Charles "Sid" Heal retired as a Commander from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department after nearly 33 years of service, more than half of which was spent in units charged with handling law enforcement special and emergency operations. In addition, he recently retired from the Marine Corps Reserve after 35 years and four tours of combat. He is the author of Sound Doctrine and Field Command, as well as more than 160 articles on law enforcement subjects. He holds a bachelor's degree in Police Science from California State University, Los Angeles; a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California and a masters degree in management from California Polytechnic University, Pomona. He is also a graduate of the FBI's National Academy and the California Command College.

He has served as a consultant on civil unrest and nonlethal options for the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Naval Post-Graduate School, the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, the Department of Defense Joint Nonlethal Weapons Directorate, and the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He currently teaches and consults throughout the United States and other countries and is a regular presenter at the U.S. war colleges.