A military manual asks the question which is more important: safety or duty. The question refers to how hard should you train and to what extent.

A good question. Should you train so hard that you compromise safety for the proficiency of the troops? Should you train in the manner that produces the most effective outcome for the mission at hand or sacrifice battle readiness for the peacetime safety of the troop as a whole?

Whoa! I'm not in the military. I'm not a General or even a soldier.

Fine. You have that option. In the military, these types of questions, not only come up, but have to be answered. All probabilities and outcomes have to be considered, analyzed, and used to determine possible COA's (courses of actions) to affect the counter or defense of an offensive action.

In the military, there is no saying, "Gee, I never thought that would happen."

In your home, why should you think anything different? Protecting your home, your spouse, your children is a primary concern for everyone. Many don't think about the malevolent possibilities that do, in fact, happen to many people. To steal a phrase, yes, it's unfortunate, bad things do happen to good people.

Being proactive is how our Army trains. It should also be the way you get your family prepared. This doesn't mean scaring the beejeesus out of them. It means planning for the event that will hopefully never actually materialize. Do your children know what to do when accosted by strangers? Does your spouse have adequate means to protect themselves. When you turn the lights out at night, do you have an early warning device in place that lets you know someone is inside your protected perimeter?

Being educated and prepared actually reduces your chances of suffering from bad stuff. Making your spouse and children aware of the possibilities of bad stuff will lend to them the recognition of something possibly happening. Would it hurt to spend a little time explaining this during the entire time you have together? Wouldn't it be better that they are aware of wrongdoings as opposed to thinking everything will always be peachy keen?

It has to do with extent that you are willing to train (encourage) your family to be prepared for unexpectantcies. Choosing how you will deal with things you hope will never happen, prepares you in the event you are confronted with the unexpected.

The question of Safety First, Duty Always boils down to this: You have a duty to protect. You do that in the manner most effectively safe, while at the same time, making sure all concerned are prepared to deal with any eventualities.

"The Army exists to deter war or, if deterrence fails, to win in combat." Ref. FM 25-101