Watch on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1nNm2rxY-Q
A woman’s voice broke through his encrypted radio, reading his team’s obituaries. Twenty-two men surrounded by 800 enemy soldiers—and somehow Dr. Dick Thompson survived to tell the story.
Code-named “Dynamite,” Dick led recon teams deep behind enemy lines in Vietnam. The North Vietnamese called him “completely nuts,” and they weren’t wrong. He chained seven claymores together, slid 150 feet down a rope with bare hands to save a crew under fire, and once called in cluster bombs on his own position—fifteen landed inside his perimeter, none detonated.
But this conversation isn’t just war stories. It’s what combat taught him about fear, stress, leadership, and faith. Dick explains the psychology of battle, why “stress sweat” smells different, how box breathing saved his life, and why adapt became his team’s defining rule.
Tim and Troy go straight into the hardest questions: making irreversible decisions, coming home to protesters spitting on him, the difference between killing with a knife vs. a gun, and whether surviving fifteen unexploded bomblets is anything but divine intervention.
Dick doesn’t flinch. He talks about the voice that saved his life, the smell of an ambush, the illusion of being bulletproof at nineteen, and the leadership principle that works in boardrooms and battlefields alike: lead from the front.
This episode will change how you think about stress, decision-making, and what the human body can do under extreme pressure. Dick’s wisdom applies far beyond combat—to every impossible choice and every moment you must decide whether to freeze or move.
Dr. Dick Thompson is a combat veteran, psychologist, Mensa member, and author of the Code Named Dynamite series. Today, he trains law enforcement, first responders, and special operations forces in stress management and high-performance leadership.
GET DICK'S BOOKS:
"Code Named Dynamite: Book One" and "Book Two" "The Stress Effect"
https://www.hpsys.com/SOGCD.html
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Trailer
00:52 Intro
01:28 Introducing Dr. Dick Thompson
02:30 A Harrowing Encounter in Vietnam
18:16 Growing Up in a Military Family
22:10 Joining the Military and Early Missions
24:53 Experiencing Combat and Leadership
37:33 Understanding and Managing Stress
40:44 Returning Home and Coping with Civilian Life
45:04 Recon Missions: The Reality of Extraction
49:45 The Psychology of Combat: Predictable Reactions
53:21 Stress Management Techniques: Box Breathing
56:45 Survival Strategies: Outnumbered but Not Outmatched
01:03:35 Leadership in Combat: Leading by Example
01:05:36 Premonition and Rescue: A Heroic Descent
01:17:35 Close Quarters Combat: The Brutal Reality
01:23:21 Claymore Tactics: Psychological Warfare
01:27:15 Fragmentation Days and Psychological Warfare
01:28:09 Mastering Invisibility in the Jungle
01:29:33 The Art of Stealth and Survival Tactics
01:37:57 Miraculous Survival and Divine Intervention
01:48:30 Brotherhood and Covert Operations
01:52:18 Emotional Intelligence and Leadership
01:58:15 Final Reflections and Book Recommendations
SPONSORS:
ElevenLabs: Thanks to ElevenLabs (https://elevenlabs.io/) for supporting this episode and powering Tim’s voice.
SOCIAL:
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LISTEN ON OTHER PLATFORMS:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nothing-left-unsaid/id1734094890
Audible: https://www.audible.com/podcast/Nothing-Left-Unsaid/B0CWTCRKGZ
Castbox: https://castbox.fm/channel/id6405921?country=us
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1734094890
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-nothing-left-unsaid-155769998/
PERSONAL:
Tackle ALS: https://www.tackleals.com/
Tim Green Books: https://authortimgreen.com/
Tim's New Book – ROCKET ARM: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062796895/
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