Close calls.

Unlike many traditional stories, this one won't start with "once upon a time," or "we were drinking and," or even "no shit, there I was." Instead, I'll just relay bits from yesterday's fun.

We were running the Academy recruits through a tactical stress course day. It's one of the last things we do in the Academy - basically bringing together all the shooting skills from their prior training, along with decision making, physical exertion, and as much stress as we can put them under - trying to replicate to at least a fraction what a real-life situation may be like to them. Obviously, given the live ammo and stress we keep a very close eye on them for the safety of everyone involved.

This Academy has one recruit who has been an issue the entire time. No firearms skills, folds under the slightest bit of stress to include crying and just locking up, poor officer safety, and just a general lack of effort to fix these problems. To the point of several memos are already in the chain of command addressing whether she needs to continue being here or not - but this is always a big fight, as the upper staff wants to give them a chance and attempt to fill the holes we have in our manning.

Well, she gets to my station yesterday - the second in the series of 7 - and she's already losing it I can see. The drill involved loading a shotgun and engaging various targets at a short range - just combining basic weapon functions with some situational awareness under stress. And she is completely lost - can't figure out what to do, can't load the weapon, can't function it, and every second is just getting worse as we continue to stress her. It finally reaches the point of two of us stop yelling at her and are trying to at least walk her through the simple bits to do anything here, when she has a bit of an incident - while putting a round in the chamber she's swinging the shotgun around, and just as I'm able to block it from swinging further she has her finger on the trigger and fires it unintentionally.

Fortunately we had the close eye on her, and I had caught things in time - I missed being hit in the leg by about 12" as the shot hit the ground ten feet in front of us. No one was injured, and we quickly let her know that she needed to get her head at least partially working very quickly. Unfortunately, her performance stayed at about the same level the rest of the course.

The results of all of it? The class as a whole got a significant re-lecturing on the importance of the four safety rules, and why we stress them from day one. A few of them may have learned some new words in the specific moment as I emphasized my point. I got to write a lengthy memo on the situation, which from what I'm told is pretty much the final straw into her packing her bags next week & being gone before she does hurt someone.

It also gave me something to think about last night as I was discussing it at home - in that, while I have nice first aid stuff on my vests I use for bomb calls and tactical stuff, and a good first aid kit in the back of the truck, I don't carry anything with me when I'm on the line teaching at the range. Where I was is about 100 yards from where I was parked - and no first aid stuff was any closer. Had I taken the round at basically contact distance it could have made a difference - so I'll be acquiring one or two things and keeping them on myself when I'm teaching like this, just in case. Like everything else we do to prepare - I may never need it, but it's better to carry it and not need it than the other alternative.

Stay safe out there.

Karl Edward Wagner

So... in a moment of killing time today, I was reading through some of the saved stuff in my cloud drive... ending up in my mixed musings/poetry/philosophy file...

Dang, I'd forgotten what this guy could write.

Most people (of those who know him) just know about his Kane novels, or a few of his short stories. But the man also wrote some very good poetry - mixed in with his stories, or just put about here and there.

Maybe it's just the time of year, or my lack of sleep lately, or my own mind - but it struck a chord. A bit dark, a bit mysterious, a bit ... you decide.

I recommend a look if you haven't read them before.

Sign of the Times?

To be honest, I don't use my primary care physician for too much these past few years. Given that I'm down at the VA every other month for things, they end up taking care of most things. But, I still keep him on the books as it were, just for insurance and other reasons.

Up til now that is. Got a letter yesterday he's sent to all his patients on his decision to retire at the end of the year, primarily due to costs and requirements associated with the new health care laws (in particular, that he be required to digitize decades worth of records and such, at his own cost).

While it doesn't particularly hurt my health needs - especially as he's provided a referral to another practice already - it worries me wondering how many others are dealing with this...

Curiousity

As mentioned, today was a long day. Not just hour wise, but in terms of constant reshuffling of priorities, rushing to "critical" incidents that actually weren't, dealing with phone calls and emails and other "I need this now" and the like. Fortunately, I survived it all and made it home to a loving family who made me feel peaceful again.

Somehow in the middle of this, a thought came to mind - with the current situation in the world and out nation.

I wonder if this is the same way that the Roman Legions felt during the time of bread and circuses... the samurai during the Meiji "restoration"... or certain Native tribes when their supposed leaders bartered lands and rights away.

To be there, knowing that the world and rules you had lived by were being swept away, and unable to do much more than watch and hope to tread water through it all. To be faced daily with more and more changes, and wondering when the storm would end.

It's enough to make you wonder.

Ugh

Woke up at 0330 and couldn't get back to sleep, with a twelve hour day working planned. This will be a pleasant day.

That had to sting

Today my defendant in court learned the valuable lesson that your attitude during the stop directly affects the amount of the fine the judge chooses to put on your conviction... Wonder if it will make him nicer to the next officer who stops him.

Veteran's Day

I've been tired, cold, miserable, scared, hot, muddy, wet, sandy, half-deaf, broke, and wondering what I got myself into.

I've also been around the world, done things I'd only seen in movies, and proud to call friends and comrades some of the most incredible people you can imagine. I've seen the best and worst of humanity and this nation.

It's changed my life both mentally, emotionally, and physically - some good, some bad. But I will carry those years of service forever. They quite literally shaped who I have become.

To those who have served, or are still serving - thank you. No matter what the job you did, whether you did a few years or a lifetime, only those who have been there understand the price.

Thanks.

A bit more for Tam

OK, once more on this.

As mentioned yesterday, blogmother Tam is having a bit of a health issue, and the community has decided to raise some funds for her. As an incentive, many people are also throwing some things into the donation mix to go along with it.

So - having thought about it, I need to pony up as well.

Added to the list are the following:

Ten Magpul 30-round PMags (winner can choose between tan or green).

One Emerson CQC-7 Mini pocketknife

OldNFO is currently coordinating the giveaway stuff, but $25 gets you an entry for either or any of the other prizes.

Back in the World

Yeah... kind of a prolonged absence. School. Election season. Big storm. Hours of overtime. So, writing on here kind of took a back seat for the past two months - hope you all understand.

But, now things have calmed down a bit, so let's see if I can pull the bottle of scotch away from my muse who has been sulking in the closet...

I'll save the political musings and grumblings - right now I'm just happy it's over & I think we're all in for a rough ride ahead. The international situation is only getting worse, and I'd expect more of that to trickle our way in the next couple of years.

I'm fortunate to have a good job, decent health, and my family is safe. That's better than a lot have, so I'm grateful.

Speaking of grace - Tam over at View From the Porch is having a bit of a health issue, and could use a hand with things. If you haven't yet, please drop by her site & drop a tip off - every little bit helps. There are a few folks (OldNFO, LawDog) etc doing a raffle for things connected to it, so you can speak with them as well. As for me, I just threw in because it's the right thing to do, so no raffles or offers from here. Either way, please help the nice lady in need.

A tale of two recruits....

So my plans last week got changed, as I got drafted to help at the range for our current academy, since they were short on instructors. Pretty much a typical group, some good, some bad - the same things we observe most every time. I did watch some interesting dynamics though...

The first recruit in question was a young girl who folded under the least bit of pressure at any point. Tears and all. Had no real competence or drive to do more than the minimums, and more important, no confidence in herself or real character to show. The kind who every person there was discussing how soon she would quit, pretty much knowing she didn't have what it takes to finish the Academy, much less do the job.

The other one was a little wisp of a girl. Watching her throughout the week she had some first-time shooter problems, but asked good questions & more importantly, she actually listened to what we would tell her. Prior Navy, with a college degree as well, but that isn't the important part. What was important came out in her character on Wednesday evening when we started pushing them a bit more. I was watching from the side as she shot, and I could literally see tears running down her face as she winced between a few of the drills. But, every time I asked her about it, she swore nothing was wrong and kept on going. This went on the rest of the day and she never once backed down, or tried to get out of any of the drills. When we finally finished I got her to the side with the lead instructor and we got the story - she'd played rugby in school, had broken some bones in her wrist & had pins in them which were hurting when she shot from certain positions. But she was absolutely adamant that it wasn't a big deal & she was able to continue. So, we gave her some tips to help with things, and made sure that she knew that if it got too bad she was to let us know - it wouldn't be a sign of failure or lack of ability.

I can tell you, just from watching this young lady this week - she will never, ever quit on us. She may not be the biggest or strongest recruit in that class, but she has more heart than I've seen in a majority of the other men and women. You can teach skills, you can teach concepts - but you cannot teach character. She's one I really hope sticks around, because she's going to be a great asset to the department.