“When the flag flies”, will you be ready?

Our trip from Des Moines Iowa to Tucson Arizona is 1600 miles. We drove it in two days. We arrived at a Circle K station on north Swan about 19:30. It had been a long drive and we were tired, home was only five minutes away and we had been to this station many times so we knew it well. As we pulled up to the Diesel pump we noticed a Tucson Police helicopter circling to the west with its spotlight on. I am a pilot and have had the opportunity to fly with the TPD helicopter division as a “ride along.” I mentioned to my wife that there must be something going on to the west of us! We calculated how much fuel we needed and my wife entered the station to pay for the pump. The counter clerk was standing back away from the cash register and was not his usually talkative self. This was strange, she thought. I was out at the pump and noticed other people quietly standing around but we were tired and not engaging our minds. Pay for fuel and move on was our routine. My wife came back out to the pump after paying the clerk, who never said a word. He backed away from the counter once again after turning on our pump. She noted how strange the clerk was acting. We still did not register what was happening! Pump the fuel and move on, five minutes to home. One minute after she returned to the pump, the helicopter was now directly overhead and shining its spotlight on the drive area of the station. Three police vehicles arrived and the uniformed officers ran into the store with their service pistols drawn. It was now obvious to us that someone was in the store and needed to be taken down. No shots were fired but a fire department EMT vehicle soon arrived. All of this happened in less time than it has taken us to relate this to you. The memory of this event has burned into our minds the lessons taught at the Gunsite Academy! We had both reviewed the Col. Cooper video about color codes. We both knew about being in Condition Yellow. The signs all around us were so obvious that we have to wonder where our minds were at on that April evening in North Tucson. “When the flag flies”, will you be ready, we were not ready! We were tired and just off a long road trip, home was minutes away and we had been to this station before. We were not ready! Stuff happens when a person is tired and not engaged in what is going on around them. All the signs shouted “Wake Up”. We were asleep! Knowing what the rules of mindset say and being aware of what they mean are two different things. Who gets involved in an armed robbery? That is the stuff on TV shows isn’t it? We have learned our lesson, we were lucky that night! Your May newsletter was absolutely “100%” correct! We no longer walk around with our minds disengaged! We have reviewed the Col. Cooper lecture once again and it now has a real meaning to us. Condition Yellow is our first thought whenever we are awake. Parking lots, gas stations, and dinner out…they all are subject to a Condition Yellow mindset! It occurred to us that even though we are members of the Gunsite Family, we still have a lot to learn about the mindset that Col. Cooper taught! Your May newsletter landed right in our laps with a truthfulness that I suspect most people will read but not understand or comprehend, just as we had prior to our trip to Tucson! Thank you for an on point “100%” accurate and valuable newsletter. We are sending your newsletter to our family and friends, encouraging them to attend a Gunsite training course. We are now planning our next course at Gunsite which we will take to heart in a different way!

DVC, 250 Defensive Pistol Class, Gunsite, Paulden, AZ

Take Me Back Where I Was