THE PODCAST
Elevating the conversation about all things tactical.
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.”
Safety Third: Making Training Awesome, But Also Safe
The best instructors know that fun and effective training takes careful planning and a lot of effort to get the details right. If you want to get buy in from your bosses to take all your innovative ideas and put them into practice, you need to make those events as safe as possible. That doesn’t mean eliminating every hazard, but it does mean being thoughtful and deliberate about which risks you are willing to accept. Mike talks us through the risk management process and some ideas to help you identify and address those hazards so that you can take your training to the next level.
Fasting and Keto Diets with Ben Tanner: Is every day a cheat day?
The founder of FastingWell.com talks about the differences between intermittent fasting and ketogenic diets and the health benefits of both.These dieting strategies are popular because they work and have a number of long term health benefits. Ben is a PA in Emergency Medicine and shares some hacks to show us how they are also compatible for the busy lifestyles of military and public safety crowds.
Micromanagers and Toxic Leadership: Do Less
There are several of approaches leadership in the workplace, but remember that we are shaping the decision making of the people we lead. If we do all the work for them, we are setting them up to be paralyzed when help isn’t available. Here are some tips to avoid micromanaging your troops, and how to handle a boss who is a little too involved in your daily decision making.
Injury Prevention and Rehab with Physical Therapist Allan Phillips
Allan Phillips, AKA The Kettlebell Doc, is an author, Army Officer, and Physical Therapist. He also puts his money where his mouth is as a triathlete and marathon runner and he’s going to help us build on fitness without unnecessary time off. He shares his insight on injury prevention and rehab, running shoe selection, mobility, and more.
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.
Home Security: Defense in Depth!
Every gun guy (and lady) has thought about how they might have to confront an intruder coming into their house. Too many times, when talking home defense, I have heard the conversation go to that universal language of the pump shotgun
Lessons from Aviation
3 Key Lessons from...
21 Foot Rule
One of the patterns we have noticed lately is how intense the tactical community’s relationship with fads can be. The Sheepdog analogy is a useful way to help a young soldier or cop begin to understand that they have to be prepared to do violence, but in a constrained way. It tends to fall apart when taken too far, though. The Spartan legacy is useful in inspiring toughness – but that doesn’t mean you have to run around wearing a helmet and shield. In the tactical training telephone game, good ideas can morph into rules and then into obsessions, and in the process, they can lose their utility. One of the big ones is the 21-Foot Rule.
Marker Training
Dog Training: Markers Maybe less tacti-cool than you’re used to, but enough people have dogs that...
Situational Leadership
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP This leadership model was created by a couple of psychologists named Hersey...
Ask, Tell, Make: Still Works
ASK, TELL, MAKE: STILL WORKS In the police academy, we learned this decision-making algorithm for...
Remember Rick Rescorla
REMEMBER RICK RESCORLA For this week’s bulletin, I thought I’d share a Facebook post I wrote on...
Leadership in Teaching
LEADERSHIP IN TEACHING One of the first leadership opportunities I’ve had at any job has been some...