn.  It is the basics because there are other aspects.

Force on force helps you with mind maps to solve your problem.  A quick draw is fine but if that draw is the only thing saving you there has been a lot missed before.  Force on force will help you with everything in between.

There is no training that will teach everything you need to know.  If you seek out diverse training, you may have to pick different parts of that training to come up with something realistic that will give you what you want and need.  Force on force I think is the best but there is virtue in almost all training.  Some say plinking doesn’t teach anything.  I don’t agree.  Even plinking teaches you the shot process that is needed in attaining skill.  The problem is that many believe if they can hit a bull’s eye at 20 feet that is enough.  It is not.  Especially when that training is 3 or 4 times a year.  Shooting is a perishing skill.  I’ve done it a long time, but I can tell when I haven’t been to the range in a few weeks.  It comes back fast but the more consistent your practice the more consistent the skill.  If it’s shooting matches, dry-fire practice, a structured training, plinking, force-on-force events, mindset classes, pro training, or simulators, each of these things can be very effective in keeping you prepared and sharp.

Being ready mentally, knowing how to think in a stressful situation, and having the skill can carry you through most encounters you may find in your non-law enforcement, non-military lives.  Most of you will never draw your weapon, but being ready should be your top priority.

Semper Paratus

Check 6

Burn

Witness and Testimony: How I Remember

 Being a witness is very important.  A witness in a criminal case can make all the difference in the world in the outcome of that case.  Bearing your testimony is being a witness of a gospel principles or of Christ Himself.  But I’ve learned that surviving a combat experience is leaving a witness of that experience.  Those that did not survive combat need those who did survive to be their witness.  My experience left me feeling guilty of being alive.  At the end of the movie “Saving Private Ryan” an older Ryan asks questions of his wife.  He first asks her to tell him he’s a good man.  He asks her to tell him he lived a good life. He also talks to the grave of Captain Miller, the guy sent to find him.  Captain Miller told him before he died to “Earn this!” meaning to earn the privilege of living.  That is exactly what it feels like to survive a combat experience.  Survivors guilt tells you that it should have been you who died.  It makes you feel like scum for living.  This is why Private Ryan wants to be assured he was a good man who lived a good life.  It has been 35 years for me, and I still feel the pangs of guilt. 

But lately I have felt the need to tell others about the guys who didn’t make it.  To be their witness.  Now it is awkward to just blurt out to someone “I want to tell you about the guys we lost in Panama!”  So, I need to do this in a different way.

I met Jerrell “Quaker” Oatman in SERE school in 1984.  He was a big black guy from Ohio.  He was in the SP (security police).  He and I would shoot together whenever we could, along with Ray Rittenhouse.  He was not married but had a beautiful girlfriend, Savannah.  She was stunning!  She cared about and loved Quaker so very much and they were talking about marriage.  Jerrell loved chili.  He said they didn’t make chili in Ohio like they did in Texas.  I saw Quaker physically move other brothers out of harm's way.  He had great physical strength, but his heart was big too.  He sent money to his mom every paycheck.  He was a good man and a great brother.

I met Jim “Banger” Walling in Jump school and SERE in 1984.  He was a FAC (Forward Air Controller).  My original job was FAC so I made it my purpose to make sure he was successful where I would not.  He was in the other bunker when he was hit.  He was a very thoughtful guy.  He thought of others usually before himself.  He said his parents taught him that.  I’m pretty sure they taught him by example more so than words.  He was also concerned at his death that his brother knew he was honorable and there was honor in his death.  He was also very concerned for how his death would affect his family but especially his parents.  I could tell his family were very close.

I met Davis “Jefferson” Keinton in Jump school, and we took a tactical driving course and a shooting instructor course.  He loved eating steaks.  During our combat experience we were hit by a lucky mortar team.  Jeffy was in the thick of the fight next to me when he got hit by a mortar.  It hit to his left about 40 feet away.  The blast knocked me down and shrapnel tore through Dave’s body putting several holes in him.  Doc did his best at patching him up but he only lived about 30 minutes before his body gave up.  He spoke about his home.  He was sorry he had never met the right girl.  He said he was going to miss eating steaks.  He said he is glad to have given himself honorably.  His last words were “I love my country and I love you guys.”

Ron “Tex” Ritter was a good-old-boy from Texas.  He was a hunter and a Dad.  He had 2 small kids, a girl and a boy.  He was quiet but mischievous.  He liked a good, harmless prank.  We would constantly find our boot laces tied together!  He was nuts and delighted in little jokes.  He loved his wife completely.  He was very true to his wife.  He also was a true patriot.  He was never happy about hearing news reports of those desecrating our flag.  He would have been livid at someone kneeling during the National Anthem. We were always around each other, and I liked his sense of humor.  His favorite saying was “Embrace the Suck!”  He also loved tacos.  We met in SERE.  He was also a force to be reckoned with in combat.  A fierce warrior.

Each of these men were special in their own ways.  The thing with them was that they could be depended on in a crisis.  I can’t think of a single guy that I was in combat with that I would not go back into combat with.  Some of them started out a little rocky but when they got used to the adrenaline and fear, they “embraced the suck” and fought to their last breath as the four above did. 

I can remember meeting George Martinez at an Air Force base 13 years after our combat experience.  It was as if we had just stepped off the C130.  I could tell he had moved on with his life, but I could see in his eyes the wear the years of that incident had put on him.  Even so, I could hear the sincerity in his voice as he said he was glad to see me.  I took a driving course with him in 1986 and then our combat moment was in 1988.  Many things had changed in his life, yet I could put my life in his hands and his in mine.   

I am here to bear witness of the greatness of these men.  They had many faults but the connection and bond we shared will live on until the day we die and probably beyond.  Their patriotism in spite of background, culture, and even some political differences, was unmatched.  They lived up to the honor of their oaths.  They had valor and honor that was shone in their daily lives right up to the end.  I am in awe of their sacrifice and don’t want to forget them, and many like them.  When we have days like Memorial Day, I hope you will pause in your activities of the holiday and day off, and remember the witness that I, and many like me, have of the lives of those who gave their “last full measure of devotion” to each of us and to the country they so loved.

I thank God for these guys and for people like you that appreciate their service.

Semper Paratus

Check 6

Burn

Developing a Tactical Mindset

 The other day I took my wife out to a restaurant for her birthday.  As we were shown to the booth, I noticed my wife making a point of sitting with her back to the restaurant entrance.  After being married to me as long as she has been, she now understands that I want to be facing the entrance of almost every room I spend a lot of time in.  Because of my tactical mindset, she has a tactical mindset.  I used to have to fight my family for the “gunfighter seat.”  They eventually understood that it might be a good idea for the person that is armed to face the entrance.

What is a tactical mindset?

You do not have to have a job where you carry a gun to have a tactical mindset.  But you do need to have some tactical training so that you can implement it in your life.  Tactics in law enforcement are spotty, sometimes barely existent.  Military is usually better but depending on your MOS (military occupational specialty), can also be spotty.  I was affiliated with military police, and special operations, so I was privileged to receive a lot of tactical training.  As a civilian there are schools and courses you can take that will give you something tactical to draw from.  I would recommend Gunsite’s Tactical Concealed Carry Pistol course.  There are others but that one is pretty good.

 Having a tactical mindset is putting training to use each and every day and thinking about all possible outcomes.

Play the “what if game.” This simply means to be constantly thinking “what if.” For example, what if we pulled up at the gas station and there was an armed robbery in progress?  Could you tell?  What would be the signs?  Continue driving and call the police would be the correct response. That is an extreme example, but asking yourself all of those questions will help prepare for when you do come across a robbery. These are decisions that you have already made. You are exercising your mind just like you are hopefully exercising the rest of your body.

 When evaluating your decisions, in life or even the “what if game,” there are two important questions that must be asked — “What do I gain?” and “What do I lose?” By simply asking those two questions, it is easy to see what decision is tactically sound. Start looking at every decision this way for about a week and see what happens. You will realize that where you park in the grocery store parking lot, where you stand when picking up your lunch, where you sit in a restaurant, even where you sit at the kitchen table at home all have tactical advantages and disadvantages.

 

I have a friend who is a police officer and as a young cop, one of the favorite ways they would pass the quiet hours during a shift was playing “what if?” — keeping themselves alert and their brains thinking. The game involves asking your opponent what they’d do in different scenarios and why. Then a back and forth would take place, debating positives, while pointing out any negatives, for a tactically sound and safe approach to the particular problem.

Short of doing live scenarios, this is an excellent way to prepare yourself or get yourself ready for any possible situation. It made the hours pass quickly in a productive way for them by prepping for any situation they could be possibly faced with. This is one of the best ways young cops learn how to do the job.

“What if…?” is a game I continually play to this day. With my imagination, I’ve got several responses for scenario’s ranging from carjacking to home invasion robbery to natural disasters.

Be prepared for the worst, while enjoying the comforts and joys of life. It’s all any of us can do, right?

It’s also a great way for anyone to develop proper mindset. Suppose you’re going out to dinner with your spouse and as you pull into the parking garage you’re approached by an unsavory scumbag. What’s your response? What’s your spouse’s response? Have you talked about how you’re going to respond as a couple? Play the “what if” game now, before it happens.

How about the midnight caller? You and your spouse are cuddling on the couch and the doorbell rings at 11:30 at night. Do you simply answer the door? Do you grab the hall closet gun and answer the door. What if it’s a neighbor who heard a suspicious noise at her home? What would you do?

Depending on your home situation depends on how you can have different guns stashed throughout your home, vehicle or workshop. Unless you’re constantly carrying your EDC at home — and there’s nothing wrong at all with that, in fact, I encourage it — having something stashed makes perfect sense. You never know when it might come in handy, and when it is handy, it’s usually not under good circumstances.

Do you have a gun handy by the front door, maybe a coat-closet cannon? Shotguns come in real handy for discouraging unwanted guests. How about your favorite easy chair? If some misplaced miscreant came charging through your front door taking you by complete surprise, would you be able to defend your family?

You’ve just finished dinner after a stressful day at work and are ready to relax in your workshop. While puttering around the workshop, you notice a suspicious vehicle drives down your lane. What do you do? Suppose you turn around and a complete stranger is standing behind you? It happens. Maybe some simple bells on your door to alert you of someone entering your shop is all it would take to give you the drop on any unwanted drop-in?

All I’m doing is getting you to think about possible scenarios and possibly start acting on some of these easy fixes. The last thing you want to do is not have a response played out in your mind, giving you the proverbial “deer in the headlights” look. No response is worse than a bad one. A well-rehearsed response is even better.

Whether its home invasion, house fire, hurricane, tornado, talk about a proper response. Having some kind of plan is better than no plan at all. Acting on the plan is even better.

Don’t stick your head in the sand and say it’ll never happen to me.  That’s called the normalcy bias. Are you willing to jeopardize your life, or a family members life with good intentions and well wishes?

Now the fun part, what tools are necessary for these scenarios? Sure, picking the right gun is mighty fun. But as I mentioned, a simple string of bells, a dog, a home security camera/intercom system, security lighting, strategically placed thornbushes and other related items used to discourage trespassers or give you a heads-up to their encroachments are critical too.

As to guns, there are a whole slew of options out there, including used guns. Be it shotgun, rifle or handgun, think of where and what you would need it for.

Self-defense, survival or just being informed is not a one article read. It’s a developing mindset, continually growing in tactical options you can use. Just as the criminals are constantly developing new techniques to make an easy score, you must be up to date and continually think and be aware of what your options are. Be vigilant in your pursuits to keep your family and yourself safe. Play the “What If…?” game. It just might save your life one day.