Burden of Command...An Insider's Take

Based on over 12 years experience as a SWAT sniper, I recently illustrated why the narrative about the U.S. Secret Service snipers was unreasonable based on what was being shown at the time.? This will be recorded as a major historical event so I will again offer some perspective, based on over 12 years of SWAT sniper experience and nearly two decades in law enforcement, to help filter through the narrative.? In this mission brief, I will directly call B.S.

Those doing the security work are not going to share their inside tactics for obvious reasons, and rightfully so.? I also will not disclose anything that could be used to shift an advantage from those who have been given the tough task of defending already complex environments to those who wish to do others harm.

Note: I'm on the left in the below photo taken in 2015 during a standoff with a criminal suspect.

I shouldn’t have to preface what I’m about to say but I guess I will since everyone is so politically charged, and the narrative is already so divisive:? Nothing herein is a political statement in favor of or against any one political team.? It is just a fact based on some unique experiences I have which makes me qualified to at least offer a perspective for your consideration.? Ok enough of that, let’s get on with it.

Today I was reading the Wall Street Journal and discovered an article centered around what the current U.S. Secret Service Director, Kimberly Cheatle, had to say about the incident.? I have never met Director Cheatle and know nothing about her other than, regarding this particular incident, she is unequivocally full of B.S.?

The director was referring to the roof the killer fired from and was quoted by the journal as saying, “That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point.? And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof” and added, “the decision was made to secure the building from inside.”

I can tell you I have spent some time on top of both flat and sloped roofs in a SWAT sniper role.? Marry that to my experience both drafting and building houses (which include roofs of course…haha) and I may be qualified to have an opinion.

The director’s statement is beyond ridiculous.? There are many photos of the snipers on roofs which had no steeper pitch than the roof the director was referring to.? Sure, steel roofing can be slick, but those roofs are under a 4 in 12 roof pitch.? I estimate the roof the killer was on was about 2 or maybe a 3 in 12 pitch at most.? Not to leave anyone behind, a 3 in 12 pitch means for every 12 inches in horizontal direction the roof changes 3 inches in vertical direction.? The higher the first number the steeper the roof and the lower the number the flatter the roof.

Snipers always operate their weapons from well rested positions, if possible.? In the photos, some snipers had a nice tripod to support the rifle and others shot from what we call bags.? Both work well in this application.

A flatter roof is preferable but a slope of 4 or 5 in 12 is certainly manageable.? A 2 or 3 in 12 roof is extremely easy to work with.

I doubt the director has worked in a sniper capacity; however, I’d bet she has at least been on a roof before to do advanced work over her years with the Secret Service.? Even if not, everyone including her can see the snipers were already on roofs that were of equal or greater slope than the one she was referring to.

I’m not sure if the director felt compelled to speak and didn’t know what to say or if she meant to lie, all I know is the statement is complete B.S.? Everyone knows something went seriously wrong and time will likely expose where the key mistakes were made so she should just own that.?

There is a “burden of command” when in charge of anything.? Authority can be delegated but responsibility cannot.? Accountability matters, especially in high performing organizations.? The best leaders I ever chose to follow were naturally self-accountable, would call a spade a spade and were always the first to take ownership of problems.? The worst people I ever worked for always blamed others and had excuses for everything.?

This is a major incident in American history so I thought it would be worthwhile to deviate from the typical information I share.? I would love to hear if you find this type of information beneficial on a temporary basis so please send me a message and let me know!

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Until next time…Team’s UP!