Opinion: Gun First? Not Necessarily

Back in the days when I was working in executive protection, we had a team leader (TL) who was a seasoned, salty dog. In the field for several decades and on the verge of retirement, at a pre-deployment briefing he once said to us "As protective agents, if you boys go to guns you failed."

We were dumfounded by his words as firearms training was paramount to deployment. In fact, our hard skills requirement was such a high priority that if you didn't pass the firearms qualification you would not be eligible for deployment. How could he get away with saying something like that?

He considered firearms "lifeboats on the Titanic." His thinking was a ship goes down due to negligence. If you go to guns as your one and only response, you have instantly raised the use of force, eliminated any other options, and placed everyone involved at higher risk.

What he was trying to make us realize was, that if you rely on only one tool, the lifeboat, then you have failed miserably in your job responsibilities to protect those in your charge. Going to guns should be considered a last-ditch effort. .....