Tactical Force Combatives

Just because something isn't done the "right" way or our way doesn't mean its wrong and that there isn't something of offer to it.

Never underestimate your oddballs who do things their own way and march to the beat of their own drum!

He was mocked as a coward during training. His fellow soldiers ridiculed him, threw things at him, and wanted him gone, all because he refused to carry a weapon or kill another human being. Then, on a blood-soaked cliff in Okinawa, that same "coward" stayed behind alone under enemy fire and, one by one, lowered 75 wounded men to safety. His name was Desmond Doss, and he became the first conscientious objector in American history to receive the Medal of Honor.

THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T CARRY A GUN

Desmond Doss was a quiet, skinny young man from Lynchburg, Virginia, and a devout Seventh-day Adventist. His faith shaped everything about him, including a deep conviction against killing and against carrying a weapon.

When World War II came, Doss didn't try to avoid service. He believed in the cause and wanted to serve his country. But he wanted to do it his way: as a combat medic, someone who would go into battle to save lives rather than take them. He called himself not a conscientious objector but a "conscientious cooperator", he'd go anywhere, face any danger, but he would not carry a rifle.

The Army, and his fellow soldiers, didn't know what to make of him. Many saw a man who wouldn't hold a weapon as a liability, even a coward. He was harassed and ridiculed relentlessly during training. Men who would soon go into combat beside him openly doubted he belonged there. Doss endured it all without wavering from his beliefs.

HACKSAW RIDGE

In the spring of 1945, Doss and the 77th Infantry Division reached Okinawa, and one of the most horrific battles of the entire Pacific war. Their objective was the Maeda Escarpment, a jagged cliff roughly 400 feet high that American troops nicknamed Hacksaw Ridge. The top had to be reached by climbing cargo nets thrown over the sheer rock face. And the Japanese had spent years turning the ridge into a fortress, a honeycomb of tunnels, caves, and hidden gun positions.

On May 5, 1945, American troops climbed to the top, and the enemy unleashed hell. A ferocious concentration of artillery, mortar, and machine-gun fire tore into the American ranks, inflicting around 75 casualties in a matter of minutes and driving the survivors to scramble back down the cliff to safety.

But dozens of wounded men were left behind at the top, stranded on that exposed ridge, bleeding, unable to move, and being killed where they lay.

ONE MORE. JUST ONE MORE.

Desmond Doss did not climb down with the others. He stayed.

Alone at the top of that cliff, unarmed, with enemy soldiers all around him and fire pouring in, Doss went to work. He crawled to the wounded, dragged them one by one to the edge of the escarpment, and, using a rope system he'd rigged himself, lowered each man down the 400-foot cliff face to safety below.

And he did it again. And again. And again. For hours, this man who wouldn't carry a weapon repeatedly exposed himself to death to save the very men who had once called him a coward. Witnesses said that with each man he saved, Doss prayed a simple prayer: "Lord, please help me get one more." And then he'd go back for one more.

When it was finally over, Desmond Doss had personally lowered an estimated 75 wounded men down that cliff to safety, entirely alone, entirely unarmed, under continuous enemy fire. It is one of the most astonishing feats of individual courage in the history of the United States military.

HE KEPT GOING

Doss's heroism on Okinawa didn't end there. Over the following weeks he continued to expose himself again and again to treat and rescue the wounded. Eventually, his luck ran out. He was badly wounded by a gr***de blast that drove shrapnel through his legs, and later, an enemy round shattered his arm.

Even then, his selflessness held. While being carried from the battlefield on a stretcher, Doss spotted another soldier who was more badly hurt than he was. He rolled off his own stretcher and directed the medics to take the other man first. He crawled and waited, wounded, so that someone worse off could be carried to safety ahead of him.

THE HIGHEST HONOR

On October 12, 1945, Desmond Doss stood before President Harry Truman at the White House and received the Medal of Honor. He was the first conscientious objector in American history to earn the nation's highest award for valor. Truman, shaking his hand, reportedly told Doss that he considered the honor of meeting him greater than being president.

The man his fellow soldiers had once dismissed as a coward, who never fired a single shot in the war, had saved more lives with his bare hands than most soldiers could dream of. Decades later, his story was brought to the screen in the film "Hacksaw Ridge", and remarkably, those who knew the real events said the true story was so extreme it had to be toned down to seem believable on film.

WHY HE ENDURES

Desmond Doss proved something that's easy to forget: that courage isn't about carrying the biggest weapon, or taking the most lives. Sometimes the bravest person on the battlefield is the one with empty hands.

He walked into the deadliest fighting of the Pacific carrying nothing but a first aid kit and his convictions, endured the scorn of men who didn't understand him, and then saved dozens of those same men's lives at the constant risk of his own. He never compromised what he believed, and he never stopped going back for one more.

Desmond Doss showed that a man can hold to his deepest principles and still be one of the bravest soldiers his country ever produced. He didn't have to fire a shot to become a hero. He just had to keep climbing back up that cliff, again and again, whispering the same prayer: "Lord, please help me get one more."

The eye is a rather small and delicate organ that is protected by the eye socket, cheeks and brow area.

Due to the delicacy of the eye it is a great area to target for self defence, not only does attacking the eye cause physical damage but reducing or taking g away someone's sight also has a massive psychological impact upon them.

As seen in this photo clawing at the face around the eyes and raking the hand around up and down, side to side increases the chance of getting fingers into the eye and causing damage.

Due to the physical damage and psychological impact attacks on the eyes can have on an attackers it is a highly effective self defence technique.

Is it true that people claiming "I can't breathe" really can't breathe during restraint?

Yes, it is true, it is called positional asphyxia.

Speaking doesn't require normal breathing capacity, air can be forced through the airway to form words while still being seriously compromised.

This can happen for several reasons during restraint including;

Reduced chest movement due to prressure on the chest or abdomen which can make each breath smaller, restricted diaphragm movement, being held in certain positions can make it difficult for the diaphragm to expand the lungs, partial airway obstruction, a person's airway can be narrowed without being completely blocked, high carbon dioxide, CO₂ can build up and create an intense feeling of suffocation, making someone urgently say they can't breathe and stress and panic, adrenaline can dramatically increase breathing demand, making a person feel unable to get enough air even when some airflow remains.

During and after restraint it is imperative that the person is observed for warning signs that can include difficulty or abnormal breathing, inability to speak normally, blue/grey lips or skin which is known as cyanosis, increasing confusion or unusual behaviour, extreme weakness, vomiting, loss of consciousness, seizure-like movements abd absence of normal breathing.

After the restraint is released a person can remain in danger as their oxygen levels may still be low, carbon dioxide can remain elevated, they may have become exhausted from struggling to breathe, aspiration can occur, underlying medical issues may arise or already be present and always remember a person may deteriorate suddenly after initially appearing to recover therefore close monitoring for several hours and up to three days post restraint is advised.

During and immediately after restraint the person should be assessed promptly if they had difficulty breathing, altered consciousness, or significant struggle. For the first several hours it is particularly important because respiratory or neurological deterioration can become apparent, delayed complications are possible, but a person who is completely well and breathing normally becomes less likely to suddenly die from positional asphyxia as time passes.

If the person becomes unconscious and stops breathing commence CPR immediately.

If someone actually experienced suspected positional asphyxia—especially if they lost consciousness, stopped breathing normally, required CPR, vomited, or remained confused/drowsy afterward—they should be medically assessed rather than relying on a particular monitoring period.

The best way to prevent positional asphyxia is to release the restraint every three minutes, release pressure from the chest, abdomen and neck, restraints can also be modified from prone to side control if it is to dangerous to release the restraint.

Hurt people hurt people.

Self defence begins with the self, it's hard work but if you dig deep and identify what it is that hurt you and learn to understand, heal and grow from that the cycle of people being hurt can be reduced.

From a security point of view it is imperative we protect elected officials, especially in this currently world climate and given we have seen harm come to elected officials around the world. While I think access to elected officials and even light heckling is part of the job that MUST be balanced with potential for real threats too.

The fact more is spent on protecting politicians over counter terrorism is worrying though because the reality is there is also a lot of real world threats out there that do not like Western society and plan harm against innocent people.

One can only hope we can get the balance right between protecting elected officials, dealing with counter terrorism and a balance between security and freedom.