Engine out - the “helo” was going down. The Seal Team remained silent as they plummeted toward their death. In that darkest of hours - seconds really - one exclaimed: At least we won’t have to clean our guns tonight. Laughter broke out in the cabin. It was made more memorable by the uniquely skilled pilot who was able to get them down to live another day. Watch and listen to David Cooper, former Seal Team Six Command Master Chief, as he shares his thoughts on the “natural order of things” transferring his military experience working in Seal Teams to solving problems within complex systems and environments. He speaks of the importance of finding meaning and fun in every task one undertakes no matter if you are a busboy in a restaurant, a Navy Seal, or a CEO. Cooper views leadership as taking part - not taking charge - where the focus is solely on the mission - solving the problem and nothing else. From the Bin Laden Raid to the Captain Phillips hostage rescue, he talks about the value of team diversity as the key which made them tick. Cooper will tell you: “If you’re not sucking the marrow out of life - life will suck the marrow out of you”!

Chris Bellavita, is a professor from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security. His practitioner expertise in security planning combined with his academic insight have made him a national treasure as it relates to inspiring public safety leaders throughout the nation.  

Frank Fernandez, a career law enforcement officer, provides some personal perspectives on how the various leadership roles he’s filled - as Deputy Police Chief, Police Chief, Public Safety Director, and IACP Committee Chairman - affected his leadership style and growth.

The tragic events of September 11th, and the lessons learned in the wake of that terrorist attack will always be at the core of the RF Factor. Preparedness requires innovation, leadership and relentless follow up, and of course the unsung heroes that are willing to risk much to challenge the status quo to make our lives, our communities, and our nation a safer place for all to thrive. Tonight, we will be recording Episode #11 of the RF Factor podcast with Peter Forcelli, a senior law enforcement executive. Pete is no stranger to the RF Factor. A few months ago, he was a guest on the In the Chill of the Nightpodcast, Episode #6, where he discussed the investigative case he worked on targeting the infamous street gang, Sex-Money-Murder. 

Pete will provide us his account of what he experienced at Ground Zero on September 11. The horrible things he saw, the dangers he faced, and the lessons he learned about hope, resilience, and unity that he still carries with him till this day. Leadership comes in many shapes and sizes, and rears it head in times of crisis and times of peace. It is not about popularity, it is about courage. Courage to face the unknown and inspire positivity. Pete is a courageous leader

Join Pete and Ray as they speak with Thomas Martinelli, J.D., M.S. as they discuss Constitutional Policing, intelligence-led policing, and leadership.

Join Pete and Ray as they speak with Bob Troyer, former USA from Colorado, about gun violence, leadership, and innovation.

Robert C. Troyer, Esq.was the United States Attorney in Colorado from

2016 to 2018. He was the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for six

years before that, and in the early 2000s he was a line criminal

prosecutor in that office’s drug and violent-crime units. Bob

spent the other 15 years of his legal career in private practice

conducting internal investigations and litigating civil cases.

While U.S. Attorney Bob received the PSN Outstanding

Contribution Award from the U.S. Attorney General for helping

develop and deploy an innovative, forensic-intelligence violent

crime prevention strategy in Colorado. Bob also served from 2016 to 2018 as a member of the National Crime Gun Intelligence Governing Board. 

He has conducted countless trainings for law enforcement, prosecutors, community leaders, and public officials on the use of forensic intelligence to prevent gun violence. Over the last two years, Bob has worked with numerous policing agencies in Colorado on policy issues, and he conducted two investigations into the history of Catholic clergy child sex abuse in Colorado.

Bob was born in Colorado and grew up in Washington DC. He graduated from Pomona College in 1984 with a BA in English. For several years after college, Bob taught high school English in Washington DC and worked during the summers as a commercial fisherman in Alaska. He then attended Boston College Law School, where he served as the Solicitations Editor for the Boston College Law Review. After law school Bob practiced civil litigation at Ropes & Gray in Boston and then moved to Denver to practice. In 1999 he joined the criminal division of the Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office.

Join Ray and Pete as they interview Ron Brooks, a law enforcement national legend, as he describes what it takes to advance nationwide initiatives related to counter drug, counter terrorism, and cross-jurisdictional information sharing by leveraging disparate and diverse leadership groups. Ron's insights provide a model for aspiring leaders to follow as they seek to inspire the change needed to enhance public safety and homeland security.

***

Ronald E. Brooks is a founding member of Brooks Bawden Moore, LLC, a government relations and business strategy consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Prior to founding BBM, Ron served thirty-eight years in law enforcement with extensive executive, management, investigative, homeland security and criminal intelligence experience.  

Ron retired in 2012 as a Captain with the San Mateo County (California) Sheriff’s Office where he served as the Director of the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC) and the Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).   

As the Director, Ron managed all operations of the NCRIC-HIDTA in a fifteen-county operational area.  The NCRIC is one of eighty fusion centers operated by state and local governments and designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that make up the National Network of Fusion Centers. The Northern California HIDTA is one of 33 HIDTAs. As Director, Ron managed an extensive budget and more than ninety intelligence officers, analysts, critical infrastructure assessors, support staff, and private sector outreach officers from federal, state and local law enforcement, fire service, emergency management, public health agencies and corporate security.  

Prior to the NCRIC, Ron retired from the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE) as an Assistant Chief, having served in most ranks and assignments.  Before promotion to Assistant Chief, Ron served as the Senior Special Agent in Charge (SSAC) at BNE’s San Jose Regional Office and as a commander of four multi-agency task forces.  As a collateral duty, Ron was assigned as the Director of Congressional Affairs for the California Department of Justice – Division of Law Enforcement.  Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Ron served as a police officer and sergeant with the Redwood City Police Department and as a deputy sheriff with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.  

Ron was a founding member and Chairperson of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council (CICC), a Federal Advisory Committee (FACA) advising and creating policy guidance for the U.S. Attorney General and DOJ staff on matters involving criminal intelligence and information sharing. Following 9/11, the CICC developed most criminal intelligence and information sharing policy frameworks that are now deployed by Federal, state and local law enforcement nationwide.  Ron was also a member of the U.S. Department of Justice Global Justice Initiative Advisory Committee and the Global Executive Steering Committee. Ron was appointed by DHS as the only state or local law enforcement representative to the White House Interagency Policy Committee on Information Sharing and Access (IPC-ISA), a component of the national security apparatus. 

Ron was a founding member and served four years as the Chair of the State and Local Homeland Security and Law Enforcement Partners Board for the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).  This board was one of only two external advisory groups to the ODNI.  

Join Ray & Pete interview Mike King. Mike has 40+ years of public and private leadership experience. Twenty-eight of those years as a sworn law enforcement officer. Mike  retired as the Chief of Staff in the Utah Attorney General's Office. Mike was trained by the FBI in Criminal Profiling and has consulted on hundreds of cases globally. He is the author of six published books.  His podcast Profiling Evil (https://www.profilingevil.com) is a must listen to.