SITUATIONAL AWARENESS 101

N

night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
Ravekid... +1,000

MINDSET MINDSET MINDSET


You CAN suevive the bullet.

You CAN survive the knife.

You CAN make a difference.


Your BEST WEAPON is your BRAIN, don't let the bullet in your hand or ass or..., make you put DOWN your best weapon....
It is ALL between the EARS!!!!!!!
 
D

dragonfly

Inactive
TIK said:
Maureen--THANK YOU AGAIN for this timely BTTT. I think...I hate that I have to say this...but I really think we're not done yet. I think things like this will start to happen a lot more. Like...this week. Not like in the next year. But very soon and often. Call it whatever you want--but I ain't a prophet or psychic. I'm just sensing SOMETHING.

ERGO...I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY think this either needs to be somehow PINNED...or just BTTT every hour--every single TB2K member needs to read this. I practice this as much as I can and I should be better at it.
Click to expand...

Right you are, TIK. Just last week I was discussing situational awareness with a friend, her daughter had been mugged in NYC the week before. We have to be extra aware of our surroundings at all times. Maureen, thank you as always for your knowledgeable input here.
 
Last edited:
Surprise

Surprise

Inactive
Thanks for all this info.

We do not go to the mall except for eye glasses.

Except for buying meat at a small local grocery store, we go to Wally world , PetSmart and Home Depot.....all of which have very few ways out.

I am going to bring this up to DH. We do not stay together in the stores for the most part, we just tag up near the registers after a while.
So if something starts going down, we should NOT go about the store looking for each other, correct? We should just plan to meet up near the car?

Thanks MaureenO for starting this and using your priceless training in looking out for us.
 
K

Kokoro

Contributing Member
Great post. Great information. Glad yall bumped it. Havent seen this one, missed it somehow. Read and apply to daily life.
 
S

savurselvs

Veteran Member
land lines

MaureenO said:
If you are home and the power suddenly goes out; if you hear or see an explosion before or after the black out, you will need a hard line phone to call out.

With the power off, portable phones will not operate and cell phone transmissions will either be deliberately jammed or will quickly be overloaded.

A $15 hard line phone that you can plug into your phone connection will (almost 100% of the time) work until the circuits are overloaded.

It's a very good prep to have on hand.

Maureen :dstrs:
Click to expand...
ONLY with a WIRED phone, not cordless, yes the OLD 10.00 one from chinamart

the phone hut or area switch will operate for an extended time off of the -48 volt power system.
Only some have a propane backup.
the same power structure applies to mobile phone sites as well as their main switch.
 
S

savurselvs

Veteran Member
Great post MO
remember trust ur instincts
If it doesnt look right it probley isnt.
dont be afraid to make the call to LE
Better to be wrong than do nothing and be right
guilt is a beeeooch
 
MaureenO

MaureenO

Another Infidel
savurselvs said:
ONLY with a WIRED phone, not cordless, yes the OLD 10.00 one from chinamart

the phone hut or area switch will operate for an extended time off of the -48 volt power system.
Only some have a propane backup.
the same power structure applies to mobile phone sites as well as their main switch.
Click to expand...

Correct. A "wired" phone is a hard line phone in that it does not rely on an electrical power source to operate. It plugs straight into the phone jack in the residence or at the exterior phone box.

Maureen :dstrs:
 
T

Troke

On TB every waking moment
A case in point;

DW has a cousin, widow type, who gets squired around by a retired FBI type.

One night after dinner, they are walking out of the restaurant when the FBI type stops so suddenly that she bumps into him. He scans the parking lot and says, we are going out through the kitchen, which they did. And by a circuitous route they got to their car, drive out and then he makes a call on the car phone. (Before cellphones were common) "Who has a stakeout at XXX? Nobody? Well, somebody does, maybe you ought to look into it."

Next day, item in the paper, three men arrested, one armed, in the parking lot. What were they doing there? Didn't say.

She asked the FBI type. Turns out he always scans parking lots before he walks into them. He spots all three men, located in places where he would have located if he had a stakeout going. If they had been in a group, he might not thought much of it, but they were spread out.

His opinion? Carjackers. You go to your car and one of them is close enough to engage you in a conversation if he is not the gunsel until the gunsel comes up. If he is the gunsel, well, you all get in the car and go for a ride. If you are lucky, they drop you somewhere..if you are lucky.

Why would three in a group not alarm him?

Well, odds are that if a group started walking towards you, you'd get alarmed. In fact, if just one started towards you from a group, you'd watch closely. But if the guy was already near your auto, and seemed to have no connection with the others,......

But then it is possible that three in a group is a bunch of amatuers....up to evil deeds too.

You have to play the odds.
 
N

night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
That 15 buck hard wired phone will ONLY work if you are stilll COPPER WIRED IN. If you have gone Fibre or Cable your phone is NOT going to work the same since it is NOT going to be connected to a pair of wires at the Phone Company Central Office. If you are on either Cable or Fiber when the power goes down, so does your phone.
 
MaureenO

MaureenO

Another Infidel
night driver said:
That 15 buck hard wired phone will ONLY work if you are stilll COPPER WIRED IN. If you have gone Fibre or Cable your phone is NOT going to work the same since it is NOT going to be connected to a pair of wires at the Phone Company Central Office. If you are on either Cable or Fiber when the power goes down, so does your phone.
Click to expand...

Thank you for bringing that up, Chuck, I often forget that most people live in the 'burbs where they have underground wiring and all that fancy stuff. ;)

Mo :dstrs:
 
bw

bw

Fringe Ranger
Interesting thread, hadn't seen it before.

Phone concerns are a good reason to be a ham radio operator. I always carry my HT with spare batteries, and I can reach the county emergency repeater or one of our club repeaters from anywhere in my commute. They're never down.

Edited to add: I also listen in to the ferry radio system whenever something odd is going on like late boats or unusual PA announcements. If you want to know when a situation is developing, that's real handy!
 
WildDaisy

WildDaisy

God has a plan, Trust it!
night driver said:
OOoooKay! back.


Situational Awareness starts as you get dressed to walk out the door.

If you can do so, now would be the time to start carrying your weapon 24-7. If you have a spouse, the two of you should be checking each other to see if your "slip is showing" as it were. RELIC and I do challenge each other to determine whether or not either one of us is carrying...

With my current weight structure the Glock 22 doesn't print anywhere, and the Charter which has been my EDC (when I carry) for eons hides even better. I'm not advocating violating any laws here so you need to be aware of what your state allows. You also need to have been to a range recently so you are comfy with what makes your EDC go BANG, and so you are comfy with what happens when it DOES go BANG. Enough said on that because it COULD become a whole thread....

So, once you get dressed, you put on your Color of the Day. If you are SERIOUS about your Situational Awareness you put at LEAST YELLOW on which means that you are pretty much ready to handle most untoward things, and won't be standinig there slack jawed thingking "this can't be happening" as the gobblin points a rather long finger at you....or your loved ones. or the guy next to you.'


Living in YELLOW means looking around and being ready to react if needed but NOT stressed tightly.

Living in ORANGE means that you are expectant of some kind of attack and are actively looking for it every minute of the day. You want to live in YELLOW, really. ORANGE is WAY too tiring to live in 24/7/365. Ask me. When they put a Contract out on your Wife you live in ORANGE for a LONG time...until it gets bought off...or otherwise fixed.. but I digress.
Click to expand...

I would avoid "living" in any color specifically. In an inner city, "Living" in a color can get you killed.

Yellow, red, black, blue, orange, green are all gang related colors and if you are caught all clad out in one color or another and it happens to be the "wrong" color for your area, you are a sitting target asking for trouble. The point is to blend in and not draw attention to yourself.

So dress is also dependent on locale. Make sure you are aware of the "uniform" of your area. Don't dress in a business suit with tie to go shopping at Walmart if you are in a farming community. You'll stick out like a sore thumb.

Also, don't go to a formal place dressed in your gardening (street) clothes either, you will also stick out.

If you are wearing colors, make sure they are mixed, or not looking obvious that they are gang related. I.e. no color bandanas, solid t-shirts, or hats worn backwards. Also pay attention if there are known gangs in your area and what their dress code is and what the enemies are. Some of them use NFL or NBA teams as their "colors", so be aware of that as well.
 
Last edited:
N

night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
bethshaya, I am pretty sure you misunderstood what we were discussing in terms of colors.....


When I posted the above, I was using Col. Cooper's color coding system in which the different colors represent different mindsets, and preparation sets, not the color of your clothing....
 
D

Double_A

TB Fanatic
bethshaya said:
I would avoid "living" in any color specifically. In an inner city, "Living" in a color can get you killed.

Yellow, red, black, blue, orange, green are all gang related colors and if you are caught all clad out in one color or another and it happens to be the "wrong" color for your area, you are a sitting target asking for trouble. The point is to blend in and not draw attention to yourself.

So dress is also dependent on locale. Make sure you are aware of the "uniform" of your area. Don't dress in a business suit with tie to go shopping at Walmart if you are in a farming community. You'll stick out like a sore thumb.

Also, don't go to a formal place dressed all sloppy either, you will also stick out.

If you are wearing colors, make sure they are mixed, or not looking obvious that they are gang related. I.e. no color bandanas, solid t-shirts, or hats worn backwards. Also pay attention if there are known gangs in your area and what their dress code is and what the enemies are.
Click to expand...



Did you segway from the Color alert status ....to clothing colors to avoid based on gang affiliation? It wasn't entirely clear how we got from one topic to another.
 
eXe

eXe

Techno Junkie
I forget where.. but a while back during one of my firearms training classes.. we were shown pictures of "crimes about to happen" and were told to look for things that were out of place.

People milling around ATM machines, people looking into cars with another guy acting as lookout.

Just stuff to raise your situational awareness.. because anyone carrying a gun should be able to spot trouble BEFORE you need to use a gun and be able to avoid it :)

It was an interesting exercise.. many people did not notice lots of things and there were some things I didn't notice as well.

Anyone know of those kind of pictures or that kind of training? Might be a good exercise that we could start a thread on.
 
WildDaisy

WildDaisy

God has a plan, Trust it!
night driver said:
bethshaya, I am pretty sure you misunderstood what we were discussing in terms of colors.....


When I posted the above, I was using Col. Cooper's color coding system in which the different colors represent different mindsets, and preparation sets, not the color of your clothing....
Click to expand...

Ahh, so "Putting on yellow" means something abstract? You are not putting something yellow in color on your body, only something in your mind?

Kinda woo-woo new age-ish for me. Too much like the homeland security threat levels.

Isn't it a given that you need to be aware, not paniced and not lackadazical either. That would be the definition of situationally aware, correct?

Call me plain Jane, but I like things plain and simple. I don't need my "levels of awareness" color coded. It all seems too much like a Sesame Street chart, but I'd rather be given it straight.

Sorry for the confusion. But my suggestion still stands as a way to blend in when living in the inner city in the middle of a potential situation.
 
D

Double_A

TB Fanatic
bethshaya said:
Ahh, so "Putting on yellow" means something abstract? You are not putting something yellow in color on your body, only something in your mind?

Kinda woo-woo new age-ish for me. Too much like the homeland security threat levels.

Isn't it a given that you need to be aware, not paniced and not lackadazical either. That would be the definition of situationally aware, correct?

Call me plain Jane, but I like things plain and simple. I don't need my "levels of awareness" color coded. It all seems too much like a Sesame Street chart, but I'd rather be given it straight.

Sorry for the confusion. But my suggestion still stands as a way to blend in when living in the inner city in the middle of a potential situation.
Click to expand...

Ah ok.

Actually IIRC the color coding of Situational awareness status may have been derived over 40 years ago by Jeff Cooper.

But your points of gang colors and wearing what locals wear is perfectly valid.

B-T-W here is the official McHomeland Security color code chart
 

Attachments

  • mchomeland.jpg
    mchomeland.jpg
    28 KB · Views: 371
WildDaisy

WildDaisy

God has a plan, Trust it!
The Sesame Street one is still more like it :)

terror-all.jpg
 
MaureenO

MaureenO

Another Infidel
Actually, the weather is warming up in some areas and clothing will, once again, be a point of interest.

As I said in earlier posts, a subject who appears to be overdressed for the weather; is in a high value target area, or is acting in a suspicious manner needs to be observed.

We will be adding more items to "watch out" for as this thread continues. The danger has not diminished.

As for colour-coding, we should maintain a "code orange" mentality. IMO.

Maureen :dstrs:
 
AzProtector

AzProtector

Veteran Member
Maureen, I really have to thank you for starting this thread lo those many months ago. It is highly relelvant today, and will be for some time to come. Since I've moved up to the ranch I live in White....until I see another human. :) Then it's back to Orange....got tired of that living in Phoenix...that's why we left and moved up here...
 
BigFootsCousin

BigFootsCousin

Molon Labe!
MaureenO said:
Actually, the weather is warming up in some areas and clothing will, once again, be a point of interest.

As I said in earlier posts, a subject who appears to be overdressed for the weather; is in a high value target area, or is acting in a suspicious manner needs to be observed.

We will be adding more items to "watch out" for as this thread continues. The danger has not diminished.

As for colour-coding, we should maintain a "code orange" mentality. IMO.

Maureen :dstrs:
Click to expand...

Maureen: That's a big statement coming from you, in regards from what NightDriver said-

Living in ORANGE means that you are expectant of some kind of attack and are actively looking for it every minute of the day
Click to expand...

I don't know about you, but I'm just not trained like that. As a civilian, that type of mind preparedness sounds exhausting. Now you, on the other hand, are a trained professional in this matter. Is there anyway that we civilians can 'acclimate' or get-up-to-speed to the level of awareness needed? Quickly?

Honestly, I think that it's a skill (being that observant) that would probably take years to hone. Am I wrong in thinking this?

BFC
 
H

HDC

Contributing Member
Lack of Situational Awareness sank Titanic

Here is an article that talks about Situational awareness or the Lack of is what sank the Titanic. Interesting read.

From the Article: Quote.. "Overlooked by the metallurgists was the role of the human element in the accident. Strength of metal is not the real question about Titanic, but rather, "Why did good men drive their ship into an iceberg?"

The broad answer may well be loss of situational awareness caused by dysfunctional bridge-team management. A current U.S. Coast Guard training publication defines this age-old problem, "Situational Awareness is the ability to identify, process, and comprehend ... what is going on around you."

http://www.professionalmariner.com/...91&tier=4&id=076123ADBC76430FA727A38386136514


although not really survival related This link (long) is interesting reading about the sinking of the Titanic. Politics and big Corporations was alive and well over 80 years ago.

Damage to Titanic: A New Scenario

http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cach...nic&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&client=firefox-a
 
kozanne

kozanne

Inactive
Update with a twist:

Last Sunday, I went to the major mall close to my house for an errand in the afternoon. Upon arrival, noticed the exterior exits as well as within the particular department store I was aiming to shop in.

Today, a local news article discussed the connection between two separate stabbing incidents at the very mall I was at on the same day at the same time. The only difference was I was at the other end of the mall, opposite of where the second stabbing occurred. Whew!

Some guy was sitting out in those bench areas that are always outside the major department store entrances in a big mall, and he just got up and randomly stabbed some guy in the neck. According to the article, the victim said something like "Why did you do that? I don't even know who you are!"

The stabber got away. He's still at large.
 
BigFootsCousin

BigFootsCousin

Molon Labe!
kozanne said:
Update with a twist:

Last Sunday, I went to the major mall close to my house for an errand in the afternoon. Upon arrival, noticed the exterior exits as well as within the particular department store I was aiming to shop in.

Today, a local news article discussed the connection between two separate stabbing incidents at the very mall I was at on the same day at the same time. The only difference was I was at the other end of the mall, opposite of where the second stabbing occurred. Whew!

Some guy was sitting out in those bench areas that are always outside the major department store entrances in a big mall, and he just got up and randomly stabbed some guy in the neck. According to the article, the victim said something like "Why did you do that? I don't even know who you are!"

The stabber got away. He's still at large.
Click to expand...

:shkr:

Nore to self: "Self, buy 'neck-armor' now".

BFC
 
MaureenO

MaureenO

Another Infidel
Kozanne brought up an interesting scenario that involves a knife (silent, small and deadly weapon) in a mall setting.

So far, we have been addressing some rather obvious weapons and their recognition, i.e. bomb belts, large firearms, etc. We haven't even touched on poisons or other silent weapons. We won't even go into poisons here.

This brings us back to our own innate survival mechanisms--some people refer to them as instinct, "spidey sense", etc.

Along the growth of technology chain we have lost most of those abilities. I should say, we have had less need for them in the dawn of technology such as telephones, TV, radio.

We need to resurrect these skills that we ALL have and we need to do it in a damn big hurry.

If anyone has any "lessons" along those lines, please post them.

I'll post mine when I have a little more time than I have at this moment.

Maureen :dstrs:
 
BigFootsCousin

BigFootsCousin

Molon Labe!
MaureenO said:
LOL, I don't think you have to go THAT far, BFC! :eek:

Maureen :dstrs:
Click to expand...



Some guy was sitting out in those bench areas that are always outside the major department store entrances in a big mall, and he just got up and randomly stabbed some guy in the neck. According to the article, the victim said something like "Why did you do that? I don't even know who you are!"
Click to expand...

Stuck like a hog doesn't sound like much fun. I've worked on a person who had her throat slashed (almost Al-Quada style) and it's not purty.

Yup. Me now needs neck armor. Yup, yup, yup!

:D

BFC
 
adgal

adgal

Veteran Member
This brings us back to our own innate survival mechanisms--some people refer to them as instinct, "spidey sense", etc.
Click to expand...

My job often relies on "spidey sense" or "intuition" - and I have found that the more I use it, the more I listen to it , the more I rely on it - the better I become.

I think that at first - just like any other new thing you do - you have to stop and ask yourself - "How do I feel about this situation?" As you go throughout your day pay attention to physical clues like increased heart rate, the hairs standing up on the back of your neck, an uncomfortable feeling, your stomach clencing - all of those are part of your instinctive alarm system.
 
MaureenO

MaureenO

Another Infidel
adgal said:
My job often relies on "spidey sense" or "intuition" - and I have found that the more I use it, the more I listen to it , the more I rely on it - the better I become.

I think that at first - just like any other new thing you do - you have to stop and ask yourself - "How do I feel about this situation?" As you go throughout your day pay attention to physical clues like increased heart rate, the hairs standing up on the back of your neck, an uncomfortable feeling, your stomach clencing - all of those are part of your instinctive alarm system.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Adgal, you are 100% correct with these exercises.

The faster we start, the better.

Maureen :dstrs:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top