The David Burnell Podcast

Practical Self-Defense for Real-World Threats Most violence does not begin with punches. It begins with pressure, positioning, and hesitation. Quick Defense is a reality-based guide to personal safety built on awareness, restraint, and decisive action—designed for real people facing real-world threats. This is not a sports manual or a collection of flashy techniques. It is a practical system focus...

Leadership is easy when conditions are perfect. This book is not written for those moments. In the Black is about leadership when visibility is limited, information is incomplete, pressure is unavoidable, and responsibility does not disappear. It is about what holds when plans fall apart, certainty evaporates, and people still look to you. Drawing from real-world experience in disaster zones, high...

Leadership is not something leaders keep—it’s something they pass on. In the final episode of IN THE BLACK, David Burnell explores how leadership functions under pressure not as authority, but as transmission. Drawing from high-stress operational environments, this episode examines how calm, clarity, and intent move through teams—and how leaders shape outcomes by regulating the environment rather...

Comfort feels safe—until pressure arrives. In this episode of IN THE BLACK , David Burnell explores why comfort zones quietly limit growth and why preparation—not confidence—determines performance under stress. Drawing on stress inoculation training models, this episode explains how deeply ingrained fundamentals enable individuals and teams to adapt when conditions change. Comfort Zones Are Ceilin...

Action matters—but only when it’s anchored to intent. In this episode of IN THE BLACK , David Burnell breaks down why movement without direction creates noise rather than progress. Drawing from operational training environments, this episode introduces a simple but powerful framework—concept, objective, support, movement—and shows how it scales directly to business leadership. Movement With Purpos...

When uncertainty rises, instinct pushes leaders to act. Often, that instinct creates more damage than delay. In this episode of IN THE BLACK , David Burnell examines the principle of deliberate stillness—why doing nothing, when done intentionally, can be a disciplined leadership choice rather than a failure. Drawing on high-stress training environments and operational leadership, this episode expl...

Affirmation isn’t praise—it’s orientation. In this episode of IN THE BLACK , David Burnell explores why affirmation is one of the most misunderstood and most critical leadership tools under pressure. Drawing from high-stress training environments and rescue operations, this episode explains how people fail under stress, not from lack of courage, but from cognitive overload. Affirmation Under Fire...

Pressure doesn’t create leadership—it exposes it. In this first episode of IN THE BLACK , David Burnell examines what happens when stress rises, performance degrades, and leaders are forced to operate without certainty. Drawing from firsthand experience in post-tsunami Japan and other high-stress operational environments, this episode explores how real leadership stabilizes teams rather than react...

Most leadership advice is written for perfect conditions. This series is not. IN THE BLACK explores leadership when visibility is limited, information is incomplete, and pressure is unavoidable. Hosted by David Burnell—U.S. Air Force veteran, rescue professional, and leadership instructor—this series draws from real-world experience in disaster zones, high-risk operational environments, and busine...

In this powerful episode of Echo Valor, David Burnell shares the true story of one of his closest friends stationed with him in England during the Cold War era—a quiet professional whose life changed forever in an act of terror in Tunisia in 1988. What began as a vacation to North Africa became a nightmare when a tourist bus exploded beneath innocent civilians in the historic city of Carthage. Sev...

Dragged to the Deep is a raw, first-person chapter from Built by Fire: Hearing God in the Middle of the Flames by David Burnell . In the frozen depths of Fremont Lake in Wyoming, David Burnell took part in a recovery operation that would test the outer limits of human endurance and spiritual obedience. High in the mountains and fed by glacial runoff, the lake was deep, black, and unforgiving. An a...

If you have listened to or read this book, PLEASE consider a review https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review/?ie=UTF8&channel=glance-detail&asin=B0GFPYZP9R# Gravity and Grace is a faith-centered exploration of how to hear God clearly and make wise decisions when life feels heavy and the way forward is uncertain. Written from lived experience rather than theory, this book reflects on the tension...

New release, rewritten entirely, 27 December 2025 In the hidden war of Burma, where the jungle swallows armies and landmines outnumber crops, one humanitarian mission became a journey of faith, danger, and unexpected brotherhood. When former Air Force veteran David Burnell answered a call to enter the denied territories of Burma (Myanmar), he expected heat, hardship, and risk. What he did not expe...

Some experiences mark you forever. Years ago, in a small, struggling town on the northern shore of Nova Scotia, I witnessed firsthand how close darkness can press— and how fiercely the light of Christ pushes back. From a night when evil showed its face…to a humble man named Bernie whose burned body and battered heart still opened to the Spirit… to a cold creek where a covenant was made…and finally...

There are fires in life you don’t choose. Moments where everything you’ve built, everything you believe, and everything you think you control… gets tested. For David Burnell, those fires came in many forms—conflict zones, rescue missions, humanitarian crises, and the unseen battles that follow when the world goes quiet. But this is not just a story about surviving those moments. It’s about what he...

A relentless work of historical fiction and modern military realism, Haiti Run captures the cost of rescue, the weight of violence, and the salvation that hides inside courage. In the aftermath of the 2010 Haitian earthquake, chaos rules the broken streets. From the ruins emerges Sergeant Savage—a former Special Operations operator turned lone rescuer who walks the line between mercy and mayhem. W...

A Children’s Guide to Gun Safety — Be Brave. Be Smart. Be Safe. is a comforting, story-driven audio experience that shows kids exactly what to do if they ever see a gun—without fear or glamorization. Narrated by David Burnell , a real-life rescuer and humanitarian, this uplifting production blends friendly storytelling, simple repetition, and a memorable safety song so children remember the four e...

Combat Ready: Mastering Force-on-Force Training is a powerful, experience-driven guide to the most realistic and practical methods for preparing for combat, crisis, and confrontation. Written by David Burnell —a veteran, tactical instructor, rescue diver, and founder of the Urban Warfare Center —this book takes you deep inside the philosophy, psychology, and technology of modern force-on-force tra...

Bad Gods: Haiti is a ground-level memoir of duty under pressure. In January 2010, David Burnell landed in Port-au-Prince as Chief of Security for the Utah Hospital Task Force—120 doctors, nurses, and volunteers dropped into a chaotic situation. With a five-man security element and the help of the 82nd Airborne, he built perimeters out of trucks, moved clinics through hostile streets, and called ha...

I’m David Burnell. In March 2011, while most were flying out of Japan, I flew in—alone, with two hundred pounds of gear and a quiet prayer: Use me how You need me. This audiobook is my field journal read aloud—plain talk from the mud and the cold—about rescue and recovery after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. You’ll hear what it felt like to embed with the Mexico City team, Los Topos,...

Inside a grueling dive rescue instructor selection where pressure, teamwork, and failure reveal who’s truly built to endure. Sink or Succeed takes listeners inside a brutal instructor selection at Dive Rescue International in Fort Collins, Colorado. Designed to prepare instructors who train 9-1-1 rescue divers for the most dangerous water environments—swift rivers, under-ice operations, and deep r...

In a world filled with constant noise, conflict, and endless information, clarity has become a rare skill. In this episode of Quiet Readiness , David Burnell explores one of the most important principles he learned through military service, rescue operations, and running the Urban Warfare Center: Necessity. When chaos surrounds you, success often depends on one simple question: What is necessary r...

Freedom is not the property of any nation. It is the birthright of every human soul. In this episode, David Burnell reflects on the universal nature of freedom—why people everywhere fight for it, why tyrants always try to control it, and why once a people have breathed the air of liberty, it becomes nearly impossible to take it away. Drawing from history, philosophy, and personal experiences aroun...

In this episode, David Burnell shares the full story of a mission he has rarely spoken about in public. In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake—amid collapse, armed violence, prison escapes, trafficking networks, and humanitarian chaos—David was serving as chief of security for the Utah Hospital Task Force, protecting doctors and nurses in one of the most dangerous environments on earth. The...

The world often describes three kinds of people: sheep, sheepdogs, and wolves. But what about those who hunt evil before it strikes? In this episode of the David Burnell Podcast , David Burnell reflects on a profound discussion with South African Special Forces veteran David Fabricius about vigilance, freedom, and the unseen guardians who stand between civilization and chaos. Through this episode,...