Behind The Shield

Tom McLay has spent his career in corrections, working his way up to the Superintendent of Powder River Correctional Facility. We discuss his journey into corrections, recidivism, addiction, drug prohibition, adopting the Norwegian Prison model, the wildland firefighter program and so much more.

Debbie Lee is an author, public speaker, political activist and the mother of fallen Navy SEAL Marc Lee. We discuss her early life, domestic abuse, suicide, grief, forging resilience through loss, the SEAL brotherhood, her non profit America's Mighty Warriors, the importance of gratitude and so much more.

Marc Polymeropoulos is a retired Senior CIA officer and the author of "Clarity in Crisis". We discuss his adventurous childhood, entering the CIA, the importance of professionalism, grooming agents, leadership, humility and much more.

Paul Combs is a retired firefighter and world renowned cartoonist. Frank Viscuso is a retired firefighter and best selling author. We discuss their new children's book, retirement, mental health, internet trolls, leadership and so much more.

Robert Ingram is a lifelong martial artist, instructor and the man behind McDojo Life. We discuss bulling, assault, his journey into the martial arts, the importance of humility, fraudulent schools, sexual predators, and much more.

Alex Vazquez is a veteran firefighter, comedian and Dive Rescue team member. We discuss his traumatic early life, comedy, his mental health struggle, the healing power of altruism, the IAFF Center of Excellence, OCD and much more.

Tom Beaver is an elite endurance athlete, welder and the founder of BeaverFit. We discuss farm life, bridge building, SAS selection, creating strength and conditioning equipment elite tactical athletes, bringing solutions to strength and conditioning space challenges, his incredible endurance feats, rhinos and so much more.

Nick Norris is a Navy SEAL veteran, elite endurance athlete and the executive director of the C4 Foundation. We discuss his journey into special operations, TBIs, losing his brother, his own mental health journey, the power of Ibogaine therapy, drug prohibition and so much more.

Kathy, Madison, Sarah and Tracy share a common bond of being firefighter spouses. They started the organization "Fire Wife Life" to forge a community in first responder families. We discuss volunteer firefighter families, shift work, the unseen toll of mandatory overtime, mental health and much more.

Steve Brown is a veteran of the British Army's revered "Pathfinders", survival instructor and author. We discuss his challenging childhood, the importance of mentorship, training in global theatres, the impact of losing soldiers, his powerful mental health journey and much more.