Has Situational Awareness Ever Saved You?

G

G1R2

New member
Situational awareness is simply "knowing what is going on so you can figure out what to do" (Adam, 1993). Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation_awareness

The purpose of this post is to share experiences on how members have avoided potentially violent confrontations with their firearm through situational awareness.

Here is one of my experiences, what is yours?

I have avoided several potentially dangerous situations in the past thirty years while living on my farm in the countryside in South America. Here is one which happened at night while walking back to my farm after buying some stuff at the local store about a mile away. I take the walk because I enjoy it. When I left the store and headed home, my red light flashed on. Why would the stranger walking in front of me, walk out of the street lights and into the darkness in the same direction I was going? The few people who lived in that direction would already be in bed. Ah, maybe he was just going to the brick factory for the night shift or he was walking to the next village four miles away – umm, not likely. As I entered the darkness, I stopped, to water the weeds, adjust my eyes, and to spot the guy ahead of me. Yup, there he was, about fifty yards ahead of me. I waited to see if he was gaining distance on me, nope, he had stopped too. OK, maybe he was just watering the weeds like I had done, I waited longer, he waited too. After about fifteen minutes of this standoff, the guy yelled some obscenities at me and moved on. The game was up, he knew that I knew his violent situation was not going to happen.

I think, if you can see it coming far enough in advance, by all means avoid it so you don’t have to use your firearm. I think having to use your firearm to kill someone in self-defense would be a very traumatic experience, first by surviving the attack and killing your perpertrator and second, surviving the legal nightmare that would soon follow. I have avoided numerous situations that I preceived as potentially dangerous, sometimes at great inconvenience to me.

It is better to be alert than going to heaven because you weren’t or going through hell because you had to survive the legal consequences.
 
Did you ever think that maybe he thought you were following him with bad intent? He might very well have been thinking the same things you were and after all you were the one closing from behind.
 
To see if someone is stalking you:

1. If you’re in front you detour, if possible, and keep going.

2. If you’re behind you stop and see if the other person also stops.

What the OP described seems like stalking to me. Especially the cussing. I didn’t read where the OP was “closing behind”.

I’ve been stalked. Took me awhile to figure out it was so. I was on the road and dropped into a line of trucks and stayed there. The perp saw he’d been made and left.
 
It saved me on one occasion fjor sure about 14yrs ago. Also, I am sure it has saved me several times since because of my looking a situation over and deciding to go elsewhere rather than take a chance on it.
 
I am sorry.

Did you ever think that maybe he thought you were following him with bad intent? He might very well have been thinking the same things you were


I am sorry Nate, I forgot to say that I am an American over sixty-five and after thirty years, everyone in the area knows who I am, where I live, what I do, probably where I am and many have worked for me. Small rural communities know who everyone is, unless they just arrived. I suspect big city folks don't know who their neighbors are.

after all you were the one closing from behind.

I am sorry, I didn't find that in my post

You got it Clay! I do the same here, but I am usually walking and not in a car.
 
My wife and I had a person following us in Nashville. I was watching him out of the corner of my eye. I was pacing us until we passed the bus stop. Then as he started to make his move, I turned and faced him with my hand on my knife. (couldn't carry as we had been drinking) When he saw that I wasn't going to be a victim, he cussed and turned away.

Another person walking told us we were lucky. I felt like it was situational awareness that kept us from being hurt.
 
More than once situational awarness has saved my behind.

Once I was working as a cable contractor in a place that 2 of the other guys I worked with had been beaten and robbed. (No suspects had been caught.) I saw 3 people triangulating me when it was starting to get dark. I was 25 feet off the ground on a ladder at the time. I climbed down, left the ladder on the pole, got in the truck drove a block away. They turned and started towards me again. I drove to a well lit parking lot a few more yards away keeping an eye on them, and my ladder. I called a friend that is the cop that patrols the area. He drove up in, and they started to walk away when he was pulling up.


My friend the cop covered me while I finished my work, and put the ladder back on the rack of my truck. My friend the cop told me that a few hours later the 3 guys were arrested for agrivated robbery. They beat a guy, then took his money, and cell phone. Someone saw it happen, and called 911.

Oh by the way I did have a compact .45 acp on me at the time. Did not feel the need to draw it. I would have drove farther away if they started to close on me.
 
My GOD secret agent man, has America changed that much since 1980? I guess, I've been living in a time capsule.
 
Oh heck yes! Three times in college alone saved my bacon. Countless times afterward. It has become more developed as time went on. People I am with often look at me strange if I divert or pause until I clue them in and they see the situation unfolding (sometimes). I'm nothing special, just been in some close call that taught me things that others have yet to experience. If they listen, they won't need to.

Nothing beats interfering with someone up to no good and watching them stomp off knowing you avoided an altercation for yourself or someone else.
 
There have been any number of times where I was concerned, . . . took evasive action, . . . nothing happened, . . . but I don't know how many would have been real trouble had I not evaded.

I did have a guy follow me one night on the way home from work. Without getting into specifics, . . . let's just leave it that his vehicle was not muscle enough to keep up with an Olds 442 in my hands.

Never did find out who he was or what he wanted, . . . but I do know he couldn't catch me :p

May God bless,
Dwight
 
I could not have survived 20 years working on the flight deck of aircraft carriers without situational awareness. Its not just for self defense its all aspects of life Randy
 
G1R2 said:
My GOD secret agent man, has America changed that much since 1980? I guess, I've been living in a time capsule.
Click to expand...

No. While there certainly are places that are "dangerous", even most people who live in those areas die from heart disease and other age related diseases.

As to situational awareness, I have never been in a situation that I thought might turn violent. I try to be aware and notice if someone is being suspicious but beyond thinking "Hm, that guy is acting odd." I've never felt in danger.
 
Probably saved most of us more than we know of. BG usually will seek those who appear to be in la-la land unaware of there surrounding. As they say condition white. If appearing to be with the program and aware they very well may have passed you by because of appearing aware.
 
How would you know for sure if situational awareness "saved you" if nothing happened? We can only infer in those circumstances. True?
 
G1R2,

The situation in urban America is becoming grim. It's becoming more and more like a combat environment. Headlines today from one of the largest cities, Houston, TX. Back in the 80's, Houston was still a cowtown coming up. I reckon it has arrived in the New Millennium:

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Fatal-shooting-near-downtown-Houston-2416929.php

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...d-children-tied-up-in-west-Harris-2416897.php

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Police-seek-leads-in-UH-student-s-death-2414733.php

Allow me to recall from memory a little publicized event before the dawn of the internet circa 1986 in Calumet City, Il. Two black cops took a young white man to a corner downtown whereupon he was released from police custody after dark. He was found beaten to death less than two hours later.

Like I said, grim.
 
secret_agent_man said:
The situation in urban America is becoming grim. It's becoming more and more like a combat environment.
Click to expand...

Boulder dash!

The violent crime rate in America as a whole and in almost all localities has been on the decline for YEARS, probably decades.

Comparing American cities to combat zones is ludicrous.

Even in places with higher than average violence the majority is criminal on criminal and very often drug or gang related.

Obviously, things happen, but "becoming grim" and "combat zone" is beyond exaggeration.
 
It's hard to quantify, since I can't verify with complete certainty that a situation would have turned out violent otherwise.

That said, I've had a few occasions in which unsavory characters have taken an unusual interest in me, and in which firm eye contact and command voice have convinced them to go bug someone else.
 
Isnt Situational Awareness just simply paying attention. We have all heard it a million times from our Parents, Grandparents, Teachers, Coaches when they say... "pay attention or someone might get hurt". No matter where you are, you are in some sort of situation. It might be driving in traffic, slicing a tomato, walking down stairs... to answer the question: Paying attention has probably saved me from a problem too many times to realize or even count.
 
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