This week on the WarriorU Podcast Bram Connolly talks to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman about his best selling books and the research behind them.
Col. Grossman is a former West Point psychology professor, Professor of Military Science, an Army Ranger and author or co-author of five non-fiction and four fiction books. He has also authored or co-authored 43 articles in journals and Periodicals, including the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, and Pediatric Annals.
His book ‘On Killing‘, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction, is included on the US Marine Corps Commandant’s Required Reading List and required reading at the FBI academy and numerous other academies and colleges. His book ‘On Combat‘ was also placed on the US Marine Corps Commandant’s Required Reading List, and along with ‘On Killing’ provides combat forces and first responders with a window into the psychology of combat, stress and the bodies natural responses.
He has been involved with training, counselling or court cases following the Jonesboro, Paducah, Springfield, Littleton, Virginia Tech, Nickel Mines and PA Amish school massacres. In February 2018, after the Parkland, FL school massacre, Col. Grossman was called to the White House to serve on President Trump’s Round Table on Violent Video Games. He was also an expert witness and consultant in state and federal courts, including serving on the prosecution team in UNITED STATES vs. TIMOTHY MCVEIGH, Oklahoma City bombing trial.
Today he is the director of the Killology Research Group, training elite military and law enforcement organizations worldwide about the reality of combat.
The pair discuss how soldiers are trained to kill and how some of this training has spilled over into the general population. They discuss strategies to help mitigate the stress impacts of violence on soldiers and first responders, and the effects of technology on children, in particular, how they’re bullied through social media platforms.
Remember; as always – “you’re your most important mission.”