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jon becker
Explore " jon becker" with insightful episodes like "Critical Incident Review – Jordan MacWilliams Charged with Murder for Shooting a Hostage Taker", "BPL #3: Counter-Errorism and A Culture of Safety with Gareth Lock", "Training & Tech – Recovering From Being Shot - Follow Up With Jordan Robison", "Critical Incident Review - Fatal OIS SWAT Vehicle Takedown in San Bernardino" and "BPL #1: Bob Koonce – Using Nuclear Submarine Culture To Create High Reliability Teams" from podcasts like ""The Debrief with Jon Becker", "The Debrief with Jon Becker", "The Debrief with Jon Becker", "The Debrief with Jon Becker" and "The Debrief with Jon Becker"" and more!
Episodes (20)
BPL #3: Counter-Errorism and A Culture of Safety with Gareth Lock
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.
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?
Training & Tech – Recovering From Being Shot - Follow Up With Jordan Robison
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
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
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
linkedin.com/in/bobkoonce
Books Recommended
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
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
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
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
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)
Critical Incident Review - Inside the Bataclan Hostage Rescue with a BRI Operator
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
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
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
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
Leaders & Legends - Mike Hillman - Part 2 of 2 - The History of SWAT
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
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
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
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
Contact Info
Ed Hinchey
Save #941
Safariland Saves Program
ed.hinchey@safariland.com
Leaders & Legends - Lee McMillion - Inside LAPD D-Platoon (SWAT)
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
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
The Debrief with Jon Becker - Trailer
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.