CATO Podcast

CATO Team Leader Instructors Kenny Brayton and Kris Jenny sit down with Marcus to reflect on lessons learned while teaching CATO's SWAT Team Leader course over the last five years. The trio discussed common challenges shared by the majority of teams, how teams address these challenges and the things that great teams do consistently well.

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 importance of planning and how to evolve from a collaborative response to a coordinated response. They present a primer on what planning

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 group discussed leadership, recruiting, selection processes, annual testing, keeping training fresh and engaging, and how they deal with the

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 of Chapter 7 of Sound Doctrine. They review fundamental tactics such as The Hammer and Anvile, Envelopment, and the Pincer Movement.

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 few things some organizations are doing wrong. Dr. Odom does a deep dive on setting yourself up for longevity and how we need to take a long t

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 compelling advice on strategy and tactics, as well as maneuvering in time, and how we can apply this thinking to current tactical situations.

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 our conversations with Dr. Graham Simpson. So, when Brent and I were asked to sit down with Dr. Simpson, Jason and retired Navy Seal William Bra

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 learned from the 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege. I asked fellow CATO board members Toby Darby and Josh Wofford to sit down with Rusty so he

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 mental health. From wellness programs to less common resources, Marcus and Jon bring their personal stories to the table in this episode of

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.