Communication

       In any stressful situation communication can be the one thing that can pull you through. Whether you’re in a bad situation and need to bug out or you’ve walked into a confrontation with an unscheduled opponent, communication could be your safety net. Communication is important to anybody no matter their life situation. We use it daily at work and interacting with people around us. It is only through communication that ideas are passes, problems solved and lives saved. Training will help, initiative is great but nothing will get done if there isn’t some sort of initial communication.

       As a newly appointed Watch Commander in charge of a 35 man security team I learned quickly the importance of communication. I was not the typical, hard-nosed, TV-style commander you see running a police force. I was approachable and willing to go the extra mile for the men and women on my team. We worked relatively independent from my supervisors and for that reason alone I needed my guys to tell me what was going on.

       We rarely encountered incidents that required back-up but when they did I knew that I could have my dispatcher quickly call up the nearest team and they could report to the scene to help. We knew which team was closest because they checked in regularly. I knew which patrolmen were on a break or using the restrooms at any given time. All of this was due to our radios and the willingness of our team to communicate. When bad things happened, we were fast to respond. I’m proud to say that our response times and performance was better than the other teams and I would attribute it to the ability to communicate.

Standing Post, 2010

       It was a different situation when people didn’t communicate. There was a time where we had to take on a situation requiring a second set of patrolmen and a supervisor on the scene. I was already en route to the situation but my dispatcher was having trouble getting the nearest team on the radio. I sent my Patrol Supervisor to find them and we found another set of patrolmen to join me at the scene. Luckily the missing patrolmen were nearby their last check in point. We found out that one of the patrolmen had forgot to check his battery and it expired while his partner had mistakenly turned the volume down on his radio. We were able to fix the situation but it could have been bad for those two lone patrolmen waiting on back-up.

       Communication in any form is good but it’s also extremely important to communicate clearly. Our radio communications held strict to a set pattern making it easy to identify the person calling, the intended recipient and the purpose of the call. All of this occurred quickly and clearly. Following some of the confusion that occurred between various law enforcement and rescue crews during September 11^th, 2001 there was a push to halt the use of “10 Codes”. It was a previous system of radio communications, typically utilized by law enforcement to clearly communicate the intent of the call utilizing a code. The actual code was preceded by the number 10 leading to the term “10 codes”.

       Instead of utilizing a standard set of 10 codes set forth by some government branch the push was to use clear speech during radio communications. My opinion was that the 10 Code system was effective but it lacked the breadth required to make it efficient. All law enforcement and rescue crews should have merely adapted to the same system so that any branch, service or crew could listen in and know exactly what was being said. Despite my supervisors encouragement I refused to alter our radio process and continued utilizing the 10 Codes because they minimized radio chatter and the meaning was clear.

       Clarity of speech is important not only to the patrolman or fireman but to the average guy who walks into a bad situation. Misunderstandings can often be quickly and clearly discussed to remove any doubt of nefarious intent. I have avoided a number of fights in my lifetime due to a quick explanation why my opponent shouldn’t fight me. Usually it was a complete misunderstanding. I believe that whether you’re talking with your spouse or running for your life communication not only should be regular but clear and understandable.

       When things hit the fan you’ll want the sound assurance that you know how and when to communicate with your family. Communication often and clearly is the best way to avoid mistakes and escape from trouble when you can’t avoid them.

Protecting Your Family

     Becoming a target for a hitman or foreign spy is not a common occurrence for Everyday Jacks. This sort of activity is usually left to black ops operatives, former Special Forces and government agents that don’t really exist. The worst event an average person might encounter is a possible bar fight or a stolen credit card. Even though we might never end up in an international spy incident we can still learn a few tricks of the trade from our covert brethren to assist us just in case. 

     There’s no claim on my part to know every secret that makes a good spy or Special Forces operative successful, but there are a few simple tricks that they utilize that are good to know if you or your loved ones are in danger. Even if none of these steps might ever need to be used, they are extremely simple to plan for and should be at least in place in case they do ever need to be used. 

     The first thing every family should have is a rally point. There is really no excuse for this one because it’s pretty standard for every child that goes through public school to have received the “rally point” speech from their local fire marshal. When your house goes up in flames, all members of the family should evacuate quickly and meet at the predetermined rally point to be counted by their mom or dad. Much like a house fire rally point, you should have other rally points in case something goes wrong. 

     A friend in Law Enforcement was working narcotics on a very large case. The suspects somehow learned personal information about my friend and sent some of their goons to follow his wife. There was no telling what they were going to do. Having been briefed of the dangers posed to her and her children she was always aware of her surroundings. On the day the goons started to follow her she was aware enough to realize she was being followed. She called my friend and he instructed her to meet at the rally point. When she arrived my friend and a good sized force of other officers were waiting for the goons. A little planning on the part of my friend and her wife ensured the safety of their family. 

     We might not be working a case against narco-traffickers but there’s no reason not to have a primary, secondary and even tertiary rally point. Make sure everyone in the family is aware of the rally points and how best to get there. 

     In conjunction with a rally point each family should have a safe-word or phrase. While working for Naval Security we were required to have a safe-word or safe-phrase. We oftentimes used common phrases that meant nothing to everyone else around us but to my partner it meant something deadly. This was only used to give myself and my partner more time to prepare for the danger when we discovered some lethal contraband or weapon. I was lucky never to have to use it but we did have it just in case. We usually changed our phrase everyday but we always talked about it that morning before starting our shift. 

Speakeasy access...mum's the word.

     Each family should have safe-words whether it be a single word that you give to the kids so they can identify a stranger is an authorized agent for their parents or if there’s a dangerous situation occurring and you need to pass a covert warning to a family member over the phone. As a young child my parents gave me a safe-phrase and a safe-number to remember so that if something happened to them and they needed to send someone else to get us then we could trust those people after they gave us the safe-phrase and number.

     In reality the safe-word idea can be modified to meet the needs of anybody who wishes to use it. Have a safe-number, word, phrase, sign, whistle or even a handshake. The bottom line is that there should be something in place to reassure you that the person giving the sign is speaking for the family or to warn the family of a potential threat. 

     Some people have security clearances or work against criminals. Other people have businesses that make thousands and thousands of dollars a day. There’s no shortage to the creativity of the criminal or terrorist mind so don’t think that something dangerous couldn’t happen to you. Your normal day job could easily be a target for people who need what you have. There are too many dangerous men out there with a thirsty desire for all sorts of debauchery. Most military members are just grunts and they lack the clearance or need-to-know when it comes to government secrets but that doesn’t stop foreign agencies from hacking into computers and Facebook accounts just to get some info. You never really know who could be a target. 

     The Jack of All Spades is different than the survivalists and “preppers” of the world in the sense that we don’t expect that these dangerous events WILL happen; rather we know that they COULD happen. An Everyday Jack understands that no one needs to prepare for all these things, but they’re simple enough that there’s no reason not to.