I have this discussion quite often, usually while speaking with someone who is opposed to firearms in general and against concealed carry specifically. The argument I get usually goes along the lines of "I can just call the police on my cell phone". This is an argument borne of ignorance (meant in its original definition of "lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about a particular thing"). There are so many things wrong with this type of thinking that it's hard to know where to start.
First, let's address police response times. In Chicago, the average police response time is anywhere from just over 2 minutes to just over 8 minutes. This does not include the time spent accessing/unlocking the cell phone, dialing, and speaking with the dispatcher. That can add another minute to those times and we then see a window of 3-9 minutes before police arrive. That's under ideal conditions. Facing an armed attacker for 3-9 minutes is an eternity. Facing multiple unarmed attackers for 3-9 minutes is an eternity. Facing a bigger, stronger, more violent attacker for 3-9 minutes is an eternity. And the outcome will usually not be a good one for you.
Second, let's look at the reaction of the attacker. Should a criminal decide you're to be his victim this evening and you grab for your cell phone to call the police, his natural instinct is to attack and seize your cell phone. The last thing he wants is for you to summon the police. If he's bigger/stronger/faster than you, or armed, or it there are multiple attackers, then it's child's play to seize your cell phone or knock it from your hands. You can't use your cell phone to hurt him/them. No criminal is afraid of being attacked with a cell phone, especially by someone he perceives as weaker and more vulnerable than he is. On the other hand, producing a firearm will usually cause him to break off the attack and flee. The last thing the criminal wants is to be shot dead.
The presentation of a cell phone says: "I'm going to call for help, which will take a while to get here."
The presentation of a firearm says: "I'm going to use lethal force and kill you."
Two very different messages. One encourages an attack, the other deters it.
When I was in high school, I once spoke with a friend and his mother about self defense. My friend wanted to attend martial arts classes with me. I suggested the mother also do so, as crime in the neighborhood was going up. Living in a delusional non-reality in her head, the mother told me: "I don't need martial arts or a gun or pepper spray. I simply don't put myself in a position to be attacked." This coming from a woman who shopped alone at the local mall at night and who often parked in a dark area far from the entrance to the mall. A mall where criminals had taken on a new method of assault - they would hide between or under parked cars in dark areas and grab women by the legs or jump them while they struggled with their packages and car keys. And she knew about this! This is what we refer to as delusion - a persistent belief despite evidence given to the contrary. She was "safe" because she believed she was "safe" despite actually and willingly putting herself in danger.
I know far too many people who assume they will not ever become involved in a serious self defense situation. So too did most of the 1,165,383 victims of violent crime in the United States in the year 2014 alone. (source: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/latest-crime-stats-released)
The average citizen who works a 40 hour week sitting at a desk is in no shape to take on an attacker larger, stronger, and faster than he is - someone who lives in the tough streets of the worst neighborhoods and who is used to and comfortable dishing out violence. Or to take on an attacker who is armed with a baseball bat, a knife, or a gun. Or multiple attackers where we see a disparity of force.
Bottom line - in our modern, violent society, not carrying a firearm will get you killed.
Monday, October 17, 2016
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Security Officers - Will Your Lack of Training Get You Killed?
In addition to running Windwarrior Protection, I work as an armed
security officer. I often ask a question of my fellow officers - "Will
your lack of training get you killed?". By this I am not implying a lack
of initial training in order to qualify for the position. I am talking
about a lack of ongoing training. My questions to my fellow officers
include the following:
"How often do you go to the range and practice live fire?"
"How many times a day do you practice drawing and sighting your firearm?"
"How often do you conduct dry fire drills?"
"How often do you practice magazine changes, clearing stoppages/malfunctions, etc.?"
"How often do you observe the area around your post (or those in which you patrol) and think about tactical considerations such as kills zones, lines of fire, cover, etc?"
"How often do you use visualizations to mentally prepare for a firefight?"
Sadly, the answer to these questions is often "rarely" or worse yet "never".
I have seen officers with their spare magazines situated back-to-back (i.e. one magazine in reversed position) in their double-stack magazine carriers. In a firefight, grabbing an improperly positioned magazine will cost you precious seconds (or longer) while trying to flip the magazine around into the correct position for reloading. Assuming that you don't drop the damned thing in the first place, due to the loss of fine motor skills from the adrenaline pumping through you in a firefight. Does it look "cool"? Sure. Will it get you killed? Most likely.
I've often spoken to officers who've admitted that they've never thought about what to use as cover should an active shooter enter the building, how to draw the shooter into a kill zone, how they'll respond to the situation if they are patrolling in a vehicle, what approach they will use to reach the shooter if the shooter is on the other end of the building and the officer is on foot, etc. These are vital issues that must be thought out, planned, and trained in before an incident occurs. Lack of such preparation and training will likely get you killed.
Shooting is a frangible skill. In other words, you must "use it or lose it". Going to the range once a year to fire your corroded firearm that hasn't been cleaned and lubricated (nor the ammo swapped out) since last year's qualification tells me you're not interested in surviving a firefight. Not conducting dry fire drills, magazine changes, stoppage clearances, etc. means you are not building the muscle memory and procedural memory you're going to need in a real firefight when your fine motor skills deteriorate.
Remember, in a firefight your heart rate can rise from a normal 60 beats per minute to 200 beats per minute or more in under a second. Under these conditions you will likely experience tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, a sense of slow motion, and a feeling of being on auto-pilot. This is not the time to be flipping around fancy-looking but improperly positioned magazines, thinking about where to take cover, working on controlling your trigger reset, or anything else. Your cognitive processing ability will be diminished by what we refer to as the "jangle effect". Simply put, your ability to think through solutions and use reasoning and problem solving skills is severely deteriorated.
I draw my firearm anywhere from 50 - 200 times per day. I practice sight alignment and dry fire drills, magazine changes, etc. every day. I go to the range as often as possible (at least every two weeks) and go through several boxes of ammo at different ranges (7' to 50+'). And I am always - ALWAYS - mentally drilling on what to do if a shooter comes in though the front door, from the cafeteria, in the parking lot, etc. Where is cover from which to return fire? How can I position myself so that I am behind cover and the shooter is in a kill zone?
These are the things security officers need to do every day, if they hope to survive a firefight. Therefore, I extend my question to all my readers - "Will your lack of training get you killed?"
I certainly hope not.
"How often do you go to the range and practice live fire?"
"How many times a day do you practice drawing and sighting your firearm?"
"How often do you conduct dry fire drills?"
"How often do you practice magazine changes, clearing stoppages/malfunctions, etc.?"
"How often do you observe the area around your post (or those in which you patrol) and think about tactical considerations such as kills zones, lines of fire, cover, etc?"
"How often do you use visualizations to mentally prepare for a firefight?"
Sadly, the answer to these questions is often "rarely" or worse yet "never".
I have seen officers with their spare magazines situated back-to-back (i.e. one magazine in reversed position) in their double-stack magazine carriers. In a firefight, grabbing an improperly positioned magazine will cost you precious seconds (or longer) while trying to flip the magazine around into the correct position for reloading. Assuming that you don't drop the damned thing in the first place, due to the loss of fine motor skills from the adrenaline pumping through you in a firefight. Does it look "cool"? Sure. Will it get you killed? Most likely.
I've often spoken to officers who've admitted that they've never thought about what to use as cover should an active shooter enter the building, how to draw the shooter into a kill zone, how they'll respond to the situation if they are patrolling in a vehicle, what approach they will use to reach the shooter if the shooter is on the other end of the building and the officer is on foot, etc. These are vital issues that must be thought out, planned, and trained in before an incident occurs. Lack of such preparation and training will likely get you killed.
Shooting is a frangible skill. In other words, you must "use it or lose it". Going to the range once a year to fire your corroded firearm that hasn't been cleaned and lubricated (nor the ammo swapped out) since last year's qualification tells me you're not interested in surviving a firefight. Not conducting dry fire drills, magazine changes, stoppage clearances, etc. means you are not building the muscle memory and procedural memory you're going to need in a real firefight when your fine motor skills deteriorate.
Remember, in a firefight your heart rate can rise from a normal 60 beats per minute to 200 beats per minute or more in under a second. Under these conditions you will likely experience tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, a sense of slow motion, and a feeling of being on auto-pilot. This is not the time to be flipping around fancy-looking but improperly positioned magazines, thinking about where to take cover, working on controlling your trigger reset, or anything else. Your cognitive processing ability will be diminished by what we refer to as the "jangle effect". Simply put, your ability to think through solutions and use reasoning and problem solving skills is severely deteriorated.
I draw my firearm anywhere from 50 - 200 times per day. I practice sight alignment and dry fire drills, magazine changes, etc. every day. I go to the range as often as possible (at least every two weeks) and go through several boxes of ammo at different ranges (7' to 50+'). And I am always - ALWAYS - mentally drilling on what to do if a shooter comes in though the front door, from the cafeteria, in the parking lot, etc. Where is cover from which to return fire? How can I position myself so that I am behind cover and the shooter is in a kill zone?
These are the things security officers need to do every day, if they hope to survive a firefight. Therefore, I extend my question to all my readers - "Will your lack of training get you killed?"
I certainly hope not.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Welcome to the Windwarrior Protection Blog!
Welcome to the Windwarrior Protection Blog!
This is the official blog of Windwarrior Protection, the Chicagoland area's premiere source of personal protection training. We teach Concealed Carry, Basic Pistol/Handgun, Advanced Firearms Training, Home Defense, Situational Awareness and Active Shooter/Terrorist Interdiction.
Our Concealed Carry Class certifies the student for Illinois, Arizona and Florida, which allows you to carry concealed in 36 states. Each student also receives a 244 pg. book titled "Concealed Carry and Home Defense Fundamentals" by the USCCA (US Concealed Carry Association). Our Chief Firearms Instructor, Robert Paluch, is a Certified Instructor with the USCCA.
Advanced Firearms Training uses L.A.S.R. Simulation (SIRT Laser) and live fire training.
Two new classes in development are Situational Awareness and Active Shooter/Terrorist Interdiction. Neither of these classes is currently being offered anywhere else, nor will they likely be offered by anyone else in the future.
For more information, visit our website at:
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