Tactical Tangents

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may be over (for now) but that doesn't leave us in a world without conflict. While we were hip-deep in the Global War on Terror, major great power competitors have been nursing grievances and feeling rising ambitions and opportunities. In this episode, Jim takes a detailed look at the state of play with respect to Russia and China, and how that could affect the US as a nation, and us as individual citizens. While neither of our great power opponents would benefit from a shooting war with the United States at this point in time, Jim points out that they are both conducting war by other means; the struggles are already underway. Whether by economic means, attempts to control raw material sources, or meddling with public opinion via social media channels, it's important to be aware of these methods. Listen to this episode to have it all laid out. Links: War Without Rules by Robert Spalding War with Russia by Sr Richard Shirreff US National Security Strategy Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com Like what we're doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe. Intro music credit Bensound.com

In both the military and law enforcement universes, there's often an understandable amount of friction between the people out where the action is and those who help them get there and support them in their work. In this episode, Jim and Mike discuss ways to smooth cooperation between the people behind the scenes and the officer on the street or the pilot in the seat. When you really think about it, everybody's supporting somebody and nobody's completing the mission alone. Learning to distinguish between your "boss" and your "customer" can help you focus on operational success whether you're the one calling in the air support, flying the plane, or keeping the plane flyable. As the saying goes, the chicken is involved in breakfast while the pig is committed…but breakfast ain't happening without both doing their jobs. Links: Randy Pausch Achieving Childhood Dreams Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com Like what we're doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe. Intro music credit Bensound.com

In a cool tactical podcast, everybody wants to talk about a gunfight and nobody wants to talk about getting t-boned in an intersection on the way to the gunfight. This episode features Mike & Jim, who've bent enough fenders between them to have some advice to offer, talking about the realities of driving. Whether you're driving the government's vehicle or your own private citizen chariot, realistic Operational Risk Management applies behind the wheel too. Not only does viewing driving from an Operational Risk Management standpoint apply to doing the high-speed stuff while sawing at the wheel to keep it between the ditches while running code, it entails a lot more aspects. How do you manage your driving to take into account the possibility of road rage from other motorists? Do you stay on top of vehicle maintenance in order to keep from getting stranded in a desert or a blizzard…or stuck on the side of the road and having to deal with whatever sketchy weirdo stops to "help"? Listen in as these topics and more are covered. Like what we're doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe. Intro music credit Bensound.com

The only thing more frightening than being shot at by your own team is finding out you just shot up your own team. The very idea of fratricide…aka "Blue-on-Blue" incidents…is scary, but being a professional means you can't just be scared, you have to work on your skills and knowledge to counter the possibility of it happening to you or because of you. In this episode, Jim and Mike discuss just that. Whether it's a pair of USAF F-15's mistaking American Blackhawks for Iraqi Hind gunships, a police officer not briefed to look for the undercover cop at the buy/bust, or a private citizen failing to positively identify an "intruder" and shooting a loved one, these are all preventable failures. We know that fog and friction make it harder to be aware of the environment and cause simple tasks to become more difficult, so how do we mitigate these factors and prevent "own goals"? Listen to this episode to find out. Links: Reading: A Chain of Events by Joan Piper Vignettes: Tarnak Farm Incident Albuquerque undercover officer shot by LT: Police 1 Article - Update on Officer - YouTube Video NYPD Incident Providence Training Fatality Robin Sage Training Fatality Like what we're doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe. Intro music credit Bensound.com

Offices come in a variety of shapes and guises, from a room with desks and whiteboards to the front seat of a squad car. In this solo episode, Jim sounds off on his favorite topic: Management is not a dirty word, to be shunned in favor of "leadership". Rather, management is part of leadership. It's the art & science of allocating and coordinating resources to meet a goal. Jim wants to share with you several of the lessons on management he's learned the hard way, such as when it's time to lead less. If you've managed your team well, you can take some time you'd otherwise have to spend motivating them and instead spend it removing obstacles preventing your highly-motivated people from solving problems efficiently. After all, getting the right people in the right places with the right equipment and a realistic timeline is essential to leadership. Links: Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule Like what we're doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe. Intro music credit Bensound.com

Sometimes bad training passes down information that might once have been good, but garbles it. Take "Shooting to Stop the Threat"…please. This episode sees Mike and Jim discuss the nuances of using lethal force to reasonably end the capacity of an assailant to harm you. What exactly is incapacitation? What's the difference between "shoot to kill" and to "stop"? Is intent magical? Listen to find out. Incapacitating a threat by means of lethal force requires certain factors to be met in order to be considered reasonable, and it's not a blank check. In the laws of war, there's a difference between sailors boarding a small boat from a sinking ship because they're out of the fight and marines climbing into small landing craft to get into the fight. In civilian self defense, each shot needs to be defensible, and that means reasonably explainable. Like what we're doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe. Intro music credit Bensound.com

For a person in a first responder line of work, being caught with an inadequate skill toolset in a critical incident can lead to the sort of feelings of helplessness that are a greased rail to PTSD-land. In this short episode, Mike talks through some ways to preemptively head off those bad feelings with good preparation. Unlike the fixed mindset in which you're dropped onto the planet as either Someone Who Can or Someone Who Can't based on some immutable set of skills, a growth mindset is one in which you see yourself as an active participant, learning from each experience to better deal with the next one. Mike explains why one of these is not only better for dealing with the incident, but also dealing with the aftermath. Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com Like what we're doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe. Intro music credit Bensound.com

In a short episode inspired by a listener question, Mike dives into the art of noticing abnormalities. An EMT instructs his trainees to put every patient on the EKG, whether the complaint is cardiac related or not. Why? So that the trainee will develop a baseline of what normal cardiac activity looks like and will be able to spot the abnormal more easily in the future. Humans are excellent at pattern recognition…if they've gathered enough data to establish a baseline. Whether it's noticing an abnormal heart rhythm, an unusual response to a squad car parked at an interdiction checkpoint, or the activity leading up to an ambush in some far-off deployment, being aware of what's normal and what's not can be a crucial skill. Link: Left of Bang by Patrick Van Horne Like what we're doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe. Intro music credit Bensound.com

What is a professional? The dictionary says, at its simplest, that it's someone paid to perform a task, as opposed to an amateur. But there's more to it than a paycheck. In this episode, Jim and Mike examine the characteristics of what we know as professionalism, and how they apply in the world of the tactical…well, professions. Professionals don't choke when the chips are down. There's a high expectation of professionalism in the military and law enforcement worlds, but what does that mean? It's easy to mistake the basics of bearing and rule-following as learned in early training for professionalism, but Mike and Jim point out that the professional is trusted to understand the situation well enough to take ownership of it, and the competence and expertise to make the hard decisions. Like what we're doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe. Intro music credit Bensound.com

Can you weaponize a positive mental outlook? In this short episode, Jim talks about positivity and optimism and how they can be cultivated and employed by leaders. When your job is basically to foresee and plan for worst-case scenarios, this can be a factor that is easy to overlook. Optimism can go beyond simplistic hooah moto slogans! Positivity isn't magic. You can't optimism your way through a situation you aren't ready for any more than you can mindset your way through a fight. Productive positivity, however, is never allowing yourself to say "this sucks" without adding "…and this is how I'm going to fix it." Listen in as Jim offers his thoughts on a practical positive attitude. Like what we're doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe. Intro music credit Bensound.com