Articles with training

Situational Awareness Building Exercises

Whether being ready to protect yourself or your loved ones every day, or volunteering on your church security team, developing keen situational awareness should be priority #1. Think of being situationally aware not as being paranoid, but as being aware-anoid!

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of SITUATIONAL AWARENESS ]

In fact, “THE Primary Factor in self-protection/self-defense is situational awareness,” says Mark Hatmaker in his article, Warrior Awareness Drills.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Simple Chart for Situational Awareness ]

One way to sharpen your situational awareness into a consistent ironclad habit is to consciously and intentionally routinize it everywhere you go, wherever you are, all the time; turn it into a moment-by-moment personal sport.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Live Life Left of Bang ]

Hatmaker says, “A useful practice to return awareness/alertness to the fore is to gamify your awareness, that is, to use a series of specific awareness/alertness drills on a revolving basis that allow you to keep your mind a bit above the day-to-day routine while also making a bit of a game out of what may save your life.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Self-Defense and Church Security: Make Scanning Your Priority ]

In his article, he offers three drills to improve your “eyesight:”

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Mental Health Toolkit: A Free Resource for Self-Defense and Church Security

Mental illnesses are common in the United States, affecting more than one in five US adults (57.8 million in 2021), according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Estimates suggest that only half of people with mental illnesses receive treatment.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security: How to Identify 25 Common Mental Health Behaviors ]

With your involvement in church security/safety, you’ve likely witnessed the growing struggles with mental health evidenced in unusual behavior by some in your services and among people in your congregation, since church is where broken people are drawn to find meaning in their lives.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

Recognizing the signs of common mental health challenges is crucial for responding appropriately when disruptions occur.

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A Treasure Trove of Gun Information: The Defensive Use of Firearms Website

The website you ABSOLUTELY MUST bookmark if you are at all interested in learning as much as you can about self-defense and firearm insight is spwenger’s Defensive Use of Firearms.

It’s founded and maintained by Stephen P. Wenger, whose extensive credentials include hundreds of hours of law enforcement, self-defense, lethal force, armorer, public safety, and threat management training and teaching. He created the site in response to his frustration with seeing erroneous defensive tactics being taught by firearms instructors.

Along with the website, Mr. Wenger publishes the DUF Digest, a comprehensive examination of the practicalities and realities of the use of firearms for defensive purposes in a free, daily email digest of firearm-related news (subscribe at this list server site). He is also the author of the book, Defensive Use of Firearms (also see book information on Snub Gun Study Group), which he offers as a free PDF download.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Directory: Informative Free Email Newsletters From a Variety of Sources ]

The website’s valuable information is organized in the following categories:

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Church Security: How to Identify 25 Common Mental Health Behaviors

Church security teams serve their congregations by overseeing the safety and decorum of church gatherings. Part of the training for team members includes the ability to quickly and correctly assess the reasons behind the disruptive behaviors of individuals during those events.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Self-Defense and Church Security: Make Scanning Your Priority ]

Determining whether a person is unruly due to a mental health crisis or to an intentional violent motive will influence the proper response required to keep the peace.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Chart: The Spectrum of Potential Threat Personas in Self-Defense and Church Security ]

The ministry Spiritual First Aid™ offers the free PDF resource, 25 Common Mental Health Fact Sheets, that helps identify the signs, symptoms, and triggers of mental health conditions people may struggle with; it’s a tool that can assist security team members in ascertaining whether de-escalation tactics or more extreme measures are necessary.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams ]

For example, the fact sheet on Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) states that this “is a mental health condition characterized by recurrent, sudden episodes of impulsive, aggressive, violent behavior, or angry verbal outbursts that are disproportionate to the situation. These episodes are typically brief and may result in physical harm to others, damage to property, or significant emotional distress, and they often lead to feelings of remorse or regret afterwards.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Tactical Training for Individuals and Church Security Teams to Thwart Active Violence Incidents (Part 2 ]

This comprehensive set of 25 fact sheets offers insights on the following topics:

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