Warning! This post contains spoilers for Netflix’s Rebel Ridge.
While unfolding a tale of morality and justice,Rebel Ridgeintroduces several acronyms, like PACE and MCMAP, which play a crucial role in driving the overarching story.Directed by Jeremy Saulnier,Rebel Ridgefocuses on a former Marine, Terry Richmond, who arrives in a small town to bail his cousin out of prison before he gets shifted to a state facility. However, as he cycles his way to the town’s courthouse, a police vehicle rams his bicycle and sends him flying to the ground. Instead of apologizing, the police officers in the car take his bail money on the grounds of civil asset forfeiture.
With what follows, Terry Richmond initially tries to peacefully resolve the issue by learning more about the laws that led to the seizure of his money. However, when nothing seems to work out, he visits the town’s police station to directly confront the officers who wronged him. This is when he spells out several acronyms for Chief Sandy Burnne, reflecting on how lessons from his time as a Marine are still deeply ingrained in his mind.
What MCMAP Stands For In Rebel Ridge
Marine Corps Martial Arts Program
When Chief Sandy learns that Terry had no ground duty during his time in the Marine Corps, he confidently steps out to confront him, believing he can cause him no harm. While he is at it, Officer Jessica Sims and Steve Lann wait for the internet to connect to learn more about Terry’s military past. Sandy remains oblivious to what Terry is capable of, but Jessica and Steve soon learn thatTerry was a part of the MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) and taught Jiu-Jitsu to the 6th Marine Regiment. She even finds his name on MCMAP’s Wikipedia page.
MCMAP is influenced by several traditional martial arts, like Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Jujutsu, Judo, Capoeira, Sambo, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, Kendo, boxing, Eskrima, Savate, kickboxing, Isshin-ryū Karate, Muay Thai, Kung Fu, Aikido, Wrestling, Hapkido, Sayoc Kali, Krav Maga, Iaido, Taekwondo, and Kobudo.
Started in 2001, the MCMAP is a combat system created by the United States Marine Corps that trains Marines in everything from unarmed close-range combat to rifle and bayonet techniques, from the effective use of edged weapons to weapons of opportunity. Like most formal martial arts, the MCMAP also has a belt system that begins with a tan-colored belt and ends with a black one. Given howRebel Ridgehints that Terry was an MCMAP instructor, he is likely a black belt.
What PACE Means In Rebel Ridge
Primary, Alternate, Contingency, & Emergency
Towards the final moments ofRebel Ridge’s first arc, Terry Richmond reaches the end of his wits and arrives at the police station to directly confront Chief Terry. He warns the Police Chief by telling him about an acronym that has defined his plan of action to bail his cousin out of prison: PACE. As Terry explains, the"P" in PACE stands for primary, which refers to his primary plan of arriving in the town and using his borrowed money to bail out his cousin. When the primary plan failed, Terry should have been given analternate, donated by the “A,“to achieve his end goal.
However, since the police did not give him alternatives, he could not come up with a secondary plan when his main plan failed.“C” in PACE represents contingency, an unforeseeable event that would force Terry to resort to another backup plan. Initially, Terry’s contingency plan was to ask his previous employer, Mr. Liu, for the bail amount. To his frustration, Chief Terry blew that as well after raiding Mr. Liu’s restaurant. This leaves Terry with"E,” which stands for emergency. It is the last resort line of action that involves critical and immediate measures to resolve the underlying issue.
The order of communication in the PACE plan system:
By the time Terry burns through the letters of PACE, he already seems ready to execute “E,” where he uses physical force against the police officers to get his money back. Although he later settles for tactical retrograde by agreeing to de-escalate the situation, he returns to his emergency plan towardsRebel Ridge’s endingarc when the police officers keep testing his patience. Put simply, the acronym PACE sums upRebel Ridge’s overarching narrative structure.
EoF–NLE In Rebel Ridge Explained
Escalation Of Force–Non-Lethal Effects
While offering Terry the opportunity to de-escalate the situation, Chief Sandy tells him how they outsource non-lethal weapons to other police departments to earn profits. When he asks Terry if he knows about non-lethal weapons, like dazzlers, multi-launchers, and flashbangs, the former Marine reveals that they had an acronym for that as well: (EoF–NLE) Escalation Of Force–Non-Lethal Effects. The objective of EoF–NLE is to resort to non-lethal capabilities to ensure that a situation is handled while significantlyminimizing the risk of injury and collateral damage.
Richmond’s non-lethal approach underscores his higher moral ground compared to the police officers inRebel Ridge.
When things escalate towardsRebel Ridge’s ending moments, Terry still avoids taking the lethal route and only uses the police department’s non-lethal weapons to implement EoF–NLE. This draws a clear distinction between the hero and the villains. While the police officers try to kill him before he exposes the systemic corruption that runs rampant in their systems, Terry only tries to warn, suppress, or disable them from attacking him. Richmond’s non-lethal approach underscores his higher moral ground compared to the police officers inRebel Ridge.
Rebel Ridge
Former Marine Terry Richmond travels to Shelby Springs to post bail for his cousin, only to find his savings unjustly seized by a corrupt local police force. With the help of court clerk Summer McBride, Terry uncovers a deep-seated conspiracy and vows to bring justice to the town.
