Shooting Illustrated: "What I Didn’t Learn In Special Forces"

    One of the problems facing a civilian interested in self-defense and concealed carry is finding trustworthy sources of information. Not just shooting--there are many qualified shooting instructors out there--but covering topics relevant to civilians such as methods and gear for concealed carry, the laws of self-defense, dealing with the criminal justice system, the realities of crime, etc. Unfortunately, many gun owners will default to relying for information on civilian self-defense from people with a background in law enforcement or military without any more. 

    In my long ago article, "Concealed Carry--No Elegant Solution," I noted that when I first began my journey into concealed carry, there were limited resources available to me on the "how-to" of concealed carry; and what little there was often were written by ex-law enforcement writing from the perspective of a plainclothes officer rather than a civilian, where being accidentally outed as carrying concealed was no more than a social faux pas rather than something that could lead to a loss of job or a visit from a police officer. I'm not saying that these authors did not have useful information--they had plenty--but that the information did not always match the realities of civilian carrying concealed.

    However, several years after I obtained my first CCL, there was a new wave of gun writers (and, eventually, YouTubers) whose background was in the military returning from combat duty in the Middle-East. And thus began a period with an emphasis on "tactical" gun fighting. This was great for the prepper wanting a better idea of military or paramilitary practices and tactics he could apply to defending a homestead or neighborhood against raiders and rioters after the collapse of civilization and social order, but which obviously had little application to the standard civilian defender. As I quoted from Mass Ayoob in another of my early posts ("The Top 5 Firearm Myths Among Preppers"):

     For you, it won't happen on a battlefield where the nearest Soviet soldier is 600 meters away behind a French hedgerow. For you, it will happen at point-blank range. Studies by the FBI show that the great majority of shoot-outs occur at a range of 7 yards or less, and more commonly at about 7 feet. And this is among police, whose statistics include running gunfights on the highway and long-distance gunfire exchanges with snipers and barricaded felons.

(The Truth About Self Protection, p. 346). 

    In short, if you want paramilitary training, then by all means seek out the former soldier or Marine with combat experience. But if you want training on civilian self-defense and concealed carry, that military (or even law enforcement background) of your trainer may not cut it absent additional training or qualifications on their part.

    Of course, it means little for someone like me to say this. But it carries more weight coming from an ex-Green Beret like Chris Cypert, writing for a publication like Shooting Illustrated. In his article "What I Didn’t Learn In Special Forces," Cypert describes how his military training was very deficient when he reentered the civilian world and began teaching armed self-defense and began carrying concealed. He writes:

... As a boy in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I took the advice of Special Operations veterans especially seriously and favored their insight above all others. I grew up and joined the Army and was privileged to serve most of my 20-year career as a Special Forces Soldier, often referred to as a Green Beret. Now that I’m retired and teaching private citizens and writing articles myself, I’ve got a different perspective than I did when I was  a wide-eyed youth. I learned a great deal in my Special Forces career, but as I spent my off-duty time stateside as an armed private citizen, and especially once I retired and began training private citizens, I was struck by all the important knowledge I didn’t learn in Special Forces.

One of the critical deficiencies in his military training was, no surprise, the laws of self defense. Cypter explains:

If I were to teach and write based exclusively on my Special Forces training and experience, self-defense law in the US would be by far the largest gap in my relevant knowledge. Unfortunately, it is also among the most important areas of study for an armed citizen, second only to the fundamentals of safe gun handling.

Fortunately, he recognized this gap in his knowledge and worked to rectify it. But, he warns:

If you’re seeking information about self-defense and use-of-force law, then it is important to understand that just because someone has Special Operations experience, that alone does not make their advice sound on this topic. If you ask them for the sources of their advice and they cite relevant, respected sources, then you can probably take their guidance seriously. If you ask them for sources and they reply with, “I was Special Forces/Force Recon/whatever, so I know what I’m talking about,” you probably should consider looking elsewhere for more reliable information.

    Other areas where his military training was deficient in regard to civilian self-defense, particularly in training civilian defenders, was the lack of breadth of knowledge concerning civilian firearms, particularly handguns and shotguns. 

    And, finally, although he eventually received some training on concealed carry techniques because of specific assignments, he notes that "the vast majority of U.S. military troops don’t get any training or even professional experience at carrying concealed on the job. Even within Special Operations, it is something on which only a certain percentage of personnel are going to get training and experience." Thus, he concludes:

Don’t be afraid to ask a Special Operations veteran to explain the specific source of their knowledge, particularly when it comes to advice on non-Special Operations-specific topics like self-defense law, handgun selection, or concealed carry best practices. If they’re competent they’ll likely answer your questions without hesitation. If they fall back on the general, “I was in XYZ special operations unit,” and refuse to elaborate further, you might want to look elsewhere.