Matthew Roland was killed-in-action in Afghanistan in August 2015 in an insider attack (aka “green on blue”) at an Afghan-led security checkpoint. Killed alongside him was teammate SSgt Forrest Sibley, both Air Force Combat Controllers attached to an Army Special Forces team. Matthew’s father Mark, shares what happened, how Matthew responded instan…

Michael Madsen is a Judge Advocate in the US Army. His current full-time job is an Attorney for the Air Force and he’s a JAG in the Army Reserves. After graduating law school and completing a JD/MBA program, Michael worked in the private sector before joining the Army at the age of 33. He wanted to serve his country and found that the Army gave him…

CW4 Matthew Longanacre (Matthew on Facebook) was an AH-64D Apache Pilot with 1-101 Aviation Regiment “Expect No Mercy”. He was the Pilot-In-Command of one of the two Apaches that were overhead when Mark and Calvin were killed on 29 September 2010. Printed in Mark’s book, My Brother in Arms, Matthew wrote to our family: “We pride ourselves on doing …

Eric Moutsos (@ericmoutsos) is a small business owner and creator of Freedom Blends, a supplement company based on the principles of Freedom and Liberty. A former Salt Lake City Police Officer, Moutsos loved the job but quickly started being outspoken about disturbing practices (aka quotas) and discrimination within the department. In the end, Eric…

Brian Jodice (@brianjodice) of Pick Up The Six Productions and NGBN TV is back to promote this new network for men in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. Discussed in this episode: -why focus on this demographic? -men’s mental health -Biblical application -best athletic gear and brands for outdoor workouts (specifically F3 and GORUCK events) -prison ministe…

Within weeks of the 9/11 attacks, Air Force Combat Controller Joe O’Keefe was in Afghanistan working with the CIA and other special operations units. Joe and his small team made their way into the mountains of Tora Bora with the help of the Northern Alliance. Armed with the element of surprise, he was able to start calling in close air support agai…

The late 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 we…

Mark Schmitz’s son, LCpl Jared Schmitz, was one of the 13 Americans murdered at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, on 26 August 2021 during the evacuation from Afghanistan. He was just 20 years old. He was there on a humanitarian mission working the infamous Abbey Gate. When Afghans made it past the Taliban checkpoints, they were desperat…

Don Stevens is one of those rare operators who retrained into the Air Force combat control (CCT) pipeline at the age of 32, after being in security forces. This required uncommon humility since leadership said, “What are we gonna do with a MSgt. who doesn’t know squat (many different strong words could be inserted here)?” Even though I’ve had sever…

On this 13th anniversary of the death of my brother, SrA Mark Forester, I have the opportunity to talk with Kenny Alicea who was the Senior Weapons Sergeant for his Army Special Forces team (ODA 7212) where Mark was attached. Kenny contacted me a few weeks ago and told me he was on that final mission when Mark and Calvin were killed. He was a few h…

Nic McKinley is an entrepreneur, former Air Force Pararescueman, and ex-CIA operative who founded DeliverFund, the only donor-funded solution to human trafficking that delivers proprietary data and technology to law enforcement, allowing them to take down human traffickers effectively. With 30 combat deployments under his belt in both Special Opera…

Retired U. S. Marine and former Policeman, bouncer, Corrections Officer and more Rich Brown (@american_warrior_society) is back on the show so I can dig into his new Memoir “On Violence & Varietals“. We cover many areas of his life: fighting as a boy, the Gulf War, sleeping with one eye open, interacting with prisoners as a corrections officer whil…

The Mark Forester Foundation’s annual golf tournament will be held Friday August 11, 2023 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Muscle Shoals, AL. In this episode, I chat with Doug Cole and Jay Stubbs who are long time participants and supporters. We talk about the course, the value of the entry fee, prizes, experiences and why they keep coming b…

T. C. Fuller joined the FBI after an 11-year career in the Army as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer. Then he joined the FBI and became a Special Agent, serving for 20 years. During his time in the FBI he held many assignments, including: Principal Firearms Instructor, Joint Terrorism Task Force – Domestic and International, and Violent Crimes…

Gary Michael Rose (Mike) joins me in person to share what happened in Laos during Operation Tailwind in 1970. During these 4 days, Sergeant Rose exposed himself to the enemy many times in order to treat the wounded. And then, the helicopter carrying Rose and others crashed further injuring him and the other wounded on board. Despite his numerous wo…

Dan Skidmore (@danskidmore11) is the Director of Specialized Training at GORUCK. He’s back on PTC as to talk initially about the upcoming Mark Forester JAG 28 Memorial Birthday Walk/Ruck. This is our annual event honoring my brother Mark Forester who was KIA 2010, where we walk 28 continuous miles. Dan will be joining us for the first time (in pers…

Chris Sprayberry and Troy Bye join me to talk about the upcoming JAG 28 Birthday Walk on May 20, 2023. Chris (@https://www.instagram.com/sprayberry_77/) has done the walk every year since we started in 2011. Troy’s (@https://www.instagram.com/ourtownpodcast/) first time was last year. After learning the hard way, he can’t wait to do it again while …

MSG Darrell Utt retired from the U.S. Army Special Forces in January of 2017 after 26.5 years in the Army. For this episode, he joins me in person and we have a great time covering the purpose of the National Medal of Honor Museum being constructed in Arlington, TX and why TX was chosen over Colorado. It seems Jerry Jones had something to do with i…

Matthew Reed started his military career in the Marines. After being honorably discharged in 2007, he joined the Army and became an Interrogator and a Military Intelligence NCO, deploying to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Then from 2012 through 2022, Matt worked as an Intelligence Contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense, with roughly six years in…

Michael Blout joins me to talk about the battle from 2012 where he was awarded the Silver Star. As a former Flight Superintendent, Combat Dive Course Superintendent, and Superintendent over the Department of Training, Special Warfare Preparatory Course and more, we talk much about preparation, mindset, leading, integrating into a team and never qui…

On Sept 16, 2010, Yvette’s son, Daniel Ray Sanchez (Danny) was killed in Afghanistan by an insurgent who infiltrated the Afghanistan partner force. Today, Danny’s mom tells us why this “ball of energy” was made for Combat Control and what happened on his first deployment – how was an insurgent able to get on the helicopter with Danny and his team a…

On this special Christmas Day episode, we hear from a legend from WWII – Gail (Hal) Halvorsen. He has many names: Uncle Wiggly Wings, The Berlin Candy Bomber and The Chocolate Flier. He became popular for dropping candy from his plane to the children of Berlin, from 1948-49. His efforts gained support from many back in the states. School children p…

Scott’s younger brother, Steven, was killed-in-action in Afghanistan in Aug. 2010 at the same time that Scott was deployed just miles away. Not only did Scott (@scottdeluzio) have to receive the news of Steven’s death while Scott and his unit were outside the wire, his teammates had to engage in combat until he could get on a bird and to his brothe…

Today, September 29, 2022, mark’s 12 years since my little brother, Mark Forester’s death in Afghanistan. Mark’s close friend and roommate, Doug Cole (@dcoleii), spends some time telling us what life was like living with Mark and watching him transform from a narrow-shouldered, pudgy, college student to a solid, chiseled man. No matter how serious …

Brian Jodice is the owner and host of Pick up the Six Productions and Podcast, where he shares stories about the men and women among us who go above-and-beyond to PICK UP THE SIX through SERVICE, PURPOSE and IMPACT. He recalls many impactful interviews he’s done in the last few years, among them was the Commander of the USS Cole when it was attacke…

Ish Villegas is one of three people who have received the Silver Star twice, since 9/11. Today he walks us thru the battle in 2009 where he got his first Silver Star. It was a 16 hour fight that resulted in at least 32 enemy insurgents killed. During this fight, Ish ran 200 feet across an open, uncleared IED minefield to more effective position and…

“Good judgment comes through experience, which comes from bad judgment.” Brig. Gen. Robert (Gwyn) Armfield and Lt. Gen. Bruce Fister, both USAF, retired are on the show to talk about their new book “Lead to Serve and Serve to Lead.” They use their experience from extensive military careers and now consulting with companies–from non-profits, to larg…

Former Army Chaplain Justin Roberts (@justindroberts) has been in Ukraine since April 2022 recording a documentary film series to highlight people who are doing good in Ukraine–helping with aid, managing donated money effectively and honestly, and just serving their fellow man. I wanted to know what it’s like in the war where he’s been. How are the…

Retired Chief Master Sergeant William Markham spent 30 years in the Air Force, was inducted in the 2021 Air Commando Hall of Fame and in the 2022 USSOCOM Hall of Heroes. I know him personally because he was the chief of my brother Mark’s squadron (21st STS out of Pope Field, NC). I never met him until he delivered the notification of Mark’s death t…

M. Troy Bye, is an Executive Director with ManTech and has spent much of his career managing large IT programs for customers within the Intelligence Community in the Washington D.C. area. ManTech has a long history of supporting the FBI. Now, with the FBI’s transition of many of their cyber programs to Huntsville, AL, Troy recently relocated his fa…

Jennie Taylor was taking a much needed break by spending the weekend with friends from college, therefore she wasn’t home when the “knock” came at her door. In January of 2018, her husband, Major Brent Taylor left his position as Mayor of North Ogden, UT and deployed to Afghanistan with the US Army for what would have been a year-long deployment. O…

CMSgt (retired) Michael Lamonica and MSG (retired) Kyle Stanbro, both retired Air Force combat controllers join us to break down what CCT’s do and their roles in the war on terror, Afghanistan withdrawal, and humanitarian missions throughout the world. And, why CCTs are arguably the deadliest force to ever walk the planet. With each of them having …

Photo Courtesy of BCM To end the year, I’m playing my all-time most downloaded episode. Right after high school graduation, Kyle Defoor @defoorproformanceshooting left for boot camp in Orlando. A few months later, he was in Coronado going thru BUD/S as an 18-year-old kid. We talk about growing up together in the small town of Haleyville, AL. And si…

Retired Air Force Combat Controller Gene Adcock joins me to talk about his new book, “Combat Control Team History“. Since joining the Air Force in 1955 and retiring in 1977, Mr. Adcock has continued to contribute to the CCT career field. This book is another example with its estimated 800 pages and weight of 10 pounds. Gene gives us a brief history…

As this episode goes live, Bobby Weismiller @lionscreedfitness is awaiting his job status with the federal government. Will he still be employed at the end of November? Like millions of others, the executive order could affect his and his family’s livelihood. Bobby outlines his health history, yet the federal government still denied his waiver requ…

Afghanistan. What can I say? Well, I have a lot to say, but I’m not unloading my feelings here–much. We lost 13 American lives. At least 18 are injured, last I read (trying to get correct #). My heart goes out to their families. These heroes haven’t gotten the attention they deserve. Now that our President has declared the war over, what is happeni…

Mark Lauren (@mark_lauren_training) started as a USAF Combat Controller. After his active duty service, he went on to use his experience as an operator and instructor to write the bestselling book You Are Your Own Gym; the Bible of Bodyweight Exercises, which has sold 1.5 million copies worldwide. Mark now uses his 30+ years of training experience …

I last spoke with Dan Schilling in episode 64 about his NY Times Best-Selling book “Alone at Dawn”. Today, he has a new book, The Power of Awareness. Schilling uses his personal experience from conducting combat and covert missions around the world, founded and then commanded two special operations squadrons – the second being one of America’s most…

Michael Andrew (Michael the Maven) is back on the show to discuss why he’s in Indonesia and why UPS asked him to help them with logistical challenges in delivering vaccines. If you don’t follow Michael, I encourage you to check out all his adventures–both as an entrepreneur and as a volunteer throughout the world. Today he explains the difficulty i…

In 2010, Beau and Ben Wise buried their big brother Jeremy. Two years later, Beau buried his brother Ben. He went from the youngest son to the only son. Their parents are the only known U.S. military family to lose two sons in Afghanistan during the 19+ year war. In this interview, I’m privileged to have Beau Wise and his co-author of “Three Wise M…

Rhonda Jimmerson’s brother, Major Troy “Trojan” Gilbert was an F-16 pilot with over 1000 flying hours. On November, 27, 2006, his plane crashed in Iraq while he was protecting Americans whose helicopter had crashed. His body was ejected from the plane upon impact and immediately found and taken by al Qaeda–rolled up in a carpet and placed in a truc…

Photo courtesy of The Commercial Appeal Please enjoy this replay that originally aired in Feb of 2017. J. Stanford (Stan) Staheli was only 18 years old when drafted. One year later he was a member of Patton’s Third Army, 4th Armored Division, liberating France from the Nazi’s. It was here that he was captured in 1944 during a German counter-attack …

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 Mar…

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 addi…

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 Dir…

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 bo…

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. He…

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 ep…

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 …

“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…