THE HUMAN FACTOR IN CONCEALED CARRY

Understanding the Situational Awareness Watch Outs

Carrying a concealed weapon for self protection is a decision that I feel is every law abiding citizen’s responsibility. Taking control over your ability to protect yourself and family from a lethal threat should be a priority for every adult in the United States.

Along with the responsibility of carrying a concealed firearm is the requirement to maintain your awareness. Maintaining your situational awareness is at times difficult, yet it is an absolute necessity if you are going to make a time sensitive life or death decision. Situational Awareness, (SA) is the first step in making a quick educated decision on your course of action. Actions in a lethal threat situation must take place in seconds therefore you must be aware of your situation at all times.

The SA Watch Outs have been developed to alert an individual or team to when they may be on the verge of losing situational awareness.

THE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS WATCH OUTS:

·         You are extremely fatigued. Fatigue can be a leading factor in eroding your SA. Fatigue is cumulative and only undisturbed sleep can replace fatigue. Many high risk organizations have adopted fatigue SOP’s to make sure that fatigue is limited during operations. The work /rest cycle of many high risk organizations is based on a 2 to 1 work/rest ratio. If you work 16 hours you need a minimum of 8 hours of rest to recuperate. Fatigue can be caused by a sick child who has kept you up all night or travel across time zones or date lines. Whatever the cause fatigue will reduce your SA and the ability to make time sensitive decisions...

·         You are in unfamiliar location. If you have no reference in your memory, unfamiliar locations can alter your perception of what is happening around you. An unfamiliar environment puts you in a position with no reference. A strange city, unfamiliar neighborhood or a foreign country will impact your SA. This impact will require you to take much longer to make a decision since your perception of the situation may not be accurate and this could cause hesitation. Hesitation is the enemy of decision making. If you are use to a small town in Georgia your SA in Downtown New York City on New Years Eve will have no reference so you must spend much more time in gaining a perception of reality which will impact the ability to make a critical decision.

·         Darkness or other environmental factors have decreased your vision, altered your senses or changed your SOP’s. Your awareness can be drastically reduced by darkness, fog, rain, snow, heat or bright sun. This situation can also alter your perception of reality causing hesitation or non action. The environment may cause you to wear clothing you do not normally train in such as snow gloves or heavy jackets. This will impact your time to action and your performance. How much practice do you do while wearing winter clothing? Or for that matter shorts and a Hawaiian Shirt? If you have a standard procedure of carrying in a right side holster and you find yourself trying to draw out of a fanny pack, your time into action will be greatly impacted.

·         You are traveling alone. There is safety in numbers. The SA of a team will always be greater than of an individual. I work with highly trained professionals who know the advantage of maintaining SA. On assignments we always travel, eat and spend most of our free time together. Chances are with a group, that a potential threat or problem may be recognized way before an individual may recognize it. Early recognition allows more time to be spent on making a decision or taking a course of action. When you are alone maintaining SA is much more difficult.

·         You do not have your normal tools. If you carry a firearm on a daily basis and you depend on it as a primary tool for self defense then you must adjust your behavior when you have been deprived of that essential tool. Under extreme stress we all will go back to what we know and how we were train with our normal tools. If you are not able to carry your normal tools then adjust your behavior and keep in a higher state of awareness then you normally would.  

·         You are experiencing extreme emotions. When your emotions become a factor situational awareness takes a back seat.  I have seen and know personally the impact of extreme emotion on SA. SA in any high risk activity will decrease when emotion is involved even when it is overwhelming happiness. Extreme emotion of any kind impacts your perception of the situation and therefore your decision making opportunities. Extreme emotion has no place in critical decision making.

·         Your senses are altered. Anything that can alter your mental state or your behavior will change your perception of the world and will impact your SA. Do not drink or take medications and carry firearms. A common cold can impact your ability to make day to day decisions. When your senses have been altered your ability to perceive reality takes more time and may not even be possible.

·         You are responsible for another individual. The impact that active children have on SA is great. Children require your attention and many times your hands and arms. This also applies to older people who need help just getting around. Anytime you have the responsibility for people your SA will suffer along with your normal plan of avoiding or confronting a lethal threat. How many times have you trained to draw and shoot your firearm while holding a child or helping an older individual getting in or out a vehicle?

·         You are with individuals that have hazardous attitudes. At time you may be with a group of people you do not know very well. It is not unusual for individuals in any group to have a hazardous attitude. Your SA and the ability for you to avoid conflicts or a conflict situation can be impacted by these types of individuals. Hazardous attitudes include, confrontational, macho, sexist, racist, loud and annoying to the general public and outgoing contempt for law enforcement. In this situation you are in a compromising position and you must remove yourself as soon as possible so that you are not impacted by the action of others.  

Anytime you enter into a situation where more than one Watch Out is in play you are in an uncertain situation and must look at modifying your behavior and spend what ever time is needed to regain and maintain your awareness. Maintaining situational awareness does not happen by accident, we must continue to analyze our SA, filter out the unnecessary information and keep our senses active. We must try and keep an accurate perception on what reality really is. Situational awareness is difficult to maintain when everything is in your favor, anything that changes your perception works against you in making critical and time sensitive decisions.

Keep an eye on these SA Watch Outs, if you see them showing up, stop and reassess the situation. If you let them build up and do not have a plan to reevaluate, think again, they will make the difference between life and death.

 About the Author:

Any comments or questions can be directed to the author at DAN@carryconcealed.net Dan Battreall International Training and Consulting specializes in training US and international high-risk organizations in the art of leadership, human factors and decision making. Dan has also been on the training staff at Mission Centered Solutions, Franktown Co. since 2000. MCS works with high-risk organizations in creating Operational Synergy by developing skills in leadership, decision making under stress and rapid teambuilding. Dan lives with his wife of 36 years in a remote area of the Sierra Nevada in California.