As it appeared in the Havoc Journal May 10, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Kjell Rosenberg MD, Rangemaster, NRA, and USCCA Instructor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my second profession as a firearms\/self-defense\ninstructor there is, rightly, a significant amount of emphasis placed on situational\nawareness and mindset. The act of\nshooting is a very small percentage of an effective self-protection\nstrategy. The greatest portion of\nlearning to become something other than a victim is intellectual and\npsychological.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the copious sources explaining and coaching\nsituational awareness there seems to be an enormous disparity between the\npreaching and the righteousness of the congregation. Most people do not seem to pay attention to\ntheir surroundings. Conversely, some\npeople are hyper-vigilant to the point of finding themselves the butt of \u201cthat\n(tacticool) guy\u201d jokes. Often in instructor development courses, the comment is\nmade, \u201cif the student doesn\u2019t learn, it\u2019s a failure on the part of the\ninstructor.\u201d While I think that statement\nrequires a healthy dose of qualification to it, there is some significant truth\nthere. *<\/ins><\/a>[1]<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is difficult to keep statistical analysis of\nreality-based events that occur as a result of situational awareness since the\ncontrol group creates a null event result. \nI have developed a theory which I call the \u201cUntrained Paradox\u201d which\nessentially states that the majority of successful civilian gun defenses\n(ranging in numbers up to 3 million per the CDC)[1]<\/sup><\/a>\nare accomplished by the untrained majority,*<\/ins><\/a>[2]<\/a> \npartly because the trained combatant is able to avoid the situation through\nawareness, verbal judo, or other de-escalation techniques. The targeted demographic in this paper is\ntherefore the training but not yet expert individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we as instructors are to stand by our claim that\nsituational awareness is key, but there are still daily events of situational\nawareness failure among gun owners, we have a system failure. In order to solve this problem, it is\nimportant that we take a systems-based approach. The problem could be caused by a lack of\ninterest in education, lack of educational sources available, poorly presented (<\/a>[3]<\/a> instructor-based)\ninformation, or failure of the information to produce adequate results. I believe that all of these possible causes\nand more play into it, but I am focusing on just one piece of the pie in this\narticle: failure to apply human\npsychology and limitations to the data in the partially trained gun owner\ndemographic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our training program at Condition Red Response, we combine\nthe concepts of Col Jeff Cooper\u2019s color-coded mind set system[2]<\/sup><\/a> with Boyd\u2019s Observe, Orient,\nDecide, Act (OODA) loop[3]<\/sup><\/a>, and human response time or\n\u201creactionary gap.\u201d Human response time\nis often taught in self-defense and shooting schools in conjunction with Dennis\nTueller\u2019s principle[4]<\/sup><\/a> in what is popularly (but\nincorrectly) known as a \u201cTueller drill.\u201d \nOfficer Tueller\u2019s principle is perhaps one of the most misinterpreted\nand misapplied pieces of genius in self-defense training and can be used to great\neffect if properly applied as \u201calarm criteria\u201d which we will get to\nshortly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since our audience is made up of those who seek out training\nand are interested in becoming an effective self-protector, I choose to focus\non how to help those people better understand and apply the principles of\nsituational awareness and therefore achieve violence avoidance. I propose that this demographic is most\nlikely to be in, or attempt to be in, prolonged states of hyper-awareness\n(condition orange) and therefore fall victim to lapses rather than to knowledge\ndeficits. Furthermore, I suggest that\nthese lapses are less likely to represent a general attitude of carelessness,\nbut rather what is known in the medical industry as \u201calarm fatigue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am going to first describe the usefulness of understanding\nthe concepts in the above paragraphs. We\nwill then discuss the recognition of patterns that should indicate a mindset\nchange from \u201cpaying attention\u201d to \u201chypervigilance.\u201d Secondarily, I propose that setting\nappropriate alarm settings on our mindset conditions, can allow us to remain in\ncondition yellow for a higher percentage of the time while being appropriately\nswitched on when we need to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather than thinking of a person as a threat or non-threat\nupfront, lets refer to anyone who enters the area of operations of our senses\nor monitors as simply a stimulus. \nFurther, lets define areas of high risk where a self-defender is likely\nto have heightened awareness or vigilance. \nJohn Correia at Active Self-Protection has created an enormous body of\nwork depicting the dangers of the \u201ctransitional space.\u201d[5]<\/sup><\/a> A transitional space is a location in which\npeople who are strangers are in constant flux and this flux is considered\nnormal social practice. This includes\nspaces such as gas stations, parking lots, etc. \nMarc MacYoung in his book \u201cIn the Name of Self-Defense:: What it\ncosts. When it\u2019s Worth It\u201d[6]<\/sup><\/a> refers to certain areas as\n\u201cfringe\u201d areas. These are areas which\nseparate safer areas from distinctly unsafe areas. Both of these socio-geographical archetypes\nare high risk areas for the unaware since they are highly desirable areas for\nthe criminal element to operate within. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Tueller Principle is the result of research (reference)\ndone by that indicates the average adult can cross 21 feet in approximately 1.5\nseconds. From Officer Tueller\u2019s work it\ncan be implied or extrapolated that at certain distances, you have a certain\namount of time to react and act. The\nimplication being that it is vital for you to know what you can and cannot\nphysically perform in that time –which is likely much shorter than you expect\nit to be. In the case of Tueller, the\nstimulus was a man charging with a contact weapon while an officer attempted to\ndraw and get hits on target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Master Instructor Tom Givens[7]<\/sup><\/a>\ninstructs students that big box store parking lots are one of the most\ndangerous places to be caught unaware. \nThis is because a big box store parking lot is both a transitional and a\nfringe space. Let us then do a mental exercise\nin which a stimulus has been introduced to our senses in just such a location\nand our mind enters Boyd\u2019s OODA loop. \nFirst, we Observe the stimulus \u2013 usually by sight, but the sound of\ngunfire or yelling could easily be our introduction to an occurrence requiring\nour immediate attention. Next, we Orient\nto the stimulus, meaning that we try to make sense of it before we Decide what\nto do. Finally, we Act on the decision\nwe made based on our observation and extrapolation of the data. All of this takes a certain amount of time to\nachieve, which is known as \u201cthe reactionary gap.\u201d Depending on our distance from the stimulus,\nor our line of site, our reactionary gap may be sufficient or insufficient to\nact before we are acted upon. The goal\nof achieving situational awareness and the direct application of the Tueller\nprinciple is to Observe, Orient, and Decide well enough in advance that our\nAction is sufficient to protect ourselves whether by fight or by flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With those definitions in place it is now time to discuss\nalarm fatigue. Alarm fatigue is the idea\nthat a human cannot \u2013 or will not \u2013 remain vigilant for long periods of time\nwhile alarms are buzzing. The alarms will\nbe turned off or tuned out. The obvious\ndanger of this is found in the children\u2019s story about the boy who cried\nwolf. The story of villagers ignoring\nthe cry of \u201cwolf\u201d after repeatedly responding to a null event is over\nsimplified and almost silly, but this occurs in a very real way and leaves us\nvulnerable to the proverbial wolf when we least expect it \u2013 despite the fact\nthat our senses or \u201cmonitors\u201d are actively warning us about a threat. In the medical industry, there have been\nseveral such deaths attributed to alarm fatigue.[8]<\/sup><\/a>,[9]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer to alarm fatigue is to set the alarm limits or\nsettings to trip the alarm only when certain criteria are met. For example, if I am setting an alarm based\non heart rate during surgery I could choose to make the low heart rate alarm 70\nbecause the patient has a base heart rate of 75. However, the criteria need to be specific\n(the ability of an alarm to be meaningful to the current problem) and sensitive\n(the ability of an alarm to pick up a stimulus) enough that they do not\nrepeatedly ring when the patient is not in danger, but loose enough to catch\nthe majority of clinical signs of deterioration. With a low alarm setting of 70 and a baseline\nheart rate of 75, once the patient goes under anesthesia and their heart slows\ndown, my alarm will be ringing for the entire case. But when I look at the monitor, I see a heart\nrate of 65 which is clearly within the acceptable range. How long before I either turn the alarm off\nor simply ignore it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, our situational awareness criteria need to be\ncalibrated to recognize actual threats and not key on every stimulus that\nenters our sensual area of operations, or we will become both neurotic and\nlackadaisical about paying attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the things we do as anesthesiologists are lessons\nlearned from the airline industry. (reference). \nWe have checklists and develop patterns and habits in the way we prepare\nfor a case, monitor a case, and respond to untoward events. As self-defenders, we can create similar\nhabits which take the hypervigilance out of the equation and replace it with a\n\u201cnormal way of doing things\u201d that mimics the checklists and setting of alarm\ncriteria in an operating room. In his\nbook \u201cBe Your Own Bodyguard,\u201d[10]<\/sup><\/a> Nick Hughes goes into\ndetail about many of the habits we can develop. \nMy point here is not to reinvent the work that experts like Nick and\nMarc have written about extensively, but to tie it all in together and explain\nhow using appropriate alarm criteria combined with checklists can help us\nprevent disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the self-defense world, stimuli meeting criteria of both\nsensitivity and specificity could be referred to in terms of \u201cpre-attack\nindicators.\u201d There are many pre-attack\nindicators and they have been well described by experts like Greg Ellifritz[11]<\/sup><\/a> and the others I have\nmentioned above, so I am not going to go over them in detail. Categorically, they contain things such as\nfurtive movements, deceptions, distractions, and more. In context to our discussion today, using\nknowledge of pre-violence indicators would be our alarm limits. Consider the following example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You arrive at Bigboxstore and park your car. From this point on if we follow traditional\nmindset conditions \u2013 you should be in condition orange, or at the very least a\ndeep yellow. What I am suggesting as a replacement\nof the current paradigm is to be aware and paying attention as you would be in\ncondition yellow, BUT<\/em> you will have\nset specific and sensitive alarms that will move you into a condition orange as\nnecessary. These triggers might be\nanything from noticing odd behavior, a shady character who is a little too\ninterested in you, etc. Nothing that\nrequires action at this point, but something that definitely requires the\nheightened awareness of condition orange. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you are casually taking note of your surroundings, a\nyoung man hops out of a car. This is a\nnormal event in a transitional space and does not require an upgrade in\nmindset. Our awareness in this example\nis sensitive but not specific. However,\nthe young man is wearing a light jacket on a hot summer day and pulls the hood\nup on his jacket as he steps out of the vehicle. That action should warrant a trip of your\nspecificity alarm. Condition orange\nshould follow. There are potentially\nlegitimate reasons why that young man might be dressed suspiciously. That\u2019s why we stay in orange and don\u2019t\nprogress to red. However, the alarm\ncriteria were met and now we need to pay attention to it. Imagine how quickly our awareness would\ndiminish, however, if we stay in condition orange because we see a potential\nthreat in every person, and yet a threat never materializes. Pretty soon we will start thinking we are\ncrazy and let down our guard altogether; it\u2019s human nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those who have mastered the skill sets above and written\nbooks about them have already consciously or subconsciously adopted this\npractice. I believe that utilizing what\nI am calling the \u201cAlarm Fatigue Prevention Model of Situational Awareness\u201d is a\nmid to advanced level skill set. Thus,\nwe should not, as instructors, be encouraging novice self-protectors to\ndowngrade their mind set conditions when they are in transitional and fringe\nspaces, but rather helping them refine the skills until adequate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 24\/7\/365 attempt at condition orange\nawareness will ultimately decrease your awareness as your brain tells you that\nyou are crying wolf. Having appropriately set alarm triggers will help to\nattain the necessary vigilance when mandated, but decrease the jumping at\nshadows and prevent alarm fatigue. In\norder for our students to set appropriate alarms, they must first learn what\nthe indications are, be introspective, and be practiced enough to know what\ntheir own reactionary gap is, what their own physical skill set is, and what\ntheir line in the sand for flight vs fight is. \nThe concepts associated with situational awareness are strongly\ncorrelated with constant monitoring of our work space\u2013 as they are with medical\npersonnel who are subject to the constant whine and beep of alarms during\npatient care. The potential pitfalls, such as alarm fatigue, that have been\nproven in the medical community will prove true in personal protection as well,\nunless monitoring is done in a manner that is appropriate to each situation and\nstimulus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n References:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cooper, J. (1989). Principles of personal\ndefense<\/em>. Boulder, Col.: Paladin Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ellifritz, G. How to Spot a Bad Guy- A Comprehensive Look\nat Body Language and Pre-Assault Indicators. (2019, January 25). Retrieved from\nhttps:\/\/www.activeresponsetraining.net\/how-to-spot-a-bad-guy-a-comprehensive-look-at-body-language-and-pre-assault-indicators<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Correia, J. (2018, December 04). Awareness Is Essential Especially In\nTransitional Spaces | Active Self Protection. Retrieved from\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n30JqcFh33k&feature=youtu.be<\/p>\n\n\n\n Givens, T. (2019, January 27). Instructor Development course<\/em>. Lecture\npresented at Instructor Development course in Florida, Homestead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hsieh, P. (2018,\nApril 30). That Time The CDC Asked About Defensive Gun Uses. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/paulhsieh\/2018\/04\/30\/that-time-the-cdc-asked-about-defensive-gun-uses\/#37a43532299a<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hughes, N. (2017) How\nTo Be Your Own Bodyguard <\/em>Nicholas Hughes<\/p>\n\n\n\n MacYoung, M. (2014).\nIn the name of self-defense: What it\ncosts and when its worth it<\/em>. Place of publication not identified: NNSD\nPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mulder, P. (2017). OODA Loop<\/em>. Retrieved [insert date] from\nToolsHero: https:\/\/www.toolshero.com\/decision-making\/ooda-loop\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michele\nM. Pelter, RN, PhD, and Barbara J. Drew, RN, PhD, Harm\nFrom Alarm Fatigue. (n.d.). Retrieved from\nhttps:\/\/psnet.ahrq.gov\/webmm\/case\/362\/harm-from-alarm-fatigue<\/p>\n\n\n\n Andreas H. Taenzer, Joshua B. Pyke, Susan\nP. McGrath; A Review of Current and Emerging Approaches to Address\nFailure-to-Rescue. Anesthesiology<\/em>2011;115(2):421-431. doi:\n10.1097\/ALN.0b013e318219d633.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rayo MF, Moffatt-Bruce SD<\/p>\n\n\n\n VirTra. (2018,\nDecember 19). 21-Foot Principle Clarified by Dennis Tueller and Ken Wallentine.\nRetrieved from https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dEjxg1m3ORU&feature=youtu.be [1]<\/sup><\/a>\nHsieh, P.\n(2018, April 30). That Time The CDC Asked About Defensive Gun Uses. Retrieved\nfrom\nhttps:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/paulhsieh\/2018\/04\/30\/that-time-the-cdc-asked-about-defensive-gun-uses\/#37a43532299a<\/p>\n\n\n\n [2]<\/sup><\/a>\nCooper, J.\n(1989). Principles of personal defense<\/em>.\nBoulder, Col.: Paladin Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [3]<\/sup><\/a>\nMulder, P. (2017). OODA Loop<\/em>. Retrieved [insert date] from ToolsHero: https:\/\/www.toolshero.com\/decision-making\/ooda-loop\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n [4]<\/sup><\/a>\nVirTra. (2018,\nDecember 19). 21-Foot Principle Clarified by Dennis Tueller and Ken Wallentine.\nRetrieved from https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dEjxg1m3ORU&featAlarm\nFatigue; Correlative Applications to Self Defenseure=youtu.be<\/p>\n\n\n\n [5]<\/sup><\/a>\nCorreia, J.\n(2018, December 04). Awareness Is Essential Especially In Transitional Spaces |\nActive Self Protection. Retrieved from\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n30JqcFh33k&feature=youtu.be<\/p>\n\n\n\n [6]<\/sup><\/a>\nMacYoung, M.\n(2014). In the name of self-defense: What\nit costs and when its worth it<\/em>. Place of publication not identified: NNSD\nPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [7]<\/sup><\/a>\nGivens, T.\n(2019, January 27). Instructor\nDevelopment course<\/em>. Lecture presented at Instructor Development course in\nFlorida, Homestead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [8]<\/sup><\/a>\nPeltor, M., Drew B. Harm From Alarm Fatigue. (n.d.). Retrieved from\nhttps:\/\/psnet.ahrq.gov\/webmm\/case\/362\/harm-from-alarm-fatigue<\/p>\n\n\n\n [9]<\/sup><\/a>\nAndreas H.\nTaenzer, Joshua B. Pyke, Susan P. McGrath; A Review of Current and Emerging\nApproaches to Address Failure-to-Rescue. Anesthesiology<\/em>2011;115(2):421-431.\ndoi: 10.1097\/ALN.0b013e318219d633.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rayo MF, Moffatt-Bruce SD<\/p>\n\n\n\n [10]<\/sup><\/a>\nHughes, N. (2017) How To Be Your Own\nBodyguard <\/em>Nicholas Hughes<\/p>\n\n\n\n [11]<\/sup><\/a>\nEllifritz, G. How\nto Spot a Bad Guy- A Comprehensive Look at Body Language and Pre-Assault\nIndicators. (2019, January 25). Retrieved from https:\/\/www.activeresponsetraining.net\/how-to-spot-a-bad-guy-a-comprehensive-look-at-body-language-and-pre-assault-indicators<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n copywrite Kjell Rosenberg 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As it appeared in the Havoc Journal May 10, 2019 By Kjell Rosenberg MD, Rangemaster, NRA, and USCCA Instructor In my second profession as a firearms\/self-defense instructor there is, rightly, a significant amount of emphasis placed on situational awareness and Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/conditionredresponse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/conditionredresponse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/conditionredresponse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/conditionredresponse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/conditionredresponse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=757"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/conditionredresponse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":759,"href":"http:\/\/conditionredresponse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions\/759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/conditionredresponse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/conditionredresponse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/conditionredresponse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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