There is one distinct theme that runs through all of the courses that Force Options provides. That is the development of the Warrior Mind. It has also been described as the Combat Mindset. I choose to use the Warrior Mindset because this is an all encompassing philosophy. While it is true that if you end up in a bad place against bad people - you need to be in combat mode. What I try to teach people however is that you must evaluate the entire situation. I use a scenario in our advanced classes that is set like this. Multiple armed assailants (6), you with a loaded weapon. You are told that you are alone - no family members etc. Essentially an alley that you have walked into. There is cover and concealment both in front of you and behind you. Now solve the problem. The most common action I see people take is to dive into a gun fight with 6 armed assailants as opposed to making a tactical withdrawal. Now, understand that I am not saying "run from a fight". What I am saying is that there are times when pressing forward is not the right answer. There is an underlying feeling in the firearms community that you need to press the fight. This is very viable if it NEEDS to happen. With a Warrior mind however, you think in a 360 degree fashion and decide what is truly needed.
There will be many that disagree with this and that is their prerogative. However, I encourage you and everyone to do their very best to see as much of the situation and make a tactical decision based on a Warrior mind as opposed to simply a "conditioned to fight" mind. If the situation dictates, then act with cool, calculated prejudice and end the fight quickly. If it is not inevitable however, explore your options.
Until we train together again - my best to you all!
Fred Mastison
President - Force Options Tactical Training Solutions
