The Debrief with Jon Becker

K9/SWAT Integration with LASD-SEB

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0800

Canine integration into SWAT operations has evolved significantly, with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Special Enforcement Bureau leading the charge since the 1990s. In this episode, Jon sits down with John Montenegro and Steve Williams from LASD-SEB to examine their pioneering approach to K9/SWAT integration, where canines and operators function as a single team with complementary capabilities.

Montenegro and Williams share tactical insights from decades of experience, debrief actual cases demonstrating effective canine deployment, and discuss lessons learned in building successful integration programs. Essential listening for tactical teams considering or refining their K9 integration strategies.

Taking Down a Serial Killer

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 05:00:00 -0800

On June 14, 2020, Butte County Sheriff's SWAT team executed what seemed like a routine arrest warrant for an arson suspect on a remote mountain property. Using night vision for covert reconnaissance, the team discovered they had walked into an active attempted murder scene. The suspect was later identified as a serial killer responsible for three murders and two attempted murders.

Lieutenant Josh Brazzi, SWAT Commander, and Sergeant Angelo Tavelli, Team Leader, share the harrowing details of this operation that saved a life and took down a dangerous predator. This episode examines tactical decision-making in rapidly evolving scenarios and the challenges of operating in remote, mountainous terrain.

DME010 - Arrest Warrant for Murder Suspect on Mountain Compound

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 04:00:00 -0800

DME010 - Arrest Warrant for Murder Suspect on Mountain Compound

Legacy Revisited - James Kerr

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0800

Jon Becker sits down with author James Kerr to revisit his groundbreaking book "Legacy" and explore what makes the All Blacks the most successful sports team in history. With a win ratio approaching 80% over 125 years, this New Zealand rugby powerhouse offers invaluable lessons on building elite culture and sustained excellence.

Kerr breaks down the actionable principles that create championship-level performance, from "sweep the sheds" to "no dickheads" policies. For tactical professionals, these aren't abstract concepts—they're direct translations from one warrior culture to another, providing practical frameworks for leadership and team building in high-stakes environments.

LAPD D-Platoon's Approach to Hostage Rescue

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0800

In this episode of The Debrief, host Jon Becker sits down with LAPD SWAT's Jonathan Pultz, a 27-year veteran and D-Platoon element leader, to examine one of law enforcement's most critical missions: hostage rescue. With D-Platoon conducting 120-150 high-risk operations annually, Pultz brings unparalleled operational experience to discuss LAPD SWAT's methodologies and approach to hostage situations.

Through detailed analysis of two recent operations, this conversation explores tactical decision-making, crisis negotiation integration, and the lessons learned from over five decades of SWAT operations. Essential listening for tactical operators seeking insights from one of the world's premier law enforcement units.

Improving Tactical Performance with Science

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0800

Guest: Dr. Nathalie Pattyn

In this episode, Jon sits down with Dr. Nathalie Pattyn, whose unique background spans medicine, psychology, research, and military operations. Dr. Pattyn discusses her unconventional career path from aspiring astronaut to emergency physician to tactical performance researcher, including her work in extreme environments like Antarctica and space research.

The conversation explores how scientific principles can improve tactical performance for law enforcement teams. Dr. Pattyn shares practical insights on decision-making under pressure, stress management, and optimizing human performance in high-stakes situations—essential knowledge for SWAT teams and tactical operators seeking evidence-based approaches to enhance their operational effectiveness.

Beyond the Loop: Why Everything You Know About OODA May Be Wrong

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 05:00:00 -0800

John Boyd's OODA loop is widely referenced but fundamentally misunderstood. Mark McGrath reveals how the common circular diagram represents less than one percent of Boyd's work. The real framework centers on orientation—constantly updating mental models through destruction and creation. This conversation explores entropy, uncertainty, and incompleteness as foundations for adaptive decision-making in tactical operations, business strategy, and leadership.

Guest Information:

Mark McGrath Marine Corps Veteran, Master's Degree in Economics, Author of 'The Whirl of Reorientation' Substack, Co-Host of 'No Way Out' Podcast

Barricade Erupts into Urgent HRT When Freed Victim Returns to Hostage Taker

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0800

A three-month homicide investigation in Washington State led to a suspect barricaded in a vehicle inside a garage. What began as a routine containment evolved into a seven-hour standoff, which suddenly escalated when the freed domestic violence victim returned to the residence and was taken hostage. Joel Anderson and Bob Shaw detail the tactical challenges of coordinating Pierce County and Washington State Patrol SWAT teams through multiple operational phases—from vehicle barricade to urgent hostage rescue—all while managing the unpredictable dynamics of a DV relationship and a suspect determined to avoid capture.

GUEST INFORMATION
Joel Anderson
Tactical Commander, Washington State Patrol SWAT Team, Vice President of Washington State Tactical Officers Association

Bob Shaw
Patrol Sergeant, Pierce County Sheriff's Department SWAT Team, Washington State Tactical Officers Association Cadre Member

DME 09 - Barricade Erupts into Urgent HRT

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 04:00:00 -0800

DME 09 - Barricade Erupts into Urgent HRT

DME 08 - South Davis UT Family Hostage Rescue & HRT

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0800

DME 08

Pursuit Leads to Unrelated Family Hostage Situation and HRT

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0800

In September of 2021 a suspect involved in a carjacking and attempted homicide led police in a vehicle pursuit that ended in a car crash in Farmington Utah. The suspect fled on foot across Interstate 15 into a residential neighborhood prompting patrol officers to establish a perimeter and begin a search with a K9 unit. During the search a single gunshot was heard, South Davis Metropolitan SWAT and North Davis Metropolitan SWAT were both activated to conduct a house -to-house search. Operators discovered a bullet hole in a residence window, and shortly after, a male exited nearby home in a vehicle. He was stopped and informed operators that his family was being held hostage and that the suspect had sent him to check for police. As operators moved toward the residence, a juvenile female escaped through a window. Debriefing the father and daughter, it became clear that three more hostages remained inside the home with an armed suspect. Negotiated side and a handgun was recovered next to his body. My guest today is Lieutenant Andrew Smith. Andrew began his law enforcement career with the Utah Highway Patrol in 2008. In 2011, he left the highway and began working for the West Bountiful Police Department. He joined the South Davis Metropolitan SWAT team in 2012 and eventually moved to the Bountiful City Police Department in 2013, where he worked his way through various assignments and promoted to the rank of lieutenant and team commander of the South Davis Metropolitan SWAT team. Anders held numerous leadership positions in the department, including FTO, lead scout, entry team member, and assistant team leader, and is currently the South Davis Metropolitan SWAT team commander. He's been honored with numerous unit citations as a member of the police department and SWAT team, including his involvement in two hostage rescue operations and two Bountiful City Police Department chief stars, one of which was for his response to an active shooter at a local junior high.

Contact Info:

Lt Andrew Smith – asmith@bountiful.gov

Books

Legacy by James Kerr – ISBN-13 - 978-1472103536

Tactical Longevity – Dr. Jenny Prohaska

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Dr. Jenny Prohaska, a clinical psychologist who has spent her career on the front lines of trauma and high-stakes performance. Jenny trained in neuro -rehabilitation psychology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, working with patients and staff in trauma, ICU, and burn units, where she built her expertise in how the brain and body adapt to extreme stress. For more than a decade, Jenny has brought that expertise into policing and tactical operations. She's force science certified and consults on more than 30 officer -involved shootings a year, as well as hundreds of other critical incidents. Jenny’s conducted thousands of pre-hire psychological evaluations, giving her deep expertise in what makes officers and teams thrive or deteriorate under pressure. She's also built and trained more than two dozen peer support teams across the country and today consults for more than 50 public safety agencies. Jenny's also a sought-after speaker for national organizations. She's a founder of tactical longevity, a first -of -its -kind, pre-incident anti -fragility training framework designed to prepare officers and tactical teams to withstand the cumulative stress of their job. I'm excited to talk to Jenny because I've been a fan of her work for a number of years, and I believe that antifragility and prehabilitation programs promoting this concept of tactical longevity and talking about it and teaching.

Links

Tactical Longevity | Anti-Fragility Training

Books

What Happened to You? Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey – ISBN-13 – 978-1250223180

DME 007 - Bakersfield PD Hostage Rescue

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 08:00:00 -0700

Hostage Rescue Under Explosive Threat - Bakersfield PD SWAT

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0700

On October 12th, 2020, Bakersfield police responded to a hospital on a domestic violence call to a female who had been hit in the head with a hammer by her ex-husband. When patrol officers arrived at the suspect's house, the male suspect exited the home, screaming at police and threw an improvised explosive device at officers. Negotiations with the suspect began, who initially appeared to be negotiating in good faith, But after two hours, it became apparent the suspect was not going to comply, and the Bakersfield Special Operations Group was activated. In the ensuing 12 -hour standoff, the team became aware that the suspect had his four-year-old son with him and was an Army combat veteran who had explosive devices in the home. With me today are Captain Ted King and Sergeant Travis Harless from Bakersfield Police to discuss the case.

Left of Bang Revisited with Patrick Van Horne

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Patrick Van Horne. Patrick is the co- author of Left Of Bang: How the Marine Corps combat hunter program can save your life. He is also the co-founder of the CP journal where he supports clients in preventing, preparing for, and proactively responding to disasters, disruptions and acts of violence. After starting his career is an infantry officer in the Marine Corps following the September 11 attacks, Patrick has supported public and private sector organizations in disaster, preparedness and violence prevention initiative as an entrepreneur, consultant, local emergency manager and volunteer for over 20 years. Patrick’s book Left Of Bang described an innovative program that taught deploying marines how to proactively recognize threats, assess human behavior and gain an advantage over the nation’s adversary. This approach has since been adopted by organizations around the world to prepare for an uncertain future, prevent violence, enhance healthcare delivery, focus cyber security operations, tailor educational programs and improve decision-making.

Links

Homepage: www.cp-journal.com

The Evolution of Left of Bang (this article shows how the topic/idea has grown and expanded since the book was published).

The Tactical Analysis Course (this is the overview page of the video-based course of the behaviors and approach written about in the book).

Books

Mastery - Robert Greene - ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1101601020

The Warrior Ethos- Stephen Pressfield - ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1936891009

Lessons Learned from the Tree of Life Synagogue Response

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 11:00:00 -0700

On October 27, 2018 a lone gunman entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA with the intent of killing anyone he could. Tree of Life was the home to three different congregations, Tree of Life, New Light, and Dor Haddash, all of which were preparing for or having their normal shabbat services. What followed was the deadliest attack on the Jewish Community in American history. 11 innocent people were killed, and a further 6 were injured.

This attack is the subject of our documentary called Confronting Hate, where we dealt with the attack and aftermath in detail. However, we wanted to make a more traditional episode of The Debrief to cover the team’s lessons learned from the event and their advice to other units. In this episode, we will hear from several of the responding members of Pittsburgh SWAT. As usual, we will not mention the shooters name or discuss his agenda because we are hoping time will erase him and the hate he hoped to propagate.

Hostage Rescue of an Infant - Surprise AZ PD SWAT

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0700

On Friday May 17 2024 the Surprise Arizona Police department received a call that a suspect had broken into his ex-girlfriend’s home and taken her and their 7-month-old child hostage. The suspect told her that he planned to kill her and the baby and eventually killed her dog. She eventually convinced the suspect to let her go outside and fled to local construction workers who called the Surprise police. When police arrived on scene, they found the suspect shooting out the front of the house into neighboring homes. The decision was made to conduct a high-risk entry to rescue the child. What ensued was a textbook hostage rescue by members of the Surprise SWAT team augmented by patrol officers who entered the home and rescued the child getting him to medical attention and saving his life. The team, having rescued the baby, then pulled out of the home leaving the suspect barricaded in a back bedroom. The suspect eventually lit the house on fire before committing suicide. My guests today are Officer Ryan Scott and Officer Travis Karpuleon from Surprise PD who were both part of the team that rescued the baby

Resources:

Critical Incident Debrief 5.17.2024 - YouTube

Post Traumatic Growth – Guests: Dr. Richard Tedeschi, Josh Goldberg & Chief Chad Kasmar

Wed, 21 May 2025 05:00:00 -0700

On this episode of The Debrief we are going to be looking at Post Traumatic Stress and Post Traumatic Growth. These are two topics that I am extremely passionate about because, as you might imagine, each incident we cover on The Debrief has had a profound effect on everyone involved. Over the years that I have been working with teams and the years I have hosted this show I have seen people destroyed by their experiences. Yet I have also seen others use the trauma they endured to build a stronger, happier and more purposeful version of themselves. Although I have certainly seen patterns, I have always wondered what separated these two groups of people, which is why I wanted to have this discussion on Post Traumatic Growth. Simply put there is a LOT we can do to prepare for and respond to traumatic incidents that will reduce the fallout to those involved.

All of my guests today have a different perspective on Post traumatic growth. Dr. Richard Tedeschi is the world’s foremost authority on Post Traumatic Growth and literally coined the expression. His work forms the foundation for most PTG programs.

Josh Goldberg is the CEO of Boulder Crest Foundation, a nonprofit whose Warrior Path and Struggle Well programs have reached over 100,000 people.

And Finally Chief Chad Kasmar is the current Chief of Police in Tucson Arizona. Following the suicide of a friend and former fellow officer Chad has led a revolution in the way his city prepares and supports their staff for traumatic incidents. He has a truly unique perspective on the implementation of these types of programs.

I hope you enjoy this deep dive into Post Traumatic Growth and that this episode inspires you and your agencies to improve on the way we prepare and treat our warriors and first responders.

Resources:

Boulder Crest Foundation – www.bouldercrest.org

Boulder Crest: Reborn - Boulder Crest Foundation Presents: Reborn - YouTube

The Lindt Café Hostage Siege – Sydney, AUS – Guest: Ben Besant (aka Officer A)

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0700

On the 15th of December 2014, a terrorist took over the Lindt Chocolate café in Martin Place, in the heart of Sydney, Australia, holding 18 customers and staff hostage, creating a siege that would last for over 16 hours.

Although numerous hostages escaped, by the time the event conclude,d 2 innocent people were dead, 4 others were injured.

For 10 years, this incident was suppressed under a government-mandated gag order. This prevented the New South Wales Police Tactical Operations Unit (or TOU) members from even publicly revealing their names. As a result, despite a detailed and scathing coroner’s inquest report, the largest and most expensive in Australian history, there has been very little discussion about what actually happened that night, particularly from a tactical perspective.

In keeping with the standard policy of The Debrief, we will not be discussing the name, objectives, or affiliations of the terrorist in the hope that time will erase his memory. We will, of course, be discussing the names of the team, and in this case, hostages, because they are heroes and need to be remembered. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Ben Besant.

Guest:

My guest today is Ben Besant. Ben, or ‘Officer A’ as he was identified in the coroner’s report, was the lead member of the Alpha Team during the intervention and the officer who engaged and killed the terrorist. He is currently the author of a book Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! which details not only what happened that night but also explains a very personal battle to recover his mental health following ‘the Lindt Café siege.’

Resources:

Ben Besant - https://tigertigertigerbook.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086482286065#

Resolute Ready - https://resoluteready.com/

Official Report - https://coroners.nsw.gov.au/documents/findings/2017/lindt_cafe_findings-and-recommendations.pdf

UVALDE - What Really Happened at Robb Elementary?

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0700

On May 24, 2022, an active shooter took the lives of 19 children and two staff members and physically and mentally injured the survivors, their families, staff, teachers and the broader community in Uvalde, Texas. At the request of Uvalde's leadership, the U.S. Department of Justice established the Critical Incident Review (CIR) to conduct an independent, objective assessment of what happened that day and assess the systems in place in the weeks leading up to May 24. The goal of the episode is to provide information to those most affected by the tragedy and to build knowledge regarding how to best respond to incidents of mass violence. This panel will provide an overview of the incident and present observations and recommendations from the DOJ report in the areas of tactics, leadership and incident command.

Guests: Nazmia Comrie & Frank Fernandez - USDOJ COPS Office

Resources:

DOJ Report - https://cops.usdoj.gov/uvalde

DME06 - UVALDE

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 04:00:00 -0700

LA Fires – The First 12 Hours

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0700

Capt. Trey Sorensen – Pasadena FD and Sgt. Bobby Crees Pasadena PD

Just after 6pm on January 7th, the fire ignited in Eaton Canyon, California. In a matter of hours, powered by sustained 60 mile an hour winds, with gusts as high as 100 miles an hour, the fire spread through Pasadena and into the neighboring area of Altadena. In the days that followed, the Eaton fire grew to become one of the worst fires in California history, killing 17 people, burning more than 14 ,000 acres, destroying more than 9 ,400 structures, and damaging more than 1 ,000 others. In the city of Pasadena, approximately 150 structures were destroyed, but because of the efforts of the police and fire departments, no one in Pasadena lost their lives. My guests today are Captain Trey Sorensen from the Pasadena Fire Department and Sergeant Bobby Crease from the Pasadena Police Department. Trey was the evacuation group supervisor and Bobby was the command post supervisor during the first 14 hours of the fire. Although the fire burned for almost two weeks, for this debrief we will be looking at the first 12 hours of the fire and how the police and fire departments struggled to save lives as an uncontrollable fire tore through their city.

Contact Info:

Capt. Trey Sorensen – tsorensen@cityofpasadena.net

Sgt. Bobby Crees – bcrees@cityofpasadena.net

Austin PD LODD: A Wife's Perspective - Kim Pastore

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Kim Pastore. Kim’s husband Jorge Pastore was killed on November 11, 2023 while attempting to rescue hostages with the Austin, TX SWAT Team. This was a case we covered previously with the Team in Seasons 4 Episode 5 released on November 11, 2024. However, Kim has graciously agreed to sit down with us and debrief the incident from her perspective. This is an episode we have wanted to do for a long time to consider the spouses perspective on a LODD as well as consider the best practices for handling a LODD that an agency, team and individual offer can engage in to make this process as easy as possible for the family.

Contact Info:
https://www.jpastorefoundation.com/

Lessons Learned from Elite Unit Selection Processes – John Dowd

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0800

My guest today is John Dowd. John is a former navy SEAL who 15 years ago started SOFware, LLC a company that develops software and consults with elite units in their assessment and selection processes. John and his team work with many of the world most elite units assisting them in not only choosing the right people but also helping them develop over their entire careers. John’s views on selection and the lessons learned by his team over the past 15 are extremely valuable information for any team to help guide how you evaluate and select personnel.

Book Recommendation:

Assessment of Men: Selection of Personnel for the Office of Strategic Services: The OSS Assessment Staff, Rinehart & Company, Inc. ASIN: B000M6BR7W

Contact Info:

You can reach John and his team at best.practices@sofwarellc.com, and can learn more about their software, FORGE, at https://sofwarellc.com/forge.

Operator Health and Performance with Casey Glass

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0800

My guest today is Casey Glass. Casey is the founder of Warfighter Health and Performance and for the past 11 years has been a Special Operations Strength Coach for US SOF units. Casey’s Grew up on a ranch in Texas. In college, she played soccer at Texas Christian University and interned with the strength and conditioning staff her senior year. While pursuing her master’s in health and Fitness at Purdue University she became their Graduate Assistant Strength Coach. She then went on to work for the University of Arkansas for 4.5 years starting as a paid intern and leaving as the Associate Director of Olympic Sports Strength and Conditioning. Eleven years ago she accepted a position that would change her life working in the Human Performance Program for a US Special Operations unit working to improve our warfighters’ operational performance and resilience. Last year she founded Warfighter Health and Performance an organization designed to bring the experience and skills our SOF units are receiving to law enforcement special operations units.

Book Recommendation:

Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky - ISBN-13: ‎978-0805073690

Building the Elite by Craig Weller & Jonathan Pope - ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0578918099

Contact Info:

https://www.warfighterhp.com

https://www.linktr.ee/warfighterhp

Part 2: Lessons Learned from Bank Robbery & Police Ambush

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0800

Bank Robbery and Police Ambush in Saanich BC - GVERT

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0800

On June 28, 2022, the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (aka GVERT) was working as a quick response team for narcotics surveillance when a call went out of an active bank robbery in progress. Two suspects, covered almost completely in body armor and heavily armed with SKS rifles were robbing the Bank of Montreal branch in nearby Saanich BC. The suspects had herded all of the bank patrons and employees into the back of the bank and then proceeded to wait more than 12 minutes in the entrance vestibule of the bank hoping to ambush and kill the responding officers. In accordance with their policy of remaining covert until suspects left the bank to avoid creating a hostage situation, responding officers from Saanich, Central Saanich and nearby Victoria PD descended on the area and inserted into covert locations around the bank.

The GVERT team left the surveillance and headed immediately to the bank. As they arrived on scene and gained situational awareness, the two male subjects, covered head to toe in armor and armed with SKS 7.62 x 39 rifles with high-capacity magazines, exited the bank. The team raced into the parking lot in their surveillance van, deployed a flashbang, and began to exit to effect arrest. As they did the suspect nearest the van calmly turned and opened fire on the van. In just a few seconds, 6 of the 7 operators in the van were shot, some multiple times. All of them were injured and at least one of them was at immediate risk of death.

The remaining team members and patrol officers returned fire eventually killing the suspects. What transpired over the next few minutes can only be described as a heroic performance by team members and army of patrol officers and other first responders who quickly transitioned from taking the suspects into custody, to searching for a possible third shooter, clearing the bank, freeing the hostages, dealing with numerous IEDs and most importantly providing care and transport for their injured teammates.

This is the first of a two part series that will look at this event through the several different perspectives. This episode will be unlike any previous episode of the debrief because of the sheer number of people we were able to interview. The agencies, patrol officers and teams involved in this incident gave us access to more than a dozen people who responded to the event. As a result, we will be seeing incident from the perspectives of the team commander, team leaders, detached sniper element, assaulters, medics, and even the patrol supervisor for the day. It is our hope that doing so will allow us to understand not only what happened, but how their training allowed them to succeed in an almost unwinnable situation and how their lessons learned from the event informed future training and tactics. In this first part we will look at the timeline of the event itself, in part two we will sit down on video with three of the team members to look back at the events and formally discuss lessons learned.

In keeping with the standard policy of the debrief we will not mention the suspects’ names or objectives in the hopes that they will be lost to the sands of time. We will however mention the names of responding officers as they are heroes and need to be remembered as such.

One additional note, this episode has a corresponding decision-making exercise created by the California Association of Tactical Officers. Please be sure to run that exercise with friends or your team.

DME 005 - Bank Robbery & Police Ambush in Saanich BC - GVERT

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 04:00:00 -0800

DME004 - Patrol Based Domestic Hostage

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0800

Improving Tactical Decision Making – Dr. Gary Klein

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0800

My guest today is a true legend in the field of decision making, Dr. Gary Klein. Gary is the author of the book Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions, and five other books. His work includes groundbreaking research into the cognitive models we use for decision making including the Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD) model, the Data/Frame model of sensemaking, the Management By Discovery model of planning in complex settings, and the Triple Path Model of Insight. He has developed methods including the Pre-Mortem method of risk assessment, techniques for Cognitive Task Analysis, the ShadowBox training approach, and also helped pioneer the Naturalistic Decision-Making movement in 1989. Dr. Klein has decades of work experience in dozens of work domains, including military, healthcare, and emergency response. I am excited to have Gary on the show because his work with military and emergency response work provides a great framework for us to not only understand our decision making but also how to improve it through training and simulation.

Course Discussed on Show:

https://www.shadowboxtraining.com/courses/masterclass-in-practical-decision-making/

Gary’s Books:

Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions – ISBN13 - 978-0262112277

Seeing What Others Don't: The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights – ISBN13 -978-1610392518

Book Recommendation:

How to Stay Smart in a Smart World: Why Human Intelligence Still Beats Algorithms by Gerd Gigerenzer – ISBN13 - 978-0262046954

Contact Info:

ShadowBox Training – Accelerate Expertise

Gary Klein - WELCOME

LODD on HRT Crisis Entry – Austin PD SWAT

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0800

On November 11, 2023, Austin Texas Police officers responded to a call of a stabbing. The Caller advised that there were several subjects that had been stabbed. When officers arrived, they made contact with one of the victims who advised two additional family members were still inside the residence with the suspect. Patrol officers forced entry into the residence and were immediately met with gun fire from within the residence. APD SWAT was requested to assist, upon arrival an emergency entry was made to save the lives of the victims. The suspect barricaded himself in a bedroom and ambushed the entry team as they made entry killing Officer Jorge Pastore and seriously injuring Officer John Conner. With me today are Sgt. Rafael Rosales and Ofc Kevin Olejar who are here to share the event and to discuss lessons learned.

In keeping with the policy of The Debrief we will not be mentioning the suspect by name or discussing his agenda as we hope they are both forgotten. We will however be mentioning the names of the officers because they are heros and need to be remembered.

This episode will be dedicated to the memory of Jorge Pastore – EOW 11/11/23

http://www.jpastorefoundation.com/

Contact Info

Sgt. Rafael Rosales

Rafael.rosales@austintexas.gov

DME-03 Injured Hostages: The Critical Decision to Initiate a Hostage Rescue Team

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 04:00:00 -0800

Decision Making Excercise #3

Escaped Inmate Hostage Rescue w/ WCTRU

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0700

On the afternoon of July 11, 2022, at about 1400 hrs, two Hamilton County Ohio Sheriff’s Detectives observed an escapee from the River City Correctional Facility in Cincinnati, in the parking lot of the Baymont Inn hotel. Although they were unable to make a positive identification before the suspect entered the hotel, they contacted the Mason Police Department for support. A Mason officer learned that the female observed in the parking lot with the suspect (whom she had just met) was registered to room 310. These two detectives as well as several additional Mason police officers knocked on the door of the room and were immediately met with screaming, yelling, profanity and threats of violence made by the suspect. Mason Police immediately requested assistance from the Warren County Tactical Response Unit (WCTRU). The suspect then barricaded himself inside keeping the woman as a hostage and threatening to kill her if officers came through the door. Several times the suspect was seen at the window and officers could see a knife in his hand. WCTRU used a negotiator throughout the night to talk to the suspect but at approximately 0230 hrs as negotiations broke down, the team forced entry into room 310 and observed the suspect holding a knife to the hostage’s throat. A single TRU team member fired one round into the suspect’s face, ending the standoff and recovering the hostage.

In keeping with our standard policy, we will not be using the suspect’s name or identifying him in any way. It is our hope that he will be erased by the sands of time. We will, of course, be using the officers’ names because they are heroes and need to be remembered.

Book Recommendation:

Leader Shift by John C Maxwell ISBN: 9780718098506

The Mission, The Men, and Me by Pete Blaber ISBN: 9780425236574

The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin ISBN: 9781250195777

Contact Info:

Deputy Scott Williams

Warren County Sheriff’s Office

513-266-4536

Scott.williams@wcsooh.org

DME-02 Critical Choices in Hostage Situations

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 04:00:00 -0700

Improving Tactical Performance with Cognitive Training

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0700

Imagine if you could train your brain to give you better situational awareness, see and hear more, and improve your tactical decision-making abilities? Although this sounds like science fiction, it is quickly becoming a science fact in the emerging field of brain training for tactical operators. On this episode of The Debrief we will explore the science of brain training for tactical operators with three experts in the Field, Jeff Selleg from the National Tactical Officers Association, Dr. Henry Mahncke from Posit Science the creator of a program called Brain HQ, and Dr. Brittany Loney from Elite Cognition, a performance psychologist who works with elite military and law enforcement units.

Contact Info

Brain HQ - Brain Exercises, Brain Training, Brain Health – BrainHQ from Posit Science

Jeff Selleg - NTOA - BrainHQ | NTOA

Dr. Brittany Loney – www.elite-cognition.com

Resilience and Recovery from Catastrophe w/ Justin Dodge

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0700

The topic of resilience for first responders has fortunately become a more common discussion. As the rate of suicides, addiction and burnout rise, discussions of grit or internal fortitude against adversity have become a frequent topic for articles, speeches and conference courses. My guest today knows a great deal about this topic. Justin Dodge is a 28-year veteran of the Denver Police Department (DPD) with 19 of those years spent on SWAT as an operator, assistant team leader, and team leader. In June 2023, Justin suffered a catastrophic injury during the Denver Nuggets championship parade, his left leg was pinned under an 80,000-pound fire truck which ultimately resulted in his leg being amputated below the knee. Despite this life-changing injury, Justin has made a full come-back and returned to full operational status on SWAT. He also created a new business called Heavy Victory, LLC which provides wellness and resiliency training to government and commercial entities.

Contact Info
Email - Justin@heavyvictory.com
IG - @heavy_victory_
Web - https://www.heavyvictory.com

Decision Making Exercise | Parkland

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 04:00:00 -0700

In this episode, Josh Wofford instructs a DME: Decision Making Exercise to accompany the Parkland episode of The Debrief.

A decision making exercise places you in the position of a leader on scene at a critical incident, and allows you to make decisions as if you were there. The purpose of the decision making exercises is to tap into the collective knowledge of your team.

Instructions: Listen to the DME before listening to the full Parkland Debrief Episode. Pause after each set of questions and allow your team to discuss how they would address the scenario in Part 1. Then repeat the process for the remaining scenarios. Finally, watch the full episode of The Debrief to learn how the scenarios actually played out.

DME's are a partnership between CATO and The Debrief.

Parkland Attack - Chief Clyde Parry

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 04:00:00 -0700

On February 14, 2018, an active killer attacked the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida killing 17 people and wounding another 17 people. The shooter then managed to flee the scene by slipping in with other students. The shooter was apprehended without incident over an hour later. In the months and years that followed this incident there was a firestorm of media coverage and legal actions directed at responding law enforcement agencies not only criticizing their response to the incident but also their failure to intervene with the shooter despite numerous red flags that preexisted the incident. Additionally, a Broward County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer was charged, but acquitted, of child neglect and culpable negligence. There were also more than 50 civil suits filed resulting in millions of dollars in settlements as well as reassignments and resignations in the responding agencies.

My guest today is Chief Clyde Parry. On the day of this incident Clyde was the interim Chief for the neighboring City of Coral Springs Florida and was responsible for setting up the initial incident command post and assuming incident command for the event. Clyde began his law enforcement career with the Derry Borough Police Department near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1986. In May of 1987 he relocated to Florida and began his career with the Coral Springs Police Department where he worked his way up through the ranks from Patrol Officer to Chief of Police. Clyde was sworn in as the permanent Chief of Coral Springs PD just 19 days after this event.

Books Recommended

Why Meadow Died: The People and Policies That Created The Parkland Shooter and Endanger America's Students -Andrew Pollack (Author), Max Eden (Author) - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1642932195

Contact Info

Clyde Parry - boncly@bellsouth.net

2024 Summer Flashback | The California Association of Tactical Officers

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 05:00:00 -0700

For our final episode of 2024's "Summer Lookback" series, we revisit episode 4 featuring Brent Stratton and Marcus Sprague.

Brent is the Assistant Chief at a Southern California Police Department and the President of the California Tactical Officers Association (CATO). Marcus is a recently retired Lieutenant at a Northern California PD and the Vice President of CATO. Both Brent and Marcus are graduates of the CARO Strategic Leadership Program.

To view the original episode, its follow-up, and recommended reading, please visit: https://thedebrief.live/episodes/?modal-link=https://thedebrief.live/episode-4/

2024 Summer Flashback | Lt. Lee McMillion

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 05:00:00 -0700

This episode in our summer lookback series features Lt. Lee McMillion. Lee is currently one of the two Lieutenants leading the Los Angeles Police Departments Metropolitan Division D-Platoon. Which is also known as LAPD SWAT. In total, Lee has spent 33 years as a Los Angeles Policeman of which 23 years have been spent at Metro, 21 with D-Platoon. Lee is one of only three men to have ever served at all possible ranks at D Platoon (Officer, Plus 1, Sgt, and Lt.). Lee has been an element member, an element leader, a squad leader and is currently a Platoon Leader. In his career Lee has participated in well over a thousand tactical operations with a wide variety of mission sets.

To view the original episode, its follow-up, and recommended reading, please visit:https://thedebrief.live/episodes/?modal-link=https://thedebrief.live/episode-3/

2024 Summer Flashback | Buddy Brown

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 05:00:00 -0700

The third episode in our 2024 Summer lookback series features Buddy Brown.

Buddy works for the York County Sherriff’s Office in South Carolina. Buddy has worked patrol, narcotics and training and spent more than 18 years on the York County regional SWAT team. On January 16, 2018, York County responded to a domestic violence call that led a suspect on the run in the woods behind a residential area. By the time the night was over Det. Mike Doty would be murdered by the suspect and three other members of the agency would be shot and seriously wounded, including Buddy. In this Critical Incident Review Buddy will take us through the timeline and events of the night as well as discuss their lessons learned and his recovery from catastrophic injuries.

To view the original episode, its follow-up, and recommended reading, please visit: https://thedebrief.live/episodes/?modal-link=https://thedebrief.live/episode-12

2024 Summer Flashback | Mike Hillman

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 05:00:00 -0700

The second episode in our "2024 Summer Flashback" series features a legend in the tactical community with a list of career accomplishments that would take an entire podcast of their own. Mike Hillman was one of the original founders of LAPD SWAT, a Deputy Chief at LAPD, the Assistant Sheriff in Orange County California and a Chief of Police for the Los Angeles Port Police. He was one of the founders of the National Tactical Officers Association, headed security for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and is a nationally recognized expert on leadership, crisis management, critical incident management, special operations and a wide variety of other subjects.

To view the original episode, its follow-up, and recommended reading, please visit: https://thedebrief.live/episode-6/

2024 Summer Flashback | Sid Heal

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 05:00:00 -0700

The first episode in our "2024 Summer Flashback" series features not just the first episode of this podcast, but the man who inspired the project as a whole. Not only was Sid Heale a legend in the special tactics’ community, he was a retired CWO5 in the United States Marine Corps serving numerous combat deployments including the Vietnam War, The Gulf War, and Operation United Shield in Somalia. Sid was also a retired Commander from the LA County Sheriff’s Department, had worked in the Special Enforcement Bureau, the Emergency Operations Bureau, and a wide variety of other assignments. Sid was one of the most prolific authors on tactical topics having authored several books and hundreds of articles.

To view the original episode, its follow-up, and recommended reading, please visit: https://thedebrief.live/episodes/?modal-link=https://thedebrief.live/episode-1/

The Debrief | Season 3 Wrap Up

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 05:00:00 -0700

Season 3 of The Debrief featured an impressive roster of guests, including: Andy Stumpf of Cleared Hot Podcast, former Delta Force operator Pete Blaber, and Lionel D. of Belgium’s elite Group Dianne (DSU). These guests, and others, provided an extensive body of knowledge and experience surrounding leadership, tactical decision making, and cognitive performance.

With this season now wrapped, and in keeping with our standard policy, we will be taking the summer off from new content. During this time we will be replaying five of my favorite episodes from Season 1 that you may not have heard before. Today, we’ll recap the tremendous progress made so far, and discuss the major changes being made for Season 4.

I also want to personally thank our subscribers and listeners for the nearly half-million views we’ve reached. This show started as a way to discuss important topics that improve operator safety, and has grown into something larger than I ever imagined. Please enjoy your summers, and I look forward to bringing you new, engaging, and insightful content next season.

Building Elite Tactical Performance - Dr. Brittany Loney

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Brittany Loney the founder and CEO of Elite Cognition. Brittany has almost 20 years of experience training high performing operators from communities as diverse as elite SOF warriors, professional and Olympic athletes, high-level coaches, and corporate executives. She also has over 14 years of experience training Special Operations Forces (SOF) and was the first cognitive performance coach embedded within a United States Special Operations Command (USASOC) Tactical Human Optimization and Rapid Rehabilitation and Reconditioning (THOR3) Program.

Her work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, peer reviewed academic journals, textbooks, SUCCESS Magazine, SOCOM’s SOFcast, and various other programs. In addition, Brittany has been a panel member or guest speaker at Global SOF Week, Special Operations Medical Association (SOMA), SOCOM’s Wellness Week, Air Force Air Education and Training Command (AETC) Learning Professional’s Consortiums, Women in SOF Symposiums, and countless other professional conferences.

Brittany has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Learning Systems from The Florida State University, an M.A. in Kinesiology with an emphasis on Sport Psychology from California State University, Fresno, an M.S. in Exercise Science from Florida State University, and a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Texas State University where she was also a NCAA Division 1 basketball player. She lives her profession, spending much of her time working out, ultra-running, hiking, paddle boarding, and researching neuroscience, performance, and cognition.

I was first introduced to Brittany by some of our nation’s best tactical operators. Her work with US SOF units is unique in its approach to improving operator performance through physical, cognitive, and emotional training. I am extremely excited to have her on the debrief, because the broad scope and clear structure of her work will lay a foundation for several episodes to come on improving operator performance. I hope you enjoy my chat with Brittan Loney.

Book Recommendation:
The Daily Stoic Boxed Set Hardcover - Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman - ISBN-13:‎ 978-0593544891
Warrior Mindset - Dr. Michael Asken, Loren W. Christensen, and Dave Grossman - ISBN-13: 978-0964920552
Contact Info:
Brittany Loney – www.elite-cognition.com

Inside the NYPD Emergency Service Unit (ESU)

Wed, 08 May 2024 05:00:00 -0700

There may be no US tactical and rescue unit more well known than the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit or ESU. Featuring a mission set that ranges from high angle ropes work to water rescue, from high-risk search warrants to hostage rescue, and from CBRN response to counter terrorism, ESU has sometimes been described as 911 for NYPD.

My guest today is Joe Bucchignano (pron: Buck-ig-nano). Joe started his emergency service career in 1997, working as an EMT and completing paramedic school in 1999. Joe worked as a full-time paramedic until 2003 when he joined the New York City Police Department and spent his first 7 years assigned to the 52nd precinct in the Norwood section of the Bronx. In 2010 Joe was selected to join the ranks of the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit, or ESU, where he spent the next 13 years of his career. During his ESU tenure Joe's assignments included patrol is ESU Truck 3 and Truck 1, being an adjunct tactics and medical instructor at ESU's Specialized Training School, and he finished his career as a full-time member of the ESU Apprehension Tactical Team. Joe also served with NY Task Force 1, a joint police and fire Urban Search and Rescue team which is part of the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue response system. There he deployed several times to natural disasters within the United States as a rescue and logistics specialist.

Joe retired from the NYPD in June of 2023 and now serves as an Assistant Paramedic Coordinator for an EMS agency in Westchester County, NY. He is also the founder of Crisis Zone Consulting, a multi-disciplined training and consulting company which works with public safety agencies, private entities, and individuals to enhance their organizational and individual emergency preparedness.

This episode gives us an inside view of one of the world’s premier units. Including how they train, how they operate, how they manage their ridiculously diverse skill set, and the lessons learned by an ESU veteran.

Contact Info: https://crisiszoneconsulting.com/

The History of SWAT in Texas and TTPOA

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0700

The evolution of special tactics in the United States is a complicated story whose roots lie in the violent social and political environment of the late 1960s. Highly unusual and televised events like the Texas tower sniper in 1966 and the Munich Massacre in 1972 created the need to develop special units to respond to events that were beyond the capabilities of patrol officers. While Southern California often receives all the credit for the development of special tactics, because of the efforts of LAPD D-Platoon and LASD SEB, it is important to understand that the west coast was not the only region trying to develop special tactics teams. In fact, by the early 1980's there were numerous regions who were all following parallel paths of development albeit in different stages. In these regions, tactical associations began to form that were focused on sharing information and training among agencies. One of these early associations was the Texas Tactical Police Officers Association (TTPOA) which was formed in 1984 and this year is celebrating its 40th anniversary. This seemed a perfect time to do an episode on the evolution and history of SWAT in Texas as well as the history and impact of TTPOA.

My guests today are three influential figures in TTPOA.

Lt. Dan Colasanto is the current president of TTPOA. Dan is a 30-year veteran of the Garland Police Department with 28 of those years spent on the SWAT team. Dan has worked in Patrol, Narcotics and SWAT and is also a graduate of the United States Military Academy and an Army veteran. In February 2021, Dan earned a Master of Arts degree in Homeland Security with a Concentration in Counter-Terrorism from American Military University. Dan was the SWAT Team Supervisor during the May 3, 2015 ISIS inspired terrorist attack in Garland, TX. Dan also serves as the Intelligence and Terrorism Chair for the NTOA.

Paul Ford has experience spanning both government and private sectors. Paul's diverse roles include being a police officer, instructor, writer, publisher, developer of numerous police training programs, and sales and marketing executive. Paul began his law enforcement career in 1985, assuming roles in patrol, SWAT, and as a detective. Paul spent almost a decade on the Austin Texas SWAT team serving as the unit's training coordinator and team leader. He is the recipient of more than 60 commendations, including three for meritorious conduct. In the 1990s, Paul played a pivotal role in reshaping and expanding TTPOA where he served as Secretary, Vice President, and Editor of Command Magazine. His dedication earned him the Association’s prestigious Excellence Award in 1999. In 2001 Paul transitioned to the private sector where he has held positions at Defense Technology and he is currently the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for CSI, known for their CTS and Penn Arms brands.

Sandy Wall is a true legend in Texas tactical community. Sandy spent 28 years with the Houston police department, 22 of which was on Houston SWAT. Sandy is a recipient of the TTPOA Excellence award, the TTPOA lifetime achievement award, and the National Police Associations Top Cop for the State of Texas. He has also received the Houston Police Department Chief's commendation for valor and the officer of the year award. Sandy has served three times as the president of TTPOA. He has also written two books, invented the Wall Banger system, and has taught and testified as an expert all over the United States.

Contact Info:
TTPOA Website - TTPOA
Dan Colesanto – Dan.Colasanto@ttpoa.org
Paul Ford – Email - paulrford@icloud.com - linkedin.com/in/paul-f-7b581214
Sandy Wall - Sandy.wallBanger@yahoo.com.

Verviers Terrorist Raid & OIS - Belgian Group Diane - Lionel D.

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Lionel D. Lio is a retired team leader who spent 15 years with the
Belgian National Police - Directorate of Special Units, or DSU, also know as Group
Diane. I am excited to have Lio on The Debrief because his former unit is a fantastic
team who are constantly on the front lines for European counter terrorism operations,
like the one we will discuss today.

The operation we will be debriefing is a proactive warrant service against a Jihadist terror cell located in the small town of Verviers, Belgium that resulted in an extended gun fight and two suspects down. This raid was intended to, and did, prevent an imminent large-scale attack in Belgium by the terrorist cell that would later go on to commit bombings and attacks in Brussels and Paris.

As is usually the case with The Debrief, we will discuss the responders and, where
appropriate, use their names and units because they are heroes and need to be
remembered. We will NOT be using suspects names or identifying their specific groups,
because they are criminals and terrorists and need to be forgotten.

Books Recommended:
No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy SEAL Hardcover – November 10, 2014
by Mark Owen and Kevin Maurer – ISBN13: 978-0525954521

Lio’s Book:
In French - Terrorist Hunter | Editions Racine
In Dutch - Terroristenjager | Uitgeverij Lannoo

Contact Info:
www.lioneld.be
lioneldofficial115@gmail.com

Warrant Service Becomes OIS and Multi-Day Manhunt in the Kentucky Mountains – Heath Ayres and Logan Smith – Kentucky State Police SRT

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0700

In late August of 2020 the Kentucky State Police Special Response Team attempted to execute search and arrest warrants on a family compound in Johnson Hollow, a heavily wooded and very rural area of Kentucky. The suspect, who was being sought on potential murder and drug related charges, had hiding locations and weapons throughout the compound and had built a series of hardened firing positions from which to attack officers. In the 48 hours that followed, the team would have two Officer involved shootings with two different suspects all on the same compound.

This event would stretch the team and its resources to their limits, yet the team rose to the challenge yielding a successful outcome despite almost impossible conditions. This case provides numerous lessons learned and teaching points about rural operations and the dangers of unexpected challenges. My guests today are Sgt. Heath Ayers and Trooper Logan Smith from the Kentucky State Police Special Response Team.

Links

Two fatally shot in KSP involved shootings in Knox County | News | thetimestribune.com

https://www.clayconews.com/news/16719-suspect-fatally-injured-in-2nd-officer-involved-shooting-in-knox-county-ky-victim-in-1st-shooting-identified

Books Recommended

Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown by Eric Blehm - ISBN-13: 978-0307730695

On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace by Dave Grossman & Loren W. Christensen - ISBN-13:‎ 978-0964920545

On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society by Dave Grossman - ISBN-13: 978-0316040938

Contact Info

Logan Smith – logan.smith@ky.gov

The Emergency Mind – Dr. Dan Dworkis

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 08:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Dr. Dan Dworkis. Dan is a board-certified emergency physician, an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the founder of The Emergency Mind Project, and the Chief Medical Officer at the Mission Critical Team Institute. Dan performed his emergency medicine residency with Harvard Medical School at the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital / Brigham Health and holds an MD and PhD in molecular medicine from the Boston University School of Medicine.

Dan is the author of The Emergency Mind: Wiring Your Brain for Performance Under Pressure. He is also the host of The Emergency Mind podcast.
I am excited to have Dan on the debrief because he not only has a unique blend of scientist and practitioner but is someone who has thought very deeply about how our minds work in critical incidents. Additionally, through his work with Mission Critical Team Institute he has looked at how those principles apply to tactical operators and first responders.

Contact Info:
Website: www.emergencymind.com
Email: Dan@emergencymind.com

Book:
The Emergency Mind: Wiring Your Brain for Performance Under Pressure - Dan Dworkis MD PhD – ISBN13:‎ 979-8746482327

Books Recommended:
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why - Laurence Gonzales - ISBN13: 978-0393052763
Meditations - Marcus Aurelius - ISBN13: 978-0812968255

Bill Kirst – Leading Change in Your Organization

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0800

Welcome to Battle Proven Leadership. My guest today is Bill Kirst. Bill is an author, poet, podcast host and one of LinkedIn’s Top Thought Leadership Voices on Change Management. Bill authors a monthly newsletter called “Leading Change in the Era of AI” which poses powerful questions while untangling the complex concerns posed by Artificial Intelligence.

Bill has worked at Adobe, Microsoft, IBM, the University of Washington and for nearly two decades has led companies, institutions, and government agencies through digital transformation journeys. Bill sits on the Alumni Board at The Johns Hopkins University. Bill served in the U.S. Army Reserve, finishing his service as a Captain in the Signal Corps. Bill’s podcast “Coffee & Change” was selected as one of the 10 Best Military Leadership Podcasts by FeedSpot.

I really enjoyed this conversation with Bill because he has spent his entire career working in organizational change. Implementing and confronting change is a constant battle for leaders, so it was great to have a chance to look at it through the eyes of an expert.

Contact Info:
LinkedIn
Coffee & Change Podcast – By Bill Kirst

Books Recommended:
Once an Eagle: A Novel - Anton Myrer - ISBN-13: 978-0062221629
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma - Bessel van der Kolk M.D. - ISBN-13: ‎978-0143127741

Selection For Tactical Units - The Attributes with Rich Diviney

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0800

My guest today is Rich Diviney. Rich is a retired Navy SEAL officer whose career spanned more than twenty years and included more than thirteen overseas deployments – eleven of which were to Iraq and Afghanistan. As the officer in charge of training for an elite Navy SEAL command, Rich spearheaded the creation of a directorate that fused physical, mental, and emotional disciplines.

Since his retirement, Rich has worked as a speaker, facilitator, and consultant with the Chapman & CO. Leadership Institute and Simon Sinek Inc., speaking to and training more than five thousand business, athletic, and military leaders. Rich’s book: The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance is, I think, a must-read book for anyone involved in leadership or in the selection and hiring of personnel.

Books Recommended
Man's Search For Meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust by Viktor E. Frankl (Author) - ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1846042843

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Hardcover by Yuval Noah Harari (Author) - ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0062316097

Books Written
The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance by Rich Diviney - ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0593133941

Contact Info
Discover Your Attributes

Toxic Leadership & The Pat Tillman Case - Pete Blaber

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0800

Pete Blaber commanded at every level of one of the most elite counter-terrorist organizations in the world, The US Army’s First Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta. His time with The Unit included most of recent history’s significant military and political events (Panama, Colombia, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq). In 2006 Pete retired from the military and transitioned from leading elite combat teams around the globe, to leading elite corporate teams for one of the world's largest and most innovative Biotech Companies.

Pete’s first book “The Mission, The Men, And Me, Lessons From a Former Delta Force Commander,” is one of the most widely read books among tactical units and is required reading at many tactical leadership programs. His second book, “The Common Sense Way, A New Way to Think About Leading and Organizing" which builds on the legacy of the first book providing specific and concrete guidance on how to implement common sense into your leadership style. His third, and most recent book “Common Sense Leadership Matters: Toxic Leadership Destroys” is a case study of the death of Pat Tillman and how Toxic Leadership led to Tillman’s death at the hands of friendly fire.

Pete has an MBA and an MS in National Security and Strategic Affairs.

I am excited to speak to Pete not only because he lead one of the most elite combat units, but because he is a very deep thinker on the topic of leadership and has a unique ability to articulate his lessons learned and his research in a very practical and down to earth fashion. I hope you enjoy my chat with Pete Blaber.

Contact Info
https://www.peteblaber.com/

Books Recommended

The Mission, The Men, and Me: Lessons from a Former Delta Force Commander by Pete Blaber - ISBN-13: 978-0425223727

The Common Sense Way: A New Way to Think About Leading and Organizing by Pete Blaber - ISBN-13: ‎978-0578995878

Common Sense Leadership Matters: Toxic Leadership Destroys by Pete Blaber - ISBN-13:‎ 979-8218224837

10 Second Triage & The UK Approach to Mass Casualty Events – Dr. Claire Park

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0800

My guest today is Dr Claire Park. Dr. Park is a Consultant in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine for London HEMS, and Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine at Kings College Hospital in London. She is also an army consultant with over 20 years of deployed military experience. Claire is the Medical Adviser to the Specialist Firearms teams of the Metropolitan Police Service and has worked closely with all of the emergency services in London on developing the joint response to high threat incidents, in particular following the attacks of 2017. She is also the Chief Investigator on a UK nationally funded research grant looking at evidence for improving patient outcomes in the hot zone of major incidents. I am excited to have Claire on the show because she has a unique combination of real-world experience in combat theaters and practical experience and research in civilian tactical law enforcement. She has also been at the forefront of the UK's new approach to mass casualty events and the 10 second triage system.

Contact Info
Dr. Claire Park
claire@etma.life

X - @ClairePark01

Leadership Lessons From CIA Field Operations – Marc Polymeropoulos

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0800

Welcome to Battle Proven Leadership. My guest today is Mark Polymeropoulos. Mark is a retired Senior Intelligence Officer for CIA who spent 26 years working in field operations and leadership roles. Marc is one of the intelligence communities most decorated officers and the author of "Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA." His book is a fantastic journey though the lessons he learned while working in the most dangerous theaters in the world. I am excited to have Marc on because his real world experience leading people in high risk clandestine operations is directly on point to the mission of Battle Proven Leadership.

Book Recommended

Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield – ISBN 978-0-385-49251-5

Contact Info

marcpolymeropoulos.com

Andy Stumpf – Leadership Lessons From the Cleared Hot Podcast

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0800

My guest today has such a diverse skillset and resume that its almost hard to summarize. Andy Stumpf enlisted in the Navy while he was a Junior in high school, entering military service in 1996. After completing boot camp he went on to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, also known as BUD/s. After earning his trident he began his SEAL career attached to SEAL Team Five, in Coronado California. In 2002 he joined one of the most elite counterterrorism unit in the military, The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (aka DEVGRU). While on a combat deployment, an Iraqi insurgent shot Andy in the hip at close range with an AK-47. Doctors told him it would be years, if ever, before he recovered the use of his leg and returned to full active duty. Four years later, after extensive work, Andy returned to the Naval Special Warfare Center as the Leading Petty Officer for 2nd Phase BUD/s training. While completing his two-year instructor tour, Andy submitted his package to become a commissioned officer. In 2008, he became the first E-6 selection commissioned through the Limited Duty Officer Program in the history of Naval Special Warfare. Upon commissioning, he joined SEAL Team Three and completed his final combat tour to Afghanistan.

Throughout his 17-year career, Andy executed hundreds of combat operations throughout the world in support of the Global War on Terror including the hostage rescue of Jessica Lynch. He was medically retired in June of 2013. His awards and decorations include 5 Bronze Star Medals (Four with Valor), the Purple Heart, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, The Navy and Marine Corp Commendation Medal with Valor, Three Navy and Marine Corp Achievement Medals, Two Combat Action Ribbons, and the Presidential Unit Citation.

After retirement, Andy continues to support the SEAL community, and their families. In 2015 he set two World Records after jumping from 36,500 feet and flying over 18 miles in a wingsuit to raise 1 million Dollars for the Navy SEAL Foundation.

Post military, his business experience includes managing corporate development, licensing, and charitable initiatives for a global fitness brand. He also founded a consulting firm dedicated to ensuring that the lessons learned from the Global War of Terror are utilized by business leaders as well as Federal, State, and local entities.

Andy also hosts the fantastic Cleared Hot Podcast which has close to 20 Million views on YouTube.

Contact Info
Cleared Hot Podcast - https://www.clearedhotpodcast.com/

Books Recommended
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War – Robert Coram - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316796880
About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior – Col. David Hackworth - ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0283999598

Most Profound Moments of 2023

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0800

It's been an amazing year on The Debrief. In the 18 months since we launched the show, we've accomplished more than we ever thought we could. To date there have been more than 100,000 downloads of the show. We've recorded 31 episodes of The Debrief and 5 episodes of Battle Proven Leadership and covered a wide variety of topics. To end our second season, we thought it might be fun to do an episode that gave you a behind the scenes view of this year's critical incident reviews, as well as the most memorable moments of each.

July 22 Norway Terrorist Attacks – Delta Norge Response

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0800

On July 22, 2011 Norway experienced two terrorist attacks (a bombing at a government building in Oslo and a mass shooter event at a youth camp on nearby Utoya Island). These were perpetrated by a lone rightwing extremist. These attacks were unprecedented for the peaceful county of Norway and stretched the Norwegian first responders to their limits.

My guest today is an active member of Norway’s most elite tactical and counter terrorism police unit - Beredskapstroppen (bearee-id-schkop-stropen), also known by its callsign Delta and internationally as Delta Norge. Because of the nature of his current assignment and the nature of their work, it is critical that we maintain his anonymity. As a result, we will not be showing his face on video or using his real name.

Additionally, because these events resulted in the deaths of 77 people, most of whom were children, and the injury of more than 300 others we will not be glorifying the attacker by using his name. It is our hope that the memory of the attacker will be forgotten but that the memories of his innocent victims will not.

Links Official Report on the Event - NOU 2012: 14 - regjeringen.no

Becoming a Tactical Athlete with Kelly Starrett

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0800

My guest today is Dr. Kelly Starrett. Kelly is a world-renowned physical therapist, a strength and conditioning coach to Olympic and World Champion athletes, a 3x best-selling author, a speaker, and a two-time national kayaking champion. Kelly and his wife and partner Juliet launched one of the first CrossFit gyms in 2005, created the website Mobility WOD, and created the highly praised fitness blog
and podcast called the “The Ready State.”

Kelly’s first book, "Becoming a Supple Leopard", not only found a place on The New York Times bestsellers list for sports books but also challenged traditional perspectives on mobility and biomechanics. He has since written two more best-selling books including his latest work written with his wife Juliet which is called "Built to Move". Kelly has shared his expertise all over the world including working with the US Olympic team, the San Francisco 49s, the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby team, and countless other professional sports teams.

More importantly, he has also worked with Tier 1 and Tier 2 units as well as numerous high-profile military and law enforcement tactical units. In this episode Kelly and I discuss becoming a tactical athlete and optimizing your physical capabilities. We also dig into Kelly’s guidance on preventing injury, training for longevity, and creating a culture of performance in your team. This is a fantastic discussion with one of the foremost experts in strength and conditioning who also happens to be a great guy with a genuine passion for first responders.

Books Recommended
Built to Move: The Ten Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully – Kelly Starrett & Juliet Starrett – ISBN 13 - 978-0593534809

Becoming a Supple Leopard 2nd Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance – Kelly Starrett and Glen Cordoza – ISBN 13 - 978-1628600834

Contact Info
The Ready State – https://www.thereadystate.com

Lessons Learned As A SEAL Officer and As The Asst Secretary of Defense – Michael Lumpkin

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0800

My guest today is Michael Lumpkin. Michael has served many roles in his extremely distinguished career including Navy SEAL Captain, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflicts, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Special Assistant to Sec Def, and a Special Envoy at the Department of State.

Michael’s military career included numerous deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, serving as the Officer in Charge of training the West Coast SEAL Teams, Team Commanding Officer, service as the Deputy Joint Special Operations Task Force Commander for The Arabian Peninsula, and service at the USSOCOM Office of Legislative Affairs.

His civilian government career has included the implementation of the 2010 Omnibus Caregivers Act for VA, overseeing the Osama Bin Laden operation, reorganizing the DOD POW/MIA effort, leading the DOD’s response to Ebola in West Africa, negotiating and executing the recovery of Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, and direct appointment by the President to stand up the US Department of State Global Engagement Center to counter ISIS marketing efforts.

Michael is currently the Chief of Staff at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a Commissioner on the Afghanistan War Commission.

I really enjoyed this chat because Michael has a uniquely broad level of knowledge at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels of national power including on both the military and civilian sides. This has given him a very unique perspective on leadership, selection, and standards.

Books Recommended

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Nationwide Issues in Special Tactics: A Panel Discussion with the State Associations from the NTOA Conference

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0700

Today’s episode of The Debrief features a unique format: this episode was recorded live at the National Tactical Officers Association Annual Conference in Aurora, Colorado. I was fortunate to moderate a panel discussion that included the presidents of five separate tactical associations including: Brent Straton from the California Association of Tactical Officers, Chris Eklund from the Florida SWAT Association, Thor Eells from the National Tactical Officers Association, Nick Sprague from the Rocky Mountain Tactical Teams Association and Dan Colasanto from the Texas Tactical Police Officers Association.

This was a wide-ranging discussion that covered a number of current topics in special tactics including: Constitutional Policing, Militarization of law enforcement, SWAT standards, no-knock warrants, and the use of dynamic tactics in search warrants. The contrast between the different regional and national perspectives on these issues made for a great conversation. I’d like to thank the NTOA, CATO, Florida SWAT, RMTTA, and TTPOA for their willingness to share this discussion with our audience.

A note regarding audio quality: this episode was recorded live, in a large group setting, at the NTOA conference. We have done our best to reduce most, but not all, of the background noise. It is our hope that you find this content informative and thought-provoking despite these distractions.

Important Links:
CATO - Home | CATO (catotraining.org)
Florida SWAT Association - Home (memberclicks.net)
NTOA - NTOA | National Tactical Officers Association
RMTTA - Rocky Mountain Tactical Team Association (rmtta.com)
TTPOA - TTPOA

Lessons From an Officer Down and Traumatic Hostage Incident - Orlando, FL

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0700

In June of 2018, just two years after the PULS nightclub attacks, Orlando Police officers responded to a domestic violence call. As officers attempted to contact the suspect, he fired a shot though his door striking Officer Kevin Valencia with wounds that he would eventually succumb to. The suspect then barricaded in his apartment with his 4 children as hostages. This event, which would last more than 24 hours, proved extremely difficult and required the resources of both the Orlando Police Department SWAT Team and their partners from the Orange County Sherriff’s SWAT Team before finally reaching a tragic resolution. My guests today are Dep. Chief Jonathan Bigelow from the Orlando Police Department and Sgt. Chris Eklund with the Orange County Florida Sherriff’s Office to discuss the incident and share their lessons learned.

This episode will be dedicated to the memory of Officer Kevin Valencia.

Books Recommended

The Common Sense Way: A New Way to Think About Leading and Organizing – Pete Blaber ISBN-13: 978-0578876740

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't – Simon Sinek - ISBN-13: 978-1591848011

Sound Doctrine: A Tactical Primer – Charles Sid Heal - ISBN-13: 978-1930051119

The World's Most Powerful Leadership Principle - How To Become A Servant Leader - James C. Hunter - ISBN-13:‎ 978-1578569755

Leader Shift- The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace - John C. Maxwell - ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0718098506

Contact Info

Dep. Chief Jonathan Bigelow – OPD - Special Service Bureau – Jonathan.Bigelow@cityoforlando.net

Sgt. Chris Eklund – OCSO SWAT - chriseklund2@gmail.com

Hostage Rescue In A Trailer Home - Hastings, MN – South Metro SWAT

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0700

On July 2, 2020 patrol officers attempted to contact a suspect about moving an illegally parked automobile at the Three Rivers Mobile Home Park in Hastings, MN. As officers spoke to the suspect’s wife and two of his four children the suspect locked and barricaded the door to his trailer with his other two children inside.

Over the course of the next 15 hours, in sweltering heat, the South Metro SWAT Team, in conjunction with Washington County SWAT, and Ramsey County SWAT, attempted to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the crisis as the suspects mental state deteriorated.

Although they were able to obtain one of the two children, it started to become clear that a tactical intervention would be necessary. My guests today are Adam Tschida, Daniel Salmey, and Jeff Hanson from South Metro SWAT to discuss the case, their successful HRT intervention, and the lessons learned from a very challenging rescue.

About South Metro SWAT
South Metro SWAT provides tactical coverage for thirteen different law enforcement agencies in Minnesota. The team’s service area spans roughly 1000 square miles south of the Twin Cities and is home to approximately 380,000 residents.

The team has roughly 50 members. 35 tactical members including: commander, assistant commander, team leaders, snipers, breachers, medics, K9, etc. 15 crisis negotiations team members included: assistant commander, team leader, sworn LE, licensed mental health personnel. Core competencies include: hostage rescue, high risk warrant service, barricaded suspect/subject operations, dignitary protection, public order operations, man tracking operations, vehicle suppression, and community event security/quick reaction force.

Books Recommended
Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times - Donald T. Phillips – ISBN: 9780446394598
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know - Adam M. Grant – ISBN: 9781984878106
Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead - Jim Mattis & Bing West – ISBN: 9780812996838
The Dichotomy of Leadership: Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win - Jocko Willink & Leif Babin – ISBN: 9781250195777

Contact Info
Adam Tschida - Adam.tschida@applevalleymn.gov
Daniel Salmey - dsalmey@southstpaul.org

Lessons Learned From 5 Decades of Police Leadership - Chief Mike Albanese - Part Two

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0700

My Guest today is a true legend who is one of only three people to have served at all of the roles in LAPD D-Platoon: Chief Mike Albanese. Mike has spent 52 years in law enforcement with 37 of those spent at LAPD, 26 of which was spent in SWAT and Crisis Negotiation. Mike is one of only a handful of people to have ever served in the 10 David or SWAT commander role at LAPD. Since retiring from LAPD he has served as a Captain, Deputy Chief and is currently the Chief of Police for the Burbank California Police Department. This is two-part series where we walk through not only his amazing career at LAPD, but the evolution and history of special tactics, the creation of Crisis Negotiation as a discipline, and the lessons learned from a lifetime of service.

Books Recommended
The Situational Leader - Paul Hersey – ISBN: 0931619017
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - Laura Numeroff, Felicia Bond – ISBN: 9780064434096

Key Events in the Evolution of SWAT and CNT - Chief Mike Albanese – Two Part Series

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0700

My Guest today is a true legend who is one of only three people to have served at all of the roles in LAPD D-Platoon Chief Mike Albanese. Mike has spent 52 years in law enforcement with 37 of those spent at LAPD, 26 of which was spent in SWAT and Crisis Negotiation. Mike is one of only a handful of people to have ever served in the 10 David or SWAT commander role at LAPD. Since retiring from LAPD he has served as a Captain, Deputy Chief and is currently the Chief of Police for the Burbank California Police Department. This is two-part series where we walk through not only his amazing career at LAPD, but the evolution and history of special tactics, the creation of Crisis Negotiation as a discipline, and the lessons learned from a lifetime of service.

Books Recommended
The Situational Leader - Paul Hersey – ISBN: 0931619017
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - Laura Numeroff, Felicia Bond – ISBN: 9780064434096

Critical incident Review - Vegas Attack: Handling a Mass Casualty Incident – Dr. Kevin Menes

Wed, 23 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Dr. Kevin Menes. Kevin is an emergency room physician and tactical team doctor who led a team that managed to treat and save hundreds of patients following the active sniper attack in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017. Kevin’s insights into the Las Vegas attack are unique and offer us clear lessons learned in preparing for mass casualty. Too often active shooter preparation ends at the tactical level and fails to consider the effect on all involved agencies. This discussion with Kevin clearly shows that saving lives after a mass killing event is dependent upon the preparation and training for all of the responding organizations.

Books Recommended
The Mission, the Men, and Me - Pete Blaber - ISBN-13:‎ 978-0425236574
The Way Things Work - David Macaulay - ISBN: 0-395-42857-2
The Floaters Log - Ron Krome - ISBN-13: ‎ 978-142418282

Contact Info
Email: iamkevinmenes@gmail.com
Instagram: @menes.resuscitation
Facebook: menes.resuscitation
LinkedIn: Kevin Menes
MD Twitter: @kvnmns

Lessons Learned From A Legendary Tier 1 Operator – CSM Tom Satterly (Ret.)

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Tom Satterly. Tom is a highly decorated combat veteran, having served in the Army 25 years, with the last 20 in the US Army’s most elite Tier One unit, Delta. During his career Tom was involved in, and led, some of our nation’s most important military campaigns including the Battle in Mogadishu portrayed in the film Blackhawk Down and the capture of Saddam Hussein. Tom is the recipient of numerous medals including a Silver Star, and 4 Bronze Stars, with 1 for Valorous acts. He was also the first American to ever attend Germany’s Ranger School. Tom retired from Delta in 2010 as a Command Sergeant Major.

Tom’s willingness to speak openly and honestly of his mental and emotional struggles have saved the lives of countless other warriors who believed they had to suffer in silence and make it alone or not at all. Today, Tom and his wife and partner, Jen are the co-Founders and co-CEOs of All Secure Foundation, a non-profit organization serving Special Operation warriors and their families to help reconnect and heal.

Tom’s best-selling book, “All Secure: A Special Operations Soldier’s Fight to Survive on the Battlefield and the Homefront”, was released on November 5, 2019 and is available at all major booksellers.

Books Recommended

The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk - ISBN-13:‎ 978-0670785933

All Secure: A Special Operations Soldier's Fight to Survive on the Battlefield and the Homefront by Tom Satterly and Steve Jackson - ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1546076575

Sites Recommended

www.allsecurefoundation.org

Contact Info

Instagram: @TomSatterly

BPL#5 – Building Resilience In Those You Lead - Chief John Perez

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Chief John Perez. John recently retired as the Chief of Police for the Pasadena California Police Department. In his nearly 37 years of service to Pasadena, John served at literally all ranks in the department. During his career John worked patrol, narcotics, counter terrorism, and as a swat sergeant, lieutenant, and commander, John helped to form the first generation of Pasadena’s tactical team which had the challenge of deploying as a full-time gang enforcement team and a SWAT team for many years. John was twice awarded the Chief’s medal of excellence and received several commendations for his service over the years.

Books Recommended

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote for Chaos – Jordan Peterson – ISBN 0345816021

Discover Your True North – Bill George – ISBN 0787987514

Extreme Ownership: Jocko Willink and Leif Babin –ISBN-13: 9781250183866

Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl - ISBN 080701429X

Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life – Tony Dungy – ISBN 1414318022

Contact Info

Chief John Perez (Ret)

johnperez34@me.com

BPL #4 Key Leadership Concepts – Chief Phil Hansen

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0700

Contact Info
Cell # (805) 994-9051
Email: pchansen@live.com

Books Recommended
Contrarians Guide to Leadership - Steven B. Sample and Warren Bennis – ISBN: 978-0787967079
Going Pro, The Deliberate Practice of Professionalism - Tony Kern, Pygmy Books Publishing – ISBN: 978-0984206315
Leading Change: The Argument for Values-Based Leadership – James O’Toole – ISBN: 978-0345402547
Passion of Command: The Moral Imperative of Leadership – Col. Bryan McCoy – ISBN: 978-0940328372

Critical Incident Review – Jordan MacWilliams Charged with Murder for Shooting a Hostage Taker

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Jordan MacWilliams. Jordan is a 15 year member of the RCMP Lower Mainland Division Integrated Emergency Response Team, the second largest tactical unit in Canada. On November 7, 2012 Jordan fired a single shot which killed a hostage taker who pointed a gun at the team after a five-hour standoff at the Starlight Casino in New Westminster, British Columbia. Although it was a completely justifiable shooting, this incident began an almost three-year nightmare for Jordan and his family which included Jordan being charged with Murder by the newly created Independent Investigations Office, a civilian oversight board created just before Jordan’s shooting. This was the first time a police officer had been charged for using lethal force in British Columbia since 1975. Although the charges would later be dismissed, the damage to Jordan and his family had already been done. Jordans story is both a cautionary tale and a story of struggle, persistence, and eventual victory over a politically motivated witch hunt. This is a fantastic conversation that should leave all of us repeating Jordan’s Mantra for the event: Be Better, Not Bitter!

Contact Info

Jordan MacWilliams

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/jordan-m-976692257

Email - jordan.macwilliams@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Books Suggested

Legacy: What The All Blacks Can Teach Us About The Business Of Life Paperback by James Kerr - ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1472103536

The Mission, The Men, and Me: Lessons from a Former Delta Force Commander by Pete Blaber - ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0425223727

BPL #3: Counter-Errorism and A Culture of Safety with Gareth Lock

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Gareth Lock. Gareth spent 25 years in the Royal Air Force as a flight instructor, a navigator on C-130 Hercules, a systems engineer and a requirements manager. Following his retirement from the RAF in 2015 he started work in high-risk industries teaching Human Factors and Crew Resource Management (CRM). Eventually Gareth turned his attention to diving, applying a military systems approach to diving risk management by creating an organization called The Human Diver which is focused on what they describe as Counter-Errorism. Specifically, Gareth and his team provides training globally to high reliability and high-risk organizations on leadership, culture, and practical measures to improve operator safety. In 2019 Gareth led a team of military experts to undertake a review of UK military diving with the goal of improving diver safety. Gareth has worked with the US National Parks Service Submerged Resource Centre (Denver, CO), National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NZ), and the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (USA) to provide human factors training and high-performance team development courses.

Gareth is the author of the book Under Pressure – Diving Deeper with Human Factors which looks at case studies of near disasters and applies academic theory to understanding how we can better communicate and lead those in high risk/high reliability units.

I am excited to have Gareth on because his views of human fallibility, although rooted in diving, have broad lessons to teach anyone who leads others, especially those working in high-risk areas.

Contact Information
www.thehumandiver.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethlock/

Links
Compliance provides an illusion of safety in diving

Dave Snowden’s paper on ‘Knowledge without context is meaningless’ – Complex acts of knowing.

Safety Culture & Trade-offs – Risk management in a dynamic society: a modelling problem – Jens Rasmussen paper

Red Teaming Thinking

Risk Savvy – Risk vs Uncertainty

Interpersonal Skills Lab

The training I offer across multiple domains which has no/limited professional jeopardy

Blog about Learning from Near Misses. Were you lucky or good?

Local Rationality and Hindsight

BPL #2: Kevin Cyr - Making Difficult Decisions

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0700

Kevin Cyr is an Inspector with Royal Canadian Mounted Police and is the current commander of the RCMP Emergency Response Team in British Columbia, which is the second largest tactical unit in Canada. Kevin has been with RCMP for 22 years and has been with the team for 7 years. He has a master’s in law from Osgoode Hall Law School and is published internationally in law and criminology journals. He also teaches incident command at the Canadian Police College.

Contact Info: LinkedIn

Books Recommended: Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink and Leif Babin – ISBN# 250067057

Training & Tech – Recovering From Being Shot - Follow Up With Jordan Robison

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is Jordan Robison. This episode is a follow up to last week’s Critical Incident Review about the August 18, 2021, shooting that occurred when the San Bernardino Police Department’s SWAT Team attempted to arrest a suspect who had ambushed and attempted to murder a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy the day before.

When the team performed a vehicle takedown the suspect immediately opened fire
on the team with a 10mm handgun, striking Jordan in both forearms, his shoulder, his femur, his stomach below the armor and a grazing wound to his ribs. He was also hit in the abdomen which was stopped by his armor.

After last week’s episode we received several calls and emails asking about Jordan so we decided to do a follow up episode with him to discuss his recovery and his personal lessons learned. There is a great deal of very valuable information on this episode which we hope will help others who are affected by an on-duty shooting.

Critical Incident Review - Fatal OIS SWAT Vehicle Takedown in San Bernardino

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0700

On August 18, 2021, the San Bernardino California SWAT Team was assigned to locate and arrest a suspect who had ambushed and attempted to murder a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy the day before. When the team located and attempted a vehicle takedown the suspect immediately opened fire on the team with a 10mm handgun, striking Officer Jordan Robison 8 times and Officer Chris Shipley once. Officer Robison was hit in both forearms, his shoulder, his femur, his stomach below the armor and a took grazing wound to his ribs. He was also hit twice in the abdomen which were stopped by his armor.

Officer Shipley, despite being shot in the leg, was able to return fire along with a teammate fatally wounding the suspect. Officer Shipley then rendered lifesaving medical aid to Officer Robison. SWAT Medic Spencer Brumbaugh was also on scene and provided lifesaving aid to Officer Robison immediately after the incident and through subsequent transport to the emergency room.

My guests today are Jordan Robison, Chris Shipley and Spencer Brumbaugh

Timestamps

1:25 - Introduction To The Incident

2:39 - Leadup To The Event

13:14 - Start Of The Takedown

15:00 - The Exits The Van

17:18 -Jordan And Chris Are Shot

21:00 -Chris Treats Jordan

25:50 -Chris Discusses Treating Jordan

28:00 -Spencer Treating Jordan's Injuries

40:35 -Getting To The ER

46:00 -The Need To Remain Calm

48:00 -Lessons Learned

56:20 -What The Tacmed Program Did Right

1:02:00 -Training For The Worse Case Scenario

1:12:19 - The Risk Of Complacency

1:17:39 - Knowing Your Gear

1:21:00 - The Role Of Competition And Culture

1:23:41- Things They Would Do Differently

BPL #1: Bob Koonce – Using Nuclear Submarine Culture To Create High Reliability Teams

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0700

Description

My guest today is Bob Koonce. Bob is the founder of High Reliability Group, which he created after serving 20 years in the United States Navy. Bob's distinguished naval career included serving on five different nuclear fast attack submarines and culminated with him being given command of the USS Key West, a $2 billion nuclear-powered Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine. Following his retirement from the Navy, Bob has worked in a variety of leadership roles, primarily in the energy industry, where he has led business development, project management, and consulting efforts for large and small companies. Bob is an expert in the leadership of high-reliability organizations and a co-author of the book, "'Extreme Operational Excellence,' which focuses on the culture of the United States nuclear submarine force. Our conversation today focuses on utilizing specific techniques he learned in the nuclear submarine community to drive the culture of high reliability organizations.

Contact Info

Bob Koonce

President and Founder

High Reliability Group LLC

312-859-9311

www.hrghro.com

linkedin.com/in/bobkoonce

Books Recommended

Extreme Operational Excellence: Applying the US Nuclear Submarine Culture to Your Organization: DiGeronimo, Matt, Koonce, Bob: 9781478778127: Amazon.com: Books

Amazon.com: The High-Velocity Edge: How Market Leaders Leverage Operational Excellence to Beat the Competition: 9780071741415: Steven J. Spear: Books

Timestamps
Timestamps
00:01:55 Nuclear Submarine Culture

00:10:50 Methods of Developing Positive Culture

00:15:30 Authority and High-Risk Decision Making

00:22:40 Importance and Reinforcement of Lessons Learned

00:31:15 Bob’s Most Important Habit

00:31:50 The Most Important Element of Building an Effective Team

00:32:13 What Should Every Leader Know?

Coming Soon to The Debrief: Battle Proven Leadership (BPL) Episodes

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0700

Starting next week The Debrief will be introducing a new series called Battle Proven Leadership (or BPL). In contrast to the long format and wide-ranging interviews of The Debrief, BPL episodes will be shorter and deeply explore a single topic in leadership with a goal of providing specific/actionable information that you can use to improve your leadership skills. My guests will be subject matter experts who operate in high stress environments both inside and outside the tactical community. Regardless of whether your battlefield is a military, law enforcement, or business operation, each episode will expose you to the viewpoints, techniques and tactics of leaders whose skills have been proven in high risk operations with zero margin for error.

Critical Incident Review - Inside the Breonna Taylor Case – Sgt. John Mattingly

Wed, 24 May 2023 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is John Mattingly. John is a retired Sgt. from the Louisville Police Department who led the search warrant service at the home of Breonna Taylor on March 13, 2020 and was shot in the leg by her boyfriend Kenneth Walker before returning fire along with another officer resulting in the death of Ms. Taylor. This event, of course, became a huge catalytic event for protests, riots, lawsuits, death threats against the officers and, tragically, the shooting of two more officers in response to the multi-day civil unrest that followed. It has also led to three of the officers involved in obtaining the warrant as well as one of the officers involved in the raid being charged with federal crimes. John has recently written a book called 12 Seconds in the Dark that documents the facts of the case from his perspective and discusses numerous issues that have not been discussed in the media.

Timestamps

3:15 John’s Career History

6:40 Background Of The Warrant

13:40 John’s First Involvement In The Case

17:35 The Night of The Warrant, Ad Hoc Team & Training for Narcotics Units in LMPD

24:40 Arrival at the Scene, Initial Scouting & Apartment Layout

31:55 Search Warrant Service Begins 42:00 Initial Aftermath of the Shooting

52:40 John's Injuries and Medical Treatment

56:35 Press aftermath and inaccuracy of reporting 01:05:20 Initial Response of City

01:12:10 Lessons Learned – Training

01:18:50 Lessons Learned – Knock & Notice, Culture & Complacency

01:29:00 Lessons Learned – Narco Teams v. SWAT Teams and Body Warn Cameras

01:32:30 Lessons Learned – Agency Response to These Types of Events

01:37:00 John’s Cautionary Advice To Young Cops Working Narco

01:40:50 The Need for Debriefs to Avoid Complacency

Links
City of Louisville Investigative Files
NY Times Investigation

Leaders & Legends - National Issues in Special Tactics - The NTOA Perspective – Thor Eells & Don Kester

Wed, 03 May 2023 05:00:00 -0700

My guests today are Thor Eells and Don Kester from the National Tactical Officers Association or NTOA which is the largest tactical organization in the United States. Thor is a retired commander from the Colorado Springs Colorado Police Department where he served for 30 years. The majority of which was in tactical response including serving as a swat operator, a swat team leader and a team commander. Thor is currently the Executive Director for NTOA after serving many years as a board member and a trainer. Don is retired from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona where he served as a SWAT team operator, team leader, team sergeant, training director and SWAT team commander eventually retiring as a Division
Commander and Captain. Don is currently the training and education director for the NTOA after many years of service as a trainer and a board member.

Timestamps

02:00 – Thor’s background and law enforcement career

05:00 – Don’s background and law enforcement career

11:00 – The mission of the National Tactical Officers Association

15:30 – The relationship between state associations and the NTOA

20:30 – Police reform movements & the role of the NTOA as information provider

37:00 – National standards for special tactics teams

46:00 – Maintaining training standards with diverse team capabilities

55:00 – The NTOAs role in supporting teams with subject matter expertise

1:00:00 – The need to honest self-examination and debriefing

1:05:00 – The roots of bad legislation and need for law enforcement to oppose it

1:11:00 – No knock warrants, dynamic entries, and the NTOAs position paper

1:32:00 – The counter arguments for dynamic tactics and no-knock warrants

1:34:00 – Risk management and safety priorities

Contact Info
Thor Eells - teells@ntoa.org
Don Kester - dkester@ntoa.org

Links
NTOA | National Tactical Officers Association

Critical Incident Review - Medal of Honor Recipient - MSgt. Earl Plumlee

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0700

Description
This is a very special joint episode between the CATO Podcast and the Debrief hosted by CATO President Brent Stratton
and Jon Becker. Our guest today is Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sergeant Earl D. Plumlee. MSgt Plumlee received the
Medal of Honor for his actions on August 28, 2013 in Afghanistan. We were extremely lucky to sit down with MSgt
Plumlee after he spoke at the CATO Conference this year. In this episode we will hear the story of his amazing actions
that day, talk about training, preparation, and mindset and learn from a true American hero.

Timestamps
2:10 Earl’s Career History
6:35 Mission of Army Special Forces Units
17:00 Arrival at FOB Ghazni
20:00 Precursors of the Attack
28:40 Day of the Attack
33:00 Engagement Begins
55:00 Earl and Drew Regroup
66:00 Effects of Earl’s Training on His Response
77:00 Embracing Weakness to Elevate Performance
87:00 Stress Innoculation Lessons Learned
90:00 Attention to Detail and Unit Culture
98:00 The Meaning of the Medal of Honor to Earl
103:00 The Need for Family and Work Life Balance

Links
Medal of Honor Presentation - Remarks on Presenting the Medal of Honor to Master Sergeant Earl D. Plumlee and
Posthumously to Sergeant First Class Alwyn C. Cashe and Sergeant First Class Christopher A. Celiz | The American
Presidency Project (ucsb.edu)

Leaders & Legends - Chief Phil Hansen – The Evolution and Leadership of Modern Tactical Teams

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0700

My guest today is a legend in the US tactical community Chief Phil Hansen. Phil recently retired after serving as the Chief of Police for the Santa Maria California Police Department. But prior to Santa Maria Phil retired as a Captain from the Los Angeles Country Sherriff’s Department where he served for 36 years. During his tenure at LASD he spent more than 24 years in full time tactical and emergency management positions, including nearly 20 years at the elite Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB). Phil has served as a board member of the National Tactical Officers Association since 1991 including serving as the Chairman of the Board. He is a member of the executive committee for the California POST SWAT guidelines, and has served as a board of inquiry member for LAPD and Oakland PD.

Timestamps
01:45 – Early Career and Start at LASD
04:30 – Arrival at SEB
06:00 – Evolution of Dynamic Entry & The War on Drugs
11:15 – The Menu of Options for Narcotics Warrants
19:00 – Unit Culture, Constant Development, & Selection
25:15 – John Kolman and The Origins of the NTOA
35:00 – Development of California SWAT Standards. NTOA National Standards & Current Legal Attacks on SWAT
51:30 – The Need for Effective Downward Information Flow and Information Sharing
59:00 – Phil’s Time at Emergency Operations Bureau
1:02:00 – Navigating Career Adversity
1:08:00 – Santa Maria PD Career
1:10:00 – Modern Issues in Special Tactics – Interagency Relationships
1:22:00 – Justifications & Reasons for Special Tactics Teams
1:30:00 – Rapid Fire Questions

Contact Info
Cell # (805) 994-9051
Email: pchansen@live.com

Books Recommended
Contrarians Guide to Leadership - Steven B. Sample and Warren Bennis – ISBN: 978-0787967079
Going Pro, The Deliberate Practice of Professionalism - Tony Kern, Pygmy Books Publishing – ISBN: 978-0984206315
Leading Change: The Argument for Values-Based Leadership – James O’Toole – ISBN: 978-0345402547
Passion of Command: The Moral Imperative of Leadership – Col. Bryan McCoy – ISBN: 978-0940328372

Critical Incident Review - Inside the Bataclan Hostage Rescue with a BRI Operator

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0800

Description
On November 13, 2015, Paris experienced a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks. These attacks took place
over three separate areas of the city and were carried out by multiple teams of attackers. Almost four hours after they
began the events ended with a dramatic and successful hostage rescue that will be the topic for today’s discussion.
This episode of the debrief will have a slightly different format. My guest today is an active member of France’s elite
Brigade for Research and Intervention or BRI. Because of the nature of his current assignment and the nature of their
work, it is critical that we maintain his anonymity. As a result, we will not be showing this episode on video or using our
guest’s real name.

Timestamps
2:00 – Policing in France – Structure and agencies
5:15 – Origins, History, and Mission of BRI
11:15 – Overview of the November 13 attacks on Paris
12:52 – Location 1 - Stadt D’ France suicide bombers
16:30 – Location 2 – Café and bar attacks in 10th arrondissement
19:30 – BRI activation and staging
22:35 – Location 3 – Bataclan theater attack begins
27:45 – Street police arrival and entry
31:30 – BRI arrival on scene and initial entry
39:50 – First engagement with terrorists
46:09 – Negotiations
50:00 – Description of the HRT area
52:30 – Assault
1:05:00 – Clearing remainder of corridor
1:09:00 – Effects of the event on team
1:21:30 – Lessons learned from the Bataclan HRT

Links
Netflix special on the Paris Attacks: Watch November 13: Attack on Paris | Netflix Official Site
Timeline and overview by France24 - Paris attacks: The investigation continues (france24.com)
HSAC whitepaper on events - hsac-paris-lessons-learned_whitepaper.pdf (pepperdine.edu)

Leaders & Legends - Inspector Kevin Cyr - RCMP ERT

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0800

Description

Kevin Cyr is an Inspector with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and is the current commander of the RCMP Emergency Response Team in British Columbia, which is the second largest tactical unit in Canada. Kevin has been with the RCMP for 22 years and has been with the team for 7 years. He has a master’s in law from Osgoode Hall Law School and is published internationally in law and criminology journals. He also teaches incident command at the Canadian Police College.

Timestamps

1:00 - His personal history and career path

2:25 – Structure and functioning of the RCMP

5:45 – Advantages and disadvantages of the Canadian policing model

7:30 – Origins of RCMP SERT and ERT teams

13:00 – The role of modern tactical teams

14:30 – 2010 Olympics and ERTs transition to full-time teams

17:15 – Current ERT team configuration

21:00 – Decision-making and the trap of risk mitigation

27:00 – Understanding the difference between cheap and expensive and effective and efficient in preparation

33:15 – Weighing when to spend money vs. improving skills – understanding requirements

38:00 – Tactical decision-making & analysis paralysis

42:00 – Militarization of law enforcement

45:45 – How overly aggressive law and policy can lead to tactical indecisiveness

50:15 – How the standards we hold police to are unreasonable

55:00 – How the origin stories for SWAT are complicating modern tactical response

57:00 – Delegation of authority and decision making

1:01:00 – Who should make tactical decisions?

1:03:00 – How we should be training our future tactical leaders

1:09:45 – Rapid fire questions

Contact Info:

Kevin Cyr - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-cyr-ll-m-b78206133

Books Recommended:

Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink and Leif Babin – ISBN# 250067057

Critical Incident Review - Buddy Brown - 1/16/18 - York County, SC

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Description

My guest today Is Buddy Brown. Buddy works for the York County Sherriff’s Office in South Carolina. Buddy has worked patrol, narcotics and training and spent more than 18 years on the York County regional SWAT team. On January 16, 2018, York County responded to a domestic violence call that led a suspect on the run in the woods behind a residential area. By the time the night was over Det. Mike Doty would be murdered by the suspect and three other members of the agency would be shot and seriously wounded, including Buddy. In this Critical Incident Review Buddy will take us through the timeline and events of the night as well as discuss their lessons learned and his recovery from catastrophic injuries.

Timestamps

2:20 - His history and career path

3:20 – Configuration of York County Sheriff’s Office Agency and the SWAT team

5:10 – Initial call for service and search for suspect

9:00 – Ambush of dog team and Shooting of K9 Sgt. Randy Clinton

15:40 – Initial SWAT response and search

24:15 – Response to 1475 Paraham Road

30:45 – Ambush of team by suspects and shooting of three team members

35:20 – Shooting stops and suspect surrenders

39:10 – Initial medical response for injured operators

45:40 – Buddy’s Injuries

47:30 – Arrest of suspect

56:30 – Initial effects on the families

58:50 – Arrival at the hospital & treatment

1:03:00 – Buddy’s recovery

1:05:45 – Personal lessons learned

1:08:00 – Team lessons learned

1:18:50 – Aftermath and healing from the trauma of the event

Important Links

York County SO Documentary – The Many Heroes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK7N8kvFjVfs8fzsyDgmTg6ZtbN2UpXPG

Contact Info:

Phone 803-230-2106

Email Buddy.brown@yorkcountygov.com

Book Recommendations:

Dave Grossman - On Killing – ISBN 978-0316040938

Dave Grossman - On Combat – ISBN 978-0964920545

Paul Howe - Leadership and Training for the Fight – ISBN 978-1420889505

Jocko Willink - Discipline Equals Freedom – ISBN 978-1250156945

Training and Tech - Kris Allshouse - The Use of Drones in Law Enforcement

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Description

My guest today is Kris Allshouse. Kris is the Executive Director of The Regional Training Center (formerly LA County Regional Training Center), a nonprofit organization that provides advanced training to Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement and other first responders as well as military units and international agencies. Kris is a former tactical operator for a large Southern California agency with extensive operational experience. Under his guidance, RTC/LACRTC has emerged as one of the top thought leaders and training providers for tactical use of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) in the world.

Timestamps

1:00 - His Career Path

2:50 – The Evolution of sUAS for law enforcement

4:30 – Categories and types of sUAS and their missions

7:25 – Tactical Use of sUAS & Deescalation

11:15 – Crowd and Riot Control

13:00 – Drones and Robots and the new non-dynamic entry approach

16:34 – Regulatory challenges to sUAS

22:00 – Privacy rights, the Constitution and sUAS

26:15 – The 4th Amendment Consequences of sUAS

27:03 – Weaponizing drones

29:30 – The terrorism threat posed by sUAS

32:30 –Concerns that we are building a dystopian future with sUAS

Books Recommended

Sound Doctrine – Charles Sid Heal – ISBN 9781930051119

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey - 9780671708634

Contact Info

Kris Allshouse

kallshouse@thertc.org

17595 Mt Herrmann St.

Fountain Valley, CA 92708

Main Office: (888) 782-4969

Direct: (760) 990-1441

Cell: (816) 721-8440

Training and Tech - Dana Vilander - Tactical Medics & Rope Work in Modern Law Enforcement

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Description

My guest today is Dana Vilander. Dana spent 32 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department with 26 of those years spent with the elite Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB). In his time at SEB, Dana worked as a K-9, a SWAT operator, and spent 18 years as a tactical paramedic, diver, crew chief, and hoist operator with the Emergency Services Detail. Because of his extensive and unique experience, Dana has taught TEMS/TCCC/tactical medicine, vertical access, ropes, and rural operations to elite tactical units all over the world.

Timestamps

1:31 – Dana’s Career Path

5:25 – LASD SEB - Emergency Services Detail

10:35 – The History of TEMS/TCCC

13:20 – The Military Research That Gave Rise to TCCC

18:12 – The Origins of Tourniquet Use

22:01 – Law Enforcement’s Beginnings with TCCC

24:20 – How to Build and Maintain a TCCC Capability

29:00 – IFAK Configuration

32:06 – Controlling Massive Hemorrhaging

37:34 – Team Based Medical Supplies & Mass Casualty Bags

41:00 – Making TCCC Training Realistic

44:35 – The Beginnings of Tactical Ropes Work

47:50 – Using Cadres to Maintain Domains of Knowledge

49:05 – Why Teams Need a Tactical Ropes Program

52:00 – Dana’s Gear Recommendations for Teams

Books Recommended

Leadership and Training for the Fight – Paul R Howe – ISBN 978-1420889505

About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior - Colonel David H. Hackworth and Julie Sherman – ISBN 978-0671695347

Ranger Dawn: The American Ranger from the Colonial Era to the Mexican War – Robert W. Black – ISBN 9780811736008

Contact Info

Dana Vilander - dana@vtctraining.com

www.vtctraining.com

562-896-6884

Leaders & Legends – John Perez – Securing the Rose Parade/Bowl & Authentic Leadership

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Description

My guest today is Chief John Perez. John recently retired as the Chief of Police for the Pasadena California Police Department. In his nearly 37 years of service to Pasadena, John served at literally all ranks in the department. During his career, John worked patrol, narcotics, counter-terrorism, and as a SWAT sergeant, lieutenant, and commander, John helped to form the first generation of Pasadena’s tactical team which had the challenge of deploying as a full-time gang enforcement team and a SWAT team for many years. John was twice awarded the Chief’s medal of excellence and received several commendations for his service over the years.

Timestamps

1:00 – His childhood and upbringing

2:35 – How the murder of his 14-year-old cousin drove his desire to be a policeman

4:41 – The beginning of his career and training

6:20 – The crimewaves of the 80s and 90s and police response

10:00 - How the Rampart scandal and war on drugs negatively impacted policing

13:12 – The origins of Pasadena PD SES (SWAT)

15:07 – 9/11 and the profound effects it had on Pasadena PD

19:20 – Securing the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl

22:45 – The impact of 9/11 on the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl

25:55 – Returning to SES as the unit Lieutenant

29:50 – Promoting out of SES to Commander

34:00 – Synthesizing being a “meat eater” with the politics of command

37:15 – How education changes your understanding and beliefs

39:15 – How losing teaches you more than winning

41:35 – Authentic leadership

45:30 – Responding to Occupy Pasadena

54:35 – Leading from your principles in a conflicted environment

1:02:00 – Balancing the tension between lawful protest & protecting the city

1:04:15 – The need to be a student of the profession

1:06:05 – Self-examination and learning from your critics

1:09:35 – How a near-death experience reshaped his views

1:18:00 – Rapid Fire Questions

Books Recommended

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote for Chaos – Jordan Peterson – ISBN 0345816021
Discover Your True North – Bill George – ISBN 0787987514
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win - Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - ISBN 1250067057
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl - ISBN 080701429X
Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life – Tony Dungy – ISBN 1414318022

Contact Info

Chief John Perez (Ret)

johnperez34@me.com

Training and Tech - Toby Darby & Josh Wofford – Using Tactical Decision-Making Exercises to Improve Leadership

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Description

My Guests Today are the creators of the California Association of Tactical Officers (CATO) Decision Making Exercise Program (DME), Capt. Toby Darby and Lt. Josh Wofford. Toby is a 27-year veteran of law enforcement with 20 years spent in tactical units. Toby is a Board Member for the California Association of Tactical Officers and one of the facilitators of the CATO Strategic Leadership Program (SLP). Lt. Josh Wofford is an 18-year veteran of law enforcement and current SWAT team leader. Josh has a Doctorate in Education from Vanderbilt University and is a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Timestamps

1:02 – Their Backgrounds

2:35 – Origin Stories for the CATO Decision Making Exercises (DME)

5:45 – Anatomy of a DME - How DME’s work

8:25 – Group Structure for DMEs

12:15 – The Science Behind DMEs

15:05 – Using DMEs to Share and Retain Corporate/Agency Knowledge

18:35 – Situational Learning Theory

21:45 – Group Composition

23:55 – Challenging Confirmation Bias in Decision Making

26:30 – Using DMEs to Broaden Perspective

32:10 – Understanding “The Why” in Decision Making

35:30 – Commander’s Intent and Leadership Thinking

37:10 – Facilitating a DME – Choosing an Event

41:06 – Using DME to Stress Test Your Team

44:10 – Facilitating a DME - Roles and Responsibilities

48:44 – How DMEs Affect Culture

51:49 – Building Trust Through DMEs

55:16 – The Need for Critical Thinking in Organizational Leadership

59:50 – Using Close Calls and Body Worn Camera Footage to Create Proactive DMEs

Books Recommended

Swans, Swine, and Swindlers: Coping with the Growing Threat of Mega-Crises and Mega-Messes, Can M Alpaslan and Ian I. Mitroff – ISBN: 9780804771375

The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research & Managerial Applications, Bernard M. Bass – ISBN: 7770957532

Thinking Collaboratively: Learning in a Community of Inquiry, D. Randy Garrison – ISBN: 9781138824317

The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right, Atul Gawande – ISBN: 9780805091748

The Laws of Human Nature, Robert Greene – ISBN: 9780525428145

Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman – ISBN: 9780374275631

Legacy: 15 Lessons in Leadership, James Kerr – ISBN: 9781472103536

The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More With Less, Richard Koch – ISBN: 9780385491747

Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger – ISBN: 9780521423748

Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice, Sharan B. Merriam and Laura L. Bierema – ISBN: 9781118416310

Six Simple Rules: How To Manage Complexity Without Getting Complicated, Yves Morieux and Peter Tollman – ISBN: 9781422190555

An Introduction to Theories of Learning, Matthew H. Olson and B.R. Hergenhahn – ISBN: 9780131147225

Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth At A Time, Jeffrey Pfeffer – ISBN: 9780062383167

Managing the Unexpected: Sustained Performance In A Complex World, Karl E. Weick and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe – ISBN: 9780787996499

Contact Info

Capt. Toby Darby

tdarby@catotraining.org

Lt. Josh Wofford

jwofford@catotraining.org

Leaders & Legends - Mike Hillman - Part 2 of 2 - The History of SWAT

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Description

My Guest Today is Mike Hillman. Mike is a legend in the tactical community with a list of career accomplishments that would take an entire podcast of their own. But as a brief bio he was one of the original founders of LAPD SWAT, a Deputy Chief at LAPD, the Assistant Sheriff in Orange County California and a Chief of Police for the Los Angeles Port Police. He was one of the founders of the National Tactical Officers Association, headed security for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and is a nationally recognized expert on leadership, crisis management, critical incident management, special operations and a wide variety of other subjects.

Timestamps

2:09 – Objectives of an Effective Leader

4:05 – The Need for Introspection

6:38 – Having a Core Guiding Principle

8:05 – The Roots of Decisiveness

10:00 – Selfless Approaches to Leadership

11:40 – Leadership in Crisis

15:01 – The Willingness to Change Your Mind

18:04 – Characteristics of Good Leaders

19:30 – Humility and Change Leadership

22:13 – Making Cultural Changes

26:11 – Leading in The Modern Environment

28:15 – Selection Process and Picking the Right People

31:45 – Policing in the Current Social Environment

34:30 – The Constitution v. Our Safety

37:15 – Differentiating Between the Need For Training And Discipline

40:30 – Actions, Intent and The Media

43:30 – Social Media And Law Enforcement

46:38 – Militarization of Law Enforcement

51:19 – Proactivity: Intervening Early or Creating a Problem

52:30 – Bad Tactics or Bad Technology

54:45 – Defining SWAT and Their Mission Set

58:03 – How Do Small Agencies Avoid Issues with Their SWAT Team

1:01:00 – Requirements v. Equipment Understanding Your Needs

1:04:45 – Rapid Fire Questions

Books Recommended

Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life by Patrick Van Horne, Jason Riley, Shawn Coyne - ISBN 1936891301

Contact Info

Mike Hillman

mrhntoa@aol.com

Leaders & Legends - Mike Hillman - Part 1 of 2 - The History of SWAT

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Description

Timestamps

1:45 – Mike’s Background

4:05 – The beginnings of LAPD D Platoon (SWAT)

5:35 – Defining Events – International Terrorism, Homegrown Terrorist, & the 1970s

11:12 – The Origins of Crisis Negotiation & LAPDs Approach

17:19 – Development of Hostage Negotiation Tactics

22:20 – 1984 Summer Olympics & Development of SWAT

31:02 – The Evolution of Flashbangs

33:54 – Developing Bus Assaults Tactics

37:22 – Intelligence Gathering, Pre-scouting, and DARPA Surrogate Travel

40:45 – Hanafi Muslim Incident Effect on Tactics (Fast Roping & Aerial Platform)

43:19 – Founding of the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA)

45:14 – The Rock House Epidemic in LA & Origins of Armored Vehicles

47:30 – Law Enforcement & the Military (Demilitarization?)

51:22 – The 1980s and the NTOA

55:10 – Being a Student of the Game – The Need for Research & Study

58:12 – What Makes a Good SWAT Operator

Books Recommended

Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life by Patrick Van Horne, Jason Riley, Shawn Coyne - ISBN 1936891301

Contact Info

Mike Hillmann

Mrhntoa@aol.com

Training and Tech - Ed Hinchey – Body Armor and Surviving and Recovering After Being Shot

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Episode Description - My guest today is Ed Hinchey, a retired Sgt. with the Forest Hills Pennsylvania Police Department. Ed is the survivor of a violent police shooting who was saved by his soft body armor. After retirement Ed became the Director of the Safariland Saves Program. In his capacity as Saves Director, Ed’s job is working with officers who have been shot in the line of duty and saved by their armor. As a result, Ed has likely interacted with more officers shot in the line of duty than anyone in the world. In this interview, Ed discusses witnessing his partner being shot, the first failure of soft body armor by a round it was designed to stop, surviving his own shooting, the aftermath of a shooting, the effects on the officer and their family, as well as the NIJ armor standards past and present. Ed also discusses how to best prepare officers for shootings and how to help them after a shooting occurs.

Timestamps

1:30 – Ed’s Background

2:06 – 6/23/03 - The Edward Limbacher Shooting

4:55 – The NIJ Armor Standards and How They Have Changed

7:05 – Armor Failure – The Zylon Recall and The Old NIJ Standards

11:00 – Frustrations with the Armor Industry

13:23 – The Chronology of Ed’s Shooting

20:50 – His Injuries

26:30 – Arrival at the Hospital & Initial Treatment

33:00 – Surgery & Recovery

38:10 – Effects on the Family

45:30 – Community Reaction & News Media

51:14 – Retirement from Law Enforcement

57:04 – Starting His Second Career with Safariland

1:02:10 – Keys to Surviving a Shooting

1:07:15 – Going Beyond the Academy

1:20:45 - Why Armor Saves Lives

1:25:39 – Behind the Armor – Training Armor

1:30:17 – Mindset and Survival

1:33:14 - Social Media and Survivors

Books Recommended

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius – ISBN 048629823X

The Man in the Arena: Selected Writings by Theodore Roosevelt - ISBN13: 9780765306715

Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership: Executive Lessons from the Bully Pulpit by James Strock – ISBN 0761515399

Sites Recommended

NIJ Armor Standards - https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/body-armor-performance-standards

Safariland Saves - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIM58xG6QM4flerbP6IU9qgXf7VJ5ZgJ7

https://scholar.harvard.edu/fryer/publications/empirical-analysis-racial-differences-police-use-force

Contact Info

Ed Hinchey

Save #941

Safariland Saves Program

ed.hinchey@safariland.com

Leaders & Legends - Brent Stratton and Marcus Sprague – The California Association of Tactical Officers and The Doctrine of Tactical Science

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Description

My guests today are the hosts of the very successful California Association of Tactical Officers (CATO) Podcast, Brent Stratton, and Marcus Sprague. Brent is the Assistant Chief at a Southern California Police Department and the President of the California Tactical Officers Association (CATO). Marcus is a recently retired Lieutenant at a Northern California PD and the Vice President of CATO. Both Brent and Marcus are graduates of the CARO Strategic Leadership Program.

Timestamps

1:05 - Marcus's background (CATO and SWAT)

2:55 - Brent's background (CATO and SWAT)

6:52 - The Evolution of CATO

10:00 - Role of CATO and regional associations

12:45 - Hot topics in California

15:00 - CATO's role in helping defining mission-readiness

17:30 - The importance of identifying areas for improvement

19:30 – The need for debriefs and lessons learned

24:10 – Understanding the why in training

30:45 – CATO Decision Making Exercises

36:55 - Anecdotal evidence vs hard data in law enforcement

41:00 - Transparency and the gap in the story about law enforcement

51:10 - Origin of CATO Podcast

1:00:50 - The Future of CATO

1:09:04 - How to contact CATO (and the power of the community)

1:13:04 - How to join or become involved with CATO

Books Recommended

Field Command by Sid Heal

Sound Doctrine: A Tactical Primer by Sid Heal

Contact Info

CATO Website - catonews.org

CATO Podcast on Apple Podcasts

Marcus Sprague – vp@catonews.org

Brent Stratton - president@catonews.org

For more information, check out our website at thedebrief.live

Leaders & Legends - Lee McMillion - Inside LAPD D-Platoon (SWAT)

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Episode Description – In this episode, we take a deep dive into LAPD D-Platoon (aka SWAT) with Lee McMillion, one of the two Lieutenants who currently lead the unit. We discuss the history of SWAT, the current configuration of the team, the specialized cadres within the team, and what happens when the team is activated. We also discuss how they select the right personnel, leading a team of high achievers, maintaining high standards, and trying to support personnel who are constantly engaged in dangerous and potentially traumatic events.

Today’s Guest - Lt. Lee McMillion. Lee is currently one of the two Lieutenants leading the Los Angeles Police Departments Metropolitan Division D-Platoon - also known as LAPD SWAT. In total, Lee has spent 33 years as a Los Angeles Policeman of which 23 years have been spent at Metro, 21 with D-Platoon. Lee is one of only three men to have ever served at all possible ranks at D-Platoon (Officer, Plus 1, Sgt, and Lt.). Lee has been an element member, an element leader, a squad leader and is currently a Platoon Leader. In his career, Lee has participated in well over a thousand tactical operations with a wide variety of mission sets.

Topics Discussed

01:10 - Lee’s Career History

03:20 – History of LAPD D-Platoon (SWAT)

06:30 – Black Panther and SLA Incidents

08:00 – Origins of the name “SWAT”

10:30 – 1984 LA Olympics and effect on D-Platoon

14:15 – Current Configuration & Responsibilities of D-Platoon

16:30 – Capabilities of the team & the cadre system

19:59 – TEMS & Tactical Medics

22:45 – Demographics of the Average D-Platoon Operators

26:00 – Criteria and Process for Activating SWAT

29:30 – Crisis Negotiation System – Every Operator is a Negotiator

32:00 – Misconceptions about SWAT – Statistics for SWAT

37:00 – “Militarization” of Law Enforcement

40:45 – Choosing the Right People – Personnel Selection

46:00 – Maintaining High Standards with Strong Personalities

49:00 – Building and Maintaining the Right Culture

52:25 – Effects of Social Media on Different Personality Types

55:25 – The Tension Between Social Media and Professionalism

58:00 – Rapid Fire Questions

1:02:00 - Most Profound Career Memory

Books Referenced

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle – ASIN B00AN2KTKQ

Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life by James Kerr - ISBN 9780804176989

Contact Info

https://www.lapdonline.org/office-of-the-chief-of-police/office-of-special-operations/metropolitan-division/swat/

LAPD SWAT Instagram - @lapd.swat

Check out our website at thedebrief.live

Leaders & Legends - Sid Heal - Part 2 of 2 - Understanding Tactical Science

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Episode Description – This is the second of a broad reaching two-part interview with Sid. In this second episode, we discuss the origins of his study and writings on tactical science and take a deeper dive into several concepts in tactical science like initiative and maneuver in time and space. We also dig into Sid’s views on leadership and take an emotional reflection on his responsibilities to those he led.

This episode of The Debrief is in honor of Sid Heal who passed away on May 24th, 2022, shortly before this episode aired. We remember Sid as a force in the special tactics community, as a war veteran, as a celebrated author, and as a commander of the LA Sheriff’s Department. A site has been created in honor of Sid that you can visit at www.sidheal.com

Guest – Charles “Sid” Heal. Sid is a legend in the special tactics’ community and a key figure in the history and evolution of special tactics in the United States. Sid is a retired CWO5 in the United States Marine Corps serving numerous combat deployments including the Vietnam War, The Gulf War, and Operation United Shield in Somalia. Sid is also a retired Commander from the LA County Sheriff’s Department, has worked in the Special Enforcement Bureau, the Emergency Operations Bureau, and a wide variety of other assignments. Sid is one of the most prolific authors on tactical topics having authored several books and hundreds of articles. Sid has taught at the US Army War College and is the former president of the California Association of Tactical Officers.

Topics Discussed

3:18 Short background on Sound Doctrine

6:23 Public perception of police use of violence vs reality

13:08 Origin of Sid’s writing career: combining doctrines of law enforcement and military

19:38 Key concepts in Sid’s books (end state, training vs education, maneuvering in time, etc.)

36:48 Writing tactical books that are widely accessible through simplifying concepts

39:18 The importance of tactical science (understanding the rationale behind decisions, etc.)

43:53 Sid’s recommended reading list (from Officer to Lieutenant)

48:42 Rapid-fire questions (most important habit, leader vs manager, most important trait for teams/leaders, if he could have dinner with anybody, who it would be, etc.)

Links and Books Referenced

Sound Doctrine by Charles “Sid” Heal - ISBN 9781930051119

Field Command by Charles "Sid" Heal – ISBN 9781590563441

Please find Sid’s recommended reading list at thedebrief.live/the-list

Other Places to See and Hear Sid

CATO Podcast – www.catonews.org

https://catopodcast.podbean.com/e/concepts-of-non-lethal-force-with-sid-heal/

https://catopodcast.podbean.com/e/concepts-of-non-lethal-force-with-sid-heal-part-2-of-2/

For more information, check out our website at thedebrief.live

Leaders & Legends - Sid Heal - Part 1 of 2 - The History of LASD - SEB

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Episode Description – This is the first of a broad reaching two-part interview with Sid. In this first episode, we discuss Sid’s career history, the evolution of special tactics, the history of LASD SEB, the origins of SWAT, and his research on flashbangs and development of the NTOA Instructors Manual. We also discuss the origins of non-lethal weapons, police reform and defunding, and the origins of his study and writings on tactical science.

Topics Discussed

3:18 Sid's career history (USMC, Sheriff's Department, etc.)

13:03 Evolution of special tactics in the United States

17:30 Formation of the NTOA

19:48 Influence of technology/changing tactics on hostage rescue

22:03 Military tactics vs burgeoning special tactics

26:18 Origins of SWAT

32:08 Origin of Sid formally studying strategy and tactics

33:58 Beginning of flash bang research/original NTOA flash bang manual

45:18 Milestones after the flash bang manual (Somalia, Kenya, etc.)

1:07:38 Shifts in thinking on the U.S. Military using non-lethal weapons (Afghanistan, Balkans, etc.)

1:10:18 Shifts in military thinking on non-lethal force

1:15:28 Defunding the police vs reforming the police

1:18:18 Integrating theory and practice and the origins of tactical science

Books Referenced

Sound Doctrine by Charles “Sid” Heal - ISBN 9781930051119

Field Command by Charles "Sid" Heal – ISBN 9781590563441

Please find Sid’s recommended reading list at thedebrief.live/the-list

Other Places to See and Hear Sid

CATO Podcast – www.catonews.org

https://catopodcast.podbean.com/e/concepts-of-non-lethal-force-with-sid-heal/

https://catopodcast.podbean.com/e/concepts-of-non-lethal-force-with-sid-heal-part-2-of-2/

For more information, check out our website at thedebrief.live

The Debrief with Jon Becker - Trailer

Tue, 24 May 2022 15:00:00 -0700

The Debrief with Jon Becker launches June 8th. Please enjoy this trailer.

The Debrief is an interview-based podcast that tells the stories of the leaders of some of the world’s top law enforcement and military units – individuals who navigate dangerous situations with their highly effective teams every day.

Jon Becker founded AARDVARK at just seventeen years old. The company started out as a climbing equipment business, often selling gear to SWAT teams and operators. After attending law school and working in police litigation, Becker realized that the best way he could serve tactical operators was by producing and providing high quality gear and products that would enhance operator safety on the job. After AARDVARK’s expansion and success, Becker founded PROJECT7, a provider of purpose-built, scalable, and configurable tactical platforms. Throughout this decades-long journey, Becker has learned invaluable lessons about the lives and work of law enforcement and tactical operators, leading him to a deep understanding of the principles and core values behind highly effective teams. After keynoting for many years on the leadership of elite units and what he terms “culture-centric” leadership, Becker is putting those lessons into The Debrief, a non-profit podcast that serves the wider public.