Right after the Columbine shooting I gathered a bunch of my buddies together and had a little discussion on the subject. We're all teachers at an inner city high school. All former combat arms military. I was an infantry officer during the "Cold War" era of the 1980s. I'm an NRA Instructor and an IDPA competitor and RO. These four other guys were retired Special Forces from the 1970s and 80s. We met and we agreed that we would not tolerate an "active shooter" scenario like Columbine at our school. I myself never had a firearm in my vehicle then, nor do I now, even though I now teach at an even tougher inner city school. I can't speak for the other guys. I don't know.
Anyway, we decided to walk the school after work one day and find the choke points and possible rally points. It was a very old building and chock full of blind corners and tight hallways. Given a student or students with a gun and not trained, we agreed it would be possible to accomplish the FOUR "F's" of the infantry doctrine fairly easily and quickly. Find 'em, Fix 'em, Fight 'em and FINISH 'em!
Again we're not talking a response to a Beslan style attack or even hardened criminals who've got trigger experience. We're talking the Columbine profile: Socially isolated, paranoid, homicidal and suicidal. That combination does not lend itself to a calculating trained mindset. I know, I teach psychology as one of my subjects.
One of these buddies is a retired Airborne Ranger who put in 3 tours in a Ranger Battalion (9 years where the normal rotation is only three) as a First Sergeant. This guy was lethal. I swear, I never thought RAMBO was real until I saw him take on a gang fight barehanded. Sheeeesh.
I told another buddy of mine who was still on active duty as a full Colonel that I was teaching with this particular guy. He was astonished! His first question: Has he killed any students yet? I chortled and told him about the gang incident. Nobody had died but they were all pretty banged up.
We never had to execute, thank God. But we were ready. I'm pretty sure that at least two of the other guys kept firearms in their cars since they always parked off campus just a bit. Knowing these guys, I'll bet they had an AR15 and spare mags AND a pistol of some sort, probably to arm one of us, if we failed to bring a gun to the event.
Now, I've moved on from that school and so have they. Our little force is disbanded, but I'm proud we were able to commit to taking action on our watch to prevent another disaster like Columbine or Virginia Tech, later.
Anyway, we decided to walk the school after work one day and find the choke points and possible rally points. It was a very old building and chock full of blind corners and tight hallways. Given a student or students with a gun and not trained, we agreed it would be possible to accomplish the FOUR "F's" of the infantry doctrine fairly easily and quickly. Find 'em, Fix 'em, Fight 'em and FINISH 'em!
Again we're not talking a response to a Beslan style attack or even hardened criminals who've got trigger experience. We're talking the Columbine profile: Socially isolated, paranoid, homicidal and suicidal. That combination does not lend itself to a calculating trained mindset. I know, I teach psychology as one of my subjects.
One of these buddies is a retired Airborne Ranger who put in 3 tours in a Ranger Battalion (9 years where the normal rotation is only three) as a First Sergeant. This guy was lethal. I swear, I never thought RAMBO was real until I saw him take on a gang fight barehanded. Sheeeesh.
I told another buddy of mine who was still on active duty as a full Colonel that I was teaching with this particular guy. He was astonished! His first question: Has he killed any students yet? I chortled and told him about the gang incident. Nobody had died but they were all pretty banged up.
We never had to execute, thank God. But we were ready. I'm pretty sure that at least two of the other guys kept firearms in their cars since they always parked off campus just a bit. Knowing these guys, I'll bet they had an AR15 and spare mags AND a pistol of some sort, probably to arm one of us, if we failed to bring a gun to the event.
Now, I've moved on from that school and so have they. Our little force is disbanded, but I'm proud we were able to commit to taking action on our watch to prevent another disaster like Columbine or Virginia Tech, later.
