Prepare for the unthinkable, as though it was inevitable.
By Chief Tim McClung
Perkins Township (OH) Police Department
I truly have not done much compared to so many of the warriors I have interviewed, and whose stories I include in this book. But I have done a few interesting, exciting, dangerous and stressful things in my life, and throughout my warrior life, I have worked hard to prepare myself should I have to die. I do not plan on it happening soon, and I am not going down easy. I intend to be very hard to kill. But should it come to that, should I have to die for my country or my family today, I think I am as ready as any man can be. I think I can play the great game with my life as a stake and love every minute of it.
However, what I am not prepared for is some bastard putting my spouse and my kids in danger. I think that I would probably lose my professional objectivity should their lives ever be on the line. That is when it stops being a game... and starts becoming deadly serious. Many warriors have told me that the worse thing that could happen is that they would suddenly be in harm's way while their loved ones were with them. If you agree, if you think that is the worst thing that could happen, then that is the most important thing you should prepare for. Consider this real-life case, told to me by one warrior leader, and his amazing warrior wife.
An officer got a call on a man rampaging through his house shooting a rifle. The chief of police happened to be nearby with his wife in his personal car, which had a police radio. He heard the officer ask for backup. He told dispatch he would cover the call.
At the house, the officer approached the front door as the chief covered just off to the side. His wife remained in the car, but she could see everything going on. In one explosive instant, the gunman burst from the front door armed with a .30-30 rifle and fired a round into the officer's chest killing him instantly. The chief hurled himself off to the side but a bullet smashed through his shoulder, causing arterial damage and profuse bleeding. He scrambled across the yard as .30-30 rounds kicked up chunks of dirt all around him, and took cover behind a small tree as more rounds ripped away pieces of bark.
Fading fast from blood loss and with his right arm out of commission, he used his left hand to pull his sidearm, braced it on the ground, and emptied his magazine into the wall next to the front door where the man had taken cover. It worked. The bullets penetrated the wall and the suspect collapsed to the floor with a major leg wound, and began bleeding to death. Out in the yard, the chief lay bleeding to death, too.
He was saved, however, by his wife's quick actions. As soon as she saw what was happening, she grabbed the radio microphone and, in a calm and professional voice, provided dispatch and cover cars with all the necessary information. Backup arrived quickly, secured the scene, and took care of the injured parties.
The chief's wife knew what to do because he had prepared her for this very possibility.
Have you prepared your spouse for combat? Your kids? Your parents? Everyone says that the trickiest part of preparing the spouse is when you say, "Do exactly what I tell you." (Just this once!) After that, the priority is:
Separate yourself from me. I'm going to be drawing and returning fire. If I can, I'll move away, but you must move away from me immediately. Seek cover if you can't get away. Play dead if you can't seek cover.
One law enforcement trainer told me that he has rehearsed two signals with his wife: "Go" and "Stay." "Go" means to get out of there. "Stay" means she must put her hand on the back of his belt and use him for cover. This is one officer's answer, which makes him prepared.
It is vital that you prepare your family members to "Get help." Or, "Call 9-1-1." Or, "Use my radio." Have your loved ones rehearsed dialing 9-1-1? Remember, their fine-motor control will deteriorate, as will their near vision. Your life and their life might depend on their ability to poke 9-1-1 when their world suddenly comes unglued. Say you are a police officer and you toss them your hand-held radio. Do they know how to use it and know what to say? Do they know how to use your patrol car radio and know what to say? Have you told them how to identify and describe you should something happen when you are off duty? "My husband's a cop. He's got on a white shirt and blue jeans. The guy who is attacking him has on a maroon shirt. Send help for him, please." Have you told your loved ones that if you are down not to go to your body? Tell them you might be playing dead and you do not want them to deliberately enter the kill zone. Preparation, not paranoia.