The Coordinator: Managing High-Risk High-Consequence Social Interactions in an Unfamiliar Environment

by Ellis Amdur, Robert Hubal

Overview

How should a law enforcement officer manage an encounter with someone who might be mentally unstable or in crisis—but does not appear to pose an immediate threat? How might a platoon commander engage with a foreign civilian who has key information for an intelligence-gathering mission, but is wary of sharing—maybe even being seen—with a stranger? In both cases, how does that officer remain prepared for something going terribly wrong at any moment, while still maintaining the intention and ability to help? What common skills do these scenarios—and many others like them—require?

In The Coordinator, Ellis Amdur and Robert Hubal share their decades of experience working with law enforcement and military personnel in training and developing social interaction skills, particularly in ‘high risk, high consequence’ situations with individuals who may always view themselves as adversaries. The Coordinator is someone who is always trying to reach an accord with the other person, striving to establish community liaison, rapport, crisis management, and deescalation of aggression. The Coordinator maintains a focus on tactics, doing everything possible to enhance the safety of all people involved in the encounter. Simultaneously, the Coordinator strives to achieve a level of trust, engaging others with professionalism and respect. The Coordinator crafts the communication to form a working relationship to share in achieving the aims of the mission.

“I have known Robert Hubal for many years, starting as a colleague at RTI International, and continuing to other training and educational efforts involving military and law enforcement. The Coordinator, a result of his collaboration with Ellis Amdur, offers a clear approach to confrontations with adversarial, potentially dangerous individuals. This ‘Coordinator Mindset’ focuses everyone involved on both the problems and resolution of an incident. From my over 40 years of service in the military and then in law enforcement, as well as my studies on interviewing and effective methods for training interviewing skills, I see these skills as valuable in military personnel at various levels as well as in the law enforcement and intelligence areas. This is a great book to have around to aid in achieving the best solution possible, while lowering the risk of the encounter turning violent, without compromising the military or law enforcement mission that brought one into the situation.”

– Dr. Don Gemeinhardt (Col. USAF Retired)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781087809465
Publisher:	Edgework
Publication date:	10/10/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	316
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Ellis Amdur received his B.A. in psychology from Yale University and his M.A. in psychology from Seattle University. He is both a National Certified Counselor and a State Certified Child Mental Health Specialist. Amdur has trained in various martial arts systems for the past fifty years, spending thirteen of these years studying in Japan. He is a recognized expert in classical and modern Japanese martial traditions and has authored three iconoclastic books on the subject, as well as one instructional DVD. Since his return to the U.S. in 1988, Amdur has worked in the field of crisis intervention as a pioneering instructor for law enforcement. He has written eighteen books on the subjects of crisis intervention, hostage negotiation and the art of psychotherapy, many with subject-matter expert co-writers, as well as several works of fiction. He is a dynamic public speaker and trainer who presents to people working in a variety of professions throughout the United States and internationally. He is noted for his sometimes-outrageous humor as well as his profound breadth of knowledge. His vivid descriptions of aggressive and mentally ill people and his true-to-life role-playing of the behaviors in question give participants an almost first-hand experience of facing the real patients in question. In addition, Amdur has developed a range of consultation services, as well as a unique style of assessment and psychotherapy. Amdur's professional philosophy can best be summed up as: The development of an individual's integrity and dignity is the paramount virtue. This can only occur when people live courageously, regardless of the circumstances, and take responsibility for their roles in making the changes they desire.
Robert Hubal, a cognitive scientist, has research interests in a number of areas that focus on the intelligent use of technology to better train and assess complex knowledge and skills. In one area, technology assisted learning, he has extensive experience in developing situated training and assessment systems. In another, healthcare simulation, he has developed various applications focused specifically on medical and clinical settings. In a third, intelligent virtual humans, he has developed behavioral software that enables virtual humans to act and behave realistically in controlled learning contexts. He has investigated models of cultural daily activities and patterns of life for the portrayal of activity within game-based environments. In his work at RTI International, Soar Technology, and now the University of North Carolina, Hubal has applied research results to such every day and specialized domains as medical informed consent, clinical assessment of social and interpersonal skills, consumer decision making, vigilance in security and intelligence, law enforcement interactions, and warfighter/ civilian sociocultural engagement. He holds an S.B. in computer science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.S. in computer science from North Carolina State University, and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Duke University.

Table of Contents

SECTION I: Introduction to the Coordinator

SECTION II: Composure: Standing with Strength in Crisis Situations

SECTION III: Beyond the Basics—Core Elements Necessary to Manage High-Risk High-Consequence Situations

SECTION IV: What to Say and How to Say It

SECTION V: Training Methods

SECTION VI: Responding to Things Going Sideways

SECTION VII: Situated Examples: Coordinator Scenarios

SECTION VIII: Putting It All Together

 

Editorial Reviews

For half my military career, I served in the U.S. Army as a Ranger-qualified Infantry Soldier. We trained continuously on one thing—how to close in with and destroy the enemy on any terrain: in the jungle, the desert, the mountains, or urban areas. For the second half of my career, I decided to try out for the U.S. Army Special Forces. I wasn’t quite sure what the Special Forces did; I only knew they were the ones who conducted operations that no one heard about.

I retired from the military a couple of years ago and during one of my aikido classes, the instructor recommended that I read Ellis Amdur’s book on the internal strength of the martial arts entitled Hidden in Plain Sight. My instructor also told me that Mr. Amdur participated in a study and, with Dr. Robert Hubal, co-wrote a book entitled The Coordinator, on why Special Operations Soldiers are successful in unknown environments. Of course, I had to read it.

The Coordinator covers a good portion of what’s taught in the Special Forces Qualification Course: the Q-course. As I stated earlier, the U.S Army Infantry is proficient in fighting and is prepared to do so on any terrain. The Special Forces Soldier is also prepared to fight in any environment, but he is primarily trained on how to think. Early in the Q-course, the cadre focuses on the 12 SOF Imperatives, and using them as a tool to guide your thinking and decision making. The 1st Imperative is how to Understand the Operational Environment. Of course, in just about every military school I attended, the instructor would tell the class, “We will teach you how to think, not what to think.” That wasn’t always true, but it was definitely so for the Q-course. Critical Thinking was taught, and the Special Forces student had to apply it to every scenario or training event in the Q-course. Students were placed in chaotic environments and had to quickly think through a problem, formulate a course of action, and implement a solution in order to deescalate the situation and regain order. The natural decision for most students was to fall back on their early training, and use the kinetic, or heavy-handed approach. Every time that decision was made, the situation would get worse. The cadre would tell the students that they must always be thinking about a solution with the least negative implications. During a training exercise or real-world cata- strophic event, your body can sense when a situation is getting bad. During a firefight, you can feel changes in your body along with the increased stress.

Adrenaline will surge through your body along with a cortisol dump. If you don’t know how to control this surge, there’s a possibility that some people will shut down. They will freeze. You must understand what’s happening and force yourself to regain control of the situation. Amdur and Hubal explain some things you can easily do to calm your emotions and regain control of the situation. The breathing exercises covered in the book are very effective when coupled with the proper mindset, preparation and training.

I currently work as a military contractor, facilitating training for the U.S. Military. The Coordinator is part of my library, along with military doctrinal manuals, that I use for reference during training exercises. It took several years in my Special Forces career to fully grasp what I learned from the Q- course. As I told Mr. Amdur when I first spoke with him, I wish that I had read his book before I went through the Special Forces training. I would have understood what the training was designed to do, and how to maintain my composure in a high-tension ambiguous situation much earlier.

Manny Acosta

MAJOR, SF, U.S. Army (Ret)

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