Skill Set

Skill Set: Parking Lot

Steve lives in a large urban area. Sunday, after doing some shopping, a stranger tries to attack him. Steve's response has, as they all do, valuable lessons.

It's 12:30 on a bright Sunday afternoon. Steve exits the store with his bags, and while walking to his truck sees a man visually lock on him. Steve is an attorney who works with a variety of clients, and notices the guy is "tweeking," the herky, jerky body motion someone exhibits when using meth.

"His body language said 'trouble'," Steve tells me. "I was watching him," he explained, "but after I got to my truck," which is a long way from the guy, "I stopped watching."

He loads his bags into the truck, then sees the guy has closed ground, quickly. Once Steve notices this, the guy starts running full speed, rapidly closing the distance. "It looked like he was holding something," Steve told me, "but he was hiding his right hand so I couldn't tell for sure." Steve knows all about knives, box cutters, screwdrivers and such, which are dangerous weapons and easily hidden. "But, I didn't want to draw my pistol," he told me, "Until I knew he had a weapon."

It's decision making time. Steve explains, "I can fight, run across an open area, or cut through the parked cars and put the 'briar-patch" between him and me." That is what he does. He starts working his way through the parked vehicles surrounding him. The man keeps coming, following Steve through the maze.

Steve gets to a good spot - "where I could have a clear angle of fire if necessary" - stops, turns around, and yells out "What can I help you with?" The man suddenly halts and yells out, "I don't know anyone here!" Steve responds with, "Neither do I!" The man runs away, the incident ending as suddenly as it began.

Everything worked out well. But, there are a few things Steve could have done differently. First, keep in mind the bad guy probably will not show you his weapon until he has things exactly how he wants them. Plus, someone doesn't have to have a weapon to be a threat. Physical assaults can be just as bad as an "armed" attack.

It's a lot better to have the pistol in hand and not need it as opposed to waiting until you know for sure. By then it might be too late. Plus, with practice, you can draw without attracting any attention, keeping your weapon hidden until it's needed.

Issue verbal commands, as opposed to asking the threat questions. We see this a lot with people in the beginning of Force-On-Force training. Asking a question opens up the door for conversation, which may delay your response, allow the threat to get closer or provide time for their partner(s) to get into position. Tell the threat what to do. "Stop! Don't come any closer!" In addition to your shooting, manipulations and other skills don't forget to practice communication.

Once something has your attention – in this case suspicious body behavior – maintain a visual until you can safely say there's no longer any danger. Either they are gone, or you're in a safe place. People can cover a lot of ground quickly. Thirty, forty yards or more won't seem like that far when someone is running at you full speed.

Finally, always be ready. Yes, the majority of situations occur in low-light environments. This took place in the middle of the day in a crowded area. Trouble can occur anytime, anywhere.

Steve solved the problem; the best way to win the fight is without it getting physical. Avoidance and escape are always at the top of your list of tactics. But, we want to learn from Steve's situation so we're better prepared for those times when avoid/escape don't work, or are not options.

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy, located in northern Alabama. He is the author of "The Book of Two Guns" 

GAO Denies GLOCK, Inc.'s MHS Pistol Protest

GAO Denies GLOCK, Inc.'s MHS Pistol Protest

SMYRNA, GA. – The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has denied GLOCK, Inc.'s protest of the Army's award of the Modular Handgun System (MHS) contract to Sig Sauer.

The focus of GLOCK, Inc.'s protest was that the U.S. Army did not complete the testing outlined in its Request for Proposal (RFP) before awarding the MHS contract to Sig Sauer based only on limited initial testing. During this initial testing, there were no significant differences between the GLOCK and Sig pistols based upon the technical factors that were evaluated. In fact, Sig Sauer was awarded the MHS contract prematurely based upon price.

The remainder of the testing outlined in the RFP that was not conducted was intended to competitively evaluate the two proposals based upon more comprehensive and stringent testing. This testing would have measured the service life, safety, reliability, and accuracy of the pistols in use while being fired by the warfighters.

"By not completing the testing on both proposals on a competitive basis, the Army never determined which pistol would better meet the warfighter's needs," said GLOCK, Inc. Vice President Josh Dorsey. We are confident had the Army completed the testing, the GLOCK 19 would have outperformed the Sig P320, as it had in recent testing conducted by a leading federal law enforcement agency which resulted in GLOCK, Inc. being awarded that contract. GLOCK pistols have been battle proven by select units of the U.S. military forces for the past ten years. GLOCK, Inc. stands with the men and women serving in the Armed Forces and will continue to give them its full support.

We thank our technical team for submitting a pistol that met or exceeded all of the Army's requirements. We also extend our appreciation to our MHS partner, Vista Outdoor's Federal Cartridge, for creating the most effective and innovative pistol round we have ever tested, which performed flawlessly in the GLOCK 19 MHS model.

About GLOCK, Inc.

GLOCK is a leading global manufacturer of firearms. The simple, safe design of GLOCK's polymer-based pistols revolutionized the firearms industry and made GLOCK pistols a favorite of military and law enforcement agencies worldwide and among pistol owners. In 2017, GLOCK celebrates its 31st Anniversary in the United States. Renowned for featuring three safeties, GLOCK pistols offer users of every lifestyle confidence they can rely on. GLOCK, Inc. is based in Smyrna, Georgia. For more information, please visitus.glock.com.

Heuristic Problem Soloving

Skill Set: Heuristic Problem Solving

Making the decision on when and how to respond to a potential threat can be difficult. At first there seems to be a multitude of questions to be answered in order to come to the correct conclusion. When should you start initiating your response? How drastic does the response need to be in order to stop the threat? The problem is if you wait until you know all the answers it's probably too late to respond. How do we come up with a rapid, correct response? The answer isheuristic decision making.

The heuristic approach to solving problems provides you with an acceptable response in an efficient time frame. Finding the perfect response takes too long; there is no way to evaluate every factor from all the various angles. There may not even be a "perfect" response. You need a solution right now, it doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to solve the problem.

In order to perform at this level - making decisions without all the information - three things are required. First, you have to know what to look for. In other words, seeing the signs that trouble is coming before it arrives. The majority of this information is gained through body language. Studies have shown that ninety percent or more of our communication is non-verbal. Actions, someone's physical behavior, can provide strong valid cues on what they are about to do. It's also important to know what to ignore. Our minds are constantly receiving input from our environment and the people it contains. The key is to learn what to pay attention to and what to disregard.

Next, you have to know when you have enough information to act. Again, waiting until you are one hundred percent sure means you're probably already in trouble. This doesn't mean you lose, but it does make winning more difficult. The longer you wait the harder it will is to stop the threat, and as time passes your chances of being injured increase exponentially.

Finally, you have to know how to respond. You practice the skills needed and plan out your strategy in advance. For example you study how closely time and distance are related. Normally the more distance between you and the threat the more time you have. A stranger visually locks in on you from forty feet away and starts approaching. Immediately you issue verbal commands, "Stop! Don't come any closer!" If he responds that's good. If not, then you know there may be danger coming. You start considering other options such as creating distance and preparing to draw. An attack is launched suddenly at close distance. You draw to a retention position, rapidly placing hits on the threat and creating distance. Knowing what skills are needed and practicing in advance prepares you for the fight.

Numerous studies have shown that we have the ability to make snap decisions, sometimes with very little information and with amazingly accurate results. We do it every day in a variety of ways. The same can be done for evaluating and responding to danger. Know what to look for. Understand what information if critical. Finally, learn what response is called for to solve your problem. As I always tell people, "It ain't gotta be pretty, it just has to work."

Suggested Reading:

Left of Bang

Blink: The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking

The Gift Of Fear

What Every Body Is Saying

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy, located in northern Alabama. He is the author of "The Book of Two Guns"