Tactical Living

Ashlie: (00:17) Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton. Clint: (00:23) And I'm your co-host Clint Walton. Ashlie: (00:25) In today's episode, we're going to talk about just how much cash first responders spend out of their pocket and how much we wish they didn't have to. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Ashlie: (00:42) If you're listening and you're a first responder or you're in a relationship with a first responder, you might know just how rare it is to get times together to do the simple things in life such as going to the grocery store. I say that because Clint and I got to go to Target today where we split kind of the household essentials mixed with some of the grocery shopping combined in one trip. While we were there, he ran into the mom of one of his high school friends. Clint started to share with her how he does a lot of work in the mounted unit at his department. He loves it. He loves riding a horse. He loves the time commitments because he gets to work a lot of overtime when he rides mounted. Ashlie: (01:33) But the only downside to that is just how much cash is spent out of his pocket by doing something that's a hobby but that is also work related. Clint, talk to me about a little bit of the expenses that the mounted unit goes through personally and how much of the actual assets are applied towards work when you guys are riding mounted. Clint: (02:04) You know for us in our department, our mounted unit is completely voluntary where if we have a horse and we want to get involved in it, then we can. Other agencies actually provide everything they would need surrounding the mounted unit, which is not very many, but those that do are great. They have great tools and asset. But I think that also deters from the relationship that you have with your partner or the horse. For us, I mean figuring in the feed, the shooing, the saddle, the vet, the vet bill is nuts… where money really racks up, but also the clothes. I mean I have to buy new pairs of jeans all the time. They just get so dirty you just don't want to wear them again. And also the cowboy hats. There's just the list goes on and on and on. And this is all money that we have to spend out of pocket in reference to it. I think I have five different uniform shirts cause they couldn't make up their mind on which one they necessarily wanted us to wear once they finally agreed on one. It's the one with that we can wear on a normal day to day basis. Clint: (03:34) But that's, it's something that we all love to do. We enjoy doing it. So for us it's worth it. You know, we do have a few bonuses in reference to being on the mounted unit like when we work the special events, like the raves or the fairs or anything like that. It's all paid overtime for us. But they're very long nights. I mean you figure 12-13 hours actually in the saddle… it wears on your body. The, the monetary value that comes from just being a police officer in general is high for our agency as well. I know there's other agencies that provide a lot of the tools and equipment, but for us we have to buy a big majority of our equipment.

Ashlie: (04:31) Apart from the mounted unit, I know we've had these discussions in great depth when tax season comes around, but for the listener, what are some of the things that you can think of that as a police officer you have to fund out of your own pocket that you used as a necessity or as an asset in your day to day work? Clint: (04:53) You know, for us, before certain instances that occurred in our city, we had to provide our own plate carriers to protect us for from rifle rounds or higher caliber weapons as well as our rifle. We had to provide our own on our duty belt. They provide us a leather, Sam Brown and other, you know, our duty weapon, our Taser, things that we can't necessarily buy on our own. But if we wanted to carry an expandable baton and we had to purchase that ourselves and the money just adds up. We do get a uniform allowance, but that is like a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of dollars that we've spent over the years towards my uniforms, towards the equipment, towards every necessity that is there. And not necessarily a necessity, but some are conveniences as well, and I know it stacks up time and time again, but for safety, that's probably the most important concern and that's why we've purchased those items. Ashlie: (06:11) Absolutely. And I know that from talking to a lot of people online, there are even agencies that still exist today where it is not mandatory to wear your bulletproof vest. Sometimes they're not issued and sometimes these officers have to pay out of pocket for them. And having said that, there's also some foundations that have been created to help to aid because that should go without question, just like your duty weapon is to have a bulletproof vest to wear every day for your safety. Clint: (06:46) Yeah. And I'm fortunate that our department does provide us with the updated bulletproof vest every five years or so and, and you know, that's a very expensive cost. If we want to upgraded, we can pay to have it upgraded. But the cost in a bulletproof vest, you're looking $600 to $1,000 easy and they need to be replaced about every five years. Ashlie: (07:17) Yeah. And it's, it's just crazy to me how there, I mean, you're fortunate to work in a department where you get paid, well certainly not as well as some other agencies, but for Clint, they judge their pay increases based on like a medium, right? They take an average. Clint: (07:37) Yeah. It's based off of, I'm going to say 10 different departments within the Southern California area and they put us right in the middle of their average pay. Ashlie: (07:51) But there are a lot of departments where these officers are getting paid just cents above minimum wage. And it blows my mind that to, to be in a profession where it's so high risk and you're having to fund so much out of your pocket based on convenience. Sure, but based on safety concerns, most importantly that the salary is, it's just nothing when it comes down to what you actually take home as an officer, there's so many additional fees when you take into account… the union dues, the insurance, you know, if you have any additional pension plans and things like that. That the dollar amount that you see deposited into the bank account is far less than what that, that rate per hour is. And I just wish that there was, uh, a better calculation when it comes to the reimbursements and just how much money out of pocket first responders have to spend for the duty equipment that they use every single day to make life easier for them and then to make their job safer. Ashlie: (09:00) It's just too bad because in corporate jobs, for example, or even a job at McDonald's, like the employees have the assets for everything that they would need in order to do their job proficiently and to be most effective. And any good employer, any good boss would want their employees to have every asset that they need to feel comfortable, to feel safe and to be most effective and productive when they're at work. That helps to build the relationship. And this is coming from an entrepreneur coming from somebody with a business background and degree. It's still important to have that in a relationship with the employer and the employee. And when you're a first responder, there's this distance because many times you'll work for the state, the city or the county. And it's not like you, you can go to the higher ups at your station and complain about having to pay for something because it doesn't usually work that way. Clint: (10:03) Well, we could complain all we want. You just would never give it to us. Ashlie: (10:08) And I think it's so cool that there are a lot of organizations that do help to fund those that really can't afford it because most first responders have families that they're also trying to support while serving the community that they work for. And it's not easy to decide whether or not you're going buy your son cleats for soccer or if you're going to buy yourself, you know, uh, a new, a new belt because your back is starting to hurt from having to get in and out of the car so many times throughout the day. Clint: (10:49) There's so many tools out there that go from especially talking about the, the belt that we wear and how we can reduce the back pain surrounding that. And there's new and updated versions of things like back plates or suspenders or there's chest, chest carrying devices where you carry your, instead of wearing a belt, you carry it all on your, your shoulders. Some departments allowed others don't, but most of the time the officers have to buy it themselves cause that's a considered like a luxury item. It's like, you know, you go on an airplane and you pay for your ticket and then they give you peanuts and some water. But if you want to buy the meal you can buy more or the TV, you can pay even more money for that. Ashlie: (11:41) And it's funny because coming from a medical background, I think of how circumcisions are considered cosmetic and so you have to pay cash to have a circumcision done in most instances. Like it's just ass backwards. In my opinion though, what it boils down to is that when you're a first responder, the willingness to do the job that you've taken an oath to do far outweighs all of the other crap, all of the other things that you have to deal with. So much so that a majority of first responders, especially police officers, they sign on until they retire and it goes without saying that they know that this is what they're committed to doing for the rest of their career and they know what the financial obligations going to be and it's nice to be able to vent about it, right? It's nice to be able to have it, to have an outlet and people that can understand and relate to the fact that there are a lot of expenses and it drives me crazy when I hear people from the community make comments like, oh, will I pay your salary? Clint: (12:53) And that makes me laugh because the community I work for doesn't have a lot of taxpayers within it. And I love it when they say that to me because I can completely counter that. And they go, well, I pay a sales tax…well, with with your welfare. Ashlie: (13:16) And so what it boils down to as you're listening, it's not just first responders. I think that there are a lot of professions where individuals will choose to support a lot of things independently. I can think of teachers, for example, because it helps to further expand on their career and ultimately serve the higher purpose of what it is that they signed on for in the first place. And when you have that mindset and you know that if you are having to shell out money out of your own pocket, but it's for the greater good of what it is that you're living your purpose in every single day, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

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Ashlie: (00:17)
Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton.

Clint:

And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie:

In today's episode, we're going to share with you how watching the movie A Dog's Purpose really instilled the fact that our own dogs truly have a purpose and a place in our world. And as you listen, I'm certain if you have a dog that you can also relate. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content.

Ashlie: (00:49)
Clint and I don't get out to the movie theater very often. Maybe once or twice a year at best, and that's on purpose. We much prefer the comfort of our own home, on our own couch, watching movies on Clint’s 80-inch television with our dogs wrapped up all with us. Last weekend, we had an opportunity to watch the movie A Dog's Purpose. And as you sit there, if you've seen that movie…you know the emotion I'm about to discuss.

Clint: (01:25)
Yeah.

Ashlie: (01:27)
My husband is so sweet. It seemed that as soon as we started watching that movie and I started to ugly cry, I look over at him and he's handing me a hanky that he's so generously prepared before we sat down to watch this, fully knowing that it would just be the first of many bouts at these ugly tears that I would cry throughout the duration of the movie. And I've been thinking about my mom a lot lately.

Ashlie: (01:55)
There's some changes going on in my dad's home and I'm sure that that is sparked a lot of it for me.

Ashlie: (02:02)
But in watching this movie, what it reminded me of was the night that my mom died and the relation with our dog Bella.

Ashlie: (02:13)
We've had Bella now for 12 years.

Ashlie: (02:19)
When we got her, I remember it perfectly because we actually bought her from one of my old employees. We went over to her house to pick the dog up. I remember we had spent about $400 in supplies for this dog. Clint and I were having a house renovated and saying with my folks for a couple months and my mom made it very clear that we were not allowed to keep the dog there whatsoever. So I made arrangements with a friend, bought everything…I went over to his house. I set up the pin that night Clint and I went to go pick her up.

Speaker 3: (02:56)
Yeah.

Ashlie: (02:58)
And as soon as went there, the mother dog had these heinous black eyebrows drawn on her face with a black sharpie. She was a cream colored Pomeranian. And I just remember shaking my head thinking like, thank goodness we're taking this puppy out of this home.

Clint:

Like, if you could realize…if you know who Groucho Marx is and just realize this dog with a cigar hanging out of his mouth. It was a spitting image. It was hilarious.

Ashlie: (03:28)
Clint and I are from different times so I have no idea who that is. But we pick the dog up. We take her over to my parent’s house. It might've been the next day, because I remember when we drove home it was dark out. So we took her to go meet my parents. My mom, for whatever reason, was out in the front yard when we got there. And I remember pulling this little puppy out from my side and handing it to my mom and she instantly looked at her, looked at me and said, ‘you can keep her here under one condition.’

Ashlie: (04:07)
And I look at her, like completely in shock because it was crystal clear that we were not allowed to have a dog at the house, especially if it was going to be a puppy. And that came out of left field. I don't know if the dog just stole my mom's heart instantly or what the deal was with that. But I said, what is, what is the condition? And she said, ‘I have to name her.’ And I said, okay, what are you going to name her? My mom's Italian. And she decided to name her Bella. So we go to my friend's house, pick up all of Bella's things and go home. We were sharing my old bedroom at the time, so we set up her crate. Everything was great. My mom took care of her all day while Clint and I were at work. She crate trained her, although we later found out that she actually snuck her out of the crate all day and let her roam around the house…meaning that my mom really didn't mind taking care of this puppy. She was happy to do it. And how that relates to watching this movie and how Bella reacted that night that my mom passed away… It was something unexpected. It was unexpected because, and this isn't to, as you sit there, my intention is not to bring down the mood, but it's just to set the precedents for how I remember that night. The coroner had left after taking my mom away and we sat on the front porch. I told Clint, I just needed to sit there.

Ashlie: (05:49)
And maybe a good 20 minutes had gone by. And Clint I owned at the time, both homes on either side of my mom and we lived in one of them. We've since sold one of them. And so we, we walked to the side of my parent’s house. We had a little cutout in the gate. So we had easy access to our front door and we went home. And I remember as soon as we walk in the door, Bella was standing at the top of the couch and the way she acted was so strange. Her ears were back and she was smelling me and she was just looking up. I mean, I told Clint right away, I remember saying that to you…like, she knows my mom died…like she could smell it on me.

Clint: (06:34)
Yeah. And, and Bella has a completly different reaction every time we come home. She's always the excited dog to see us and she's always so energetic and just so happy all the time. And to see her that way. Just when we walked through the door immediately.

Ashlie: (06:54)
It was just a shock to both of us. Yeah. It really was. And my mom loved Bella and throughout the time, even as Bella grew in age, before my mom passed away, we would take Bella over to my mom and dad's house because we lived right next door and they would often watch Bella. So my mom had company while my dad was gone at work and Bella wasn't home alone. We didn't have any other dogs at that time. We only had Bella for a majority of our marriage. I know, I just thought that was something I had never expected was for a dog to sense something like that. And it made me feel like I wasn't alone. My good friend, Mike Demo, he just ran an episode about his own dog, Elvis.

Ashlie: (07:50)
And that's another thing that drew me to want to talk about my own relationship with our oldest dog was really. That seemed like a couple of times that the universe was tugging at me to bring forth this topic. And what I want to discuss is how important it is for us to just stop some times and realize the purpose of our dogs and their purpose can be whatever we want it to be. And most importantly, it's whatever we allow it to be. Clint and I have since gotten two other Pomeranians and they're our world. We don't have any children. Our dogs are literally our kids. I couldn't imagine something happening to them.

Ashlie: (08:43)
And I'm just so grateful that we have them in our lives to share a space with, to share memories with, and to really be able to enjoy life with. Think about all of the happy times that you have in your own life. If you have a dog or if you've had a dog, I'm sure thinking back on all of those moments, you can remember that dog in the picture. You can remember Christmas time with the dog sitting around the tree. Maybe you can remember a time in your life where you just broke down sobbing and maybe the only thing, the only person, the only fur person that was there was your dog and in your allowance for opening up and allowing them to be there and having this pacifier, this ability to just pet a dog, to hold a dog, to even talk to a dog. It's so therapeutic whether we realize it or not, and maybe as you sit there, it's not a dog for you. Maybe it's a different kind of pet. I get that.

Ashlie: (09:57)
We've had other pets before. It just so happens that none of them have withstanding the duration of, you know, moving in life the way that our dogs have.

Ashlie: (10:10)
It's just another beautiful asset of the world that we live in

Ashlie: (10:16)
And it's another ability for us to hold on to. And I say that because traveling to countries like Thailand, there's some of the most beautiful dogs and they're just ageing for attention and they're just like trash on the side of the road. And that's because in that culture they wouldn't dare perceive their dogs the way that we do in America. And there's a lot of backstory and reasons behind that, but I think that by living in the country that we do, in embracing dogs the way that we have, and first of all not eating them… it's a beautiful thing to have that relationship with a pet. And as you sit there, it's just my hope that maybe we spend a little bit more time with our dogs. We give them a little bit more attention and most importantly we give them credit for being there regardless.

Ashlie: (11:17)
There are companions through every life event and they don't have a choice, but they wouldn't have in any other way. And when you understand that, when you have a relationship with your pet and you choose to embrace that, and you as you're sitting there, if you have a dog, especially, I know how much you care about your dog, and that relationship is so special. And the more relationships we can have like that, be it with a pet or be it with another human, that's what the world is all about. And when you understand that and you're open to having those relationships, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

Hit that subscribe button so that you don’t miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly. 

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Ashlie: (00:17) Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton.

Clint:

And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie:

In today's episode, we're going to share with you how watching the movie A Dog's Purpose really instilled the fact that our own dogs truly have a purpose and a place in our world. And as you listen, I'm certain if you have a dog that you can also relate. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Ashlie: (00:49) Clint and I don't get out to the movie theater very often. Maybe once or twice a year at best, and that's on purpose. We much prefer the comfort of our own home, on our own couch, watching movies on Clint's 80-inch television with our dogs wrapped up all with us. Last weekend, we had an opportunity to watch the movie A Dog's Purpose. And as you sit there, if you've seen that movie…you know the emotion I'm about to discuss. Clint: (01:25) Yeah. Ashlie: (01:27) My husband is so sweet. It seemed that as soon as we started watching that movie and I started to ugly cry, I look over at him and he's handing me a hanky that he's so generously prepared before we sat down to watch this, fully knowing that it would just be the first of many bouts at these ugly tears that I would cry throughout the duration of the movie. And I've been thinking about my mom a lot lately. Ashlie: (01:55) There's some changes going on in my dad's home and I'm sure that that is sparked a lot of it for me. Ashlie: (02:02) But in watching this movie, what it reminded me of was the night that my mom died and the relation with our dog Bella. Ashlie: (02:13) We've had Bella now for 12 years. Ashlie: (02:19) When we got her, I remember it perfectly because we actually bought her from one of my old employees. We went over to her house to pick the dog up. I remember we had spent about $400 in supplies for this dog. Clint and I were having a house renovated and saying with my folks for a couple months and my mom made it very clear that we were not allowed to keep the dog there whatsoever. So I made arrangements with a friend, bought everything…I went over to his house. I set up the pin that night Clint and I went to go pick her up. Speaker 3: (02:56) Yeah. Ashlie: (02:58) And as soon as went there, the mother dog had these heinous black eyebrows drawn on her face with a black sharpie. She was a cream colored Pomeranian. And I just remember shaking my head thinking like, thank goodness we're taking this puppy out of this home.

Clint:

Like, if you could realize…if you know who Groucho Marx is and just realize this dog with a cigar hanging out of his mouth. It was a spitting image. It was hilarious. Ashlie: (03:28) Clint and I are from different times so I have no idea who that is. But we pick the dog up. We take her over to my parent's house. It might've been the next day, because I remember when we drove home it was dark out. So we took her to go meet my parents. My mom, for whatever reason, was out in the front yard when we got there. And I remember pulling this little puppy out from my side and handing it to my mom and she instantly looked at her, looked at me and said, 'you can keep her here under one condition.' Ashlie: (04:07) And I look at her, like completely in shock because it was crystal clear that we were not allowed to have a dog at the house, especially if it was going to be a puppy. And that came out of left field. I don't know if the dog just stole my mom's heart instantly or what the deal was with that. But I said, what is, what is the condition? And she said, 'I have to name her.' And I said, okay, what are you going to name her? My mom's Italian. And she decided to name her Bella. So we go to my friend's house, pick up all of Bella's things and go home. We were sharing my old bedroom at the time, so we set up her crate. Everything was great. My mom took care of her all day while Clint and I were at work. She crate trained her, although we later found out that she actually snuck her out of the crate all day and let her roam around the house…meaning that my mom really didn't mind taking care of this puppy. She was happy to do it. And how that relates to watching this movie and how Bella reacted that night that my mom passed away… It was something unexpected. It was unexpected because, and this isn't to, as you sit there, my intention is not to bring down the mood, but it's just to set the precedents for how I remember that night. The coroner had left after taking my mom away and we sat on the front porch. I told Clint, I just needed to sit there. Ashlie: (05:49) And maybe a good 20 minutes had gone by. And Clint I owned at the time, both homes on either side of my mom and we lived in one of them. We've since sold one of them. And so we, we walked to the side of my parent's house. We had a little cutout in the gate. So we had easy access to our front door and we went home. And I remember as soon as we walk in the door, Bella was standing at the top of the couch and the way she acted was so strange. Her ears were back and she was smelling me and she was just looking up. I mean, I told Clint right away, I remember saying that to you…like, she knows my mom died…like she could smell it on me. Clint: (06:34) Yeah. And, and Bella has a completly different reaction every time we come home. She's always the excited dog to see us and she's always so energetic and just so happy all the time. And to see her that way. Just when we walked through the door immediately. Ashlie: (06:54) It was just a shock to both of us. Yeah. It really was. And my mom loved Bella and throughout the time, even as Bella grew in age, before my mom passed away, we would take Bella over to my mom and dad's house because we lived right next door and they would often watch Bella. So my mom had company while my dad was gone at work and Bella wasn't home alone. We didn't have any other dogs at that time. We only had Bella for a majority of our marriage. I know, I just thought that was something I had never expected was for a dog to sense something like that. And it made me feel like I wasn't alone. My good friend, Mike Demo, he just ran an episode about his own dog, Elvis. Ashlie: (07:50) And that's another thing that drew me to want to talk about my own relationship with our oldest dog was really. That seemed like a couple of times that the universe was tugging at me to bring forth this topic. And what I want to discuss is how important it is for us to just stop some times and realize the purpose of our dogs and their purpose can be whatever we want it to be. And most importantly, it's whatever we allow it to be. Clint and I have since gotten two other Pomeranians and they're our world. We don't have any children. Our dogs are literally our kids. I couldn't imagine something happening to them. Ashlie: (08:43) And I'm just so grateful that we have them in our lives to share a space with, to share memories with, and to really be able to enjoy life with. Think about all of the happy times that you have in your own life. If you have a dog or if you've had a dog, I'm sure thinking back on all of those moments, you can remember that dog in the picture. You can remember Christmas time with the dog sitting around the tree. Maybe you can remember a time in your life where you just broke down sobbing and maybe the only thing, the only person, the only fur person that was there was your dog and in your allowance for opening up and allowing them to be there and having this pacifier, this ability to just pet a dog, to hold a dog, to even talk to a dog. It's so therapeutic whether we realize it or not, and maybe as you sit there, it's not a dog for you. Maybe it's a different kind of pet. I get that. Ashlie: (09:57) We've had other pets before. It just so happens that none of them have withstanding the duration of, you know, moving in life the way that our dogs have. Ashlie: (10:10) It's just another beautiful asset of the world that we live in Ashlie: (10:16) And it's another ability for us to hold on to. And I say that because traveling to countries like Thailand, there's some of the most beautiful dogs and they're just ageing for attention and they're just like trash on the side of the road. And that's because in that culture they wouldn't dare perceive their dogs the way that we do in America. And there's a lot of backstory and reasons behind that, but I think that by living in the country that we do, in embracing dogs the way that we have, and first of all not eating them… it's a beautiful thing to have that relationship with a pet. And as you sit there, it's just my hope that maybe we spend a little bit more time with our dogs. We give them a little bit more attention and most importantly we give them credit for being there regardless. Ashlie: (11:17) There are companions through every life event and they don't have a choice, but they wouldn't have in any other way. And when you understand that, when you have a relationship with your pet and you choose to embrace that, and you as you're sitting there, if you have a dog, especially, I know how much you care about your dog, and that relationship is so special. And the more relationships we can have like that, be it with a pet or be it with another human, that's what the world is all about. And when you understand that and you're open to having those relationships, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics.

Hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly.

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Website: www.leowarriors.com

Speaker 2: (00:18)
Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by the LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton.

Speaker 3: (00:23)
And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Speaker 2: (00:26)
In today's episode, we're going to talk about why police officers have such a pet peeve with CHP. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Now I can't help but bring this up and it's because I feel like this is a topic that keeps presenting itself to me two times in the past week. So I feel the need to talk about it. The first time was when we were on our fishing trip. We went on a two and a half day charter trip with a boat full of police officers and one firefighter and me. And then this past week I had training at the sheriff's station and this topic came up again only when this topic came up again at the sheriff's station. It was just like they were going and going and going. So Clint, I wonder if you can talk a little bit about what is that stigma, what is that relationship between police officers and CHP?

Speaker 3: (01:29)
Well, first off, for those of you who don't know who CHP is, it's a California highway patrol. So most of the time you can include state troopers or just highway patrol in general. And there's a stigma between us because one highway patrol, they don't really investigate crimes. The, in our mindset I should say, because they only deal with traffic related incidents for the most part, if there's an actual crime that occurs on the highway, they call their local sheriff's Department or Police Department. But in turn, I know a lot of sheriff's departments call Highway Patrol to investigate their collisions or do I relate it investigations if they can as well. So I think the stigma that comes from is we all live the life behind the badge and we look at one another almost as an animosity in some instances because you wish you had a job that easy, but their job really isn't that easy.

Speaker 2: (02:42)
And if I remember correctly, I feel like the pay scale for CHP is a little bit higher than most sheriff's in most police departments.

Speaker 3: (02:52)
We call him the states babies because they're, they've always been taken care of and always make the jokes cause they only write tickets all the time that they're creating such a revenue source for the state government to pay for their own salaries, which isn't true. And, and, and my hats off to these guys who work the highways and the freeways because it drives me insane. If I'm on the freeway having to investigate something and I have cars driving my by me at 80 miles per hour, it's, it's very dangerous. And a lot of the CHP and highway patrolmen had been killed just based off of drunk drivers or negligent drivers performing their duties.

Speaker 2: (03:40)
And I think for the most part, there's, there's a certain element of like collaborate of humor when it comes to that sort of bantering between officers and c h p I would suspect that CHP does exactly the same thing.

Speaker 3: (03:57)
You would think so, but they're scared to, they, they know that we can take them on in the fight if they wanted to bring it.

Speaker 2: (04:04)
Let's see that that's exactly what I'm talking about.

Speaker 3: (04:07)
Yeah. And it is true. I mean we call them chippies, you know, AAA with the badge and I'm sure they have their names for us as well. But what it all comes down to, it's still a brotherhood. It's still law enforcement. We're still police officers and we're here to effectively do the same job and assist each other no matter what the cause or case.

Speaker 2: (04:36)
Yeah. And I know one CHP officer comes to mind in particular, I would love to bring him on this show because I would really like to get their viewpoint on what defines them as an officer and really how they feel about that stigma. Because I would imagine that for the most part, I think CHB has their own academy, but the dynamics of the academy is pretty comparable to what most officers go through. Is that right?

Speaker 3: (05:00)
It's, it's a little bit more focused into traffic related things. Um, they're driving their investigations in relation to a traffic collisions and everything like that is more refined. They don't have the criminal investigative techniques that we necessarily do or experience behind it. And that's normally why we have to investigate them.

Speaker 2: (05:27)
So what are those parameters then for CHP? Like is there any off limits for them in comparison to just like sheriffs or police officers?

Speaker 3: (05:37)
Not that I'm aware of, but I think their own policy kinda dictates what happens. You know, they're a state agency and everything is based off of, you're not notoriety, but you're standing within the government. So you have city police, sheriff's county, Sheriff's department, State Corrections, and, and state highway patrol. Then you have even further up of like Federal Bureau of Investigation, CIA, stuff like that where it's almost a level. So the federal government outweighs state government and state government outweighs local government, if that makes sense.

Speaker 2: (06:16)
It does. And what comes to mind for me is it's, it's yet another facet of the entire circle, the circle of humanity, the way that the working world works. And we can joke about like people flipping burgers at McDonald's, but the truth is that so many people go to McDonald's to buy those burgers. And I think that no matter what, of course, I'm not comparing CHP to, you know, flipping burgers at McDonald's, but they're, there is that stigma that exists no matter what the profession is. And it doesn't matter where you sit on the totem pole or where you arrive in that circle, it continuously flows. And I say that because in comparing CHP with police officers, I mean, I consider CHP police officers just as much. So Andy, what comes to mind is when I see a pursuit, let's say on TV and the pursuit started out local and then it hits the freeway, you know, then it turns into this collaborative effort between whatever city or county agency was dealing with it. And then it's handed off to CHP. And often times the collaboration goes back and forth, back and forth, depending on where the suspect is and where he decides to go.

Speaker 3: (07:37)
Yeah. And they do that just to, who knows the streets better than the officers who work the streets and who knows the highways and freeways better than the CHP officers who work. And it's really funny that you've brought this episode in today. It's, there's mutual, I don't know, I'm like animosity, animosity towards every agency, the sheriff's department and Police Departments, uh, CHP and, and police departments and shares too, like fire departments of course. I mean that is never ending and never will and, but no matter what agency you work for, whether you're a police officer, a sheriff's department there, they call us blue bellies and we make fun of the colors they wear as well. And it's just kinda rounding around and it's a, just a fun thing that we do with one another.

Speaker 2: (08:36)
It's funny you mentioned that because when I went to the sheriff's station this past week and I'm looking at their uniforms the whole time, I'm like, man, my husband looks so much better in his uniform. Not that I'm checking out another officer, although I might have been, but in the way that their uniforms are versus the way that you look your, it's just so much more professional and I just feel like

Speaker 3: (09:00)
a baby threw up on the car.

Speaker 2: (09:02)
No, no. It just reminds me of like park rangers when I see a sheriff. And then when I see you or any of the officers at your department, they dress all in like deep, deep navy blue. I'm just like, wow. Like you look so handsome in your uniform.

Speaker 3: (09:19)
Thank you. [inaudible].

Speaker 2: (09:21)
So in getting back to the topic of, of CHP, do you think that there's any line that's drawn as you go up, let's say the rankings of any, any sort of really dialed in methodology I guess, of of police work? Like whether it's CIA, FBI, like does that commodity continue or does that bantering stop at like CHP,

Speaker 3: (09:45)
the, the banter's still there all the way around. I've worked with different agencies from federal to state level and, and that banter is always there where you have the FBI, they, they had to have a, I think a minimum of a bachelor's degree to be a FBI agent. And so they already think that they're a step above everyone else where most agencies don't require their college degree. So I think no matter what agency you work for, there's always this banter that goes around and it's kind of redundant in most ways. We're not very creative and thinking of new things, but it's, it's great just to have that, but it also forms more of a brotherhood between all of us. There are some issues in relation to this though, because sometimes you work with agencies who might not have the experience in surrounding say, building clearing or apprehension, assessed specs or interviewing. Um, it could, the list goes on and on and you just have to be mindful of that.

Speaker 2: (10:59)
Yeah, for sure. And I think that having that collaboration, and I know for you where, where you work because your city is so inundated and close knit with a lot of the other agencies that I would imagine there's, there's an abundance of time when the agencies come together and then it's probably pretty obvious for you guys to be able to identify what the strong points are and what the weak points are amongst yourselves. So when that happens, is it pretty straight forward with a delegation of authority for like your superiors to be able to set forth who's doing what

Speaker 3: (11:34)
in those instances? Normally it kind of falls back onto while it's your city and you guys are in charge or it's your investigation, you guys are in charge where support for you. Cause then we're not opening ourselves up to not only liability but the concerns of safety relation to how they may do things. Cause overall we all generally do things the same way. But over years you develop different tactics, different skills, different techniques on maybe building clearing. I use that because that's super important to me where I might have them stand outside and all bring my partners who I know and trust to go in.

Speaker 2: (12:19)
Yeah, absolutely. And as it pertains to CHP, like there is this new once of, of that bantering and like name saying and things like that. But the truth is that anytime that I've seen you in the presence of a CHP officer, it's never something to where you have any genuine negative feelings towards them. I think it's all in, in good fun. And I think that's one of the things that helps to lessen some of the stress of your job. Of course it doesn't make your job less stressful, but it's just one little entity that helps to just like put a smile on someone's face by, you know, spitting out that joke here and there and it doesn't change the relationship of that brother and sisterhood amongst, amongst who you guys are being that you all live behind the badge. And I think that's important to point out because that, that, that um, that humor is still very much present and very much needed in any sort of high stress, you know, high intensity level profession.

Speaker 2: (13:27)
And I think that's important to point out that yes, there might be a variation in what the job analysis is amongst police officers, sheriff's CHP, but in the long run that doesn't change that solid line that's created inadvertently amongst all of you. And having that strong line, I think just further supports that someone else, someone additional how's your back and in the way that society has squeezed your profession as a police officer, that couldn't be any more important than it is right now. And I think by having that relationship and knowing that no matter what the variance is in job title, that you guys are still one unit. And at the end of the day you have the ability to collaborate and to work amongst yourselves and with one another to get the job done, to stay safe and to come home to your families. And when you're able to recognize that and you're able to know that you can still have fun while still knowing that that division only lasts on the onset and it has nothing to do with the true tendencies of what that Brotherhood is, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

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Speaker 2: (00:18) Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by the LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton. Speaker 3: (00:23) And I'm your co-host Clint Walton. Speaker 2: (00:26) In today's episode, we're going to talk about why police officers have such a pet peeve with CHP. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Now I can't help but bring this up and it's because I feel like this is a topic that keeps presenting itself to me two times in the past week. So I feel the need to talk about it. The first time was when we were on our fishing trip. We went on a two and a half day charter trip with a boat full of police officers and one firefighter and me. And then this past week I had training at the sheriff's station and this topic came up again only when this topic came up again at the sheriff's station. It was just like they were going and going and going. So Clint, I wonder if you can talk a little bit about what is that stigma, what is that relationship between police officers and CHP? Speaker 3: (01:29) Well, first off, for those of you who don't know who CHP is, it's a California highway patrol. So most of the time you can include state troopers or just highway patrol in general. And there's a stigma between us because one highway patrol, they don't really investigate crimes. The, in our mindset I should say, because they only deal with traffic related incidents for the most part, if there's an actual crime that occurs on the highway, they call their local sheriff's Department or Police Department. But in turn, I know a lot of sheriff's departments call Highway Patrol to investigate their collisions or do I relate it investigations if they can as well. So I think the stigma that comes from is we all live the life behind the badge and we look at one another almost as an animosity in some instances because you wish you had a job that easy, but their job really isn't that easy. Speaker 2: (02:42) And if I remember correctly, I feel like the pay scale for CHP is a little bit higher than most sheriff's in most police departments. Speaker 3: (02:52) We call him the states babies because they're, they've always been taken care of and always make the jokes cause they only write tickets all the time that they're creating such a revenue source for the state government to pay for their own salaries, which isn't true. And, and, and my hats off to these guys who work the highways and the freeways because it drives me insane. If I'm on the freeway having to investigate something and I have cars driving my by me at 80 miles per hour, it's, it's very dangerous. And a lot of the CHP and highway patrolmen had been killed just based off of drunk drivers or negligent drivers performing their duties. Speaker 2: (03:40) And I think for the most part, there's, there's a certain element of like collaborate of humor when it comes to that sort of bantering between officers and c h p I would suspect that CHP does exactly the same thing. Speaker 3: (03:57) You would think so, but they're scared to, they, they know that we can take them on in the fight if they wanted to bring it. Speaker 2: (04:04) Let's see that that's exactly what I'm talking about. Speaker 3: (04:07) Yeah. And it is true. I mean we call them chippies, you know, AAA with the badge and I'm sure they have their names for us as well. But what it all comes down to, it's still a brotherhood. It's still law enforcement. We're still police officers and we're here to effectively do the same job and assist each other no matter what the cause or case. Speaker 2: (04:36) Yeah. And I know one CHP officer comes to mind in particular, I would love to bring him on this show because I would really like to get their viewpoint on what defines them as an officer and really how they feel about that stigma. Because I would imagine that for the most part, I think CHB has their own academy, but the dynamics of the academy is pretty comparable to what most officers go through. Is that right? Speaker 3: (05:00) It's, it's a little bit more focused into traffic related things. Um, they're driving their investigations in relation to a traffic collisions and everything like that is more refined. They don't have the criminal investigative techniques that we necessarily do or experience behind it. And that's normally why we have to investigate them. Speaker 2: (05:27) So what are those parameters then for CHP? Like is there any off limits for them in comparison to just like sheriffs or police officers? Speaker 3: (05:37) Not that I'm aware of, but I think their own policy kinda dictates what happens. You know, they're a state agency and everything is based off of, you're not notoriety, but you're standing within the government. So you have city police, sheriff's county, Sheriff's department, State Corrections, and, and state highway patrol. Then you have even further up of like Federal Bureau of Investigation, CIA, stuff like that where it's almost a level. So the federal government outweighs state government and state government outweighs local government, if that makes sense. Speaker 2: (06:16) It does. And what comes to mind for me is it's, it's yet another facet of the entire circle, the circle of humanity, the way that the working world works. And we can joke about like people flipping burgers at McDonald's, but the truth is that so many people go to McDonald's to buy those burgers. And I think that no matter what, of course, I'm not comparing CHP to, you know, flipping burgers at McDonald's, but they're, there is that stigma that exists no matter what the profession is. And it doesn't matter where you sit on the totem pole or where you arrive in that circle, it continuously flows. And I say that because in comparing CHP with police officers, I mean, I consider CHP police officers just as much. So Andy, what comes to mind is when I see a pursuit, let's say on TV and the pursuit started out local and then it hits the freeway, you know, then it turns into this collaborative effort between whatever city or county agency was dealing with it. And then it's handed off to CHP. And often times the collaboration goes back and forth, back and forth, depending on where the suspect is and where he decides to go. Speaker 3: (07:37) Yeah. And they do that just to, who knows the streets better than the officers who work the streets and who knows the highways and freeways better than the CHP officers who work. And it's really funny that you've brought this episode in today. It's, there's mutual, I don't know, I'm like animosity, animosity towards every agency, the sheriff's department and Police Departments, uh, CHP and, and police departments and shares too, like fire departments of course. I mean that is never ending and never will and, but no matter what agency you work for, whether you're a police officer, a sheriff's department there, they call us blue bellies and we make fun of the colors they wear as well. And it's just kinda rounding around and it's a, just a fun thing that we do with one another. Speaker 2: (08:36) It's funny you mentioned that because when I went to the sheriff's station this past week and I'm looking at their uniforms the whole time, I'm like, man, my husband looks so much better in his uniform. Not that I'm checking out another officer, although I might have been, but in the way that their uniforms are versus the way that you look your, it's just so much more professional and I just feel like Speaker 3: (09:00) a baby threw up on the car. Speaker 2: (09:02) No, no. It just reminds me of like park rangers when I see a sheriff. And then when I see you or any of the officers at your department, they dress all in like deep, deep navy blue. I'm just like, wow. Like you look so handsome in your uniform. Speaker 3: (09:19) Thank you. [inaudible]. Speaker 2: (09:21) So in getting back to the topic of, of CHP, do you think that there's any line that's drawn as you go up, let's say the rankings of any, any sort of really dialed in methodology I guess, of of police work? Like whether it's CIA, FBI, like does that commodity continue or does that bantering stop at like CHP, Speaker 3: (09:45) the, the banter's still there all the way around. I've worked with different agencies from federal to state level and, and that banter is always there where you have the FBI, they, they had to have a, I think a minimum of a bachelor's degree to be a FBI agent. And so they already think that they're a step above everyone else where most agencies don't require their college degree. So I think no matter what agency you work for, there's always this banter that goes around and it's kind of redundant in most ways. We're not very creative and thinking of new things, but it's, it's great just to have that, but it also forms more of a brotherhood between all of us. There are some issues in relation to this though, because sometimes you work with agencies who might not have the experience in surrounding say, building clearing or apprehension, assessed specs or interviewing. Um, it could, the list goes on and on and you just have to be mindful of that. Speaker 2: (10:59) Yeah, for sure. And I think that having that collaboration, and I know for you where, where you work because your city is so inundated and close knit with a lot of the other agencies that I would imagine there's, there's an abundance of time when the agencies come together and then it's probably pretty obvious for you guys to be able to identify what the strong points are and what the weak points are amongst yourselves. So when that happens, is it pretty straight forward with a delegation of authority for like your superiors to be able to set forth who's doing what Speaker 3: (11:34) in those instances? Normally it kind of falls back onto while it's your city and you guys are in charge or it's your investigation, you guys are in charge where support for you. Cause then we're not opening ourselves up to not only liability but the concerns of safety relation to how they may do things. Cause overall we all generally do things the same way. But over years you develop different tactics, different skills, different techniques on maybe building clearing. I use that because that's super important to me where I might have them stand outside and all bring my partners who I know and trust to go in. Speaker 2: (12:19) Yeah, absolutely. And as it pertains to CHP, like there is this new once of, of that bantering and like name saying and things like that. But the truth is that anytime that I've seen you in the presence of a CHP officer, it's never something to where you have any genuine negative feelings towards them. I think it's all in, in good fun. And I think that's one of the things that helps to lessen some of the stress of your job. Of course it doesn't make your job less stressful, but it's just one little entity that helps to just like put a smile on someone's face by, you know, spitting out that joke here and there and it doesn't change the relationship of that brother and sisterhood amongst, amongst who you guys are being that you all live behind the badge. And I think that's important to point out because that, that, that um, that humor is still very much present and very much needed in any sort of high stress, you know, high intensity level profession. Speaker 2: (13:27) And I think that's important to point out that yes, there might be a variation in what the job analysis is amongst police officers, sheriff's CHP, but in the long run that doesn't change that solid line that's created inadvertently amongst all of you. And having that strong line, I think just further supports that someone else, someone additional how's your back and in the way that society has squeezed your profession as a police officer, that couldn't be any more important than it is right now. And I think by having that relationship and knowing that no matter what the variance is in job title, that you guys are still one unit. And at the end of the day you have the ability to collaborate and to work amongst yourselves and with one another to get the job done, to stay safe and to come home to your families. And when you're able to recognize that and you're able to know that you can still have fun while still knowing that that division only lasts on the onset and it has nothing to do with the true tendencies of what that Brotherhood is, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics.

Hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly.

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Ashlie: (00:18)
Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton.

Clint: (00:23)
And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: (00:26)
In today's episode, we're going to talk about how having a cognitive awareness and intent with serving the community that you serve as a police officer or an any job responsibility that you are responsible for could really make all the difference on the individuals and how that can transpire into something bigger. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Clint has worked very close with a lot of the members in his community based on a special detail that he's been in in one form or another for well over five years. Now. In doing that and meeting some of the community members, I've been fortunate enough to attend several events where I've gotten to meet a lot of them as well. There's one woman in particular that comes to mind and she comes to mind because of a story that clinch shared with me as it pertains to taking the extra step and going the extra mile in serving a need that she had. Clint, I wonder if you could just talk a little bit to the listener about what that was.

Clint: (01:46)
In my experience around community policing, it's been eye-opening in so many levels and I really hope you as the listener can incorporate or adopt this in whatever you do. And my story with this lady started for about four years ago and she came to a lot of our community meetings. She is really involved with the police department and the community in general. So over the years I've gotten to know her and she's, she's such a sweet lady. Every time she sees an officer she buys a gift card wherever we're at and gives, gives a gift card to whatever officer may be there. She's always tried to give me one and I've always taken it and then I hide it back in her purse later and she calls me a stinker because I've never actually taken one from her. But about three years ago she asked for some help in reference to her neighborhood.

Clint: (02:52)
She had a neighbor that just wasn't playing with the rules. And I think all of us have had that neighbor where they play loud music at night. They parked their vehicles on their lawns, they do anything and everything, and it just eats at you every day you come home, you take such pride in your own house and what you do to take care of your own property and you see a renter next door just thrashing the house, which not only brings the market value of your house down, but it really is an eyesore for you. So she asked me to give her a hand with this neighbor that was causing so many problems for her and I really didn't do much. I wouldn't ask the neighbor to knock their stuff off or I'm gonna sit code enforcement on them, or I'm going to find other issues in relation to the property and I would truly address it.

Clint: (04:00)
About a month later, I hadn't seen her for a while and she came up to me and gave me the biggest hug of all what? What was that for? And she goes, my neighbors moved out. They were tired of dealing with me next door and she's all, and I know you had something to do with it. And I'm like, no, I didn't do anything. She's all, I just, I just know that you took care of the problem for me. And from there it just stemmed on to where she had started calling me on a regular basis for other issues on our street. And, and I'll tell you if you're a police officer, you know sometimes it gets kind of daunting, especially when you have citizens that have your cell phone number and call you for every little thing. But when I shifted my mindset as to not looking at it as, oh man, it's not her again or it's not this person again, trying to just use me to fix their problems, but really adapted the mindset of if this look next door to me, I would want this fixed too.

Clint: (05:24)
And really focusing in on that. It gave me pleasure doing anything and everything I could for any community member who came to me with a problem. And that really pushed me in, drove me to go over and above for any anybody in any person that I could. And so recently I actually went to this lady's house and she, I got an email from my boss with about eight items and there were all complaints from her. So I go, you know, I told my partner, I go, you know, it's going to be easier. Let's just go there and talk to her. Let's figure out what their problems are and we'll really see what we can do to help her. Cause a lot of times just going and actually talking with them, the problems that work themselves out. So we drove to her house when inside her house, I sat on her couch, her dog jumped on my lap and we'd spent a good 30 45 minutes just talking with her. She called one of her neighbors over and she expressed her concerns to us as well. And a simple, okay, I'll look into it. They were more pleased with just that response then anything that I could ever do.

Ashlie: (06:50)
That's one thing I love about you because it showcases your personality. And how you really are outside of the workplace and a lot of times I don't think that people understand that they have the ability to pull in those attributes that make them who they are in order to make themselves a better worker, a better community member, a better friend, a better employee. And the thing with you is, I know that when you told her I'm going to look into it, the reason she was so appeased by the situation was because she knew based on your own past encounters with her that you're not just saying that to shine her on and to shutter up for the day. You said that from a place of genuinely knowing that you're going to follow through with what her concerns are and I know that she knew that too. When Clint, I were talking about this particular situation being that I have had the opportunity to meet her a couple of times. He was sharing with me how her cocker Spaniel guy is uniform, so full of fur and we were just discussing the whole, the whole thing surrounding the situation. And what I told him was how important it is to build those relationships with the community members that feel the need to voice their opinions the most

Clint: (08:17)
And something came from this that is so absolutely amazing and, and I can't even explain what a small world it is. This lady is actually, I'm going to say it's her, his, it's her brother in law is actually my second and third grade teacher who was my absolute favorite teacher through all my years in school. And I had a really close relationship with him and my mom was the homeroom mom for those classes. She was close with him and it was just like what a small world this is for this to happen. And she actually called him after the fact and gave me his number and I still need to call him, but just to reconnect and go to lunch or something. And it's just amazing to see what has transpired over the years since I was in second and third grade to where I am now. And to be able to share that with someone who really mentored me and really was big in who I am as a care, as in my character as an adult.

Ashlie: (09:39)
It's my true belief that nothing like that happens by chance and I believe that is a little bit of the universe just showcasing a gift to you because you were open to receiving it and a lot of us turn the cheek. It's easy for us to shine on the complaints, but you don't have the ability to do that. It is literally in your job analysis to help solve people's problems and deal with them. You call them, call after call, but in essence it's complaint after complaint

Ashlie: (10:19)
and it's the way that you decide to articulate, to reframe your mind in a way to where you're going to decide how you want to approach it and more importantly, what your cognitive response is going to be to the whole nature of the situation and also to the outlook on what really impacts your entire career. If you're constantly going to calls dreading the way that you're going to feel when you encounter maybe the same people complaining constantly, then you're going to dread your job. But to be able to reframe your mind and to look at it in a way to where you know that you're doing a service to somebody who really needs it, I don't believe that she would be calling so frequently with any sort of concerns had they had no, no genuine basis behind them, and of course there are guidelines and discipline and things like that in place. If you do have somebody abusing the system and no doubt there are those people. Luckily this isn't one of those situations, but having the ability to showcase what you can do for other people builds this trust and in stating that there are community members that voice their opinions much louder than others. Clinton, I talked about how a lot of times it's so easy for members of the community or members of society as a whole to complain. It's very easy for them to speak when things don't go their way

Ashlie: (11:56)
But I paid witness to many times when she and many other members of the community that you've worked with personally have spoken up on the positive nature of what you do for them and how it impacts their lives. And I want to say that again, it impacts their lives to make a difference in someone's Day can ultimately lead to a difference in their own train of thought, a difference in the way that they perceive you and a difference of the way that they perceive your profession.

Ashlie: (12:34)
I would imagine that if you didn't follow through on the things that you told her you were going to say are going to do or any other member of the community that you responded to and simply said, I'm going to look into it. If you didn't do the things that you promised, those people are going to turn against you. They're going to have bad things to say about your moral character, your work ethic, what your duties are, the things that you're capable of. But instead you get to experience the other side of the spectrum and it's pleasant. It makes your day a little bit easier. Having people like that to further build on the community that you serve as the whole reason why you're doing this in the first place.

Ashlie: (13:22)
And as you sit there and your own profession in your own day with any interactions that you're having with people that you maybe aren't comfortable with facing or that you've never even encountered before. How could you shift your train of thought anytime that it gets uncomfortable? Anytime that you're being asked to face something that you don't want to do necessarily.

Ashlie: (13:49)
Could you be of service to them? Could you do something a little extra? Could you show them a piece of who you really are and not just who the badge says you are or the uniform says you are? And I believe that by showcasing the truths about who you really are and what your abilities are and the way that your morals and your ethics and your own code of conduct plays into your day to day is really what it's all about. And when you can practice that and you really embody who you are and you mesh it in with what you do for a living, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

Hit that subscribe button so that you don’t miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly. 

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Ashlie: (00:18) Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton. Clint: (00:23) And I'm your co-host Clint Walton. Ashlie: (00:26) In today's episode, we're going to talk about how having a cognitive awareness and intent with serving the community that you serve as a police officer or an any job responsibility that you are responsible for could really make all the difference on the individuals and how that can transpire into something bigger. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Clint has worked very close with a lot of the members in his community based on a special detail that he's been in in one form or another for well over five years. Now. In doing that and meeting some of the community members, I've been fortunate enough to attend several events where I've gotten to meet a lot of them as well. There's one woman in particular that comes to mind and she comes to mind because of a story that clinch shared with me as it pertains to taking the extra step and going the extra mile in serving a need that she had. Clint, I wonder if you could just talk a little bit to the listener about what that was. Clint: (01:46) In my experience around community policing, it's been eye-opening in so many levels and I really hope you as the listener can incorporate or adopt this in whatever you do. And my story with this lady started for about four years ago and she came to a lot of our community meetings. She is really involved with the police department and the community in general. So over the years I've gotten to know her and she's, she's such a sweet lady. Every time she sees an officer she buys a gift card wherever we're at and gives, gives a gift card to whatever officer may be there. She's always tried to give me one and I've always taken it and then I hide it back in her purse later and she calls me a stinker because I've never actually taken one from her. But about three years ago she asked for some help in reference to her neighborhood. Clint: (02:52) She had a neighbor that just wasn't playing with the rules. And I think all of us have had that neighbor where they play loud music at night. They parked their vehicles on their lawns, they do anything and everything, and it just eats at you every day you come home, you take such pride in your own house and what you do to take care of your own property and you see a renter next door just thrashing the house, which not only brings the market value of your house down, but it really is an eyesore for you. So she asked me to give her a hand with this neighbor that was causing so many problems for her and I really didn't do much. I wouldn't ask the neighbor to knock their stuff off or I'm gonna sit code enforcement on them, or I'm going to find other issues in relation to the property and I would truly address it. Clint: (04:00) About a month later, I hadn't seen her for a while and she came up to me and gave me the biggest hug of all what? What was that for? And she goes, my neighbors moved out. They were tired of dealing with me next door and she's all, and I know you had something to do with it. And I'm like, no, I didn't do anything. She's all, I just, I just know that you took care of the problem for me. And from there it just stemmed on to where she had started calling me on a regular basis for other issues on our street. And, and I'll tell you if you're a police officer, you know sometimes it gets kind of daunting, especially when you have citizens that have your cell phone number and call you for every little thing. But when I shifted my mindset as to not looking at it as, oh man, it's not her again or it's not this person again, trying to just use me to fix their problems, but really adapted the mindset of if this look next door to me, I would want this fixed too. Clint: (05:24) And really focusing in on that. It gave me pleasure doing anything and everything I could for any community member who came to me with a problem. And that really pushed me in, drove me to go over and above for any anybody in any person that I could. And so recently I actually went to this lady's house and she, I got an email from my boss with about eight items and there were all complaints from her. So I go, you know, I told my partner, I go, you know, it's going to be easier. Let's just go there and talk to her. Let's figure out what their problems are and we'll really see what we can do to help her. Cause a lot of times just going and actually talking with them, the problems that work themselves out. So we drove to her house when inside her house, I sat on her couch, her dog jumped on my lap and we'd spent a good 30 45 minutes just talking with her. She called one of her neighbors over and she expressed her concerns to us as well. And a simple, okay, I'll look into it. They were more pleased with just that response then anything that I could ever do. Ashlie: (06:50) That's one thing I love about you because it showcases your personality. And how you really are outside of the workplace and a lot of times I don't think that people understand that they have the ability to pull in those attributes that make them who they are in order to make themselves a better worker, a better community member, a better friend, a better employee. And the thing with you is, I know that when you told her I'm going to look into it, the reason she was so appeased by the situation was because she knew based on your own past encounters with her that you're not just saying that to shine her on and to shutter up for the day. You said that from a place of genuinely knowing that you're going to follow through with what her concerns are and I know that she knew that too. When Clint, I were talking about this particular situation being that I have had the opportunity to meet her a couple of times. He was sharing with me how her cocker Spaniel guy is uniform, so full of fur and we were just discussing the whole, the whole thing surrounding the situation. And what I told him was how important it is to build those relationships with the community members that feel the need to voice their opinions the most Clint: (08:17) And something came from this that is so absolutely amazing and, and I can't even explain what a small world it is. This lady is actually, I'm going to say it's her, his, it's her brother in law is actually my second and third grade teacher who was my absolute favorite teacher through all my years in school. And I had a really close relationship with him and my mom was the homeroom mom for those classes. She was close with him and it was just like what a small world this is for this to happen. And she actually called him after the fact and gave me his number and I still need to call him, but just to reconnect and go to lunch or something. And it's just amazing to see what has transpired over the years since I was in second and third grade to where I am now. And to be able to share that with someone who really mentored me and really was big in who I am as a care, as in my character as an adult. Ashlie: (09:39) It's my true belief that nothing like that happens by chance and I believe that is a little bit of the universe just showcasing a gift to you because you were open to receiving it and a lot of us turn the cheek. It's easy for us to shine on the complaints, but you don't have the ability to do that. It is literally in your job analysis to help solve people's problems and deal with them. You call them, call after call, but in essence it's complaint after complaint Ashlie: (10:19) and it's the way that you decide to articulate, to reframe your mind in a way to where you're going to decide how you want to approach it and more importantly, what your cognitive response is going to be to the whole nature of the situation and also to the outlook on what really impacts your entire career. If you're constantly going to calls dreading the way that you're going to feel when you encounter maybe the same people complaining constantly, then you're going to dread your job. But to be able to reframe your mind and to look at it in a way to where you know that you're doing a service to somebody who really needs it, I don't believe that she would be calling so frequently with any sort of concerns had they had no, no genuine basis behind them, and of course there are guidelines and discipline and things like that in place. If you do have somebody abusing the system and no doubt there are those people. Luckily this isn't one of those situations, but having the ability to showcase what you can do for other people builds this trust and in stating that there are community members that voice their opinions much louder than others. Clinton, I talked about how a lot of times it's so easy for members of the community or members of society as a whole to complain. It's very easy for them to speak when things don't go their way Ashlie: (11:56) But I paid witness to many times when she and many other members of the community that you've worked with personally have spoken up on the positive nature of what you do for them and how it impacts their lives. And I want to say that again, it impacts their lives to make a difference in someone's Day can ultimately lead to a difference in their own train of thought, a difference in the way that they perceive you and a difference of the way that they perceive your profession. Ashlie: (12:34) I would imagine that if you didn't follow through on the things that you told her you were going to say are going to do or any other member of the community that you responded to and simply said, I'm going to look into it. If you didn't do the things that you promised, those people are going to turn against you. They're going to have bad things to say about your moral character, your work ethic, what your duties are, the things that you're capable of. But instead you get to experience the other side of the spectrum and it's pleasant. It makes your day a little bit easier. Having people like that to further build on the community that you serve as the whole reason why you're doing this in the first place. Ashlie: (13:22) And as you sit there and your own profession in your own day with any interactions that you're having with people that you maybe aren't comfortable with facing or that you've never even encountered before. How could you shift your train of thought anytime that it gets uncomfortable? Anytime that you're being asked to face something that you don't want to do necessarily. Ashlie: (13:49) Could you be of service to them? Could you do something a little extra? Could you show them a piece of who you really are and not just who the badge says you are or the uniform says you are? And I believe that by showcasing the truths about who you really are and what your abilities are and the way that your morals and your ethics and your own code of conduct plays into your day to day is really what it's all about. And when you can practice that and you really embody who you are and you mesh it in with what you do for a living, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

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Ashlie: (00:18)
Welcome back to another episode of tactical living by Leo Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode, I want to talk about how I believe that as a society it is our fault that we are creating color and ultimately racism, so just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. I had a conversation with somebody yesterday who I've looked up to for well over 12 years now. This person has said and done a lot of things that have left me with that question mark face time and time again. I love her. What can I say? But yesterday something she said left me to the point of being so dumbfounded that I had to turn away and physically end the conversation.

Ashlie: (01:25)
I was so dumbfounded and so confused by this statement and then I started to go through some other emotions, anger being the top of them. I immediately messaged Clint to vent to him to make sure that the way that I perceived this comment was one that was universal and that I wasn't perceiving it in a way that only I would. My Analytical Mind tends to go that way. I want to see what other people think. I usually want to see why it is that other people are coming from a certain frame of mind. Anytime that it differs from my own. So in saying that, I have a quote, I have a quote from that very comment, I'm going to share it with you now. The quote was, if you are not white, you are not considered American. That blows my mind. It blows my mind because I do not perceive colors to be non-American. The person who said this in case you're wondering, her skin tone is white, she is wider than me. Had she been any other color, I still would have been just as dumbfounded. And I say that from a place where I don't consider somebody to be American or non-American based on the color of their skin. And I never knew that this was a topic of dispute for other nationalities

Ashlie: (03:22)
I don't get it. I've had time to process it, I discussed it with several people and I'm still shaking my head at the comment. I'm shaking my head at the comment because despite me physically turning and walking away, this person who I'm going leave nameless because the name doesn't matter who it was, doesn't matter. It's the fact of what was said, that that does matter. Felt the need to several hours later come to me to reopen the conversation as though this person felt that they needed to further defend their comment with the way that my emotions were. I just listened. I assessed, I've been studying a lot of body language, so I was really just focusing in and honing in on how things were said, what was said, the physiological way that things were being stated, and I'm just trying to understand it. I'm trying to understand how somebody who also came here from another country, well over 30 years ago and who is an American citizen could make a comment indicating the fact that well, you're not American if you're not white. Why would somebody believe that?

Clint: (05:02)
You know? And my mindset behind that, it's just comes from influence, and I hate to use this word, but the propaganda that's out there and reference to it. You know, within our own spheres of influence, we're given this impression of who we're supposed to be, what we're supposed to believe, what we really analyze as life itself. And it's unfortunate that she had to get to that point of hearing one person say something to her or hearing that statement made to her. Cause it's definitely not anything that she would have thought of herself gave her their impression and belief now of what that is.

Ashlie: (05:58)
And as I sat there, I couldn't help but wonder, is this an attack on me because I am not white American? What's underlining here? What more could be uncovered from a statement like that? What would lead somebody to the point of even feeling the need to express themselves in that way? What's, what's the issue

Clint: (06:22)
And in the law enforcement aspect of that, we really notice everyone brings race in to play. No matter what we do, whether you're white or black, you're brown, you're yellow, whatever color you may be, pink, purple, Fuchsia. It's kind of one of those things that no one notices that or recognizes it unless one, you're one of those people that really do target racial injustice [inaudible] and it does happen and I fully believe that there are people continually going to be and always will be out there who targeted people for their skin color. But as a population, as a whole, most of us, we don't even look at a tone of the skin or the accent and their voice. We just look at them as other peoples. It's their actions that really display who they are.

Ashlie: (07:28)
I agree with that completely and I agree with that. So much so because I come from a family of immigrants, like my dad came from Canada, he's an American citizen. I remember studying with him for months to make sure that he could pass his exam to become a u s citizen. That was a very difficult aspect of the process for him because he was illiterate. He had a hard time reading the questions and the thing he had to study was a lot of the, the written English language and we studied for months. I asked him questions, I started the answers just as much as he did to be honest with you. The average or even many elite level Americans let's say would never even have the ability to pass that test. It's very difficult. And when he passed the test it and he, he was invited to go and get his citizenship and he got to walk in it and it was this family affair and it was so celebratory for us all him becoming American and then essentially it was the last stitch effort to join the family. Right. That was the only variant between him, his wife and his kids was that he didn't have as citizenship and had so much pride. I still have so much pride for what he did and sub sequentially what he did there after and becoming as successful as he's been thereafter.

Ashlie: (09:12)
But I never, I never looked at the color of him.

Ashlie: (09:17)

Clint and I live in Southern California and statistically we are the minority, especially in the county that we live in.

Ashlie: (09:27)
We don't go around to restaurants and try to look for the other white folk that are sitting in there. Never once has that crossed my mind until last night. Last night, as I'm still pondering on this, this one sentence, if you are not white, you are not considered American. We take my dad out to dinner every Thursday and with intention. I decided to stop while we were sitting at the table. I had full scope of the entire restaurant and I looked at every single person in the restaurant. There were Asians and Hispanics. We were the only table of quote white people and Unquote and with intention. I took stock of how I felt. Did this make me feel inferior? Did this make me feel any different in knowing I'm surrounded by people who are not at the same, you know, background as me, not at all. Nothing in me made me feel any different. Sitting in a room, being the only white person and I found myself laughing in my mind that how stupid this is. How stupid that people could feel the need to waste so much cognitive effort to even take notice of something like that.

Ashlie: (10:53)
Now if someone were to stand on the chair and start singing aloud, I would have noticed and I have paid closer attention to some of their features, what they were wearing, making sure they were okay in those things, but even then I wouldn't say, oh, they're doing that because of this color. Who Cares?

Ashlie: (11:16)
The only people that care about colors are the people that are creating a division based on color. I believe that it is these people that are creating racial issues in our country. I believe it is only these people who are taking notice and taking stock of the color of their own skin versus the color of anyone else around them. Be It in a positive situation, a normal common day situation. These are the people that are creating this social divide based on race. It's not else. It's not the officer who arrested you because you were doing something illegal. It's not their fault. It's you. As you sit there, maybe you've experienced something similar. Maybe you've had a time where somebody starts to point out the color. What did you say to them? How did you respond? How did you feel? I asked this from a place of still just shaking my head around the whole situation and finally ending up in a point to where I just feel so bad for her. I feel so bad for her to even have that reality to where those are her truths. She feels that she's segregated in a way. She feels that because she wasn't born in America, that she's not the white American. How sad, how sad is that?

Ashlie: (13:06)
I wish that wasn't her truth. I wish she didn't feel that way. This individual watches the news and pays attention to social media significant amount, much more in comparison to us. Not that there needs to be a comparison, but Clint, I have a very limited level when it comes to that sort of thing, and I truly believe like, like Clint said, that that has a lot to do with her social influence.

Ashlie: (13:37)
And as you sit there, I hope that you find the importance in defining the key characters that are more important about a human being, be it in America or anywhere around the globe and not the color of their skin. I believe that if you support this country, if you abide by the laws, if you are here legally, if you support our military, our first responders, if you do your due diligence as an American and you understand that yes, the American dream is possible, but that there are things that need to be done and checks and balances and process before that could be a reality for you, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

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Ashlie: (00:18) Welcome back to another episode of tactical living by Leo Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode, I want to talk about how I believe that as a society it is our fault that we are creating color and ultimately racism, so just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. I had a conversation with somebody yesterday who I've looked up to for well over 12 years now. This person has said and done a lot of things that have left me with that question mark face time and time again. I love her. What can I say? But yesterday something she said left me to the point of being so dumbfounded that I had to turn away and physically end the conversation. Ashlie: (01:25) I was so dumbfounded and so confused by this statement and then I started to go through some other emotions, anger being the top of them. I immediately messaged Clint to vent to him to make sure that the way that I perceived this comment was one that was universal and that I wasn't perceiving it in a way that only I would. My Analytical Mind tends to go that way. I want to see what other people think. I usually want to see why it is that other people are coming from a certain frame of mind. Anytime that it differs from my own. So in saying that, I have a quote, I have a quote from that very comment, I'm going to share it with you now. The quote was, if you are not white, you are not considered American. That blows my mind. It blows my mind because I do not perceive colors to be non-American. The person who said this in case you're wondering, her skin tone is white, she is wider than me. Had she been any other color, I still would have been just as dumbfounded. And I say that from a place where I don't consider somebody to be American or non-American based on the color of their skin. And I never knew that this was a topic of dispute for other nationalities Ashlie: (03:22) I don't get it. I've had time to process it, I discussed it with several people and I'm still shaking my head at the comment. I'm shaking my head at the comment because despite me physically turning and walking away, this person who I'm going leave nameless because the name doesn't matter who it was, doesn't matter. It's the fact of what was said, that that does matter. Felt the need to several hours later come to me to reopen the conversation as though this person felt that they needed to further defend their comment with the way that my emotions were. I just listened. I assessed, I've been studying a lot of body language, so I was really just focusing in and honing in on how things were said, what was said, the physiological way that things were being stated, and I'm just trying to understand it. I'm trying to understand how somebody who also came here from another country, well over 30 years ago and who is an American citizen could make a comment indicating the fact that well, you're not American if you're not white. Why would somebody believe that? Clint: (05:02) You know? And my mindset behind that, it's just comes from influence, and I hate to use this word, but the propaganda that's out there and reference to it. You know, within our own spheres of influence, we're given this impression of who we're supposed to be, what we're supposed to believe, what we really analyze as life itself. And it's unfortunate that she had to get to that point of hearing one person say something to her or hearing that statement made to her. Cause it's definitely not anything that she would have thought of herself gave her their impression and belief now of what that is. Ashlie: (05:58) And as I sat there, I couldn't help but wonder, is this an attack on me because I am not white American? What's underlining here? What more could be uncovered from a statement like that? What would lead somebody to the point of even feeling the need to express themselves in that way? What's, what's the issue Clint: (06:22) And in the law enforcement aspect of that, we really notice everyone brings race in to play. No matter what we do, whether you're white or black, you're brown, you're yellow, whatever color you may be, pink, purple, Fuchsia. It's kind of one of those things that no one notices that or recognizes it unless one, you're one of those people that really do target racial injustice [inaudible] and it does happen and I fully believe that there are people continually going to be and always will be out there who targeted people for their skin color. But as a population, as a whole, most of us, we don't even look at a tone of the skin or the accent and their voice. We just look at them as other peoples. It's their actions that really display who they are. Ashlie: (07:28) I agree with that completely and I agree with that. So much so because I come from a family of immigrants, like my dad came from Canada, he's an American citizen. I remember studying with him for months to make sure that he could pass his exam to become a u s citizen. That was a very difficult aspect of the process for him because he was illiterate. He had a hard time reading the questions and the thing he had to study was a lot of the, the written English language and we studied for months. I asked him questions, I started the answers just as much as he did to be honest with you. The average or even many elite level Americans let's say would never even have the ability to pass that test. It's very difficult. And when he passed the test it and he, he was invited to go and get his citizenship and he got to walk in it and it was this family affair and it was so celebratory for us all him becoming American and then essentially it was the last stitch effort to join the family. Right. That was the only variant between him, his wife and his kids was that he didn't have as citizenship and had so much pride. I still have so much pride for what he did and sub sequentially what he did there after and becoming as successful as he's been thereafter. Ashlie: (09:12) But I never, I never looked at the color of him. Ashlie: (09:17)

Clint and I live in Southern California and statistically we are the minority, especially in the county that we live in. Ashlie: (09:27) We don't go around to restaurants and try to look for the other white folk that are sitting in there. Never once has that crossed my mind until last night. Last night, as I'm still pondering on this, this one sentence, if you are not white, you are not considered American. We take my dad out to dinner every Thursday and with intention. I decided to stop while we were sitting at the table. I had full scope of the entire restaurant and I looked at every single person in the restaurant. There were Asians and Hispanics. We were the only table of quote white people and Unquote and with intention. I took stock of how I felt. Did this make me feel inferior? Did this make me feel any different in knowing I'm surrounded by people who are not at the same, you know, background as me, not at all. Nothing in me made me feel any different. Sitting in a room, being the only white person and I found myself laughing in my mind that how stupid this is. How stupid that people could feel the need to waste so much cognitive effort to even take notice of something like that. Ashlie: (10:53) Now if someone were to stand on the chair and start singing aloud, I would have noticed and I have paid closer attention to some of their features, what they were wearing, making sure they were okay in those things, but even then I wouldn't say, oh, they're doing that because of this color. Who Cares? Ashlie: (11:16) The only people that care about colors are the people that are creating a division based on color. I believe that it is these people that are creating racial issues in our country. I believe it is only these people who are taking notice and taking stock of the color of their own skin versus the color of anyone else around them. Be It in a positive situation, a normal common day situation. These are the people that are creating this social divide based on race. It's not else. It's not the officer who arrested you because you were doing something illegal. It's not their fault. It's you. As you sit there, maybe you've experienced something similar. Maybe you've had a time where somebody starts to point out the color. What did you say to them? How did you respond? How did you feel? I asked this from a place of still just shaking my head around the whole situation and finally ending up in a point to where I just feel so bad for her. I feel so bad for her to even have that reality to where those are her truths. She feels that she's segregated in a way. She feels that because she wasn't born in America, that she's not the white American. How sad, how sad is that? Ashlie: (13:06) I wish that wasn't her truth. I wish she didn't feel that way. This individual watches the news and pays attention to social media significant amount, much more in comparison to us. Not that there needs to be a comparison, but Clint, I have a very limited level when it comes to that sort of thing, and I truly believe like, like Clint said, that that has a lot to do with her social influence. Ashlie: (13:37) And as you sit there, I hope that you find the importance in defining the key characters that are more important about a human being, be it in America or anywhere around the globe and not the color of their skin. I believe that if you support this country, if you abide by the laws, if you are here legally, if you support our military, our first responders, if you do your due diligence as an American and you understand that yes, the American dream is possible, but that there are things that need to be done and checks and balances and process before that could be a reality for you, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics.

Hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly.

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Ashlie: (00:18)
Welcome back to another episode of tactical living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton

Clint:

And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie:

In today's episode, I want to talk about how finding commodity in the most unlikely of places can really change your outlook on things. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Clinton, I were afforded the opportunity to enjoy a two and a half day fishing trip with a boat full of police officers this past weekend. We are still exhausted. We're actually finding it a little difficult to get back into our normal work routine that we're used to, but something I was thinking about.

Ashlie: (01:09)
It's a moment that happened on the boat that I'll probably never forget. Clint and I have gone fishing several times and I've never once gotten sick when we're in the middle of the ocean. Actually, the only time was when we took a cruise, coincidentally enough, but bobbing up and down in the middle of the ocean on a smaller boat has never been an issue for me. We were a little bit worried on this trip because there were several people that we've never gone out with before and we were worried that they were going to get sick. Something happened that first night and the captain told me that this was a slow rocking boat and that the experience was a little bit different than most of the other boats that we've been on and almost immediately getting onto that boat. I knew that I didn't feel right

Ashlie: (02:10)
We had this amazing raffle. There was some really cool prizes and I think that that energy sort of took my mind off of feeling sick. We ate a fish taco and as soon as I ate it, it was one of those things where you know when you're going to get food poisoning, you just don't quite feel right about what's being introduced into your body. Your body is literally not accepting it. Maybe you eat it anyways. You eat the whole thing, you eat some of it. Well, that's what happened to me. As I'm telling you this, I'm recounting it. I literally am feeling nauseous. Just thinking about the fact of ever eating a fish taco again. I don't know if there was something wrong with this fish taco or what the deal was, but that sort of set it off for me and ever since

Ashlie: (02:59)
In that moment, I just tried to make myself sick because I knew that was the only thing that was going to make me feel better. Sorry if that's a little graphic, but that's how it is on the boat.  

Ashlie: (03:11)
so we go out to the back of the boat. Mind you, I'm the only girl surrounded by a bunch of men, men who are like egging you on to get sick to be honest with you. And I wasn't quite there. I tried to like think of things to make myself sick.

Clint: (03:29)
It's funny that you're talking about this because I remember standing back there with you and I see just one of my partners run out from the galley and just puke over the side

Ashlie: (03:41)
And that's what I'm getting at. So we're on the side of the boat and one of cleanse old partners. He is notorious for getting sick on these trips all the time. So when he comes out there I'm like, okay cool. Like he's going to puke and if I just watch him puke it's gonna make me sick and then like I'll be fine. So I'm waiting for it to happen. And then another one at cleanse partners comes and all three of us are like hanging over the rails. K they're about to get sick, but I'm just waiting for them to get sick so that I can like do my thing and be done with it.

Ashlie: (04:19)
And then one of the other guys on the boat comes and stands behind all of us. He might've had a little bit too much to drink. He is literally ageing all three of us on to get sick. Like just telling us just to let it go and like you'll be fine after like come on guys. Like he couldn't wait for us to just get sick. And

Ashlie: (04:43)
I'm sure that, I'm sure that out of like the pure enjoyment of that, like the rest of the boat, well I didn't even pay attention to them but I'm thinking about it now. They, they must've been laughing their asses off just watching this take place and so we all were staring at each other like it was the weirdest thing because I remember it's pitch dark. There is a light on the boat so that's the only light we can use to see one another in all three of us are like looking over at one another and for me I'm like Shit, I'm actually like the last person in the very back of the boat. Maybe this wasn't the best place for me to stand because the other two are next to me, like directly to my left and I just hear, I just hear just going off just telling us to just like go, go, go.

Ashlie: (05:32)
And then finally the guy in the middle starts to throw up and I'm like, okay, great. Like, well I'm just going to watch him. I'm literally just staring at him, trying to throw up. But the guy is in the back like jumping with excitement like so, so happy that that this guy is just puking all over the side of the boat. And then I'm looking at guy number one and he's staring at me and could tell he's like trying to hold it back and like maybe he was also waiting for me to get sick. But having already in back of me, it was so funny that like my nausea went away. Like I still didn't feel good but like that whole terribly, you know like the whole saliva build up in your mouth sort of deal like that went away just out of pure humor.

Ashlie: (06:20)
And then finally guy number one pukes and then other guy is going crazy. Like it's some big party and then they're all looking at me like waiting for me to just puke. And I was just like just, I was just too into this guy and his excitement for what was happening that that just didn't happen for me at that time. And something happened in that moment of like the, the most pure vulnerability. Like, if you've never been out on a boat when you feel sick, like it's probably difficult to understand. But that is the worst feeling I think I've ever experienced physically in my entire life is to be sick on a boat. Like you want nothing more than to just like shoot me now, let it be done with like, cause there's nothing you can do. The boat's not gonna turn around. Like a helicopter isn't coming to save you.

Ashlie: (07:12)
Like you're going to have to tough this out. And mind you, this was just on a Thursday. We weren't coming home until Sunday, so I still felt sick and I didn't, I didn't get the opportunity to throw up that night. So I went to bed and luckily the next morning I was able to like get sick and then I felt completely fine for the rest of the trip. But the relationship between me and guy one and guy two throughout that entire trip, it seemed to be a little bit more connected. And I think that stems from being in this place of literally we just felt like we were dying or at the very least we wanted to die because of how miserable it faults. But as sadistic as that sounds, there's this sort of comfort that came along with that because everybody else on the boat was completely supportive and understanding because even those that didn't feel sick to their stomach but still felt a little off, like they understood what we were all going through and it wasn't a matter of like, Oh, poor Ashlie, you're a girl.

Ashlie: (08:19)
Like never once did I feel that. But it helped to create this inner bond between us. And there was a firefighter on the boat that we had met for the first time and he was so kind to everybody on the boat and he had brought some Zofran. It's a very, very strong anti-nausea medication. They actually use it for chemotherapy patients. And he had offered one of those to me and to some other people on the boat. And it just, it really helped to set that foundation for us, setting off into the unknown as we traveled in the middle of the night to go fishing and to enjoy our time together. And I think that that type of environment, not only us getting sick, but just seeing the way that everybody was interacting with one another, it helps to create an even better trip than we thought it was going to be.

Clint: (09:16)
And I think the big thing with that is, you know, we all checked in on one another. Those who got sick, those who weren't sick, it was just that brotherhood and sisterhood of wanting to make sure everyone's okay because we all wanted each other to have a fun time and seeing people sick like that. It's a miserable feeling and you don't want anyone to not enjoy their time because of it.

Ashlie: (09:45)
It's true. If I could think of one thing that I would never want anybody to experience even more so than the physical pain of an injury that I've felt or surgeries that I felt like the worst is being sick like that in the middle of the ocean. So of course like you would never want that to happen to anybody that you're sharing space with, especially in a confined space like you are when we were on the boat.

Ashlie: (10:11)
But even the commodity of being next to each other while we were fishing, it's, it's definitely, it's definitely a craft, right? To be able to fish alongside other fishermen on a boat. It's not just like you pop your line in the water and then you'd just go with it. It takes them some teamwork and I felt that that teamwork started to build more and more as we were on the boat, the longer and longer we were on the boat and people got the hang of it. And as you sit there, if you've never been fishing on a boat like this before, when when you're fishing, you literally have to start rotating in order to make sure that your aligns don't get tangled with one another's. And if you're not paying attention, which yes it happened, then your line can easily cross and create a huge mess.

Ashlie: (11:00)
Or if you're really not paying attention and you decide to drop your line against the current where everybody else's lions are going, you can literally tangle the entire boat's lines by that one. Careless mistake. And being able to chime in with one another and just say like, Hey, don't drop your line there. Like nobody got mad at that. Everybody was, was in the same mood. Everybody was there to have a good time and really just build on that relationship with one another. And I can't wait to go out again. I can't wait to see these people again. Especially some of the ones that we had the opportunity to meet for the very first time.

Clint: (11:40)
And what was cool about this trip too is you know the people that you're talking about. Have we met for the first time, they were great guys and I really enjoyed fishing with them and they enjoyed fishing with us and we were able to create that bonding with them. So to further ourselves in that world and, and friendships, new friendships with them is just a great feeling.

Ashlie: (12:08)
It is. And it's not like you're meeting up at a concert to meet some new people. The dynamics of a deep sea fishing trip like this really helped to instill that bond even further, even upon first meeting.

Clint: (12:21)
Yeah, and I mean, we literally lived on the boat with him for two and a half days. I mean, you can't get in tighter quarters in that.

Ashlie: (12:32)
And what I want to stress to you today is the importance of just being open, being open to the opportunity of creating bonds, even in the most unlikely of places. It's so easy for us to be waiting in line for our coffee and staring at our cell phones. But what would happen if you put your phone away and started to engage with the person behind you in line? These are the types of things that I think we're losing connection with, with humanity in general, and by being able to just be more alert and more cohesive with the fundamentals of being a human being and having that human connection with one another, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

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