As you know from your weapons training course, it is difficult to become proficient in gun skills. Indeed, most people who have not had adequate training would find it hard to pick up a firearm, properly squeeze the trigger, and hit their intended target. For all CTU agents, this is good news, because it means that it is typically easy to evade gunfire from untrained persons. Even with training, it is still difficult to hit a specific target or a specific person who is practicing solid gunfire evasion techniques. You must treat all gunfire incidents as serious, since you will never know at the outset the degree of training the gunmen have had. It doesn’t much matter. The important thing is to stay alive-either evade the attack or take the hostiles out and complete your mission. Here’s what to do.
ASSUME THE SOUND YOU HEAR IS GUNFIRE.
Unfortunately, most civilians shrug off the initiation of a shooting incident, assuming the sounds they have just heard are firecrackers. This assumption gets them into trouble, because they continue about their business, until they blunder into a stray bullet or the actual shooter. At the first sound of “firecrackers,” assume you may also be dealing with gunfire.
GET DOWN-ALL THE WAY DOWN.
A hostile who is randomly spraying cover fire will be standing at his or her full height. You want to be below the bullets’ trajectory, so you must drop flat to the ground. Once there, you can better assess the situation and determine your next step.
RUN TO ESCAPE.
Wait for silence. The hostile may either be reloading, switching to a new weapon, moving to a new position, or sighting new targets. The farther you get away from the weapon, the greater your chances of survival. Even experienced snipers have trouble striking a target at a distance. So run, but not in a straight line. A straight retreat makes it easier for a shooter to predict where you will be next. Make it harder by running in a serpentine path. This way, each “curve” of your run will naturally be different from the one before or after it, and thus harder to draw a bead on.
RUN AROUND A CORNER.
Bullets cannot turn corners. If bullets are flying, the quickest way to get safe is to make a swift right or left turn around a building or some other object. Unless you intend to return fire, it serves no purpose to look back around the corner to locate the shooter(s). Just keep moving or hide. On rooftops, a chimney or smokestack structure makes an adequate “corner.” In the wild, a thick tree will serve the same purpose. Holes in the ground are another option, but remember that an unstopped bullet’s ultimate destination is the ground.
Use solid objects to protect yourself. The heavier and more solid an object is, the better chance it has of stopping a bullet. Concrete and steel are excellent, but most other building materials, such as sheetrock, interior doors, or thick panel glass, are not. If you take shelter behind a car, hide behind the front of the car. Most parts of a car can be easily penetrated. But the engine block will stop a bullet cold. (Unfortunately, if the engine is running, it may ignite if struck.) SUVs and most civilian trucks may look solid but they are just as vulnerable, and offer less protection, because they sit higher off the ground.
CLEAR THE AREA OF CIVILIANS AND UNTRAINED AGENTS.
Once you are safely hidden, you can better attend to the needs of innocents and the unskilled. Depending on the circumstances, you may have to do this solely by voice or hand signals. Make sure they heed your instructions to clear the area, stay down, take cover, etc. Attend to the wounded and dead after you have eliminated the threat.
DRAW OUT AND ELIMINATE THE HOSTILE.
If you are a field agent who must complete his or her mission, by all means commence fire as soon as you reach adequate cover. Use the techniques discussed above to move across the terrain to your destination. Whenever possible, try to draw your assailant out of cover. It helps to create a diversion, such as lobbing a grenade at a distant structure or attacker. Alternatively, you may be able to simulate the sound of gunfire by placing a few of your own rounds in a can, lighting it, and running away. The sounds will camouflage your true position, as your attacker will fire directly back at your diversion, leaving the path clear for you to move on to a better position, draw closer to the hostile’s position, or take higher ground.
OTHER THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
Be aware that flashlights or other bright lights can blind or disorient attackers equipped with nightvision goggles. This means your attacker-or you. Always clear weapons, clips, and ammo away from dead or surrendered hostiles, and collect them for further use. If you have a partner, work as a team. Your partner may have a point of view or perspective on the action that you don’t have. Let your partner spot the shooter, reveal the hostile’s position, and then cover you as you go in for the kill. An analyst on the floor at CTU can act as your partner as well, provided he or she can access satellite or thermal scans of the area. Be aware that some weapons manufacturers and terrorist organizations are experimenting with detonating bullets. Even if you turn a corner, the bullet could explode just as it passes you, and take you out. We have not seen use of this technology in the field, but it’s something to be aware of.
