Ep 077 | My Interview on “The Game” | Throwback from 2012
Nov 09, 2020
Show notes
Throwback to my interview with Mick Gillispie and Ryan Fowler on “The Game” radio show in February 2012.
Mick has been a big supporter of The Mark Forester Foundation since its inception. And in this interview we cover many topics surrounding Mark’s education, time in military, final battle, The American Fallen Soldiers Project, fundraisers and Mark’s foundation.
As you’ll hear in my intro, I’m having a difficult time interviewing lately, but have people with compelling stories lined up. It’s all a matter of time, and right now, our family is having to constantly “recalibrate”.
Copyright 2020 Thad Forester http://www.patriottothecore.com email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com
Ep 076 – Special: Brig. Gen. Gwyn Armfield | Behind the scenes of our Next-of-Kin notifications
Sep 29, 2020
Show notes
Sept 29, 2020 is the 10th anniversary of Mark Forester’s death in Afghanistan. The picture in this post is Mark’s body being taken from the C-17 at Dover AFB for the Dignified Transfer.
My guest is General Robert Armfield who was Mark’s group commander in 2010. Armfield was also at Dover when Mark’s body arrived, he visited our home to provide additional details of his death, and was in the background helping lead the notification activities.
We discuss how they arranged simultaneously notifying our family, how they watched Mom and Dad’s home until Dad got home from work. Why they called the sheriff before they delivered the news and how they prepare to bring this news that rocks someone’s world instantly. He also shares the purpose of that last big mission Mark and his team were on. It was great to have this experienced, American warfighter on the show and we appreciate him reflecting on Mark’s death from Gwyn’s unique perspective.
“I cannot think of another Air Force general who has more combat time than Brig. Gen. Armfield,” said retired Lt. Gen. Eric Fiel, former commander of Air Force Special Operations Command and officiant of Armfield’s retirement ceremony.
*PTC is on Patreon. If you like what you’re hearing please check out how you can help the cause so I can provide quality content and keep on keeping on!
Copyright 2020 Thad Forester http://www.patriottothecore.com email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com
Ep 075 – Dan Skidmore | Former CCT, GORUCK Dir. of Training
Aug 24, 2020
Show notes
Dan Skidmore spent nine years as an Air Force combat controller. As a member of this elite group, he deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other locations across the globe.
He is a member of Force Blue , which unites the community of Special Operations veterans with the world of marine conservation for the betterment of both.
Dan is also the Director of Training for GORUCK – a gear, apparel, footwear, and events company that I’m a big fan of.
In this episode we cover three main topics: CCT, GORUCK and one of his businesses, Ruck Wrap, which promotes recovery and injury prevention by compression and teaches how to “maintain your machine.”
At the end, I got his opinion on professional athletes kneeling for the National Anthem.
I hope you enjoy this hard-charging, health and fitness advocate that I enjoy following on Instagram.
*PTC is on Patreon. If you like what you’re hearing please check out how you can help the cause so I can provide quality content and keep on keeping on!
Copyright 2020 Thad Forester http://www.patriottothecore.com email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com
Ep 074 – Memorial Day Special: Bobby Bonello Escorting Mark’s Body to Dover – The Angel Flight
May 24, 2020
Show notes
Today Mark’s friend and teammate tells us what it was like to get the news of Mark’s death, how he got a risky flight out of his FOB and met up with Mark so he could escort his buddy back to the states as part of the Angel Flight.
This episode is solely about Bobby Bonello and Mark Forester. Even though much of what is discussed is written in my book, I wanted to have an oral history and capture Bobby’s feelings and some details that were left out of the book.
Seeing Bobby at Dover AFB for the Dignified Transfer was somewhat comforting. He knew Mark and knew us. Up until then, our notifications had been from those who knew Mark, but we didn’t really know.
Bobby was visibly shaken and had a sort of blank look in his face when we first saw him. Probably how we looked too.
The picture above is Bobby at Mark’s casket/transfer case in a C-17 in Kandahar, just before leaving for Dover AFB. Although barely being able to see Bobby’s face, he looks shaken, worn and upset. I still can’t tell you who took these pictures, but they were a friend of a family friend who happened to be there. Amazingly this person found out who it was and made the connection, got the pics to his friend, who then sent to me. It was only a matter a days after this happened.
And hope you enjoy clips of the song used. Credit to Radney Foster, Angel Flight.
**originally aired Sept. 29, 2017 as episode 038**
*PTC is on Patreon. If you like what you’re hearing please check out how you can help the cause so I can provide quality content and keep on keeping on!
Copyright 2020 Thad Forester http://www.patriottothecore.com email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com
Ep 073 – Linda Ambard | Courageously Alive
May 04, 2020
Show notes
It seemed Linda Ambard was the last person to find out about her husband, Maj. Philip Ambard’s death. The media knew, her co-workers knew and even some of her children found out via social media.
Linda shares why her late husband immigrated to the United States, learned English, along with 7 other languages, and then chose to join the Air Force.
Her notification and details of this death were far from effective, but we know who his killer was. It was an insider–someone he and his teammates trusted. Since, she’s been on a mission to help the Air Force know where to improve and to help military spouses understand how to avoid some of the challenges she faced in the days following his death.
Linda still doesn’t have clear answers, but she’s forgiven Phil’s killer (who killed a total of 9 Americans that day) and has “hope” for the Afghan people.
Since his death, she’s run 55 marathons (total of 200) on six continents. She’s been on the Antarctica Marathon waiting list and will accomplish that goal in 2021. She’s a champion of getting outside, running, and relying on your faith to get thru challenges. She’s a woman of action and change. It was great having her on Patriot to the Core!
You can get her book here and learn more about her husband Maj. Phil Ambard: Courageously Alive
Ep 072 – Mark Lauren | Bodyweight Master & Best-selling Fitness Author
Mar 30, 2020
Show notes
I know I’m not the only one who is getting an increased amount of target marketing on alternatives to gyms. Our current situation that has caused gyms to close didn’t change my routine at all b/c I don’t rely on one. The reason; my exercise strategy changed when I began following Mark Lauren’s programs in January of 2018.
His quote to me in this episode, which originally aired July 2018, has proven to be ahead of it’s time: “A critical and essential piece to long term fitness is being independent.” Here we discuss how to be independent of a gym membership, unnecessary equipment and much more.
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.
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. And 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.
Ep 071 – Jeff Kyle: Marine & Gold Star brother
Mar 16, 2020
Show notes
Most of you have heard of Chris Kyle or seen the movie “American Sniper“, directed by Clint Eastwood. It was a very popular book and movie.
But I always wondered about his brother Jeff. What made him serve in the military? How close were he and Chris and how did Chris’ death affect him?
Today is one Gold Star brother talking with another about his life growing up and how he was “set straight” by a veteran at the VA who told him he’s all talk and no action. That was a turning point for Jeff.
If you enjoy this podcast or any of my other 70 episodes, please give me a rating on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are big help in the success of the show. Thank you.
Copyright 2020 Thad Forester http://www.patriottothecore.com email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com
Ep 070 – Michael Yon | Insurgency in Hong Kong
Jan 27, 2020
Show notes
“Cowardice and courage; both are infectious. The Hong Kongers are showing a lot of courage.”
Michael Yon (Instagram Michael_yon_world) is back on the show to discuss what’s going on it Hong Kong. We get into some deep history on China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as talk its comparison to Poland in the 80’s.
He’s been on the ground, in the action, since summer of 2019. I’ve watched his videos and seen a man on fire, much violence and anger between protestors and traitors.
Yon has written a plethora of books and articles. One recent, in-depth interview was on American Thought Leaders from a few weeks ago. You can watch that here:
Ep 069 – Hershel “Woody” Williams | Medal of Honor Recipient
Nov 11, 2019
Show notes
Woody Williams will never forget the odor of burning human remains.
“There are some things about that 4 hours that have bothered me my whole life… I can’t remember going back and getting the other 5 flamethrowers. It was so horrific, I didn’t want to remember.”
I was introduced to death by flamethrower after learning of Mr. Williams. He went thru 5 – 70 lb flamethrowers in a 4-hour battle on Iwo Jima. Two of the Marines assigned to him were killed that day protecting his life. He is the last surviving recipient of the Medal of Honor from that battle, and the last surviving Marine to receive the MOH for heroism in World War II.
You could say Mr. Williams lived a sheltered life up until his time in the military. Prior, he’d never heard of Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Ocean, or Japan. He joined the Marines to protect his country and protect his freedom. He thought he’d be staying in the U.S., but after boot camp he learned they’d be fighting the Japanese in the Pacific.
I asked, “What did you know about Iwo Jima before you got there?” His response, “Not a thing!” Later he saw the flag raised on Mount Suribachi, but didn’t consider the significance at that time. He had a job to do and wasn’t reveling in the moment.
His story is remarkable. He was awarded the MOH by Pres. Truman, but admits being more nervous to meet the Commandant of the Marine Corp than the President. He shares with us what both these men told him regarding the medal. He didn’t know anything about the MOH. Even the day he received it he didn’t know what it was about.
I even get his opinion on the NFL controversies over kneeling during the National Anthem. Awesome interview. You should read his medal citation below and learn more about him at these links:
Ep 068 – Nic McKinley | Unleashing the Warriors on Child Trafficking
Oct 14, 2019
Show notes
Nic is a former Air Force Pararescueman (PJ) and Country Chief for a special unit within the CIA. During his career he witnessed the epidemic of child trafficking within illegal markets and recognized the opportunity to apply his training to influence this global crisis.
How do he and his organization, DeliverFund, do this? By equipping, training and advising law enforcement officers to track down and arrest these worthless scums of the earth. They focus on getting the source by unleashing the warriors.
In some instances, they’ve reduced the time to find and arrest traffickers down to days and hours.
To say Nic McKinley has a firm understanding about these illicit, illegal markets and has the highest levels of training to effectively combat them is an understatement.
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