Marathon explosions, everybody okay?

[Van Canna]

IED Deployment Techniques

IEDs can be disguised in a variety of things such as trash cans, boxes, backpacks, and placed anywhere potential targets appear. Multiple IEDs have also been linked together with detonation cord or electrical wire so that all charges detonate simultaneously, with the goal to achieve simultaneous explosions.

Bombers often use secondary devices and multiple explosions to further their impact of terrorism by increasing the numbers of victims. Your situational awareness must be at its highest level if you respond to such an event. Bombers are known to use gunfire, small bombs, and other distraction tactics to bait additional victims into the kill zone of a second explosive device.

When you respond, slow your physical actions to the speed no faster than your mind can process the information your senses are absorbing. Scan the crowd, look for additional threats, scan the crowd more and look for potential secondary devices.

Scan the crowd again, look, listen and follow your instincts. That’s what great street cops do on a daily basis so don’t go screaming on your radio like a banshee out of control. This achieves nothing. Remember, this is a combat game of chess.

Your opponent wants you to get sucked into the mindset of that screaming patrolman so that he can kill you, too. We must still do our jobs: Triage victims, coordinate EMS response, establish crime scenes, crowd control just to mention a few. The key now is to conduct police operations with the mindset that our military combat warriors do in the sandbox.

Multiple locations are common with IED bombers so command officers must be mindful of their resources and put a plan into action immediately after the first explosion, to maintain safety in other areas of your city.

[Van Canna]

Every one seems to have a back pack these days...now what?

[Van Canna]

Vehicle Borne IEDs and Suicide VBIEDs

A VBIED is a parked vehicle in a high traffic area with the intent of causing the most damage. An SVBIED is when the driver is willing to give their own life in the process of detonating his explosives. SVBIEDs are very hard to detect and stop because the bomber is mobile and is able to choose his time, place and victims at will. This unpredictability makes them difficult to identify.

Suicide Bombers Personal Borne IEDS (PBIED) commonly attack with an explosive vest, belt, or baggage attached to their person. When the charges used by bombers are properly packaged and concealed, a suicide bomber could carry up to 45 pounds of explosives.

However, most suicide belts are designed to hold smaller amounts, up to 12 pounds and incorporate fragment materials into the design of these belts and vests.

Indicators of a potential PBIED attack can include persons attempting to circumvent a security checkpoint or gate at a sporting event, those wearing too much clothing for the weather conditions, or a person with suspicious bulges in his or her clothing.

[Van Canna]

Post blast response is an entirely different topic but I would like to press upon you the need for uniformed officers to get combat casualty training and to carry a tourniquet, and combat gauze on duty at all times.

The Boston bombing occurred when the runners had a large amount of medical support staff already on hand volunteering with the marathon. If this type of bombing would have occurred outside a stadium or in a crowded mall, you cops will need to triage victims with amputations and massive hemorrhage.

[Van Canna]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/17/us/boston ... index.html

(CNN) -- Investigators have pinpointed two men as "possible suspects" who were seen in images near the finish line of this week's Boston Marathon -- moments before twin bombs there exploded, killing three and injuring about 180 others -- a law enforcement official said.

[Jason Rees]

In just a few days, just two men have been able to effectively shut down an entire city, at the cost of one of their own.

[Van Canna]

Given this 'success' surely right now there must be copy cats out there working on similar acts of terror.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... mbing.html

[Van Canna]

For angry young Muslims radicalized by what has happened in their own homeland, the al Qaeda narrative provides an explanation for a bigger struggle that involves not just their own country but the entire Muslim world. At the same time it also gives them more targets for their anger. If an angry Chechen cannot attack a Russian target, then a soft target in his own city in America or Europe—a marathon or another public space—is an easier target.

Al Qaeda has been encouraging just such attacks for the last several years. The Yemeni American Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed by a drone strike in 2011, articulated it in the English language web magazine he helped create, called Inspire, that also printed simple manuals for how to build a bomb in your family kitchen.

The attempt by a Pakistani American, Faysal Shahzad, to blow up a car bomb in Times Square in May 2010 (which was foiled by NYPD at the last minute), was an early example of this kind of small but devastating attack. Shahzad has now become a hero in the al Qaeda narrative even though he failed in his attempt.


Whether al Qaeda had any role – direct or indirect by the internet – in the radicalization of these two men, it is likely to revel in the results of their attacks in Boston.
While the attack was nowhere near the magnitude of 9/11, it has consumed the American media and political scene for almost a week so far, led to the unprecedented lockdown of an entire American city, and sent the White House itself into enhanced security.

[MarkNoble]

The events in Boston this past week were quite senseless and tragic. I was walking back from the gym a few minutes ago and saw this in a store display... I couldn't help but think that this is what is wrong with this world. The suspect that they have arrested is 19 years old. When did he start playing with guns?

[Van Canna]

I agree Mark,not a sensible thing to do in these troubled times.

[Feur]

The events in Boston this past week were quite senseless and tragic. I was walking back from the gym a few minutes ago and saw this in a store display... I couldn't help but think that this is what is wrong with this world. The suspect that they have arrested is 19 years old. When did he start playing with guns?

Mark every kid I played with growing up in Canada played with toy guns before getting real ones. None of them have gone off the deep end! Islamic extremism, political extremism and mental health issues are not a result of toys.

Had a great day today, went to the range did some tactical training with an old friend and a new friend. The new friend was from Boston, lives and works in Calgary these days. He use to be employed stateside in the firearms industry. He was familiar with Uechi-Ryu. Probably no surprise coming from the hot bed of Uechi on this continent. He had trained some MCMAP with some marine buddies and was aware of Uechi's influence on their program.

Always fun to run and gun with people that can walk the walk. Van I mentioned how painful it was to dump 25 guns from my collection....well it turns out all gun enthusiasts feel some pain sharing their old toys. The lad from Boston sold off 117 rifles and 47 pistols before moving to Canada a year ago. He had not shot in a year!

My regular shooting friend is an Bosnia and Afghan Vet. Van you remember the friendly fire incident ten years ago (17 of April) when a national guard pilot dropped a 500 lb bomb on some Canadians on a range? My shooting buddy was one of those guys. He lost 4 friends and saw 8 others wounded that night. That was the beginning of the tour. He lost a lot more buddies after that. He has a firm grip on what reality is in a gun fight. We fit well as training partners.

He met a Bostonian on a gun forum and found out he had been not shooting for a while. He invited him along to kill some paper terrorists today. He was a fine shot, he fits too!

We got bored at some point and started shooting at small targets from 50 yards. I was shooting the SBR on the bottom, stag lower RRA piston upper.



I shot okay!

We started shooting coins...toonies we call them.

That went okay! I popped a few polar bears. I was pleased with the accuracy of my new room clearing weapon. I didn't expect an 8 inch barrel to shoot that well.



My new American friend put his fist shot thru the center of his first toonie. At the end of the day he looked at his queen with a shot in the middle and said to the two of us. You Canadian's sure love your queen neither of you shot her!

Shawn started babbling something about not being tight with the monarchs, when I interrupted and said. Dude we both swore an allegiance to the crown when we served, we don't give our word lightly. Did you notice that we taped our coins to the targets with the bear as the threat and this yank put the women front and center.....is their anything you want to tell us son do you have a problem with the ladies?



We had a good laugh....but damn he was a good shot!

Fun day look forward to the next one....hope it's not still snowing tough to shoot polar bears and monarchs in snow storms.

Hey last week we had a British solider in the mix. He was a good lad too. The group grows life is good!

[Feur]

oh yeah this was a boom click boom click drill...trigger control!.... take it up once the muzzle brake does the rest...on target on target on target!

[Stryke]

Sounds like a great day Laird

I got to agree on the whole toy gun thing , none of my child hood friends have snapped , in fact they pretty much grew up to be the good guys , despite all the playing soldier , cops and robbers , .... none of them grew up to be robbers but we got a share of cops and soldiers , not to mention doctors and accountants , guess all that play/training went wrong there .....

kind of reminds me of that bumper sticker ... kids that hunt trap and shoot dont mug little old ladies

as to childhood friends I got to admit theres a lawyer in there though ....... so maybe

No answers here , just feel for the victims

[Feur]

Sounds like a great day Laird

Any day on the range is a good day mate!

kind of reminds me of that bumper sticker ... kids that hunt trap and shoot don't mug little old ladies

the hunt trap fish sticker has been on my last three pickups, the quad, and the canoe! Funny the PETA crowd don't attempt to educate me. "Mr. Elliott can be violent."

[Van Canna]

Sounds like you are living the good life, Laird. Nice Toys.