Behind The Shield

Sonya McVay is a movement therapist and the woman behind The Six. We discuss childhood trauma, her journey into pilates, trauma release, woking with Formula 1 Drivers, performance vs pain, injury rehabilitation, manual therapy in the first responder communites and so much more.Sonya McVay-Straub, MP, is a certified ART (Active Release Techniques), NKT (NeuroKinetic Therapy), AiM (Anatomy in Motion), PMT (Performance Movement Taping by RockTape), KABUKI integrated Power Lifting, and ICT (Integrated Cranial Therapy) provider. She is also a certified master Pilates Instructor and a PMA (Pilates Method Alliance) and NKT credentialing author and continuing education provider. ART is a clinical soft tissue therapy system used to treat pathologies and/or movement restriction with muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves.Alongside manual therapy, she specializes in Neuro-Gate, functional/movement assessment, sports injuries, spinal pathologies, "special-populations" and post-treatment exercise. Her practice combines multiple methods and provides incredible results. Her clients include internationally competitive athletes (Ferrari's Racing team), professional baseball players, both pro golfers and tennis players, triathletes, cyclists, PTSD patients, competitive marathoners, UFC fighters, IronMan/ToughMudder and Spartan athletes, avid and competitive CrossFitters, Olympic lifters, business executives, chronic pain patients, senior citizens, and youth. Sonya has personally treated hundreds of First Responders and Military Personnel over the last ten years. It is her life’s mission to demand NFL quality health care to these populations.

Frank Larkin is a former Navy SEAL, police officer, flight medic, Secret Service Agent and current firefighter. Frank lost his son, Ryan to suicide and has been a powerful voice in the military and first responders mental health and TBI conversation. We discuss his journey into the military, pre 9/11 SEAL training, some career calls, CTE and suicide, working though grief, sleep deprivation, institutional bretrayal and so much more. Frank Larkin is a national advocate for veteran suicide prevention and traumatic brain injury research relative to military blast exposure and “invisible wounds”. He currently serves as chief operating officer for the Troop’s First Foundation, leading the National Warrior Call Day initiative. He is a board member for Cohen Veterans Bioscience, a non-profit research organization, along with being an active supporter of the Navy SEAL Foundation.Frank was the 40th United States Senate Sergeant at Arms. As chief law enforcement and executive officer of the Senate, the Sergeant at Arms enforces rules of the Senate; provides a range of technical and administrative services to Senators in their Washington D.C., and state offices; and maintains security in the Capitol and Senate office buildings. He had direct oversight of the US Capitol Police Department, a 2200-member agency, and led numerous national security events.Frank was a member of the federal Senior Executive Service for almost 15 years, serving as both the Acting Director and the Vice Director of Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) and Director of the Counter IED Operations-Intelligence Integration Center (COIC) within the Department of Defense. He led the integration of technical capabilities, information analysis and human resources against the global IED threat and terror networks.Frank served for more than two decades as a special agent and senior leader in the United States Secret Service (USSS). He conducted complex criminal investigations and protected four US presidents, until his retirement as the Deputy Assistant Director for Protective Research and the agency’s Chief Technology Officer.In the private sector, Frank continued to support the defense and intelligence communities. He recently was the vice president for Corporate Development at SAP National Security Services. In the past, he was the Director for Program Management & Leadership for the Raytheon Company and Senior Program Manager at Lockheed Martin’s Defense & Intelligence Solutions.A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Frank served as a special warfare operator in the Navy SEALs. After his military service, he was a uniformed patrol officer with the Norristown (PA) Police Department, a homicide detective with the Montgomery County (PA) District Attorney’s Office, and a Maryland State Trooper-Flight Paramedic. He has been a nationally licensed paramedic for 40 years and still serves Maryland as a firefighter-paramedic for the City of Annapolis Fire Department.Frank holds a BA degree in criminal justice and a MS degree in public administration from Villanova University. He is the recipient of numerous awards, to include the USSS Valor award, the Department of the Army’s Exceptional Civilian Service award and the Superior Civilian Service award.

Don Campbell is a District Chief, 23 year veteran of Gainesville Fire Rescue and a member of Florida Task Force 8. He has instructed at the Florida State Fire College for 18 years and is a Florida Smoke Diver. We discuss growing up with a firefighter father, his own journey into the fire service, the Smoke Diver Program, firefighter fitness, leadership, Gainesville's pioneering switch to the 24/72, USAR deployments, his deep faith and so much more.

Greg Yacoubian is a 26 year veteran of LAPD and a Litigation Attorney who has become a champion for first responders still being terminated over vaccine mandates. We discuss his family's immigration story, his journey into policing, the Rampart Scandal, the LA Riots, drug prohibition, government overreach, cowardice in leadership and so much more.Greg Yacoubian and his wife, Sue, have three grown daughters. Greg has worked in law enforcement since 1985. Before retiring as a police lieutenant, Greg worked a variety of assignments including Homicide, Hollywood Vice, Police Academy instructor, CRASH (Gangs) supervisor, Anti-Terrorist Division, and Narcotics Division (Majors). Greg also obtained two college degrees and a Juris Doctor degree while working as a police officer. Greg served several years as an adjunct law instructor after passing the California Bar Exam. Greg is now a practicing litigation attorney and reserve police officer, and he continues to serve as an instructor for California Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST). Greg’s law practice focuses on defending police officers and other public servants. Greg has been sought out by various prosecutors, defense attorneys, and media entities as a police practices consultant and witness for matters in California and other states. Greg’s passion is, by God’s grace, to that ensure that Truth is protected in every matter he handles.

Dr Sean Rockett is the Head Orthopedic Surgeon for the Crossfit Games and a lifelong athlete. In this second conversation, we discuss the impact of the pandemic on gyms, firefighter cancer, saving Emily Rolfe's arm, aging and exercise, Workman's Comp, rehabiliting the injured tactical athlete and so much more.Dr. Rockett has been with Orthopedics New England since 1999 and is the senior partner. A native of Brookline, Dr. Rockett received his bachelor of arts degree in biology from Harvard University. Following that, he completed his medical degree at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and his internship in general surgery from Tufts Medical Center. From there, Dr. Rockett finished his residency in orthopaedic surgery from the same institution.In addition to his clinical and surgical duties at Orthopedics New England, Dr. Rockett serves as Assistant Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. He has been a coach for the Wellesley football, baseball, softball, and soccer youth teams. When he’s not seeing patients or teaching students, Dr. Rockett’s outside interests include art history, ancient Greece and Rome, and spy novels. Since 2012, Dr. Rockett enjoys being the Head Orthopedic Surgeon for the CrossFit® Games. Additionally, he is a triathlete and CrossFit® Level 2 Certified. He is the author of the injury prevention website for athletes called: 321gomd.com.

The Goode Show is hosted by Surinder Goode, a military spouse who has experienced 14 deployments over 25 years. Her husband served 30 years as a Navy SEAL in Coronado before retiring as a CMC. We discuss her childhood in England, her journey to the airline industry, opening coffee shops on Coronado, how some military families are living below the poverty line, racism, rugby and much more.Surinder is an entrepreneur with work experience in the U.K., the Middle East and theUnited States. Born in England at a young age the family decided to move to Scotland. After graduating college she moved to the Middle East, working as a flight attendant on commercial and private flights. It was in 1998 while visiting a friend in Coronado, CA that she met her future husband who was active duty.‘I had no idea what the life of a military spouse looked like, I wasn’t briefed on what I should expect, or how to overcome the new challenges that are a part of this lifestyle. The saying is true…If only I knew then, what I know now.”

Ethan Suplee has starred in a spectrum of film and television roles including "My name is Earl", "American History X" and "Remember the Titans". We discuss childhood obesity, eating disorders, the Tour de France, his weight loss journey, self experimentation, weight training, racism and much more.

Tina Guiler is a veteran firefighter, head of the FFF page and creator of the Female Firefighter Plush Dolls. We discuss her journey into the fire service, diversity through mentorship, her cancer recovery story, mental health, inspiring young women, entrepreneurship and so much more."I am a Lieutenant for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) in Miami, Florida, in the US.I started my career in 1999 as a Firefighter and became a Paramedic within 3 years. I later earned Driver engineer and for the past 20 years I have served as a Lieutenant.I have an Associates in Science degree. I am a state certified Fire Inspector.I am an active member of our Departments Critical Incident Stress Management Team (CISM).After 18 years in operations,I obtained the bid position of a Lieutenant Fire Inspector for my Fire Department.I am also the Owner and CEO ofTriple F- Fierce Female Firefighters.Triple F started off as a private group page on Facebook for women in the fire service. This was started in 2013, to create a platform for women to be able to reach out for support, advice, and encouragement and to help navigate the different obstacles women may face in the fire service.We now have over 7,200 female firefighters from 58 different countries.Due to our unique and popular female firefighter logos, I started a company called, Triple F- Fierce Female Firefighters. We have many different items such as t-shirts, decals and challenge coins designed for women in the fire service. I also created a female firefighter plush doll for kids. We have three different girls and our logos are on these dolls. They come with removable gear just like a real firefighter. I wanted to show little girls they can be anything, even a firefighter."

Christina is an author, TEDx speaker, and perpetual question-asker. She grew up in a conservative, Christian home and earned a degree in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Christian Ministry from Belhaven University.As a young adult, Christina assumed she had a solid understanding of how the world works. That changed when she and her husband became foster parents in 2014. The neat bow she had tied around her mental box of how the world works began to unravel.What had previously been a category of people in her mind, people addicted to drugs, now had a name, face, and an infant son sleeping in the extra bedroom down the hall. Her foster care experience gave her an up-close look at the realities of addiction, drug use, and the far-reaching impact of our drug laws.This became the catalyst for months of reading, questions, and listening as she tried to reconcile her beliefs as a Christian with the pain and suffering she saw first-hand. What she learned changed her mind. The laws she thought were the answer to keep people from using drugs she now saw as causing more harm than help to people made in God’s image. Christina founded End It For Good out of her desire to invite others to listen to the voices directly impacted by our drug laws. She hopes that more people will explore the root causes of drug-related harm and consider a different approach. She wrote the book Curious: A Foster Mom's Discovery of an Unexpected Solution to Drugs and Addiction to share her story and the research and experiences that changed her mind about the best path forward to help people thrive, even in a world where harmful drugs exist Christina is married to her college sweetheart Thomas, and they live in Ridgeland, MS, with their three sons. On the weekends, you can find her biking, in a hammock reading a biography, or playing board games with the family.

Daniel Corbett III served as an elite Navy SEAL operator, part of SEAL Teams 5, 6, and 17. He’s now an ex-military operator for hire. He joined the navy shortly after graduating high school in 2002 and was deployed to Iraq in the summer of 2005 with SEAL Team 5. He joined SEAL Team 6 in 2007, deploying to various locations around the world. In 2010, Daniel returned to the West Coast and began instructing at the Naval Special Warfare Basic Training Command (NSWBTC). Daniel ended his active-duty career after two years with NSWBTC and quickly fell into the world of private military contracting. Daniel joined the active reserves in 2014 and maintained his active reserve status until 2019. In 2017, Daniel made international news when he was thrown in jail in Belgrade, Serbia, for eighteen months after traveling there as a private contractor to track a terrorist financier. Daniel still monitors international news and continues to entertain phone calls and meetings with those who need unique solutions to unique problems.Daniel is also the author of "American Mercenary".