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The White Report
STREET FIGHTER - PART TEN
The legendary University of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, had his own four horsemen. They were the backfield of Notre Dame's 1924 football team. Grantland Rice, a sportswriter for the former New York Herald Tribune, penned "the most famous football lead of all time."
Rice wrote, "Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse rode again. In dramatic lore their names are Death, Destruction, Pestilence and Famine. But these are aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Crowley, Miller and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread upon the green plain below."
DEA was fortunate to have Four Horsemen who also personify the same qualities of skill, daring and personal bravery. My teammate, Paul Sennett, stood inches away from the two assassins who had murdered my partner, Frank Tummillo, and shot both miscreants dead. Vinnie Mazilli took a .357 to the gut and stayed in the fight. He later became a personal inspiration for me. George Auflick is an excellent man with instinctive sound judgment and the qualities of courage, boldness and determination. One fateful night in Miami George kept his four partners alive. And Gene Bachman, my friend, lean, athletic, cool, professional, personally brave walked with me through the "Valley of Death."
As a DEA Agent in Charge, I organized operations on the 20/80 Theory. 20 percent of DEA Agents do 80 percent of the work. Obviously, the 20 percent is comprised of Street Fighters. What sets the Street Fighters apart from the 80 percent?
Street Fighters are grinders. They have dogged determination, stick-to-it persistence to complete the task. Even though they see the Suits who may not appear to work as hard get promotions, Street Fighters suck up this injustice, bite their tongues and keep moving forward. DEA Street Fighters are recognized as enterprising, indefatigable agents who work hard out of self-respect. Suits work with teeth gritted, Street Fighters work ungrudgingly with a cheerful heart. Street Fighters are calm and dependable. They never pass the buck but willingly step forward knowing the mission must be accomplished.
While the Suits are egotistical and self-indulged Street Fighters are "quiet professionals." They do not seek to cut corners but keep grinding, keep bettering themselves, willing to take a strike and stay in the batter's box. Street Fighters know that oftentimes life is not fair, they do not whimper, they accept the suck part of life, chuckle and ruck on.
Ernie Pyle wrote in the New York World Telegram, 5 May 1943, "I love the infantrymen because they are the underdogs. They are the mud-rain-and-wind boys. They have no comforts, and they learn to live without the necessities. And in the end they are the guys that wars can't be won without." Ernie Pyle could have written the same of Street Fighters.In the Viet Nam era, 'to cut is to cure', was a medic's motto. Today, with modern technology, medics are more likely 'to treat and rehabilitate'. Nick Deem from the Lake Station, IN Police Department is well equipped to respond to an emergency. In Nick's left cargo pocket he carries a tourniquet, Quick Clot and Chest Seal; in his right cargo pocket a tourniquet, Kerlex and rubber gloves. Nick works diligently to change the mindset of his fellow officers who have faulty reasoning pertaining to medical kits: I don't need it, I don't have time for training, it will never happen to me, my department doesn't issue a med kit, it's too expensive so I'm not going to buy one.
Review the training video of a Leland, NC police shooting on 9 December 2016. Officer Jacob Schwenk was shot once in the chest and five times in the legs. After falling to the ground, he shot and killed his assailant. A fellow officer responded to the wounded officer down call and saved Schwenk's life by applying a tourniquet.
A life threatening bleed can't be stopped with good intentions alone. Street Fighters carry a medical kit as self-defense against death. Bleeding is not cool. The quicker the bleeding is controlled the greater the chance of survival. Blood carries oxygen and clotting factors and both need to remain in the body and not leak out into the gutter. If you cannot determine the bleed site as you apply the tourniquet, go "high and tight" and let them sort it out in ER.
If it's not life threatening blood gushing out of the wound, applying direct pressure will more than likely carry the day. Dressing the wound with a hemostatic agent and pressure bandage you must get the hemostatic agent down to the source of the bleed and continue applying it until no more can be placed in the wound. Hold with pressure and reinforce with a pressure bandage.
The film clip of Officers Jacob Schwenk and Charles McGee drives home to the Street Fighter the necessity of professional medical training and being committed to carrying a medical kit on your person while on duty. Street Fighters willingly move to the sound of the guns and the scream for help. You do not receive an invitation to a gunfight so practice often and practice realistically. Will you be ready when caught in the barbarity of a blitz attack?
As Street Fighters travel down life's pathways we must cultivate and maintain our readiness to provide medical aid. Getting medical training makes common sense but we know many in law enforcement who simply don't recognize the importance of medical training or the need to carry a medical kit because they have never been confronted with the stark reality that would call for them to use it in a blitz attack. By sharing the training clip it is my goal to educate and hope that others are paying heed to why they must seek medical training.
There are many similarities between your gun and your med kit. The more you practice with gun and med kit, the more you will come to understand your limitations, and the more you will push yourself to master both.
Another valuable lesson learned from Officers Schwenk and McGee is how you expect to behave in the aftermath of a shooting indeed becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The warrior image you have for yourself and how you pre-program yourself to behave in the aftermath of a violent encounter will become reality when the moment comes to "piss ice water." To avoid panic and screaming incoherently on the radio, visualize your response, take a deep breath in and out, and think what you will say and how you will project calmness and determination.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwI8ALeB0D0
Boot Camp is a compilation of wisdom learned from your first firearms instructor. Even Street Fighters with years of experience can benefit from regular review of survival basics.
What are the two most important rules of gun safety? Number one: never let your muzzle point at anything you don't want to shoot. Number two: Keep your pistol in your line of sight when you are in an engagement.
Your finger must remain outside the trigger unless engaged. Find a place on the frame of your pistol above the trigger guard where you can put positive pressure on the frame with your trigger finger. If your finger is not tight on the frame and you trip and fall there is a potential your finger might make contact with the trigger.
To unload your pistol, first remove the magazine placing it between pinky and ring finger. Look at the magazine to determine if there are rounds in the magazine. If the magazine is empty, power stroke with the support hand over the top of the slide, then rack the slide to the rear turning the pistol to its side and watch the round eject. Lock the slide to the rear and check the chamber visually and by feel. Double-check yourself by looking into the magazine well, in case you forgot to remove the magazine. After being certain that your pistol is clear, ease the slide forward, point the pistol in a safe direction down range and pull the trigger.
Occasionally we watch fellow law enforcement officers unload a pistol by cupping the ejection port with their support hand to catch the live round in the chamber as they rack their slide. This is pure laziness because they simply don't want to bend over and pick up the ejected round off the deck.
This is both dangerous and foolish. The live round can be trapped under the pressure of the recoil spring in between the edge of the ejection port along the edge of the breach face and the front of the ejection port on the right side of the slide. The primer will lack any firing pin mark but there will be a distinctive crease from the edge of the slide cutting into the head stamp of the casing. The hand will absorb the pressure created by the burning propellant. This can lead to the loss of fingers. Also there is a possibility that the primer will hit the ejector causing the round to go off.
How many times at the range have we watched bozo the clown try to be cool by ejecting the live round and catching it in the air as the muzzle covers the other shooters? We as Street Fighters have to distance ourselves from buffoons and bungling amateurs.
To administratively reload your pistol in a non-combative situation, the first thing you should do is to get into your stance. Practice your presentation so you get one more repetition on your draw stroke with an additional repetition on sight alignment and sight picture. You may either start with your slide forward or slide locked to the rear. If your slide is forward it will be easier to seat the magazine if you downloaded the magazine by one round. Bring your pistol into your workspace. Looking down at your pistol is not your workspace. You must be able to see both your pistol and the threat.
To seat the magazine, begin with the magazine in your support hand, place your index finger along the front spine of the magazine almost touching the top bullet to assist in easing the magazine into the magazine well. Vigorously seat the magazine. Avoid double tapping the magazine; for you are ingraining a poor habit which will waste valuable time during speed reloads. Roll your support hand over the top of the slide and power stroke the slide. As you release the slide, strike your strong side shoulder. Bump the back of the slide to make sure the pistol is in battery.
Do not rely on the loaded chamber indicator. Instead, perform a press check by pulling the slide slightly to the rear. In daylight, you can do a visual press check. At night, use the index finger of your support hand to feel the chambered cartridge.
How does the Tactical Reload compare to a Reload with Retention? In the Tactical Reload, after withdrawing your second magazine, which is behind your critical magazine, slip the magazine between index and middle finger as you move it to the magazine well. With your thumb and index finger positioned as pincers, grasp the depleted magazine as it ejects. Hit your magazine release dropping the magazine into the palm of your hand. Grip with thumb and index finger and insert the fresh magazine. Store your partially depleted magazine in the empty pouch.
The Reload with Retention, also known as the Proactive Reload, is used when the fight appears over and no predator is shooting at you and you have no threats to shoot. In other words, you are not taking fire. Pop the magazine in your pistol out into your hand and store it in your waistband. Then simply perform a Speed Reload, working the slide to be sure you have a round in the chamber. As time permits, re-position the depleted magazine back into your empty pouch.
The advantage of the Tactical Reload is that it lessens the time your pistol has no magazine in it. When executed smoothly, you look good in the eyes of your fellow shooters! However, the Reload with Retention or Proactive Reload calls for fewer dexterous or adroit hand movements that can prove disastrous under the adrenaline dump of the fight or flight response in a blitz attack. It is a far simpler less stressful technique. Also, you are not juggling two magazines simultaneously in one hand.
The Slide Lock Reload is used when the slide has locked to the rear. Rotate, but do not cant, to assist your access to your magazine release with the strong hand thumb. By rotating, you cause less drag on the side of the magazine, allowing the magazine to fall more quickly to the deck. Your support hand should sweep from the front of your body, thumb tucked to the rear. You want the toe of the magazine to contact the palm of your hand. Keeping your pistol in your workspace, stay focused on the threat until your magazine approaches your magazine well. Drop your focus onto the opposite edge of the magazine well, slam the magazine into your pistol as you shift your focus back to the threat.
There are a few options on how to release the slide. You can hit the slide release with the support side thumb as you drive your pistol back onto the threat. Another method is the hand over technique. Reach across the top of your pistol with your support hand, thumb pointed back toward your body. Push both hands toward each other with one quick movement, keeping your wrists from breaking.
The Speed Reload is the same as a Slide Lock Reload with the exception that you do not have to release the slide to go forward. The Speed Reload is used when speed is of the essence and after the firefight you can go back and pick up your magazine. Remember to download your magazine by one.
The undercover Street Fighter must place the magazine pouch in a different position than the uniformed patrol officers. The undercover must be able to access the magazine with either strong or support hand. Use the knife cutting edge of your support hand beginning at your sternum and flow straight to the rear along your rib cage. When your hand is directly above the magazine, go straight down and utilize the same techniques previously discussed.
You may have to rack out a stuck magazine from your pistol if it didn't drop clear when you hit the magazine release. Over time, magazines wear out or get dirt or debris on them and they hang up in the magazine well. Stay with your reload using the edge of your fresh magazine to hook the baseplate of the stuck magazine. Rake the magazine from your pistol and continue the reload sequence. You can practice this drill by taking one of your older magazines, wrap a piece of tape around the body of the magazine and insert it into the magazine well. A drawback of extended magazine wells is that they inhibit access to the front edge of the magazine. Check all your magazines so that your magazine base pads permit you purchase to the front edge of the magazine.
If you have damage to your follower, it may fail to lock the slide to the rear on the last round. You will be firing and you will incur a failure to fire. The fix is tap, rack and re-access. When you go to fire you will get a secondary click on your pistol. The poorly trained shooter forgets the drill didn't work the first time and goes through another tap, rack, re-access resulting in another failure to fire. Instead, rip the magazine, insert a fresh magazine, rack the slide and get back into the fight.
Street Fighters must be able to quickly perform an emergency reload using the support hand only. When practicing emergency reloads, spend most of your time performing support hand only. Typically, every time you reload you use your strong hand over and over. Support hand only is very difficult to do when you are under stress. In the middle of the gunfight, if your slide locks to the rear, your first consideration is dumping your magazine. You have to press the magazine release with your left index finger. If you have difficulty doing this, you have to keep practicing until you can. The problem is if you try to hit the magazine release with your middle finger, now you only have two fingers on the grip. Keep your pistol straight up and down because it is a bad habit to cant your pistol to the right or left. Your magazine will not drop free and will hang up. If you decide to perform the reload by reversing your pistol in your holster, test to make sure the pistol doesn't fall out of the holster, particularly if you move. Either default to your belt, or put your pistol between your knees. The muzzle must be horizontal to your knees; press your knees together; grab a magazine from your pouch; insert and tug the base pad of the magazine to make sure it is seated. You can either index the slide release with your left index finger, or press down and away with the pistol between your knees.
There are multiple effective ways to reload a pistol and the gun pundits and keyboard commandos have demonstrated well worked-out methods. Take a step back and figure out what will consistently work for YOU, the Street Fighter, when death comes calling.
You are no longer taking fire and assume the fight is over. Undercover Street Fighters will probably be alone without the support of a team. Some bad guys have just tried to kill you. You have fired beaucoup rounds. How many? You haven't a clue. You are breathing heavy, you are afraid and your hands are shaking as you gulp in oxygen. The cavalry is not coming to save your ass and you must fight on with what you have on your body. You must keep all your partially expended magazines. If the fight kicks back into high gear, you will need them.
In Reload with Retention, place the partially expended magazine into your rear pouch and bump the fully loaded magazine forward. If you place a partially expended magazine in your pocket, it will be difficult to retrieve the magazine when you bend down. The magazine could end upside down in your pocket. Follow the same procedure as when performing a Tactical Reload. Remember, when you start your reload it is important to take your finger off the trigger!
During a Speed Reload take the magazine from the front pouch, time is important. During a Tactical Reload take the magazine from the rear pouch, as time may not be as critical.
Many Street Fighters have been taught that when reloading with one hand, to place the pistol between your legs and insert the magazine. The only drawback is if you have to move or quickly change positions. If you do not wear a holster and carry Mexican, place your pistol under your arm to reload. The best method is to place the pistol in your holster and insert the magazine.
Hold your pistol as you depress the magazine button so you can see down into the chamber in case of malfunction.
Whenever you press the magazine release, press with the top point of your thumb. This method is faster than if you press with the flat portion of thumb.
Bring your pistol down onto the magazine as you drive the magazine into the magazine well.
Make sure you finish the reload close to your body, and then press the pistol out to fire.
Don't chase your magazine well. As you bring the magazine up toward the magazine well, do not be over anxious and start moving the pistol to extension, forcing you to chase the magazine well. Wait until you feel the bump of the magazine being seated before you hit the slide release.
In Reload with Retention, as you press the magazine release with the left thumb, position your left pinky under the magazine so the magazine does not fall to the deck.
After seating the magazine firmly, run your non-dominant pointer finger onto the bottom of the trigger guard. This gives you a reference point to establish a correct grip.
When I was assigned to the FBI Academy, I learned from Special Agent Bob Taubert not to rush the shot after the reload. Take your time; quickly focus on your sights; break your shot.
Another Taubert Tip was not to move your eyes to the next target before completing the reloading process. You must discipline yourself to look your new magazine into your pistol before searching for your next threat.
Let's focus on a Street Fighter performing a Speed Reload while in the open and taking fire. The Street Fighter is returning fire at either single or multiple attackers at a close enough distance where you smell stale beer, sweaty armpits and the raw odor of human fear. Unexpectedly, your pistol fails to go 'bang'. What do you do?
You do not know why your pistol didn't fire; you only darn well know you are dead if you don't shoot back! You must get your pistol back into the fight pronto. Without bringing your focus back onto your pistol, immediately tap, rack and shoot.
If this doesn't work, either your pistol is empty or you have experienced a double feed. Unless you have a 1911 style pistol, immediately tear out and replace the magazine, rack the slide, get back into the fight and take out the predator. If carrying a 1911 style pistol, lock the slide to the rear; pull out the magazine; rack the slide three times to eject the cause of the stoppage. Re-insert a fresh magazine; rack the slide, seating the cartridge in the chamber. You are now back into the fight.
Previous editions of Street Fighter covered Lessons Learned for fighting in and around vehicles. Tactical skills for survival will differ according to the situation. Street Fighters always practice multiple strategies and are prepared to be flexible.
When facing an attack from the front of your vehicle the Street Fighter takes up a position at the door's V. Extend your forearms and brace your right forearm against the A pillar and your left forearm against the frame of the door facing into the threat and take your shot. You will find more stability by firmly placing your left foot onto the deck.
If you decide to re-position at the rear of your vehicle leave the door open to act as both a visual and bullet barrier to mask your movements. It is quicker as you exit your vehicle to face toward the rear and run to the back of your car. If you do not want to turn your back on the threat, back up slowly, muzzle to danger, right shoulder brushing against the car. Kneel at the rear of your vehicle, outside knee high, and shoot through the V of the door. I favor outside knee high because you can drag the knee that is in contact with the deck incrementally as you creep out ever so slowly to control your battle space. It also helps to enhance stability as you take your shot, particularly if you are employing your long gun.
If you back too far from the cover provided by your vehicle, you decrease the amount of distance your attacker has to move to flank your position. I advocate getting in tight, one arm's length distance from your vehicle, maximizing the distance your attacker will have to move to put effective fire on you.
If you are seated in the driver's seat and the attack comes from the rear, tactically this is a very difficult position to fight from. Open your driver's door, keep your feet in the car, press out and shoot. You cannot go to normal full arm presentation because you will needlessly expose too much of your body. A left-handed shooter should pivot in the seat and fire at the attacker through the rear window. The only viable tactical options are either attempt to drive away from the point of attack or run to a covered position. Either way, it is going to get bloody very fast.
If your attacker is firing at you from an elevated position and you are tight against your vehicle, it reduces the amount of your body that is exposed. If you backed too far away from your vehicle your attacker may hit you by skipping bullets off your vehicle because you will have exposed too much of your silhouette.
I learned from many sustained gunfights that it is initially very difficult to locate where the shots are coming from unless you are in a close range gunfight where you can immediately see your attacker. By staying close to your vehicle, you gain valuable time to read your terrain and locate your attacker. It is best to reduce your profile by getting no more than an arm's length distance from your car.
Note that the engine block and wheel assembly of your vehicle offer you the best ballistic protection while the A, B and C pillars do not. The B pillar may be strong but it is not of sufficient width to provide adequate ballistic protection. If you try to use the B pillar for cover your attacker can easily shoot you by either sidestepping or rolling his body left or right.
Street Fighters who are in over watch for an undercover narc, who is hit by a blitz attack, may have to fire from inside the vehicle using an M4 carbine without shooting through the windshield. There are several positions you can use to bring your carbine into the fight. As you roll into the Rip Off where the undercover narc is taking fire, the best position is to have the carbine outside the passenger window ready to fire. If the threat to the undercover has not reached that level of intensity, have the carbine's muzzle on the dash ready to be instantaneously brought into the fight.
There are two methods to get the carbine outside the window. First, drive the muzzle out the window and then bring the butt stock back onto the shoulder. Alternately, you can create space by first bringing the butt stock out of the passenger window and then drive the muzzle forward. You can gain support for firing accurate shots by stabilizing the carbine against the A pillar.
Another strategy is to enter the vehicle and grab the front of the magazine well and position the carbine where it will be most accessible to you. If a need suddenly arises when you must shoot from the driver's side, grab the front of the magazine well with your right hand and bring the carbine up by first sliding the butt stock out the driver's window. Push the muzzle past the side view mirror, latch onto the pistol grip with your left hand and seat the butt against your left shoulder. A malfunction will result if your right hand covers the ejection port or if the ejection port is flat against the A pillar.
To move the carbine back inside the car, grasp the front of the magazine well with your left hand and bring the butt stock back inside, slide the muzzle over the steering wheel, switch your right hand in front of the magazine well and stow the carbine. Street Fighters should tape the rifle sling to the left side of the carbine when it is stowed. Then when you need to bring the carbine into the fight, simply rip the sling loose.
Street Fighters shooting around vehicles want to limit their exposure to incoming rounds and yet allow themselves as much stability as possible. To position yourself at the engine block with as low a profile as possible, place the carbine on its left side, ejection port facing up, butt stock on top of your right shoulder. With the fingers of your left hand, cup your optic.
Remember, with the carbine on its side, magazine facing to the right, the bullets will impact low left. Conversely, with the magazine facing left, the bullets will impact low right.
You must keep your shooting elbow down so you don't get shot. When you need to reload the carbine, do not elevate the muzzle above cover because you will give away your position and lots of rounds will be coming your way. Keep the barrel parallel to the ground as you reload.
When shooting around the front or rear of a vehicle in a kneeling position, the outside knee is high. To get down low, drop your elbow down alongside your knee putting pressure from the back of your arm against the inside of your knee. Roll out as far as possible, take the shot, then roll back behind cover. Put the back of your forearm and not the rifle against the car so as to prevent the rifle from sliding every time you fire. You want your back foot flat and do not want to be up on your toes.
When shooting from under a vehicle with a carbine, lie on your side pressing your feet against the wheel well. Rest the carbine's magazine between your legs and take the shot. You can also shoot under the vehicle Supine Prone with your pistol. Lying flat on your back allows for elevation if the threat attacks around either flank of the vehicle.
Street Fighters must practice getting up from the Supine Prone position. Move into a seated position, with support hand and strong side foot on the ground. Lift your butt up from the ground; swing your support leg under your body and pushup onto a knee.
To elevate your pistol while firing Prone, put your index finger between the index and middle finger of the support hand. The two fingers of your strong hand (ring and middle fingers) act as support for your support hand thumb to rest upon.
Urban Prone is considered an unorthodox position; however, a Street Fighter facing a blitz attack may find it a necessity for survival. It is a position that is very quick and dynamic in a critically dangerous situation. Urban Prone can be used either from the weapon or support side. Recall that LAPD SWAT used Urban Prone when they took out one of the crazed gunman in the North Hollywood shootout a few years back. The Parachute Landing Fall (PLF) method is the fastest way to assume the position. You break your fall by absorption from your calf to your thigh to your hip to your shoulder. There is no need to break your support hand from your pistol.
Lying on your right side, your left leg is driven forward. You gain more comfort by grounding your support side knee. To get up, press down with your support side hand in front of your chest; kick your legs out keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Scan, search and assess before standing up.
Beware of getting underneath a car and lying down on your side to engage the threat. If your entire body is flat on the ground stretched between the tires, it makes you an easy target to hit. Your attacker can skip bullets off the pavement under the car with five or more feet of your exposed body to hit.
Street Fighters must prepare for very brief and violent gunfights that might last between three to five seconds at extremely close distances and also for gunfights that are sustained battles that last for minutes with beaucoup rounds fired. This requires a very adaptive mindset.
On 13 February 1983 U.S. Marshalls attempted to arrest Gordon Kahl and his henchmen who were travelling north out of Medina, North Dakota in two cars. Marshalls blocked both cars and after a brief, tense standoff, the gunfight ensued. The predators were armed with Ruger Mini 14 rifles similar to Platt's rifle in the 1987 FBI Miami shootout.
One aspect of combat that has thwarted many Street Fighters, as well as the U. S. Marshalls in the Medina shootout, is how to put bullets into a moving predator. It is not easy with a rifle, but it is tougher with a pistol bullet moving at one-third the speed, particularly when you do not have a longer rifle or shotgun barrel.
The first challenge is how far to lead your attacker per 10 yards of distance based on your muzzle velocity of 1000 fps. At 20 yards you would double the lead, at 30 yards you would triple the lead.
If your attacker were moving at a fast walk of 3 mph at 10 yards, you would lead him 1.6 inches. If he were running at 10 mph, your lead would be 5.3 inches.
A Street Fighter may not remember these leads during a gunfight, so it is perfectly acceptable to cheat! The edge of your front sight is about the right lead for an attacker who is walking, while the outside edge of your rear sight is about the correct lead if your attacker is running.
Street Fighters must be able to calculate their pistol bullet drop in inches with a 25 yard zero and a muzzle velocity of 1000 fps. At 25 yards zero drop, at 50 yards a one-inch drop, at 75 yards a five-inch drop.
In a gunfight, it is important for the Street Fighter to know you don't have to overthink the point of aim. You know the math, and as long as you stay calm, you can put effective hits into your attacker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSR8YG5lxXI
Former Delta operator Mike Pannone, owner of CTT Solutions, teaches a covert carry class. Mike demonstrates the shooting techniques he teaches and also explains his instructional goals with absolute clarity.
He emphasizes that without proper training, surviving a deadly force encounter simply becomes a matter of luck. Street Fighters must refine their shooting techniques and eventually speed will come. To increase your speed, you must be fluid and technically perfect. Speed is an outgrowth of precise and correct movements. You must grip and present your pistol to the target the exact same way time and time again. If you don't, you will fail to perform consistently. There is a speed penalty for every incompetency. Shooting fast is shooting with painstaking correctness. The way to achieve shooting speed is to practice efficient focused repetition. Street Fighters must not get trapped into becoming sloppy just to be fast.
To reach the peak of proficiency, your body must have dexterity and full range of motion that include the triad of power, control and visual acuity. Raw, spasmodic physical motion without efficiency will fail. You must not go so fast that your sights and trigger pull are totally incorrect. The result is that you are programming yourself to fire a miss. You do not practice to miss; you practice to hit. Visual acuity, sight alignment, and sight picture are the result of experience, imperturbability, staying focused on the task at hand and not rushing the shot. You cannot shoot faster than you can see and not jerk the trigger.
Tactics and techniques that you have to learn must be self-taught by spending time at the range working. There is nothing you can add to your weapon to make yourself faster, more Hollywood, more efficient, or more accurate. You cannot go wrong with simple, basic hardcore training that has been time tested in the crucible of combat.
The Street Fighter's goal in periodically conducting a Skills Test is to obtain measurable results. You do not haphazardly launch bullets and simply hope you are improving. Once you obtain your test score your goal must be to climb up the next rung on the ladder of success. Evaluate your base performance, push to your failure point and continue practicing.
This Skills Test utilizes a rifle target of 6 inches by 11 inches and a pistol target of 6 inches by 6 inches. From a distance of seven yards, begin with your rifle at the low ready; fire six rounds; reload from open bolt; fire six more rounds. Transition to the pistol and fire six rounds. A miss is a NO GO.
| TIME | SCORE | Tier One | 11 Seconds | Tier Two | 13 Seconds | Tier Three | 15 Seconds | No Go | 15 Seconds + |
|---|
Etched on every tombstone are two dates that belong to God; the day God planned our birth and the date God knows we will die. Between those two dates is a simple line - a dash.
In times of peril and uncertainty, between those two dates the Street Fighter becomes a beacon of valor and a pillar of all-powerfulness. Courage results from pushing past your fears. You may be afraid of something and may fear doing it, but you do it anyway. You are getting shot at and you know you have to leave cover to return effective fire; that is courage. Street Fighters push past their fears to complete the task. They don't quit just because they are confronted by danger. They never stop moving forward, digging deep inside themselves to find stamina and guts because their buddies are relying on them.
Street Fighters must be able to screw up under high stress and immediately put the blunder behind and continue to engage in the gun battle. Street Fighters cannot dwell on the screw up and then make a bigger mistake. Frail ego and self-doubt could put yourself and your teammates in a dangerous situation.
Street Fighters must be able to make life and death decisions without hesitation, and no matter what the outcome, stay in the fight. Stress is most often self-induced. Worry will not keep you alive; it will get you killed. Street Fighters do not capitulate to fear, but remain staunch and resolute in the face of death. In a gun battle, Street Fighters learn that the combination of adrenaline and supper human effort leave no psychic capacity for fear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RyBTcdNGZE
When Taps is played for you at the field of marble, my earnest prayer is that as you reach Valhalla, they will be playing Reveille for you.
Semper Fi
Frank White
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