Behind The Shield

Jason Villeggiante and Christina Dizon are career firefighters and founders of Tactical Sleep Rescue. We discuss their respective journeys into the fire service, the impact of sleep deprivation on acute and chronic health, yoga, breathwork, the firefighter work week, their programme and so much more. Christina is the founder of Biohacked Firefighter and the developer of Tactical Sleep Rescue. She has certifications in Sleep Coaching, Health & Wellness Coaching, and is a Yoga Nidra facilitator. Her mission is to provide firefighters and first responders practical, simple, and real life tools to mitigate the negative impacts of shift work and sleep debt, and feel amazing for their personal lives.Jason Villeggiante is a Firefighter Paramedic with the Los Angeles City Fire Department since 2015. He lives with his wonderful girlfriend, Hayley, and their dog, Dallas. In his spare time he enjoys reading books, exercising, and spending time in nature. He’s a member of the LAFD Peer Support Team, and advocates to improve his departments’ firefighter wellness program.https://www.tacticalsleeprescue.com/

Tai Geering is a student athlete, JROTC alumn and my son. I couldn't think of a better person to commemorate this thousanth episode. I know this conversation will be of value to children and parents alike.We discuss being part of a firefighter family, the impact of divorce, the importance of sports, lego, academics, the pressures of graduation, the impact of the pandemic, the ripple affect of an abuse of power at his middle school, the healing power of music, the love of a dog and so much more.

Joshua A. Strom is a seasoned emergency responder and Director of First Responder Lifeline, a faith-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting First Responders in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. With an extensive background in firefighting, search-and-rescue, and wilderness medicine, Joshua co-founded First Responder Lifeline with his wife, Jessica H. Strom. Together, they address the mental, physical, and spiritual needs of the first responder community. Married for nearly 15 years, they have three children, deepening their commitment to family and service.We discuss a host of topics from his own mental health journey to responding as a chaplain to the communities devastated by Hurricane Helene.https://www.firstresponderlifeline.com/

Joshua Rose and Dr Gerad Troutman are part of the Global Medical Response team. We discuss how to reduce EMS responses to low acuity calls, addressing ER overcrowding, proving inexpensive alternatives to EMS transport, creating a three tier 911 system, the GMR response to Hurricane Helene and so much more.Nurse Navigation program provides quick and accurate patient assessments for life- threating conditions and then takes the caller through our proprietary nurse triage protocol to determine the most appropriate locus of care.BenefitsBetter triage and response to exposures; including coordination with hospitals and occupational health providersReduces unnecessary treatment for exposures when clinically not indicatedMinimizes the need for extensive waits in emergency departments and facilitates evaluation and treatmentNurse Navigation's nurses use evidence-based clinical decision software to immediately evaluate a patient’s current condition, providing a needs-matched time-appropriate resource allocation to meet the patient’s unique healthcare needs. Our five-level triage system ensures we are delivering the right resource at the right time, in the right setting to achieve the right outcome at the right cost.

Jonathan Mark intially entered NYPD as a recruit but it was his gift as a psychic medium that pulled him back into the world of law enforcement. He was called upon in the Gabby Petito case, the Long Island Serial Killer case and many more. We discussed discovering his gift as a child, bringing closure to those who have lost loved ones, the power of meditation and so much more.Jonathan is a highly respected psychic medium that is able to connect his clients with loved ones who have crossed over. His mission is to provide comfort to his clientele through compassionate personal readings that are compelling and touching. Jonathan received confirmation of his gift by another psychic medium when he was 20 years old. Since then he has developed his unique abilities of being able to communicate with loved ones who have crossed over. During the sessions clients have reported a sense of closure and healing by being able to connect with their loved ones. Through mediumship it is possible to provide confirmation that our spirit lives on once we have left our physical bodies.What is a medium?Mediums are people who are blessed with a special gift; they have developed sensitivity to the world of spirit that allows the spirit guides to give messages from the after life. They have a strong bond with their guides, which help with the communication process. Mediums could not do it without their help; they are just the telephone line relaying the messages.Messages from the spirit world are given with the highest of intention to bring about love, comfort and reassurance to people. When you have a reading the medium should be able to bring a good description of the communicator along with evidence about their and your lives. Memories of the past, evidence that they are around you now and descriptions of how they passed are communicated. The objective of a mediums work is to prove survival of the human soul after death and to help the bereaved come to terms with their loss.

Diane Cotter is a firefighter spouse and the woman who revealed the PFAS manufacturers were using in firefighter turnout gear. We discuss her early life, the Cold Storage Fire in Worcester, her husband's cancer diagnosis, her forever chemicals discovery, the resistance she encountered from trusted corporations and organizations, what needs to change and so much more.Diane Cotter is a self-taught citizen activist whose upright, focused, and determined efforts in support of her husband, Fire Lieutenant Paul Cotter, during and after their battle against Paul’s occupational cancer served as the inspiration for the documentary “BURNED - Protecting The Protectors” by filmmaker Elijah Yetter Bowman and award-winning actor, Mark Ruffalo, Executive Producer. Diane is the ultimate standard bearer, a smart, outspoken, and fearless woman who continues to march at the head of her six-year campaign to remove PFAS “forever chemicals” from the gear worn by today’s firefighters. No less an authority that Ed Kelly, General President of the IAFF, has properly called Diane Cotter “the firefighters’ hero.” ~ Michael Foley, Boston Fire Department (ret’d)

.Monty Bynum is a Marine veteran, former LEO, DEA and GBI, and the founder of The Wealthy Servant. We discuss his journey into law enforcement, the war on drugs, leadership, entrepreneurship and so much more.

After eight years interviewing, Dustin's story still remains one of the most powerful I've ever heard. This has been a terrible week for the first responder community so it seems fitting that I repost this episode with the hope that it might reach someone who needs to hear it. Dustin Hawkins has been to hell and back both physically and mentally. We talk about his critical injuries, PTSD, near suicide and the future of mental wellness in first responders: Red Line Rescue.

Dr. Anders Hansen is a Swedish psychiatrist, speaker and international bestselling author with his own TV series exploring the human brain. Dr. Hansen’s books have sold millions of copies globally and topped bestseller lists around the world. He is the winner of the book of the year Big Health Award 2017 and 2019, and Sweden’s Mensa Prize in 2018.We discuss his childhood in Sweden, the importance of play, social media, ADHD, the brain and evolution, the pros and cons of pharmaceuticals, exercise as medicine, the pursuit of happiness and so much more.

Jay Dawes, PhD, CSCS, *D, NSCA-CPT, TSAC-F, FNSCA, is a professor of applied exercise science in the School of Kinesiology, Applied Health and Recreation at OSU. Dr. Dawes has worked as a university athletic performance coordinator, strength/performance coach, personal trainer and educator for over 20 years. His primary research interests is focused on improving the health, fitness and human performance for the tactical athletes and first responders. He is the co-founder and co-director of the OSU Tactical Fitness and Nutrition Lab and a member of the OSU Fire Council.