What does “SAFE” mean to you?
If you follow me or my articles you have learned a lot about personal defense. Your defense begins with your personal readiness, physically and mentally. Situational awareness is an especially crucial step because you need to see the threats approaching and then observe, decide, and act while that process flows repeatedly. Your specific location might change the way you respond to a threat. If you can easily avoid the entire ordeal then you should, if you can drive away or through the threat then consider that. But what if you are in a place that you would consider leaving only as a last resort…your home?
Many might have their guard up or a higher level of situational awareness when out in public, but it drops when they are in their residence. Statistics show that a high percentage of vehicle accidents happen just a few miles from the driver’s home. Why is that? Maybe because the driver is letting their guard down because of the close vicinity to their home and they are in an area where they feel more comfortable and familiar.
Now, if your guard is down at your Castle and this location is the one you will defend more than anywhere else, then why wouldn’t you have the best defenses there? Our home is our Castle. Have you ever seen a real Castle?
I am not recommending a moat around your home and filling it with piranha, or burying land mines in your yard, but have you thought creatively when it comes to the security of your home?
I understand that the typical items involving home security are alarms, lights with motion sensors, firearms and even rottweilers, but there is so much more, and it all begins with a mindset and a plan.
There are numerous things that may threaten you within your home. Burglary, vandalism, home invasion, natural disasters, civil unrest or even a personal vendetta. We live in a world where we are surrounded by threats, both perceived and real. Threats to our homes or our well-being are at the top of the list of risks we face in our day-to-day lives. One of the best ways you can improve security for you and your home against these threats is a thorough assessment of your current security level, or lack thereof.
This assessment is very comprehensive, and it includes many aspects of how you and the occupants of your residence conduct themselves during everyday activities. The physical structure of your residence and the surrounding property should be evaluated but the focus of the assessment should be on you and your behaviors. Are your behaviors setting you up to fail or becoming a victim? Plans should be in place for specific scenarios, and they should be known to all members of the family and rehearsed.
The final area that should be considered during a personal home defense assessment is one we all would rather not think about. What if you can not defend your Castle and you must take your family and leave. In the prepper world this is called a “Bugout” plan. If you do not plan this ahead of time, the success of getting your loved ones away from the threat and to safety drastically reduces.
During your assessment, the worse case scenarios should be reviewed. You should not just plan for scenario A, B, and C and overlook the possibility of D occurring. Retreating from your residence in a time of emergency could be an exceedingly challenging task. For example, in civil unrest if things have gotten to an extreme and you must leave your Castle, your route to a “safe haven” is going to be dangerous.
This preparation does not need to be an expensive process because, like I mentioned before, most of it has to do with your mentality and your way of thinking.
Do not forget, it all begins with reviewing different scenarios and creating a plan. Contact us for more information and begin the process of planning.
As an Official Partner with USCCA we would like to provide you with a FREE Checklist on “Ultimate Home-Defense” call or send us an email and we will get it to you right away.
NEVER STOP TRAINING!
For any questions regarding my article, email me at
[email protected]
Oz Johnson/Lead Instructor, Retired Law Enforcement, NRA Certified
JohnsonGroupTAC.com
602-410-7355
