The article below reflects the opinions of the author, and does not constitute legal council or advice, refer to your local and state laws when putting together your security plan.
In the last year I have read a number of stories regarding home invasions, or attacks in public and asked myself what I would do if it was me in that situation. The one that stuck with me the most involved a husband and wife both being killed by the intruder leaving 3 small children without parents. The intruder left and returned, the husband attacked to defend his family and was shot, the wife was close by and was shot after she screamed. Sometimes a situation is bad, and the victims can only do their best with the situation they are given, but the goal of a security plan is to set your mind into “muscle” memory.
Can you have a plan for every scenario? The answer is of course not, and you shouldn’t try; that is a recipe for spending your life on constant high alert aka being miserable. So what is the solution? It is to train, prepare and have a general plan. I have watched and read a few great viewpoints on this, and the common theme is situational awareness. It takes practice, but once achieved allows you to enjoy your life while being prepared. If you see something suspicious, go high alert evaluate. If it inst a threat you can go back to low alert and keep enjoying your day. Warrior Poet Society has a great video covering how to be alert without being paranoid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHq4dbQBa14
This is great, but how would it have helped that husband and wife? They were asleep in their home, they had no chance to respond to the threat! This is were my “standard operating procedure” rule comes into effect, my wife knows that in the event of any emergency she and I have specific responsibilities. This makes it so we don’t have to panic or worry about what the other person is doing and can focus on our task, for example if we have a home invasion she knows that she stays in the room behind me and calls 911 until I clear the hallway and boys room, once it is clear she goes in and barricades the door with the boys while keeping 911 on the line. This allows her to keep the kid safe so that I can focus on clearing the house, keeps a line open with first responders and keeps one of us separate from the danger. This is a simple action plan that carries into anything we do, I dont need to worry what my wife is going to do, and she doesn’t need to worry what I am going to do. If we are in public the same principle applies, let me clear a safe spot and she hunkers down with the kids.
Setting up a plan is a process, and it has to be something that works for everyone involved. Here are some key components and principles to keep in mind.
- How will we communicate? (I make sure my phone is plugged in when I go to bed, and make sure it is charged when I leave the house)
- Where will each of us go? (who needs to go where, where will each person in the plan do the most good)
- What is our goal? (what is each person trying to achieve during the emergency ie neutralizing the threat, protecting the children, providing medical assistance, getting the heck away from the danger, etc)
There is no worse scenario in my mind than being in dire straights (house on fire, wife stranded somewhere or being chased, etc) and having a dead phone. In a modern urban setting having a way to reach out for support from first responders is a crucial step in survival for most of us. Since most homes don’t have landlines anymore a dead cell phone is the equivalent of a cut land line, by not keeping it charged and ready you are sabotaging yourself!
There is a lot of training out there, and with every training comes a dozen different opinions on how to prepare. My opinion is that if you take just a little time to cover the three bullet points above you will be prepared for a wide array of emergencies that can arise without having a specific plan for each one. Make a plan, and stay safe out there.
Blazzard Firearms 