The Hey Chaplain podcast is where cops encourage each other by sharing their wisdom and experience with the Chaplain. On Hey Chaplain you'll hear from dispatchers and federal agents, Sheriffs and US Marshals, as well as local detectives and patrolmen. From the LAPD to Scotland Yard, the guests on Hey Chaplain deliver advice and insights so that police officers everywhere can survive and thrive. The host, Jared Altic, has almost 30 years of experience serving and counseling military and law e ...
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109 - We Will Stay On the Line With You: Carmine Czapla, COPLINE
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32:06Text a Message to the Show Today we are talking about the hotline for police officers called COPLINE. COPLINE provides 24/7 confidential services to active and retired law enforcement officers and their loved ones. Today's guest is Carmine Czapla, who is a veteran and a retired cop, and is one of the active listeners on the other end of that life-s…
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A Quick Guide to Bagpipe Tunes - Bonus Ep 40
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19:32Text a Message to the Show This is your Quick Guide to Bagpipe Tunes. I'm anticipating that there will be two distinct camps among my listeners, those who love bagpipes and those who don't yet. But please give this a chance. First, this is fairly short, and there's not a single tune here that lasts more than 2 minutes. Second, I really do understan…
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108 - The Saddest Tune at the Funeral: Jim Higgins, bagpiper
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41:16Text a Message to the Show Today we have a returning guest, Jim HIggins. Jim plays the bagpipes and teaches police officers and firefighters to play the bagpipes for our ceremonies and parades. Jim often plays with them and is obviously an accomplished musician and expert in all things bagpipes related. I was pleased to get Jim to come in and talk …
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107.5 - When to Move on from the DEA: Todd Hixson, Part 2
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29:46Text a Message to the Show On Today's episode we are continuing our conversation with retired DEA agent Todd Hixson. If you haven't listened to part one, episode 107, then stop this episode and go listen to that right now! Today Todd is going to talk about his career and some of his travels, or at least the parts he's allowed to talk about. But jus…
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107 - Pros and Cons of Going DEA: Todd Hixson
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27:13Text a Message to the Show On Today's episode we're talking to retired DEA agent Todd Hixson. Todd has a tremendous wealth of experience as a DEA agent and we're definitely going to hear some of those stories, working both domestically and on foreign assignment. But I'm going to split this interview into two parts that are both really compelling. F…
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106.5 - Rising From the Ashes: Ken Anderson, Part 2
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24:46Text a Message to the Show Today we have part two of our conversation with a medically retired police officer from the United Kingdom, Ken Anderson. After a brief recap of the life-saving encounter he had on an edge of cliff in the moment before he would take his own life, we'll rejoin the conversation with Ken and talk about the aftermath and his …
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Text a Message to the Show Today we're talking to a medically retired police officer from the United Kingdom named Ken Anderson. Ken was a patrol officer, an instructor, and also a firearms officer in Leeds, England. But an accident on the job set him down a path that would eventually lead to him standing on a sea cliff, ready to end his life by th…
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Does a Chaplain Need a Degree? The Mailbag (w/ Kaleb Sackett)
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20:24Text a Message to the Show It's mailbag time! Use the link above to leave a comment or a question and we might use it on a future show! Music is by PineApple Music Hey Chaplain Update Episode 1Q 2025 Tags: Chaplaincy, Bible College, Chaplains, Clinical Pastoral Education, CPE, Education, Law Enforcement, Mail, Preparation, Seminary, Theology, Train…
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105 - An Unrecognized Retirement: Anthony Baumgart
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33:29Text a Message to the Show Today we're talking to Anthony Baumgart; he's a former local and state level narcotics agent who worked in California. Tony had almost 30 years in law enforcement, but when it came for his last day at work, he experienced a failure in leadership that sometimes happens in law enforcement. You risk your life and give decade…
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104.5 - Critical Incident Aftermath: Deborah Green, Dispatcher, Part 2
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28:09Text a Message to the Show Today we're talking again to Deborah Green; she was a California dispatcher for almost 30 years and in Part 1 of this interview she told about how she dispatched her deputies to a middle of the night call at a marijuana grow in the forests of California where they were ambushed by drug cartel gunmen. Make sure you go list…
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104 - Deputy Down: Deborah Green, Dispatcher
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29:21Text a Message to the Show Today we're talking to Deborah Green; she was a California dispatcher for almost 30 years and has a compelling story to tell. She dispatched her deputies to a middle of the night call at a marijuana grow in the forests of California where they were ambushed by drug cartel gunmen. The story itself is remarkable but I wante…
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The Wisdom of Police Sergeants - Bonus Ep 39
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23:02Text a Message to the Show On this special Bonus Episode we are revisiting the interviews I did last fall with three sergeants from the department that I serve. They collectively have 70 years of combined service and every time I asked another question, they just kept dropping more wisdom that I knew you'd want to hear. The officers interviewed are…
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103 - Battling Depression: COL Skip Mondragon, MD
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28:37Text a Message to the Show On today's episode we are talking to an Army doctor, Colonel Skip Mondragon. The good doctor is a championship wrestler, a combat veteran, a medical doctor, and also a man who has battled depression. It has become the Colonel's mission to help tough guys ask for help, something that he struggled with first hand and so he …
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102 - Year End Evaluations 2024 (w/ Joe Grasela)
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40:19Text a Message to the Show A special guest host interviews Chaplain Altic to recap the year! Police Major Joe Grasela joins Jared to give us a recap of their favorite moments from the 2024 Hey Chaplain episodes. Listen in to find out what were the most noteworthy episodes of the year; also included are the top 10 listener countries and cities. And …
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Review Writing and Christmas Greeting (w/ Kaleb Sackett)
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16:54Text a Message to the Show This is just a quick Christmas update to read a few reviews of the show, encourage you to write your own, and share a quick Christmas greeting. Guest host Kaleb Sackett joins Chaplain Altic again to help us out and this time Kaleb is sharing a greeting he wrote. Music is by Kevin MacLeod Hey Chaplain Update Q4 2024 Tags: …
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101 - AI, Drones, and Cameras, Oh, My!!! Richard Breshears, Technology Unit Captain
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26:33Text a Message to the Show Today we're talking about technology! Drones, Artificial Intelligence, Body Worn Cameras and more are proliferating through police departments at a rapid rate and I find the whole topic just fascinating. So our guest for this episode is Captain Richard Breshears who is the captain over the technology unit in a police depa…
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100.5 - Friendly Takeover: A Sergeant Asks Personal Questions (w/ Paul Simonich), Part 2
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25:23Text a Message to the Show This is Part 2 of the interview, go back to Episode 100 to hear the first part. Is this a hostile takeover? No, it's just one of my patrol sergeants commandeering the podcast in order to ask me questions about my background, education, and family. Paul Simonich is one of my patrol sergeants and he appeared previously in B…
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100 - Friendly Takeover: A Sergeant Asks Personal Questions (w/ Paul Simonich)
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31:58Text a Message to the Show Is this a hostile takeover? No, it's just one of my patrol sergeants commandeering the podcast in order to ask me questions about my background, education, and family. Paul Simonich is one of my patrol sergeants and he appeared previously in Bonus Episode 38. Music by Chris Haugen. Hey Chaplain podcast episode 100 Tags: C…
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Gratitude According to Police Sergeants - Bonus Ep 38
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19:44Text a Message to the Show On this special Thanksgiving Bonus Episode I asked three sergeants from the department that I serve to come talk to me about gratitude and the perspective that younger officers need to have to be successful in law enforcement. The officers interviewed are Master Sgt Angie Joyce, Senior Sgt Paul Simonich, and Senior Sgt Ky…
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099 - 99 Ideas I Haven't Made Into Podcast Episodes Yet
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38:33Text a Message to the Show This is a special milestone episode: number 099 (of the enumerated main episodes)! So here are ninety-nine ideas that I have not yet made into podcast episodes. Enjoy the look into the future publishing schedule and please keep an eye out for a topic for which you may be able to assist in making contact with a good interv…
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Informal Leadership: Blue Canary interviews Jared Altic - Bonus Ep 37
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31:30Text a Message to the Show Steve Kellams from Blue Canary has devoted this season of his show to leadership topics and he brought me on to talk about informal leadership, because as a chaplain I have influence but no actual authority. We ended up talking about several wellness topics and some of my philosophy of chaplaincy as well as why I started …
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098 - From Beauty Queen to Police Chief: Kendra Brown
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27:41Text a Message to the Show In this episode we're talking to police Chief Kendra Brown. She's one of over 300 police chiefs in America who happen to be women. She's also happens to be a former participant in the Miss America pageants – not the usual starting place for most cops. So I wanted to talk to Chief Brown about being a woman in the hyper-mas…
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The Ghost on the 8th Floor: Detective Stuart Littlefield - Bonus Ep 36
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21:21Text a Message to the Show Every cop has a bump in the night story; sometimes those bumps happen in broad daylight. Today I'm talking to a veteran homicide and cold case detective from Kansas City named Stuart LIttlefield. Detective Littlefield was recommended to me because he's a great story teller with a great story that might actually include an…
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Text a Message to the Show When you first became a cop, you probably had a goal. You wanted to become a homicide detective, or a K9 handler, or you wanted to make the SWAT team. Maybe you're on track to achieve that goal, but even if you do make it, what then? How do you go about getting promoted later in your career if you've already gone into a s…
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Recruiting Gen Z: Jim Dudley & Janay Gasparini - Bonus Ep 35
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22:44Text a Message to the Show Today we address one of the most frequent topics that I hear about in the police station, the great difficulty in recruiting Gen Z. My friend Jim Dudley co-authored a recent book on the subject, called "Recruitment & Retention of Gen-Z Law Enforcement Officers" and I brought Jim and his co-author, Janay Gasparini, to talk…
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096 - Wisdom from the Shoot House: Jimmy Graham, CIA and US Navy SEALs CQB Instructor
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36:54Text a Message to the Show Today's guest is Jimmy Graham. Jimmy was a US Navy SEAL and worked for the CIA but one of the most interesting jobs he had, and one that overlaps with law enforcement, is that in both the SEALs and the CIA he trained people in CQB, i.e. Close Quarters Battle, room-clearing, hostage rescue, and room-to-room combat. Jimmy s…
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095 - Dreams Police Have: Dr Dara Rampersad, BluePaz
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28:39Text a Message to the Show Today we're talking about the recurring dreams and nightmares that cops have. Our guest is Dr Dara Rampersad, a first responder and forensic psychologist from Phoenix Arizona who specializes in first responder mental health. Dr Dara's website: www.bluepaz.com Music is by Chris Haugen Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 095 Tags:…
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094.5 - The War of Art: Paul Combs, Drawn by Fire, Part 2
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20:57Text a Message to the Show This is part two of my interview with firefighter and illustrator Paul Combs where we talk more about the first responder as an artist, about critics responded badly to our work, and we also talk a bit about chaplaincy. If you've not listened to the entirety of part one, then go back and find that episode -- it's Episode …
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094 - Illustrating the Point: Paul Combs, Drawn by Fire
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34:24Text a Message to the Show Today we're talking to firefighter, illustrator, and editorial cartoonist Paul Combs. His first responder-focused artwork has been featured in newspapers and magazines and probably more than one training session power point that you've seen. In Part 1 of this interview, we're going to talk about Paul's dual career as a fi…
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Avoid the Root Canal: Preventative Care for Relationships - Bonus Ep 34
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8:37Text a Message to the Show Preventative care can save your teeth… and your marriage. But in both our relationships and our dental hygiene, we often wait for a problem to get out of hand before we are motivated to find a solution. Music is by FSM Team Hey Chaplain Bonus Episode 34 Tags: Relationships, Conflict, Counseling, Dentistry, Divorce, Expens…
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093 - Interdicting Troy: Troy Foster, Drug Cartel Interdiction
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40:23Text a Message to the Show Today we're talking about drug interdiction: stopping vehicles traveling through the middle of the United States on rural highways and finding drugs and cash and the criminals who transport it. Our guest today is Troy Foster who worked interdiction on Kansas highways for most of his career before a series of personal trag…
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Be a Good Example: Tim Eggebraaten - Bonus Ep 33
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29:35Text a Message to the Show Today I called my police chief friend from Minnesota, Tim Eggebraaten, to come back on the show again and talk about the examples we set and the mentoring we do within a police department. Every cop is setting an example, either good or bad, for every other cop in their sphere of influence and I wanted to run an idea past…
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092 - The Full Montez: Cop and Comedian Vinnie Montez
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39:27Text a Message to the Show I believe that there is a small number of occupations who carefully observe human behavior. Cops are definitely on that list… but so are comedians. I know that both groups make me laugh with all the funny observations they make about the crazy behavior in this world. It's only natural that some cops would gravitate toward…
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Text a Message to the Show This is just a quick update to talk about my own experience with debriefing after exposure to trauma and critical incidents. Guest host Kaleb Sackett joins Chaplain Altic again to talk about getting everybody to talk to someone after a hard day. Hey Chaplain Update Q3 2024 Tags: Police, Chaplaincy, Critical Incidents, Deb…
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091 - Scott's Wildlife: Scott Robertson, Texas Game Warden
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34:37Text a Message to the Show I've been impressed by the wide variety of jobs in law enforcement and I delight in uncovering forgotten corners of this profession, perhaps to remind you that changing jobs doesn't necessarily mean hanging up the badge. Today I'm talking to Scott Robertson, a game warden from the forests and swampy lakes of East Texas. S…
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090 - Leakage, the MRI of Suicide Prevention: Dr Barry Young
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32:00Text a Message to the Show Today we welcome back Dr. Barry Young. Barry is my friend and a fellow police chaplain and my favorite chaplain & peer support trainer. On Hey Chaplain he was previously in the very highly rated episode, Bonus Episode 24, where we talked about bad death notifications. Today Barry is back and this time he's going to talk a…
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I Sleep Alone So You Can Sleep Safe: Steve Kellams, Blue Canary - Bonus Ep 32
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24:25Text a Message to the Show Today I'm presenting to you a select episode from the Blue Canary podcast by Steve Kellams. I listen to a lot of podcasts. I recommend very few. This is one of the good ones and this particular episode of Blue Canary is one that Steve picked specifically to air on Hey Chaplain. Intro Music is by Chris Haugen Hey Chaplain …
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089 - Police and Fire Family Repercussions: Chris Moore
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40:07Text a Message to the Show Today we're talking to Chris Moore, a Virginia-based firefighter whose father was a police officer. Chris is a great interview because he's got a lifetime of experience wrestling with the ups and downs of first responder behavioral health, both firsthand and as a child of a cop. Chris brings a radical level of transparenc…
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Surviving My Suicide: Doug Monda; An Excerpt from the Archives
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16:28Text a Message to the Show Two years ago we talked with Doug Monda and this is a special abbreviated and condensed version of that interview with him. The original is Episode 022. Doug Monda was a professional athlete turned high-speed, low-drag SWAT cop, in a Florida city with a very high rate violent crime. His identity was wrapped up in being an…
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088 - Multi-Generational Steele: Kevin Steele
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38:17Text a Message to the Show There are two conflicting truisms in law enforcement: one is old and one is new. First, it's stereotypical that cops, when you ask them, don't want their kids to go into the same line of work. Second, it's becoming more and more true that law enforcement families are some of the only reliable places to find applicants for…
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087.5 - Making Wellness Conferences: Shawn Thomas, Part 2
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30:47Text a Message to the Show This is part two of an interview with Shawn Thomas. If you haven't listened to part one, in which talked about her experience as the wellness officer in a large Sheriff's Office in the Pacific Northwest, then please go download that episode. She had a lot of insight to share, especially if you think you might be the first…
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087 - How to Build a Wellness Program: Shawn Thomas
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33:45Text a Message to the Show Today's guest is Shawn Thomas. She was a deputy with a major Sheriff's Office in the Pacific Northwest and also married to an officer. Shawn was a wellness officer in a major agency and she had to build the airplane while it was flying and a lot of wellness coordinators can identify with that. She also runs 1st Responder …
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086.5 - From Combat to Med School: MAJ Cordell Hachinsky, MD, Part 2
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36:52Text a Message to the Show Today we continue our conversation with Dr Cordell Hachinsky and we discuss his career change from combat leader to medical doctor. I hope you listen to this carefully; Dr Hachinsky is a Christian man, so he's going to talk about hearing God call him to a new career but I want you to listen to him describe the process of …
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086 - An Examination of Failure: MAJ Cordell Hachinsky, MD, Part 1
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29:04Text a Message to the Show Today's guest is a West Point Graduate and an Army combat veteran who came back from Afghanistan to then went to Med School and become an Army doctor. Major Cordell Hachinsky is a friend of mine who I regularly had lunch with while he was attending the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS. I split the…
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000.4 - START HERE: Welcome to the Hey Chaplain Podcast, Year 4
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6:38Text a Message to the Show The Hey Chaplain podcast is for police officers by a police chaplain. It offers peer-to-peer support and expert advice on officer wellness, including stress, trauma, and work-life balance. Hosted by a real chaplain who rides along with officers, the show provides support for officers to connect and find encouragement. For…
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A Marshal, A Mentor, and an Impatient Man in Louisville: Follow Ups and Business Checks, Hey Chaplain's Third Anniversary - Bonus Ep 31
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45:09Text a Message to the Show This episode marks the beginning of our fourth year so I wanted to go back and do follow ups with some of my past guests. In this episode we get an update on the US Marshals, including some of their new missions, why law enforcement officers have left the profession in recent years and how that affects someone coming in r…
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085 - Good Cop, Bad Health: Dr. Melody Rodarte
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35:39Text a Message to the Show Although we normally focus on interviews with police officers, today we're talking to a medical doctor who is married to a newly retired homicide detective. Her name is Dr. Melody Rodarte and I wanted to ask her about police officer health. Why do they get sick and what parts of the job cause it? And more importantly what…
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How to Talk to a Rape Survivor: Brandi Fischer, MOCSA - Bonus Ep 30
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29:52Text a Message to the Show Today we are talking to Brandi Fischer, a sexual assault victim's advocate with an organization called MOCSA. Part of Brandi's job is going into police academies to teach officers about sexual assault and the impact of trauma on a victim. She has a lot of really good coaching on what to do and what not to do when talking …
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084 - LEO Mom of the Year 2024: Detective Emily Hren
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34:18Text a Message to the Show Some of the best stepparents I know are police officers. So when it came time to find the 2024 LEO Mom of the Year, I was really happy to receive the nomination of a highly regarded detective who also happens to be a stepmother. So today we're talking to detective Emily Hren, who works at one of our larger agencies just a…
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083 - Learn the Other Side of the House: Gregg Dorsett
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30:29Text a Message to the Show Today we're talking to Gregg Dorsett; he has been a guest several times before mostly on compilation episodes, but his first appearance was all the way back in Episode 004. Today he's a captain at KCKPD and part of his job now is getting the patrol officers better equipment than what they've had in the past. He's had a ha…
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