The SHIELD Armory

Leadership, by one definition, is the ability to lead and guide a person, or a group of people, to achieve results they never could on their own.

The question is, who sets the pace? Who steps up to lead? Who raises the bar for themselves and others around them? What does it look like for leaders to lead in a way that makes lasting impact?

For years, the world of policing has seen a model of leadership focused specifically on rank an...

Parenting...the word alone is loaded! It carries a massive weight and responsibility.

Whether you're already parents or not, trying to prepare to parent, or learning to parent as we go, can be incredibly challenging. That's why we have others to learn from who have already gone through the seasons we are either preparing to go through, or we are going through. That old saying, "it takes a village to raise a child" couldn't be more ...

Just a little over a week ago, all 3 of our SHiELD Chaplains had the chance to travel to Washington DC to participate in Police Week 2025.

Since returning home, we've been asked several questions quite frequently, "What is police week? What all did you do while you were there?" These questions haven't come just from people outside of law enforcement but from officers we work with as well.

Chaplains Potter, Stephenson and Hughes sit d...

Last week, we started a 2 week series on confronting the negativity in police work.

This week, in the second episode of the series, we hear directly from a police officer who understands that negativity. He has struggled with it, but he's also someone who has consciously made a decision to move out of that and help lead in a way where others can see that negativity doesn't have to have the final word.

Join Chaplains Potter, Stephen...

Negativity is known as the easy way to live life. It causes us to always see the bad in life, in the job, in the family, in everything. Unfortunately, negativity is often seen as a culture within the police world. Why is that? Why do so many officers find themselves caught up in so much negativity? Why do things appear so bad?

In this episode, Chaplains Potter, Stephenson and Hughes set out on a discussion to find the root of that ...

The Police Academy is a rigorous period where recruits are put to the test everyday. As a part of that, they get extensive training in both physical and nutritional health. They keep food journals, meal prep, workout multiple times a day and much more.

But what happens after the academy is over and new officers start on their platoons? Long 12 hour shifts of call after call. How do you stay in shape and keep eating healthy? Those ar...

There is definitely a draw for men and women to law enforcement, who have served or are currently serving in the military. Why is that?

In each of those worlds, combat and law enforcement, there is trauma that an individual will take on. The question is, how similar are these traumas? What differences are there? How can those who have served and are serving help them through the trauma?

Join Chaplains Potter, Stephenson and Hughes a...

This week is the second part of a two-week series on Marriage. Week 1 we discussed the original design for marriage, why it is important and what its purpose is.

On today's episode, Chaplains Potter, Stephenson and Hughes sit down and talk about the attacks that marriage face.

The question becomes, who is our enemy when the attack is on? Is it our spouse? Or could there be someone else?

What do we do when the attacks happen? How do w...

Marriage is something that we are all familiar with. Maybe you are married, or you know someone who is. Regardless of where each of us are, here is the truth of what we know about marriage: it is one of life's greatest experiences, while also one of life's most difficult journeys.

With those realities in mind, we are confronted with some deep questions: Where did marriage come from? What is the purpose of marriage? Are there bounda...

At SHIELD Chaplaincy, we believe in what is called the Triangle of Wellness. On every triangle, you have 3 sides. In the wellness triangle, those three sides are made up of: Emotional/Mental Wellness, Spiritual Wellness and Physical Wellness.

In Season 1, we have dove into some of the heavy parts of emotional and mental wellness. Also, in every episode, we are weaving the spiritual wellness into what we talk about. Finally, in this...

Police Chaplains....some departments have them, many don't.

The question is, why are police chaplains important in the life of a department? What do they do? What do they bring to the table for officers and personnel?

Take some time to listen to an interview with one officer who, in his own words, explains the value of police chaplains.

At SHIELD, our heart as police Chaplains, is to SERVE, HEAL, INSPIRE, ENCOURAGE, LEAD and DEVELOP s...

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about healthy vs. unhealthy coping for law enforcement. The thing is, we don't want to just talk about it, we want to be a part of the solution of helping officers cope in a healthy way with all you encounter.

This is where Project Haven and SHIELD Outdoors comes in.

We believe that the great outdoors can be a place of peace and healing. Whether that's going for a walk, fishing, camping, or hunting, w...

Retirement, an incredible accomplishment but also a major life adjustment.

Officers, on average, work 20 years or more to reach the goal of being able to retire and move into their next phase of life. The question that is raised with retirement is, "What's next?" Have you thought about it? Have you started any kind of planning? Are there things you would like to accomplish in retirement? Are you thinking of that next career?

In this ...

Every human being has to deal with stress, trauma and traumatic events. However, the statistics paint a very sobering difference between the general population and the law enforcement world.

The average person, who works a regular job, generally experiences 2 traumatic events in a lifetime. However, the average police officer, in a 20 year career, will experience around 800 traumatic events. That doesn't include all of the day to da...

At the end of January, Reagan National Airport in Arlington, VA experienced an enormous tragedy when an American Airlines Passenger Plane and a Military Blackhawk Helicopter collided.

During the early stages of that incident, SHIELD Chaplaincy was requested to provide support to all of the First Responders who were on site at the airport. The question is, why SHIELD? Why would SHIELD be asked to respond almost 4 hours away to an ev...

This week's episode is our very first interview. He grew up as a police officer's son, living the life of dad being gone because of work. Now that young boy is all grown up, he's a police officer at the same department as his father, and now he's a dad to two children of his own.

The question is, what did he learn when growing up that's impacting his life now? How has it impacted his career? How has it impacted his marriage and his ...

Now that we've had some discussions about the importance and health of relationships, how do we put that into practice in our daily life? That's where the discussion begins but then we move on to how that affects our relationships with supervisors and command staff in our own agencies.

Join Chaplains Potter, Stephenson & Hughes for this very important conversation on how to make relationships work with all of those we work with ...

Let's just face it, in the Law Enforcement and First Responder world, we develop deep relationships with the people we work with. Part of that is due to the amount of time we spend together and part of it is due to the things we experience together.

Question is, what separates Healthy vs. Unhealthy relationships with those we work with?

Join Chaplains Potter, Stephenson and Hughes as they dive into this topic and discuss that very th...

One of the most important things in our life are the relationships we have. That's why we are kicking off a multi-week series on the different types of relationships in our lives.

When you think about the word "friend," who comes to mind? Are they people you are close to? Are they more like acquaintances? Are they "friends" on social media?

We were never meant to do life alone. We were made to have friends, some for a season and some...