When the fight begins, you must pay complete and undivided attention to solving the problem at hand. This means simply using proper tactics and shooting well and requires extreme concentration on the task at hand. You must not dwell on any shots you may have missed or a faulty tactic that you may have used. Neither do you plan ahead to the next shot to be fired. Instead, concentrate on and experience the shot you are firing-right now! You will, of course, have to plan ahead as far as how to deal with a tactical problem, such as a room search, a door entry, or a flanking maneuver, but this does not occur as you are defending yourself. In any event, once the fight begins, you must not hesitate.
Your level of apprehension prior to beginning a tactical problem will also dictate your state of mind during its solution. Be specific with yourself about why you are there and what it is you are truing to accomplish. Are you simply investigating a suspicious noise, or is it an obvious home invasion? Are you conducting a low-risk administrative perimeter check, or are you hunting for a hidden and armed criminal? Are you dealing with a simple open door that someone forgot to close, or were three armed gang members seen breaking it down seconds earlier? Each of these scenarios is different in its degree of perceived danger. Knowing what you are getting into and what you are trying to accomplish may dictate the tactics you will choose. For example, you may elect to take a shotgun or submachine gun instead of a pistol. You may want to grab a flashlight or call for reinforcements before commencing. You might even want to hide quietly in the darkness and wait for them to come to you where you can deliver the terminal surprise.
Your response to a threat must be "front sight, press!"
During a tactical operation you are in condition yellow. When you locate a target indicator or you commit to clearing a danger area, you go into condition orange. When you contact the source of the target indicator, you are in condition red, and all systems are go.
To be in any other state of mind is… well, suicide. The decision to shoot depends on the actions and disposition of the hostile. Your perception of this is the mental trigger. You will now be looking for any action that you've predetermined to be enough of a threat to warrant a lethal response. If the subject takes such action (e.g., gun in his hand or pointed at you), shoot him. End of story.
Rules of engagement will vary with the landscape, but generally a hostile with a gun in his hand will get shot. So will a hostile who rushes out to grab you while you are holding him at gunpoint, even if he is unarmed! Some may argue that this is not fair play. So what? If you want fair, go to a boxing match. The graveyards are full of men who believed in fair play. We cannot concern ourselves with such imaginary foolishness in life-ordeath combat. Remember, if you lose, you die!
Study the development of this mind-set. It will work wonders for you when you find yourself hunting goblins… or when they are hunting you.
Here's a quick test to gauge the level of your mind-set development and readiness for violence. Right now, this very moment, the Manson gang is breaking in through your back door, machetes in hand and murder in their hearts! Where is your gun? Can you get to it in two seconds? One, one thousand-two, one thousand…
If you didn't know where your gun was or you couldn't get to it in time, you are now eternally and horizontally D-E-A-D! The penalty: reread this chapter 50 times each night before bedtime for a week. Sweet dreams, grasshopper!
TWO
BASIC TACTICAL
He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
One of the deadliest misconceptions in tactical circles is that a single operator can safely negotiate an entire area (indoor or outdoor) alone. This point is easy to illustrate when you realize that you cannot look in two directions at once, and searching alone often requires doing just that. A single operator must often turn his back on one danger area to search another. The rule is to avoid searching alone.
A police officer or tactical team member will have the option of calling for reinforcements to help in the search. An individual, such as a homeowner, generally does not have that luxury. If he is certain an invasion has occurred, he is better off to barricade himself in a "safe room" and lie in wait for the invaders to come to him. This way he can deal with them by surprise and from cover. The principles of military operations in urban terrain teach us that built-up areas overwhelmingly favor the defender over the aggressor. Thus, plan A for a private citizen/homeowner is to take a covered position and call the police. The same plan for a single police officer is to take a position of advantage outside and call for a backup or two.
But what if a homeowner is not sure enough to call the police? Reality tells us that a citizen who cries wolf at every little sound in the night will receive increasingly delayed police responses (if any at all). What if he isn't sure whether that sound of breaking glass was the cat knocking over a vase or something more sinister? Let's be honest-you probably won't call when you're not sure. Similarly, neither will you lie in wait with your Benelli Super-90 pointed at the triple-locked door, barricaded until the sun rises. Here's another more sobering consideration: what if that sound of glass breaking came from your child's bedroom on the other side of the house? I would go out into the darkness alone to make sure; unless you are a spineless liberal coward, so would you.
With that decision out of the way, I'll discuss some tactical principles that will help minimize the already considerable amount of danger. Remember the reason you are searching, because that will determine the intensity and method of your efforts. If you are simply investigating the sound of glass breaking at the far end of the house, you won't necessarily be looking into closets or under furniture-not yet anyway. You will be moving carefully and stealthily toward the source of the sound. On the flip side, what if that sound of glass breaking was followed by your child screaming and a stranger's foul language ordering her to shut up? You will be conducting a dynamic hostage rescue and be attacking the problem violently and aggressively. Just as you match the speed of your shooting to the difficulty of the problem at hand, so do you balance the level of aggressiveness and degree of speed to the tactical situation you face. Regardless of the type of search you conduct, these principles will help you immensely.
1. Use your senses to look for target indicators. Primarily, you will rely on your sight and hearing. Do not, however, dismiss the other senses. Your senses of smell and touch will provide essential data about the whereabouts of the enemy during your search.
Target indicators are anything that will point to the presence of an adversary. They are often categorized as shine, movement, sound, smell, shape, contrast, human sign, and tactical sign. Some things may be very obvious, such as the sound of a careful footfall on a creaky wooden floor, the reflection of a hidden adversary on a light fixture, a shadow on the floor in front of you, or even a gun muzzle protruding from around a corner. Target indicators may also be subtle, such as the sound of fabric scraping against a wall or the sight of an open door that was previously closed.
Use your senses to look for indications about where your adversary might be. Here the instructor takes a student through a room-clearing drill.
Is this a target indicator? What does this tell you about the intentions of the person on the other side? How would you handle this?