Tactically Squared Away Coward

We love to put down the unprepared and the snowflakes of the world. And a lot of the criticism is more than fair. However what about someone in your group that is tactically squared away but a coward or just a poor performer?

Being a gun guy is not the same as being a warrior.

This person might own several "tactical" weapons. He might be an NRA member, and even compete in 3 gun competitions, hunt, or otherwise be someone you expected to be someone who could be counted on. But when it comes down to it can he be trusted to have your back or to make good decisions?

In all of my days doing Police Work I have only met ONE cop who I unquestionably have classified as a coward. He has almost gotten several people hurt on various calls by his lack of inaction and outright cowardness, including me. He has almost twenty years on the department with plenty of training and experience, he has even fired his weapon in the line of duty but he is a coward make no mistake and will only act to do what is best for himself in a dangerous situation. The department will do nothing about it because of politics so we are stuck working with him.

I have also worked with a great number of other cops who were not cowards, but poor performers overall. They didn't stay calm when things got crazy, acted emotionally, didn't act fast enough, let people get behind them, froze up, were not physically fit enough to do the job, failed to pick up on important clues, went to fast and got in over their heads. Some of these were great guys that just needed to go through a few things before figuring out how to think or act. Others were doomed to laziness, complacency, or taking shortcuts.

The longer I do this the more picky I get about who I want to work with. Not that I always get to pick who I work with, but the value of a good partner can not be over stated. Luckily I have worked with some amazing people who I have trusted completely. But I have also had the other experience.

Feeling like you have to watch your back and your partners at the same time definitely is no fun. It raises your level of stress and decreases your boldness and confidence to tackle problems when they come up.

Any thoughts on this subject? How do you deal with these issues or how would you? Might you be this person other people end up not wanting to work with for one reason or another?

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Tactically Squared Away Coward