Cleared Hot

Mark Twight is a man who has found success in many arenas. When I first heard his name, he was described as an Alpinist, an expert in the outdoors. The description did not do the man justice. Mark was not only an alpinist, he is an author, the founder of Gym Jones, an accomplished cyclist, and at one time a trainer to many stars that most would recognize from movies such as 300, and Man Of Steel. Mark and I met in 2005, while I was slowly climbing out of the hole that an injury from work, plus my own poor choices, had put me in. Our initial encounter was "exercise" based, and the lessons he exposed me to still frame the way I train now, and eventually led to a short lived career in the "fitness world." He is one of the most unique human beings I have ever encountered, with an intensity and drive that can burn most to the ground. It is what I admire most about him. This conversation was over 1 year in the making. We both wanted to wait until we were in the right spot, and I believe we finally arrived there.

Todays episode is Q and A from the internet, with a twist. As fate would have it, my father and brother in law are here in Montana on vacation. As I was reading through the questions, I realized that they are both a wealth of knowledge from different backgrounds, and that their insight into the questions is equally, if not more valid than my own. Jason has been serving as a firefighter for the city of San Diego for over ten years. They operate in small elements, requiring teamwork, communication, leadership, and individual responsibility. I would say the community has more similarities to the SEAL Teams than differences. My father has worn many hats throughout his life. He is a Vietnam veteran, small business owner, school teacher, sport coach, and after today, a podcaster! I learned many of the lessons that have served me well throughout life working beside him on construction sites. Between the three of us I think we had some good answers. Enjoy

At the age of 19 Jessica Lynch joined the Army, and just over one year later she found herself staged for the invasion of Iraq. During the initial surge towards Baghdad, her unit became separated from their convoy, and found themselves in the town of Nasiriyah. Her smaller unit was ambushed, and she became the first American POW (Prisoner of War). As Jessica and her unit were staging for the invasion in Kuwait, my unit was in Saudi Arabia, doing the same thing. As the war began, we began working through our target deck, until actionable intelligence was received about her location. After a quick forward staging, planning, and limited rehearsal, we assaulted the hospital, and recovered her on 1 April 2003. It was the first successful of an American POW since WW2. Jessica was immediately taken to a higher level of medical care, and slowly began her journey home to the US via Germany. There has been much controversy over what happened during the events leading up to the rescue, and of the rescue itself. It is safe to say, in my opinion, that the military used the operation to serve their needs at the time. I had not spoken to her until this recording, and it was great to revisit the events of 15 years ago from both sides of the same coin.

I am a few months late to get this out, but with hunting season just around the corner, the timing may be perfect. Between Barklow and Dudley, there are decades of experience in the field. I don't often get to spend time with both in the same place, so we definitely took advantage of it. We answered a variety of questions across a broad spectrum, from hot to cold, high altitude to low, long days to short. This is the first survival episode of at least two or three in the future. The more questions you send the more episodes we will do. I hope you enjoy, and send me any questions that this podcast may bring to mind.

A combination of recent events and a conversation with friends has had me thinking consistently thinking about adversity, and how we each decide to deal with our personal struggles. Bottom line, some of us deal with them better than others. Some dig their feet in, some throw in the towel. I have been fortunate in my life to be surrounded by mentors. They took the raw material I was born with, and enhanced it in many areas. As a society, I think we would be far better served to embrace this mentality, than the "everyone for themselves" approach that most seem to live by. You can teach mental toughness. You can teach people to face and work through adversity, arriving on the other side improved, not destroyed. Adversity is essential, it is not the enemy

You had military questions, I had answers. I did my best to work my way through them and answer as many as possible....Quiet professionals, leadership strengths and weaknesses, DEVGRU, preparing for combat physically and mentally, pros and cons of military service, etc. I will try to do a military specific episode every so often, as there is obviously a desire, and no lack of questions. Enjoy

Sean is a writer, veteran, non-profit founder (care4us.org) and a special needs father. He's contributed to multiple media outlets including the Washington Post and Quartz and his first book Sixteen: A Rational Account of an Irrational Election was released this May. A veteran of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom and Sean launched the data, politics and society blog chartwellwest.com in 2015. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy and the University of San Diego Graduate School of Business, Sean separated from the Navy at the rank of Commander. He lives in Southern California with his wife Annette and three boys. Sean's book - 16 on Amazon

I wrote this for my blog: Confessions of an Idiot Memorial day means much more than just time off to some families. It is a day to remember their loved ones, those that made the ultimate sacrifice. We would be well served as a nation to take more time to recognize and appreciate the cost of what we have, and those that bear it.

Round 2 with the one and only Josh Bridges. Josh is a retired Navy SEAL. We met when I was putting him through basic SEAL training known as BUD/s (Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL). Post training we served together at SEAL Team Three. Post military our paths constantly crossed in the competitive CrossFit ecosystem. Josh has been competing in the CrossFit Games since before he left military service, meaning he found the time to train in the limited off time associated with an already arduous job. His best finish at the Games to date has been 2nd place in 2011. Our conversation last year occurred just after his Regional competition, this year it is just before. We talked pre, active, and post military life. Training style and philosophy, and how he dealt with last years competition not sticking to the script he had planned for it. Enjoy.

Answers to a variety of questions from the internet with topics ranging from Situational Awareness, finding your purpose and meaning both inside the military and when you leave, Andy Stumpf hunting camp curriculum, and snake oil salesman in uniform.