Five career lessons for success:
November 22nd, 2011
(1) Focus on what you can do to improve yourself instead of on your opposition: “The responsibility for preparing men and women for battle should never be taken lightly. What you say and do, or fail to say and do, may be the difference between winning and losing. More importantly, it may be the difference between living and dying.” Read more…
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Mental Preperation, Misconduct / Curruption, Uncategorized
I believe it is important to develop your awareness and detection skills, but when it comes to violence, luck can play a significant role. As a former no-holds-barred fighter, I saw and experienced how quickly a fighter with superior skills could be defeated by a newbie who got lucky. If they would fight 100 times, the superior fighter would probably win 90 times or more, but the newbie still has a chance. With violent encounters, there is no referee or rules and a lucky cut, stab, or shot can kill you, even if you eventually stop the threat. 
I have authored countless training articles in hopes that the information I provide will someday provide officers the ability to identify and prevent violence during their shift. I have said many times that the initial education and annual training correctional agencies all across the country provide are not meeting the requirements that will give new officers the ability to remain safe and be able to effectively interact in a correctional environment. It is always great when independent organizations support your education & beliefs and verify what you have been saying for years now. For those of you that follow my training and informational articles this is nothing new for this is the whole reason I started writing in the first place. 
Below is an excerpt from the statement of Chief Judge Larry McKinney at the sentencing hearing of a former Federal Correctional Officer on October 4, 2007. A great friend of mine, Sgt. Michael Van Patten, Special Operations Sergeant Oregon State Penitentiary sent this to me and I feel all officers should read the information herein. Chief Judge McKinney uses the wording of Prison Guard which I don’t personally like, but the MESSAGE is clear and it relates directly to EVERYONE (not just the Officers) working for the DOC. Please take a minute to read. I have underlined some key spots that stuck out to me. 
How do the threatened officers meet the challenges suddenly thrust upon them when a normal shift or a routine incident turns in a flash, into a fight for your life? 
Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur’s youth and ideals. Therefore, the monarch offered him his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and, if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death. 
There is an understandable reluctance by corrections officers to use deadly force. Officers are not evil people and they do not want to harm or kill anyone. So many times when a corrections officer faces a situation in which deadly force is the appropriate level of force, the officer may hesitate or seek some other lower level of force, which generally decreases his or her own safety and may lead to the death of the officer. While in some respects this decision is admirable, the fact is the officer must survive and win the encounter, not just for his or her own well-being, but also for the correctional community as a whole. For if the officer is incapacitated or killed due to their attempt at a lower force option, it sets a precedent that may envelope the correctional community as a whole.