{"id":1881,"date":"2012-11-01T07:00:07","date_gmt":"2012-11-01T12:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hammerheadcombatsystems.org\/?p=1881"},"modified":"2012-11-01T07:00:07","modified_gmt":"2012-11-01T12:00:07","slug":"using-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/2012\/11\/01\/using-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Using Reflections in the Urban Environment<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

A Lesson in Situational Awareness\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

by<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark E.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One skill that you can hone easily, and I often do, is the use of REFLECTIONS.<\/strong>\u00a0 They are plentiful in my world – buildings, store front and vehicles \u2013 probably in yours, too. I find myself in the urban and industrial parts of cities in central Texas most days, Mon-Fri, so practice is second nature at this point.<\/p>\n

Given that most of us get from point A to point B in a car or truck, I will use that as the baseline.\u00a0 Although I office out of my home, I spend a lot of time going to see customers, and my vehicle becomes my office as well.<\/p>\n

I had a good Driver’s Ed instructor, which happened to be my Dad \u2013 well before that “legal” high school sanctioned course came up.\u00a0 You may have been strongly encouraged to “check your mirrors often.”\u00a0 The \u201cvisual scanning\u201d part of defensive driving dovetails nicely with mindset of the civilian operator who travels for work or personal business.<\/p>\n

First, one area we can all relate to: using your rear view and side view mirrors.\u00a0 They often bring additional benefits when you are at a traffic light or stopped for other reasons.\u00a0 Your car mirrors might bring you valuable information, faster, than staring at your smart phone screen every time you roll up to a stoplight (side note: had to break that habit as fast as I started it…because a driver gazing at his phone is surely about as alert as someone leaving happy hour).\u00a0 When you are DISTRACTED<\/strong>, you are an easier target.<\/p>\n

Okay, so let’s assume that scanning-the-horizon for threats is a given in combat or training exercises.\u00a0 Sure, scanning your car mirrors is a good tool to avoid being rear-ended, or side swiping another car.\u00a0 When you are scanning your world with your eyes, threats are less likely to surprise you. But when you are STOPPED<\/strong>, especially before you exit the vehicle, use mirrors AND reflections off of any available surface.<\/p>\n

A quick scan of these surface REFLECTIONS<\/strong> can give you clues that many sheeple-types would never think of:<\/p>\n