#Soft_Target When the lines between a Terror Attack and Active Shooter become blurred
Ralph R. Fisk Jr., ATO, PCP-1, MEMS,
Counter and Antiterrorism, Contemporary Threats, Emergency Management, Physical Security Threats; RET USA SNCO
I sent out a tweet Friday night that simply said; “Do you ever feel like sometimes you're just tweeting to yourself?” I feel that way just about every time I post an Active Shooter or Terror Treat Recommendations.
I titled this what I did because the lines were blurred, given all the attention to Active Shooter and seemingly every-time a news report of a shooting, is labeled Active Shooter, I think very few people, at first, gave consideration that this could truly be a Terror Attack. But considering his target, with 90% certainty, it could only be one of two things; a person didn't want his significant other to get an abortion or a Terror Attack.
But again, I have to ask;
How can you not have a robust security or protection system in place, at one of the most potential controversial targets in this country? Or any soft target for that matter!
More information is starting to come out about last Friday’s terror attack on the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Whatever, your personal stance on abortion is, it doesn’t matter from a security or protection prospective, the fact remains that it is a legal function that is provided and those that attend these facilities should be afford the maximum protection allowed by law.
Planned Parenthood Clinics, are no strangers to almost daily protests, attacks, and controversies. The fact that an armed Terrorist murdered three people, and wounded another nine, shows an apparent lack of security concerns. According to reports that are starting to surface, this location had no armed security, no metal detectors in place, not that a Metal Detector would have made a difference in this instance, but Armed Security may have. We have to stop having a lackadaisical approach to protection and security concerns.
We need to take considerable thought into protecting and hardening all ?#?Soft_Targets, Hospitals, Schools, Clinics, Movie Theaters, Churches etc. Yes, I know we SHOULDN'T HAVE TO , but the truth is, WE HAVE TO! It is time to WAKE UP!!!!
You can scream we need more gun control or less gun control. But if a person is motivated to kill, no amount of gun control will stop it! They will just find alternative means; knifes, baseball bats, hammers, or homemade explosives. But it will happen!
We need to demand that action plans are developed and exercised. We as a society need to wake up and learn how to protect ourselves. What is happening to us is pure unadulterated Bullcrap. We need to stop crying about stuff and make stuff happen! We deserve to be protected. If you don't know how to protect yourself or your business, ask someone who does, there's no weakness in that! Active Shooter Awareness has to be incorporated with emergency response planning and work place violence planning; you are setting yourself and your company up for failure by not planning, training and conducting exercises.
Corporate Climates, especially those that conduct what some consider to be highly controversial operations, cannot afford to have an apathetic approach to workplace violence, emergency response or security,
THIS IS A LEADERSHIP/MANAGEMENT ISSUE!!
Leadership MUST take ownership of safety, emergency response and workplace violence responsibilities for their organizations and require their First-tier leaders to stress the importance of these processes and procedures, one of the first things I learned about leadership was, lead by example. You can direct more people into doing what you want if you first do it yourself! If you don’t, what makes you think that the employees will!
As a society we have become increasingly dangerous, in that we have to worry about the seemingly random act of an Active Shooter or in Friday’s case, a Right-Wing Domestic Terrorist; although most are not random at all, but go through as many as five phases before the shooter executes his/her actions. I fear that we will continue on this path of wanton violence and Terror attacks, the better educated you are, not to this type of incident/event, but any type, the better you will be to handle the situation.
The political repercussions of Friday’s incident are already starting to begin, the Left is going to blame the Right and the Right, the Left. The Pro-gun lobby will blame the anti-gun lobby, the Christians will blame those that they feel don’t believe in God. But when it all boils down, there will be only one person truly the blame, the Right – Wing Terrorist that bastardized his own distorted beliefs, his own distorted views on abortion, and his own distorted views on being “Right leaning”
It all boils down to Ideology, which is why you can’t have a “One Word Fits All” approach to Terrorism! "Radical Extremism" is a crock, and anyone that believes in it, IMO has no real idea of Terrorism. Because each wing, if you will, of Terrorism; Nationalist/Separatist, Religious, Political which include; right and left-wing; Anarchist, ECO/Animal Rights, and Single Issue Causes; all have a different means to an end, although some, if not all, use the same tactics.
So for now I will continue to tweet to myself or in this case, post to myself, maybe someone, someday will listen.
Last Point; Think this is going to get better? Sorry, Think again! Friday it may have been a Right-Wing Nut Job, tomorrow might be Left-Wing Nut Job.
"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” -- George Orwell
Mission Assurance, Training, and Exercise Professional
9 年Ralph - It's unfortunate that San Bernadino came so soon after Colorado Springs, but putting the two back to back really, I think, highlights your point here. The semantics are a real pain because to be "terrorism", technically you need to have a political motivation (FBI). But, in my opinion and at the 'ground level' impact, active shootings are just as bad, deadly, and frightening as domestic terrorism, and I dare say we've had more of them since 9/11 than we have terrorist plots. Active shooters are individuals committed to mass murder at soft targets like schools, movie theaters, shopping centers and now holiday parties. To your point though, and I totally agree, there is simply no longer any excuse for leaders not to prioritize security. The threats are real, and they are not confined to "out there." And, unfortunately, I have to agree with you here, too, that I don't see this trend turning around anytime soon. So, for now, and to Felix's point, I think, all we can do is continue to sound the alarm bells. Rick Rescorla comes to mind - we need to be consistent and tenacious in our calls for better planning, better training, and better cross-sector integration. You can't lock down everything, but everyone should know how to respond.
Counter and Antiterrorism, Contemporary Threats, Emergency Management, Physical Security Threats; RET USA SNCO
9 年Thank you all for the likes, shares and comments. If, for those that don't "know" me, I seem to come across as a "little blunt", well when dealing with type of issue I feel you need to be direct and forego the Political Correctness. Bad People mean to do us harm, and we can't, nor should we, as professionals always feel the need to dance around this topic. It might never happen but then again I know there are a lot of places that it has happened to, that at one point in time may have said the same things. Again, my sincerest Thanks, and as always, I stand Ready to help, if you need me! -- RF
Bravo! Right on Ralph! It is a leadership challenge but who are the lack luster leaders we speak of? Pretending to be an expert on workplace violence prevention because you run an HR department or a security department is not the solution. That workplace security investment is a reactionary decision and not a proactive choice is a leadership shortfall. On the other hand those leaders who risk it all to influence their bosses can say we tried but, it won't remove the disgust of knowing there was a perceived security failure on their watch. The integrity and expertise you display by your courageous opinions don't rise to establish your credibility because they'll tell you that you are preaching to the choir. Yes, you may be Tweeting to read your own Tweets but your honorable intentions is all we can share. I have had the good fortune of working with outstanding HR, Security, Facility and Corporation Counsels indepently much smarter asleep than I awake, who gave our collaboration the needed visibility. They were influencers who packaged the need in addressing your concerns. The lack of leadership up to and including the uninformed and misinformed are the unintentional reasons why known security gaps exist.
Instructor at Private Dojo | Goju ryu 7th Dan, Shorin ryu 6th Dan and Kudo Kai 9th Dan.
9 年Good Stuff?? Ralph, I thought that PP had armed security officers as part of their security protocols? Perhaps that was only during the days when medical personnel were targeted by activists. No business should be operating without a well written and practiced emergency action plan or business continuity plan in place. The days of 'it can't happen here' mentality are over. Columbine, Jonesboro, Sandy Hook School or Aurora never thought an attack would ever happen there either. People need to get their heads out of the sand and make a plan and work the plan under the 'all hazards' approach. But wait, ' it can't happen here'! Wrong!!
The Contrarian Emergency Manager 災
9 年Ralph - This is the most relevant commentary I've ever read on this topic. While not all 'active shooters' are acts of terrorism, most facilities - including those considered controversial or soft targets - can undergo preperations which will address many of the vulnerabilities associated with both threats. Communities, facility owners/managers, and even managers need to take a more realistic view of their vulnerabilities and work to address them. Great post! TR