Forced Entry (aka home invasion) Dynamics both psychological and sociological, combatants and non combatants
(copyright 2014 David B. Hosie)
The purpose of this essay is to cover not the tactics of forced entry, but the mental dynamics. This is what occurs in the minds of individuals and groups affecting the success and failures of forced entry. Principles of successful tactics and how they affect the mind set of forced entry will be covered as part and parcel of the dynamics of the close range fight. While this can apply to individuals, the assumption for this presentation is of small groups attacking or defending a building. Also I will refer to attackers and defenders, not good guys and bad guys. The purpose of this is to show principles and characteristics of a fight, not that the moral side had correct principles or characteristics each time. Every view point is subjective and mine comes from military experience from recent conflict, and some limited experience on the civilian side. I will include, as much as possible, experience from law enforcement at local, state and federal levels along with members of foreign militaries I have trained with or shared experiences to give balance and add depth.
The Attackers
The attackers are trying to gain control of people (to kill, capture or extort) and a physical location. They start with a huge advantage; they know there is going to be a fight and when. Most military and law enforcement have trained together as a group and may have rehearsed their plan. Criminals may not have rehearsed but they have a plan and, in common with legal home invaders, most have experience as a group at the task that has refined their plans.
The three principles of a good attack are speed, surprise and violence of action. Speed is gaining quick entry to a structure and rapidly moving through it to engage any threats and gain control of any non-combatants. Surprise is an event that occurs in a person’s mind, causing him to rethink what is happening and then change actions accordingly at best. At worst it will result in shock that makes the person freeze for a period of time. This is time they do not have (see next sections on shock). Violence of action is just that, violence in appearance including the threat of and, well, action.
All three together are hard to beat with even a simple plan and tactics. None of the would-be defenders know a fight is about to start. Attackers quickly gain entry, and rapidly move through the building using violence or its threat to herd up its occupants before they get over the shock and do what they will with them. If they are more sophisticated they will do prior surveillance to get an idea of the targets’ habits. This includes their comings and goings, when they wake up or go to sleep, the number of people in the building, possible arms and who is likely to fight or not, layout of rooms and where people are likely to be when they choose to attack, strengths of entry points and how to quickly defeat them, how to secure their victims after they take control. With all this information, the attackers can make a plan with a better chance of success as long as they execute it with the three principles.
Deimos and Phobos
In the 2004 presidential election, John Kerry said that American forces were “terrorizing Iraqi families in the night”. It is one of the few things he ever said that was true of U.S. armed forces. As our opponents did not have barracks, but live among the population, combatants and non-combatants would be encountered at the same time. This is true of most forced entries against occupied buildings in America as well. And fear and terror leading to shock are a part of modern conflict. But fear and terror are nothing new in warfare. The ancient Greek god of war, Aries would be followed by his twin sons Deimos and Phobos. This is using a myth for the real fact that conflict is followed by terror and fear. It may even precede the fight in the other translations of deimos and phobos, dread and horror.
In forced entry, speed, surprise and violence of action will produce fear and terror in most people. This occurs both in those who may resist and in apparent non-combatants. For someone going into a fight, be aware that grown men may scream like little girls and even your team mate may literally piss himself in the fight. For decent people doing government sanctioned forced entry, they need to steel themselves beforehand to the fact that little children will cry and flee from them and women may shriek in terror and curl up in a corner. These apparent non-combatants may turn to defenders for structure, help and comfort. A defender trying to get to a weapon may be literally tangled up with someone they are trying defend grabbing on to them. Other defenders may pause and look to the person they see as a leader and wait for their actions to start based on that persons. Human beings are social animals and fear and terror can spread, just like a cough or a yawn. Experienced attackers will apply the 3 principles in a way to enhance fear and terror to aid their attack. Properly applied it will produce shock.
Patton believed the greatest attribute of a tank was not its rapid mobility across rough terrain, nor its armor that could protect from most battle field threats, or even its fire power to destroy, but shock. Shock, like surprise, is an event that occurs in the mind of an individual or group. Surprise, fear and terror all together will have an effect on all people (except some sociopaths or those too stupid to understand what is going on). This result can to be to freeze up or flee in panic. Some individuals and groups, through training, discipline, or natural disposition, may overcome it quickly, but it is there. Those that have not seen it may believe it is a small thing or an exaggeration. But among the author and those with similar experience he has discussed it with, shock is almost a physical thing you can see both singularly and in groups. Historically, it is well documented with surprising regularity. Gideon in the Bible, with an absurdly small force, destroyed a large army with shock.
Both attackers and defenders should be aware of fear, terror and shock and include it in their plans. Shock is not only a tool that can be used by the attackers but also the clever and/or ruthless defender. It will not affect all people the same, but rehearsals, reaction drills and its effects in the fight should always be taken into account.
See Part 2- Defenders