Tactical Tangents

Bombs are scary. You can’t shoot back at an explosion or talk it into surrendering or leaving you alone. But you can learn ways to spot the bad guy’s device before it does its thing. In today’s episode, Jim and Mike delve into some basics of the hows, whys, and wheres of improvised explosive devices to help you develop a risk picture based on likelihood and severity. Just like there are certain weather conditions that are likely to breed hurricanes or other severe storms, we’re currently experiencing social weather, both globally and at home, that’s creating favorable conditions for bombers. There are enough angry people, with enough information, and ample opportunity to make things explode. Tune in for some info on what to look for. (Hint: It’s not a bundle of red sticks taped to an alarm clock with an “ACME” label.)   Links: The Bombs, Bombers, and Bombings of Los Angeles by Michael Digby - https://amzn.to/3J7ROKn Greenwhich Village Townhouse Explosion - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Village_townhouse_explosion October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2018_United_States_mail_bombing_attempts Bath School disaster - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster Harvey's Casino Bombing - https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/newss-harveys-casino-bomb/view     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

High-stress jobs, such as those in the military or law enforcement fields, tend to attract mission-oriented people, dedicated to the team and the public, who thrive on stress. Well, plants thrive on water, too, but you can still wind up drowning them with too much of it. In today’s episode, Jim and Mike look at job-related burnout, its negative effects on the team, and how to mitigate or avoid it.   In any tight-knit organization, attitudes are contagious, and that goes double for lousy ones. It’s common for the word of hard-chargers attracted to “tactical” work to brag about the amount of time they put in, for example, the number of hours worked, and treat it as a benchmark. But the more the workload piles up, the more easily frustrated you get, and that can feed the bad attitude spiral. Listen in as we talk about ways to reduce work-related fatigue and maintain a healthy work/life balance…tactically.   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. 

Part of our mission here at Tactical Tangents is to overcome the “tactical fantasy”, and in this episode, Mike and Jim talk about avoiding one of the most pernicious ones. It’s easy in a world full of tacticool training classes to get focused on the sort of threats to ourselves and loved ones that jump out of the bushes and can be thwarted with kinetic skills when the truth is you probably already know the person you’re most likely to have to pepper spray. The statistical fact of the matter is that most victimization comes from people who look like us and are already in our social circles. That’s extra true about sex crimes, and super extra true about sex crimes against children. Tune in as we discuss teaching ourselves, loved ones, and especially our kids about understanding social norms, establishing boundaries, and the importance of informing someone in authority.   Links: The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker Protecting the Gift by Gavin de Becker Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN): Grooming: Know the Warning Signs McMartin Pre-School Trial They Must Be Monsters: A Modern-Day Witch Hunt     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 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may be over (for now) but that doesn’t leave us in a world without conflict. While we were hip-deep in the Global War on Terror, major great power competitors have been nursing grievances and feeling rising ambitions and opportunities. In this episode, Jim takes a detailed look at the state of play with respect to Russia and China, and how that could affect the US as a nation, and us as individual citizens.   While neither of our great power opponents would benefit from a shooting war with the United States at this point in time, Jim points out that they are both conducting war by other means; the struggles are already underway. Whether by economic means, attempts to control raw material sources, or meddling with public opinion via social media channels, it’s important to be aware of these methods. Listen to this episode to have it all laid out.   Links: War Without Rules by Robert Spalding War with Russia by Sr Richard Shirreff US National Security Strategy   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

In both the military and law enforcement universes, there’s often an understandable amount of friction between the people out where the action is and those who help them get there and support them in their work. In this episode, Jim and Mike discuss ways to smooth cooperation between the people behind the scenes and the officer on the street or the pilot in the seat. When you really think about it, everybody’s supporting somebody and nobody’s completing the mission alone. Learning to distinguish between your “boss” and your “customer” can help you focus on operational success whether you’re the one calling in the air support, flying the plane, or keeping the plane flyable. As the saying goes, the chicken is involved in breakfast while the pig is committed…but breakfast ain’t happening without both doing their jobs. Links: Randy Pausch Achieving Childhood Dreams   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  

In a cool tactical podcast, everybody wants to talk about a gunfight and nobody wants to talk about getting t-boned in an intersection on the way to the gunfight. This episode features Mike & Jim, who’ve bent enough fenders between them to have some advice to offer, talking about the realities of driving. Whether you’re driving the government’s vehicle or your own private citizen chariot, realistic Operational Risk Management applies behind the wheel too.    Not only does viewing driving from an Operational Risk Management standpoint apply to doing the high-speed stuff while sawing at the wheel to keep it between the ditches while running code, it entails a lot more aspects. How do you manage your driving to take into account the possibility of road rage from other motorists? Do you stay on top of vehicle maintenance in order to keep from getting stranded in a desert or a blizzard…or stuck on the side of the road and having to deal with whatever sketchy weirdo stops to “help”? Listen in as these topics and more are covered.     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 only thing more frightening than being shot at by your own team is finding out you just shot up your own team. The very idea of fratricide…aka “Blue-on-Blue” incidents…is scary, but being a professional means you can’t just be scared, you have to work on your skills and knowledge to counter the possibility of it happening to you or because of you. In this episode, Jim and Mike discuss just that. Whether it’s a pair of USAF F-15’s mistaking American Blackhawks for Iraqi Hind gunships, a police officer not briefed to look for the undercover cop at the buy/bust, or a private citizen failing to positively identify an “intruder” and shooting a loved one, these are all preventable failures. We know that fog and friction make it harder to be aware of the environment and cause simple tasks to become more difficult, so how do we mitigate these factors and prevent “own goals”? Listen to this episode to find out. Links: Reading: A Chain of Events by Joan Piper Vignettes: Tarnak Farm Incident Albuquerque undercover officer shot by LT:   Police 1 Article -  Update on Officer -  YouTube Video NYPD Incident  Providence Training Fatality Robin Sage Training Fatality    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

Offices come in a variety of shapes and guises, from a room with desks and whiteboards to the front seat of a squad car. In this solo episode, Jim sounds off on his favorite topic: Management is not a dirty word, to be shunned in favor of “leadership”. Rather, management is part of leadership. It’s the art & science of allocating and coordinating resources to meet a goal.     Jim wants to share with you several of the lessons on management he’s learned the hard way, such as when it’s time to lead less. If you’ve managed your team well, you can take some time you’d otherwise have to spend motivating them and instead spend it removing obstacles preventing your highly-motivated people from solving problems efficiently. After all, getting the right people in the right places with the right equipment and a realistic timeline is essential to leadership. Links: Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule 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

Sometimes bad training passes down information that might once have been good, but garbles it. Take “Shooting to Stop the Threat”…please. This episode sees Mike and Jim discuss the nuances of using lethal force to reasonably end the capacity of an assailant to harm you. What exactly is incapacitation? What’s the difference between “shoot to kill” and to “stop”? Is intent magical? Listen to find out.  Incapacitating a threat by means of lethal force requires certain factors to be met in order to be considered reasonable, and it’s not a blank check. In the laws of war, there’s a difference between sailors boarding a small boat from a sinking ship because they’re out of the fight and marines climbing into small landing craft to get into the fight. In civilian self defense, each shot needs to be defensible, and that means reasonably explainable.   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

For a person in a first responder line of work, being caught with an inadequate skill toolset in a critical incident can lead to the sort of feelings of helplessness that are a greased rail to PTSD-land. In this short episode, Mike talks through some ways to preemptively head off those bad feelings with good preparation.  Unlike the fixed mindset in which you’re dropped onto the planet as either Someone Who Can or Someone Who Can’t based on some immutable set of skills, a growth mindset is one in which you see yourself as an active participant, learning from each experience to better deal with the next one. Mike explains why one of these is not only better for dealing with the incident, but also dealing with the aftermath. 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