Situational Awareness: “Pick Your Seat”

[MARINE DIVISION TWO]

Situational awareness is great and everyone should strive to improve theirs like a boss. That said... If someone is hell bent on executing you and you don't know it... only the grace of the great sandaled one is gonna save you.

AMEN to that Brother !

[Carnes]

I can not sit with my back to a door on duty or off. If possible I don't want anyone behind me either. The waitress at the local diner asks "have you been bad, you always sit in the corner?" Meanwhile all the young cops sit at the counter with their backs 10 feet from the front door.

I'm not suggesting that folks shouldn't put some thought into where they sit, I'm just saying that the most obvious answer isn't always the best in every situation.

If I wanted to be super safe I would wear body armor to the fancy restaurant. I don't wear body armor during recreational activities, and sometimes I sit with my back to the door. I certainly don't sit at a counter with my back to a door that's ten feet away, even if there is a conveniently located mirror (which makes a difference in different circumstances).

My gripe is that situational awareness is a complex problem with more sophisticated solutions than just ensuring to be aware of threats coming through the front door. In my experience, the folks that make a big production out of how they have to sit facing the door generally don't have a clue.

That said, if you are picturing your favorite watering hole, and the best possible seat is in the dark corner, good. No problem there. I have a favorite seat in any place that I frequent. However, there are lots of variables associated with different places, and the best solution is generally better than adhering to one rule about facing the entrance.

One good concept is, avoid doing things that will attract attention to yourself by the bartender, waitress, parton, invader, or otherwise.

[Deleted]

I'm not suggesting that folks shouldn't put some thought into where they sit, I'm just saying that the most obvious answer isn't always the best in every situation.

If I wanted to be super safe I would wear body armor to the fancy restaurant. I don't wear body armor during recreational activities, and sometimes I sit with my back to the door. I certainly don't sit at a counter with my back to a door that's ten feet away, even if there is a conveniently located mirror (which makes a difference in different circumstances).

My gripe is that situational awareness is a complex problem with more sophisticated solutions than just ensuring to be aware of threats coming through the front door. In my experience, the folks that make a big production out of how they have to sit facing the door generally don't have a clue.

That said, if you are picturing your favorite watering hole, and the best possible seat is in the dark corner, good. No problem there. I have a favorite seat in any place that I frequent. However, there are lots of variables associated with different places, and the best solution is generally better than adhering to one rule about facing the entrance.

One good concept is, avoid doing things that will attract attention to yourself by the bartender, waitress, parton, invader, or otherwise.

This is about as good as it gets... Aragon at the Prancing Pony:

[Carnes]

This is about as good as it gets... Aragon at the Prancing Pony:

Bah, look at the candle! The flame is blowing left, but it is on his right side! So stupid! He should have put the candle on his other side given the circumstances! Haha, j/k, good stuff. Was he wearing armor? If so, maybe he did execute correct tactical candle placement!

[Bang]

Where I sit is never a plan with respect to threat response. It's just part of my "won't happen to me" personality. So far, that philosophy has served me well and is how I confidently flew light aircraft, rode 100s of thousands of motorcycle miles, and engaged in other activities I won't go into. Clueless? Not a bit. I've made a choice to rely on the percentages when selecting what to worry about. But then, I am not wearing a target (these days) uniform. If I were, I would be entering that into the consideration.

[Carson]

I'm not suggesting that folks shouldn't put some thought into where they sit, I'm just saying that the most obvious answer isn't always the best in every situation.

If I wanted to be super safe I would wear body armor to the fancy restaurant. I don't wear body armor during recreational activities, and sometimes I sit with my back to the door. I certainly don't sit at a counter with my back to a door that's ten feet away, even if there is a conveniently located mirror (which makes a difference in different circumstances).

My gripe is that situational awareness is a complex problem with more sophisticated solutions than just ensuring to be aware of threats coming through the front door. In my experience, the folks that make a big production out of how they have to sit facing the door generally don't have a clue.

That said, if you are picturing your favorite watering hole, and the best possible seat is in the dark corner, good. No problem there. I have a favorite seat in any place that I frequent. However, there are lots of variables associated with different places, and the best solution is generally better than adhering to one rule about facing the entrance.

One good concept is, avoid doing things that will attract attention to yourself by the bartender, waitress, parton, invader, or otherwise.

A story I was told about a spot I frequent. A small group of off duty cops & firefighters were in a local bar having a few. The place has two entrances, one on either end. Two guys "not from the neighborhood" came in each door and sat at both ends of the bar. In addition to the slight, apparent eye contact they had with each other, the one was holding his drink with the sleeves of his shirt. At least a couple people noticed this, but thought nothing of it. Shortly thereafter the two stood up and announced an armed robbery. Had the people spread out on the floor. Hindsight is 20/20, but to me, I can't believe no one there noticed and/or acted on these obvious actions.

The only way to be absolutely safe, is to sit home. But there are some things one can do to better their odds at avoiding or surviving an incident. And I agree every situation and location can be slightly different.

[Edg]

The more people I am with, the less concerned I am with where I sit.

Hypotherical example...

A BG with an AK bursts through the door while I am having a dinner with with my sister visiting from out of town...

BG is scanning for threats and developing his plan.

I am alerted by my sister's oh shit face.

The BG sees the back of my head and a scared woman in my booth, sees no threat. He scans over to the guy in the corner vigilantly observing from behind his 5.11 hat... That guy gets whacked while I get to continue to develop my response.

No telling how shit will go when shit goes down. Be alert, be aware, but most important, be realistic and don't buy snake oil.

Unless he is just crazzy and walks in and starts shooting.

[Bang]

Actual stats: 31 police officers killed to this date in 2014, 23 in past 12 months to date....so it's actually down, not up. (According to TV today).

[Carnes]

Where I sit is never a plan with respect to threat response. It's just part of my "won't happen to me" personality. So far, that philosophy has served me well and is how I confidently flew light aircraft, rode 100s of thousands of motorcycle miles, and engaged in other activities I won't go into. Clueless? Not a bit. I've made a choice to rely on the percentages when selecting what to worry about. But then, I am not wearing a target (these days) uniform. If I were, I would be entering that into the consideration.

I wouldn't say, "it won't happen to me," but there is merit to good risk analysis. If I knew, for a fact, someone was going to burst through the door in a crazed frenzy and randomly shoot up the place, I would just leave first. If I had to be there I would layer-up some body armor, a helmet, and a portable bunker.

The in-laws get crabby when I 'embarrass' them with the attention we get at the resturant with the bunker shield, so I just try to assess and manage risks. The crazy randomly shooting up the place is a very unlikely situation.

Regardless, it dosen't hurt to have some situational awareness. Having a view of the door is part of it. Some folks here might be familiar with the following list of considerations that can be helpful...

Observation and fields of fire. Cover and concealment. Obstacles. Key terrain and avenues of approach.

[Palerider]

only the grace of the great sandaled one is gonna save you.

Jerry Garcia?

I try to position myself to watch the main points of flow. Sometimes cannot get up against a wall. The other thing I do is point out emergency exits, especially in larger buildings or restaurants. Have gone through 1 fire in a restaraunt that got big enough to trigger fire suppression system and an alarm in a high rise hotel.

During the restaurant fire, almost everyone tried to exit out the same door they came in, one couple in fact seated next to the fire exit got up and joined the crowd jamming up at main exit. I opened door and held it open and people were almost surprised to see it there. It was a very intersting view into human behavior.