Category Archives: planning

Mindset Beyond Platitudes

By tacticalprofessor on

My friend and colleague Shelley Hill wrote two articles about mindset that are well worth reading.

“We hear that term quite often in the self defense world, but what does it really mean?”

https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/what-does-mindset-actually-mean-part-1/

https://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/what-does-mindset-actually-mean-part-2/

Here are  few other short explanations about mindset.

From Chapter III of the classic 1942 text Shooting to Live by Fairbairn and Sykes:

“The instructor will be well advised to give his pupils short ‘rest’ periods at fairly frequent intervals and to utilise such intervals to impress upon them the conditions under which they may be called upon to use their pistols eventually. … [W]hen obliged to shoot, they will have to do so with all the aggressiveness of which they are capable.”

From a presentation to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) about Violent Encounters – A  Study of Felonious Assaults on Our Nation’s Law Enforcement Officers (An FBI publication):

https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/violent-encounters-study-felonious-assaults-our-nations-law

Mind-set

“Thirty-six of the 50 officers in the study had ‘experienced hazardous situations where they had the legal authority’ to use deadly force ‘but chose not to shoot.’ They averaged 4 such prior incidents before the encounters that the researchers investigated. ‘It appeared clear that none of these officers were willing to use deadly force against an offender if other options were available,’ the researchers concluded.

The offenders were of a different mind-set entirely. In fact, [one of the researchers] said the study team ‘did not realize how cold blooded the younger generation of offender is. They have been exposed to killing after killing, they fully expect to get killed and they don’t hesitate to shoot anybody, including a police officer. They can go from riding down the street saying what a beautiful day it is to killing in the next instant.’

‘Offenders typically displayed no moral or ethical restraints in using firearms,’ the report states. ‘In fact, the street combat veterans survived by developing a shoot-first mentality.’

‘Officers never can assume that a criminal is unarmed until they have thoroughly searched the person and the surroundings themselves.’ Nor, in the interest of personal safety, can officers ‘let their guards down in any type of law enforcement situation.’”

From the late William T. Aprill:

“They are not like you.”

Posted in: decision making, planning

Don’t Get Tied Up

By tacticalprofessor on | 2 Comments

“When they get the duct tape [or zip ties] out, it’s time to make your move, ready or not.”

The Most Dangerous Man in the World

A tragic story from California. An entire family kidnapped and murdered. Even their 8 month old baby was not spared.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/worst-fears-kidnapped-baby-parents-uncle-found-dead-91088353

“Surveillance video showed the suspect — later identified as Salgado — leading the Singh brothers, who had their hands zip-tied behind their backs, into the back seat of Amandeep Singh’s pickup truck. He drove the brothers away and returned several minutes later.”

Back in the 1980’s, Evan Marshall, a now retired DEEtroit POlice sergeant, laid out his plan if he got caught up in a store robbery while off-duty.

“As long as all they’re doing is taking money from the register, I’m going to act like a CPA from Akron and be a good witness. But if they start searching people, making customers get on the ground, or herding people into a back room, my wife knows to get away from me because I’m going to start shooting.”

While I know of a few incidents where a kidnappee didn’t come to physical harm, they’re few and far between. When a criminal intends to tie you up, they’re not after stuff, they’re after YOU. Nothing good is likely to come of that. Whether you’re armed or not, it’s time to start fighting. Even if you get killed in the process, the chances your baby won’t be left outside to die of exposure become much better.

Have that decision made ahead of time and act on it without hesitation if the need arises.

RIP Singh family.

Posted in: decision making, planning

Guerrilla, U.S.A. – The Big Picture

By tacticalprofessor on

#throwbackthursday

Shortly after World War Two, the country that was formerly known as the United States was divided into three countries; Weston, Easton, and Floridan. The country of Easton has been in the Communist sphere since World War Two.

Throughout Easton, mainly in the inaccessible areas of West Virginia, bands of twenty to a hundred guerrillas have been conducting raids and ambushes against the Easton government forces.

Yesterday, the President of Weston directed the Secretary of Defense to provide appropriate military assistance to these guerrillas.

Men, your mission is to infiltrate into Easton, organize the guerrillas, and conduct unconventional warfare operations.

(Note: their mission was actually to conduct Guerrilla Warfare operations, a subset of Unconventional Warfare.)

This film was produced by the United State Army in 1963 for syndicated distribution to as many as 320 US commercial television stations. “The United States Army presents The Big Picture, an official report produced for the Armed Forces and the American people.” The video is presented as an historical document and in no way represents commentary on the current political situation of the United States.

My book Shooting Your Black Rifle seems appropriate to this series of films. If you would like to purchase it, click on the image below.

Posted in: planning, The Library, training | Tagged: ,

The Mission and Role of Special Forces in the Cold War

By tacticalprofessor on

#throwbackthursday

February’s weekly episodes of The Big Picture will feature the role of Special Forces during the Cold War. https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cold-war-history

This week’s episode includes a Team Commander’s narration of mission planning and execution.

The primary mission of all Special Forces units is to train and organize guerilla resistance in enemy occupied territory. This mission, of course, extends to enemy held terrain where and when liberation movements develop.

The role of the men in the Special Forces group is unique and its members are uniquely trained and qualified to carry out their hazardous and adventurous assignment. Every man is a volunteer who has passed rigorous testing.

My book Shooting Your Black Rifle seems appropriate to this series of films. If you would like to purchase it, click on the image below.

Posted in: planning

Points of Likely Contact

By tacticalprofessor on | 1 Comment

Sometimes we can be aware of danger zones and other times we can be on the lookout for specific spots where a predator might lay in ambush for the unsuspecting. The latter can be described as Points of Likely Contact. Recessed doorways, pillars inside parking garages, and dumpsters are examples of PoLC.

Today as I was on my daily walk, I noticed a suspicious individual hanging out behind a dumpster I pass by. There’s not really any good reason for someone to be hanging around a dumpster at noon that I can think of. So I made a detour through another pathway and walked around the front of the building instead of behind it.

This situation is a good example of Area of Interest and Area of Influence.

I’m interested in an Area that far exceeds the range of my weapons or a predator’s weapons. In this case, I saw him at least 35 yards away, so I had plenty of time and space to make a detour. No need to make any contact with lowlifes at all, if I can Avoid them. Avoid is the first, and most desirable, element of the Avoid, Escape, Confront, Resist paradigm.

When the terrain permits, my Area of Interest is 100 yards or more. For example, the distance from the turn lane guidepoles to the traffic light is about 130 yards. I’m actively watching distances that far away when I can.

I keep my eyes on the horizon whenever I can. That maximizes my view of my Area of Interest. This is also a good technique when driving. Look past the bumper of the car in front of you and as far into the traffic ahead as you can.

New Package Deal

It was suggested that I create a package of the STOPP Presentation and Advanced Pistol Practice. That package is now available at:

https://www.payloadz.com/go?id=3384448

As with all of my materials, purchase of the package also includes Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make.

Posted in: Awareness, decision making, planning

The Tactical Professor’s Bus Odyssey

By tacticalprofessor on

This is a short explanation of my bus journey back to Atlanta from the 2019 SHOT Show in Las Vegas. It’s mostly humorous and we had fun doing it. It was recorded at the Rangemaster 2019 Tactical Conference in New Orleans.

Tactical Professor Information Products

STOPP Presentation at Rangemaster Tactical Conference
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2021/09/14/stopp-presentation-now-available/

https://www.payloadz.com/go?id=3381307

Books (all PDF)

Posted in: Awareness, planning, popular culture

Recognition Primed Decision-making (part II)

By tacticalprofessor on | 1 Comment

Dr. Klein explains gives a brief explanation of his model in this interview about RPD.

Examining our Options

The NRA Guide to Personal Protection Outside the Home (PPOTH) lists these “Psychological Reactions To A Threat” in Chapter 6.

  • Freeze
  • Submit
  • Posture
  • Flight
  • Fight

We could further subdivide ‘Fight’ into:

  • Unarmed
  • Non-Lethal
  • Lethal

To the ‘Submit’ option, we could include the caveat, ‘at least temporarily.’ Being taken to a 2nd crime scene is generally not a good idea but it might be unavoidable. In one of his student’s incidents recounted by Tom Givens, two stickup men got the drop on the victim in a parking lot and had guns to his head. However, they failed to realize he was carrying a concealed pistol. The stickup men kidnapped him and eventually took him to the 2nd crime scene, his home. There, he waited for his turn in the OODA sequence and killed both the predators.

‘Posture’ could simply mean saying NO! in an unambiguous way.

Another option we should consider is ‘Negotiate,’ a tactic included by The Most Dangerous Man in The World as part of his PARRR system. Even a Sixth Army boxing champion, obviously no slouch with his fists, found this tactic useful in an encounter with Razor Willy, a local prostitute in the Fort Campbell area. She became enraged and threatened him with her EDC, a straight razor, but he managed to talk his way out of the encounter with neither party becoming a casualty.

It’s apparent that our Options extend beyond the simplistic “Fight or Flight” and ‘Gun or None’ possibilities that we usually hear about. Thinking about what our Options are ahead of time gives us the freedom to program an appropriate level of force, or none, when we become concerned for our safety or that of our loved ones.

Part III will go into overlaying our ‘Options’ on ‘People’ and ‘Situations’ to develop a personal Avoid, Escape, Confront, Resist model.

Tactical Professor books (all PDF)

Posted in: concealed carry, decision making, Less Lethal, planning

Recognition Primed Decision-making (part I)

By tacticalprofessor on

Recognition Primed Decision-making is a concept developed by Dr. Gary Klein. It has become a widely accepted model for first responders, the military, and in aviation.

The RPD model is based on the idea that experience allows people to make decisions quickly without having to sort through a series of possibilities. Rather, if a situation appears similar to a past experience, the solution that worked in the previous situation can be applied or modified to provide an adequate solution for the current situation.

Since most people have not been mugged, had their home invaded, or been murdered in a previous experience, the relevant question for an Armed Private Citizen is about acquiring the experience. That is to say, ‘How do we train and practice RPD in the absence of experience?’

In order for us to think clearly about self-defense and personal protection, we need to consider ahead of time the types of people and situations we might encounter. Then we consider what our options are, based on our personal preferences and choices. Finally, we can choose ahead of time which option is best suited to deal with the person and situation.

Types of people we might encounter

  • Benign person
  • Angry person
  • Predator or angry person with personal weapons (fists, shod feet, etc.)
  • Angry person or predator with a contact weapon
  • Predator or angry person with a projectile weapons

Examples of situations

  • Area of limited visibility such as a parking deck
  • Walking alone in unfamiliar territory
  • Being in the presence of a person who makes us uncomfortable
  • Having an unknown person approach us
  • Being home in a state of Unawareness or Unfocused on personal protection
  • Etc.

What we want to avoid is the Typical, or at least Common, Self-defense Process.

Model of unsophisticated decision-making by David Blinder

Part II will go into our Options and an interview with Dr. Klein about the model.

Tactical Professor books (all PDF)

Posted in: decision making, Incident Analysis, Negative Outcomes, planning

Consistency (again)

By tacticalprofessor on

In my book, consistency does not mean 70%, it means 100%. I’ve written about it before https://wordpress.com/post/tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/173323 but it’s worth mentioning again.

That’s the reason I prefer evaluation protocols that involve short 100% standards that are done repetitively. I would rather someone know exactly what they can do to a 100% standard and stay within those boundaries than have two rounds out of six going into someone else’s house.

Two NRA standards come to mind.

  1. the Red, White, and Blue Levels of the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting
  2. the NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program – Defensive Pistol I

Naturally, I love the 5^5 standard I developed, based on Gila Hayes‘ original 5 times 4 idea.

Work on learning to do one thing consistently well, then move on to more Cool Kid Cosplay stuff.

Posted in: deadly force, firearms, Negative Outcomes, planning, safety, Serious Mistakes

Every Day Skills

By tacticalprofessor on | 2 Comments

While there are plenty of posts about ‘Every Day Carry’ for personal protection, there are very few about Every Day Skills for personal protection. Tools are only useful if they are used with some degree of skill. Also many of the skills we use for personal protection don’t involve tools at all, other than the one between our ears.

I am now undertaking a long term project for a Fortune 500 retailer that involves being in their stores. So, I’ve taken my own advice and ‘gotten a real job.’ Dear Instructors, Get a Real Job Being back in ‘The Real World’ is an interesting experience, especially because I’m on the road, working different hours, and staying in motels.

A few of the things I’ve had to work on are:

  • Surveillance Detection
  • Situational Awareness (consider it in the context of changing a tire in the rain, for instance)
  • Securing my tools repetitively
  • Camouflage
  • and numerous more

Chronicling my experiences with what personal protection for normal people really involves will be quite interesting. I am quite looking forward to it. It will be an adventure.

Posted in: Awareness, planning, skills, surveillance detection