JimConway
Instructor
4 Aug 10
From a US Navy submarine commander, on the subject of talismans:
"Casualty-generating disasters and emergencies happen when we are not only 'not ready,' but naively unready.
When the world breaks, the situation invariably spirals downward until a
Leader grabs the bull by the balls and starts acting! What he does may not
be perfect, but it gets people moving and acting in the same direction.
Murphy says: 'When a grease-fire is burning, all you've got is water-hoses...
' When you habitually carry knives, pistols, rifles, impact weapons, and restraints, then of course, they will be left behind, or broken, when needed.
In fact, navy doctors refer to this 'Rule of Availability' as it pertains to surgery: 'When it's not already sterilized and on the tray, you won't need it anymore when it finally arrives!'
No special tools, nor magic wands, nor fairy-dust will instantly convert any of us to lustrous, magnificent warriors. We are what we are, and we'll be the same klutzy nebbishes we've always been when compelled to fight for the lives we love.
No point is going with second-best, when you have a choice. My philosophy is to get the best weapons available and then train hard with them, but also train with 'weapons-of-opportunity.'
Like you, I carry heavy blades on both sides, because I've found, in an emergency, that I am always in a confined space and invariably laying on the one I want!
My guns are simple, reliable, and tested, but none are 'perfect,' even my Glocks!
Even so, in my next emergency there is every chance that I will not be able to make use of any of it, or it will all fail. Everything will fail!
Flooding, for example, tends to be an attention-getting event aboard a submerged submarine, and, when commanding the only team on location with the stuff needed to keep seawater out, it is less than reassuring when they all bleat that their equipment doesn't work they way they practiced with it...!
In the realm of handgun and long-gun manipulation, I am sure others are faster, stronger, more capable, more accurate. Thus, when it's my time to take a stand, my opponent(s) will likely be better-equipped, faster and more accurate. I should probably focus on recruiting an honor guard.
Second-worst scenario: a hit to my heart, giving me mere seconds before collapse.
So, I must use the brief time I have well, and fast. Third-worse scenario: I
act first and fast. I never let them catch their breath. They don't get traction, but one of them might still get in a luck shot.
I prefer common weapons, common methods, and common training, so I can always operate whatever I have, and whatever I pick up.
I am just a man, father, and Operator, who is determined to take his attackers with him. I will likely not live through it. Death, of course, comes for us all, but I'll never give up, nor give in.
I am not fast, nor agile, but I am deadly accurate, determined, reasonably competent, and I won't hesitate! I will fight to the end, knowing the end is there, but occurs only when I can no longer make my body respond.
As Col Dave G points out: A gunfight is like a wager, where you bet $100.00. When you win, all you get is your money back. When you lose, you lose everything! So, even in the best-case scenario, you're just back where you started.
Sometimes, you might be able to actually use some of the daily load you walk around with, assuming you carry it all, all the time. Maybe.
You want a talisman? It should be a winning attitude, and consistent practice!"
Comment: Don't spend your valuable time looking for an excuse to lose.
Find a way to win!
"As ruthless as needed, for as long as necessary"
G Patton
/John
From a US Navy submarine commander, on the subject of talismans:
"Casualty-generating disasters and emergencies happen when we are not only 'not ready,' but naively unready.
When the world breaks, the situation invariably spirals downward until a
Leader grabs the bull by the balls and starts acting! What he does may not
be perfect, but it gets people moving and acting in the same direction.
Murphy says: 'When a grease-fire is burning, all you've got is water-hoses...
' When you habitually carry knives, pistols, rifles, impact weapons, and restraints, then of course, they will be left behind, or broken, when needed.
In fact, navy doctors refer to this 'Rule of Availability' as it pertains to surgery: 'When it's not already sterilized and on the tray, you won't need it anymore when it finally arrives!'
No special tools, nor magic wands, nor fairy-dust will instantly convert any of us to lustrous, magnificent warriors. We are what we are, and we'll be the same klutzy nebbishes we've always been when compelled to fight for the lives we love.
No point is going with second-best, when you have a choice. My philosophy is to get the best weapons available and then train hard with them, but also train with 'weapons-of-opportunity.'
Like you, I carry heavy blades on both sides, because I've found, in an emergency, that I am always in a confined space and invariably laying on the one I want!
My guns are simple, reliable, and tested, but none are 'perfect,' even my Glocks!
Even so, in my next emergency there is every chance that I will not be able to make use of any of it, or it will all fail. Everything will fail!
Flooding, for example, tends to be an attention-getting event aboard a submerged submarine, and, when commanding the only team on location with the stuff needed to keep seawater out, it is less than reassuring when they all bleat that their equipment doesn't work they way they practiced with it...!
In the realm of handgun and long-gun manipulation, I am sure others are faster, stronger, more capable, more accurate. Thus, when it's my time to take a stand, my opponent(s) will likely be better-equipped, faster and more accurate. I should probably focus on recruiting an honor guard.
Second-worst scenario: a hit to my heart, giving me mere seconds before collapse.
So, I must use the brief time I have well, and fast. Third-worse scenario: I
act first and fast. I never let them catch their breath. They don't get traction, but one of them might still get in a luck shot.
I prefer common weapons, common methods, and common training, so I can always operate whatever I have, and whatever I pick up.
I am just a man, father, and Operator, who is determined to take his attackers with him. I will likely not live through it. Death, of course, comes for us all, but I'll never give up, nor give in.
I am not fast, nor agile, but I am deadly accurate, determined, reasonably competent, and I won't hesitate! I will fight to the end, knowing the end is there, but occurs only when I can no longer make my body respond.
As Col Dave G points out: A gunfight is like a wager, where you bet $100.00. When you win, all you get is your money back. When you lose, you lose everything! So, even in the best-case scenario, you're just back where you started.
Sometimes, you might be able to actually use some of the daily load you walk around with, assuming you carry it all, all the time. Maybe.
You want a talisman? It should be a winning attitude, and consistent practice!"
Comment: Don't spend your valuable time looking for an excuse to lose.
Find a way to win!
"As ruthless as needed, for as long as necessary"
G Patton
/John
