Six-Actual

There have been times in my life when I was in positions of authority, as shown here, and times when I was not. Sometimes when I was not in charge and walked into a situation where there was no formal, appointed leader present, I'd ask aloud, Who's in charge here?  It was sort of a joke, but not really. They'd look around and then I'd say, Oh, yeah, never mind. I'm in charge.  While I'm sure some of them thought I was just being arrogant, I really wasn't. Okay, yes I was... a little bit.

Okay, okay, before you go any further, scoot all the way down to the bottom of this post and click on the Tears of the Sun music video, then bounce right back up here and continue to read.

Anyway, the point I was making to them and to myself was this: in the absence of clear leadership that you have an obligation to follow, or a conviction in your heart that following a particular person will be helpful to you, then you are in charge of you. In those situations when nobody else said, I'm in charge, I knew that if the shit hit it, I would be the one running the show, giving counterattack orders. It's just the way it is. Somebody has to be in charge.

 

So, you are in charge of whether you workout and how hard and how frequently. And, except for a few hormonal issues here and there, you are in charge of whether you're 20 or 200 lbs overweight. You are in charge of your desires to eat or drink too much. If you're in a place where you do these unhealthy things in order to fill a void in your heart, then you are in charge of getting counsel to help you find your way out of that dark night. I've been there. There is a way out.

For those of you getting on in years who might need to begin an exercise program, here is a good place to start. Most YMCAs have exercise programs for different age groups and abilities, and the rates are reasonable, so check in there for some options.

I have all my gear at home. I prefer to workout alone because it's frustrating to be on a good, hard workout routine and then, just when I'm about to hit the next machine in my set, when I'm heading for a burn, I see some twerp sitting on it, chirping it up on her cell phone, looking at me like, Ew, why are you so sweaty and buh-reathing so hard?

To the extent possible, you need to train the way you'll fight: lots of energy expended at the beginning and then endurance to hang on and win. That means, you have push yourself as you start ~ you don't need all that warm-up time in fancy skin-tight gear ~ wear heavy old-style sweats to keep your muscles warm and act as a sauna ~ and then go hard and fast from exercise to exercise trying to get an aerobic effect even though you may just be moving from machine to machine. Of course, consult your doctor to see if he or she would recommend this course for you in particular. If you workout at your place, then just make the time and place and discipline yourself to do what needs to be done.

For those of you who may be looking for some self-defense stuff for elderly people, take a look here.

And, here are a bunch more videos that might be helpful.

There have been times in my career when I worked with people who were not as well trained as I and also had "leaders" who happened to be almost totally untrained except in management skills. Well, there's a difference between management and leadership. To break it down to its simplest form, people will follow you for two reasons:

• They believe you can get them through something challenging or to something better than what they've got at the moment 
• They want to see what you'll screw up next

 

Improvised Weapons Starter Video. Look here and find lots of other video clips that can be very helpful. Then take an inventory of your home to see what you have on hand, and then do some rehearsal of possible scenarios that might happen and then practice your response.

If you have some belief that in a terrorist attack many if not all around you will lose their cool and make that situation worse ~ and that's how it will go down ~ then you have to begin now to be cool and in control in that situation. You have to Be and Know so you can Do.

Be dedicated to having your mind and body in the best possible condition you can achieve. Be active and persistent in that endeavor. Know your craft, your combat and self-defense principles, your basic tactics, your weapons and comms, your laws, your options, your surroundings. And know your enemy. All that then constitutes... you. Or, a facet of you.  So when all around are losing their composure, you'll be the one they follow because you are noticeably the only one around who knows what to Do. And when all you Know isn't helping much because people don't care what you Do, then just Be. Be strong in mind and body and you'll probably be the only one who walks out of the situation alive.

Be. Know. Do. 

To me, the place to start is in the soul. The reason people panic is because they're scared of dying. The fear comes from not knowing what waits for them when the lights go out. I've seen how people scream and fight when they begin in their spirit to see the next world, the dark one. And I've seen how other people are at peace as they begin to cross to the other side. The difference is stark. 

Secondly, I'd recommend that you peruse and study the material posted all over this blog in order to gain a tactical knowledge base. If you have any questions about any of the suggestions, don't be afraid to ask them either as comments or to send me an email by clicking on the Email Me link in the left margin.

 
 General Stonewall Jackson: My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter what may overtake me. That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.

When working in potentially dangerous situations with those who don't have the training I was blessed to receive, I've tried to have chats with those men and women to determine just what they'd do in this or that scenario. Then, when their answer suggested they didn't know or had a pretty shitty plan, I'd ask, Well, what do you think of this idea? Maybe this makes more sense. And I'd lay out for them something that did make more sense, using basic principles as the teaching point. That often worked because I was around those people and they grew to know me and trust me. And I knew they'd follow me because they did.

In a terrorist attack situation, the people around you are probably not going to know you, so there will be no earned trust between you and that crowd of screamers. So, what do you do?

Like Stonewall Jackson: lead by example. Be brave and strong. Don't be tactically stupid. If you've done your homework here and using other material, you'll have enough shit in your bag, as shown here, to be a good leader, even if all you can do is lead people to safety. Keep your bearing about you and do what will save the most lives... or, kill the most bad-guys, if that's your situation.

Remember, all these suggestions are just that... ideas thrown on the table for you to consider. You make the choice to learn or not and to act or not, not me.

 

The movie, Tears of the Sun, is one I really like for its accuracy... except for a couple things. Bruce Willis plays USN SEAL Team Lieutenant Waters and his call sign is Eagle-One. NCO Zee Pettigrew is the one you see most often on the radio talking to the Captain of the USS Truman. In military parlance, the commissioned officer in charge of a particular element, combat or otherwise, has a Six designator at the end of his call-sign, such as Bravo-Six or Easy-Six as in Band of Brothers, another of my favorites. So, technically, Zee is Eagle-Six-One, since he's second in command, and Lt Waters should be Eagle-Six. If Eagle Six-One is talking to the Truman skipper and the skipper wants to talk to the Lieutenant who's running the show in the jungle, not the NCO who's not making the tactical decisions, then the Captian of the boat would ask for the Eagle-Six-Actual... as in the guy may who's actually in charge. Lt Waters would then get on the horn and answer the Captain, This is Eagle-Six-Actual. That way the Truman skipper knows he's talking to the person actually in command on the ground in that battle.

So, I'm Undaunted-Six-Actual. Who do you want to be?

Comments

[NextVoiceUHear]

Thank you for this excellent gift to all ages. As a 70+ geezer, the "here" links above are excellent places for me to go to lose some holiday lard and keep it off.

I carry my daddy's cane now - it has a metal eagle handgrip and I think it could easily crack open a bowling ball. It would take a whole lot of "towel" to save an evildoer's skull from being penetrated. If I must I will; may God forgive me.
NVUH

[Misty]

Wow. That was an eye popper! I am embarrassed to say I didn't even consider "distraction objects" to just throw in the face of a perpetrator and buy a few crucial seconds.

Thanks so much for this!