Episode 157 - A Real Gunfight

[Bob Mayne]

Episode 157 is now available.  Many thanks to Ben Branam for discussing his experiences during several gunfights. Please use this thread for comments and questions.  Also check out his blog at http://modernselfprotection.com/

[Bull44]

Great show!!!  As always thank you for the wonderful content you provide for us Bob.

Take care and have a great day.

[Bob Mayne]

Thanks, it was a pleasure talking to Ben and getting him to share some valuable stuff.  There will be more coming soon. 

[Lawrence]

  It was a great episode. Talking to a person who "Been there.. Done that" is a unique experience and I think He has more to share about everything. One thing I am curious is the level of alertness that an individual keeps on a daily basis while deployed. I had stressful duty situations while in Metro Police that caused me fatigue to a extreme. But at the end of the day I knew I would go home. Keep up Bob.

[Bob Mayne]

We will probably do another show in a few weeks, I'll ask him that.

[Kimerazor]

I appreciate Ben's honesty which adds to his credibility.  There are several points where this was evident.  Firstly, when he was giving commands to shoot & he wasn't doing it himself because of his training.  Secondly, he admittedly "forgot" to use his grenades.

Both points above demonstrate the fact that you can never have enough training.

Bob, I agree with you & always have believed that one can take good from any situation without criticizing someone, e.g. "IDPA matches are not 'real life'."

Thanks for the great interview.

[jpr9954]

I think the interview with Ben was one of the best podcasts that you've done.

Like you, I hope I'm never, ever in a gun fight. However, it is good to know from those that have been what it is like.

One thing I did find very interesting was his comment that his IDPA competition helped him when things got tough in Iraq. It prepared him for what he needed to do. Too often, I hear shooting competition derided as just a game that will kill you when the SHTF. Maybe not.

[Bob Mayne]

That's a no-win argument, but I wanted listeners to hear it from someone who's been in combat.  Ben did not know I was going to ask him that, so you got a clear and honest answer to that question.  Competition is not complete self defense training because it is a game, but there are some skills you can take away from it that will be very beneficial as Ben talked about. 

[ExpatBen]

It was a great episode. Talking to a person who "Been there.. Done that" is a unique experience and I think He has more to share about everything. One thing I am curious is the level of alertness that an individual keeps on a daily basis while deployed. I had stressful duty situations while in Metro Police that caused me fatigue to a extreme. But at the end of the day I knew I would go home. Keep up Bob.

My alertness went up and down.  Sometimes I would be listening to everything on pins and needles and other times just completely asleep.  We slept as much as possible, but really only got about 4 hours a day of sleep.  We tried to stay as alert as possible and traded who was on watch and who wasn't as much as possible.  We just lived at a little higher alert then normal.  It also helped me that I worked for an armored car company for years and was use to being on and off alert continuously through out the day.  I just lived in condition yellow.  To me it didn't feel that much different then normal. It was only hard when we went into the attack and then we had to keep each other calm.

Stay Safe,

Ben

PS Thanks for doing what you do.

[Lawrence]

"My alertness went up and down.  Sometimes I would be listening to everything on pins and needles and other times just completely asleep.  We slept as much as possible, but really only got about 4 hours a day of sleep.  We tried to stay as alert as possible and traded who was on watch and who wasn't as much as possible.  We just lived at a little higher alert then normal.  It also helped me that I worked for an armored car company for years and was use to being on and off alert continuously through out the day.  I just lived in condition yellow.  To me it didn't feel that much different then normal. It was only hard when we went into the attack and then we had to keep each other calm.

Stay Safe,

Ben

PS Thanks for doing what you do."



Thank you for answering about the alertness. Looking forward to listen to you and Bob having more on "combat mindset". I am a real fan of this subject.
Take care,
Lawrence

[mongo356]

Outstanding show!!!

Mr. Branam makes a lot of great points.  It's good to hear from someone who seems honest about training vs. live combat.

I've never understood the argument that shooting competition is bad for training. While I understand it's not a direct replacement, but it's still trigger time & mental preparation, which unfortunately sometimes is more than many people will dedicate.