Specifically since Dallas? Nothing. While better late than never, PERSEC is something people should have been incorporating into their lives on an ongoing basis. Ive been carrying a concealed handgun for almost 10 years now, and initially doing so led to most of the changes I have made.
-Condition Orange at all times, even at home
-Armed at all times, even at home
-Vest and IFAK in vehicle
-Stay away from protests
-No public intoxication
-Commit time/money to training 500 rds/mo (1hr/wk+ dry fire)
-Commit time/money to receive professional training
Quote:Quote:
White: Unaware and unprepared. If attacked in Condition White, the only thing that may save you is the inadequacy or ineptitude of your attacker. When confronted by something nasty, your reaction will probably be "Oh my God! This can't be happening to me."
Yellow: Relaxed alert. No specific threat situation. Your mindset is that "today could be the day I may have to defend myself". You are simply aware that the world is a potentially unfriendly place and that you are prepared to defend yourself, if necessary. You use your eyes and ears, and realize that "I may have to shoot today". You don't have to be armed in this state, but if you are armed you should be in Condition Yellow. You should always be in Yellow whenever you are in unfamiliar surroundings or among people you don't know. You can remain in Yellow for long periods, as long as you are able to "Watch your six." (In aviation 12 o'clock refers to the direction in front of the aircraft's nose. Six o'clock is the blind spot behind the pilot.) In Yellow, you are "taking in" surrounding information in a relaxed but alert manner, like a continuous 360 degree radar sweep. As Cooper put it, "I might have to shoot."
Orange: Specific alert. Something is not quite right and has your attention. Your radar has picked up a specific alert. You shift your primary focus to determine if there is a threat (but you do not drop your six). Your mindset shifts to "I may have to shoot that person today", focusing on the specific target which has caused the escalation in alert status. In Condition Orange, you set a mental trigger: "If that person does "X", I will need to stop them". Your pistol usually remains holstered in this state. Staying in Orange can be a bit of a mental strain, but you can stay in it for as long as you need to. If the threat proves to be nothing, you shift back to Condition Yellow.
Red: Condition Red is fight. Your mental trigger (established back in Condition Orange) has been tripped. "If 'X' happens I will shoot that person" — 'X' has happened, the fight is on.
Now then. Instead of all this fear mongering, what we (as the intelligent leaders that we are on this forum) should be doing is expanding our influence and controlling our domains. Being "prepared" doesn't mean that you sit in your basement counting your cans of Chef Boyardee, it simply means you've had the foresight to predict a likely scenario specific to your AOR and plan for such to minimize disruptions to your own comfort and well being.
-Get to know your neighbors. Maintain OPSEC always, but flesh out who you can depend on if SHTF to set up a neighborhood watch.
-Introduce non shooters to guns. This pays huge dividends in that it has the possibility of not only adding another pro-gun voter to the rolls but also another armed citizen which serves as another check among many against chaos, lawlessness, and government tyranny.
-Focus on being self reliant for 30 days. If we can take away anything from chaotic situations it is that government resources will be overtasked and you will end up being on your own anyway. In no necessary order: water, food, medical supplies, security, communications.
-Seek out professional training. In this day and age of YouTube classrooms, it isn't hip to admit you need help from outside sources but you never know what you don't know until its too late. Firearms training, self defense/martial arts training which doubles as exercise, BLS medical training can often be had for free from EMS organizations, HAM radio is easy to get into and usually the only thing that works when cell networks go down.
Don't let it run your life and turn you into a paranoid conspiracy theorist. Put in some time to train to get out of bad situations alive, buy some stuff that will help you get through the fallout of said situations, and live your life as before with a newfound confidence that happen what may: fire, flooding, riots, zombie apocalypse, power outage; that you will ride it out in comfort.