Your information is going to the bad guys...

[From the Mailbox]

From: DK, Florida

Hi, not sure if you've ever had this, but I work for the DoD.. I have FiOS TV and was channel checking and noticed your program. 

I saw the segment in which your instructor was teaching how to shoot around corners.  Not to over use the word but "really".

Nothing against weapons.. I've done small arms and full auto..NP..but who else is watch your instructor teach how to shoot around a corner.. maybe the trained police officer or military SPECOPs person.. dont think so. They get their training..

This information is going to that bad guy.. either the home grown nutcase or that guy who has satty TV in the sand and is recording and practicing what you are showing.

I wonder if anything your programs show ever get to those that use it to harm those we ask to protect and serve.  I normally dont do this, but found it to be really interesting and sad at the same time.  I dont expect a reply, but hope you take this into consideration the next time you see CNN and a guy in protective gear is walking down the street with an AK-74.. or something worse.. thanks, D.


Dear D.:

Thank you very much for your e-mail and for your service to our country.

I am a military veteran (9 years U.S. Army) and a former DoD civilian (5years DIA and JTF-FA), so I take your feedback very seriously. My co-host on the show, Mike Seeklander, is also a military veteran (U.S. Marine Corps) and a former Federal Air Marshal. I know for a fact that he also respects your feedback and your concerns. More importantly, I know that he would not share information that he felt would do more harm than good by empowering potential bad guys and endangering good guys.

During the planning of every segment on The Best Defense, we talk through it in detail and discuss the pros and cons of sharing the information we choose to teach. We regularly “draw the line” to hold back information that is either inappropriate for a public audience, too advanced, or could be too easily misused against the good guys.

Shooting from cover is a pretty basic skill. Transitioning from one side of cover to the other is also a basic skill widely taught and practiced by competitive shooters and 3-gun competitors. It was presented in the context of the show to empower responsible citizens who incorporate shoulder weapons into their home defense strategies. If you watch and consider the show in its entirety, this is very clear.

The Best Defense is currently in its fourth season. We receive feedback from viewers all the time. To be very honest, you are the first person to suggest that we are doing more to empower bad guys than to educate good guys. We have been contacted by numerous police agencies and individual officers who thanked us for our programs and who use them as training resources for their underfunded training programs. The vast majority of our viewers are responsible citizens who are concerned with defending themselves and their families and appreciate the value of the information we present. These “good guys” are our audience. Does that mean that it’s impossible for the information we present to be misused? Of course not.

As you probably know, there is an increasing trend for criminal gangs in the U.S. to enlist in the military with the purposeful intent of learning tactics that will make them more dangerous gangbangers when they get out. The in-depth training and experience that they receive during basic and AIT is far more dangerous and empowering than a five-minute segment on a TV show. While I seriously doubt that any responsible military recruiter is actively enlisting gang members, the fact remains that this is happening. Does that negate the honorable service of the rest of our military service personnel? Of course not. With every program there is good and the potential for bad.

We share information with the intent of empowering good guys. We also know that there are many more good guys than bad guys. While we don’t discount the fact that there is a small chance that the information could be misused, we focus on the greater good of sharing information with responsible people. If a bad guy does choose to target innocent people, it is our intent to ensure that there are plenty of well trained, well educated good guys with the skills to solve the problem quickly and efficiently.

Fortunately, thanks to all our service and sacrifice, we live in a country where we have the right to share both information and opinions freely.

Thank you again for your feedback and your service.

Stay safe,

Michael Janich
Co-host The Best Defense
Special Projects Coordinator
Spyderco, Inc.
www.spyderco.com


 

[blueeyephil]

Good question and a great response. Because we live in a free and open society there will always be those who misuse knowledge from many sources. If you are smart enough, you can probably find out how to make high explosives at a library too. And if we censor anything that could be used to cause harm we would be without many, many beneficial things in life.

I shoot at a local club and we recently had a stage were we shot a rifle from both sides of a barricade. That was my first time ever trying that. I didn't do too bad, but I wish that I had seen this episode before hand and had practiced, before the match.

Enjoy the show, keep up the good work.

[MikeBjerum]

Like blueeye said - Great show and thinking behind it!

When I was heavy into emergency medical services, and I see no change from my current trainings and practice with law enforcement today, it doesn't matter what tools or education is available.  It is practice - perfect practice, that matters.  The only people that will benefit from any information given are those that choose to learn and practice it.  If a bad guy is the type that is going to practice to the level we need to fear the presentations, that same guy will find the information another way.

Keep up the good work Mike and Mike ... and Mike!

[76project]

Great answer,
The "bad guys"  are figuring it out and the good guys need all the help they can get. Never stop training!!!

[Michael Bane]

I also answered at some length...

Reminds me of the early days of SG when I got thoroughly cursed out by the chief of police of a major metro department for "revealing secrets." When he cooled off, I urged him to pick any big prison in his state and ask the head of that prison what his charges were actually learning while incarcerated.

There are no secrets ...the only way we can keep ahead of the bud guys is to keep our own training cutting edge!!!

Michael B

[Sponsor]