Not that it's worth anything more than another perspective, but one of my buddies, who I went to high-school and college with and still talk to with some frequency, is an Iraq war veteran. Specifically, he was in the Army as an on-the-ground member of a counter-terrorism unit, one of the guys literally going door-to-door searching for insurgents. He was one of the lucky ones who came back intact. He now works for a cybersecurity firm in Tacoma. To say that he's an expert in threat assessment is likely an understatement. He had to, literally, spend his days being weary of potentially armed children in the middle of an actual warzone.
He is aghast at the ideas of both arming teachers and hiring security guards. Why? Because of the lack of training and oversight that will be a part of it.
As a soldier, he had months of nothing but training. Not just on the range, but in terms of tactical analysis. This was honed by actual exercises. Further honed by drills, and finally with being in theatre. Moreover, there's a rigid process soldiers must go through before they can actually discharge their weapons. Things like fields of fire and backstops (high powered rifle bullets don't just stop when they hit a body) have to be considered. It's at least as intense as SWAT training, likely much more.
So, as a person who's had that training, and has had to employ it, he can't help but see an even greater tragedy in the making. Because teachers won't be able to get the kind of training necessary for this (many schools are barely functional, with parents and teachers paying out-of-pocket for supplies they rightfully shouldn't have to worry about), and most security guards are going to be rank-and-file police, former police, or veterans who either never saw actual combat, didn't have the kind of training necessary for this endeavor, or both. And, of course, it doesn't address the underlying issues that make kids think the best course of action is to kill their classmates and teachers in the first place.
And, yes, this is a real person. Anyone that's friended me on FB can look him up in my friend's list. Sean Gray.
He is aghast at the ideas of both arming teachers and hiring security guards. Why? Because of the lack of training and oversight that will be a part of it.
As a soldier, he had months of nothing but training. Not just on the range, but in terms of tactical analysis. This was honed by actual exercises. Further honed by drills, and finally with being in theatre. Moreover, there's a rigid process soldiers must go through before they can actually discharge their weapons. Things like fields of fire and backstops (high powered rifle bullets don't just stop when they hit a body) have to be considered. It's at least as intense as SWAT training, likely much more.
So, as a person who's had that training, and has had to employ it, he can't help but see an even greater tragedy in the making. Because teachers won't be able to get the kind of training necessary for this (many schools are barely functional, with parents and teachers paying out-of-pocket for supplies they rightfully shouldn't have to worry about), and most security guards are going to be rank-and-file police, former police, or veterans who either never saw actual combat, didn't have the kind of training necessary for this endeavor, or both. And, of course, it doesn't address the underlying issues that make kids think the best course of action is to kill their classmates and teachers in the first place.
And, yes, this is a real person. Anyone that's friended me on FB can look him up in my friend's list. Sean Gray.
