Case Study: Situational Awareness

In every situation, a person is in control of their situational awareness and how they move through their surroundings. On the base level you have the choice to be an active participant in what is going on around you, or be in a perpetual state of reacting to what happens to you. Obviously having a choice to interact with situations you are presented with is the preferred option, but by their nature bad actors will pick the time, place and situation they present to you. This situation will always be in their favor, when they attack. So, you have the choice. You can be an easy target or a hard target. In either case, you must always “Honor the Threat and be Threat Aware Everywhere,” as my good friend Bob says.

This concept is the theme of the discussion this month. We will be talking with an individual who was presented with a situation of someone else’s choosing, and luckily in this case she was aware and prepared to take steps to make herself a hard target.

Along a Busy Road

The Post

“During my run today, along a busy road with steady traffic, I heard a motorized scooter on the trail behind me, so I looked back. The guy was close, but then moved back and sat near me, but wouldn’t pass. My plan was to turn onto a street that is not busy or highly visible this time of day, but when I crossed the road ,he followed me so I quickly turned and crossed back to where I was. Yep, he quickly turned and followed me right back so I took a few steps and before the light changed, I crossed back over. My waiting for the final cross didn’t give him the time needed to cross as well so he followed along from his side of the road. I kept looking over at him, making sure he knew I saw him – he finally turned around and from what it appeared, gave up. It is almost 70 degrees and this man is out in long pants, a black leather jack, and smoking as he rides his scooter, being creepy.

Know your surroundings and be ready and able to pivot when things don’t seem right. Trust your gut. I am a little annoyed I had to change my run plan, but that’s it, I had to change a plan and all is good. I still got my planned miles, just with a little extra stress and with a different route than I planned.”

The author of this post was Lana Jendro. A mother, wife and Air Force Veteran. She has run a minimum of 1 mile every day for the past 2482 consecutive days. She has logged thousands of miles in total. Injuries, Covid, and not even the Polar Vortex was able to persuade her to take a day off. To say it mildly she is committed to running and has no current plans on stopping. Let’s hear more about what she had to say about the situation and the choices she made.

Indicators

Mark: What were the indicators that the man was following you?

Lana: Once I heard him behind me on a motorized scooter, I looked back causing him to slow down and stay behind me. He matched his scooter’s speed to my running speed, until we reached a stoplight. He sat there just watching me. When the light changed, I used the crosswalk to cross over 4 lanes of traffic to test if he was following me. When he followed me, I quickly went back to the side of the road I started on. He followed right behind me, to where I started.

Mark: What to you made the man stick out as a potential threat?

Lana: He was not dressed for fitness or the temperature. He was wearing jeans, a heavy jacket and smoking, and just watched me the whole time. That was the primary indicator that caused me to increase my awareness.

Mark: What actions do you feel made you a hard target in this situation?

Lana: I made him know I saw him through eye contact. Also, right before the light changed, I darted across traffic again for the third time trapping him on the other side of the road so he could no longer follow right behind me. When I run I do not wear earphones, I don’t keep a distraction on me. I am normally very aware of my surroundings as I am always concerned about cars and animals that I may encounter. I feel not having the distraction keeps me more aware and I can focus on running and the environment around me.

Commentary: While Lana is untrained in any specific methods in identifying surveillance or preattack indicators, she has effectively demonstrated the process of escalating through the “Color Codes” modified by Colonel Jeff Cooper to help civilians become more aware of our surroundings and potentially violent encounters.

The conditions are very well defined by Mike Martin in his book Concealed Carry and Home Defense Fundamentals 2^nd Edition textbook. Condition White is being completely unaware of your surrounds and being completely distracted, most often seen today by technology, or even just having a thought that nothing band will happen because it only happens to “others.” Condition Yellow, is a “Relaxed Alert” which allows you to stay aware of your surroundings, and exhibiting behavior that tells others “I am aware.” This is the level that should be maintained anytime we are in public. Condition Orange is a more heightened awareness level where you may realize something is wrong, or there may be a danger to you or others. In this step we start making plans to address threats and mentally preparing for either a confrontation or the need for a rapid escape. Condition Red is the action phase. Things have progressed to a point where a person is required to execute their plan to escape, take cover to engage the threat.

Psychological Impact

Mark: How does this incident impact your daily run?

Lana: I have started changing my routes more frequently now, and I run more with my taser than I had in the past. I used to carry it more only when I ran in the dark, because it is also a flashlight. Now I carry it way more often.

Mark: How does this incident impact your daily activity?

Lana: There is no real daily impact outside of some of my running changes, because I am always aware of what is going on around me.

Comments: Having the awareness to know what is normal in her surroundings Lana was able to react to the situation presented. Her commitment to being aware and vigilant will continue to allow her to keep many of her routines intact with minor alterations based on her experience. The addition of a handheld flashlight/taser will provide additional tools for her to “respond” appropriately to an incident, should the threat escalate past the ability to avoid or escape.

Post Incident Counter Measures

Mark: What options do you feel others can use to make themselves more aware and hopefully identify potential threats like you experienced?

Lana: Pay attention to what is going on around you. If you are wearing earbuds, try to only wear one so you can still hear what is going on around you.

Mark: What is your thought process in planning running activities while traveling?

Lana: I really just go run and I know how far I need or want to go, and how long it should take me, so I use that as a guide. I try to stay to populated areas and I keep head on a swivel.

Mark: Will this incident stop you from running in this area?

Lana: No. I feel I am pretty aware when I am out running and this incident has provided me positive feedback that I am able to conduct my running

Comments: There are many options to increase your awareness and keep to your normal routines. As Lana brings up in her comments, you can still enjoy music while running just alter how you listen to allow you to continue to interact with your environment. Preplanning or knowing what your routes and approximate time of workouts also allows for you to communicate to your peers or family members when to expect your return. This provides a level of response or level of security for you as the runner to know someone will come looking for you should you not return near the expected time. It also identifies a starting area for anyone who is trying to help you, to begin their search.

Final Thoughts

Staying aware and refusing to be a victim will prepare you for the challenges of addressing potential threats. Being “switched on” can take a toll, but more and more as we are out in public it will serve you well to practice some of the above tactics to make yourself a hard target. We all have a choice to make with our situational awareness posture. You can decide to focus on your phone or get lost in your music as you walk or run, but it may cost you. Making small alterations to your patterns and mindset, can create an enormous advantage to your safety and ability to respond to situations presented to you that require your response. Remember if you are experiencing a potential physical safety event, it is more likely than not the bad guy observed you and decided they would be able to commit their attack with little to no threat to them. That is why it is always advised to be “Threat Aware Everywhere” and take steps to make yourself a hard target.

For more information related to situational awareness and personal defense, visit www.castleguardtraining.com and find an upcoming Developing a Personal and Home Protection Plan course. You can also check back as new content is added on a regular basis along with upcoming training courses.