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This year’s JAG 28 Birthday Walk will be VERY different, and not just because of COVID-19.

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Walkers at stop 2 in 2018

I’ve led this event since the beginning.

I start training for the JAG 28 Memorial Birthday Walk each Jan or Feb. Since I stay active throughout the year, I’m mostly concerned with prepping my feet and hips. Fortunately I’ve never had an injury during this event–from 30 up to 36 miles, I think it’s b/c I always train.

In fact, I always felt like I had an extra push each year on event day. I contribute that mostly to the energy from everyone–they are there b/c they chose to be, not out of obligation. Why would someone choose to walk this distance continually, even coming from many miles and states away? It’s b/c they want to honor my brother Mark and support his foundation.

This year was no different. I started walking with my trusty 20 lb weight plate in my GR2 in January. Then, when social distancing hit in mid-March, even better–I got to get in a quick few miles during the middle of the day. I even started playing tennis with a local high school player. He’s good and I really enjoyed playing with him.

Then, on March 21, I went for a forehand. When I pushed with my left foot, “POP” and I hit the ground probably sounding like a wounded wild animal. Ironic how I was going on earlier with him about staying active and feeling young…

At first I thought someone had hit me with a bat. As I was falling to the ground, I confirmed no one was behind me. My next thought was my lower leg snapped, like a Tyrone Prothro moment, but I quickly felt and knew it was my third option–achilles. I cringe every time I think about it happening.

Crutches, scooter, peg leg and shower seat

These last almost two months have been interesting–I use a shower seat, hobble around and watched my wife do the weed-eating and edging. Yard work has always been my job.

I had surgery April 9. My achilles is healing just fine and I got my final cast off last week. I can now put a little weight on it and will progress daily until I use no crutches by the end of the month.

Since I can’t walk, I won’t be doing Mark’s birthday walk this year. That’s tough to accept. But, my plan is to get ready for next year’s walk. In fact, I have a GoRuck Star Course event in Huntsville in Oct that I have to get ready for. It’s 26 miles.

For all my friends that will be walking in Mark’s honor Saturday, I say thank you. You’ll be all over the country and I look forward to the pictures. Thank you for continuing to support Mark’s foundation even when things are virtual. I hope this makes it easier for many more to participate.

For those who want to sign up and walk the JAG 28 Memorial Birthday Walk, go to this link and sign up. Then, post pictures on social media Saturday.

This forced down time has allowed me more cuddle time with little Will

What I’ve learned from Will the Warrior

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will the warrior

Since our son Will was born in May, he’s had open heart surgery and an additional three procedures that required him to be taken from us and operated on.

This isn’t intended to be a comprehensive recap of his health issues, but really some thoughts on what my wife and I have learned from him and others over the course of his four surgeries in his short life.  Considering all these procedures, we’ve only spent 12 nights in the hospital (not counting 11 days in NICU following his birth).

–It could always be worse.  During our time in the CVICU and CCU following his heart surgeries, we saw many kids with much more severe health issues.  They are waiting on heart transplants, bone marrow transplants, and fighting cancer.  It’s sad and inspiring to see them around the hospital and forming friendships with the other kids in similar situations.

–He squeezes out a smile whenever he can.  The little fella has been poked and monitored so much that it seems he’s barely fazed now.  And to see how resilient he’s been has been almost puzzling.  Although he’s clearly been in some pain, he’s such a happy kid and won all the nurse’s hearts with his smiles and calm demeanor.

-His hair defies the laws of gravity.  The longer it gets, the more it stands straight up.  After surgery #1, Roz asked the surgeon if his hair was still standing up.  He said no b/c he had a hat on.  When we got to see him a short time later, his hair was back to normal.  The surgeon told the nurses to fix his hair for his mom.  That’s a good doc with actual bedside manner.

will the warrior

–Be flexible, don’t be disappointed when plans change.  Prior to his first heart surgery in October, the surgeon told us to plan on 3 weeks to a month in the hospital.  He ended up only staying 4 nights.  So, it seemed almost easy.  However, things didn’t stay smooth and fluid was found around his heart.  It kept increasing, so it had to be drained, and then that didn’t solve the problem so they performed a pericardial window to hopefully permanently fix the issue.

Just when we thought all was well, more issues arose.  This has happened several times, and then his third hospital stay was prolonged by RSV.  Every time we thought we were going to get him home, we were wrong.  So, we learned to be hopeful, but don’t get too set with our plans.  We’ve had to cancel or change many plans and won’t be surprised if that continues.  It’s okay though.

-Dreams sometimes come in unexpected packages.  We, just like any couple, were excited for the birth of our 3rd son.  My wife probably more so b/c she was so sick.  We had no clue there were any health issues with Will before his birth, despite all the ultrasounds and genetic testing.  Shortly after his birth–like a bomb, we found out he had Down Syndrome and an AV Canal Defect in his heart, requiring surgery in the next few months.

How did we take the news?  Well, we didn’t smile and say “this is God’s plan”.  It was tough.  We struggled with the shock and uncertainty.  So many unknowns.  What will his future be like?  What will our future be like?  Will we ever get a good night’s rest?

However, he’s been such a blessing to our family.  Not just our little family, but our extended families as well.  He’s a happy, calm little boy that brings out pure love in those close to him.  His body doesn’t have to be “typical” or “normal” for us to be in love with him.  We know he’ll continue to teach us the rest of our lives.  And little Will has two older brothers that will push and motivate him, so he’ll excel at whatever he wants.

-He’s endured pain bravely and been a fighter.  His blood has been taken so many times that they just call in SWAT these days b/c his veins are so hard to find.  Then to watch them suction out mucus from his ventilator is probably one of the toughest acts I’ve been present for.  It looks so uncomfortable b/c I put myself in that situation and it would be awful–no one likes that choking feeling.  Then his body has fought so hard to recover from the pokes, cuts, pain meds and multiple sicknesses.  On top of this, he has tracheomalacia, which complicated the ventilator removal both times.  And he has no problems ripping the hoses and monitors off him–he’s a strong little man.  When new problems arise, I think he now says “What else you got?”

We were overwhelmed by the news from day 1, but we’ve felt such a spirit and strength from him since his birth.  He’s special.

will the warrior

-Be an advocate for your children and trust your gut.  If Rozlynn hadn’t acted on her motherly instincts, he may not be in the shape he’s in.  Will wasn’t scheduled to see his cardiologist for two more days, but she got him in early, they found the fluid and said he needed to be admitted immediately to remove it the following morning.

At the same time, he hadn’t acted himself since his first surgery in October.  She knew he was in pain every time he coughed.  The docs said that shouldn’t be the case, but we had to stay on them to check.  When they did the pericardial window, they had to repair his sternum and use stronger, stainless steel wire to hold it together.  The surgeon said it won’t move this time.  That’s why he was in pain–his chest wasn’t growing together properly.

-Pediatric nurses are a Godsend.  Not much more to say here other than we received top-notch care from nurses who seemed to love their jobs.  Children’s of Alabama is doing something right when it comes to hiring.

will the warrior

We’ll probably experience more adventures with this little guy, but I hope we learn to enjoy the journey and keep appreciating his relentless spirit.

 

 

2 day Scoped Rifle Training | Defoor Proformance Shooting

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foresters gear

I recently attended Kyle Defoor’s Scoped Rifle Class in Eastaboga, AL.  His classes aren’t easy to get in as a civilian, so I was even more pumped to take part.  Kyle is a former SEAL and sniper and has a loyal following across the country.  One reason I say this is I was the only guy in the class from AL.  Everyone else came from UT, MO, GA, DC, PA and MA.

We covered several topics, but I’ll highlight a few that were particularly helpful to me.  As background, I consider myself a beginner when it comes to rifles.  I took as many notes as I could, but unfortunately didn’t get any pics of the action–I was too busy trying to soak up all the info.

Disclaimer:  these details are from memory so there’s a chance I’ve put something inaccurate, but hopefully that didn’t happen or is insignificant.

My general gun setup

 -Aero Precision upper and lower

–Giessele G25 trigger (2 stage)

–VTAC sling.  I’ve never felt comfortable in my sling and didn’t know how to use it effectively.  Kyle adjusted to my liking, showed me how to quickly tighten and loosen and shared a nugget to add some heat shrink tubing on the release pull.  This is also the brand Kyle uses, except his isn’t padded.

–Ballistic Advantage Hansen Series 5.56mm 14.5” barrel, mid-length gas

–Battle Arms Development Ambi Safety

–Aero Precision 13” keymod rail

–Magpul CTR stock

-Harris 9-13” bipod. First time using a bipod, but since we were shooting from prone up to 465 yards, it was necessary.

–Leupold 2-8x scope

My pack: 

–GR2 rucksack.  This is my go to pack for all traveling.

Topics (not all-inclusive but ones I want to talk about here):

 -Safety. Not going into detail, but goes without saying that it’s priority. Reviewed basic range and gun safety, clearing, communication, etc. Not sure about the other guys, but very helpful to me.

-Binocular use and observation. When observing, use naked eye first.  Look for shapes, colors, and movements that don’t belong.  Then use the binos.  Remember, there are no straight lines in nature.

-Blades.  Some options to look for when choosing blade for self-defense (not for opening boxes and envelopes):

      1. Spear point
      2. Distill taper
      3. Handle design.  Must prevent you from riding the blade and allow it to be capped.
      4. Sheath system.  No shelf, ambidextrous, quality clip and sweat guard
      5. Other notes:  when holding knife, pull sheath from blade, not blade from sheath. For fun, I checked out knives at a local outdoors store and although they had quality blades, they had zero that met Kyle’s preference for carrying on himself. Kyle uses a RAT as his daily carry blade, named after his friend Tom Ratzlaff who was KIA aboard Extortion 17.  It will be my next knife purchase.

Short video of Kyle discussing combatives:

-Combatives. Practiced shooting target in head from 7 yards. We worked on stance and gun position before seeing and shooting target. Then, Kyle pulled out the timer and we checked our speed, along with accuracy.

I had no problem hitting the target (of course it was only 7 yards…), however my speed was poor and my shots were all a little low. He reminded me to aim higher, since my scope was dialed in at much longer distance from day before.

I also have a long way to go on safety manipulation. Raising gun while releasing safety and shooting accurately was new to me. But, another tip was to only use my thumb for the safety – don’t use my index finger on the opposite side. He also pointed out that my finger kept entering the trigger area when my safety was on, just prior to raising gun and shooting. This is something I thought I was aware of, but took someone else looking for the little details to point out.

Kyle providing details on stance and bringing gun to head, not head to gun:

Summary

Since I don’t get to shoot often (especially rifles), I probably gained years of experience in these two days with Kyle Defoor. Some little things that stood out to me were my finger position on trigger (big help with accuracy), where to put buttstock on shoulder, to bring gun to my head instead of head to gun, extend my stock all the way out, how to determine where to mount bipod, problems sun can cause when using optics (and tips how to minimize its impact), and after using and seeing some of Kyle’s equipment, “You gotta pay to play.”

You’ll find Kyle all over the web as an expert in firearms and combatives.  His experience goes back to his childhood; growing up in a small town and spending his days outside–hunting, exercising and playing sports.  He and I grew up together, so I already knew what kind of athlete he was.  Once he joined the Navy, obviously his training went to a whole new level.

I interviewed Kyle on my podcast back in the spring where we not only talked about his military career, but also his upbringing and why he joined.  We also reminisced just a little about the good ‘ol days in Haleyville.

Listen to my interview with Kyle here:

Kyle Defoor on Patriot to the Core podcast

Another great video below:

 

Defoor-Forester
Kyle and Thad after the course.

You want 40? — This is 40.

By

Thad 40th birthday
Conquering another mountain

As I approach being born 40 years ago this week, I’ve found myself reminiscing on my growing up days.  On my way home from work today I heard “Uptown girl”.  This brought me back to my childhood.  I got to thinking of all the music that reminds me of those very young and pre-teen days:  Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, and Survivor to name a few.

Survivor Eye of the Tiger

I owned some of this music on LP records, some 45’s and some tapes.  Shoot, we even listened to my “Thriller” tape in our 1st grade class.  To quote a line from “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan” (a movie I watched infinite times in the mid-80’s), “Nursery days, nursery days.”

michael_jackson_-_thriller

Speaking of movies, I’m still amazed my parents let us watch Rambo (all of them) and Predator many times.  But, we also watched Rocky, Red Sonja, Conan the Destroyer, The Beastmaster, Police Academy and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure all the time.  Judging by this list, you may wonder how I didn’t turn out to be a complete lunatic.

Conan the Destroyer1984

When we weren’t entertaining ourselves outside, we had some sitcoms and shows we watched:  Silver Spoons, The A-Team, Chips, The Incredible Hulk, The Dukes of Hazzard, Growing Pains, Family Ties, Head of the Class, WKRP (you singing that song now??), The Six Million Dollar Man, and of course MacGyver on Monday nights.  We had no working remote and of course, no DVR.  We won’t even get into Saturday morning cartoons… man they were good.

the smurfs

I love the period I grew up in.  I was fortunate to have four siblings, three of which were older than me.  So, I got exposed to a wide range of pop culture.  Being born in ’77, I easily remember the early ’80’s, since my sister graduated in ’84.  And I stretch to the late ’90’s since my little brother graduated in ’99.  That gets me from Charlie’s Angels all the way to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and everything in-between.

Charlie's Angels

Anyone who knows me well knows I love Seinfeld.  All my brothers love it.  We quote it and reference it the majority of the time we’re together.  It’s so easy to slip into conversations.  Don’t you agree?  Unfortunately I’m finding less and less of those with whom I associate are familiar with Seinfeld.  That’s a shame.

Seinfeld opposite episode

One evening we got a call from our grandparents telling us they had a gift for our family.  My brother Joseph said “I bet it’s a VCR”.  I have no idea how he knew.  But, we went to their house and that’s what it was.  We were excited.  I was glad that we finally had a remote control that worked and we could operate the TV thru the VCR, so no more getting up to change the channels.

Those were great times.  We didn’t have to dial the prefix when calling someone in our town, we could dial our own number then hang up and our phone would ring.  And we could prank call either random people or those we knew and they didn’t who who it was (for those boring, rainy days).

michael-winslow

Birthday parties at the skating rink in 3rd grade never got old.  Every time I hear “Livin on a Prayer”, I’m immediately swooped back to that wooden, somewhat wavy-floor rink with the disco ball.

I’ve seen the turtleneck, aviators, and tapered jeans make a comeback.  We can only hope rat tails and mullets don’t do the same; although Mike Gundy‘s mullet is getting national attention.

rat tail from 80s

Now, life is much different.  I have a wonderful wife and cute, healthy, active boys.  I feel much younger than 40.  I’m fortunate to have good employment.  It’s a much faster-paced world than those of my youth.  Mortgage and car payments, medical bills, yada, yada.  But, I know I’ll look back on these current days as great times too.

However, this particular week of my life won’t be considered one of those periods.  For certain reasons, I get to have a colonoscopy this week.  For those who’ve been thru this before, you are well-versed in the prepping.  My story gets good here.

colonoscopy meme

After a period of suffering thru the holidays, I finally got the procedure scheduled for Jan 6 (the day before my 40th).  First of all, I spent way too much time on the phone fighting with outpatient services over the insane amount of money they wanted up front.  I don’t know if I should thank my insurance or Obama for this, but in the end I lost that battle.

Then, I started the good ‘ol prep.  Since this wasn’t my first time, I had the liquid chilled, which def helped the taste.  After finishing that process, including getting up at 3 am the day of procedure to finish the prep work, I got a call at 5 am informing me that their offices were closed due to upcoming wintry conditions.  Therefore my colonoscopy was cancelled.

My exact words were, “That is great news” (full of sarcasm).  She apologized b/c she knew what I was inferring.  She knew I’d drank four liters of that hellacious clear liquid – all for nothing.

man-in-pain

So, yours truly gets to do the prep all over again since the procedure is re-scheduled for Monday.  The pharmacist even laughed as my wife picked up another prescription of GoLYTELY.  How many people are lucky enough to get to cleanse their colon two times, within 2.5 days?  I’m glad I’m one of them…

GoLYTELY meme for 40th

I’ve thought about my 40 th birthday for a long time – wondering what I wanted to do.  Instead of climbing one of the highest peaks in the country, taking a trip, sighting in my new rifle, or even spending time in the wilderness, I get to drink a massive bottle of vile tasting liquid and then spend the next several hours on the porcelain throne.  This really is 40, …. for me.

A few weeks ago my wife asked me what I wanted for my 40th birthday.  I said, “I want a colonoscopy.”

Wish granted; almost x’s 2.

 

 

 

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