Whether you live alone or have a family under your roof, being safe at home should be your #1 priority. Most people don’t even consider the importance of home security until after an occurrence that violates their personal living space. Yes, you might lock your main entry way when you enter your home or maybe you do so just prior to calling it a night. There’s so much more to truly elevating the safety of your home and the safety of your family. I always speak about the tactical mindset needed to survive not only a deadly encounter but to minimize the chance of becoming a victim. When your home is intruded upon you have been victimized. Your homes security starts with your mindset. The tactical mindset can be described as your “thinking process” that allows you to be on guard not only when you are deep in a bad situation but also when you are doing what it takes to prevent a bad situation from taking place. Now I know you might be thinking, Tactical Mindset, sounds like it applies to military, Law Enforcement or SWAT people, but it doesn’t, it applies to everyone who wants to survive and not be listed on some court form as a victim. Tactical: relating to or constituting actions carefully planned to gain a specific end.” The word tactical comes from the Greek taktike techne meaning, “art of arrangement”. When something is tactical, it is artfully arranged, or planned. So, tactical means planning, with a goal in mind. To stay safe or to protect those that you love.
My recent article about Situational Awareness begins with the tactical way of thinking, because you are not just allowing the normal everyday thoughts to run through your head, but you’re forcing or training your mind to think of the unknown or the “what ifs” and then planning a way out or a prevention plan. Is just locking your main entry way enough? I want to explain to everyone that what I am proposing is not a mindset of living in fear, but an action to prevent living in fear because you have done everything within your power to prevent being victimized. I’m not suggesting that you build a moat around your property filled with piranhas but what can you do to defend yourself and those that you love.
Have you spoken to occupants of your home and devised plans?
Do you own a guard dog or one that will alert you of an intruder?
Is the interior of your home easily assessable, windows, doors?
Do you own a firearm and have you received proper training?
Do you have an escape route and are the items needed to escape readily available? Car keys?
There are many other questions that I could list but these will become apparent to you when you begin the Tactical Mindset process, and you look over your property and discuss it with your family members. When you begin to think tactically your way of seeing things will change. You will begin to feel a confidence wherever you are and whatever you’re doing because you know you are doing what it takes to stay safe. This is not paranoia; it is a confidence built by your awareness and planning in order to prevent becoming a victim.
Oz Johnson is the owner of, Johnson Group Tactical, a Phoenix based Firearms and Tactical Training service.
For any questions regarding my article, please email me at [email protected]
Oz Johnson/lead instructor
Johnson Group TAC
JohnsonGroupTAC.com
602-448-8283
