*Scenarios for Home Tactical SOPs*
By: TooshieGalore
05 July 2014

I love participating in IDPA matches. The International Defensive Pistol Association (www.IDPA.com) trains with firearms in real life scenarios. Last weekend the match included a debriefing on dealing with scenarios that would seem ripe for engaging a firearm – but may also have a different option. Below are ten questions to discuss with your spouse and age-appropriate children. It's a way to help establish home tactical SOPs. Discussions such as this may reveal better ways to handle the situation, without engaging a firearm. It will probably point up training that is needed for small children. It may also prevent an accidental firearm injury to a family member. Full credit goes to my IDPA Director and match participants for these scenarios. Where appropriate consider the age appropriate behavior for your children or grandchildren in each of these scenarios.

1. You arrive home late and click the electric garage door opener form inside the car. Your kids are pumped up after winning the "big game." But as the garage door opens you notice movement from behind the bushes, near the opening garage door. What will you do? (If you don't have an electric garage door, substitute details appropriate for your situation.)
2. You normally arrive home around noon, the kids arrive around 4PM, and your spouse about 6PM. Today when you arrive home, you notice the front door is open. This is unexpected and unusual. What will you do?
3. You are already on your way home when your young daughter calls to report home from school. She also reports that something is not right. The flat screen TV is missing, with wires hanging from the wall and a lamp is lying on the floor. What instructions do you give your daughter?
4. Your spouse fell asleep in the Lazy Boy while watching TV. You are down the hall, in bed. It's now 3AM, when you hear the sound of breaking glass in another area of the house. What do you do? What does your spouse do? How do you communicate? How will you deal with your kids that might awaken?
5. It's 3AM, your spouse hollers from another room, "Did you hear that?" What do you do? And spouse? And what of the sleepy-eyed grandkids that just woke up?
6. Your spouse, on a business trip, is expected to return home tomorrow. It's 3AM and you hear a key and jiggling of the door knob. What do you do?
7. It's 3AM. Someone is at your front door, banging aggressively. What do you do? And Spouse? And kids?
8. It's 3AM. The dog begins to growl just before he takes off down the hall. What will you do? And spouse? And kids?
9. At the top of the stairs is a hallway with bedrooms on each side. Your two youngest kids sleep in the first two bedrooms. The last room down the hall is the master, where you and spouse are asleep. It's 3AM. You are suddenly awakened with unfamiliar whispers and someone coming up the stairs. What will you do? Spouse? Kids?
10. Several neighbors have had their houses broken into. Some during the day and a few happened while family members were at home.
    • a. Does this alter your routine of leaving home?
    • b. Does this alter your routine of coming home?
    • c. Does this alter your routine before retiring to bed each night?
    • d. Does this alter where firearms or other personal protection is stored?

Our children are too young for firearm training so for now it's a No Touch policy. When considering the scenarios involving a firearm, having small children complicates everything. Training them is key.

I wanted to train mine without scaring them. We made it a game. We have a secret family word that instructs them to immediately get under the bed, to be quiet as a mouse and stay there until mom or dad comes to get them. Our first practice was after dinner but before dessert. Hubby made it like a super hide-n-seek game. Afterwards, we talked about it while having dessert. The child who was the "most quiet" got an extra helping.

Since then, we've practiced our secret family word in the morning and during homework time. We've had the kids under the bed for as long as 30 minutes. The littlest one fell asleep. It continues to be one of the kids' favorite games.

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