Just 2 Seconds (5 page)

The student selected for the role of protector is told, "Within 30 seconds, the suspect will draw the weapon and fire. Your mission is to recognize when it's happening and disrupt the attacker's aim sufficiently that he cannot get any rounds into your protectee."

TAD lifts out one slice of the attack pie and studies it very closely, over and over again. Because TAD protectors know that any sudden movement is certain to be the Moment of Commitment, there is nothing to think about before reaching the Moment of Recognition, and there is no adverse consequence to being wrong. Thus, we have subtracted the time normally needed to assess whether an attack is underway. By removing the need to think about anything, we are able to learn how the bodies of attacker and protector operate most effectively, and how much time it takes to do so.

When there's no need to assess anything, it boils down to a race between action and reaction, a physical contest between a fully informed and capable attacker (who must draw, aim, and fire with some accuracy), and a fully informed and capable protector (who must reach the attacker and disrupt accuracy).

The attacker starts the race by drawing the weapon, and in so doing proves the truth of the adage "Action is quicker than reaction." However, even with the disadvantage of going second, protectors who are close enough to the attacker (and thus don't need to use precious time covering distance) are able to prevent the attacker from getting rounds into the protectee, in test after test after test. In other words, when it's a contest between attacker action and protector reaction, capable protectors can win almost always.

There's another encouraging lesson from TAD exercises: In hundreds of simulated attacks at our academy, the man in the role of attacker was our Chief Firearms Instructor. Among many other distinctions, he is an NRA Law Enforcement Tactical Handgun Instructor. He served on a classified U.S. Military team tasked with counter-terrorist missions. The unit had a very demanding standard of shooting skills, with training that often involved firing a
thousand
rounds per man per day. Even though he is a far more capable shooter than most real-world attackers you are likely to encounter, properly positioned and prepared protectors can defeat him, time and time again. "Properly positioned" is the key lesson here.

To get the fullest picture of what TAD teaches, here's a breakdown of the entire exercise:

Round One:
The protector stands 15 feet from the attacker. He is permitted to move as soon as he observes some movement that indicates an attack is underway. Then, while yelling "Gun!" he can charge the attacker and disrupt aim by colliding with arm or shoulder or body or head -- whatever he feels will most efficiently end the shooter's ability to hit the target.

Round Two:
Same rules, but the protector is 7 feet from the attacker.

Round Three:
Same rules, but the protector stands as close to the attacker as he or she chooses (within arm's reach).

Round Four:
The protector again stands within arm's reach of the attacker, only this time the protector is told: "You can pre-position your hands and arms so as to respond as quickly as possible."

We usually run the TAD exercise twice: First, with the protector on the side the attacker draws from (the side of his dominant hand), and the second time with the protector on the side of the attacker's non-dominant hand.

After this series of attack exercises, we repeat the rounds with another protector added to the scene. This protector is near the protectee. His job is to block the protectee against being shot or move the protectee as soon as the attack is recognized. (More on this below.)

After every round, instructors count the number of shots fired, the number of shots that hit the target, and the location of the shots on the target (head, center mass, lower body).

Because of our focus on the distance between attacker and protector (0, 7, and 15 feet), you might think that the lessons of the exercise center solely on distance. However, these distances are relevant only for the time they take to be traversed. If the distance is too great, you can't cross it quickly enough -- and if there is no distance at all (i.e., zero feet), the attacker can't draw and shoot quickly enough. It's still all about time.

When we study actual assassination attempts, it's often difficult to determine precisely why an attack failed. Was it the intervention of protectors or was it a failure by the attacker, such as poor timing, inaccuracy, etc.? When an attack fails in TAD, however, we know it is entirely because of protector intervention, all other influences having been removed.

Thus, TAD provides an excellent opportunity to assess which physical strategies are most associated with protector success and which are most associated with attacker success. In TAD, protector success means that no bullets hit the protectee anywhere, i.e., there is no tissue damage. Attacker success means that one or more bullets hit the protectee, i.e., there is tissue damage. So a Protector success rate of 45% means that in 45% of the attempts, the protectee is unharmed.

Below are the statistical results of typical TAD exercises from 15, 7, and 0 feet.

Here, in the simplest terms, is what TAD teaches: