Originally Posted by
26 Inf
Here's my take - we've been teaching this method - 'fight from the hall' 'pin and slice' or whatever you want to call it - for a long time - the first time we really understood it wasn't the way everyone did it was right after Columbine when me and my partner attended one of the first NTOA active shooter courses.
There are times and places for the method - from my perspective it is really a good way to roll, in most cases, for a solo officer/soldier/hunter that is moving.
Some of the biggest disadvantages, once again from my perspective are:
1) you spend a little too much time hanging around the door before getting your weapon into play - dependent on the noise level it is very difficult to approach an open breach point - such as a classroom doorway - without being detected - if there is gunfire in the room or screaming victims (as is most often the case in the training environment) or a loud radio or TV, you may get to the door undetected, but otherwise it is a crap shoot;
Perhaps I'm off base, but anyone who is barricaded with hostages is well aware that LE is on their way. I don't think a stealth approach is easily achieved with any number of well equipped officers(or soldiers) moving to the target. With a lot of background noise as you mention then perhaps. Another issue I see or say scenario is being detected by some scumbag(via the open doorway) before you are in a position to make entry. If the shooting starts a this point are you still going to enter the room via the fatal funnel?
2) if is more than one bad guy in the room and they are at all separated, in an active shooter situation you give bad guy number two a great deal of time to hose more innocents in the room;
Not trying to be callous here but the goal is to minimize casualties by stopping the threat. There will always be casualties, and getting the team shot or a killed helps no one. This brings me back to the scenario from above, are you still going to make entry if you've been made and are not engaged in a protracted gunfight?
3) if working with another person you have to be very aware and disciplined regarding sectors of fire if your buddy slices completely across the doorway;
A good point, I see that as a training issue. You muzzle should never cover anything you don't wish to destroy, however that shouldn't be much of an issue as you should be making the conscious decision to fire and executing trigger finger discipline.
4) the technique also doesn't much consider a trained adversary and relies on the concealment provided by non-bullet resistant materials. Consider any non-concrete/brick/stone exterior wall, how much ballistic protection does it provide? Not much. Get on the interior of the building and it is even worse - sheetrock and studs. That corner you are slicing around - concealment only. Earlier on I noted a trained adversary - what works in a Third World Country against an untrained, non-tactical think population, will not work as well in a more educated population with a sprinkling of well-trained veterans scattered through out. Case(s) in point - I train police officers. Starting about a decade-decade and a half ago I began reading a lot more incidents in which guys at DV's, being arrested on a warrant at a residence, etc. were tagging officers by shooting through doors and walls adjacent to the doors. This speaks to a degree of tactical acumen that comes from somewhere - more modern MOUT training techniques, the internet, magazines, etc.
A very good point. If the adversary(I prefer scumbag as it's a more fitting title) has even a little forethought or training then stacking outside the door is no less risky than slicing from the doorway(not in the doorway). Again, if the scumbag(s) in question is prepared for an entry, does it make sense to enter a room you have little to no knowledge of as far as layout, barricades, location of innocents and scumbags? At the very least the walls be they brick or sheetrock still offer concealment whereas entering the room of unknowns(via the fatal funnel) offers nothing.
Bottom line is under any circumstances hunting down and confronting folks in a building is risky business. Just like most military operations, the advantage most often is to an alert defender.
For active shooter situations with two officer teams we teach pin, roll until you have enough information to enter, then follow your rounds into the room.
'It's not THE way, it's just A way.'
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