Starting next week The Debrief will be introducing a new series called Battle Proven Leadership (or BPL). In contrast to the long format and wide-ranging interviews of The Debrief, BPL episodes will be shorter and deeply explore a single topic in leadership with a goal of providing specific/actionable information that you can use to improve your leadership skills. My guests will be subject matter experts who operate in high stress environments both inside and outside the tactical community. Regardless of whether your battlefield is a military, law enforcement, or business operation, each episode will expose you to the viewpoints, techniques and tactics of leaders whose skills have been proven in high risk operations with zero margin for error.

My guest today is John Mattingly. John is a retired Sgt. from the Louisville Police Department who led the search warrant service at the home of Breonna Taylor on March 13, 2020 and was shot in the leg by her boyfriend Kenneth Walker before returning fire along with another officer resulting in the death of Ms. Taylor. This event, of course, became a huge catalytic event for protests, riots, lawsuits, death threats against the officers and, tragically, the shooting of two more officers in response to the multi-day civil unrest that followed. It has also led to three of the officers involved in obtaining the warrant as well as one of the officers involved in the raid being charged with federal crimes. John has recently written a book called 12 Seconds in the Dark that documents the facts of the case from his perspective and discusses numerous issues that have not been discussed in the media. Timestamps3:15 John’s Career History6:40 Background Of The Warrant13:40 John’s First Involvement In The Case17:35 The Night of The Warrant, Ad Hoc Team & Training for Narcotics Units in LMPD24:40 Arrival at the Scene, Initial Scouting & Apartment Layout31:55 Search Warrant Service Begins 42:00 Initial Aftermath of the Shooting52:40 John's Injuries and Medical Treatment56:35 Press aftermath and inaccuracy of reporting 01:05:20 Initial Response of City01:12:10 Lessons Learned – Training01:18:50 Lessons Learned – Knock & Notice, Culture & Complacency01:29:00 Lessons Learned – Narco Teams v. SWAT Teams and Body Warn Cameras01:32:30 Lessons Learned – Agency Response to These Types of Events01:37:00 John’s Cautionary Advice To Young Cops Working Narco01:40:50 The Need for Debriefs to Avoid ComplacencyLinksCity of Louisville Investigative FilesNY Times Investigation

My guests today are Thor Eells and Don Kester from the National Tactical Officers Association or NTOA which is the largest tactical organization in the United States. Thor is a retired commander from the Colorado Springs Colorado Police Department where he served for 30 years. The majority of which was in tactical response including serving as a swat operator, a swat team leader and a team commander. Thor is currently the Executive Director for NTOA after serving many years as a board member and a trainer. Don is retired from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona where he served as a SWAT team operator, team leader, team sergeant, training director and SWAT team commander eventually retiring as a DivisionCommander and Captain. Don is currently the training and education director for the NTOA after many years of service as a trainer and a board member.Timestamps02:00 – Thor’s background and law enforcement career05:00 – Don’s background and law enforcement career11:00 – The mission of the National Tactical Officers Association15:30 – The relationship between state associations and the NTOA20:30 – Police reform movements & the role of the NTOA as information provider37:00 – National standards for special tactics teams46:00 – Maintaining training standards with diverse team capabilities55:00 – The NTOAs role in supporting teams with subject matter expertise1:00:00 – The need to honest self-examination and debriefing1:05:00 – The roots of bad legislation and need for law enforcement to oppose it1:11:00 – No knock warrants, dynamic entries, and the NTOAs position paper1:32:00 – The counter arguments for dynamic tactics and no-knock warrants1:34:00 – Risk management and safety prioritiesContact InfoThor Eells - teells@ntoa.orgDon Kester - dkester@ntoa.orgLinksNTOA | National Tactical Officers Association

DescriptionThis is a very special joint episode between the CATO Podcast and the Debrief hosted by CATO President Brent Strattonand Jon Becker. Our guest today is Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sergeant Earl D. Plumlee. MSgt Plumlee received theMedal of Honor for his actions on August 28, 2013 in Afghanistan. We were extremely lucky to sit down with MSgtPlumlee after he spoke at the CATO Conference this year. In this episode we will hear the story of his amazing actionsthat day, talk about training, preparation, and mindset and learn from a true American hero.Timestamps2:10 Earl’s Career History6:35 Mission of Army Special Forces Units17:00 Arrival at FOB Ghazni20:00 Precursors of the Attack28:40 Day of the Attack33:00 Engagement Begins55:00 Earl and Drew Regroup66:00 Effects of Earl’s Training on His Response77:00 Embracing Weakness to Elevate Performance87:00 Stress Innoculation Lessons Learned90:00 Attention to Detail and Unit Culture98:00 The Meaning of the Medal of Honor to Earl103:00 The Need for Family and Work Life BalanceLinksMedal of Honor Presentation - Remarks on Presenting the Medal of Honor to Master Sergeant Earl D. Plumlee andPosthumously to Sergeant First Class Alwyn C. Cashe and Sergeant First Class Christopher A. Celiz | The AmericanPresidency Project (ucsb.edu)

My guest today is a legend in the US tactical community Chief Phil Hansen.  Phil recently retired after serving as the Chief of Police for the Santa Maria California Police Department.  But prior to Santa Maria Phil retired as a Captain from the Los Angeles Country Sherriff’s Department where he served for 36 years.  During his tenure at LASD he spent more than 24 years in full time tactical and emergency management positions, including nearly 20 years at the elite Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB). Phil has served as a board member of the National Tactical Officers Association since 1991 including serving as the Chairman of the Board. He is a member of the executive committee for the California POST SWAT guidelines, and has served as a board of inquiry member for LAPD and Oakland PD.  Timestamps01:45 – Early Career and Start at LASD04:30 – Arrival at SEB06:00 – Evolution of Dynamic Entry & The War on Drugs11:15 – The Menu of Options for Narcotics Warrants 19:00 – Unit Culture, Constant Development, & Selection25:15 – John Kolman and The Origins of the NTOA35:00 – Development of California SWAT Standards. NTOA National Standards & Current Legal Attacks on SWAT51:30 – The Need for Effective Downward Information Flow and Information Sharing59:00 – Phil’s Time at Emergency Operations Bureau1:02:00 – Navigating Career Adversity1:08:00 – Santa Maria PD Career1:10:00 – Modern Issues in Special Tactics – Interagency Relationships 1:22:00 – Justifications & Reasons for Special Tactics Teams1:30:00 – Rapid Fire QuestionsContact Info Cell # (805) 994-9051Email: pchansen@live.comBooks RecommendedContrarians Guide to Leadership - Steven B. Sample and Warren Bennis – ISBN: 978-0787967079Going Pro, The Deliberate Practice of Professionalism - Tony Kern, Pygmy Books Publishing – ISBN: 978-0984206315Leading Change: The Argument for Values-Based Leadership – James O’Toole – ISBN: 978-0345402547Passion of Command: The Moral Imperative of Leadership – Col. Bryan McCoy – ISBN: 978-0940328372

DescriptionOn November 13, 2015, Paris experienced a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks. These attacks took placeover three separate areas of the city and were carried out by multiple teams of attackers. Almost four hours after theybegan the events ended with a dramatic and successful hostage rescue that will be the topic for today’s discussion.This episode of the debrief will have a slightly different format. My guest today is an active member of France’s eliteBrigade for Research and Intervention or BRI. Because of the nature of his current assignment and the nature of theirwork, it is critical that we maintain his anonymity. As a result, we will not be showing this episode on video or using ourguest’s real name.Timestamps2:00 – Policing in France – Structure and agencies5:15 – Origins, History, and Mission of BRI11:15 – Overview of the November 13 attacks on Paris12:52 – Location 1 - Stadt D’ France suicide bombers16:30 – Location 2 – Café and bar attacks in 10th arrondissement19:30 – BRI activation and staging22:35 – Location 3 – Bataclan theater attack begins27:45 – Street police arrival and entry31:30 – BRI arrival on scene and initial entry39:50 – First engagement with terrorists46:09 – Negotiations50:00 – Description of the HRT area52:30 – Assault1:05:00 – Clearing remainder of corridor1:09:00 – Effects of the event on team1:21:30 – Lessons learned from the Bataclan HRTLinksNetflix special on the Paris Attacks: Watch November 13: Attack on Paris | Netflix Official SiteTimeline and overview by France24 - Paris attacks: The investigation continues (france24.com)HSAC whitepaper on events - hsac-paris-lessons-learned_whitepaper.pdf (pepperdine.edu)

DescriptionKevin Cyr is an Inspector with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and is the current commander of the RCMP Emergency Response Team in British Columbia, which is the second largest tactical unit in Canada. Kevin has been with the RCMP for 22 years and has been with the team for 7 years. He has a master’s in law from Osgoode Hall Law School and is published internationally in law and criminology journals. He also teaches incident command at the Canadian Police College.  Timestamps1:00 - His personal history and career path2:25 – Structure and functioning of the RCMP5:45 – Advantages and disadvantages of the Canadian policing model7:30 – Origins of RCMP SERT and ERT teams13:00 – The role of modern tactical teams14:30 – 2010 Olympics and ERTs transition to full-time teams17:15 – Current ERT team configuration21:00 – Decision-making and the trap of risk mitigation27:00 – Understanding the difference between cheap and expensive and effective and efficient in preparation33:15 – Weighing when to spend money vs. improving skills – understanding requirements38:00 – Tactical decision-making & analysis paralysis42:00 – Militarization of law enforcement45:45 – How overly aggressive law and policy can lead to tactical indecisiveness50:15 – How the standards we hold police to are unreasonable55:00 – How the origin stories for SWAT are complicating modern tactical response57:00 – Delegation of authority and decision making1:01:00 – Who should make tactical decisions?1:03:00 – How we should be training our future tactical leaders 1:09:45 – Rapid fire questions Contact Info: Kevin Cyr - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-cyr-ll-m-b78206133 Books Recommended:  Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink and Leif Babin – ISBN# 250067057

DescriptionMy guest today Is Buddy Brown. Buddy works for the York County Sherriff’s Office in South Carolina. Buddy has worked patrol, narcotics and training and spent more than 18 years on the York County regional SWAT team. On January 16, 2018, York County responded to a domestic violence call that led a suspect on the run in the woods behind a residential area. By the time the night was over Det. Mike Doty would be murdered by the suspect and three other members of the agency would be shot and seriously wounded, including Buddy. In this Critical Incident Review Buddy will take us through the timeline and events of the night as well as discuss their lessons learned and his recovery from catastrophic injuries.Timestamps2:20 - His history and career path3:20  – Configuration of York County Sheriff’s Office Agency and the SWAT team5:10 – Initial call for service and search for suspect9:00 – Ambush of dog team and Shooting of K9 Sgt. Randy Clinton15:40 – Initial SWAT response and search24:15 – Response to 1475 Paraham Road30:45 – Ambush of team by suspects and shooting of three team members35:20 – Shooting stops and suspect surrenders39:10 – Initial medical response for injured operators45:40 – Buddy’s Injuries47:30 – Arrest of suspect56:30 – Initial effects on the families58:50 – Arrival at the hospital & treatment1:03:00 – Buddy’s recovery1:05:45 – Personal lessons learned1:08:00 – Team lessons learned1:18:50 – Aftermath and healing from the trauma of the event Important LinksYork County SO Documentary – The Many Heroes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK7N8kvFjVfs8fzsyDgmTg6ZtbN2UpXPG  Contact Info: Phone 803-230-2106Email Buddy.brown@yorkcountygov.comBook Recommendations: Dave Grossman - On Killing – ISBN 978-0316040938Dave Grossman - On Combat – ISBN 978-0964920545Paul Howe - Leadership and Training for the Fight – ISBN 978-1420889505Jocko Willink - Discipline Equals Freedom – ISBN 978-1250156945

DescriptionMy guest today is Kris Allshouse.  Kris is the Executive Director of The Regional Training Center (formerly LA County Regional Training Center), a nonprofit organization that provides advanced training to Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement and other first responders as well as military units and international agencies.  Kris is a former tactical operator for a large Southern California agency with extensive operational experience.  Under his guidance, RTC/LACRTC has emerged as one of the top thought leaders and training providers for tactical use of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) in the world.Timestamps1:00 - His Career Path2:50 – The Evolution of sUAS for law enforcement4:30 – Categories and types of sUAS and their missions7:25 – Tactical Use of sUAS & Deescalation11:15 – Crowd and Riot Control 13:00 – Drones and Robots and the new non-dynamic entry approach16:34 – Regulatory challenges to sUAS22:00 – Privacy rights, the Constitution and sUAS26:15 – The 4th Amendment Consequences of sUAS27:03 – Weaponizing drones29:30 – The terrorism threat posed by sUAS32:30 –Concerns that we are building a dystopian future with sUAS Books RecommendedSound Doctrine – Charles Sid Heal – ISBN 9781930051119Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey - 9780671708634 Contact InfoKris Allshousekallshouse@thertc.org17595 Mt Herrmann St.Fountain Valley, CA 92708Main Office: (888) 782-4969Direct: (760) 990-1441Cell: (816) 721-8440

Description My guest today is Dana Vilander.  Dana spent 32 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department with 26 of those years spent with the elite Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB).  In his time at SEB, Dana worked as a K-9, a SWAT operator, and spent 18 years as a tactical paramedic, diver, crew chief, and hoist operator with the Emergency Services Detail.  Because of his extensive and unique experience, Dana has taught TEMS/TCCC/tactical medicine, vertical access, ropes, and rural operations to elite tactical units all over the world. Timestamps 1:31 – Dana’s Career Path 5:25 – LASD SEB - Emergency Services Detail 10:35 – The History of TEMS/TCCC 13:20 – The Military Research That Gave Rise to TCCC 18:12 – The Origins of Tourniquet Use 22:01 – Law Enforcement’s Beginnings with TCCC 24:20 – How to Build and Maintain a TCCC Capability 29:00 – IFAK Configuration 32:06 – Controlling Massive Hemorrhaging 37:34 – Team Based Medical Supplies & Mass Casualty Bags 41:00 – Making TCCC Training Realistic 44:35 – The Beginnings of Tactical Ropes Work 47:50 – Using Cadres to Maintain Domains of Knowledge 49:05 – Why Teams Need a Tactical Ropes Program 52:00 – Dana’s Gear Recommendations for Teams Books Recommended Leadership and Training for the Fight – Paul R Howe – ISBN 978-1420889505 About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior -  Colonel David H. Hackworth and Julie Sherman – ISBN 978-0671695347 Ranger Dawn: The American Ranger from the Colonial Era to the Mexican War – Robert W. Black – ISBN 9780811736008 Contact Info Dana Vilander - dana@vtctraining.com www.vtctraining.com 562-896-6884