Building the Elite Podcast

Tristan Irwin is a nine-year veteran of the United States Army, where she served as a special operations Civil Affairs Officer. As a CA Team Chief, she led a four-person team in Moldova, conducting community-level development assistance to strengthen Moldova’s resilience and support its partnership with the US. 

She graduated from Yale University with a dual Master of Forestry and Public Policy degree. In 2012, she graduated from the United States Military Academy with a bachelor's degree in International Relations and another in German. 

Tristan serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors for The Valkyrie Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on optimizing health and human performance for military women through advocacy, research, education, and physical training programming.

https://www.thevalkyrieproject.org/

Timestamps:

00:00:25 Intro to Tristan Irwin

00:01:12 Tristan Irwin's Career

00:01:48 Why is the U.S. Interested in Moldova?

00:02:53 What Does a Mission in Moldova Look Like?

00:04:49 What Skills Are Being Taught on Missions in Moldova?

00:05:32 Missions That Stand Out in Tristan's Memory

00:07:05 Sustainability of What's Implemented on Missions

00:08:46 How to Get the Locals to Commit to Outreach

00:11:08 Lifestyle in an Eastern Bloc Village

00;13:04 Establishing a Cleaning Routine to Keep Your Food Safe

00:14:01 Civil Affairs Selection/Recruitment Process

00:15:53 What Kinds of Cognitive Testing Occurs?

00:17:09 What is the Turnout in Selection

00:17:57 How to Receive an NTR (Not-to-Return)

00:19:17 Qualification Process After Selection

00:20:43 Languages Spoken in Moldova

00:21:49 Differentiating Factor When You’re on the Cusp of Being Selected 

00:23:36 Physical Prep Before and After Selection

00:26:38 Pack Weight for the 12 Mile Run

00:27:01 Arbitrary Fitness Standards for the Military

00:34:22 Military Morale Issues

00:36:57 How the Measurement of Something Determines its Success Criteria

00:40:26 Tristan’s Valkyrie Project Story

00:41:28 How Do You Determine Your Own Successfulness?

00:43:27 What Specific Policies Does Tristan Hopes Will Change in the Military?

00:44:52 How Women Can Get Involved with Valkyrie

00:46:26 Best and Worst Advice Ever Received

00:48:01 Outro

Kevin Smith, Founder of Terminator Training Method (TTM), specializes in virtual fitness coaching tailored for those prepping for Special Operations Forces (SOF) selection courses, especially SFAS. 

Born and raised in Maine, Kevin's dedication to hard work started as a young multi-sport athlete, inspired by his father and later refined through over a decade in the Army Special Forces as a Green Beret medic. He served on a military freefall team for 3.5 years at 10th SFG (A) and closed out his career on a dive/maritime team at 3rd SFG (A). 

During his time in, he completed multiple deployments and earned qualifications, including Ranger School, Advanced Land Navigation (SMU Selection), Dive Medical Technician, Static Line Jumpmaster, and the Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant Course. After 12 years of training for and serving as a Green Beret, he transitioned to a career in fitness coaching, specializing in 1:1 coaching, team coaching, and content creation.

Kevin’s approach to coaching is rooted in simplicity, efficiency, and personalization, emphasizing smart exercise selection, intentional progression, and flexibility. He believes in training that builds resilience without unnecessary complexity, prioritizing fundamentals over fads and ensuring each athlete's program uniquely suits their goals. 

His mission with TTM is to provide clear, science-backed guidance that empowers tactical athletes to exceed fitness standards and develop the mental toughness needed for SOF selection while avoiding the burnout and frustration he once faced. Through TTM’s virtual coaching, podcast, and content, Kevin aims to reshape the tactical fitness space with no-nonsense, results-oriented coaching.

More about Kevin:

Website: Terminatortraining.com
Podcast: The Terminator Training Show
Youtube: Terminator Training Method
IG: Terminator-training

Articles referenced in the show: 

Mental Fortitude Prompts (Most Popular);
Dealing With Pre-Selection Doubt;
Crushing Team Week (Character Development); 

All Articles: 

TTM website;
Substack

Timestamps:

00:00:21 Introduction to Kevin Smith

00:02:07 ‘How did you get into physical training…?’

00:07:16 College and Joining The Army 

00:13:27 Special Operations Preparation and Conditioning Course & Selection

00:17:12 Helping Clients with Imposter Syndrome and Segmenting

00:21:06 Sponsor Note: Building The Elite

00:21:30 Segmenting (Continued)

00:23:51 Self-Induced Stress

00:26:57 Managing Self-Induced Stress

00:36:16 18D School

00:41:35 Advice for 18D

00:45:37 After the Q Course

00:49:15 Delta Force

00:51:36 Camp Delhi

00:54:01 Getting Out of The Army

00:56:45 Ranger School

01:01:11 Advice for Ranger School

01:05:46 Learning with No Ego

01:08:26 Coaching and Clearing Up Misinformation

01:14:07 Nutrition

01:19:33 Mindset and Character Trait Development

01:27:46 Final Questions

01:31:08 Outro

Alex Fichtler is a 9-year Navy SEAL combat veteran with operational experience in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa. He is a Naval Special Warfare Sniper, Assaulter, Intel Specialist, and Communications Specialist and served as Troop Lead Sniper during his time with SEAL Team 7. 

Alex led the West Coast NSW Close Quarters Battle (CQB) training cell, providing thousands of active duty SEALs with countless hours of high-risk training and instruction on CQB, target assaults, and internal and external breaching.

During his time in the civilian sector, Alex has transferred his knowledge of high performance into the service of others through personal and team coaching. He and his girlfriend, Jenna Bauer, own Highground Performance, where they teach fitness and mindset development alongside the nutrition and wellness habits that bring elite performance to life. Alex also works in the physical security sector, managing security professionals responsible for high-value asset and location protection. 

Alex is a father of three, a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, an entrepreneur, and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Leadership. He also has his civilian EMT certification and is completing his NASM CPT certification.

More about Alex:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bearded_beast8/
Linktree

Timestamps:

00:00:32 Methods to Manage Stress Response

00:05:14 Preferred Breathing Technique

00:07:36 The Mentality of a Good CQB Shooter

00:09:41 Best Training Frequency for a Professional

00:11:35 Common Mistakes in the Shoot House

00:14:02 Three Main Objectives in CQC to Get Right

00:19:36 CQC High Port vs Low Port

00:22:36 Process for Integrating New Protocols

00:31:33 Sponsor Note: Fuel My Day Foods

00:32:13 How to Prepare for a CQB Course if You’re New to Handling Weapons

00:38:31 Other Things to Practice for a CQB Course

00:43:10 Best and Worst Advice Ever Received
 
00:46:37 Outro

Alex Fichtler is a 9-year Navy SEAL combat veteran with operational experience in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa. He is a Naval Special Warfare Sniper, Assaulter, Intel Specialist, and Communications Specialist and served as Troop Lead Sniper during his time with SEAL Team 7. 

Alex led the West Coast NSW Close Quarters Battle (CQB) training cell, providing thousands of active duty SEALs with countless hours of high-risk training and instruction on CQB, target assaults, and internal and external breaching.

During his time in the civilian sector, Alex has transferred his knowledge of high performance into the service of others through personal and team coaching. He and his girlfriend, Jenna Bauer, own Highground Performance, where they teach fitness and mindset development alongside the nutrition and wellness habits that bring elite performance to life. Alex also works in the physical security sector, managing security professionals responsible for high-value asset and location protection. 

Alex is a father of three, a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, an entrepreneur, and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Leadership. He also has his civilian EMT certification and is completing his NASM CPT certification.

More about Alex:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bearded_beast8/
Linktree

Timestamps:

00:00:22 Introduction to Alex Fichtler

00:01:40 Career in the Seal Teams

00:09:40 Somalia Operation

00:10:36 OTB - Over the Beach

00:11:55 Fire Support from the Water

00:15:14 The Stupid Never Stops

00:16:27 Keeping Motivation When You Feel You Don’t Belong

00:23:08 Replacing Negative Self-Talk with Positivity

00:28:41 Using Humor to Uplift Yourself and Others

00:30:30 Sponsor note: Fuel My Day Foods

00:31:10 Transition Into Language School

00:35:01 Failing Out of Language School

00:36:39 Going Back to Montana

00:40:30 Working with Civilians Without a Routine

00:43:39 The Six Pillars

00:47:50 Building a Healthy Community for Men

00:51:35 An Agendaless Time

00:54:57 Recreating the Unit’s PT

00:57:10 Outro

Senior Chief Candace Esquivel joined the Navy in 2005 as a cryptologic technician with advanced training in signals exploitation systems. From there, she went to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, where she worked as a SIGINT Geospatial Analyst. 

At Dev Gru, she was selected as an Intelligence Detachment Leading Chief Petty Officer (LCPO) for Tactical Evaluation and Development Squadron THREE, where she deployed and served as a Director of Intelligence (J2) for two rotations in the CENTCOM AOR supporting overseas contingency operations.

She then screened for and was selected for duty at the Joint Cyber Operations Group, where she was a Troop Senior Enlisted Leader before she was selected as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader to establish North Squadron, an O5 operational squadron.

In 2021, Senior Chief Esquivel was selected as a DoD Congressional Fellow for Representative Seth Moulton. While serving in the House of Representatives, she advised the Congressman on technical policy, cyber operations and talent management, and information operations across the DoD.

Senior Chief Esquivel holds a bachelor’s degree in management studies and is pursuing her master’s in management interdisciplinary studies. Currently, she is a policy analyst in the Office of Culture and Force Resilience’s Office of Women’s Policy, where she works to develop and implement policies involving Navy servicewomen in coordination with the higher authorities in the DoD, like the Secretary of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Chief of Naval Personnel. 

More about Candace:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candace-esquivel-a41669270/

The Valkyrie Project: https://www.thevalkyrieproject.org/

Timestamps:

00:00:22 Introduction to Senior Chief Candace Esquivel

00:01:55 Walkthrough of Candace Esquival’s Career

00:06:01 Role as Signals Analyst and J2

00:07:36 What Type of Signals Are Analyzed?

00:08:27 How Vulnerable Are Smart Devices?

00:12:21 Protecting Yourself from Data Tracking

00:14:59 Protecting Yourself on Social Media

00:17:20 Hilarious Failed Attempts of Espionage

00:18:44 Selection Process for DEVGRU and JCOG

00:25:22 What Does it Mean to Be a Congressional Fellow?

00:28:57 Which Policies Does Candace Esquivel Push For?

00:30:54 What Does the Office of Culture and Force Resilience Do?

00:34:30 Sponsor Note: Fuelmydayfoods.com

00:35:11 Changes for Women in the DoD Communities

00:40:07 Progress in Fertility Services

00:47:29 Possible Toxins During Deployment

00:53:52 New Policies for Women

00:58:20 CFL Training 

01:01:37 Adaptable Training and Modifications for Health and Recovery

01:03:21 Best and Worst Advice Received

01:07:00 Outro

We all must pay for our food. 

We can't choose not to pay; we only decide how. 

We can pay with our time. 

We can pay with our money. 

Or, we can pay with our health. 

You can invest time to learn how nutrition works and how to cook good meals, and then do the shopping, prep, cooking, storage, and cleanup. With practice, this all becomes easier and more efficient. The longer you go without investing your time, the harder it is to start and the more constrained you will be.

You can pay for somebody else's expertise and have them tell you what to eat. You can pay for a meal delivery service or expensive restaurant meals.

You can save time and money in the short term by not investing in nutrition knowledge, never learning to cook, and buying cheap convenience foods. The costs of following this last strategy take years to accumulate and manifest. The harm it does to gut health, metabolism, cognitive function, and every other process in your body may remain invisible for a long time. It might even seem like a free ride in your teens and early twenties. But eventually, you will pay for it.

This is why the food we eat is so important.

Eating well is hard. And it’s hard for everyone, whether you’re a young athlete trying to juggle training and school, a business traveler trying to stay healthy while living in hotels and airports, or a parent trying to keep yourself and your child alive with minimal sleep and no spare time. It can be even more challenging for military personnel deployed to locations with very few resources.

In this episode, we discuss how to put together a healthy meal on the go, and the science behind how that works, and how it affects our bodies.

Learn more: www.fuelmydayfoods.com

The idea that no one gets left behind is such a common phrase associated with the special operations community that it’s almost become a cliche. We can hear and say it without thinking about what it means. 

But it’s a critical concept in military operations, particularly in the SOF community, where people often work in small groups behind enemy lines doing dangerous things. 

It’s not enough to carry your own weight. That’s just the baseline, the entry stakes. You also must repeatedly demonstrate that you’re willing and able to carry the weight of one of your teammates when the situation calls for it. It’s crucial to be strong as an individual, but you must also be a strong part of the team. Without both, you don’t have the raw material the SOF community needs. 

This isn’t just a physical capacity, tested by carrying your teammates on your shoulders at the most inconvenient times. It’s a general attitude expressed in countless ways, big and small, physical and otherwise. 

Andrew is a strength and conditioning coach, business owner, national team powerlifter, and veteran with a tactical operations and physical training background.

As a former Maritime Assault Operator in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deployable Specialized Forces, Andrew has firsthand experience in high-stakes situations, including anti-terrorism operations, drug and human smuggling interdiction, anti-piracy operations, and executive/dignitary protection. 

He has dedicated himself to coaching and guiding other athletes to set state records and achieve medal-winning performances. He is currently the lead strength and conditioning coach at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and he has dedicated his career to helping individuals develop physical and mental resilience.

More about Andrew:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-siepka-cscs-9381461b7/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siepka_ludus_/

Timestamps:

00:00:22 Intro to Andrew Siepka

00:01:09 About Andrew’s Career

00:01:51 Was Viral Video of "Submarine Attack at Gunpoint" Andrew’s Unit?

00:03:19 What Led Andrew from Gunner’s Mate to MSST?

00:13:19 Outsourcing Knowledge from Multiple Units

00:14:38 Having Self-Doubt in Selection Courses

00:18:04 Preparing Endlessly vs. Winging It

00:21:27 Operational Life in the Unit

00:26:26 What Does It Mean to Be “An Earner”?

00:27:33 An Example of Andrew Failing Forward

00:32:08 Sponsor Note: Mentorship Course

00:32:30 Transition from Coastguard to Coach

00:41:36 What New Recruits Need to Start and Stop Doing

00:44:37 How Does Andrew’s Background in Powerlifting Affect His Coaching Method?

00:46:40 Andrew’s Career in Powerlifting

00:49:21 How to Powerlift for Decades Without Injury

00:52:13 Different Concepts of Training for Recon Marines

00:54:52 Banded Resistance Training

00:56:03 Things to Address to Handle Heavy Training

01:00:41 Best and Worst Advice Ever Received

01:02:01 Outro

Tiffany Myrick-Woodley served two decades in the US Army, and played an essential role in the integration of women into the Army’s Combat Arms occupations. She served as a member of Cultural Support Team – Two (CST-2), enabling the 75th Ranger Regiment and Naval Special Warfare Development Group by engaging the Afghan female and adolescent populations prior to the lift of the Combat Exclusion Policy. 

She was also selected to observe and advise on the implementation of standards during gender integration of Ranger School, the Army’s premier leadership course.

Over the span of her military service, Tiffany discovered that real change comes through policy and education. This prompted her to leave the military to influence policy on a broader scale while continuing to provide inspiration, mentorship, and advocacy to future generations. Her ideals prompted her to accept a role as a board member for the Valkyrie Project, a nonprofit organization devoted to the advocacy and support of female service members.

More about Tiffany:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-m-b477671b6/

The Valkyrie Project: https://www.thevalkyrieproject.org/

Timestamps:

00:00:22 Introduction to Tiffany Myrick

00:01:28 Tiffany’s Roles in the Military

00:03:35 Being On the Other Side of Basic Training

00:05:18 One Station Unit Training

00:06:51 What Did Tiffany Learn from Being a Drill Sergeant?

00:10:03 The Cultural Support Team

00:11:14 Selection Course for Cultural Support Team

00:12:52 The White Board System

00:13:15 Being a Student Versus Being Qualified to Do the Job

00:14:54 Ranger Physical Assessment

00:15:45 Working Closely with the Same Partner for an Entire Mission

00:16:48 Room for One Tactically

00:17:38 What Does the Mission Objective Look Like?

00:20:13 Deciding What Looks Important on a Mission

00:20:40 Interacting with the Local Populous

00:22:43 Main Security Concerns on Assignment

00:23:46 Did Tiffany Know Ashley?

00:24:39 Particular Missions That Stood Out to Tiffany

00:29:23 Moments Where Everyone Is Suffering

00:31:11 Wearing NODs (Night Observation Devices)

00:32:01 Lifting the Combat Exclusion Policy

00:32:59 Sponsor Note: Coaching Mentorship Course

00:33:21 Advisory Role to Integrate Women into Ranger School

00:35:25 Identifying Common Characteristics Among Graduates

00:36:00 What Did the Army Learn as Women Were Integrated?

00:38:33 The Gray Man, Middle of the Pack

00:40:46 Why Couldn’t Women Shave Their Heads Like the Men?

00:41:23 When did Tiffany Retire?

00:41:32 What Led Tiffany to the Valkyrie Project in 2023?

00:44:34 Advice for Women in SOF Pipeline

00:46:34 Similar Stories to “The Ranger on a Ridgeline Getting an I.V.”

00:49:21 Best and Worst Advice Ever Received

00:50:59 Outro

After working with thousands of clients over the last twenty years, we tend to see people make the same mistakes when struggling to work toward their goals. They tend to fall into one of four categories: 

1. Trying to do too many things. 
2. Their values and time & energy allotment are not in alignment.
3. Spending time and energy struggling against the things they can’t change while not fully committing to what they can.
4. Constantly changing goals. 

Today, we will talk about the exercises and mental models we use to help our clients clarify what matters most so they can get unstuck and escape these traps. This isn’t a tome on why you should prioritize health or fitness or anything else. That’s precisely the point. Only you can decide the best way to spend the coin of your life. So, this episode aims to equip you with a few critical tools and mental models to get more clarity and make tough decisions.