Last week I went to a late movie with a couple of friends. I don’t mind the late show and it’s the only way we can get together because everyone is always busy. We saw the new GI Joe and it was just fun to watch. Coming out, the place was a ghost town. Everything was off except half the lights and I didn’t see any employees, only a couple of other people leaving. Walking out to our cars, there was a group of people standing next to their cars that were parked right next to ours. I couldn’t figure out why they were there or what they were doing, so it put me on alert. I pulled my flashlight out of my pocket and had it in my hand. The parking lot is dark and almost deserted. I think there were about 10 cars scattered around the parking lot.
Nothing bad happened, except for my piss poor planning. Instead of voicing my concerns or thoughts to my friends, I made a sarcastic comment that it was just like the gym. The only two people here and they are right next to us. I was carrying my Glock and a back up. I was glad I put the Glock on at that moment because I was almost lazy and left it at home. As we continued to walk, I moved to the right side of our group of three to better see what was going on and be in a better position if things went south.
I was still trying to figure out what was going on when my friends turned around to shake hands and say good night. I let them take my attention and I shouldn’t have. Now I felt committed to our vehicles because that’s where my friends were going and I wasn’t going to leave them.
We continued on and I was able to get to my vehicle and take a covered position until my friends where able to enter their car and leave. I already had my car running and just jumped in and left.
This turned out really nice. When nothing happens, anything you do works, but would it have worked if things had gone bad? I had cover from my vehicle, but I wasn’t in a place to dominate the fight if one started. I didn’t have a very good view of what was going on if my friends needed help and the people that may have been the threat had their vehicles as cover. I could easily have been pinned down and had to drive away or wait. Not a good place to be in.
When we first came out of the theater, I should have been talking to my friends when I saw the group of people standing near our car. Neither of them is big on self defense but they could have easily seen something I didn’t. Maybe these guys were all there working on a broken car and I just didn’t see the jumper cables. Once we got closer and I couldn’t figure out what was going on, a smart remark is not the way to go. Again, communication is key. If I was with others that are big into self defense, knowing that I mentioned a group is a way to know that I’m watching them. It would have been enough with pros, but these are good guys that I hang out with and aren’t as keyed in as some of us. So my communication just sucked.
After the communication, I should have gotten a count. I just saw a group and then fell back on the military training. It looked like a squad-sized element (or 13 guys). The group was all guys and there were between 6 to 8, I guess. I should have gotten a count. It may or may not help if something really bad happens, but could be good info to have and is easily obtained. If I had taken the second to count, it would have been easy to get.
My last major mistake was feeling committed to the vehicles. I’ve made this mistake in my life in the past and it hasn’t cost me yet (thankfully). But sooner or later it could get me into trouble. Just because I’m headed that direction does not make me committed, it just makes me going that direction. They say no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and it shouldn’t. Your plan to survive should always be fluid along with the direction you are going. Just because we were almost there didn’t make our vehicles the safest place to be. It could have been safer to go past our vehicles and keep going, take a left and go across a row to another row of vehicles, or to turn around and go back to the theater. My mistake was just closing those other options in my mind.
Three things I learned from my non-event; keep your options open, communicate clearly with those around you at their level, and get as much info about the situation as you can going in.
Stay Safe,
Ben