Walking in the Desert
How can we possibly put on armor, a badge, and a gun each shift in the middle of a desert and still be the sun shining for others?
Roland Clee, a man for whom I hold deep respect not just for his twenty-six years serving in law enforcement or his unwavering voice for the policing profession highlighting the better way for every officer, deputy and agent who does the everyday work of keeping people safe through his American Peace Officer substack, just published an article about the 30 X 30 initiative being presented in law enforcement which should be read by every officer in America for what it represents. I would do no justice summarizing in detail, so please click the link and read for yourself.
I can say that a broad view look for the purpose of what I am writing here showed again that in the absence of real courageous leadership willing to make tough decisions based on the backbone of integrity, some of our profession’s “leaders” have knelt like apes with a palm outstretched giving obedience to Ceasar with weak-knees and sweaty palms looking to appease paper-mâché’ interest groups instead of setting us up for the future.
It turns out that if you ask any police officer they would choose a competency and compassion as the trademarks for a partner and not race or gender. Roland expands that premise with a succinct treatment which needs to be read.
Why reference this here? Well, I was just flown out with my family to be a part of the presenter team at the Breaching the Barricade conference in Elkhart, Indiana last week. I had given the opportunity to address the absolute wonder of our God-given calling in law enforcement through two sessions: Walking in the Desert and Finishing the Bridge. One led to the other, but what was amazing was the response to both. I am convinced that the discussion in Indiana is for everyone in police work. The discussion focused on the intangible character of the heart and had nothing to do with the race or gender of the person wearing the badge. That was just the beginning. I will summarize the first talk and write again on the second.
Set a Firm Foundation
We have to start here. I have been open in my writing on the struggles and triumphs I’ve experienced in law enforcement over almost twenty-five years and was equally open in my discussion last week with officers and deputies spanning the tenure range of a few years to retired after thirty or more. And it applied to all of them.
The opening picture is appropriate with where we are in our profession now. We look out regardless of time on and feel isolated, exposed, and anticipating exhaustion from the uphill nature of the work. Others more knowledgeable than I have rightly shown the statistics that officer suicide rates have skyrocketed since the dumpster fire of a year in 2020, which was double than the bookending years.
The media’s credo, “If it bleeds, it leads” hasn’t even tried to mask their intentions. We are choke-fed a diet of despair in our work, a lack of the public’s support, and a sickening mischaracterization of the righteousness of our calling. The reality is different and noble people simply show up to work and do the work to protect our family every single day. They do not engage with Joy Behar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or Dylan Mulvaney because they understand empty rhetoric doesn’t defend against someone breaking into your home or stealing your car - police do.
The first key to walking through the desert and not being swallowed by it is to set a firm foundation. I tried using violence against crime, alcohol consumed at a rate that should have warranted an AA intervention weekly, and an insatiable need for power and rank by being “that guy” for the first three years on the job. To be clear, I wasn’t a criminal nor am I casting a shadow on anyone who wins a fight on the street, has a drink after work, or has a good career plan. My foundation, my base from which I defined who I was as a cop and really a person was not set on the right areas. And when I failed…regularly…I tried to reset with more intensity in those areas.
And then my life changed in 2005. I will save the long story but understand that I was a first-time dad with a four-month-old son, a seven-year average marriage, a stable of fake friends, and an inflated self-image on my own greatness. In what was probably the start of the water slide into depression, the Lord confronted me, showed me who He was, and consequently who I was in return. I got blown up. Everything in April of 2005 changed. My firm foundation proved to be extremely firm and the best foundation from which to launch a counterattack against a cowardly life and career. Which leads to the second point.
Face the Threats
We all can relate to some sort of energy drink-inspired rejuvenation of effort towards something. Work, sports, family…whatever it may be there have been times when your mind, body, and soul were all clicking together, and you just got after whatever you were doing in a way so far beyond how you acted prior that it was noticeable by everyone around you. That’s what happened to me. I looked and saw I wasn’t the man/cop/father/husband/friend I wanted to be, so I faced the threats trying to destroy my family and career.
Frankly, this should be what all of do on a routine basis. Men like Dr. Travis Yates, retired Major from Tulsa PD and author/speaker, (Ret.) Sheriff Andy D. Hughes, speaker/teacher, and (Ret.) Chief Dave Funkhauser are examples of men I am mentored by and inspired by that have kicked their threats in the face over and over because they attacked from a firm foundation. And their impact is felt quite literally around the world. The lessons I take from them that I built into others is to find strong mentors, understand the character of your heart defines you because you were created on purpose for a purpose, and if you are in law enforcement your values may not always align with the organization you work with. And that’s okay. As long as you stay away from turning into a chameleon to be something you're not.
Treat people as more important than the uniform they wear, and you will revitalize your ability to see your own career as more than just a desert road marking time for someone else. You have to see our world differently. We are on the very real precipice of a war between multiple countries right now. Yet, kids in our country still need to be protected from predators, drivers need to be reminded to slow down, and bad guys need to go to jail. The daily struggle is being made to seem insurmountable. It isn’t.
When good men stand up against injustice, idiocy, and complacency, then our country will run the way it was founded to do. As those who would destroy us work hard on a Great Reset, I offer to you the title of a book project on which I have in the works now, The Great Rebound. You do not need to have a national voice to nobly face threats and stand with courageous nobility. You need only to give your life away to others, stand on the firm foundation of your convictions, and look to make your little corner of the world better than it was the day before.
Step into Action
I challenged those who heard me speak to step into action and I do the same now if you’re reading this. In law enforcement, roll your windows down and say hi to people. Get out of your comfort zone and go talk to business owners on how to make them feel safer. Spend time with kids playing basketball, frisbee, or anything in the park just because you know that’s the way to make real change. I had a Chief once say he would pay officers for a full day just to play with kids at the park because he understood the way to make today’s change is to build into tomorrow’s leaders.
And when the kids can’t believe you would spend time with them, they will tell their parents and others. And then they will show up as well. And your desire to fulfill the mission of both serving and protecting will be put into practice as you change entire communities with character and compassion.
There is a weight that each one of us carries inside. Whether it’s to be of use to the world, or to know that your work made a difference in people’s lives, all of us seek to find our purpose and live it out. Those desires inside are the ways YOU can step into action even today! Write a message of hope for a co-worker and leave it in their locker, bring a meal to a family in need, help kids cross the street safely on the way to school, write a book, get a degree…whatever it may be that is waiting to be explored in your life - get after it and do it! When you set a firm foundation, face your threats, and step into action serving the community, you will look back at the desert that was once in front of you to see the oasis that it now has become because of how you lived your life. Don’t waste what our Creator has given you!
***A new opportunity to link arms in proclaiming truth is here! Click the link to listen and download the episodes of the Trust the Truth podcast with Jeff Daukas here, where conversations on the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth are chased down!***
Sergeant Daukas is committed to the principles of Courageous Leadership and is the lead instructor for the foundational principle of Courageous Nobility. You can listen to Jeff discuss this vital principle on a recent Courageous Leadership Podcast. He has over 21 years in law-enforcement working through patrol, investigations, and special operations both at the line level and as a supervisor. Through the last 21 years, Jeff has embraced his passion instructing officers and civilians through the nobility of policing. He is a certified FranklinCovey Nobility of Policing instructor, as well as a certified instructor for the Blue Courage curriculum. Jeff holds a master’s degree in criminal justice with a focus on terrorism and homeland security and teaches in that discipline at the college level. He is a graduate of the FBI-LEEDA Supervisor Leadership Institute program consistently implementing servant-leadership into training the next generation of law-enforcement professionals in both courageous leadership and followership.