Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Avoid, Evade, Escape, 2

Continued from "Avoid, Evade, Escape"

As an individual, evading and escaping potential violence is easier than when you are protecting someone. Let's say you're by yourself and you see four or five orc-types converging on you. You simply leave -- run, if you have to.

Not so easy if you're with a wife, mother or sister. Sometimes she/they will want a detailed explanation of why you're saying, "Let's go. Now!" Or maybe, as in the case of young children, they just can't run very fast.

And don't think, "I'll just tell her to get away while I hold them off." Almost universally, womenfolk choose to stay with their men rather than escape to safety without them.

Efficient and effective personal security measures have to be discussed and even drilled. Your family should have an idea of what you are doing and why you are asking them to do it. Don't bank on the idea that you're the protector, and so they should have implicit trust in all you do & say -- maybe they should, but life doesn't work that way.

Larger groups, like your church congregation present a larger problem. If the violent predator targets them, you will not likely be able to lead the whole group into an evasion or escape. The ideal -- though unlikely -- tactic would be to see the orcs coming and to intercept them.

This means you will have to "escape" the situation by neutralizing the threat -- with extreme prejudice, as they say. In an emergency, people will often respond to the first person to step up and take charge. On the other hand, there are those who will challenge your authority and try to take over, themselves.

But when the bullets are flying, and you yell, "Everyone on the floor," so you can get a clear shot at the intruder(s), there will probably be few who will want to debate the issue. This kind of situation, however, puts you right at the center of the bullseye.

It's extremely dangerous, and if you have not or cannot work it out beforehand with your church authorities, you at least need a clear sense of what you will do. You should, as a matter of habit, be running scenarios in your head.

The bottom line is this: when you are protecting others, you cannot always depend on their cooperation. This means you need to prepare to stand between them and danger. And be prepared to stand alone.

For further discussion on the topic, CLICK HERE

4 comments:

Stephen said...

Very interesting!

What tips would you give as to team training? You mentioned a family-type scenario earlier in the post, how does a family work together to eliminate a threat?

I'm thinking mainly along the lines of father/son cooperation but possibly also brother/sister or husband/wife teams.

Craig Mutton said...

Look for my answer in tomorrow's post.

The Warrior said...

Sometimes she/they will want a detailed explanation of why you're saying, "Let's go. Now!"

Ha! I sadly found this funny in a too-true way.

This means you need to prepare to stand between them and danger. And be prepared to stand alone.

That was beautiful. I mean, the way you said that.

Sorry I haven't been around much. I was on a trip and besides that things have been insane in my life. Maybe I can get to reading some of the posts I missed.

P.S. Oh, and I had an interesting experience last Saturday night, purely theoretical (thank God nothing actually happened) but it was still something to think about. Maybe I'll mention it on Warskylmoot.

Spencer

Craig Mutton said...

Welcome back.