Behind The Shield

Latest Episodes:

Tom Morgan (Surviving a Shooting, Overcoming Trauma and the Healing Power of Forgiveness) - Episode 1219 Mar 27, 2026

Show notes

This is one of the most powerful conversations I've recorded to date! In 1997, police officer Tom Morgan was shot in the head by eighteen year old gang member Jason Samuel. What followed was an incredible journey of post traumatic growth and forgiveness that will move you to tears.

We discuss Toms' journey into law enforcement, SWAT operations, his rehabilitation after the shooting, Jason's parole hearing, Tom's wife's powerful mental health story, healing through forgiveness and so much more.

Tom began his 50+ year career in public service in 1975 working for a small rural ambulance company in the Eastern Sierras of California. He had just graduated from High School and gotten his EMT certificate that summer. After working as an EMT for a few years in May 1981, he helped found the first paramedic program in eastern Kern County California after attending Daniel Freeman Paramedic School in Los Angeles. The following year Tom moved to Bakersfield California where he worked as a paramedic and paramedic trainer until January 1984, when he was hired by the Kern County Sheriff's Office.

Tom worked as a Deputy and Senior Deputy Sheriff from 1984 to February 2000, when he was medically retired after being shot in the neck while attempting to arrest a 17-year-old gang member. When Tom was shot, he was in his 3rd year of law school, after finishing law school and passing the BAR he left the Sheriff’s Office, and went to work as an attorney for Kern County Counsel where he worked for 17 years before leaving County service in March 2017.

As a Deputy Sheriff Tom worked for 3 years in the jail and 14 years in Bakersfield Metro Patrol. He also worked assignments in bicycle patrol, SWAT. Tom was also a Field Training Officer and provided officer safety instruction for the Basic Academy. As an attorney Tom was staff counsel for various county departments, including the Sheriff's Office, the District Attorney, Probation, Coroner, Public Administrator and as trial counsel for child dependency matters.

Presently Tom works for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Office of Legal Affairs as a Attorney IV for their Employment Advocacy and Prosecution Team.

Rob Jones II (The Perils of Politics, Farm Life and Fatherhood) - Episode 1218 Mar 24, 2026

Show notes

Rob Jones lost both legs after an IED explosion whilst serving as an Engineer with the Marines. Refusing to let his injuries define him, Rob became an elite athlete competing as a rower in the Paralympics. Rob's latest adventure saw him completing 31 marathons in 31 days. We talk about adaptive athletics, mental trauma, his charitable ventures and much more.

Rob Jones is a retired US Marine, combat leader, and now a leadership instructor and speaker with Echelon Front. He spent five years in the Marine Corps, with deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a Combat Engineer, Rob specialized in finding hidden Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), the enemy’s most deadly weapons. On a mission in July of 2010, while executing an IED sweep, Rob stepped on an IED, which resulted in double above knee amputations of his legs. He spent the next year and a half in physical therapy before retiring from the Marine Corps in 2011. Upon his retirement, Rob was forced to adapt to a new way of being a leader. To do this, he turned to the world of sports.

In 2012, he competed in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, England, bringing home a bronze medal in rowing. In 2013, he became the first double above knee amputee to ride a bicycle across the United States, riding 5,181 miles from Bar Harbor, Maine to Camp Pendleton, California. In 2017, he ran 31 marathons in 31 consecutive days in 31 different cities.

Throughout this journey, Rob has relied upon the principles taught at Echelon Front to turn the darkest moment of his life into a life of impact—more meaningful than he ever could have expected. Rob now brings his experience to Echelon Front to help teams of people take Extreme Ownership and overcome the challenges they face in business and in life.

Dr Pam Kryskow and Phil Danes (Wildland Firefighting, Forging Resilience and Ketamine Therapy) - Episode 1217 Mar 22, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Pamela Kryskow is the medical lead for the Roots To Thrive Program. She is a founding board member of the Psychedelic Association of Canada and the medical chair of the Vancouver Island University Post Graduate Certificate in Psychedelic Medicine assisted Therapy. Pam is also a a clinical instructor at UBC and adjunct professor at VIU.

Dr Kryskow is actively involved in research related to psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine, front line health care workers and first responders mental wellness. She is co-investigator on the largest microdosing study Microdose.me which is ongoing with 22,000+ enrolled participants.

Prior to studying medicine she was a City of Coquitlam Firefighter for 8 years and provincial forestry firefighter for 4 seasons.

Phil Danes is a co-founder, the Lead of Operations and playlist curator (soundscapes that guide psychedelic journeys) for the Roots to Thrive Society for Psychedelic Therapy. Phil is a graduate of Vancouver Island University’s Psychedelic assisted Therapy Graduate Certificate program and alumni of the Positive Deviants program through the Wolf Willow Institute

Phil is passionate about men’s health and the cultivation of environments that promote emotional awareness and expression. He has a keen interest in the intersection of music and psychedelic-assisted therapies and the creation of different playlists to use during therapeutic sessions.

Dr Gabor Maté (Sociopaths in Power, The Opiate Crisis and the Healing Power of Psychedelics) - Episode 1216 Mar 19, 2026

Show notes

A renowned speaker, and bestselling author, Dr. Gabor Maté is highly sought after for his expertise on a range of topics including addiction, stress and childhood development.

Rather than offering quick-fix solutions to these complex issues, Dr. Maté weaves together scientific research, case histories, and his own insights and experience to present a broad perspective that enlightens and empowers people to promote their own healing and that of those around them.

After 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience, Dr. Maté worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness.

Dr. Maté has written several bestselling books, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction; When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress; and Scattered Minds: The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder. He is also the co-author of Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers and The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture.

Morgan Englund (Hollywood, Fire Service Purpose and Catharsis Through Music) - Episode 1215 Mar 17, 2026

Show notes

Morgan Englund's life has been nothing short of a wild ride. He first gained widespread recognition as an actor for his portrayal of Dylan Lewis on CBS's Guiding Light. But, his passion for serving others led him to become a firefighter/paramedic for the city of Los Angeles, a role in which he served with distinction.

Since leaving the fire department, Morgan has embarked on a new journey, choosing to focus his attention on healing through music, public speaking and sound meditation. Through this work, he hopes to heal himself and others overcome past trauma and the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. Morgan's willingness to explore unconventional paths to healing is a testament to his ongoing commitment to lifting others and making a positive impact on the world.

Morgan Englund is a 2× TEDx speaker, former firefighter/paramedic, and cultural change leader committed to reducing firefighter suicide and mental health injuries through meaningful cultural reform. His work is grounded in a sobering reality: firefighters are three times more likely to die by suicide than to be killed in the line of duty. After more than two decades in the fire service, Morgan understands the toughness, compartmentalization, and endurance the job demands. He also witnessed the cost of a culture that never teaches how to stand down—losing friends and colleagues to suicide, burnout, and despair.

Morgan didn’t just survive that environment; he did the work to heal from it without losing his edge. Today, Morgan speaks to firefighters, leaders, and organizations about completing the culture they already value—honoring toughness while adding the missing skills of recovery, integrity, and connection. His talks are practical, grounded, and firefighter-credible, focused on outcomes that matter: fewer mental health injuries, reduced sick time, improved quality of life, and lives saved. This work exists for one reason: to protect the people who protect everyone else—by changing the culture that’s quietly costing them their lives.

https://morganenglund.com/about

Tim Spradlin (Equine Therapy, Arson Investigations and Save a Warrior) - Episode - 1214 Mar 15, 2026

Show notes

Tim Spradlin is the director and EAGALA Certified Equine Specialist for Finally Home Farm, a 501c3 nonprofit charity providing equine therapies to veterans and first responders with emotional wounds near Xenia, Ohio. He and his wife Susan provide support services to wounded warriors at no charge.

Tim is retired from a 40 plus year civilian career as a firefighter, paramedic and law enforcement officer. He also served in the US Air Force on active duty in Crash - Fire – Rescue and later retired from the USAF Reserve where he was a SMSgt / First Sergeant with the Security Forces squadron.

Tim is a certified Community Service Chaplain, certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist and volunteers as the Chaplain for Xenia Township Fire Department. He is a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2402, and is the Chaplain for the Ohio VFW 3rd District.

Jennnifer Eskew (ATF Operations, Drug Probhibition and Corporate Greed) - Episode 1213 Mar 14, 2026

Show notes

Jennifer Eskew is a former Virginia State Trooper, a retired ATF Senior Special Agent, Author, and subject matter expert in undercover operations, fire and explosion origin and cause determinations and criminal investigations involving the violent crimes of arson and bombings, armed career criminals, and financial fraud. We discuss her journey into Law Enforcement, joining the ATF, the worldwide cost of tobacco use, the failure of drug prohibition, her powerful mental health story, corporate greed and so much more.

Her debut memoir, Becoming Fire—featuring a foreword by Detective Lt. Joe Kenda of Homicide Hunter and American Detective—invites readers into the hidden world of those who run toward danger when everyone else runs away.

From her beginnings in a small Virginia farming town to a groundbreaking career in policing, Eskew’s journey has been shaped by a lifelong calling to protect, serve, and seek truth. The spark was lit early—when, as a six-year-old girl, she witnessed the aftermath of a violent crime that nearly took the lives of her family and neighbors. That moment ignited a determination that would carry her through decades of service, countless investigations, and personal sacrifice.

Through Becoming Fire, Jennifer brings a rare, insider’s perspective to the realities of law enforcement—balancing the adrenaline of the job with the emotional toll of bearing witness to humanity at its worst. Her story reveals the heart behind the badge, exploring not just what it takes to stand on the thin blue line, but why some are called to do so.

Today, Jennifer continues her mission beyond the uniform—sharing her experiences through writing, speaking engagements, and advocacy for those who serve. Her voice honors the fallen, uplifts the living, and reminds us that true bravery isn’t the absence of fear—it’s walking through it with purpose.

https://www.jenniferclarkeeskew.com/

Owen McClung-Sitnam (Wilderness Medicine, Accessing Indigneous Populations and Aviation) - Episode 1212 Mar 10, 2026

Show notes

Owen McCLung-Sitnam is a veteran helicopter pilot and the founder of Helicopters Without Borders. We discuss his journey into aviation, his father's service, fighting wildfires, wilderness medicine, Canada's First Nations, his non-profit and so much more.

Owen McClung-Sitnam is a helicopter captain who holds a commercial and airline transport pilot license in Canada and the USA. Accumulating over 3,000 flying hours, primarily fighting forest fires across Canada and flying air ambulance missions up and down British-Columbia’s coast. His experience instilled in him a passion for the power of community support through aviation. Owen also featured in the Top 40 under 40 for Helicopters magazine in their 2021 edition.

Owen studied sustainability in the past and is finishing his Master of Business Administration degree at Royal Roads University. Before embarking into ASF and HWB, Owen headed Business Development for a charter company in Alberta.

https://helicopterswithoutborders.org/

Dr Andrea Lucie (Healing Through Psychedelic Journeys, Training Marines and Post Traumatic Growth) - Episode 1211 Mar 08, 2026

Show notes

For the past 29 years Andrea has worked for the Department of Defense including the Marine Corps, Marine Special Operations Command, the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, and at the Marcus Institute for Brain Health at the University of Colorado.

She grew up in the south of Chile and in the hills of the Andes mountains. From childhood, she learned the value of traditional medicine through observing her grandparents perform traditional healing rituals. Her knowledge is drawn from traditional educational institutions in the US as well as mentors from the Lakota community and Mexican healers.

Andrea specializes in the holistic treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. As an advocate for integrated medicine and a holistic approach to healing, her experiences include trauma sensitive yoga, tai chi, meditation, mind body medicine, shamanic healing, and martial arts. She has been featured in several publications, including the National Journal, U.S. Medicine: The Voice of Federal Medicine, FIGHT magazine, and recently in the New York Times paper for her work on post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.

https://www.thesirenproject.org/

Rob Moore (Fire Service Special Operations, Ice Hockey and Refinding Faith) - Episode 1210 Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

Rob Moore is a 28 year veteran of the fire service. He retired from Orange County (FL) Fire Rescue at 25 years, after serving early in his career as a volunteer for Osceola County and a firefighter for the Department of Defense - Orlando Navy Base. Throughout his career with Orange County, Rob held the ranks of firefighter, engineer and special ops truck lieutenant. He was a member of the inaugural Orlando Eye climb team, the International Drive bike patrol and was captain of the Orange County Fire Hockey Team.

Raised in Central Florida since he was young, Rob had an early love for boating, surfing and fishing. He currently holds a USCG 100 ton master license and lives aboard a 50 ft. trawler with his wife, Sara and dog, Lana. Rob has always turned to the ocean as an outlet for grounding and mental refocusing. His faith as a Christian is deeply woven into his life story and is an anchor in his life that has provided him with strength, healing and purpose through the heaviness of the fire service and into retirement.

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