THE PODCAST
Elevating the conversation about all things tactical.
Short Talk: Innovation in the Gun Industry—Shiny Objects and the Fundamentals
Fundamentals are final and the mission always drives the gear train, but the role of creativity still plays a huge role in the future of our industry and tactics. Imagine how much the game changed when night vision came out, or police officers got computers in their cars. It’s easy to get distracted by the solutions out there that lack a problem to fix, but it’s important to approach new ideas with an open mind because they might be one step closer to game changing technology.
Short Talk: Bullet Accountability in Officer Involved Shootings
Mike talks about the role of proficiency and stress management in prevent bad outcomes if we miss when we get in a shooting. We briefly touch on using deliberate practice and discipline to make sure we get it right, because you never know when that day will come.
Should cops transport wounded Officers to the hospital in a police car, or wait for an ambulance?
“It depends.” We explore the risks and benefits of a hasty transport instead of waiting for the medical professionals trained for this sort of thing. There are risks and benefits to this practice but it can be a life saving decision. Learn key considerations and other ways you can compress the timeline to definitive trauma care.
Can’t is Not in Her Vocabulary: American Paralympic Shooter McKenna Geer
McKenna Geer is a US Paralympic competitive shooter who brought home a bronze medal in the 2016 Rio games and also competed in Tokyo in 2020. McKenna talks about her upbringing and how her parents helped her become a national level competitor in spite of the disability she was born with, and talks us through coaching, training, and mindset.
Gunfighting 101 for law enforcement: Summary of the 2019 Florida UPS Truck Shooting
In 2019 there was a big shootout between cops and some armed robbery suspects who carjacked and kidnapped a UPS driver in Florida. Both suspects were killed, as well as the UPS driver and another motorist. Mike and Jim talk about gunfighting principles for cops, and how important it is to have discipline, team cohesion, and a plan when bullets start flying.
Most Gear is a Rip Off: A systematic approach to buying and testing equipment
Most Gear is a Rip Off: A systematic approach to buying and testing equipment. Mike and Jim work through some fundamentals on buying gear in a thoughtful way from a new pocket knife to a new stealth fighter. How to build a requirement, get funding, find a vendor, test a prototype, and manage the widget through its lifecycle.
Do You Feel In Charge? Training a Working Dog
Do You Feel In Charge? Training a Working Dog. Jim and Mike talk about what it means to work with a service dog, what distinguishes them from pets, how to select them, train them, and employ them. Mike also talks about different training methods and how some of them work in different ways.
The principles of dog training go outside of just employing a dog in a working environment. A dog who follows simple commands will help keep your dog, and your family safe and happy.
Man, We F***ked That Up – How to Handle the Debrief
Mike and Jim explain how to capture lessons-learned from each mission and train from those lessons. We take a few ideas from the Blue Angels and address some factors in organizational behavior, culture, and operational planning as well.
Training Champions – Maxing Performance from Baseball to Special Ops
Major League Baseball, Stanford University, 10th Special Forces, and Los Angeles County Fire are just a few of the organizations Fernando Montes has served as an exercise physiologist and sports performance coach in some capacity. He currently works with firefighters, especially wildland crews and academy recruits. Mr. Montes talks to us about the mental side of training, heat acclimatization, hydration, supplementation, and more based on four decades of experience working with a broad range of tactical and professional athletes.
Operation Eagle Claw: To You All, From Us All, For Having The Guts To Try
A watershed event in the history of US Special Operations was the 1979 hostage rescue attempt at the embassy in Tehran, Iran. Known as Operations Eagle Claw, this failed mission and the tragedy at the Desert One landing site led to the formation of US SOCOM and pushed special operations into the next generation. The best way we can honor the hostages who remained in captivity and the service members who lost their lives is to draw some lessons learned and acknowledge their sacrifice for having “The Guts To Try.”
Most Danger Doesn’t Come from Strangers
The statistical fact of the matter is that most victimization comes from people who look like us and are already in our social circles. That’s extra true about sex crimes, and super extra true about sex crimes against children. Tune in as we discuss teaching ourselves, loved ones, and especially our kids about understanding social norms, establishing boundaries, and the importance of informing someone in authority.
The Bear, The Dragon, and You
While neither of our great power opponents would benefit from a shooting war with the United States at this point in time, Jim points out that they are both conducting war by other means; the struggles are already underway. Whether by economic means, attempts to control raw material sources, or meddling with public opinion via social media channels, it’s important to be aware of these methods. Listen to this episode to have it all laid out.
Operationally Supporting Supporters who Operate
In both the military and law enforcement universes, there’s often an understandable amount of friction between the people out where the action is and those who help them get there and support them in their work. In this episode Jim and Mike discuss ways to smooth cooperation between the people behind the scenes and the officer on the street or the pilot in the seat.
Dangerous Driving
Not only does viewing driving from an Operational Risk Management standpoint apply to doing the high-speed stuff while sawing at the wheel to keep it between the ditches while running code, it entails a lot more aspects. How do you manage your driving to take into account the possibility of road rage from other motorists? Do you stay on top of vehicle maintenance in order to keep from getting stranded in a desert or a blizzard…or stuck on the side of the road and having to deal with whatever sketchy weirdo stops to “help”? Listen in as these topics and more are covered.
There’s Nothing “Friendly” About “Friendly Fire”
We know that fog and friction make it harder to be aware of the environment and cause simple tasks to become more difficult, so how do we mitigate these factors and prevent “own goals”? Listen to this episode to find out.
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OODA LOOP
One of the popular models in tactical decision making is the OODA loop, which stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. A lot of people tend to over-simplify this concept. They view it as a linear cycle, or a checklist–as if you move from one step to the other. It is a lot more complicated than that. Our individual orientation–which is a product of our identity, training, experience, and our moral compass–drives each step of the process. It controls not only what we see, but where we look. It controls not only what we decide, but provides us with an index of solutions. It describes a two-way interaction with our environment, and shows us that our adversaries have an Orientation, too.
Teamwork
If you look around any professional workplace, you will see several types of leaders–by that I don’t just mean differing leadership styles, although that is part of it–I am talking about the types of leaders in a group who make the difference between a “loose gaggle” and a high-performance team. This discussion is going to focus on the informal leaders–the unappointed low- or middle-man who makes a difference. A new or inexperienced member of the group might be the type of person who owns their mistakes, never makes excuses, and humbly accepts criticism. You might be asking yourself, doesn’t that just make them a good follower?
Burning Alive
If you read some of the news articles about the recent apartment fire in London, you’ll see quite a bit of commentary about the panic encountered by people trapped on the upper floors of the building. Similar to the attacks on 9/11, people can be seen in YouTube videos jumping out of windows from heights that would seemingly guarantee their death.