AAR: Troysgate – The Logical Brain vs The Survival Brain, by Crusoe

Within the modern gun culture, a lot of emphasis is placed upon the acquiring of firearms and static weapons manipulation. Even within the survivalist community there is an inflated importance levied on the acquisition of those tools versus understanding the proper employment of force within a dynamic and evolving situation. This highlights the need for realistic training that forces you to solve complex problems while in a stressful scenario. The adage of “Under pressure, you don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to your level of training” is applicable. It is safe to assume that thankfully most of us have never been in a gun fight. It is because of this there is not an appreciation of the physiological nor psychological impacts of the natural adrenal response. Quite frankly, you don’t know what you don’t know.

During a recent Surveillance Awareness course by Gray Zone Activity I was given the opportunity by Mountain Readiness to attend a beta test of the new course Troysgate will be offering to the public at this year’s Mountain Readiness Expo in May, 2024. Troysgate is a “subject matter expert on the use of deadly force” and trains the special operations community, law enforcement, church security teams, and a myriad of domestic and foreign special mission units. Their mission is to put you into a realistic use of force scenario to switch on your survival brain and then give you the tools to make you better. It is a version of stress inoculation with reals guns and real bullets housed within a safely controlled environment.

The day started with a two-hour presentation on how the human brain and body works under extreme duress. Within this presentation videos of previous students are presented as a tool to reinforce the fact that under fire we do not always perform as we think we would. The human basically has three reactions: fly, fight, or freeze. The goal of this course is to hardwire your brain with the necessary tools to logically process a situation and default to a fight reaction if required.

Over the course of the rest of the day I was given four different scenarios: 1) home invasion, 2) ambush in a parking lot, 3) a suicide intervention, and 4) an ambush in a house. Prior to entering the shoot house, the instructor gave a quick scenario brief with very clear instructions that I must decide when to draw my firearm and decide when or if I need to use it. Within the shoot house is a room that faces a membrane mirror giving the illusion that the live actors are right in front of you. As the scenario unfolds it starts with dialogue and your response dictates how the conflict evolves. During each of my scenarios at least one of the actors pulled a firearm that required immediate action and the use of deadly force. After leaving the room, shaking with adrenaline, each of my scenarios were debriefed with a series of questions about what I observed and why I chose that particular action. There are no right or wrong reactions.

This course was incredible as it allowed me work through my body’s personal adrenal response all within the context of using a firearm. The human brain cannot distinguish the difference between this course and an actual gunfight thus providing you with a level of adaptation. I will be adding this training on a rotational basis to better prepare myself for the potential of darker days in the future.

Crusoe is retired from the Air Force after 30-years of service as a flight crew member. He spends most of his time thinking about the apocalypse and how to mitigate its effects. When not immersed in academic pursuits, he is often on a trail hiking in the mountains of North Georgia or reading with a glass of Irish whiskey and a German Shepherd by his side. Global travel enthusiast, history nerd, Appalachian Trail thru hiker, and recovering ultra-endurance athlete. He can be reached at [email protected]