Stoic Warfighters

In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking to Donald Robertson. Donald is a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, trainer, and writer. He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, and after living in England and working in London for many years, he emigrated to Canada where he now lives. Robertson has been researching Stoicism and applying it in his work for twenty years. He is one of the founding members of the non-profit organization Modern Stoicism. He is the author of several books including How to Think Like a Roman Emperor and his most recent venture, the graphic novel Verissimus- The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. Verissimus is a sweeping historical epic of a graphic novel based on a close study of the historical evidence with stunning artwork by an award winning illustrator Zé Nuno Fraga- it is available for pre-order now. Donald and I discussed the life and philosophy of Marcus Aurelius as it relates to Aurelius's military campaigns during a very turbulent time in history. In addition to that we covered several other points including Donald's forthcoming graphic novel and his Plato's Academy project. I really enjoyed the conversation and hope you do as well.

In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking to Chris Fisher. Chris is well educated on Stoicism and his background in the military, law enforcement, and civilian sector provides him with broad life experiences which he relates well to the concepts of Stoicism. He is my first guest who is a career law enforcement officer and I think his perspective on that role from a Stoic perspective is unique and valuable. Please read below to learn more about him. Bio: Chris was first introduced to Stoic tenets while serving in the U.S. Marine  Corps. He spent twenty years working in Silicon Valley, California, as a  computer hardware specialist, software engineer, sales executive, and  regional manager for a large software company. In 2004, Chris moved to Florida and returned to public service as a law  enforcement officer. He has been a detective for the past ten years. In  preparation for his retirement from law enforcement, he relied on his life-long  interest in photography to create a real estate photography business in 2019. Chris Fisher was appointed Scholarch of the College of Stoic Philosophers in  August 2021. He came to the College in 2011, where he completed the Stoic  Essential Studies in 2012 and the Marcus Aurelius School in 2013. He was a  mentor and tutor at the College from 2015 to 2019. He also sat on the New Stoa board and served as Dean of Students. Chris is the author of the Traditional Stoicism blog and the Stoicism on  Fire podcast. In 2016, Stoicism Today published Chris’ defense of the  traditional Stoic doctrine of Providence in “Stoicism Today: Selected Writings  II.” In 2019, he contributed a chapter about Stoicism in a book titled  “Pandeism: An Anthology of the Creative Mind.” Chris currently lives near Tampa, Florida, with his wife of twenty-five years  and two of his five children who haven’t yet flown from the nest. Chris's blog: https://traditionalstoicism.com/ Chris's Stoicism on Fire podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0NmEH1K6nEl1LgKGScPKSf?si=2b324bae72fc4eaa The College of Stoic Philosophers: https://collegeofstoicphilosophers.org And as always if you want to reach out to me regarding this subject you can do so at [email protected]

In this episode I had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Megan McElheran. Dr. McElheran is the CEO of Wayfound Mental Health Group, based in Calgary, Canada.  Dr. McElheran completed graduate training at the Palo Alto-Stanford University Clinical Psychology Consortium, during which she obtained specialized training in the treatment of PTSD through the US Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD in Menlo Park, CA. Dr. McElheran has been in practice in Calgary since 2008.  Her clinical practice involves work with active-duty members of the Canadian Forces, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, municipal police officers, firefighters, medical personnel, and others who are directly or vicariously impacted by traumatic events. She routinely engages in teaching and supervisory activity to ensure the sound dissemination of empirically-grounded interventions for trauma. Dr. McElheran is regularly engaged in speaking events, both locally and internationally. She completed a TEDx speech in 2011 related to Trauma, Change, and Resilience and is the developer of the Before Operational Stress (BOS) program, a resiliency-based intervention program for public safety personnel. Dr. McElheran brings the worlds of clinical research and ancient philosophy together in a way that is useful and entertaining. I believe the program she is working on is an honorable pursuit that will lead to helping many first responders and military service members. I appreciate her taking the time to speak to me.

Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Roger Johnston Jr. Roger is a retired infantry man and operator with the 82nd Airborne and 19th Special Forces, respectively. He is a licensed clinical therapist with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Maui and the director of the Vet Center. Roger has been applying Stoicism for the last 20 years, applying it to therapy for 10 years, and teaching a therapy group for combat vets based on Stoic principles for 8 years. Roger and I spoke about good starting points with the philosophy, his experience using then working at the Vet Center, and the value of community. I enjoyed the talk and think he has a lot of valuable insights into the post-service life.

Dr. Franklin C. Annis is an Army National Guard officer and veteran of the Iraq war with over 15 years in service. He is widely known for publishing research on improving military self-directed learning. He holds a Doctorate in Education from Northcentral University and a Masters in military history for the University of Birmingham. His research into military history and military education theory have frequently crossed into the field of philosophy. As a result, he has studied the influences of Stoic military philosophy from Sparta through their current uses within the U.S. Military.* Dr. Franklin's perspective on Neo-Stoicism's relationship to the modern military and modern Stoicism brings a unique perspective to the conversation. I appreciate him taking the time to speak with me. If you would like to reach out to me regarding the content of the episode my email is [email protected] *Dr. Annis is here expressing his own opinions. These opinions do not necessarily represent the views of Department of Defense or its components.

Lt. Colonel-Retired Thomas Jarrett was a senior Military Behavioral Health Officer, former Green Beret, and later an Albert Ellis Institute REBT Doctoral Fellow.  He utilized Stoicism, cognitive behavioral science and POW insights to help U.S. and multinational Combat Soldiers in the first combat resiliency program, initially titled “Stoic Resilience Training” (later retitled “Warrior Resilience & Thriving”) in the Iraq War between 2005 and 6, 2008 and 2009, and later with the Iraqi Counter Terrorist teams. Thomas and his team trained thousands of Warriors in a standardized educational class, and cross-trained Medics, therapists and interested chaplains. This pioneer pilot resiliency program contributed to the current standardized programs. Thomas has spent the better part of his life helping others and working in and around the military. I appreciate him taking the time to speak to me. If you would like to reach me regarding this subject you can do so by emailing: [email protected]

In this episode I had the honor of speaking to Mr. Steven Roberts. Mr. Roberts is an infantry veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He currently works as a government contractor in global contingency theaters to include Central Asia and Latin America, as well as being a cattle rancher and horse trainer. Mr. Roberts was at the Pentagon during the September 11th attacks, and operates a social media page dedicated to veterans and the application of Stoic philosophy. He is also someone actively engaged in helping others through his work and I appreciate the opportunity to speak to him. If you would like to reach me regarding this subject you can do so by emailing: [email protected]

In this episode I have the honor of talking to the political theorist and veteran Dr. Leonidas Konstantakos. Leo is a political theorist and researcher in the International Relations department at Florida International University, working mainly on the intersection between Stoicism and just war theory.  He, along with Kai Whiting, is the co-author of Being Better, Stoicism for a World Worth Living in.  He is also a US Army veteran who served 2 tours in the Iraq War. Leo has spent years studying just war theory and Stoicism and his perspective is unique and valuable. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to interview him. If you enjoyed this conversation then consider picking up his book Being Better, Stoicism for a World Worth Living in and stay tuned for updates on his future projects.  If you would like to reach me regarding this subject you can do so by emailing: [email protected]

In this short episode the host of the Stoic Warfighters podcast, Ryan Driscoll, gives a summary of the motivations and goals of the podcast. [email protected]