The Threat Assessment Process (TAP): The Evolution of Escalation of Force

摘要

As a warrior, you might one day face the single most difficult task any person will ever have to face: to decide whether to use deadly force and take a life. If you chose to take a life when you should not, or if you fail to take a human life when you should, a world of hurt will come down on you. This is not an impossible task; it is a hero's task, a warrior's task. It is immensely difficult, but if we did not have men and women willing to walk out the door and face that challenge every day, within a span of a generation our civilization would no longer exist. Somewhere in Iraq one such hero stands guard at a snap traffic control point (TCP). As fellow members of his squad search vehicles, he scans the road for approaching threats. In the distance, through the dust and heat, he sees a car approaching. It doesn't appear to be slowing down.