HOW LESSONS COME...
Lessons come by what we experience and retain for further use.
Some lessons of the week...
================================================================
FROM CHIEF JEFF CHUDWIN courtesy TWO BOATGUY (3/22/05)
Last night around 1630 hrs A precinct officer made a traffic stop on a subject's vehicle, the driver
bailed and foot pursuit ensued. A two man car arrived to assist and while looking for the suspect
in the immediate area the suspect fired at one of the officers. The officer returned fire on the
suspect striking him at least twice.
The officer's wound was a through and through with the exit though the buttocks. He is expected to
be released today. The suspect was in surgery until late hours last night but is expected to survive.
Our officer displayed the courage and resolve necessary to not only survive but dominate the
encounter by finishing the fight even after taking potentially lethal incoming fire.
From an officer on scene writing to his friend and fellow officer / trainer;
<>...You gave me some advice back in August that saved the day today. You advised me to purchase
a battle dressing from the army surplus store and I did. Today I ripped it out of my AR case, tore it
open and applied it to the badly bleeding bullet wounded leg of my good friend. It saved him about
two quarts of blood at the scene.</>
<>You are an invaluable source of great advice for those of us who realize your worth and what you have
to teach us. Never get upset again about "cops not wanting to be involved with training" because
some of us are listening and tonight your instruction, though simple suggestion, was immeasurable
in keeping ...our officer... from going into shock at the scene.
A VALUABLE LESSON LEARNED FROM AN INSTRUCTOR AND APPLIED IN THE FIELD!!!
========================================================================
FROM LT. COL. DAVE GROSSMAN, U.S. ARMY (RET.)...
Friends,
A few key items seem to come out of first analysis of the Red Lake, Minn., school massacre:
First: The shooter seems to have taken out the security guard first. If there is armed security
at the school (and we don't know if this guard was armed) then a shooting is less likely to happen.
But if it DOES happen anyway, the security is almost always the first (planned) target, usually taken
out by ambush. School resource officers must have irregular, unpredictable patterns in the school,
and they must constantly be on the alert. Most of all they must remember that armed security
posturing predictably out front is not security: it is a human sacrifice waiting to happen.
Second: Lockdown seemed to have worked. The kids locked in one classroom were safe,
apparently because the killer couldn't break down their door. But if there are glass panels in the
doors/walls, a lockdown like this is not an option. Those kids would probably have been dead if
there were glass panels in that classroom door/wall.
Third: As soon as a cop (or anyone!) shoots back, the killer almost always gives up immediately.
(Often, as in this case, by committing suicide.) The killer showed up for a massacre, not a gunfight.
ANYONE who can shoot back will usually bring the rampage to a sudden halt. In every case where
we have specific data, the killers "trained" on video games where their electronic "victims" can't hurt
them back. These pathetic little cowards don't do contact sports, martial arts, or paintball, where
they might get hurt. They have no experience or capacity for "real" danger. As soon as the survival
instinct perceives that they could be hurt (!) the game is "over" for them.
Dave Grossman, Lt. Col., USA (ret)
Author: On Killing, On Combat, and Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill
www.killology.com</>
Steven C. Bronson "CHIEF" Boat - Guy USN Ret...
www.twoboatguy.com
90MPH With My Hair On Fire, Annual
C/T Conference & Exhibits Aug 22 - 25 2005
Virginia Beach Virginia
( 757 ) 965 - 3716
A Finely honed Edge Cuts More Deeply & Sharply...
========================================================================
FORWARDED BY ONE OF MY READERS...
Investigation Continues into Death of Missouri Trooper
Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers were mourning the death of one of their own Monday and
trying to find out who killed Sgt. Carl Dewayne Graham. To view the entire article, copy and
paste the following url into your browser:
http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=&id=22405
========================================================================
FROM CAPTAIN MIKE WILLIAMS, CHATANOOGA PD (03/23/05)
A Louisville Metro Police officer was shot and killed this morning in the 2600 block of Accasia
Drive in the St. Denis neighborhood in Southwest Jefferson County while responding to reports
of a hit-and-run accident and a burning truck. Officer Peter A. Grignon, 27, was
pronounced dead at University Hospital after doctors there were unable to
control bleeding from two wounds in his neck and mouth.
====================================================
NLEOMF News: 03/25/05
Auto Accidents Killing More Law Enforcement Officers, By Craig W. Floyd
Executive Director of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
"Unfortunately, those roadway dangers appear to be taking the lives of more police
officers than ever before. According to preliminary figures released by the National
Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and the Concerns of Police
Survivors (COPS), 51 officers were killed in automobile accidents in 2004. When
added to the number of officers killed in motorcycle accidents last year (9), and the
number of officers who were struck and killed while outside of their vehicles (12),
there were many more officers killed in traffic-related accidents (72) than in
shootings (57)."
===============================================================
PoliceOne.com, OFFICER DOWN, 03/23/05, Week 222, Vol. 2
Fallen Minn. Police Officer, Companion Honored as Two-Day Wake Begins
- 03/25/2005, Daryl Lussier, Sr. - [Red Lake, Minnesota]
Slain Missouri State Trooper Laid to Rest - 03/24/2005
Carl Graham - [Van Buren, Missouri]
Ky Officer Killed In Line of Duty - 03/23/2005
Peter Grignon - [Louisville, Kentucky]
Crash Kills Decherd Policeman - 03/22/2005
Charley Harris - [Manchester, Tennessee]
A Heroic Suffolk County Deputy Sheriff Killed in Pub Clash - 03/20/2005
Sgt. Richard T. Dever - [Charlestown, Massachusetts]
Virginia Officer Collapses, Dies Following Foot Pursuit - 03/19/2005
William Henley - [Suffolk, Virginia]
===============================================================
VIRGINIAN-PILOT, Norfolk, VA, 03/26/05
IRAQ
U.S. TROOPS KILLED - 6
U.S. TROOPS WOUNDED - 98
TOTAL U.S. TROOPS KILLED SINCE 03/03 - 1525
TOTAL U.S. TROOPS WOUNDED SINCE 03/03 - 11,442
A LABOR DEPT. REPORT LISTED TITAN CORP, THE LARGEST SUPPLIER OF TRANSLATORS
AND LINGUISTS TO THE U.S. MILITARY IN IRAQ, AS HAVING THE MOST CONTRACT
PERSONNEL KILLED SINCE 03.03, A TOTAL OF 131.
=======================================================================
In my childhood days I did most of my growing and learning by reading and exploring.
From the ages of seven to sixteen I grew up in a small rural village situated in the
bottom of a valley that in some places was narrow and crooked... some places wide
and spacious... all places shared by a narrow, crooked hard surface road, river and
railroad. Where the village was located the base of the valley was fairly wide and
the river was a hundred yards away from my house across a pasture and woods...
most of the time... on a few occasions the river surrounded my house and I slept
in the back bedroom over roaring flood waters flowing underneath the room.
The railroad was thirty yards in front of the house with the road between the house
and railroad less than ten yards from my front door. The whole area had at one time
been a plantation. The buildings and manor house were still there on a hill not too
far away and a general store was across the tracks from my house. The whole
village was surrounded by rolling hills, hollars, fields and woods. Our last Post Office
was a converted chicken coop. In this idyllic setting many lessons were learned...
some good and pleasant... some very difficult and not pleasant. There were ten to
twelve dwellings in the village along with an abandoned church. There were some
children younger than me and numerous older than me.
I was always of a kind and gentle nature. In some cases that caused others who
were not of the same nature to teach me some hard lessons. Abuse and torment by
some caused me to learn that you either submit or become hardened and tough... or
you stay away from the people who abuse and cause pain and problems... but that
you had better become hardened and tough whether you were with others or stayed
away from others when you could. My hardest and most difficult lessons were
learned when I did not keep myself from the influence and pressure of others and
either submitted to the abuse and/or pressure and followed their influence.
Since I was a country boy I did not mix well with the town boys. For some reason
many of them just did not like the country boys. Some of my fondest memories are
of the times I was alone or with one friend hunting, fishing or roaming... especially
the time a big Bass about pulled the two of us off a suspended, swinging bridge
before we landed him.
At one point when I was about twelve my mother worked as a house keeper for
several different town families. Sometimes when she worked Saturdays I would go
along with her and go to movies or play with the employers' children. One of those
children taught me how to play Chess. He probably taught me so he could have
someone to beat. I became intrigued with the game and especially the Knight or
Paladin. This game taught planning and skill in ways foreign to my country
associates. Checkers was the most challenging game before I learned Chess.
Chess... then Hockey... then Football... plus the skills I learned as a hunter, fisher
and explorer all became stones in my foundation... teaching me to be a thinker
and how to apply action to thinking.
After high school I went to work for the Highway Department as a draftsman in
Location and Design. In one of the offices the clerk was a retired Army Sergeant.
He was an avid Chess player. We often spent lunch time playing Chess... and I
learned more from him. Add in my need to learn and apply mathematics and
engineering principles and my foundation was becoming more and more solid in
preparation for my ultimate goals... Law Enforcement and knowing the Living God.
When I contemplate the journey of my learning and experience I see a progression
of influences that shaped me and prepared me for each succeeding step of my life.
Now I can see that each step and each change seemed to be following a plan... and
when I discovered the next step and took it... what I needed then was furnished...
even to receiving a miraculous changing of my visual acuity so that I could pass the
physical for the Virginia State Police and be accepted as a recruit. I discovered
and used a principle that even the most knowledgeable Ophthalmologist in the City
of Roanoke said was impossible. Once more in this instance, as in others
previously, I learned to follow what I believed within me and to use the new
resources I discovered.
In the years of being a Virginia State Trooper I had to learn that all life could not be
made safe and right ONLY with law, a badge and a gun. Something was missing
and I knew it had to do with God... but to that point in my life I had not found anyone
who could tell this seeker how to make contact. From the age of seven to almost
twenty eight... I sought for someone to tell me... but it took that long to find someone
who could. I had known this man casually for some time but he had to find the
answer first before he could share the knowledge with me.
My heart is literally exploding with the joy of how much went into bringing this back
woods country boy to the life and knowledge for which he was designed and to the
place where he actually fit and could function well. Sometimes when I pray and
meditate upon all of you and your needs I want to still be out there on the field all the
time doing the hands on work... my heart is there with you even if I physically cannot
be there. One of the toughest jobs in Peace Keeping is when you are first promoted
to a supervisory position... and you have to learn to instruct and assign others to do
the actual work. When you know how to get good results yourself... but you have to
assign it to someone else and maybe even walk them through the job step by step
until they get it done and in the process take a lot more time than if you had done it
yourself.
Eighty five to ninety percent of my time is taken up with admin duty when I would much
rather be doing the action work. This past two months have thrown me back into
having to do the action, field work as well as the admin duty because there were
times no one else was available to take the call for service. Sometimes I was
needed for calls when it just was not possible for me to go. Those are the really
tough times... Those times when you would if you could... but you cannot because of
other priorities. Through all of this the reality bursts through and you must remember
that unless you do your job as well as you can... then all the rest that you are
responsible for overseeing will not get accomplished.
Had you been a disciple in Jerusalem some two thousand years ago today, (I am
writing on Saturday) today would be a black day indeed... for your leader would
have just have been killed and you would be in hiding for fear that the same
people who killed him would be after you to arrest you and do the same to you...
A BLACK DAY INDEED!!! FAITH AND ALL YOU DEPENDED UPON
APPEARS TO BE GONE... FOREVER. You have forgotten all that he told you
in relation to himself and you... bleak... empty... hurting... mourning. This is usually
what happens to us when a friend suddenly is gone from the scene.
Resurrection is still future had you been there on this Saturday... death is now
past... the present is bleak. Fear, emptiness and missing your loved one is an
indescribable condition... it is difficult to describe it to someone who has not
ever experienced it. Some of you already know that experience, pain and
emptiness... you have had someone go from your life that meant so very, very
much to you.
The ultimate purpose for all Peace Keeper activity is preservation of life as best
we can and for peace and safety. We cannot protect people from some
experiences. We can protect them from others. Life is a series of experiences.
There is a right way to approach life... and then there are other ways that are less
and less right until we begin to experience negative consequences of our own
making. Attitude is the key for all of us. What we feed into our minds is what we
get back from our minds.
That is why training is so important to Peace Keepers. Take in useful information.
Apply the useful information... practice... practice... train... train... TRAIN!!!
THE PROCESS IS SO CLEAR WHEN WE APPLY IT TO A JOB OR
PROFESSION... IT CAN BE JUST AS CLEAR FOR INDIVIDUAL LIFE DAY IN...
DAY OUT... MOMENT BY MOMENT... EVEN ON A BATTLEFIELD! THE
CHOICE IS OURS... MINE AND YOURS!!!
WE MAY LEARN WHATEVER WE CHOOSE TO LEARN... APPLICATION
OF THAT KNOWLEDGE IS ANOTHER THING ENTIRELY... THAT TAKES
PERSEVERANCE... STICKING TO IT AND GETTING THROUGH IT!
BE CAREFUL OUT THERE... AND INSIDE TOO. LIFE WHERE YOU ARE IS
A BATTLEFIELD. THERE IS SOMEONE OUT THERE WHO WILL WANT TO
STOP YOU TEMPORARILY OR EVEN PERMANENTLY! BE ALERT...
WATCHFUL AND SUSPICIOUS... BE WARY... USE GREAT WATCH CARE
FOR YOURSELF IN ALL THINGS... PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL.
YOU WILL NEED ALL OF THESE WITHIN YOURSELF TO BE COMPLETE AND
SUCCESSFUL. MY COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF WANTS YOU TO LIVE AND
SUCCEED... ASK FOR GUIDANCE AND YOU WILL RECEIVE.
AS IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN... IT STILL IS...
"VICTORIOUS WARRIORS WIN FIRST...
AND THEN GO TO WAR,
WHILE DEFEATED WARRIORS GO TO WAR FIRST...
AND THEN SEEK TO WIN." Sun tzu
ONLY LIVE PEACE KEEPERS SEE THE VICTORY!!!
WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT...
BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)...
BE SUCCESSFUL... BE SAFE...
Chaplain D. R. Staton (Don - C1) VBPD, VSP ALUMNI,
Officer, Instructor, Senior Chaplain, Director of Chaplains
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452