As one does at the fire station after a long, hot morning of fighting fire in the sweltering late July southern Missouri heat, I recently reclined in one of the easy chairs in our fire station day room, and savored the ultra-sweet flavor of an Andy’s Key Lime Pie Concrete. A Concrete is like a […]
How to improve your pull ups like a Navy SEAL
FeaturedIf you are looking to join the military, or are a current service member thinking of attempting a transition to a special operations unit, then you probably need to improve your pull ups. Hell, if you’re just trying to find a way to stay in shape and build some upper body strength, they won’t hurt […]
Navy SEAL leadership lessons from Michael Jordan and “The Last Dance”
FeaturedThere’s a moment in episode 7 of ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” which chronicles Michael Jordan and the 1990’s-era Chicago Bulls improbable quest for a 6th NBA championship in eight seasons, in which Jordan — undoubtedly the greatest basketball player to ever play the game — breaks down on camera as he is faced with a […]
Going from Green to Red: Making the move from the military to the Fire Service
CareerNot everyone can say they have set out on three different career paths before finally settling on one for the duration. This author is one who can, having started out as a Navy SEAL for four years before moving over to the Central Intelligence Agency for seven, and then settling into the fire service as […]
You can make it through Navy SEAL training if you can do this
FeaturedThe sand invades every crevice and fold in your skin and clothing like a kind of unfinished cement mixture hellbent on rubbing your exposed patches of water-softened skin until they chafe and bleed. Just when the bright southern California sunshine dries you out, and you feel that blessed warmth that you remember so well from […]
A Navy SEAL’s 5 fundamental tasks of small unit leadership
CareerWhether you are a light infantry platoon leader in the U.S. Army, a senior enlisted squad leader in the U.S. Marines, or the fire officer in charge of a four-person fire engine in some medium-sized midwestern American city, you have a substantial weight of responsibility proverbially pressing down on your shoulders. Someone, somewhere — for […]
Pandemic Response in the US: A breakdown from a SEAL turned firefighter
Covid-19A dual-company fire station in a typical American city of 160,000 is fully-staffed 24 hours per day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It includes two fire companies — a fire engine (pumper) with a crew of 3-4 and a ladder truck also with a crew of 3-4, for example. It might also […]
A Navy’s SEALs list of post-apocalyptic novels that should be movies
LifestyleIf you are strange like me, and dealing with today’s pandemic-saddled world by devouring novels, television shows, and movies about the apocalypse, pandemics, and post-apocalyptic existence, then you have probably come across these five novels. All five describe either the threat of human extinction — and the struggle to prevent it — or an Earth […]
Navy SEAL Perspective: 10 Jason Isbell songs to make you forget the pandemic
LifestyleIf you are like me during this time of prolonged home confinement trying to avoid catching and spreading the COVID-19 virus, you have probably searched far and wide for entertainment to pass the time. Maybe you have binged all the shows, and watched more tick toks than you ever thought possible. Maybe you have tried […]
