Patriot to the Core Thad Forester

Brian Jodice (@brianjodice) of Pick Up The Six Productions and NGBN TV is back to promote this new network for men in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.







Discussed in this episode:







-why focus on this demographic?







-men’s mental health







-Biblical application







-best athletic gear and brands for outdoor workouts (specifically F3 and GORUCK events)







-prison ministering







-oldest man to play Division 1 football







-other random topics that may or may not offend







You can also watch this interview on YouTube here.







If you’d like to support Patriot to the Core podcast with a very small regular donation, visit my Patreon page here.







Brian Jodice was also on PTC in Episode 95.







Use code PUT6 at Mudgear.com for a discount, compliments of Brian.







Enjoy the outro music. This short song clip was written by former Air Force CCT, and 2-time PTC guest, Dan Schilling. You can learn the history of this song here. Dan’s goal is for it to be something that urges people to turn up the volume when they play the track!







Copyright 2024 Thad Foresterhttp://www.patriottothecore.comemail questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

Within weeks of the 9/11 attacks, Air Force Combat Controller Joe O’Keefe was in Afghanistan working with the CIA and other special operations units.







Joe and his small team made their way into the mountains of Tora Bora with the help of the Northern Alliance. Armed with the element of surprise, he was able to start calling in close air support against hundreds, if not a thousand enemy fighters.







What was initially thought to be an overnight observance, turned into 5 days with only 1 hour of sleep the entire period. The CIA station chief told his team to drop bombs for as long as possible because the President was getting sit-reps on it minute by minute.







He and his team ended up killing hundreds of people. “They had chosen their course, we had chosen ours, that’s the nature of it.”







You can read an excellent article about this mission in Task and Purpose here:







Task and Purpose – Air Force Commando







You can also watch this interview on YouTube at the link below:







YouTube







Other CCT interviews mentioned in this episode:







Ep. 91 – Will Markham







Ep. 88 – Kyle Stanbro and Michael Lamonica







Copyright 2024 Thad Foresterhttp://www.patriottothecore.comemail questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

The late Woody Williams will never forget the odor of burning human remains.







“There are some things about that 4 hours that have bothered me my whole life… I can’t remember going back and getting the other 5 flamethrowers.  It was so horrific, I didn’t want to remember.”







I was introduced to death by flamethrower after learning of Mr. Williams.  He went thru 5 – 70 lb flamethrowers in a 4-hour battle on Iwo Jima.  Two of the Marines assigned to him were killed that day protecting his life.  At the time of this interview in 2017, he was the last surviving recipient of the Medal of Honor from that battle, and the last surviving Marine to receive the Medal of Honor for heroism in World War II. Mr. Williams died in 2022.







I asked Woody, “What did you know about Iwo Jima before you got there?”  His response, “Not a thing!”  Later he saw the flag raised on Mount Suribachi, but didn’t consider the significance at that time.  He had a job to do and wasn’t reveling in the moment.







His story is remarkable.  He was awarded the Medal of Honor by Pres. Truman, but admits being more nervous to meet the Commandant of the Marine Corp than the President.  He shares with us what both these men told him regarding the medal.  He didn’t know anything about the MOH beforehand.  Even the day he received it he didn’t know what it was about.







Awesome interview.  You should read his medal citation below and learn more about him at these links:







Read his Medal of Honor Citation







Learn about his foundation:







Hershel Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation







*originally published Oct 30, 2017







Copyright 2024 Thad Foresterhttp://www.patriottothecore.comemail questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

Mark Schmitz’s son, LCpl Jared Schmitz, was one of the 13 Americans murdered at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, on 26 August 2021 during the evacuation from Afghanistan.







He was just 20 years old. He was there on a humanitarian mission working the infamous Abbey Gate. When Afghans made it past the Taliban checkpoints, they were desperate to get on a flight out of Afghanistan. Jared and his fellow Marines, and others, were there among crowds so large and compact that he said if your arms were at your side, you couldn’t raise the above your head.







We discuss how this suicide bomber made it to the bottlenecked gate and was able to kill so many. Why the sniper wasn’t given permission to kill him beforehand. And, what has been the government’s response since. Note: this bomb also killed over 100 Afghan civilians.







He has also created The Freedom 13.org that supports the veterans still with us. They have big plans for retreats in each state so that Veteran’s and their families can stay for free, much like and Airbnb, but with land, shooting, fishing, riding, etc. Learn about their upcoming events, including how to donate or volunteer, by visiting here: https://thefreedom13.org/pages/events







If you’re listening on Apple Music or Spotify, please rate the podcast with 5-stars and subscribe or follow. I’m tired of average podcasts with lame topics getting more listens than mine. Please help spread the word!







Listen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsListen on Amazon MusicListen on Google PodcastsWatch on YouTube







I’m a proud affiliate of GORUCK. Please use this link if you want to check out their workout, rucking, running, apparel and other equipment. It doesn’t cost you any add’l money, but allows me to get a small commission to help this podcast reach larger audiences:







https://www.thadforester.com/gr-affiliate







Copyright 2023 Thad Foresterhttps://www.patriottothecore.comemail questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

Don Stevens is one of those rare operators who retrained into the Air Force combat control (CCT) pipeline at the age of 32, after being in security forces. This required uncommon humility since leadership said, “What are we gonna do with a MSgt. who doesn’t know squat (many different strong words could be inserted here)?”







Even though I’ve had several CCT’s on this show, we haven’t talked much about their humanitarian roles. Don tells us how he got a team ready to deploy to Haiti in less than 4 hours, when the earthquake in 2010 happened.







Stevens provides advice to new guys entering the CCT pipeline, why PTSD doesn’t have to be a big deal, and shared the scariest thing he’s ever done. Hint, it wasn’t in Afghanistan or Africa.







You can also learn more about Don as the co-founder of FoxTrot 3.







Mentioned in this episode:







Thai Soccer Team Rescue







If you’re listening on Apple Music or Spotify, please rate the podcast with 5-stars and subscribe or follow. I’m tired of average podcasts with lame topics getting more listens than this one. Please help spread the word!







Listen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsListen on Amazon MusicListen on Google PodcastsWatch on YouTube







I’m a proud affiliate of GORUCK. Please use this link if you want to check out their workout, rucking, running, apparel and other equipment. It doesn’t cost you any add’l money, but allows me to get a small commission to help this podcast reach larger audiences:







https://www.thadforester.com/gr-affiliate







Copyright 2023 Thad Foresterhttps://www.patriottothecore.comemail questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

On this 13th anniversary of the death of my brother, SrA Mark Forester, I have the opportunity to talk with Kenny Alicea who was the Senior Weapons Sergeant for his Army Special Forces team (ODA 7212) where Mark was attached.







Kenny contacted me a few weeks ago and told me he was on that final mission when Mark and Calvin were killed. He was a few hundred meters away with the mounted element, but he heard the radio calls and helped clear the area after their deaths. He helps piece together a few more details about Mark’s final moments.







In addition, Alicea told me about some initial disagreements and arguments he and Mark had and how they resolved those and worked together to bring destruction to terrorists and protect their teams. Hint: both of them said they own the airspace. Once they started working together, he said Mark was phenomenal at his job.







You can connect with Kenny on his YouTube Channel that helps vets in the private security contracting field: https://www.youtube.com/@VetsToPSC







For those watching the YouTube version, I hope you enjoy the slideshow at the very end of the interview.







Mentioned in this episode:







Ep 60: Captain Wes Wilson – Ken’s team captain gives lots of detail on that battle too







Ep 38: Bobby Bonello – Mark’s good friend escorting him home to Dover AFB – Angel Flight







Copyright 2023 Thad Foresterhttps://www.patriottothecore.comemail questions to thad@patriottothecore.comWatch this interview on YouTube