Courtesy of Breach Bang Clear

Stress Proofing Skills

Trevor Thrasher,  88 Tactical 

I was casually walking back to my room from a shower in flip flops over a wide open area covered, like  so many camps in war zones, with crushed rock so large my crappy PX flip flops alternated between getting stuck on the pointed tips of a rocks or nearly tearing off all together.

It was awkward, I couldn’t move fast and I was stuck in an area perfectly between hardened bunkers. (Fucking alarm goes again off and we get hit again as I type this last sentence). The incoming alarm couldn’t have sounded at a worse time. I immediately did my fastest flip-flop sprint knowing that it was going to be a close call, and I reached my door — which has a vertical cypher lock.

Now, my current location has a history of being “near the X” when it comes to collecting rockets. I was crunched for time and under the duress of a real life threat. The code to that door is something I have entered hundreds of times and easily do without thought…when I’m not under duress. Three times I tried, and three times I failed.

The lock is slightly sensitive, but the loss in reliability was all because of human factors. After the third try I heard someone on the other side, and I resorted to kicking at the door to get them to let me in, which they did… after the rocket landed. Luckily, it hit a safe distance away. I’m pretty confident and cool under pressure, but I was still adrenalized and working at an unfamiliar speed.

I failed at and then abandoned a complex motor task I normally perform easily day to day.

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