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This is Part 2 of our interview with Dennis Kleyh, Jr.  Part 1 was about defensive tactics and the differences in mindsets between veterans and the police recruits who have never been punched in the face.  But in putting that episode together, I was left with an equal portion of the interview where Dennis talked about his careers in the Marine Corps and law enforcement. Military careers and law enforcement careers can seem pretty random.  It's only the recruiters who have a clear idea of what your future will be like, your actual mileage may vary. But right here is some interesting wisdom, for good or ill, you don't know exactly where your military or police service may take you.  So let's use Dennis' story to look at that.

CORRECTION: After I finished the first episode I discovered that I made a mistake, Dennis said Fourth Recon and I said Force Recon, and over the internet, neither of us heard the difference.  But I should have double checked, especially since it's clear as a bell now that I listen back to it.  Sorry about that!  

Music is by the Mini Vandals

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 135 Part 2

Tags:

Career, Leadership, Marines, Military Service, Police, Training, USMC, Veterans, Missouri, Afghanistan, Iraq

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How would a defensive tactics class in the police academy be different for a combat veteran than for someone without that experience? Today's guest Dennis Kleyh. Sgt Major Kleyh spent 30 years with the Marine Corps and is now a police captain, with over twenty years of teaching defensive tactics in both settings. Today we talk about how the combat mindset is different than policing and why some people have trouble regaining control when the things get real. We talk about how to train people who have never been in a fight before and why we all might benefit if some people were just punched in the face.

Music is by National Sweetheart and by Chris Haugen

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 135

Tags:

Police, Calm, Defensive Tactics, Discipline, EID, Instructors, Leadership, Marines, Military Service, Self-Control, Training, USMC, Use of Force, Veterans, Missouri, Afghanistan, Iraq

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This quarterly update episode looks at the Chaplaincy resolution from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).  Police Chief Jim Sutterby is our special guest host today.

Jim was previously featured on episodes 003, 007, and 041.

The IACP site that lists this resolution is https://www.theiacp.org/resolutions

Music is by Chris Haugen

Hey Chaplain Update Episode 1Q 2026

Tags:

IACP, Chaplaincy Programs, Chaplains, Conferences, Law Enforcement, Police, Policies, Resolution, Standards, Wellness, New Orleans, Louisiana

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We can't control everything in police culture and we certainly can't control how outsiders talk about police, but we can control our attitudes and our end of the relationships within the department.  Today's guest is Eric Tung, a police commander and the host of the podcast Blue Grit Radio.  Eric wants to talk about the empathy or lack thereof that exists between officers and between the officers and commanders.  How they communicate better and how each member of the team work to make the team better, regardless of outside influences.

Eric's website: bluegritwellness.com and find Eric Tung on LinkedIn

Music is by Wes Hutchinson

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 134

Tags:

Police, Communication, Culture, Empathy, K9, Leadership, Loss, Nihilism, Peer Support, Podcast, Teamwork, Wellness, Seattle, Washington

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This is a special bonus episode I'm calling the Pursuit Channel; here you can listen in to the excerpts of Hey Chaplain interviews that get cut for time or strayed off topic but are still worth a listen. In this episode I also talk about where I'll be IRL this year.

Music is by Chris Haugen

Hey Chaplain Bonus Episode 48

Tags:

Police, Addiction, Chaplains, Conferences, Podcasting, Purpose, Support, Kansas City, New Orleans, Spokane, Kansas, Louisiana, Washington

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What happens when the cop who was taking down bad guys and drug addicts, becomes a drug addict…  for years… ruining everything and costing everything?  Today we're talking to Brock Bevell, a medically retired cop who lost everything to opioid addiction.  We're going to talk about the injuries, the pain, the addiction, the cost, and Brock's recovery.  If you think that your addiction is going to remain hidden where no one will ever find out about it, then you need to hear what Brock has to say.

Music is by Chris Haugen

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 133

Tags:

Police, Addiction, Commitment, Consistency, Detox, Doctors, Drugs, Fear, God, Identity, Injury, Medical Retirement, Pain, Prescriptions, Relationships, Shame, Undercover, Mesa, Arizona

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Today we return to police officer JD Pettey to talk about what happens when an officer starts talking during someone else's tragedy and how badly that can go.  JD's family has had a number of serious tragedies and he was gracious enough to share those difficult memories with us because each story is an example of cops saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, even when they knew they were talking to a fellow police.  Obviously this is a sensitive conversation with discussion of suicide and other tragic deaths, but this is also one of my favorite conversations I've ever had with a police officer.  I think it was instructive, insightful, and even funny at times.  And we've all been there, when you need just the right words, and instead you put your foot your mouth.

Music is by Alexander Nakarada and by National Sweetheart

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 132.5

Tags:

Police, Accidents, Assumptions, Communication, Death Notifications, Family, Humor, Jargon, Loss, Professionalism, Suicide, Tragedy, Kansas City, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma

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Today we're talking about Crisis Intervention Teams and the work they do to free up police resources for other jobs.  Our guest today is a CIT officer and instructor I met at a training I went to this last year.  His name is JD Pettey and he's a thirty year officer with about a decade specifically working with co-responders (the community behavioral health liaisons) to help people in need because of addiction and mental health problems.  JD has a tremendous amount of experience and you're going to want to catch what he says is valuable about having officers who specifically specialize in CIT areas.

Music is by Alexander Nakarada

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 132

Tags:

CIT, Addiction, Army, Career, Co-Responders, Crisis, Mental Health, Police, Psychosis, Substance Abuse, Training, Veterans, Kansas City, Kansas, Missouri

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In the first part of our conversation with Travis Yates, we talked about cowardly leadership.  If you didn't listen to that episode, go back and listen to it right now, it's episode 131.  This is the second part of that conversation where we veered off from the cowardly leadership conversation to the more specific conversation of how leadership affects officer safety.  And this is something that Travis is really passionate about -- I mean he really gets fired up here.  This is really isn't a space for political correctness; we're just kinda telling it like it is.  I have these conversations all the time, just not usually with a cop who has a doctorate in this stuff.

Resources:

Travis' website: travisyates.org

Music is by National Sweetheart, by LesFM, and by Chris Haugen 

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 131.5

Tags:

Police, Career, Cowardice, Courage, Leadership; Police Culture, Safety, Tulsa, Oklahoma

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Following the law should be straightforward and black and white.  Following department policy should be the same way.  But navigating the murky waters of how to lead and inspire people to do their best work in a competitive and demoralizing environment… well, that's going to take some courage.  Our guest today is Travis Yates, who rose up through the police ranks, saw a lot of good and bad leadership, had to practice it himself, and now is ringing the alarm that bad leadership can destroy an agency.  Today we're specifically talking about courageous leadership and what it's opposite, cowardly leadership, looks like in a police department.

Resources:

Travis' website: travisyates.org

Music is by Chris Haugen 

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 131

Tags:

Police, Career, Cowardice, Courage, Family, Interviews, Leadership; Police Culture, Politics, Promotions, Ride Alongs, Supervision, Fort Smith, Little Rock, Tulsa, Arkansas, Oklahoma

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