DTD PODCAST

This week in the studio a guest with 31 years of service to this country in the United States Navy. His certifications include but are not limited to Surface Warfare Specialist, Search and Rescue Swimmer, Submarine Dolphins, Special Boat Teams, and is A Navy SEAL that has assignments with Seal Teams 3,1,Naval Special Warfare Group, and Special Operations Command. He has combat deployments to Baghdad, Fallujah, Rhamadi, Haditha, Al Asad, and Columbia. My guest since retiring has worked with the Honor Foundation, and the Warriors and Whiskey Club, an organization that partners with various veteran charities and veteran owned businesses that are dedicated to improve our veteran community. After all those years of service we are going to hear the true story of what a career like that does to you mentally and physically. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Tim Fedrick.

This week in the studio a man who while attending college initially joined ROTC in order to help pay for his college. After graduating from college he was commissioned as a 2nd LT in the United States Army and was assigned to Ft. Hood. My guest left active duty after a few years but decided to continue to serve his country in the National Guard where he still serves today as the Commander of the Land Dominance Center at Ft. Stewart, GA. My guest was involved in two combat deployments to Baghdad where among his other awards he received two Bronze Stars. The interesting thing about this weeks is that he has made the transition from Military to Civilian Life 3 times throughout his career and this has given him some insight to be able to help Veterans through an organization called Merging Vets and Players who help men and women through mentoring and coaching to the highest levels of performance. My guest is also the host of the Hazard Ground podcast which spotlights veterans stories for the public to see and hear, but he also a full time sports broadcaster out of Atlanta, GA where he now resides. It is my pleasure to introduce Mark Zinno.

This week in the studio a former Navy SEAL who conducted combat operations in Baghdad and Rhamadi. Upon leaving the service my guest realized that once you been in combat and are no longer in that world, nothing on the other side correlates to it. He also realized that there needs to be stepping stones to something else, because without them that leads down a road to destruction. My guest put his mind and know how to first saving the Monarch Butterfly, but he couldn’t stop there he has established an idea that will lead to healthier lives for not only veterans but to anyone that is willing to learn. He is the CEO and Founder of Guardian Grange which is a humanitarian and environmental regeneration project to protect natural resources, strengthen communities, and facilitate veteran reintegration with a renewed sense of purpose. It is a pleasure to introduce Mark Matzeldelaflor……

This week in the studio my special co host Chris Van Sant and I sit down with a legendary Special Operations Warrior who entered the Army after High School in 1989. He immediately attended Basic, Airborne School, and the Ranger Indoctrination Program. After successfully completing all of those courses this guest was assigned to the 1st Ranger Battalion just in time to spend his 9th Static Line jump into Panama, but this was not the last time this man would see combat. In October 1991 he transferred to the Ranger Reconnaissance Detachment until 1995 when he became a Free Fall instructor. This guest went on to pass the selection and Operator Training Course, and was assigned to C squadron with the SMU. With 17 years in the Unit and 13 combat rotations this guest has been the tip of the spear in the war against Terrorism, after retiring from active duty this guest has worked as an instructor with VTAC and Sig Sauer, but that’s not all, this guest is also a military technical advisor on Blockbuster movies such as How it Ends, Extraction, Extraction 2, and The Gray Man. I am so exited to have a conversation with these two, please welcome Craig “Chili” Palmer…..

In this bonus episode I talk with a writer in the Thriller Genre, who has penned an amazing story full of espionage, tradecraft, violence and politics in the Middle East and the United States. Matt started his writing career later in life after speaking with David Baldacci at a book signing when he asked if he was to old to start writing and he was told the industry could use some young writers. His first novel Surviving the Lions Den introduces the reader into a world that lies just below the surface for not only the reader but for the characters themselves. His second novel The Iranian Deception promises more excitement, violence, and the characters that were loved do much from the first novel. It is a great pleasure for me to not only introduce this writer to you but to also recommend this fantastic story to be introduced into your personal library. Please welcome the guy who said that he could beat friend of the show Don Bentley in 80’s movie trivia. Matt Scott….

This week in the studio, a former Navy SEAL who has since leaving the military and private contract working has dedicated himself to a whole new cause to fight for, Veteran, Law Enforcement, and First Responder suicides. This guest has seen his share of action in Africa, Oman, Kuwait, and Iraq, and of course all of the injuries, PTS, TBI’s, and insomnia that go along with it. This guest continued to take the fight to the enemy after leaving the service by working private contract gigs with Triple Canopy, Trident Group, and Procinctu Group, Incorporated. All of this work took its toll on my guest, along with extreme back problems and a slew of injuries , my guest was having migraines so frequently that he had to move around in almost complete darkness to function, add addiction to pain medication and alcohol which resulted in a recipe for disaster that led him down a dark path. Knowing that he could not live like this, my guest looked into and started using a ton of alternative therapies to include Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Plant Medicine, and the Stellate Ganglion Block, my guest is now lighting the path to fellow veterans so that they can see a brighter future for themselves and their families. If that was not enough, my guest is also the owner and CEO of Hill Country Boards, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Johnny Sotello.

This week in the studio a man who served with the 10th Mountain Division in Iraq where he received a Purple Heart for injuries that he sustained. He is also a 10 year veteran of the Louisville Police Department serving in positions such as Patrol, the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force, and the Special Response Team. He also served briefly with the US Border Patrol but in 2020 when the absolute horrific riots that tore apart most major cities in the United States, he decided to return to Lewisville and stand shoulder to shoulder with his brothers and sisters in blue to put an end to the senseless violence and acts that were gripping America. My guest has also had his fair share of heartbreak in his life. He lost his mother to suicide after recently learning of a severe depression and a life that he had no idea was happening behind closed doors. My guest has battled unseen demons and at one point even lost his will to live, but like in the best redemption stories he was pulled out of the fire by people who truly cared about him, refocused his life, priorities, and the strength to help others. He is now blazing all new trails for his family, career, podcast, and his published writings. He is the author of I Am Pitts, please welcome Dexter Pitts.

This week in the studio a man who in 1964 was born in South Miami to immigrant parents. His father Russian and his mother Cuban, he was raised in a strict household that taught him, if he wanted to be or do anything in life it was on him to make it happen. Fast forward to 1984 while working as a lifeguard he got to see his first Marijuana bust, and it was at this moment that the hook was set for my guest to become a law enforcement agent, working with Customs on the Miami boat crews, as an undercover detective posing as an international smuggler, leading an investigation into one of the biggest Marijuana and Cocaine trafficking case that the Northwest United States had seen. My guest worked on the Joint Terrorism Task Force and was even the acting Attaché in London, England. This week is not only about my guests amazing career, but also the devastating loss of his son who was killed in a U.S. Marine training incident off of San Clemente Island, where the AAV that he was riding in had a catastrophic failure and sank trapping him inside. My guest has taken this incident and used it to help not only soldiers in the field, but to find and hold those responsible, accountable for their actions. It is my great pleasure and honor to introduce you to Peter Ostrovsky.

This week in the studio a graduate of the Military Academy at WestPoint and a member of units such as the 82nd Airborne, the 101st Airborne, and the White House with the Presidential Contingency Programs office. This guest even did a little clandestine work for an unnamed agency. That’s not all this guest did, he also ran 9 100 mile and 7 50 mile ultra marathons, and when he could not run he raced an ultra endurance mountain bike from Canada all the way to Mexico. After receiving a third torn meniscus injury, 52 injections on his knees, and a heavy dose of nightmares, this guest wondered if a small machine called an NX PRO, which was used in his rehabilitation, could cause a passive stress reduction and give stressed out operators and first responders a Performance Reboot. Fast forward through the last two years, 250 people, 2 of the 3 Tier 1 units, a few Police Departments, SWAT teams, and EMS have been able to increase 20% in speed and accuracy of shooting in only about 45 minutes of training with my guest. I would like to introduce you to the man who is leveling the playing field for accuracy, precision, and speed on target please welcome Vance McMurry.

This week in the studio a man who spent six years as a Navy Seal until a horrific accident ended his career. My guest spent years trying rehabilitation, new scientific procedures, meditation, medicines, and pretty much anything that promised to help heal the injuries that we could see and the ones that were deeper that we could not see. My guest has been on a roller coaster of ups and downs since being medically retired from the service, but that’s not where this story ends, my guest has risen through the ashes and has started the second chapter of his life, that at one point he was not sure was possible. He started Mack Belts with $50 dollars, a friends garage, and a spirit that would not give up or bow out. Fast forward his company now serves over 1500 customers and is the go to belt provider for active duty military, veterans, industrial workers, first responders, and a growing number of outdoorsmen. His company has given 10’s of thousands of dollars to veterans charities and has current partnerships with Vet TV, Defense Strategies Group, Gallagher Holdings, and Guardian Grange. I am so happy and proud that this guest chose here to tell his story for the first time. I am proud to introduce you to my friend and the best leather craftsman in business Mack MacKinnon.