Heinous home invasion in my town - big mistake homeowner made! (from Jason Hanson-- spybriefing.com)

                                                            

 I live in a small town in Utah.

 

Not much crime used to ever happen until everyone from California and Las Vegas started moving here.  

 

It’s certainly not as safe as it used to be, and here’s an example of a pretty violent home invasion that occurred.

 

A couple was at home when someone started pounding on their back door.

 

The husband answered the door, and a man was standing there saying he was at the house to buy drugs.

 

The homeowner stated they didn’t sell drugs and he must have the wrong house.

 

The man didn’t like this answer, and he rushed the homeowner and started attacking him and punching him mercilessly.

 

His wife saw what was going on, and she tried to help her husband by hitting the attacker with a curtain rod.

 

The man got off the husband and started beating the wife with a metal pipe.

 

Then he went right back to the husband and started smashing his head into a concrete wall.

 

Soon after, the man fled on foot.

 

Thankfully, both the husband and wife survived, and the police caught the attacker, who’s now sitting in jail.

 

But, here are a few essential lessons from this incident…

 

First, never answer the door if you don’t know who’s there.

 

I have had people knock on my door, and I just talk to them through the door. It’s socially awkward, but I don’t mind.

 

Second, if there’s pounding on your door, grab your gun.

 

Then, go to the door and talk to the person through it.

 

If they end up bashing in the door, you want to have your gun on you so you can deal with the threat quickly.

 

Third, if someone is trying to beat you to death, you can use deadly force if you’re in fear for your life or serious bodily injury.

 

So, when the wife saw her husband getting beaten, a gun would have been a better option than a curtain rod.

 

I totally realize not everyone is comfortable with guns, but I have trained my wife, who uses a Glock 19.

 

So, if in some crazy, worst-case scenario, a guy was on top of me trying to kill me, I hope my wife comes in and shoots him (if she has a clear shot.)

 

Of course, the best option is not to open the door in the first place and to have a weapon with you if someone is pounding on the door.

 

For me, it’s a gun…

 

Some people use knives.

Just make sure you’re comfortable with whatever weapon you choose and that it’s close by when you need it.

Beyond OODA: Developing the Orientation for Deception,Conflict and Violence (armedcitizensnetwork.org)

 

Beyond OODA:

Developing the Orientation for Deception, Conflict and Violence

By Varg Freeborn
ISBN-13 978-0578250373
$9.99 eBook; $17.99 Paperback; 184 pages

https://vargfreeborn.com/2021/08/beyond-ooda-is-available-on-amazon-kindle

Reviewed by Gila Hayes

This month I read a book about mental preparation for self-defence that differed considerably from training focused on weapons and skills. Beyond OODA explores a single element from U.S. Air Force Col. John Boyd’s Observe, Orient, Decide, Act conceptualization. “Orientation is what you bring to the fight, the source of all of the criteria that you use to make every decision,” writes author Varg Freeborn.

It is the basis of mindset and “control(s) how we see ourselves and the world around us, which governs every decision we make.” This is a two-way street, and throughout the book, Freeborn emphasizes that mindset and manipulation affect both violent criminals and their intended victims.

“Since high-stress situations, such as deadly fights, require strong and rapid decision-making, it becomes very evident that what you bring to the fight are your orientation and its inputs,” he explains. “Everything else: observation, decision-making, and acting all occur during the moment. Those in-the-fight elements can be prepared for physical fitness, conditioning, and training in skills, techniques and procedures. But what you truly bring to the fight is your orientation, and this also can be shaped and trained consciously to a high degree.”

Much has been written, sometimes contentiously, about Boyd’s OODA model, and Freeborn views his conceptualization as an “interpretive extension” of Boyd’s work. In combat, only intuitively-made decisions occur quickly enough to seize the initiative, so one’s orientation must necessarily be congruent with the findings that have to be made in a fight. He suggests, “Intuitive recognition and decision-making can become nearly autonomous within the mind, significantly speeding up the decision-act process. The intuitive mind understands the problems at hand without much conscious thought and then selects decisions from a pre-selected group of possible choices. Boyd referred to this as ‘implicit guidance.’”

Freeborn explains, “In truth...your observation feeds your orientation, and your orientation drives your decision-making. That is a foundational premise. The recognition (which is an observation) triggers your orientation upon which all decisions are based. This exposes a major flaw in most combat or fights training because styles, systems, methods and instructors are hell-bent on the repetition and development of physical skills while mostly ignoring the root sources of decision making in the trainee.” He adds, “Simply developing physical capabilities, mental toughness and being ‘ready to fight’ is not preparing you to make precise, effective and efficient decisions about particular problems under force pressure.”

Applying Boyd’s concept of orientation to the necessary mental aspects of survival, Freeborn teaches that unpredictability is “both the greatest deterrent and a key component to fighting success.” He warns that introducing unpredictability is victorious only by intuiting the assailant’s mindset, intentions and goals. Valuable chapters toward the end of the book detail how criminals and defenders can create uncertainty or misdirect others’ perceptions.

Adaptability is also critical to success. “It’s not always the physically fastest who wins in combat; it’s often the one who adapts and demonstrates mental agility in the situation more thoroughly,” Boyd stated. “Adaptability implies variety and rapidity. Without variety and rapidity, one can neither be unpredictable nor cope with changing and unforeseen circumstances,” Freeborn quotes. That is not to suggest that speed is unimportant; he continues, “Adaptability without agility leaves us in a reactionary mode, which is not where you want to be in a fight or any other strategic situation. Adaptability gives us variety, while agility gives us rapidity, and that combination is how we shift initiative and apply pressure rather than simply responding to pressure.” Of course, you may need to reorient if the enemy does the same.

Freeborn’s emphasis on the mental aspect of survival is not intended to eclipse the need for physical skills, he stresses, only to alert practitioners to the broader necessities for prevailing. “You need the skills, techniques and procedures to win, the willingness and confidence (orientation) to perform them, and the ability to analyze and synthesize new information to modify as necessary (adaptability and agility), to perform at an efficient level when faced with an attack,” he writes.

For our demographic, the gap between real-life experience with violence and our training is necessary of concern. Freeborn discusses well-designed force on force training as a source of experience and opportunities for “the retrospective understanding of the experience.” Mental synthesis occurs only while solving unforeseen problems, he stresses. Without unpredictability, instruction fails to provide the analysis and synthesis required “to reach true creativity and thus begin to achieve adaptability.” He allows his students to fall and “get shot with simulated ammunition a lot. They often know they would have died if the bullets were real, and it’s critical to the process that they know this, he urges.

Criminals, he observes, “are put through violent and life-threatening events without any prior formal preparation. This creates a strong feedback loop...that drives a robust analysis and synthesis system within our decision-making process.” He later addresses initiation rites and their role in willingness to commit violence. Without those experiences, he writes that the law-abiding citizen who trains to prevent being victimized is at a severe deficit.

Beyond OODA is a complex study that is impossible to synopsize fully in a book review. I was particularly interested in Freeborn’s analysis of erroneous perceptions created by one’s background that corrupt the decision-making process. He compares his early life experiences as a child raised in poverty and violence to the reactions needed to survive an attack by a predator. Understanding a criminal’s orientation is crucial to influencing their orientation, he stresses, writing, “The ‘bad guys are humans, just like you. They have fears, insecurities, attachments, values, experience, mythos and stories, archetypes and heroes...They have good days and bad days. The sooner one realizes that the enemy is just like oneself, the sooner one masters that enemy and levels that battlefield.”

Having “reverse engineered” the development of his own mindset/orientation, Freeborn analyzes cultural models we use in creating our identities. Many are little more than wishful thinking! Everyone subscribes to archetypes to guide who, and what they want to be, he asserts. “There’s no human out there operating at normal cognitive and social levels that are not telling themselves a story about who they are and how they fit into the world around them. And when you correctly decipher what that story is, you gain access to the keys that switch their emotions and decision-making factors on and off.” That wisdom works both for governing oneself as well as prevailing over an attacker.

Self-defence preparation needs to introduce us to our own dark sides and capability for violence, Freeborn stresses. “To be truly capable of doing battle with an extremely violent, murderous enemy, you have to be just as capable and just as willing to inflict harm to them as they are to you. Yes, you choose much more selectively who you do it too, but it is the same act. It is the perceived darkness of humankind that you must not only acknowledge but harness.” He warns, “The delicate balance is finding the safe line between preparing yourself to deal with such trauma while retaining your ability to be a good human and still have compassion for others.” Solutions include compartmentalization, systematic preparation, and evaluating and adjusting your values before needing to use violence. Don’t just prepare for the event. Prepare to re-enter life after the event. That is the proper completion of an initiation process: the coming back.”

Freeborn writes convincingly of the need for congruency between one’s beliefs, self-defence training, the law, and on the topic of conviction, has written a significant chapter explaining the relationship between confidence, ideas, realistic evaluation of our skills and abilities coupled with the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. Every word in this chapter is essential; I hope Network members will read Beyond OODA, study it and absorb its many lessons.

NC: SHE IS SPOOKIER THAN A GHOUL OR GHOST… (from gunowners.org)

                                                           

 October is known for being a “spooky” time of year, but some things — like gun control — are creepier than any ghoul or ghost.

A White House led by Joe Biden and Kalama Harris, a Congress controlled by Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, and a lawless, out-of-control ATF can undoubtedly give any gun owner the haunts.

Thankfully, gun owners in the Tar Heel State have two opportunities where they can learn how to fight back against the mysterious, anti-gun forces in Washington DC and Raleigh this October.

Please join GOA’s Jordan Stein at an event this October.  He will be speaking with the Guilford Patriots, which meets at 2317 Stanley Rd, Greensboro, NC 27407, beginning at 7pm on October 21st.

North Carolina will be playing a critical role in upcoming elections as soon as 2022. So now is the time to get informed, get involved, and get active! Gun owners must organize now if we seek to elect a pro-gun Senator and Governor in the next elections.

So please join Jordan at this event and learn how to fight back against Creepy Joe and his anti-gun ghouls:  

• Guilford Patriots, 2317 Stanley Rd, Greensboro, NC 27407, on October 21st at 7pm.  

Questions & Answers ( from Jason Hanson spybriefing.com)

                                                                   

          I would like to hear your thoughts on Gun/firearms trusts? Does this create a list of my guns for the government to see? Or is it an excellent way to protect my firearms?

 

-From Randi T.

 

Answer: You would want to create a gun trust if you bought NFA firearms such as a suppressor (silencer) or a short-barreled rifle. The gun trust allows you to quickly transfer these firearms to a loved one without having to do a ton of paperwork.

 

Basically, gun trusts can make it easier to handle firearms after the owner's death and prevent surviving family members from inadvertently violating the law.

 

If you own an extensive collection of firearms, it may make sense to transfer ownership of these weapons to a gun trust, even if you don't own any Title II weapons.

 

But it's not something the average gun owner should do. It's not worth it.

 

 

What are the laws for people living in an RV who defend themselves? Can I have a gun in my RV even if I don't have a concealed weapon permit?

 

-From Sherry B.

 

Answer: The laws about guns and RV's differ from state to state. I would consult an attorney for specific laws in your state.

 

But in most states, if you can drive your RV, it's considered a vehicle.  If you can start the engine and drive off, it's a vehicle, and the laws are the same as a car.

 

Depending on the state, this could mean the firearm needs to be unloaded, locked and stored in a rear compartment. It shouldn't be anywhere that someone can easily reach it.

 

However, if your RV is set up such that the slides are out and you are hooked up to utilities, you can't just drive away. In this case, some states would consider your RV a home.

 

This would give you the right to protect your RV like you would your home. You could have a firearm readily accessible inside your home.

 

 

After watching the recent gubernatorial election in Virginia, I'm convinced that Republicans will win many races in next year's elections. I'm worried this will lead to riots and violence in many cities. There will be chaos. How should I prepare for this?

 

-From Jake R.

 

Answer: I would agree that there is potential for significant riots. This is the sad reality anytime there is an election.

 

When there is a prominent political race, I will plan for at least 60 days of chaos. I would make sure you have enough food, water and fuel so that you don't have to leave home for that period.

 

Also, be sure to be ready to bug out at a moment's notice. If riots get bad enough, you may not have a choice but to leave your home. Make sure your car is fueled up and your gear is ready to go.

 

With our current political climate, it's a good idea to prepare for election trouble.

 

 

My husband and I just installed our first security system. We have an alarm, cameras and everything you could imagine. Our approach included alarm company signs. But I've heard some people recommend that signs are a terrible idea? They say it advertises that you have something valuable to protect. What is your opinion?

 

-From Kathy W.

 

Answer: I've heard this argument too, and I disagree. (And I've had police friends who interviewed criminals who said when they were casing houses, they wanted ones without any alarm.)

 

Most burglars are looking for easy access to homes, and they don't want to set off the alarm. Typically, burglars aren't masterminds and won't be planning an elaborate burglary.

 

The fact is, if I am a burglar, I want the home with the most accessible access, not the home that's going to set off a loud alarm that notifies the police.

Personally, I have alarm signs in my yard to deter criminals.

 

 

I'm new to gun ownership. Last year I bought my first handgun. I'm ready to buy a rifle, and I want to go with an AR-15. But I want to start basic. I don't need all the frills and add ons. What's a quality starter AR-15 that you would recommend?

 

-From Eric C.

 

Answer: I would check out the Ruger AR-556. This is an entry-level AR-15 that is very popular for those looking to buy their first one.

 

The rifle has a medium contour 16.10-inch cold-hammer-forged barrel with a 1:8 twist rate.

 

It comes with an A2 front sight and Ruger's rapid-deploy rear that folds away. It also has attachment points, including a QD socket and bayonet lug for a sling.

 

The Ruger AR-556 sells for around $800.

 

 

Over the past few years, I've built up a collection of firearms. I have them stored around my home in quick access safes. But I'm worried that thieves will steal all the safes if they were ever break-in. What do I do about this?

 

-From Frank W.

 

Answer: Personally, I use a small safe that sits on my nightstand with a cable that goes down the back of the nightstand and is secured to a large piece of furniture.

 

In other words, even if a criminal goes straight to the nightstand, they can't take the safe with them because the cable is secured from the safe to the furniture, and it can't be cut.

 

Another option is to install a wall safe that can be hidden behind a picture or something else you hang.

 

And if it's a moveable safe, bolt it down or attach it to a cable that cannot be cut.

SAF FEDERAL LAWSUIT CHALLENGES NEW YORK’S STUN GUN, TAZER BAN (from saf.org)

                                                                 

 

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit challenging New York state and municipal laws prohibiting private citizens from possessing and using stun guns and tasers, noting in its complaint, “Most courts have found that bans on stun guns and tasers violate the Second Amendment and are unconstitutional.”

The Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc., Joined SAF and three private citizens, Nunzio Calce, Shaya Greenfield and Raymond Pezzoli. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Plaintiffs are represented by attorney David Jensen of Beacon, N.Y. The case is known as Calce et al. v. the City of New York, et. al.

Named as defendants are the City of New York and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea.

“As we explain in our complaint, states and localities have some ability to regulate the keeping and bearing of arms,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “However, the Second Amendment prevents states and localities from flatly prohibiting law-abiding citizens from keeping bearable arms, and particularly arms that are in common use for the purpose of self-defence.”

As noted in the 10-page federal complaint, all four of the individual citizens participating in this legal action reside in neighbourhoods within the City of New York.

“New York City has traditionally laboured to keep its honest citizens defenceless,” Gottlieb observed, “with its extremist gun control laws and by enforcing a prohibition on non-lethal defensive weapons as well. What are people to do when they are prevented by the government from having the tools necessary to fight back against violent attackers?

“After all,” he added, “it is bad enough for citizens to face having to fight criminals, but it is worse when they have to fight their own government just to exercise their right of self-defence. Good people should not fear being prosecuted for simply having a defensive tool for personal protection. But the law does not allow it, and this must be challenged.”

Four Terrible Self-Defense Ideas (from Jason Hanson- spybriefing.com )

                                                               

 

Adam F. lived with his parents in Fresno, CA. One day his parents were gone, and he encountered a black widow spider in the home.

For some reason, Adam decided to use a blowtorch to kill the spider. But instead, he set his parent’s home on fire.

According to local media, Adam told firefighters that he was using the blowtorch on the spiders and their webs on the outside bricks of the home.

Firefighters believe that the bricks had cracks, which allowed some flammable material on the other side of the bricks to ignite.

Once the fire started, it worked its way up into the attic and second floor of the home.

No one was injured in the fire, but the damage was estimated at over $10,000.

According to Fresno Fire Captain Castillo…

“This is definitely not the preferred method to exterminate spiders in and around your home.”

I imagine Adam learned a harsh lesson about protecting his parents’ home against spiders.

There’s a right way and a wrong way…

Similarly, there is a saying you may have heard: “Any self-defence advice is good advice.”

Unfortunately, like Adam’s blowtorch plan, this is just terrible.

For example, plenty of people trained in self-defence, but some took karate in the first grade and still think they are Chuck Norris.

My point is, there is a lot of bad advice when it comes to self-defence.

In fact, here are a few of the world’s worst self-defence ideas and why you should avoid them like the plague.

Let them make the first move:

What worked back in high school doesn’t work in the real world. If possible, you should not wait for someone to hit you before you defend yourself.

If someone had a gun pointed at you, would you wait for them to fire a round before you shot them in self-defence?

Action is faster than reaction…

This means that if you allow someone to attack, you will almost always be slower.

Now, I’m not saying you walk around and hit people because you have to be first.

But situational awareness is critical.

Be alert to your surroundings and know if someone is looking to hurt you.

And if you believe something is going to go down, don’t wait… you need to act.

Wait for the police:

Police have a difficult job, and they cannot be everywhere.

This means it will take at least some time for the cops to show up when you call them.

In fact, the average response time for police in the U.S. is ten minutes for priority 911 calls.

A lot can happen in ten minutes when someone is trying to kill you.

Of course, in an emergency, you should call the police as soon as you can.

But while the cops are speeding to you in those ten minutes, you could be in a fight for your life.

Which means you have to be prepared to defend your own life at all times.

This is why I carry a gun, tactical pen, or other weapons to defend myself and why I am trained in hand-to-hand combat skills.

Use wasp spray:

I’ve had folks tell me they plan to use wasp spray if someone breaks into their home.

This is a terrible idea.

The active ingredients in wasp spray are very different from pepper spray. They’re meant to target a wasp’s nervous system, not humans.

On the other hand, the ingredients in pepper spray are formulated to target a human’s eyes and respiratory system.

Also, don’t forget to factor in the size and biological differences in humans and insects.

To top it off, during tests, wasp spray has been found to have a minor effect on humans.

In other words, it won’t stop a bad guy.

Don’t fight back:

Some folks believe that fighting back will only make your attacker angrier.

But self-defence isn’t a competitive fight, and your attacker will bring all they have from the beginning.

So, if you fight back, it won’t make them fight more challenging because they are already deep into committing a crime.

Think of an attack as a predator vs prey scenario. You are the prey. And you need to fight back.

Criminals who get tough resistance will often time move on to easier targets.

At the end of the day, if someone is trying to harm you, you need to do anything necessary to save your life.

So please, ignore these terrible self-defence ideas.