Greetings Sheepdogs,
"The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie."
-- Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
Murdering babies is wrong. Always. There are no exceptions.
Murdering elderly persons is wrong. Always. There are no exceptions.
The only purpose of gun control is to enslave the people and commit genocide on the
unarmed. There are no exceptions. Anyone who tells you that it will have any social
benefit is lying to you.
Males and females are different and determined by God, not man.
I could go on for pages, but you get the idea. Don't participate in the lie.
If the liberals can convince you of the truth of something that is false,
they have control of your mind.
Table of Contents:
Prevention
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Practice
Intervention
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
Table of sections:
Mindset
Safety
Training
Practice
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset -----
Figuring out the correct way to think.
‟We don’t decide what is necessary to survive a
lethal force encounter initiated by someone else.
That person decides what’s necessary for us to survive.”
– William Aprill
"Tools for Conflict" by John Murphy
Excerpts:
"It's not a justice system, it's a legal system."
"Gun goes on, ego comes off."
"Stay in the high brain."
"Know where you are. Know what time it is."
"Forgive people."
"Just get home."
---
I didn't see the links to William Aprill's material below the video, so I'll offer some.
"William Aprill's Unthinkable Presentation" by Practically Tactical
Actually, the audio isn't bad at all.
"William Aprill Tribute Page" by Personal Defense Network Editors
"Practically Tactical"
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
"Principles for the Armed Lifestyle" by John Murphy
"You brought a gun to the fight. That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it. Think about that before intervening
in other folks’ problems. When is the last time you practiced your in-hand weapon
retention skills?"
-- Greg Ellifritz
"Nothing to Lose!" by John Farnam
‷If you look at someone bigger, faster, and stronger and immediately think,
‶I'm at a disadvantage″,
I have news for you: you are.
But that's only because you just put yourself there for no reason.
The truth is that anyone can do debilitating violence to anyone else.
Your size, your speed, your strength, your gender --
all the factors that untrained people think make the difference when it comes to violence --
all matter far less than your mindset and your intent.‴
-- Tim Larkin
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from Principles of Personal Defense by Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, (1920 – 2006 A.D.)
***** Situational Awareness *****
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
"Jeff Cooper's Color Code exists to help you get your head
around the need to kill someone in the immediate future."
-- John Hearne
---
Jeff Cooper's Color Code of Mental Awareness
UNAWARE - of what's going on around you. (White)
AWARE - of who is around you and what they are doing. (Yellow)
ALERT - to a potential threat and taking action to avoid the threat. (Orange)
ALARM - by a real threat and taking action to escape the threat,
which might include shooting to PREVENT the attack. (Red)
COMBAT - front sight, press. Shooting to STOP the attack. (Black)
When there is no longer a threat, your shooting must stop.
Shooting when there is no longer a threat cannot be justified as self-defense.
"ISIS has called for followers to attack churches and synagogues in the United States . . ."
-- KEITH GRAVES
Rangemaster's JULY NEWSLETTER
Check out the sex offender map. Compare to your neighborhood. My mother would
tell me, if you pull a weed a day, your garden will be clear in no time. It's true, because
you're not the only one pulling. There are a lot of like minded people (maybe not in Hawaii
or New York City, but in most places, and definitely in rural areas). Try that in a small town.
Mom also told me to always ask politely first. You have to give the guy a chance to make
things right. If you ask politely, and he tells you to fuck off or attacks you, well then you can
go ahead and kill him. Just do it neatly. Which meant nothing that would reflect badly on
the family.
Otherwise, you have to tolerate a lot of child rapes in the neighborhood. Who is willing
to tolerate that? It's not just that your personal safety is your responsibility, not the government's.
It's also that your community's safety is your responsibility, not the government's. Remember,
your children and grandchildren are in the community.
“You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.
And, that is not the same thing as being harmless.
There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless.”
-- Jordan Peterson
*************************************************************************
----- Safety -----
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
Jeff Cooper′s Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER
ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
Karl Rehn's post on Rangemaster Facebook page.
Make sure to read Tom Givens' comment.
---
"Jeff Cooper’s Three? Rules of Gun Safety" by Karl Rehn
---
"3 Rules, not 4. Maybe just 2 rules." by Karl Rehn
"Defensive Gun Uses By People Legally Carrying Guns: 28 Cases During February 2024"
When the bad guy is bigger, stronger, and faster than you; only a loaded pistol in a holster
on your body will do. You can't depend on other persons to help you. You can't depend on
the police to help you.
The photographs may be in daylight (that's when the news crews got there), but the times
of the incidents was in the dark hours. You must have a flashlight, because unlike the bad
guys, you must positively identify your target. Being the good guy in a fight is orders of
magnitude more difficult than being a bad guy. The bad guy doesn't care who his bullets hit.
The bad guy doesn't care about being sued, he has no assets. The bad guy doesn't mind
going to prison, that's high school and college for him. The bad guy comes out of prison
with all kinds of good connections. Prison is a place to network.
Subscribe to the Crime Prevention Research Center,
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
"The Doctor is In! 6 Top Gun-Safety Mistakes to Avoid"
by GEORGE DVORCHAK M.D.
More reasons to assume the responsibility to defend yourself, your loved ones,
and your community.
"Exciting Times!" by John Farnam
Some long guns are not drop safe. Yes, you could put the safety on, but bouncing
around in the trunk of a car could knock the safety off. Better to keep the chamber
empty when storing and transporting.
by Tim Chandler
A three position safety to solve the problem?
"Taken Seriously?" by John Farnam
Excerpt:
"Since 7 Oct 2023 A.D. Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir,
has courageously encouraged all Israelis to get armed and think of their individual
safety as a personal (not a state) responsibility, and a great rush of Israeli citizens,
particularly women, have enthusiastically responded."
“The ‘right to be heard’ does not imply a ‘right’ to be taken seriously.”
-- Hubert Humphrey
"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – May 2024"
by tacticalprofessor
Excerpts:
"These days, we have to make the assumption that if three individuals are after your
vehicle, one of them has a gun and will shoot you without hesitation. The way to
challenge criminals, assuming you feel compelled to do so, is from behind cover at
a distance (Public Space). Distance and cover favor the marksman, close proximity
in the open favors the criminal. Don’t challenge criminals in Social Space."
"The problem with having confrontations is that they can result in a weird bonding
effect between the parties. In this case, what was to be gained by following the shooter
outside? Nothing. But in the heat of the moment, we’ll often feel the need to ‘get the
last word in.’ That’s a huge mistake often resulting in Negative Outcomes. When the
opera is over, it’s time to leave the theater, at least emotionally. This requires some
practice."
"Yet another report included utterly incomprehensible commentary from the
deceased’s family.
“As police search for the shooter [he was captured a week later] and Limmer's
family awaits justice, his sister said they are proud he stood up for what he believed
was right.
‘A good Samaritan who is trying to do the right thing and not letting those
employees at McDonalds go through that,’ [the sister] said.”
What? It cost the man his life and the woman her brother. She’s proud of what he did?
Perhaps in the Bizarro World that makes sense but not on this planet."
[I disagree with Claude. I think defending other people (like McDonalds employees)
is a noble thing to do. Yes, sometimes you get hurt or killed doing it. But if no one did
it, we would have a pathetic society. -- Jon Low]
"Taken Seriously?" by John Farnam
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
Don’t go to stupid places.
Don’t associate with stupid people.
Don’t do stupid things.
Have a “normal” appearance.
Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).
Don’t fail the attitude test.
*************************************************************************
----- Training -----
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Prof. Norman Christ, Physics Department, Columbia University
Applies directly to all self-defense theory and practice.
"Enough Gun" by Greg Ellifritz
Excerpt:
". . . if the only training you’ve received is your CCW class, you ARE a marginally
skilled shooter and tactician. You just may not know it yet."
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
Marksmanship and the manual of arms are a matter of technique, not strength.
If you cannot rack the slide of the pistol, it is because you have never done it before
or you are not doing it correctly. With the proper technique and practice, you will
be able to do it easily. In a month you will wonder why you had such a hard time
doing it before. The answer is that you had never done it before (or weren’t doing
it correctly). Many things are hard to do at first but become easy with practice.
Of course, one must have a good attitude and make a good faith effort.
I know training can be difficult. Let me share some words of encouragement that
my teacher told me, that I believe apply to all training regimens.
"Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material. It is totally normal
that the first time you see this stuff, you find it confusing. You find it difficult to
understand. So, confusion should not discourage you. It does not represent any
intellectual failing on your part. Rather, keep in mind that it represents an opportunity
to get even smarter." – Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science
and other stuff at Stanford University
This is training. So, we are going to do everything slowly and carefully.
It is up to you to practice at home to develop speed.
If your instructor is telling you to striving for speed in the class, well,
that's a different sort of class.
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
There are only 4 things you need for combat:
Get the pistol out of the holster and on target. (the presentation)
Get good hits at 0 to 7 yards. (marksmanship)
Reload, if necessary.
Clear malfunctions, if necessary.
Of course, you need to do this before the enemy kills you. So, you need to practice
so that you can do it quickly. And you need to pay attention to what's going on around
you so that you can do it proactively, as opposed to reactively.
Of course, the first thing you should do before jumping into any dangerous situation
is to mentally stop and take a deep breath. Because exercising good judgment is more
important than all the other things you may or may not do later. You will have the time
to do this, because you will have seen the situation developing, because you are always
in a relaxed state of awareness (yellow) and so recognized the abnormality. When you
recognized the potential threat and moved to a condition of alertness (orange) you will
have taken evasive action, perhaps moved your loved ones away to avoid the situation.
When you recognize the real threat and move to a condition of alarm (red), you will take
action to stop the attack.
We shoot to immediately stop the attack (black). It does us no good to allow the
bad guy 10 seconds of animation before death, because that's more than enough time
to shoot or stab you to death. We do not shoot to kill. (If the bad guy dies a year after
you shot him, a prosecutor may charge you with one of the various homicide crimes.)
A summary execution would be a shooting to kill. Which is justified under the
Uniform Code of Military Justice in certain circumstances. But we are never concerned
with the bad guy's condition. That's why we would NEVER render first aid to the bad guy.
The ambulance crews will not render first aid until the police have secured the crime scene.
(Which means the suspect is handcuffed and his legs are zip tied together.) Why would you?
"To show you care. To save the bad guy's life."
He just tried to kill you, otherwise you would not have shot him in the first place.
If you get close enough to render aid, he will kill you. That's reality. He's playing
opossum, because he knows you're stupid. He's going to moan and beg for help, because
he knows you will get close enough for him to grab you. And that's all he needs.
We are only concerned with preventing or stopping the attack. Rendering first aid is
inviting another attack.
“The secret of success is this.
Train like it means everything when it means nothing –
so you can fight like it means nothing when it means everything.”
-- Lofty Wiseman
"Guest Shot: Fundamentals are Essential" by Dave Spaulding
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
“When I would see a deficiency, instead of getting an "oh really, how can I improve?"
I will usually get a "this is how I do it." My response? "Yeah man, but you really suck at it.
Just because it feels "right" or "looks cool" to you does not mean it is solid. I can help you
but only if you are willing to listen.”
“What we are looking for is the person who is ADAPTIVE, which is defined as
"The ability to change as necessary.”
"unconscious competence," something few truly achieve. Why? Because it takes a
long time and a lot of work.
". . . just because you attended a course on Active Shooter Response,
High Threat Situation Management, Vehicle Combat, Fighting Carbine or
any other similar course, does not mean you can perform what you were
introduced to. You might have some recollection of what you were taught,
but performing the same at a high level is unlikely."
"For a student/shooter to utilize information introduced to them in a course of
instruction, they must have practiced it to the point it has become a skill."
A skill is “an activity of which you have a high expectation of success
on the first attempt.”
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
Many instructors have told me to play "what if", to visualize a scenario. Imagine
something bad happening and decide what you would do, now, while you have all the
time in the world. Plan it out, so that when it happens you have a plan to execute,
instead of trying to think of what to do in real time under stress. And keep it simple.
I have had to modify my home invasion scenario several times depending on who
is living with me. Which changes too often. Presently, no one else is living in my one
bedroom apartment. (Which does not mean that I can leave guns around, as the female
friend will occasionally bring her 4 year old niece in when she uses my washer and drier.)
Balcony
|=======|
| | Windows
|=====|------------|=======|=====-------------===================|
| Sliding glass | Bed |
| door | |
| |⊕ Door opening in |
⁀ |========( ↑ )=======|=======|===(↑)=|
Front door opening in ⁀↔ | Closet |
‿→ |===== ======| ‿Laundry| |
| | | | room | |
| Living room | Kitchen | |=======| |
| | | ⁐Shower | Water |
| | |Sink | Toilet | Heater |
|================================|=====|=======|=======|
⊕ = me, squatting in the corner
There are only two ways into my apartment: the front door, which opens inward to
my livingroom and the balcony sliding glass door, which also opens into my living room.
I have a second floor apartment.
If I were to become aware of an enemy breaking either door. (Which would be
difficult as both doors are barred, when I sleep.) I would grab my Glock 21 (which
has a Streamlight TLR-1 HL attached to the rail on the dust cover under the barrel
and is loaded with Sig Sauer 230 grain hollow point ammo, it also has steel Glock
tritium glow in the dark sights) from my bedside table and assume a squatting position
in a corner of my bedroom, such that as the bad guy entered the room I would be to his left.
The door to my bedroom opens in the middle of the wall across from the exterior wall
that has windows facing out into the parking lot. (So if I shot someone entering my bed
room, my background would be an exterior brick wall.)
I am not going to turn on lights or use my voice to find out who is there. Remember,
all my doors are barred, so the bad guy has broken in. My assumption is that anyone
breaking in is there to murder me. I intend to ambush them.
"What if they are police?"
My assumption holds. Persons yelling "POLICE!" are impersonating police. Lots of
documented cases every year. Remember the St. Valentines Day massacre? If they were
real police with appropriate intel, they would have called my attorney and arranged for
me to turn myself in. If they break down my door, they want to kill me, no matter who
they are. Remember Mr. Bryan Malinowski.
When you become older, have no spouse or kids to protect or provide for, have all of
your assets in trusts, you become akin to the criminal, in that you have nothing to lose.
As such you are very dangerous. The law enforcement officer wants to go home at the
end of his shift. If he is competent, he also ensures that his partner goes home at the end
of the shift. But persons like me and my brother-in-law (age 85) have taken care of our
affairs. Everything is in order. So killing bad guys (foreign or domestic, criminal or LEO)
becomes much easier. When you're in combat, you don't want anything interfering with
your decision to use lethal force. As my brother-in-law says, a life sentence doesn't mean
much at our age. Death Before Dishonor.
Brandon has publicly stated that you can't call yourself patriotic if you call for disbanding
the ATF. That says it all. Remember:
The Branch Dividians in Waco, TX.
Vicki and Samuel Weaver in Ruby Ridge, ID.
Bryan Malinowski in Little Rock, AR.
I could go on for pages, but you get the idea.
"Those motivated by a desire to improve their
gunfighting skills as opposed to a quest for trophies,
must be willing to bleed ego on the match results
to avoid shedding blood in combat."
-- Andy Stanford
The lead negotiator for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Sgt. Larry Hitchcock,
came to speak to us at a Tennessee Firearms Association meeting. Here are some
of the things he taught us.
Lock down the building.
Call the suspect on his cell phone.
Active listening, which means LISTEN, paraphrase back to the suspect, empathize
(not the same as sympathize), don't critique, NEVER say "calm down".
NEVER let the suspect talk to his pastor or spouse.
Address the suspect by first name.
You may interrupt the suspect, just don't piss him off. Keep the negotiations on
track. Ya, there are some things we would never give the suspect, but we will never
say that. If they want a helicopter, we say that is very difficult, but we are working
on it.
No absolute generalizations.
No yelling and screaming.
If the suspect is pointing a gun at you, don't put your hands all the way up. Maintain
a 90 degree bend at the elbows. This makes it much easier to get to your gun on your
belt should the need arise.
Most suspects want to shoot persons facing them.
If you want to know how you shoot under stress, run in place for 1 minute, do 5
sit up, and 5 push ups (fast like your life depended on it) and then shoot. You'll probably
be very surprised at how poorly you do. And that ain't much exercise. It's just that most
people don't do that much exercise, ever.
---
You may never have occasion to use the above techniques. But unlike God, you
don't decide.
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
"You don't need to memorize theorems, because you can always derive them
from first principles."
-- Prof. Sven Hartman, Physics Department, Columbia University
Similarly with all self-defense theory and practice. Of course you have to know
the principles. Consider Jeff Cooper's book, "Principles of Personal Defense".
--- Classes and Conferences ---
Rangemaster-Certified Instructors
Email from Randy Harris --
Hey guys and gals, just a quick summer update for training group action.
On Saturday June 29 we will be in Dayton TN at The Ridge doing a combination
Pistol and Shotgun day. We will shoot some short pistol drills and work on shotgun
skills and as always we will finish up with a man vs man duel. Here's the Eventbrite link....
Dayton TN June 29
Then for those a little farther north....On Saturday July 13 at Windrock Training Center
after the morning Bug match we will be conducting "How Qualified Are You?"
July 13 Oliver Springs TN
And finally (for now), we will be in Gallatin TN on Saturday August 3 for the 1 day
class Primary Skills for the Armed Citizen. This will be at Sumner Gun and Supply
Indoor Range .......
Aug 3 Gallatin TN
"KR Training June 2024 Newsletter"
Trident Concepts
"Using Force Weighing the Options"
The difference between force and deadly force.
The case for using force to protect yourself or someone else.
Whether displaying a weapon constitutes the use of deadly force.
Why ignorance of the law is never a good defense.
The various ways the legal system can handle use-of-force cases.
How responsible gun owners could still find themselves in court.
Friday, 8/16/2024
17:00 to 19:00
Royal Range USA
7741 U.S. Route70 South
Nashville, TN 37221
Remember we have a legal system, not a justice system. None of the
parties care about justice. Everyone just wants to win.
Remember Glenn Funk prosecuting Nashville Police Officer Andrew
Delke for 1st degree murder under the "legal" theory that one can
premeditate in an instant? Delke was chasing an armed suspect who
pointed his pistol at Delke. Delke fire and killed the suspect. I have yet
to speak to anyone familiar with the case who thinks that Delke should
have been charged with a crime, much less prosecuted. But that's the
scum bag prosecutor we've got in Nashville. Funk prosecutes those
exercising their God given right to self-defense and neglects to prosecute
Black Lives Matter and Antifa Rioters. Funk also refused to prosecute
those who act mentally ill, simply releasing them onto the street to murder
again.
So you should expect to be prosecuted when you use lethal in
self-defense or defense of others, as your job entails.
The people of Nashville elected Funk. Why did Delke take a plea deal?
Because every mock jury pool pulled from the Nashville area
voted to convict. That's the type of people that live in Nashville.
They don't believe in the right to keep and bear arms. They don't
believe in the God given right to self-defense.
Remember what Andrew Branca says, even if you are completely
innocent, there is a 10% chance you will be convicted. That's just the
noise in the system. That's why it is essential to have a powerful,
politically connected attorney who will get the charges dismissed.
If he's really good, he will prevent the police and prosecutor from
charging you in the first place.
In America, you get as much justice as you can afford. Competent
attorneys are extremely expensive ($1000 per hour in Nashville).
So you either have large amounts of liquid assets or an insurance policy
that will actually pay the attorney fees, private investigator fees
(because the police will not investigate for you and will not turn over
exculpatory evidence to your attorney, sorry that's reality), expert witness
fees, subject matter expert attorneys, and bail money up front in full.
Because you need to get bailed out immediately, so you don't commit
suicide (Jeffery Epstein) or get sodomized or beaten to death in jail.
You may think that sort of thing rarely happens, but the truth is it rarely
happens to criminals familiar with the prison system. It happen quite
often to good citizens unfamiliar with the system and unprepared for
the prison system. A self-defense immunity hearing takes between
15 and 18 month to occur. Could you survive that long in jail with the
buddies of the guy you killed?
All competent attorneys will demand payment in full up front.
Because afterwards, the client has no incentive to pay. And the client
may even be claiming ineffective counsel in his appeal.
No bank will lend you money to pay attorney fees, sorry that's reality.
So you must have a real insurance policy from a company that will
actually pay up front in full.
If you think the court appointed defense attorney will take care of you,
consider the fact that he has 50 other cases that he is working on
simultaneously with yours. The court appointed defense attorney cannot
demand $1000 per hour (if he could, he'd be working in the private
sector), and will close all cases with plea deals. The ones that he takes to
trial are statistically insignificant. He probably can't remember the last
case he took to trial. His job is to clear the docket. His job is not to
try cases.
May I invite your attention to,
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
The various policies are drastically different.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
----- Practice -----
How to get proficient at that task.
Why practice?
“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively
tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them
and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or
unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”
-- Winston Churchill
"Drill for practicing shooting an attacking dog" by Stephen P. Wenger, http://spw-duf.info
1. Acquire several one-gallon jugs that have molded handles (the dogs).
Fill with water and cap.
2. Get a length of clothesline of at least 50 feet and tie it to the jug,
then place the jug downrange.
3. Run the clothesline either through the shooter's belt loop or
a carabiner clipped to the shooter's belt. [The friction may burn the belt loop. -- Jon Low]
4. Pull he jug toward the shooter, from behind at increasing speeds.
(The original version of this drill used an eyebolt in the ground,
but by running the line on the side of the shooter, the shooter can use
lateral movement and have the "charging dog" follow.)
[I think this is so cool! -- Jon Low]
[My friend Mark Fitzhenry in South Carolina was doing maintenance on one of his
rental properties, when a dog jump the fence and charged him. He shot the dog 5 times
with a 1911 type pistol chambered in 45 ACP using copper jacketed round nose bullets.
All 5 bullets hit the dog. None of the bullets passed through the dog. The dog died and
Mark was not injured. That's reality. You must shoot until the threat stops. -- Jon Low]
‟Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat
whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous.”
-- ‶Shooting in Self-Defense″ by Sara Ahrens
The instructors don’t expect you to master any of the techniques while in this class.
They expect you to practice the techniques later, when you get home, when you get
back to your unit. So, it is up to you to practice the techniques after the class to master
the the techniques.
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
I hit a milestone today, 20 June 2024 A.D. While dry practicing with left had only,
I was able to hold my iron sights on target (ICE-QT at 6 yards) and release the shot
without the sights moving relative to the target. I mean absolutely still. And I was
able to repeat the task. So it wasn't a fluke.
It took me 37 years of on-again off-again practice (irregular) and 4 years of dedicated
practice (regular intervals, keeping a journal, etc.).
What's the secret, Staff? I had previously eaten well for several years. I had previously
slept well for several years. I had previously exercised well for several years. I had regular
medical care, especially eye exams.
Also, I had machined the polymer grip to fit my hand, nothing to cause callouses.
I had painted my front sight a fluorescent yellow/green, and my rear sight a fluorescent
orange (Thanks to Tom Givens).
Were the conditions realistic? Well, I was standing in the kitchen and the target was
on a wall in the livingroom, 6 yards away. The kitchen lights were on, the livingroom
lights were off (sort of the opposite of an indoor range). The target was slightly above
normal human height, because the target was above the air conditioner.
According to coaching theory that I had learned in coaches courses at the
Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO; one should reward oneself
on any milestone achievement. In the past I have bought myself a candy bar or some
such thing. But this was really big, so I went downstairs and told the female friend of
my achievement and asked her to celebrate with me. She rolled her eyes and slammed
the door in my face. I guess she didn't think it was such a big achievement.
“It takes at least two thousand (2000) repetitions to engrain muscle memory,
so that you can perform the techniques reflexively, without thought.”
– Russell Tanji, Honolulu Police Instructor, SIG Instructor
"SHOOTING 101: Train Like You Mean It, With Intent"
by Madison Heim
1. Set a Goal
[and make it public, there is no chance of failure if you keep it secret,
fear of failure is a motivator -- Jon Low]
2. Keep a Schedule
[self discipline]
3. Helpful Tools
[charge all your magazines at home before you go to the range,
so you don't have to charge magazine at the range, . . . then get more magazines;
if you must charge magazines on the range, may I suggest
GUN NUTZ
BULLET-LOADER-TRAY (B.L.T)
I got one of these. It works. Very easy to load magazines. And it fits in an ammo can.
-- Jon Low]
4. Going Solo
[You're here to practice, not talk. No your buddies are not going to help you.
They are going to distract you. -- Jon Low]
5. Training at Home
[Dry practice, make it a ritual in your religion. Just like praying. -- Jon Low]
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, Escape
Table of contents:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy -----
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it,
which tactics to use, which includes walking away.
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
When I was in the Marine Corps, the Drill Instructors and Chaplains (and rarely,
Commanding Officers) would teach us that Marine don't solve their problems by
killing themselves. Marines solve their problems by killing their enemies.
The enemy must expend huge amounts of resources: money, manpower, ammunition,
and all the logistical support to feed the men and machines to kill us. If you kill yourself,
you have done the enemy's job for him, free of charge.
The ATF agents may invade your home and try to kill you. Your job is to kill them
first. Ya, you may go to prison (if you're incompetent enough to get captured). If so,
your mission is to survive. Eat whatever they feed you. Your mission is to survive.
Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape.
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics -----
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy.
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
" “Mass Shootings” versus Active Killer Attacks" by Greg Ellifritz
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
Hello Jonathan,
The rise in active shooter events is not going away anytime soon. This will most likely
be a problem requiring a complex and complicated solution beyond the scope of an article.
I'm famous for uttering a Stoic quote, "control what is controllable." It applies towards the
type of firearm you carry for concealed. Before you get wrapped around the axle with
some sort of tactical duty pistol, we are talking about the carry pistol you carry everyday.
It's more about capability of the shooter, than the gun. Here are three things to consider to
evaluate your skill level to manage an active shooter.
Tactic #1: Maximize your distance
Chances are you will not be the focus of the attack, but merely in the vicinity. If you are
the focus, that's a whole other ballgame. If you are at the attack site it will be close range
and fast. If you are in the attack zone, there will be distance. The question is how skilled
are you hitting targets at distance. For a handgun, getting good hits at 25 yards is pretty
much the standard. That is body shots at 25 yards. Consider extending the range to 35,
40, even 50 yards in a training environment. But what if all you have is a headshot?
What distance can you make a dedicated headshot under pressure. Gear and equipment
that elevate your game such as mini-red dot sights are highly recommended.
Tactic #2: Minimize your exposure
If all you haver is air between you and the active shooter that's a problem. Engaging the
threat with effective fire is one form of cover, but better would be hard cover. Shooting
from behind barricades is another skill to develop to include positional work. Don't just
focus on standing options, but kneeling and maybe even prone. If you are at the attack
site, returning fire maybe your best option if retreat is off the table. Then seek cover.
If you are in the attack zone, getting to cover to assess should be the top priority. Now,
add tactic #1 to tactic #2 and can you engage targets at distance from behind cover.
Experimenting with supported and braced positions to extend your range is another
skill to develop. If you going to hold up at your cover, you may be there a while so
braced positions to cover down in the sector of fire you can see is worth considering.
Tactic #3: Keep the gun running
Stopping the advance of an active shooter is another solid option. Reducing their
mobility can greatly reduce the risk to the public. Freedom of movement is there strength.
When they are pinned down to one location until help arrives it might very well alter the
outcome. For that, you might need a decent loadout to halt their advance. Now we talk
about capacity and reloads. Whatever the magazine capacity is for your carry gun make
good use of the rounds. Even ineffective fire can create an altered outcome. Ineffective
fire meaning it is not hitting the target. It gives them something to think about, not to
mention when confronted with armed resistance their mindset alters to self-preservation.
A reload is a solid option, but performing the reload before you're empty might mean
speed reloads. The object of a speed reload is minimal downtime. If you win the fight,
you can recover your partial magazine later. It is recommended to carry a higher capacity
magazine for your speed reload and in my case that is 17 or 21 rounds.
So, take tactic #1 and use it with tactic #2 while being ready for tactic #3. Remember,
avoidance is the best tactic, but if you are caught with no other option, train these tactics
to improve your capability.
Good luck
JLG (Jeff L. Gonzales)
P.S. feel free to share with other like minded folks.
[The supported squatting position with both feet flat on the ground and support-side
elbow resting on the support-side knee is the fastest most stable lower position to get
into and out of. If you can't get into the position, the solution is to stretch and practice.
Never give up. The juice is worth the squeeze. The tempi you gain over using the
kneeling position is enough to force a win.
Random House Dictionary --
Tempo, plural tempi: Chess. the gaining or losing of time and effectiveness relative to
one's continued mobility or developing position, especially with respect to the number
of moves required to gain an objective.
-- Jon Low]
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
It's important for the gunner to know his effective range (his skill level).
It's important for the gunner to know his weapon's effective range.
It's important for the pilot to know the effective ranges, so he can bring the weapons
platform within range of the target. (Oh, just like self-defense / personal-combat.)
[Copied from the Intel section.]
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques -----
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
Purse Carry
A lady friend, 69 years of age, experienced and knowledgeable about guns, took
me to a "purse carry pistol class". The venue was a mansion in Nashville. The range
was in the basement. It was finer than The Range in Austin, TX. The bourbon and
wine selection was staggering. The class was 8 hours, not including the breakfast,
lunch, and dinner. They were having drinks with their meals, so I was very concerned.
I don't like it when people think the safety rules don't apply to them. Ya, I should have
excused myself and walked out, but I was an invited guest. I know that's a bad excuse.
If you're going to carry in a purse, you must place the strap over your head and across
your chest, not just over one shoulder. If your purse is hanging from your shoulder and
is on the same side of your body as that shoulder, when it swings around, it will disturb
your shot causing you to miss. If your purse falls onto your arm, it will definitely
disturb your shot.
There are various techniques to keep your purse from moving while you pull your
pistol out. Experiment and practice to make sure you're not muzzling yourself. Your
purse is not cover. If you practice, you can flip the purse off of your pistol with one
hand. Grabbing the strap near the purse and pulling the purse off of my pistol works
for me.
Yes, I had to take a purse carry class to learn this. No, I do not generally carry a
purse. But, if you're going to teach students and answer questions from the students,
you had better know enough to answer their questions.
NEVER put your purse down. Never place it in the drawer of your desk when at
work. Never put your purse in the shopping cart when grocery shopping. Never take it
off your body. (I know this is going to sound weird, but I don't think any of the students
in this class had ever worked a job or gone grocery shopping.)
NEVER hand your purse to a servant (She was not referring to your butler or maid.).
Handle your purse as if your [illegal stash of] drugs were in it.
ALWAYS carry your purse with the strap over your head and across your chest.
The strap MUST have a steel cable running through it. Slashing the strap with a
razor in a purse snatching event is common.
The purse MUST have a separate pocket for your pistol. This pocket must have
your holster sewn into the purse. Or, Velcro (or something) to securely hold the
holster in place. The holster must be made for your pistol ("One size fits all" is false.
The holster must be made for your pistol.) Never put anything else in this pocket.
The pocket opening should be on the side of the purse, so you can establish a proper
grip on your pistol without removing the pistol from the holster or the purse. You
should be able to pull the pistol out of the holster far enough to allow you to get your
trigger finger on the trigger without exposing the pistol. Your pistol should still be
concealed in the purse. You're going to need to adjust the strap length to be able to
do this inconspicuously.
If you need to shoot, you should be able to shoot through your purse. (A hammerless
revolver makes sense for this application. Also notice that the purse acts as a silencer,
sort of. One student had a semi-auto pistol whose "slide" reciprocated inside of the
pistol "body". I couldn't find any serial number or other markings on the pistol. When
I asked her about it, she told me that a friend had made it for her.) The hostess / instructor
had purses for us to practice shooting through.
If you don't need to shoot, you should be able to holster the pistol without anyone
knowing that you had a pistol.
If your purse doesn't allow you to do this, keep searching, you haven't found your
purse yet. Or, you're going to need to have your purse modified.
Guys on the range would have been checking out each other's pistols. In this class,
the gals were fondling each other's purses. Most of the purses in the class were
custom made. One student showed up with a Hilde Palladino purse made of alligator hide,
heavily modified. I was taking notes so I'd have suggestions for my students.
There was a little purse retention techniques taught.
After practice, wipe your purse with a soft cloth and distilled white vinegar. Now
you can take it through a TSA check point, where they check for gun shot residue,
explosive residue, and such. When the vinegar evaporates, you won't be able to smell it.
There was also some instruction on how to get your purse through an X-ray machine.
I was a little surprised that the instructor would teach this material. Having worked the
X-ray machines at the Federal building in Nashville, I knew the information she was
teaching was correct and would work. (Hey it's an arms race. There is a way to beat
any system.)
A new experience for me. The instructor preferred that I not mention her contact
information. Sorry. (I should have kept my mouth shut about the alcohol.)
Such classes are not uncommon. Vicki Farnam teaches a ladies course at some
resort in the mountains. Mickey Schuch hosts a week long class in Nashville.
(Andrew Branca has taught at Mickey's class.)
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
"CONCEALED CARRY FOR WOMEN:
THE BEST ON-BODY AND OFF-BODY OPTIONS"
by ELIZABETH BIENAS
If you're going to wear a thigh holster, I think you should wear it inboard on the support
side thigh. If you don't have enough space between your thighs, then I guess outboard on
the firing side thigh is an option. But it's going to print and bump into things.
"Grip first, then press [the trigger]."
-- Mike Seeklander
"TRIGGER FINGER PLACEMENT
BACK TO BASICS" by MASSAD AYOOB
Excerpt:
"Each of us has to adapt our hand to the gun . . . but if the gun is not mandatory
issue for police or military service, we have the option of buying a gun that fits our
hand, in terms of trigger finger placement and other respects."
[After buying a pistol that is close to correct for the shooter, any modern polymer
frame pistol may be modified to fit the shooter's hand. Any modern pistol may be
modified to adjust the trigger position to accommodate the length of the shooter's
trigger finger. It's just a matter of finding a competent gunsmith. Which I admit
can be difficult. But worth the effort.
It's easy for gunsmiths to swap out triggers in model 1911 type pistol.
There are lots of after market trigger groups for Glock pistols.
All modern pistols can be adjusted to fit you. You just have to care enough to do it.
-- Jon Low]
"VIDEO: A Simple Guide to Loading and Operating a Pistol" by Fred Mastison
See how he is pointing the pistol up into space as he reloads? That violates safety rule II,
Never let the pistol cover anything you are not willing to destroy. He doesn't think the pistol
will fire, so he's not worried about it. If the pistol did fire, he has no idea where it would
hit.
I think you should keep the pistol pointed down to the ground or down range, if on a
range, while reloading. Or unloading, or doing any administrative action.
Always muzzle aware and pointing in a safe direction.
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to treat your wounds or the wounds of your loved ones.
Suggestions on how to avoid prosecution, conviction, and prison time.
Suggestions on how to avoid the civil law suit and judgment.
Table of contents:
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath -----
You must be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
"Use of Force Post-Incident Procedures" by John Murphy
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address,
"Nothing to Lose!" by John Farnam
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the link is,
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
The various policies are drastically different.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
“Your understanding and consent are not required
for someone to take your life, kill your loved ones,
and destroy all you hold dear.”
-- William Aprill
*************************************************************************
----- Medical -----
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
You need to know how to stop the bleeding:
How to apply a tourniquet (only appropriate on arms and legs, so tight that he's
screaming because it hurts, as close to the torso as possible, if you can feel a pulse or
see bleeding below the tourniquet you're WRONG).
How to pack a wound (in toward the heart, keep shoving gauze in until it's packed
tight, then cover with a pressure dressing).
How to apply a chest seal (appropriate for puncture wounds between the neck and
navel, burp it, anything that is airproof will work, plastic wrap, credit card, etc.)
---
You need to know how to start the breathing:
Clear the airway. Stick your fingers into their mouth and dig out the vomit, blood,
mucus, food, and other obstructions. Drowning in one's own vomit is a thing.
Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (you'll be forcing breathing as well as forcing blood flow).
Mouth to mouth resuscitation (if you're too squeamish to do it, get out of the way and
let someone else do it, but it's unlikely anyone else will do it).
If you are able to get a pulse or breathing, put victim into the recovery position (on
their side with arms and legs positioned to keep them on their side).
---
Don't know what I'm talking about? Take a class. It's great fun, you'll meet interesting
people. You never know, the life you save may be a loved one.
*************************************************************************
----- Survival -----
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
Table of contents:
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
"LOUIS AWERBUCK: INTERVIEW WITH A MADMAN"
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
"It’s like if you advocate what’s colloquially called point shooting and you tag
somebody -– you’re in a deadly force situation and you fire one round and hit him
right between the eyes at thirty feet -– you are going to convince yourself that you
point-shot that round. You may have used sighted fire. You don’t know."
"I’ve seen a guy with a bolt rifle drain four rounds out of it, just running the bolt
never pressing the trigger, not understanding why the springbok didn’t fall over.
There are people with a semiautomatic in a fight who never press the trigger, run
the slide, never press the trigger, run the slide and jack out eight or fourteen live
rounds on the floor. It’s called buck fever. That fascinates me, it’s the psychology,
it’s all mental."
"Weekend Knowledge Dump- June 21, 2024" by Greg Ellifritz
Greg's newsletters -- Active Response Training
Some history for you.
"The ATF is a Criminal Organization" by Liberty Doll
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Legal -----
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
"The Boundaries Of Self-Defense" by Alex Ooley
"Joe Biden Perpetuates Cannon Canard As Karma Catches Up" by Dave Workman
I have been to many cannon and mortar shoots in Tennessee. Ammo is expensive,
so they generally fill 12 ounce soda cans with concrete and shoot them. Great fun!
"Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca
(free book, just pay for shipping so you don't have to go to Colorado to pick it up)
"Can You Legally Shoot THROUGH Your Door?" by Andrew Branca
"The 5 Elements of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca (free of charge)
Email from Firearms Policy Coalition --
Jonathan,
Last week saw some major dominoes fall.
The Supreme Court struck down the “bumpstock” ban.
And then a judge ruled in favor of FPC and vacated the ATF’s “pistol brace” rule!
To say it was a big week would be an understatement.
But the work is nowhere near done.
We expect the government to appeal the “pistol brace” decision.
And we are taking on the ATF’s “frame or receiver” rule at SCOTUS,
with briefing scheduled to begin in a matter of days!
Stay free,
The FPC Team
"Magazine Ban Permanently Struck Down & Ruled Unconstitutional!
Huge Mistake Risks Appeal" [in Oregon, U.S.A.]
Disappointing, but not surprising.
"Prosecutor rules fatal shooting of Bryan Malinowski in ATF raid was 'justified' "
by Michael Buckner and Ashley Godwin (THV11)
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Cited letter,
Doing a home invasion at night and killing the home owner is 'justified'.
Remember, this was a search warrant, not an arrest warrant.
Notice that the prosecuting attorney is careful not to identify the U.S. Magistrate Judge
who signed the no knock, night time, search warrant.
Let us remember that we are only getting one side of the story. No evidence has been
presented that Malinowski bought firearms illegally or sold firearms illegally. No physical
evidence, only statements. No arrest. No prosecution. No conviction. Now that Malinowski
is dead, he cannot defend himself. How convenient.
"Tampa teen Christos Alexander Themelis used the gun his mother bought
to protect herself from 'monster' son to kill his parents in bloody murder spree"
by GREG WOODFIELD
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
All of his guns were confiscated and he stilled got a gun and killed people.
Such is the effectiveness of Red Flag laws.
Chevron Deference
Ya, Hawaii has always been like this. That's why I had to leave.
“Is there no virtue among us?
If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form, will insure liberty and happiness
for a dishonorable population represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
*************************************************************************
----- Instruction -----
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
----- Instructors -----
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
"The Real Training Challenge
Teaching is just a portion of what’s required to be an effective defensive-firearms instructor."
by SHERIFF JIM WILSON
Excerpt:
"A lot of instructors can teach shooting skills but, since they have never dealt with
the criminal element themselves, they really don’t know how to teach mindset to
their students. I fear we don’t spend nearly enough time on in-depth class discussions
pertaining to developing the mindset."
"So, while I am pleased that so many people survive criminal attacks despite having
no training and using less-than-optimal equipment, my job is to help people develop
skills that will give them a better chance of surviving."
"Teach them diligently . . . "
-- Deuteronomy 6:7
Don't use filler words (e.g. "like", "you now", "I mean", "um", etc.).
It makes you sound stupid.
If you can't speak without using filler words, write your script and read your script,
until you can speak without filler words.
Consider Toast Masters.
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
Instructors should separate any persons with emotional connections (spouses,
boyfriend - girlfriend, parent – child, etc.) because instruction requires objectivity
and professional distance. If you let one student do anything for another student,
you prevent the other student from doing it, which prevents the other student from
learning how to do it. People learn by doing, so you must allow them to do the
task.
One person is having difficulty charging their magazines, so the other person
says, "Oh, let me do that for you." WRONG! If you charge her magazine for her,
she will not learn to do it, much less correctly.
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
One of your hand outs should be a list of dry practice drills.
Stretching exercises, to allow the instructor to know of any range of motion
limitations or movement problems that the student may have.
Sit on the ground. Spread legs, reach to right foot, reach to left foot, reach to right
of the right foot, reach to left of the left foot.
Left arm reaching to the sky, right shoulder to right knee, left hand reaching to right foot.
Right arm reaching to the sky, left shoulder to left knee, right hand reaching to left foot.
Standing, legs straight, bend forward, hands touch toes, head touches knees, chest touches
thighs.
Standing, legs straight, bend backwards, hands touch ground.
Standing, legs straight, bend to the right, right hand to right foot.
Standing, legs straight, bend to left, left hand to left foot.
Without moving your feet.
Twist to right to look behind yourself.
Twist to left to look behind yourself.
Balance exercises, to allow the instructors to know of any problems that the student
might have. (If the student can't do it, that's fine. It's just necessary information.)
Stand on your right foot only. Stand on your left foot only.
Right leg only deep knee bend (pistol squat). Left leg only deep knee bend.
All the way down, all the way up.
Arms stretched out to your sides, lean to your left, hold right leg straight out to the side.
Arms stretched out to your sides, lean to your right, hold left leg straight out to the side.
Feet together, up on your tippy toes, twist to your right as far as you can, back to
center, twist to your left as far as you can, back to center.
Repeat with your eyes closed. Most balance is from visual cuing. With your eyes
closed is testing your inner ear balance.
In private, if your student drives a motor vehicle, ask your student if they have ever
been involved in an auto collision. Involved means they were driving one of the vehicles.
If the student answers yes, ask how many.
The extent of damage or injury doesn't matter. Either they hit something or something
hit them. This is an indication of whether or not the student is a defensive driver. Which
is a well defined psychological type.
Defensive drivers can be expected to not have safety violation. Non-defensive drivers
should be carefully watched during the class.
If the student is too young to drive or does not drive for some other reason, inquire
about sports, as in participation in sports, not being a spectator. High school sports,
college sports, any team or league sports outside of school, or dance (Chess team does
not count, no matter what level.). This will give you an idea of the student's level of
klutziness. In the Marine Corps, the Drill Instructors carefully watched the Privates
for several weeks and took careful notes. With an indelible black ink marker, they
would write on the back of the Privates hand an "S" if the the Private was a spas (likely
to exhibit spastic behavior), before the handgrenade range exercises.
If you can't identify the problem students within a couple hours of the start of class,
you need to stop and think about how you're going to fix yourself. Because you are
responsible for preventing safety violations in your class.
If you are able to identify the problem student, what are you going to do about it?
Assign an assistant instructor to the student? Ask the student to leave the class and
come back later for a tutorial? Ask the student to do the class dry? Ask the student
to wait until you are watching him before performing the drill? Or, if the class is small
enough, having each student perform the drill individually while you watch? The
options are only limited by your imagination.
----- Students -----
Your instructor should demonstrate every technique before asking you to perform it.
If he forgets, remind him to do so. If he performs it too fast for you to follow, ask him
to do it again slowly. If he refuses to demonstrate, you might want to leave the class.
If any of the other students give you the stink eye for slowing down the class, remember
that you are doing what is necessary to ensure their safety, which means that they get to
go home after the class without extra holes in their bodies. So, you are doing them a
great favor. Even if they are too stupid to thank you.
Everything we teach has a purpose. If you don’t understand why you are doing what
you are doing, you won’t be able to do it properly. So, ask for an explanation of any
technique that you don’t understand. It is not enough to know how to execute the
technique, you must know why. So that you will understand when to use the technique.
Please ask questions. If you can’t form a question, tell the instructor what you are
doing or thinking.
“It is better to be wrong than to be vague.”
– Prof. Freeman Dyson, from a lecture at the University of California Berkeley
If you are wrong, the instructor can correct you. If you are vague, no one can help you.
“Seize the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your doubts;
for if you let it pass, the desire may never return, and you may remain in ignorance.”
– William Wirt
Ask your question NOW! You need the answer now, to use the information
on what you are working on now. If you wait till the end of the class or end of the
day, you will forget the question; and the opportunity for learning, yours and your
fellow student's, is lost.
If the instructor teaches you anything that seems crazy, stupid, or unsafe, speak up
immediately. Lots of police, military, and civilians get killed every year during training.
When I took the instructor’s course at Front Sight, they told us about this incident.
After the instructor had given the briefing in preparation to do a live fire exercise in
one of the shoot houses, one of the students said that the student did not feel
comfortable shooting at the instructors. Clearly, there had been a misunderstanding.
Was it the student’s fault? Was it the instructor’s fault? Doesn’t matter. Speak up
on anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
As they teach us in business school, over communicate, because there will always
be that 10% who don’t get the message. If you don’t understand what you are supposed
to do, ask the instructor. Don’t think that you can watch the other students and figure it out.
That would be dangerous.
The instructor and assistant instructors may need to touch you for instructional
purposes. If you would prefer not to be touched, please inform the instructor privately.
In the event of a safety violation, the instructors may grab or push you aggressively.
----- Andragogy -----
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
"Words of Wisdom from Louis Awerbuck" by Greg Ellifritz
Students are distracting. To perfect / refine your teaching skill practice teaching without
students. Teaching an imaginary student. You'll learn a lot.
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
*************************************************************************
----- Gear -----
And the safe storage thereof.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Enough Gun?" by Greg Ellifritz
"Extra Ammo? Why Not?
Remember that Murphy's law is a law, and not a suggestion."
by SHERIFF JIM WILSON
A partial reload with a revolver? How exactly are you going to do that? Is your revolver
capable of pushing only some of the cartridges out of your chambers?
If I tilt my revolver to reload, all of the cartridges fall out.
---
“When the fight is over, be sure to reload. It is just unseemly for a gentleman
to walk around with an empty gun on.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
"Red Dots Shouldn't Break" by Ben Stoeger
"The Status and Styles of Secure Storage Gun Laws" by Jacob Paulsen
"Secure Storage Requirements"
---
Some states have strict liability, some don't. Liability is not directly related to storage
but can become entangled with.
Guys often think, "This pistol works fine for me. I'll buy it." But they should be thinking,
"Will this pistol work for my wife, girlfriend, little sister?"
Do you remember when the FBI was using the Sig Sauer P226? They flunked a lot of
ladies out of the FBI Academy, because the ladies didn't have the grip strength to pull the
double action trigger. A lawsuit ensued, the FBI reinstated the ladies, and changed their
standard issued pistol.
Smart people learn from their mistakes. Wise people learn from the mistakes of others.
You're not going to be around all the time to protect your loved ones. But you should
have given them the training and tools to protect themselves.
Some states have stupid laws. So the manufacturers adapt and overcome.
"Unique AR Builds Get Creative to Comply with State Laws"
by Alexander Reville
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger. http://spw-duf.info
"What the Next Generation of Duty Pistols Will Be Like" by TREX LABS
"Sig Sour on Verdict After Jury Awards $2.3 Million to Man Shot By His Own P320"
by TTAG Contributor
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
"According to New Hampshire Public Radio, since 2018, Sig Sauer “has been sued
dozens of times” from both civilians and law enforcement officers alleging a design
flaw in the P320. Until this week’s verdict in Georgia, no cases had resulted in a finding
of liability against the company, though two cases were settled out of court."
[Well, if you sue the same company with the same complaint enough times, you will
eventually get a win. That's just statistics.
Also note that Sig Sauer has made no changes to the design of the P320. Perhaps they
fear that would be a tacit admission that something is wrong with the design.
Some people fix the "problem", some people double down on the claim that there is no
problem. Only the civil judgments will indicate which was the "smart" strategy.
Remember Ford Motor Company and exploding gas tanks in their cars? You're probably
too young. They made the business decision that the money they would lose to civil
judgements would be less than the cost of redesigning the car. Oops!
-- Jon Low]
Cited article,
"Jury finds Sig Sauer liable for pistol shooting; awards $2.3M in damages"
by Todd Bookman
Lang v. Sig Sauer, Inc.; Docket Report
Lang v. Sig Sauer, Inc.
JURY VERDICT for Robert Bryan Lang in the amount of $2,350,963.43.
---
OfficerStore.com is flush with P320 police department trade ins. If you're willing to
tolerate the small chance of the pistol firing "uncommanded". That's the technical legal
term used in some of the law suits.
"6 Best Tactical Pistols of 2024 [Hands-On Tested]"
by TRAVIS PIKE
Excerpt:
" I tend to be a fan of the short grip but long slide for concealed carry."
[I disagree. The grip is your interface with the pistol. The grip determines your ability to
control the pistol. So the grip must be long enough to allow you to get your support side
little finger on the grip. The barrel length / slide length doesn't matter at self-defense
distances. But should be as long as possible. -- Jon Low]
---
Walther PDP, $649. A reversible mag release is not an ambidextrous mag release.
Ambidextrous slide stop.
Glock 47 MOS, $799.99. (Wow! $800 for a EDC pistol?) A reversible mag release
is not an ambidextrous mag release. Ambidextrous slide stop.
CZ P10-C, $512. Ambidextrous mag release. Ambidextrous slide stop.
FN 509 Tactical, $899. (Wow! $900 for a EDC pistol?) Ambidextrous.
FNX-45 Tactical, $1,199. ($1200 for an EDC pistol?) Ambidextrous. DA/SA what a
terrible idea. Every trigger press should be exactly the same. Training to two different
trigger presses unnecessarily complicates the manual of arms. I guess if you're a massage
therapist with huge strong hands, it might make sense.
Sig Sauer P226 Legion, $1,299.99 ($1300 for an EDC pistol?). Not ambidextrous.
Made only for right-handed shooters. (Just because you're right handed doesn't mean you're
going to be right-handed in combat.) The article says that the pistol is Double Action Only
(DAO). That is false. The Sig Sauer web site at
says there are Double Action / Single Action (DA/SA) or Single Action Only (SAO) versions
of the pistol. Maybe the reviewers didn't actually do a "hands on review". Actually, it's
obvious from the photo in the article. Why would a SAO pistol have a decocking lever?
DA/SA? Why make your shooting more difficult than it has to be? This is not a safety
feature, it is a marksmanship hindering flaw. Ya, as a matter of fact, I do know. I had
to carry this pistol everyday for several years.
---
The pistol has to be at a price point that allows you to buy two, because in any self-defense
scenario the police will seize your pistol as evidence. You may have to sue them to get it
back. I had to sue the Cherry Hill, NJ police department to return my firearms. They came
to my apartment and took all of my firearms. Without a warrant. Ya, they were scumbags,
and probably still are.
Or, as Tom Givens says, you must have two: one for practice that you will wear out
(because you practice so much), and one for everyday carry that you know is not worn out.
They must be identical, otherwise you're setting yourself up for a mishap.
---
And because Springfield Armory did not pay their bribes, the XD, XDM, and XDM Elite
pistols are not listed. But of course they are the best and cheapest. Especially if you buy
them from OfficerStore.com as police department trade ins. Louis Awerbuck recommended
the XD Tactical in 45 ACP. That's why I carry one. And keep several more, just in case.
"Why You Should Own Body Armor" by Travis Pike
"Body Armor for Armed Citizens" by Greg Ellifritz
"Seven Things You Don’t Know About Body Armor" by Greg Ellifritz
---
[It is extremely difficult to wear body armor because it is hot. You must consume large
amounts of water to avoid heat exhaustion. If you don't understand what I am saying,
you don't know what you don't know. (I'm not talking about sitting in an air conditioned
patrol car.)
Any hard plate body armor will cause spalling (no matter what anyone else says).
This is why our body armor in the Marine Corps extended out beyond our chins. And
I always wore the crotch protection section, which also protected the thighs. Wearing
hard armor without neck and thigh protection is just stupid. Ya, I was in artillery.
Infantry was different. But what I say is still true.
As Greg points out in his article, you can easily get choked out against your soft body
armor.
Body armor that adequately covers vital organs will restrict movement.
The reason a person is an effective combatant is because he can move quickly and
has a large range of motion. The more armor you put on him, the less effective he
becomes. He gets weighed down. He gets over heated. His movements get restricted.
Yes, I have had to wear body armor as a military policeman, as an artillery
cannoneer, as a courier of cash for filling ATM machines, and as an armed guard
in hospital emergency rooms. But we did not wear armor as an artillery forward observer,
because we had to move, run, jump, crawl, etc.
You have to think this through. I have decided that my ability to move quickly and
freely is more important than bullet protection. We all make choices. May yours be
good for you.
-- Jon Low]
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe,
and preserve order in the world as well as property.
Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of their use."
-- Thomas Paine
Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law, ITAR,
International Traffic in Arms Regulations. That means cryptosystems are
covered by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Never let the
government infringe on your right to keep and bear cryptosystems, to
include home made cryptosystems.
"Big News for Quantum Computing: First Scalable Platforms" by Sabine Hossenfelder
Cited papers,
The data is available. A green flag. The code is available. Double green flag.
Any paper with that many authors makes me skeptical.
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have
perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must
believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing
must be attained."
-- Marie Curie
"This New Idea Could Explain Complexity" by Sabine Hossenfelder
Cited paper,
"Software in the natural world:
A computational approach to hierarchical emergence" by
Fernando E. Rosas, Bernhard C. Geiger, Andrea I Luppi, Anil K. Seth, Daniel Polani,
Michael Gastpar, and Pedro A.M. Mediano
The PDF file,
---
What if the emergent properties of several different systems were similar? Identical?
What if the emergent properties of these different systems were synchronized?
"Any group of synchronized systems can be turned into a cryptosystem."
-- Gunny Wheeler, NTTC, Cory Station
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
***** Signals Intelligence and Ground Electronic Warfare, Cyber Security,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) *****
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
"Lattice-Based Cryptosystems and Quantum Cryptanalysis" by Bruce Schneier
Cited paper,
"Quantum Algorithms for Lattice Problems" by Yilei Chen
International Association for Cryptologic Research used to be a good journal when the
organization started. There is no note indicating that there is an error in the paper,
which makes the conclusion false. Notice that the paper is full of undefined symbols,
capital omega with a tilde on top, big-O with a tilde on top, and such. I should be able
to read the paper without having to send an email to the author asking him what the
symbols mean.
Well, no, Bruce, peer review did not work. Peer review means that the peer reviewers
(usually at least three) review the paper before publication and only allow the paper to
be published upon successful peer review, which means they found no mistakes in the
paper. So the peer reviewers failed. Once the paper was published and entered open
source, an audience member found the error. So open source succeeded, peer review failed.
Peer review doesn't work when the reviewers are incompetent. As a reviewer, it is
your duty to find the errors.
Peer review also doesn't work when the reviewers recommend not publishing the
paper for political reasons. And hide behind their anonymity.
Peer review also doesn't work when the reviewers recommend publishing the
paper for political reasons. And hide behind their anonymity.
‟If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.
Therefore what he must fear is his victim.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
"Privacy Implications of Tracking Wireless Access Points" by Bruce Schneier
Cited papers,
"Why Your Wi-Fi Router Doubles as an Apple AirTag" by Brian Krebs
"Surveilling the Masses with Wi-Fi-Based Positioning Systems"
by Erik Rye and Dave Levin
"Law Allowing The Scanning Of Encrypted Text Messages Heads To Final Vote.
[in the European Union]" by The National Pulse
This has nothing to do with "child sexual abuse material". This has everything to
do with government control of subjects (not citizens, monarchies and tyrannies don't have
citizens).
How the U.S. Army shoots down enemy drones.
Bottom Line Up Front:
"SpaceX pointed out that it could put additional Starlink satellites into orbit faster
and far less expensively than Russia or anyone else could destroy them. This capability
was part of the Starlink design that not only allowed satellite and user software to be
quickly updated but new Starlink satellites often had new features added to improve
performance and that included more resistance to hacking and jamming."
[And Starlink is only second tier. Large corporations are third tier. Governments are
fourth tier. It's just a matter of what salary the organization is willing to pay. -- Jon Low]
"Starlink resistance to hackers and jamming was quickly put to the test as Russia
came after it several times in the first two months of the war, failing in each attempt
because Starlink engineers could diagnose an attack, develop a software patch and
implement it quickly, often in less than an hour."
[Do you think any government bureaucracy (NSA) or large corporate entity (Lockheed
Martin) could respond that quickly? If you do, you've obviously never worked in those
organizations. -- Jon Low]
"Wartime developers are able to improve their tech and hardware more rapidly
because there was continuous feedback from users. Ukraine had an edge here because
many of these developers were hobbyists who knew little about peacetime development,
its bureaucracy and counter-productive over-supervision. Ukrainian developers were
often creating these new UAV techs for friends or family members who were now in the
military and eager for whatever help they could get. The Ukrainian military saw this
entrepreneurial spirit as an advantage, not some form of insubordination or recklessness.
Russians consider the entrepreneurial activities as unauthorized innovations. Despite that,
some Russian innovations appeared, but the Russian innovations took longer to arrive
and implement."
[Having been sucked into and trapped by mind numbing bureaucracies for most of my
career as a software engineer, I can empathize. That's why software engineers would
join venture capital start ups when ever possible. -- Jon Low]
---
From an email from Jim Dunnigan --
"Electronic Weapons: SpaceX Stifles Russian Use of Starlink" by Jim Dunnigan
June 20, 2024: Ukrainian forces have been supplied with SpaceX Starlink satellite
communication terminals since the beginning of the Russian invasion. SpaceX allowed
Ukrainian forces to use Starlink terminals free of charge and as of 2024 about 10,000
Starlink terminals are used in Ukraine by the military, government and some commercial
enterprises.
SpaceX has kept Starlink operational over Ukraine since the war began in early 2022.
This includes paying for rapid patches to defeat Russian EW (electronic Warfare) attacks
and providing many Ukrainian users with the highest and most expensive level of service.
This has cost SpaceX over $100 million. Maintaining the level of Starlink service Ukraine
demands to maintain its communications advantage over Russia keeps growing. Both
Russia and China have been seeking ways to disrupt or shut down Starlink over Ukraine.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, the Ukrainian minister of digital
transformation contacted SpaceX for help in dealing with Russian efforts to cut Ukrainian
access to the Internet. Starlink officials had already been negotiating with Ukraine to
provide Starlink service locally. SpaceX agreed to help and within four days hundreds
of Starlink satellites were moved into position to provide Ukraine with high-speed
Internet service using hundreds of Starlink user kits SpaceX sent to Ukraine. SpaceX
ultimately supplied Ukraine with nearly 2,000 terminals and managed to persuade
countries supplying military aid for Ukraine to include Ukrainian requests for more
Starlink terminals, especially the more expensive, and capable commercial models.
In this way Ukraine was able to obtain over 40,000 terminals so far. Most of these are
used to keep the economy going and the ones used by the military are subject to combat
losses. Civilian users face a similar but lesser risk and about 500 terminals a month are
lost to Russian attacks. These have to be replaced and most, if not all, of the replacements
are paid for by military aid for Ukraine. The Starlink replacement terminals cost about
a million dollars a month.
Early in the war American defense officials admitted that if the Starlink satellite
internet service were government run, it would not have remained operational over
Ukraine because government regulations do not allow for the quick responses Starlink
management used to defeat Russian electronic attacks and keep Starlink operational in
Ukraine.
SpaceX, the American firm that designed, built and put the Starlink satellites into
orbit, accomplished this by encouraging innovation and acting quickly to deal with
service interruptions, including deliberate efforts by hackers or hostile governments.
By April 2022 about 20 percent of the initially planned Starlink global network satellites
were in orbit. More satellites had to be put into orbit to provide the enormous demand
Ukrainian military and civilian users were creating. Before 2022 Starlink was turned
on over a few areas so reviewers and other volunteer users could test the system.
By February 2022 Starlink appeared to be a success but the network also displayed
a remarkable resistance to attacks from hostile governments, and the Russians were
the first ones coming after it with major jamming efforts and threats to destroy Starlink
satellites over Ukraine. SpaceX pointed out that it could put additional Starlink
satellites into orbit faster and far less expensively than Russia or anyone else could
destroy them. This capability was part of the Starlink design that not only allowed
satellite and user software to be quickly updated but new Starlink satellites often had
new features added to improve performance and that included more resistance to hacking
and jamming.
Starlink satellites are designed to last for up to seven years and the Starlink system
is designed to expand to over 30,000 satellites if demand by paying customers is large
enough to justify and pay for it. That is being tested by the heavy use of the Starlink
satellites over Ukraine by Ukrainians who don’t have to pay the usual one time $500
startup or and $99 monthly fees. This serves as a test of how much heavy use each
satellite can handle, especially when constantly subject to heavy Russian hacking and
jamming efforts. This got a lot more expensive as Starlink introduced its more capable,
and expensive, commercial and military grade terminals.
Russia did seek to sever the fiber optic cables that connect Ukraine to the global
Internet, and generally try to disrupt Internet service inside Ukraine. Starlink made
this effort futile and Starlink became the first satellite communications service that
could be described as combat tested. This is always a major selling point for military
equipment or anything built to that is built to survive in a harsh environment. Starlink
expected many emergency relief organizations would maintain Starlink accounts that
could be taken into disaster areas where most communications were disabled. Starlink
terminals can be linked to local networks and supply Internet service for locals and
emergency workers.
Starlink resistance to hackers and jamming was quickly put to the test as Russia
came after it several times in the first two months of the war, failing in each attempt
because Starlink engineers could diagnose an attack, develop a software patch and
implement it quickly, often in less than an hour. Starlink also responded by modifying
the design of newly manufactured Starlink satellites to resist efforts to disrupt service.
The Ukrainians were equally innovative in finding new ways to use Starlink Internet
service in combat. One example was using Starlink to support attacks on Russian supply
lines day and night. The night attacks were effective because of the use of small
Ukrainian designed UAVs equipped with GPS, a night vision camera, a laser range finder
and a link to a nearby artillery unit via Starlink. The UAV patrolled Russian supply routes
at night and, when a convoy was spotted trying to move safely in the dark, the artillery
unit had the continually updated location of the trucks. That enabled the Ukrainians
to fire at the convoy and destroy many of the vehicles while demoralizing the survivors
who didn’t believe the Ukrainians could detect them in the dark and call-in accurate
artillery fire.
Similar innovations were developed to provide Ukrainian military units with better
communications than the Russian invaders. That edge has been maintained and
expanded even though Russians, now the Chinese, continue trying to disrupt Starlink
service or find ways to locate active terminals quickly and target them for air or artillery
attack.
Russian users obtained some Starlink terminals and tried to use them in Ukraine.
SpaceX discovered this and disabled the Russian terminals.
The American military bureaucracy is not hopelessly trapped by mandatory rules
and regulations. In wartime the system becomes a lot more responsive as the military
is allowed to act quickly and effectively to deal with problems. This was the case
during the recent war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq/Syria. That effort is winding
down and the rules and regulations are regaining their dominance. Commercial firms
like SpaceX achieve success by using wartime rules and often eventually fade as more
rules replace their freedom to quickly respond.
Winning: People's War in Ukraine
June 20, 2024: One rarely mentioned aspect of the Ukraine War is the frequent
involvement of civilians and civilian groups in supporting the war effort. This was a
factor from the beginning when civilians used their cell phones to capture pictures,
with locations, of Russian military activity. The Ukrainian government quickly created
an organization to receive all these civilian reports and provide civil or military
authorities with useful information on a timely basis.
Ukraine was also welcoming when it came to weapons or other military related
items developed by individuals or groups of civilians. This was quite different from
the situation in Russia, where the government expects civilians to take orders, not make
suggestions.
In contrast Ukrainian civilians, most of whom were born or came of age after the
Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine became an independent country, turned to the
west for inspiration on how to live, govern and run the economy. When the Russians
invaded in 2022, many officers and soldiers were surprised that Ukrainians were no
longer culturally related to Russia but had become more like western Europeans.
An example of this was seen in 2023 when Ukraine announced that that was going
to spend over half a billion dollars on UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), but what
was not revealed was the extent of efforts to add more capabilities to commercial
UAVs as well and the growing number being manufactured by Ukrainian companies.
These developers and manufacturers are often small groups of civilian hobbyists that
proved capable of creating new features for UAVs, both commercial and
hobbyist-produced models. The Russian invasion spurred a lot of innovation, mainly
among Ukrainian developers. Among the items available to commercial customers
are a lot of miniature digital video cameras as well as lighter, miniaturized computer
components that could be assembled and programmed by users to perform essential
tasks, like using AI apps and data from onboard video cameras enemy forces, even if
they are camouflaged or in underground bunkers. Constant combat use of these systems
enables developers to address shortcomings and continually improves the hardware
and software carried on these hunter killer UAVs. Earlier in the war two UAVs were
needed for this but now all that tech and weapons can be carried and used by one UAV.
Wartime developers are able to improve their tech and hardware more rapidly
because there was continuous feedback from users. Ukraine had an edge here because
many of these developers were hobbyists who knew little about peacetime development,
its bureaucracy and counter-productive over-supervision. Ukrainian developers were
often creating these new UAV techs for friends or family members who were now in the
military and eager for whatever help they could get. The Ukrainian military saw this
entrepreneurial spirit as an advantage, not some form of insubordination or recklessness.
Russians consider the entrepreneurial activities as unauthorized innovations. Despite that,
some Russian innovations appeared, but the Russian innovations took longer to arrive
and implement.
Most Russian commanders and civilian officials are less willing than their Ukrainian
counterparts to encourage individual initiatives. Another problem was that the economic
sanctions made it more difficult for Russians to obtain the commercial tech that
Ukrainians used.
That free access to Western or Chinese components meant Ukraine could build very
capable and lethal UAVs that were designed to carry out one or a small number of
missions. That is why Ukraine and Russia are each losing thousands of UAVs a month.
Cheap, useful and expendable is now the rule with most battlefield UAVs.
Russia is at a disadvantage when it comes to its UAV losses because Ukrainian
civilians are quick to report to their military any useful information, they witness about
Russian UAVs and military practices in general. Russia tried to shut down Ukrainian
access to communications with the Ukrainian military. Initially this was handled by
cellphone, but the Russians gradually replaced Ukrainian cell towers with Russian ones
wherever they could. Ukrainian civilians found other ways to communicate with the
Ukrainian military. One of these alternatives was the widespread use of SpaceX
Starlink internet terminals that turned a Ukrainian cellphone, desktop computer or
tablet into a communications device that could get past Russian jamming and efforts
to eliminate the ability of civilians to communicate with the Ukrainian military or
government. Civilians continued to take cellphone photos or videos of Russian
activities and transmit this information back to the Ukrainian military. This provided
lots of useful target information on Russian forces and facilities.
Many civilian photos and videos showed up on social media, which the Ukrainian
military monitors for useful information. Throughout history civilians have often been
useful informants for the military. With the appearance of cellphones, the internet and
Starlink, civilian contributions have become more numerous, accurate and useful.
-- Jim Dunnigan
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
Gathering, Analyzing, Disseminating
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, U.S. Constitution
The art and practice of Intelligence is an arm protected by the 2nd Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution. Never let anyone infringe upon your God given right
to keep and bear intelligence. (The enemy will try to dumb you down. Resist!)
"Ukraine’s World War I-Style Dogfighters Have Shot Down More Russian Drones"
A video capture from Saturday seems to depict an additional pair of kill markings,
meaning the Ukrainian Yak-52 crew has had a busy week."
by David Axe
Hat tip to Sidney Ontai.
It's important for the gunner to know his effective range (his skill level).
It's important for the gunner to know his weapon's effective range.
It's important for the pilot to know the effective ranges, so he can bring the weapons
platform within range of the target. (Oh, just like self-defense / personal-combat.)
"🔷 Gas Stations in Space" by The Merge
Excerpt:
Refueling ships underway has been a thing since the 1920s and aerial refueling
has existed since the 1950s. But what about refueling satellites in orbit?
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
It's really important to know what's going on around the world.
Ukrainians are using these in the battle field.
And ordering more. Made in Latvia.
Scooters are all over Nashville. The city council outlawed them for a while, but they
are back and in traffic and lying on the sidewalks. Pick up trucks cruise around picking
them up for maintenance and recharging. Consider the price point that allows the vendors
to make a profit. Consider the technology. They re not government subsidized, no wonder
they work.
"NATO two-star calls for ‘cultural change’ for OSINT for military ops"
by LEE FERRAN
Excerpt:
"Maj. Gen. Matthew Van Wagenen said classical intelligence collection will never go away,"
but "the open source piece of this in order to make military decisions, yes, it's absolutely
applicable to the contemporary operating environment. It's how do we integrate the two."
". . . Van Wagenen acknowledged there’s a “level of risk” to using open source info, . . . "
[There is a risk in any intel. The higher classification does not mean it is more thoroughly
vetted. Only that the harm of release is graver. -- Jon Low]
"When Israel Pulled off the Greatest Hostage Rescue in History"
by Agilite
Warning! Real footage.
Actually, the greatest Israeli rescue mission variously known as OperationYonatan,
Operation Thunderbolt, Operation Entebbe, was in Entebbe, Uganda on July 3–4, 1976 A.D.,
rescuing 103 hostages from a French jet airliner hijacked en route from Israel to France.
Much farther away, much more difficult.
Virtual Attrition—degrading enemy efficiency through psychological and operational
pressures rather than physical destruction.
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** After Thoughts ***** ***** *****
"Character Is Fate: 10 Habits That Will Help You To Live And Be Better"
by Ryan Holiday
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
If you are regularly / constantly helping others, you won't have time to think about your
depression, stomach problems, and such. And you won't have such problems. So, you
won't have to take your psychotropic drugs. But since you're already addicted to them,
I guess you're stuck.
A friend showed me an unpublished study of various public opinion polling.
We were nerding out over the statistics. But the findings may be of interest to you.
The primary way to turn "police loving law abiding citizens" (here we are talking
about conservatives) into "defund the police advocates" is by first hand experience.
News reports and propaganda do not affect these persons. Okay, so what are the most
significant first hand experiences?
1. False speeding tickets. Because, now the law abiding citizen knows that the
police are corrupt, and that the courts are corrupt (because the judges find for the
police officer 100% of the time). The wealthy citizen writes a check and mails
it in. The poor citizen has to take a day off work to go to the court house, pay for
parking, etc. Very disruptive, especially if you are the only bread winner in the family.
The citizen tells his friends and relatives, who have all had similar experiences.
Result - multi-generational hatred of the police.
I have taken the Citizens Police Academy in Lebanon and Nashville. The police
officers in both organizations have told me that when on patrol, they are required to
write at least one ticket per shift. Or else, if a new recruit, they won't be retained;
if a veteran, they won't be promoted or given a raise. When are most speeding
tickets written? At the end of the shift. The officer pulls a car over and writes a ticket.
Why? Doesn't matter. He ain't going to lose his job or risk losing pay or promotion.
Speeding tickets are extortion.
2. Civil forfeiture. Because now the citizen knows that the police are thieves.
100% of civil forfeitures are successful because the legal fees that the citizen would
have to pay the attorney are greater than the amount of money seized by the police
officer.
When the person explains to his family that he could not buy the car because the
police took the money, what do you think the children will learn from that experience?
Civil forfeiture is extortion.
---
Some police chiefs are so stupid they don't understand this. Or, they are so arrogant
that they don't care. So they make no policy changes that would rectify this. They are
happy to please their masters. They have their pensions to think about.
---
Yes, there are far worse forms of corruption. But the law abiding citizen isn't exposed
to that. It's only the criminal who witnesses the higher levels of corruption. Of course,
I speak statistically.
"Gun Control In Action: Prison Inmate Shoots And Kills Worker And Himself"
If gun control doesn't work in prisons, why would anyone think it could work
anywhere else?
Because the purpose of gun control is NOT to disarm the criminals to make the world
safer for good people.
The purpose of gun control is to disarm good people. An unarmed population
is a slave population. Genocide against slaves is doable. Armed citizens, not so much.
The purpose of gun control is to criminalize the behavior of responsible people
(people who assume the responsibility of self-defense to protect themselves, their
loved ones, and their community), so that tyrants may arrest, imprison, and
disenfranchise (lose the right to vote) the the responsible people. Irresponsible
persons shirk their duty to defend themselves and their loved ones, screaming at
at 911 dispatchers to save them.
An unarmed population is a slave population.
In a Facebook post by John Harris --
This nation was formed when 13 sovereign states took up arms to displace a
tyrannical government that exercised authority over all of them to the detriment
of those states and their citizens.
That level of freedom was destroyed by the decision of the northern states in
the mid-1800s to invade those sovereign states [The War of Northern Aggression]
which sought once again to be sovereign. We have never been a free nation since
the northern state's exercise of tyranny over other sovereign states that no longer
wanted to exist in a union with them.
-- John Harris
The Democrats scheduled their convention so late that they won't make the deadline
to place their Presidential nominee on the ballot in Ohio. Do you understand why?
Using this as an excuse, the Democrats are holding a virtual (online) vote to determine
their Presidential nominee. Do you understand this? What do you think is going to
happen?
In case you don't understand the IRS.
In case you don't understand how the Democrat Party has changed.
In case you don't understand censorship.
In case you don't understand the American workforce / infrastructure.
In case you don't understand the government school system.
Deep truth.
Economic truth. This is why you must never lose a war.
“You can’t truly call yourself ‘peaceful’ unless you are capable of great violence.
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.
Important distinction.”
-- Stef Starkgaryen
Tyrants love harmless people.
Checking out knives.
The Asphalt Cowgirl on Instagram.com
Sort of like shoveling sand at the beach when a child.
Squirrel drops an acorn, cop shoots the squirrel. Get it?
We're making progress.
Do you understand the technique?
Excerpt from email from Secure Community Network --
The material contained in this document involves an active and evolving conflict,
and as such, the information herein is subject to change. Please note that this content
is up to date as of 23 June 2024, 1500 Central Time.
Overview
On 23 June 2024, gunmen opened fire at a synagogue, at least two churches, and
a police post simultaneously in Derbent and Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia.
The Islamic State - Khorasan Province (IS-K) has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Eight police officers were killed, and 34 individuals were injured, including 27 law
enforcement officers.
At least four terrorist actors have been neutralized, some detained by security forces,
and others still at large. The number of attackers and their identities have not been
disclosed.
The Russian Investigative Committee said it had opened a terrorism investigation
into the attacks.
A synagogue and Orthodox church were targeted in Derbent, Dagestan, Russia.
Derbent is home to an ancient Jewish community in the North Caucasus region.
A 66-year-old Orthodox priest from the Orthodox church was violently killed by
the gunmen.
At the synagogue, Quran verses were reportedly graffitied onto the walls, and a
significant fire broke out following the attack.
The police post and a second church were attacked in Makhachkala, Dagestan,
Russia, the capital of Dagestan.
Gunmen opened fire and forced people out of their cars on a street that is also home
to a local synagogue.
Armed attackers reportedly barricaded themselves in a residential building.
As of this writing, the operation to contain gunmen in Makhachkala is ongoing.
---
[The only way to avoid this sort of thing is to proactively seek out and destroy the
evil persons before they attack your church. I'm sure the people in the synagogue
and Orthodox church prayed for God's protection. I'm sure a lot of the police officers
did too. Prayer for protection is superstitious nonsense. Do your intelligence gathering,
analysis, and dissemination. Find the evil ones and kill them. Preferably while they
sleep in their homes (yes, their families will be in the house). That's how the SEAL
Team killed Osama bin Laden. The technique works.
If you are squeamish, you can do as we did. Find an O-6 or higher to review your
evidence and analysis. Let him sign a finding that the subject is an enemy combatant.
But don't expect it to protect you from law enforcement. It's just to ease your conscience.
You still have to practice proper operational security. Don't let you subordinates get
captured. That would be a sin of incompetence. None of your people should every
be suspected.
-- Jon Low]
Hat tip to Michael Mendenhall.
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
In my decades of coaching rifle and pistols teams, I have noticed that good shooters care enough
to put things back where they found the thing. So they never lose equipment. They do not suffer
from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, rather they are Anally Retentive (as opposed to Anally
Explosive, psychology terms, not sexual terms).
I am CDO which is the same as OCD, except the letters are in alphabetical order, the way they
are supposed to be.
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