164 episodes

Mike is a police SWAT team member, K9 handler, and tactical medic. Jim is an Air Force pilot with a background in close air support and combat search and rescue. Our goal is to elevate the conversation about all things tactical for public safety, military, and concerned citizens. Join us to hear lessons learned about decision making, critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, and teamwork.

Tactical Tangents Tactical Tangents

    • Education
    • 5.0 • 88 Ratings

Mike is a police SWAT team member, K9 handler, and tactical medic. Jim is an Air Force pilot with a background in close air support and combat search and rescue. Our goal is to elevate the conversation about all things tactical for public safety, military, and concerned citizens. Join us to hear lessons learned about decision making, critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, and teamwork.

    Team Selection: Real-Life Fantasy Draft

    Team Selection: Real-Life Fantasy Draft

    When drafting players for your fantasy sportsball team, stats provide an easy benchmark. Just pick the ones with the most home runs, passing yards, and the highest free-throw percentage. It’s a little harder selecting people for your real-life tactical team, but having a similar checklist in mind helps. In this episode Jim and Mike talk about what to look for.
     
    Having a good selection procedure is important for getting the right members on a team. Mike steals a page from advertising, only where an ad man conceptualizes the ideal customer, he’s looking for the ideal SWAT guy. The process could work for any team selection, though. Just think about what the ideal candidate would say, think, do, or feel, and look for those people. Listen to this episode for ideas on how to do just that.
     
    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

    • 1 hr 14 min
    A Good Commander Knows What to Control

    A Good Commander Knows What to Control

    No team in law enforcement is composed of robotic textbook-following automatons, nor would we want it to be, if we’ve ever found ourselves at 2MPH over the limit. But when a worst-case incident unfolds, we want every first responder to make the right decision at the speed of life, because in those incidents seconds often equal victims. How can we raise the lowest common denominator, so our people make the right decisions quickly without rushing to failure?

    In this episode Mike and Jim talk about command and control, and teaching decision-making skills to team members. In this way, when everything hits the fan, the right decisions get made fast, and get made at the right level. There’s a reason for supervisors, commanders, and leaders, but it’s important to know when to let subordinates make decisions. Not every incident is The Big One, but nobody’s ready for The Big One if they haven’t been taught in the small ones.
     
    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

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Sleeping for Success

    Sleeping for Success

    The downsides of sleep deprivation are legion: irritability, poor judgment, even lowered testosterone. Yet the duties of the .mil and LE career fields are well known for demanding odd and/or long hours that can make it hard to get good sleep. Mike talks with Dr. Paul Sargent of O2X, a specialist in human performances and sleep factors, in how to get the good shut-eye.
    Dr. Sargent retired from a 25 year Navy career that included such exotic postings as being the only psychiatrist in Anbar Province, where he helped stand up the Combat Sleep School. How to maximize healthy sleep hygiene without using drugs that might blunt the tactical edge is his specialty, and in this episode he talks with Mike about the best way we can adapt modern life schedules to bodies that have ancient sleep needs.
    Links:
    J. Bryan Sexton: 3 Good Things - https://youtu.be/OYMQYhey08w
    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

    • 1 hr 13 min
    Finding the Bomber

    Finding the Bomber

     
    In the spring of 2018, the city of Austin, Texas was rocked by a string of package bombs, five in all, that killed two and injured five. The story of how local and federal agencies tracked down the perpetrator is almost all open source and a great illustration of how these investigations proceed. Listen to Jim and Mike tell the tale in this episode!
     
    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

    • 1 hr 2 min
    Put Me In, Coach!

    Put Me In, Coach!

    Do you know what every great slugger in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown had in common? They all had hitting coaches. Today we have an abundance of riches in the form of internet videos to teach almost any skill, but at some point most everyone will benefit from the feedback of a skilled coach. In this episode Mike and Jim explore the value of coaching in skill building and team leadership.

     
    Whether its an athlete of the conventional sports kind or the tactical variety found on a SWAT team or military base, there’s a tremendous value to be gained from a good coach. How can you spot a good coach? More importantly, what are the indicators of a bad one? How can you be a good coach for the people who look up to you? Listen in and find out!
    Links:
    The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey - https://amzn.to/463pWQZ
    The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle - https://amzn.to/46qviWA
    The Art of Learning by Joshua Waitzkin - https://amzn.to/3RAEP93
    With Winning in Mind by Lanny Bassham - https://amzn.to/3RzwEtC
     
    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

    • 1 hr 9 min
    Both Sides of the Door - Breonna Taylor and Bad Outcomes

    Both Sides of the Door - Breonna Taylor and Bad Outcomes

     
    In the world of ugly warrant execution, there are a lot of bad scenarios that have happened with lessons to be learned for people on both sides of the door. In this episode, Mike & Jim break down a notorious recent incident: The 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor during a narcotics warrant service in Louisville, Kentucky.
    While it’s about the Breonna Taylor incident, we’re focusing on the tactical issues surrounding the actual warrant service that night, not the plethora of issues that led to it. Risk is always involved in serving a warrant, so how can it best be mitigated for all involved? Remember that having a warrant doesn’t make you any smarter or tactically proficient. The court just gave you permission; the skill department is all on you.
     
    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

    • 1 hr 27 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
88 Ratings

88 Ratings

a awsome dunce ,

Amazing

A amazing podcast love it it has lots of interesting ideas and facts thank you for making such a a great show

Mcwillev1971 ,

Great show!

This is a place you can get sane, sober and sensible information about all things law enforcement, self defense, equipment and tactics. Great stuff.

Ret SWAT Guy ,

Deep Dive

People, ideas, hardware. Before I retired I would have liked to learn this concept. If you are looking for a glossy 30,000 flyover of a topic, move along. These guys do a great job doing deep dives into important topics. Thanks for what is obviously a major effort. Keep it up.

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