The Squad Room

Dr. John Delony is a New York Times bestselling author, mental health and wellness expert, and host of the very popular podcast The Dr. John Delony Show. What is not as well known about this famous figure is that his father was a cop – a homicide detective in fact and John knows first hand how a career in law enforcement can impact an entire family – particularly how our jobs often cre...

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 Incide...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

Sabrina Reich is a 19-year police leader of a large university police department in California. She’s also a wife, and mom of two, focused on sharing leadership tips and lessons learned for a better life. Sabrina is building a movement of courageous leaders through enabling strong trust and partnerships because communities deserve to be safe. In this episode, Sabrina shares her journey towards bec...

On October 1, 2017, Sergeant Josh Bitsko found himself on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, about to confront the deadliest killer in U.S. history. Through a weird combination of fate and initiative, Josh found himself leading the assault team of only four officers against a heavily fortified and well-organized murderer. Only six weeks later, a suspect held a gun to his head during a fight...

Zac Miller served a combined eight years as a firefighter/EMT, 911 dispatcher and a police officer. Zac is currently the Director of ManPower at UNcivilized Inc, a Certified UNcivilized Coach, and a Breathwork Facilitator. Zac is also a husband, and a dad to four kids. Since leaving public service, Zac completed a certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies – from the Trauma Research Foundation,...

Oftentimes, it’s the minor things that can set us off and send us spiraling out of control, handing over our sovereignty to anxiety and anger. Getting cut off in traffic, waiting in long lines… A bad haircut can be one of those things.  In this episode I share the story of how a hair stylist (that’s being generous) took to my head as if storming the beaches of Normandy, and how it gave me the oppo...

In this episode, I share the story of how I realized something was really wrong with me and how the job was changing me in all the wrong ways. Plus, I share details on our men’s retreat for current, former, and retired first responders and military veterans.  Join us in the mountains outside Denver, Colorado November 9 – 12th for a special four days men’s retreat for first responders and vet...

Dave Boyd is the President of UNcivilized Inc, a men’s coach, a workshop facilitator, a husband, a father, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, an ex-MMA fighter, a CrossFit coach, and a former first responder who served as a firefighter, a 911 telecommunicator, and lastly as a local law enforcement officer with nearly 20 years of combined service. In this episode, we cover a wide va...

In this short episode I share the story of my chance to meet Eddie Van Halen…and how I screwed it up. But that screw up led to one of my favorite conversations ever – with a Rock God no less. 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 ahea...

I recently passed the 18th anniversary of the day I entered the academy. The occasion provoked some introspection and on this episode I share 18 lessons I’ve learned throughout my career to this point – lessons often learned the hard way. It’s certainly not a comprehensive list but I incuded things that I think can help someone avoid some of the common mistakes I’ve made, a...

Matthew Thomas is currently the Chief Deputy of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona. Matthew works for one of the most famous sheriffs in the county, Mark Lamb. Matthew has a long career in undercover work and fighting the ever-encroaching influence and the Mexican drug cartels. Matthew is also the author of the book Interceptors: The Untold Fight Against the Mexican Cartels . In this epi...

Dr. Rick Hanson is a renowned psychologist, New York Times best-selling author, and meditation teacher known for his expertise in the field of neuroscience and positive psychology. With a deep understanding of the brain and its capacity for change, he has dedicated his career to helping individuals cultivate happiness, resilience, and well-being. Dr. Hanson has authored several influential books,...

SWAT Officer Brandon Griffith was in the best shape of his life at 26 years old when he collapsed dead in his living room from a sudden cardiac arrest.  His wife started CPR while calling 911 and he was eventually shocked back to life with a defibrillator.  In this episode you will learn:  Brandon’s description of what it was like to be shocked with an AED (he remembers the whole th...

Micromanagers usually lack trust in their coworkers so they feel they need to obsessively watch over them. What’s missing, is that the micromanagers also lack trust in themselves, and all that behavior is an outward expression of an inner turmoil.  In this episode, I share some quick insights into how you can avoid becoming the dreaded micromanager no one wants to work with.  Sign up fo...

Ryan Allen, a successful K9 handler for his department, didn’t think much about the bee sting he got on the way home from the gym. What happened next turned this small thing into a nightmare of panic, grief, guilt and difficult decisions.  Six months later, Ryan’s wife Whitney buried her young husband and was left to figure out how to parent two young boys by herself.  In the aftermath o...

Have you just gotten promoted or looking to promote soon? This episode might save you a lot of heartache. 10 years ago this week I was promoted to sergeant. And then, just about a year ago I was promoted to lieutenant. In that time I’ve had some wins…and a whole lot of losses. I’ve also read a ton on leadership and been able to try out a lot of those academic theories in the real world. Then, I we...

In 2021 I was out on medical leave due to a back injury that had been misdiagnosed for years. What saved me from a potential career-ending surgery was a renewed practice of yoga.  Despite its long tradition in warrior communities, there are a lot of misconceptions and objections to yoga in the first responder communities that seem largely driven by the idea that it’s too feminine for such a m...

Jason Piccolo is a newly retired federal agent and the host of The Protectors Podcast . Jason has nearly 30 years in service to his country as an agent, a U.S. Army infantry captain and veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Jason is a frequent guest on Fox News and Court TV and he’s the author of Unwavering: A Border Agent’s Journey . On this episode, we talk about his pending retirement, finding pu...

As a leader, the conversations you have with the people around you will make or break your career.  Having the wrong conversations with the wrong people is the fastest way to lose the trust of your coworkers.  Conversely, having these 4 types of conversations with the people around you is the fastest way to building trust, creating an environment for growth, and establishing yourself as...

In 2022, a popular book came out that describes how the average human only has 4000 weeks in their entire lifetime. That’s it. Just 4000. For everything from birth, to your first day of school, to your first kiss, and on and on and on until death – only 4000 weeks.  So how are you going to spend those 4000 weeks?  In this episode, I give you some ideas that challenge the beliefs th...

Kyle Stubbs is a husband, father of two, and full time police officer with the RCMP. Prior to policing, Kyle worked as a primary care paramedic and also served with a volunteer fire department. Kyle is a certified holistic lifestyle coach, breathwork facilitator, and mindset coach. His mission is to transform first responder health and wellness from the current fear based and reactive approach, to...