Hydroponics might sound complicated, but nothing could be further from the truth. H ydroponics is simply a method of growing plants using nutrient rich wa- ter instead of soil. In fact, hydroponics advocates have shown that it is much easier to provide a plant with all of the nutrients it needs through hydroponic gardening than with regular soil. This method of growing also conserves water; some estimates claim up to 90% less water can be used … You’re probably wondering how this is possible. COMPONENTS NEEDED A growing medium such as coconut fiber, gravel, perlite, Rockwool, sand or vermiculite. A nutrient solution with the proper pH for your plant (between 5 and 7 is optimal for most plants.) A place to contain the water (this could be as simple as a 5-gallon bucket or it could be a tilapia pond.) A pump to bring the water to the plant roots. Another option is a flow through system like the one I was involved in creating at Osa Mountain Village in Costa TACTICS AND PREPAREDNESS PISTOL GRIPPING | TCCC | KID’S FITNESS JUNE 2017 ISSUE 44 TACTICSANDPREPAREDNESS.COM SKILLS AND SURVIVAL FOR ALL SITUATIONS continued on next page BY: JIM GALE PIXABAY - CEPRIS START YOUR HYDROPONIC FOOD GARDEN
Transcript
Hydroponics might sound complicated, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Hydroponics is simply a method of growing plants using nutrient rich wa-ter instead of soil. In fact, hydroponics
advocates have shown that it is much easier to provide a plant with all of the nutrients it needs through hydroponic gardening than with regular soil. This method of growing also conserves water; some estimates claim
up to 90% less water can be used … You’re probably wondering how this is possible.
COMPONENTS NEEDEDA growing medium such as coconut fi ber, gravel, perlite, Rockwool, sand or vermiculite.
A nutrient solution with the proper pH for
your plant (between 5 and 7 is optimal for most plants.) A place to contain the water (this could be as simple as a 5-gallon bucket or it could be a tilapia pond.) A pump to bring the water to the plant roots.
Another option is a fl ow through system like the one I was involved in creating at Osa Mountain Village in Costa
TACTICS AND PREPAREDNESSPISTOL GRIPPING | TCCC | KID’S FITNESS JUNE 2017 ISSUE 44
TA C T I C S A N D P R E PA R E D N E S S . C O M
S K I L L S A N D S U R V I V A L F O R A L L S I T U A T I O N S
continued on next page
BY: JIM GALEPIXABAY - CEPRIS
START YOUR
HYDROPONIC FOOD GARDENFOOD GARDEN
NAME OF ARTICLE HERE
TACTICS & PREPAREDNESS JUNE 2017www.tacticsandpreparedness.com2
Rica. We captured water from a jungle spring about a mile uphill from the community. We then built a tilapia pond in the community and ran our overfl ow into the pond. This had two desired effects; it kept the pond water fresh and the overfl ow (tilapia poop makes great fertilizer) was diverted downhill to our gardens. This is called “fertigation” (fertilize and irrigate.)
The growing medium acts as a placeholder for seeds and plants. It also helps to protect the roots, but unlike soil, it doesn’t feed the plant at all. The nutrient solution, which is a mixture of minerals and water, is delivered directly to the plant’s roots by way of pump and/or gravity. These systems typically run on simple timers which create an automatic wa-tering system. You can adjust the pH of the nutrient solution easily for different types of plants. Hydroponic fertilizers have the three primary nutrients that all plants need: nitro-gen, potassium and phosphorus. They also have the essential micro-nutrients that are usually present in fertile soil, except they’re ready made for the plant to eat without its roots needing to use any energy in hunting them down. These micro-nutrients include boron, calcium, cobalt, copper, iron, manga-nese, magnesium, molybdenum, sulfur and zinc. Whenever trace elements of these nutri-ents aren’t present in the soil or the liquid fertilizer mixture, a plant will experience dis-
ease and stress, or be more prone to attacks from bacteria, fungi or pests.
If you grow a plant in soil, its roots have to search for the nutrients in the soil and extract them. That takes a lot of the plant’s energy. It seems that since the plant doesn’t have to use its energy looking for the nutrients that it needs, it uses this energy to put out a higher quality of vegetative growth.
When comparing soil-grown and hydro-ponic plants, it is almost guaranteed that you will see better and faster growth and more yield in the hydroponic plants if the fertilizer mixture has the correct pH. For this reason, more commercial food producers are fi nding the value of hydroponic gardening.
HYDROPONICS VS. AQUAPONICSThe only difference between hydroponics and aquaponics is the source of the nutrients. In hydroponics, you mix a nutrient solution in water to feed the plants.
The word aquaponics comes from the words aquaculture (raising fi sh or other ani-mals in water) and hydroponics (growing plants in liquid.) In aquaponics, the manure from fi sh, shrimp or even turtles is used to provide nutrients to the plants. For the novice who wants to keep things simple, hydropon-ics is easier. For those who want to get more involved, and especially those who enjoy a good fi sh dinner, aquaponics is wonderful.
01 START YOUR HYDROPONIC FOOD GARDEN BY JIM GALE
05 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION WRITTEN BY GEORGE WASHINGTON, ET AL. SUMMARY BY CHRIS GRAHAM
07 ANTIFRAGILE KIDS: EIGHT EXERCISES FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING ANYWHERE BY DAVE CADY
1O STRATEGIC COUNTERFEITING, PART ONE BY KEVIN D. FREEMAN
14 TRAINING PISTOL GRIP FOR MORE SPEED AND ACCURACY BY SHANNON SMITH
16 GEAR REVIEW: THE SHIRUDO
17 TACTICAL COMBAT CASUALTY CARE BY TOM PERRONI
20 PROFILES OF COURAGE: OFFICER SMITH
CONTENTS
OUR LAWYERS INSIST WE MAKE THE FOLLOWING DISCLAIMER: You may die in an emergency, even if you follow this training to the letter. You might get hurt doing some of the exercises suggested, hurt someone else, or be subject to civil or criminal liability if you do anything mentioned in this newsletter. Verify that the ac-tions mentioned are legal where you are before even considering them. This is presented as a tool to help increase your chance of surviving natural and manmade disasters. While we guarantee your satisfaction with the information, we can not guarantee your survival or well-being. The author provides information about his experiences and preparations and gives general information. He is not an accountant, doctor, investment advisor or attorney and is not in the business of advising individuals on their specifi c situ-ation. If you need specifi c professional assistance, please contact a local professional.
The nutrient solution, which is a mixture of minerals and water, is delivered directly to the plant’s roots by way of pump and/or gravity.
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HYDROPONIC GARDEN
NUTRITIOUS FOODOne of the best things you can do for your family and our world is to grow as much of your own food as possible. Many commercial farms today are using land that has been over-farmed or farmed using poisons. Jane Goodall said, “Someday we shall look back on this
dark era of agriculture and shake our heads. How could we have ever believed that it was a good idea to grow our food with poisons?” and I tend to agree. When plants are nutrient deficient, the people eating them are going to be nutrient deficient too. If the plants are full of poisons, then so are the people eating them.
The FUUDHaus we used in Costa Rica has put all of these details together in a unique and functional way. Water is collected from a rainwater harvesting system; it is also har-vested from atmospheric water generators (AWGs.) The water is then used to keep the fish tanks full and feed the plants. The AWG byproduct is warm, dry air. This air is pumped through a food dehydrator cabinet to dehy-drate food for long term storage.
BEST PLANTS FOR HYDROPONICSLettuce and other leafy greens such as cab-bage, chard and spinach do well in hydropon-ic greenhouses.
Plants that grow on vines, such as cucum-bers, peas and tomatoes thrive in hydroponic conditions with support. An easy support mechanism for a vining plant is a vertically-tied string that you can wrap the vine around.
Peppers love to be grown hydroponically.Root crops can be grown in a hydroponic
greenhouse if they are put into a large grow-ing container with deep channels dug into the inert growing medium. For example, po-tatoes will grow best if the channels you dig are at least 8 inches deep, and for carrots the channels can be 3 inches deep.
Small fruit trees can be started hydroponi-cally and then transplanted into soil once they become too big for a container. A small papaya tree can be grown in a hydroponic greenhouse without being transplanted out-doors.
Raspberries and strawberries thrive in a hy-droponic system.
Herbs that can grow in wet conditions will do well in a hydroponic greenhouse, and their flavors may even be enhanced. Herbs that do well include basil, chives, dill, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sweet marjoram and watercress.
DECENTRALIZED SUSTAINABILITY Transportation of food products in modern commerce is expensive, energy consuming and wasteful. Any interruptions to that sys-tem, whether from natural or man-made di-sasters, can very quickly have catastrophic
A vertical hydroponic system can help save space in smaller areas.
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results for the people dependent upon them. Hydroponics and aquaponics can play a criti-cal role in decentralizing our ridiculously fragile food production and delivery systems.
GIVE IT A TRY… You don’t have to start from scratch. You can find volumes of plans online and pick a sys-tem to build. You will need:
A pump. Pumps can be found online start-ing in the $20 range. I suggest a submersible pump. Putting a cloth bag around it will keep the big particles from getting in it and clog-ging it up.
Grow trays for starting plants.A timer. The timer is a crucial component.
With a timer, you can choose how much wa-ter your plants receive, when they receive it etc.
A growing medium: The growing medium is where you place seeds for sprouting, then, in some cases, transfer the sprouted seed along with grow medium to the hydroponics system. Various grow mediums are used de-pending on what kind of system you choose. Rockwool and lava rock are both popular.
Hydroponic nutrients: This is a mixture of the basic minerals needed to support maximum plant growth.
A water tank: This is where the basic nutri-ents and water reserves are kept.
A pH test kit: Most plants grow best in acidic water, between 5.5 and 7.0. That’s green on the pH meter scale!
Grow lights: If you have a greenhouse, that’s great, if not, you can purchase LED or other grow lights that will allow you to grow tomatoes in Minnesota in January. How cool is that?
CONCLUSIONModern food production and delivery sys-tems that we depend on are as vulnerable as any modern network of technologies is to disruption. Growing your own food is a great way to guarantee what is in it, and build re-siliency by limiting dependence on external systems. Growing food is a fun, educational and constructive activity to do with children or other family members.
The time to test your ideas is now, not after a disaster. You don’t have to replace the gro-cery store. You can supplement it and experi-ment with your own creation, or you can just go to www.permacube.com and purchase an incredible food, water and energy production system or any of the components (such as hy-droponics systems) that you like. 3
BIOJames Gale is CEO of Permacube Revolution (www.PermaCubeRevolution.com).“Chris Graham writes the way he fl ies: low, fast and
hair raising. He’s one of the best brightest and bravest Marines I’ve ever known. Now he’s proven himself to be a sharp-edged master of suspense.” - Oliver North
FROM TACTICS & PREPAREDNESS’
CHRIS GRAHAM
After the Iranian revolution, the new Islamic Republic of Iran instigates a series of terrorist attacks around the world. For what purpose? Col. Qiao Liang and Col. Wang Xiangsui
unveil a modernized version of Sun Tzu's tactics. How could this be unfolding in current events? A corruptible American President approaches re-election... who is
trying to manipulate her?
AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON
Leafy greens such as lettuce, cabbage, chard and spinach do well in hydroponic greenhouses.
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More than a few years ago, I stood in a room with other volunteers and recited: “I, Chris Graham, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and do-mestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the offi ce on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
Whether this is the fi rst time you have seen this oath, or you have taken it yourself, I invite you to give the Consti-
tution’s “Bill of Rights” some thought each Inde-pendence Day.
AMENDMENT ONE: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or bridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and petition the government for redress of grievances.
Our children are growing up in a world where freedom of speech is increasingly out of fash-
ion around the world, and increasingly restrict-ed and regulated in the USA. The prohibition against “establishment of religion” has been re-interpreted to obscure the “Natural Law” basis of U.S. law, while the guarantee for the “free exercise thereof” has been used to justify non-enforcement of existing criminal laws against subversives and insurgents who pursue the im-plementation of foreign law in the USA through fraud and coercion. This trend will only reverse if you interest your loved ones in becoming stu-dents and advocates of the Bill of Rights.
AMENDMENT TWO: A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the
people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
The 2nd Amendment recognizes that an armed citizenry is the primary means for self- de-fense, cumulatively creating a common de-fense, and it acknowledges the historic value of deterring oppressive political over reach. Most governments fear an armed citizenry, but Americans celebrate individual fi rearms own-ership and have, so far, electorally defeated most of the campaigns to circumvent the 2nd
Amendment.
AMENDMENT THREE: No soldier shall, in time of peace be quar-
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYIf there is a book you would like to recommend, or to contribute a summary, contact us at [email protected]
WRITTEN BY GEORGE WASHINGTON, JAMES MADISON, ALEXANDER HAMILTON, ET AL. SUMMARY BY CHRIS GRAHAM
THE UNITED STATESCONSTITUTION
TACTICS & PREPAREDNESS JUNE 2017www.tacticsandpreparedness.com6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
tered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a man-ner to be prescribed by law.
The Constitution repeatedly prioritizes pri-vate property rights over the desires and de-mands of the powerful.
AMENDMENT FOUR: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall is-sue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly de-scribing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Espionage against non-U.S. citizens is neces-sary to prevent attacks and strategic surprise, but without the 4th Amendment it would also be legal for a ruler or government employee to intercept, read, or store your written and electronic communications without a judge’s warrant, or have a third party do this for him or her. Without the 4th Amendment, it would be legitimate for judges to write broad war-rants targeting thousands, rather than “partic-ularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.” Whether unconstitutional domestic surveillance ex-pands or contracts depends on whether you and the voters you influence hold elected of-ficials accountable or not.
AMENDMENT FIVE: No person shall be held to answer for a cap-ital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand
Jury, excepting cases rising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when an ac-tual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any crimi-nal case to be a witness against himself, will be deprived of life, liberty, or property, with-out due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
The Constitution offers the greatest protec-tion possible against “Kangaroo Court” jus-tice and harassment of individuals who fail to please the powerful. The Constitution repeat-edly prioritizes private property rights.
AMENDMENT SIX: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and pub-lic trial, by the partial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the wit-nesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Smear campaigns alone are not sufficient to establish guilt under the Constitution.
AMENDMENT SEVEN: In suits at common law, with the valuing controversy shall exceed $20, the right of trial to be by jury shall be preserved, and
no fact tried by jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Except for extremely minor cases, the Con-stitution requires transparency and account-ability for adjudicating sanctions.
AMENDMENT EIGHT: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and un-usual punishments inflicted.
American citizens are bestowed with com-pulsory protections uncommon through his-tory and uncommon in the world.
AMENDMENT NINE: The enumeration in the Constitution, of cer-tain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
The naming of certain rights in the Consti-tution does not take away from the people rights that are not named.
AMENDMENT TEN: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
The United States government has a narrow range of legitimate powers and responsibili-ties. Those beyond this are the concern of in-dividual citizens and their states.
— — —
It is up to you and your family to determine if you expect your elected representatives to follow the Constitution in deed or not. The Constitution is the law of the United States. Citizens who find the Constitution lacking may work to amend it through the exist-ing amendment process. The commission of fraud and working to circumvent the Con-stitution is criminal activity. I encourage you to take the time to review the Bill of Rights with your family each Independence Day, and if you have taken the oath described above, discuss the responsibilities of our oath with your teammates and subordinates. Is there anything less you can do and still be “sup-porting and defending the Constitution of the United States”? 3
The Treaty of Paris, by American artist Benjamin West. The painting was left unfinished because the British delegation refused to pose.
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One concept that remains in the foundation is good physical conditioning. When working with children, right up to the
teens, it can present challenges. I can’t teach physical fi tness training to my kid’s class in the same manner as a hand to hand combative class. My goal is to instill the same “never give up” attitude for all. Each student, no matter what age, must come to understand that what the mind believes, the body achieves. In today’s society, we must teach our children that it is ok to strive to be your best. They must learn that there are winners and losers in nearly all activities and environments and there are natural rewards and consequences for quality of performance. With the proper motivation, they can learn to harness the internal power within that makes them a winner.
One basic principle is motivation. We moti-vate the student by doing the stretching and exercises with them. The student observes the instructor doing the exercise. The partici-pation in the exercises is leading by example and it shows the student proper technique. The instructor begins the motivation by hav-ing the student count out each exercise. We also explain to the student that by counting the exercise out loud it will assist them to breathe properly.
We start our classes with breathing and
EIGHT Exercises for
Physical Training Anywhere
BY: DAVE CADY
ANTIFRAGILE
The world of Martial Arts Training has greatly changed throughout the years.
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ANTIFRAGILE KIDS
stretching. The student is taught that this phase of training is meant to prepare him or her physically and mentally for a productive session. The student stands with their feet par-allel and a little wider than their shoulders. They bring the arms up parallel to the chest and bent at the elbows. The finger tips can touch at chest level. They then turn the body at the waist from side to side. The breathing technique that is taught is used at this time. The student is taught that proper breathing is the key to power and stamina. The technique is simply breathing through the nose slowly and drawing as much air as possible into the lungs. The student will then slowly exhale through the mouth. We use the same technique as a meditative breathing exercise. Students are encouraged to increase their air intake and can measure their progress through counting out seconds. As they stretch and breathe we encourage them to close their eyes and visu-alize themselves in the martial arts session. This technique is used to formulate a relation-ship between the mind and body. Visualizing performing successfully in as much detail as possible improves performance. The stretch-ing exercises will continue by having the stu-dent move their feet wider than the shoulders and stay on that parallel plane. We then have them cross the arms at chest level and bend at the waist. They will let their body weight pull them closer to the ground. From this po-sition the student will change from the right leg to the left leg. The Student grasps the ankle
with both hands and pulls their head to the leg. The Instructor will lead the count for each stretch. There are several different stretching exercises. YouTube can provide a sample of different techniques, some good, some not-so-good. During the stretching and exercise ses-sion, the instructor critiques each student. The student is given praise for doing the technique properly. If correction is necessary it will be done in a positive manner; as in, “I like the ef-fort that you’re putting into the exercise.” “If you do it like this it will be even better.” Let the Student see your attention to their efforts. We are attempting to make “What the mind believes, the body achieves” reality for each child we train.
We are observing a lack of cardio fitness in ages six and up. The challenges created by modern entertainment, technology and elec-tronic devices can be challenging to over-come for kids. Sadly, many kids compound the problems of a sedentary lifestyle with poor nutritional habits. If you are a parent, teacher or older sibling, we have to get these kids mov-ing! There are many great sports programs across the country for our youth and there are a lot of great kids in these athletic programs. The kids that are in afterschool sports defi-nitely lead the class in fitness. It is important that kids understand the importance of good cardio fitness. Inspiring your child to clearly picture the adult he or she wants to become includes discussing what level of fitness they would like to possess and understanding the route to get there. Organized sports and fit-ness training is great, but leading by example can be best.
Here are some basic exercises we do that you can do and challenge your child with any-where you go:
JUMPING JACKS: The Jumping Jack is believed to be named for General “Black Jack” Pershing who allegedly invented the exercise as a cadet at West Point. From a standing upright position with hands at the sides, a quick motion of bringing the arms over the head and clapping palms is ex-ecuted with a jump. The legs will move paral-lel and end up wider than the shoulders. Upon returning to the standing upright position the number of the exercise will be given. The in-structor sets the pace for counting and breath-ing. The student counts and breathes with the instructor. The student learns that with posi-tive effort and thought they will increase their cardio conditioning and stamina. The number
of Jumping Jacks done will be determined by the instructor. The instructor motivates the students with words of encouragement. This action will motivate most students to achieve greater results and push their physical limits.
LAPS: This depends on the amount of room available in your training site. The instructor leads the students in jogging laps around the perimeter of our facility. At intervals, the instructor will stop and have the students conduct a breath-ing exercise. This teaches that with proper breathing they can increase their cardio capa-bilities and create greater stamina. During the laps, the instructor will critique each student. Positive motivational guidance is given to each student. Once warmed up with muscles stretched, Sprints, “High-knees” and other de-mands can be added to increase intensity.
LINE DRILLS: The students will form a line and stand paral-lel to each other. They will be given a differ-ent line to run to as fast as they can. They can turn and sprint back to the starting position upon command. The student is encouraged to utilize the breathing techniques that they have learned. The distance between lines and the number of line sprints done is up to the instructor. The Instructor must observe the students during the drills to determine their conditioning. Positive encouragement is given to each student. This encouragement helps the student mentally prepare for the challenge of each exercise session.
STANDARD PLANK: The standard plank is a simple, effective body weight exercise. Holding the body light yet stiff as a board develops strength in the core. We want to work with muscles that connect the upper and lower body as well as the shoul-
Running laps is a simple and great way to improve cardio.
STANDARD PLANK
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ANTIFRAGILE KIDS
ders arms and glutes. Plant the hands direct-ly under the shoulders (slightly wider than shoulder-width apart) like you’re in the push-up position. Ground the toes into the floor and squeeze the glutes. Keep your legs locked. This helps to stabilize the body. Be careful not to lock or hyperextend your knees. Focus on a spot on the floor about a foot beyond the hands. Keep your head in line with your back. The instructor will give the count dur-ing this exercise. The goal is to focus the mind and body to breathe effectively and maintain proper form.
FOREARM PLANK: This variation is probably one of the most common ways to perform a plank. It is slightly easier than holding the body up with just the hands. Place the forearms on the ground with the elbows aligned below the shoulders, and arms parallel to the body at about shoulder-width distance. If flat palms bother your wrists, clasp your hands together. The Instructor will motivate the student to dig deep into their internal power. We work with the student to increase the amount of time they can stay in the exercise and maintain proper form. It’s a great confidence builder.
KNEELING PLANK: This plank is noticeably easier to hold than the traditional straight-arm plank, making it great for beginners because it allows them to concentrate on form. By resting the knees on the ground, there is less stress on the lower back. It is from this position that we begin to work push-ups.
PUSH UPS: We begin our push-ups from the Knee Plank position. From the up position, we lower the upper body to a point where it almost touches the floor. The student must bend their arms at the elbows. The student will breathe in when
lowering the upper body. They will exhale on the way up. Their focus point will be ap-proximately twelve to sixteen inches in front of them on the floor. Once the student gains strength and confidence they will go to the standard plank position and complete a stan-dard push up from that position. The instruc-tor will verbally critique and encourage each student during the exercise. The number of repetitions of each exercise will be set by the instructor based on the ability of the students.
ABDOMINAL CRUNCHES: Fitness experts warn that doing crunches in-correctly can lead to back issues and muscle cramps, and if you don’t do an exercise cor-rectly you will not necessarily see the results you want. Lie down on your back flat to the floor, elevate your feet so your knees are at a 90-degree angle to your body or you can keep them on the floor. Cross your hands in front of your chest. Draw your belly button in to the base of your spine. Sit up until your elbows or chest reaches your knees. Exhale as you sit up. Inhale as you lie down.
CONCLUSIONWe use this training in our Children’s Martial Arts Class. This is a group of boys and girls ages 6 to 12. The class meets two times a week for a one hour class. We begin the class with the stretching and breathing exercises and then the instructor will “set the pace.” When the class reaches the point of the physical
exercises, the instructor joins in. Additional instructors will challenge the students through verbal motivation to increase the number of exercises done. Progress is recorded on a dry erase board in the martial arts studio. The student can see and will feel the results of his hard work. It is very important to give verbal praise and constructive motivation. If a student is having difficulty performing a certain exercise, the instructor can coach them in a one-on-one environment. Results are tracked week to week. “What the mind believes, the body achieves” is the cornerstone of our training.
Organized sports are great for inspiring health and fitness in your kids. But, in order to give a child a strong mind and body, we need to be positive role models for our children. If your child observes you doing the exercise with them, it builds a bond of confidence. Lead by example and encourage them to meet the challenges that you present. Have fun and stimulate the sense of accomplishment your child feels with each improvement. 3
BIODave Cady holds a 4th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He is in the 24th year of his law enforcement career. He has held positions in Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Narcot-ics and SWAT. In addition, Dave is a singer/ songwriter and recording artist. His music videos can be found on YouTube search: Dave Cady.
FOREARM PLANK
CRUNCHES
Lead by example and encourage them to meet the challenges that you present.
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Many people think of counterfeiting as a primarily criminal activity done on a relatively small scale with limited success.
Everyone has seen the special highlight pens used by retailers to determine whether a bill is real or fake. Occasion-
ally, you may even hear a news report state that a “ring” is at work in your area passing fake bills. These warnings pass quickly, and everyone goes back to business as usual when the counterfeiters are apprehended. Once caught, these criminals are almost al-ways convicted. In fact, the Secret Service reportedly has a 98.8% conviction rate in prosecuting criminal counterfeiters.1 Statis-tics like these recently prompted Justin Pe-ters of Slate to opine that “given its degree of diffi culty and the near-inevitability of being
caught, counterfeiting American currency is maybe the dumbest crime imaginable.”2
However, it is important to consider the role that infl ating a country’s money supply might play in destabilizing that nation’s economy. There have been multiple well-documented cases of this sort of “economic warfare” throughout history. In my 2012 book Secret Weapon: How Economic Terrorism Brought Down the U.S. Stock Market and Why It Can Happen Again (Regnery, http://secretweapon.org), I recounted Operation Bernhard as one example. This was an extremely sophisticated Nazi operation designed to destabilize the British
economy and provide resources for German operations:
THE SOPHISTICATED GAME: OPERATION BERNHARDIn 1939, members of Adolf Hitler’s Security Service (Reichsicherheitsdienst) proposed that the Germans destroy the British cur-rency by counterfeiting millions of pounds worth of banknotes. By deceitfully infl ating the British currency, the value would col-lapse, hindering the Brits from buying the goods and services needed to win the war. At fi rst Hitler rejected the plan as “dishon-orable,” but eventually he embraced part of
Ed. Note:
This classic article from Kevin Freeman is worth a second look. While key national leaders have changed, the question remains: “Has economic warfare accelerated or decelerated in the world today? What should you expect?”
BY: KEVIN D. FREEMAN
COUNTERFEITINGCOUNTERFEITINGSTRATEGIC
PART ONE
R E P R I N T E D F R O M T H E C O U N T E R T E R R O R I S T M A G A Z I N E V O L . 6 N O . 6 W I T H P E R M I S S I O N .
PIXABAY -SCOTTAXELROD
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it, instructing his underlings to begin pay-ing German spies and fellow travelers with forged notes. This would serve the dual pur-pose of allowing Germany not to pay these operatives and allowing these individuals to become dispensing points for fake cur-rency.
Major Bernhard Krueger, after whom the operation was named, led the German Secu-rity Service’s Forgery Division, creating fake papers for its operatives. Forging banknotes on this scale was an immense task—after all, banknotes are the most highly scruti-nized pieces of paper in the world. Fortu-nately, Krueger had the ultimate supply of cheap labor hidden away in concentration camps all over Europe. Jewish inmates were selected for the job and rewarded with bet-ter living conditions.
Krueger began by having his slaves cre-ate fi ve-pound banknotes. He mixed up the paper from Turkish fl ax (obtained through Italy), ensuring that every detail of the notes, down to the way the ink absorbed into the paper, was accurate. He even sent a batch of counterfeited currency to Swit-zerland to see if bankers could tell it was
fake—and they could not. Even the Bank of England was fooled.
Every month, Krueger’s men turned out over �£500,000 worth of currency to be dis-tributed in Britain. Soon, demand by his distributors outstripped supply, and they asked for £50 notes. Over the course of the year, Krueger expanded his operation and increased his staff to number nearly 150. His team was creating millions worth of banknotes each month and even branching out to print U.S. dollars. The fakes were so good that they circulated quite normally—in fact, Krueger’s agents began receiving their own forged notes when trading other currencies. Krueger actually asked for—and received—medals for his prisoners.
Overall, Krueger’s operation counterfeited more than $600 million worth of banknotes. It forced the Bank of England to withdraw all notes larger than £5 from circulation during the war and to change the paper on which the £5 note was printed. Near the end of the war, the Bank of England made all pound notes from £10 to £1,000 illegal. Krueger’s scheme only ended when the war drew to a close. The prisoners were lucky enough to escape.3
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OPERATION SUNSET: On Nov. 15, 2016, the Peruvian government and U.S. Secret Service Agents confi scated thirty million counterfeit U.S. dollars and 50,000 Euro. Six counterfeit plants were suppressed, eight counterfeit manufacturing presses seized and over 1,600 printing plates and negatives were found. (from U.S Secret Service press release)
COUNTERFEITING U.S. CURRENCY is serious business for all sorts of purposes. It is a powerful economic and political warfare tool.
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COUNTERFEITING
Despite its vast scale, Operation Bernhard wasn’t nearly comprehensive enough to truly damage the British currency—and be-cause it was launched late in the war, it did not have much time to achieve its objectives. However, examining Operation Bernhard is instructive. If the operation had succeeded, it would have knocked the British out of the war. By adding hundreds of millions of pounds into the British economy, [the Nazis] could have seriously undermined Britain’s floating currency. It’s a lesson well worth learning, especially when we consider the many weaknesses of the U.S. dollar today.
Here’s one example of the vulnerability of the American currency: the North Kore-an regime runs its own version of Opera-tion Bernhard aimed at the United States. According to David Rose of Vanity Fair, North Korea (also known as the Democrat-ic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK) is home to a secret agency called Office 39, directly overseen by the nation’s dictator, Kim Jung Il [replaced after his death by his son.] That office used messengers to laun-der counterfeit “supernotes” worth millions of dollars through the casinos in Las Vegas. According to Rose, “Most of the notes have ended up in general circulation.” David
Asher, head of the State Department’s Il-licit Activities Initiative from 2003–2005 further explains, “In one sense, Office 39 is like an investment bank. It provides the money for the stuff Kim needs. Like any or-ganized-crime syndicate, you’ve got a don, and you’ve got accountants, and it’s a very complicated business, keeping track of all this money and making sure the boss gets paid. But when members of the organiza-tion don’t deliver, they get killed.”
Office 39, not coincidentally, handles Kim Jung Il’s personal bank accounts in Switzer-land and sells missiles to foreign countries. Overall, Office 39 rakes in between $500 million and $1 billion per year or more. That’s not enough to substantially damage U.S. currency holdings, but it spreads uncer-tainty that can create risks. As Rose reports,
“In 2004, Taiwan’s central bank issued a warning that supernotes had been turning up on the island. This caused a panic, and the Taiwanese banks were overwhelmed by cus-tomers seeking to return $100 bills totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, most of them perfectly genuine.”4
The quality of the counterfeiting is so good that the fakes are essentially indistin-guishable from the real bills. The U.S. has even had to force the shutdown of foreign banks that act as distributors for the North Korean supernotes. And the scale of the counterfeiting does not seem to be dimin-ishing: in 2007, the North Koreans bought enough paper to print $2 billion.5
Nazi Germany and North Korea are not alone in using counterfeiting as a weapon of warfare. In fact, those nations sponsoring or at least allowing the counterfeiting of U.S. dollars map out like a “Who’s Who” of actors who would like to see America fail. These are nations or groups that could easily be lumped into a current “Axis of Evil” from an economic warfare perspective—including Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, and Venezuela.
According to the U.S. Secret Service, Peru has recently surpassed Colombia as the top
counterfeiter, at least based on sei-zures of phony bills. Most of this effort is likely criminal activity rather than financial terrorism. However, the drug cartel tie-in is worth
noting, as are the Venezuelan and al-Qaeda money laundering influences in the region. First, Peruvian counterfeiters are tied to the big drug cartels, and many of them moved operations from Colombia to Peru after a crackdown by U.S. law enforcement agen-cies.6 Second, Venezuela has made inroads into Peruvian politics with a decidedly anti-American bent.7 Finally, Peru has been used as a major money transfer point for al-Qae-da.8 Fortunately, the Peruvian counterfeiters have had to work with bond paper, which makes it difficult but not impossible to spot the phony bills. According to an AP report in September 2013:
For all their skill, says Portocarrero (Col. Se-gundo Portocarrero, chief of the Peruvian po-lice’s fraud division), Peruvian counterfeiters’ handiwork will always get tripped up by the
infrared scanner banks used to authenticate currency. That, he says, owes to their contin-ued reliance on standard ‘bond’ paper, the variety used by consumers that is available in stores and that easily disintegrates when wet.
If they were able to obtain ‘rag’ paper, the cloth type used for banknotes, all bets would be off, Portocarrero said.
‘The day they get it and perfect the finish a bit more, (their bills) will go undetected.’9
Still, the ramped-up counterfeiting opera-tions in Peru seem limited when compared to the often-undetected efforts in the Middle East. In that part of the world, counterfeiting U.S. currency is serious business for all sorts of purposes. For example, millions of dollars of fake U.S. currency flooded into Iraq in ear-ly 2010. Officials say these counterfeit bills “might have been an Iranian attempt to in-fluence Iraqi elections”10—and they are only the tip of the iceberg.
There are disturbing reports of a massive Iranian counterfeiting scheme with opera-tions on the borders of Russia and across East Asia, as well as connections in Hong Kong, Macau, Albania, England, Germany, France, and Italy.11 In fact, a former CIA source that had infiltrated the Iranian Revolutionary
Stacks of fake bills confiscated in Operation Sunset.
NORTH KOREA launders counterfeit “supernotes” worth millions of dollars through the casinos in Las Vegas.
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Guard Corps and now teaches at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Counterin-telligence Training Academy tied these op-erations with global drug running designed “to undermine the West through their links with global crime networks,”12 just as is ad-vocated in the PRC (People’s Republic of China) strategy book Unrestricted Warfare.
The idea of Iranian counterfeiting is uniquely signifi cant for two reasons:
First, the Iranians recognize that the U.S. government is currently engaged in an ag-gressive economic war against them, us-ing weapons such as sanctions, barriers to the international banking system, and ap-parent cyberattacks. 13 Juan Zarate’s new book Treasury’s War: The Unleashing of a New Era of Financial Warfare goes into great detail explaining various efforts the U.S. government has taken against the Ira-nian economy.14 In response, the Iranians have threatened economic retaliation15—
including efforts to cripple the dollar.16
Second, the quality of state-produced currency—including that made by Iranian counterfeiters—may be higher than that of currency produced by standard criminals. Nations have access to the best paper, inks, scientists, and equipment, and their output is sometimes so good that the fake bills are called “supernotes.”
See the conclusion to “Strategic Coun-terfeiting” (Part II) in next month’s issue of Tactics and Preparedness! 3
BIOKevin Freeman (CFA) is the author of Secret Weapon: How Economic Terrorism Brought Down the U.S. Stock Market (www. secretweapon.org) and Game Plan: Your Secret Weapon to Protect Yourself From Economic Attack (Regnery, 2014). He authors the blog: www.globaleconomicwarfare.com
1. Krystle M. Davis, “Glorifying a Master Counterfeiter,” Forbes,
June 30, 2009, http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/29/art-of-
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NOTES
TACTICS & PREPAREDNESS JUNE 2017www.tacticsandpreparedness.com14
I think grip is the least understood aspect of practical shooting.
I don’t call it a fundamental, as I don’t con-sider it a fundamental. But fundamentals vary from instructor to instructor. They
aren’t typically right or wrong, often just in how we define things. I look at our goal first; our goal is to hit a target with a bullet fired from our pistol (or rifle, or bazooka or what-ever.) With proper sight picture and trigger control I can hit a target holding the pistol upside down, laying on a picnic table with one hand while holding my breath. So, by my definition, sight picture and trigger control are the only fundamentals. Nothing else really matters if your goal is to hit the target.
Grip is part of what I call the Foundation. Foundation is: Grip, Stance and Draw. Of the foundation, grip is the most important by far and the grip is vitally important for many rea-sons. You either have a proper grip or you don’t. There is no in between. It takes a while to learn, feel and develop a proper grip with
a given firearm. I shoot primarily 2011s and Glocks. [Ed.: No, it isn’t a misprint. 2011 is the name manufacturer STI gave to its custom line of 21st century 1911 competition pis-tols.] I know without a doubt what a proper grip on those guns feels like and can instantly tell during the draw stroke if it is proper or not.
With my competition gear and 2011, I can draw from hands relaxed to a 10-yard target in the sixes. In competition jargon that means six tenths of a second, technically high sixes for me. With a G17 out of kydex or even level two, I can do eights or nines. Getting into le-git carry options, G42 from appendix or four o’clock, I’m more like 1.5 seconds.
The two things that make a fast draw fast are reaction to the stimulus and firing at ex-tension. The stimulus in the competition or training world is the buzzer. In the real world it would be whatever action caused you to
fear for your life and decide to engage. We’ll deal with the firing at extension portion of this for now. That means when I reach my final firing position the gun ignites instantly. There is no verification of sight picture. There is no conversation with yourself about how great of a sight picture you have. I am work-ing the trigger during extension with the goal of the gun firing at the exact moment I reach full extension. Because my foundation (grip, stance and draw) is flawless, it frees me up mentally to work that trigger and fire at ex-tension. I’m firing because I know I’m that good and I know where the gun is going to be and when it is going to be there because I’m that good. You have to instill that level of confidence in yourself (based on what you consistently demonstrate in training perfor-mance.)
The can’t be a little bit pregnant concept enters here. Your grip has to be perfect for
BY: SHANNON SMITH
FOR MORE
SPEED AND
ACCURACY
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PISTOL GRIP
this to work. If my grip is off by 1/8th of an inch, that will result in a miss at ten yards on a man-sized target when firing at extension. I’ve actually measured it. In fact, it should probably be measured in millimeters, not inches, but that’s all I had at hand. The point is, it isn’t very much.
PERFECT GRIPThe key points for a “perfect grip” are: a very high purchase with the strong hand. Strong thumb over weak thumb. High grip with the weak hand as well. Weak hand gripping the strong hand fingers and weak wrist forward and locked. Most of your grip pressure com-ing from the weak hand, leaving the strong hand and trigger finger relaxed for better ma-nipulation.
I did a little video with a friend in the gun industry while working with another company six years ago. That video has over 800,000 views and I have no idea why, but it is my grip instruction, and my perspective on this hasn’t changed much over the years. It can be viewed on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/KJrA7wMXuuQ I find it pretty difficult to describe a “perfect grip” for a pistol with words on paper only, but the video will give you more detail.
A model I call the Shooters Triangle is the relationship of your extended gun, shoulders, and head. I find this spatial relationship to be pretty repeatable. When we have a decent stance, then draw and present the gun to tar-get we should expect the gun to be aimed at the target with acceptable combat accu-racy. Why should we expect that? Because we have a perfect grip and we are that damned good once we have put in the training.
NPA DRILLYour Natural Point of Aim is where your body naturally wants to aim. This is where our Shooters Triangle comes into play. For this dryfire drill we will be standing facing the tar-get in our normal stance with unloaded pistol holstered. A big key to success on this drill is picking a spot on the target. Aim small, miss small. Pre-draw stroke, I am shooting lasers out my eyeballs focusing on a spot in the high center of the chest of the target. Then I’m go-ing to close my eyes, draw the gun, present to target and freeze! Then open my eyes and see what I’ve got. There are two things I’m look-ing for here: First is Sight Alignment. That is the relationship of your front sight and your rear sight. If, when you open your eyes, your
front post is not in your rear notch you have a grip problem. Hence the importance of the grip. The second thing we are looking for is Sight Picture which is your sight alignment in relation to the target.
CORRECTING WITH NPA DRILL If you do not have proper sight alignment upon opening your eyes, we need to fix the grip. I like to work on correcting this by work-ing it in reverse. We start with a perfect grip on the gun in our freestyle stance aimed at the target. From there, bring the gun back to your high ready position while you maintain your focus on the spot on the target and not changing your grip pressure or hand position. Then present the gun back to target and see if the alignment holds, and you present to an acceptable spot on the target. Do a few reps of that. We are looking for consistent success here before we move on.
Next, from our final firing position, we are going to reverse back through the high ready and place the gun in the holster, but never change or release your strong-hand grip on
the gun. Then bring the gun back out of the holster, present to target and see if the align-ment and sight picture remain acceptable. Again, looking for consistency I’d like to get 8-10 of these successful in a row before mov-ing on.
If all this is consistently working for you then your presentation is pretty solid, and
your grip is staying consistent. Our next chal-lenge is attaining that grip on the draw stroke. Again working in reverse I’ll just let go of the grip and immediately re-grip. Then continue backing it up until you reach your desired start position. Hands relaxed, interview po-sition, rifle ready, whatever position(s) you work from. The goal is getting that perfect grip on a consistent basis. 50 or even 100 dryfire draws per day doesn’t really take that long and will pay huge benefits in your shoot-ing.
NPA DRILL LIVE This should be done in a controlled environ-ment with a qualified instructor and you will get best results after following the dry regi-men first. I am hesitant to suggest you shoot live fire with your eyes closed, but it can easily be done safely with a qualified train-ing partner positioned for safety. I do it with my students in every class I teach. It’s a little weird at first, but students quickly figure out it really is not that big of a deal.
The drill is the same live fire as it is dry
fire. I recommend a 3-10 yard target. Identify-ing the spot on the target is vitally important. Then gently close your eyes, draw, fire one round when you reach your final firing posi-tion and leave the gun on target! Then open your eyes and see what we have. Leaving the gun on target is important, so we know where to make corrections.
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PISTOL GRIP
I have students do the drill dryfi re on the range on the actual targets we’ll be shoot-ing, then immediately go into a live fi re drill. I have never had a student not get rounds on target consistently using my instruction tech-niques. It doesn’t have to be a long drawn out drill. You should be able to get on target in just a couple rounds, then be able to get 8-10 consistent shots. That’s enough to prove the point.
What’s the point you ask? The NPA drill em-phasizes the importance of a perfect grip to the student. With the increasing prevalence of cameras in the world, we are seeing more and more gunfi ghts on camera than ever be-fore and interviews of shooters afterward of-ten reveals they were target focused, not sight focused. That is reality in many scenarios, and at the distances we have described, this can achieve combat accuracy results.
As we advance through the training and I push students to shoot a faster fi rst shot, I often fi nd them “aiming” way too much and slowing them down. This is where I remind them they just hit the target with their eyes closed. They don’t need traditional aiming (with time consuming and redundant eye
movements) to hit a target of that size at that distance. I call it a kinesthetic level of aiming. Sure, I’m not aiming in the NRA “equal height, equal light” sense, but I am aiming. I’m aiming via my NPA, Shooters Triangle, Grip, Stance, and Presentation, and with either technique, you are responsible for all your shots do or fail to do.
Without a proper grip, this will not work. YOU have to believe that YOU are good enough to make this work. Good Dryfi re and live fi re training make that happen. If you have a proper grip, the gun will be aligned on target. Handling the gun until it becomes an extension of you is the goal. Wherever you look and present, that is where the gun goes with sights aligned when it gets there. This confi dence frees you up to get on that trig-ger sooner than ever, igniting the gun at the instant it lands in the acceptable zone of the target.
Of course, you are going to miss your grip from time to time. It happens to all of us. At this point you have two options. Fix it dur-ing your presentation or you’ll have to use a more traditional sight picture, as your index will be off. I’m to the point that when I miss
my grip I can instantly tell which direction I’m going to be off and I’ll index the gun off target to more quickly get on target. If I’m clocked a bit too far counter clockwise on the grip for example, That will result in the gun pointing to far right as I present to tar-get, so I will purposefully present the gun to the left of the target area knowing the gun is pointed a bit right thereby speeding up my time to target and ability to work the trigger.
Never forget that you are responsible for the safe and legal handling and storage of your weapons and mastering grip is one of the biggest steps to elevating your skill. 3
BIOShannon Smith is a National Champion across multiple handgun disciplines, mem-ber of the US National Team, and a full time instructor/part owner of Universal Shooting Academy (www.UniversalShoot-ingAcademy. com) in central Florida. He is also a veteran of the US Army’s 2nd Rang-er Battalion. You may reach him through ShannonSmithShooting on the web, FB, YouTube and IG.
This holster was a collaborative design effort be-tween Ken Javes of Shibumi Tactical and Kelly Ann Pidgeon of Armed and Feminine to develop a low profi le, concealable, yet rugged holster that met the high standards of her clientele and over-came the shortcomings of other designs. The result is a minimalist Kydex, inside-the-waistband holster that completely encloses the slide, provides se-cure retention, doesn’t change position and can be worn without a belt.
www.shibumitactical.com www.armedandfeminine.com
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Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) is intended to treat potentially preventable causes of death on the battlefi eld, but acknowledges that application of these treatments may place the provider and even the mission in jeopardy if performed at the wrong time.
Therefore, TCCC classifi es the tactical situ-ation with respect to health care provi-sion into three phases (care under fi re,
tactical fi eld care and tactical evacuation) and only permits certain interventions to be per-formed in specifi c phases based on the dan-ger to the provider and casualty.
Tactical Combat Casualty Care was origi-nally developed for Special Operations Forces in 1996 by U.S. Navy Capt (Ret.) Frank Butler
and Lt. Col. (Ret.) John Hagmann. A review and analysis of the literature and historical medical data from the Vietnam War, the Kore-an War and World War II revealed that poten-tially preventable causes of death remained constant: about 9% of casualties died from extremity wounds, 5% from tension pneumo-thorax and 1% from airway obstruction. Con-sequently, recommended treatments were tourniquet application for bleeding extremity
wounds, needle decompression for tension pneumothoraxes, nasopharyngeal airway placement for airway obstruction secondary to decreased level of consciousness and sur-gical cricothyrotomy for airway obstruction secondary to maxillofacial trauma.
Butler and his colleagues also recognized the unique challenges faced by combat medical personnel and the requirement to combine good medicine with good tactics.
BY: TOM PERRONI
TACTICAL COMBAT CASUALTY CARE
All photos this article: Explosive Ordnance Disposal Airmen perform Tactical Combat Casualty Care techniques during an exercise at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., on 31 April, 2017. The training focuses on individual trauma, tools, techniques, and treatment procedures. Through the use of moulage, non-lethal training munitions, trained role-players, and a multitude of other artifi cial stressors. PHOTOS THIS ARTICLE: U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO BY SENIOR AIRMAN CHASE CANNON
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Although TCCC principles aim to treat po-tentially preventable causes of death on the battlefi eld, they also acknowledge that ap-plication of these treatments may place the provider and even the mission in jeopardy if performed at the wrong time.
CARE UNDER FIRECharacterized by the presence of an immedi-ate direct threat, it is the most dangerous time to deliver care. During this phase, the tactical operator would remain engaged with the per-petrators if possible. The tactical medic role is: try to prevent further injuries to casualties; treat life-threatening bleeding; airway man-agement is best deferred until the next phase. The Basic Management Plan includes: return-ing fi re and taking cover. Direct or expect the casualty to remain engaged as a combatant if appropriate. Direct the casualty to move to cover and apply self-aid if able. Try to keep the casualty from sustaining additional wounds. Casualties should be extricated from burning vehicles or buildings and moved to places of relative safety. Do what is necessary to stop the burning process. Stop life-threatening ex-ternal hemorrhage if tactically feasible: direct the casualty to control hemorrhage by self-aid if able. Use a (CoTCCC-recommended)
limb tourniquet for hemorrhage that is ana-tomically amenable to tourniquet use. Apply the limb tourniquet over clothing clearly proximal to the bleeding site(s). If the site of the life-threatening bleeding is not readily ap-parent, place the tourniquet “high and tight” (as proximal as possible) on the injured limb and move the casualty to cover. Airway man-agement is generally best deferred until the Tactical Field Care phase.
TACTICAL FIELD CAREInjured people, once protected from imme-diate threat, receive limited Advanced Life Support (ALS) measures. Airway manage-ment should begin with Basic Life Support (BLS), but if that is not effective, surgical intervention could be needed. During this phase, tactical paramedics would seal suck-ing chest wounds, treat a tension pneumo-thorax, bandage wounds, splint fractures and work to prevent hypothermia. A redundant evaluation of bleeding is conducted and com-pressible (external) hemorrhage wounds not amenable to a tourniquet should be packed with Combat Gauze and pressure applied to stop blood loss. Antibiotics, such as 400mg per day of Moxifl oxacin, are recommended for patients with open combat wounds. CPR
is not likely to be effective and practitioners will not attempt it.
TACTICAL EVACUATION CAREThe TACEVAC phase is more traditional, with the EMS focus on transporting to defi nitive care. Paramedics would apply all ALS steps required, place chest tubes if needed, reas-sess wounds including those that required a tourniquet, provide advanced airway manage-ment and treat with analgesics and antibiot-ics. CPR may be attempted during this phase of care if the casualty does not have obvious-ly fatal wounds and will be arriving at a facil-ity with a surgical capability within a short period of time. CPR should still not be done at the expense of compromising the mission or denying lifesaving care to other casualties.
Within the TCCC training realm there are several different types of courses:
PHTLSThe PHTLS courses improve the quality of trauma care in your area and decrease mor-tality. The program is based on a prehospital trauma care philosophy, stressing the treat-ment of the multi-system trauma patient as a unique entity with specifi c needs. This may require an approach to the trauma patient
DIRECT THREAT.
THE MOST DANGEROUS TIME TO DELIVER CARE IS WHEN THERE
IS THE PRESENCE OF A
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TACTICAL COMBAT CASUALTY CARE
that varies from traditional treatment modali-ties. PHTLS promotes critical thinking as the foundation for providing quality care. It is based on the belief that, given a good fund of knowledge and key principles, EMS prac-titioners are capable of making reasoned decisions regarding patient care. The PHTLS course is continuously updated and revised to keep up with the advances in the fi eld, ATLS Guidelines and feedback from PHTLS participants.
TCCC Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) courses introduce evidence-based, life-saving techniques and strategies for providing the best trauma care on the battlefi eld. NAEMT conducts TCCC courses under the auspices of its PHTLS program, the recognized world leader in prehospital trauma education.
LEFR-TCCLaw Enforcement and First Response Tacti-cal Casualty Care teaches public safety-fi rst responders including police, other law en-forcement offi cers, fi refi ghters, and other fi rst responders the basic medical care in-terventions that will help save an injured responder’s life until EMS practitioners can safely enter a tactical scene. It combines the principles of PHTLS and TCCC, and meets the recommendations of the Hartford Consensus document and TECC guidelines.
TECC Tactical Emergency Casualty Care program is based on the principles of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) and meets the guide-lines established by the Committee on Tacti-cal Emergency Casualty Care (CoTECC). The course teaches civilian tactical EMS; any EMS practitioner called upon to respond to a mass casualty or active shooter event.
The above courses can run from as short as one day to as long as fi ve days depending on who is being taught. A fi rst responder with no medical control is not permitted to perform a Tension Pneumothorax decompression and will not require the same training as a combat medic.
CONCLUSIONThis new approach to combat trauma, which emphasizes that medical care is simply an-other tactical decision to be evaluated in the context of the threatening situation, contin-ues to save lives downrange. In contrast to
standard ABCs, TCCC emphasizes casualty ex-traction and control of massive hemorrhage during conditions of active threat. Other medical interventions are deferred until an area of relative safety is reached.
During all phases of care the principle mandate of TCCC is the critical execution of the right interventions at the right time.
Particularly in the tactical environment, good medicine administered at the wrong time can often prove to be lethal. With this in mind, tactical healthcare professionals as well as individual warfi ghters/operators will both likely be involved in casualty care at some level and must be trained in and armed with the appropriate medical equipment and pro-cedures corresponding to each level of care.
TCCC focuses on the three major causes of preventable combat deaths. These new strate-gies based on historical wounding patterns in combat also bear a particular relevance to the operators of tactical law enforcement who share many operational parallels with their military counterparts.
Extremity hemorrhage is the leading cause of death in the tactical environment (extrem-ity hemorrhage 60%, tension pneumothorax 33%, airway obstruction 6%.)
Combat Gauze and tourniquets save lives, and anyone who carries a fi rearm should be trained not only in how to make a hole in someone, but also how to fi x a hole in them.
A valuable add on to TCCC training is “Live Tissue Training” (LTT.) LTT is not part of TCCC however it is, in some cases, a valuable add-on to TCCC. LTT or “combat medic train-ing” as it is referred to in the U.S. involves the
use of animals (mostly goats and pigs) for the purposes of direct surgical intervention in which physicians and paramedical personnel (military and civilian), obtain surgical skills by treating severe traumatic injuries.
Once animals are deeply anaesthetized, wounds of the type army paramedics and doctors are likely to see in combat situations,
are infl icted. Such wounds are then appropri-ately treated in order to gain valuable trauma care experience not likely to be offered in any other form. Upon completion of LTT, animals are humanely euthanized without ever regaining consciousness. While LTT is a valuable tool used by certain entities for ad-vanced trauma training, TCCC is effective by itself due to simplicity of TCCC and its ability to treat patients with minimal medical equip-ment and training.
More lives would be saved if TCCC became as common as fi rst aid and CPR. TCCC is the standard of care for the management of ca-sualties within the tactical setting and is the sole standard of care dually endorsed by both the American College of Surgeons and the Na-tional Association of EMTs for casualty man-agement in tactical environments. Visit www.ccjatraining.com if you are interested in see-ing our training calendar. 3
BIOTom Perroni is a career law enforcement offi cer and is the training director for Com-monwealth Criminal Justice Academy. Visit www.ccjatraining.com to see their schedule for TCCC and other training dates.
MEDICAL CARE IS SIMPLY ANOTHER
TACTICAL DECISION TO BE EVALUATED IN THE CONTEXT OF A THREATENING SITUATION.
TACTICS & PREPAREDNESS JUNE 2017www.tacticsandpreparedness.com20
P R O F I L E S O F C O U R A G EWhether you are confronted by a vehicle-borne, knife wielding jihadist; facing the challenges of providing for your family or looking for the courage to speak an unpopular truth, there are times when each of us can use a little inspiration. Sometimes it helps to put your challenges in perspective. Sometimes it’s encouraging to see how selfless human beings can be. This account is taken from multiple open source reports. Officer Smith is a pseudonym*.
OFFICER SMITHOn 22 March 2017, Khalid Masood
drove onto Westminster Bridge (Lon-don) doing approximately 75 mph in
a Hyundai Tucson. Born Adrian Russell Elms, Masood changed his name after converting to Islam in 2005, and reportedly made the hajj to Mecca in 2015.
Replicating vehicle attacks carried out around the world, he steered into pedestri-ans on the south side of the bridge, knocking one victim into the Thames River. Masood crashed into railings on Bridge Street at the northern perimeter of Westminster Palace.
Emerging from the vehicle dressed in black, Masood ran into New Palace Yard, where he pounced on an unarmed police officer, stabbing him to death as other un-armed officers reportedly fled. A bodyguard for the UK Secretary of Defence courageous-ly advanced toward the incident (apparently
violating the principles of his close-protec-tion training) and shot Masood to death.
Masood killed one American, one Roma-nian, three Britons and he injured approxi-mately 50 disarmed subjects of the Crown (including three more police officers) and others; some permanently. Khalid Masood’s attack only ended when Officer Smith* de-livered lethal force. British newspapers re-port that in 2010, Masood was recognized as a “peripheral figure” in an MI5 investiga-tion of jihadists later convicted of plotting a bombing and had numerous arrests from before his conversion.
Umdat al-Salik, the Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law certified by al-Azhar academy, the International Institute of Is-lamic Thought, and the President of the Fiqh Council of North America (published in Maryland) says “Jihad means to war against
non-Muslims, and is etymologically derived from the word mujahada, signifying war-fare to establish the religion.” The only guar-anteed route to paradise for lapsed or mini-mally adherent Muslims under Islamic law (shariah) is martyrdom: death while waging jihad. Islamic law also holds that death as a martyr grants the ability to get other family members into paradise.
Masood reportedly sent a Whats-App message shortly before his attack saying he was, “waging jihad” in response to Western military operations in Muslim countries [as shariah requires.] Three days later, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and Senior Na-tional Coordinator for UK Counter-Terror-ism Policing, Neil Basu, stated: “there is a possibility we will never understand why he did this.” 3
