Podcast episode 112421
Published on November 24th, 2019
In this episode I want to explore some ideas about keeping our children, and ourselves safe, and consider what is accomplished for the first seventeen years of our children’s lives. To do this we need to evaluate the training our children receive every year. We need to talk about the required training they receive while attending school outside the home. But just as importantly, we need to consider the reasoning for why we don’t perform the same level of training at home.
Let’s get this party started, by looking at the old mail bag.
So, kicking this party off on the right foot Karen from Colorado asks “my kids are always have active shooter dills at school, it is unsettling. What can I do?”
Sliding across second base, Mylie from New Hampshire asks “are ALICE drills really the answer to keeping my kids safe at school?”
Tina from Wisconsin bring on the heat with her question “shouldn’t shooters of school age children immediate be executed?”
Next up, John from South Dakota asks “are private schools any safer than public schools?”
Finishing us off today is Alex from Florida who asks “doesn’t the ALICE drill at school send the wrong message to our kids?”
Great questions to all those who sent them in. If I didn’t get to your question, sorry about that, but don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll touch on this topic again as its really relevant to a requirement for survival.
Before we get after it today, I’d like to make sure that, for those of you who seek peace and harmony, or hep in making sense of life, be sure to check out the Alaskan Ulfhednar podcast at http://AkÚlfhédnar.com. After 30 years of spiritual searching and discovery, I have arrived home. Home to the ideology of of my ancestors. Home of a proud Germanic-Dane heritage. Some good stuff for you there. Also, another second just to give a shout-out for our sponsors and affiliates:
Antennas Direct, Bad Ass Extension Cords, BrandsMart USA, Chewy, Chrome Burner,, MediTac Kits, Power Systems, SunPower, Australian Native T-Shirts, Sharesale, Survival Frog, and of course Google.
Shout out to all of them for supporting the mission here at Chaotic Navigation, we greatly appreciate taking a risk by supporting an “Outlaw” show. Please visit their links on our webpage and show them some love, they, like each of us, needs to pay their peeps.
So, today I want to talk about the drills, and the necessity for the drills, at school, and in other places. Now, before we really take a deep dive, I want to make sure that I am not “fear monger”, or asking you to terrorize your children by having active shooter drills in other locations other than school. As always with me, my goal is to give you things to think about with regards to keeping your family, especially your kids, safe. I think the implementation of these types of drills sends the message of “we care”, as the frequency it’s put in the child’s world is very low. I think it also says that we not longer live in a society of utopia, and need to make smart choices that gets us all home alive.
Let’s take a quick commercial break, when we come back we’ll get into the drills we know today, and the drills we should think about. We’re back in hurst a minute.
Welcome back, thanks for helping us out there, small shop and have bills, you know what I mean? Before we went to break we discussed the idea of the drills we know, and some we might want to consider. The key to success is an open channel of communications with your children to ensure this is not about fear, it’s about being prepared. Really, the best thing is to be transparent with your kids. We know that the numbers are on our side when it comes to avoidance of these types of events, so we have no need to generate fear, we’re just trying to get the plan together.
There is not greater, or lesser level of threat when it comes to these events happening at schools. We see, from statistics posted by the FBI, that both public, and private, schools have an equal amount of risk.
We’ll start with the one we know. Now, if you are not familiar with an A.L.I.C.E. drill, then let me enlighten you, as they are mandatory in most school districts throughout the United States today. So, let’s step through the parts of what this ALICE drill is:
A = Alert. This is the obvious first step. By alerting, and being alerted to a threat.
L = Lockdown. The next step is lock down, or stay in place. This is to keep everyone separated from direct confrontation. This includes barricading the room you’re in.
I = Inform. The next step continues the idea of communication, by informing, in real time, the shooters movements as accurately as possible.
C = Counter. This is the step we’re offensive steps are taken to disarm and potentially subdue the shooter. However, the key here is that this is done safely.
E = Evacuate. The final step of the drill is getting out to safety.
Are ALICE drills really the answer? They are certainly a huge step in the right direction. The only concern I have is the letter “C” when we ask people to confront an active shooter. Keeping the end-goal in sight, we need to be very cautious as to what we advise people to do when attacking someone who is not in the lot right mind in the first place. However I’d prefer to see evacuation before countering.
Now, by all reasons you should have more advanced warning when this happens at a larger school building. However the rules of engagement are pretty close regardless where you are. Let’s look at that list again, but this time we’re going to look at some possible adaptations we could use.
A = was for alerting right? This time let’s talk about dialing 911, then stuff your phone in a pocket. Get your backup enroute before the engagement, reducing the time to wait for them to arrive.
L = was for lockdown. This time however, we may not have a room to lock ourselves in. We need to consider using unorthodox methods of securing ourselves. The cool part here, is sometimes we can use camouflage as effectively as lockdown. Be creative, act like your life depends on it, because it might.
I = is for inform. This is where the old cell phone in the pocket may come in handy, but narrating what you’re seeing, this provides our backup with the information to quickly, and hopefully safely bring this event to a conclusion.
C = is for counter. It’s amazing what a scalding cup of hot coffee can do to a shooter’s confidence. A bag full of trinkets could possibly distract long enough to potentially subdue them, or issue a secondary attack, potentially disarming the shooter. Lots of options here.
E = is for evacuate. Couple of things to remember when evacuating, firstly is STAY ON YOUR FEET. We have all seen and heard multiple accounts where the crowd tramples those who lose their footing. Next, the idea for a shooter is to shoot at your back as you flee, because it’s a larger area. The key here is random zig-zag, where the alteration of elevation is included in the pattern. This increases the likeliness of a miss, thereby reducing the amount of shots left.
There is a fine line between being afraid, and being prepared, but we are seeking to be prepared. One of the critical elements necessary for a successful outcome is to keep calm. Don’t lose your head when everyone around you is losing theirs. A methodical exit strategy is the best way to get out alive.
Since we’re on the subject of methodical, how often do we practice these drills? Here in the local school district they are practiced twice a year, so maybe that’s the bar we should set for practicing our drills at home, or wherever. The general idea is that everyone feels comfortable in what needs to be done in what order, at what time. So, ensuring that your children don’t panic, and can act consciously through this type of event is the ultimate goal, and can greatly increase their potential of successful navigation. Another critical factor that we don’t want to lose sight of, is aligning what we’re teaching to what they’re learning in school as to minimize confusion when under pressure.
Fuel for this type of behavior is reduced down to two major threads:
- Overwhelmed legal system is the major catalyst for the willingness for this behavior.
- Mental health systems have almost collapsed, with major role models bringing back into focus.
With the overwhelming of legal system resources, we find criminals are more comfortable with committing these crimes with the knowledge that they won’t get sentenced, and in most states not face the death sentence for their crimes. This loophole has to be fixed.
We’ve talked about some general ideas as to where these type of events can occur. We started this discussion by talking about their school, but what about:
- Night, or social club.
- Shopping malls
- Grocery stores
- Carjacking
- Apartment complex
- Open venue concert
Each of these locations need to be evaluated and discussed prior to an event. So maybe doing a “recon” of the location much earlier than allowing the kids to visit. We should always have an exit strategy for every part of our endeavors when out in public. Again, the idea is to not generate fear, it’s to be prepared for as much as we can, and with the rise in shooter violence. Almost tripled from the prior decade.
So, with the tools we now have at our disposal, many of these same principles can apply for other natural disasters as well. Ultimately these plans create a sense of calm within us. They can give us confidence as we can calmly execute the plans as things are unfolding. I can only stress so much as to how important the calm, confidence is to maintain. Both for you and your children.
As always my friends, I am honored and humbled that you have chosen to spend this time listening to me. I deeply appreciate each and every one of you. Being prepared provides each of us with the confidence for successful survival. We mentioned before, and will certainly say again, that survival is a 90% mental task, but that 10% of physical resources is critically important.. By having a confidence and discipline, we can and will survive. Remember to be strong, be safe, and keep your head on a swivel… Peace
