And thanks, sacp. 82nd Airborne. All-American. Because only two things fall from the ground. Bird-**** and Paratroopers. Chicken-**** stays on the ground.
Hoorah! I'm a 5 jump wonder myself.
I worked security for nuclear couriers so I had to go through the whole aircrew survival training bit. S'okay, we always gotta have our friendly little rivalries. Too bad there's no SAC anymore.
My hat is off to anyone who jumps for a living.
You make an interesting point about dealing with animals. I'm speaking specifically about dogs here because I've had to deal with dogs belonging to some of my "customers" and feral dogs while on patrol. A couple points:
1) A dog in his own yard is usually more dangerous than a dog on the street (unlesss he's been allowed "run" of the street). If he feels like he's on his own "turf", he's far more territorial and will defend it. That's why you've gotta take the attitude that
all "turf" is your turf. Make it belong to you.
2) Eye contact. Eye contact is a means of gaining dominance but you gotta be careful. Some dogs will back down, especially if they're not on their own territory(see above), but others will take it as a challenge if you maintain it for too long. If the festivities haven't started yet, make eye contact long enough for them to recognize that you aren't submissive and then kind of slide away to the side as if looking at something beyond them. It alerts their BA radar and lets them know you aren't a prey animal or a lower member of their pack.
3) Dogs will attack targets of opportunity. If the first display results in you turning your back and runnning, expect to be chased down.
4) Thinking along these lines, there really is something to the "I'm your huckleberry" response. If you stand your ground but don't give off any signs of overt aggression or fear, the dog will generally be confused. His mind can't reorient to deal with this quickly enough because he isn't used to seeing it.
5) Orient on them up and use movement and obstacles to block their way. Move to place yourself at an advantage. This is part of making
all turf
your turf.
6) Loud commands can work on a dog not trained for attack. Again, sheep don't roar.
7) Dogs are always more dangerous in packs. The old saw of "take out the leader and the rest will run away" may work if the action is developing slowly, but if the frenzy is on the rest may not know the leader is down. If you're gonna do it, do it before the momentum of battle gets started.
Some of these observations will apply to packs of humans as well, but don't take the analogy too far.
