I’m in a somewhat unique position regarding this threat; I want to share our situation in order to perhaps get others thinking.
First, I am Chief of Security (not safety; more on that in a minute) for a Messianic Jewish congregation. This means those who hate Jews hate us, and those who hate Christians hate us. Those who hate both will focus on us like a laser beam.
Second, I am a combat veteran with six deployments to the Middle-East. As an Infantry leader, it was my job to train my Soldiers to recognize threats and take immediate action in order to protect their own lives and the mission in general. Everything stated here in the article are considerations we had to make on a daily basis. We were the tip of the spear; my team at Congregation Baruch HaShem is the same.
Third, as I mentioned, we are a security team, not a safety team. All of my team members are trained and certified by the State of Texas as Commissioned (armed) Security Officers. We wear uniforms and open carry on duty belts designed to give us more tools than just a concealed pistol. We wear body armor. This makes us a hard target: we stand out as an obvious defense in the hopes that observers with hostile intent might say, “Nope. Not here, not now,” and move on. We have all undergone additional training in marksmanship, Krav Maga, OC Spray, baton, and just appearing intimidating, while we greet every worshipper with a warm smile and “Shabbat Shalom!” Our congregation loves us because they can worship in peace knowing we are the watchmen on the wall; the Hebrew word for watchmen is “Shomrim” and that is what we call ourselves.
Just some thoughts on possibilities. It is a fine balance between welcoming and protecting; we discovered that being open about it gives us an edge.
Blessings in our Lord and Savior Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ)!
With the millions of illegals allowed to come into the US completely unfiltered we can expect terrorism now and into the future. Biden and the Dems have allowed, created these circumstances through their treasonous act of “open border”. Prepare yourself for Middle Eastern style terrorism America. It’s not coming, IT IS HERE!
When a significant event occur the first thing an unprepared mind do is deny that the event is happening. I agreed with all the comments, the more you train and be prepared the least likely you will take time to deny that it is happening. The less time you or your spend in the denial phase, the more time you will have to act. Always train and continue to have a battle plan and its contingency. Remember no plans survive first contact with the enemy, but it is better than no plans at all. Plans and mentally preparation is only one component to counter threats. There are so many things to consider, and at different levels. All of us with the warrior mind set are in agreement with that is said here.
Thanks Keith, your insight and expertise have helped me considerably. As CA 1998 and NV 2001 POST, NRA LE in Patol Rifle 2003, trained firearms instructor, the information you share is invaluable. I did not pursue a career in LE. Since following you as a subscriber the information you have shared has helped me to train a security team for our chruch family. Unfortunately I have no real career LE or military personnel available for our team. So training the volunteers we have, takes a considerable amount of time. The free classes you offer help a lot and are required training for everyone on the team, including me, lead by example. Recently I reached out to the medical team and found out their plan is call 911 and access to a AED, thats it. So now training the team in trauma response. As hamradio operator we use GMRS radios which I added a repeater to increase coverage. Living in Northern Minnesota allows us to use GMRS as their is little or no radio traffic. But God is good, He is blessing me with the knowledge and skills needed to train a team and they are learning. So again, thank you, may The Lord Jesus bless us all to keep our churches safe. Tony.
Good words, Keith, as usual.
I’m in a somewhat unique position regarding this threat; I want to share our situation in order to perhaps get others thinking.
First, I am Chief of Security (not safety; more on that in a minute) for a Messianic Jewish congregation. This means those who hate Jews hate us, and those who hate Christians hate us. Those who hate both will focus on us like a laser beam.
Second, I am a combat veteran with six deployments to the Middle-East. As an Infantry leader, it was my job to train my Soldiers to recognize threats and take immediate action in order to protect their own lives and the mission in general. Everything stated here in the article are considerations we had to make on a daily basis. We were the tip of the spear; my team at Congregation Baruch HaShem is the same.
Third, as I mentioned, we are a security team, not a safety team. All of my team members are trained and certified by the State of Texas as Commissioned (armed) Security Officers. We wear uniforms and open carry on duty belts designed to give us more tools than just a concealed pistol. We wear body armor. This makes us a hard target: we stand out as an obvious defense in the hopes that observers with hostile intent might say, “Nope. Not here, not now,” and move on. We have all undergone additional training in marksmanship, Krav Maga, OC Spray, baton, and just appearing intimidating, while we greet every worshipper with a warm smile and “Shabbat Shalom!” Our congregation loves us because they can worship in peace knowing we are the watchmen on the wall; the Hebrew word for watchmen is “Shomrim” and that is what we call ourselves.
Just some thoughts on possibilities. It is a fine balance between welcoming and protecting; we discovered that being open about it gives us an edge.
Blessings in our Lord and Savior Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ)!
With the millions of illegals allowed to come into the US completely unfiltered we can expect terrorism now and into the future. Biden and the Dems have allowed, created these circumstances through their treasonous act of “open border”. Prepare yourself for Middle Eastern style terrorism America. It’s not coming, IT IS HERE!
When a significant event occur the first thing an unprepared mind do is deny that the event is happening. I agreed with all the comments, the more you train and be prepared the least likely you will take time to deny that it is happening. The less time you or your spend in the denial phase, the more time you will have to act. Always train and continue to have a battle plan and its contingency. Remember no plans survive first contact with the enemy, but it is better than no plans at all. Plans and mentally preparation is only one component to counter threats. There are so many things to consider, and at different levels. All of us with the warrior mind set are in agreement with that is said here.
Keith , pick up the brief on this subject I dropped in signal yesterday or ping me and I'll drop it to your directly. S2
Got it, brother. Thank you for all your hard work in gathering intelligence.
Excellent summary of a difficult topic.
Thanks for your input during these difficult times. Our church has two uniformed police officers as security. But more eyes are needed.
Thanks Keith, your insight and expertise have helped me considerably. As CA 1998 and NV 2001 POST, NRA LE in Patol Rifle 2003, trained firearms instructor, the information you share is invaluable. I did not pursue a career in LE. Since following you as a subscriber the information you have shared has helped me to train a security team for our chruch family. Unfortunately I have no real career LE or military personnel available for our team. So training the volunteers we have, takes a considerable amount of time. The free classes you offer help a lot and are required training for everyone on the team, including me, lead by example. Recently I reached out to the medical team and found out their plan is call 911 and access to a AED, thats it. So now training the team in trauma response. As hamradio operator we use GMRS radios which I added a repeater to increase coverage. Living in Northern Minnesota allows us to use GMRS as their is little or no radio traffic. But God is good, He is blessing me with the knowledge and skills needed to train a team and they are learning. So again, thank you, may The Lord Jesus bless us all to keep our churches safe. Tony.