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My daughter’s college held a Christmas Gala last week where she was a member of the chorus. It was a beautiful show celebrating the season’s good will toward men (and women). The audience was filled with festively-dressed folks, many of them smiling seniors. Was it wrong for me to be thinking about radicalized violence?<\/p>\n
A Christian event drawing over a thousand people could be a prime target in these particular times. Once seated, I discreetly checked out the tactical options. Should something go down, where were the exits people would attempt to funnel through? What would constitute cover and\/or concealment? How could an attack unfold, given the layout of the venue?<\/p>\n
I dare not get into the Christmas spirit until I had all the angles worked out in my head. It is an occupational habit to assess for a potential critical incident, even when off duty. Decades of SWAT have corrupted my focus. Sometimes I wish I were a normal person.<\/p>\n
My concealed carry was a Kahr PM9 and spare mag. The thought, “Battlefield pickup,” came to mind. In short order, I was able to enjoy the musical. I was surrounded by people who should not have to worry about their safety at a concert event. Most didn’t, I’ll wager.<\/p>\n
Yes, the show went off without conflict. My concerns for the day were, fortunately, unfounded. But I cursed my professional paranoia, while simultaneously acknowledging its modern practicality. Were there other white hats in the audience who were also armed and observant? I hope so, but I’ll never know for sure.<\/p>\n
The kids’ performance was wonderful. Once I had contingencies committed in my head, I thoroughly enjoyed the night’s songs and skits. A few moments of sober assessment followed by a couple hours of holiday spirit. Yeah, it was good.<\/p>\n
Randall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My daughter’s college held a Christmas Gala last week where she was a member of the chorus. It was a beautiful show celebrating the season’s good will toward men (and women). The audience was filled with festively-dressed folks, many of them smiling seniors. Was it wrong for me to be thinking about radicalized violence? A Christian event drawing over a thousand people could be a prime target in these particular times. Once seated, I discreetly checked out the tactical options. Should something go down, where were the exits people would attempt to funnel through? What would constitute cover and\/or concealment? How could an attack unfold, given the layout of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,33,227],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-misc","category-off-duty","category-tactics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t