Outdoor Channel

[gym]

Last night the outdoor channel, had an interesting show, what to do in a home invasion "how to prepare, practice, and the different situations one can encounter, also something we discussed in here a while ago, what to do if the guy surrenders". A couple of things were interesting, there were two moderators, one is a famous Swat guy retired, I don't remember names, but one thing was never leave your gun in a night table, I failed that one, the reason being, that if you don't wake up fast enough, that is the first place the perp will look, and now he has your gun. They recommend keeping it in the closet, up high, so if you have kids, it will be out of reach, and if the guy locks you in the closet, now you have a gun. the second was one step from the bed, with a magazine or newspaper over it. Obviously you have to set that one up every night. The remaining parts of the show included "cover" and concealment, they are different. Concealment is hiding, cover is positioning behind something you can shoot from and not get shot through, that's the best way I can explain it, they showed getting behid the corner of a bed with a heavy wooden frame, and having a clear sight to the entrance to the room, without exposing yourself, and having the mattress and bed frame as protection. Next they went through the guy surrendering, once he saw the laser sight, "they like lasers a lot for home protection. Oh by the way the first thing is call 911 and leave the phone on, also if you have time tell them where you are and your description, and keep a house key in the bedroom, so as to hand it to the cops thru an open window, ok next thing. If the guy surrenders, you are supposed to get him on the floor, which to me, if i'm supposed to stay in the bedroom, "oh well you know", anyhow get him on his stomach, hands out to the sides, and feet crossed, keeping as much distance between you and him, distance equals time, time is good, the problem is that now you aren't where you told the police you would be. This could be a problem, since now you are standing in say your kitchen holding a gun, with a flash light, "by the way, a flashlight is part of your weapons system", either on the gun, or hand held. Ok now it really gets hairy, they throw in now you realise the kids and or Grandma is in her room, or wandering around in the house. They now explain that there is no good way to do this, because it takes a team, of pro's to completely "clear" a home, and can take hours. So what did I learn from this, not very much, my home is much smaller on one floor, and the entrance to the bedroom is next to the bed thru a hallway. But it was interesting to watch, even though the guy with the flashlight, trying to clear just 1 room, was so nervous, and made such a big target between the laser and the flashlight, that I can't really see doing most of this, and there were too many variables that they were trying to cover, also the legal ramifications, are huge, and they have to cover themselves, "it's a tv show", but there a few good ideas, and things to think about. Oh yea the guy that surrendered, he's supposed to stay there after you get him to obey all the commands, and thay don't say what to do if he moves, but they can't, so you guys can figure that part out, no approaching the guy, no handcuffing, he stays in that position, and you keep as much distance between you as possible, while still bieng able to react if he disobeys.