By Chase Sargent
In 1997, then Secretary of the Navy William J. Bennett, in his commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy, discussed the issue of sheepdogs, which was then expounded on by Lt. Col. Grossman in his book On Killing.1 The gist of the message centered around the need to be vigilant and prepared in today’s world, especially those individuals who possess those “warrior” traits Grossman attributed to sheepdogs. Grossman identified three categories of individuals:
- Sheep. He placed most of the people in our society into this category. Sheep are kind, gentle, productive creatures that can only hurt one another by accident or under extreme provocation. They, therefore, need police officers, soldiers, and other warriors to protect them.
- Sheepdog. This type of individual lives to protect the flock and confront the wolf. These individuals have a capacity for violence and also a deep love for their fellow citizens. The sheepdog is a warrior, walks the hero’s path, and possesses the gift of aggression. He would not misuse this gift but yearns for the opportunity to use it to defend the sheep and his team, family, and friends. Warriors are sheepdogs. This group includes firefighters, police officers, emergency medical response personnel, the military, and other professions that defend and protect citizens (sheep) from the wolf.
- Wolf. This category of people has a capacity for violence and lacks empathy for fellow citizens. The wolf is aggressive for aggression’s sake.
Why the Sheepdog Mentality?
Below are some characteristics of a sheepdog state of mind and behaviors you, as the sheepdog, can use at work and when with your family and friends. Today’s landscape at work and in everyday life is much different than it has ever been. If we don’t understand, recognize, or even suspect the threats, we may not get another chance.
Let me interject here some of the experiences that have led me to truly believe that being a sheepdog is a necessary condition for survival.
In addition to my 26½ years in the fire service, including as a member of the urban search and rescue VA-TF2, technical rescue, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Incident Support Team (IST) White Operations Branch, I had a parallel career. I spent more than 15 years as a Special Weapons and Tactical medic with the Norfolk Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I now work there as a physician’s assistant. I underwent years of training and participated in high-risk operations, protective details, and low- and high-profile arrests. I watched and learned from the best.
In addition, I spent six years overseas with the State Department Diplomatic Security Service and other government contracts in high-threat protection, spending my last three years in Iraq. I have been shot at, rocketed, and mortared and have had so many improvised explosive devices go off around me that I lost count. Among other assignments, I worked as part of the cadre that trained the initial U.S. Navy riverine squadrons for deployment to Iraq, worked and trained with almost all of the Tier 1 commands, and watched them closely to try to learn everything I could. I found that I could apply the mindset and beliefs to work, response, and my personal life.
My goal is to blend what I know to be true with what I have experienced and what I have researched that applies to on and off the job so that you, your family, and your team can be as safe as possible and come home from the day’s events preferably unscathed.
Events Involving Attacks on Society
Table 1 lists some of the domestic events that have occurred in recent years. Just take it in. Don’t let this overview skew your vision of who you are or what you need to protect your team, yourself, and your family.
It’s unfortunate that almost all of these events resulted from failures of mental health, law enforcement, intelligence communities, parents, teachers, or pivotal societal systems that perhaps could have prevented them. Warning signs and information were available – everything from Web posts to psychological evaluations, police reports, and domestic issues. Additionally, there were signs during these events that the people caught up in the midst of the terror could have used to survive, but that is another discussion.
The question you should be asking yourself is, “When on the job, are my team and I emotionally prepared and technically competent to respond to and effectively mitigate events like these?”
From the standpoint of the leader of your family unit, are you prepared to protect your family; extract them from any situation; or, at the very least, defend them?
Sheepdog Training/Behaviors
Following are some “sheepdog-type” training and behaviors that apply to both work and family. They are tips for living a long life in the profession you have chosen and the world in which we live.
- Be mentally ready and have a physical plan. No Fire Department of New York member thought that the World Trade Center (WTC) would happen that day when they went to work on 9/11. That event and countless other events that occur daily during fire and rescue operations remind us how necessary it is to be mentally ready for those kinds of events and to have a physical plan when they occur. Many of the firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical services (EMS) workers in the WTC towers knew they were not going home. Nevertheless, they continued to do their duty regardless of their personal fears and anguish. If you read personal accounts of Medal of Honor winners, not the official reports read at the ceremony, one thing becomes clear: None considered themselves heroes. They said they did what they had to do to save their team members or themselves.
- Always be aware of your surroundings (situational awareness), and pay attention to anything that looks out of place. When you leave your house or arrive at your workplace, have your head on a swivel. Be alert, be aware, and take nothing for granted.
- If it smells funny, if it looks funny, if you think it’s funny, it is. It’s better to discover you are wrong about a person or place than to end up surprised and hurt.
- Avoid places you know you should not be unless you absolutely have to be there.
- Learn to extricate yourself from locations or situations before things go bad, not after they go bad; anticipate what the karma of the room or the environment is.
- Always prepare to take the offensive; there is no victory in defense unless it is buying you time to be offensive. (The only exception is when you have to go defensive on a fire to protect your members.)
- Be mentally and physically prepared for combat and conflict at all times.
- Learn how to survive and win when injured or hurt.
- Prepare those you love with the mental and physical tools they need to survive.
- Always have a plan, a backup plan, and a backup to the backup plan.
- Expect the unexpected, and you will never be surprised. Be prepared for the unthinkable, and it will not appear unthinkable.
- Know how to get out of the place you just got into.
Sheepdog Actions 1. Maintain Mental Alertness.
Train yourself to have mindful changes in alert status based on where you are, what you are doing, and who you are with. Geography, threat level, crowds, number of family members, past reputation of a given housing development or apartment complex, and preincident planning and data drive this alert status, both on and off work. These levels can change quickly, but here are some concepts:
Green indicates relaxed, unaware, and unprepared. Most sheep live their lives here all the time. If attacked in this state, the only thing that may save them is the inadequacy and ineptitude of the attacker. A sheepdog, however, will recognize it well in advance or as the situation is changing and immediately go on a higher state of alert.
Yellow signals relaxed alertness. There is no specific threat situation. Your mindset would be, “Today could be the day I may have to defend myself.” There is no specific threat, but you are aware that the world is an unfriendly and a dangerous place and that you are prepared to do something if necessary. Your eyes and ears are scanning, and your walk and posture say, “I am alert.” When confronted by something nasty, your reaction will probably be, “I thought this might happen some day.” You can live in this state indefinitely.
Yellow is also where you are the minute the bells go off in the fire station, during response, during size-up, and in most general interactions with your customers. It is also the phase you should be in when you are out with your family. You are watching and protecting, even when having a good time. You are not remote, nor are you aloof to your family members. They need not even know you are at yellow, but you are there protecting your sheep.
Orange signifies that a specific alert or threat is identified. Something is not quite right and has drawn your attention. As a result, you shift your primary focus to whatever that is. It may be a suspicious person, a suspicious package, body language, or something occurring remote from you (a fight, gunshots, shouting, and screaming). Something is “wrong” with a person or an object. Something may happen. Your mindset is, “I may have to shoot that person or defend myself, my team, or my family by other means.”
On the fireground, it might be that a wall looks unstable and may be about to collapse or the color of the smoke has just changed. On the street, it could be that a car is not going to stop for the stoplight or a really big BOOM has just occurred.
If you are out with your family, get them moving and away from whatever situation you have identified. It’s time to shelter or move them where the threat level is lower and where you feel they are safe. This also applies to your hoseline or roof crew: Move early when a threat is identified; don’t wait for the roof to come apart or the room to flash! Regardless of what it is, this is where preplanned communication is critical. This may mean you get up and leave the restaurant or bar, it might mean you move to an exit in the mall, or it might be that you turn and go the other way while walking. At this point, once you make the decision, there is no time for discussion; there is only time for action. You can explain later.
Red denotes fight or emergency trigger. If you are on the fireground, this may be a Mayday you have to call. There is no waiting or debating about calling a Mayday; your ego cannot override the reality, and it certainly cannot save you. On an EMS call, it may be that the subject just produced a knife, a gun, or another weapon. You must be prepared to fight to survive or quickly extricate yourself from the threat.
If you are out with your family, your mental trigger is, “If that person does this, I will stop him by some other means. If this person does this, I will defend with my hands, a knife, or a potted plant if I have to.” If you are armed, your pistol may be in your hand, but not necessarily so. You should have your hand close to and perhaps already gripping your weapon of choice and be ready to deploy it.
If you are with your family, get them in a position where they are least likely to be harmed. This may be on the floor, behind cover. It may be getting them to run in the opposite direction while you address the threat. Again, preplanning and knowledge of the geography of where you are are critical. (Where is the closest exit away from the threat? Where is immediate shelter or cover if I cannot get them away?)
In any situation where the mental state is red, training must take over. This is not the time to start debating, instructing, or discussing. At this point, there is only time for immediate action based on muscle memory, training, and psychological and physical preparedness.
2. Expect It to Happen, and Plan for It.
When at work, always be thinking, “What is the worst scenario that might occur to my team and me?” Maybe it’s an airplane crash into the large senior living condo, maybe it’s a multiple bombing at a marathon, or maybe it’s a building collapse. Don’t feel foolish for thinking about what once was considered unthinkable. If you can think about it, it can happen. Only sheep believe otherwise, and the wolves want you to think that way.
If you think about it, talk about it, and discuss what you might do with your team, it will not be a surprise if it occurs. You gain an emotional, psychological, and tactical advantage from planning, discussing, and brainstorming these situations. Accepting that it can happen psychologically puts you at a huge advantage when and if it happens. Your mind and body will not be “shocked.” You will not be standing in disbelief; rather, you will be engaging and taking action.
This also applies to your personal life. If you have not discussed what you will do, what actions you will take, and how you will communicate with your family before an event occurs, you are already behind the curve. You cannot wait until something occurs to discuss what you will do. Immediate action drills require preplanning, communication, and agreement before an event.
When you go to the mall, a bar, a restaurant, or a movie theater, take a moment to locate things like the second or third exit, cover, concealment, and areas of refuge. Expect, anticipate, plan, and prepare for the worst things you think may happen.
3. Observe the Hands.
For a human being to harm you, he must use his hands. Looking at people’s hands is critical. The next time you see a diplomatic line being walked by the Secret Service or another protective detail, look at where their eyes are. They are on the hands – future, present, and past (see below). An empty hand is much less a threat; notice I did not say not a threat but much less a threat than a concealed hand or a hand with something in it.
At work when you encounter people you do not know, always be looking at their hands. Hands in coat pockets, hands balled up, hands with a gun in them, hands hidden from sight – all are threatening and dangerous hands.
Future hands: Are the hands of the individual walking down the street toward you on an EMS call, in the mall, or at a fire scene visible? If not, your antenna should go up until you see the person’s hands or they are out of your contact range. Hands moving from concealment to open should also draw your attention until you see that the hands are empty.
Present hands: When someone is within range or close to you, where are the hands? Has the hand position changed, or have the hands changed from open to concealed hands? If the hands are concealed, where are they? Can you anticipate what the hands might be capable of holding or wielding based on their location? Do hands in a large jacket pocket differ from hands in a pair of tight jeans?
Past hands: I know you cannot look over your shoulder all the time, but just because hands were clean at future and present does not mean they will be clean once they are past you. Past hands refer to hands that were once future hands, then present hands, and have now gone past your physical location. We had teams that did nothing but watch the hands of people who had passed them in diplomatic lines.
Seeing hands is a critical first step in evaluating a threat. Practice this when you are on the job or out with your family. As you walk through the mall or down the street, look at people’s hands and their body language. Make this a natural action that requires no effort.
There is a concept in surviving edge weapons attacks that states, “Officers must have at least 21 feet of separation from a suspect if their weapon is holstered to draw and shoot a suspect who suddenly exposes and attacks with a knife.” In many instances, 21 feet is not enough.
4. Geography.
Geography is a general term that applies to the specific environment you are working in, socializing in, traveling through, or functioning in. Here are some general work and personal geography rules to consider:
- At work, never let your patient or customer get between you and your exit. Sometimes, this is unavoidable, but never let your means of egress be blocked by someone or something.
- At work or with family, always know where the second or third exit is. When you and your team enter a house to take care of someone, scope out where the back door is and how to get to it. If you are entering a building to undertake offensive operations, look at the exterior, and make note of the window locations.
If you are out to eat or at a bar, a movie theater, or any public gathering place, take a few seconds and look for the second means of egress. If you have to get up and walk over to scope it out, do so. It might be that you have to go through the kitchen, over the bar, or behind the stage. Regardless of where it is, if you need to use it, it does not matter. If you can see the second exit, is it locked or barred? Just know where you are going to go if the threat or danger ends up between you and the main entrance or the entrance you came in through. When in red, sheep tend to go back the way they came, and this may be deadly.
Always attempt to sit with your body facing the main entrance. At a restaurant or anywhere you socialize, never sit with your back to the street, the door, or the window. Be able to see what is going on outside as well as the comings and goings at the entrance and exit.
What is around that can be used as a weapon if necessary? This applies to work and family. When in a house taking care of a customer, ask yourself if there is anything that can be used against you or that you can pick up and use if need be.
When dealing with a customer close up or in a bar with lots of people, always have something in your hand that can be used as a distraction. A series of events must take place for an attack to be successful; simply throwing a small notebook, a beer, or anything else in someone’s line of sight or face to distract them for several seconds can create a gap you can take advantage of.
Where are your areas of refuge or cover if you cannot remove yourself from a threat? This takes on a different meaning on the fireground or an EMS call, but you need to think in advance, “Where can I go to get some protection if I need it, and how do I get there?” From a personal standpoint, it means, “Where can I place my children, wife, mother, girlfriend, or boyfriend when something happens so they will be protected or covered while I address the threat?”
5. Black Routes.
In psychology, they call them patterns of negative behavior. In Iraq and other locations, they are out-of-bounds areas that were a high threat. When your sole purpose is to protect the principal you have been assigned, these routes represent much too high of a risk. At work and in your personal life, know where the “black routes” are. At work, you might not have a choice about where you go, but you surely have a say in what route you use to get there.
From a personal/family perspective, you always have a choice of what road you will travel or what neighborhood you will pass through and at what time of day or night you travel. Avoid areas that you know have a history of violence. Don’t go looking for trouble.
Always have at least one alternative route when traveling in case the other is blocked or inaccessible. Make sure you are also supplied for the journey. A good friend of mine, Battalion Chief (Ret.) Tim Gallagher, who used to live in Phoenix, Arizona, told me, “When you travel around here, you never go out without extra water.” That’s good advice when you live in the desert.
Supply also means making sure your personal vehicle is stocked with the basics, based on where you live and the season – a basic first-aid kit, a fire extinguisher, water or warm clothing if the environment you live in warrants it, a basic tool kit, and a spare tire that has been checked and inflated properly. Do a review and mental checklist, and make sure you are prepared.
You have a choice about how you live at work and in your life outside of work. Choices have consequences, and you must weigh how you want to prepare yourself. It’s a personal choice based on your beliefs, desires, and understanding of the world and the environment you live in. Sometimes it’s driven by love, sometimes by pure necessity. Being a sheepdog increases your chance, your team’s chance, and your family’s chance of living a long, healthy, and enjoyable life. The wolves are out every day looking for prey. If you look like a hard target, they will go looking for a softer one.
Endnote
1. Grossman, Tom, On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. Paperback, June 22, 2009. Lt. Col. Grossman pioneered Killology, the scholarly study of killing. Killology focuses on the reactions of healthy people in killing circumstances (such as police and military in combat) and the factors that enable and restrain killing in these situations.
CHASE SARGENT retired as a division chief/paramedic with the Virginia Beach (VA) Fire and Rescue Department in 2005 after 26½ years of service. He helped found and develop the Tidewater Regional Technical Rescue Team and VA-TF2 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urban search and rescue team, on which he served as a task force leader and a member of the FEMA White IST. He was the chief tactical medic for the Norfolk Federal Bureau Investigation Special Weapons and Tactics team and has been involved in a wide range of tactical missions, executive protection, national security events, and counterterrorism operations. He worked for Blackwater USA as a firearms instructor and riverine cadre instructor. After retirement, he worked for the U.S. Department State Diplomatic Security Service in the Antiterrorism Assistance Program as an instructor and a special operations medic. Among his deployments were Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. He then spent three years in Iraq working for the U.S. government in high threat protection as an operator and special operations medic. He is an emergency medical physician assistant for Emergency Physicians of Tidewater.
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