People, Ideas and Hardware in That Order!
LESC Newsletter

Welcome to the premier issue of the LESC newsletter “People, Ideas and Hardware In That Order!” The LESC upgraded web-site www.lesc.net now allows us to reach out to those in the Law Enforcement, Security and Military professions who are eager to learn the strategy and tactics essential to detecting, preventing, avoiding, defusing and resolving conflict, the goal of this monthly newsletter. With your help and involvement we will do just that.

In this issue I have given a brief introduction into LESC for those of you unfamiliar with what we do, as well as what our training philosophy is based on. Future issues will be based on information gathered from members of the site, and topic of interest related to conflict and problem solving in our professions. Also we will focus on training methods and techniques used for developing critical decision makers and adaptive frontline personnel and leaders, much needed in professions where decisions made can tip the balance towards life or death.

Law Enforcement and Security Consulting, Inc (LESC) is in business to provide exceptional training for law enforcement & security professionals, serving communities, institutions and private enterprise, as well as military units serving abroad. LESC training is built on the strategies and tactics established by John Boyd and articulated in his renowned Boyd Cycle (OODA Loop). LESC methodology also uses the ancient strategies of Sun Tzu's The Art of War. The combining of ancient classical and innovative strategy is a systematic approach that allows us to learn from the past, evolve from the lessons and develop those we train to win without conflict.

LESC training is designed to impart the fundamental strategy and tactics essential to protecting lives and property, at minimal risk to the protector and of greatest benefit to the public at large. LESC training is sensitive to issues of language, race and gender as it affects personnel, the public and our client’s reputation in the community. LESC Teaches positioning, communication skills and critical decision making under pressure, this allows frontline personnel and leaders to exploit opportunities and take the initiative in any competitive environment (problem solving, personal conflict, workplace conflict, verbal and physical altercations, dangerous and deadly encounters, etc.)

LESC teaches these mental aspects essential to handling dynamic encounters which is critical to seeking and maintaining the initiative, however we also focus on the how to, of combining the mental, moral and physical realms of conflict. The focus is how to train and develop the cognitive abilities and physical skills, working in unity, so that we become more effective at deciding and acting under pressure. This keeps those we serve and ourselves safer while we attempt to win without escalating conflicts.

As you can see we utilized the title “People, Ideas and Hardware In that Order!” as the title for this newsletter. The human mind and decision making is what and how, to handle conflict and any competitive environments is all about. People, Ideas and Hardware in That Order!, was a quote from COL John Boyd who has a great influence on the training methods LESC utilizes. The focus of LESC training programs is based on this premise People, how we observe and process information through all our senses and Orient to the conditions; from what we see, hear, smell, taste and feel; to what is it telling us, “WHATS GOING ON?” Then how we make rapid decisions (IDEAS) and put those ideas into action so we gain the advantage. The hardware, we will discuss as well and how physical skills training (firearms, impact weapons, OC, etc.etc. etc) relates to decision making under pressure and use of force when conflict escalates.

COL Boyd was influenced by his study of science, math, psychology, philosophy, and leadership, warfare in its historic and modern day applications, as well as, the study of numerous strategists, from history (Jomini, Clausewitz, and Genghis Khan Etc.) This list also included the Ancient Chinese General Sun Tzu and his Book called “The Art of War. Boyd’s constant study of these influences and how it translated to the frontline user in the field dealing with conflict helped him continually learn and evolve his thinking and to develop what Boyd called his Discourse on Winning and Losing. A 327 page document never published by Boyd, but delivered in briefings hundreds of them. For more information and Boyd’s work and downloadable slides of his discourse go to www.d-n-i.net

The focus for Boyd was humans, more specifically the human mind and decision making. He was quoted as saying “Machines don’t fight wars. Terrain doesn’t fight wars. Humans fight wars. You must get into the minds of humans. That’s where the battles are won.” I will share a quote from Sun Tzu here as well and you can see the connection “For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill to subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” These are just two quotes of many that denote the importance of understanding the full spectrum of conflict which is probabilistic and complex.

We must dig deeper to understand and we must train in the three realms of conflict (moral, mental and physical) if we are to truly gain the advantage in the dangerous and rapidly changing circumstances we find ourselves in. This type of competitive environment is not won solely with physical skills, guns and weapons. Although the physical realm is important, it takes thinking and innovative minds to positions themselves where we cannot lose. This holds true not only in physical confrontations but as well in tactical approaches and response to calls, emergency response to calls, (slowing down physically and gain speed through thinking, instead of just pedal to the metal responses) isolating and containing individuals, thus getting inside their minds and slowing their actions down while we set up to get them verses just GO GET EM! Also an understanding of when it’s necessary to take action verses when we should be positioning ourselves to take action.

These are just some of the issues we will discuss in upcoming newsletters. I also would like readers of this letter to respond and leave comments via www.lesc.net so we can focus in on lessons that meet all our needs, so we can go out there and conducted ourselves professionally and walk away saying we dealt with THAT skillfully. We did not mistake good luck for good strategy and tactics. We were skillful, adapted and learned from reading the scene, made decisions based on patterns we have developed from past experiences and implicit judgments made by the new information gathered at the scene, and took actions based on this process. If we work this way in most cases we will resolve the issue without fighting. If despite all our efforts to deescalate the situation, it is escalated by the adversary we face, we are prepared to use reasonable means to resolve the situation and we will know we did everything in our power to handle otherwise.

On the LESC web-site www.lesc.net you will find other great resources in our associations and recommended reading pages. Also take a look at the training programs of instruction LESC conducts which are listed under the programs page on the site. Any course you or your agency is interested in please contact me through the web-site or fred@lesc.net . A unique part of LESC training is that we “come to your location” to conduct the training. You provide the training space and those to be trained and we do the rest.

For those of you who have trouble scheduling training or finding the time to pull frontline personnel off of posts or the off the street, in 2009 we are also going to start with the Strategy and Tactics Workshop Series. Every month LESC will host programs of instruction at a named location. Our most sought after programs 1.Strategy and Tactics for Handling Dynamic Encounters, 2.The Boyd Cycle: Threat Assessment and Management Model for the Protection Professional and our leadership program; 3. Developing Mutual Trust in Your Organization and Building a Thriving Culture, will be scheduled each month and reasonable priced so members of your organization can participate. I will be announcing this via the web-site soon so you all will be notified.

LESC will also offer Special Workshops in which we seek out the best instructors nationally and internationally to conduct training with. An example is the Deciding Under Pressure… and Fast Workshop which will be conducted by MAJ Don Vandergriff and I on March 24th 2009 at the Taunton Holiday Inn from 8:30AM to 4:30PM. This program has been taught around the world to various military, law enforcement and business. Its adapted to the audience it presented to, so the most critical lessons are learned. The workshop has been given outstanding reviews and the lessons learned and the decision makers have benefitted from it in hostile areas overseas to include Iraq and Afghanistan. Law enforcement agencies and security companies also rave about the methodology taught in this workshop to develop decision makers. It is an outstanding class and LESC is bringing it to New England at a third of the normal cost. Go to the LESC home page and the course description and registration, is there.

Here are some of the testimonials on this workshop:

Your workshop was a fantastic experience. I am going to recommend that we continue it next summer as part of our new instructor training. The use of your simple decision-making games (whether of a tactical variety or not) demonstrated that these exercises are simple but incredibly effective.

The level of enthusiasm for the course really shot off the chart in the subsequent days. After the workshop, I had multiple instructor’s say, “Wow, now I really get what we are trying to do.” Thank you for all of your efforts and assistance.” ~ MAJ Chad R. Foster, USMA Department of Military Instruction

“Don deserves recognition because of the immediate and far-reaching impact in our Army that he has made, especially in such a short time since his arrival last July 2005.” ~ Lieutenant General John Curran Director Army Capabilities Integration Center, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command

“Your in-depth knowledge and expertise of the subject at hand enabled effective instruction on the Battle of Antietam. Many insightful details coupled with modern battlefield comparisons, gave us a better understanding of Civil War history and how it could apply to our tactical decisions in the future.” ~ Colonel Peter Pace (Future Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

You have had a significant impact in molding, bonding and assisting in making my office more effective through your day long program. Most of my people were resistant to walking on a battlefield in order to develop leadership. But after a day at Pickett’s Mill [GA] Battlefield, you won over my entire staff, and their enthusiasm is incredible for the future of our group.” ~ Andre Jones, former Pro-Football Player District Manager, Wells Fargo
Book of the Month:

This month’s book is; “Raising the Bar: Creating and Nurturing Adaptability to Deal with the Changing Face of War”, by RET U.S. Army MAJ Donald Vandergriff (www.donvandergriff.com). This book is an outstanding resource, the best I have read, for changing organizational cultures from within and developing training programs that develop decision makers, adaptive leaders and frontline personnel.

The United States Military Academy, Department of Military Instruction (DMI), West Point, New York, is now using Don's book as a guide for its instructors on how to develop leaders. I also have worked with Don Vandergriff in teaching his methods and have been utilizing his methods described in this book to reshape my own department and those I have the privilege of instructing in the law enforcement and security professions. If making better leaders and decision makers is what you want. This is the book that will help you get there.

LESC also has a blog in which I have posted several articles related to critical decision making, the Boyd Cycle, handling dynamic encounters, recognizing the signs and signals of crime and danger, leadership, and terrorism etc. I have also posted articles from other outstanding sources on the site. All these articles are downloadable from the site for use, by all members. “It does no one any good to keep information yourself, if true learning and evolution in, winning without conflict is the goal.” A guiding principle LESC truly believes in.

Take a look at the Science of Strategy Institutes (www.scienceofstrategy.com). LESC is directly affiliated with the Science of Strategy Institute, as a licensed trainer. SOSI is an outstanding organization whose mission is to help people, everywhere, to develop the skill of “Winning without Conflict” by following the principles of Sun Tzu. They have learned from, utilized and evolved this ancient strategic system of adaptability and have taught it to large corporations around the world. They also have a pool of instructors from around the world as well. They are developing online training programs as well as conducting live seminars to get this valuable 2,500 year old systems message, that has stood the test of time out to those who most need it.

The LESC blog is designed so we can discuss the issues related to what it is, we in law enforcement, security and the military do. I am open to all comments positive or negative as we learn from both. When you read an article post a comment and I will get back to you. If you have an ideas or areas related to the three realms of conflict, the mental moral and physical, you would like me to post, I will do that also. I will end this month’s newsletter with COL Boyd’s definition of the art of success, says it all.

The Art of Success defined by COL John Boyd

“Appear to be an unsolvable cryptogram while operating in a directed way to penetrate adversary vulnerabilities and weaknesses in order to isolate him from his allies, pull him apart, and collapse his will to resist; yet; Shape or influence events so that we not only magnify our spirit and strength but also influence potential adversaries as well as the uncommitted so that they are drawn toward our philosophy and are empathetic toward our success.” Boyd concluded with: This is advice to remain, in the words of Sun Tzu, unfathomable to the enemy, yet operate coherently in several levels of war and across different dimensions.

I look forward to hearing from you all.

Stay Oriented!
Fred Leland