Articles with situational awareness

The 4 Basic Rules of Gun Safety

An image of the four gun safety rules

Col. Jeff Cooper (1920–2006) was a US Marine, the creator of the modern technique of handgun shooting, and an expert on the use and history of small arms. He introduced the concept of the mental alertness color code which indicates the degree of peril a person is willing to act upon and which facilitates a person to move from one level of mindset to another (situational awareness) to enable the person to properly handle a given situation.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Checklist: Matters to Consider When Deciding on a Handgun ]

As a way of encouraging universal firearm safety, Col. Cooper also advocated a simple 4-point set of rules anyone can understand:

  1. EVERY gun is loaded until proven otherwise.
  2. Point the muzzle ONLY at what you want to destroy.
  3. Put your finger on the trigger ONLY when you’re ready to fire.
  4. KNOW your target and what’s behind and around it.

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Situational Awareness: Passive or Active?

Criminal investigations & intelligence unit supervisor Lou Hayes Jr. says: “When I talk with most folks about Situational Awareness, they mention phrases like:

  • being aware of your surroundings;
  • know what’s happening around you;
  • observing things that stick out.

These behaviors or characteristics aren’t wrong. However, they do bring out a certain flavor of passivity. It’s as if the person is passively monitoring their environment as a receptor of stimuli. It’s, in a way, a defensive way of opening oneself up to receive information, whenever that information decides to reveal itself. In short, information comes to you.

What if we looked at a different posture of situational awareness?

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How to Develop the Situational Awareness of Jason Bourne

Situational awareness is the ability to observe your surroundings and make detailed assessments about your environment. One aspect of SemperVerus living is learning to hone your powers of observation in all areas of your life.

Situational awareness is another word for mindfulness: being more cognizant of what’s going on around you and being more present in your daily activities, which in turn helps you make better decisions all around.

Observe + Orient = Situational Awareness

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Church Shooting Analysis Reports

A killer murdered two people during the morning service at West Freeway Church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas December 29, 2019. He was about to kill a third person and probably more congregants when he was fatally shot in the skilled self-defense maneuver by Jack Wilson, a volunteer member of the church security team who undoubtedly saved many lives. The murderer’s six-second terror spree and the armed civilian’s rescue were video recorded. Here is a collection of links to resources examining the event to arrive at lessons learned for future self-defense and church security planning:

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