- Supply The Why: Difficult Conversations Season 4 Episode 3 Policing, Leadership and the Future
- Project Sapient Podcast E13: Leader or Boss?
- Embedding Our Values: Never a Better Time Than Now
- Difficult Conversations by Supply The Why Season 3 Episode 3 Warriors, Guardians or Are They One and The Same?
- Wellness for Warriors - Two amazing human beings who have been through so much, and go above and Beyond
- When One of us is Murdered: The Darkness A Project Sapient Podcast
- Project Sapient Podcast: Sheepdogs. HybridWolves. Crybabies | A Predator Hunting Predators
- "Supply The Why" Great Podcast Episode on Police Reform, Use of Force, Training and Development Discussed by a Great Panel
- Police Leadership: On Humility and the Dangers of Hubris
- Be You: Humility, Strength of Character and Swallowing Our Ego and Being Authentic Is Crucial To Sound Leadership
- Been Away From My Blog For a While...Time to Get Back At It!
- Supply The Why Doing Great Work Be Sure to Check Out This Episode
- Introduction to Scenario Learning: Guest Post Series with Michael Barr
- Auftragstaktik in One Simple Diagram by Chet Richards
- "Leaders Are Teachers": Great Insights on Leadership and Developing Your People from The Mentorship Forum
- Great Review Over at the The Mentorship Forum of My Favorite Resource on Developing Adaptability "Raising The Bar"
- Rethinking the Traditional Teacher-Student Relationship in Conflicts
- Command and Control During a Disaster: Podcast
- The Evolving Warfighter Sits Down with Don Vandergriff and Talks Mission Command
- Developing and Preparing Cops for the Adaptive Challenges of The Street: Instructors Roundtable Podcast Episode
- Unreflective Speed of Action...Do You Think Its Time Policing Reflects on the Tactical Influence of Time?
- Break It Down Show Podcast: Don Vandergriff - Mission Command, Trusting Your People, To Win
- I See You...Back Up! On The Call to Win in Crisis and in the Aftermath to Win in Life
- Technological Negation of Human Sexual Dimorphism: A Guest Post by Franklin C. Annis, EdD
- Guest Post Home Security Guide from Bank Rate
- Commonwealth Police Legacy Program of Instruction: Sound Decision Making for Cops
- Outstanding In Your Face and Much Needed Book Policing and It's Leaders Can Learn From
- THE TRUTH BEHIND RACIAL DISPARITIES IN FATAL POLICE SHOOTINGS: Great Research Every Cop and Every Citizen Should Read.
- Thought on Discipline: A Great Podcast Series from All Marine Radio, Every Police Leader Should Listen To
- Gary Klein – Cognitive Psychologist, Studies Decision Making in Crisis on The Break It Down Show..Outstanding Episode
- Tactical Decision Making Facilitation Guide Maj McBreen: The Lessons Transfer to Police Instruction as Well
- 4th Generation Warfare Interview and Yes There Are Lessons for Policing
- Keys to Training Excellence: Evidence Based Research Policing Can Use
- Adopting Mission Command: Developing Leaders for a Superior Command Culture by Don Vandergriff
- Lead Yourself First: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude: Book Review
- PODCAST: Tactical Decision Games with Bruce Gudmundsson and Don Vandergriff
- Podcast: Human Factors and Officer-Involved Shootings
- Donald Robertson - Stoicism and Thinking Like a Roman Emperor
- Dr John Sullivan and MAJ John Spencer - The Complexity of Modern Urban War
- Great Podcast: The Courageous Police Leader – Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies
- Recommended Reading: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
- Another Approach to Tactics Guest Post by Bert DuVernay
- LYNCH & KENNEY: react to clips of LtGen Van Riper’s “On Discipline” interview on All Marine Radio
- Outstanding Interview: ON DISCIPLINE: LtGen Paul K. Van Riper, USMC (ret)
- The Learning Insurgency: It’s an Evolution, not a Revolution By Donald E. Vandergriff
- On Policing a Free Society Episode 3: Toxic Bosses
- On Policing a Free Society Episode 2: Repairing Dysfunction in Police Organizations
- On Policing a Free Society Podcast: Episode 1 Dysfunctional Organizations and Their Impact On Response
- On Policing a Free Society with Fred Leland A New Podcast Coming in 2019
- Making Police Training Stick...and Learning How to Learn
- A New Conception of War: John Boyd The U.S. Marines and Maneuver Warfare
- Utilizing The Case Method: Some articles by Bruce Gudmundsson to Help Shed Some Light on How Too
- Use of Force Policy: Dispelling the Myths by Lexipol
- How to Make a Small Unit Decision Forcing Cases by Bruce Gudmundsson
- Facilitating Learning a Hybrid Of Methods to Effective Police Officer Development
- Why The OODA Loop Is Forever By Dan Grazier
- 15 Tips to Remember when Promoting a Growth Mindset in the Classroom: A Guest Post from USA Test Prep
- New Edition of Boyd’s Discourse on Winning and Losing by Grant Hammond
- My Book Review: On Tactics by B. A. Friedman
- Of Garbage Cans and Paradox: Reflexively Reviewing Design, Mission Command, and the Gray Zone:
- On Tactics: An Interview with B.A. Friedman
- Podcast Part 2 from Professional Military Education: John Boyd, Maneuver Warfare, and Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication-1
- Podcast from Professional Military Education: John Boyd, Maneuver Warfare, and Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication-1
- Walk,Sacrafice, Work ...Always Hungry Never Satified! What it Takes to Fight Complacency
- The Ten Deadly Errors, Plus...Failure to Learn, Failure to Anticipate and Failure to Adapt
- Turning Tragedy into Victory...We Must Start APPLYING LESSONS LEARNED
- Police Responses Demands Constant and Repeated Action...Throughout the Tactical Encounter
- All Police Actions Take Place in an Atmosphere of Uncertainty
- Adapt or Die: The Call for Police Reform...Is It Reasonable or Necessary?
- Force Science Assesses Proposed “Necessary” Deadly Force Standard
- Special Tactics Online Course Intro
- LESC is Honored to be Part of Special Tactics New Online Training Academy and Full-Featured, Professional Networking Site
- Leading Discussions and Facilitating Better Training Outcomes
- Police Leaders Mentoring and Coaching Their People: the Cornerstone to Top Performance in Crises
- Research: Adaptive Skill as the Conditio Sine Qua Non of Expertise
- Developing Adaptive Expertise: A Synthesis of Literature and Implications for Training
- How the Germans Defined Auftragstaktik: What Mission Command is - AND - is Not by Don Vandergriff
- Avioding Hostilities is the Goal But Sometimes to Gain The Advantage Reasonable Force Must Be Used
- Navigating Chaos: How to Find Certainty in Uncertain Situations
- The Protector Ethic: Morality, Virtue, and Ethics in the Martial Way
- Police Ethos:The Warrior and Guardian Mindset Are They Not One In the Same?
- Neighborhood Watch is Homeland Security at the Most Local Level
- Developing Police Sergeants: Getting the Outcomes and Measures of Effectiveness Right
- Col John Boyd's Patterns of Conflict Expanded to Policing Part 3: Disrupting an Adversary Using Soft and Hard Tactics
- Col John Boyd's Patterns of Conflict Expanded to Policing Part 2: Don't Just Be a Reactor..Be a Shaper Too!
- Col John Boyd's Patterns of Conflict Expanded to Policing Part 1
- Smart Tactics Takes Thinking Police Leaders...Leading Thinking Cops
- Wrestling With Delayed and Immediate Entry, Solo and Team Tactics...Are We Really Expecting All to Go as Rehersed?
- Guardian Joe: How Less Force Helps The Warrior
- Making It Safer: A Study of Law Enforement Fatalities Between 2010-2016
- Professional Reading and Development: It Doesn’t Give All the Answers, But It Lights What Is Often a Uncertain Path Ahead
- What Are The Force Multipliers That Allow Police Organizations to Operate at Rapid OODA Loop Tempos?
- Why Frontline Employees Should Make All Decisions:Lessons Police Can Learn From The Corporate Rebels
- What was Boyd Thinking and...What Can Policing Learn From It?
- Proper Mindset, Situational Awareness, Skill Proficiency and Physical Fitness: Force Multipliers of Great Value to Police
- Recognizing The Signs and Signals That Lead To Violent Acts At Our Schools and Making Collaborative Efforts to Prevent Them
- Adaptive Leader Program: Developing Thinking Leaders Who Lead Thinking Officers
- What Are Mission-Type Orders and How Do They Influence a More Effective Crisis Response?
- Tactics Are They More High Diddle, Diddle Straight Up the Middle the Devil Be Damned or Maneuver and Boyd Cycling an Adversary?
- There Are No School Solutions, Formulas or Recipes to School Shootings, so How Can We Develop Better Courses of Action?
- Great Break It Down Show Focus on School Shootings
- Developing Critically Needed Leadership: A Podcast on Mission Command Building Trust and Cohesion
- Powerful Facilitation: Two Critical Approaches
- Powerful Facilitation: Three Critical Competencies
- STARTING AND GROWING A NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
- Adaptive Action: Leveraging Uncertainty In Your Organization a Book Review
- The Case Method In Developing Police: "Cold Calling" Will Have to Be Unambiguous
- The Biggest Obstacle to Tactical Progress… and How to Beat It
- Pete’s Combat Wish List Pt 2: Mental Models, Mistakes, Reflection and Learning on the Fly
- Pete’s Wish List for Combat Warriors. Perhaps Some Lessons for Poliicng as Well?
- What Affect Does the Human Dimension and Human Bias Have on Policing?
- What virtues are the most essential for a warrior to live by in order to prepare for, protect against and prevent violence?
- Exploring Criminal Justice Careers Check Out the Community for Accredited Online Schools
- A Great Break It Down Show Podcast on Interview and Interrogation: A Candid Straight Up Discussion
- Experiential Learning a Big Part of The New Recruit Officer Course In Massachusetts: Looks Promising!
- Run Out and Buy: Anatomy of a Warrior: The 7 Virtues All Warriors Must Live by to Successfully Protect and Serve
- Devising Solutions to Complex Police Problems: How Can We Get Better?
- Podcast with the Break It Down Show A Candid Discussion on Policing a Free Society, Mission Command and More
- Understanding Problems Range in Complexity and Designing Police Operations
- When it comes to Police Training, When is Good Enough, Not Good Enough?
- On The Job Training and Deliberately Framing Experience
- Police Officer Discretion…and Focusing Our Efforts on Better Outcomes
- Strength of Character: The Foundation of Working Together and Getting Things Done
- A free chapter from our new book now available on Amazon
- A Major Problem We Must Confront as Police Trainers and Students: How To Improve Performance?
- MISSION COMMAND THE WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN AND WHY An Anthology
- Conflict and Crisis are Full of Friction: The Force That Makes the Apparently Easy so Difficult
- PODCAST: Don Vandergriff on Military Personnel Reform: The Ideas Discussed Can (SHOULD) be Adapted to Policing As Well!
- Fire Nobody! by Dave Smith
- Teaching United States Marine Instructors New Tricks: Developing Adaptability Through Experiential Learning
- The Why was born out of pain
- Inspiring People to Lifelong Learning & Impacting Their Ability to Make Sound Decisions
- We Can't Just Use the Same Mental Recipes Over and Over Again: In Police Training We Must Challenge The Prevailing Mindset
- Reflection Leads to Deeper Learning...Put Each Day Up For Review
- We Must Train and Educate Within an Uncertain Environment to Prepare to Adapt
- Defining Policing 's Training & Education Challenge...Some Ideas On Achieving High Levels of Professionalism
- Defensive Tactics for Today's Law Enforcement
- Uploading John Boyd: The Legend Delivering His Opus is Online...and is as Relevant as Ever
- Make Many Mistakes and Learn
- Is Your Purpose in Life Based on Self Awareness and Strength of Character or Are You Just Following the Crowd?
- An Officer’s Principal Weapon is His Mind: Professional Development In Policing
- Outstanding Manual: Law Enforcement Close Quarter Battle: Urban Tactics for Individuals, Teams and Tactical Units
- The Art of Police Training is the Ability to Move Officers Through the Fog and Complexity of Human Interaction
- Brian Willis Interviews Yours Truly on Teaching Adaptive Leadership
- The Police Leader's True Work: Train Them, Trust Them, Let Them Do Their Job
- Sir William Slim on His Leadership Motto: No Details, No Paper, And No Regrets
- The Grid: Is There Better Ways to Approach Police Interactions?
- Teaching Officers How to Think verses Telling Them What To Think
- Develop a Philosophy and Understanding of Crime Fighting and Problem Solving That Considers Complexities of Policing
- Unwarranted: Policing Without Permission Book Review
- Thinking Leaders, Leading Thinking People is the Adaptive Leaders Focus
- Take Policing From a Training Culture to a Learning Culture
- Are You Serving Those You Lead?
- Vehicle Stops Strategies and Tactics: Being Safe and Effective Is About Options, Not Best Practices
- Teaching Adaptability and Making Marines More Effective Trainers
- Break It Down Show Podcast: Better Understanding Policing and Why it Matters
- The Last 100 Yards Series: High Diddle, Diddle Straight Up the Middle or Maneuver: How Are Your Tactics, Officer?
- Police officers I beg you to please run out and buy this book! What a great tactical resource!
- Second Episode in This Podcast Series with Complete Emergency Managment: Leadership in Public Safety
- Podcast: I sit down with George Whitney of Complete EM and discuss: Active Shooters and After Actions
- Sir Robert Peels, Nine Key Principles of Policing: Fair and Impartial Policing Defined Back In 1829!
- Herman Goldstein, Fundamental Objectives of Policing: Are They Relevant Today? I Say Yes!
- Shaping and Adapting: Using the Environment (The Last Hundred Yards) To Unlock the Power of Colonel John Boyd’s OODA Loop
- Informative Fair and Impartial Podcast: Do the legal rules for using deadly force, still make sense?
- Crisis Intervention Teams & Police Interactions with People with Mental Illness: Evolving Tactics That Make a Difference
- How Does The Last Hundred Yards, Enhance Tactical Responses to Crises?
- Complacency and False Sense of Urgency: Why We Fail to Take Advantage of The Last Hundred Yards?
- The Last Hundred Yards: Operate On Blind Luck or Win Consistently?
- My Good Friend Coach Kevin Kearns talks with 5th & 6th graders about Vision
- Keeping The Peace in a Free Society Let Us Not Forget Why We Do What We Do
- How Do We Better Assess and Grade Decision Making and Adaptability in Those We Train?
- Types of Cases
- Report: Deadly Calls And Fatal Encounters
- Developing Individuals with the Ability to Work Together Solving Real World Problems
- Five-Year Study of Police Officer Deaths: RoboCops or Guardians?
- The role of humility in the Socratic method by Bruce Ivar Gudmundsson
- Keeping the Peace
- Experiential Learning Defined
- How We Learn Versus How We Think We Learn
- Reducing Violence is About Not Grabbing a Gun
- Boston PD & Boston Red Sox: Full Scale Complex Operating Environment Training Exercise
- Scouts in Contact Tactical Vignettes for Cavalry Leaders A Book of Tactical Decison Exercises for Cavalry Leaders
- What is the Mission and Intent of Policing a Free Society?
- Sound of Silence A Tribute to Policing and All Those Who Serve The Homeland
- Problem-Oriented Policing: Where Social Work Meets Law Enforcement
- Thoughts on Policing a Free Society: Altering Public Expectations
- Thoughts on Policing a Free Society: Rethinking Widely Held Assumptions Regarding Police Fuction
- Thoughts on Policing a Free Society: Our Failure to Concern Ourselves...
- Thoughts on Policing a Free Society
- Simon Sinek: Why Leaders Eat Last
- 8 Tips to Keep Your Home Wireless Network Secure From Hackers: a guest post from Wichly Cazeau
- John Boyd's Patterns of Conflict Part 3
- Engaging The Community and Making Meaningful and Lasting Change
- The Pre-Class Preparation Pyramid By Bruce Ivar Gudmundsson
- We All Lose When it's Us Verses Them!
- Facilatating The Adaptive Leader Program at The Army ROTC Leadership Conference at Harvard University
- A Break It Down Show Pod Cast: Paying Criminal Not to Commit Crimes or is There Something More to The Story?
- Harvard ROTC Leadership Conference
- A Discourse on Policing a Free Society
- We Made the Mandatory Reading for the US Army MPs
- Patterns of Conflict Pt 2
- Hand in Hand Project, a new initiative promoting dialogue and interaction between local police officers and young people
- How May We…Rebuild the Bridge Between The People and The Police?
- Why Adaptability Trumps Hierarchy?
- Military Reform Through Education: From The Straus Military Reform Project, Something We In Policing Can Learn From
- In Building Trust, Actions…Speak Louder Than Words!
- Somewhere Along the Way
- Taking It Personally
- The Facts of the Case By Bruce Ivar Gudmundsson
- J.J. DID TIE BUCKLE Traits I live By
- On Fitness: Learn from my weakness, my mistakes, and my bad habits
- Don’t Do It Alone: Developing a Shared Sense of Destiny Requires We’re all on the Same Sheet of Music
- Recommended Reading List From The California Association of Tactical Officers
- Values For A New Millennium: A Book That Will Help Bridge the Gap Between People and The Police
- Teaching Adaptability…and Firearms Training
- Simon Sinek: Why Reciprocity Improves Mentor Mentee Relationships
- Felix Nader Discusses The Value of Workplace Violence Prevention
- Breaking Down Police Work and How To Win at Low Cost: Part 2 Podcast Break It Down Show
- Boyd: Adapting Isn't Good Enough
- Simon Sinek on the responsibility that leaders have to create environments where people are more productive,and inspired
- The Hunting Story - the meaning of human equality
- Ethical Warriors with Jack Hoban
- Emotional Intelligence: Re-Thinking Police Community Relations by Mark Bond
- Approaching LE with the 'What's important now?' perspective
- Staying in control when a suspect is aggressive
- 10 Overlooked Truths About Taking Action
- Warriors vs. Praetorian Guard – Which Mindset Fits You Best? By Mike Ox
- ITOA News: Articles By John Farnam, Patrick Van Horne, Jeff Chudwin, Don Vandergriff, Yours Truly and More
- The importance of mindset in policing with Chip Huth
- A Discussion on Police Work and How to Win At Low Cost, Connecting The People and Police Gap
- Be Passionate, Back Up and Empower Your People, and You Will Get The Culture Right
- Why Are Shared Visions So Important?
- Technical Skill as a Component of Creativity by Bruce I. Gudmundsson
- I Am Spartacus…No I Am Spartacus: Is Your Police Organization United?
- The Demand For Autodidacts – The Self-Taught in an Age of Shrinking Budgets by Patrick Van Horne
- It’s How You Say What You Saw by Patrick Van Horne
- The Path of Don Vandergriff: A Discussion On Leadership, Learning organizations and Adaptability
- The Newhall Incident: Failure, Adaptation and Success…Or Lost Opportunity? Published in the latest ITOA News
- NYPD’s New Strategy for Dealing with Stressful Interactions, Absurd or Realistic?
- The Mind Can Be Convinced But The Heart Must Be Won
- Imagine a Police Culture Where People Wake Up Every Day Inspired to Go to Work
- Open Letter to President's Task Force on Policing by Louis Hayes
- The Blame Game: Who @#$%ed This Up?
- Breaking Down the Stranglehold of Formality
- Boyd and Beyond: From Marine Corps University to FBI National Academy Boyd' Ideas are Expanding
- From The Art of Manliness: John Boyd’s Roll Call: Do You Want to Be Someone or Do Something?
- Pamela Meyer: How to spot a liar
- The Case Method Increasing the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Marine Education by Captain Paul Tremblay Jr USMC
- Simon Sinek: If You Don't Understand People, You Don't Understand...
- Using Official Histories as Quarries for Case Materials By Bruce I. Gudmundsson
- Left of Bang By Patrick Van Horne and Jason Riley
- The Most Dangerous Weapon in Law Enforcement by Brian Willis
- Sizing Up Situations Is A Skill, We Need To Develop
- Change the Culture If I could Only Change One Thing by Don Vandergriff
- The Five Learning Disciplines
- Using Complete Stories in Decision Forcing Cases by Dr. Bruce I. Gudmundsson
- Newhall Shooting: A Tactical Analysis
- Tactical Decision Games, Obscure Information and Generating New Ways to Thrive in the Climate of Chaos and Uncertainty
- Calling on Cops in Class: An Anecdote for Developing Character, Confidence and Sound Tactical Decision Makers
- Solving Tactical Dilemmas with Indirect Experience (Education & Training) and White Castle Cases
- Ugly Police Force: Misunderstandings of Law & Human Factors by Lou Hayes
- Design and Facilitate, Decision Making Exercises Using The Sandwich Metaphor
- Strategic Rifleman: Key to More Moral Warfare by H. John Poole
- Developing Teamwork, Leadership Skills and Decision Makers with Case Study's "Washington's Crossing"
- FBI Report: A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States
- The Art of Manliness Discusses...The Tao of Boyd: How to Master the OODA Loop
- Courage: The Backbone of Leadership by Gus Lee
- A Police Officers thoughts on the “Militarization” of our police forces.
- Cops With War Toys: Militarizing police is the worst way to fight crime.
- “Just the facts Ma’am”
- Re-Imagine the Way We Lead!
- A Milestone in Boydian Theory at the Tactical Level
- CASE STUDY: Ferguson Missouri shooting incident and aftermath by Louis Hayes
- What is Leadership?
- Use of Force Investigations: a Manual for Law Enforcement
- Do You Know How to Get Fullfillment?
- How Great Leaders Inspire Action
- Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't
- Adaptive Leadership Handbook, Reviewed [by Mark Safranski, a.k.a. "zen"]
- Have We Not Learned Anything From History? Don Vandergriff's Book Review on American Spartan
- How Do We Inspire Action?
- Book Review: Rubicon: The Poetry of War
- Book Review: American Spartan
- Command Culture: Officer Education in the U.S. Army and the German Armed Forces, 1901-1940, and the Consequences for WWII
- What are the Basics? Developing for Mission Command by Donald E. Vandergriff
- IN COMMAND AND OUT OF CONTROL
- Adaptive Leadership By Charles “Sid” Heal and John R. Engbeck
- Why good leaders make you feel safe
- Guardians vs. Warriors: What it Takes to Win at Low Cost
- After Action Review on The Christopher Dorner Incident
- Adaptive Leader Program
- Crisis Meta-Leadership Lessons From the Boston Marathon Bombings Response: The Ingenuity of Swarm Intelligence
- Outstanding piece! The Myth of Mission Command by Don Vandergriff
- Cops or Soldiers?
- Situational Assessments: Being Mindful of What’s Important Now!
- Convinced or Committed?
- Discipline: The Lost Art of Leadership
- How Do We Develop Adaptability?
- Improve the Work…Develop the People
- Incident Strategy and Tactics: The Baby Diaper Analogy
- Adaptive Leaders …Develop Strength of Character
- How About Some Empathy, Please?
- Get Into the Sandbox, Think and Play and Let’s Inspire… Adaptability
- Stoning The Gatekeepers: Is It Not Time Society Attempts To Better Understand Police Use of Force?
- First-Line Supervisors Do The Most Important Training
- Why Tactical Decision Games? Because They Challenge The Status Quo & Emphasize Tactical Options In Developing Courses of Action.
- Why Does Understanding The OODA Loop Matter to Cops?
- How Do You Develop Strength of Character and Adaptive Leaders?
- Adaptive Leadership Handbook: Innovative Ways to Teach and Develop Your People
- Don’t Fear Failure; Instead Make Failure Your Classroom
- In Forging Adaptability…Distinguish Technical Problems from Adaptive Challenges
- The Doctor in SWAT School (and What His Performance Says About Police Culture)
- Designing Law Enforcement: Adaptive Strategies for the Complex Environment by John A. Bertetto
- Guest Post: Toward a Police Ethos: Defining Our Values as a Call to Action by John Bertetto
- Adaptability is Key in Handling Crisis Situations…Be In Command and Out Of Control
- For Meaningful Lasting Results, Get Into the Weeds…and Identify Root Causes
- Want to get better and be safer? Debrief!
- How to Forge Adaptability in Police Leaders and Culture
- Adaptive Leadership is Purposeful Learning in Real Time
- Book Review: The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and The World
- Growing Leaders Who Practice Mission Command and Win the Peace, Lt. Col. Douglas A. Pryer, U.S. Army
- Achieving Greatness by Giving Control and Creating Leaders
- Choosing Adaptability by Gary Gagliardi and The Science of Strategy Institute
- The Review of Boyd & Beyond 2013…..
- Have You Thought About Why You Choose To Lead?
- Incident Command: the big picture by Louis Hayes
- Understanding the OODA Loop by Derek Stephens
- The Cops Amaze Me by Bob Lonsberry
- I Am An Optimist. It Does Not Seem Too Much Use Being Anything Else!
- Mike Rayburn Asks...What Makes A Good Street Cop?
- Fighting the good fight with moral clarity by Lt. Dan Marcou
- Are Gated Communities Really Secure?
- Top 25 Criminal Justice Blogs We made the list at # 3
- Incident Command: the team cohesion aspect of the SitRep
- Book Review: Always Picked Last: Conquering the Bullies: A Guide To Finding Your Way in Life…
- To Continuously Improve We Must Set Boundaries and Expectations
- Elite Performance...Takes WORK? Say it ain't so!
- Create Your Fantasy Island Organizational Culture by Tracey Richardson
- Have You Stopped a Car Today? Improving Patrols Tactical Effectiveness with Vehicle Stops
- Incident Command: Communicating the Situation and Location By Louis Hayes
- Incident Command: a problem-solving approach By Louis Hayes
- SWAT Cop Says American Neighborhoods Are 'Battlefields,' Claims Cops Face Same Dangers As Soldiers In Afghanistan
- Overmilitarization: Why Law Enforcement Needs to Scale Down Its Use of Military Hardware and Tactics By Evan Bernick
- John Boyd’s Art of War Why our greatest military theorist only made colonel. By William S. Lind
- Police militarization and rise of the warrior journalist by Lance Eldridge
- Strategic Studies Institute: Cartel Car Bombings in Mexico Authored by Dr. Robert J. Bunker, Mr. John P. Sullivan
- To Strengthen And Preserve Cohesion Your Values...Equal Their Values
- Another Must Read Book From Don Vandergriff: "The Path To Victory" Revised Kindle Version with a new foreword
- Safe Streets, Overruled By Heather McDonald of the City Journal
- Must Read Book On Leader Development, Updated Kindle Addition: Don Vandergriff's, Raising The Bar:
- Brian Willis Offers Great Info on Defeating...The Enemy Of Innovation
- Police militarization and the Ethical Warrior By Jack E. Hoban & Bruce J. Gourlie
- “A Way” To Develop a Toxic Leader: How We as Leaders Create Our Own Monsters
- The Guy Behind the Guy, Behind the Guy: A Case for Taking our Roles More Seriously
- Flatenning the Decision Cycle in Tactical Units
- Tactical Supervision: Coaches and Chessplayers: Guest Post By Louis Hayes
- To effectively function in the initial, chaotic stages of a crisis, develop adaptive leaders
- FEAR VS COURAGE: IT'S YOUR CHOICE By Danny Cox
- Skid Row Terrorist
- Col John Boyd: Question and Answer Video
- Great Piece on Adaptability by Brian Willis: The Dinosaur versus The Cockroach Training Model
- The Psychotic Militarization of Law Enforcement
- The Missing Piece of NIMS: Teaching Incident Commanders How to Function in the Edge of Chaos by Police Chief, Cynthia Renaud
- The Human Problem? by Frank Borelli an Officer.com article
- From Police One 3 techniques for controlling your brain with Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D.
- Great Article From Police One with Val Van Brocklin: How to create 'fierce followers' in law enforcement
- Deadly Force: Have We Lost Our Senses? Guest Post by Louis Hayes
- Tactical Philosophy 101 A Guest Post by Louis Hayes
- Leadership in Unconventional Crises
- Unconventional Crises, Unconventional Responses: Reforming Leadership in the Age of Catastrophic Crises and “Hyper complexity”
- JOHN BOYD WAS A PATRIOT, A MORAL LEADER, AND A BONAFIDE VISIONARY. AND YES, HE WAS A MAVERICK.
- Force Science Research Study: The Influence of Officer Positioning on Movement During a Threatening Traffic Stop Scenario
- Guest Post: Adaptive Decision-Making by Sid Heal
- “More Better,” Ideals, and To Be or To Do: Guest Post by Scott Shipman
- Learning Like an Expert: A Guest Post by Marshall Wallace
- What Represents a High Level of Professionalism?
- This Memorial Day Remember: The Path of The Warrior
- School Security: Sharing and Enhancing Best Practices
- Guest Post by Michael G. Moore: Boyd's Snowmobile ...or what made Alexander “The Great”
- Coffee Pots and Baseball Bats: Household Items Offer Protection
- Learning to Adapt With A Professional Reading Program
- Boyd and Beyond 2013
- Guest Post by Tyana Daley: Developing Law Enforcement Leaders and Nurturing Smart Thinkers
- Somewhere Between Born and Made: Where Good Leaders Come From
- Is Today Your Day?
- Guest Post by John Demand: “You look for the bomb…we look for the bomber”
- What Do OODA Loop’s Mean to the Street Cop, Wanting To Become “World Class” Tacticians?
- The Psychology of a Boston Marathon Terrorist: 10 Questions for a Retired Marine
- Watching Boston “Work Together” Made Me Proud to Be a Police Officer
- What Makes a "World Class" Tactically Proficient Peacekeeper?
- Tactical Decision Games to Increase Speed and Maturity of Problem Solving: The Lessons Learned
- The Path to Better Execution in Seeing, Understanding and Solving Complex Problems is a Learning Organization
- A Systemic Concept for Operational Design: a Robust Tool Law Enforcement Should Use in Preparing for Chaotic Crisis
- How shift debriefings can improve officer safety Published at P1
- Boyd and Beyond Boston 2013: Balancing Pursuasion and Force in The Moral, Mental and Physical Dimensions of Conflict
- Don Vandergriff, Discusses: Misinterpretation and Confusion: What is Mission Command?
- Huddling-Up To Acheive Successful Law Enforcement Outcomes
- Building Cohesive Law Enforcement Agencies That Can Decide In Crisis Situations
- Mistakes ultimately ended ex-LA cop's rampage
- Red Teaming The Workplace Violence Shooter and The "MR. Uncomfortable Factor"
- Top 30 Criminal Justice Blogs of 2012 : LESC is Number 5!
- Showing Up Is Overrated. Necessary But Not Nearly Sufficient. Can Taking An "Interest" In What You Do Enhance Performance?
- Handling Dynamic Encounters...Go Get Him, Or Set Him Up To Get Him...With An Adaptable Response
- Shift Debriefings: How Can We Be More Deliberate, More Disciplined, and More Thorough in our Approach to Learning?
- AOW Card Deck Lesson 6: Provoke Your Adversary’s Reaction
- Does Mass Violence Unfold Randomly and Chaotic or is There Hidden Order We Can Leverage in Our Prevention Efforts?
- Police One Column: 13 questions to answer in 2013: What has 2012 taught you about officer safety and effectiveness?
- Take Small Steps, Towards, Lifelong Learning In 2013
- Positive Adaptive Leadership...Tools and Tips and Critical Questions To Explore in 2013 Inspired by Many Of Those I Follow
- AOW Card Deck Lesson 5: Sheath Your Sword
- AOW Card Deck Lesson 4: Score A Small Victory Along The Way
- In Mastering Tactics Shouldn’t We Be Blending Policy and Procedures with People and Ideas?
- Ready, Aim, Ready?
- IMPLEMENTATION (OODA LOOP OR BOYD’S CYCLE) by Sid Heal
- AOW Card Deck Lesson 3: Engage Your Adversary From Many Directions
- AOW Card Deck Lesson 2: Lure The Tiger Out Of The Mountain
- AOW Card Deck Lesson 1: Catch Your Adversary Sleeping
- The Art of War: Sun Tzu Strategy Card Deck…Simple, Yet, Great Tool for Developing Strategic and Tactical Mindset
- "Certain men…come to be accepted guardians and transmitters, instructors, of established doctrines...
- On Vision
- Book Review: The Rite of Return: Coming Back From Duty Induced PTSD
- Restoring the Wounded Spirit
- Deciding Under Pressure…and Fast: You Need to Understand the Concept of “Coup d’oeil”
- How Do Adaptive Leaders Think?
- Capt Evan Bradley on Boyd, Adaptability and Understanding the Bigger Picture in Conflict
- Captain Lindsay Rodman On Boyd and Taking Ownership of What You Do!
- William McNulty-Team Rubicon: Boyd, Applied to Disaster Response
- Heroes Behind the Badge
- Chet Richards On Boyd...Is Your Orientation, Matched to Reality?
- Col GI Wilson on Boyd, Bureaucracy, Insight, Imagination, Intent and Implementation
- What hath Boyd wrought? With Remarks
- John Boyd, Conceptual Spiral, and the meaning of life
- Boyd and Beyond 2012, Quantico, VA — a quickie recap by Scott Shipman
- Finished Gung Ho! The Corps Most Progressive Tradition
- Dangerous Minds – The Relationship between Beliefs, Behaviors, and Tactics
- Guest Post: Super Cops - Can we create them??? “Yes you can!”
- "The importance of a proper command system...
- "Leaders gain confidence and become more tactically and technically proficient...
- Help staff practice thinking on their feet to prepare for emergencies
- More On, Gung Ho! Out of Seeming Defeat May Have Sprung Great Potential
- Latest P1 Column: The anatomy of victory (part two): Victory at minimal cost
- Chapter 1 Review of "Gung Ho! The Corps' Most Progressive Tradition
- The anatomy of victory (part one): What does it take to win?
- Proper Police Action Requires...What?
- P1 Column: Patterns of behavior, officer safety, and 'the rule of opposites'
- Be agile and win:
- Why Boyd is Agile
- Destruction & Creation: Are You Locked on One Way of Thinking or Are You Adaptable, Approaching Tactical Dilemmas?
- Book Review: Deadly Force: Firearms and American Law Enforcement, from the Wild West to the Streets of Today
- The power of a handshake!
- Winning at Low Cost: No better friend, no better role model, no better diplomat and, no worse enemy
- "The most efficient way to get the behavior you're looking for is to find positive deviants and...
- Book Review: Police Instructor: Deliver Dynamic Presentations, Create Engaging Slides & Increase Active Learning
- "Organizations by their very nature involves a series of balances...
- "Of every 100 men you send to fight, 10 shouldn't even be there. Eighty are...
- Column at Police One: Mental toughness and the power to adapt
- Mental Attitude Can Be Negative or Positive
- The Anatomy of Victory: What Does It Take For Policing To “Win"at Low Cost?
- "They can't understand why their parent organizations didn't better prepare them...
- Counter-Ambush Tactics: Thinking Tactically and Doing What You Know How To Do On The Street
- Train To Make a Difference! A Decrease in Officer Fatalities in 1st Quarter of 2012
- "They prefer to achieve their results by...
- Part 2: Train the brain: Using decision making critiques to leverage lessons learned: Published at Police One
- "Wild animals are taken by scouting, by nets, by lying in wait, by stalking...
- "If one has never personally experience war...
- Chet Richards On: Boyd's Really Real OODA Loop
- Destruction and Creation
- A Video Biography of COL John Boyd
- Book Review: Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer
- Book Review: Thinking Fast and Slow By Daniel Kahneman
- Train the brain: Using tactical decision games in training Published at POLICE ONE
- OODA Loops: The Explorer Mentality...And Recognizing Patterns of Behavior
- OODA Loop & Human Reaction Time
- The Leaders Ultimate Reward: 'I saw Someone Grow today, and I Helped'
- Where Have All the Warriors Gone? A Spot On Article, Every Cop Should Read
- Should Street Cops, Break Routines...and Think?
- Broken Windows...A Powerful Strategy, When Applied Robustly
- Lessons from SWAT the Street Cop Can Use on The Three Speeds of Operations
- Law enforcement interaction with the dangerously mentally ill
- Tip: Have an 'exit' strategy on vehicle stops
- What Those We Train Say About Us
- Mastering Tactics with Decision Making Exercises and Critiques
- The OODA loop, reaction time, and decision making
- Leaders share the faith...and promote heretics
- COL John Boyd: Building Snowmobiles and a Fine-tuned Situational Awareness
- Mindset and Winning is About Much More than Words, Isn't It?
- Interacting Tactfully and Tactically: Is This a Strategy, Law Enforcement Can Use?
- Emotion verses Strategy: Which Helps You Gain the Position of Advantage?
- "It Never Happens Here" So WHY Do We Train?
- Think 'FAST': A mnemonic to help keep you safe, by John Demand
- PoliceOne.Com Published: Are you prepared to adapt and win on the street?
- Understanding and Developing Adaptive Leadership During Pre-commissioning
- Book Review: If I Knew Then 2: Warrior Reflections
- A VISION AND THE MISSION FOR: THE FUTURE LAW ENFORCEMENT LEARNING ORGANIZATION
- Police Leaders as Educators and Trainers...Inspiring Cops to More Effective and Safe Policing
- You've Got To Have an Ace in the Hole. Are You Prepared to Adapt and Win on the Street?
- What has 2011 Taught You About Officer Safety and Effectiveness?
- Police One, column 'Staying Oriented' article #1: 'Red Teaming' the cop killer
- Mental Toughness and The Competitive Nature of Conflict
- Police Militarization, Professionalism, and the Balance of Persuasion and Force
- Mental Toughness and...The Power to Adapt
- Mental Toughness: Optimistic Enthusiasm as a Form of Realism
- Preparing for Crisis with Tactical Decision Games, After Action Reviews and Critical Question Mapping
- Great Recap of Boyd and Beyond 2011 By Scott Shipman
- Global Warrior Averting WWIII, John Poole's Latest Strategic and Tactical Insights to Protecting the Homeland
- Brain plasticity: A whole new idea for cops
- Boyd & Beyond is on for 14 & 15 October at Quantico.
- "SWARMING TACTICS" Published in the California Association of Tactical Officers official publication CATO NEWS
- Documentary: Massacre at Virginia Tech
- Book Review: TEMPO Timing, Tactics and Strategy in Narrative Driven Decision Making by Venkatesh Rao
- Fine Art, Fine Tuning Situation Awareness and Training Cops to See
- 15 Meters/11Seconds By C Flaherty and AR Green
- Too Focused? You Might Miss Something Important
- Dangerous Body Language: Digging Beyond What You See!
- Swarming & The Future of Conflict by John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt
- Swarming Tactics by Sid Heal
- More On Swarming Tactics...An Option For Law Enforcement
- Dangerous Body Language: Detecting Deception and Danger
- Cops Line of Duty Deaths Rising in 2011 "APPLYING"Lessons Learned
- Cops, Security, Citizens Need to Be Aware: Does the Climate & Environment Shift in the Wake of bin Laden's Death?
- Progress, Interrupt and Neutralize (P.I.N.) Swarming Techniques For The Tactician
- Should We Be Thinking Like the Bad Guys?
- Meet Officers Lewis and Clark-Exploring Situational Awareness
- Dangerous Body Language,The Boyd Cycle and Winning on the Street
- Dangerous Body Language: A Thousand Words...None Spoken! The Nose, Mouth and Lips
- The 10% of Mindset
- The 3 P's in Extreme Close Quarters Training: Pre-Assault Indicators, Precognitive Programming and Proximity
- Tactical IQ: Using "SURPRISE" to Set the Tempo of Confrontation.
- Tactical IQ: "FRICTION" Why is the Simplest Thing, So Difficult?
- Dangerous Body Language: A Thousand Words...None Spoken! Darting Eyes
- Operation Bold Strike: Follow Me Training Support Package
- Follow Me!!! Creating and Nurturing Tactical Decision Makers With Combat Tested Methodologies
- Training the Whole Circle: Blending Boyd's Cycle and Cooper's Color Codes
- Dangerous Body Language: A Thousand Words...None Spoken! "Gaze Avoidance"
- From OODA to AAADA ― A cycle for surviving violent police encounters
- Dangerous Body Language: A Thousand Words...None Spoken! The Thousand Yard Stare
- Baltimore Police Sergeants Training Using Adaptive Leadership Methodology with Don Vandergriff's AAR
- Achieving Outcomes on the Street with Integrity, Building Loyalty and Mutual Trust
- Intersecting Ideas from Cross Disciplines...and Taking Boyd's Theories Beyond
- Tactical IQ: Developing "Fingertip Feel" Shaping and Reshaping Dynamic Encounters To Gain the Advantage
- Reducing Law Enforcement Misfortunes...What About the Street Officer?
- Can technology suck your brain dry?
- Organizational Culture: Is Yours Congruent with What You Do?
- Fighting Complacency Reminder: Nothing We Do is Routine, NOTHING!!!
- Street Level Red Teaming: The Cop Killer
- Street Level Red Teaming: Assessing The Situation From the Adversarial Point of View
- Take A.I.M. and Prepare To Win Dynamic Encounters
- Don't Charge Police for Mistakes
- What is a Threat?
- Benefits of Conditioning Our Decision Making...The Boyd Cycle
- Superior Situational Awareness and Decision Making...Attributes And Skills of Full Spectrum Officers
- Earning "The Right to Lead" With Character and Courage
- JUSTIFIED: Are You Serious? The Balancing Act of Persuasion, and Reasonable Force
- Adaptive Leader Methodology: An Alternative for Better Outcomes
- When Do We Teach the Basics?
- Evolving Threats Small Arms and Small Unit Swarming Tactics as Tools of Terror...Are We Up To the Challenge?
- Positive Leadership: Invest in People Building a Culture of Innovation
- Harnessing The Street Cops Wisdom: Taking Whole of Conflict...And Effective Full Spectrum Responses
- Beyond Active Response: An Operational Concept for Police Counterterrorism Response
- The Badge: Much More Than a Piece of Medal
- Wellbeing Check to Knife Attack: Anticipation-The Double Edged Sword and its Affect on Winning and Losing, Up Close and Personal
- Tactical IQ: Fast Transients Maneuvers and Manipulating the Tempo of Conflict
- Leadership By Wandering Around!
- Defeat into Victory: Battling a Tough Climate with Faith, Perseverance and Lessons Learned
- Evolving Threats and the Fourth Generation Warfare Problem Here at Home
- We were ready, they weren't...40 + Years after Newhall, Are We Applying Lessons Learned?
- When Violence Prevention Fails, Planning Must Enhance Strategy
- After Action Review: Is It a Tool Used to Learn and Become More Effective or a Tool Used to Punish?
- Maintaining Mental Calmness and Not Losing Our Cool
- Evolution of Strategy and Tactics to Ongoing Deadly Action "Active Shootings" and Operational Art
- Tactical IQ: Interaction, Insight and Imagination, and Initiative...The Building Blocks of Police Operational Art
- Coffee and Conversation: Is "Officer Friendly" a Factor to Consider in Engagements with Our Adversary?
- "Sharpening Our Orientation" and Reducing Officers Killed in the Line of Duty
- Coffee and Conversation: Police Make Mistakes But Seldom Admit Them! What's Reasonable?
- The Tactical Decision Maker: The Devil's Definitely in the Details
- "Self Awareness" The Forgotten Attribute of Decision Making
- Coffee and Conversation: Issues that Affect Law Enforcement and Security: Walking our Talk to Officer Safety
- Coffee and Conversation: Issues that Affect Law Enforcement and Security: The Inevitable Failure of Suburbia?
- Officer Created Jeopardy: Reduce it with a Strategic and Tactical Mind
- Law Enforcement and the Utility of Force...Why Cops Can't Shoot Like the Lone Ranger?
- Tactics: Applying Methods to Madness
- Dealing with Conflict, Violence and Crises: by Fred Leland
Police Ethos:The Warrior and Guardian Mindset Are They Not One In the Same?
Submitted by Fred on Sun, 06/17/2018 - 2:39pm.
Over the last several years there has been much discussion in policing on the terms warrior and guardian or I should say, warrior verses guardian. The political climate and or political correctness from both inside and outside policing has clouded and created much uncertainty, that puts both police and those they serve in danger. For generations, police have trained, fought crime and violence and died because of what some men did contrary to our way of life. The American way of life. In the name of progress somehow it became believable that the warrior mindset is no longer needed in modern day society. The term guardian is the "new name" in vouge, and has seemed to taken out or neglected the importance of both persuasion (guardian) and force (warrior) in policing.
My thinking has always been the warrior and guardian are one in the same. It has always been a police officers and their agencies main focus of effort to "protect and serve" the people in their communities. Police are peacekeepers first. Always have been and always will be peacekeepers. This is especially so, in policing a free society. At times, and I mean rarely (1.4% of all police contacts annually result in police use of force) police must use force to protect those we serve and our way of life. Conflict, crime and violence have always been part of the human condition. Most conflicts are resolved peacefully (98.6%) of police contacts are resolved with little or no force being used at all. Yet, there still remains amongst us those who will make efforts to resolve conflict with violence. Police officers must be prepared to deal with these people and this requires the physical skills and mindset necessary to prevail as they protect and serve.
Conflict unfolds in three dimensions the physical, the mental and the moral. The physical are the techniques, tactics and procedures used by both the adversary and the police. The physical skills sets are relatively easy to learn, although they take much time and practice to master. The physical skills of fighting and shooting are examples. The mental dimension is more difficult to learn but it entails ones cognitive abilities to observe, orient, decide and act under the pressure of conflict. Again both adversary and police are impacted by the mental dimension. The moral dimension requires we know who we are, what we are duty bound to do and why we do it. The moral is the most powerful dimension and impacts, the police, the adversary and the people we serve. Its based on the moral standards of what is right and wrong, legal and illegal, legitimate or illegitimate, respectful or disrespectful and is based heavily on peoples perceptions of what took place. I believe this lack of understanding in these three dimensions and how they tie together is where the "warrior verses guardian gap" gets exploited on both sides of the argument.
The police are protectors and guardians. What connects them is a common ethos. Ethos, is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, ideology or a police force. We must address the realities of policing that include conflict and violence, and the use of persuasion and force and the physical, mental and moral conditioning necessary to not only prevail in a fight but to win in the yes of the people we serve. In policing a free society the strategies and tactics we use must be seen as legitimate. This is a complex and emotional topic but my goal is to attempt to bridge the warrior verses guardian gap that has created so much turmoil throughout society. My premise is that policing and those we police must understand peacekeeping requires both the warrior spirit that is rooted in the protector and guardian ethos that makes up the American way of life.
Building on the symbols and traditions of the force, the policing indoctrinates its ethos into recruits during basic training. A "police academy" certainly challenges men and women fresh from high school or college, and brings them, firmly and quickly, into the police culture. But does this indoctrination into police culture actually build both the ethical framework , those value and traits (strength of character, courage (moral and physical), respect, honor, integrity, trust, justice, dependability, discipline, selfless service, etc.) to tie in with the physical and tactical skills necessary to carry out police duties effectively while at the same time building trust throughout our communities?
"Placing ethics first, ahead of physical, tactical concerns, isn’t simply more difficult because it requires more training, more study, and skill. It’s more life threatening because it forces us to risk our lives for ourselves and others and thereby requires greater fortitude of will for the courage to act." ― from "The Protector Ethic: Morality, Virtue, and Ethics in the Martial Way"
This quote, speaks to what I believe is the often forgotten or perhaps I should say overlooked attribute of moral courage, which is a key component to strength of character. Strength of character is the bedrock of which an ethos is built upon and connects the philosophical beliefs we must hold true with the physical and tactical skills necessary to influence the physical, mental and moral categories of conflict. Leaders in policing must ensure they not only develop an officers physical skills, they must as well develop the mental conditioning to decide under pressure and the moral dimension that our ethos is built upon.
“A leader that seeks out responsibility and has a fondness for responsibility as well as the making and standing by their decisions in the face of the enemy, peers and superiors.”
Police officers and their leaders must demonstrate the courage, strength of character, physical and mental toughness, and values required to succeed as an police officer before they can even begin to know why and when to apply the tactics and skill sets necessary to protect and serve effectively.
- Lives a life that complies with the honor code and policing values
- Displays the police ethos
- Physically fit and mentally tough, with habits and knowledge to lead a life of fitness
- Demonstrates consistent sound judgment
- Overcomes peer pressure to make difficult right choices
- Demonstrates self-confidence
- Considered by peers and seniors as a team player
- Demonstrates self discipline and personal accountability
- Performs successfully under stress
- Spiritually and emotionally balanced
- Demonstrates commitment to personal and professional growth
These attributes are subjects we should revisit daily (am I doing the right things?, setting the example?) and leaders should consider as well in the development of their officers (how to develop their strength of character and moral courage? what good examples can I give or show them to continue their development?).
One of the tools (among many in the adaptive leader methodology) that I use to help develop character is Tactical Decision Games (TDGs). In TDGs students would have to demonstrate their character by justifying and defending their decisions in the face of their peers (other students) and superiors (teacher). This is just one, but an effective tool when facilitated correctly to build strength of character in our emerging young police officers.
"The best definition of ethics I ever heard did not come from some inscrutable ancient philosopher or religious exponent or secular concern, although each of these has contributed in some capacity to its historical meaning. It actually came from a US Marine Corps captain, a mentor of mine, who stated that ethics is nothing more than our “moral values in action.” ― from "The Protector Ethic: Morality, Virtue, and Ethics in the Martial Way"
To be effective as a police officer requires knowing, understanding and living and breathing our ethos before we can even begin to implement the core competencies necessary to do police work and demonstrate interpersonal communication skills, strategic and tactical knowledge (Problem solving abilities) and the ability to apply strategy and tactics in context (operational art) with linear (technical problems and non linear (adaptive challenges) prevalent in policing. An officer must be able to demonstrates mastery of the fundamentals of the handgun and other weapons, including shotguns, patrol rifles, tasers, less lethal alternatives in context with evolving acts of violence. While at the same time an officer must also be proficient at street lifesaving skills, first responder and CPR qualified and use these life saving skills, to render aid to not only innocent victims, but very well is duty bound to render aid to that same person whom he just stopped with lethal force.
Moral courage and strength of character, living and breathing our ethos, means we have gained a perspective of policing and its role in U.S. Society. Are we teaching our officers what the ultimate purpose of policing is? What does protect and serve mean? Can all crime and criminals be stopped? How do the answers to these questions influence the term guardians and warriors or better yet, how does it tie them together in our efforts to evolve policing within and throughout our communities? Do the answers to these questions not fall on police leaderships lap, in how we teach and develop our people?
Discussing these ideas openly I feel is necessary if we are to bridge the gap. Yet, there are almost insurmountable barriers to institutional change. When the discussion of persuasion or force, warrior mindset verses the guardian mindset come up in policing there are polarizing views within policing and throughout our communities, that lead to riots and violence, at its worst, and at best confusion and misunderstandings that lead to protests and fundamentally changing policing methods that have included calls all levels of force into question, in our communities. Within police organizations, to include professional police associations these discussions get so heated that police are attacking one another and the worst cases destroying reputations and careers. At its best it has policing grasping on to the status quo with little or no change taking place.
It is clear society is changing as they are seeing more police tactics, they do not understand or actual unethical behavior by police via social media they have never seen before as videos go viral and their perceptions (right or wrong) fuel emotions that lead to discord. This means we must do more than swear our oaths, we must live and breath these oaths so the become part of who we are and how we police. The become our ethos.
The 5% mindset (warrior mindset) has been written and talked about in policing for decades. What the 5% mindset eludes to is that 5% of police officers possess the moral, mental and physical abilities to do this job effectively. Why? because they take the time to continually learn and develop themselves to become better, more effective police officers often on their own time and dime. This learning and development is not just focused on the physical, they take the time to develop their cognitive abilities, and their values. They reflect daily on their strengths and weaknesses, in an effort to continually learn, so that the values they hold are deeply engrained and become part of who they are and how they police. We are at a place and time, where police leadership must take a more robust approach to developing their people. It is no longer good enough for the 5% to do it on their own. Policing must reflect and take a deep look at itself and ask are we doing all we can to prepare our officers in the moral, mental and physical dimensions required in policing today?
In his book Leadership the Warriors Art, Christopher Kolenda, eloquently explains why the term warrior has become obscured in American culture ( I have taken liberty here and replaced the word he uses "military" with policing as the same arguments are made in the context of policing):
Leadership is indeed the warrior's art. And like leadership, the definition of "warrior" has also become obscured. The term is contested tested in contemporary discourse. Those who believe policing is suffering through a sort of "moral crisis" and loss of martial spirit it lament that the hard edge of the fierce and courageous warrior has been blunted by the forces of political correctness. They point to the numerous "chain-teaching" mandates about sexual harassment, equal opportunity, homosexual policies, and consideration of others, as well as inadequate performance at police training centers, as evidence of such softening. They argue that America's police must recapture the warrior spirit.
On the opposite side of the argument are those who believe the notion of "warrior" to be inherently savage and antithetical to policing befitting 21st Century America. They see the celebration of a warrior ethos in terms of unbridled, bloodthirsty machismo, and the perpetuation of such ethos as responsible for sexual harassment, racism, hostility to and violence against homosexuals, domestic violence, etc. In peacekeeping and high risk missions, they argue, the ethos will result in crimes and violence against our communities.
Each side points to the other as part of the problem. The first group regards the second as misguided social engineers with little to no police experience who have placed the readiness of the policing at risk. The time spent on hours of human relations training will have severe consequences on the streets, they claim, resulting in needless casualties and the potential jeopardy of community interests and security. A "soft" policing approach, the argument goes, cannot measure up to the ferocious "barbarians" of the world. The second regards the first as angry critics at odds with society and contemporary reality. Policing cannot protect society if it is divorced from its values. As the police are called increasingly to social and peacekeeping operations, consideration and gentleness are more desirable than ferocity and martial ardor. If the police cannot not protect its own officers and families from violence within the ranks, how can it possibly protect our own society and others?
What is really at stake here Kolenda argues, is more than the definition of the warrior - it is the identity of policing both in the eyes of itself and society. Recovering the true idea of the American warrior is thus part of the answer to the question of identity. Plato, perhaps, put it most simply and most eloquently when he spoke of the "guardian" in the Republic:
The guardian, he argued, must be fierce toward the republic's enemies and gentle toward its friends. The guardian must at the same time be gentle and spirited. The true guardian, he claimed, is philosophic, spirited, swift, and strong.
The simplicity and wisdom of Plato encapsulates the idea of the American warrior. One who possesses the highest ethics and morals, who is kind, respectful, and caring toward society, fellow police officers, and non-combatants, and yet fully trained and ready to fight and win against any adversary who threatens our interests, our Constitution, and our way of life represents the American warrior.
This misunderstanding of what an American Warrior is, leadership and politics are not solely to blame, as John Poole explains in his book "Guardian Joe: How Less Force Helps the Warrior explains:
"Despite our proud heritage and traditions, policing is still heavily bureaucratic. A Bureaucracy is more than just a type of institutional structure; it is also a way of managing institutional members. The western version entails so many echelons that the highest seldom receives any input (positive or otherwise from the lowest. Within this strict a hierarchy of "top-down" direction, some level invariably short stops any attempt to delegate enough authority downward to achieve peak performance."
A system of administration marked by officialism (lack of flexibility and initiative combined with excessive adherence to regulations), red tape (official routine or procedure marked by excessive complexity which results in delay or inaction), and proliferation (organizational expansion) ~definition of "bureaucracy," Webster's Dictionary
This type of bureaucracy stifles individual and organizational initiative. Officers on the street have little discretion or at least feel they do. This leads to policy and procedural led policing that actually overrides any cultural ethos and the values we have written are not lived and breathed and instead die in individuals in the name of, do what your told, follow the procedure, SOPs or checklists. We have seen this play out recently in too many police agencies responding to critical crisis situations where officers hesitate, waiting to be told what to do, that in their aftermath have those first responding officers labeled cowards or fools and has leadership scurrying for answers as to why or shirking any responsibility. This does not build trust throughout our communities, it destroys trust!
In the last chapter (Some Forgiveness Required) of John Poole's book Guardian Joe: How Less Force Helps the Warrior he asks what I believe are critical questions. Does hatred for the foe in any way help the warrior? When might less frontline animosity actually help him? I believe this chapter has powerful lessons we in policing can apply in keeping with our warrior/guardian ethos:
The contorted visage of hatred. Hatred most easily achieves a foothold where only partial knowledge of ones enemy and his beliefs are available. With regard to Americas wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, that blind spot has too often been with the Islamic religion. Suffice it to say, the miniscule percentage of radical Islamists do not speak for the worldwide Muslim community. Most mainstream followers of the Prophet Mohammad think of the Koran as a historical document. They are no more likely to follow to its violent passages, as a Christian is to act out those in the Old Testament.
Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are all Abrahamic religions. That means they share man of the same precepts. For example, all respect the teachings of Jesus, and effectively adorate Mary. A good way to defuse some of the most recent animosity between their respective followers might be to recall a story from the Crusader period. It involves the interaction between Francis of Assisi ( a famous Catholic Saint) and the Sultan of Egypt.
A former soldier turned priest. Before becoming a Roman Catholic Priest, Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone had been a soldier for the Italian city state of Assisi. In a military expedition against Perugia, he was captured at the battle of Collestrada. Upon his release a year later, he attempted to join the papal forces against the Emperor Frederick II in 1205. On his journey to Apulia, he had a vision or dream that bade him return to Assisi and await the call to a new kind of knighthood. After joining the priesthood as Francis, he eventually traveled to Egypt. There, he made a major contribution to the Crusades and war-making in general.
During a lull in the fighting for Damietta, Egypt, on the 5th Crusade in 1219, Francis and a fellow Catholic priest slipped across the Nile and a grisly battlefield to confer with Sultan Malik al-Kamil. Exactly what happened at that meeting is a matter of conjecture. All that is known for sure is that a humble Christian and prominent Muslim engaged in a reasonable public discussion of their religious differences under the worst of circumstances. However, what eventually resulted from that brief interchange is almost beyond belief.
Nether man... converted to the others religion. But, the encounter deeply moved them both. One contemporary chronicler wrote "... the ruler of Egypt privately asked (Francis) to pray to the Lord for him so that he might be inspired by God to adhere to the religion that most pleased God." ~ The Ligorian, July/August 2016
The Crusader siege of Damietta subsequently succeeded. The conference had no apparent effect on how Church officials viewed Islam, and possibly how Muslim leaders viewed Christianity. Francis had not only preached the gospel but also listened to the Sultan and considered his questions. By doing so he may have sensed some of the goodness and beauty within the Egyptian rulers traditions. (Those who still doubt any existed need to experience the call to prayer at sundown in Jerusalem.)
Francis, later writings show a deep respect for Islamic practices, such as prostration before God and the public call to prayer. In his last years (Francis was to die seven years later), he recommended that rulers and monks adapt these practices to a Christian context, displaying an openness to learning from other traditions that (now) stands at the heart of interfaith dialog. ~ The Ligorian, July/August 2016
After taking Damietta, the Christian army marched on Cairo but was cut off by the flooding of the Nile. The campaign ended in disaster with the papal legate Pelagio Galvani being forced to surrender with what was left of his army.
Al-Malik al-Kamil (nasar ad-Din Abu al-Ma'ali Muhammad) was the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids has this defeated the Fifth Crusade, and he became known to the Frankish Crusaders as Meledin. Then in 1228, the Sixth Crusade was launched by the Holy Roman Empire. Upon leaving Cyprus, its Christian forces carefully avoided any outright combat with the powerful armies of still sultan al-Kamil. That's when the former acquaintance of Francis of Assisi was unexpectedly to cede Jerusalem to them in exchange for a ten year truce.
How do these events pertain to modern warfare John Pool continues to explain. The papal emissary's visit to the Muslim ruler has no apparent effect over the Fifth Crusaders victory at Damietta or its later defeat due to the Nile flooding. Yet, it was later to garner the primary objective of the Sixth Crusade without any Christian soldiers ever having to fight the more powerful Muslim army.
Of course, warfare may have been conducted somewhat differently in the Middle Ages. While there was a lot of blood being spilled at close quarters, unit leaders seemed to take a more active role in preventing it. Some scholars think they were just following the advice of the Roman military manual Epitome Rei Militaris. It advised commanders only to venture directly into battle if they were confident of victory or had no other option. But others believe more humanistic emotions were at work. During the wars between city states of Italy, the side that could outmaneuver the other was sometimes declared victor without any further contact. Elsewhere, the respective heads of opposing armies would occasionally fight so that their subordinates wouldn't have too. At still other places, one side would quit as soon as their leader was killed or captured.
Why didn't any stories like "Francis and the Sultan" come out of the 20th Century? By the time of its worldwide conflagrations, what was later to be called "total war" had apparently been necessary. Nothing short of total surrender was ever considered, and the polarity between sides always too extreme to permit any local negotiations.
So far, conflicts of the 21st Century are not like that. They have been lower in intensity with the loyalty of the civilian population primarily at stake. Whole tribes can sometimes shift allegiances after nothing more than a momentary payout to its chieftain. That's why the U.S. Army Special Forces village methodology worked so well in Afghanistan. That very insightful Sergeant First Class drank tea with all village elders, including those who were pro-Taliban. After explaining his role as only to provide a governmental presence (as opposed to killing or arresting anyone), he dutifully preached the Kabul policies. But then, like Francis at Damietta, he listened to the other tea drinkers and carefully considered their words. Before long, he was able to see through the double-talk and occasional insert a rebuttal. A local armistice of sorts was thus reached that allowed a town deep in enemy territory to be outposted for over six months. Had his tiny legation not been replaced by one from a more traditional combat outfit, the local politics might have eventually swung over to Kabul's point of view. That's how Fourth Generation Warfare 4GW was are successfully concluded, and among the very few ways that Afghanistan will ever be pacified.
The primary mover in this contemporary success story had been the American sergeant in charge. Among his many skills were not only mantracking, but also the ability to recite key portions of the Koran (should the need arise). As a multitour veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, he had almost certainly lost friends to enemy fire. But, as a consummate 21st Century warrior, he never allowed himself the luxury of hating his enemy counterpart.
I added this story from John Poole's book Guardian Joe because it speaks to polarities "the rule of opposites," yin and yang, cheng and chi, direct and indirect, centralized and decentralized, love and hate, persuasion and force, etc., that ebb and flow throughout police interactions. As these interactions take place between the people (good and bad) and police (ethical and unethical) there are opportunities that open up, if observed and exploited can lead to police winning at low cost. Winning at low cost means we influence the moral, mental and physical categories of conflict.
As Col. John Boyd has explained; the Moral represents the cultural codes of conduct or standards of behavior that constrain, as well as sustain and focus, our emotional/intellectual responses. Morally we interact with others by avoiding mismatches between what we say we are what we are and the world we have to deal with, as well as by abiding by those other cultural codes or standards we are expected to uphold. Morally our adversaries isolate themselves when they visibly improve their wellbeing to the detriment of others (allies, the uncommitted), by violating codes of conduct or behavior patterns that they profess to uphold or others expect them to uphold.
Warrior’s codes can be construed in a wide variety of ways to reflect the core values of diverse cultures, In Shannon French and Joseph Thomas's book "The Code of the Warrior: Exploring Warrior Values Past and Present," Chapter 1, “Why Warriors Need a Code,” they, argued that the purpose of a code is to restrain warriors, for their own good as much as for the good of others. Therefore, the essential element of a warrior’s code is that it must set definite limits on what warriors can and cannot do if they want to continue to be regarded as warriors, not murderers, cowards, or monsters. For the warrior who has such a code, certain actions remain unthinkable, even in the most dire or extreme circumstances.
For example, and as you will see, contrary to what is portrayed in movies, books and other forms of media; American police are not allowed to preemptively fire at any suspect. Assumed to be innocent, that suspect cannot be harmed until he or she makes some life-threatening action toward the officer or some other human being. Another example also portrayed unrealistically in the media is the police interview of suspects. The most successful police officers do not maltreat those they have detained. police have learned over the years that information obtained from coerced or forced interrogations is generally a fabrication. The idea in accords with a police ethos and the principle of "justice" is a suspect is innocent until proven guilty, and should shape a police officers every action. The police ethos and the warrior and guardian mindsets are both prevalent in these to simple examples/ They don't make much for movie scenes but both illustrate the importance of understanding the balance of persuasion and force and how the warrior and guardian mindsets tie together.
In his book, "Anatomy of a Warrior: The 7 Virtues All Warriors Must Live by to Successfully Protect and Serve" by Alexander Lanshe, explains, "Beginning with the foundational concept that a protector and his tactics are only as good as the virtues that give life to his actions, this book codifies the seven most important virtues that a protector must strive to live by in order to prevent, prepare, and protect from violence. To protect not just individuals, but to protect our very way of life." The virtues he lists are fortitude, love, justice, humility, prudence, faith, and temperance and all that these virtues underlie and mean to ethical, fair and impartial, procedurally just, policing. Alex goes on to say:
"Virtue is a way of being; the perfect combination and harmony of action, wisdom, intention, reason, and will working towards bringing about the greatest good in accord with ultimate truth. Virtue is lived. Virtue is the noblest expression and manifestation of human nature." ~Alex Lanshe
In another great book just released and I am currently reading (quoted above), “The Protector Ethic: Morality, Virtue, and Ethics in the Martial Way” by James Morganelli explains:
“The way of the martial is moral. Whenever we use it, train in it, or teach it to others, we deal with the ethical, the moral in action. And the protector ethic is the outstanding bond, the summit of its endeavor, why it all matters in the first place. Believe it or don’t—the martial way is ruled from within the realm of ethics. Every physical technique and tactic, every philosophical and strategic conjugation of use, is contingent on this singular point. It is the self-evident, undeniable way of the martial way.”
Once again this comes down to understanding how the strategy and tactics, we use influence, the moral, mental and physical categories of conflict as we police a free society. Understanding the martial way means understanding maneuver (outthinking, persuasion) and attrition (strength on strength, force). Officers who are proficient at both maneuver and attrition tactics will use the style that best suits the situation which ebbs and flows throughout the interaction. They will use deception and surprise, via attempts at persuasion and threats of force, to set the adversary up and shape and reshape the situation as they learn and operate from the bottom up, under decentralized control. It’s crucial to understand both warrior and guardian mindsets are viable options and are dictated by the situation. Another benefit to maneuver is that it may spare lives of all involved, bystanders, innocents, police and adversaries alike.
"When we depict and participate willingly in a so-called killing art, we revoke training’s ethical standard. And even if we acknowledge the standard, if we don’t train, articulate, and rely on it, we leave it to the misinformed and uninitiated to use its absence against us in a court of public opinion. And, worse, perhaps one dark day in an actual court, where the fearful among us will state the argument for its abolition. It wouldn’t be the first time.” ~ from “The Protector Ethic: Morality, Virtue, and Ethics in the Martial Way” by James Morganelli
The only way for police to get society to understand what we do and why we do it is to live and breath our ethos. To tie our ethos in with all that we do. Personally I do not give a damn about what its called "Warrior Mindset", "Guardian Mindset" or just plain old Policing!" They are all one in the same! What I do care about is how confusion and misunderstandings impacts the cops working the streets and those good people they protect and serve. Having police hesitant because of risk averse ideology, or on the other hand having cops trained in only the physical skills is not only dangerous to them, but dangerous to the innocent public as well. How they all tie together is the key!
The only way to get there is through hard disciplined development (education and training) in the physical, mental and moral dimensions that conflict unfolds in, on the behalf of police. This, as well as open candid dialog from police leaders to the public when events influence their perception of policing. Leadership with knowledge and strength of character is crucial here as it affects the street cops who do the work and the publics perception of them, and policing. Buzzwords, used to pander, falling back on linear policy and procedures, masked as training or to shirk responsibility are no longer good enough! Its time to train and develop police officer's to a high level of professionalism that include living and breathing our ethos. It all ties together! It will also take an open mind on behalf of the public who are also willing to question "fairly" when they believe police actions have violated our American ethos and our way of life.
Great integrity is required by those who serve in policing. Police have been given great trust of authority and responsibility. It is important to understand as police you don't operate on your own behalf; you are under a greater authority that requires great integrity and strength of character. Let your training blend your physical abilities, and the mindset necessary to police and keep the peace using persuasion and force, with integrity, based on the actual conditions unfolding on the street.
As John Boyd believed as I mentioned above. "The moral level of conflict is the most powerful." This implies the edge goes to the side with the most moral objectives and ways of achieving them. In policing we must always take the moral high ground. Yes, this requires more risk but calculated risk, which is much different than being rash. I would argue that despite our efforts in policing to be risk averse, in trying to single out specific mindsets (warrior/guardian) as if taking one out of the equation will make us better, more effective and safer, we have actually created a climate, perhaps unintentionally where inaction or turning a blind eye prevails. Going from a warrior mindset to a guardian mindset each separated from the other is in my humble opinion treading on dangerous ground. Yet, this is all too often what we do in policing "go from one extreme, to another" only to find out later we missed something important, something critical to protecting and serving our communities safely and effectively. Policing a free society requires we understand and must avoid moral errors as we do what needs to be done with honor, integrity and strength of character. What say you?
Stay Oriented!
Fred
- Fred's blog
- Login to post comments