Indiana SWAT Officers Association Conference 2015

Just came back from teaching at this conference.  It has been my second year there and it did not disappoint.  I truly enjoy teaching at these conferences, because even though we do not get paid, we get the opportunity to reach and share our lessons with those who typically may not be able to attend our classes.  Those who attend these conferences are the motivated few who take the three days to network with other professionals, attend classes, and see what is at the cutting edge of the industry.  These are the people who can truly benefits from our lessons and the ones we want to share it with.

It was not without its glitches.  We wanted to offer a sixteen hour class covering several Israeli Counterterrorism Tactics, but the organizers preferred splitting it into two distinct classes.  Although not ideal in terms of providing officers with the complete package, it made sense from a logistical standpoint to allow officers to take classes by various instructors and be exposed to more classes.  as it stood, on day one we covered movement to objective, entry techniques and room clearing, while on day two we covered Israeli point-shoot with handguns and shoulder mounted weapons.

We had a total of 36 people go through our classes.  Eight on day one and twenty-Eight(!) on day two.  It was a packed class load.  Awesome!  All said and done we had a chance to introduce our tactics and skills to a bunch of officers that now have new means of addressing the threat of urban terrorism, which no doubt will be hitting our streets soon enough.  Most importantly we made some new friends...including one Cuban from Kentucky...go figure.

We hope all the officers we trained benefited from the training and have some more tools in their toolbox now.  We hope they stay safe and we look forward to seeing them all again next year.

And for those agencies interested in hosting our Israeli Approach to Urban Counterterrorism, please see the flyer below and reach out to us.

Stay safe and watch your six!

BK Blankchtein
Masada Tactical

Conditioned to be De-Conditioned

We live at the most technologically advanced times, which means that most of our needs are fulfilled without having to move a finger...or maybe only a finger.  We have remote controls, smart phones, online shopping, and drive through kiosks to assure we don't have to get off our fat a$$es.

I am not telling you anything you don't already know, but here it is again: your life style is likely going to kill you.  And I am not even talking about the alarming increase in cases of diabetes, heart diseases, cancer, and orthopedic issues associated with sedentary life styles, but the fact that the one time you will ever need to move more than a few feet to save yourself you won't be able to.  Essentially you committed suicide and you don't even know it.  You know what is worse?  You won't be able to help those you care about the most either!!!

Let's face it, we all had this conversations with people, or maybe you are that person, who go on to tell you that even though they don't work out regularly, or train in any self-defense or any other skill that could increase survivability in an emergency situation, they would kill anyone trying to hurt them or their family.  They think that their inner animal will just emerge at that point and take over, making the rolls of fat turn into muscle, and that reflexes that can change channels on the TV in fractions of a second when commercials come on will all of a sudden be put into use to deflect bullets and overcome the aggressor.  BULL$HIT!  If all you know what to do is work your jaw and index finger, then guess what?  When the time comes no amount of adrenaline or endorphins will suffice to keep you safe.  It just doesn't work that way.  

So next time you reach for that Twinkie think about the danger you are putting your loved ones in by doing so.  Because even though the Zombie apocalypse may not happen any time soon, reality is that urban civil unrest is unfolding around us, environmental disasters are a daily occurrence, and pandemics are no longer a thing of the past.  When, not if, but when, your family will need you to be there to defend them, save them, and protect them, will you be able to?  Or will you be too busy catching your breath from the seven stairs you just had to run up to reach them...just enough to make you a casualty instead of a hero.

So train.  Anything is better than sitting around doing nothing.  Go for a walk, lift a weight or two, learn self-defense, learn CPR.  One day it may save someone's life...including your own.

Stay safe!

BK Blankchtein

Masada Tactical Protective Services

The Issue with Space

I get this often so I wanted to address this.  I read many articles about engaging threats from afar, being safe by maintaining distance, and thus practicing shooting far beyond what we typically practice at, meaning past the 25 yard line.

There is much merit to taking the time every so often and train at distances further than the norm.  Although I honestly doubt you will ever have to do it in real life (juts my opinion, others definitely differ), it is a great way to work on the basics and enhance confidence.  After all, in order to hit a target with a handgun at 50 or 75 yards one truly must maintain control of his handgun and adhere to the fundamentals, such as trigger squeeze, breath control, grip, etc.  And, if one can hit a target at 75 yards out, he will likely be able to hit one at 10 yards with much more decisiveness.

I am not taking away from the value of training at further distances, or from those who preach it.  My issue becomes when people, specifically those who are educated by reading magazine articles (all those gun magazines and blogs) and little else, who now think they may engage someone that far away.

Let's put it in perspective.  25 yards is pretty far.  It is much greater than most peoples' living rooms or hallways.  50 yards is even further (duh!) and greater than most peoples' back yards.  100 yards is the length of a football field...and let's face it, if your assailant is on the other side of a football field there are probably better tactical options than engaging at that distance.

I had a discussion with an "expert" the other day who kept quoting the "21-foot rule" as his basis for long range engagement.  For those of you who are not familiar, the "21-foot rule" was established in the late 1970's following a test conducted by Caliber Press that measured how close can an assailant armed with a knife be to an officer and still allow the officer to draw his sidearm and engage twice.  There are a few fundamental issues with this test: 1) the officer knew he/she will be attacked with a knife, 2) there was no record of hits, or whether the two shots actually hit the assailant, and 3) the attacker was a trained knife fighter.  This test has been replicated by various individuals and organizations since then, this time adding the element of surprise by the officer not knowing if the assailant has a knife or not (added to self doubt, and therefore to reaction time) and using marking pellets to see if the shots were actually effective in stopping a threat.  It was discovered that a truer distance is about 35 yards!  One may think that this actually helps the argument of long distance engagement, right? WRONG!  Because how often do you really talk or interact with someone that far away?!?

Law-enforcement also learn to deal with suspect from what is called a "Reactionary gap", which is about 4-6 feet away.  Once again, this may be a great ideal, but in reality hardly ever happens.  We interact with others at what we call "Conversational Distance", or no more than arm's length away.  Think about it, when you talk to someone, how far away are you?

We must therefore train for the ambush, for the sneak attack that is likely to occur.  We accomplish that by doing two things: maintain our situational awareness and train to engage threats (either empty handed or using a tool such as a firearm) from close distances.  And that is why I think that training for the longer distances is not really a waste of time, but gives novices the wrong impression of what their realistic engagement may be.

an exercise for you to conduct: measure the largest room in your house (if that is where you think your engagement may occur) and think to yourself: Do I really need to train for the 50 yard engagement?  After all, focusing too much on precision and fundamentals may prove detrimental in a true engagement where accuracy may be triumphed by speed.  You are better off hitting targets faster (and maybe not as precise) at closer distances than more accurate (and slower) and further ones.

Stay safe!
BK Blankchtein
Masada Tactical Protective Services

Driving: More than just putting it in Drive

Human beings in general, and protective service professionals in particular, spend much of their day sitting on their behinds in a tin box on four wheels.  It is one of the conveniences and curses of modern living.

Driving became so mundane that any 16 year old kid does it without thinking twice about it.  But unfortunately, our evolutionary process has not caught up with the technology and social expansion, so we are falling behind.

It used to be that driving was an art.  It required some skills.  One had to know how to drive, including how to depress a clutch pedal to manipulate the transmission, and pay attention to to dirt roads and side streets, and the most distraction one had was a radio knob on the front console.  Today, most people couldn't drive a shift stick if their life depended on it.  And the continuous chatter from multiple devices makes driving both dumb and distracting.  So much so that one can hardly call it driving anymore...it is more like sit and follow the instructions on the screen.

Is there a problem with that?  For most people probably not.  They drive from home to work and back.  There is comfort in consistency and familiarity.  And as long as that status quo is maintained all is well.  Until it isn't...

Things go bad.  Our sense of comfort replaced our ability to maintain the mental acuity truly necessary to safely operate and handle such a complex machine traveling at high speeds in close proximity to other similar (or often times larger) machines.  Not to mention that risks are exponentially greater when considering the environment in which we travel.  Urban settings and their criminals seeking opportunities to strike, or rural fields with everything that mother nature has to throw your way.

...And just like that, all of a sudden the tin box became a tin coffin.

It is a lost art to truly drive.  Driving requires one to continuously scan and maintain a situational and environmental awareness.  Driving requires fine technical skills to properly manipulate the vehicle to do as you wish.  Driving requires you to make split second decisions that could mean your life or that of others.

These skills become much more important when working a security detail.  Not only is the vehicle a source of transportation, but it is also an office of sorts for the dignitary, a place to entertain guests, home away from home, and the driver must be able to do all that is required from a driver while maintaining the comfort and safety of his client.  Add a convoy to the mix, and high speed travel, and all senses must be sharper than ever.  A simple merge onto a highway is a complex choreographed process that must be executed smoothly and seamlessly to maintain the integrity of the convoy and the safety of it's passengers.

I recently learned an interesting process from one of our students. Try this next time you drive: as you go through the various actions you perform and scan the environment, try narrating everything you do, see, anticipate and expect to happen.  As you narrate make sure you never pause.  One sentence must lead into another, thus forcing you to constantly evaluate your own actions and the environment in which you are traveling.  Try doing it down one block, then a few, then one day try doing this for a complete trip.  Not as simple as it sounds.  The ability to narrate will force you to maintain a level of awareness that has been lost on many.

Stay safe and watch your six.

BK Blankchtein
Masada Tactical Protective Services, LLC

Failing to Train...or Training to Fail

I am fortunate to be able to work, spend time, and overall immerse myself in a training environment.  I do recognize that not everybody is as fortunate, and most people must make a conscious decision and plan to train.

It is amazing how few people actually do so.  Most people get to a point in life where they believe that all they ever learned is all there is to learn, and now they can rest on those laurels and enjoy the fruits of their labor.  The sad reality is that EVERYTHING evolves, and someone out there is passing you by.  Your failure to recognize that sets you up to being passed over by someone that would be better prepared and more qualified than you are.

This obviously holds true to everything in life.  From your profession of choice to healthy living habits.  From everyday tasks to self-protection.  The day you stop training, learning, advancing, you start dying.  No way to sugarcoat that one.

Most adults I know hold a profession that they worked hard to attain, a certain status in life that at some point in their life was a goal they set for themselves and were driven enough to accomplish.  But now, years later, they are stuck in a rut.  Another day in the office is all it is.  The will, and for most the need to advance has subsided and replaced by complacency.  And one day they wake up and realize that the twenty-something kid from down the hallway is sitting in their corner office as they scramble to see where things went wrong.

Not only am I fortunate to live a continuous training-centric life, but I feel double fortunate to actually LOVE learning.  I enjoy school (wasn't always like that), and those who know me know that I am always looking for the next class, the next degree, the next opportunity to learn something.  I am not planning on switching jobs, but rather always get better at the one I have.  And more so, keep my mind challenged so it doesn't get stagnant.

Recently I was amazed by the attitude and response of some people in regards to training.  In some circles of law-enforcement apparently some feel as though the way they always did it will always work.  They fail to realize that the criminal element is evolving and becoming better, and unless we stay ahead of them we will end up losing this war.  Criminals train all the time, from fighting to tactics and even use of legal protocols to their advantage.  And officers are doing the same old thing they always did.  I was double surprised when a training opportunity came along (mind you that this opportunity included instruction by some of the best in the world!) and some higher-ups chose not only not to take advantage of it, but rather dismiss it as irrelevant.  By doing so not only are they missing on a unique training and advancement opportunity, but they also set the wrong example to those they lead.  The result can only be one: another dead officer.  In an age where training is out of most officers' and agencies' reach and budget, skipping opportunities like this is not only sad, but it is down right dangerous.

Our members see the value in training.  They work hard at bettering themselves in one capacity or another, from getting healthier to learning skills that can save their lives.  Officers we train often times pay out of their own pockets to attend training they know can make them better.  And what's the worst case scenario?  You didn't learn anything you can use?  Well, at least you went through the mental exercise of evaluating what you learned and by doing so exercised your mind.  Remember, there is no losing, you either won or grew from the experience!

Even though any training is good training, concentrating on training that is of high quality and allows you get the most bank for your buck, sorts of speak, is important.  Let's face it, we all have a finite time on this earth, and wasting it learning information that would not make us better is a shame.  It is not practice that makes perfect, but rather perfect practice that makes perfect.  And therefore, making calculated decisions regarding training and education is paramount.  Do your research, find what works for YOU, and then make it a priority to take full advantage of the opportunity you have.  And remember: do today what others won't so you can be do tomorrow what others can't!

Think training is hard?  Try losing!

Stay safe!

BK Blankchtein

Masada Tactical Protective Services

Open Parachutes

Minds are a lot like parachutes...they work better open rather than close.  Period.

I say this because I am amazed that at this age and time, when there is so much good information (and some really bad one) out there, people are still resistant to try and see if new ideas may actually present a "gem in the rough" they didn't think about before.

Case in point is Israel Point Shoot.  I cannot tell you how much criticism this skill is subject to.  The funny thing is that most of the negative comments come from what I would like to call "Cyber-Commandos", being those "experts" who spend their days playing video games and blogging with zero to minimal true experience.

Funny thing is that when I get a chance to explain the skill, demonstrate it, and put it in context to people they not only accept it as a valid option, but tend to prefer it over prior skills they thought were the absolute gospel.

I am not saying the Israeli Point Shoot is the only way of doing things, but I am saying that if one of the most active and successful militaries in the world has been able to win wars and battles using this skill then maybe it is worth your attention.

Truth be told though is that I stopped carrying about what these wannabes say.  I will take the words of a true professional over a "Couch-Scout" blubber mouth any day.  Here are a few samples of feedback received from people who actually took the class and know what we are trying to a accomplish:

Officer from GA:  "First of all, I wanted to let you and your cadre know that your course was awesome!!!  I REALLY had fun and I learned a lot!  I loved the stress, new shooting technique, the op tempo, and the drills!  I have been incorporating the pistol shooting stance that you taught.  I have used it when I was clearing a school that had an alarm call. Very natural, comfortable and fast. Didn't have to shoot, but I felt I had a major tactical advantage if I had to engage a threat."

Officer from AL:  "In over 14 years of LE, this is by far the best class I ever took.  Although the skills were unorthodox, I see the value in them and will continue to practice".

Officer from MD:  "Completely different style or way of shooting compared to LE & military(US) for me. I really like it and it becomes 2nd nature the more it's practiced or used.  Also it's WAY more accurate!"

NSW professional:  "Having been through multiple training sessions and practice. ICS is the most effective way I have ever shot in a CQB or high stress scenario with a handgun. Body mechanics are extremely natural and muscle memory serves its purpose completely. You maintain eyes on target(s) at all time even with reloads and movement. It was hard to break old muscle memory but you cant beat the effectiveness of this at 10 yards or less."

...And the list goes on.

I guess what really gets me is the fact that so many out there prefer to argue and dismiss anything and everything without even trying it.  Aside from being just plain ignorant, it is a sign of a person who is stagnant in his/her training, and has no room in the tactical arena.  These people will eventually become a threat to themselves and those around them because they refuse to open their mind to new ideas, tactics, and way of doing business.

Let me finish with this: Israel has been dealing with certain threats for the past 67 years of its independence...and even before that.  Threats that the American people are trying to get a feel for now.  A threat that is expected to only grow in the upcoming years.  If people don't want to learn from the lessons of those who have been there and pretty much wrote the book on it, then they are sure to repeat mistakes that would cost many lives...including those of the officers themselves.

I invite anyone who has doubts about the validity of Israeli Point Shoot to come and try it out in one of our classes.  But until you do, recognize that all your comments are just like a closed parachute, and likely with the same end result.

Stay safe and watch your six.

BK Blankchtein

Masada Tactical Protective Services 

Safeties...How Safe Are they?

Accidental discharges are a sad occurrence.  It seems as though any time we turn on the news we hear or read about another such accident happening.  Furthermore, we find that many of those happen with what would be classified as "trained individuals".  actually, come to think about it, I would venture to say that there are more accidental discharges of firearms with so-called experts than there are with novices.

People have a healthy respect to firearms when first introduced to them.  As they get more experienced there seems to be a gradual increase in lax attitude and complacency.  As time passes and no issues come about the more the gun owner believes he is immune from any such tragedies...until it happens.

There is no substitute for safe gun handling.  Following the basic safety rules greatly enhances safety.  These include:

• keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire
• always keep the handgun pointed in a safe direction
• keep the handgun unloaded until ready to use
• keep the handgun away from unauthorized people

Proper attention to detail would greatly enhance safety.  But people are people and you can't fix stupid, so human kind decided to try and outsmart the "lowest common denominator" and develop mechanical features to assist us in preventing accidental discharges.

Safeties are mechanical devices designed to prevent the firing pin or striker from hitting the cartridge. This cab be accomplished by several ways, from thumb safeties, to grip safeties, and many others in between.  But do those really work?  I believe that this may actually increase the rate of accidental discharges as people get further complacent and dependent on the safety to the point that they do not adhere to the basic safety rules anymore.  All of a sudden they believe that if the safety is engaged then fingers can go on the trigger or assume the gun is unloaded, without ever verifying.  End result is a depressed trigger on a loaded round and an unintentional shot fired.

From a tactical standpoint, manipulating safeties is one more action we must do before firing, and a finer motor skill at that.  During a recent training exercise we conducted with a military unit, and with its trained and seasoned members, during a force on force drill using simunition and M9 handguns, the two soldiers were trying to shoot each other from about 2 feet away, but no rounds were fired.  they manipulated the handgun as if addressing a malfunction several times until I stopped them and had them disengage their safeties!!!  Under stress, the simple movement of a thumb can prove hard to execute and fatal!

Glock introduced its "Safe Action" system on its original Glock 17.  It has no external safeties but has a safe mechanism that essentially assumes a deliberate trigger pull prior to allowing the striker to move forward and allow the firing pin to hit the chambered round.  Is it foul-proof?  of course not.  But at least it addressed the operation under pressure issue.

Ultimately, keep your finger, your ultimate safety, off the trigger and you should be fine.  ALWAYS respect the weapon and know that if a negligent discharge take places, it is no one's fault but your own damn stupidity!

Stay safe and watch your six.

Tzviel 'BK' Blankchtein

Masada Tactical Protective services