Paying It Forward

Former Michigan State wrestler and Big Ten champion Brian Picklo has had a lifetime of success. Success met by hours of sweat-stained training, Picklo says.

"[I] started out just as a nobody, didn't have any record to speak of," he said. "I wasn't more talented than any of the guys I wrestled, I wasn't necessarily the strongest guy, I wasn't the fastest guy, but in my mind – and in my heart – I outworked everybody I wrestled."

Picklo went on to a meteoric career in Judo, a sport he became an Olympic alternate with in 2008.

Picklo, a resident of Mustang, opened up a childrens' dojo in the same year. Picklo says his passion for teaching and the timing in his life allowed for his dream to become a reality. Here's to success.

By: Tyler Dunn
Run time: 1:36

China, US Relations Tense Over North Korea

Adm. Mike Mullen, America's top military officer, let his feelings about Chinese interaction with North Korea be known last week while in Seoul.

"China has enormous influence over the North, and therefore they have a unique responsibility," Admiral Mullen said at a South Korean press conference. "Now is the time for Beijing to step up to that responsibility and guide the North, and indeed the whole region, to a better future."

Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, was in Seoul to meet with Gen. Han Min-koo, Mullen's South Korean equivalent.

Admiral Mullen also said he considered North Korea "a rapidly evolving threat" and was highly critical of North Korea's recent attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

The Nov. 23 attack on the South Korean Island left four dead, two of which were marines. The scuffle began when South Korean forces began training exercises off the country's coast. Seoul countered with an aerial response, but has been praised by the U.S. government for its restraint.

China offered neither support or reprimand for their ally in the days following the incident, but has since promoted "cool-headedness" concerning the matter. China has also publicly opposed North Korean nuclear testing, but has denounced the U.S. and South Korea's decision to continue training exercises in the area.

South Korea executed a nationwide set of military training drills last week and the U.S. and Japan are planning their largest-ever war games – with South Koreans allowed to observe for the first time.

Ryane Keith, a graduate student studying Chinese relations at the University of Oklahoma said the United States and China are on different ends of the political spectrum, but North Korea is not as dangerous to their relationship as it might appear.

"The U.S. wants all players to follow in their diplomatic footsteps," Keith said. "But China has their own opinion of public diplomacy ... I don't foresee that China would really back itself into a corner and have to pick."

For more from Keith, check out the audio clips seen below.

Army Rethinking Health, Fitness Strategy

Bigger, faster, stronger; maybe more like healthier and more physically fit, but the U.S. Army is attempting to reinvent its image – or at least trim it down. December 1 the Army debuted its new look at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.

The basic training installation is the first base in the Army's transformation project to switch to healthier foods and aerobic-oriented exercise. An emphasis on injury prevention and diet education are also pillars of the change.

Aerobic regiments like Crossfit and yoga have replaced the Army's long-established emphasis on the push-up and the timed run. Food choices like whole grains, yogurt, and granola bars now fill the Fort Leonard Wood's dining facility.

The Missouri installation is the first of five training bases on the docket for the change, with Oklahoma's Fort Sill also on the list.

Oklahoma Army National Guardsman Zach McDonald says he is excited about the Army's efforts and is looking forward to seeing these new concepts in his unit.

"The things that they're wanting to implement, I think, are a good thing," he said, adding, "the way the PT [physical training] test is structured now is pretty mundane, it doesn't really show physical fitness."

McDonald and his critiques are in influential company. In April, Mission: Readiness, an organization of retired military leaders, was also critical of current health and fitness structures, and authored a letter to today's military petitioning for better ideals.

Too Fat to Fight, offered a slew of statistics specifically targeting the health of young adults. "At least nine million 17- to 24-year-olds in the United States are too fat to serve in the military," the report reads. "That is 27 percent of all young adults."

Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling offered a different take as he told the Colombia Daily Tribune many of the health issues facing the Army are inherited, and gave insight into the Army's new domestic strategy.

"We are seeing many soldiers entering our profession who need phased conditioning methods and improved nutritional habits. This is not an Army problem. This is a civilian problem that we're receiving and fixing," he said. "We've changed from feeding soldiers to fueling the tactical athlete."

McDonald, an infantryman and student at the University of Oklahoma, says he thinks aerobic programs like Crossfit could help his unit in combat, a major improvement from the current training.

"In Afghanistan you're walking mountains with your weight plus another 80 to 90 pounds on your back, so if you don't have cardio and you can't throw your own weight around, I wouldn't think you could walk up a mountain," he said. "I think anything that they do is definitely a step forward from what they have now."

For more from McDonald, click below for both audio and video portions of the interview.