THE PODCAST
Elevating the conversation about all things tactical.
Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say
A core component of effective teamwork is that everyone has a voice, and everyone gets a vote. The Good Idea Fairy might save your life someday, so foster that within your teams. Let the crazy guy talk! This episode covers an important communication concept for teams called mitigated speech and some ways to manage it.
Get with the times: Pistol Optics are the way of the present
There are advantages and disadvantages to any piece of tech—electronics and batteries are always failure points, but in this day and age they have become status quo. And for good reason: It’s a more natural way to shoot, you don’t need to shift your focus away from your target and it simplifies the cognitive load required to line up your iron sights. Learn more on any podcast outlet in Episode 154.
Guns n’ Guitars: Go learn something new
Hobbies are an important outlet but often, the hardest part is getting started. The next thing you have to learn is how to break through the inevitable plateaus and challenges that come with learning new skills, so in episode 153 we talk about how to develop techniques without sucking the joy out of something that is supposed to be fun.
Do you trust me? Selflessness in Teamwork
It’s one thing that we all get along, but real trust isn’t something that can be assumed as a given–we’ve got to earn it. Building trust in teams has a lot to do with the often unwritten social contracts that help us get on the same page about our roles and responsibilities. We have to know that everyone is going to put the mission before their own personal interests to really build harmony and a combined effort that is greater than than the sum of its individual parts.
All’s Well…If We Make it Well
“Wellness” is a buzzword these days. Employers offer all manner of wellness aids from fitness to nutrition as part of benefits packages, but the truth is that nobody can make you care about your wellness if you don’t. In this episode, Mike explains why this is an important concept and the reasons you should care about it.
Team Selection: Real-Life Fantasy Draft
Having a good selection procedure is important for getting the right members on a team. Mike steals a page from advertising, only where an ad man conceptualizes the ideal customer, he’s looking for the ideal SWAT guy. The process could work for any team selection, though. Just think about what the ideal candidate would say, think, do, or feel, and look for those people. Listen to this episode for ideas on how to do just that.
A Good Commander Knows What to Control
In this episode Mike and Jim talk about command and control, and teaching decision-making skills to team members. In this way, when everything hits the fan, the right decisions get made fast, and get made at the right level. There’s a reason for supervisors, commanders, and leaders, but it’s important to know when to let subordinates make decisions. Not every incident is The Big One, but nobody’s ready for The Big One if they haven’t been taught in the small ones.
Sleeping for Success
Dr. Sargent retired from a 25 year Navy career that included such exotic postings as being the only psychiatrist in Anbar Province, where he helped stand up the Combat Sleep School.
How to maximize healthy sleep hygiene without using drugs that might blunt the tactical edge is his specialty, and in this episode he talks with Mike about the best way we can adapt modern life schedules to bodies that have ancient sleep needs.
Finding the Bomber
Ever wonder why you suddenly had to start showing ID to ship a FedEx package? Blame a serious of mysterious, deadly blasts in Texas five years ago. How does one go about finding the perp in a mystery bombing case? What patterns and clues stand out? All this and more are in this episode of Tactical Tangents.
Put Me In, Coach!
Whether its an athlete of the conventional sports kind or the tactical variety found on a SWAT team or military base, there’s a tremendous value to be gained from a good coach. How can you spot a good coach? More importantly, what are the indicators of a bad one? How can you be a good coach for the people who look up to you? Listen in and find out!
Team Selection: Real-Life Fantasy Draft
Having a good selection procedure is important for getting the right members on a team. Mike steals a page from advertising, only where an ad man conceptualizes the ideal customer, he’s looking for the ideal SWAT guy. The process could work for any team selection, though. Just think about what the ideal candidate would say, think, do, or feel, and look for those people. Listen to this episode for ideas on how to do just that.
A Good Commander Knows What to Control
In this episode Mike and Jim talk about command and control, and teaching decision-making skills to team members. In this way, when everything hits the fan, the right decisions get made fast, and get made at the right level. There’s a reason for supervisors, commanders, and leaders, but it’s important to know when to let subordinates make decisions. Not every incident is The Big One, but nobody’s ready for The Big One if they haven’t been taught in the small ones.
Sleeping for Success
Dr. Sargent retired from a 25 year Navy career that included such exotic postings as being the only psychiatrist in Anbar Province, where he helped stand up the Combat Sleep School.
How to maximize healthy sleep hygiene without using drugs that might blunt the tactical edge is his specialty, and in this episode he talks with Mike about the best way we can adapt modern life schedules to bodies that have ancient sleep needs.
Finding the Bomber
Ever wonder why you suddenly had to start showing ID to ship a FedEx package? Blame a serious of mysterious, deadly blasts in Texas five years ago. How does one go about finding the perp in a mystery bombing case? What patterns and clues stand out? All this and more are in this episode of Tactical Tangents.
Put Me In, Coach!
Whether its an athlete of the conventional sports kind or the tactical variety found on a SWAT team or military base, there’s a tremendous value to be gained from a good coach. How can you spot a good coach? More importantly, what are the indicators of a bad one? How can you be a good coach for the people who look up to you? Listen in and find out!
Tactical Case for Restraint
One of the key flaws in civilian tactical training is how much time and effort we put into shooting and fighting skills and how little time and effort we put into conflict resolution. If all we teach is shooting, and the one tool in your “toolbox” is carbine skills, then the whole world might tend to look like a shooting range to you. That is a dangerous habit pattern…
Philando Castile
In July 2016 a police officer in Minnesota stopped a car and the driver informed the officer that he was armed. The driver was apparently reaching for his wallet, but the officer perceived that he was reaching for the gun. The officer gave him instructions to not reach for it, the driver said that he wasn’t, and somewhere in the mix the officer shot and killed him. The driver’s name was Philando Castile. The officer was charged with manslaughter but was acquitted by a jury. He was fired by his agency.
Riting for Cops
Poor writing kills cops. It kills cops because it doesn’t play well in the media or in court. That stilted pseudo-professional way of writing in passive voice makes cops sound intentionally opaque, robotic, and incompetent. Bad writing invites scrutiny, ridicule, and enhanced oversight by people who are far-removed from tactical reality…
Gun Handling
CAREFUL WITH THAT THING!There’s a video going around that shows a group of officers clearing a...
The X, Defined
FIGHT OFF THE X: Tactics for actions upon contact with a lethal threat in an ambush have remained relatively unchanged since I began my professional life in a world where something like that was a reality…
Balance: Training and Life
BALANCE: THE TOTAL PACKAGE We have a saying in dog training that you don’t fix one problem without...
Threat Assessment
THREAT ASSESSMENT; Threats of harm should always be taken seriously, but in many cases the person making the threat is only trying to exploit their victim or elicit a reaction for a perceived wrongdoing.
Two Types of Learners
TWO TYPES OF LEARNERS Psychologist Carol Dweck is known for her work on implicit theories of...