Tactical Tangents

A lot of training exercises and drills can be a waste of time. Mike and Jim explore ways to improve military readiness, disaster preparedness, and school safety by making better training events.

Fi…

We take it out to the woods with how to build a fire, 7-step Checklist for Land Navigation, knots, PACE planning, forging resilience and a positive mental attitude, and more in this disaster prep, en…

“Help!” “Help!” “Help!” “I don’t want to die. My teacher is dead.” “One of my teachers is still alive but shot.” “Officer!” “Officer!” “Are they [officers] in the building?” “There is a lot of dead b…

Car accidents are something that are likely to touch all of us in some way or another, whether we are involved in one or manage them professionally as first responders. Not only are they exceptionall…

Back in the 1960s a former Marine took the high ground in one of the first and deadliest school shootings in American history. This watershed event was part of the discussion that brought the idea of…

No one should die over a false report. Internet gamers, celebrities and public figures, and maybe even one of your neighbors have been the victim of this sort of prank. These hoax emergency calls tha…

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Downs v. United States was a benchmark case for domestic law enforcement that establishes our requirement to attempt negotiations for a peaceful resolutio…

Your Recipe for Success looks something like equal parts of three things. Motivation, the spark and desire. Discipline, your habits and structure. And Grit, your capacity to overcome challenges, adju…

Over 100 people were killed, more than 2,000 structures destroyed, and over $5 billion in damage were left behind after wind and fire tore through the historic Lahaina district and adjacent areas in …

Is “strategic” the size of the bomb you drop, the scale of the map you use, or way you play Monopoly? In this episode, Mike and Jim turn Sun Tzu’s fortune cookie sayings into operational reality.  We…

Is the American military prepared for the sacrifices that we can expect in a World War? Mike and Jim discuss whether commanders can lead and whether the troops will follow when it comes time to storm…

Situational awareness demands focus and selective attention.  Sometimes playing on your phone can help, and sometimes it can kill you. Most people can’t multitask as well as they think, but Mike and …

Just because it's not aliens doesn't mean we can ignore it. Let's develop a comprehensive air defense and counter drone plan in the wake of Ukraine, Syria, and Gaza. We investigate Unidentified Flyin…

Green Berets have to work with a different rule book than the troops guarding nuclear weapons—and for good reasons. We explore the balance between strict adherence to rules and the often necessary fl…

In October 2002, a 17 and 41 year old carried out a series of serial murders, killing 10 and wounding 3 others in what were described as random attacks against people doing every day tasks like pumpi…

There are over 18,000 police Chiefs and Sheriffs in the United States, and every one of them has their own version of what right and wrong looks like. But unless they plan on showing up at every traf…

Erica is the founder of TacMobility, a wellness training company and online resource with a ton of free material for public safety. TacMobility is implementing a blend of mobility training and mental…

Here’s the thing about plane crashes: We all die at the same time. Inefficient and ambiguous communication has serious tactical implications when managing a crisis as a team. Sometimes, we water down…

For some reason there are a lot of people out there who still feel like putting an optic on your pistol isn’t reliable or practical, and our handsome hand model in the photo John Correia calls those …

There is an art and science to learning a new skill. Whether you are picking up new hobbies and trying to improve performance at essential job tasks, there are some tricks and concepts to understand …