by Michael F. McNamara | Mar 21, 2025 | A1, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), isolation, Leadership, Mental Fitness, Mental Health
NEVER in the history of the Marine Corps has it needed the leadership abilities of its Staff Non-Commissioned Officer corps more than it does today. In today’s “Talking Point,” Mac expands on the theme of “It’s not my job to parent and life coach young Marines” — something he hears wherever he goes to speak to Marines, Sailors, and leaders.
In today’s “Talking Point,” Mac discusses the Post-Traumatic Winning Leader Class he’s given for the past three years to officers and staff non-commissioned officers wherever he speaks. The class attempts to develop a “terrain model” for leaders… explaining to them the world they lead in. Here are the components of the PTW Terrain Model:
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- The prevalence of childhood trauma (adverse childhood experiences – ACEs) in the All-Volunteer Force in general and in the Marine Corps in particular.
- How the environment young Americans grow up in today contributes to their greater fragility, and how digital technology promotes individual isolation.
- How leaders are unsure where the leadership line ends and the mental health line begins, which begets the phrase “it’s not my job” when Marine Staff Non-Commissioned Officers speak to Mac.
- Finally, Mac discusses how the most senior leader who is with junior Marines has grown in importance due to the greater fragility of young Americans.
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by Michael F. McNamara | Mar 16, 2025 | BOOK: From Trauma To Joy, Leadership, Mental Fitness
IT’S OUT! Mac’s first book… click HERE! “From Trauma To Joy” — Mac’s first book has been published and is available on Amazon.com!
ALSO… LtGen Dave Furness, USMC (ret), and MajGen Dale Alford, USMC (ret) join Mac to discuss their reaction to something Mac hears enlisted leaders say wherever he speaks around the world: “I’m their parent, and I’m not their life coach. I’ve been told that’s not my job anymore and to get them to mental health and butt out.” Which is an absolutely stunning thing to hear in an organization that read General John Lejeune’s message every November 10. We’ll talk about that.
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by Michael F. McNamara | Feb 21, 2023 | Mental Fitness, Mental Health, Post Traumatic Stress, Post Traumatic Winning, Suicide
At 10:09 PM on June 6th of 2022, I received a long email from a guy named Wade Cates. At 11:15 PM, I woke up, read the email, and told him to call me if he was still awake. We spoke the next day.
Wade is a former Marine NCO, he drives a semi-truck for a living… hauling a lot of steel between Jackson, Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama, and Savannah, Georgia. He is rightly proud of his beautiful family and more than loves a good cigar.
The story that you will hear Wade tell is not an easy one to listen to; it’s the story of Juan’s suicide and just some of what his family has dealt with in the aftermath. But in that story, I know you will hear Wade’s depth, his resolve to exit the Valley of the Shadow of Death with his family and ultimately live a great life.
I am proud to call him my friend.
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by admin | Jul 24, 2022 | Culture, Mental Fitness, Mental Health, Post-Combat Related Mental Health, US Marine Corps, Vietnam
Former Marine 1stLt Karl Marlantes, a decorated infantry officer in Vietnam and now a best-selling author (Matterhorn, What It Is Like to Go to War) joined ALL MARINE RADIO us to discuss how he made sense of the war he fought in after he came home.
Originally published on October 12, 2016. Karl is a deep thinker… and the interview is wonderful in its candor. Mac
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