Thad Forester

Episode 034 – “Bring it on”, with Jack Fanning, CCT, Quadriplegic

August 7, 2017 By Thad Forester

Jack Fanning was a combat controller training for a new team when a night time HAHO training jump went terribly wrong.

When he jumped from the aircraft, he was at the pinnacle of physical shape, with hundreds of jumps under his belt. However, Fanning ended up hitting the ground at 35 knots (~40 mph) which caused his C3 to overlap his C4. While on the ground, he had a very hard time breathing and said “I knew I was dying.” Somehow, his IR strobe got turned on and his teammates found him.

After some miracles, much determination, and remaining positive, Jack is now an active quadriplegic who skydives, skis, hunts, scuba dives, and other activities.

He’s also a founding member of “Brother’s Keepers“, which is a non-profit that provides retreats and support for our wounded warriors, their families, and others in our community who are in need. He’s found immense healing by serving others.

This warrior is determined to walk again. Therapy kicks his butt 3-days/week and he’s flexed one bicep and walked with robot legs.

Fanning gave some advice for those considering spec ops:

you’ve got to be in shape
It’s about 80% mental. When the body wants to quit, you’ve got to override that feeling with mental toughness.

And if you’re struggling from seen or unseen wounds, ask for help. It’s also beneficial to talk about your injury/problem. Keep a positive attitude and get up and do it (whatever ‘it’ is). You’ll be uplifted when you hear Jack talk about his recovery and feel his fighting spirit.

Learn more about Jack Fanning below and other organizations mentioned in this episode:

Jack Fanning – My Story

Brother’s Keepers

National Ability Center

Jackrabbit documentary

*Also, we’re now on Patreon. Please check out how you can help the cause so I can provide quality content.

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Patriot to the Core is now on Patreon

July 30, 2017 By Thad Forester

I’ve been doing my podcast for well over a year now and still love interviewing so many interesting people. The only problem is since I’m a part-timer, my time and funds are limited.

I discovered Patreon thru a podcast and website that I follow, “ITS Tactical“. After investigating Patreon, I realized this is a good opportunity to connect with a group of people who may want to support my podcast. And in return, they’ll get something a little extra that non-patrons don’t have access too.

What the heck is Patreon?

I thought the same thing a few weeks ago. Basically it’s a platform for creators to make money, run their creative businesses, and connect with the fans who matter most. Bottom line, I provide content you like (hopefully), and you have the opportunity to financially support on a monthly basis–for very small amount of money.

There are different tiers for supporting – Patriot, Blue Patriot, and Red Patriot. You can read all the details here.

What do I want to do with the funds?

First, I need upgrades; improved logo, equipment, website that is more functional and more.

What do you get in return?

Depending on the type of rewards you sign up for, it would be from getting links to podcasts before they release to public, opportunity to ask questions to guests, get a signed copy of my book “My Brother in Arms“, etc.

I’ll do all I can to make your support worth it. Interviewing for Patriot to the Core is something I love doing.

You need this

It’s not easy for me to even take this approach, but since Patreon has become so popular, it makes sense to join their cause so I can hopefully get others to support my cause.

I’d appreciate it if you considered supporting the podcast so I can continue to bring you quality content. You’ll even get a little thank you video from me if you do. Doesn’t that sound worth it?

Once again, below is the link:

https://www.patreon.com/patriottothecore

Episode 033 – Ron White: Brain Athlete-Memory Expert

July 24, 2017 By Thad Forester

Ron White

“If you think you can’t memorize something, you’re wrong. You can remember 10-20 times more data than you think.”

2-time USA Memory Champion Ron White, aka Brain Athlete, gives us some insights on what he’s been doing. We start out with the Afghanistan Memory Wall, where he memorized the rank, first and last name of each person killed in Afghanistan since the war on terror began. This is over 2300 names, 7000 words. Not only does he have them memorized, but he knows them in the order they were killed. He has a traveling wall where he writes their names at various events across the country. He was most recently at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 600 Miles of Remembrance and Dover International Speedway.

SuperHuman

He was a contestant on Season 1 of SuperHuman on Fox where he met 10 ladies, got their name, phone number (all 10 digits) and unique fact about them in a few short minutes. The judges randomly called out names and he got 100% correct.

Now, this former Navy reservist teaches online memory courses and speaks around the world. He has a memory system by visually attaching what he wants to remember to an object in his house.

Brain Athlete – US Memory Champion

In 2009-2010, this brain athlete was a memory champ by memorizing a deck of cards in 1:27 (1 min, 27 secs). He also memorized 167 digit number in 5 mins. Eventually he was beat out by someone who memorized a deck of cards in 19 seconds (that just blew my mind).

We had a good time today. We even played a simple memory game (simple for him, not for me) where I called out some random 2-digit numbers and he recited them all back in order.

Learn more about Ron and his memory courses below:

Ron White Training

Brain Athlete

Mind Palace Technique

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Episode 032 – Lt. Col. Dave Grossman: Killology 101

July 10, 2017 By Thad Forester

Grossman Academy home page

“Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference.” (spoken by the sheepdogs; the warriors).

What do you ask the expert in the study of the psychology of killing?

Dave Grossman is the country’s #1 trainer of military and law enforcement who helps those who have to kill overcome the natural resistance to killing.

There is no safety in denial

Among the many things we discuss today are the difference between sheep, wolves and sheepdogs. Which one are you? Well he’s going to describe each one and how they respond to threatening situations. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds.

Grossman’s books are required reading for DEA, military and police units. He travels 250+ days/year as one of our nation’s leading trainers for military, law enforcement, mental health providers, and school safety organizations. He helped train mental health professionals after the Jonesboro school massacre, and he was also involved in counseling or court cases in the aftermath of the Paducah, Springfield, Littleton and Nickel Mines Amish school massacres.

Our kids have been taught to blow brains out and get points

Yes, we even talk about the effects of violence on TV and in video games, especially in very young children. Feed our youngsters virtuous info and images, then once they are more mature, it’s okay to see some violence. Don’t take a 5-year-old to see “Saving Private Ryan” for heaven’s sake.

Sleep deprivation

He also gives staggering statistics regarding the effects of sleep deprivation in everyone – young and old. Don’t let your kids go to bed with their phones/devices. And we adults shouldn’t either. He will explain a few reasons why.

Veteran’s health

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman is also very passionate about our veteran’s health and the anti-war smear of our veterans by the media. PTSD is treatable! And survival guilt is normal. It’s not PTSD. For those with PTSD, don’t let it stop you from getting better. Grossman provides an example from a very well-known veteran.

Every day carry (EDC)

We even talk about being prepared with tools to protect us, our families, and others. He said, “I’d rather walk out the door naked and alone than to be with my loved ones without the tools to protect us.”

My conversation with this Army Ranger, paratrooper and former West Point Psychology Professor blew me away. He’s a dynamic speaker who uses facts, passion, and common sense.

Learn more about Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, his books and academy here:

www.killology.com

Grossman Academy

On Combat

On Killing (perennial bestseller)

Stop Teaching our Kids to Kill

Warrior Mindset: Mental Toughness Skills for our Nation’s Peacekeepers

Sheepdogs – Meet our Nation’s Warriors (children’s book)

Why Mommy Carries a Gun, American Sheepdogs (children’s book)

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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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