Reinforce Radio

For today's episode, I am joined by Grant Darnell, our resident strength and conditioning coach for the squadron. In today's episode, he spends time helping you understand how you can best optimize your personal workouts (when you are not following one of Grant's personalized programs!). Physical resilience definitely falls in his wheelhouse, not mine! I hope you guys find this episode informative and value-added!

Thanks for listening, and until next time...

Doc McKay

We're going through historic change in our country, in our culture, and in our military and its mission. So when the foundation for what we define as meaningful in our lives changes, how do we adjust? How do we find meaning and purpose in our lives when the mission set shifts under our feet? In today's episode, I had a great conversation with Chief Master Sergeant Evan Serpa. We explore his lengthy career and how he has found and sought meaning when life circumstances and mission changes both at work and at home. I hope you find this conversation informative and intriguing.

I know I did.  

Thanks for listening! Until next time,
Doc McKay

Sleep.

We all love it, and don’t get enough of it. Whether it is sleep deprivation because you don’t have the TIME to sleep, or insomnia because you CAN’T sleep, the effectrs are awful and the road back can be hard.

In today’s episode, we talk about the process of sleep, how that process gets disrupted, the negative effects of sleep deprivation, and what you can do to get back to good sleep patterns. 

Hope you guys find this episode helpful. Hit me up if you have any questions. Thanks for listening!

Until next time,

-Doc McKay

P.S. I mentioned in the episode that I would include graphics and charts in the show notes. Sorry, it will not let me do this here, so click the link below for a file that includes all the discussed graphics and descriptions. Probably easier for you now because you can download and keep!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XG_lpEtfrF0kI3WUy427SDQZt5zxMWAG

So you think you perform well under pressure? Well, you probably do. But understanding the nature of stress and how our thoughts and attitudes impact performance under stress can boost your skill utilization even more. In this episode, we explore the nature of stress and ways you can optimize your performance under pressure before, during, and even after the stressful event itself. It's a long one, but good stuff!

Thanks for listening!

Until next time,

-Doc McKay

In this episode, we go back to the body and Nate spends time talking about cryotherapy and its roles and risks in physical recovery from injury. Hope you guys find this episode helpful and informative!

Until next time...

-Doc McKay

In today's episode, I interview Dr. Barb Thompson, Operational Psychologist for the 724th Special Tactics Group. She spends the episode talking to all of you about the importance of consistency of effort, and not always chasing the exciting tasks... always Chasing the Dragon, as we often refer to it. The benefits of consistency on the daily tasks of life have benefits for you, your brain, and your support system, and is something you need to remember as you go through your career in Special Tactics.... and after.

I hope you find this episode helpful, and thanks for listening. Until next time...

-Doc

Thought we'd bring a different perspective today, so Nate Borget, 17 STS Certified Athletic Trainer, runs the show exploring medical imaging, the misconceptions, and the things you should consider about imaging as you are assessing and rehabilitating from injury.

If you have any topics or questions you would like explored and answered on an upcoming episode, don't hesitate to contact Doc McKay and we'll get started on getting those answers for you!

I hope you find this episode helpful, and thanks for listening.

-Doc

Let's face it. 2020 has been kind of a dumpster fire. We all have a tendency to focus on the negatives around us, especially with the news constantly throwing the negative in our faces. But what happens if you focus instead on the positives - things in yourself and your life that you have to be grateful for? In this episode, we explore the concept of gratitude, the neurological basis of gratitude, the huge benefits in your life of taking on a grateful perspective in life, and how you can start practicing an "Attitude of Gratitude". Trust me on this. You want to listen to this episode.

Perfect timing for the holidays as well. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I will see you in the new year with new episodes, new ideas, and new guests!

Until next time,

Doc 

The holidays are stressful enough as it is. Add the flaming chaos of 2020 to it. Now mix in separation due to deployment. Too. Much. Stress.

Today's episode is just a quick shot where we talk about the stress of the holidays, especially during deployment, and some things you can do both downrange and back at home to make the separation a little easier to manage for both the operator and the family back home. 

I hope you all find ways to make this holiday season a little less stressful and a lot more joyful!

Thanks for listening, and we'll see you again soon for the next episode!

So in the last episode, we introduced the concept of trauma as residue and explored the life of an operator and how it can present obstacles to processing and cleaning off this residue that trauma leaves behind. Today we spend time exploring a series of questions designed to get you to think about things you can do to strengthen both internal and external protective factors - things that can better prepare you for managing trauma and processing all that residue. 

All of the information explored in these last two episodes have been based on data from the Mission Critical Team Institute's April 20, 2020 report on this topic (Dr. Preston B. Cline, Principal Investigator). I would like to thank Dr. Cline and the MCTI's insightful work in this area.

Thanks for listening. I hope you all find this episode helpful and educational!

Until next time,

-Doc

If you exist in military life - as an active duty member, a spouse, a family member, or a veteran - you have heard about, discussed, considered, and explored trauma. Operators don't like to talk about trauma because of the dreaded 'D' word that is often associated with it - Disorder. In this first of a two-part series, we begin to take a look at trauma from a different perspective, an "un-disordered" perspective if you will. Trauma can be conceptualized as residue - the stuff that remains after an experience. It is neither good nor bad. It is the way we examine and address this residue that determines healthy or unhealthy outcomes. But what is it about the nature of the operator and the life they live that encourages them to stuff the residue instead of clean it off? That is the "stuff" of this episode. I hope this episode helps operators  "put a name to the ghosts that walk with them," and helps loved ones understand them more and have more compassion for them.

Thanks for listening. I hope you all find this episode helpful and educational! 

Until next time,

-Doc

Grief is universal. We all experience it. Whether is it grief over the loss of a loved one, an injury, the end of a relationship, changing locations/schools/lives through a PCS, or going from an operational to non-operational position, grieving over loss is part of the human condition. Grief is unique - it is very personal and doesn't follow a linear progression. Still, though not everyone experiences grief in the same way, there are some commonalities in our experience - stages that we progress through as we cope with loss or trauma. In today's episode, we talk about the Seven Stages of Grief, a general framework of the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions we have from loss to acceptance and growth. 

Thanks for listening. I hope you all find this episode helpful and educational! 

Until next time,

-Doc

Operators live a constant balance - improving physical fitness and being physically broken. You know a bunch of you just "Ranger through" the pain which probably just makes the damage to your body worse or more permanent. What can you do to continue to work on physical fitness and preparedness while working through injury? I have no clue, but I know who does. In this episode I am joined by Nate Borget certified athletic trainer for the 17 Special Tactics Squadron. I sit back and let Nate take over and just share not only the types of injuries you will face at some point, but how - both generally and specifically - you can work to maintain a workout routine to rehab the injury as well as continue physical fitness. You know, the Gain Train you guys love so much! 

The knowledge we get from Nate not only helps our operators but is completely applicable to anyone listening to this who has that familiar struggle of maintaining a consistent exercise plan and not losing gains made while rehabilitating an injury. 

I hope you all find this episode helpful and educational! Until next time!

-Doc

In today's episode, we start off by talking about the psychology of combat and the mental health impacts that can occur from combat and deployment. Following that, we explore the nature of resilience and ways to recognize and strengthen it in ourselves so we can not only survive but thrive in stress and hardship.  I hope you find this episode informative and supportive. I would love to hear your thoughts. Leave me a comment or hit us up on twitter (@Reinforce_17). Until next time, stay safe out there!

So why would you spend hours a week in the gym exercising to build muscle, increase speed, and equip yourself better physically to do the job, but not spend time exercising your brain as well? Mindfulness has been increasingly shown to have huge benefits cognitively, emotionally, and physically, not only with general populations but specifically with military populations as well. In this episode, we explore what mindfulness is, why you need to cultivate it, how it physically changes your brain to be more mentally fit, and it's benefits. We end the episode with a brief mindfulness breathing exercise. 

Need to practice on the go? There are tons of mindfulness apps in the mobile market, and I will mention a few here to get you started:

• Headspace
• Calm

Both of these are great apps but are subscription-based. If you are looking for good free options, check these out:

• Smiling Mind (my favorite)
• Mindful
• Mindfulness Coach*

You should know that the last one mentioned is actually developed by the Veterans Administration and is designed specifically for Veterans and Service Members. Mindfulness: It's not just for monks anymore... ;-)

Feel free to leave me a message regarding this episode. Would love to hear how if it was helpful and how we can grow this podcast to continue to meet your needs!

-Doc McKay

Welcome to Episode 02 of Reinforce Radio, a podcast dedicated to resiliency and support of the men and women of special tactics warfare and their families. In this episode, Doc McKay spends some time exploring the characteristics in our operators that are adaptive when downrange, but maladaptive in the family unit at home. Navigating these different environments can lead to significant stressors and conflicts if not handled well, and Doc explores some ways to ease the transition back home to family. Thanks for listening!

Welcome to the first episode of Reinforce Radio, a podcast dedicated to resiliency and support of the men and women of special tactics warfare and their families. In this episode, Doc McKay spends some time exploring the uncertainty of life we are living in and explores 11 ways you can better manage it to come out stronger on the other side. Stay tuned to future episodes with Doc McKay, other members of your resiliency team, and maybe some special guests as we stay committed to keeping you healthy, fit, and in the fight.  Thanks for listening!