One of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, said it best, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” It's a critical element to tactical operations and we're discussing it on the latest CATO Podcast. Kris Jenny and Marcus analyze the

Ep 71: Round Table with State Tactical Associations

Mar 27th, 2024 1h 11m

CATO Vice President, Marcus Sprague, had the honor of attending a meeting with several tactical associations from all across the country. He took advantage of the opportunity and asked a few folks to discuss some of the issues we all face. The

Ep 70: Sound Doctrine Chapter 7: Strategy and Tactics, Part 2

Mar 13th, 2024 28m 9s

Marcus and guest-host, Kris Jenny, discuss Part 2 of Chapter 7 of Sound Doctrine: A Tactical Primer, Sid Heal's 2000 book, which has become an indispensable part of tactical training. Kris and Marcus finish their discussion on the final portion

Ep 69: A proactive approach to Mental Wellness with Dr. Stephen Odom and Retired Sgt Jeff McGreevy

Feb 28th, 2024 1h 8m

Marcus sits down with Retired Sergeant Jeff McGreevy and the founder of First Responder Wellness, Dr. Stephen Odom. Dr. Odom and Jeff discuss their experiences serving the 1st responder community, what works with peer support programs, and a f

Ep 68: Sound Doctrine Chapter 7: Strategy and Tactics, Part 1

Feb 14th, 2024 1h 4m

Marcus and guests Travis Norton and Kris Jenny discuss Part 1 of Chapter 7 of Sound Doctrine: A Tactical Primer, Sid Heal's 2000 book, which has become an indispensable part of tactical training. The group discusses Sid's insightful and compell

Ep 67: Common Ground: Dr. Simpson Shares Health Advice with Navy Seals and CATO

Jan 31st, 2024 52m 6s

So, this episode is a little different than our usual podcast here at CATO. For anyone who has listened to our previous episodes, you know that anytime spent with retired Command Master Chief Jason Tuschen is time well spent.We also enjoy ou

Ep 66: Interview with Rusty Firmin - The Man with No Gloves

Jan 17th, 2024 52m 55s

At CATO we believe that history is the repository of all lessons and to ignore history is do doom yourself to repeat it. At the 2023 conference in San Diego, we asked the infamous SAS team leader Rusty “No Gloves” Firmin to debrief the lessons

Ep 65: SWAT Audits, Wellness and the Glamour of being the Secretary of CATO

Jan 3rd, 2024 58m 36s

Marcus and CATO Secretary Jon Cabrera sit down to discuss SWAT audits and some of the themes we have seen team's struggle with throughout the state. The pair also discusses what the CATO Community can do better when it comes to working on their

Ep 64: Sniper Training Trends and what you need to know

Dec 21st, 2023 1h 11m

Marcus asked CATO board member Jon Cabrera to sit down with fellow board member Matt Alexander and his teaching partner Frank Harper as the group discusses the common training challenges facing the training and utilization of sniper teams.

Ep 63: Sound Doctrine Chapter 6: Envisioning and Achieving the End State

Sep 13th, 2023 1h 38m

In this CATO Podcast, the group discusses Chapter 6 of Sid Heal's Sound Doctrine: Envisioning and Achieving the End State. This chapter is filled with examples of how you can better understand and apply the following critical concepts: Ass

Episode 62: Leveraging Science to Enhance Human Performance for First Responders

Aug 23rd, 2023 54m 33s

Marcus sits down at O2X headquarters with John Vargo to discuss how this human performance company is leveraging the latest science and technology to enhance human performance for first responders throughout the country. All too often, law enfo

Ep 61: Interview with Bob Scales: Advice from the frontlines of RIPPA. Consent Decrees and defending police with data.

Jul 12th, 2023 1h 10m

Marcus, Adam Sharki, and Brent Stratton sit down with the legendary Bob Scales. Bob Scales is a former King County Deputy Prosecutor and Special Assistant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington. He worked for 14 years

Ep 60: Sound Doctrine Chapter 5: Tactical Principles

Jun 28th, 2023 1h 13m

For this podcast, Marcus joins CATO Board of Directors members Kris Jenny and Kenny Brayton. Kris Jenny is a Sergeant with the Napa Police Department and Kenny Brayton is a CATO instructor and Sergeant with the Ontario Police Department. Toget

Ep 59: The Operator’s Point of View: Supporting Large-Venue Operations

Jun 14th, 2023 47m 16s

Marcus and Travis Norton co-host a conversation about the various ways we train and support large-venue operations from an operator’s point of view. They are joined by Austin who works for a major metropolitan police agency in Northern Cali

Episode 58: California AB742 and Constitutional Policing with Gene Ramirez

Jun 2nd, 2023 42m 44s

Marcus and attorney Gene Ramirez discuss the latest amendments to the California Police Canine Bill (Bill 742), which was placed into inactive status by the bill's author as this podcast was being recorded. This bill will most likely return dur

Episode 57: Sheep Dog to Bureaucrat with Jack Enter

May 17th, 2023 43m 36s

Marcus speaks with author and presenter, Jack Enter, about his recently published article entitled, “Sheep Dog to Bureaucrat." CATO invited Jack to return to the podcast to discuss how the structure, roles, and even the promotional process in l

Episode 56: Sound Doctrine Chapter 4: The Structure of Command and Control

Apr 27th, 2023 1h 9m

In this episode of the CATO Podcast, Marcus sits down with CATO President and co-host, Brent Stratton, and frequent CATO guest, Travis Norton, to discuss why we need to formalize the structure that supports Command and Control, some lessons lea

Episode 55: Critical Incident Review with Medal of Honor Recipient, Earl Plumlee

Apr 12th, 2023 1h 45m

Learn from the Best: Medal of Honor Recipient Master Sergeant Earl PlumleeCATO joins forces with tactical expert and host of The Debrief, Jon Becker, as he sits down with Medal of Honor recipient Master Sergeant Earl Plumlee. This podcast f

Episode 54: Training: What Can You Do Today to Make It Relevant and Impactful

Mar 29th, 2023 1h 8m

Kenny Brayton and Marcus sit down with Captain Dustin Kulling to discuss the key components required to design effective training. Learn how to apply the Theory of Constructed Emotion to police decision-making training and how action competenc

Episode 53: Episode Sound Doctrine- Chapter 3 Nature of Commanding

Mar 15th, 2023 40m 14s

This episode of the podcast discusses Chapter Three of Sound Doctrine. Marcus and guests Travis Norton and Adam Sharki discuss Command and Control, the challenges of selecting a commander, and what it means to command effectively.

Episode 52: Attorney Gene Ramirez-Will law enforcement lose bite dogs in California

Mar 2nd, 2023 43m 21s

Attorney Gene Ramirez was a founding member of CATO and has spent the last several decades defending law enforcement officers in civil court. Gene discusses California Assembly Bill 742, which bans law enforcement's use of bite dogs. Gene also

Episode 51: Challenges of Collateral Hostage Negotiations Team

Feb 15th, 2023 1h 16m

Marcus sits down with Nolan Cleall, who has served on a mid-sized Northern California agency's HNT Team for the last ten years. The two discuss his experiences on a collateral Hostage Negotiation Team. They review common approaches to training

Episode 50: Novelty- What you need to know before you face it

Feb 1st, 2023 52m 2s

Lt Travis Norton and Lt Adam Sharki join Marcus to discuss the concept of "novelty." What does it mean? Why does it make us all amateurs? They'll cover strategies you can use today to enhance your response to these "novel" and critical eve

Episode 49: Taking Care of Your Team

Jan 18th, 2023 39m 53s

CATO President Brent Stratton sits down with Nick Sprague, the President of the Rocky Mountain Tactical Team Association (RMTTA). The two discuss how to take care of your team, both professionally and personally. They also cover the importance

Episode 48: Optimizing your health- a conversation with Dr. Graham Simpson

Nov 23rd, 2022 1h 6m

In this episode, Brent and I sit down with retired Navy Seal Command Master Chief Jason Tuschen and world-renowned author, Dr. Graham Simpson, who is the medical director for Opt Health. Military and first responders share many similar health