Jimmy May came from a family with a strong military background. However, many family members struggled with discipline, alcohol, and substance abuse, which shaped his early perspective on life and responsibility.

At 18, Jimmy didn’t have a clear plan. He believed college was for wealthy families and didn’t see it as an option for himself. The military became a practical path toward independence.

Jimmy enlisted in the Navy without a specific long-term vision. His primary goal was simply to build a future and support himself after leaving home.

He was initially placed in the Navy’s nuclear power program, which is academically intense and highly demanding. Jimmy quickly realized he disliked the work and didn’t feel fulfilled.

After leaving the nuclear program, Jimmy received an opportunity to attend college through an ROTC scholarship, which opened new possibilities for his career.

During college, Jimmy spoke with an uncle who had been successful in the Navy. When Jimmy asked about the most difficult path in the military, his uncle mentioned the Navy SEALs — but told him he probably wouldn’t make it.

Instead of being discouraged, Jimmy was motivated by the challenge. He decided to pursue the SEAL program simply because it was considered the toughest route in the military.

Jimmy explains that his motivation wasn’t a traditional patriotic story. Instead, he was driven by the desire to test himself and prove he could overcome something extremely difficult.

The conversation highlights how discipline, adversity, and pressure shape personal growth and leadership.

Jimmy’s story reinforces a simple principle: growth comes from stepping toward the hardest challenges rather than avoiding them.

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Guest: Eric Mekosch – Former Police Officer & SWAT
Host: Steve Stanulis
Podcast: Bulletproof (True Crime)

The difference between Patrol, Street Crimes, DEA Task Force, and SWAT

The required years of field experience before joining specialized units

Undercover and plainclothes narcotics work

Serving high-risk warrants

Crisis intervention and suicide standoff responses

Public perception vs. operational reality

Media narratives vs. what actually happens on scene

The psychological toll of high-stakes policing

Earning credibility inside elite tactical teams

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Why real-world experience matters more than online opinions

The difference between theory and execution under pressure

How modern culture misunderstands responsibility and accountability

Decision-making when there’s no room for error

Lessons learned the hard way — and why shortcuts fail

Mental discipline and staying calm in critical situations

Why credibility can’t be faked for long

Advice for younger generations chasing fast success

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Life after the police academy: expectation vs. reality

Why “forget everything you learned” became the norm

The pressure to prove yourself early in law enforcement

Leadership moments that change how you see the job

Machismo culture and why it still exists

Navigating policing as a woman without playing a role

Trust, delegation, and knowing when to step back as a leader

Why the job feels all-consuming — and why it shouldn’t

“Don’t change who you are for the job — change how you do the job”

How perspective, travel, and conversation reshape policing culture

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Steve Gonzalez’s role within large-scale counterterrorism operations

The 2009 New York subway terror plot and how it was dismantled

How FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces function across the U.S.

Why prevention is invisible — and why that’s intentional

The evolution of FBI–NYPD relations from rivalry to partnership

The role of intelligence, technology, and judicial oversight

Why “good guys” statistically win more than the public realizes

How community cooperation strengthens national security

Why movies fail to portray real counterterrorism work accurately

The emotional impact of knowing an attack was stopped before it happened

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00:00 – Introduction to Col. Lisa Carrington
Setting the stage: Latina trailblazer, combat veteran, and retired Air Force Colonel.

02:10 – Joining the military in 1980
What it meant to enter a male-dominated system with almost no women in leadership.

04:05 – First assignment: an all-male fighter squadron
Walking into a culture filled with harassment, discrimination, and zero support systems.

07:15 – The sexual assault she buried for decades
How it happened, why she stayed silent, and the emotional cost of pretending it didn’t exist.

12:40 – Military culture in the 80s: sexism normalized
Centerfolds on the walls, “good old boys” culture, and no channels for reporting abuse.

16:20 – Moving every 1–2 years as a commander
How command-track officers are uprooted constantly and how it affected her son.

20:00 – Her son’s struggle with friendships
The emotional damage of always leaving just as he formed connections.

23:10 – Pressure as a Latina woman
Why she felt she had to prove herself twice as hard — and why “coasting” wasn’t an option.

27:30 – Combat deployment: the psychological cost
Seeing death, facing threats daily, and the transition from warzone to everyday life.

31:40 – Coming home angry at the American public
The disconnect between people in combat and civilians living normal, unaware lives.

35:55 – Coping the wrong way
Her honest admission of turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms after deployment.

40:10 – Leadership lessons learned the hard way
What true leadership means in a broken system — and what she would tell young officers today.

46:00 – Why she started speaking publicly in 2020
The moment she decided to tell the truth and help others find their voice.

50:20 – Closing reflections
Resilience, identity, motherhood, and the cost of being a barrier-breaker.

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00:00 — Intro: Why the Hollywood version of the CIA is nonsense
Rosanna breaks down the biggest myths and why movies exaggerate everything, especially the obsession with explosions.

02:15 — What real intelligence work looks like
Planning, intel gathering, building trust, and long-term relationship management — not action-movie chaos.

05:40 — The truth about manipulation in the intelligence world
The actual reasons people “turn” and why coercion is a weak, unsustainable tactic.

08:10 — The skill that makes you nearly impossible to manipulate
Radical openness: exposing your own skeletons and removing leverage from anyone who might try to control you.

12:30 — How intel officers evaluate people and intentions
Behavior patterns, inconsistencies, and information gaps — not gut feelings.

17:45 — What instinct really means in CIA work
It’s informed pattern recognition, not mystical intuition.

22:00 — The psychology behind secrecy and vulnerability
How hiding your flaws creates leverage against you, and how transparency neutralizes that risk.

27:40 — Misconceptions the public keeps repeating
Why the general public romanticizes espionage and why that leads to wrong assumptions.

33:20 — Operational realities vs public fantasy
The tedious, detailed, methodical nature of actual intelligence operations.

40:00 — Final insights from Rosanna
How normal people can apply CIA thinking to everyday decisions, relationships, and self-protection.

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In this episode of the BulletProof Podcast, former FBI Special Agent Seamus McElearney shares his most unbelievable on-the-job experience — the hunt for three buried mob victims connected to the Colombo family.

Topics Covered:

How Seamus was assigned to run the Colombo family squad

The informant “Joe Caves” and his shocking proffer

The hunt for three murder victims buried miles apart

Why digging for bodies is more complex than people think

The FBI’s Evidence Response Team and the 8-day search

Press pressure, helicopters, supervisors, and nonstop stress

How lime was used by the mob to preserve bodies

Seamus’s track record of finding multiple homicide victims

What it takes mentally and emotionally to work high-stakes mob cases

Guest: Seamus McElearney

Podcast: BulletProof

Real FBI stories, real cases, real intensity.

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Guest: Gina Bennett – Former CIA Senior Counterterrorism Analyst

Topic: Inside the CIA, counterterrorism strategy, leadership, and truth behind intelligence work

Key themes:

Life inside the CIA and intelligence community

The emotional and psychological cost of serving in national security

How intelligence operations actually work (beyond movies)

Women in intelligence and breaking barriers in a male-dominated field

Lessons from decades of experience in counterterrorism

Subscribe to BulletProof Podcast for more unfiltered conversations with agents, intelligence officers, and those who’ve lived behind the headlines.

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