Welcome to Patriot to the Core Podcast

Patriot to the Core 2018

This podcast exists b/c of my little brother Mark Forester. While he was serving as a full-time missionary in California, our nation was attacked on 9/11. He felt the calling then to complete his service to God with his next mission being to serve his country. He knew God wanted him to help control the world's terrorists population.

On September 29, 2010, he was killed in action on his first deployment. From his death notification to my family, to the Dignified Transfer ceremony at Dover, to his viewing, funeral, and subsequent memorials, I was amazed at the new world of heroes and warriors we met. These men and women have become close to our family and been huge supports. But they also stood out because of their willingness to voluntarily fight evil. They believed in freedom and liberty. Because of their actions, I started this podcast to interview great Americans who serve their country and communities.

By supporting this podcast, you help support The Mark Forester Foundation and its cause.

I interview those from all branches of the military, serving multiple roles (combat controllers, PJs, Green Berets, SEALs, Rangers, Infantrymen, Marines, Pilots, etc) and the US government. In addition, I speak with your everyday mom who goes about doing good--from starting a non-profit to fighting for freedom in our communities and schools. I also get to talk with Gold Star Parents, Siblings and Spouses, and Medal of Honor recipients.

This provides an opportunity to learn about everyday Americans who go above and beyond to protect us and to help others. As a Gold Star brother, many of my guests have a military connection, but I still have a wide variety of people who answer the call to serve in various ways.

We talk fighting terrorism, self-protection, exercise, mental toughness, charity, parenting, fugitives and occasionally pop culture and politics (like government overreach).

Please follow and subscribe so we can have many episodes to come. Send suggestions and questions to me at thad@patriottothecore.com. Hope you enjoy!

You can also become a patron. Your support is not considered a donation--it's a way to get something in return for helping support my cause. See link below:

Become a Patron!

Ep 061 – Lt. Col. Dave Grossman: Killology 101

October 29, 2018 By Thad Forester

Dave Grossman

“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?

Among the many things we discuss today are the differences 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.

We also talk violence on TV, sleep deprivation, teen suicide, everyday carry (EDC) and veterans health. I love his reasoning for turning off the cell phone/tablet at night–do not take to bed. This was very interesting.

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)

*Replay from 7/10/17

Rock Tune by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

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Ep. 060 – SPECIAL: MAJ Wes Wilson – The Aftermath of Mark’s death in Shah Mashad

September 29, 2018 By Thad Forester

Today is 8 years since Mark was killed in Afghanistan. Although we were notified in person by his teammates and leadership, there were still many unanswered questions–details no one who wasn’t there could personally share.

Major Wes Wilson was the ODA Detachment Commander when Mark was killed. Their team had split up and Wes was about 200 meters away with the mounted element, which included George, who’s been on the podcast two times before.

Hear Wes give us more details of that intense short period on Sept 29, 2010 in Uruzgan Province, where two Americans and others were killed.

You can read more specifics of Mark’s final stand from his Silver Star citation here.

Purchase his book in paperback, hardback or Kindle here.

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Ep 059 – Inside the Thai Soccer Team Rescue w/ Maj Charles Hodges

August 20, 2018 By Thad Forester

“If we don’t try to rescue the boys, we’ll be giving them a death sentence.”

On June 23, 2018, a team of 12 boys — who were all between the ages of 11 and 16 — had just finished a weekly soccer practice and went to explore a cave with their coach.

But after they’d entered the cave, heavy rain started falling and the rising water trapped them inside.

1 day later their belongings were found. Then, on July 2 a rescue diver discovered them when he ran out of line and popped up out of the water inside the cave.

While most of the world was captivated by this story, my guest today was in the thick of the action. Major Charles Hodges was the US Mission Commander. He and his team from the 353rd Special Operations Group along with a team from the 31st Rescue Squadron, were brought in to advise and assist the Royal Thai government.

He gives us great detail on their initial thought processes, how he and his team assisted the multinational effort and why they were willing to take risks and be bold b/c they had no choice but to get the Wild Boars out of there, accepting that 3-5 of the boys could die in the process.

Maj Hodges, an Air Force Special Tactics Officer, concluded with: “This is what we train for – going into a crisis and solving problems.”

Rock Tune by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

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Ep 058 – Mark Lauren | Bodyweight Master

July 9, 2018 By Thad Forester

Mark Lauren-starfish twist

Back on the show is former Air Force combat controller (CCT) Mark Lauren. In episode 40, we discussed his early life, time in military and how he implemented his workouts in the CCT pipeline. Now, we’re talking a little more about how he observed that the fitness industry at large was backward, ineffective, and unsustainable in it’s approach. So, he created fitness programming that improves performance outside of the gym.

His mantra is “you only get good at what you do”, which guides the development of his programs. Lauren’s understanding of athletic fundamentals allows him to create exercise programs for all ability groups that improve performance and physical condition in record time, injury free, by mastering the fundamentals.

Bodyweight training is Mark’s calling in life. I’ve been following his programs since January 2018 and feel great. I’m a big believer in his philosophy and movements.

Today we talk about those programs and the success of his app at MarkLauren.com.

Sign up for Mark’s community and get 20% by using coupon code PATRIOT, by going here: https://bodyweight.marklauren.com

Follow Mark on Instagram

Rock Tune by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

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Ep 057 – “I’ve Got a Man Down!” | Memorial Day 2018

May 27, 2018 By Thad Forester

“As a senior AH-64D Longbow Apache aviator rated as Pilot in Command and qualified as Air Mission Commander, I have never witnessed such an act of heroism in my three years of fighting in combat…. My only regret is that I was unable to prevent Jag 28’s death. I will carry that burden indefinitely. Jag 28 continued to advance on the enemy while taking intense enemy fire, and continuously fired his weapon in an attempt to get to his fallen teammate and destroy the enemy. I can only hope to live up to such an example.”

In today’s Memorial Day episode, I describe some of my brother Mark’s final moments on 29 Sept 2010 as he and his team fought terrorists in a remote village in Afghanistan. The particulars I cover are from the book “My Brother in Arms” and testimony provided by one of the Apache pilots who watched it all go down with his naked eye.

I also report on last weekend’s “Jag 28 Birthday Walk” in Haleyville. Man, it was a great time.

To learn more about Mark Forester, here are a few links:

National Geographic Eyewitness War on Mark Forester or official site here

Lifetime Channel Coming Home

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