I started watching the story about Eric Frein with only casual interest at first, because I thought, this being a civilian cop killer, they would find him in no time and it would most likely end in a one-sided shootout with Frein in a bodybag and SWAT cops giving high fives. It has been over a week now and that has not happened. Now to listen to cops tell it, they are “right on his trail” and have the utmost certainty they will get him…they have been saying that since this thing started. Now I say this, not to demean the Law Enforcement’s efforts, I HOPE they catch or kill him soon; but at last count, (since they declared Frein a Federal Fugitive so they could involve the long arm of Federal Law Enforcement) there are over 20 Local, State and Federal Agencies looking for Frein with around 1,500 law enforcement personnel just on the ground alone and still no subject in custody. The State Police have even broke out the serious toys to try and tilt the odds in their favor, using a 6.5 ton “Critical Incident SWAT Armored Vehicle /Tractor” nicknamed the “Rook” that will help them negotiate “off” road areas better.
In a recent interview on ABC, one State Trooper said that Frein had actually been “spotted” with binoculars from a long distance, but by the time they would get officers to that location, he would be gone. This, at first, was a very confusing statement, for me at least, since the cops have several choppers (and drones) in the air doing repetitive grid search patterns..how could they lose sight of him? When I read between the lines and understood exactly where all this is taking place, you have to conclude that Frein planned for this contingency and is sticking to heavily wooded areas where air support would be made null and void by the forest canopy. This is a huge advantage to somebody who does not want to be found by Police. You see, a majority of the time, when cops are looking for a suspect, who has fled on foot for example, most of the time in a “deforested” urban area, typically within 30 minutes of the helicopter getting in the air, they find the perp because of FLIR thermal imaging. It does not matter if the perp is hiding under a log or a swimming pool, he is as good as caught. Frien has removed that possibility by wisely choosing the type of terrain that he has in rural Pennsylvania.
So what is it about this guy? how can he do this and be successful for this long? He is not anything special, despite what the lib-tards have told you: he is NOT some kind of RAMBO or trained assassin/mercenary. He WAS NOT in the Military and HE HAS NOT had any “Special Training” to speak of. Yes, he was in his high school marksmanship team over a decade ago and Yes, according to Frein’s father, Frein is an excellent marksman and (to the horror of the libs) owns several firearms, including an AK-47. Frein’s primary hobby however, and where he most likely honed some of his survival field-craft, was the”mil-sim” (military simulation) Airsoft competitions he participated in around the nation. Frein’s team, called “Red Alliance”, specializes in Eastern European Armies and Tactics. Frein was so obsessed with the small and minor details in the simulations, he often smoked Serbian brand cigarettes, just to stay in character, which the police have found scattered along the way in their search. Police have also found soiled “MAMPERS” or Adult Diapers used by Frien. This may sound strange and at first may bring back memories of the story of the deranged female NASA Astronaut Lisa Nowak who while driving 1,000 miles cross-country to exact revenge on a lover, wore diapers like this to avoid those pesky bathroom stops. But make no mistake, adult diapers are commonly used by LE and Military Snipers alike so they can avoid having to make un-necessary movement during a stalk. The fact that Frien is both obsessed with minute details and is also going to great lengths to use gear like the diapers, shows a high degree of preparation and patience and also helps to explain why he has been so successful in escape and evasion thus far..the less you move, the less chance of being spotted.
So before we propose to answer the question of HOW Frein has been so successful at evading capture, let’s compare another big news event that happened last year,
Remember the Christopher Dorner Shootings in California last year? Dorner had been a member of both the Military (Naval Reserve MIUWU) and Law Enforcement (LAPD). During his time with the Naval Reserve Mobile Underseas Warfare Unit (MIUWU), Dorner received qualification ribbons in rifle and pistol marksmanship. And although Dorner’s career with the LAPD was short, he had enough time to gain intimate knowledge of Law Enforcement tactics, response times, patterns, weapons, etc. Yet despite all of this training and knowledge, during his maniacal rampage, Dorner managed to kill 4 and wound 3 and lasted only a total of 9 days as a fugitive from the law, with the insane incident culminating in a shootout in the San Bernardino Mountains, where Dorner. in true cowardice fashion, committed suicide. Now, considering all of these elements: The training, the knowledge, the experience, wouldn’t you have thought Dorner’s rampage would have been much worse? Now admittedly, this guy was a fruit loop and had gone off the reservation mentally, but still, historically, even with this handicap, someone of this background typically would have done much more damage. Now, please understand, I am not some sicko that wishes death upon anyone needlessly, I am just trying to qualify some points!
Now, let’s compare Eric Frein: a civilian, with NO specialized training of any kind, military or police. The only exposure to semi-professional firearms training Frein had, had been in his high school shooting team a decade ago. After that, it was only Frein’s PERSONAL Training that gave him the marksmanship skills needed, including associated skill-sets such as combat tactics, sniper field-craft, navigation, etc. You could speculate that Frein had practiced “dry runs” for this “operation” when he participated in the re-enactment of various military battles during airsoft simulations. But yet, DESPITE the geekish and amateur appearance of all of this, Frein manages to kill one police officer and wound another seriously in an ambush and evade capture from over 1,500 armed and better equipped (not to mention pissed off cops) for over a week…How??
The answer is simple. Preparation and Personal Training. Most of the law enforcement leadership on scene estimated Frein has been planning this engagement for at least six months to a year, maybe longer. Consider this: Frein planned his escape and evasion down to the letter. He planned where he wanted this “manhunt” to take place; He chose this AO; not the cops. That is a major tenant of Guerilla Warfare and places Frein automatically with the home field advantage. This is why Law Enforcement have had to enlist the help of local hunters and guides to show them around the area. Make no mistake, Frein wanted this confrontation to take place. He did not extend alot of energy or effort into concealing his crime; Frein’s truck, .308 shell casings from the ambush and other pertinent evidence, were all found quite easily. All of Frein’s effort went into PREPARING to hide and survive in the woods and eventually, I think, to FIGHT the Police. The Hiding part, as we have seen, has been exceptional. My personal opinion is that since Frien has been planning this operation for some time, he has had ample time to dig, equip and secure several underground “bunkers” and staging areas to live in and fight from if needed. Concerning the inevitable confrontation that is coming between Frien and the Police, if we strictly use similar historical incidents, where lone, cop killing gunmen attempt to “shoot it out” with large numbers of armed police…the outcome is predictable: Frein will be in a bodybag soon after he fires the first round. As a standard rule, Cop Killers are not brought in vertical, but horizontal as on a slab.
So what can the CO learn from this? That the average civilian, who takes the time to PREPARE and makes time for PERSONAL TRAINING in self-defense, tactics, firearms, field-craft, survival in the wild, etc. Stands a much better chance of surviving a BAD situation than someone who has not. Now this is not to say that I agree with what Frien did or is doing. Let me be clear. From the beginning of this blog, I have always stressed the MORAL responsibility that a CO takes on when he trains to both carry a concealed weapon and prepare himself to survive. Ultimately, HOW the CO decides to USE his skills will be the defining characteristic that makes him a TRUE WARRIOR.
The CHOICE to be that CO, as always, rest with you and you alone..no one is going to do it for you.
Stay Armed, Stay Ready and Stay Dangerous!
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