Greetings fellow Street Survivors and thanks for your recent feedback on issues you’re concerned about, I’ll be focusing on some of those specific answers over the next couple of months. The horrific news out of Wisconsin, abduction of Jayme Closs and cold-blooded murder of her parents, reminds us that the preparation and training that we do is serious business. This can happen in any community across the country, and hoping it doesn’t strike our family is not a plan, it’s the same as sticking your head in the sand. In a previous article a few years ago, I mentioned a few concepts that bare repeating, so I’ve included them for your review. Please take this serious and take the necessary steps to secure your home and family.
Our individual backgrounds, family history and even our career paths can dictate the Rose-colored glasses we see life through. As a military veteran, my glasses are more OD green than rose so my perspective is influenced by that training and experience. I must remember that, when I’m training civilians that are wearing different glasses based on their life experiences. We can’t be totally objective because of the tint of the lenses we look thru every day, but we can use that to our advantage when we prioritize our personal and family training needs. An extreme example would be training with a large caliber rifle on long distance targets to prepare yourself for home defense. It really doesn’t make sense, so review your immediate training needs and focus on the training that will improve your skills. It helps to create a Top-3 Skills List that you need to develop or improve.
Although we are looking thru a different set of lenses, there are some concepts and ideas that bridge the gap between military combat operations and day to day self-defense for the average concealed weapons permit holder.
Force Projection is one of those concepts. The typical definition is ‘the activity of war’ and basically means how you move and use your various resources on the battlefield from soldiers to tanks, aircraft and ships. In citizen self-defense, this means how I use my pistol or shotgun during a break-in attempt and how my wife may be using her weapon or securing the family in a safe room, and dialing 911 or calling for other support.
Force Protection is another similar concept with a different focus, and is Army-speak for preparing for the unknown threats or natural disasters on or off the battlefield. Planning helps you to account for and manage known risks, as well as being better positioned to deal with the unknowns that may occur. A simple example for a typical family would be planning to go shopping at the mall. You will consider weather to determine when to go and how to dress, and terrain in order to pick an appropriate parking lot, in a well-lit area and covered by security cameras. These are just two of the many factors involved in planning for force protection. The second part of planning is what to do if a negative situation should occur.
Teamwork and Coordination is the next logical step and involves the actions you take along with your family at that same trip to the mall, when an active shooter, an explosion or a fire should occur.
You cannot rely on the gun skills or the physical fitness level of one member of the family to be the sole answer to your immediate threat. All family members should be trained and ready, and you need to know where you are in relation to the threat as well as your family members and what actions you should take. Communication is critical during an emergency and can include everything from cell phones to hand signals. This of course takes planning, training and practice. That seems to be a familiar theme that we’ve touched on often in this column. Stay safe out there and thanks for reading.
Don’t be a victim…be a Street Survivor !
Please send in your questions and comments to: Streetactics@gmail.com.
Rick ‘Pirate Hunter’ Grover strongly believes we’re all in this together, and the more we learn and train, the better we’ll be prepared for any eventuality. This makes all of us part of an amazing neighborhood team of American Patriots. God Bless America ! ♦
