
This episode of The Squad Room was a recent favorite. I sit down (socially distanced via Zoom of course) with Justin Walker. Justin is a full-time officer at a major metropolitan department and a full-time SWAT officer. He’s also the owner of MilMak Blades and even a podcaster! (seriously, check out his show The Man Minutes, it’s really good). 



We talk about a wide variety of topics on the show. It’s like a lot of conversations that happen when two veteran cops sit down to get to know each other. We ended up talking a lot about the lessons we’ve learned and the mistakes we’ve made that we want to keep others from making. 



Give him a follow @milmakaz and check out his blades at milmakaz.com

123: What I Wish I Knew: Mistakes, Lessons & Hard Wins with SWAT Officer Justin Walker

The Squad Room is a podcast devoted to optimizing the physical, mental, and emotional health and wellness of police officers, and law enforcement personnel. We tackle any subject that might improve first responder wellness and commitment to ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities we serve. Physical fitness, sleep and sleeping disorders, identifying PTSD, mindfulness and meditation, the importance of mentors and coaches – the list goes on!

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During his 29-year career, Jeff McGreevy was an early pioneer in the concept of peer support in Southern California, having been involved in officer wellness since 2004 when he was recruited to be a founding member of his department’s trauma support team which later evolved into peer support. Jeff has extensive training and experience in debriefing personnel after traumatic events, Critical Incident Stress Management, coordinating peer support response after critical incidents, and was an instructor for Tactical Decision Making Under Stress training. Jeff leads the Ventura County Peer Support Coalition which brings together all Police, Fire, and EMS agencies together quarterly
Jeff has worked several challenging assignments including patrol, field training officer, community policing, Special Enforcement Unit, SWAT team member for 10 years, and he also worked as a K-9 handler with a cross-trained patrol/explosive detection K-9. He spent a short time on an FBI Gang Task Force and was a Detective working Gang investigations and Robbery & Violent crimes cases.
Since retirement, Jeff worked for a nonprofit that provided confidential trauma-informed counseling for first responders and their families prior to joining the team at First Responder Wellness as a Public Safety Advocate. 
Jeff and his wife Andrea have been married for over 35-years and have 2 children, and 2 grandchildren. In 2012, their lives were turned upside down when Jeff was nearly paralyzed in an accident and Andrea was diagnosed with stage-3 breast cancer. After nearly 2-years of treatment, Andrea was finally cancer-free and they have found ways to give back to try and help others in need and honor fallen first responders. 
Follow him on Instagram @tombstonecourage and learn more about First Responder Wellness here. 
If you’re looking for a little extra joy in your life, sign up for Tactical Tuesdays, a FREE weekly email where we bring you a few tactics, tips and strategies to help you succeed in the week ahead. It may be about a book I want to share, gear I’ve found useful, an inspiring quote, or anything else I think you’d like. To sign up for the Tactical Tuesdays email list, you can visit thesquadroom.net/tacticaltuesdays.
A special thanks to our sponsors for today’s episode.
TactiScan is a portable drug screening device designed to detect illicit narcotics onsite with no officer exposure. TactiScan is a reusable pocket-sized narcotics screening device designed to detect illicit narcotics onsite that connects by bluetooth and limits officer exposure to potentially dangerous substances. Learn more at tactiscan.com.

What I’ve Learned: The Impacts Can Last Forever with Jeff McGreevy

Shawn is the founder of 1st Responder Conferences and a retired deputy from the King County Sheriff’s Office in Seattle, WA. Shawn retired in 2022 after 25 years of service as a Wellness and Resiliency Detective and a therapy K9 handler.  During her career, Shawn worked patrol, as an undercover detective, a detective in the warrant unit, transit patrol and as an explosive K9 handler. She was also on the peer support team for 16 years and was a team leader for several years
At their conferences, they are dedicated to promoting awareness surrounding the difficulties of the profession and inspiring conversations that minimize the stigma associated with the layered stressors our first responders experience. They provide education, mental health tools, and resources for agencies, first responders, and their families. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for all who dedicate themselves to protecting and serving others.
Follow them on Instagram at @1st_responder_conferences or visit their website here to see a calendar of their events.
If you’re looking for a little extra joy in your life, sign up for Tactical Tuesdays, a FREE weekly email where we bring you a few tactics, tips and strategies to help you succeed in the week ahead. It may be about a book I want to share, gear I’ve found useful, an inspiring quote, or anything else I think you’d like. To sign up for the Tactical Tuesdays email list, you can visit thesquadroom.net/tacticaltuesdays.
A special thanks to our sponsors for today’s episode.
TactiScan is a portable drug screening device designed to detect illicit narcotics onsite with no officer exposure. TactiScan is a reusable pocket-sized narcotics screening device designed to detect illicit narcotics onsite that connects by bluetooth and limits officer exposure to potentially dangerous substances. Learn more at tactiscan.com.

Where Do Cops Go When They’re The Ones That Need Help? with Shawn Thomas

On April 10, 2012, United States Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills of the 82nd Airborne was critically injured on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan by an IED (improvised explosive device) while on patrol, losing portions of both legs and both arms. He is one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive his injuries. Travis describes himself as a recalibrated warrior and he’s also a motivational speaker, actor, author and an advocate for veterans and amputees. Travis is also the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir, Tough as They Come, and his new book Bounce Back: 12 Warrior Principles to Reclaim and Recalibrate Your Life.
In September 2013, Travis and his wife Kelsey founded the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit organization, formed to benefit and assist post 9/11 veterans who have been injured in active duty or as a result of their service to our nation. The veteran and their families receive an all-inclusive, all-expenses paid, barrier-free vacation to Maine where they participate in adaptive activities, bond with other veteran families, and enjoy much-needed rest and relaxation in Maine’s great outdoors.
You can follow Travis on Instagram @ssgtravismills
If you’re looking for a little extra joy in your life, sign up for Tactical Tuesdays, a FREE weekly email where we bring you a few tactics, tips and strategies to help you succeed in the week ahead. It may be about a book I want to share, gear I’ve found useful, an inspiring quote, or anything else I think you’d like. To sign up for the Tactical Tuesdays email list, you can visit thesquadroom.net/tacticaltuesdays.
A special thanks to our sponsors for today’s episode.
TactiScan is a portable drug screening device designed to detect illicit narcotics onsite with no officer exposure. TactiScan is a reusable pocket-sized narcotics screening device designed to detect illicit narcotics onsite that connects by bluetooth and limits officer exposure to potentially dangerous substances. Learn more at tactiscan.com.
If you’re looking for challenge coins for your agency or specialty unit, check them out at SignatureCoins.com. You can create a coin in as little as 24 hours and they offer free graphic design, free next day shipping in the US, and industry-leading turnaround times. That’s signaturecoins.com

12 Warrior Principles to Reclaim and Recalibrate Your Life with Travis Mills

Travis Gribble is a 24-year law enforcement veteran and founder of My Arena. Travis spent 11 years at a Sheriff’s Office in Michigan before lateralling to a large agency in Arizona where he worked as a patrol officer, patrol sergeant, and as a SWAT assistant team leader and SWAT sergeant. 
In 2016, Travis experienced a call that would change his life forever. He shares the story of that call with us today. In 2021, Travis sought and was awarded a Post-Traumatic Stress Injury medical retirement. A short time later, he was asked to share about his experience and he hasn’t stopped sharing it since. 
You can follow Travis on Instagram @my_.arena 
If you’re looking for a little extra joy in your life, sign up for Tactical Tuesdays, a FREE weekly email where we bring you a few tactics, tips and strategies to help you succeed in the week ahead. It may be about a book I want to share, gear I’ve found useful, an inspiring quote, or anything else I think you’d like. To sign up for the Tactical Tuesdays email list, you can visit thesquadroom.net/tacticaltuesdays.
A special thanks to our sponsors for today’s episode.
TactiScan is a portable drug screening device designed to detect illicit narcotics onsite with no officer exposure. TactiScan is a reusable pocket-sized narcotics screening device designed to detect illicit narcotics onsite that connects by bluetooth and limits officer exposure to potentially dangerous substances. Learn more at tactiscan.com.
If you’re looking for challenge coins for your agency or specialty unit, check them out at SignatureCoins.com. You can create a coin in as little as 24 hours and they offer free graphic design, free next day shipping in the US, and industry-leading turnaround times. That’s signaturecoins.com

What I’ve Learned: Travis Gribble on How Your Career and Life Can Change on One Call

Did you know that 15% of men say they have no close friends? None. 53% of women say they feel lonely at work. 17% of the general population say they routinely experience deep loneliness. What’s scary is loneliness is linked to our longevity and health. Going through life lonely is the equivalent of smoking nearly a pack a day. 
Now, that’s not specific to first responders. Add in rotating shifts, working weekends, the hypervigilance roller coaster, and our physiological reactions to job stress and I think it’s safe to say that many cops – whether they admit it or not – are very lonely. 
Dr. Jeremy Nobel, MD, MPH, is on the faculty of both the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His new book, “Project Unlonely: Healing Our Crisis of Disconnection” explores how loneliness takes root in our lives, how we as social creatures require deeper human connections than we’re currently getting, and what we can do to create more meaningful relationships. 
As creator of The Foundation for Art & Healing, Dr. Nobel has become a prominent advocate for creative engagement and how it improves our lives, integrating that work into traditional medical care, as a path to healing as he has revealed that an important component of the healing process is engaging in creativity. Dr. Nobel graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University within the Science and Human Affairs program. He received his medical education at the University of Pennsylvania and completed his internal medicine residency at the Beth Israel Hospital, Boston. Board-certified in both Preventive Medicine and Internal Medicine, Dr. Nobel also holds Master’s Degrees in Epidemiology and Health Policy from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 
Loneliness seems to be an inevitable result of our modern world, and it is perhaps one of the harder things for us to admit we’re struggling with. 
If you’re looking for a little extra joy in your life, sign up for Tactical Tuesdays, a FREE weekly email where we bring you a few tactics, tips and strategies to help you succeed in the week ahead. It may be about a book I want to share, gear I’ve found useful, an inspiring quote, or anything else I think you’d like. To sign up for the Tactical Tuesdays email list, you can visit thesquadroom.net/tacticaltuesdays.
A special thanks to our sponsors for today’s episode.
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TactiScan is a portable drug screening device designed to detect illicit narcotics onsite with no officer exposure. TactiScan is a reusable pocket-sized narcotics screening device designed to detect illicit narcotics onsite that connects by bluetooth and limits officer exposure to potentially dangerous substances. Learn more at tactiscan.com.
 

123: What I Wish I Knew: Mistakes, Lessons & Hard Wins with SWAT Officer Justin Walker

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