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Awareness

2K views 19 replies 17 participants last post by  walvord 
#1 ·
My buddy today made a comment about how aware I am of little things. I always watch hands, and whats in them. Today I was at Hess again as per my regular morning routine. A guy came in, and put $40 dollars on a pump then walked back and got a soda, came up and paid with another $20. My buddy suddenly said "Oh cr**" as he realized that $20 got stuck back behind the drawer. He took the drawer apart and looked down behind it. I got a quick glance at the drawer when it was sitting aside and ask him what color that 20 was on top. He said it was an older non colored one. I continued,
"Then you didn't lose a 20. He paid with two colored 20's when he paid for the gas, then he came back and paid with an old 20 when he got his drink. You're fine".
He looked a little :blink: Then he asked how I knew that
"I pay attention to peoples hands, something you do A LOT of when carrying. When you go to get your CCL, you want to pick up on that kind of stuff".

We talked about CCW for a bit longer. Do you notice little details like this, or am I paying too much attention?
 
#2 ·
That's one of 'favorite little drills' I put my daughters through when we're out and about....."which hand did so-n-so have in his pocket?"....."What was the guy pumping gas behind me at the gas station driving?" , etc., etc.

I forced myself to do this many moons ago and it has become second nature. It's not even "I'm gonna stay condition yellow" kinda thing as much as I just needed to focus more on EVERYTHING going on around me.

It's a skill/talent that keeps us alert to the activities happening around us.

ID'ing the series/style of $20 the patron paid for his gas and drink with is pretty good!
 
#4 ·
For things that drive a benefit to a BG, sure I try to pay attention. Demeanor and mannerisms, eyes, hands, clothing, speech (demands, tone), how two or more folks are interacting and moving, etc.

Things like the number and color of balls in the gumball machine don't do it for me, though, as such things are irrelevant to keeping me safe.
 
#6 ·
"KIM" Game

Kim's Game" is an exercise used to develop a person's capacity to observe and remember specific details. The name is derived from Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim. In that novel, the exercise was used to train Kim and other students in the art of clandestine operations in Central Asia and Northern India.

The military uses The Kim's game also, which they have named "Keep In Mind" The name for the game was chosen because, as an acronym, it spells "Kim". It is staged as depicted above; you start simple but then get into more and more items. Eventually about a month later it becomes harder to challenge Soldiers, so they add distractions like a loud radio, or give briefings during the time which they absorb the information. At a point you stop making them repeat what they saw that day, even awaking a person in the middle of the night to recall the objects.

We also include this in Precision Rifle or (DDM) training @ Perroni's Tactical Training Academy!

Tom Perroni
Perroni's Tactical Training Academy - Virginia Firearms Training
Golden Seal Enterprises
 
#7 ·
always good to keep the radar up and running,im the same way
watching people and what their doing,where their coming from.
good eyes pro2a,most people wountnt even have a clue.
 
#9 ·
I try to keep note of this kind of thing as well... Not what color 20 did he put down necessarily, while I'm paying attention to that, the guy behind him could be pulling a gun. I don't really sweat details like that. I'm more into how many cars are at the gas station vs. how many people standing around when I pull up... Something that might be a red flag and make me head to the next station would be 4 cars fueling and 6+ people "milling" about. I like to make sure that everyone has some sort of "purpose" or business and is not just "casing" the place. ESPECIALLY at night.

I try to get my wife to have situational awareness but it doesn't seem to take. She did get an email, I don't know how true it is, about certain gang initiations requiring "pledges" to slip into the back seat of a woman's car when she's fueling then kidnapping her at gunpoint when she gets back in. That seemed to get her attention... I tell her if she's not going to keep her eyes moving and inventorying people and what they're doing than to at LEAST lock her car with her purse in it to lower her profile.

Andy
 
#12 ·
I try to get my wife to have situational awareness but it doesn't seem to take. She did get an email, I don't know how true it is, about certain gang initiations requiring "pledges" to slip into the back seat of a woman's car when she's fueling then kidnapping her at gunpoint when she gets back in. That seemed to get her attention...

Andy
Here in Shelby County Tennessee, the County where Memphis is located, that has happened a few times in the last couple of years. That is the main reason that I and my wife have gotten into the habit of looking in the car / mini van before we just let the kids pile in.

And I too think it is wise to watch what people have in their hands...or what they are doing with their hands.
 
#10 ·
Not only do I think this kind of thing is important, but I think paying attention to detail like this forces us to keep our situational awareness high.

For example, I do "drills" like this a lot when I'm driving. At any given time, without checking my mirrors, I can probably tell you the make and model of the car behind me and on either side of me. I do mirror checks every 10 seconds or so by habit, and occasionally "quizzing" myself ("Is that minivan behind me a Dodge or a Chrysler?") keeps me alert - driving is really about multitasking, paying attention to 25 things at once and doing it WELL.

I'm trying to do it more and more walking around in public. It's hard to "train" yourself to recall details that you only saw for a fraction of a second, but that's exactly the objective.
I am, however, getting pretty good at spotting CCW'ers. Looking for common cover garments, the classic shirt-tug, keeping strong side arm over weapon, checking their "six" every dozen steps or so, etc....

Peace,
Pete Zaria.
 
#13 ·
Found it. Forgive the "IMPORTANT PLEASE READ" and "PASS IT ON" chain email tell-tales. Copied directly from gmail.

Andy

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

A woman stopped at a pay-at-the-pump gas station to get gas. Once she filled her gas tank and after paying at the pump and starting to leave, the voice of the attendant inside came over the speaker. He told her that something happened with her card and that she needed to come inside to pay. The lady was confused because the transaction showed complete and approved. She relayed that to him and was getting ready to leave but the attendant, once again, urged her to come in to pay or there'd be trouble. She proceeded to go inside and started arguing with the attendant about his threat. He told her to calm down and listen carefully:





He said that while she was pumping gas, a guy slipped into the back seat of her car on the other side and the attendant had already called the police.



She became frightened and looked out in time to see her car door open and the guy slip out. The report is that the new gang initiation thing is to bring back a woman and/or her car. One way they are doing this is crawling under women's cars while they're pumping gas or at grocery stores in the nighttime The other way is slipping into unattended cars and kidnapping the women.


Please pass this on to other women, young and old alike. Be extra careful going to and from your car at night. If at all possible, don't go alone!



This is real!!





The message:


1. ALWAYS lock your car doors, even if you're gone for just a second!


2. Check underneath your car when approaching it for reentry, and check in the back before getting in.



3. Always be aware of your surroundings and of other individuals in your general vicinity, particularly at night!



Send this to everyone so your friends can take precaution.






AND GUYS...YOU TELL ANY WOMEN YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS Thanks,


Barbara Baker, Secretary Directorate of Training U.S. Army Military Police School .



THIS IS VERY SERIOUS ... PLEASE DO NOT DELETE IT! PLEASE PASS IT ON!!
 
#16 ·
I had the awareness thing pounded into my head during the Academy and subsequent years...... I was always asked, "what was that last street we passed? What direction are we traveling? What's the next major intersection we will cross?" All that was to get in the habit of watching and paying attention. It comes in handy if you ever have to call someone in an emergency.
 
#20 ·
I think you're doing fine - it's just being aware. Nothing wrong with that.
 
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