Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon is a trained counselor specializing in the psychology of behavior change, with certifications including motivational interviewing, solution-focused, DBT, CBT, and trauma counseling.

She’s the author of numerous books and accredited nutrition, sleep, stress, and recovery courses. She is our go-to performance psych and works one-on-one with many of our clients seeking to sharpen the mental and emotional skills needed to handle some of the toughest training courses in the world.

She’s an invaluable resource for our clients and has played a critical role in the careers of many special operators. 

In this episode, we’re talking to KSD about the grieving process. Typically, we think of grief as the emotional state following a loss like the death of a friend or loved one, but the process is surprisingly similar to other forms of loss, such as the emotional impact of losing out on a major career aspiration, washing out of a selection course, or getting divorced. 

Additional Resources: What to Know About Grief and Loss

More about KSD:

Website - kristascottdixon.com

Coaching for SOF personnel - https://www.buildingtheelite.com/performance-psych-coaching/

KSD’s latest book, Applied Nutrition Coaching and Counseling - https://amzn.to/4xXhp0t

Timestamps:

00:00:22 Introduction to Dr. Krista Scott Dixon
00:01:24 Processing Grief in Death/Grief in Setbacks
00:11:47 Dealing with the Nature of Death
00:18:54 The Brain's Ability to Adjust to Loss
00:23:14 Clichés are Infuriating During Grieving
00:28:22 Excepting a New Reality 
00:31:50 Exposure to Grief in the Military
00:36:04 Unhealthy and Problematic Ways of Coping with Loss
00:41:57 Chemical Avoidance and Numbing in Grief
00:45:19 Communicating Death to Children
00:51:37 Advice on Helping with Others' Grief
00:58:20 Guidelines for Dealing with Grief from Selection
01:04:00 Curling into a Ball or Crawling into a Hole
01:06:01 The "What If"s and "If Only"s of Loss
01:08:02 Survivor's Guilt
01:13:43 Face, Accept, Float, Let Time Pass
01:16:21 Outro

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Dr. Robyn Nadolny is a Biologist and the Chief of the Vector-Borne Disease Branch at the Defense Centers for Public Health at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (DCPH-A). The flagship program of the Vector-Borne Disease Branch is MilTICK, a free, rapid tick-testing program for military beneficiaries. The results provide a tool in the diagnostic toolbox for military beneficiaries, and Dr. Nadolny uses the passive surveillance data generated to better understand changing tick-borne disease dynamics and mitigate risks to US Service Members and their communities. She is also working on tick-borne disease surveillance projects worldwide to support military communities. 

Dr. Nadolny came to DCPH-A in 2016 after completing her PhD in Ecological Sciences from Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, VA. She also holds a M.S. in Biology from ODU, and a B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavioral Biology from Beloit College in Beloit, WI. Her research focuses on the prevention of tick-borne disease through understanding and breaking tick-host-pathogen-environment cycles. Dr. Nadolny has co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and is interested in the intersection of ecology and public health.

In this episode, we discuss the types of diseases that can be transmitted to military personnel (and anyone else) through ticks, how those diseases work, where and when the risk is greatest, and what you can do to protect yourself. 

To visit the MilTICK site, which you can use to understand the risk of tick-borne disease at your military installation and submit ticks for testing, go here:

https://ph.health.mil/topics/entomology/kits/Pages/HumanTickTestKitProgram.aspx

There are also many civilian labs where you can submit a tick for testing at a low cost. 

For example:

Pennsylvania Tick Research Lab: https://www.ticklab.org/

Old Dominion University, Virginia: https://sites.wp.odu.edu/tick-team/what-we-do/tick-testing/sending-us-your-ticks/

Ticknology: https://www.ticknology.org/order-test

Timestamps:
00:23 Introduction to Dr. Robyn Nadolny

01:48 What are the Most Common Diseases Spread by Ticks?

03:24 Lesser Known Tick-Spread Diseases

07:19 Alpha Gal: It's Not Just Beef Off the Table 

09:27 The Implications of Lyme Disease

14:16 How Does the Body React After Multiple Tick Bites?

16:06 Rates of These Diseases 

18:21 What Terrain Do Ticks Prefer? 

21:31 What Time of Year are Ticks the Worst?

23:13 Tick Life Cycles  

27:56 Soldiers Protecting Themselves from Ticks in the Field

33:19 Dealing with a Tick Bite in the Field

37:41 Prevalence of Diseases in Ticks

42:34 Vaccines for Tick-Borne Diseases for Pets and People

45:45 Treated Clothing and Repellents

48:21 Outro

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Dr. Alia Bojilova is a registered psychologist with a focus on resilience. 

She grew up in Eastern Europe during some of the most tumultuous times in recent history before immigrating to New Zealand at age 17. During her service with the New Zealand Defense Force, she worked as the Lead Psychologist and an Officer with the SAS. 

While serving as a UN military observer in Syria, Alia and her team were taken hostage, and she negotiated the release of herself and her team. 

She holds a PhD from the University of Waikato and studied the link between curiosity and resilience in special operations forces. 

Since leaving the military, Alia has served as coach and advisor to leaders and teams around the world, and across a wide range of sectors, including government, venture capital, elite-level sports, corporate services, and creative industries.

She’s the author of The Resilience Toolkit, available on Amazon.

More about Alia:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrina-alia-bojilova/

Resilience Toolkit - https://amzn.to/4fa9DZH

Timestamps:
00:22  Introduction to Alia Bojilova
01:21 Lead Psychologist for New Zealand SAS
05:35 The Link Between Curiosity and Resilience
07:51 Resilience in Special Operators
12:38 Time of Service and Involvement in SAS
14:51 What Does "Military Observer" Mean?
17:04 Assessing for Curiosity in Training
19:22 Curiosity's Distinction from Openness
31:40 Common Signifiers of a Resilient, Curious Mindset
35:40 Olympic Athletes and Special Operators
37:13 The Phenomenal Gift of Being Taken Captive in Syria
54:01 One or Two Books Everyone Should Read
55:18 Best and Worst Advice Ever Received
56:31 Outro

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James Jensen is a former SAS Patrol Commander with a unique blend of scientific leadership theory and real-world, high-stakes leadership experience.

James served in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for two decades, with fourteen years in the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), where he held leadership roles during multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, East Timor, and the Philippines. Throughout his career, he worked in some of the world’s most challenging and high-pressure environments.

With over 20 years of experience leading and working within teams in dynamic, complex settings, James has witnessed firsthand the transformative power of great leadership. He has seen exceptional leaders elevate teams and positively impact individuals' lives, and he's also observed the devastating effects of poor leadership on both people and organizations.

James’s evolution from a junior leader in East Timor to leading some of Australia’s most elite teams reshaped his understanding of what true leadership means. 

Today, as a sought-after consultant, James works with organizations across many industries, helping leaders unlock their full potential and inspire greatness in their teams. His leadership expertise is still highly valued by the SAS, where he continues to train and mentor the next generation of SAS leaders.

LEARN MORE ABOUT JAMES: 

K6 Consulting - https://k6consulting.com.au/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-jensen-a56440172/

TIMESTAMPS:

00:21 Introduction to James Jensen
01:49 What Did James Do in The Army?
06:30 From Officer to Enlistment - How Did that Process Affect James?
09:53 Being Concerned with Being Liked in Leadership
11:23 W.I.N. - What's Important Now
15:07 Develop and Maintain the Role of Calmness
19:32 Can Calmness Be Developed or is it Innate?
22:43 Timing a Joke with a Crew
24:02 Better Decision Making as a Leader
32:48 Routine with Feedback = Behavioral Change
33:49 Leadership is a Profession
36:33 Individuals Functioning as a Unit
41:35 Best and Worst Advice Ever Received
42:51 James' Book Recommendations 
44:18 Outro

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Aaron is an active duty Pararescueman currently stationed at a Special Tactics Squadron as a Troop Chief. He is a Team Leader, Evaluator, Special Operations Combatives Program (SOCP) Lvl 2 instructor, and an Onnit Certified Trainer, with a focus on Tactical Durability.

Pararescuemen, or PJs, are the only DoD asset specifically trained, equipped, and employed to perform Personnel Recovery. They are Technical Rescue Specialists who provide gold-standard combat trauma medical care and evacuation in every environment and situation on the planet. They are trained in all methods of advanced employment and can employ from any vehicle, standard or non-standard, in the DoD and multinational partner inventory.

Aaron enlisted in the Air Force in September 2001 and entered the Pararescue training pipeline as a cross trainee, previously an Aerospace Physiology Technician. He has served in Special Tactics and Rescue Squadrons, both overseas and stateside. He has also served in Air Education and Training Command, where he was integral in the complete rewrite of the Pararescue/Combat Rescue Apprentice Courses and has intimate knowledge of the Assessment and Selection process and pipeline management. 

He has seen multiple combat deployments to Iraq, Africa, and Afghanistan in positions from team member to Senior Enlisted Leader. He takes great pride in the training and mentorship aspect of being a Troop Chief. Aaron is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu player in his off time.

You can learn more about Ones Ready and their Operator Training Summit at onesready.com

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Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon is a trained counselor specializing in the psychology of behavior change, with certifications including motivational interviewing, solution-focused therapy, DBT, CBT, and trauma counseling.

She’s the author of numerous books and accredited nutrition, sleep, stress, and recovery courses. 

She’s our go-to performance psych for special operations candidates and active operators, and works one-on-one with many of our clients to help them excel in selection and stay mentally and emotionally resilient throughout their careers. 

This is part of an ongoing series with KSD, where we’ll be talking with her about the specific tools and concepts that come up regularly in her work with special operators, and how you can apply them in your own life. 

Work with KSD: https://www.buildingtheelite.com/performance-psych-coaching/

Timestamps:

00:23 Introduction to Krista Scott Dixon

01:07 Helping Candidates Assess the "Am I Good Enough" Question

08:03 The Mistake of Only Looking at PT Test Scores

13:34 The Struggle of Getting Stuck in Your Head

21:28 The Way People Quit

29:36 Being Good at Working Through Any Conditions

34:27 Preparing for Anything and Everything in Skills Assessment

42:02 "I'll Figure it Out" and Fuzzy Trace Theory

47:23 Tolerating Suffering in Crappy Jobs

52:03 Military Barracks Full of Broken Washing Machines

58:17 How to Access the Variables that Matter

1:05:35 Outro

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Steve House serves as the managing director, coach, and official mascot of Uphill Athlete, which he co-founded in 2016. He lives in a remote and mountainous corner of Austria with his wife and two sons.

Steve’s biggest coaching challenge was coaching himself. Which was successful enough for him to be called “The greatest climber of his generation” by none other than Reinhold Messner. He was inspired to write down what he learned and originally recruited two other coaches to help him write Training for the New Alpinism while recovering from a near-life-ending fall in 2010. 

He then co-authored  Training for the Uphill Athlete (2018) to fulfill his personal mission to “Teach conventional endurance training theory and practice to mountain athletes.” He retired from professional climbing at the end of 2020 to dedicate himself to family and work full-time on Uphill Athlete.

Steve’s most famous ascent is the 4,500-meter-high Rupal Face, the world's biggest mountain wall, which culminates at the summit of the world's deadliest and 9th-highest mountain: Nanga Parbat. 

In this episode, we talk with Steve about his career, Uphill Athlete’s approach to coaching, and the overlap between mountain athletes and special operators. 

More about Steve and Uphill Athlete:

You can learn more about Uphill Athlete at their website, uphillathlete.com. 

And you can follow them on social media here:

Uphill Athlete Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uphill_athlete/

Steve’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevehouse10/

Timestamps:
00:00:22 Introduction to Steve House 

00:01:47 What is Significant about Nanga Parbat, "The Naked Mountain"

00:06:51 Grading the Technical Difficulty of Climbing

00:11:18 The "American Certified International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations" Guide 

00:15:23 Overlap Between Climbing and Special Operations Communities

00:18:00 Similarities and Differences Between the Communities

00:30:32 Uphill Athlete Training Mistake 

00:40:37 Base Building Meaning and Development

00:42:44 Aerobic Threshold to Regulate Training

00:51:00 Building Aerobic Volume

00:58:59 What to Prioritize During Training

01:02:09 Misunderstanding V02 Max in Training

01:09:13 Ventilatory Threshold Breakpoint

01:15:10 Ten Athletes, Ten Results

01:18:03 What's Next for Uphill Athlete?

01:21:23 Best and Worst Advice Ever Received

01:23:44 Book Recommendations

01:24:59 Outro

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Dr. David “Wally” Walton is a retired Army Special Forces officer with 25 years of experience in the SF community. His career spans service with the 7th Special Forces Group, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), and the Special Warfare Center and School.

Dr. Walton’s extensive operational experience includes deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and across Latin America. Since retiring in 2013, he has transitioned into academia, teaching National Security Studies and Executive Leadership. His research portfolio covers Security Strategy, Organizational Culture and Dynamics, and Human Performance. He has a deep understanding of security studies, encompassing everything from tactical operations to strategic policy discussions.

Currently an instructor at JSOC, Dr. Walton is a Subject Matter Expert in Special Forces Assessment and Selection. He specializes in Land Navigation, runs a prep program designed for SFAS candidates, and is the author of multiple books about preparing for SFAS. 

More about Dr. Walton:

Website: https://tfvoodoo.com/

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

Timestamps:

00:00:23 Introduction to Dr. David Walton
00:01:42 Changes within SFSS and Coaching
00:20:22 Being Trained in Land Navigation
00:30:43 Better Prepared Candidates
00:53:34 The Sandman Event
00:59:29 Selection Rates and Working Through the Stages
01:05:23 No Dependencies in the SFSS Course
01:09:47 The "Awaiting Training" Phase 
01:11:33 What has Dr. David Walton Changed in Coaching?
01:17:08 How Many Books has Dr. Walton Written?
01:21:52 Books Everyone Should Read
01:26:32 Outro

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Brad Stulberg is a bestselling author of the new book The Way of Excellence, a performance coach, faculty member at the University of Michigan, and a husband and father.

The Way of Excellence comes out tomorrow, and you can pick up a copy at any major bookseller like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Audible.com, or Bookshop.org. 

You can learn more about Brad and follow his work at his website, (https://www.bradstulberg.com/) and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradstulberg/

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Nick has over 12 years of military experience, including 4 years as an Australian Commando and 6 years as an SAS operator. His operational service included deployments throughout the Middle East and Southeast Asia, including Iraq and East Timor.

Since leaving the Army, Nick has established two companies as a founding Director, The Mill Gym and Omni GeoX; as well as a new fitness competition, the Tier 1 Games.

Nick has provided risk management, leadership, and elite-level performance consulting in austere environments worldwide, including with professional sports teams, multinational corporations, government, and non-governmental organisations.

Nick's charter is to build real-world resilience within individuals and foster a no-compromise culture of excellence. He’s driven by a deep passion for building elite-level soldiers and athletes through an uncompromising culture, mindset, and mental toughness. His philosophy is simple: hard work beats talent, and resilience is the decisive advantage in high-pressure environments. 

By drawing from years of operational experience and an 18-year coaching career, Nick develops training systems that forge discipline, sharpen decision-making under stress, and cultivate the mental edge required to excel when it matters most.

Learn more about Nick and The Mill Gym:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @themillgym

LinkedIn: @nickcaldwell

Website: themillgym.com

Timestamps:

0:00:22 Introduction to Nick Caldwell
0:01:45 Career in the Aussie Special Air Service 
0:05:32 Training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
0:07:10 Gaining the Confidence to Enlist
0:14:49 Nick's Goals that Pushed His Career Forward
0:17:50 Recovering from Burnout
0:21:23 Helping Someone Understand Their Recovery and Readiness
0:26:48 Training with HRP and Other Monitoring Devices
0:38:28 What Camps Does Nick Caldwell Run?
0:44:43 Not a 36 Hour Exercise Competition
0:49:55 Standard Pre-Screening
0:57:50 Woman in Courses of Self-Defense
1:02:11 "Keeping Yourself Safe in a Parking Garage" Scenario 
1:10:04 Books that Nick Believes Everyone Should Read
1:18:37 Outro

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