Wednesday Wisdom: 14 January 2026

Medal of Honor: Staff Sergeant Earl D. Plumlee

Sergeant Plumlee instantly responded to an enemy attack on Forward Operating Base Ghazni—Ghazni Province, Afghanistan —that began with an explosion that tore a 60-foot breach in the base’s perimeter wall. Ten insurgents wearing Afghan National Army uniforms and suicide vests poured through the breach. Sergeant Plumlee and five others mounted two vehicles and raced toward the explosion. When his vehicle was engaged by enemy fire, Sergeant Plumlee reacted instinctively, using his body to shield the driver prior to exiting the vehicle and engaging an enemy insurgent 15 meters to the vehicle’s right with his pistol. Without cover and in complete disregard for his own safety, he advanced on the enemy, engaging multiple insurgents with only his pistol. Upon reaching cover, he killed two insurgents —one with a grenade and the other by detonating the insurgent’s suicide vest using precision sniper fire. Again, disregarding his own safety, Sergeant Plumlee advanced alone against the enemy, engaging several insurgents at close range, including one whose suicide vest exploded a mere seven meters from his position.

 ____________________

Breaking Contact by Avoidance Pt 2 

Claude Werner provided one piece of advice that encapsulates many of the lessons we’ve learned from studying high-profile self-defense cases, lessons that include the importance of avoidance, de-escalation, disengagement, and the use of less lethal force. Claude said, “Our goal in personal protection is to force a break in contact. We want them to go away, or we want to go away. One or the other.”

 ____________________

Values as Revealed Commitments, Not Slogans

American public life is full of references to “values.” Schools publish lists of them, corporations celebrate them, political movements claim them, and the military codifies them in the well-known set of Army Values. But whether we are speaking of a Soldier or a civilian, a society or an individual, values are not what we say they are. They are what our actions reveal we truly place value upon. Economists call these “revealed preferences.” Anthropology describes them as “lived norms.” In ordinary language, they are simply what we prove we care about when it costs us something.

The problem in modern America is that publicly stated values have increasingly taken on the character of platitudes, statements affirmed out of habit or social expectation, detached from the lived commitments they demand. People can repeat words like loyalty, duty, or community while living in ways that demonstrate radically different priorities. Institutions, including the Army, sometimes reinforce this problem by presenting values as lists to memorize rather than deep obligations to understand.

 ____________________  

‘If It Dries It Dies’: A Surgeon's Guide to Wound Care

Excellent information on wound care from someone who is qualified to have an opinion. Disclaimer: If you’ve recently had surgery or an injury and are being treated by another physician, please follow their instructions, not these. There are some differences in thinking about how to care for wounds, especially in different places around the body. 

 ____________________  

The Hidden Benefit of Firearms Competition: An Anecdote

“I bet these old guys pushing their buggies around are going to kick our ass.” Quote from a SWAT team member whose team was shooting a Steel Challenge match in preparation for the TTPOA 2025 SWAT competition. (Although his team members shot well, he was right. The “old” guys – all of whom were Steel Challenge Masters or Grand Masters – smoked them in the match.) Firearms competition can help or hurt if you don’t approach it with the correct mindset. Competition puts you under stress and learning to shoot well under stress is a valuable skill. 

 ____________________ 

Cell Phone Spy Apps: What You Need to Know

Good to know information concerning cell phone spy applications. Mobile spy apps have surged in popularity—and controversy in recent years. Whether it’s a parent trying to protect a child, a business owner safeguarding sensitive company data, or someone crossing ethical lines in a relationship, these tools offer powerful capabilities that can easily blur the line between safety and surveillance. 

____________________

Scaling Penetration Depth from Clear Ballistics Gelatin to FBI 10% Porcine Ballistic Gelatin

I often see discussions concerning whether gelatin tests truly reflect what a bullet does when striking living flesh. Gelatin does not; however, what gelatin does do is allow apples to apples testing and comparisons of different bullet designs. Many (me included) use the Clear Ballistics 10% synthetic gelatin for ammunition testing due to convenience. However, Clear Ballistics 10% synthetic gelatin does not directly replicate the 10% nominal porcine gelatin that the FBI uses. This article compares the two gelatin types and tests their performance. 

____________________

Pattern Your Home Defense Shotgun

I personally believe that the shotgun is an excellent choice of a home defense weapon. I teach home defense shotgun classes and often run competitions where we allow the use of home defense shotguns in the match. A critical but often overlooked aspect of being prepared to use your home defense shotgun is determining the pattern that your shotgun produces with a particular buckshot load. In shotgun circles, this process is called patterning your shotgun.

Without patterning you will not know the size and shape of your shotgun’s pattern with a given load at a given distance. You must do this with the ammunition you intend to use in your home defense shotgun. The way manufacturers produce shotgun barrels means that no two guns will pattern exactly alike--even with the exact same ammunition. Your gun may pattern very poorly with one brand or size of buckshot yet do very well with another. The only way to know is to shoot the buckshot loads at varying distances. This article discusses the process of patterning your shotgun with a given 00 buckshot load. If you are interested in more information on the home defense shotgun, you can download my Home Defense Shotgun Manual for the nominal sum of $5.00 here. 

____________________

Wi-Fi Jamming Attacks Are on the Rise -- How They Affect Your Smart Home Security.

With more than a third of North American homes protected by a video doorbell or some other Wi-Fi-dependent device, it’s reasonable to worry about the growing threat of Wi-Fi jammers. These devices can override your smart home security system’s ability to communicate making it easier than ever for criminals to block your security system’s primary communications signal. With that signal blocked, the burglars can break into your home without you noticing—until it’s too late.

 ____________________

The Legend of Scarface

Scarface roamed the Masai Mara, Kenya’s famed game reserve teeming with wildlife and home to every species of the iconic “Big Five.” When one conjures up classical images of Africa, those visions most assuredly come from this massive sanctuary that runs contiguous with Tanzania’s Serengeti. This is Hemingway’s Africa in its fullest grandeur. And this is where Scarface ruled for an incomparable 14 years or more.

 ____________________

Understanding Primal Aggression vs. Cognitive Aggression

Although written for a police audience, the discussion has applicability for the private citizen as well.

 ____________________

Ian’s Thoughts

A discussion about random internet assholes who suggest and push breaking the law on weapons carry. Especially the ones who spout such bumper sticker wisdom as: "Better to be judged by twelve than carried by six." Before you suggest that young woman carry a weapon in violation of State and Federal laws, why don't you show us the escrow account where you've set aside $10,000 in bond money, and another $50,000 in legal fees for her?

____________________ 

If you enjoy reading these articles, please follow/subscribe. The link is on the upper right side of the page. All that will happen is that you will receive an e-mail when I post an article. Your information will never be distributed.