If you watch what is going on in the world, you know that hostage takings are not uncommon and that the reactions to these takings are varied. It is important to emphasize the need to know how to survive being taken hostage. This is especially true for personnel who will function in the tactical environment. This has been well recognized in the historic literature and reiterated in more recent publications (1,2).

It can be a tricky business that may be influenced by misconceptions and just plain bad ideas of what to do. Most professionals will tell you that their experience has made them good “negotiators,” able to talk themselves in or out of almost anything. This author has witnessed this kind of thinking almost compromise a dangerous hostage situation where many lives were at stake. A negotiated release was jeopardized when the hostage refused to leave, preferring instead to remain as a captive because he thought that he could do a better job than the police negotiator, which is obviously the wrong thing to do. But, without training and forethought, any of us could fall victim to the same missteps.