Lessons Learned

On May 18, 2025, I was nearly killed in a violent accident that left me unconscious and severely injured on a sidewalk in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the aftermath, everything changed. I’ve been forced to confront what it means to live as a different version of myself. This episode is told in two parts. The first is a recording I made shortly after returning home, before undergoing reconstructive facial...

In the summer of 2009 Dominic Davila deployed to the city of Garmsir in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan with 2nd Battalion 8th Marines as a machine gunner in weapons platoon . On July 23rd his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device that severely wounded him, resulting in his right leg being amputated below the knee. Cpl. Nick Xiarhos and LCPL. Jeremy Lasher were killed in the blast and...

On this episode, we feature Lieutenant Colonel Tom Schueman, a Marine Corps officer who served as a Rifle Platoon Commander with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines during a harrowing deployment to Sangin, Afghanistan in 2010-2011. There, he forged an unbreakable bond with his platoon’s interpreter, Zainullah “Zack” Zaki—a young Afghan who risked everything to support U.S. forces on the front lines. A deca...

Scott Payne is a retired FBI Special Agent who spent twenty-eight years in law enforcement investigating cases against drug trafficking organizations, human traffickers, outlaw motorcycle clubs, gangs, public corruption, and domestic terrorists. He was also a SWAT team operator and instructor for firearms, tactics, and undercover operations. Scott recently published His first book titled, Code Nam...

Ten years after serving his country as a U.S. Marine, Captain Frank “Gus” Biggio signed up once again because he missed the brotherhood of the military. Leaving behind his successful law career, his young wife, and newborn son, he was deployed to Helmand Province—the most violent region in war-torn Afghanistan. As a participant in a combined coalition offensive named Operation Khanjar, Biggio and...

Dean Crisp is a leadership influencer and Founder / CEO of Leaders Helping Leaders Network (LHLN) where he is known as a highly energetic and motivational instructor who offers quality, impactful leadership development classes. He is a thirty-year veteran of law enforcement serving his last 17 years as a chief of police. Dean was also the former National Training Director for FBI-LEEDA and was ins...

The Battle of Khe Sanh began on January 21, 1968, when forces from the People’s Army of North Vietnam carried out a massive artillery bombardment and infantry attack on the U.S. Marine combat base at Khe Sanh, located in the northwest of South Vietnam near the Laotian border. For the next 77 days the Marines fought off an intense siege in one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War...

In 2016 Navy veteran turned television and film producer River Hagg left his job with the popular show Wicked Tuna to travel to Syria to document the bloody war between ISIS and the Kurdish militant group called the YPG. When he arrived he was informed that journalist were not allowed to enter the war zone and he was told that his only access would be through a 6 month contract to fight for the YP...

On a red-eye flight to Connecticut in 2003 David Kniess sat next to a young Marine who introduced himself as Jason Dunham. David immediately sensed something special about Jason and knew that he would inevitably be deploying to the Iraq war in the near future. Six months later David found Jason’s name among a list of those killed in action in Iraq in 2004. It was later learned that on April 14th 2...

On March 27, 2023, a lone gunman entered the Covenant School located in Nashville Tennessee and tragically took the lives of six individuals. Mike  Collazo, along with four other officers, were among the first responders to arrive at the scene that day. Their small team swiftly entered the school and began searching for the gunman. Ultimately, their unit encountered the shooter, leading to an exch...

This episode we feature Linda Morrison the author of Dear Heroin: A memoir of goodbyes. The opioid crisis in America has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and in 2012 Linda's son Michael succumbed to his heroin addiction and tragically took his own life. She is now an advocate for those caught in the circle of substance abuse and encourages and supports families in their batt...

Dr. Ben Stone attended Exeter College of Oxford University through the United States Air Force Institute of Technology. At Oxford, Dr. Stone developed a keen interest in cardiovascular physiology. He completed his PhD for his medical doctorate and also coordinated research at the British Olympic Medical Institute, Oxford Nutraceuticals Group, and Cambridge University. In 2017, Dr. Stone co-develop...

Kristen Ziman joined the Aurora Police force in 1991 as a police cadet and became a sworn officer in 1994. She worked in patrol, field training, community policing and investigations as a domestic violence detective before being promoted to sergeant in 2003.  She was promoted to lieutenant in 2008 and to Commander in 2010 and Chief of Police in January of 2016, becoming the first female chief in t...

John Davis served in the Army as infantry with the 101st Airborne from 2009-2017. During that time he deployed twice to the eastern region of Afghanistan before medically retiring in 2017. John is also a Harvard graduate and veteran advocate who served as a legislative fellow for the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Student Veterans of America. After John’s medical retirement from the Army he began tr...

Rob Ninkovich is a former professional football player who played as a defensive end and outside linebacker in the NFL, primarily with the New England Patriots. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft but found his greatest success after joining the Patriots in 2009. Known for his versatility, relentless work ethic, and leadership on the field, Ninkovich b...

On April 15th 2013 Roseann Sdoia was watching the Boston Marathon on Bolyston Street when a bomb blew up only feet away from her and changed her life forever. Roseanne was gravely wounded and as a result her right leg was amputated above the knee. Roseann’s life was saved by first responders and nearby civilians who took life saving actions in a chaotic and violent scene. One of those first respon...

Michael Ramos joined the Navy 13 days before the September 11th 2001 attacks on the world trade center. He was assigned the job of Religious Program Specialist where he served as a body guard for unarmed chaplains in combat zones attached to front line infantry units. He deployed with the Marines for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 then went on to spend the next decade attached to Marine units for mu...

For nearly a decade Kael Weston represented the U.S. Government in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan as a state department official. In Iraq, he was the State Department representative in Fallujah, both during and after the biggest battle in that war. Kael and the Marine leaders were responsible for rebuilding the city’s infrastructure, facilitating the return of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi...

Brockton native Tom Bolinder was 19 years old when he fought in the jungles and hills of Vietnam as rifleman with Echo Company 2nd Battalion 7th Marines from 1967-1968. During that time the war was in one of its most violent periods as the North had launched a massive surprise offensive that was later to be called the TET offensive. Tom and his fellow Marines fought a determined and battle hardene...

United States Air Force Captain Alan Brudno from Quincy Massachusetts was flying a combat mission over North Vietnam in his F4 Phantom fighter jet when on October 18th, 1965 he was shot down and captured as a prisoner of war. Alan Brudno was held for 7.5 years as a prisoner of war in various north Vietnamese prison camps including the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Alan and his fellow POW’s endured unimag...

Ron Jansen joined the Marine Corps in 2002 as a reservist in Grand Rapids Michigan and was assigned to 1st battalion 24th Marine regiment as an infantryman. In 2006 Ron deployed to Fallujah, Iraq as a squad leader where he conducted hundreds of foot patrols and fought against a rapidly growing insurgency. In May of 2024 Ron published his book, An Otherwise Healthy Person: A Marine's Story of...

Dean Otto is from Charlotte North Carolina and in 2016 Dean was riding his bicycle on a dark road during the early morning hours in Charlotte when a Ford F-150 truck hit him from behind and shattered his spine, leaving him on the side of the road and instantly paralyzed from the waist down. Dean knew in that moment that his life would be changed forever, but he could have never imagined the journe...

David Nicastro served with the Marine Corps as part of the 2nd Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team (FAST) company from 1996-2003. After his honorable discharge he began a career as a civilian contractor employed by various government agencies from 2004-2014. During those years he deployed to Iraq multiple times during the most violent years of the insurgency and to Afghanistan as part of the intell...

Nick Laidlaw served as an 0311 rifleman in the Marine Corps from 2012-2019. After the Marine Corps he began a career as a Registered Behavior Technician, Teaching children with Autism as a day job. Nick is also the founder of Battles and Beers: War Stories which is found on YouTube and Instagram, where he shares first hand accounts of people who fought in conflicts from all over the world spanning...

Nicholas Rizzo joined the Marine Corps in July of 2008. After completing infantry training as an 0311 rifleman he was assigned to 2nd Bn 8th Marines on Camp Lejeune NC. In May of 2009 he deployed to the city of Garmsir in the Helmand Province as part of Operation Khanjar and conducted combat operations with Echo Company as the southern most element of the battalion effort. After being inserted by...