SWAT T/L, Feb 3-5, Thurston County
Hostage Rescue, March 24-26, Spokane
Tac Pistol, April 21-22, Kent
Tac Carbine, April 14-16, Kent
High Risk Warrant Service, May 19-21, Kent
Basic SWAT school, Sept. 22-26, Spokane
Shield User Course, Oct 20-21, Spokane

The team leader class will be starting in a few weeks in Spokane. I do my best to pass on lessons learned during the course and I try to live up to the standards I espouse during the course. I try to read as much as I can about leadership, but I also try to extract leadership lessons from day to day events and recreational reading. It’s not that hard to see lessons everywhere if you are inclined to actually look. 

I recently read an article from a well known dude. I have always enjoyed his columns because he is a career SWAT guy and also an Officer in the reserves where he commanded Special Forces soldiers. This guy is legit and as such, I should listen to what he has to say. Two things pooped out of the aritcle at me and I think they bear discussion and thought. 

1. “It’s not about you, it’s about what you produce.” His point is that you should be less concerned about career management and more concerned about doing what’s right. I hear the same banter as you thrown around the office, “Do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason”, “Put the right people in the right seat on the bus” Blah-blah-blah. Dont just say it, or write it on a mission statement, you have to LIVE IT. If we do our best always and live an honorable life, the men will SEE it! Goddamn, it’s not that hard to do! That doesn’t mean that good leaders won’t make mistakes, lord knows I have plenty of them. But I hope that I am a 95% leader, meaning that most of the time I practice what I preach. And when I do fail, I have the seeds to admit it. Nobody likes a bullshitter and everyone knows when you are. So don’t do that. Seek advice and listen to it, one of the best leaders I ever worked for used to say, “If you want to look good, surround yourself with good people.” It wasn’t that he was riding others successes, his point was that he took the best from everyone in the squad, for the good of the squad. The WE in team was strong and he constantly deflected praise from himself to the squad. When we screwed up, he stood up and took the blame. Coaches lose games, players win them.  

2. “SWAT is not something we do, it is something we are.” This is the kind of talk that alot of dudes roll their eyes at. As soon as I see the eye roll, I know they are a turd. If you don’t immerse yourself into the SWAT role and more to the point of this discussion, the team leader role, then you will be a terrible T/L. Again it is popular to say words like duty & honor. Something else to live it. I have left the CP twice where I was ashamed of myself for not being more direct and for voicing some very hard words at those superior in rank to me. The second time I swore I would never do it again and I haven’t. As I look back on my career, and my reputation for being outspoken, it makes me proud. Of all the times in my life where I said something that got me in trouble, I regret none of them. It is the times I held my tongue that I regret and often wish for the time machine so I could go back and do it right. If nothing is more important to you than the title of “SWAT Team Leader”, then you are a douch bag and you need to quit. There is a distinct order to things – The Mission, The Men and Then Me. You dont like that? Tough shit and for gods sake dont come to my class. Your presence would offend me and the others in the class who get it. 

As always, I apologize for typos.