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(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…
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. Read more…
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. Read more…
“Don’t tell your problems to people: eighty percent don’t care; and the other twenty percent are glad you have them”
Lou Holtz
It has been a while since I have posted some great training tips. I have gone through some great trials and tribulations recently that have made me think about things in a new light. As I pull myself up by my bootstraps and restore my own abilities to guide people down the right path, day by day its becomes clearer how easy it is to give up. My definition of change is slow steady pressure applied over time, and I have been tested personally more than professionally placing myself in a position where I have asked myself, if what I do is really worth the time and energy I put into what I train.
In these difficult times, our profession has seen prison closures, contract givebacks, mandatory overtime, sleep depravation and staffing shortages. Even with all our professional issues, we sometimes forget about how our professional lives affect our personal lives as well. That is where I have been, trying to situate a personal life that has gone bad. However, I will be soon getting back onto the preverbal horse and getting back into my training schedule so you will see more articles and issues posted here in the near future.
“The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.” “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” “We have instant coffee, instant tea and instant restaurants. Everybody looks for a quick fix. There isn’t any. You build it day by day. You don’t panic. You don’t overreact. You don’t change your principles. If you preach the same thing over a period of time, and it doesn’t change, one of two things is going to happen. They are going to believe in you or they are going to leave.”
Lou Holtz
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. Read more…
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? However, do you know when your life is actually in danger? History tells us that for the most part, No we do not. I instruct seminars on the recognition of the need to Use of Deadly Force in a correctional facility. The legal use of force requirements, Pre Assault Indicators, Verbal and non-verbal indicators to deception. All the information I present are multi media based that instruct and utilize officer proper survival tactics. For Seminar information or to put together a seminar at your facility contact me at: tbarnhar@columbus.rr.com
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. Read more…
“For those regarded as warriors, when engaged in combat the vanquishing of thine enemy can be the warrior’s only concern. Suppress all human emotion and compassion. Kill whoever stands in thy way. This truth lies at the heart of the art of combat.”
Kill Bill 2003 Read more…
“A hero is someone who steps up when others are backing down.”
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. Read more…