Behind The Shield

Frank Babinec is the former City of Coral Springs Fire Chief and current City Manager . Chris Bator is a Battalion Chief and Health and Safety Officer. We discuss their journeys into the fire service, trauma medicine, mental health, responding to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre, MCI, triage, clean cab, compassion, humility and so much more.

Tori Gonzalez was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas when a former student murdered 17 schoolchildren and staff in 2018, including her boyfriend Joaquin Oliver. Anthony Gonzalez is Tori's father and was one of the responding firefighters to the attack. We discuss their early lives, Tori and Joaquin's romance, the aftermath of the massacre, grief, tactical medicine, the media, mental health and so much more.

Jeff McGreevy is a Marine veteran and retired law enforcement officer, serving in both gang and SWAT units. We discuss his journey into the military, entering law enforcement, his officer involved shooting, training under stress, mental health, Echelon Front, 911 at Ease and much more.

Anthony ‘Harry’ Moffitt spent almost three decades in the Australian Defense Force most of which in the Special Air Service (SAS). We discuss his journey into the military, rock music, cricket, mental health, writing his new book "Eleven Bats", psychology and so much more.

Dustin Hawkins is a veteran firefighter, the creator of Red Line Rescue and co-founder of Safer Straps. Dustin told his powerful story on Episode 39 and he now walks us through the last four years to bringing Red Line Rescue to our profession. We discuss mental health, suicide, creating culturally competent clinicians, connecting peer support and so much more.

Sebastian Junger is the filmmaker behind Restrepo and the New York Times best selling author of Tribe, War and his new book Freedom. We discuss becoming a father, his near death experience, the last patrol, leadership, unions, the concept of freedom and so much more.

Aubrey Lehman is a firefighter/EMT in Pennsylvania. She is currently the only interior qualified deaf female firefighter/EMT in the Mid-Atlantic region. We discuss her challenging childhood, the incredible innovation in medical technology, her journey into the fire service, challenging the status quo, mentorship, harassment, training, growth and so much more.

Nick Merrick is a member of 10th Special Forces Group and the Executive Director of Green Beret Racing. We discuss his journey into the military, the exorbitant casualty rate in his community, mental health, addiction, adrenaline sports, helping veterans transition out of the military and so much more.

Jason Wolfe was a civilian contractor for the DOD and is now a counter terrorism and security contracting expert. We discuss tracking down bomb makers, edged weapons training, the FAST rescue board and much more.

Emily McCarthy is a former CIA case officer and co-founder of GORUCK. We discuss collegiate athletics, her journey into the agency, mediating African warlords, the power of language, transitioning out, the importance of tribe and so much more.