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Welcome to BradHazel.com

Who Is Brad Hazel?

A blog discussing hobbies, interests, opinions and more...

Brad Hazel is a former public safety ptofesional and hands-on hobbyist, builder, and independent content creator with a long-standing focus on practical skills, technical systems, and real-world problem solving. Through his website, he documents projects, shares lessons learned, and explores a range of interests including Amateur Radio, DIY & Home Remodeling Projects, and Trains & Model Railroading.

His diverse career background spans emergency services, security, and canine-related public safety fields that demand discipline, adaptability, and the ability to think clearly in dynamic and often unpredictable environments. These experiences have shaped not only his skill set, but also his approach to learning, building, and sharing knowledge.

Rather than presenting himself as a formal expert, Brad approaches each topic as an active participant, someone who learns through doing, refines skills over time, and shares that process openly with others who have similar interests.

A Practical, Hands-On Person

A defining characteristic of Brad’s work is a strong emphasis on hands-on learning. Throughout his background, knowledge has been developed not just through study, but through direct involvement in real-world environments where outcomes matter.

This approach prioritizes:

  • Understanding how systems work at a fundamental level

  • Gaining experience through trial, error, and refinement

  • Applying knowledge in practical, often imperfect conditions

Whether working in emergency response, building a project in a workshop, or experimenting with communications equipment, the process remains consistent: observe, test, adjust, and improve.

This mindset carries directly into the content found on his website. Rather than presenting overly polished or theoretical material, the focus is on realistic, usable information that reflects actual experience. Challenges, limitations, and lessons learned are treated as part of the process, not something to be hidden.

My Hobbies and Interests

Amateur Radio

Amateur Radio represents a blend of technical skill, communication, and preparedness. For Brad, being an Amateur Radio Hobbiest & Motorola Enthuest serves as both a practical tool and an ongoing area of exploration. This includes working with two-way radio systems, understanding signal behavior, and learning how communication networks function in both everyday and emergency scenarios.

The appeal lies not only in the technology itself, but in the ability to build, adapt, and troubleshoot systems in real-world conditions. Amateur Radio also connects directly to broader interests in infrastructure, reliability, and self-sufficiency.

DIY Projects

DIY projects provide a hands-on outlet for problem-solving and creativity. These projects often range from home improvement tasks to small-scale builds, each offering an opportunity to learn new skills and refine existing ones.

The process typically involves planning, experimentation, and adaptation, rarely going exactly as expected, but always providing valuable insight. Over time, this has led to a growing body of practical knowledge related to tools, materials, and techniques that can be applied across a wide range of projects.

Trains 

The hobby of Model railroading combines technical systems with creativity and long-term planning. It offers a structured environment where multiple disciplines such as Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (S.T.E.A.M.) come together, including layout design, electrical systems, and operational logic.

For Brad, it represents more than just a hobby, it’s an outlet for creativaty that evolves over time. It provides an opportunity to apply technical knowledge in a controlled setting while also allowing for creativity and experimentation that ends in personal sataisfaction. 

Brad Hazel's Career, Experience and Background

Brad’s professional background reflects a steady progression through roles that emphasize responsibility, adaptability, and hands-on problem solving. While the environments and specific roles have varied, the underlying principles, learning through experience and operating effectively under real-world conditions have remained consistent throughout. 

A Timeline of Accomplishments

Early Influnces

Early life experiences always play a significant role in shaping the mindset and skill set that carry forward into later years. Growing up in a rural environment encouraged Brad’s independence, creativity, and a hands-on approach to problem solving from an early age. With fewer structured activities and limited access to nearby peers, much of that time was spent learning through exploration, experimentation, and figuring things out firsthand.

Influences at home also helped foster Brad’s interest in practical skills, mechanical systems, and self-reliance. Whether observing, assisting, or simply being exposed to how things were built, fixed, and maintained, these early experiences created a foundation rooted in understanding of how things work and how to improve them.

Like many formative periods, there were challenges along the way that helped build Brad’s resilience, adaptability, and perseverance. While those experiences are not the focus, they contributed to a long-term perspective centered on working through problems, staying resourceful, and continuing to move forward.

These early influences established a pattern that continues today, learning by doing, approaching challenges with a practical mindset, and steadily building skills over time through real-world experience.

Mid-1980’s

Brad began an early involvement in public service beginning with a youth fire service program. This experience introduced him to the fundamentals of emergency prepairdness and response, teamwork, and structured training programs. It also provided an early understanding of persoanl responsibility and the importance of safety and awareness when working in high-risk environments.

Late 1980’s

Continuing his involvement in volunteer fire service and the introduction into search and rescue, helped Brad build foundational skills in situational awareness, communication, and coordinated response, while reinforcing the value of working within a team under demanding conditions.

1990’s – 2000’s

As Brad developed a long-term career in emergency medical services and firefighting roles. Over this period, he gained extensive experience providing emergcny pre-hospitle care, responding to a wide range of situations, and supporting community needs as a 911 responder.

This phase of experience strengthened his ability to make decisions under pressure, manage unpredictable scenarios, and maintain a high level of dedicated skill sets. It also reinforced the importance of preparation, training, and continuing education.

Early 2000’s

Brad played a major role in establishing and managing a volunteer canine search and rescue organization. This involved developing training structures, supporting certification efforts, and contributing to operational readiness.

This work combined technical writing of training programs with field application of standard operating procedures, requiring coordination between leadership and response teams, to achive operational objectives.

Mid-2000’s

Building on his ledership, Brad completed structured training in emergency management, incident command systems, and disaster response through nationally recognized programs. These efforts focused on large-scale coordination, logistics, and resource management.

This expanded Brads perspective from individual responser roles to broader system-level operations, where planning, coordination and managment play a critical role in event outcomes.

In addition Brad participated in overseas contingency support roles, contributing to operations in demanding and rapidly changing miltiary systems. This experience required adaptability, attention to detail, and the ability to operate effectively within structured combat enviroments under pressure.

Late 2000’s

Completing advanced training in pre-hospital emergency medical care, Brad further developed his capabilities in critical care response and advanced patient management. This phase emphasized precision, technical knowledge, and the ability to respond effectively in high-stakes situations.

Early 2010’s

Brad founded and operated a private canine detection service business. His work involved applying his training methods, managing operations, and delivering services across a variety of environments. It required not only technical skill, but also problem-solving, adaptability, and the ability to operate independently.

This lead him into worked in community-based policing style roles involving enforcement, observation, and investigative responsibilities in high-density under served environments. These roles emphasized effective communications, conflict de escalation and resolution, while maintaining safety within complex social settings.

2013

Continuing to developing advanced skills, Brad stayed within the contract security and investigations fields learning through structured training programs and ongoing professional development. This period focused on refining existing capabilities while expanding into more specialized areas.

Continued Experience and Professional Development

2015

A significant opportunity presented itself. Brad transition into a specialized security and investigations sector, which led to a permanent relocation to Florida and entry into large-scale, high-traffic environments within the theme parks and attractions industry.

This experience provided exposure to complex operational systems, safety-focused procedures, and the coordination required to support large numbers of guests in dynamic settings. It also offered a deeper understanding of how large organizations manage security, logistics, and infrastructure behind the scenes.

During this time, he further developed his interest in Amateur Radio through participation in an internal organizational radio club. This provided additional insight into advanced communications systems and broader regional radio infrastructure, reinforcing both technical knowledge and practical application.

A few years later, Brad transitioned into a compleatly different role within a similar environment, where a long-standing personal interest in scuba diving develouped into professional underwater work. This involved maintaining controlled aquatic environments, requiring his attention to detail, adherence to safety protocols, and the application of specialized technical skills in unique working conditions.

2019

Just prior to the broader impacts of COVID and its global supply chain disruptions and societal changes, an opportunity arose to establish a long-term residence. This marked a shift toward more permanent, project-focused work and provided the space needed to expand into larger-scale DIY and home improvement efforts.

With this transition, Brad developed a dedicated workshop environment designed for woodworking and hands-on building projects. This space allowed for greater flexibility in taking on more complex and long-term DIY & Home Remodeling Projects, while continuing to build practical skills across a range of disciplines.

At the same time, revisited a long-standing interest in trains and model railroading. With the availability of a dedicated hobby space, began exploring layout design, construction, and operations in a more structured and intentional way. This re-engagement combined both technical and creative elements, making it a natural extension of existing interests.

2022

As our socitey changes so do our needs. Reconizing threats to personal privacy, Brad has been activlyengauged in developing a strong and focused skill set in personal privacy and digital security, leading to a significant shift in how Brad manages and uses technology in his everyday life.

This included transitioning from mainstream operating systems to alternative platforms, along with learning new skills and techniques aimed at reducing exposure to data collection and improving his overall digital privacy.

At the same time, Brad began building and experimenting with home lab environments and the use of data storage systems. These efforts were centered around gaining a deeper understanding of how modern technology operates, while implementing practical privacy-focused solutions within a real-world household needs.tThis period represents the beginning of an ongoing effort for Brad to better understand, control, and manage personal data, systems, and technology in a more independent and intentional way thats privacy focused by defaul.

Final Thoughts

Brad’s journey reflects a consistent theme of learning through experience, adapting to new challenges, and applying practical skills across a wide range of environments. From early involvement in public safety to hands-on work in security, technical systems, and specialized fields, each stage has contributed to a broader foundation built on real-world application rather than theory alone.

Today, that same mindset continues to drive his work. Whether it’s exploring Amateur Radio, taking on DIY and home remodeling projects, or developing a model railroad layout, the focus remains the same: understand how things work, apply that knowledge, and continue improving over time.

BradHazel.com serves as an extension of that process. It’s a place to he documents projects, share lessons learned, and provide practical insights for others who value hands-on experience and continuous learning. Not everything is perfect, and not everything is final, but that’s part of the process.

If you share similar interests in Amateur Radio Content, DIY & Home Remodeling Projects, or Trains & Model Railroading, this site is built with you in mind.

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