Transition Drill

Michael Brown was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He knew as a young man he wanted to serve in the military, so he joined the United States Navy while still in high school. Mike served 14 years with Special Operations as an Intelligence Analyst. He had five combat deployments, including Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). After discharging from the military, Mike went to college and completed his bachelor’s degree in business. Mike is also a Fellow of The Honor Foundation. Mike had no set plans for his future after the military, but a chance opportunity led him to the world of photography and video producation. He has since started his own media company, Scopos Media, LLC where he creates and develops short films, music videos, and promotional content for businesses. From his work shooting movies he got the opportunity to become a stunt man in Hollywood. Mike has worked as a stunt performer on major feature films, including Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever, and televisions shows, such as The Old Man

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John Domingo grew up in Huntington Beach, CA. He began his law enforcement career with LAPD in 1989. In 1992 he lateraled to Huntington Beach PD where he retired in 2019 as a Lieutenant. Through his time as a cop, he served on CRASH and SWAT and was a member of the crisis negotiation team. John was also an Arrest & Control Instructor for over 20 years. He is recognized as an expert on Use of Force and Excited Delirium Syndrome. Through his study of use of force incidents, he created the P.E.P. program and force model, it’s a concept of capture not combat. He has trained hundreds of police officers and instructors and conducted presentations on force use, tactics, and philosophy to agencies throughout the country. Today he works as a use of force advisor for a company producing simulation-based training for law enforcement utilizing real body worn camera footage.

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Jordan Ohara went to the University of Oregon, initially thinking he wanted to work in finance, but at the same time he also held a desire to serve in the military. So, after graduating from college he enlisted in the Navy. A training injury sustained between schools brought an abrupt end to his military career in 2017. After medically discharging, Jordan battled depression, significant physical pain, and a loss of his perceived identity. While in rehab, he fell in love with surfing and began researching holistic alternatives to manage depression, and pain. Jordan eventually went back to school earned a master’s degrees in Business from the University of San Diego. While in business school he started WindanSea Coffee, which focused on holistic wellness and CBD infused coffee and tea. Jordan lives in San Diego, CA where he continues to grow his business and remains committed to veteran wellness.

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Jose Rodriguez grew up knowing he was going to be a cop. He graduated high school early and began working as a volunteer with the local fire department. At that time the police officers were also firefighters and Jose saw this as a way to get his foot in the door. After almost 2 years as a volunteer and eventually a reserve officer, he was hired as a full-time police officer in 1998 – he was 19 years old at the time. In 2011 he blew out his knee during a foot pursuit, but after the surgery he learned of a greater medical condition which forced his medical retirement in 2012. With no plan for a transition at this time he put together a resume and started sending it out. This led to a job offer as a project manager. 10 years and three companies later, today he is an HR Director. Most important, as much as he misses being a cop, he enjoys his life more today. Since being forced into a medical retirement he’s been able to spend more quality time with his family and his passion, working on cars.  

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Noah Oliver comes from a lineage of Navy Sailors (both his father and grandfather served). While he was in high school, he decided he wanted to join the military. He planned to join the Naval Reserves after high school while he went to college. Noah then learned of the ROTC program and was accepted to the program at Florida State University. After a couple years he was not happy with the ROTC program. He dropped out of the ROTC program, completed his degree, and then enlisted in the Navy in 2012. Noah served six years in Naval Special Operations as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician. After one enlistment he discharged from the military. After getting out he utilized the G.I. Bill and went to the University of San Diego and got his MBA. While in business school, Noah founded the Jiu Jitsu and MMA Supply Company, Flowhold. Flowhold is an extension of his love and passion for martial arts. Noah began training at the age of 16 and has competed as a mixed martial arts fighter and submission grappler. He was awarded his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Jocko Willink and Dean Lister in March of 2022. In addition to martial arts and business, Noah enjoys spending time with his family and surfing. Noah lives in San Diego with his wife Lauren, his son Teddy, and his three dogs: Miley, Cheeseburger, and Owen.

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Brian Carrington was born in Reykjavik Iceland in a military family, his father did a career in the Air Force. Growing up he was forced to move repeatedly, but he always knew he also wanted to go in the military. In 1998, after graduating from high school he enlisted in the Army. His plan was to be a Ranger and do a career like his father. Brian was accepted into the Ranger Indoc Program, but a medical incident prevented him from becoming Ranger. He remained with the 4th Ranger training battalion for 4 years and then transitioned to the National Guard. In 2009 he was encouraged to become a police officer and has been with the San Diego Police Department ever since. Along with being a police officer, Brian is the CEO and owner of Stone Gryphon Tactical, which he started in 2019. His company produces the Rescue Multi Tool, a tactical entry and rescue multi-tool that is light weight, portable. It has a hammer, axe, pry bar, and gas shut off key.

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Julia Ling’s parents escaped Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia and came to the United States. Julia grew up in a very strict household. From a young age Julia knew she wanted to serve in the military but knew there was no way her parents would support it. After graduating high school, she enrolled in college to be an engineer. With no interest, at that time, in acting she accompanied a friend to an acting audition. Fate stepped in and Julia ended up getting an offer for an acting job. This led to multiple acting roles during the early 2000s, including a multiple season run on the TV show Chuck as the character Anna Wu (2007 – 2010). Today she has the upcoming reoccurring role of Danni Prescott on the TV show Emergency: LA (2023). Her early acting roles forced Julia to put college on pause, which did not make her parents happy. Moreover, the desire to serve never went away. In 2014, after going back and completing her college degree, Julia joined the Marine Corps and entered OCS. Unfortunately, a medical situation, which I’ll let her explain, forced her out. The crazy thing is she never told her parents that she joined the military. Today, in addition to her acting, Julia is also a partner in Veteran Powered Films, a film production company empowering veterans, servicemembers, and first responders to create and tell their stories through film. Their first movie Tango Down, which Julia also acted in, was released in 2019. 

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Chris Tomaino spent 26 years with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; retired in 2020 at the rank of Captain. Chris was the SWAT Commander when the Route 91 Harvest Festival Concert mass shooting occurred in October 2017. His previous command level assignments include the Special Weapons and Tactics Bureau, Convention Center Area Command, the Homicide & Sex Crimes Bureau, and the Northwest Area Command. Before promoting to Captain, Chris worked a wide variety of assignments during his career with the LVMPD; Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Vice Detective (TDY), Gang Detective, Patrol Sergeant, PSU Sergeant, Robbery Sergeant, Federal Task Force Sergeant, Patrol Lieutenant, Administrative Lieutenant, Internal Affairs Lieutenant, and Critical Incident Review Team Lieutenant where one of his primary duties was overseeing the investigation of Officer Involved Shootings and other significant use of force incidents. Today, Chris works with Constellis Corporation's Centerra Group-which is presently contracted by the United States Marshal Service (USMS) for the 2nd and 9th Circuits. He is the Nevada District Supervisor, responsible for hiring, leading, and managing over 70 Court Security Officers (CSOs) responsible for the protection of the United States' 9th Circuit federal courthouses in Nevada (2 in Las Vegas and 2 in Reno). CSOs are deputized by the USMS as Special Deputy United States Marshals (limited federal arrest powers) all CSOs are prior sworn law enforcement officers with either state, local, or federal agencies.

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Toshiro “Tosh” Carrington is a disabled veteran (left hand amputee) with 25 years of Naval Special Warfare (NSW) SEAL Team experience; he retired in 2015. Tosh began his military career as a Marine, but a chance encounter with a Frogman caused him to transfer to the Navy. In his time in the SEAL Teams he was a point man, lead sniper, a corpsman, and a Platoon Chief. He has 5 combat deployments, and he has trained hundreds of Navy SEALs and foreign counterpart commandos. Today he’s the owner of Strategic Operations Skills Training, he is a licensed private investigator in California, and he is the Director of Training for Strategic Ops Security and Investigative Services. You can also find Tosh in training videos for Tactical Hyve on YouTube. In addition to all this Tosh volunteers his time with Saved in America, a non-profit organization helping locate missing, runaway, and exploited children.

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In this episode I’m welcoming back a guest from Episode 8. After an 8-year enlistment in the Marine Corps with 3 deployments to Iraq, John was a Deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department from 2007 to 2019. He spent the last nine years as assistant team leader on their SWAT team but was medically retired after two neck injuries. Today he is a director of security for a private company (a company that he is not allowed to divulge their name). He manages the armed security guards assigned to the company’s locations, investigates internal theft, and writes standard operating procedures relevant for the safety and security of employees and company assets. In Episode 8, John talked about his having to deal with PTSD and survivors’ guilt. In this episode we talk a little more of how he addressed his mental health. John has also ventured into the world of knife making, which we touched on briefly in our first conversation but go into much more depth this time.

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