Habits For Survival

The concept of this blog began in 1991 when I began writing an “Officer Survival” column for my department magazine. I was taking the place of Carol Hogue, a man who had written the column for several years prior to his retirement. As a young officer, I appreciated his insights and lessons he shared and wanted to carry on the legacy he started. The title of his column was “Keys for Survival.” I decided to name mine “Habits for Survival” to pay respect to what he started, yet be different enough to be mine. Some of the posts I will share will be old articles written for that column, updated to be relevant for today. I kept the name for this blog, even though I do not like the word “survival” as it relates to officer safety. There is a difference between surviving a fight and winning it. An academy mate of mine was involved in an off duty shooting that left him paralyzed from the waist down. One could say he survived, but I would not say he won. He died just a few years ago from complications related to his injuries. One of the goals of this blog is to help people win their fight, not just survive it.