How the "Gun Culture" Broadened my Horizons

My very first job on my very first Special Forces A Team was as the junior "Weapons Guy". My military occupational specialty even spelled it out, 18B3VW8RU Special Operations Weapons Sergeant Ranger Qualified Freefall Parachutist Russian Language. I was the commander's advisor on tactics and weapons. I was an NRA member, I was a gun guy. But my horizon's were narrow. I knew everything about guns but I didn't know what I didn't know. I progressed up the ranks and my knowledge served me well.  In 2004 I retired from Special Forces as a Master Sergeant and Team Sergeant of a Military Freefall team that I had deployed to combat with. Successful but still narrow scope.

So there I was in civilianland with no context. My knowledge really didn't mean anything to these people. I knew how to set the headspace and timing on a M2 .50 cal machinegun or zero a 106mm recoilless rifle but there wasn't a lot of call for that. Even though I had been formally and informally teaching for decades I had no credibility, I had no sheepskin. So I decided to take some handgun and rifle courses.  Two things happened. I discovered a shooting program that made complete sense to me and really should be the basic foundation for any firearms training. That program was then known as Combat Focus Shooting and is now known as Intuitive Defensive Shooting. IDS is based on the counterambush methodology and is backed by evidence and empirical data. The other thing that happened is I was pretty sure I could teach this stuff.

So I attended the prerequisite courses as an end user and then worked my way through the Defensive Firearms Coach and Intuitive Defensive Shooting Instructor development courses. Along the way, I picked up the National Rifle Association and the United States Concealed Carry Association Instructor credentials. Cool right? No, not cool because I realized that firearms were not the end all be all after taking these courses. They apply to a very narrow set of circumstances in regards to personal defense.

So the journey continued I became a Stop the Bleed Instructor, Pre Hospital Trauma Life Support, and Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Instructor. Because I realized if you carry a gun for self-defense you better know how to take care of a wounded person. Could be you, could be a loved one.

Then it hit me, what if I didn't have a gun or what if the person was so close I couldn't use a gun?  I became an Active Shooter Response instructor through several organizations because you need a plan for those situations. I started taking edged weapons classes which got me into my original weapons based grappling class. I took Krav Maga for a few years and for the last 3 years I have taken Brazilain Jiu Jitsu. I also continued my exploration of weapons based grappling through the Shivworks collective.  Shivworks got me interested in Managing Unknown Contacts and the psychology behind criminal activity.

My study of martial arts had turned me on to the Stoic philosophy among others. I started to try and practice stoicism in my daily life. Stoicism and the knowledge I learned from MUC and Martial Arts has made me a humbler and more forgiving person. I read more. I think more, I study more.

I will continue to expand my horizons in an effort to live a life worth living. Gun culture did that for me. I am still a gun guy.

Puck Controversy and the DERP

A few days ago ABC News posted a news article about Oakland University in suburban Detroit handing out hockey pucks to help counter an active shooter. You can read the original article here:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/university-passes-hockey-pucks-defense-active-shooters/story?id=59468711

From the article the purpose of this initiative is "circulating hockey pucks around campus in case of a dire situation, and raising funds to retrofit the school's classroom doors so that they can be locked from the inside."

Predictably the usual suspects in the "shall not be infringed/guns are magic talismans crowd" chimed in making snarky comments, calling people snowflakes and other helpful suggestions. Even Rock and Roll icon and outspoken meat eater Ted Nugent chimed in on his Facebook page "And yet more mushybrained freaks plummet further into the abys of politically correct numbnutness. The desoulling of America on the fastrack to hell. "

The DERP and ridicule was thick. But really what are all these folks upset about? Are they upset that the University is a "gun free zone"? Probably. Are they upset that someone had an idea that didn't involve a firearm and a lethal response? Maybe. Are they sadly living in an open carry fantasy land? Yup

The problem with making fun of initiatives like this is it stifles efforts to promote an aggressive mindset as well as denying reality. Here is a reality check for you. SOMETIMES I DON'T CARRY A GUN. I carry where ever I can legally however If you are promoting breaking the law by carrying in prohibited places as your defensive strategy you are the problem. If your only plan is to shoot something and suddenly you are deprived of the tool you can use to do that then your plan is not a plan at all. Sometime even if you have a gun you shouldn't use it.

Early in my military career I learned about an acroynym PACE. Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency. As in have a plan for all those things. So why not give folks hockey pucks to distract the bad guy and potentially escape or divert attention while someone else tackles them to the ground and beats them senseless? Are we so tied to the gun agenda we can't have backup plans?

Sun Tzu in the Art of War said this "

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

During my decades in the US Army Special Forces I was taught to know my operational environment. Should we be working towards changing schools from gun free zones to a different status? Absolutely, but until then we must operate within the constraints placed upon us. That's reality, not cowboy shoot em up fantasy camp.

Additionally the entire second objective has been missed in all the hoopla. The University is trying to raise money to become a harder target. They are actually raising funds to increase security. Are we so tied to an agenda that we can't see the forest for the trees? The ultimate goal is to keep people safe. You do that by education and infrastructure improvements. Training and mindset cultivation. The gun community needs to quit being assholes and get on board.