[Glenn E. Meyer]

Don't poop in my Cocoa Puffs.

My perspective is that this is a very bad thing and I'm not impressed by overly optimisitc predictions of success and chest pounding.

I've done a fair amount of FOF, in similar scenarios - one thing I take away is:

1. You can miss at close distances
2. Your shoots can be in nonfatal or disabling places.
3. From lectures (from gun friendly military emergency surgeons) - you cannot count on COM or head shots to disable someone.
4. When the gunfire starts in close range FOF - everyone has a very high probability of getting shot.

In this scenario:

1. You must determine if these are a real threat. There is a real possibility of shooting an innocent. It might be unreasonable given the scenario but it does happen.

2. When you start shooting, you must have the realization that you might miss and/or your shots will not be incapacitating and thus you will take return fire. For all, you know when you shoot the first guy, the second bolts up the stairs.

3. Also, they may shoot you.

4. Legalisms - if you truly saw two armed men in your house, this is a lethal threat by the standard of protecting your family. Deal with the law later. However, know how to respond to the law and have an attorney who knows the issues of self defense.

You'd better think about finishing off the wounded or planting guns. That will be easily detectable and you are sunk. If you said this stuff here just to chestpounding, well goody for you - it's stupid.

5. Tactics:

a. Do nothing but observe - this may lead to action later. The key is movement up the stairs.

b. Try to get up the stairs - that's a good plan if you can pull it off. Do you know that no one is up there already?

c. Challenge in some fashion - yell that you already called the law even if you didn't. Do you have an alarm that you can trigger to make noise. Can you get a good cover position (not just concealment) and challenge them, telling them to get out and you have guns.

Or do the Ninja - sometimes rapid aggression works.

d. Ambush them - as said before that might work but be prepared to follow up in a tactically sound manner. If they are down - the best thing might be to get to your family and hunker down.

There is no set answer but glib, tough answers are baloney. It's a bad situation. In FOF (granted not the real thing but pretty high end excercises), I've killed an entire team, killed two and been killed - shot one as I theoretically died. And I was just shot to pieces - it's an interesting lesson - with sims, paint balls and airsoft - you get interesting bruises, your skin is broken and you hurt - even with protection.

Even high end operators and trainers were sometimes just flat out 'killed'.

So challenge them like a ninja, make that head shot and then plant guns in their hands. Make sure you kill the wounded that are begging you for their life in a manner that forensics will determine was suspect. That's a good plan.

Damn Cocoa Puffs taste funny!