Back to Basics! Really?

back to basics
So here we are again. Just when you think it wont happen to you, or you say to yourself, “I don’t know anyone that has had an accident. We all hear the stories and see all the pictures on the web, we even watch the videos of DEA agents actually teaching others on gun safety and yes you guessed it, BAM! A Negligent Discharge. I am in the camp, that does not believe you should call it an “accidental discharge” Really? Can accidents happen yes.! Like maybe if you drop a firearm and it goes off, or you are running from a bear and shooting at it blindly, and you accidentally kill a mocking bird. But when you reach for a firearm to handle it and you grab it incorrectly or haphazardly, that results in the discharge of the firearm that is NEGLIGENCE! You caused it! You failed to take the appropriate measures to ensure the safe handling of the firearm. Why am I writing this article, because a buddy of mine decided to discharge his pistol while in his vehicle where he, YES! You guessed it, he shot himself in the foot and through the floorboard of his car. In his words “I had an awkward grip on the gun and my ring finger slipped into the trigger guard and it went off.” I wanted to post his picture, but he threatened me with litigation if I did, so I just told him he would be the subject of our next post. So lets go through the basics once again.

  • 1) Treat all guns as if they are loaded!

This rule by itself does not completely keep you safe of negligence but it does set the tone as to how we treat a firearm and do not just assume the gun is unloaded. It must be treated with respect! Even when someone tells you it’s “Not loaded” Clear the firearm yourself!

  • 2) Do not point the gun at anything you do not wish to destroy!

At this point you have not verified weather or not the gun is loaded or not, so we will consider it loaded and keep it pointed either down at the ground or in the ready position. Not to the side, not in the air, keep it pointed DOWN!

  • 3) Keep you finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot!

And here we are the number one rule that if followed no matter what else you do, the gun will not discharge. Hmmm, so basically the firearm is safe, until someone picks it up, and how that person handles it determines weather or not it stays safe.

  • 4) Know your target and what is beyond it!

So you have followed all the rules and now you are placed in the position to discharge your gun, either at the range or in a life or death situation, you must know what you target is and what is beyond it. What kind of backstop are you shooting at? Are there people behind your attacker? Always remember there is a lawyer behind every round that gets fired from your gun. And they want to know why it was fired and why it landed where it did. And you need to be able to articulate your thought processes as to why you discharged your gun, and why the bullets landed where they did.

Where’s Your Head At?

So you are all high-speed now, you have a 1.75 inch belt, desert tan ball cap with Velcro patch. You have Sabre Red Pepper, tactical knife, and you’ve mounted torches to your waist; one in the front and a tactical back up in the rear! Remember what your instructor said during training: “two is one, one is none!”
You weren’t sure what time of day you would be on post so you stored away some black flex cuffs and some white ones, you don’t want to offend anyone, right?
Now when it comes to firearms you figure the bigger the better, so you strap a 9mm hand cannon to your hip. You have taken all the courses and the State has issued your credentials. You have passed the entire necessary tests; you’re ready to go, right? WRONG!
IMG_0043 (5)Ask yourself these questions:

  • Am I willing to take another human being’s life to save my own or the life of another?
  • Am I capable of defending another, or myself and then render first aid and/or CPR to the very person I just injured?
  • Am I ready to face the consequences of my actions and defend those actions in a court of law?
  • What about the effects of my actions on my family and my friends, how will the public view my actions?

Each of the answers to these questions should actually create new questions to be answered, depending on which direction you have chosen. The bottom line is there is much more to think about than just, what kind of gear you will equip yourself with. Stay safe and consider all your options before you need them!

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Which Defensive Tactics Work Best?

This is a question that defensive tactics experts and instructors have debated and continue to debate. But, in reality, the answer is simple. I don’t care what defensive tactics or martial arts discipline you train in or feel that you have mastered, the answer is the same. ALL experienced executive protection agents will agree that the best defensive tactic we have as agents, that will give us the greatest chance of survival and least chance of injury, is AVOIDANCE. Avoidance is our best defensive tactic.
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This is not the industry you enter into to get a charge or to prove your manhood. As we like to say in the executive protection industry, “boring is good!” A boring day is a safe day. It means that we have done our jobs so well that an attack on our client wasn’t possible or was thwarted. So, back to avoidance and how it can help us keep the job boring. When we see a possible oncoming threat, avoidance allows us to go another direction, choose another route, pick another restaurant, etc. We live to fight another day. There is no loss of respect when an executive protection agent chooses avoidance over conflict. And, I can assure, whether you win or loose the conflict you will affect your client in todays sue happy society.
Now, there are times when avoidance is not possible and you must use defensive tactics to protect yourself and your client. In those instances, the defensive tactics that works best are those that you have practiced. Remember, defensive tactics are like anything else in life: it’s all about repetition! The way you train is the way you will perform. To achieve muscle memory in an effort to utilize tactics effectively, you must practice them thousands of times.
This is why ESS Global Corp’s executive protection certification course spends 2-3 hours on defensive tactics and utilizes the majority of the time teaching you executive protection principles. It’s because we know that there is no way, even if we used a whole day on defensive tactics, that you will be proficient enough to be effective utilizing those techniques in the field. We use those 2-3 hours as an eye opener to show our students that there are other areas of training available to make them better agents.
If you have any questions about defensive tactics, executive protection, security training or different martial arts disciplines, please inquire and we will give you our input. We hope this has helped, and until next time, stay alert and stay safe!

Be a student of everyone you can!

raytravisThere are training courses where you lay foundations and then there are courses where you actually put walls up and hang drywall. Now if you know anything about building a house, you will know that building walls and hanging drywall secures and holds the home together. We have learned over the years that diversifying you’re training is extremely important. Learning new and improved techniques are vital to your growth and fine-tuning your skill set so that you can be the most effective operator out there.
Whether you are a professional contractor or just an ordinary citizen protecting yourself, training and re-training are very important. So the next time you’re looking for something to do, take advantage of seminars your local gun range or gun store may be hosting, you never know what information or technique you may pick up. Remember, amateurs train until they get it right, Experts train until they can’t get it wrong.

Executive Protection falls under Class D security, Good or Bad?

9288169_origAt ESS Global Corp, much like the rest of the Executive Protection and Security industry, we are eagerly awaiting the day when Executive Protection will have its own license. No more wondering if you need a C, D or any other letter in the alphabet license that there is. For years, industry professionals have been trying to figure out why Executive Protection has been lumped under the same license as Private Investigation. Especially when the two industries are extremely different. We all know that the State-mandated C License course covers about 2% of what you need to know to work in the Executive Protection industry. But the fact that Executive Protection is lumped under the C License has made it a bit more difficult for those with aspirations of entering the Executive Protection industry. But, is that a bad thing? Let’s talk about Executive Protection being just under the D License.
Now, the requirements to enter the Executive Protection industry would be much easier if it were classified under the class D License, but at the same time, what types of individuals would now, by law, qualify to do Executive Protection work? You got it! Those same lackluster individuals that sat next to you in your D License training course that you said in the back of your mind, “I can’t believe this guy is going to be protecting somebody or securing an area!” Just think, you and Paul Blart working the same Executive Protection detail!
And let’s talk about what this will do to the pay rates in the Executive Protection industry. Now that any security guard qualifies as an Executive Protection agent (by law only), prospective clients will use those same security rates when it comes to pay. In addition, you will have security companies offering Executive Protection services (because they can by law) and asking for security guard rates. This will totally undercut true Executive Protection companies and lower the bar for the entire industry. There are companies already doing this. You know of them. They bid jobs at ridiculously low rates and then put out a Craigslist ad to fill them.
Well, we hope you found this insightful and look forward to hearing your thoughts. Until then, stay alert and stay safe!