Posted on Apr 11, 2018
A Former Embassy Guard's Solution To School Shootings
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*The views expressed in RallyPoint Command Posts are those of the authors’ and are not endorsed by RallyPoint*
This whole gun debate is getting out of hand. We’re focusing on all the wrong things in my opinion. So, I did some thinking and came up with a tried and true way of bringing school shootings to zero. Or close to it.
Most of the arguments I hear about how to stop school shootings are focused on the shooter. That’s our first problem. It’s an impossible task to try to stop the next shooter when they’re all different, have different motives, and different resources. The other arguments focus on the weapons. AR-15’s bear the brunt of this. What makes this weapon so bad? Magazine capacity? Ok. So, will forcing the shooter to reload more save lives? Maybe, maybe not. Most everyone I know with an AR-15 shoots FMJ rounds like we use in the military. If I had to choose between my child getting shot with a green tipped 5.56 round or a 30.06 Core-Lokt round, I’ll pick the AR-15 round 6 days a week and twice on Sunday. So, let’s be careful before we force these murderers to choose a 30.06. Just food for thought.
So, if focusing on the shooter and focusing on the weapon won’t work, what will? We need to focus on the school. Bear with me as I walk through this.
I was a Marine Security Guard at the American Embassy in Bogota, Colombia and Harare, Zimbabwe. Despite what you see in movies, the MSG’s job is to protect the people and information INSIDE the embassy. Much like what needs to be done at a school. What happens outside was of little concern. We literally never talked about the threats to the embassy unless they were an actual force like the FARC in Colombia. There was no point in spending time trying to pinpoint some individual that no one knows who might do something one day. So how did we protect the people and information inside from these unknown threats? I’ll use the embassy in Colombia for this analysis since it was much more fortified. First, we start with the building to be protected being placed far away from any streets. How far? Far enough that if a car blew up on the street nothing would happen to the building. Next, we have a wall (not a fence) surrounding the property to keep people and vehicles from going off-road and getting to the building. The entry point will have armed guards and barriers. Every vehicle and every person is searched at this gate before entering. The armed guard inside has cameras on the entire property. Could someone still scale the wall and sneak onto the property? Sure, but we’ll cover that later.
What if someone shoots the guards outside and heads toward the building you say? Well the building is fortified with bullet proof glass and blast resistant doors. And those doors are locked and controlled by another armed guard inside. This guard also can control the barriers at the outside gate should he need to. (Make a mental note that at this time the guard inside just triggered an alarm and 5-10 other guys that are nearby are suiting up to come help.) Located around the perimeter of the building are CS canisters that the guard inside can deploy as needed. So, the intruder that killed the guards outside and made a run for the front door is now sucking in gas.
What if someone has a gas mask and somehow gets inside the building with a gun? Remember that armed guard inside the building? With the flip of a switch he can magnetically lock all the doors in the building. So now the intruder can only attack those who find themselves outside of the locked down areas. But he better hurry because that armed response team I mentioned earlier is only minutes away. And this team does nothing but train to clear and defend this particular building. They have rehearsed this scenario more times than they can count, and they know every nook and cranny in the building. You can’t hide. Their whole purpose in life is this exact scenario. The intruder will soon be dead.
You can see how much better this is than the current situation schools face where the shooter just walks through the front door and starts shooting. A single police officer may be there in a minute, but it takes some time figuring out what’s going on. He also doesn’t know the layout of the building. Meanwhile other law enforcement arrives and a plan is developed. All of this takes time and during that time people are dying.
But you also see the enormous cost this would entail. It is impossible to do what I’ve described in every school if any. So, what do we do? We start peeling off layers of security. The building won’t be fortified. Maybe we have an armed guard, but he isn’t in a protected position and most likely becomes the first casualty. We might install a metal detector, but it will be inside and useless for someone looking to start shooting. In the military we call this Risk Management. FM 6-0 defines it as the process of identifying, assessing, and controlling risks arising from operational factors and making decisions that balance risk cost with mission benefits. We know at the beginning of an operation people will die. We do what we can to limit that, but we can’t prevent it completely. Every layer of security we peel off from what I’ve described means we assume a little more risk which equates to possible deaths. Is the embassy scenario overkill? Probably. But at what point do you stop adding security measures and accept the risk?
The point of this is to show that A) there is a way to protect our children in school almost completely. And B) the cost to do so would be astronomical. Now we just need to decide how much we’re willing to pay (since our taxes pay for schools). But we must focus on the facility being protected. We don’t focus on unnamed, random threats in the military so why do that here? We also don’t focus on getting rid of something so prevalent as guns. We have entire government agencies focused on getting rid of illegal drugs and they can’t do it. If you think outlawing guns in the US won’t make every arms dealer in the world start drooling, you’re wrong. The influx of illegal weapons into our country would be enormous and immediate. It’s basic economics.
So, we have the plan. And like most other things in life it really comes down to money. How much are you willing to spend and how much risk are you ready to assume?
This whole gun debate is getting out of hand. We’re focusing on all the wrong things in my opinion. So, I did some thinking and came up with a tried and true way of bringing school shootings to zero. Or close to it.
Most of the arguments I hear about how to stop school shootings are focused on the shooter. That’s our first problem. It’s an impossible task to try to stop the next shooter when they’re all different, have different motives, and different resources. The other arguments focus on the weapons. AR-15’s bear the brunt of this. What makes this weapon so bad? Magazine capacity? Ok. So, will forcing the shooter to reload more save lives? Maybe, maybe not. Most everyone I know with an AR-15 shoots FMJ rounds like we use in the military. If I had to choose between my child getting shot with a green tipped 5.56 round or a 30.06 Core-Lokt round, I’ll pick the AR-15 round 6 days a week and twice on Sunday. So, let’s be careful before we force these murderers to choose a 30.06. Just food for thought.
So, if focusing on the shooter and focusing on the weapon won’t work, what will? We need to focus on the school. Bear with me as I walk through this.
I was a Marine Security Guard at the American Embassy in Bogota, Colombia and Harare, Zimbabwe. Despite what you see in movies, the MSG’s job is to protect the people and information INSIDE the embassy. Much like what needs to be done at a school. What happens outside was of little concern. We literally never talked about the threats to the embassy unless they were an actual force like the FARC in Colombia. There was no point in spending time trying to pinpoint some individual that no one knows who might do something one day. So how did we protect the people and information inside from these unknown threats? I’ll use the embassy in Colombia for this analysis since it was much more fortified. First, we start with the building to be protected being placed far away from any streets. How far? Far enough that if a car blew up on the street nothing would happen to the building. Next, we have a wall (not a fence) surrounding the property to keep people and vehicles from going off-road and getting to the building. The entry point will have armed guards and barriers. Every vehicle and every person is searched at this gate before entering. The armed guard inside has cameras on the entire property. Could someone still scale the wall and sneak onto the property? Sure, but we’ll cover that later.
What if someone shoots the guards outside and heads toward the building you say? Well the building is fortified with bullet proof glass and blast resistant doors. And those doors are locked and controlled by another armed guard inside. This guard also can control the barriers at the outside gate should he need to. (Make a mental note that at this time the guard inside just triggered an alarm and 5-10 other guys that are nearby are suiting up to come help.) Located around the perimeter of the building are CS canisters that the guard inside can deploy as needed. So, the intruder that killed the guards outside and made a run for the front door is now sucking in gas.
What if someone has a gas mask and somehow gets inside the building with a gun? Remember that armed guard inside the building? With the flip of a switch he can magnetically lock all the doors in the building. So now the intruder can only attack those who find themselves outside of the locked down areas. But he better hurry because that armed response team I mentioned earlier is only minutes away. And this team does nothing but train to clear and defend this particular building. They have rehearsed this scenario more times than they can count, and they know every nook and cranny in the building. You can’t hide. Their whole purpose in life is this exact scenario. The intruder will soon be dead.
You can see how much better this is than the current situation schools face where the shooter just walks through the front door and starts shooting. A single police officer may be there in a minute, but it takes some time figuring out what’s going on. He also doesn’t know the layout of the building. Meanwhile other law enforcement arrives and a plan is developed. All of this takes time and during that time people are dying.
But you also see the enormous cost this would entail. It is impossible to do what I’ve described in every school if any. So, what do we do? We start peeling off layers of security. The building won’t be fortified. Maybe we have an armed guard, but he isn’t in a protected position and most likely becomes the first casualty. We might install a metal detector, but it will be inside and useless for someone looking to start shooting. In the military we call this Risk Management. FM 6-0 defines it as the process of identifying, assessing, and controlling risks arising from operational factors and making decisions that balance risk cost with mission benefits. We know at the beginning of an operation people will die. We do what we can to limit that, but we can’t prevent it completely. Every layer of security we peel off from what I’ve described means we assume a little more risk which equates to possible deaths. Is the embassy scenario overkill? Probably. But at what point do you stop adding security measures and accept the risk?
The point of this is to show that A) there is a way to protect our children in school almost completely. And B) the cost to do so would be astronomical. Now we just need to decide how much we’re willing to pay (since our taxes pay for schools). But we must focus on the facility being protected. We don’t focus on unnamed, random threats in the military so why do that here? We also don’t focus on getting rid of something so prevalent as guns. We have entire government agencies focused on getting rid of illegal drugs and they can’t do it. If you think outlawing guns in the US won’t make every arms dealer in the world start drooling, you’re wrong. The influx of illegal weapons into our country would be enormous and immediate. It’s basic economics.
So, we have the plan. And like most other things in life it really comes down to money. How much are you willing to spend and how much risk are you ready to assume?
Firearms and Guns
Security
Teacher
Education
Command Post
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 62
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MAJ (Join to see) You have outlined a very common sense approach and pointed out an important array of ideas for discussion, again, on the local level.
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There was a time in this country where the schools our children attended did not need to be armed fortresses. How about we as a society address the underlying issues that are leading to these mass shootings? Mental health issues, economic issues, parental issues, law-enforcement issues, and reasonable legislation that holds people accountable for their responsibilities.
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MAJ (Join to see)
Couldn't agree more. I'll go even further and say as a Christian, we need to start teaching Christian values in school again. I don't consider it a coincidence that during the time you mentioned, where school shootings weren't "a thing", the Bible was being taught to kids.
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Point well taken; however -- in contrast to your Embassy scenario -- in nearly EVERY case involving a School Shooting (which are actually in decline, by the way), there were ample warning signs from and common, measurable traits among the perpetrators...there is enough, knowable information that makes these assaults namable and predictable if we initiate sound counterintelligence principles.
All that is required is that we -- as stated in the book "Left of Bang" -- categorize and monitor the Red Flags...and when you have 2-3 or more Red Flags, you act preemptively. There are many interventions that may be taken once a potential shooter is identified, and their particular school can be "hardened" as required once the indicators are present...making the security layers unpredictable and more of a deterrent.
All that is required is that we -- as stated in the book "Left of Bang" -- categorize and monitor the Red Flags...and when you have 2-3 or more Red Flags, you act preemptively. There are many interventions that may be taken once a potential shooter is identified, and their particular school can be "hardened" as required once the indicators are present...making the security layers unpredictable and more of a deterrent.
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An armed response beats no response every day! That was a fantastic commentary and totally true. I'm a law abiding citizen who owns firearms and I'm on the good side of the law...but I have no idea what I'll be tomorrow...I may become a raving lunatic tonight after hearing that the democrats have voted to take over the country and start shooting up every blue car, truck, etc. in sight. So the best defense it to keep me away from all things blue!
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I agree 100%. I have no doubt anyone with a true interest in solving the problem would disagree either. Sadly though, it seems like people are more fixated on getting rid firearms as a whole than they are actually solving the problem, enabling them to ride on the school shooting wave to push their agenda. In fact, my old highschool was pushing to have the school resource officers disarmed and rely solely on a lazy contract security company that seemed more focused on keeping students from leaving without a pass rather than keeping the grounds secure. Which is apparently fine with the parents, who are so disgusted with the reality that every problem can’t be solved peacefully and are willing to sacrifice thier childrens' safety to hop on the anti-firearm fan wagon.
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Fully agree with your post. One way that they could both combat the cost and deter shooters is A) Having a police department for the school district. I have seen this in parts of Texas and it works. You have a few police officers at each school that knows the ins and outs of the school that they are assigned to and also train religiously for active shooters and then if something happens there are multiple officers out on patrol that could respond immediately that also have trained at the schools for this situation. B) Having teachers that have training and also that have a CCW permit to be armed and to train in their school for these situations. C) Build schools like the embassies that we have across the world guarded by Marines.
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In high school I went to Peacock Military Academy in San Antonio, Texas. We all had M-1 Garands from WW2 and Korea. No one ever shot at us.
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I have spent the last 17 years working at various US embassy's and consulates around the world and have often thought that the security model we use would be a great model that could be adapted for schools. The basic premise of embassy security is not to let the bad guy inside the mission's grounds. Same with schools, you need to prevent the gun from getting in the front door. I don't care how many armed guards you have inside the school, get one determined student inside with a gun, chances are somebody is going to die before the armed guard can get to him. However, if you have a security/scanning protocol in place to prevent the gun from entering the school's front door in the first place, then you have the battle won.
The one thing I would like to clarify with your statement is that while the MSG's primary responsibility is inside the embassy grounds the Regional Security Officer who has the ultimate responsibility for the embassy's security does have teams working outside of the embassy grounds preforming various preventive measures to try and stop an attack before it happens.
The one thing I would like to clarify with your statement is that while the MSG's primary responsibility is inside the embassy grounds the Regional Security Officer who has the ultimate responsibility for the embassy's security does have teams working outside of the embassy grounds preforming various preventive measures to try and stop an attack before it happens.
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