Yep, my families 2nd car which was my sister and I’s car in highschool was a truck with manual transmission and no power steering. Helluva time parallel parking that thing on steep hills haha. I had my shoulder reconstructed one summer and decided to go for a drive 3 months out from surgery… i got 2 blocks away and had to pull over and walk back home because i physically couldnt turn the wheel yet haha.
Further on topic - don’t stop, don’t unlock and get dragged out of your vehicle in dicey surroundings. It’s more protection than anything l can think of against most types of attack.
My gf told me she took a wrong turn on night in Minneapolis near the George Floyd memorial, i.e. no whites allowed. She told me she just hightailed it out ignoring all the stops. Smartest thing shes done, aside from hooking up with me.
When I lived in the ghetto and drove at night, it was all rolling stops, even at red lights. And never drive down an unlit side street.
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That’s how I ended up being robbed at gunpoint in the Hegewisch neighborhood of Chicago 20 years ago.
Stupid move.
Thought for the day:
Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first 4 sharpening the ax.
Abraham Lincoln.
For those of you not familiar with Mike Pannone, he is former Marine Recon / Delta who is one of the most respected trainers in the US. He is one hell an instructor who is able to convey information in common sense terms. I have learned a lot from him. He is one of the best shots I have ever seen and to overcome what he has is motivating. To the shooter out there, Mike lost his “dominate eye” due to a combat injury. He taught himself to shoot with his “off eye” and went on to shoot professionally for CZ firearms and is currently representing STI firearms. For those who know, next time you go to the range, close your dominate eye and then try to qualify, not easy.
He has a segment on his IG page called “Nonners Nuggets”. They are well worth listening to. The one I am listing is where Mike talks about mindset, something I have brought up many times in the past. Especially listen to the last minute, where he challenges you to be honest with yourself and your abilities. This falls in line with an earlier post about making your weaknesses your strengths, something that was brought out by several of you commenting on learning advanced swimming techniques. I took this to heart and realized I am a lousy swimmer and need to do something about it. I hope you pick up a nugget from these two conversations.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEI1TVnJGhT/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDc6fTap1Ae/
Something I thought you would be interested in:
Thought for the day:
“If quick, I survive.
If not quick, I am lost.
This is "death.”
Sun Tzu
Last week I had a conversation with an agent from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This was a rarity for me, since, I rarely encounter those agents unless teaching a generalized course with multiple agencies attending. Along with his investigative duties, he is also a highly trained paramedic and a member of a wilderness rescue team. His unit covers about 4 mountain states and hundreds of miles of federal wilderness. He had previously been stationed in Alaska and worked cases involving ivory and antiques smuggling. The techniques used between ivory and drug investigations are basically the same. Since he has a lot of experience in emergency medical issues, I was really interested in what he had encountered.
He related the most common injuries (lacerations, cuts, broken bones, dehydration, self-inflicted gunshot wounds, snow skiing and snowmobile accidents that “really tear a person up”.
He ended the conversation with this bit of wisdom from a call out last October:
“ Always carry a tourniquet, because using thin copper wire as a makeshift tourniquet doesn’t really work well”
Some more information:
The first step in how to make a tourniquet out of everyday items is to know what to use. There are a few things to keep in mind.
Always use something clean. This can’t be stressed enough. When dealing with an open wound where a lot of blood loss is occurring, infection should be a concern. If you use something dirty for the tourniquet, you are opening up the possibility of infection tenfold. However, in a choice between using something dirty and using nothing at all, use something dirty because blood loss can kill in a matter of minutes depending on the severity of the injury.
Try to use cloth. The best things to use as far as everyday items for tourniquets are shirts, sheets, towels, or anything made of cloth. Cloth is easy to tie around a limb and it can also help absorb some blood to avoid an even bigger mess. You want to make sure whatever cloth you use is large enough in terms of length to actually tie it tightly around the limb where blood loss is occurring.
Use a belt. A belt is another choice for a tourniquet but there are some concerns. When using a belt, you aren’t usually given quite as much leeway in terms of how tight you can tie it. There is also the tendency to perhaps tie a belt too tight in order to make it work as a tourniquet which can lead to further tissue damage and muscle damage in the extremity. If you have nothing else on hand however, it is far better to take this chance than to let someone bleed out.
Tips for Application of Tourniquet
Remember, a tourniquet is not a cure! When you apply a tourniquet, whether from a shirt or a belt, it is only to buy the person some time until the medics arrive, or you rush them to the hospital.
Know when to place it. The fact that someone is bleeding doesn’t necessarily mean it is wise to use a tourniquet. A tourniquet is a last resort type of measure. The first attempt to stop blood loss should be applying direct pressure to the wound. If applying direct pressure to the wound isn’t stopping the blood flow, and it is seeping through cloth after cloth or gauze after gauze, something more drastic needs to occur such as the tourniquet. A tourniquet can also only be used successfully when it is an injury on an arm or leg. It is impossible to do one on an injury to the shoulder, chest, stomach or pelvic region and should never be attempted anywhere other than a limb. For those areas, the best bet is immediate and constant pressure applied to the wound while in route to emergency medical attention.
Know where to place it. A tourniquet should be placed 1 to 2 inches above the open wound. If this doesn’t stop the bleeding, remove it and try placing it higher up on the leg or arm and retighten it to see if that stops the blood loss.
Tie it tight. Many people when they apply a tourniquet they don’t tie it tight enough. It can be hard to gauge how tight to tie it, especially since many people panic in an emergency situation, but the goal is to stop the blood loss which means, in essence, stopping the blood flow. It is better to tie it too tight than not tight enough is a pretty good motto.
If you will be driving to civilization from a remote area to the nearest hospital, it is important to remember to loosen the tourniquet for around 5 minutes for every 30 minutes of it being on. If the limb doesn’t get blood flow for too long, you are looking at an amputation.
Thought for the day:
Speed is security/safety/survival. 95% of speed is decision making and decision making is based upon awareness. Know what’s around you and read the situation … with that, your safety requires only the simplest of tools.
I am confident in stating that anyone who has remotely looked at this thread, has heard the term “gut check”. It is used a lot in my bubble, especially during training. Statements like, “damn, I hate this drill, what a fucking gut check”, usually rappelling out of birds or down a cliff or doing something that really puts you outside your comfort zone. For me, it’s going into caves, which will have me stating that like some mantra. It wasn’t always that way.
A little history today:
Armies in the days of yore — before the 20th Century — faced very different problems than the ones that deployed American troops face today. Whereas we have been known to wince every time we see a runner missing his reflective belt or wonder why I always get the goddamned vegetarian MRE, the Army of the pre-World War I days was more worried about things like clean drinking water, cholera, and dysentery.
In days gone by, if someone asked a soldier if they had the guts to fight the next day, it wasn’t just a question to ascertain whether the soldier had macho willpower. Rather, it was a real question of a soldier’s ability to maintain his position and discipline in the ranks instead of running off to the latrine every 10 minutes to evacuate his bowels.
The asker’s “gut check” was real — and literal — checking to see if his comrade in arms was suffering from diarrhea or a similar illness of the bowels that would keep him from performing at the front lines. Maintaining the integrity of certain infantry formations used to be integral to the survival of the whole unit.
At the time of the U.S. Civil War, microbes were only just being accepted as cause for disease. In that war, 620,000 men were killed, but disease actually killed two-thirds of those men. A single illness such as measles could wipe out entire units. Battlefield sanitation was the order of the day, but if Civil War troops chose to ignore an order, that would be the one. Latrines were dug near camps, wells, and rivers as horse and mule entrails and manure permeated camps.
As a result, dysentery was the single greatest killer of Civil War soldiers. Having the guts to fight only meant you were one of very few troops not suffering from the trots.
Thought for the day:
How you do anything is how you do everything.
Attention to detail, adherence to high standards, and prioritizing quality movement is the key to skill development.
Make it a habit.
Something that came up last week. Have the knowledge and strength to move a body if you want to help someone. Being too weak to actually roll someone over to check for injuries is not acceptable.
Another thought:
Unstable Load and Odd Object Training: “The ability to lift or unconventionally move an odd object or unstable, uneven load efficiently and effectively with the intent of improving functional work capacity & performance.” Nearly all athletes are required to be functional in their sport or tactical occupation. The expectation is to perform at their best under all conditions, including high stress, maximum intensities, and treacherous environments.
When you are forced to move something in a real world scenario it is highly unlikely that it will be an even or stable load. To prepare for these moments you have to train accordingly.
Thought for the day:
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing. -Abraham Lincoln
"Many people have never been placed in adversity before. From my perspective, we’d find a whole lot less people with anxiety or depression and less suicide if people embraced adversity and struggle on a day-to-day if not habitual basis. We’re in a time in society where people view it as a negative, where they avoid it like the plague.”
“Adversity or struggle works like a baseline that people can compare with their current difficulties, and the only way that people can grow is to fail and to fail forward.”
*"There is truly no way of escaping struggle and difficulty on this earth, and even if it were possible, many great minds from the past have concluded that it would render life not worth living. We can either choose to be crushed by adversity, or learn from it".
I love this. Its key to make the “fail forward” distinction as you should always be learning from failures and applying the information/lesson learned to future situations, and then pushing a little more and leaning into those challenges.
Kind of like “practice doesnt make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect”.
Thought for the day:
You can’t reason with evil,” he said. “Evil wants what it wants and won’t stop until it’s won or you kill it. The way to kill it is to be meaner than evil.”
If you can shoot steel at 50 yds. but know nothing about striking or grappling…
If you can bench 400lbs but can’t run 100 yds. without having a heart attack…
If you can run for days but have the strength of a ten year old girl…
And if you can’t run a threat assessment or observe indicators of criminal activity…
Your self-defense training is lacking. You don’t have to master everything, but you do need to be well rounded if you truly care about protecting yourself and your loved ones.
- Social skills and not being a dick will keep you out of trouble 99% of the time when it comes to avoidable situations.*
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Thought for the day:
It doesn’t matter how good you are with a firearm or how great of a martial artist you are, if you aren’t aware you will be behind the action and your chances of victory greatly decrease. Get your nose out of your phone, take your headphones off, and pay attention… if could save your life.
I don’t often post MSM articles here, but, this comes as a request for all of you on this thread. The two articles cover a U.S. Marshal’s operation in Georgia, with arrests in other states. IMO, human/ sex trafficking in children is one of the most heinous crimes in existence. I am not an expert on human and sex trafficking having been involved in only two cases and that was only a support role.
Last month I had a conversation with a marshal assigned to the missing children/ sex trafficking unit. He stated , at any time, thousands of children were being exploited and abused. I related some knowledge from my experiences in Middle East countries, where sexual abuse of children was rampant. He was on this raid and sent the articles this morning. He ended our conversation with the statement that nothing is more satisfying as a Leo than recovering a child from these predators. I agree.
We all can be more aware of this crisis by developing awareness. Take the corner of the world you live in and do some research. How many missing kids from your area? How many sex offenders? If you see a child alone on the streets or country roads, make inquires. There are many sources of information to provide awareness tips.
The true character of society is revealed in how it treats its children.
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Thought for the day:
“Learn how to see a urban landscape, you can learn a lot by watching”
Criminals, terrorists, insurgents, and even homeless people like to hide in “negative space”.
f you don’t “train” your eyes to look directly into “negative space” you’re going to miss a lot of information.
The next time you walk past the window of a building, try to look all the way through to the back wall of the room.
The next time you’re walking through parking lot, take a second to really stare into the windows of each vehicle.
It takes some practice but eventually you’ll see more in an hour than most people see in week.
Thought for the day:
Never stop trying to improve.
I read these yesterday and thought about them, looking at “myself” from the outside.
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Humans are more important than Hardware.
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Quality is better than Quantity.
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Special things (especially people) cannot be mass produced.
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Competence under stress cannot be created after emergencies occur.
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You can’t do everything alone. It’s not bad to need help or ask for it.
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Know how to shake a hand. Never do it sitting down, grip firmly and look them in the eye.
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Learn how to cook.
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Spend 30 min a day reading up on current events but know you aren’t an expert.
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Request the late checkout.
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Be a man of your word. Make a promise keep it.
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Hold your heroes to a higher standard.
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Return a borrowed car with a full tank of gas.
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Whatever you do, do it with passion or don’t do it at all.
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Don’t let a wishbone grow where a backbone should be.
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Stand up when she enters the room, hold her chair when she is sits down, and hold the door whenever she is coming or going. Do these things with humility and respect knowing she can do them herself.
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Carry two handkerchiefs. The one in your back pocket is for you. The one in your breast pocket is for her.
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You marry the girl, you marry her family / children.
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Be an oak. Your strength lies in your foundation and roots.
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Experience the serenity of traveling alone.
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Never be afraid to ask out the best looking girl in the room.
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Have good breath.
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Dress above your station and a jacket always adds class.
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Try writing your own eulogy. Never stop revising.
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Thank a veteran even if you are one.
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After writing an angry email or post, read it carefully. Then delete it.
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Ask your mom to play. She won’t let you win.
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Manners make the man.
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Give credit. Take the blame.
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Stand up to Bullies. Protect those bullied.
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Write down your dreams and don’t hide them.
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Add value everywhere you go.
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Be confident and humble at the same time.
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REFUSE to be ordinary!
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Change the world, don’t let it change you.
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Only perfect practice leads to perfection.
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Run with joy.
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Always know I have your back.
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Thought for the day:
"None of us can begin to fathom the level of pure evil that must burn in the heart of someone that would tear a child from his mother’s arms,” XXXXX said. “I’m still surprised at time by the depravity and selfishness that people are capable of.”
I am not surprised and neither should you. Train, develop skills and always be ready.
Two follow ups from the last several posts:
I wrote about the important of having reliable communications during a urban crisis, but, that also extends to the outdoors. Here is some good advice.
For most of us, rescue is at most only a few hours away for the things that we do in the wilderness. Camping, mountain running, biking, kayaking, rock climbing, etc. With that in mind we likely don’t need to construct deadfall traps for food, make super elaborate shelters, and start building some rain water collection contraption.
We simply need people to 1) Know where we are going to be. 2) When we are going to be there. 3) When we are supposed to be home.
Ensure that a trusted family member or friend has that location and make sure there is a plan in place if you fail to contact them so they can send out the search party.
It’s also helps to have multiple ways of communication, some medical gear, and a good way to signal rescuers for help.
Learning more complex survival skills is never a bad idea but don’t be the guy (or girl) who can catch fish with their bare hands and build a castle with sticks and stones but didn’t take the time to simply have a communication and rescue plan with someone. You never know when you will be injured and can’t simply walk out.
Be aware of children in your area. There should be a local organization that will provide you with information on how to recognize the indicators of missing children, sex and human trafficking.
US Marshals Service ‘Operation Safety Net’ recovers 25 missing children in Ohio in first two weeks.
The U.S. Marshals Service recovered at least 25 missing children in Ohio in a two-week stretch as part of an ongoing operation in the Buckeye State.
“Over the weekend U.S. Marshals rescued dozens of missing children across Ohio, many of whom were being trafficked.” Gov. Mike DeWine said during a Tuesday news conference.
“Operation Safety Net" is still in its first two weeks and is ongoing, according to the Marshals Service. It’s being carried out in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies around northern Ohio.
DeWine described it as a “great, great effort,” and although only some of the children were believed to be victims of human trafficking, he called on all residents to recognize and report signs of it.
They can include a young person who repeatedly runs away, individuals who move often, a young person with someone who is older and unrelated, or signs of physical abuse, among other indicators, he said.
After listening to the podcast on the main page. You may find the Tactical Games interesting.
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Thought for the day:
'You should have no other aim or thought nor take up any other thing for your study but “conflict” and its organization and discipline, for that is the only art that is necessary to one who commands"
Niccolo Machiavelli, “The Prince”.
Due to my current assignment, I am in contact with agencies on the local, state, and federal level. In the past month, various other instructors have mentioned the rise in child and adult kidnappings since the start of the civil unrest. Nobody I spoke with, including the agents assigned to child units, can offer an explanation for this. If you are reading this, take the time to review what security measures you take for your child and partner.
I just watched a video this morning of a mother buying food and a fuckhead walked up and tried to walk out of the store with her baby in the shopping cart. Have a situational awareness talk with whoever you are responsible for. Go over scenarios, decide now on actions, and be ready mentally to attack anyone trying to take your child.
Thought for the day:
Semper Paratus.
"It’s horrible. You never would think that this could happen, especially this neighborhood. It’s very quiet,″ she said, noting that most families have lived there for years.
Violence can occur anywhere. Learn to recognize reality.
This is a very peaceful neighborhood,″ said her husband, Cliff Chow. Most of the time we don’t lock the doors.″
Not securing your home to the best of your ability is just fucking stupid. Don’t live like this.
"I didn’t know when it was going on if there was a shooter running around the neighborhood trying to hide, maybe they would come kick through our door?″
Maybe you should have a plan for protecting yourself if someone comes through your door, ever thought of that?
To point out your need to harden your home security and have a plan, even if is just as elementary as running out the back door . Prepare mentally now through visualization, so, you won’t go catatonic when the time comes to face violence.
2 teens arrested in home invasion death of 57-year-old grandmother
Tyree Kozel Daniels, 18, was arrested Saturday on charges of murder and aggravated assault. A 16-year-old juvenile from XXXXXX faces the same charges. That teen has not been identified.
Police said Daniels and three other suspects went to the home on Baker Street, kicked in the door and started shooting around 10:30 at night. Police said they intended to fight with someone who lived at the home, but Baker was not the intended target.
Thought for the day:
This comment is for the new gun owners who have purchased a weapon during the past seven months. Due to the increase in violence, pandemic, defund the police movement, and riots, Americans have woke to the fact that you are responsible for your own safety. According to FBI stats, over 6 million people applied for concealed carry permits in July and August alone. State probate courts and licensing bureaus are facing an extreme backlog.
Buying a pair of boxing gloves does not make you a boxer, nor, does buying a gun make you a gunfighter. And here is a major problem. With the pandemic and riots, people have buying ammunition in vast amounts and now, there is a nationwide shortage.
Having purchased your new gun, you now have to scrounge for ammo, which makes training for new shooters a headache. Of the four major retailers I use for civilian bought ammo, all have no pistol caliber ammunition in stock, none. And the price per round has tripled or quadrupled depending on supplier. Last year, I could find sales on 9mm for around 17 to 19 cents around. Yesterday, I saw some foreign ammo priced for 80 cents a round. 9mm at nearly 50 dollars a box? Hard to put in quality training if you cannot afford to buy much ammo.
If you a new owner, time to explore alternative means to training:
Dry fire: more critical now than ever. Invest in a laser bullet, dummy rounds, or simply use a spent case. Clear and check you weapon twice, confirming empty weapon. Start slow, draw your weapon, using proper grip and sight picture and work on trigger control. Concertation is key here, so limit practice sessions to 20 minutes, any longer and the average person will get sloppy. 5 times a week at minimum.
Range time: If you are lucky enough to secure ammo, limit yourself to fundamental drills at 3 and 7 yards. This no time for tact cool run and gun. Ammo is precious, so use the time to work on strict form and weapon control. I have listed a basic target, which will force you to focus on control.
Some information on the shortage:
BB pistols, air soft, and paint ball guns: All three offer a way to train shooting, however, it has been my experience training classes, most individuals seem to loose themselves to their inner child and begin to spray and pray and use sloppy fundamentals. Treat these devices as real and use them for a cheaper alternative to ammo. I have three BB pistols that I regularly shoot and because their actions and triggers are so horrible, it forces me use strict basics.
If you are a new owner, there are many, many, YouTube videos on dry firing basics, find one and start practicing. A gun is no better or worse than the person using it. Be safe.
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Thought for the day:
“When a man picks up a knife, there is an old collective memory that surfaces. A knife is an atavistic experience. It was man’s first tool and weapon. Man was chipping flint into cutting edges long before he invented the wheel. No matter how sophisticated we become, a knife takes us back to the cave”.
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Thought for the day:
September, 11, 2001. Never, ever forget the victims and the first responders who died on this day.
