WARRIOR TALK NEWS

Operation "Colorado Freedom"

We will show the socialists in Colorado that their oppressive laws on the people of Colorado are totally irrelevant by flooding the state with High Capacity
Magazines right under coming the New Iron Curtain in July.

We have sets of Magazines available to Colorado residents. These will ONLY be sold to residents of Colorado at the reduced rates, and only shipped to civilian Colorado addresses. We will not sell them to any official agency in the state, nor to any gun stores or dealers.

Freedom for Colorado - One Magazine At A Time

Behind The Lines In Colorado

We received the tragic news that the state of Colorado had gone over to the dark side and embraced the ways of Mordor. For an entire day we have been reading debates and rhetoric. Our good friends at MagPul are fighting and will leave the state if they need to. We congratulate them on their choice and we will continue to support them via the sales and endorsement of their products.

Nonetheless, The Suarez Group wanted to...needed to do, something to show solidarity with those stuck behind the lines in Colorado. Although we do not have the resources of larger companies, we want to do something notable.

We will show the socialists in Colorado that their oppressive laws on the people of Colorado are totally irrelevant by flooding the state with High Capacity M4 Assault Rifle Magazines before they close and lock the gates to the New Iron Curtain.

We have sets of ten (10) TSD Combat Systems M4 Magazines. These will only be sold to residents of Colorado at reduced rates, and only shipped to civilian Colorado addresses. We will not sell them to any official agency in the state, nor to any gun stores or dealers.

I know many want these magazines, but our beleaguered brothers need these more than we do.

www.onesourcetactical.com

Technology and Owning The Darkness

The city had been stalked by a rapist. This guy was good. We thought he was an ex-military guy or an ex-cop. He left no physical evidence, and managed to hit every night for the last ten days regardless of how many units had been deployed to the area and how many days off had been cancelled.But it was not hard to avoid those “high profile” patrols. They drove around giving a very good, and loud, rendition of the “illusion of security”.

That was the modern administration’s answer to violence – to look like you were really trying hard until the bad guy got tired and went away .I had been out on foot in the alley. One of those coincidences of happenstance and good preparation I suppose. There had been a call of a suspicious person, right where I was on foot.

Initially, I thought a resident had seen me moving through the alley. I had a plain black raid jacket with the “POLICE” lettering sufficiently and purposely worn off so it covered all the shiny bullshit I was required to wear. I donned it when out on foot and probably looked more like a burglar than a police officer. I called in via my radio that it was Code 4…meaning it was only me. Dispatch acknowledged and I kept walking, silently in the dark. Then I heard it.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but it was one of those sounds that simply do not belong. I stopped and took a knee, listening hard. There it was again. Some sort of metallic and non-rhythmic sound. Definitely man-made. I moved toward the sound..trying hard to not make any myself.

A night vision unit!? Yes.

In those days I had my side business working and had a much better rate of disposable income than the average line officer (much to the dismay of ever-heavier administrators). One of the things I added to my kit was a third generation night vision monocular. I bought it from Cory Trapp and paid the princely sum of $900 back in the mid 1990s.

I looked at the problem with a very practical eye. I needed to be able to see in the dark, that much was obvious. But my goal was not simply observation, but also being able to act upon what I saw. In my context it would mean either shooting, or going hands on violently and proactively. I needed to both be able to shoot with the NVD, but also to be able to secure it if I needed to hit someone or to load/fix the pistol.

Securing the unit in a pouch seemed the most protective but I knew I would not have the time to do that. I settled on a neck lanyard made from 550 cord. I rigged the monocular with a lanyard around my neck so I could use it as needed and then drop it and have hands-free as needed as well.

My Glock 24 had a white light mount on it but the intention was to not use it to search, but only at the last moment when I knew what I had, lest the light alert my prey…I mean…the suspect.

I had developed a way to use the Trijicon Tritium sights in conjunction with the NVD (Night Vision Device). I would hold the monocular over my left eye. With it I would scan the area I was examining. If I saw a target that needed to be shot, I would bring the pistol up and look for the tritium dots with my right eye. I found that the binocular characteristics of human vision would integrate the three dots against the blackness with the green illuminated scene my left eye was picking up. This would yield three dots hovering over the targeted zone.

There was absolutely nothing defensive or reactive about this and the intention was to be able to hunt bad guys in the dark with zero warning. If I could have added a sound suppressor, I would have. That was 1995!

It is now 2013, almost twenty years later. Technology today has surpassed what I had back then. While I am a minimalist when it comes to techniques, I am also firmly in the camp that we should use modern technology. There is a tendency in the Civilian Tactical Community to want to minimize more than just techniques. I think that is a mistake.

Why send a letter when we have email?

Why carry a bag of coins when we have credit cards?

Why walk when you can drive a BMW?

Why rely on antiquated equipment, or worse, purposely handicap yourself in a fight, when there are easier things?

We need to identify the fight. A reactive fight is something we get into. A proactive fight is something we go to. And yes my friends, there are those two angles regardless of your profession. In this discussion we will focus on the PROACTIVE FIGHT, meaning that you go and look for the fight. There is little use for flashlights, much less, night vision in an unexpected reactive gunfight. 

One scenario - your door gets kicked in at 0400 HRS. Its dark as a rhinoceros rectum. You hear footsteps and voices through your house. Any light you turn on will make you a target for the enemy that you cannot see.

Here is your First Option - Turn the lights on...or a flashlight, and exchange gunfire with them on equal footing. From experiments we have done, a bad guy need only fire toward the light...he doesn't care how many it takes to dump you.

Your Second Option - Use night vision technology and alternative sighting tools, such as IR lasers, to locate, move to contact with, and eliminate the adversary unseen. Which one is safer for you?

Owning the night is not about having the brightest flashlight or the newest flashlight technique. While lights are desirable in their niche, the technology has moved beyond them being the only thing available. To really own the dark, the modern defender will utilize some form of night vision in conjunction with his other tools. Body armor is already a common addition to many defender’s kit bags. It should be the same with modern night fighting technology.

Today there are IR visible lasers available to everyone, as well as high quality Gen 3 Night Vision Units. As well, there are handheld Infrared Viewers that used to be limited to helicopter use in my time. Like anything else, quality will cost and the top quality units are not for those on food stamps.

In addition, there are ways we have developed to use the RMR/Red Dot systems in conjunction with the NVD that make my 1995 system look like a Wright Brothers plane compared to a modern fighter. If you are ready to take the first step to really owning the darkness, take a hard look at the night vision technology and the IR laser technology. The epiphany will be like the first time you realize that you could win the fight decisively without being seen or shot.

“Night vision devices let you own the night. Flashlights just let you borrow some of it for a little while.”

Chris Upchurch – SI Staff Instructor.

In a few minutes I was on him. He was dressed in black like me. He had a large screw driver in his hands and was working quietly to pry open the window of a residence. I watched him in the green hue of the NVD, and brought my Glock up silently, the three tritium dots hovering like three fireflies in formation on the center of his back.

For a moment I was tempted to do as my friends in the “surveillance detail” often did…yell “Hey” and then shoot him in the chest as he wheeled around. But I had exceeded my quota for at least the next year so I brought the pistol back down slowly.

I loaded my left leg and swung the hardest Muay Thai kick I have ever sent. I heard his femur break with a gratifying crack.

As he screamed, I slowly pressed my mic, “Three L Seven I need Code Three back Up…..”.

 

BUY TIER ONE NIGHT VISION TECHNOLOGY AT ONE SOURCE TACTICAL

The Greatest Danger to the American Way of Life?

So lets think of this for a moment. Just for fun now...

Who or what is the greatest actual threat to the American Way of Life?

First lets consider communism. Communism was considered dangerous enough a generation ago (as dangerous as the Nazis) that the west conducted a decades long cold war.  They fought it with proxies in the third world, and spent so much money that we collapsed their economies. In
today's parleance it would be called a "War On Communism".

Some say communism is dead, but its ideology continues quite strong. The "sheep's clothing" has
morphed from Leninism, to Socialism, to Communism, to Liberalism, and now to "Progressism". It is however, the same wolf.

Next we consider "terrorism", and those who wage it...the terrorist. Here I am referring to the
original terrorist characterized by Osama and his boys, not merely to someone labelled as such. No need to really go into what they are, or their operational means.

So who is really the greatest danger to the American Way of Life?  That life, which is comprised of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

Discussion At Warrior Talk is Ongoing

 

The Evil, The Ignorant, The Delusional, and The Children

By Roger Phillips, Suarez International Specialist and Tier One Instructor


I know some people are going to disagree with the tone of this article. Many people on the same side of the gun control issue as me are going to say that resorting to name calling is not the way to go. But when you look at how effective the same tactic has been used against the pro-gun supporters, it raises question about how efficient and effective our strategy and tactics have actually been. Pro-gun people have successfully been demonized by the anti-gun crowd and that crowd can be divided up into three groups, The Evil, The Ignorant, and The Delusional.

The Evil

The very worse of the three groups are The Evil. These are the people who have been voted in as public servants and who have sworn to uphold The Constitution. Yet, at every opportunity these evil servants have broken their oath and have time and time again voted themselves more power while taking the power away from those that they have sworn to serve. Often these evil moves come from a position of elitism. They believe that they are better than the people that they serve. They believe that they are smarter than the people that they serve. They believe that they and their families are more important than those that they swore to serve. They act as if they are doing what is best for us, all the while looting the people that they serve of their rights and their freedoms. They have one goal in mind and that is to grab as much power as they can for themselves and the government that they serve..........yes, the government that they serve. See, The Evil do not serve the people, they serve themselves and they serve the government. They do not care about the people and to the exact same extent they do not care about The Children. How can The Evil ones care about The Children when they make it more and more difficult for a parent to protect their children, all the while guaranteeing armed security for their own children. This hypocrisy and elitism is the ultimate form of obvious evil.

It is an elitist attitude that reeks of a "I do not care if your children die due to your inability to protect them, but I will assure that my children are safe from the evils of this world" stench.

The problem with this attitude is the fact that these elitist hypocrites are the ultimate evil in this world. They want to convince The Ignorant and The Delusional that they care about children being killed when in fact they are actually creating a situation where even more children can possibly be killed. Most politicians are educated and know the history of America, The Constitution, and the historical evils that tyrannical governments have perpetuated on its people. Far more children have been killed by tyrannical governments than by mentally ill people with assault weapons. Those numbers would not even be close. But once again it is not about "for the children" it is about using a tragedy to grab the power and when the public servants grab power for themselves, inherently that obtained power goes to the government.

The Founding Fathers put The Second Amendment in place to protect the people from a tyrannical government and our public servants know that. A vote for gun control from our public servants is a vote for a tyrannical government, a vote against the Constitution, and a vote against our children. This is an undeniable evil and this evil is being perpetrated right now in this country. I am not saying that there is going to be a genocide committed against the people of this country tomorrow. What I am saying is that things are being put into place here that have been put into places in the past that has led to a number of the most heinous genocides that this world as ever seen. These are historical facts and if you do not believe them you may want to do some research on gun control and the genocides that have followed. If you cannot rattle off at least five genocides of the past, that followed strict gun control, your knowledge level may need a quick update. The information is out there for those that actually want to find it.

Obviously, The Evil cannot do this all on their own, they need help from a very large group of useful idiots. These useful idiots can be public servants, the media, and the public at large. They may or may not fall in the category of The Evil because they may not be smart enough/knowledgeable enough to understand the evil that they perpetrate. But even so, they are still on the side of evil and the tools of evil. These people fall into two groups, The Ignorant and The Delusional.

The Ignorant

The word "ignorance" is not an insult. Every one of us is ignorant about something. The Ignorant can be ignorant in many forms, but inside of this topic the three greatest forms of their ignorance comes down a lack of knowledge of America History, American Government, and World History.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" George Santayana

The Ignorant have their ignorance used against them. But that can be curtailed by gaining the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions. The Evil want The Ignorant to remain ignorant so that they can keep using them as the tools of evil. If The Evil can convince The Ignorant that The Founding Fathers were bumbling buffoons that did not understand the advancement of technology, then The Ignorant can be convinced that The Founding Fathers did not see the advent of assault rifles. If The Evil can convince The Ignorant that The Second Amendment had nothing to do with making sure that the people can protect themselves from a tyrannical government, then The Ignorant would not mind Americans being disarmed. If The Evil can convince The Ignorant that just because the government disarmed its people does not make it a tyrannical government, then The Ignorant would not fear having Americans disarmed.


Ignorance can also be taken advantage of when crime statistics of disarmed societies are not spoken of. There is not one case of guns being taken and crime statistics not climbing. Criminals fear an armed public and as soon as it becomes a crime to own guns or to use a gun in self defense the criminal element ramps up its attacks on the unarmed law abiding people. These are all facts that can be found if The Ignorant want to move past being used as the tools of evil.

The Evil prey on The Ignorant. They lie and they deceive. They use and they abuse. The number of ignorant, throughout world history, that have helped The Evil commit unspeakable forms of brutality and genocide on their own people is astounding. Imagine the pain and the guilt of that betrayal. Imagine believing that you were doing the right thing (for the children) due to ignorance, only to find that you were on the side of evil all along and many more children paid with their lives due to your ignorance. That reality would have to be a fate worse than death. This is possibly happening right now in this country, things are being put into motion that can possibly lead to a tyrannical government ruling this country with an iron fist. I believe this to the extent that I am concerned about even writing this article.

Ignorance is not a curse, ignorance is not a death sentence, ignorance is something that can be eliminated with an open mind and the search for "the truth." The Ignorant are like the undecided voter. They are the ones that will be the deciding factor in this gun control issue. They are the ones that will decide the children's fate. Do we throw the baby out with the bath water and put into motion the likelihood of America turning into a tyrannical government? Or do we look at the facts of gun violence against the children and understand that a mentally ill individual with an assault rifle is not near the threat level of The Evil and a tyrannical government.

The Delusional

While the ignorance can be educated, The Delusional cannot. The Delusional are those that do not deal or live in reality. They are the ones that believe that all guns can be rounded up and that would be the end of the threat against our children. They believe that a "gun free zone" should extend throughout this country and that that is the only answer to gun violence. This level of delusiveness completely baffles and escapes me. It is as if there is a form of mental illness that perpetuates an utopian dream that will simply never be part of the human experience. Man has perpetrated evil on man throughout the history of man and that is not going to change any time soon. The only people that comply with gun control laws are the good people. Evil people will not comply (and that is why the evil public servants have excluded themselves from the gun control laws.) That would mean that the vast majority of the people that still had guns would be evil people. What part of this do they not understand? What level of delusiveness would you have to be in order to believe such obvious impossibilities? Are they really so blinded by their delusions and their lack of rational thought that they are unable to see the facts of gun confiscation throughout the world, the effects on crime soaring, the historical governmental abuses, and genocide?

The only other group of people that would still have guns would be the good people that are willing to go to jail for the rest of their lives in order to protect their loved ones/children.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

I am pretty sure that the delusional do not understand the above quote due to their obvious lack of rational. But, what we are talking about is a willingness to do anything to protect our loved ones and especially The Children.

I am sick and tired of The Evil, The Ignorant, and The Delusional using "for the children" as their excuse to destroy America. It is you.......The Evil, The Ignorant, and The Delusional that perpetrates and perpetuates the evil that endangers The Children and The Grand Children. Do not come at me with your outright lies, your fabrications, your agenda manipulation, and your politicizing of a tragedy to further your evil intent. You can preach your lie "for the children" but there is only one side of this fight that is truly about The Children and it is not the side of the Evil, The Ignorant, and The Delusional.

Discuss this here.

See Roger's schedule here.

Right and Wrong…obsolete right-wing concepts?

Dr John Meade

Director of Tactical Medicine

Suarez International

I have been contemplating the fact that one half of our society seems to approach things very differently than the other half. This is a deep divide, and worth considering.

It seems that the liberals (or progressives, or leftists, or Democrats, or socialists, or whatever you want to call them) view the US Constitution as a “living, breathing document”, rather than something that must be followed as written. They sometimes propose laws or regulations that promote their point of view, but are confronted with the fact that the proposal is unconstitutional. Rather than accepting this, they just argue harder that regardless of the conflict with the Constitution, we should do it anyway.  Conservatives, on the other hand, view the Constitution as a Divinely-inspired document that has lit the lamp of freedom throughout the world, and should be changed only with the greatest deliberation.

When someone commits mass murder, the liberals say the person is sick, and the instrument used (or society) is to blame. Conservatives simply call the murderer evil. Liberals tend to believe that criminals are pushed into a life of crime because of bad childhoods, and often convicted wrongly. They tend to feel cops are Neanderthals and corrupt, but expect these same cops to come running instantly to protect the liberal from whatever might be happening.

Liberals tend to view all religions as equivalent, and all are to be tolerated to the same extent. However, they also believe that everyone would be better served if they simply avoided serious religious commitment, and focused on being “a good person”. They feel depending on God is foolish, but depending on government is smart.  In fact, they believe that the answer to most problems lies in more government action, regulation and control.

According to liberals, right and wrong are relative terms, rather than absolutes. This moral relativism leads to a lack of strong steering, of course. There was a time when everyone in the USA agreed on the definitions of Right and Wrong. Newspapers and movies did not glorify wrongdoers, but told stories as morality tales. Jack Webb always caught the criminals. Rational people agreed these were miscreants, rather than misunderstood.  Perhaps this is why Western Civilization is foundering, while Islamic Culture is growing stronger daily. Regardless of your opinion of their beliefs, they have strong adherence to a set of rules. They view the world quite rigidly, and see clear division between what they view as right and wrong. This makes them strong.

So what can we do? Must we roll over and give up? Should we bury all our guns and hide? Or go live “off the grid” in the woods? Would this save our way of life?

I recommend have a two-pronged approach to dealing with the shifting of our society to the left. First, help move it back toward the right. Teach your children well. Introduce shooting and self-reliance to those who didn’t grow up with these concepts. Work within your local political system to get right-leaning people into positions of influence, such as the school board, city council and sheriff’s office. If you can write good opinion pieces for the local newspapers, do so.  You might just influence someone to our way of thinking.

The other portion of this two-pronged approach is developing an attitude that you are not dependent on government, nor are you beholden to them. You figure out ways to thrive, regardless of what silly intrusive regulations are enacted. Some call it “walking between the raindrops”.  You look for opportunities in what others view as oppression. If for some reason backyard gazebos are required, sell lumber. Improve your skills and education to make yourself a more desirable commodity in the market. Look for ways to maximize your income in ways that keep more in your pocket, rather than handing it all over to the tax man. If you are living in a state with bad laws or economy, move to a better state!

Don’t give up and accept defeat. Your values are legitimate and worthy. Hold tight to those values, and look for ways to live them to the fullest, regardless of the political environment.

Dr. John Meade is Director of Tactical Medicine for Suarez International , and a board-certified Emergency Physician. He is a reserve police officer on a multi-jurisdictional SWAT team, an EMS medical director and an NRA certified instructor. He may be contacted on WarriorTalk, or his website at www.statdoc.com .

Active Shooters - Final Solution

Since the killings in Connecticut, we have heard all manner of proposed solutions to these problems. Most of the solutions proposed smack of stupidity and cowardice…and a few other things. In this article I will state why I think these events occur, and how to best stop them.

I begin with the assumption that man is evil and selfish – and dark. If left in the wilds, to his own devices,to live as an animal, man becomes a predator with nothing to curtail the drives to eat, rest, and procreate...by force. It is only civilization, and with it, morality, or the sense of right and wrong, that elevates man from a self-serving animal, to the status of human being. 

In our western civilization, right and wrong is defined in the book that has defined our culture from the first century – the Bible. If we remove the Bible, and its Author, from our society, we immediately lose the authority to define what is right and what is wrong. And in modern America’s idiotic desire to “never offend anyone”, we have sacrificed the definition of what is right and what is wrong, for some sense of approval by those who are wrong. Americans do not care if they are called, but do not call them intolerant. God is who defines good and evil, and right and wrong.  But Americans don’t want to hear about that…it might offend someone.

The problem is that without the light of good that our biblical culture brings, there is nothing holding back the darkness. And when nothing holds that back, the forces of evil grow stronger, and you see them flex their muscles in Columbine, Aurora, and in Connecticut. Want to stop that from happening again? Really stop it? Invite the light of good back, and the Source of that light and see how society changes.

Now that will not happen overnight, and it will never happen in the most left-leaning regions of
America.

So what to do in the interim?

The socialists in America from their fearless leader on down to the socialist dog catcher that voted for him want to remove guns from society. Good luck I say. They cannot even tame illiterate goat herders in Afghanistan with their “give peace a chance” nation-building policies.

The NRA wants security guards at every soft target.

Nice idea but who is going to pay for that. After all, even the noblest, self-sacrificing Lancelot needs to pay the rent. Retired cops? Really? Please let us not assume that every man or woman that has worn a badge is the sort that will attack the gunman. Not every retired police officer was a SWAT cop. The retired, 300 pound, nice-old-guy with heart problems may make the soccer moms feel good but sorry, he will not be much help when Freddie Kruger shows up with a Deputy’s stolen rifle and a handful of psychiatrist-issued feel-good pills.

No disrespect…just plain cold and ugly reality. 

“So what the hell do we do?” you ask. 

The answer is right there. But it is not an answer that is "on the payroll", or answers to anyone in
Washington, or requires any Senate subcommittee. Let me tell you what the answer is…answers are. 

The role of “Protector” cannot be assigned. You cannot order a Pekinese to turn into a Pitbull. It is a self selected action.  

The mother that protects the students from the killer has self-selected as protector.  

The father that runs into the burning building to save the child self-selects as protector.

What parent would not die for their child if that was the choice? But wait…we are on to something. Death is not required. What parent would not "risk their life" for their child? I know I would in a second without a second thought. And by extension, what parent would not "kill for their child"?

Let that hang in the air for a moment. 

Two points and two points only. We do not need any blithering rants from Biden nor any of his familiars. The solution is as plain as day. Who will protect the innocents? The families of the innocents themselves will protect them…as it has been since the days of Christ.

1). Abolish all “gun free” zones. Not that any bad guy with a gun actually observes those limits anyway. Case in point, from Aurora to Columbine and from Connecticutt to San Ysidro…it did not
stop the killers did it?

But it did in fact stop the self-selected protectors that might have taken their weapon with them, save their inherent desire to obey the rules. Had good guys with guns been there and killed the killers, how many lives would have been spared?  

Who is guilty for those murders as much as the devil that pulled the trigger? The architects of the gun free zones.

2). Arm the fathers and mothers. At schools, search through the parents list. How many of them fit the role of self-selected protector? I will bet in those ranks you find combat veterans, working cops, retired cops, and martial artists, that if empowered by the forces they respect (the local Sheriff…or the school) would volunteer two, maybe three hours per week to stand in the gap, armed and ready, to protect their children...and the children of others with their will, skill, and courage.

There is no greater motivated fighter, than a man fighting for his home, his brothers, or his family. No badges, or grants, or approval from Washington, or the NRA is needed. What father would not have given his life to be there in Connecticut with a pistol to kill the killer before those children were sacrificed on the altar of politically correct, egalitarian, gun-free America?

The solution to these horrific events is simple and clear to any that want to find them. Most of America, however, specially its leadership, does not really want a solution, only to use these events as opportunities. They are far too busy using the dead children as a stepping stone to gain support for their agendas from the ignorant and the cowardly.  

Gabe Suarez 

School Shootings; A new phenomenon?

By Don Robison

Suarez International Tier 1 Staff Instructor

As I sit down to write this I still have the recent tragedy fresh in my mind as I’m sure everyone reading this does as well. I’m not writing this to inflame anyone, although I’m sure it will. That’s fine and I accept that sometimes it’s necessary to break a few eggs if one wants to make an omelet. The last four days I’ve read literally thousands of pages of various news articles, social media and print articles asking the question of why school shootings are suddenly happening. I have even read articles written about how banning assault weapons will fix “the problem”. 

Let’s start with some facts. School shootings are not a new or a recent phenomenon. The first school shooting reported in the United States was in 1764 and resulted in the school teacher and 9-10 students being killed. Since the first one in 1764 there were ten school shooting between 1853 and 1889, twenty one between 1902 and 1937, twelve between 1940 and 1949, twenty in the 1950’s, twelve in the 1960’s, thirteen in the 1970’s, twenty in the 1980’s, twenty in the 1990’s, seventeen in the 2000’s and in the 2010’s we are currently at seven. Not to make light of or to diminish the pain the affected family suffer, but violence and evil is nothing new.  The reality is that when looked at by decade the amounts of shootings have stayed fairly steady with a slight increase since 1970.  

As you can see it’s not new and it’s not going away. Some of these have taken place in areas of the country that have very aggressive gun control laws such as Illinois, New Jersey, New York, California and most recently Connecticut. From 1994 until 2004 when the entire United States was subject to an assault weapon ban which also limited all magazines for both pistols and rifles to 10 rounds there were twenty-seven school shootings in the United States.

What is the answer? I don’t know that I have that answer, but I have some ideas about how we got here.  Let’s start by looking at what has changed in the United States particularly since the 1970’s. In my opinion a strict moral code has been in decline since at least the 1970s. We now have kids who don’t know the difference between right and wrong or they may know the difference but are indifferent towards it. They aren’t taught how to control their impulses of anger, angst or dissatisfaction. They are taught that acting out has no consequences. I see it all the time while shopping. In the 70s and 80s when I was in school kids weren’t medicated and given a piece of paper to use as an excuse for their behavior. They were taught to control their emotions and impulses or the kids in their class dispensed some medication on the playground. Now before you get your panties in a wad; yes I know there is mental illness out there and I know first-hand what it can do to a family.  My point is that from talking with medical professionals and through my own observation there are certain things that are over diagnosed in order to let parents feel like their doctor is doing something and to let the parents feel good about being less than stellar parents. If their child has a piece of paper and medication his actions aren’t his fault or theirs; it’s because he has (insert affliction). Which brings me to what in my opinion is the root of the problem we face in the United States today: personal responsibility. Yes personal responsibility for one’s actions and the actions of those in your care will solve many of problems we encounter. Teach your kids to be responsible and how to control their emotions. It’s not easy, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. I’ve raised two girls and have four grand kids so I’m speaking from experience. Not every kid is a future Albert Einstein or Louie Pasteur. Some of them are destined to be future Jeffery Dahmers and Albert Desalvos. When you realize this don’t turn a blind eye and hope it will go away. Take some responsibility and get them the help they need even if it hurts. Is it more embarrassing to be related to someone being treated for mental health issues or a mass murderer? I’ll catch flack for this but how about we fix the mental health system.  When I was growing up we had news three times a day at noon, 6P.M., and 11P.M. With the advent of 24/7/365 news stations 32 years ago we also saw something were weren't used to seeing; 24 hour access to news. Gone were the days of 30 minutes news broadcast where producers had to decide what was newsworthy. As more 24 hour stations came verifying facts and deciding what would go on the air took a back seat to filling 24 hours of air time. It's led to sensationalizing even the most mundane event. I'm not saying that school shootings are mundane, but how many car chases did you see for 60 minutes on the news during the 70's? I've seen news organizations in the past seven days demand gun owner's be held responsible for the actions of someone they have never met nor do they empathize with what he has done. I don't often listen to talk radio, but did on Monday. What I heard was an internationally recognized radio host appoligize for repeating on air what he was seeing on the national news networks on Friday. Everything he had repeated, all 90 minutes of air time, was proven false by Monday morning. How about news organizations start being held accountable for what they are putting on the air.

The common denominator with the majority of modern day school shooters seems to be some form of diagnosed mental illness or incapacity. It also appears that they target areas that are “gun free zones” where they know they are reasonably assured they won’t encounter resistance for their acting out. When they meet resistance from either law enforcement or a civilian with a gun such as the school principal in Pearl, Mississippi they either give up or end their own life. Why? Because they are cowards who can only act against unarmed opponents. It makes sense to me to eliminate gun free zones and allow people to engage these shooters without fear of being prosecuted. It also makes sense to me that if I were a minimally trained CCW holder I would seek out professional training and practice regularly in the event the unthinkable happens in your presence. It shouldn’t be viewed as a social stigma to be well trained it should be viewed as an obligation to be well trained.   

Earlier I mentioned that during the assault weapon ban era that there were 27 school shootings. I say that that gives credence to the claim that bans don’t work. There has been something that has been shown to work though. In 2008 a federal program was funded to help schools place officers in schools; this program was unfunded in 2011. During the three years the program was in place there were two school shootings and one of those was in the first two months of the program before it was fully implemented. Since the program was unfunded there have been seven shootings in the first full year since its end. I believe law enforcement calls that a clue. Let me say that again in case you missed it; during the ten years of assault weapon ban there were 27 school shootings, during the three years of officers in schools there were two school shootings. 

In closing; no, evil can’t be legislated away any more than it can be wished away. Tragedies happen and the best way to limit them is by getting involved, taking responsibility for your actions, holding others responsible for their actions and not turning a blind eye to someone or something you think may be a problem in the future.

About the author

Don's class training schedule

On The CT Killings

I was in Scottsdale the morning when I heard the news from CT. I was at a business meeting and had to place that item off until later. But as I began the long drive home on I-17, I listened to Fox and CNN and various other sources.

I cried (a little...Only a little) and I swore...Loudly...ALOT!

I need to say that everyday, and every night, part of my comms to the Lord are that in His infinite mercy and provision, He allow me to be right in the path of one of those gunmen. I pray so hard that...well, my fellow Joabs know.

One day perhaps...(Please Lord!!!).

Who of us would not give our lives immediately and without any hesitation for our families? Yet those parents do not even have someone to avenge themselves upon.

We will now hear that guns are evil and I suspect the Lord of the Rats will take steps to cook up another anti-gun law. "Meaningful steps" is what he said.

So I suspect we will see another Assault Weapons Ban, in some form or another, by the end of 2013. I could be wrong...and I hope I am, but I suspect not. I deal in reality and not in how I hope things would be.

The question will come out about how this could be prevented. Nobody wants to hear that it cannot be prevented. But the truth is that it will happen again, and cannot be prevented.  Not by thug-huggers, not by gun-haters, and not by any stupid law erupting from DC's arse. You cannot prevent the evil that festers in the hearts of evil men...and man is evil. Few things keep evil in check. Governments and laws do not happen to be a part of those things.

 

What keeps evil in check?

 

First is God. But when man in his progressive socialistic stroke, expels God from his society (God doesn't hang with commies), all that is left is his evil. And that accepted evil leads to things such as this. You want a meaningful step?  Step away from Lenin and Marx and step back into church.

Next is godly man...godly leaders. Now specifically I mean "MAN", not the more commonly seen gentle-soft-modern-males that are so prolific in today's America. Godly man does not have a false picture of reality.  He does not skip around chasing butterflies with a glad handed, smilie-christian, view of the world.  Rather he leads with a reality view of things, knowing that there are evil men prowling the earth. These godly men lead their families, societies (I like to say tribes) and larger communities in a way that such things would not be likely. Leading in that way is not kind, or soft...it harsh.  It is the sort of leadership you will read about in the Old Testament. 

 

And finally, the way to stop events such as this (once it has begun, prevention is no longer an option) is to have armed and willing personnel in place in as many places as possible...in malls and in schools and in theatres, and any other "soft target".  And I am emphatically NOT referring to police or to paid security, I refer to every responsible man or woman, so that when the sons of the devil announce themselves, they will only have a few seconds before their own faces are filled with the bullets of the righteous.

 

How likely are these measures to be adopted?  I will leave that up to you.

 

 

Blessed be Our Lord in Heaven...who has made us both fierce and cold...who has strengthened our hands as well as our hearts...who has given us what we need to destroy the sons of evil that walk this earth.

Bring us to the right time and the right place Lord...make our vision clear that we may know the reality of what we see...make our hands quick, our aim true, our hearts cold, that by our decisive acts your softer children may be spared..

14 December 2012

Why - What - How and the Purpose We Share

The world is a complicated place. And every few years, it is good to refocus and reorient in the event that distractions have taken place. And, we must admit, that in the past couple of years, we have all had our share of distractions.

What is our purpose? Everyone needs a cause or belief that motivates them and drives them to action. It is the why of what we all do. Everyone who is anyone of substance or consequence needs this purpose, otherwise they will stumble through life by accident, like a cow or..dare I say, a sheep. This is ours.

We believe that every man and woman is free, but with that freedom also comes a great responsibility of self reliance and individuality. The freedom to fail or to excel. No earthly authority or government has that responsibility…only you. While we would like everyone to excel, we cannot stop those who self-select for failure by anything other than example. Our message may inadvertently reach them, but our message is for those who self-select for excellence. And, since our path is that of martial pursuits, our purpose is to make you, the excellent, as good and dangerous a fighter as possible. To steal a cliché phrase from the Army, not be the best you can be, but be the most dangerous warrior you can become.

A part of that responsibility is to prevail in any conflict that comes your way, not only for yourself, but also for those entrusted to you, the loved ones who rely on you for provision and safety. Survival is not enough friends, as one who seeks excellence, you have a responsibility to win decisively. We will make sure you can.

How do we do this? We do it by giving you access. We give you access to the basic level training that will keep you alive tonight. And we give you access to the levels of follow up training at the intermediate and advanced levels that will rival that given to the world’s most dangerous professional operators, by many of those operators themselves. What you do with that is up to you, but you have already chosen to be excellent, so we are not worried about that.  We will never require a military ID nor a police ID, nor even a CCW card. “Police/Military Only” are bad words in our world.

We do it also by giving you access to online and print publications and videos to help you maintain your hard-earned skills. Additionally, any support equipment that helps your mission is available as long as it is also exceptional and of quality. The excellent might have to make do with substandard gear and can make it work, but if better gear is available, it is obtained and added to the skillset. The excellent use the most modern technology, they do not fear it.

Finally, we give you the environment to share with and learn from those of like minds in a safe tribal online community called warriortalk. Free and open to all who self-select for excellence, it is the foundation of our international tribe, and serves as a basis for exchange of ideas, introduction of new concepts, and networking with tribal bands in each man’s area for sustainment of skills and brotherhood.

Most people want to see tangible proof, or results. Why is what we are doing and offering the way to go? First, you can see that we believe in it. Any organization that gives away as much free information as we do is clearly driven by the passion of belief. Second, what we teach you works. It is not for the self-limiting underachiever, nor for those who live to win a little silver cup by defeating their friends. But if you are a self-selecting warrior seeking excellence, our system will immediately appeal to you. Third, we test everything we offer you in both the crucibles of battle field and street, as well as in hard and unscripted simulation training. Unlike other organizations, you don’t have to take our word for anything. When you realize that you have just evaded a live opponent’s gun muzzle and shot him four times as you drew from street concealment, full speed, you will know what we mean.

Life is too short, and precious to live by accident, or to survive its dangers by happenstance. Choose today to excel. Be the best and most dangerous warrior that God will allow you to be. Take the first step. Come and join the tribe.

Gabe Suarez

Warrior Talk Blog
Tactical Gear For The Civilian Fighter
Training For The Martial Civilian

God - Family - Tribe
That Is Where Loyalty Lies
And Those Are The Only Things
I will Fight, Kill, or Die For

Suarez Is Abandoning His Glock?!

Nah....we're not going to do that. But the headline caused you look didn't it? I have been getting that question for the last week. Look...Glock is not the only handgun we work with. Take a look at OST and you will see S&W MPs as well as Glocks. We are adding the SIG line as well, and if the all-or-nothing booger-eating socialist morons can't wrap their heads around that I don't care.



OK...why did we look at the SIG. Well, Suarez is in fact an international company, and
our counter terrorist friends overseas that run SIGs asked about adding an RMR to it. And no, they are not a part of the American Navy....think Europe. Anyway, we assigned our people to it and they did it. And a nice job they did. The good guys now have a pistol they can take suppressed shots at 150 yards with....ooops...I mean meters.





We have been drilling with the SIG pistols for a while now while we did the T&E on it and quite frankly, I see no difference in speed or accuracy. The DA/SA thing is not as big a deal as the detractors would have us believe. There are shortcuts that one can learn, but maybe that is for a video short in the future.





The next time I teach a class, you may see me with a TSD Glock, a SIG P226...or perhaps even an FN. Any gun will do if you will do (a phrase I coined years ago). And an excellent pistol will help you "DO" much better.

SIG, Glock or FN? Same as Omega, Rolex, or Zenith...all good, all quality, and since this is America, the land of want and not need, you can have any of them, or all of
them.

There Is No Can't

This post goes along with the one about "Eliminating the Complainer".  This one deals with the "Can't Virus". I will say right now that I hate that virus, and the things it spawns. I got into an arguement with a very dear friend recently that I wish would not have happened because what he was doing was spreading the virus. 

The only way to cure the virus is to not accept "Can't".  Anything is possible and nothing "cannot  be done".  It may not be legal, or easy, or logical, or whatever, but it certainly is not "impossible". 

I want to tell you a story about a man named Elio Suarez...my dad. He was the son of a rich landonwer in Cuba. His father, my grand father owned a cattle ranch, an accompanying dairy as well as some tobacco plantations. But was a very demanding man and it was clear that although my family had a great deal of money, nobody was going to get anything for free. 

My dad realized he had to make it on his own. He looked around at his resources. He saw that there were undesirable weeds and plants in a neighboring planter's fields. He offered to clear the field if he could keep what he cleared. Then using some money he had saved up, he bought a herd of pigs and fed them the vast vegeation. He fattened them up and sold the meat to a local butcher. 

With that money he bought a motorcycle and worked up a deal with my grandfather where he would buy milk from the dairy on credit, deliver it to town on his motorcycle, and then split the profit with my grandfather.

Soon the motorcycle turned into a truck and then into several trucks. Then my dad revolutionized the dairy business in Cuba by bringing in a sort of ISO for milk, certifying its purity. Very freaking advanced and technological for the 1930s. At one point, he had milk delivery and sales for the entire island. 

That lead to other opportunities and he began to invest in real estate. He bought several plots of land in downtown Havana, and invested in various connected businesses. 

Then one day a group of communists walked in and said, "get the f*** out...all of this is ours now". Cuba had just traded one pro-capitalist dictator for a communist dicator. This after a lengthy revolution with the death of brothers and uncles, and an outright betrayal by the US Government at a little seaside resort known as the Bay of Pigs. 

Suddenly broke, and with no prospects, yet with a wife and small family, my dad again took stock and looked for spaces between the raindrops. 

He got involved in the Black Market, eventually becoming a sizeable player. He sold anything of value, for cash, in total disregard for Cuban laws. God, family and tribe were his only loyalties as his country had abandoned him. He was arrested a few times, bribed his way out always, and often left a scene steps ahead of the Secret Police, or Citizens Militia (a group of armed and sanctioned collaborators). 

He was not a rich man anymore, but his belly and those of the people important to him, were full, we all had a place to sleep and the hope born of defiance. 

Eventually he managed to get the family out to the USA. Again, with nothing in his pockets. He looked for opportunities and found a job in Los Angeles. He worked as a meat packer in L.A., midnight shift moving boxes of meat in a cold warehouse. He was 53 at the time. 

Eventually after a few months he got a better job in the dairy industry that he knew...delivering milk to markets in various areas of L.A. He did that job for many years, retiring at about 75, feeding his family and doing his job as a man....and as an example to me. 

Listen carefully young students, no matter what the media tells you, no matter what your teachers tell you, or what the authority of the moment tells you  -

THERE IS NO CAN'T

The Fog Of War - A Lack Of Certainty

Clausewitz wrote about it as "The Fog Of War". SunTzu wrote about it as "not knowing yourself or the enemy". It is a lack of certainty. It comes from a lack of information about what is actually
at hand. Without information, accurate decisions are very difficult to make. What happens is you get a bunch of educated guesses and then a tentative decision based on those guesses. 

That is why military planners spend more on gathering intell than on the weapons to exploit that intell. How does that play out for the individual operator?

I wrote an email to a friend recently about this topic and how it plays out in events like what happened in Aurora. Quite simply, if one is denied the suitable intell to make a decision, no decision will tend to be made. And at such a time, unless there is an ingrained, and trained default response, the subject will liklely freeze in place...as if he is on pause waiting for more information.

Put aside the 4S issues of a midnight movie is a questionable hood and follow. Think of the circumstances there. Sitting in the dark, focused on the screen. Loud movie sounds all around.

Then you hear shooting. Information! Is it the movie? You think it is. People now screaming...what scared them from the movie...you weren't scared by the scene. Smoke in the theatre. What is this? Gun shots but not from the movie. Where are they coming from? People screaming and running.

Can you tell what is going on? Can you see the gunman through the smoke? How close is he? Too far to reach? Or is he close enough to touch? Unlikely as the gunshots were not close to you otherwise you would have noticed them sooner. The exit is clogged with people, the smoke makes
visibility impossible, and you cannot tell where the shots are coming from yet.

Do you understand the lack of certainty affecting actions? So your work now involves two things.

One is making sure that you have as much intell as possible, of an actionable sort, given the circumstances. You won't get alot, but the art of determining what is happening from bits and pieces of information is an essential one. The same event as Aurora, but in a well lit threatre where  someone is giving a speech makes for a different set of information and certainty of decision does it not? Darkness and the intentional self-removal from reality called for in a movie contributed to the situation.

Two is to have a default response in the event that you have no actionable intell. What that default response should be I cannot say...but to have neither actionable intell nor default response will lead to confusion and probably inaction, which could be a fatal thing.

One of our members at Warrior Talk called it "Efficiency in Ambiguity". Excellent phrase! So how do we obtain efficiency in ambiguity? I think a number of things need to be in place for that.

Moral Certainty – “What I am about to do is the right thing and I need to do it right now”. That comes from clarity of mission and pure focus brought on by a clear decision based on what has been observed. And that impending action is executed without getting clearance or permission from anyone.

That is a rare thing indeed today in police, military, and civilian worlds. I suspect that had the theatre been filled with “average gun guys”, or "average (Unarmed) off duty police", the outcome would not have been much different. And lets not forget the events of Fort Hood. Thirteen died there, and they were soldiers.

The factor of “being taken by surprise” is of course an important consideration, but I think there is more going on. Very few people, in any walk of life, see themselves as fighters any more…and I suspect that includes cops and soldiers. You guys in the service correct me if I am wrong,
but not everyone has the mindset of a Ranger or a Force Recon dude do they? And I can tell you from quite personal, and distasteful, experience that fighters are quite rare in police work.

As well, since all three groups today get beaten over brow and genitals with the fear of liability, the desire to close with and destroy anything, especially if there is any ambiguity over the events, or one has not received official sanction to go and do that directly by a superior, is rare as well.

Actual Capability –  What do we need? To be able to run up to another man, like Holmes, and shoot him in the face without any deleterious emotions interrupting us. Unless we have personal experience, or train in killing regularly, we will not  succeed in these events. And by that I mean meaningful training as is seen in strenuos force on force, hunting large game, or prior personal experience in combat of some sort where one has killed an enemy close enough to know that it was his bullet or his blade that did it. Even the ambiguos gun-pop phrases of "self defense", "shooting to stop", etc., while fine for court, will lead to an incorrect mindset.  

From Sun Tsu - “If officers are unaccustomed to rigorous [training] they will be worried and hesitant in battle; if generals are not thoroughly trained they will be inwardly quail when they face the enemy.”

 

CQB - Fighting In Structures - DVD

CQB - FIGHTING IN STRUCTURES - DVD

 

This is the "secret stuff" everyone wants to know but almost nobody teaches.  And then, only to SWAT personnel.  Marksmanship and CCW knowledge alone may keep you safe from a mugger on a street corner, but when you find yourself fighting inside your house, those rudimentary skills will be found exceedingly lacking.

 

In this DVD, Suarez shares lessons learned from 15 years of High Risk Warrant Service, Drug Raids, Covert Tactical Entries, Hostage Rescue, Hunting Barricaded Criminals, Clearing Industrial and Residential Buildings, and other police special operations both  alone and with his SWAT team. 

 

Originally filmed at Suarez HQ, in a class for the Suarez International instructional staff, CQB Fighting In Structures deals with the missing subject matter that will link all your skill sets and make you a dangerous man with a gun.  The almost FIVE HOURS of material is specifically aimed at teaching the skills and tactics for the Single Operator, or the Small Team.  The first disc discusses all of the tactics in a very down to earth, and easy to remember manner.  No questions are left unanswered as Suarez details how to clear corners, doors, hallway intersections and other architectural features found in dwellings all over the world.   The second and third discs deal with hands on examples of what is discussed in Disc One including the deployment, management and tactics of a small CQB team.

 

Destined to be both a classic work, as well as one of the most controversial DVDs we have ever released, CQB Fighting In Structures is now available.

 

DVD Format

Approximately Five Hours in Three Discs

MORE INFORMATION HERE

From The DVD -

 

THE CORNER - Staple of Tactical Movement -

You find corners everywhere in modern and ancient architecture. Knowing how to negotiate one is the fundamental skill.  There are corners and there are architectural features that are made up of corners.  A door is basically two corners with a tight opening.  An intersection of two hallways is a double corner.  You can find more examples. 

First is recognition of the corner and identification of it being Right or left Sided Corner.  We show you ways to deal with each one of those two possibilities. Then Identify the “Apex” of the corner.  This is the corner's edge which you will use to pivot your movement on.   Identify “Line Of Danger”.  This is the imaginary line that is created by the opposite wall and where you must be careful the closer you get to it.

Once this is done, its easy to Determine A Path of Angular Search.  Eyes, Muzzle, and  Target are kept in alignment in some Situationally Appropriate Ready. Move naturally and not in some crab-walking mode.  There are direct correlations between “taking the corner” and the Force On Force/Get-Off-The-X methods you already know.

Once you can do a corner smoothly and safely, all other architectural obstacles will have an answer.

BUY THE DVD

COMMENT ON THIS AT WARRIORTALK

You Wanna Survive....or Thrive?

So this last week our moderators at Warrior Talk banned a gaggle of "tin foilers".

For the sake of those who have not heard these terms because they have been busy working for a living and actually doing something important, here they are -

Tin foilers is a derisive term derived from the “tin foil hat” - a piece of headgear made from one or more sheets of aluminium foil or similar material said to shield the brain from government mind control and/or mind reading. The concept of wearing a tin foil hat for protection from such threats has become a popular term of derision for paranoids with persecutory delusions, and is associated with conspiracy theorists.

Tin foiler is also for those who fancy themselves as modern day Benjamin Martins (Mel Gibson’s character in Patriot) fighting the evil government. These guys spend their days reading about all the evils of the government, and hang out with other conspiracy types gossiping about uselessness. When they dream, they do not dream about bikini women on tropical beaches, they dream about last stands against those pesky "jack booted thugs" with their trusty SKS in their hands, yelling out "F-R-E-E-D-O-M" just before the geek at Foggy Bottom blasts them with a drone attack.

Those types are losers. There, I said it. Do you know why they are losers? I will tell you. They are all huge time wasters. Time is a gift from God and you can use it wisely or waste it. With them, how much time are they wasting on things they have zero control over and will never have any control over?  And worse, not using that time to build wealth, spend time with their families, work, or even train their bodies.  Instead they think it is their job to "save America from itself".

They are purveyors of fear and negativity. It amazes me how much a certain personality fails to thrive unless they view the world as being unfair and about to implode. Give them a nice steak and they will lecture you on cholesterol. Pour them a nice single malt and they will lecture you on the evils of alcoholism. Light up a nice cigar and you will be bombarded with tales of lung cancer. For them, I am sure even sex is a bad thing.

The only thing I care to do for those people is show them the door and some size ten encouragement. If you want a successful life and business, purge yourselves of these guys. Even if what they claim was true, what are you or they, going to do? Nothing.

You may as well complain about the rain. You can complain about the rain all you like, but it will not stop coming down. You can either move to a drier place, or put on a rain coat. Then again, I will bet you could make a very nice living selling rain coats and umbrellas.

The Responsible Gun Owner

By Don Robison

Suarez International Tier1 Staff Instructor 

I’ve been surfing the web and various gun forums this week and I don’t know if it’s a new phenomenon or just something I recently picked up on. Lately it seems that every time someone does something with a gun someone else disagrees with I hear the cry “You’re not a responsible gun owner!”, “A responsible gun owner wouldn’t do that!”  I recently was involved in a discussion about a guy who had some guns stolen from inside his house.  They weren’t locked in a safe and it was decreed by these self-appointed responsible gun owners that he was an irresponsible gun owner and it was his fault someone stole his guns out of his house because he didn’t have them in a safe.  Really, I mean REALLY, is this what we’ve come to; blaming someone for their house being robbed?  On a different forum I was in another discussion that involved the use of the word firearm or gun versus using the word weapon.  Once again the self-appointed responsible gun owners decreed that a responsible gun owner wouldn’t use the word weapon because it might make some people uncomfortable. Really, politically correct much?  Firearms were designed as weapons; punching pretty little groups of holes in paper was a secondary use.  No scratch that; it was a tertiary use right after killing people and killing animals. Punching holes in paper came about as a way to practice for killing people and animals; not the other way around.  

What is a responsible gun owner?  If you ask thirty different people you will likely get thirty different answers. From what I’ve noticed recently are the answers will generally be divided among two camps; those who go along with the thinking of the antigun movement, and those who go with a more traditional view point.  One side of the fence will tell you that all of your weapons need to be locked in a safe and should never be outside the safe unless you are using them.  Doing anything less makes you an irresponsible gun owner and you deserve to have your house burgled.  The other side will tell you that locking them in a safe is a smart practice, but if you have some outside the safe on display or for other purposes it’s acceptable.  After all, it wasn’t that long ago that glass front wooden gun cabinets were the norm in many people’s homes.  I fall into the second camp; I blame criminals for their actions and not crime victims for the actions of criminals.  I asked the question; what is a responsible gun owner?  Here is my answer.  A responsible gun owner is a person who responsibly handles their weapons and takes reasonable care in securing them.  What is responsible handling to me?  It’s handling them in a manner that isn’t reckless i.e. they follow the four rules for safe gun handling as appropriate to the situation.  Why do I say appropriate to the situation? Contrary to the beliefs of some there are times when at least one of those rules will be broken because of the situation. We at Suarez International teach point shooting which wouldn’t be possible without breaking Cooper’s rule number 3; Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target. Instead we say keep your finger off the trigger until you’ve made a conscience decision to shoot. This is because you may be firing from half hip, ¾ hip or indexing off the slide and never see the sights. What makes Fairbairn, Sykes, and Applegate wrong and Cooper right?  Ever holstered your gun? Every time you holster your gun in a traditional type concealed carry holster you’re are pointing your muzzle at something you don’t want to destroy (rule 2 violation); typically your hip, thigh or calf.  If this weren’t true people wouldn’t be injured when they have an accidental discharge in their holster.  What is reasonable care in securing a weapon? To me as well as the legal beagles it is defined as “the degree of caution and concern for the safety of himself/herself and others an ordinarily prudent and rational person would use in the circumstances.”  Just because locking them in a safe is the most cautious doesn’t mean not having them in a safe isn’t reasonable care.  If you have your TV stolen or other valuables stolen from your home should you be blamed for not taking reasonable care by not locking them in a vault? The same goes if your car is stolen from your garage.  For most of us other than our home our vehicle is the most valuable thing we own and they are routinely the target of theft. A reasonable person would consider a locked home or garage reasonable care for securing their other valuables; why does a home suddenly become fair game for robbery just because someone owns weapons.  

I’m often told that words mean something; the next time you are told or are telling someone what it means to be a “responsible gun owner” stop and think about what that means to you. Also stop and remember that just because it means one thing to you it doesn’t mean you are right and everyone else who disagrees with you is wrong, stupid or irresponsible. 

For the record I think it’s a sound practice to secure weapons in a safe that aren’t being used, but admit to having weapons that aren’t in my safe. Some of them are out for home protection in addition to my every day carry gun, some are used to dispatch varmints around our property and some of them are used to plink a few times a week on my small home range. 

 

 

Fear! and being the first man

I want to post a comment on this. FEAR! It is the life draining emotion. It is what keeps you from accomplishing and doing and starting. It is excessively protectful. It is how animals think...the kind of animals that get eaten.

Fear is destructive in that it prevents you from doing anything at all other than running away or hunkering in a fetal "down and cover".

Fear thrives on pessimism and complaining. The man that wakes every morning, walks outside and smiles at the bright sun and blue sky and cinches down the ruck, moving out to a day of promise with a straight back and head held high is neither pessimistic nor fearful.

Contrast that with the man who slouches in the couch watching one program after another advising him of the coming calamity of the day. He moves through is day defeated and almost mournful, neither noticing nor appreciating the beauty around him...nor the opportunities.

The first man makes sh*t happen...the second one watches as sh*t happens to him. Which are you? Which do you want to be? The choice is not in the circumstances, it is up to you.

I will tell you about my father Elio Suarez.  He lost everything he owned to communism in 1960...the year that I was born. Had he chosen to be the second man, and he had every right to be, he would have no doubt died of grief as so many Cubans his age did. Instead he chose to be the first man, in the sort of environment that few americans...even those who like to roll around naked on a bed of TEOTEWAWKI, could not imagine.

Think of depression era environment coupled with a Nazi Germany level of oppression. That was post revolution Cuba where a man who was suspected of being anti-Castro could find himself writing a goodbye note to his family while the firing squad got their rifles ready.

In that environment he became an outlaw. Yup...not a law abiding, sullen and defeated man, but a bright eyed, opportunity seeking black marketeer. Seeing the limits of the Cuban pond, he moved his entire family to the USA leaving his aging brothers and mother in Cuba (she died a couple of years later). He was 53.

He built a business and regained much of what he had lost because he was the first man and not the defeated complaining second man. My dad's kids, and wife never lacked a thing...never went hungry, never were homeless, or without education, resources or opportunity. And that through Communism, Lyndon Johnsonism, Nixonism, Carterism, and all the other isms that have come and gone, and come, and gone.

So you can see my disatisfaction with the incessant doom and gloom hopelessness that I am seeing discussed today from time to time. Good grief men....we have seen it all before.

If I was R.Lee Ermey I'd say something to the effect of "stop being a crybaby, grow a set of balls, and make some sh*t happen - TODAY".

But instead I will simply say "be the first man".

Gabe Suarez

Warrior Talk Blog
Tactical Gear For The Civilian Fighter
Training For The Martial Civilian

Leadership-Success Principles

1). Fire anyone who uses the word "can't" more than once in a conversation with you, or whose daily lexicon is filled with excuses.

2). Look for opportunity where others see despair...you will likely find it.

3). Nothing is impossible. Say that ten times every morning. Fire anyone that disagrees.

4). Surround yourself with tigers who make stuff happen rather than the complaining sloths who watch stuff happen.

5). Place yourself above the daily groanings and whimperings of common men.

6). Choose your objective and move towards it aggressively...others will follow.

7). Know when to quit. If after examining the battlefield, one door is too difficult, abandon it and find an easier door. But don't do that more than once a year.

8). Business is war and as soon as money is involved, you will realize that your "colleagues" are not your friends.

9). Secrecy of mission is essential. See #8 above.

10). It is not just about winning, because it is always about winning. How you win is up to you to define, but if you are not interested in that, stay home.

Gabe Suarez

Warrior Talk Blog
Tactical Gear For The Civilian Fighter
Training For The Martial Civilian

Rats, Shoemakers, and Lizards....

So the junior staff and I watched a documentary on Netflix titled Guns, Germs and Steel. It is a film version of the book by Jared Diamond. Diamond, I suspect is as liberal as a pair of skinny jeans, but his theory of how geography and circumstances shaped the flow and dominance of certain cultures is a good one. It is a hard read, but the documentary is an easy watch.

In any case, the junior staff asked about the same situations today...about what causes societies and cultures to fail. I answered immediately...rats, shoemakers, and lizards. Here is how it plays out...on the personal and national levels.

Rats are people that live off the charity of others...whether it is voluntary or government forced. These are the able-bodied that are on welfare, or living off the charity of some church when they could be working.

Rats are also the types that don't think anyone should excel over anyone else. Look at the hairy fleabags marching up and down Wall Street in the vain attempt to make anything happen. That is the typecast rat. There are governments that are rats as well....preying on their successful people to feed those who support them.

There are entire social levels and regions that have been "rat-ified" by generations of living off others and sticking it to whomever "the man" of the moment is. We would all do well to purge our lives and nations of the rat and his viral mentality.

Then there are "Shoemakers". This is a term coined by a friend of ours to define the sort that is not a rat, but that is shortsighted and unambitious. The shoemaker makes one pair of shoes at a time, working at a slow pace and he makes just enough shoes to keep beans on the table and the roof patched up. That is all he needs. The rat might consider that noble, but I consider it foolish.

Think of how well the shoemaker would live and eat, and what a good education his children would receive and what a full life he would have if instead of plodding along, he went out and hired a few more like him and make three times as many shoes...and then franchised the entire thing to other shoemakers. He would create an entire industry that would employ hundreds of people. People incidentally that would not turn into rats.

I know a man that makes shoes...one might say. He and his family (wife and two girls) live in a trailer. They eat Top Ramen and cereal. He is a smart man and could easily mobilize the many idle and unemployed people in his area to ramp up his production ten fold. But every time I bring that up to him there is some reason why it will not work....or it will be fishing season...or too hot...or too cold...or...something else.  He is and will remain a shoemaker and his family will do only as well as his one shoe a day pace will permit.

How many nations, and entire societies are limited by the shoemaker mentality?

Finally we have the lizard. The lizard is a type of person first written about by Seth Godin in his great books on business. The lizard is the life drainer...the idea killer...the one who lives and thrives on being afraid. He employs from the lizard brain. Tell him to build a house and he will list the reasons, quite fearfully, about why it cannot be done. The lizard is a carrier of the most dangerous disease known to man. The lizard does not carry smallpox...he carries fear. And lizard fear is quite contagious...specially to shoemakers.

With a society of rats, shoemakers, and lizards, we would never have crossed the ocean to conquer the New World, nor tamed the west, nor had the industrial revolution, nor defeated the Nazis, nor gone to the moon, nor...well, you get the idea.

Don't be any of these and do not make friends with any of these. If you have these in your family disown them. Clear your life and business and social circles of the rat, the shoemaker, and the lizard, and you will be astounded at what you can accomplish...whether as an individual, a business, or a nation.

Gabe Suarez

Warrior Talk Blog
Tactical Gear For The Civilian Fighter
Training For The Martial Civilian

Crossing At A Ford

Musashi wrote about Crossing At A Ford in his Book Of Five Rings. 

"Crossing at a ford" means, for example, crossing the sea at a strait, or crossing over a hundred miles of broad sea at a crossing place. (1)

I believe this "crossing at a ford" occurs often in a man's lifetime.

It means setting sail even though your friends stay in harbour, knowing the route, knowing the soundness of your ship and the favour of the day. When all the conditions are meet, and there is perhaps a favourable wind, or a tailwind, then set sail. If the wind changes within a few miles of your destination, you must row across the remaining distance without sail. (2)

If you attain this spirit, it applies to everyday life. You must always think of crossing at a ford.


- Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings

*****

The Book Of Five Rings, along with SunTzu, Mao, and Seth Godin, are required reading for our staff. I did my 3rd Dan dissertation on Musashi and how his work applies to today. There is no doubt Musashi was a killer (good for him), and exemplified the look of a street hobo much more than that of a splendid samurai. But there is alot of wisdom in that little book of his.

Crossing at a ford.

Note #1. Crossing at a ford means seeing the opening...the opportunity, and seizing it hard, taking it before it is gone. A true warrior does not have other warriors as enemies...his only enemy is time. Hesitation may kill in combat but it will leave you behind in business. The wide chasm from poverty to riches may be crossed easily and quickly (relatively) by those who recognize and take advantage of the ford.

Note #2. There will be those that are with you that do not want to make the crossing, fearful of the exertion, the sharks in the water, and fearful of even what lay on the other side. These people are allergic to success and thus averse to the steps needed to reach it.

As you recognize those fords in life there will be those that want to pull you away from them, back into the dry land that is safe for them in their quest for safe mediocrity. Some of these people may be lifelong friends...maybe even family members. If you allow them to keep you from crossing at the ford, you will never cross any fords, as fear and failure is a learned and habit-forming act.

Musashi writes, "even though you friends stay in harbour".

Indeed.

Often times you must force them to stay in harbor if you know that bringing them along in YOUR boat is undeserved by them, having contributed absolutely nothing to its construction and knowing that they will take up an inordinate amount of space with drama, emotions and complaining. At such times...it is best to cross alone.

As Musashi often said..."You must learn and study these things."

Commentary: The Zimmerman - Martin Shooting

So now we have begun the media circus over the Zimmerman shooting in Florida.  I plan on writing a controversial piece so fasten the seatbelts.

This will of course divide everyone into two absolute camps.  One, the ”never get involved in anything” crowd will point to this and say “You see…we are right”.  The other, the Captain America Defender of the Innocent crowd will say Zimm was right and it was good he did what he did.  Like everything, no absolute is right since the world is not made up of absolutes.

I and teach my students that they should seek “distance from disorder” in their lives, and unless something shocks the consciousness of humanity, to mind their own business.  Now I will also tell you that there is a vast gulf of difference between a suspicious black kid walking around the neighborhood, and an active shooter killing people in a restaurant.  One is none of your personal business and more of a job for the police, the other…if you happen to be there, is in fact your business and your action can save many lives.

The difference between the two extremes is also one of timing.  In the former, nothing has happened.  In the latter, the bad guy has already opened the game. In one you are not certain of what is really happening, but with the other it is as clear as a slap in the face.

At warriortalk there is some confusion about this.  Specifically that Zimm was justified because he was getting his butt kicked.  Well, yes, that is true.  There were exigent circumstances at that point, but Zimm created them.  A very old grizzled Surveillance Unit Sergeant once told me that a shooting was far easier to justify if the bad guy already shed blood or tried to kill somebody.  If  you shot him seeking to prevent a crime, your perception of what the bad guy was really going to do will be debated forever.   He said with the one you saved the day since what had already happened was not open for discussion, but with the other there would be forever unanswered questions. 

That is the pivotal difference between the IHOP shooting we discussed some time ago in a firestorm, and what we have here.

Several WT Members have said that Zimm will have his say in court and will obviously be vindicated.  Well, there is an illusion in this country about the legal system being fair and impartial. It is not any different than anywhere else on earth. It is driven by politics and money. I have seen good people get a raw deal due to being on the wrong side of the politics and money. The L.A. cops in the Rodney King thing come immediately to mind.

Old Rodney was an Altadena Bloc Crip with all manner of criminal experience. He is also a big boy and not the prim and proper victim in a suit Johnnie Cochran depicted him as. Those cops followed their policies yet they were sacrificed to satisfy the mobs of L.A. Even after being found not guilty in the Simi Valley Trial. Does anyone think the same won't happen to Zimm? Whether he was justified or not is irrelevant since he created the exigent circumstances that led to the event.

Gents...Lesson Number One is this - Unless what you are seeing shocks the very consciousness of humanity, plainly and clearly, lives are being lost and blood has been drawn by the focus of your attention (active shooter, murder in progress, etc.) - MIND YOUR OWN FREAKING BUSINESS!!!!!!! Had Martin been in the process of disemboweling a family of four, and Zimm shot him before he got to family member number two, he would be a national hero.  Now, not so much, and his judgement will be debated forever.

Lesson Number Two is this - The justice system is ruled by politics and money not by truth and fairness. If you think not, and that you will be treated fairly in a politically charged event like this one, you are a fool.  Remember Stacy Coon and his men.

Lesson Number Three - If you see storm clouds and see lightning, you can bet its going to rain. Zimm is sitting at home right now, ignorant of lesson number two thinking he was right and that the law of the land will vindicate him, and all those “denial things” the guys destined to be squashed by the hammer of the state tell themselves.

As soon as he saw the media's intent and “flow of story”, before anything else is done to him, he should have been pulling a Russell Crow in "The Next Three Days".  A nice apartment in Bolivia is far better than what I think will be his future.

My Prediction On Zimm - I hope I am wrong, but based on my knowledge on how things work....

Zimm will stick around and not go live in Bolivia.

The District Attorney, under severe political pressure, will file a hefty stack of miscellaneous civil rights/human rights crimes…all felonies.

He will fight it and spend his family's fortune defending himself. They will keep it going for two years after which nobody will care anymore about it politically.

Zimm will be offered a deal with a felony conviction and reduced time. He will take it. In two more years  nobody will remember his name...not even the booger picking neighbors he gave everything up for.

There it is.  Anyone still want to be Captain America Defender of the Innocent?

Discuss This At Warrior Talk

 

Your Line in the Sand Part 1

By Roger Phillips, Suarez International Specialist and Tier One Instructor.

You could ask me a hundred questions about strategy and tactics and I could probably answer each one in the most logical and accurate manner with just two words "it depends!" Once this fact has been set down it becomes very clear that "the line in the sand" (the point where you are willing to use lethal force) is not the most correct way to look at a tactical situation. "Your line in the sand" is the only way that tactical scenarios can be looked at in a well thought out, well researched, and well educated manner. The situation is the dictating factor and the biggest factor inside of the situation is YOU. It is the situation and who you are that needs to be taken into consideration when you look to develop your line in the sand.

When we look at all of the varying state laws across this country, it becomes very clear that a guy from Texas cannot tell a guy from California where his line in the sand should be. A guy who lives alone, with no wife or kids cannot tell a family man where his line in the sand should be. A person with extremely advanced training and a ton of experience cannot tell a person with virtually no training or experience where his line in the sand should be. A person that has an overwhelming desire to always do what they believe to be "right" cannot tell a person that has a different perspective on "right" where his line in the sand should be. Yet, we see that all of the time on the gun forums. Some people may feel that they must fight evil every time they see it, while another, just as righteous of a man, may feel that "discretion is the better part of valor" makes more sense for his ability to continue to take care of his loved ones and fight evil for the long run.

Having been on gun forums since 2001, it still amazes me when I see people forcing their feeling and beliefs of tactical situations on others, as if they are the only ones that are right and everyone else is wrong. This is either a stance that is contorted by ignorance or by arrogance. If the situation is the dictating factor (and it is) and the individual is the largest factor inside of that situation (and they are) then it is clear to me that no person has the right, or the ability to adequately judge another man's "line in the sand." Until you are standing in his shoes, knowing everything that he knows, you have no clue what perspective he is coming from, you have no idea why he has made the decisions that he has made. His very personal line in the sand is as foreign to you has Ancient Hebrew.

Recently, I read a comment that there seemed to be "no consistency" in our teaching at Suarez International (SI) in regards to "the line in the sand." The problem is not that there is no consistency, the problem is that there is no easy answer, due to the fact that it is all situational and all very personalized to the person inside of the situation. This means that there is no perfect formula for the perfect line in the sand. That is not a reality! Cementing your line in the sand takes work, time, effort, and thought. Even if you do everything right in preparing your line it can all go very wrong. Fighting evil, especially all by yourself as a lone civilian, is very dangerous stuff that is fraught with risk and danger, not just to yourself, but to your loved ones, your freedom, and your financial security. SI is not telling you to not take the risks, we are telling you to put in the work, train, research, and learn as much as you can so that "your line in the sand" is as solid as you can possibly make it. This is "YOUR" line in the sand, make it yours! Take ownership of it, because when it is all said and done these are the decisions that you may live with for the rest of your life (possibly, very short life.)

 

Be very careful about listening to the two extreme points of view on each side of this debate. Remember you will be the only one looking at yourself in the mirror. You can screw your life up by doing way too little and by doing way too much. Use your head! This is not a black or white topic! There are many shades of grey! Moderation, preparedness, and thoughtfulness will do more for you than extremism, bravado, or cowardice.

We need to accept the fact that there are very good men willing to put everything on the line to do the right thing......and they are mentally and physically prepared to do so. By the same token, we often see people with zero experience who fantasize about becoming a hero that are not prepared in anyway whatsoever. Both groups may preach a "holy than thou" sermon to those that may use more discretion. The biggest problem is that unless we know the men personally it is hard to tell which group they are preaching from. We can call these guys "The Righteous Fighters." There is nothing wrong with being one of these guys if you have what it takes to actually be one of these guys.......nothing wrong with that at all. Heck, it is their life and they have made their decisions. We often see guys like this in the Military or Law Enforcement, but it is not exclusive to those lines of work. As many of you know, there are many civilians that have what it takes to be one of these guys. It is also a fact that there are plenty of "Want to be Righteous Fighters" that do not have what it takes and take a stance on this subject that they have no right to take. They are not prepared, they have not thought it through, they have neither the experience or the physical/mental make up to preach about something that is well beyond them.

It does not matter whether you are a "Righteous Fighter" or a "Want to be" it is wrong for you to assume that the decisions that you make are better than those that use more discretion.

"What is your mission?" is a question that is as personalized as it gets. A man that feels the need to fight evil, and does so, is not better than a man that feels the need to fight evil, but has to constantly try to control his need in order to fulfill his mission. There is more than one way to fight evil! You can fight it head on, without any restraint, and in a possibly short term manner. You can also fight evil in a more discretionary manner that allows you to fulfill your mission and possibly fight it for the long term. Both groups of men are good men, just with a different mission to fulfill.

When we talk about discretion and fulfilling the mission, we are most likely talking about a good man's desire to provide for his family. A good man provides many things to his family that goes well beyond finances and security. The absolute need that the family has to have a good man around needs to be part of the equation when it comes to understanding your need to do the right thing. What is the right thing in your eyes may be very different from what the right thing is for your family and in your loved ones eyes. This understanding and willingness to compromise your need to fight evil, in order to take care of your loved ones for the long term is a very honorable and admirable thing to find in a person. To think that there is no honor in this type of thinking, preparation, and understanding is the sign of somebody that has not experienced what it is like to grow up without a father, it is the sign of ignorance of a reality that many know to be as real as anything can ever be. When you see "me and mine" written out when it comes to the line in the sand, unless you are standing in that man's shoes and know his reality you have zero right to be the judge of it.

We are all products of our experience and our experiences will guide our decisions. I have been "The Righteous Fighter" and I can tell you that it can be a tough row to hoe. In my eyes, I was already dead, I had nothing to lose, and nothing to care about. That is not my world anymore! I am still the same man, but my perspective has changed. My experiences have made me wiser, my family has shown me that I am not already dead and that I do have plenty to live for. I will still fight evil, but I will do it for the long haul, using experience, knowledge, training, ability, and the understanding that one battle is not the war. The war on evil has many battles, from many fronts.

Use your head and choose wisely!

Discuss this at Warrior Talk here.

Check out Roger's schedule here

Pictures from TMCO course

The “Do’s” and “Don’ts” of Open Carry Part III

Written by Roger Phillips, Suarez International Specialist and Tier One Instructor

The Retention Problem

“Ever since the first caveman grabbed the first rock inside of a fight, man has been fighting over a weapon.”

Weapon retention is something that simply has to be taken into consideration if you are going to carry a gun……concealed or open. I think we can all agree that if you follow the “Three Stupid Rule” your chances of being in a life threatening encounter are very low………that is if you follow the “Three Stupid Rule.” Most young people do not follow those rules and it seems as if the open carry crowd is predominantly young people. The chances rise dramatically if you live outside of the rules. But let’s all face it, even if the chance is low if your number is called it does not matter how many other peoples numbers were not called. All that matters is that you are now fighting for your life or the life of your loved ones. If there was zero chance of this happening then we would not need to carry weapons at all. But we all know that it can happen, so let’s get past the BS that is commonly thrown around by the political activist.


Retention is an issue that must be taken into consideration!

Refuse to admit this fact at your own peril. But do not blame the “self defense” guys for not trying to get this fundamental truth through to you…….blame the political activist for trying to hide it from you. When men fight, there will most likely be a weapon involved (even if it is an improvised weapon.) If there is only one weapon, there will be a fight over that weapon if the fight is not ended quickly and decisively. If you have a visible gun on your waistband, you have brought that one weapon into the fight. Basically that makes almost any fight that you get into a gunfight.

If we can just agree that “fights happen” then we can agree that retention is an issue.

When we look at “our power” it is strongest right inside of our work space. Our work space is from waist to chin, inside of each shoulder. It extends out about one foot from our chest. This is the area where we are our strongest. This is where “our power” is at its peak. This is right inside of the natural arch of the arms, if we were to bring our hands up along the body, from our waist up to our chin. Not only is this “our power” workspace it is also our optimal area of hand speed. If I want to open carry and I want to be the very best that I can be, I am going to wear my holster on my waistband, near my centerline. You can call it “cross draw” or “appendix” depending on the position that you use, but it has many advantages.

The number one advantage is that the gun is in front of you and you have better “security” over that gun. We have better security due to the gun being on the same side of your body as your eyes. The gun is also guarded by being in between your arms and inside of your power work space. This offers great protection from any gun grab from behind. When we look at conventional open carry methods of carry such as “on the hip” or “behind the hip” we see that we are really open from an attack on the gun from behind. When we combine “the eyes,”” the power,” and the “hand speed” from the centerline it is clear that any other carry position on the waistband are suboptimal positions in regards to weapon retention. While this concept may be huge inside of “those in the know” inside of certain tactical circles, it is not that well known inside of the open carry circles.

If you have made the decision to open carry on the hip or behind the hip it is probably a very good idea to invest in a high quality (I mean quality, not prolific) retention holster. Personally, I really like the Safariland retention holsters. Bladetec also has some good offerings. We need to accept the fact that since the gun is not on the same side of the body as the eyes, not inside of the power work space, and way off of the centerline we are going to need to supplement the suboptimal carry method with a holster that will mitigate those obvious weaknesses.

In Part I of this series I talked about “responsibility.” We have a responsibility to make sure that our weapons do not end up in the hands of the bad guys. That means that we must look at the security of our weapon. Centerline carry allows you to operate without retention devices. On or behind the hip should be supplemented with a quality retention holster. I am not interested in debating the tired old argument “Bad guys won’t take your gun.” That is not what my personal experience has shown me and no I will not provide a link or tell the story. All I know is…….BULL! Be very careful listening to a person that has never even been in a fist fight……..let alone a fight for a life.

If someone grabs for your gun, push down hard on his hand to keep the gun in the holster and to trap his hand, then go to town with hand to hand skill sets or access your blade and take out the parts of the machine that allow the machine to fight. Gun guys are notorious for thinking “I do not need hand to hand skills, I’ll just shoot them”……BULL! “I do not need to know knife fighting, I’ll just shoot them”……..BULL! This type of thinking is just another example of the perpetuation of ignorance inside of the gun world.

 

Let’s look at how to keep people from even thinking ”I could take that gun if I wanted to.” It all comes down to establishing a personal space around you. American men hold conversations at two yards. That is finger tip to finger tip. If anyone invades this space you are either dealing with an annoying idiot (you all know what I am talking about,) a person looking to teach you a lesson, or a bad guy trying to get to your gun. Be wary of anyone trying to get inside of this space. As soon as it happens you need to go from yellow to orange. Do what needs to be done to re-establish this space and establish that you do not like people inside of your personal space.

This is why I do not open carry in crowds. This is why I do not open carry anywhere where I know that I will be standing in line.

If you are open carrying in a crowd and it is impossible to avoid everyone, adjust the direction that you stand to mitigate your openings. It all comes down to awareness, common sense, and acceptance that life is not beautiful and people are not great.

The evil of man is just a newspaper article away. Bad things do happen to good people!

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The “Do’s” and “Don’ts” of Open Carry Part II

By Roger Phillips, Suarez International Speicialist and Tier One Instructor

The Mental Aspect of the Fight

 Some people may want to call this “mindset” but that term is very vague and does not do justice to the things that you should really know when it comes to open carry. If we can all agree that there are risks to carrying handguns (open or concealed) and that there is a certain responsibility attached to that decision, then it is clear that we need to “get our head right” about what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how to do it best. If you are open carrying for the reasons mention in the first part of this article, then you need to understand that the mind is the ultimate weapon and the handgun is just the tool that the mind uses to be as efficient and effective as you can possibly be inside of the limitations of “just walking through life.” In other words, it is the mind that turns the talisman into a devastating weapon. Without the mind it is just a chunk of metal, wood, and plastic.

I think that we can all agree that the very best life threatening confrontation is the one that you can avoid. If you don’t feel this way, let me warn you “be very careful what you wish for.” Being a hero is not all that it is cracked up to be. It can be alright (that is the extent of it, that is why almost all hero’s say “I just did what anyone else would do”) or it could be absolutely devastating.

 

“If you spend your life hunting monsters, be very careful to not become one yourself. Because, when you stare into the abyss, the abyss will eventually stare back into you.”

 When it comes down to avoidance, awareness is our number one tool. When you are open carrying, you need to learn the difference between people looking at you and thinking “hey that guy has a gun” and looking at you and thinking “hey that guy has a gun, I bet he thinks he is a bad @$$. I could so take that gun if I wanted to.” Do not make the mistake that people do not ever ponder this. I am a certified good guy and I have pondered it. There are times that I have wanted to teach a lesson or two. But of course being a certified good guy, I did not do it……….but oh was it tempting! To think that people will not take your gun “just because they can” is a huge mistake. That is why everyone that you do not know personally needs to be looked at with a critical eye. I am not saying to be paranoid, but use some common sense and good judgment. If you do not know the person……do not trust the person. We all need to be aware of the bad guys ploy of sending in a “friendly” to set the person up for what they want.  If it seems too good to be true……guess what……it is too good to be true. 

 When you are open carrying, keep your head up and your radar on. Let people know that you see them, when they see you. A little eye contact is good…….too much is bad. A nod of acknowledgement is acceptable, but do not come across as being too friendly or too much of a hard @$$. You should not be striving to engage people, you should not be looking to “educate.” That leaves you open. You should be striving to do what you need to do, inside of your life, and then fulfill your mission and go home. One of the main stay ploys for a bad guy is to get you to stop and have a conversation, so they can close distance. Once the distance has been closed, you are theirs! If you doubt this then you do not know about the OODA loop or “initiative deficit.” Allowing people to engage you in order “to educate” is playing into one of the most successful bad guy ploys that there is.

“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan that will allow you to dominate everyone that you meet.”

 Situational awareness is all about profiling. This has nothing to do with race. We all know that bad guys come in all races, sizes, ages, and sex. You are profiling anything that is simply out of place or unusual. It can be as simple as a glance that is adverted quickly when eye contact is made. It can as simple as a certain type of car. Yes, we do profile cars……right? One of my favorite profiling games that I play is the “who is the most dangerous person in the general vicinity?” As long as the answer is a resounding “ME!” than I am safe. As soon as I begin to question that answer, then I know that I really need to be on my toes. Ego can never be part of this game, the truth is the truth and everything less is a lie. This question cannot be answered through target shooting. Fighting and target shooting have next to nothing to do with each other.

As Gabe pointed out in his book "The Combative Perspective" the term "mindset" is very vague and does not do justice to the necessary mental aspect of the fight. People think that mindset is just awareness and willingness. In my opinion that is less that 10% of the true combative perspective. Gabe sets out the combative perspective into four categories. Inside of each of these four categories are subcategories. The mental aspect of the fight that people refer to as mindset is much more than just awareness and willingness. Gabe’s book is 97 pages. Over half of my “Point Shooting Progressions” book is about the mental aspect of the fight.

Gabe's book is set up as;

Desire for Victory

Elimination of Uncertainty

Situational Awareness

Willingness to act

While most of this is covered in Gabe's book we can also consider;

Know yourself

Know the adversary

Know the dynamics of a fight

Know the correct context of a fight

Know avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation

Know that the situation is the dictating factor

Know the best strategies for your very personal mission

Know when to apply your wide range of tactics

Know which skill sets facilitate the best use of your tactics

Your tactics are worthless without having your head straight.

Your skill sets are worthless without having your head straight.

Your equipment is worthless without having your head straight.

Mindset

Tactics

Skill sets

Equipment

In that order!

The brain is the ultimate weapon....everything else is just a tool.

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Interview Of Gabe Suarez by Military Arms Channel

We spent some time with David Fortier at the recent Big Three Event.  Military Arms Channel was there and did an interview with us regarding the new TSD Combat Systems.  You will find the entire video extremely interesting.  We appear at about 9:25