No , you were clear, I was going through a dense period. You are correct, bad deal when someone grabs a appendage in the opening seconds of the fight.
Thought for the day:
Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons
General Douglas MacArthur.
Thank you. I will post my thoughts tomorrow. Watch you 6, brother.
The Sunday Comics:
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Memorial Day:
To every man and woman in the United States Armed Forces, Thank You. You have been there throughout our history with a deep commitment to our country, selflessly giving your service and often your life. All my respect.
This will be a different Memorial Day for me, since this will be the first one where I have been in the states in 11 years. The previous Memorial Days have been spent at a military FOB or an American Embassy. No matter which one, they were treated with dignity and respect. The presentation by the Marine Corps Embassy Guards is especially poignant. After the ceremony, several of us would do the traditional “Murp” as a token of respect. This year feels different as I have been inundated by media advertising about “Memorial Day sales events”. It seems everything from vehicles to clothing is on sale, just for your holiday. I am not saying this is a bad thing, it is just different for me and I catch myself sometime thinking what an American Service Member giving his life for his country has to do with 7 thousand dollars savings on a new SUV.
It has also crossed my mind, that if a child is not from a military/ law enforcement/first responder family, do they even know what Memorial Day means? I don’t know, but, I suspect not, which is sad, because throughout our history, good men and women have died to provide the freedom for these “sales”. So, take a few minutes away from your holiday routine and say a silent prayer for those who died on your behalf.
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Happy Memorial Day, sir.
It just occurred to me, I was having (yet another) surgery for the results of a line-of-duty injury on the Saturday of a Memorial Day Weekend…
I hereby dedicate the successful surgery and the damn soreness to my fallen brothers who gave SO much more, and to all my brothers-at-arms out there. I thank God I’m alive and have the chance to gut it out still. Hoo-ahh men, another Memorial Day came and went, and if we’re still on our feet we did good.
Add my ^Salute, albeit a late one, to the ones in parade formations Monday.
~S
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Thank you very much.
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I wish you a fast and pain free recovery, brother. You know what I mean when at the end of the day, you give thanks that you still have two arms and legs.
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Thought for the day:
What if your child were in the midst of a violent attack? What if you’re attacked and a child is between you and your attacker? What if your family is caught up in violence it wasn’t prepared for? Do you know what to do? ⠀
Last week , I posted a link to an article written by a mother on the problems presented by children during a violent attack. Since, most of the schools are out for the summer, it is worth reading and worth another reminder.
Because I feel like saying so, and I have a wife & kids, and if some asshole attacked, here’s how I feel when I think about it:
“I wish a motherfu**er would try it.”
Of course that’s all just husband/dad gut talking…being prepared to deal with such crap effectively and everyone coming through unscathed takes more than cajones and lead.
My $0.02
Yes, Memorial Day is a special one to think of those who gave everyone the freedom to go out to ridiculous parties. As opposed to slaving in Estonia as some English people would have if they surrendered to Hitler. I will give more tribute on Remembrance Day.
I just ran across this podcast of about an hour about Canada’s Special Forces. The first part is an interview with an operator, the second part with a commander. Interesting to note is that Treco recently mentioned, and Idaho expanded on, how a family unit can be a hindrance in active situations. The parallels with this podcast is mention is made of how the operations team is like a cohesive unit in which everyone relies on everyone else to have the integrity to do their part without oversight, and to act as though they know it was done.
finally, the operator was asked to rate Canada’s operators with the rest of the world, and he essentially said we are world class.
Thanks for posting this. Yes, that is essentially the work dynamic of any SF team. Well said.
Yes, based on my personal experience, world class, especially the sniper units, which, (unless someone has beaten it that I don’t know about) have the record for the longest two kills in Afghanistan.
Thought for the day:
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Thought for the day: From Orbis Operations:
Baseline
The baseline of any given social group or geographic area is, in short, what is normal. But since normal can sometimes be a touchy word to define, maybe it’s better to say that the baseline of an area is what is habitual. What are the attitudes, actions, and overall behavioral patterns that constitute the routine tempo of the world around you? To avoid any vagaries or generalizations, the instructors at our XXXX class outlined six individual facets, or domains, of situational awareness:
Heuristics: Heuristics are “mental shortcuts” that can be used when other information is limited to influence a snap-decision and help prime you for action as necessary. This may be explained by the old phrase “if it walks like a duck…” or Occam’s Razor which, very loosely translated, says that the simplest answer is most likely the correct answer.
Proxemics: How people interact with each other in groups. This could include things like how far or close people stand while interacting, if people in a group all seem to focus on or mimic the demeanor of one individual or if certain individuals routinely travel with an entourage of followers.
Geographics: How people interact with their physical terrain. This can be particularly important in natural gathering places like parking lots, stadiums, stores, and street corners that may be claimed as “turf” by criminal actors.
Atmospherics: Atmospherics is the overall “feel” of a place — the sights, smells, sounds, and general demeanor. For example, if we asked you to close your eyes and imagine a carnival, we’re guessing your mental picture might include flashing lights, bells ringing, people screaming on rides, the smell of fried food and an overall air of excitement or joy. Those inputs, and the overall feeling they create inside you, make up the atmospherics of your surroundings.
Biometrics: Biometric cues are more focused on an individual and their body’s response in connection to their interactions. Are they sweating, is their skin flushed, are their pupils dilated, can you see the pulse pounding in their neck or the vein popping out of their forehead? These are biological indicators of a feeling or an intention that a person may be attempting to hide under the surface.
Kinesics: Kinesics is about body language. Separate from biometrics, which deal in the body’s automatic responses, kinesics focuses on physical movements. Things like cracking your knuckles, stretching, rubbing the back of your neck or “grooming gestures” like consistently stroking your face or wiping your nose could all be kinesic indicators of something being not-quite-right.
Thought for the day: My sincere condolences to the victims and families of the Virginia Beach shooting. My sincere respect for the 4 original responding officers, who immediately entered the building and engaged the shooter, saving many lives. That is the way it should be done, no hesitation, confront kill or capture. A couple of points:
“We train not only as first responders for police, but we train with fire and we train with our EMS personnel because we know that when you have a major scene like this you’re going to need all first responders,” he said. “So we do train extensively.”
A police chief with some common sense, rare as a snow storm in Basra.
“You never think this is going to happen to you. When it happens to you, it’s totally different,” XXXX said.
This is certainly no criticism toward Ms. XXXX, she survived and that’s what counts, plus, she will have a lot to deal with in the coming days. Every time there is a violent act toward innocents, this statement is common, it varies a little " Nothing ever happens here like this", “This is a rural area, nothing happens here”, " This is a quiet neighborhood" , etc.
With the hurricane of media we have, I have always been puzzled by these statements. Terrorism, active shooters, violent crime, gangs, tornadoes , whatever, you would think there would always be a “awareness” of the modern world. Anything can happen, from a rocket coming through the roof of your hooch, to an active shooter, to a car accident, to your child falling and breaking an arm. Be ready so whatever happens you can respond.
Motivational Monday:
Thought for the day: Some useful information for those seeking to be better prepared. A good , general outline to help plan for what you consider important to you and those you are responsible for.
Ready.gov has been around since 2003, offering an extensive list of potential emergencies you and your family may face and offering guidance on things you can do before hand, during, and after such a catastrophe to improve your chances at survival. The threats addressed on the site range from day to day concerns like an active shooter, house , all the way up to disasters with global ramifications like tsunamis, pandemics, and even space weather. When visiting the site, you can click on any of these disaster scenarios on the right-hand side of the screen.
Example ;
For instance, concerns about active shooter situations are among the most prominent in the minds of most Americans these days, but often, even articles aimed at preparing your such an event focus only on what to do while the shooter is active. In order to survive these scenarios however, it makes sense to put some thought into how you’ll respond immediately following the attack — e.g. getting yourself to safety without presenting yourself as a threat to law enforcement on the scene. Ready.gov, for instance, offers a list of suggestions that include keeping your hands visible and understanding that law enforcement likely won’t be able to address your first aid needs until they have confirmed that the situation has been resolved and the shooter is either dead or in custody.
At the end of each breakdown, the site even offers a list of downloadable PDFs that you can review if you’re looking for some more in-depth information about that particular type of life threatening situation.
Thought for the day: D-Day June 06, 1944. Normandy Beach, France. All my respect to the Greatest Generation.
It was D-Day, a bloody day that marked a significant turning point of World War II, when Allied Forces (156,000) troops began to beat back the depraved tyranny of Adolf Hitler and his Nazis in Western Europe. D-Day would prove decisive to the Allied victory, although it came at great cost. According to the U.S. National D-Day Memorial Foundation, 4,413 Allied troops gave their lives to take the beaches, including 2,499 Americans.
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