While we support long-term solutions to this epidemic, the only guaranteed solution to better protect our children right now is to make schools a harder target to attack. Period! We must take a long, hard look at the security measures in the facilities that house our children. These facilities should be better protected. Plans should be in place that better coordinate a standardized law enforcement response. We should evaluate and implement technological advances that encourage safety and security. 

2. Your backgrounds are impressive. A retired Navy Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) and a retired Green Beret/Delta Force Operator who hold purple hearts, and silver and bronze star metals, to name a few of the remarkable accolades. Plus, a retired Boston Police Officer who is held in high enough regard to be on the FBI's Rolodex when defining best practices. To put it bluntly, you're all pretty badass. So why choose to move into a non-profit and not opt for a more lucrative and provocative job in private security?

Honestly, it was not a difficult decision. The three of us who started the Community First Project are motivated by acts of service, more so than financial gain. Our priority remains to help the communities that supported us over our military and law enforcement careers. A non-profit is our way of giving back to those who sacrificed their own safety to protect us.   

We believe preemptive training is critical in preventing and protecting against an active shooter. Active shooter response training is an essential requirement organizations and schools must embrace to prepare their members to respond appropriately in an active shooter incident. Although the likelihood of an active shooter event is rare, people should understand the warning signs of potential violence and their roles should an incident occur.

When an act of violence threatens community members, an immediate and strategic response can be the difference between life and death. The ability to mitigate the damage from an active shooter incident relies on the victims and first responders controlling the situation. Understanding how and when to escape, evade, and engage can provide life-saving seconds to allow for the arrival of first responders. First responders benefit from our advanced training to identify, locate, and eliminate an active shooter threat upon their arrival. The best preparation for these incidents is a coordinated plan involving law enforcement, first responders, organizations, and communities working together to mitigate the risk.

Unfortunately, active shooters are a grim reality in today's society. And as much as we would like to shelter our children from these atrocities, preparing them is a much better solution to ensuring their safety. The FBI provides resources on their webpage that can help parents find a starting point to initiate a conversation. We must teach our children survival methods even though the odds of an incident are extremely rare. 

4. Previously, when one thought of de-escalation tactics, it was in the context of a bank robbery or another type of corporate hostage situation. How does the strategy to diffuse the problem vary when the hijacker is in a school?  

The time for de-escalation in active shooter scenarios is before an incident occurs. This is where we need to actively converse about mental health, gun laws, law enforcement response procedures, parental responsibility, etc. We must do a better job of mitigating these acts before they happen. We make these issues partisan, but at the end of the day, children are dying regardless of political affiliation. 

5. With so many conversations revolving around budget, training, and overtime hours, where and how do you feel the Community First Project can best provide aid in community policing practices for law enforcement agencies?   

CP:  With our backgrounds, the logical assumption would be to pair us up with SWAT teams to conduct tactical training for Active Shooter response. However, SWAT teams are seldom the first responder to these high-threat, critical incidents. The usual first responder is the closest police officer to the threat, not the most capable of handling the situation. In fact, in most cases, the shooter is subdued or commits suicide before the tactical team's arrival. Additionally, although still underfunded, SWAT teams tend to receive the majority of funding, training, and equipment required to respond to these scenarios, even though they are seldom the first on the scene.

Our goal is to provide training to the most likely responder to this category of critical incident. School Resource Officers or patrol officers are likely first responders to active shooter events in many areas yet receive a bare minimum of training. Officers' lack of training and experience in handling such situations can prolong school-place and active shooter scenarios. High-stress, high-threat training must be a department-wide curriculum to protect better and serve the communities they police. It is critical to the safety of our children and communities that we provide the necessary funding, training, and equipment needed to guarantee an effective and immediate response.

Our team can mitigate many of these scenarios by exposing officers to these high-stress threats in a training environment. To truly affect community policing, we must ensure that our community trusts the law enforcement agencies charged with their safety. How can this happen if we continually ask police officers to do a job they are undertrained and underequipped to perform?

We want to eliminate this ongoing problem by ensuring all officers receive the training required to protect our school's and community's safety!

6. The Mazer Group is holding an event in August on Nantucket to raise funds to support the Community First Project. How else can we help the cause? 

The best ways to support the Community First Project are through financial contributions and helping to spread our message. Our website, communityfirstproject.org, talks about our mission and links to our social media pages. The more people we support our mission, the more communities we can help. As a non-profit, we rely heavily on donor support and federal and state grants. Sharing our message with the appropriate political entities and encouraging financial support from private donors will help us make communities safer.

Federal and state funding is a significant part of our success. For us to scale, we need support from both. However, private donations are a way for us to encourage community involvement through active participation. We have donors who fund training in their own towns that involve law enforcement, school boards and staff, and community members. The best way to ensure community safety is to involve an entire community. 

Finally, we are willing to speak to anyone interested in making communities safer. Referrals to law enforcement agencies, political supporters, potential donors, and corporate supporters a valued and welcomed. Sharing our experience with those who need it is our goal. Spreading our message to fund this cause is our means of achieving this goal. Thank you to everyone for taking the time to help be part of our solution!  

Luxurious .94 Acre Estate

This understatedly elegant property neighbors Steps Beach, the Nantucket Cliffs, and a large portion of the island’s conservation lands inhabited by typical New England flora and fauna. A salute to the Quaker and Whaling-era architecture for which Nantucket design is uniquely renowned; the estate boasts typical island elements like weathered grey cedar shingle siding, three and two-bay facade windows, off-center doors, and hip and gable roofs. 

Corniced by its self-contained landscaping, the estate celebrates the simplicity of 18th and 19th-century design, which flows harmoniously throughout all six units and the compound’s 7,000 square-foot living space. Its tastefully restrained decor weaves into the protected conservation lands around it, while suggestive vistas conjure the island’s prosperous seafaring-era and colonial heritage.

Winding brick walkups lead to the newly-renovated smaller units that stand out in their own right as inviting luxury homes. Serene seaside views fill their rooms, which are outfitted with oak, reclaimed heart pine and marble flooring, classical revival fireplaces, and upscale fixtures. Bathrooms were envisaged with high-end detailing, marble fixtures, and walk-in showers. Sleek, open kitchens with steel appliances and a grey and white-dominated color palette dialogue harmoniously with the warmth of the living space. Finally, each unit enjoys a mahogany deck, private staircase, and enviable beach entrance for the ultimate vacation experience.

It is the perfect dish to kick off the summer season. We recommend adding it to your next al fresco menu to enjoy with friends and a chilled glass of our house favorite Domaines Ott rosé. 

with gigante beans, wild watercress & red onion vinaigrette 

INGREDIENTS 

Squid

• 12 medium tubes and tentacles Nantucket squid 

• 1 lemon zested 

• 1 lime zested

• 2 T olive oil 

Vinaigrette 

• 1/3 cup good red wine vinegar

• 1 cup olive oil

  1 medium red onion

• small diced

  Salt and pepper 

• 1 Clove of garlic finely minced 

Salad

• 1 10 ounce can gigante beans or butter beans 

• 8 ounces watercress or arugula 

• 1 lemon

• Fllaky sea salt 

• Espellette pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

The Mazer Group!