{"id":70135,"date":"2023-10-20T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/?p=70135"},"modified":"2023-10-20T06:45:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T11:45:20","slug":"spauldings-rules-of-conflict-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/20\/spauldings-rules-of-conflict-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Spaulding’s Rules of Conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Spaulding’s Rules of Conflict<\/a><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

Operational rules are a sound practice and, over the years, I have created some I use in my classes. Recently, a student said, \u201cYou should write those down and give them out to students.\u201d As I sat down to create the list I thought, \u201cMaybe others would like to read them.\u201d Well, here they are.<\/h3>\n

As a side note, while I was trying to come up with a \u201ctactical\u201d title, I considered \u201cSpaulding\u2019s Rules of Conflict,\u201d but then realized that they can be applied to many situations\u2014not just combat. I don\u2019t claim to be their originator, but I have used them regularly with great success, as have my family and students.<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

No. 1: You Must Be an Active\u00a0Participant in Your Own Rescue<\/strong><\/h3>\n

People who thinks the cavalry is going to come over the hill and save them at the last minute have spent too much time in front of the TV. Any street cop will tell you that the times when they have interrupted a crime in progress were memorable because that doesn\u2019t happen often. Police response times are measured in minutes, while crimes in progress are measured in seconds. So unless the officer is on top of the event when it occurs, stopping a crime while it happens is highly unlikely.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

I recently watched a video of two drug cartel members who surrendered to their captors with the promise they wouldn\u2019t be hurt. After a three-minute confession of their crimes, their captors rewarded their cooperation by cutting one in half with a chain saw and decapitating the other. The point: Don\u2019t trust what you\u2019re told to ensure cooperation\u2014it\u2019s probably a lie.<\/h3>\n

In life, if you\u2019re unemployed, don\u2019t rely on anyone else to find you a job. If you aren\u2019t happy with your current situation, change it. If you\u2019re in a bad relationship, break up and move on. No one can affect your life more than you\u2014don\u2019t rely on others to do it for you.<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

No. 2: Never Give Up a Known for an Unknown<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Have you ever been on a road trip and driven a route successfully, but on the return trip decided to take a different route because it looked shorter on the map? How did that work out? The map\u2014or the GPS\u2014isn\u2019t the actual territory, so there\u2019s no way to know the road conditions. If you know a particular route works, why follow the unknown to save a few minutes?<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

When teaching combative pistolcraft, I regularly see students eject a magazine before they have secured their spare in order to act faster. But what happens if during combat, the spare magazine is lost and the combatant doesn\u2019t know this? In competition, the shooter will lose the match. In a fight, the shooter may lose life. Big difference.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

The normal response when I bring this to the student\u2019s attention is, \u201cThe magazine will likely be empty so what difference does it make?\u201d First, why has it become common practice to just assume you\u2019ll shoot to slide lock in a fight? I know it can happen because it\u2019s almost impossible to count rounds in conflict, but why make it habit during training? I like to teach my students to load when they want to, not when they have to, and slide lock is a bad time to reload. Gunfighting is a thinking-man\u2019s game so reloading when it\u2019s advantageous to you and not your opponent is a good example of using your brain. Additionally, what if you access some ammo\u2014maybe a few rounds in your pocket\u2014with no magazine? They might as well be rocks.<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

No. 3: If You Don\u2019t Know, Don\u2019t Go<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

I realize there may be times in combat when you\u2019ll have to go for it if you have no other options. That said, it\u2019s a sound practice to know what lies ahead before taking action.<\/h3>\n

For example, movement just for the sake of movement isn\u2019t good. Moving makes it more difficult to hit accurately, so make sure you have a reason. But moving makes it harder to hit you, you say? That depends on how fast you\u2019re moving. Most shooters shoot while moving slowly. When moving from one position to another, you should know if the new position offers better cover or if it offers cover at all! Those being shot at don\u2019t decide what is and isn\u2019t cover\u2014that\u2019s determined by what combatants are using to shoot at you. What\u2019s cover from a .38 may not be from a 7.62, so know before you go.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Never enter a place you don\u2019t know how to escape. If a business or residence comes under fire, it\u2019s good to remove yourself from the threat. It\u2019s also good to know if the structure is on fire, which is far more likely than gun play. Whenever I walk into an establishment I\u2019m unfamiliar with, I take a few seconds to look for exits, windows, doors, possible cover or other avenues of escape. I also sweep over the other people on scene to see if anyone doesn\u2019t look right, like maybe someone I once arrested.<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

No. 4: When in Doubt\u2014There Is No Doubt<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Although street experience helps hone the danger sense, I believe everyone has a \u201csixth sense\u201d that tells them when something isn\u2019t right. If you get an \u201cI-should-leave\u201d feeling, then leave! Too many people tell themselves they\u2019re imagining a threat. While possible, what\u2019s the harm in leaving? Never doubt yourself! Of all the people in the world to trust, you should be first on your list.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Years ago, I was teaching a female-only, self-defense class when one of the students cornered me at a break. She told me she had worked late in a high-rise office building, waiting on an elevator. When the doors opened, a man was on the elevator. She said, \u201cHe looked like a biker with long greasy hair and a beard. He was smelly and unkempt. Everything in my being told me not to get on the elevator, but I just thought I was being paranoid. I got on and, right after it started to move, he attacked. I had no idea what to do so I just went to another place in my brain. The only thing that stopped the attack was that the elevator stopped for another rider and my attacker fled.\u201d<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

This young lady certainly wasn\u2019t an active participant in her own rescue and was saved by mere dumb luck. She was in the class because she said, \u201cThis was never going to happen again!\u201d Good for her!<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

No. 5: Simple Is Good<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

I admit to being confused by some of the current firearms training doctrines. Some of it is flashy and cool looking, but does it prepare you for armed conflict? I know it makes students feel like a special operator for the weekend, but do they shoot better?<\/h3>\n

Recently I was discussing malfunction clearances with a famous instructor, and I made the statement that I teach two methods: one to clear double feeds and another for everything else. This instructor said I was dumbing down my training and not providing a service. I couldn\u2019t help but wonder if this instructor had ever seen conflict.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Simple is easier for me to teach and easier for the student to learn. It\u2019s easier to develop skills during short training periods, and it\u2019s easier to maintain with diminishing ammo supplies and limited practice time. Simple is easy, and easy is the way to fight. If a given technique is hard or confusing to perform on the range, do you think it will be easier during a fight? It\u2019s not \u201cdumbing down\u201d training, it\u2019s \u201craising performance\u201d of an officer during a pandemonium-filled combat.<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

No. 6: Want & Need Aren\u2019t Synonymous<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

A student contacted me and asked for a recommendation on a new gas piston AR-15. When I asked him what the new gun could do that his old one couldn\u2019t, he paused. \u201cWell, gas pistons are supposed to be superior. They better withstand the dust and dirt common in Afghanistan.\u201d<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

\u201cAre you going to Afghanistan?\u201d I asked.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he replied.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

\u201cWell then \u2026why do you care?\u201d<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

He decided to save money and keep his current gun.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

If a particular piece of gear doesn\u2019t enhance your performance or enable your skill set(s), then the emotion you\u2019re feeling for a new piece of kit is probably want, not need. Don\u2019t misunderstand\u2014want is fine and there are things I want, but at this stage of my life, there are few things I need. I can\u2019t help but chuckle at folks who have to have the new gun on the cover of a gun magazine (although it could be cars, tools, appliances, etc.) even though it won\u2019t enhance their skills. In every class I teach, there\u2019s a student who will be frustrated with their skills and will change guns mid-class. Sometimes they improve, but it\u2019s usually because they now feel better because they have taken action to improve their situation. Try practice\u2014it works great!<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Sum<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Well, there you have it. Use or discard these rules as you see fit. But if you end up in one of my classes, you\u2019ll likely hear them applied at some point during the training.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Dave Spaulding was the 2010 Law Officer Trainer of the Year. He\u2019s a 28-year law enforcement veteran who retired at the rank of lieutenant, and then went to work for a federal security contractor. Dave currently runs his own training company that focuses on the combative application of the handgun. His website, www.HandgunCombatives.com, contains information on his courses.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spaulding’s Rules of Conflict   Operational rules are a sound practice and, over the years, I have created some I use in my classes. Recently, a student said, \u201cYou should write those down and give them out to students.\u201d As I sat down to create the list I thought, \u201cMaybe others would like to read…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3786,5445,387,388,981,5754,398,399,17,10,404,405],"tags":[16643,159,5751,14806,16646,6656,16644,7402,16645],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70135"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70135"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70139,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70135\/revisions\/70139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}