Sheep or Sheepdog... Which are you?

The Combat Mindset

Do you always expect the unexpected?
Are you prepared to attack your attackers?
Are you a wolf, a sheep or a sheepdog?

THE WOLF
The wolf is always on the hunt, working with a pack of other wolves to search out its prey. The wolf will always attack with extreme violence of action. The wolf will hit you from one side while his pack hits you from the back.
The wolf feeds on the sheep without mercy

THE SHEEP
The sheep is a kind, gentle creature who can only hurt other sheep by accident. The sheep goes to pasture with little concern for situational awareness.
The sheep requires a sheepdog to protect it from predators

THE SHEEPDOG
The sheepdog has an important role in life. The sheepdog lives to protect the flock and confront the wolf even at the risk of his losing his own life


DO YOU WANT TO DEVELOP YOUR COMBAT MINDSET?
First, define your inner animal.If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But, what if you have a capacity for violence and a deep love for you fellow citizens? What do you have then?

A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness and walk out unscathed. The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference though is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn’t tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16.

The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go “Baa.”Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog. Here is how the sheep and sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be in the thick of it. You want to be able to make a difference and protect those around you.

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.
And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of life and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are a warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today.
No one can be “on” 24/7 for a lifetime. Everyone needs downtime. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath and say this to yourself…
“Baa.”

(With credit to LTC (Ret) Dave Grossman, author of “On killing”)