THE PODCAST
Elevating the conversation about all things tactical.
Thomas Yoxall: A dark and cold morning on the side of the highway…
Thomas Yoxall is a regular guy who makes his living as a photo journalist and enjoys shooting in his free time. He carries a concealed Glock 26 and takes that responsibility seriously – Which is a good thing, because on January 12, 2017, he was driving along Interstate 10 enroute to California when he saw a State Trooper in serious trouble. DPS Officer Ed Andersson had been shot, pistol whipped, and was in a close-quarters fight for his life until Thomas drove by and stopped to help. Concealed weapon carriers and police officers alike need to hear this story.
Human Needs and Motivation
Some time ago, a psychologist named Abraham Maslow wrote up a list of human needs in roughly the order people need to satisfy them: food and water at the bottom of the pyramid, social and family needs in the middle, and self-esteem and purpose at the top. Mike and Jim discuss some ways we can apply this to tactical and leadership settings by figuring out how to influence behavior.
1993 Waco Standoff
A federal weapons investigation into a doomsday cult known as the Branch Davidians, formed by a guy name David Koresh, led to a 51-day standoff that resulted in the death of 75 people and at least 4 Federal Agents back in 1993. This was a high-profile event and there are several lessons learned that every one in public safety should hear about. Mike discusses some of those details in this solo episode.
Drunken War Stories with the Danimal
LANGUAGE WARNING! This episode is NOT safe for work! Uncle Dan like’s Jack Daniels and he’s had a little bit to drink so we’re gonna drag some war stories out of him and have a good time. Dan was one of Mike’s team leaders on SWAT when he first joined the team. He’s also a football coach for his son, and it turns out there’s quite a bit of crossover between the two in terms of leadership and tactics. As the alcohol level rises, you’ll get to hear a little bit about Dan has shaped the training culture in his agency and what he’s learned along the way. Good times!
Lessons from 17,000 Gun Fights
John Correia runs Active Self Protection (ASP), a massive YouTube channel analyzing self defense encounters from all over the world. He’s taken notes on 17,000 gunfights caught on camera, and he’s going to share some of those lessons with us in tonight’s episode. Link to John’s video discussed in the show here.
Jason Sweet
USAF PARARESCUEMAN, College football player, Human Performance researcher. Jason’s bringing us up to speed on some current research, athletic performance, mental toughness, motivation, and his current project preparing future special operators for selection, training, and performance in their chosen career fields. An insightful conversation that covers things like the difference in physical and mental demands between USAF Special Operations and NCAA Division I College football.
James Gagliano
The Ferguson Effect. The militarization of law enforcement. The history and evolution of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team. These are just a few of the topics we cover with Mr. Gagliano who is a retired career FBI Supervisory Agent, West Point graduate, Army Ranger, and now CNNs Law Enforcement Analyst.
Jim’s Take on Shooters
Jim does a deep-dive on active shooters and mass violence, complete with case studies, some steps you can take to get help, fight if necessary, and some scenarios to help you recognize some warning signs.
Optics 101 with Riton
Brady Speth of Riton Optics is going to teach us some nomenclature and terminology about scopes and optics. We’re also going to hear he started Riton and learn about his background and the company’s design process. Even if you already own a scope, check out our interview with Brady to learn something new about optics. There are a lot of good products on the market, but in true TacTangents style we hope that People and Ideas drive your Hardware choices, which is why you need to hear what Brady has to say.
Role Players and OPFOR
What about “reality” are you trying to simulate when you run scenario based training? How do you explain to your role players what you want them to do? These are some of the questions we are going to address in this episode about training with role players and opposition forces. Using reality based training is an invaluable tool and one of the areas often neglected beyond initial training in the military and public safety. Good training relies heavily on dedicated instructors and quality role players.
The Dorner Saga: A War Waged Against California Law Enforcement
An ex-police officer went off the deep end and committed a series of ambushes as he sought revenge for alleged injustices that lead to his firing. Christopher Dorner declared “unconventional, asymmetric warfare” against LAPD and targeted police officers and their families, resulting in 4 murders and several other attempts. Dorner’s story ended when Deputies cornered him in a cabin and set the place on fire with burning chemical munitions. Mike tells the story with some editorial on tactics and mis-steps of law enforcement along the way.
Gunmen Take 41 Hostages in an Electronics Store: The 1991 Good Guys Rescue
Four refugees entered a “Good Guy” electronics store and took over 40 employees hostage. After hours of deteriorating crisis negotiations, a SWAT team conducted a dynamic hostage rescue. We cover the “doomed captives” concept, tactical considerations, and what went right and wrong.
Short Talk: Big Picture Lessons from Ukraine
Jim gives us a quick review of the key tactical and strategic lessons coming out of Ukraine, including things like the role of tanks in modern conflict, drones and airpower, and information warfare. Russia has been learning lots of lessons like: stay out of Ukraine!
Doing More with Less: Scaling Resources in Major Incidents, Training, and Leadership Development
Whether you are trying to deliver consistent training to thousands of people or manage a major critical incident one thing is for certain: More is not always better. But a lot of tasks at major events are manpower intensive and we need to make the most of the available resources. This is a thought exercise especially for people who work in either really big or really small organizations who want to be able to scale up or down according to their needs, and who need to develop expertise in their front line troops and supervisors.
Mike Willever of Active Self Protection, Host of the ASP Podcast
Mike is a retired Special Agent from Homeland Security Investigations who also worked as a local cop back in the day. Now Mike hosts the ASP Podcast where he deep-dives critical self-defense encounters from both the civilian and public safety worlds. We compare and contrast federal and local law enforcement, and then we talk about some of the aggregate trends and lessons from the interviews he’s done since he started the podcast for Active Self Protection.
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