Tactical Tangents

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

These were the words of nine- and ten-year-old children at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022, during a call with 911. We try to take a balanced approach between the real challenges first responders take and the tragic reality of this event. We hope you learn from it.

Show links:

DOJ Report: https://bit.ly/3zDqtOK  ALERRT Report: https://bit.ly/4gGGAf9  TX State Report: https://bit.ly/3XJJ7wj 

Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents. You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com

Like what we’re doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe.

Intro music credit Bensound.com

Car accidents are something that are likely to touch all of us in some way or another, whether we are involved in one or manage them professionally as first responders. Not only are they exceptionally common, sometimes they are also challenging to manage well. We talk about some of the competing priorities and offer some ideas to get the emergency response to a traffic collision off to a good start.

Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents. You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com

Like what we’re doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe.

Intro music credit Bensound.com

Back in the 1960s a former Marine took the high ground in one of the first and deadliest school shootings in American history. This watershed event was part of the discussion that brought the idea of a SWAT team to the national stage and arguably brought momentum to what some now consider to be the militarization of the police. We talk about counter-ambush tactics, cover or suppressive fire in law enforcement, tactical medicine, and more.

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/university-of-texas-tower-shooting-1966 

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2016/09/03/ut-tower-shooting-claims-one-more-life/10008498007/

Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents. You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com

Like what we’re doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe.

Intro music credit Bensound.com

No one should die over a false report. Internet gamers, celebrities and public figures, and maybe even one of your neighbors have been the victim of this sort of prank. These hoax emergency calls that can lead to an exaggerated police response are becoming more common, so we discuss strategies to make sure we tailor our response appropriately and keep everyone safe.

Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents. You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com

Like what we’re doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe.

Intro music credit Bensound.com

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Downs v. United States was a benchmark case for domestic law enforcement that establishes our requirement to attempt negotiations for a peaceful resolution. We define a hostage situation and talk about strategies to manage them in contrast to active killer and barricaded criminals.

Downs v US (6th Circuit Court of Appeals) -  https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/382/713/2596989/

Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents. You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com

Like what we’re doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe.

Intro music credit Bensound.com

Your Recipe for Success looks something like equal parts of three things. Motivation, the spark and desire. Discipline, your habits and structure. And Grit, your capacity to overcome challenges, adjust, and perservere. Mike shares some of the research that’s been done on these topics and ways you can integrate them to get your closer to where ever you want to be.

Links: Randy Pausch "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" https://youtu.be/ji5_MqicxSo Atomic Habits by James Clear https://amzn.to/3LmLPSD (Excerpt here: https://jamesclear.com/marginal-gainshttps://jamesclear.com/marginal-gains) Carol Dweck TED Talk - https://youtu.be/_X0mgOOSpLU Grit by Angela Duckworth - https://amzn.to/4bHxtY2 Angela Duckworth TED Talk - https://youtu.be/H14bBuluwB8 Mindset by Carol Dweck - https://amzn.to/3LlWZHg The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin - https://amzn.to/466p5Qy Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin - https://amzn.to/4667I2r

Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents. You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com

Like what we’re doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe.

Intro music credit Bensound.com

Over 100 people were killed, more than 2,000 structures destroyed, and over $5 billion in damage were left behind after wind and fire tore through the historic Lahaina district and adjacent areas in Maui, Hawaii. We dive into some of the public safety and disaster planning takeaways from this event including evacuations, notifications, misinformation, planning, and risk.

FEMA After Action Report: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/blog/preliminary-after-action-report-2023-maui-wildfire/

Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents. You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com

Like what we’re doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe.

Intro music credit Bensound.com

Photo credit: FEMA

Is “strategic” the size of the bomb you drop, the scale of the map you use, or way you play Monopoly? In this episode, Mike and Jim turn Sun Tzu’s fortune cookie sayings into operational reality.  We work through how we can win fights all over Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam and still lose. We also cover strategies for winning against Active Shooters and the Chinese Communist Party.

New Rules of War by Sean McFate - https://amzn.to/4bYaGrT  Little Book on Big Strategy - https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/723/ Amatuers Study Tactics - https://www.strategynotes.co/p/the-nonsense-of-amateurs-study-tactics How to Win in Anbar by CPT Travis Patriquin - https://abcnews.go.com/images/US/how_to_win_in_anbar_v4.pdf The Strategic Corporal by Gen Krulak - https://www.mca-marines.org/wp-content/uploads/1999-Jan-The-strategic-corporal-Leadership-in-the-three-block-war.pdf On Strategy: A Primer by Nathan Finney - https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/on-strategy-a-primer.pdf Strategy: Context and Adaptation from Archidamus to Airpower (Transforming War) - https://amzn.to/3KOdprC

Adaptive Leadership Handbook - Law Enforcement & Security: Innovative Ways to Teach and Develop Your People by Lt Fred Leland -  https://amzn.to/3z2vzDx 

Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents. You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com

Like what we’re doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe.

Intro music credit Bensound.com

Is the American military prepared for the sacrifices that we can expect in a World War? Mike and Jim discuss whether commanders can lead and whether the troops will follow when it comes time to storm the beaches knowing many will not return.

Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangents. You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com

Like what we’re doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe.

Intro music credit Bensound.com

Situational awareness demands focus and selective attention.  Sometimes playing on your phone can help, and sometimes it can kill you. Most people can’t multitask as well as they think, but Mike and Jim will give you strategies to outmatch your enemy and avoid becoming a LUMP.

FAA Task Management White Paper: https://www.tc.faa.gov/its/worldpac/techrpt/tc17-16.pdf Aviation Week article on Compartmentalization: https://aviationweek.com/business-aviation/safety-ops-regulation/compartmentalization-focus-flight-part-1 Wiki Page Eastern Flight 401: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_401 The Invisible Gorilla: How Our Intuitions Deceive Us by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons: https://amzn.to/3WK6maK The Invisible Gorilla video: https://youtu.be/vJG698U2Mvo 

Find us on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/YouTube) @TacTangent. You can join the conversation in our Facebook Discussion Group. Find all of our episodes, articles, some reading list ideas, and more on our website www.tacticaltangents.com

Like what we’re doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe.

Intro music credit Bensound.com