Globall War of Terror - Atrocity Training
Jun. 25th, 2018 02:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drewkitty[COMPANY] Training Program
[COMPANY] Confidential
Unauthorized disclosure of the contents of this document could endanger your life, the lives of your co-workers, our clients and the general public. Unauthorized disclosure is therefore punishable by severe disciplinary action up to and including immediate termination of employment. Note that authorized disclosure to government clients must be approved by a [COMPANY] line manager prior to release, and a non-disclosure agreement must be in place to prevent automatic release under Freedom of Information Act or local variants such as California Public Records Act.
Topic Area: Combat Crowd Management
Required For: All [COMPANY] Personnel
Frequency: Low
Performance: Complex
Severity: Critical
WARNING: This task has been rated as Complex / Critical. All CC tasks must be retrained or made part of drills monthly! Supervisors and managers will document this on the Training Detail Report for your organizational activity.
In today's extremely high threat environment, we must accept that crowds of persons in and of themselves are a potential target for acts of random atrocity or deliberate terror.
Therefore all security personnel must be trained in proper techniques for protection, deterrence, control and mitigation of critical incidents involving crowds.
Note that depending on the nature of the threat, you may be required to engage in lifesaving tasks of higher priority than combat crowd management. In particular, direct self defense through returning fire always takes precedence. IED management may or may not depending on conditions.
The performance of first aid or tactical casualty care is _always_ of lower priority than combat crowd management! Consider that moving people out of a danger area, or restricting the movements of attacker(s) may save many lives. Also recall that CPR is an inappropriate skill in an act of terror or mass casualty incident until sufficient resources are available to end the attack and treat all salvageable casualties, and assure scene security. Only then may CPR be initiated, and this will nearly always be ineffective. (In pre Firecracker experience, only 1 out of 200 events where CPR was initiated due to trauma resulted in patient out of hospital survival.)
Use the OODA loop to determine what action is necessary. "Don't just do something, stand there!" Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. Observe the threat, orient yourself to the potentials of the situation, decide on a course of action, and implement that action immediately. Practice using the OODA process in normal situations so that you are ready to use it in critical ones.
Separation
The first task -- just as in reaction to ambush -- is to separate the crowd from the killing zone. Reference discussion in training courses on Deadly Force, Knives & Melee Weapons, Direct Fire, Military Weapons, IEDs, Vehicular Homicide, Homicide Bombings, Exotic Weapons and [REDACTED]. The killing zone may be small but mobile - such as within arms reach of a knife wielder - or large but relatively fixed - such as the beaten zone created by enemy ranged fire.
Separation by moving the crowd takes time and is broken into several steps further outlined below under "Emergency Crowd Moves."
Instead consider other faster measures. Closing and locking doors, gates, vehicle barricades and other access control devices can be an effective form of separation. A knife wielder locked in a room alone is harmless and can be dealt with at leisure. Obviously this would not apply to direct fire - but locking an exterior door leading to a courtyard under enemy direct fire may save many lives.
You must be thoroughly familiar with how to lock, unlock, hastily secure, and destroy/defeat all doors and barriers at your work location. You may be issued keys or access cards. You will be trained in the use of door wedges and sledge hammers for securement and breaching respectively.
Neutralization
Obviously if the immediate threat to the crowd can be neutralized, this is easier and safer than moving the crowd. Use any and all force options at your disposal for this purpose. Apply local doctrine such as NO HOSTAGE as applicable. Employ precision rifle fire ("snipers") and/or indirect major weapons systems ("mortars") as available and appropriate. Consider support from allied forces or activities if it can be obtained quickly. Consider unconventional uses of force such as vehicle strikes by cars, trucks, forklifts or construction equipment. In some cases, neutralization efforts can be simultaneous with separation. In other cases this is impossible.
Obscurement
For some threats, it may be possible to temporarily reduce the threat by blocking vision, or obscurement. This might consider of drawing shades or curtains, setting off smoke grenades or lighting smoke pots, in extreme emergency starting a wildfire (but consider secondary effects!), or other means based on conditions. (Note that the vision blocks or cameras of Threat AFVs can be effectively obscured by paint, reference the Armored Vehicle Driver course, but this does _NOT_ affect remotely operated weapons systems.)
At night obscurement may consist of dousing lights, turning on powerful lights aimed at the attacker(s) [who will if possible immediately begin shooting out those lights; plan accordingly], and/or enforcing noise and light discipline so that targets are not visible to attackers.
Obscurement is a temporary strategy but may be vital in saving lives while other strategies are brought to bear.
Destination
To the extent feasible, determine _where_ you are moving the crowd to and that it is safe (or at least safer...) than their current location.
This may be very difficult. You will not have time to conduct a reconnaissance. You may or may not be able to radio Security Control or check cameras or use binoculars.
Example: you have a crowd at an intersection. The entire crowd, including you, comes under direct fire from an unknown direction. You immediately circle the crowd and send two or three runners in each possible direction and briefly observe their flight. You see that runners sent to the west are shot, some killed and some wounded. Runners sent to the north and east are not shot but keep going.
Therefore you decide randomly between the two alternatives, north and east, to send the crowd to the north. You are prepared to observe, orient, decide and act should this prove to be less effective. (The wounded to the west are on their own until neutralization can take place; see Sniper-Counter-Sniper for a detained discussion of the rescue reflex and its inevitably fatal outcome.)
Indoors is typically safer than outdoors. Behind significant barriers is better than concealment is better than open fields. Turning a corner is often better than direct flight in a line. But adapt to the conditions you find.
Emergency Crowd Moves
An individual reacts to the situation around them based on their life experience, training, preconceptions and a myriad of individual factors.
People in groups tend to "herd" or "follow the leader" based on the behavior of the _group_, not of a specific individual.
Painful experience has shown that a single individual, even when well trained in crowd assertion AND impeccably uniformed AND using a sound device such as a loudhailer or whistle, is often ignored by a crowd. This has resulted in fatalities.
The same crowd will react much more quickly to _two_ individuals, especially if they appear to be in agreement with each other and if they are similar in physical appearance (such as same color uniform, same gender, same approximate build).
Therefore, if crowd control is anticipated, guard force personnel will normally be deployed in pairs. In some situations, it is both an officer safety and internal security rule that no fewer than two security personnel will be on a post, and any single person alone will be immediately detained and taken into custody - even if they are personally known to be authorized, in uniform, have credentials, etc. Apply your local procedures.
If you must control a crowd alone, you will find it more effective to get initial compliance from one other person through person-to-person interaction. Then the _two_ of you together will follow the techniques outlined below.
Establishment Of Authority
First get the crowd's attention and state your affiliation and authority. Your voice must be clear, calm and loud. Then give the crowd a course of action which is simple, direct, and impossible to misunderstand. As needed, repeat both the direction and the importance of following it.
Incorrect: "Security Response Team! Move to your left! Over there, to your left!"
In this example, the crowd is expected to determine left from right and to parse out three words establishing authority.
Better: [blow whistle] "Security Force! Go inside! Get inside now! Use that door! Go now!"
Do _not_ attempt to explain the reasons for your order. You don't have time. They don't have time either. Lives depend on immediate compliance.
Practice projecting your voice. Your supervisor will help you learn proper breathing and voice techniques for clearly and loudly shouting.
Make sure your whistle is ready to hand. Many personnel choose to carry a backup whistle just in case.
Use Of Force
It is completely acceptable, even expected, to lay your hands on people and push them in the safe direction(s) necessary.
Do not deploy intermediate weapons such as clubs, chemical agents, etc. This slows down a crowd and sets up a conflict. You need the crowd to _move_ and _fast_.
While it can be tempting, do _NOT_ attempt to fire over the heads of a crowd to get them to move. They will see _you_ as the threat to their safety and retreat with respect to you, which may cause them to run from you right into the hazard(s) you are trying to save them from. Also, your action will be misinterpreted by others and _you_ may come under friendly direct fire for what they believe is an attempt to kill protected persons. See Blue on Blue for a detailed discussion.
Crowd Control
This discussion assumes a friendly crowd. See Counter Riot Operations for discussion of a hostile crowd; note again that chemical agents are inappropriate for friendly crowds but are to be used lavishly when dealing with hostile crowds.
The crowd will look to persons of authority and leadership in life threatening situations. Your stance, bearing, uniform and appearance will be judged. So will your behavior. Understand that you will be moving quickly, breathing hard, and switching between multiple tasks quickly. Nonetheless you must project an air of calm and confidence...
[COMPANY] Confidential
Unauthorized disclosure of the contents of this document could endanger your life, the lives of your co-workers, our clients and the general public. Unauthorized disclosure is therefore punishable by severe disciplinary action up to and including immediate termination of employment. Note that authorized disclosure to government clients must be approved by a [COMPANY] line manager prior to release, and a non-disclosure agreement must be in place to prevent automatic release under Freedom of Information Act or local variants such as California Public Records Act.
Topic Area: Combat Crowd Management
Required For: All [COMPANY] Personnel
Frequency: Low
Performance: Complex
Severity: Critical
WARNING: This task has been rated as Complex / Critical. All CC tasks must be retrained or made part of drills monthly! Supervisors and managers will document this on the Training Detail Report for your organizational activity.
In today's extremely high threat environment, we must accept that crowds of persons in and of themselves are a potential target for acts of random atrocity or deliberate terror.
Therefore all security personnel must be trained in proper techniques for protection, deterrence, control and mitigation of critical incidents involving crowds.
Note that depending on the nature of the threat, you may be required to engage in lifesaving tasks of higher priority than combat crowd management. In particular, direct self defense through returning fire always takes precedence. IED management may or may not depending on conditions.
The performance of first aid or tactical casualty care is _always_ of lower priority than combat crowd management! Consider that moving people out of a danger area, or restricting the movements of attacker(s) may save many lives. Also recall that CPR is an inappropriate skill in an act of terror or mass casualty incident until sufficient resources are available to end the attack and treat all salvageable casualties, and assure scene security. Only then may CPR be initiated, and this will nearly always be ineffective. (In pre Firecracker experience, only 1 out of 200 events where CPR was initiated due to trauma resulted in patient out of hospital survival.)
Use the OODA loop to determine what action is necessary. "Don't just do something, stand there!" Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. Observe the threat, orient yourself to the potentials of the situation, decide on a course of action, and implement that action immediately. Practice using the OODA process in normal situations so that you are ready to use it in critical ones.
Separation
The first task -- just as in reaction to ambush -- is to separate the crowd from the killing zone. Reference discussion in training courses on Deadly Force, Knives & Melee Weapons, Direct Fire, Military Weapons, IEDs, Vehicular Homicide, Homicide Bombings, Exotic Weapons and [REDACTED]. The killing zone may be small but mobile - such as within arms reach of a knife wielder - or large but relatively fixed - such as the beaten zone created by enemy ranged fire.
Separation by moving the crowd takes time and is broken into several steps further outlined below under "Emergency Crowd Moves."
Instead consider other faster measures. Closing and locking doors, gates, vehicle barricades and other access control devices can be an effective form of separation. A knife wielder locked in a room alone is harmless and can be dealt with at leisure. Obviously this would not apply to direct fire - but locking an exterior door leading to a courtyard under enemy direct fire may save many lives.
You must be thoroughly familiar with how to lock, unlock, hastily secure, and destroy/defeat all doors and barriers at your work location. You may be issued keys or access cards. You will be trained in the use of door wedges and sledge hammers for securement and breaching respectively.
Neutralization
Obviously if the immediate threat to the crowd can be neutralized, this is easier and safer than moving the crowd. Use any and all force options at your disposal for this purpose. Apply local doctrine such as NO HOSTAGE as applicable. Employ precision rifle fire ("snipers") and/or indirect major weapons systems ("mortars") as available and appropriate. Consider support from allied forces or activities if it can be obtained quickly. Consider unconventional uses of force such as vehicle strikes by cars, trucks, forklifts or construction equipment. In some cases, neutralization efforts can be simultaneous with separation. In other cases this is impossible.
Obscurement
For some threats, it may be possible to temporarily reduce the threat by blocking vision, or obscurement. This might consider of drawing shades or curtains, setting off smoke grenades or lighting smoke pots, in extreme emergency starting a wildfire (but consider secondary effects!), or other means based on conditions. (Note that the vision blocks or cameras of Threat AFVs can be effectively obscured by paint, reference the Armored Vehicle Driver course, but this does _NOT_ affect remotely operated weapons systems.)
At night obscurement may consist of dousing lights, turning on powerful lights aimed at the attacker(s) [who will if possible immediately begin shooting out those lights; plan accordingly], and/or enforcing noise and light discipline so that targets are not visible to attackers.
Obscurement is a temporary strategy but may be vital in saving lives while other strategies are brought to bear.
Destination
To the extent feasible, determine _where_ you are moving the crowd to and that it is safe (or at least safer...) than their current location.
This may be very difficult. You will not have time to conduct a reconnaissance. You may or may not be able to radio Security Control or check cameras or use binoculars.
Example: you have a crowd at an intersection. The entire crowd, including you, comes under direct fire from an unknown direction. You immediately circle the crowd and send two or three runners in each possible direction and briefly observe their flight. You see that runners sent to the west are shot, some killed and some wounded. Runners sent to the north and east are not shot but keep going.
Therefore you decide randomly between the two alternatives, north and east, to send the crowd to the north. You are prepared to observe, orient, decide and act should this prove to be less effective. (The wounded to the west are on their own until neutralization can take place; see Sniper-Counter-Sniper for a detained discussion of the rescue reflex and its inevitably fatal outcome.)
Indoors is typically safer than outdoors. Behind significant barriers is better than concealment is better than open fields. Turning a corner is often better than direct flight in a line. But adapt to the conditions you find.
Emergency Crowd Moves
An individual reacts to the situation around them based on their life experience, training, preconceptions and a myriad of individual factors.
People in groups tend to "herd" or "follow the leader" based on the behavior of the _group_, not of a specific individual.
Painful experience has shown that a single individual, even when well trained in crowd assertion AND impeccably uniformed AND using a sound device such as a loudhailer or whistle, is often ignored by a crowd. This has resulted in fatalities.
The same crowd will react much more quickly to _two_ individuals, especially if they appear to be in agreement with each other and if they are similar in physical appearance (such as same color uniform, same gender, same approximate build).
Therefore, if crowd control is anticipated, guard force personnel will normally be deployed in pairs. In some situations, it is both an officer safety and internal security rule that no fewer than two security personnel will be on a post, and any single person alone will be immediately detained and taken into custody - even if they are personally known to be authorized, in uniform, have credentials, etc. Apply your local procedures.
If you must control a crowd alone, you will find it more effective to get initial compliance from one other person through person-to-person interaction. Then the _two_ of you together will follow the techniques outlined below.
Establishment Of Authority
First get the crowd's attention and state your affiliation and authority. Your voice must be clear, calm and loud. Then give the crowd a course of action which is simple, direct, and impossible to misunderstand. As needed, repeat both the direction and the importance of following it.
Incorrect: "Security Response Team! Move to your left! Over there, to your left!"
In this example, the crowd is expected to determine left from right and to parse out three words establishing authority.
Better: [blow whistle] "Security Force! Go inside! Get inside now! Use that door! Go now!"
Do _not_ attempt to explain the reasons for your order. You don't have time. They don't have time either. Lives depend on immediate compliance.
Practice projecting your voice. Your supervisor will help you learn proper breathing and voice techniques for clearly and loudly shouting.
Make sure your whistle is ready to hand. Many personnel choose to carry a backup whistle just in case.
Use Of Force
It is completely acceptable, even expected, to lay your hands on people and push them in the safe direction(s) necessary.
Do not deploy intermediate weapons such as clubs, chemical agents, etc. This slows down a crowd and sets up a conflict. You need the crowd to _move_ and _fast_.
While it can be tempting, do _NOT_ attempt to fire over the heads of a crowd to get them to move. They will see _you_ as the threat to their safety and retreat with respect to you, which may cause them to run from you right into the hazard(s) you are trying to save them from. Also, your action will be misinterpreted by others and _you_ may come under friendly direct fire for what they believe is an attempt to kill protected persons. See Blue on Blue for a detailed discussion.
Crowd Control
This discussion assumes a friendly crowd. See Counter Riot Operations for discussion of a hostile crowd; note again that chemical agents are inappropriate for friendly crowds but are to be used lavishly when dealing with hostile crowds.
The crowd will look to persons of authority and leadership in life threatening situations. Your stance, bearing, uniform and appearance will be judged. So will your behavior. Understand that you will be moving quickly, breathing hard, and switching between multiple tasks quickly. Nonetheless you must project an air of calm and confidence...
