The Squad Room

Errol Doebler is a former U.S. Navy SEAL and retired FBI Special Agent who now runs Leader193. Errol graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1991, first serving in the fleet before joining Seal Teams.  In this episode, we talk about 5 elements you need to consider about how you are leading yourself if you want to lead other people.  They are:  Cultivating self-awareness.  Self...

Did you know people are more scared of public speaking than dying?! Yes, the idea of getting up in front of a group of people and speaking is so terrifying to so many people that they’d rather cease to exist on this Earth.  That’s nuts!  Here’s the good news. You don’t have to be a naturally-gifted speaker to wow an audience…or at least prevent an unmitigated and embarrassing disaster. A...

There are three things you must understand if you are a leader in your organization, or you are looking to take a leadership role in the future.  They’re simple, but not always easy.  In this short episode, I tackle the 3 Universal Laws of Leadership – three things you absolutely need to know to succeed as a leader.   New leader’s are often left without support or an idea of how th...

Why do we suffer? Can it be avoided, or is life just really hard sometimes? How do we take control of things that are seemingly impossible to control, but have massive, sometimes lethal consequences in our lives?  In this episode, I share my experience of being diagnosed with a rare and incurable disease that forced me to confront some of those questions head-on. To help me navigate some of t...

In this short episode, I share 7 things you can do to create more work/life balance in your life.  Do you have a technique I missed? Let us know what you do to create more balance in your life. Shoot me an email at garrett@thesquadroom.net or drop us a line on social media @thesquadroom and let me know what’s working for you.  I have some FREE stuff I want to give you!  Sign up for...

In this solo episode I share 15 SECRETS about leadership that they don’t tell you about. Maybe it’s because it’ll scare you away, or maybe they think misery loves company. Either way, we tackle 15 things about taking on a leadership role in your agency that are often overlooked, glossed over, or forgotten about.  Do you feel like you need a mindset reset? Something to help you get out of a fu...

Charlie (last name redacted) is the meme lord behind the very popular Instagram handle @teneight_memes . Although he’s known for his very funny and sarcastic sense of humor, Charlie has been put through the emotional ringer over the last year and we talk in-depth about how humor and music helped him through a very tough time. In this episode you’ll learn:  Why Charlie started a meme page that...

It often seems that cops love nothing more than to complain. Sure, there are the normal gripes and injustices and we all have our moments but then there are those we work with who are on a whole other level of misery – cops who seem to make it their job to be negative about everything and everyone. We’ve all worked with those people and they can be very hard to deal with. But, the trut...

Discipline is an often misunderstood – and misapplied – concept in leadership. Many supervisors think discipline and punishment are the same thing, and that the only way to get people to do what you need them to do is to hold the threat of punishment and negativity over them.  That’s negative discipline and the uneducated and ill-informed only know about this kind.  Disciplin...

Nashville native and Army veteran Tyler Ashley came to Los Angeles like so many other people do, searching for his big break in acting and music. Along the was called back to service and is currently an officer with the LAPD. However, Tyler hasn’t given up on his goals of being on stage and he’s working hard on the streets and in the studio to make his dreams a reality.  In this episode, Tyle...

What’s the number one complaint you have about your agency? Chances are it’s something to do with the lack of communication. Jeff Halstead is my guest this week as we dive into the simple yet complicated topic of communication; how to make it better, how it changes as you promote, and how new technologies can help keep you safer, arrest the bad guys faster, and keep you out of court.  Jeff sp...

Wendy Hummell, a seasoned law enforcement officer with over 24 years of experience.  Wendy started her career in 1996 as a Special Agent with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).  She retired at the rank of Detective after 21 years of service from the Wichita Police Department where she spent a majority of her career working Persons Crimes Investigations.  Wendy worked...

As cops, the last thing we want to do is bring home the drama, stress and trauma to our families.  But it’s hard, sometimes, to create some distance between who we are on the job and who we want to be when we’re at home.  In this episode, I share 8 simple things you can do to leave the drama at the station, create better connections with your family, and live a healthier life.  I wa...

Mike McGrew is the Co-Founder, CEO and Executive Director of the 911 At Ease Foundation .  Mike spent 31 years with the Santa Barbara Police Department where he recently retired as a sergeant. Mike held positions in major crimes, traffic, and POA president among many other assignments. Those assignments took a toll on Mike who struggled with self-destructive behavior as a poor coping mechanis...

In this short Briefing Topic episode, we cover 7 discipline failures you might be making.  Discipline can be elusive for many of us. It’s not as simple as just motivation, momentum, or commitment.  Hopefully these 7 topics give you something to think about that can help you every day.  I want to offer you something that I’m very excited about, and it’s absolutely FREE. We have launched T...

Are you happy? Like, actually happy? For a lot of cops, that just seems like crazy talk. Afterall, what is happy, anyways? And why is it important to bring it back into our lives?  So many questions revolve around happiness.  Luckily, my guest today has some of the answers.  Bridget Truxillo is a former Deputy Sheriff with assignments in SWAT and undercover narcotics. Bridget left l...

In this short episode I cover six ways that you can boost your resilience starting right now.  Learn more at thesquadroom.net  I want to offer you something that I’m very excited about, and it’s absolutely FREE. We have launched 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...

Adam Kinakin is the Managing Director and founder of the International Law Enforcement Training Network (ILET), a community-based training platform designed for creating and facilitating international Law Enforcement training.  A former Infantry Officer with the Canadian Armed Forces, he held the role of Administration Officer, Platoon Commander, Acting Company 2I/C, and was the Training Offi...

Dustin Salomon is a former naval officer and the author of Hitting in Combat: The Brain Science of Training to Win Gunfights . Between the military and the private sector, he has conducted 20 overseas deployments.  In this episode, we talk about how you can make your firearms training more effective by considering how our brains learn best and how we build new patterns in our brains through a...

Jeff Smith spent 29 years working in law enforcement, most of it working undercover in the Narcotics Unit. Jeff has worked cases with DEA, FBI, HSI, US Customs, Maryland State Police, Delaware State Police, Virginia State Police and many other agencies all over the region. Jeff has participated in thousands of operations both as a detective and supervisor. In his 10 years as a drug enforcement sup...

Dr. Trevor Wilkins is a former cop and current psychotherapist but if you’re on social media you might know him better as The Angry Viking. Trevor is a psychotherapist in private practice at Thin Line Counseling, LLC in Lexington, KY. Dr. Wilkins served 15-years in uniformed law enforcement, and the prior three years as a police dispatcher, firefighter, and emergency medical technician.  Dr. Wilki...

Scott Medlin, an active police officer and devout Catholic, was struggling with a secret. One that he felt he couldn’t even share with anyone — and certainly not with anyone at work.   After years on patrol and two prior combat deployments with the United States Marine Corps, Scott’s mental attitude and coping skills were starting to slide, and he found himself in a dark and depressed state...

Adam Haidary is a former training sergeant for an agency in South Carolina. Adam is the founder of the hugely popular and often controversial Instagram account @policeposts and is also the creator of Effective Fitness , which offers physical training templates and coaching for law enforcement personnel. On top of that he is the creator of the Be Effective Podcast.  PolicePosts deconstructs re...

Kim Colegrove was living a successful life as a corporate trainer looking forward to her husband’s retirement from federal law enforcement. He had big plans to finally launch his business – an idea he’d been working on for years.  Three months after his last day at work, he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  In the aftermath, Kim saw the warning signs that now seemed obviou...

Jon Macaskill ( @mindfulfrogman ) is a retired Navy SEAL Commander turned consultant and mindfulness and meditation teacher. Jon was a lieutenant during the famous Operation Red Wings disaster made famous by Marcus Lutrell’s book and the related movie Lone Survivor.  Jon was born in South Africa but grew up in Ruston, Louisiana. After graduating high school, he served briefly as an enlisted sailor...