Thad Forester, Author at

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman on sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs

June 27, 2017 By Thad Forester

Here is a 1-minute clip of my interview with Dave Grossman.

He is the country’s expert trainer of military and law enforcement who helps those who have to kill overcome the natural resistance to killing.

In this short clip he starts on the difference between sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs.

Our full interview will air July 10, 2017. If you subscribe to my podcast, this episode and others will automatically download on your device. You can easily do so by clicking the appropriate box in the upper right section of this page (looks like this):

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Episode 031 – Air Force TACP, “George”

June 26, 2017 By Thad Forester

AFSOC

Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) member George is with us to share how his desire to serve others resulted in joining the JROTC in high school, then enlisting in the Air Force after graduating.

17 years later, his body is worn and at times his heart, soul and body were broken. On his 9^th deployment in 2010, his Humvee rolled over on him a few times, which shattered his hip, broke bones in his back and screwed up his shoulder. He woke up on his way to Walter Reed where he’d spend the next seven months.

His recovery while in the hospital didn’t only include his body, but also his heart and soul. His teammate and friend, Mark Forester, was killed a few days prior and George was suffering with severe survivor’s guilt. “Nothing impacted me the way it did when Mark died”, George tells us. His demons were so serious that after arriving in our town to visit for the first time, he pulled over for an hour to get the courage to face Mark’s family. Of course, we had no ill feelings.

On a lighter note, he informs us what a TACP is and why he chose to join this elite group in the Air Force Special Operations. Almost seven years later, George is still working for the Air Force in a Research and Development role.

In this episode, we talk:

battlefield tactics
leadership
team dynamics
survival

George is captivating and a selfless American.

He will be back soon to get into more details about his recovery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, including surviving a divorce and overcoming all odds to walk 33 continuous miles, accept a more demanding job with AFSOC and even got remarried recently.

Music courtesy of Soundroad – Believe.
Copyright 2017 Thad Forester
http://www.patriottothecore.com
email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

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Episode 030 – Iraq veteran and financial planner Benjamin Brandt

June 12, 2017 By Thad Forester

benjamin brandt financial planner

I asked Benjamin Brandt how deploying to a war zone prepared him to be a financial planner. He said in the military they learned to act without thinking. In his profession now, it’s important to think without acting.

He was a member of Task Force Trailblazer where he was a combat engineer. Their mission was to identify IED’s so US and coalition forces are assured mobility. While deployed in 2003-2005 for 15 months, he saw IED’s get more and more sophisticated.

Now 12 years later he has a successful business teaching people how to retire. He also gives us solid advice how to plan a vacation on a limited budget by:

have 30 daily (not monthly) budget meeting with spouse
do not round numbers, be specific. You can save a few dollars here and there that will add up each month
Press pause on what you can – cable, Netflix, lawn maintenance, etc

We have a great talk about actionable steps we can take to put ourselves in better financial positions. And Benjamin is open about his PTSD and how he has no side effects now.

Retirement Starts Today

You can watch him on his weekly show “Money Monday” in a Gorilla suit here:

http://www.myndnow.com/news/bismarck-news/money-monday-trick-or-treat/603482833

He’s an interesting guy with no secrets. He even hired a private investigator to find out everything about him and he published on his blog.

Learn more about Brandt here, including listening to his podcast:

http://retirementstartstoday.com/

Blog

Subscribe to his podcast

Benjamin created this link for our listeners:

http://retirementstartstodayradio.com/patriot/

Music courtesy of Soundroad – Believe.
Copyright 2017 Thad Forester
http://www.patriottothecore.com
email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

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Episode 029 – Larry and Janice Brown, parents of fallen SEAL Adam Brown

May 29, 2017 By Thad Forester

Adam Brown

For this Memorial Day show, we are privileged to have the Gold Star parents of Adam Brown, fallen SEAL Team 6 operator.

Larry and Janice’s son Adam was killed in action on March 17, 2010 in Afghanistan. He died a hero, putting himself in harm’s way to help save his team.

They share with us how the traits and personality he had as a small boy were critical in how successful he was as a special operator. He has since been referred to as “Fearless”. This is probably a better nickname than he had for a short period of time when he was younger playing youth sports. Then they called him “Psycho”.

His parents also share when he got shot in the right eye, so he learned how to shoot using his non-dominant eye and became a sniper. Later, a Humvee crushed and severed most of the fingers of his right hand. After recovery, he learned to use his left to shoot a pistol, a tougher task than firing a sniper rifle.

Adam Brown had his struggles too. He became addicted to meth and cocaine while a teenager, and even stole to support this habit. But, he went to teen challenge and overcame. Even after marrying and being clean, Adam had a moment or two of weakness. Fortunately he had a good woman who could hold him accountable.

Since his death, his family has created “While We’re Waiting“, which is a nonprofit ministry which offers faith-based retreats and support for parents who have lost children.

His friends also organized an annual race at his high school to raise money for charities that Adam would support. They are listed here. This event had about 1000 participants this year and raised almost $50k.

Adam Brown – Fearless

You’ll also want to review the New York Times best-selling book on Adam, titled “Fearless”. Written by Eric Blehm. I’ve read it and definitely recommend.

At a memorial service in Hot Springs, a week after his death, John Faas — a SEAL who had been with him on the final raid — said: “Adam is the hardest man I have ever met. Over the course of his career he sustained more significant injuries than most of us combined, but he just kept on operating. He would not quit, he would not accept defeat. Not ever. Adam’s devout Christian faith matched his toughness and fearlessness.”

I can’t say enough about this guy. This interview with Adam’s parents can not cover all the aspects of his life that benefitted so many, and also saved many lives.

Adam leaves behind his wife, two children, parents, a brother, and sister.

Learn more about Adam Brown at the below links:

Adam’s Legacy

NRA Patriot Profiles

Investors Business Daily

Purchase the book “Fearless”

Fearless Rock – Adam Brown underwater memorial

Music courtesy of Soundroad – Believe.
Copyright 2017 Thad Forester
http://www.patriottothecore.com
email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

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Memorial Day from a Gold Star brother

May 28, 2017 By Thad Forester

Price of Freedom-Memorial Day 2017

As I watch the Coca-Cola 600, I’m honored to see my brother’s name on the #43 car for Richard Petty’s team. Nascar is honoring 40 fallen heroes with 600 miles of remembrance today.

I continue to be amazed at the support we receive from so many people–from friends, acquaintances, and strangers. I also grateful for support from an overwhelming majority of our citizens.

Each Memorial Day weekend, I receive an incredible amount of emails, texts, calls, and Facebook posts honoring my brother Mark Forester. I can’t adequately express my appreciation to everyone for not forgetting our loss. Unfortunately, many families are living Memorial Day every day.

I know many are like I was pre-2010: Memorial Day being the beginning of pool and lake season, along with grilling, homemade ice cream and vacations–no thought of our fallen. Now, it’s much different. I think of my brother every day and try to honor him by how I live. So in most ways, Memorial Day is no different than any other day.

However, I get more distracted this weekend because of the number of people recognizing the many heroes who’ve laid down their lives for our freedom. I get a little more somber and appreciative for all who’ve paid the price of freedom.

Even though I don’t say “Happy Memorial Day”, I don’t get bothered if someone does. I don’t worry about little things like that. I just appreciate people remembering. We are free to live and worship as we please; and celebrating with those we care about is a good thing to do for Memorial Day.

I’m curious what you do to honor our fallen on Memorial Day? The options are limitless. Ron White memorized everyone who has been killed in Afghanistan and wrote their names and rank on his traveling Memory Wall this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway – incredible. My wife is doing the JAG 28 Hero WOD. That ain’t no walk in the park.

Answered his call

My little brother lived great and died great. Most importantly he was killed doing something he loved. He sealed his fixed determination to conquer our enemies with his blood. I’m sure he has no regrets.

Mark Forester and mom 2010 — Mark with mom before he deployed in 2010. She’ll never get over losing her baby boy.