The Squad Room

Sergeant Aaron Lohman returns for his second appearance on The Squad Room and he doesn’t disappoint with his no-holds barred style of personal growth and leadership. We last checked in with Aaron in 2017 and a lot has changed. He made sergeant, had a few transfers and now is one of the first staffers at NYPD’s new and unique Health & Wellness Unit. Aaron rose to prominence through...

Tom Voss is an Infantry veteran of the Army’s Stryker Brigades having served between 2003-2006 in a scout sniper platoon. He’s also an author, yoga instructor, and meditation teacher.  It wasn’t long into his deployments before Tom experienced the darkest parts of war which left him with severe PTSD that he denied for over a decade. Tom turned to drugs and alcohol to cope and spiraled into pl...

Ryan Michler is the host of the Order of Man Podcast and author of the book Sovereignty: The Battle for the Hearts and Minds of Men.  In this episode, you’ll learn:  How Ryan recommends you regain and retain sovereignty over your life.  Why he wrestles with the idea of being a good follower.  Why the idea of work/life balance is false. Why you need to have a “life vision.” Why...

In this short episode I talk about a monumental speech that was given 110 years ago today by one of the biggest personalities to ever enter the White House. In this episode, I share why this speech is so influential to me, and how you can use it to motivate and inspire those you work with. It’s also appropriate because this is the week we launched A Worthy Cause Life , our apparel and gear s...

Matt is a Special Forces veteran and current police officer in Los Angeles, CA. He’s known on social media as The Operational Athlete ( @theoperationalathlete ). Matt has multiple combat deployments and works in a high-activity city. In this episode we talk about: What he learned in Special Forces that he still uses on the streets today. Why policing was his LAST option but why it turned out...

This is the first episode back after a much-needed hiatus. It was not the episode I planned to produce but one that I felt needed to be done. No ads, no music, just an honest discussion about how to manage through change, how to mitigate the stress we’re all under, and how to cultivate resilience by emptying your bucket.

This episode is a re-broadcast of one of my most important episodes so far. Dr. Jon Sheinberg wears many hats. One is as a full-time cardiologist and another is as a lieutenant for the Cedar Park Police Department in Texas. Jon comes on the show to walk us through all the confusing stuff about cholesterol, what diets work best, how to understand your blood work results and how to get the most of o...

This episode is a rebroadcast of a fascinating interview with Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman. If you’ve been living under a rock, Lt. Col. Grossman is the author of On Combat and On Killing and the creator of the idea of the sheepdog and the wolves. He’s a former West Point professor and all-around, one of the nicest guests I’ve had on the show.

This episode was recorded live at ProForce Law Enforcement on September 28, 2019. My guests are the dynamic duo and hosts of the 911Strong Podcast, social media star Aram Choe (@911Strong) and Kristen Jauregui (@dispatcherkristen) . Both are working hard to help bridge the divide between our communities and our profession using social media as their outlet. In this episode, we talk about the dange...

A foot chase with an armed carjacking suspect, a partner shot, an open gun battle with no cover or concealment, taking two rounds in the legs, a gun jam…its like every academy training scenario rolled into one nightmare. Troy PD Officer Josh Comitale’s nightmare. Josh won the U.S. Congressional Medal of Bravery for his actions that day, and after you hear his story, you’ll unders...

Jason Hoschouer is a veteran cop in California. Many know him by his alias “Motorcop.” Jason was one of the first cop bloggers and probably the first cop to start a podcast way back in the day with The Crossover Show. He’s also been a previous guest on The Squad Room talking about financial health.  Jason has a new podcast called What’s Your Emergency that covers a wid...

Over 27 years, Sgt. Joey Rafferty had every dream job that a hard charging cop would want in a county that requires hard charges. Wedged between Philadelphia and Trenton, NJ, Joey had plenty of action to keep him in the game. It wasn’t until he crashed a patrol car with his kids in the backseat and got arrested for DUI that he finally admitted he had a problem.  Sometimes, when you work...

Five days before he was scheduled to finish his tour in Vietnam, U.S. Navy F4 Phantom pilot Capt. Charlie Plumb was shot down on his 75th combat mission over enemy territory. He spent the next 2,103 days (almost 6 years) in an 8×8 foot cell as a Prisoner of War, tortured and beaten in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. During nearly 6 years of captivity, Charlie shared cells with Sen. John McCain and...

Mark “Smelly” Bell is an American and world-record holder powerlifter, inventor of the Sling Shot, star of the movie Bigger, Stronger, Faster, the publisher of Power Magazine, host of the Mark Bell’s Power Project podcast, a YouTube star and much more. Mark also used to be known for being fat – like really fat. But a few years ago, Mark decided to make the changes necessary to help him step...

Lt. Col. Scott Mann spent 20 years in Army Special Forces (Green Berets), leading troops into some of the most hostile and deadly terrain in the world. In this episode you’ll learn: How to create your legacy and identify what’s important to you. How the Special Forces concept of the Mission Decision Line can apply to your own life. How winning “hearts and minds” in Afghanistan is no different than...

Miranda and Julian Alcaraz are the dynamic duo behind Street Parking . In this episode you will learn: How a CrossFit Games athlete like Julian deals with injuries and setbacks. How Miranda’s fitness saved her life in a horrific car accident. How to adapt and overcome adversity in your training and fitness. How attitude is everything. Why Julian has two identical Glock 17s. What is Street Parking?...

Lt. Richard Goerling (ret.) of Mindful Badge is our guest today. Richard has been getting a lot of national attention since our last conversation nearly two years ago. He was even featured on the Today Show and NBC Nightly News . Richard’s work is devoted to making officers more resilient, and resilience is something we can never have too much of. Eric Greitens has an amazing book on the topic, ti...

In this short episode, I give you my personal method for how to identify my values, the things that are most important to me. Values are tricky, and we often get weird around trying to name them and identify them. However, I guarantee that if you’re able to identify the values you prioritize, it will help you come into alignment in every other area of your life. To get the FREE worksheet to...

Lt. Jim Glennon is the owner of Calibre Press and lead instructor for the well-known and nationally taught course “Street Survival.” Jim retired as a lieutenant for the Lompard, IL police department moving into teaching and publishing. Lt. Glennon holds a BA in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Police Management. He is the co-author of the new edition of Street Surviva l, and the author of the C...

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Tim Kennedy, Andy Stumpf, Kelly Starrett, Tony Horton…just some of the amazing guests we’ve had in the first 99 episodes. It seems like it has taken forever to get to episode 100. In fact, it’s taken almost 4 years. I’ve been inconsistent, infrequent, behind, and distracted as a producer and host. I’ve also been, at times, laser focused, motivated, and progressi...

Dan Jarvis is a former law enforcement officer and combat veteran. Dan came home from his deployments and struggled to adjust to life back at home, and even though he found purpose as a cop, he struggled. Hard. Dan was literally moments away from putting the gun to his head when an unexpected sound made him stop and think for a moment. What happened next was amazing and heartbreaking, all at the s...

In this short episode I’m challenging you to be more self-aware about what motivates you and inspires you to go out and do the hard work that we do. There’s a well-known saying that during a critical incident, when everything is on the line, we don’t rise to the level of our expectations but instead we fall to the level of our training. The same is true for knowing our own, deepl...

“The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.” – Marcus Aurelius We all hold assumptions about ourselves. Some of them are correct, and others are completely false. An assumption can be defined as, “a thing that is accepted as true or certain to happen, without proof.” What assumptions do you make about...

These days, if you’re involved in an foot pursuit that’s covered by the media, and you wake up the next day and realize it’s gone viral, that’s not a good thing. Luckily, for Officer Greg Parker of the Baltimore Police Department, he was blasted all over the news and social media because of solid police work that was such a display of athleticism and professionalism that ev...

This week we discuss a way to check in with yourself and review where you’re at in relation to where you want to go. It’s actually learned in business school but have tweaked over the years to fit my use, and I think it’ll help you too. It’s called a SWAT analysis – Strengths – Weaknesses – Advantages – Threats. It’s something I do every few mo...