Fire service organizations have long created mental representations for members in the form of written narratives, audio-visual accounts, and training simulations. These slides are especially important for younger members, who do not possess the robust file cabinets that senior members might enjoy later in their careers. Though efforts to learn from the fire service's collective past have been well intended, cognitive science and performance coaching best practices suggest these conventional practices are insufficient and counterproductive, particularly the disproportional attention to red slides, those fire operations that ended in catastrophic death. This conversation equips leaders with an enhanced and performance-centered understanding of human cognition in a tactical and practical fashion. The presentation also highlights innovative practices that are enabling leaders to build increasingly robust and realistic tactical file cabinets that include red, green, and most accurately gray slides. These practices serve to better prepare members for the challenges and opportunities that they will be confronted with at fires and emergencies.