TV Tip

         I never thought I'd find a tactical tip from The West Wing, a TV show about a liberal president that ran from September 1999 to May 2006.  But I did.

        You can find the episode I'm referring to in season 3, episode 23.  In this, Mark Harmon portrays a Secret Service agent who accidentally walks into a shop and rob in progress.

          He confronts and manages to secure the criminal and remove the criminal's concealed weapon.  He uses his radio to have his dispatcher send the police.  Turning to the counterman, he doesn't notice the counterman is still acting hinky.  A second shooter, hidden to the side, shoots and kills the agent and escapes into the night, followed seconds later by the panicked counterman.

          What’s the tactical lesson?

          It boils down to never letting your guard down in unfamiliar circumstances.  All self-defense shootings are unfamiliar circumstances.

          1:  The agent doesn't pick-up on the odd behavior of the counterman until it is painfully obvious something is wrong.

          2:  The agent assumes that there is only one robber and fails to secure the area.  In hindsight, it appears he has arrested the "seeded back-up."  These are people whose role is to insure nobody interferes with the robbery.  They walk in before and remain quiet through the robbery, only to walk out afterwards.  They don't flash a gun or make demands, simply stand in the background prepared to shoot anyone who attempts to prevent the crime.

               Tactically, the agent should have searched the aisles for a second or third shooter.  This is a case where the audience is led to believe that the advanced training from the Secret Service trumps some asshole with a gun.  Don't make that mistake.  A gun has no respect for the target's expertise.

        3: The agent simply walked into the Shop and Rob.  He didn't pause outside the door to look at the clerk or what other people were doing.  Nor did he look around once he opened the door and could see more.

        Don't do those things.

        As an armed citizen, you're not obligated to prevent crime.  If you see a criminal activity, step back and be a good witness.  Getting the police moving can make the difference.

        If you are sucked in and forced to act, never assume you are in control of the surroundings.  Check the surroundings and assume you've missed someone.  Stay on guard.

       Don't fall into the trap that your custom-made 1911 .45 ACP compact with night sights has the advantage over some guy's .32 ACP Raven.  This is a fatal mistake.

        Before you walk into a store, church, or public building, look around, ask yourself, how are people behaving, and what's out of the ordinary?  As Eve Dallas says, look for the odd sock.