Book Note: Left of Bang

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By Patrick Van Horne & Jason Riley

This book is a summary of a course conducted by the US military to train marines for modern urban combat. The goal is to have soldiers recognize events BEFORE they happen rather than wait and react to events. The example used in the book is an IED. If you imagine an IED explosion on a timeline, you have all the events leading up to the blast, then the blast and all the reactions that take place afterwards. If you consider the blast a bang, then we need to live ‘Left of Bang’. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of violence is possible with the appropriate knowledge.

- Always establish a baseline. What does normal look like? What should people be doing? 
- Look for anomalies. Things that don’t seem to fit the baseline. 
- When you identify an anomaly, you should identify at least THREE different domains before you act.
- Domains are Kinesics, Biometiric cues, proxemics, Geographic, Iconography, Atmospherics
- Living left of bang takes practice, lots of it. Experts usually develop +10 years of practice. 
- Visit public spaces to observe people. Take note of the their body language below the neck
- Be prepared to act when you observe an anomaly. Remember nature wants you to run, fight or freeze. 
-Running is best! 
- When required to fight, attack with extreme violence.
- Condition Yellow! Be on semi alert at all times. Note where exits are and possible lines of attack.
- Condition Red is active engagement in a situation (something is happening!)
- Condition Black is over reaction. Your stress level and central nervous system are extreme and your ability to properly react is in jepordy.
- Not your levels of situational awareness.