Behind The Shield

Nate Morgans is National Guardsman, Tusla Fire Department Deputy Chief and the CEO of the Casey Skudin 343 Fund. We discuss his journey into the military, joining the fire service, combat deployments, his battle with alcoholism, the healing power of Ibogaine, fighting for plant medicine treatment in Oklahoma and so much more. Nate has devoted his life to serving others, both in uniform with the U....

Ryan Scalmanini is a U.S. Coast Guard Veteran and the Director of VA Disability Compliance and Analytics for Veteran Benefits Guide (VBG). In his role, Ryan manages the training and development for VBG’s VA disability claims manager team to ensure they are equipped with the information and resources they need to successfully support the company’s Veteran clients. He is also responsible for end-to-...

Frank Wright was one of the original Marine Raiders who fought on both Guam and Iwo Jima in WWII. We discuss his journey into the Marines, special forces selection, hand to hand combat, facing banzai attacks, his powerful mental health story, writing his book and so much more. "I fought like mad as the Japanese stormed down the hill yelling 'Malians you die, Malians you die.' I emptied my rifle ma...

Joseph Sullivan is the founder of Active911, the emergency response platform trusted daily by first responders across the country for real-time incident coordination. He also founded Alyrica Networks, Nova Dynamics, and Daxbot, where his work focuses on deploying autonomous robotic systems into real-world environments. His background spans communications infrastructure, emergency operations, and r...

Kevin Grange is an award-winning freelance writer with an emphasis on the medical field, adventure and travel. He is a firefighter/paramedic with Jackson Hole Fire/EMS and Grand Teton National Park in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We discuss his journey into Emergency Medicine, grizzly bear attacks, wilderness medicine, homelessness, addiction, mental health, flight medicine and so much more. His latest...

Emily Kaplan is the co-founder of The Broken Science Initiative and MetFix. She is focused on helping coaches and doctors reverse chronic diseases using lifestyle interventions. The BSI is the research arm of the initiative, doing deep dives into how modern peer-review works, or in many cases does not work, looking at how industry influences outcomes and how to evaluate good research versus corrup...

Greg Kelley was a promising high school football player when he was falsely accused of sexual abuse of a child and wrongfully imprisoned. He spent the next six years proving his innocence, three of which were in prison. We discuss his early life, his parent's medical issues that led to him staying with a friend, the outcry, the horrendous cascade of unethical practices in both the investigation an...

Johnathon Ehsani is an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where he works at the intersection of transportation and public health. His research focuses on teen and novice drivers, distracted driving, older adult mobility, and how people understand and use new technologies like autonomous vehicles. He regularly advises the U.S. Department of Transportation an...

​Louie Disney is a 40-year-old veteran firefighter and EMT based in Colorado, who believes that to be a truly effective first responder, you must be resilient and fully prepared for the demands of the job—both physically and mentally. With over 20 years of fire service experience across Kansas and Colorado—including wildland firefighting—Louie knows firsthand the heavy toll the profession takes. H...

Joel Dudley is the former Associate Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the CEO and Co-Founder of Bevimi. We discuss forging resilience through wrestling, his jouney into computing, Bioinformatics, debunking pandemic myths, exciting innovations in Alzheimer's prevention, the power of sleep, brain health supplementation and so much more. Dr....

Paige Figi spent years trying to find a treatment for her young daughter, Charlotte, who was diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome – a serious form of epilepsy – and suffered from frequent seizures. Because none of the traditional pharmaceuticals and treatments were reliable or successful in reducing and helping Charlotte’s life-limiting condition, Paige researched alternative therapies, discovering a ty...

William Branum is a retired Navy SEAL with 26 years of elite military service, leading high-stakes missions around the world, including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that required presidential approval. From sniper instructor to SEAL Team leader, William forged unshakable leadership under the most extreme conditions on earth. Since hanging up the uniform, William has become a sought-after spe...

Jason Gray has been in the stunt industry for amost four decades working in film, television, commercials and music videos. We discuss his childhood in Iowa, wrestling, the genesis of Orlando's theme parks, live show dangers, sleep deprivation in entertainment, specialisation, The Oscars and so much more. "Growing up a sports-crazed kid (a champion pole vaulter & wrestler)on a farm in Iowa, I...

Debbie Johnson is a financial professional and a dedicated nonprofit leader with a profound passion for supporting law enforcement K9 units. Her journey into advocacy began following the tragic death of St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office K9 Baron in 2015, which inspired her to invest significant time and resources to understand the unique needs of these heroic dogs. Driven by her newfound appreciat...

Trisha Stavinoha is an Army Veteran, Dietitian and elite endurance athlete. We discuss her journey into the military, hydration myths, sports drinks, fluid replacement in tactical athletes, relief aid in third world countries and much more. Trisha retired in 2018 after a 20-year career as an Army Dietitian, the last 12 years serving in a performance nutrition capacity. She earned her BS in Nutriti...

Mike Landis has been with Destin Fire for 17 years and has been the Deputy Chief since 2024. Mike sits as Region 1 FASAR Coordinator, TRT-109 Coordinator and Team lead, is a FL USAR Rescue Specialist, Paramedic, and is a graduate from Florida State University with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. Mike is a Florida local who has grown up in the Destin area and attended Crestview High Sch...

Andrea “Mahigun” Bogiatto is a Deputy Sheriff in Colorado and a former Italian National Police officer (Reparto Mobile). He developed the Human Factor – Behavioral Architecture Under Operational Pressure, a framework focused on behavioral patterns and decision-making under stress. His background includes crowd control, K9 environments, and international training collaborations, with ongoing develo...

Jake Ryks is a firefighter, EMT, and HazMat Specialist with the Saint Paul Fire Department, currently assigned to Squad 1 and HazMat 1. He serves as the HazMat training coordinator within the department. Jake was recognized as the 2024 Minnesota Firefighter of the Year and received the Michael O. McNamee Award of Valor for his role in rescuing multiple children from a house fire. Outside of the fi...

Greg Walsh is an athlete, martial artist and the founder of Wolf Brigade. We discuss his journey into extreme sports, the straight edge Hardcore scene, Crossfit, Jeet Kune Do, kettlebell training, youth athletes, mace work, strength and conditioning for the tactical athlete, the aging athlete and so much more. Greg Walsh has walked upright down a path of resistance for most of his life. The discov...

Dr. Cordle is a retired Navy captain with 30 years of service and a human factors engineer. In this second conversation, we discuss his family's generational combat service, the current crisis in Iran, the financial cost of forced sleep deprivation, servant leadership, technical competence and his latest book "Letters to Myself". John was the 2018 Proceedings Author of the Year, Surface Navy Assoc...

K. L. Sadler is a retired U.S. Diplomat and Supervisory Special Agent with the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. Over a 26-year career as a sworn law enforcement officer and federal agent, she served in high-threat assignments across Iraq, Afghanistan, Uganda, Mexico, and El Salvador, where she received multiple Superior Honor Awards for leadership and crisis response. She be...

Brian Brush is a 30 year veteran of the fire service, instructor and the training chief for the Midwest City (OK) Fire Department. We discuss his journey into the volunteer fire service, wildland firefighting, firefighter fitness, putting family first, his near career ending medical event, mentorship and so much more. Brian's background spans several states from rural volunteer to metro-sized depa...

RJ Casey has held numerous roles including as an Army Special Forces Medic, Air Force Pararescueman, Physician's Assistant and Stuntman. We discuss his journey into the military, trauma medicine, education, realism in training, working with Mel Gibson and so much more. RJ has 30+ years of Special Operations experience with the Department of Defense and other government agencies. He has multiple co...

Dr Ken Ford is a Navy veteran, former NASA computer scientist and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer Emeritus of the Florida Insitute for Human and Machine Cognition. We discuss his journey into the military, living in Guantanamo Bay, the genesis of computers in the military, the moon landing, exploring Mars, Tier One operators, the firefighter workweek, exoskeletons, sleep for performance an...

Mike Wynn is the Director of The Quell Foundation’s First Responder Resilience Project (FRRP), where he leads the development and execution of strategic programming focused on supporting the mental health and well-being of first responders nationwide. A former Chief of Police for the Pittsfield (MA) Police Department, Mike brings nearly 30 years of leadership experience in law enforcement, trainin...