Transition Drill

Adrian Robles served in the Marine Corps for 8 years with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, along with an assignment to First Marine Division at their Division Schools as an instructor cadre for Personal Security Detail. Seeing the need for mitigating suicides in the Military, Adrian discharged in 2012 and went to school to become a registered nurse. Currently he is working in psychiatric asses...

Jeff Urso grew up wanting to be a police officer and at 21 he was hired as a cop in his home state of South Carolina. He spent 6 years working a variety of assignments, but quickly realized that his heart was not in it and the profession was not for him. This prompted his first career change and began working in real estate. When the market collapsed in the mid-2000s he moved to Las Vegas. In Vega...

Episode 15 - Chad McFarlane is an Army veteran with two deployments to Iraq in the Armored Division as a gunner on an Abrams tank. Originally intending to make a career of the military he was forced to separate before his third deployment due to a knee injury from a vehicle collision. Chad struggled with PTS upon his separation from the Army. Without a solid career transition plan, he worked for t...

Episode 14 - Rob Long has been a police officer for 27 years. Growing up in Orange County, California, he always knew he wanted to be a Police Officer. But, unlike some of the other podcast guests, he’s not made his transition from his law enforcement career yet. In the interim, he has established a successful real estate business, which will be his career change upon retirement from law enforceme...

Episode 13 - Jeudy “Jody” Martinez is a Marine Corps veteran achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. During his enlistments he deployed to Iraq Afghanistan. Additionally, while assigned to Camp Lejeune he was a base MP, a patrol supervisor, and a commander of SRT - the Marine Corps SWAT. Jody was forced to leave the Marine Corps in 2017 due to a medical injury. This unplanned career change allowed h...

Episode 12 - Wilson “Willie” James grew up playing baseball and went to Purdue on a scholarship. The Atlanta Braves drafted Willie in 2002, but they released him in 2006; he played another three years in the independent leagues. In 2009 he made a career change; becoming a police officer because caring for his family is a greater priority. During his time as a police officer, Willie continued coach...

Episode 11 - Anthony Paolino served 12 years in the Air Force. After leaving the Air Force, he founded two nonprofit organizations, the Rhode Island Student Veterans Organization, and the Rhode Island Military Organization. Both organizations focusing on current and former military members and their families. Additionally, he ran for State Representative of Rhode Island, he was the Military & Vete...

Ashley Cummins has been a police officer for over 10 years, starting in Missouri then transferring to California. For the past 14 years she has trained and competed in MMA and Jiu Jitsu; she was recently promoted to brown belt. She is a professional MMA fighter with Invicta FC, the world’s largest all women’s MMA organization.  Equally important to Ashley is giving back. She volunteers as a coach...

Episode 9 - Terrence Hanou spent 21 years in law enforcement, medically retiring in 2019 due to back and heart issues. In 2018, while on medical leave, he started Blue Line Roasting Co. His desire was to create a coffee company that provided a quality product, but he also wanted to be able to give back to the police community and honor fallen officers. During our conversation we talked about his m...

Episode 8 - John Richardson is an honorably discharged Marine Corps veteran with three deployments to Iraq. He was a Deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department from 2007 to 2019, the last 9 years as assistant team leader on their SWAT team. He was medically retired after two neck injuries. He is now as a security consultant for a company that must remain nameless. He manages the armed secu...

Episode 7 - Michael Chandler spent almost 7 years in the Marine Corps, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant before his separation. While on active duty, he served as an MP and in various information security and computer programing positions. He ended his enlistment assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps as a mainframe programmer assigned to support Manpower and the Commandants office. His transiti...

years, serving the cities of Menlo Park and Gilroy. His assignments included Gang and Narcotics teams, SWAT, and traffic motor officer. In 2018 Brent received the Life Saving award for saving two residents of Gilroy as well as being named Officer of the Year. In 2019 Brent was diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy or ARVC. This is an inherited condition which causes a dete...

Episode 5 - Tim Garcia spent 28 years in law enforcement having served in multiple functions including investigations, tactical team, and supervision. He retired from law enforcement at the rank of assistant chief. As a police officer Tim received the Purple Heart for being shot in the line of duty and the Medal of Valor. Additionally, Tim served in the U.S Coast Guard as a Port Security Specialis...

In this episode I sat down to talk with Hal “Bull” Schmitt Hal Schmitt is a Navy veteran, and the owner and winemaker at Volatus winery in Paso Robles California. Hal was commissioned as a naval aviator in 1995. He deployed in support of Operation Southern Watch and deployed again in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 1999 Hal was selected to attend Strike Force Tactics Instructor training at...

Episode 1 - Shiloh Catanese is a police psychologist with a large Southern California law enforcement agency. Before a career change to forensic psychology, Shiloh was a police officer for seven years. After a decade assessing sexual disorders, compulsions, and criminal offending behavior she returned to law enforcement helping police officers addressing PTSD and mental health. She has trained law...

Episode 2 - Pete Stephens served in the United States Marine Corps from 2002 to 2010, ending his enlistment as a Staff Sergeant. During his time in the Marine Corps, Pete was a Senior Drill Instructor, training seven platoons before returning as an Instructor at DI School. After leaving the Marine Corps, Pete became a police officer in the San Francisco Bay area. From 2010 to 2019, he served in as...

Episode 3 - Matt Bogaard of Bogaard Group International (BGI) walked away from a career as a police officer after 15 years for a career change to global security, working for Dream Works Animation. Then, 5 years later he started his own global security consulting firm BGI. Today, his clients include the entertainment, video gaming, financial services, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and retail ind...

The Transition Drill Podcast Release Day: Mondays Episode Type: Guest Interviews Audience: Military veterans, first responders, law enforcement,fire/EMS, and their supporters Description: The Transition Drill Podcast features candid, long-form interviews withmilitary veterans, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and first responderswho’ve navigated the emotional and professional challenges of...