5 Rules of Room Clearing
Romans
13:4 NIV For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you
do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are
God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
So,
most every law enforcement officer (LEO) knows and understands the following 5
rules of room clearing. They use them when they are searching for suspects or “clearing”
a house. They are intended to give a tactical advantage as well as offer the
safest way for a team to work inside rooms. I have asked my local SWAT team, that I serve as chaplain, what is the last thing you’re thinking about when
you’re stacked on a door about to make entry. Every person in the room, almost
20, said the same thing; 5 rules of room clearing. Well almost everyone, I
think it was Eggers that said, “I’m actually thinking of two things. 1. 5 rules
of room clearing. And 2. Is this “bleep” behind me thinking of the 5 rules”.
This provoked some thought
on my part. The reason that these 5 rules are so important is that there is
potential danger behind every door and this has been proven to be the safest
and most effective way to clear buildings. But, every one of us return home
from long days on a regular basis and “enter” those homes without much thought
or regard to what is waiting behind the door. Not much thought is given to the
fact that greatest opportunity for devastation in our life is behind this door.
The most potential for harm to ourselves and those we love exists inside our
homes. And so, we turn into our driveway, get out of our car while texting or
talking on the phone, walk into the house, barely acknowledge the other humans
that live there and collapse into a chair and mentally, physically, and
emotionally allow ourselves to shut down…
Sound familiar? Very little
thought to what our spouse or family has been dealing with, after all it is a
competition isn’t it. I’ve dealt with more terrible things than she has so I
have the right to relax. I’ve had to listen to people yell and curse at me more
than he has so I should just shut down… and then we sit in a pastor or
counselors office and make statements like, “I don’t know what’s wrong with
her, I just walk in the door and she starts on me!”
So is there a way to lessen the stress at home? While this
was written with LEOs in mind, it certainly applies to all of us. Here goes…
Here are the 5 Rules of room clearing:
1.
Through the door
2.
Clear your corner
3.
Run your wall
4.
Scan and collapse your sector
5.
Communicate
As we look at the 5 rules
individually I want you to take note that the italicized and underlined portion of the rule is
first, the rule, followed by the tactical definition as described by the Blount
County Sheriff’s Office Special Weapons and Tactics team. I have only added the
latter to apply to each of us as we attempt to follow, what I call, the 5 rules of re-entry:
1. Through the door (with your teammate)- initiation and
taking action
As an LEO you would never get out of your vehicle at a
location where known danger is and casually walk inside. So why do we do this
at home. Here’s some extra steps to take before you go through the door:
o
Pause
– take
a breath, gather intel, how much have you communicated with your family today,
what do I expect, how should I respond
o
Pray
– the bible says that God is listening
Psalm 34:15 NIV The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;
o
Be
prepared – as much as possible
2. Clear your corner – handling the responsibilities that
ONLY you can do
There are responsibilities in your home that only you
can do effectively. I, for example, am much better equipped to teach my son how
to be a Godly man, how to treat a woman, how to provide from my family. I can
set the standard for the way my daughter should expect to be treated by her
husband. These are mine and I will not leave either of these to chance. So,
what should I do:
o
Avoid
the chair – it’s inviting, it’s comfortable, and there
are days when you may need it but not every day.
o
Identify
danger – this some from paying attention to those most precious
to you
o
Always
alert
1 Peter 5:7-8 NIV Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be alert and of sober
mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring
lion looking for someone to devour.
3. Run your wall – motion, aggressively entering where
danger may be lurking so that you can identify it, subdue it and destroy it if
necessary.
The biggest danger to our families, men, is passivity.
And after making decision all day and being responsible all day, the tendency for
men and women is to come home and just let things happen. We cannot do this. I
hear in our swat training regularly, “look for work”, “find work”, and they
always do. But when we go home, sometimes we aren’t aggressive in finding
danger areas and exposing them (working on them).
o
What/who
needs my attention – what does your spouse need (not an attitude
adjustment, we all need these from time to time)? Who does my kids need me to
be today? Encourager, disciplinarian, patient helpful. Don’t forget to run your
wall or someone might get hurt…
Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you
have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness,
with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit
4. Scan and collapse your
sector –
you have a foothold of the area that may contain dangers. Scanning. At this
point, you and your partner have
some overlapping areas of responsibilities where you are protecting one another from possible dangers.
o
My
number one priority to protect is my family – when
you come home, you hand the watch over to your brothers and sisters. But your
job isn’t finished. 1 Corinthians 13 says that love always protects.
1 Timothy 5:8 ESV But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and
especially for members of his
household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Psalm 34:19 NIV The righteous person may have many troubles, but
the Lord delivers
him from them all;
5. Communicate – making eye contact, talking,
visually and audibly checking each other’s status. Making sure you’re each “up”
and can carry on. Ensuring that you’re ready to move toward the next tactical
problem.
Honestly, the tactical definition actually
speaks for itself. Put the phone down. Turn off the tv. Sit at the table as a
family as often as possible and communicate. Communicate when you can during
the day or night. Check on each other. Are you “up” and ready or do you need me
to cover? Teamwork!
James
1:19 ESV Know this, my beloved
brothers: let every person be quick
to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
Colossians
4:6 NLT Let your conversation be gracious and attractive
so that you will have the right response for everyone.
This isn’t easy but its best. This
may not solve all your problems or help with your PTSD but it will help your
family. You see, as a husband, wife, mother and father, these Never Stop. We
cannot take a day off of these responsibilities or devastation will occur. And
something that Eggers said that applies here. If you both are paying attention
then it works so beautifully!
Finally, cover their 6, especially the
kids. Remember, their going to be the ones picking your retirement home. Be
good to them while you can defend yourself!
Have a great week,
Pastor Dad
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