Well here we are again in the face of another violent tragedy in France. In the past few violent attacks the world has experienced it’s been with the use of firearms and/or explosive devices. Because of these events we’ve seen politicians going after the guns, saying those are the reason for the violence, instead of going after the root cause.

The most recent attack that just happened in France is a perfect example of a saying we had in the Marine Corps (One Mind any Weapon). What that means is that the gun is not the weapon, it’s the person using it. If we try and ban all guns from people then the bad guys will improvise and turn something else into a weapon (such as a vehicle). This goes to show you that banning firearms will NOT stop violence. The gun isn’t the weapon, it’s the person using it. The gun is only an extension of that person, a tool per say. If you’re creative enough and skilled enough you can pick up and use anything around you as a weapon for violence.

The guy in France ended up using a large truck as the weapon to run over as many people as possible. So what are we going to do now? Ban people from purchasing and owning motor vehicles? I don’t think so.

We have covered several articles here in the Loadout Room on using common everyday items as weapons for personal defense, not violence. As part of our preparedness and situational awareness we need to be able to be able to recognize this. These type of attacks are not able to be stopped ahead of time when improvising with the delivery method of the violence. This type of thing would need to be dealt with in the heat of the moment.

How do we prepare for such a thing? Well for starters you can start to train yourself to be able to recognize common everyday items for use in your own personal defense if you are without an actual weapon of any sort. By doing this, you will train your mind to recognize this stuff. You may be able to put a stop to an attack someday by employing these methods against the bad guy.

The other extremely important thing you can do is be prepared to react to the medical trauma inflicted. Have a medical kit in your bag ready to go. At a minimum carry a tourniquet on your person. Be able to improvise a tourniquet and provide stop gaps until you get a tourniquet applied. Get medical training! You are more likely to use medical skills on a daily basis than your shooting skills. Bare minimum get Red Cross First Aid and CPR training.

When seconds count, first responders are minutes away.

This article was originally published on the Loadout Room and written by