training Archives - SemperVerus

Counterterrorism: Violent Extremism Mobilization Indicators

The US Violent Extremism Mobilization Indicators, 2025 Edition is a PDF pamphlet published by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to inform law enforcement, terrorism prevention practitioners, other first responders, community leaders, as well as the general public about both threats of violence and contextual behaviors that suggest an individual is mobilizing to violence.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of THREAT ANALYSIS ]

This is a helpful situational awareness resource for church security teams and self-defenders in general for identifying discernible pre-indicator signs of criminal and terrorist aggression.

By semperverus
Posted on 05/21/202605/21/2026

Interview With Police Trainer, Ron Borsch, on Church Security Teams Stopping Active Killer Incidents

SemperVerus interviewed Ron Borsch, one of the world’s leading authorities on active killer attacks.

[ Bookmark the SemperVerus CHURCH SECURITY INTELLIGENCE CLIPBOARD ]

Please describe your decades of experience as a police officer and a police trainer that have given you expert insight into appropriately responding to active killer incidents.
I first served as a Military Police Officer (101st Paratroops, Viet Nam 1965-66) before serving 30 years as a Bedford Ohio, police officer. My BPD duties included Patrol, Rangemaster, SWAT, Active and Defensive Tactics trainer, and transition to auto-pistol training. Most of that time included my own-cost training during vacation at various national and international courses and conferences in multiple states and places, including Alaska and Canada, presenting at some.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

My highest achievement promotion earned was that of Monadnock International Instructor, (two police baton systems and one empty-hand defensive tactics system). This was a challenging several-day process of written and proficiency practice culminating in a final proficiency examination before a panel of senior International Instructor judges. Very helpful preparation was years of experience at lesser Monadnock instructor levels.

By semperverus
Posted on 05/18/202605/18/2026

WHCA Dinner Shooter: Is Your Situational Awareness Keen Enough?

Notice in the above Washington Hilton hotel security camera photo, only one security guard is aware of the lethal threat that has begun: he has drawn his pistol and is pointing it at the suspect running through the magnetometer, who is armed with a 12-gauge shotgun. In this split-second freeze-frame, the other security personnel don’t know it’s happening yet. Now visualize this is happening through the front or side door of your church as you stand watch during your church security team volunteer shift. Think through how you could prepare for this with heightened situational awareness. Then think through what action you would take.

Church Security: Detect Threats With the “Power of Hello”

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)’s “Power of Hello” is a security initiative and training program applicable to church security teams and church ushers and greeters that teaches individuals to prevent disruptive incidents by observing suspicious behavior and initiating friendly engagement.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Greeters and Ushers: Eyes and Ears for Security ]

Used effectively, the right words can be a powerful tool. Simply saying “Hello” can prompt a casual conversation with unknown individuals and help you determine why they are there.

By semperverus
Posted on 05/05/202605/07/2026

Prepare for Teams of Terrorists, Says Gabe Suarez

Gabe Suarez is a no-holds-barred, full-throated, say-what-he-thinks, blunt, honest, speaking-to-the-point firearms and self-defense expert with decades of experience in martial arts and law enforcement, including being a SWAT sniper and assaulter. He was awarded the Police Medal of Valor for a gunfight against three armed robbery-homicide suspects and he’s the founder and trainer of Suarez Tactics, a training and consulting organization focused solely on developing the art of tactics and gunfighting. His YouTube channel is @suareztactics.

On his Patreon site, he’s written the forceful article, You and the Terrorist(s). With his permission, and because it has application for church security teams, we have summarized the article below (but you’ll want to subscribe to his Patreon site, read the full article there, and learn from all the site’s insightful self-defense content). As Gabe Suarez says, “We teach good guys how to prevail against the bad guys. Whether facing a common robber or a terrorist bent on mass murder, we teach you the skills to defeat them, and as well to live a life of excellence.”

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He begins by pointing to John Lott’s research paper, Do Armed Civilians Stop Active Shooters More Effectively Than Uniformed Police?, in accepting the fact that private citizens defeat active shooters to a greater degree and with better results—collectively—than law enforcement.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A List of Active Killer Incidents at Houses of Worship and Religious Schools ]

Mr. Suarez stresses that, in today’s anarchistic world requiring the need of heightened self-defense, “we are not looking for a lone wolf terrorist, nor a drugged up psychiatric patient, but rather—as Sarah Adams notes—a well trained and dedicated terrorist known as a ‘Fedayeen’ (Arabic: ‘those who sacrifice themselves’).” He compares this combatant to the Kamikaze of WW2. He says, “Their goal is to kill as many Americans as possible and to die ‘gloriously’ in the process.”