On dealing with confrontations

Exchange the techniques and skills needed to walk the shadows. Post your guides and how-tos here.
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Xanatos
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On dealing with confrontations

Post by Xanatos » Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:47 am

It happens rarely, but sometimes even the most cautious operative gets caught. When confronted with another person - be they a guard or other - the three methods of dealing with them are, in order of priority; hiding, running, fighting. (Stealth, Agility, Combat)

As operatives, hiding is the preferred method. Using stealth to get around or deceive your opponent is where our strength lies. The goal is to remain a ghost; they shouldn't even suspect that someone was there. If there's no way around them, or if they're already searching for you, employ distractions. The old trick of throwing something in one direction and slipping past in another is as reliable as ever. However, do it too often and you'll give the trick away. There's a difference between 'hiding' and 'evasion'; hiding is passive and normally entails you to remain in one spot, whereas evasion is more active with you trying to get around or past someone's line of sight.

Of course the stealthy approach only works if you haven't been spotted; once you are, the best option is to run. This is where having knowledge of the AO comes in handy, since your opponent probably knows the area better than you do and has the upper hand in cutting you off or cornering you, and you don't want to inadvertently run into a dead end. There are three basic tactics of running away: Direct, Indirect and Evasive.
The direct method is fairly simple; if you're faster than they are, just outrun them. Run down the street, across a field, anywhere you can put a lot of distance between you and them. For most ops your pursuers won't chase you past the AO, but don't stop running until you're well clear of them.
The indirect method involves putting obstacles between you and your pursuer; vaulting a fence, scrambling onto a rooftop, hopping over a wall, dropping off a balcony, etc. The more obstacles you put between you and them, the better.
The evasive approach is used when the other two aren't possible; perhaps your opponent is faster than you or there are no obstacles you can overcome. The evasive tactic involves changing directions constantly and trying to break your pursuer's line of sight; once it's broken, you may switch to stealthy evasion. Run around corners, duck in between trees, dodge among cars in a parking lot, etc. Once you've broken the LoS, find a place to hide and observe. Once you see an opportunity to run away again (your opponent's back is turned or they go down some other route), take it.

Fighting is really a last resort for when you can't hide or run away. And it should only be used as much as is necessary for you to get away; if you're cornered in an alley, for instance, manoeuvre in such a way as to switch places with your opponent so that their back is to the wall. This will allow you to run away again. Draw on whatever martial arts background you have for dealing with your adversary, however - and this is the most important point I want to make in this topic:
--- If you don't know how to fight, THEN DON'T FIGHT! ---
Your opponent may not know how to fight either, but always assume they've got a black belt in every martial art ever. And even if they can't fight, don't pick something you're both shit at. If you don't know what you're doing, you're going to end up hurt or killed. Or worse, expelled! If you don't know how to fight or would rather not (for whatever reason) and have been cornered; keep your hands in front of you to parry incoming blows, don't try anything fancy and KEEP MOVING. Try not to move backwards too much, because eventually you're gonna back into a wall and then you're in real trouble. Move laterally and try to get around your opponent; when you no longer have your back to a wall, leg it.

As in my Wolf, Serpent, Eagle post, mix up tactics on the fly as the situation demands. All encounters are dynamic, and you should learn to be just as fluid.
We are all books containing thousands of pages and within each lies an irreparable truth.
What is locked, can be opened. What is hidden, can be found. What is yours... can be mine.

Æternaeon
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Re: On dealing with confrontations

Post by Æternaeon » Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:52 pm

To add a little bit of this, consider the situation. Who has spotted you, and what are they doing?

Appropriate actions here can depend on variables such as,

Do they have a phone?
Do they have a radio?
Do they have a flashlight?
Do they have a firearm?
Do they have a melee weapon?
Do they run faster than you do?

These are game changing factors in my opinion and can completely change what you need to do. If you are dealing with a property owner with a phone, they are probably calling police who are on their way. Similarly, if they have a radio they are likely the police or guards. In this case, you NEED to not only get away from the area as fast as possible, but also put as much distance between you and the radio as you can because they will probably try to follow you and update everyone else where you are. Back up is coming and will search an increasingly large area until they find you or give up. This is very serious business, and if some asshole is following you with a radio, you may need to find a way to force him to stop doing so and attempt to escape again.

But, of course guards and policemen often have firearms AND melee weapons. Often times so do property owners. Firearms means playing for keeps and not intelligent discussion on this forum, so we'll not delve into firefights. So if you plan to disable someone carrying a weapon of any kind or really anyone who won't relent and you can't seem to get away from, stealth is going to be your asset. Whether you can fight or not, don't get into a fight. If you're going to try to stop someone cold in their tracks, you need a trump card. Only engage if you have an almost guarantee of success. Again, stealth is your asset. Create an ambush condition and stop them before they have a chance to defend themselves. As Xanatos covered, you can remove yourself from their line of sight and then either evade if conditions allow, or form an ambush if there's no way to remain out of their line of sight without being seen again in short order. Be aware though that many personnel, no matter how stupid some may see them as, are not stupid. They will come around corners with weapon in hand trained to expect the possibility that you are there. If you have no guaranteed method of stopping them and you don't KNOW it will work, then do NOT try it. And remember that if you do try it, you're doing so to aid in your escape. If you stop them, move out ASAP. Also, that if you do try it, they're not going to know your intention and will defend their life if they have the opportunity to do so. By that, I mean they're going to try to kill or seriously maim you. Trump card or you're holding the losing hand.

Flashlights have an obvious impact on the ability to create the proper condition for ambush. If someone bolts after you and you can't shake them because they're fast but they didn't bring a flashlight, that can change everything.

If you find the other person is gaining ground on you and you are somehow ahead of them, you NEED to get out of their line of sight and resort to stealth evasion or ambush.

Always, if possible, if you MUST engage... use an ambush. It is an edge, and you need every edge you can get. If you know a fight is coming and you cannot avoid it, at least make it go in your favor so you can safely leave. Think over scenarios, train for them, if you have a buddy play "night ops tag" where you get a head start and the other person comes after you. Learn to be able to tag them before they even have a chance to know what's going on. It's never as easy as it seems, if you hide somewhere, immediately learn to throw distractions somewhere realistically further so the pursuer thinks you have continued. Be where you are not expected to be and that is where you attack with instant overwhelming force that cannot be defended against. If you cannot do that, you cannot safely fight.
Sacrifice the body, not the heart.

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Zerg
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Re: On dealing with confrontations

Post by Zerg » Wed Mar 05, 2014 6:59 pm

I agree with everything stated above (especially the Hermione reference). Personally, I always use the "evasion" method of fleeing as I usually assume that my pursuer is in better shape than I am for the sake of planning my escape.

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Lynx
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Re: On dealing with confrontations

Post by Lynx » Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:09 pm

Hmmm, problem is, even if you run away, you have been spotted, which means that they probably remember what you look like. You'd have to buy/nig completely new gear to continue opping. If you don't, there's a chance that they can spot a pattern in your operations. Many people reporting the same dude is.... not good, so to say.
Don't take it too seriously, you're not coming out of it alive.

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Xanatos
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Re: On dealing with confrontations

Post by Xanatos » Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:13 pm

Doesn't matter if they accurately remember the intruder wearing Multicam BDUs, 5.11 Tactical Boots and a Guy Fawkes mask, just as long as they don't see your face.
We are all books containing thousands of pages and within each lies an irreparable truth.
What is locked, can be opened. What is hidden, can be found. What is yours... can be mine.

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Re: On dealing with confrontations

Post by Ghost » Fri Apr 11, 2014 9:52 pm

Xanatos wrote:Doesn't matter if they accurately remember the intruder wearing Multicam BDUs, 5.11 Tactical Boots and a Guy Fawkes mask, just as long as they don't see your face.
Agreed. Opping gear is clothing meant to hide you and enhance your stealthiness. It doesn't matter if you're seen in it more than once, your own identity is protected. This is one reason why we stress not using your every day clothing for opping - because if you do, then that becomes a legitimate concern.
"A man's greatest treasures are his illusions."

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