When I was at Ranger School there was still the "hand to hand" or "Combatives" training. One of the more interesting parts of that training was when an instructor would toss a taser or plastic knife into the bout. Yes I got shocked. Yes it "got my attention." By the time a fight involves body contact the first person to a useable weapon usually wins. I know this, I understand this, and I still think that condition 1 carry is inappropriate for the vast majority of situations.
I've written before on why Condition 3 carry is good for slowing down your OODA loop so that you don't do something you don't want to do in hindsight. http://randomthoughtsandguns.blogspot.com/2010/12/condition-3-carry.html
This debate will not die, http://blog.robballen.com/2012/05/04/p5565-i-like-to-keep-the-halon-and-the-actual.post, and very respected people are dead set against Condition 3 carry with some very valid reasons. However, those reasons are not objective but subjective, just like my reasons.
Tam has a valid point that it is "handgun" not "handsgun" and if you have a hand trapped by an attacker you are at a severe disadvantage to racking your slide. Case in point George Zimmerman, laying on his back having his head bashed against a concrete sidewalk is probably very happy that he didn't condition 3 carry.
But, and this is my big but, if you are going into harms way, confronting unknown persons in the dark, then condition 3 carry is a bad idea. If you are planning to put yourself in danger by all means make yourself as dangerous as possible to any potential threat.
Now, if you are NOT putting yourself in harms way, what do you gain by condition 1 carry? A few fractions of a second while playing frisbee with your dog at the park to react to a "prison yard rush?" If you are in a "normal" situation where even if you are trying to not be "condition white" and something bad happens, what is the first thing you do?
BAM, toddler gets hit by a truck, what do you do? If it is anything like China you walk on by, or take a video of it.
BAM, fire hydrant fails, what do you do? If it is anything like reality you stop and gawk for a while.
BAM, big ugly guy turns the corner in a threatening manner, what do you do?
Well, you have 4 options; Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Submit. If you choose fight then your OODA loop goes right out the window, your analytical portion of the brain turns off, and you FIGHT. Of course you could end up shooting an undercover policeman, just like happened in New York. OODA loop fail, inability to properly assess the situation.
If you choose to Freeze while you take in information you might make yourself a tempting target to the big ugly homeless guy who is staggering towards you with his face contorted because of acute angina. He walks away if you can unfreeze fast enough to call 911.
If you choose Flee, then you live and he may or may not.
If you choose "Submit" you shouldn't be reading this blog.
I cannot make anyones choices for them, nor can I make people stop writing posts about why "condition X is totally wrong and should be banned by law!" Carry in a manner that you choose based on your experience and risk level.
Now why is Condition 3 a really good idea? If it weren't for condition 1 carry we wouldn't have the meme of "Only Ones" from the cop down in Florida who said "I'm the only one in this room qualified to handle a Glock 40" before shooting himself in the leg in front of a classrom of elementary students.
"But Merc" you say, he disobeyed the 4 rules! Yup he did, and so will you at some point. Whether your screwup results in a hospital visit or not remains to be seen.
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7 comments:
Bottom line: I shouldn't rag on you for Condition 3 carry, and you shouldn't rag on me for Condition 1. Especially since we have both had training to carry under those Conditions, and know what we face.
You can shoot the wrong person just as easily after racking your slide from Condition 3 if you don't know what you are doing. Just takes you an extra couple of seconds to f*ck up, as it isn't the Condition of the gun, it's the condition of the brain.
The government needs to stay out of it altogether.
Is it about the gun? IIRC you are packing a 1911. Would you be worried about "condition 1" with a wheelgun or a DA/DAO auto?
Both the slower speed to get a weapon presented/ a round downrange and the incredible difficulty of racking the slide while one hand is busy fighting somebody (handsgun vs hand gun) are absolutely quantifiable.
We can make some reasonable guesses about what behaviors are higher risk; like if a friend is selling an expensive car for cash and asks you to tag along to watch his back. Several folks know about a big cash transaction which equals fairly high risk. We can also guess which ones are lower risk; like going to the corner store for milk or taking the fam to breakfast on Sunday morning. However the enemy has a vote too and statistics are of little concilation if you are the outlier.
At the end of the day we all make our choices and roll the dice with them
If a civilian can't tell the difference in risk environment he should not be carrying in any condition. I carry, routinely, in condition 3: except in high risk areas, in church, at my local gun shop, the federal building, my families reunion, and so on. In other words I am aware of situations that might be a risk and carry appropriately.
Ryan, yes the slowness of Condition 3 verses Condition 1 is quantifiable. But a fast lethal mistake is better than a slow lethal mistake? That is what is subjective. No one is arguing that Condition 1 isn't faster to inflict an injury on someone (and it could be you, "I'm the only one in this room qualified to handle the Glock 40" is my favorite example).
If someone is in grappling range you have already failed. OODA loop failure, situational awareness failure. Whether or not you survive the situation is not quantifiable as it boils down to a "what if" game that isn't worth playing. If you can think of no situation where Condition 3 carry would help you slow down and orient on the proper threat before you put lead down range then it is understandable that you carry in Condition 1.
Remember, I'm not arguing against Condition 1 carry when it is prudent. I am arguing FOR Condition 3 carry as an appropriate choice for most people in most situations. The definition of "prudent" is once again subjective, not objective.
This isn't about the gun, it is about the human brain. How we process information, how we react to sudden changes in situations. Ever commit to an act and before it was complete you realize it was a mistake but it was too late? Neuroscience has come a long way to explaining why that is, why we cant "take back" a signal from our brain to our hands even when the brain recognizes it made an immediate mistake.
What would you advise to those in A-stan? I am talking about those that are around the afgans such as trainers. It seems that at least some of the attacks on the NATO troops is because of an argument. I would say not only Condition 1 but have the holster configured with a thumb break the same as American police officers.
In A-Stan the goal is to not get into a fight with Afghan security forces.
If Muhamed is going to go jihad on your ass with an AK it really doesn't matter whether you are in Condition 1 or Condition 3 carry with your M9.
Most of these attacks happen "inside the wire" where policy dictates condition 3 carry on all weapon systems. The whole "handgun vs. handsguns" thing goes out the window when you are talking about simply charging your M4.
To sum up? Be alert, be alert, be alert, work with your intel guys to see if any of your "partners" have known ties to Haqqani or TB networks, work with your Senior Afghan Partners to have your concerns addressed. Sit down, drink tea, and don't be an arrogant American.
You can only push a warrior so far with insults before he pushes back. With Muslims that is a much shorter walk as their culture does not tolerate any sort of criticism.
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