American Thinking has been printed and released. We are now shipping! Orders can be placed here!  REVIEWS:>From Tom Perroni: self-defense and tactical trainer: Frank Borelli's American Thinking is truly a masterpiece. American Thinking is not a Text Book per-say however what you read in this book will impact your body, mind & sprit. It is now required reading for everyone on my instructor staff. It is also on the top of my list for student reading resources as well. There are warriors in all walks of life. Some warriors wear battle dress uniforms. Some wear a badge. Others warriors just wear the clothing of their trade, be it Dockers and a tie or a blouse and a skirt. No matter what our jobs, some of us were born with or have acquired the warrior mindset. Though there is much to learn from these writings, this is not a text book. American Thinking brings to light, and explains why, warriors think and act the way they do. American Thinking truly motivates and hones the American warriors mind. I hope this book becomes required reading for Police Academy cadets and in CCW courses across America. The book is dynamite! Pure dynamite... Frank Borelli is a former soldier and military policeman, and has been a cop and law enforcement trainer and writer for roughly two decades now. Frank is one of the new generation of writers and trainers - one of the new generation of real influencers in our field - to have their world view largely informed by the realities of the fourth World War, a.k.a. the war on terrorism. Born in 1964, Frank is too young to be a member of the baby boom generation of trainers and pundits that are now retiring… and that too often don't "get" the nature of the threat that we now face. He is just young enough to qualify as a senior member of "generation X", giving him the perfect combination of decades of experience and relative youth. This fact, combined with his far-reaching audience and its concomitant impact, make him a man to watch. American Thinking, is a collection of Frank's writings ranging from the nature of being an American and the service-orientated nature of patriotism, to the training necessary to so serve, to the kinds of threats that we will need to address as patriots and police officers, to the equipment (including mental equipment) we need, to an in depth discussion of the threat that will most define cops of GenX and GenY: terrorism on our soil. If there's one theme that defines Frank's outlook and runs through this book, it is that terrorism will be the standard reality here in the U.S. in a very short time, and that we as a nation, individually as citizens, and each of us as cops, will have to change to deal with it. And it's not a pretty picture. Life here will get more violent; the traditional social-work / liability-ruled approach to police work - and to use-of-force in particular - will have to adapt; police officers will have to become genuine warriors. In other words, many of the trends that have defined the careers of baby boomer cops will have to either be reversed or changed. Short of this, we will become another Europe: appeasing, cowardly, statist, and basically controlled by any world-stage despot or philosophy (such as Whahabbi-style Islam) that has even a tiny number of followers and the armory of any violent gang of today. (This is the not-pretty part.) Frank is emerging as one of the leading writers on the consequences of this coming reality for law enforcement. He writes to the individual cop - not to the academicians, not to the social critics - but to you and me. His chapters in this book on the meaning of service, on being a cop, on facing up to the task at hand, and on training and preparation for it are critical reading. American Thinking will be one of the seminal publications that define what we are and what we do in this new world. When faced with the dangers of the world we should desire more than mere survival. We should strive for victory over the dangers, threats, and fears. Doing this requires much more than hardware. We need the software to keep our minds sharp and focused. Frank Borelli's new book American Thinking is exactly the kind of software I am talking about. It is both thoughtful and thought provoking. The text is thoroughly researched and packed with useful information and recommendations. "Frank Borelli’s American Thinking is an interesting and stimulating book but it is much more than that; it's an important book because it addresses issues which are critical to our survival as Americans. Each chapter forces one to think about mind set, tactics, situational awareness, and - to use a word which is often misunderstood by those of us with a bent towards action - PHILOSOPHY. Philosophy doesn’t have to be the ivory tower discipline used by left-wing college professors to justify naval contemplation as opposed to action. Philosophy can be an organized method of looking at the problems one may face in his life, and today there are lots of problems. Maybe instead of problems, I should call them threats because as a country and as individual Americans we face a lot of threats. American Thinking offers a "philosophy" for thinking about those threats and for dealing with them. I highly recommend this book. Frank Borelli is a friend of mine, a friend who I respect as a man of action as well as a thinker. Both aspects of his character are apparent in American Thinking." Excerpts: Chapter One: Americans Make America Strong - ...the United States of America doesn't just invite in those who are dejected or distressed; we invite in those who are dejected, distressed, afflicted… and who have become considered worthless or useless in their own country. No one is considered worthless or useless in the United States of America. But if you insist strongly enough that you are, then you can find people that will treat you that way. - My point is that our citizenry presents a far scarier deterrent to terrorism and crime than the police or military forces do. Sure, the cop on the corner in uniform with busy eyes is a great visible deterrent. But how many little old ladies going to or from the grocery store on that sidewalk are armed? The point is that terrorists can fairly easily identify cops and soldiers. Identifying Americans is pretty easy. Identifying which of us are armed isn't so easy. Identifying which of us is armed and more than happy to shoot a terrorist is less so. - ...the idea of my son laying down his life fighting for our country is not the worst thing that can happen. To me, the fact that he's willing to stand up and fight means he'll never be anyone's willing victim. And even better, as a Marine, he'll be willing to stand and fight to defend those too weak or pacifistic to defend themselves. To me, if he was willing to be a doormat... NOT defend himself... NOT defend others... NOT stand up for what's right; THAT would be worse than him dying in combat. - What if there is no Air Marshall on board and a person is getting stupid? Then it's up to the passengers - any sheepdog on the plane - to step up and put the potential predator down. I don't mean kill them necessarily. Depending on circumstances I believe that a warning should be given. At that point the Wolf knows a sheepdog is there and approaching. His choices are simple: stand down or be put down. No other option exists or should be discussed. No nice, "Please would you be so kind?" The warning should be simple and straight to the point: "Sir (or Ma'am), you represent a threat to the safety of this plane. Sit down and shut up or be put down and locked up." Arrest powers don't matter. If a Wolf gets put down on a plane by Joe Average Citizen, the pilot will let the other end know and Air Marshalls or local police will be waiting when the plane lands. - We, as Americans, cannot forget that the terrorists who hate us and wish to destroy our country - physically, emotionally or economically - are constantly studying us, looking for weaknesses. They are constantly learning what supplies we already have that they can use against us. They are constantly probing our security levels. They are gathering intelligence and looking for the tidbits of info that they can build into attack plans. - One of the questions asked of all military enlistees and police applicants is whether or not they have any religious beliefs that will prohibit them from using force as might be required by the performance of their duties. Saying, "Yes," is a simple disqualification. If you're a soldier, you should expect to have to fight at some point, and - if you fight right - to kill the enemy. If you're to become a police officer, you should recognize the reality that you might be required to use deadly force to protect your life or the life of another. If you don't believe you can do that, or if you believe your religion prohibits it, then you need to seek a new line of work. Chapter Two: Training To Serve - In today's society we have people who are called upon to act in a physically aggressive or confrontational manner to protect the rights, freedoms and safety of the average citizen. These men and women in the law enforcement and/or military community work daily to maintain peace and sometimes find themselves working under circumstances that require them to act in a physically aggressive, sometimes violent, fashion to protect themselves, to protect others, or to gain control over a given situation. To survive these dangerous encounters, along with performing all of their other duties, the members of the two communities must be trained. - To be a truly effective operator in any hostile environment, the person in uniform must understand and appreciate both approaches to thought. Linear thinking is necessary to gaining knowledge upon which to build skills. However, to apply those skills in a time-efficient fashion under duress, intuitive ability is equally necessary. - The ability to analyze data, mesh it together with continuing incoming streams of new data, and make coherent decisions based on all of it is difficult at best under duress. When the feces hits the oscillating rotator and everything shtinks, how quickly you can orient yourself to the environment and circumstances may be a direct result of how much you've trained in such situations before. - To properly support appropriate decision making in high-stress compressed-time situations, the training delivery has to be properly structured. To organize that training into a proper structure, certain analysis of the training must occur. Chapter Three: Protect and Serve - The Columbine High School incident, eventually to be called "the Pearl Harbor of Active Shooters" brought to the forefront the fact that police departments could no longer depend on the special skills, weapons and tactics of SWAT teams in resolving some incidents. The emotional and analytical aftermath of the Columbine High School killings has driven police departments across the nation to take a new approach: training patrol officers to specifically and efficiently deal with the Active Shooter scenario. - I've NEVER heard the words "affect an arrest" used in Active Shooter training. Active Shooter response is about an aggressive and violent response to an aggressive and violent action that is immediately causing a loss of innocent life. "Drop your gun or I'll shoot," isn't an option. Shoot. Stop the threat. - Not that long ago I served on a citizen advisory committee for a county school board. When I brought up the topic of potential terrorist attacks on schools the first reaction I received was, "It can't happen here." Yeah, I know that place: it exists all over the country: "It Can't Happen Here, USA". That was the name of another place called... what was it? Oh, yeah: Columbine. - Now I can hear / feel some of the more liberal academic readers having heart attacks at the very idea of allowing a rifle into the school setting. To make matters worse, I'm going to make an even more hated suggestion: start training your teachers who volunteer, and ARM them. How many teachers today are service veterans? Even among those who aren't, how many have the fighting spirit? This isn't about the political argument that will always rage over gun control: this is about PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN. If the teachers are willing, TRAIN them and ARM them. - In case you've missed the news for the past several years, we have serious security issues at both our north and south borders (more south than north if you believe the news). I ask this: if tens of thousands of illegal immigrants could get across the southern border, why couldn't 50 terrorists? Okay, so they get here but they need weapons. If the domestic gangs can get sufficient firearms to constantly shoot each other, don't you think terrorists could too? - Folks, terrorism is real. It's not a crime; it's an act of war. The attacks on our country on September 11, 2001 were not committed by freedom fighters trying to rescue hostages held by the United States at the Pentagon or in the World Trade Center. Those attacks were carefully planned and committed with absolutely no regard for the innocent victims. Those attacks were committed by a hateful people bent on increasing their scope of power and control. Those attacks were committed by a people who have no regard at all for whether their victims are children, adult, male or female, of any religion. Chapter Four: The Reality of Terrorism - Let's be honest: some cops today aren't warriors. They are civil servants who are dedicated to their jobs and do them well. But we all know a few that would be perfectly happy to man the radio while we go into the building where an Active Shooter is hunting innocent prey. We can't afford that. The harsh reality of life behind a badge is that we are the front line defense against anyone and anything that threatens to harm the innocents of our community. If we take the oath to Protect and Serve, we'd damned well better be as good as our word. - Many Americans believe that our war with terrorism started on that faithful day in September of 2001. Others believe that our war against / with terrorism started with the first attempted bombing of the World Trade Centers. Fewer still might believe that our war with terrorism started in 1981 when American citizens were held captive in Iran by Islamic terrorists - one of whom is now the President of Iran. I submit to you the reader, that our war against terrorism started in 1801 when President Thomas Jefferson dispatched a contingent of Marines to Tripoli. - If a bomber is a suicide bomber, then his/her ONLY intent is to kill him or herself. Unfortunately for the rest of us, a "Suicide" Bomber's actual intent is to kill as many innocent people as possible be acting as a human-directed self-detonating bomb. The intentional use of a destructive device to kill others is HOMICIDE. The death of the bomber is a side-effect and not the primary purpose of the explosion. However, by repeatedly referring to these CRIMINALS as "suicide" bombers, we - society as a whole - allow them to continually view themselves and be viewed as martyrs dying for a cause. Let's get past that: they are criminals. - The tactics developed for, and taught in response to, Active Shooters are excellent for response to other - potentially more dangerous - situations as well. Consider this: Instead of two students with whatever weapons they can scrounge, get purchased for them, or make (improvised explosives), attacking their fellow students in school, what if it was a terrorist team? Using five-man cells, as is common among today's terrorist fanatics, armed with AK-47s and hand grenades, how much carnage could a terrorist team cause in a school? - We police officers, sheriffs' deputies, firemen, paramedics, and other public safety personnel have an on-going responsibility to protect life and property. That responsibility has an attached commitment to insuring that our training constantly evolves in a reasonable and effective manner. - Morally we have a duty to immediately and with great speed of controlled and targeted violence respond to the siege. Failing to act while we question the morality of what we're about to do is itself morally reprehensible. As a police officer I feel a direct duty to protect and defend the innocents. As a father I feel a moral obligation to protect all children. - The Moral Disconnect, folks... the moral disconnect is NOT when we have to decide between the life of one child / innocent versus the lives of many; the moral disconnect is when we waste so much time arguing about whether or not we SHOULD kill terrorists that we lose all effective opportunity to do so and in the process sacrifice all hostages to the will of the terrorists. - THAT is another moral disconnect. When a man picks up a gun and stands in front of you and defends YOUR life potentially sacrificing his own in the process, you should be grateful. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13. Our soldiers do that for total strangers simply because those strangers are American and that is what soldiers do. Not thanking them is unacceptable. Having the unmitigated gall to criticize them is outrageous. Chapter Five: Closing Thoughts - What shocked me was the day that I looked back and realized that had I not made any one of those "bad" decisions, where I am today might be drastically different. So many branches... what if I'd taken the OTHER Fork In The Road? - Previous research has shown that the conscious mind can only process data in a linear fashion, and in that manner, only handle between five to seven pieces of information. So, if the bits of data all slam the conscious mind at once, only five to seven bits are going to be caught. That five to seven are going to be processed one after the other and if they are processed in the wrong order the end conclusion may in fact be irrational or unsupported. - The absolute funniest thing is seeing the look on the faces of other officers when they watch you do things that you can't possibly do without being magic. Because they are unfamiliar with subconscious empowerment; because they've never thought about the strengths of contextual intuition (or ever heard of it?); because it scares them to take actions that they can't completely consciously articulate, they will balk at what you've done. And when they ask you how you knew to do it and you're best answer is, "Because it felt right," then you've really lost them: but the look on their face is irreplaceable. - ...a peace keeper (cop or soldier) who trains diligently; learns to trust his conscious and subconscious; in doing so he learns to trust his feelings; and because he recognizes that there are some feelings he'll have that there is no explanation for beyond his faith, he trusts all of his feelings. - As a final note, I'd suggest that "retiring" doesn't really change who you are: it simply changes what you do each day. Perhaps we need to find a way to keep interested experienced retired officers "in the loop". They may prove to be the best mentors for new officers and they certainly have plenty to offer in the way of experience that can be used to develop more efficient training techniques and scenarios. Further, it would stop that awful drain of talent that happens every time we have a retirement ceremony. |
