Jared Reston - Winning an Armed Encounter

[TGO David]

This is the second time I have heard Jared Reston give an account of the incident that nearly took his life but within which he prevailed.  This is also the most in-depth version of the account that I've heard him give.  It is very much worth watching in its entirety.

Yes, it is nearly 2 hours long.  Watch it in chunks if you have to, but please, watch it.  Very good stuff.  It might save your life some day.

 

 

[shotgunshooter]

Good video. Well worth the watch. If you don't watch it, you're wrong. The biggest thing that I took is that you're always in the fight and no matter what happens you're never out of it. I would like to meet him and attend one of his classes one day. I hope I am able to develop a 10th of his mindset. As a side note, don't watch the abbreviated version the fill one is much better.

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[Cruel Hand Luke]

7 hours ago, shotgunshooter said:

 I hope I am able to develop a 10th of his mindset. 
 

There is a reason that it is 

1. Mindset 

2. Tactics

3. Skill

4. Gear  

[peejman]

Wow.  He's... intense. Very interesting and informative. Thanks. 

[Fourtyfive]

I enjoyed it. Makes me want to get training.....

[Jamie Jackson]

I've flagged this full video for review my next day off. Thanks for posting it.

I've listened to a couple of podcasts with Jared Reston as a guest (Ballistic Radio comes to mind). Mr. Reston epitomizes what we should be thinking of when the term "Mindset" is tossed out.  "Quit" simply isn't something in his DNA. Remarkable gentleman!

We should also consider how difficult it could be to stop an adversary in such a situation and train accordingly. 

[peejman]

I'd recommend watching it in segments. It's a lot to process in 2 straight hours, hence no questions from the audience at the end. 

I watched it in 4 roughly 30 min segments over about 8 hrs. The breaks give you time to think. 

 

And I'll add, I'm not sure one can "develop" his mind set. Either you're born with it, or not. Perhaps it's in there and you just haven't found it yet, but it's got to be in there already.  

I say that because I see it in my boys. One is a fighter. He gets intense and "in" the moment.  It's in there, and I suspect the work will be to teach him to use it. The other just isn't a fighter. His first instinct is to deflect, distract, disengage.  That's not meant to be negative in any way, it's just his personality. 

[TGO David]

1 hour ago, peejman said:

And I'll add, I'm not sure one can "develop" his mind set. Either you're born with it, or not. Perhaps it's in there and you just haven't found it yet, but it's got to be in there already.  

I say that because I see it in my boys. One is a fighter. He gets intense and "in" the moment.  It's in there, and I suspect the work will be to teach him to use it. The other just isn't a fighter. His first instinct is to deflect, distract, disengage.  That's not meant to be negative in any way, it's just his personality. 

I disagree.  I would counter that some people might not be able to develop the mindset, but most people can.  It has to be cultivated in some, and surfaces more naturally in others.  The urge to compete and win and survive is innate in all of us.  Some of us just have a predisposition to take the easy path if it's available to us.

I was that way growing up.  I wasn't very competitive, and looked for easy routes.  As I aged and matured, I realized -- through experience gained from bad decisions -- that the hard way is often the better way, and that it pays to be a winner.  I blame my parents for not putting me into sports and making me stick with them.  My dad tried; my mom babied me too much.

You may have to be harder on your one boy than you are the other, for his own good.

[Hozzie]

I think what one must apply to this video is the context and audience to which he is presenting.  This is a very specific group of people he is talking to whom KNOW the environment he is referring to.  I have worked with Agencies from around the world to optimize dispatch and communications systems for police, fire, and ems.  In my experience, you have two groups of guys/girls at every site.  Those for which this is a calling and those for which this is a job.  While I agree that (some) mindset can be taught, it certainly is not something everyone can or more critically wants to do.  I won't go into that subject itself.  It's obvious to anyone who watches this which side he is on.  I can tell you for fact that he is the exception, not the rule.  Guys who do SWAT and those roles have that mindset already.    It doesn't mean his message is not important for others to understand and one I would expect to take in his role, but I also agree with Peejman that most either have it or don't.

I will probably get some flak for this, but I think some civilians that watch this think "Yeah, that's what I should be doing" from a mental standpoint are kidding themselves.  I believe there is an overwhelming tendency by many people who like the tactical side of guns to think or even worse, daydream about being a hero in life and death situation.  They think they have went out and put on a thigh holster and practiced shooting and they are prepared.  We all know that guy.  That guy is most likely to have no clue what it will take to actually win.

I certainly believe training is good and am not trying to say it isn't, but in the end for me, what I think becomes most critical for anyone in such a situation is to be able to mentally keep things slowed down during the situation.  For me, that isn't specific to just this situation.  There are many cases in life where we all know people who will either remain calm and do what is needed or completely freak out under stress.  Training helps one be more confident to hopefully be able to more readily remain calm, but stress is the unknown player in all of this.  Some people no matter how much training they have can't overcome the stress.  And for most of us, physical fitness is non existent which also reduces our decision making capabilities under stress.

So for me, what I think is important is know your own capacities.  While any of us could be in a situation where our life is in danger, it is not the same as pursuing danger for your job as he is outlining in this video.  I love his saying of don't fight to survive, fight to win.  If I took one thing away from this, that is it.  If you aren't in it to win it, don't get in it if you have any other option.

 

Edited January 12, 2018 by Hozzie

[peejman]

3 hours ago, TGO David said:

I disagree.  I would counter that some people might not be able to develop the mindset, but most people can.  It has to be cultivated in some, and surfaces more naturally in others.  The urge to compete and win and survive is innate in all of us.  Some of us just have a predisposition to take the easy path if it's available to us.

I was that way growing up.  I wasn't very competitive, and looked for easy routes.  As I aged and matured, I realized -- through experience gained from bad decisions -- that the hard way is often the better way, and that it pays to be a winner.  I blame my parents for not putting me into sports and making me stick with them.  My dad tried; my mom babied me too much.

You may have to be harder on your one boy than you are the other, for his own good.

 

Heh... I already am harder on him because he's the older one. The younger one's fire is likely due at least in part to "little brother syndrome" as well.  He works hard to keep up with big brother in addition to being small for his age. 

I think sports are important for kids, particularly boys.  Mine are both fairly competitive, but their reactions to failure are very different. The older one needs lots of positive reinforcement.  I'll admit to that requiring effort on my part as my upbringing was that success was both the expectation and it's own reward, and there was always "room for improvement".  

 I try to channel Mr. Miyagi or Yoda and give them the "do or do not, there is no try" speech when it comes to sports.  It you want to sign up, fine.  But if you're in, you're in to the end.  No whining and no quitting.  Even if you stink at it now, hard work and perseverance will get you there.  Trying to spin that in a positive light isn't always easy for me.  

 

To one of @Hozzie 's points ... some people have an innate ability to stay calm while others are prone to panic or condition black. My m-i-l and my wife to a (thankfully) lesser degree are the latter and it drives me crazy. Sometimes I feel like I have to under-react to situations to compensate for their over-reaction. 

[Jamie Jackson]

I finally had and took the time to watch this in it's entirety. Thank you David!

While already familiar with Officer Reston's story. this video lecture is more than worth the short time it takes to watch. There is an incredible amount of pertinent and useful (needed) information within. Heck...I took notes!

I wholeheartedly agree that "mindset" is to a large degree developed, or grown. I was taught this from my first professional training classes back in the early 90's, witnessed it within myself, and  had it reinforced over the years by many of the professional trainers I have had the good fortune of learning from.

Being in health care, starting my 45th year, I am particularly appreciative of Officer Reston's discussion of the need of self care and buddy care and having the appropriate minimal gear and skills to apply it. It is an act of intentional negligence, imho, to ignore this facet of our training.

I am also very thankful for Officer Reston's discussion of the reality of gunshot wounds, realistic expectations of such and the absolute need to develop integrated fighting skills. Reality is probably not gonna be as neat and clean as our mental movies we play in our heads.

I have seen way too many gunshot wounds over the decades to recall them all. But my involvement has always (thankfully) been after the fact..as in an Emergency Room or ICU. But I will 100% agree with Officer Reston that (1) Handguns rounds are weak and anemic (2) People that are shot won't necessarily react the way you think they should (hell, they won't necessarily even know they've been shot!), (3) prior exposure can negate the mental response you think they should have. It simply pisses some people off!

If a person doesn't see or understand the value of professional training and understand the difference between "practice" and "training" after viewing this... well, I don't know what to say...maybe Good Luck?

[A.J. Holst]

I liked the 'here's what happened' format along with what was learned (proving and disproving myth) from a gun fight and being shot.

For me, it reinforces don't get in a violent fight, armed or otherwise.

Dealing with Pests comes to mind.

If I do get it a fight, he's right, I have to win. 

No prize for second place.

As an aside, I am reading Fairbairn's Get Tough, he strongly recommends staying off the ground.

[nightrunner]

Very informative and very thought provoking.

I have to ask though how much of this applies to the average citizen? This is obviously aimed at LE.

[TGO David]

1 hour ago, nightrunner said:

Very informative and very thought provoking.

I have to ask though how much of this applies to the average citizen? This is obviously aimed at LE.

How much if it resonated with you?  That's the part that applies to the average citizen.

For me, it was about the mindset.

[peejman]

Mindset once the fight begins.  

And understanding that from the average citizen's perspective, the fight doesn't always have to begin, and how much better that is. 

[LawVol]

For me, the take away is that my G43 does not hold enough rounds.  Either that or I need to practice head shots more.

[bud]

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Edited February 18, 2018 by bud