Situational awareness improvement made easier

[bdc]

I was trained in man tracking by the former head of the Rhodesian Army Scouts.

Today, I will give you some tips on improving your situational awareness.

1. when you leave home today and go out the front door, I want you to pause. Note everything. This includes the neighbors' cars, the animals walking around, any visible tracks, the sounds, the smells. It can include the moisture on the windows of some cars and the absence of moisture on someone else's car. This is going to be your base line.
do this every time you go out the front door. Within a short time, you will accomplish the following:
a. knowing when things are not normal;
b. knowing what things to look for;
c. you will be asking yourself why some car windows have moisture and not others and start figuring out answers. Maybe one of the neighbors works the night shift and the heater was on and he arrived home and the moisture did not form on the windows.

2. for purposes of discussion, I will assume that the reader is retired and drives only to the supermarket and back. This is the next drill.
Vary your route coming and going. Start noting things like:
a. who has fruit trees and when the fruit may be ripe enough to eat;
b. whose garage door is open and whether the contents suggest the person owns a motor cycle, is a mechanic, or just an office worker.
Many people changed their driving habits because internet applications came into existence which showed rush hour traffic avoidance by going down side streets. Those people still remain unconscious of the resources available on those other streets.

3. and here is a simple drill. Humans are designed to see movement. They are not designed to see things that are still (even if it is a human being). Dogs are designed to see he same way - that is why a person is admonished to stand still - absent scent- a dog will not know that you are there.
Humans see by rotating their vision right and left - this is called scanning. Humans can see in rays only if they practice. Soldier observers are trained to see in rays.

I will describe seeing in rays. Create a limited width of vision. Note the closest item to you within that limited width of vision. Sill within the limited width of vision, look further and note the next closest item. Keeping doing this as far as you can. If you practice enough, you will see people who are trying to conceal themselves.

[Strayz]

3. and here is a simple drill. Humans are designed to see movement. They are not designed to see things that are still (even if it is a human being). Dogs are designed to see he same way - that is why a person is admonished to stand still - absent scent- a dog will not know that you are there.

Negative on this. Most dogs that are not on the old aged side can hear your heartbeat from 15-20 FT away. And getting rid of sent VS a dog? That is a hard thing to do esp if you are up against a sent hound VS a site hound, and even a site hound can have one hell of a nose. Having worked with some of our best friends I am surprised at how well they can do the jobs we ask them.

A good, well rounded, and well behaved dog is a force multiplier that should not be under estimated. Dog are just like Doctors they all have the specialty, some are just more useful than others.