June 22, 2026
Jocko Underground: Is It Reasonable to Relax Your Situational Awareness Sometimes?
>Join Jocko Underground Full Episodes<
1. Sleep or Stay Alert?
Question: As a frequent traveler, how do you balance situational awareness with the need to sleep while traveling?
2. Is It Time to Leave Law Enforcement?
Question: With police officers increasingly being prosecuted after use-of-force incidents, when should an officer consider changing careers?
3. Missing the Team I Built
Question: After leaving a leadership role I built from the ground up for a larger company, why do I feel less fulfilled and how do I regain my motivation?
4. Dream or Loyalty?
Question: Should I pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a Marine officer or stay loyal to the wildland firefighting crew that invested in me?
5. Push Through or Let Him Quit?
Question: How do I help my troubled younger brother build confidence and discipline when he wants to quit boxing like he quit other activities?
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/jocko-podcast/exclusive-content
WEBVTT
00:00.231 --> 00:12.429
[SPEAKER_01]: This is the Jockel Underground podcast number 218 with Carrie Heldon as echo is currently very, very preoccupied with a extended.
00:13.948 --> 00:14.468
[SPEAKER_01]: vacation.
00:16.370 --> 00:19.291
[SPEAKER_01]: So carries here in his stead.
00:19.812 --> 00:20.232
[SPEAKER_01]: What's up?
00:20.412 --> 00:21.413
[SPEAKER_01]: Ready to get it done.
00:21.633 --> 00:22.073
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's go.
00:22.614 --> 00:28.197
[SPEAKER_01]: And we got some questions from you all from the troopers on the front lines with a rubber meets the road.
00:29.198 --> 00:35.382
[SPEAKER_01]: And we will try and provide in some cases answers in some cases recommendations in some cases guidance.
00:36.042 --> 00:45.227
[SPEAKER_01]: And at a minimum, some courses of action that you can proceed down to try and navigate this little thing that we're doing, called life.
00:45.768 --> 00:46.268
[SPEAKER_01]: What do we got?
00:47.028 --> 00:57.094
[SPEAKER_00]: First question, Jaco, I fly a lot and keep situational awareness both at the airport and in the air paramount in my mind.
00:57.174 --> 00:58.095
[SPEAKER_00]: However, sometimes
00:58.755 --> 01:08.380
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just tired, man, and I want to sleep, but I find it difficult to allow myself that rest, especially when family is with me, for fear of missing something.
01:09.000 --> 01:13.643
[SPEAKER_00]: As a fellow frequent traveler, how do you find this balance, if any, many thanks?
01:14.543 --> 01:14.984
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure.
01:16.304 --> 01:19.026
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, first of all, it's good to have some concerns, right?
01:19.046 --> 01:20.668
[SPEAKER_01]: We definitely want to have a situational awareness.
01:20.688 --> 01:34.639
[SPEAKER_01]: We definitely want to make sure we know it's going on around us and we're traveling there's a lot going on and it's certainly is a time where fatigue can get it kick in because long travel get up earlier than we normally do.
01:35.780 --> 01:40.143
[SPEAKER_01]: We stay up later packing like there's a bunch of things that can add to us being tired.
01:40.263 --> 01:41.164
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes I mean,
01:41.604 --> 01:43.526
[SPEAKER_01]: Not something I plan to be tired on the plane.
01:43.866 --> 01:44.787
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what I plan to do.
01:45.067 --> 01:52.872
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll get a little bit extra work in Before I get on the plane, which generally means I'm a little bit tired So cool.
01:53.153 --> 01:53.933
[SPEAKER_01]: You're gonna be tired.
01:54.133 --> 01:54.934
[SPEAKER_01]: That's understandable
01:57.116 --> 01:58.157
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a couple of things going on here.
01:58.177 --> 02:00.099
[SPEAKER_01]: First of all, airports are safe.
02:01.080 --> 02:03.222
[SPEAKER_01]: Generally speaking, airports are safe.
02:03.523 --> 02:05.365
[SPEAKER_01]: There are security people all over the place.
02:05.545 --> 02:07.307
[SPEAKER_01]: There's metal detectors before you go in there.
02:07.527 --> 02:08.548
[SPEAKER_01]: Those cameras everywhere.
02:09.068 --> 02:11.711
[SPEAKER_01]: Like those things are basically in lockdown, right?
02:12.572 --> 02:17.753
[SPEAKER_01]: So the number of bad actors in a generally speaking, in an airport are relatively small.
02:17.773 --> 02:25.495
[SPEAKER_01]: Now look, obviously there are occasional terror activities that go on or criminal activities that go on, but even criminal activities.
02:25.755 --> 02:36.257
[SPEAKER_01]: Like there's not too many places in the world where if you leave a bag somewhere, it's going to get taken care of like they're going to announce it.
02:36.937 --> 02:41.900
[SPEAKER_01]: And by the way, no one's going to take it like you leave a back on the streets or where it's gone in three minutes.
02:42.301 --> 02:43.321
[SPEAKER_01]: You leave a back in the airport.
02:43.581 --> 02:46.083
[SPEAKER_01]: It'll stay there because everyone knows that there's cameras over there.
02:46.103 --> 02:49.465
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like jet airports are pretty freaking secure.
02:51.667 --> 02:56.250
[SPEAKER_01]: Now that being said, you know, I'm not going to, I'm generally not going to sleep in the terminal.
02:57.550 --> 03:07.234
[SPEAKER_01]: That would have to be some way, some crazy, you know, overnight, some kind of situation canceled flights, something like that where I'm actually going to sleep in the terminal.
03:07.554 --> 03:09.055
[SPEAKER_01]: I just generally would just not sleep.
03:09.695 --> 03:12.016
[SPEAKER_01]: I would just beat the F around in the terminal, right?
03:13.096 --> 03:20.079
[SPEAKER_01]: I've probably purposely slept in the terminal a handful of times.
03:21.460 --> 03:23.541
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is one of those things where
03:24.641 --> 03:28.063
[SPEAKER_01]: Part of is like, oh well, I'll find some place where there's no one else around and sleep there.
03:29.024 --> 03:34.267
[SPEAKER_01]: I think in an airport situation like I might do that if I was stranded in a city and I try to find some place where there's nobody.
03:34.607 --> 03:40.370
[SPEAKER_01]: But in an airport scenario, I think I just sleep where other people are because, again, there's so few bad actors.
03:40.390 --> 03:46.414
[SPEAKER_01]: If somebody decides to try and rip you off or try and do some nefarious shit to you, like everyone will see it, right?
03:46.434 --> 03:47.315
[SPEAKER_01]: And they'll be like, what are you doing?
03:48.135 --> 03:55.744
[SPEAKER_01]: Whereas in the city, you can actually find places that are desolate enough where you could probably get some zes, you know, and some area where no one's going to find you.
03:59.528 --> 04:00.630
[SPEAKER_01]: That's in the terminal, right?
04:00.650 --> 04:02.652
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm going to try not to sleep in the terminal.
04:03.333 --> 04:05.175
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I want someone airborne in a plane.
04:07.234 --> 04:11.699
[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, this is a, a highly contained environment.
04:11.719 --> 04:14.141
[SPEAKER_01]: There's air marshals, home board generally.
04:15.322 --> 04:18.285
[SPEAKER_01]: And if something crazy happens, I'm going to know about it real quick.
04:18.405 --> 04:21.127
[SPEAKER_01]: So I sleep straight up.
04:21.808 --> 04:24.931
[SPEAKER_01]: I get onto our plane into a plane that thing takes off.
04:25.171 --> 04:26.252
[SPEAKER_01]: I have no problem being asleep.
04:28.336 --> 04:47.976
[SPEAKER_01]: The chances that something so drastic happens that I need to be awake like, because let's face it if the plane is crashing, I don't have any uh, I'm not gonna have much influence over that, you know, it's gonna, the plane's gonna rip apart, I'll have my parachute on by that time and I'll get out and pop my parachute and be good to go.
04:51.222 --> 05:01.973
[SPEAKER_01]: Just kidding, that does, you always, if you know how to skydive, you're always like, wouldn't it make sense, wouldn't it make sense if I had a parachute with me?
05:02.133 --> 05:07.378
[SPEAKER_01]: Because it would, because you could just like bail out and just pop your parachute and be good GTG.
05:09.681 --> 05:13.785
[SPEAKER_01]: But, you know, if someone, if someone like decides to hijack the plane,
05:15.266 --> 05:30.202
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna, like, I'm gonna be woken up within three seconds and getting, I also, you know, I do windows seats, so I'm not exposed in the aisle, even if someone tried to get to me, while I was asleep, I'm gonna know about it.
05:31.404 --> 05:34.946
[SPEAKER_01]: So, yeah, when I get on a plane, I'm gonna get some sleep.
05:35.806 --> 05:37.908
[SPEAKER_01]: So, I guess that would be my recommendation to you.
05:38.148 --> 05:40.849
[SPEAKER_01]: Sock it up in the terminal, stay alert, as much as you can.
05:42.090 --> 05:45.392
[SPEAKER_01]: And then once you get on a plane and you're really tired, cool, get some sleep, put your head up.
05:46.853 --> 05:53.476
[SPEAKER_01]: So, that is a little excerpt of what we are doing on the Jocco Underground podcast.
05:53.536 --> 05:54.617
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you want to continue to listen,
05:56.477 --> 06:22.452
[SPEAKER_01]: go to jockelunderground.com and subscribe and we're doing this, we're doing this to mitigate our reliance on external platforms so we are not subject to their control and we are doing this so that we can support the jockel podcast which will remain as is free for all as long as we can keep it that way but we are doing this so we don't have to be under the control
06:25.154 --> 06:32.699
[SPEAKER_01]: And we're doing it so we can give you more control, more interaction, more direct connections, better communications with us.
06:34.140 --> 06:44.166
[SPEAKER_01]: And to do that, we are building a website right now, where we'll build the utilize to strengthen this legion of troopers that are in the game with us.
06:44.527 --> 06:47.268
[SPEAKER_01]: So thank you, it's jacco underground.com.
06:47.609 --> 06:50.550
[SPEAKER_01]: It costs $8 and $18 a month.
06:50.671 --> 06:52.552
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you can't afford to support us,
06:54.102 --> 07:06.302
[SPEAKER_01]: We can still support you just email assistance at jockelonaground.com and we'll get you taken care of until then we will see you mobilized underground.
00:00.231 --> 00:12.429
[SPEAKER_01]: This is the Jockel Underground podcast number 218 with Carrie Heldon as echo is currently very, very preoccupied with a extended.
00:13.948 --> 00:14.468
[SPEAKER_01]: vacation.
00:16.370 --> 00:19.291
[SPEAKER_01]: So carries here in his stead.
00:19.812 --> 00:20.232
[SPEAKER_01]: What's up?
00:20.412 --> 00:21.413
[SPEAKER_01]: Ready to get it done.
00:21.633 --> 00:22.073
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's go.
00:22.614 --> 00:28.197
[SPEAKER_01]: And we got some questions from you all from the troopers on the front lines with a rubber meets the road.
00:29.198 --> 00:35.382
[SPEAKER_01]: And we will try and provide in some cases answers in some cases recommendations in some cases guidance.
00:36.042 --> 00:45.227
[SPEAKER_01]: And at a minimum, some courses of action that you can proceed down to try and navigate this little thing that we're doing, called life.
00:45.768 --> 00:46.268
[SPEAKER_01]: What do we got?
00:47.028 --> 00:57.094
[SPEAKER_00]: First question, Jaco, I fly a lot and keep situational awareness both at the airport and in the air paramount in my mind.
00:57.174 --> 00:58.095
[SPEAKER_00]: However, sometimes
00:58.755 --> 01:08.380
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just tired, man, and I want to sleep, but I find it difficult to allow myself that rest, especially when family is with me, for fear of missing something.
01:09.000 --> 01:13.643
[SPEAKER_00]: As a fellow frequent traveler, how do you find this balance, if any, many thanks?
01:14.543 --> 01:14.984
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure.
01:16.304 --> 01:19.026
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, first of all, it's good to have some concerns, right?
01:19.046 --> 01:20.668
[SPEAKER_01]: We definitely want to have a situational awareness.
01:20.688 --> 01:34.639
[SPEAKER_01]: We definitely want to make sure we know it's going on around us and we're traveling there's a lot going on and it's certainly is a time where fatigue can get it kick in because long travel get up earlier than we normally do.
01:35.780 --> 01:40.143
[SPEAKER_01]: We stay up later packing like there's a bunch of things that can add to us being tired.
01:40.263 --> 01:41.164
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes I mean,
01:41.604 --> 01:43.526
[SPEAKER_01]: Not something I plan to be tired on the plane.
01:43.866 --> 01:44.787
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what I plan to do.
01:45.067 --> 01:52.872
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll get a little bit extra work in Before I get on the plane, which generally means I'm a little bit tired So cool.
01:53.153 --> 01:53.933
[SPEAKER_01]: You're gonna be tired.
01:54.133 --> 01:54.934
[SPEAKER_01]: That's understandable
01:57.116 --> 01:58.157
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a couple of things going on here.
01:58.177 --> 02:00.099
[SPEAKER_01]: First of all, airports are safe.
02:01.080 --> 02:03.222
[SPEAKER_01]: Generally speaking, airports are safe.
02:03.523 --> 02:05.365
[SPEAKER_01]: There are security people all over the place.
02:05.545 --> 02:07.307
[SPEAKER_01]: There's metal detectors before you go in there.
02:07.527 --> 02:08.548
[SPEAKER_01]: Those cameras everywhere.
02:09.068 --> 02:11.711
[SPEAKER_01]: Like those things are basically in lockdown, right?
02:12.572 --> 02:17.753
[SPEAKER_01]: So the number of bad actors in a generally speaking, in an airport are relatively small.
02:17.773 --> 02:25.495
[SPEAKER_01]: Now look, obviously there are occasional terror activities that go on or criminal activities that go on, but even criminal activities.
02:25.755 --> 02:36.257
[SPEAKER_01]: Like there's not too many places in the world where if you leave a bag somewhere, it's going to get taken care of like they're going to announce it.
02:36.937 --> 02:41.900
[SPEAKER_01]: And by the way, no one's going to take it like you leave a back on the streets or where it's gone in three minutes.
02:42.301 --> 02:43.321
[SPEAKER_01]: You leave a back in the airport.
02:43.581 --> 02:46.083
[SPEAKER_01]: It'll stay there because everyone knows that there's cameras over there.
02:46.103 --> 02:49.465
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like jet airports are pretty freaking secure.
02:51.667 --> 02:56.250
[SPEAKER_01]: Now that being said, you know, I'm not going to, I'm generally not going to sleep in the terminal.
02:57.550 --> 03:07.234
[SPEAKER_01]: That would have to be some way, some crazy, you know, overnight, some kind of situation canceled flights, something like that where I'm actually going to sleep in the terminal.
03:07.554 --> 03:09.055
[SPEAKER_01]: I just generally would just not sleep.
03:09.695 --> 03:12.016
[SPEAKER_01]: I would just beat the F around in the terminal, right?
03:13.096 --> 03:20.079
[SPEAKER_01]: I've probably purposely slept in the terminal a handful of times.
03:21.460 --> 03:23.541
[SPEAKER_01]: And this is one of those things where
03:24.641 --> 03:28.063
[SPEAKER_01]: Part of is like, oh well, I'll find some place where there's no one else around and sleep there.
03:29.024 --> 03:34.267
[SPEAKER_01]: I think in an airport situation like I might do that if I was stranded in a city and I try to find some place where there's nobody.
03:34.607 --> 03:40.370
[SPEAKER_01]: But in an airport scenario, I think I just sleep where other people are because, again, there's so few bad actors.
03:40.390 --> 03:46.414
[SPEAKER_01]: If somebody decides to try and rip you off or try and do some nefarious shit to you, like everyone will see it, right?
03:46.434 --> 03:47.315
[SPEAKER_01]: And they'll be like, what are you doing?
03:48.135 --> 03:55.744
[SPEAKER_01]: Whereas in the city, you can actually find places that are desolate enough where you could probably get some zes, you know, and some area where no one's going to find you.
03:59.528 --> 04:00.630
[SPEAKER_01]: That's in the terminal, right?
04:00.650 --> 04:02.652
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm going to try not to sleep in the terminal.
04:03.333 --> 04:05.175
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I want someone airborne in a plane.
04:07.234 --> 04:11.699
[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, this is a, a highly contained environment.
04:11.719 --> 04:14.141
[SPEAKER_01]: There's air marshals, home board generally.
04:15.322 --> 04:18.285
[SPEAKER_01]: And if something crazy happens, I'm going to know about it real quick.
04:18.405 --> 04:21.127
[SPEAKER_01]: So I sleep straight up.
04:21.808 --> 04:24.931
[SPEAKER_01]: I get onto our plane into a plane that thing takes off.
04:25.171 --> 04:26.252
[SPEAKER_01]: I have no problem being asleep.
04:28.336 --> 04:47.976
[SPEAKER_01]: The chances that something so drastic happens that I need to be awake like, because let's face it if the plane is crashing, I don't have any uh, I'm not gonna have much influence over that, you know, it's gonna, the plane's gonna rip apart, I'll have my parachute on by that time and I'll get out and pop my parachute and be good to go.
04:51.222 --> 05:01.973
[SPEAKER_01]: Just kidding, that does, you always, if you know how to skydive, you're always like, wouldn't it make sense, wouldn't it make sense if I had a parachute with me?
05:02.133 --> 05:07.378
[SPEAKER_01]: Because it would, because you could just like bail out and just pop your parachute and be good GTG.
05:09.681 --> 05:13.785
[SPEAKER_01]: But, you know, if someone, if someone like decides to hijack the plane,
05:15.266 --> 05:30.202
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna, like, I'm gonna be woken up within three seconds and getting, I also, you know, I do windows seats, so I'm not exposed in the aisle, even if someone tried to get to me, while I was asleep, I'm gonna know about it.
05:31.404 --> 05:34.946
[SPEAKER_01]: So, yeah, when I get on a plane, I'm gonna get some sleep.
05:35.806 --> 05:37.908
[SPEAKER_01]: So, I guess that would be my recommendation to you.
05:38.148 --> 05:40.849
[SPEAKER_01]: Sock it up in the terminal, stay alert, as much as you can.
05:42.090 --> 05:45.392
[SPEAKER_01]: And then once you get on a plane and you're really tired, cool, get some sleep, put your head up.
05:46.853 --> 05:53.476
[SPEAKER_01]: So, that is a little excerpt of what we are doing on the Jocco Underground podcast.
05:53.536 --> 05:54.617
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you want to continue to listen,
05:56.477 --> 06:22.452
[SPEAKER_01]: go to jockelunderground.com and subscribe and we're doing this, we're doing this to mitigate our reliance on external platforms so we are not subject to their control and we are doing this so that we can support the jockel podcast which will remain as is free for all as long as we can keep it that way but we are doing this so we don't have to be under the control
06:25.154 --> 06:32.699
[SPEAKER_01]: And we're doing it so we can give you more control, more interaction, more direct connections, better communications with us.
06:34.140 --> 06:44.166
[SPEAKER_01]: And to do that, we are building a website right now, where we'll build the utilize to strengthen this legion of troopers that are in the game with us.
06:44.527 --> 06:47.268
[SPEAKER_01]: So thank you, it's jacco underground.com.
06:47.609 --> 06:50.550
[SPEAKER_01]: It costs $8 and $18 a month.
06:50.671 --> 06:52.552
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you can't afford to support us,
06:54.102 --> 07:06.302
[SPEAKER_01]: We can still support you just email assistance at jockelonaground.com and we'll get you taken care of until then we will see you mobilized underground.