Pro Tip: We’ve adapted to the “Designated Driver” thing, but not to the ‘Designated Alert and Armed Member” of every group that is out and about in public (which does not mean that the Designee is the only member armed, but that his/her sole responsibility is alertness, observation, and action, not fussing with the kids, or carrying more than easily fits in the off hand. And, just as naval officers change watch and acknowledge that change – “I am taking the conn,” “you have the conn” – family or group members can share designee responsibility as long as each takes that responsibility seriously.) -From a comment at the In the Middle of the Right blog
One of my younger brothers was a firefighter. They got a call. A little old lady attempted to mow down a utility pole with predictable results. The dash had pivoted downward and trapped her legs which were astraddle the steering wheel.
This happens often enough that there is a Standard Operating Procedure. Throw blocks beneath the vehicle's rockers in line with the hinges of the front door and then cut the windshield posts with the Jaws of Life tool. In theory, the vehicle will hinge and lift the dash off the legs of the trapped driver/passenger.
For whatever reason, Plan A did not work. Perhaps because the front of the vehicle was tenaciously hugging the utility pole.
Plan B, which was not a Standard Operating Procedure, was to snip the hinges that attach the back of the seat to the seat frame and remove it, then to snip the three legs of the seat with the Jaws to drop the entire seat. Then yank the little-old-lady backwards
The difficulty was that the vintage of Jaws of Life they were using was big and bulky and not suited to precision work in tight quarters.
Little Bro was frantically trying to come up with a Plan C when the team was able to pluck the L-O-L out of the crushed vehicle.
Everybody on the team was drenched in sweat.
Off to the side there was a Battalion Chief who keeping-book. He asked my brother in a conversational tone "How long do you think that took?"
Little Bro answered "Maybe 90 minutes. Maybe longer." Little Bro was completely wrung-out.
The BC shook his head. "Nope. Almost 17 minutes, on the nose."
My brother shared this with me as an example of tunnel-vision and how we are absorbed by intense experiences.
Tunnel vision
People who study the human mind and how it responds to stressful events like shootings and tornadoes claim that our minds shut off all inputs except for those that are most critical for second-by-second survival.
You don't feel cold. You don't feel pain. You don't hear or feel recoil. You don't hear the lady screaming next to you. None of that makes it to your brain to compete with your most important task, survival.
The problem is that you become unable to register other threats as the environment evolves.
That is why the Battalion Chief was sitting on the bumper of the rig. He was looking for flames, for wires that might drop off the pole, for drugged up bystanders getting stupid, fire-fighters getting overheated or dehydrated...anything more global than the job of yanking granny out of her 1977 Delta 88.
Secondarily, he was recording events for possible lessons-learned, but his primary purpose was to be the head-coach and to MANAGE the event. Actually getting involved in the extradition would degrade his ability to maintain a global view and he was prohibited from "helping".
In industry, the best factories I worked in had a "white shirt" manage the big breakdowns. He was there to ensure mission-creep didn't happen (a big issue in lock-out) and to call other skilled trades in as the diagnostics and repair evolved. A problem that first presents as an electrical problem might be a symptom of a major-mechanical issue and putting a electrical bandage on it just isn't going to fly.
So, if you have to go someplace where there are crowds...like a big-city hospital or a wedding you cannot miss...then be sure to have somebody designated to have their head-on-a-swivel an to NOT become engaged when things first get sporky.
It's a small thing but a family WORD that alerts folks to trouble is also useful. If my wife calls me by my middle name, it's time to go global awareness and get out of that area and vice versa. No What's happening? Just get alert and move out.
ReplyDeleteThat WORD spoken at home means both of us are going for a firearm. Questions can wait.
That is a great idea. Our parents called us by our full names (including middle name) when we were in deep trouble so hearing our middle name has a lot of history.
DeleteNever stop having your own head on a swivel, even if you think someone else is doing it for you.
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason I sit at restaurants with my back against the wall and choose tables with a good field of view. Concerts are no different.
There are few places I let my guard down at all.
Jocko Willink talks about being on a exercise in command and being told by a commander officer to get his head up and look at his bigger picture; his men were covering the tactical details.
ReplyDeleteWhat's that quote about forever on guard, forever unready?
DeleteNobody can stay on a head on a swivel status for more than a few hours before mental exhaustion kicks in.
There is a REASON guard duty in almost every military has a 2-4 hour ON and then OFF Duty cycle.
Commanders that FEEL they are above rest, and such get their men killed in real trouble.
Good Leaders know their weaknesses and thus work around them.
Thus, the WORD that my family shares. Anybody who feels a concern can give the word and even if it's apparently nothing, No Blame or fuss allowed, lest they wait until SURE it's trouble.
It's really nice if your home is tough (hard) enough that it takes a few moments of noisy effort to get in.
You'd be amazed how many times as EMS I've come onto a scene of personal violence and there was NO Evidence of "Forced Entry".
Don't leave the welcome mat out for trouble.
The way humans measure time is strictly regimented. The way we perceive it is not. Humans are also easily distracted. It takes practice and effort to maintain mental discipline for a specific task. So people need to make a conscious effort to practice awareness or they will slip and become distracted.
ReplyDeleteMaintaining a constant level of high awareness is real work; as Michael (above) points out, that's why standing watches properly comes in short duration periods.
ReplyDeleteBut when standing watch one has to actually stand watch - meaning no fiddling with a phone, engaging in distracting conversations or tasks, etc.
Familes and groups venturing forth should establish procedures, the length of watch periods, alerting and evac procedures and watch changing protocols before actually engaging in watch standing.
The world has been changing and a lot of people haven't taken much notice of it, I suspect it will change more, and faster, now.
I clicked the link to "In the middle of the right" and read some other posts by "B", the proprietor.
ReplyDeleteHis oct 7 posts noted this about the Palestinians....no one wants them. They're troublemakers etc. The Egyptians don't want them, the Jordanians etc.
My response is why should the Egyptians HAVE to want them? The Palestinians HAVE their own land per the UN etc.....why should they have to vacate and become some other country's responsibility?
I don't carry water for either side. They both been wrong and continue to do wrong. But to say to millions of people stuck in a political no-mans land of statelessness for years and broken promises by their leadership and outsiders that they "gotta go" is beyond the pale.
What's happened since Saturday and what will happen in coming days was/will be gruesome.
My understanding of international law is that political refugees must be accepted by the first Nation-state where they are no longer under under the power of the regime they are fleeing.
DeleteRational people (who might partially agree with Hamas) are very likely to claim to be "political refugees". Unless they are going to swim or seek mercy in Israel, they must exfiltrate Gaza through Egypt.
THAT is why Egypt "must" take them. It is International Law.
That is a solid move. Back when I was a police officer, I’d often get sent to a call where there was no ranking officer in charge. Just a bunch of other street grunts, each shouting suggestions. When I arrived I’d simply ask, “Who is in charge?”
ReplyDeleteWhen everyone looked around, I’d say, “If nobody is in charge, I’m leaving. But someone has to be in charge of this ratf###.”
It is simply too easy to get involved in small details and not see the overall picture.
I was concerned about the safety of a disabled person and established a procedure where, if I thought there was an intruder inside the house when I arrived, I would call out "Thelma, you OK?" If she replied "Yes, Louise, I'm fine" it meant NO, not fine. Any other "fine" reply meant, yes, fine.
ReplyDeleteI arrived one morning to see an open back door and footprints in the snow. Shoulda been wheelchair tracks. I unholster and open the front door. "Thelma, you OK?" My heart is pounding... Her reply was "What? Why are you asking me that?" Jeez... A plan is no good if ya don't follow it.