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August 1991
THE WILL TO SURVIVE
By
Stephen R. Band, Ph.D.
Special Agent
Operations Resource and Assessment Unit
FBI Academy
and
I. John Vasquez, M.Ed.
Special Agent
Chief, Operations Resource and Assessment Unit
FBI Academy
Shots are fired! One subject is down, and three police
officers are wounded. Another armed subject appears in the
doorway, and two of the officers, stunned at the sight of their
wounds, are unable to defend themselves. But, the third officer
fights on, firing until the second subject is incapacitated.
This scenario could be an excerpt from a movie, but
unfortunately, it is all too real. Each day, law enforcement
officers across the Nation face life-and-death situations. In
fact, between 1979 and 1988, 841 police officers were
feloniously killed in scenarios such as this. (1)
Can law enforcement officers encounter a life-threatening,
violent confrontation and go home at the end of the day? Do
they have the will to survive and fight on when faced with
death? The answers to these questions go beyond combat tactics
and accuracy with a weapon. One element is still missing:
Survivability--the mental preparation and personal will to
survive.
The Operations Resource and Assessment Unit (ORAU) at the
FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia, conducted a pilot study and
sought expert opinions in order to identify the human attributes
associated with survivability. This article will discuss the
available background research and will review the FBI's
findings.
BACKGROUND RESEARCH
In the media, astronauts and pilots have often been
referred to as having "the right stuff"--personality
characteristics that would aid their survival in critical
situations. (2) In fact, as part of their ongoing research, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the
University of Texas attempted to identify "right stuff"
personality traits in pilot selection. (3) As a result, the
following two prominent personality orientations were linked
with successful pilot behavior under dangerous flying
conditions: 1) Goal-oriented behavior, and 2) the capacity to
empathize with others.
Combat psychiatry also offers insight into human
performance under battle conditions. (4) Research in this area
has examined the causes and prevention of combat stress reaction
(CSR) in relation to surviving life-threatening circumstances.
CSR, sometimes referred to as "battle fatigue," prevents
soldiers from fighting and may be theoretically viewed as
behavior that opposes survival.
Further research identified leadership, devotion to duty,
decisiveness, and perseverance under stress as significant
attributes. (5) And, in his studies into the area of
survivability, S.E. Hobfol states, "...counting your losses when
preserving resources is fatal...." (6) In essence,
preoccupation with thoughts about loss may negatively affect
one's capacity to survive a possibly lethal confrontation.
Thus, merely avoiding thoughts associated with loss may enhance
survivability.
This concept of preserving resources can be exemplified
best through the comments of Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock,
U.S. Marine Corps (Retired). Hathcock is credited with 93
confirmed kills as a sniper during two combat tours in South
Vietnam. (7) A soft-spoken, unassuming man of honor, Hathcock
compared his behavior just prior to and during an operation as
isolating himself into an "invisible bubble." This state of
mind would "block thoughts of physiological needs, home, family,
etc., except the target." The amount of time in the "bubble,"
lasting from a few hours to several consecutive days, depended
not only on the circumstances surrounding his objective but also
on adjusting to conditions where a trivial mistake could cost
him his life. (8) As he reflected on his distinguished military
career, Hathcock also mentioned a number of other attributes he
considered necessary for survival. Among these were patience,
discipline, and the ability to concentrate completely on a
specific task.
THEORY
Cognitive/behavioral psychological theory offers insight
into the benefits of mentally rehearsing possible reactions to
life-threatening situations. According to one theory,
developing a plan of action could enhance one's perception of
effectiveness, and therefore, affect an officer's ability to
survive. In fact, as A. Bandura states:
"People who believe they can exercise control over
potential threats do not conjure up apprehensive cognitions
and, therefore, are not perturbed by them....those who
believe they cannot manage potential threats experience
high levels of stress and anxiety arousal. They tend to
dwell on their coping deficiencies and view many aspects of
their environment as fraught with danger. Through some
inefficacious thought they distress themselves and
constrain and impair their level of functioning." (9)
A classic example of cognitive rehearsal in law enforcement
is provided by C.R. Skillen. (10) According to Skillen,
successful patrol officers imagine the best approach to
emergencies that could occur during a tour of duty. They then
decide upon the best and fastest route from one location to
another, should the need arise. These officers also imagine
"what if" situations and develop effective responses in case a
similar confrontation occurs.
This type of cognitive rehearsal activity has proven to be
effective in relieving fears and in enhancing performance in
stressful encounters. However, mental preparation can work
against officers who believe that if shot, they will certainly
die. When reinforced by appropriate training and one's value
system, these attributes and behaviors may provide a law
enforcement officer with the ability to survive a
life-threatening situation.
FBI'S RESEARCH AND PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
Behavior identified in the background research and
theoretically linked to survivability was later summarized to
develop a pilot study questionnaire. The FBI then distributed
this questionnaire in late 1989 and early 1990 to a broad group
of Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers attending
the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The questionnaire was
also administered at work or training sites in Illinois and
California. In all, a total of 207 questionnaires were
administered and completed.
Questionnaire
The questionnaire asked respondents to rank various
behaviors and traits, developed from background research. Not
all the behaviors and traits are associated with law
enforcement, but every one has been linked to survival. Ranking
ranged from little or no importance to extremely important. Law
enforcement officers rated each factor in terms of its overall
importance for effective performance in a short-term, violent
law enforcement confrontation. Effective performance was
defined as a violent confrontation that requires a lawful,
combative response where the officer continued to function even
though the final outcome could be death for the officer or
adversary.
Findings
Analyses of the pilot study data revealed the items listed
below as those perceived to be most critical to officer
survival. The items appear in order of importance, except for
items 3 through 5, which are of equal value.
1) Self-confidence in performance--The officer's belief
that a critical task can be performed effectively with a
high probability of success.
2) Training--The officer's belief that prior training has
been effective, and if applied, will increase the
possibility of survival in deadly confrontations.
3) Effectiveness in combat--The officer's mental frame of
reference in which the officer can visualize victory in a
deadly confrontation.
4) Decisiveness--The officer's ability to make rapid and
accurate decisions when confronted with a critical
situation.
5) Perseverance under stress--The officer's ability to
continue to perform critical tasks mentally and physically
when confronted with stressful situations.
DISCUSSION
The concept of survivability represents a dynamic set of
behaviors that should be considered in relation to certain law
enforcement environments. Life-threatening events associated
with undercover operations, uniformed patrol, SWAT operations,
and other specific hazardous law enforcement missions require
personnel who can survive the virulent stressors associated with
these unique operations. (11)
Self-confidence in performance, training, effectiveness in
combat, decisiveness, and perseverance under stress were
identified in this pilot study as tantamount to law enforcement
officer survival. However, these findings are preliminary and
should not be considered conclusive. Further research, in the
form of an enhancement/enrichment course offered to new FBI
Agents in training, is planned for 1991. The data compiled
during this course will then be analyzed and will, hopefully,
lead to more indepth research focusing on the five behaviors
mentioned previously that are most often associated with
survivability. It is hoped that law enforcement officers who
have been exposed to such training opportunities will increase
their potential for survival in life-or-death situations. Only
through proper training in behaviors that ensure survival can
law enforcement prepare to meet the anticipated occupational
challenges of the future.
FOOTNOTES
(1) Uniform Crime Reports--Law Officers Killed and
Assaulted--1988, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, 1989.
(2) T. Wolfe, The Right Stuff (New York: Bantam Books,
1983).
(3) R.L. Helmreich and J.A. Wilhelm, "Validating
Personality Constructs for Pilot Selection: Status Report on
the NASA/UT Project," NASA/UT Technical Memorandum 89-3,
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin,
1989.
(4) G. Belenky, ed., Contemporary Studies in Combat
Psychiatry (New York: Greenwood Press, 1987).
(5) R. Gal, "Courage Under Stress," in S. Breznitz, ed.
Stress in Israel (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company,
1983).
(6) S.E. Hobfol, The Ecology of Stress (New York:
Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, 1988).
(7) C. Henderson, Marine Sniper (New York: Berkley Books,
1986).
(8) I.J. Vasquez, "An Interview with Carlos Hathcock,"
unpublished interview notes, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 1989.
(9) A. Bandura, "Human Agency in Social Cognitive Theory,"
American Psychologist, No. 44, 1989, pp. 1175-1184.
(10) C.R. Skillen, Combat Shotgun Training, (Springfield,
Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1982).
(11) S. R. Band and C.A. Manuele, "Stress and Police
Officer Job Performance: An Examination of Effective Coping
Behavior," Police Studies, No. 10, 1987, pp. 122-131.