18 Lessons from 18 Years as a Cop: What I Wish I Knew, Mistakes Made, and Lessons Learned
Release Date: 07/31/2023
John Delony Just Wants You to Chill Out: Tools for Building a Non-Anxious Life
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 create anxiety in our loved ones. John holds two PhDs—one in counselor education and supervision, and another in higher education administration. John works with financial guru Dave Ramsey and before...
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What I've Learned: The Impacts Can Last Forever with Jeff McGreevy
The Squad Room
During his 29-year career in law enforcement, Jeff McGreevy was an early pioneer of peer support programs in Southern California. A USMC veteran, Jeff has 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 Incident Stress Management, coordinating peer support response after critical incidents, and was an instructor for Tactical Decision Making Under Stress training. Jeff leads...
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Where Do Cops Go When They're The Ones that Need Help? with Shawn Thomas
The Squad Room
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 also on the peer support team for 16 years and was a team leader for several years At their conferences, they are dedicated to promoting awareness surrounding the difficulties of the profession and...
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Travis Mills on the 12 Warrior Principles to Reclaim and Recalibrate Your Life
The Squad Room
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 warrior and he’s also a motivational speaker, actor, author and an advocate for veterans and amputees. Travis is also the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir, Tough as They Come, and his...
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What I've Learned: Travis Gribble on How Your Career and Life Can Change on One Call
The Squad Room
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 us today. In 2021, Travis sought and was awarded a Post-Traumatic Stress Injury medical retirement. A short time later, he was asked to share about his experience and he hasn’t stopped...
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Are We Lonely? How Loneliness, Disconnection and Isolation are Becoming the Silent Killer of First Responders with Jeremy Nobel
The Squad Room
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, working weekends, the hypervigilance roller coaster, and our physiological reactions to job stress and I think it’s safe to say that many cops - whether they admit it or not - are very...
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Becoming Anti-Fragile: Confronting Fears and Insecurity to Become a Better Version of Yourself with Sabrina Reich
The Squad Room
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 becoming anti-fragile by facing fear head on in her own personal development. It began when she was 10 years old and her home was broken into while the family slept. As the catalyst towards her career...
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Facing Evil: Confronting the Deadliest Mass Shooter in History and the Aftermath of What Followed with Josh Bitsko
The Squad Room
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. Soon after that, his wife told him she wanted a divorce, his brother committed suicide and he lost his dad to cancer. But Josh’s story isn’t a sob story. It isn’t a depressing story. It...
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You Remain a Work in Progress: Evolving and Reclaiming Your Identity Outside Public Service
The Squad Room
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My Bad Haircut: What Trivial Things Can Teach Us About Mindfulness, Compassion and Resilience
The Squad Room
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 opportunity to practice the BADGES model of self-awareness to keep me calm, centered, and here laughing about it. Are you struggling with losing control over something as simple as a...
info_outlineI 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, and I've seen made by others.
I'd love to hear what lessons you have for others, or things you've learned. Drop me a DM @thesquadroom or shoot me an email at [email protected].
Here's a link to the original Instagram post that prompted this episode.
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