Earlier this week, I got into a discussion with two of my buddies about a heated argument they were in over some of the nuances and semantics involved with staying safe on the job. Not long after, as most of you know from an earlier article this week, an instructor shot his assistant multiple times in a well publicized incident. There has been a surge lately of instructors who seem to take pride in being unsafe, almost wearing it as a badge of honor and taking a very in-your-face approach to showing “the real world.” “It’s dangerous, but so is combat…” is another one I hear. I never hear it from guys with a background in that “real world”, but that doesn’t surprise anyone I guess. It’s funny how a training gunshot looks a lot like a real world gunshot. Funny how the Nation’s top tiers of Special Operations units can factor safety into every aspect their training but some guys can’t make a flat range run without waving loaded guns at everyone. Ponder that for a minute. There is no doubt in my mind that an unsafe guy is an unqualified guy. They’re multiplying, and they’re everywhere. That’s another tangent for another day, but for now there are a lot of ways to mitigate risk in your training without sacrificing what can be gained.

A detailed safety plan and accountability of personnel is not nerd stuff. It’s not micromanagement. It does not have to water down training. When I plan safety measures into events I stick to what I know, and that is the military cycle for risk mitigation. We all loathe it, getting the Risk Assessment signed, re-doing it 5 times to add stuff like “inadvertent exposure to genetically enhanced assault bunny rabbits” or whatever other bizarre crap the commander asks for, making dozens copies to file with various offices of no importance, and other various ass-pain. The good news is the cycle and methods themselves are easily applicable on the fly as well as prior to conducting training. The even better news is that it works well, and the reference material is free. If you’re not familiar with it and have an interest in finding a good balance of real vs. safe, Google “FM 5-19”, save it, use it.

Here is a key passage, with an underline for emphasis:

Accept no unnecessary risk. Accept no level of risk unless the potential gain or benefit outweighs the potential loss. CRM is a decision making tool to assist the commander, leader, or individual in identifying, assessing, and controlling risks in order to make informed decisions that balance risk costs (losses) against mission benefits (potential gains)

It’s an easy process, 5 simple steps to prevent the preventable.
1. Identify Hazards
2. Assess and determine risk
3. Develop controls and make risk decisions
4. Implement controls
5. Supervise and evaluate

As an example, a hazard during a CCW class would be accidental shootings. You determine the risk to be high due to a diverse group of inexperienced or poorly trained shooters. You decide to use small relays and a 1:1 instructor to student ratio as controls. On the ground you stick to the control plan, and evaluate its efficiency and adjust as needed. Identifying the hazards and accepting the real possibility of an accident is the key step that seems to be overlooked; otherwise the next steps cannot occur.

Another key element is a medical plan in the event an accident does occur. Know where the nearest treatment facilities are, and have medical supplies as well as multiple qualified users. Have a plan to travel to those facilities, and make sure your communications work. Know your location in a format that local authorities and emergency personnel can use to find you.

You can’t remove all risk from self-defense or tactical training, as there are inherent dangers that are simply a byproduct of that environment. However, they can be controlled to a degree, and the unnecessary risks can be eliminated with a little forethought and planning. Risk is perfectly acceptable when the juice is worth the squeeze, make sure you know where that line is.

In the last few weeks, I’ve talked about shooting, methods to track performance, physical fitness, and other skills necessary to becoming a well-rounded knuckle-dragger. At the suggestion of the editor, today’s topic is a little outside of what many people today spend their time and effort to learn but is absolutely as important. We’re talking fieldcraft. Fieldcraft to me is the ability to operate efficiently and securely in your environment, and as such is a necessary task. Without it, the chances of you getting to an objective, completing a mission, and moving back to an exfil aren’t so good. It’s the ability to operate unencumbered by the enemy using skills such as camouflage, land navigation, hide sites, tactical movement, and survival skills among others. While this suits my purposes, it might not suit yours. Fieldcraft traditionally refers to “woods skills” but I think for modern purposes we can expand that a bit to fit the collective tasks used to survive today, from routine and mundane to rare and extreme.

These skills differ from job to job. The fieldcraft necessary for a Ranger to conduct an ambush patrol is going to be different than that of a SWAT cop in a large metro area, or that of a civilian who winds up stranded in the woods after their car breaks down. The only way to make sure your fieldcraft is up to par is to anticipate your needs as best as possible prior to needing them, train on them, and practice them. Many of the skills we take for granted in the conduct of our everyday lives are perishable, but we perform them so often that we stay proficient. The skills we require less often sometimes get taken for granted as well. Can you change a tire? Recover a stuck vehicle? Can you build a fire (an especially challenging task…because whenever you NEED a fire that’s when its the hardest to make them)? Build a shelter or insulated cover when stranded? Can you conduct dismounted navigation without a map and compass? These aren’t skills exclusive to a sniper, reconnaissance patrol, or downed aviator, these are skills necessary if your car breaks down out in the country a few miles in the winter, or when your neighborhood gets crushed by a hurricane in a part of the US that is unaccustomed to that type of storm.

A little prep goes a long way. Think about the social and environmental factors that can affect your everyday life, and then learn the skills necessary to mitigate them. Get a battery charger and tool kit for the car. Carry something to make a spark. Learn to determine cardinal directions and relate the ground you see with your eyes to the ground you see on a map. Hell, have a map in the first place. Buy a poncho and liner for the trunk. know where the local civil service infrastructure is located (hospitals, fire stations, police dept.) and how to get there. Carry a gun everywhere it’s legal. I see a lot of people stockpiling everything needed to live unsupported these days (and kindly telling us where it’s at on YouTube) but I wonder how many have the will and skill to ride it out like that? Shooting, fighting, flying, riding, all those skills are great to have. The skills needed to get you to that point cannot be overlooked however. A lot of them aren’t fun by the traditional definition of the word but a little suffering now will save a lot later, maybe even your life.