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2 episodes with airborne brigade
3 episodes with airborne brigade
2 episodes with airborne brigade
2 episodes with airborne brigade
This is the VIC 4 VETS, Honored Veteran, during Veterans Month in America. SUBMITTED BY: Grant Yeakey _____________________________________________________________ Jesse Ray Hughes and SGT Harry Allen Tribute to SPC Jesse Ray Hughes and SGT Harry Allen I would like to honor the memory of my mom’s cousin Specialist E-4 Jesse Ray Hughes. Jesse Ray Hughes, Born 19 December 1944, arrived in Vietnam 05 May 1965. He was KIA while on a search and destroy mission on 05 October 1965 when his unit was hit by Viet Cong machine gun fire. He was one of 8 young men killed in that battle. Jesse Ray was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for his actions that day. The words of Mr. Harry Allen We were in 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade. Jesse and I had come from Okinawa on May 5, 1965 to Vietnam. We were both about 14 months into an 18 month Okinawa deployment. They told us we were going TDY (temporary duty) for 90 days. At the end of our TDY period they told us we were PCS (permanent change of station) and would have to stay for a year. Jesse was killed on 5 October which was exactly 5 months into our year. At the end of my year on 5 May 66, I extended for 90 days because I only had a little over 5 months left in the Army, and if I came back from an overseas assignment with less than 90 days left on my contract I would be discharged early. I ended up spending about 29 months overseas and was a Sergeant E-5 when discharged at 20 years and 9 months old. It was 3 months before I could vote or drink but I’d run an infantry squad of 10 men for a while. Special thank you to Harry Allen who I reached out to a little over a year ago after finding a tribute he had written about Jesse Ray on a fallen warrior website. He has become a very good friend, and I consider him a true American Hero. ________________________________________________________________ This is today’s VIC 4 VETS, Honored Veteran, during Veterans Month in America on NewsTalkSTL. With support from our friends at: DG FIREARMS - PATRIOT HEATING AND COOLING - BEST BUY FLOORINGSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Guests: Col. Joshua Gaspard, commander of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy. Learn more about exercises Swift Response and African Lion 2025 here and here, respectively.
In this episode, Troy Lewis returns to share the story of the Battle of Noemfoor, with Operation Cyclone involving the 158th Regimental Combat Team of the Arizona Army National Guard, and Operation Table Tennis involving the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, which belongs to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based at Vicenza, Italy today. The Battle of Noemfoor Island is one of the Virtual Staff Rides offered by the Army's Staff Ride Team, located at Army University Press within the Combat Studies Institute.Links Noemfoor Virtual Staff Ride – Army University Press CombatStudies Institute Staff Ride Team (https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Staff-Rides/Virtual-Staff-Ride/Noemfoor-VSR/)Staff Ride Walk Book: Battle of Noemfoor Island, 2 JUL – 31 AUG 1944 (https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/educational-services/staff-rides/VSR/Noemfoor-VSR/2.%20Noemfoor%20Instructor%20Notes%20(Exportable)%20-%2028%20August%202024.pdf) US Army in World War II, The War in the Pacific (GreenBooks)The Approach to the Philippines by Robert Ross SmithChapter 17: Operations on Noemfoor Island(https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Approach/USA-P-Approach-17.html) Multi-Domain Battle in the Southwest Pacific Theater of World War II by Christopher M. Rein (https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/multi-domain-battle-in-the-southwest-pacific-theater-of-world-war-II.pdf) US Army Center of Military History – New Guinea 24 JAN 1943 – 31 DEC 1944 by Edward J. Drea (https://history.army.mil/Portals/143/Images/Publications/Publication%20By%20Title%20Images/C%20Img/campaigns-wwii/pdf/24.pdf)Noemfoor Island, Dutch New Guinea – Australian War Memorial (https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/OG1237)Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/)Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)
Nathan's journey reflects a life of service, leadership, and transformation. After 11 years in the military, including time with the 173rd Airborne Brigade and 10th Special Forces Group, he trained forces for near-peer conflict, led senior leader courses for the U.S. Space Force, and helped shape strategy at U.S. Space Command. He later served as a Senior Consultant at Deloitte before transitioning into financial services. Now, through his company Strategic Ascent, Nathan empowers others to grow their wealth, lead with purpose, and live fulfilled lives.Chapter Times and Titles:Introduction and Military Background [00:00 - 15:00]Welcome and introductionsStory of the "Originals" (10th Special Forces Group)Military service backgroundTransition to Wealth Management [15:00 - 25:00]Career transformation storyApplying military discipline to financeBuilding credibility in a new fieldEthics in Financial Leadership [25:00 - 35:00]Importance of ethical practicesBuilding trust with clientsProfessional standardsGrowing the Pie [35:00 - 45:00]Collaborative approach to wealth managementLeadership principles in financeBuilding sustainable relationshipsKey Takeaways and Wisdom [45:00 - End]Lessons learned from military to civilian lifeEthically driven professional practicesFinal thoughts and contact information#10xYourTeam #CamAndOtis #NathanWheeler #SpecialForcesToFinance #EthicalLeadership #MilitaryDiscipline #WealthWithIntegrity #VeteranLeadership #TrustInFinance #ProfessionalTransformation #10thSpecialForces #FinancialAdvisorLife #FromServiceToSuccess #HighStandardsAlways #LeadershipInEveryField #MissionDrivenMindset #WealthManagementWisdomNathan WheelerWebsite: https://www.nathanuwheeler.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanuwheelerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanuwheelerTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nathanuwheeler
In August 2024 a surprise Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Oblast resulted in the capture of 1,376 square kilometres of Russian territory. Over the next six months the enclave was repeatedly attacked. Ukrainian-controlled territory shrunk to an area anchored on the town of Suzhda. In the second week of March the Ukrainian defence collapsed. Units withdrew to the border zone. The Russian command hailed a bold operation involving infiltration via a gas pipeline as catalyst for the Ukrainian retreat - Operacija Potok, or Operation Flow. This article assesses Operation Flow and the wider Ukrainian withdrawal from the Kursk salient. Preparations for Operation Flow Operation Flow was three weeks in the making. Command was vested in the Chechen Lieutenant-General Apti Alaudinov. Alaudinov has been a tireless self-promoter during the Kursk campaign. Operation Flow provided him with another opportunity to burnish his credentials with the Kremlin. First, methane gas residues had to be cleared from a 15 kilometre stretch of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline that runs north-east of Suzdha. This was not entirely successful and a number of soldiers were hospitalised with neurotropic poisoning. Some Russian bloggers reported suffocations. Next, ammunition, food and water had to be ferried down the pipeline on special barrows. Toilets were also sent down. One Russian channel described the conditions thus: 'Walk, crawl almost 16 kilometres through a narrow dirty tunnel 1.45 m in diameter with vapours from the remains of liquefied gas; sit in a pipe waiting for the command to storm for several more days. Breathe in methane vapours, excrement, vomit of those who were the first to be poisoned, and there is no longer any possibility of calling for evacuation from this point, when the enemy is closer than our own.' Volunteers were drawn from multiple units: 11th Airborne Brigade, 106 Airborne Brigade, 72nd Motor Rifle Division, 30th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, the Veterans Airborne Assault Regiment, the Vostok Airborne Assault Regiment, and Akhmat (Chechen) special forces. A total of 800 troops were involved (General Gerasimov reported a lower number of 600 to President Putin in a later staged meeting). Due to the conditions, troops had to enter in small groups of five people with a distance of at least ten meters between groups. At halts soldiers moved a couple of meters away from each other so that they could breathe. A distance of 11-12 kilometres was covered over four days. Some spent as long as a week in the pipeline. As many as four exit points are believed to have been made in the pipeline, but possibly only one used. The Ukrainians actually intercepted communications between Russians complaining about the awful conditions in the pipeline. On Saturday 8 March the order was given to break cover and infiltrate northern Suzdha. Was the pipeline operation a success? Ukrainian reporting suggests Operation Flow achieved limited tactical success. The Ukrainian command was aware of the scheme and was keeping the pipeline under surveillance. YouTube video evidence shows a group that emerged in fields was quickly struck by artillery fire and dispersed in a nearby wood line. Another group reportedly reached a two-storey building in the industrial area of Suzdha but was destroyed. In total, Ukrainian sources report only around 100 soldiers actually emerged from the pipeline. That no Russian video or imagery was presented showing soldiers hoisting unit flags - a common practice to demonstrate success - suggests Ukrainian reporting is credible. Even so, an 82nd Air Assault Brigade soldier (the formation that engaged the Russians) also reported that although his unit was aware of the plan and repelled Russians that emerged from the pipeline, a number still managed to infiltrate the area of northern Suzdha. He told this was 'the reason why his brigade was forced to destroy part of its available equipment and withdraw from the eastern flank to the...
This week on Urban Valor, we sit down with Army Veteran Danny Szczakowski, a former Airborne Infantry paratrooper with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. From enduring a challenging childhood in Hereford, Texas, to facing intense combat in Afghanistan, Danny's story is one of resilience and sacrifice.In this episode, he recounts multiple gunfights against the Taliban as they attempted to overrun their outpost, his harrowing experience recovering a fallen helicopter that claimed the lives of two pilots, and how his journey as a Drill Sergeant took an unexpected turn. Danny also opens up about the emotional toll of military service and a personal battle that led him into a dark mental space.His story is one of courage, survival, and the unseen struggles of veterans after service. Watch as he shares firsthand accounts of combat, the lessons he's learned, and his fight to find peace after war.
Yokota participated in a joint, multilateral exhibition for the annual New Year's Jumps hosted by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force at Camp Narashino, Japan, Jan. 12. The New Year's Jumps date back to the 1960s with a goal of bringing good luck to JGSDF paratroopers in the new year. Approximately 200 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force paratroopers assigned to the 1st Airborne Brigade jumped from the U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron, which flew alongside a Japan Air Self-Defense Force C-130H Hercules'. The NYJIP 25 is not only brought together the U.S. and Japanese forces but also created a platform for international allies and partners including, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Philippine, Singapore, Polish to collaborate. The diverse representation showcased the strength of multinational corporation in the face of shared challenges. (U.S. Air Force video by Staff Sgt. Manuel G. Zamora)
In this episode of Military Murder, host Margot delves into a series of troubling cases involving extremism within the U.S. military. Highlighting the history and valor of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the episode shifts to spotlight Ethan Melzer, a member who betrayed his unit by leaking sensitive information to extremist groups. The narrative extends to other notorious cases, including Naser Jason Abdo's bomb plot and Cole Bridges Gonzalez's support for ISIS. The episode culminates with the tragic Boogaloo movement's attack led by Stephen Carrillo, resulting in the deaths of law enforcement officers. Detailed and gripping, this episode underscores the dangerous infiltration of extremism in the military ranks. Submit your Listener Story Here! ——- Thank you to today's sponsor: If you would like to sponsor an episode, please reach out to militarymurderpodcast@gmail.com. ——- Ways to support your favorite podcast: Join My Patreon Family! Subscribe to Military Murder Premium on Apple Podcast! Rate/Review the Show! Tell a Friend about Military Murder —— Military Murder is a military true crime podcast that focuses on murders committed by military members, veterans, and sometimes their family members. ---- Follow on social: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mamamargot TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@militarymargot Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/militarymurderpodcast Discussion Group: https://facebook.com/groups/militarytruecrime Email: militarymurderpodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Murph welcomes Mike Denton, a decorated and wounded military veteran, and Orlando police officer. Mike shares his experiences in the US Army, being a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Chosen Company, and his 15-month deployment to Afghanistan. They discuss the Battle of Wanat that was covered in the book, “The Chosen Few” by Gregg Zoroya. Mike highlights the complexities of military operations, the importance of leadership, and the emotional toll of war on soldiers. Mike shares harrowing accounts of bravery, loss, and the overwhelming odds faced by his unit, providing a poignant reflection on military service and the sacrifices made by soldiers. Mike talks about his journey into law enforcement, highlighting the importance of mental health awareness, the significance of training and development, and the need for community support. He emphasizes that it's okay to seek help and shares personal experiences that shaped his understanding of family and work-life balance.
Murph welcomes Mike Denton, a decorated and wounded military veteran, and Orlando police officer. Mike shares his experiences in the US Army, being a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Chosen Company, and his 15-month deployment to Afghanistan. They discuss the Battle of Wanat that was covered in the book, “The Chosen Few” by Gregg Zoroya. Mike highlights the complexities of military operations, the importance of leadership, and the emotional toll of war on soldiers. Mike shares harrowing accounts of bravery, loss, and the overwhelming odds faced by his unit, providing a poignant reflection on military service and the sacrifices made by soldiers. Mike talks about his journey into law enforcement, highlighting the importance of mental health awareness, the significance of training and development, and the need for community support. He emphasizes that it's okay to seek help and shares personal experiences that shaped his understanding of family and work-life balance.
Join us as we sit down with Colonel Matt Leclaire, a distinguished leader with a career spanning over 30 years in the military. In this captivating episode, we discuss the pivotal moments and lessons that have shaped Matt's journey from an eager 17-year-old private in the Ranger Regiment to his current role as the commander of the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center. Matt shares his experiences of serving in various prestigious units such as the 82nd Airborne Division, 173rd Airborne Brigade, and SOCOM. He also talks about the influence of mentors, the importance of leadership, and the challenges and triumphs encountered along the way. The conversation delves into Matt's transition from enlisted to officer through the Green to Gold program, his thoughts on leadership development, and how his early career failures contributed to his success. This episode is a testament to the power of resilience, mentorship, and continuous learning in achieving one's goals. Tune in to gain insights into leadership, career progression, and the unwavering dedication required to excel in the military and beyond. ____________ Please leave us a review on Apple/Spotify Podcasts: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentors-for-military-podcast/id1072421783 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3w4RiZBxBS8EDy6cuOlbUl #mentors4mil #mentorsformilitary Mentors4mil Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Mentors4mil Patreon Support: https://www.patreon.com/join/Mentors4mil Intro music "Long Way Down" by Silence & Light is used with permission. Show Disclaimer: https://mentorsformilitary.com/disclaimer/
Orlando Zambrano (Defense Innovation Unit) How the DIU is Harnessing Commercial Tech for National Security Summary: In today's episode, Les talks with Orlando Zambrano, a West Point graduate and former infantry officer, who discusses his journey from serving in the 1/73 Airborne Brigade to working at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). DIU, established in 2015, aims to integrate commercial technology into defense solutions. Orlando highlights DIU's three phases: 1.0 focused on building Silicon Valley links, 2.0 on rapid prototyping, and 3.0 on strategic impact at scale. Orlando discusses DIU's role in leveraging private investment and AI to enhance military capabilities, aiming for rapid adaptation in response to evolving threats. Here's a closer look at the episode: Origins and Background of Orlando Zambrano Orlando recounts his upbringing in Florida and Venezuela, influenced by his parents' immigrant backgrounds and his early interest in service and leadership. Military Service and Early Career Orlando's years in management consulting at McKinsey before transitioning to roles in the startup ecosystem, focusing on autonomy companies. Orlando's decision to join the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) as a contractor, driven by the desire to contribute to national security and defense innovation. The importance of DIU's dual-fluency team members who can engage effectively with both the DoD and the commercial technology sector. DIU's history and mission, and the importance of harnessing commercial technology to solve warfighter problems. Examples of DIU Projects and Successes The role of DIU in creating pathways for private investment and supporting the growth of defense tech companies. Future of Autonomy and AI in Defense Orlando shares his admiration for the talented and patriotic people he works with at DIU, who are committed to maintaining the U.S. technological edge. Resources: DIU Website: https://www.diu.mil/ Orlando LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/orzambrano/ DIU LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/diux/
Today, Walt Robillard and I are giving you a sneak peek at a new project we've been working on. Give it a read (below), or a listen (Above), and check it out, and yeah, that's Walt's killer voice doing the narration.Hobo Recon:Hard Luck and TroublebyNick Cole and Walt RobillardChapter OneHobos in the Wind“This is why we can't have nice things, Troubs!” Hardy shouted across the cargo containers in the yard. It'd been a while since he'd had to draw the heater, much less fire it. This wasn't the gun he'd normally shuck from beneath his worn patchwork “dirty” military jacket when things went south fast and desperate. The dialed-up M4. This was definitely the shotty he used for tense negotiations with uncertain characters who harbored bad intentions.Bad intentions was everyday and everyone now days. In these times.He pulled that shotgun from under the coat where it dangled on a single point underarm sling as he ate up the miles and rode the rails. A model 870 SPS Marine Magnum he'd rattle-canned to look more used, weathered, subdued. On the road and the kinda gun a desperate man lookin' for work might use to protect himself in these lawless times. He'd save his sidearm for the real intense gunfights up close that needed more rounds on target. Less fiddling with the firearm when he wanted to put a hurt on someone. The double stack mag held enough, “go screw yerself,” forty-five caliber ACP. Usually good to get out of whatever scrape he and Trouble had gotten themselves into this time behind enemy lines and in service to SOCOM and the Heartland that was all that remained of the U.S. Trouble—because it wasn't a middle name, it was really… who he was—Troubs had his head shoved into the open cargo container in the shipping yard, using his teeth to strip off the casing around a wire he was working. He had a multi-tool with wire strippers too. The ones all those old EOD guys carried back in the day on their rig and chest plate carriers in the wars in other places not the battleground they found themselves in now… America. Still America regardless of what all factions were involved and especially the ChiComs.The sudden appearance of a Chinese security agent had Trouble stripping wires with his teeth for expediency in order to, “get it done in one, son.”It didn't help that Hard Luck had been muttering that same phrase as he got ready to distribute some hate-spray from the barrel of the rattle-canned 870. Rattle-canned old BDU multicam because that was the way the world was now, and the lands they found themselves in, and was the camo of the day when they'd both started out as Eleven Bravo privates in the last days of the Old Cold War.Not the hot one now. The unlucky and early security agent was currently dead behind where Trouble was kneeling, large caliber holes bleeding over his gray uniform and onto the wet pavement of the yard. “Brah, that shot was like Mozart on a motorcycle. That's how we do it, my brother in combat arms!” Trouble quietly exclaimed as he twisted the end of the newly exposed wire, pumped his fist, and continued whatever Def Leppard song he was keeping time to, to get his EOD on like he'd always done. Then he pumped his fist again and bit his lip, hearing some searing unheard guitar solo from long ago. “Need me a little cover while I finish this last bit, Hardy.” Hard Luck. SFC James C. Hardy. SOCOM. Eighteen Bravo. Shoulda been a Master Sergeant before retirement. But he spent some unrated time doing dark stuff in uncertain places along the way for shadows that didn't want to come out into the light before America got sold out by those shadows and all that was left was SOCOM to defend the Heartland and give the Chinese and the rest a bad time. There was the 82nd too, even though they were stuck in the irradiated remains of Russian-occupied Poland and fighting for their lives living on dead horses and hate. The Marines held Sand Diego and were officially listed as insurrectionists and traitors, allies of Russia. But that wasn't true. Not at all. Eighteen Bravo. The weapons sergeant within the Special Forces career field, employs conventional and unconventional warfare tactics and techniques in individual and small unit infantry operations. Employs individual domestic, foreign small arms, light and heavy crew-served weapons, anti-aircraft and anti-armor weapons. He is… a master of all weapons. And don't ask about the Rangers and where they are in the mess we find ourselves in called America's Darkest Hours on a good day. All four Battalions were dead. As they say in SOCOM, “Ain't no Rangers here,” and then those that can, point to where they once rolled the scroll and wink. “They just on the fade.” Hardy leaned into the shadows beside his own container he was covering from. No use standing in the same spot as his partner. The guy was either going to blow himself up or get trounced by the incoming security responding to the shots. Why risk both of them getting schwacked? “You were supposed to wait,” Hardy muttered as he scanned the misty and wet dark. “I was supposed to be a rock star,” Trouble responded, humming metal to himself as he cursed the wire he was working with. “Playing the axe at night; beach, beer, fish tacos by day. Maybe even charm my way to seeing a bikini hanging off the end of the bed post, ya know? Life comes at ya fast, Hardy, but don't worry… Trouble's my name and causin' it is my… game,” he whispered almost to himself as he continued to solve the problems in his hands. SFC Stephen X. Bach. Eighteen Charlie. SFC when he shoulda retired at least an E8 just a few years ago as things began to get truly weird and surreal and even the Army lost its mind and lowered standards, painted nails and even let some girls wear the Ranger Tab when no one who's actually earned one thinks they even got remotely close to meeting standard without a lotta help along the way. Eighteen Charlie. Special Force engineer sergeants are specialists across a wide range of disciplines, from demolitions and constructions of field fortifications to topographic survey techniques. Trouble was his tag with SOCOM, and it wasn't because he was cool. He caused it on mission more than effectively, on behalf of the teams, and didn't stop back behind the wire when it was generally not needed or in his own best interest. So… Trouble had run his mouth about the general current state of affairs, and if he wasn't so highly decorated that some of his awards were redacted, and so competent at the delicate art of high explosives… then he might have found himself with an even lower rank and very little retirement in light of the various courts martial and articles of offense. But he knew real bad guys in high places even there at the end of all things. And so, he'd gotten a chance to walk with some retirement and rank for the last six months of America. “Then get it done, and don't be that guy,” Hardy growled. Trouble liked to talk it up when things were getting thick.And things were getting definitely thick.Like the song lyrics from long ago Trouble always had running… It was distracting. Not to mention, Trouble had a tendency to sip his own cool aid, or so Hardy thought. “Got more coming.”Matter of fact statement. No drama. It was about to be get-it-on-thirty in the midnight yard of bad decisions and insertion behind enemy lines with assets to deny and mayhem to be caused. The sound of rushing boots thumping across the wet concrete was getting louder, as was the group barking loudly in Mandarin the way the Chinese do as they approached the x they had no idea they were walking onto. It was funny how the Chinese all ran the same way, or at least, that's how it sounded to Hardy. And it… bemused him. He was a thinker, and he'd never have used that ten-cent word on the teams. But in his mind, that and other words like it… they were there. He was a reader, and a thinker. And so, to Hard Luck all the Chinese seemed to have that same mincing pitter-patter run where they never really stepped it out like they were Usain Bolt intent on not just winning… but winning with icing. It was like watching that cartoon Martian run while trying to nab a, “P-32 ulidium space modulator!” Or whatever it was. Of course, the newer generation had no clue about good ol' Marvin, but that didn't mean it wasn't funny. And… “Sucks to be them,” exhaled Hard Luck and readied the shotty for sudden thunder. The Chinese shouts changed to whispers as the pitter-patter running soldiers got to the container group close to the two operators. Hardy knew the trick. Direct the guys into the target, then shift to the radios to keep their opponents guessing as to what came next. Only, the two operators had seen this particular Chinese trick before, as this wasn't the first time he and Trouble had gone up against the Puffies. Of course, their enemy didn't refer to themselves as Puffies because their units always went about with names to make them feel special. Hardy got the intel on these mooks a couple of weeks ago when Trouble blew up that cargo ship down in the gulf. They'd called themselves Thunder of the Gods and gay stuff like that. Because of course they did. And this was a reference to the People's Liberation Army Air Force's Airborne Brigade. Which was who they were facing today. This was their operation area on the road to New Orleans. Now, sounding all that out had been a mouthful for the various teams rolling out of the SRC, and instead of just shortening it to PLAAF, it came out like Puff. The few Puffies that Hardy's unit had managed to capture and talk to, got all sorts of mad about the slur. Which was great when they caught and released a few of them to spread the legend of the Special Reconnaissance Companies SOCOM had deployed into Occupied America. Get the rest of the Puffies all nervous about facing an invisible covert military force hiding in plain sight within the subjugated population. Ghosts in the night in plain sight. And deadly ghosts at that. Some of the SRC teams had even conducted massacres that were simply bone-chilling so the Chinese could have their very own boogie men to be afraid of in the night. What had Colonel Spear said when he created the Special Recon Teams for SOCOM as it waged its war out of what remained of North Carolina and the battle lines down in Georgia… "Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark. Now they learn why they fear the night." One of the nerdy Green Berets, an 18 Delta, had told everyone that was a line from Conan the Barbarian. No one cared and all agreed it was as cool as it gets. And if there's anything Green Berets love… it's cool stuff that's super deadly. See the tats since ‘Nam for examples. Cobras, skulls, knives… women. The Puffies had rightly guessed Trouble and Hardy would eventually come after this cargo depot along the gulf after they'd slagged that cargo ship. So, the Chinese high command out of New Orleans had deployed a company of PLAAF airborne forward in the hopes word would get out, and the “American GI special forces terrorists” prowling the Area of Operations North of New Orleans would come and enter the dragnet the PRC had thrown across much of the South and Southwest of what the maps once called the United States of America.They were anything but united.Most of the States that remained were fighting for themselves with what little was left of their veterans and National Guard. What was known as “Caliphistan” centered around the Midwest out of Michigan, was engaged in a brutal no-holds-barred plains war with the Chinese 3rd Army and being supplied and trained by SOCOM with what could be begged, borrowed, or stolen.California was behind enemy lines except for Marine-held San Diego and some warlord in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and parts of San Bernardino proclaiming an independent nation called Vanistan and being held by heavily armed and mobile militia.They had vans. Hardy scanned the angles and shadows of the cargo containers past where Trouble was working. Their night vision had been a step up from what he'd had when he'd been a regular grunt. The overhead lighting shining down on them from gantries and industrial light towers of the cargo yard situated around the cargo docks didn't even factor in to how these new NODs worked out in the dark. Running next gen night vision based on the ENVG-B—still in use—their gear just factored in the lighting and highlighted anything warmer than the surroundings. Complex motion tracking fed into augmented reality, highlighted potential targets and let the soldier see in complex low light conditions. “Trubs,” Hardy said quietly into his throat mic. “Hooking out to get an angle on our new friends.” “Gonna leave me here all by my lonesome,” Trouble joked. “You know… I'm afraid of the dark, right?” “NODs and that red lens you're working ain't enough?” Hardy asked. Trouble waved the flashlight in the direction of the incoming Puffies. “Seriously, come over here and hold my hand while I finish this. You know how I get.” Hardy knew all too well, which is why he left his partner alone to finish his chore. He slipped past several of the containers, then used a small stack of metal frames to vault himself to the top of the nearest CONEX. The cargo containers were the standard variety, so he had to move cautiously as he jumped, then crept across the top of the ribbed metal box. Walk too fast and he'd sound like he was pounding on a metal drum with each footstep. After jumping across several of the boxes, Hardy had a good line of sight to Trouble and several avenues of approach. The operator leaned into the shadows against the cargo container stack, then removed his cell phone from the sleeve pocket of his patrol parka. Set to lowlight conditions, the EUD—End User Device—was loaded with the latest and greatest ATAK interface, allowing Hardy to act as a battlefield information hub. The screen was already pinging two angles of approach off the trip sensors Hardy had placed when they'd first snuck into the yard. The fact they were coming at all worried the veteran operator. He scratched the few days' worth of stubble on his chin, trying to figure where they'd botched the insert and alerted this security detail tasked with holding the yards. The Chinese had their own version of EUDs, and if they ran something like the Android Team Awareness Kit, all it would've taken was for Hardy and Trouble to trip a sensor they'd missed, and the soldier responsible for the zone would have called it in. Hardy shook his head, internally bashing himself for not being more careful. It's why they'd taken to calling him Hard Luck for his call-sign. Throughout his military career and now out in the Special Recon Companies, he'd never found a stretch of bad luck that didn't stick to him. And that included being partnered with Trouble. That guy was bad luck personified. Looking up from his EUD, Hardy saw the Chinese first fire team angling on the objective. A single soldier with three more behind him was trying to pie the corner as though this was the first time he'd done it for real. Hardy had to give the Asian kid credit though, he was sticking his QBZ-191 rifle around the corner, trusting the optic to broadcast whatever was past the CONEX to his night vision, so the soldier didn't have to stick his head in the open and get it blown off. SOCOM's PsyOps guys had made sure all the illegal social media sites still operational were filled with GoPros of Chinese guys getting their heads blown off. Some of them were even real. AI made the rest. Hard Luck, that internal monologue, that thinking machine he was, a thinking-killing machine who'd even had profound thoughts while running a belt fed two-forty in a hostile combat zone and laying some serious hate, that thinking machine he was always… wondered… Warfare had gotten weird when advanced sighting devices operated on wireless link tech and rifles could see around corners. It wasn't… fair. But when was war ever fair. He'd seen enough kids get talked into it only to end up lying in the tall grass by some road a few days later. Just where he'd left them. No, there was nothing fair about war. Now that it wasn't close quarters in the dark, he gently let the shotty slide back under his old “down and out in occupied America” hobo-coat and shucked the heater. The heater. It wasn't an issued weapon. There were very few issued-weapons for SOCOM, and all the kids and whoever would show up to get trained on them and sent out to die in any of the seven directions the heartland was being attacked from. Plus… shipping and transport weren't easy. In the SRTs everything went on your back just like the old LRRP teams in Vietnam. And you looked like a hobo so you could pass with all the refugees, transients, and mad homeless displaced by the war, or just… whatever. You looked like a hobo because you were… a hobo. The heater was his own personal truck gun he'd dragged everywhere from Bragg to wherever he got stationed along the way. Everything on it was his. Paid for by his salary. Just in case it hit the fan. Just in case he got invaded at home one night, wherever home happened to be between deployments. Honestly, he'd never thought he'd need it for what he was using it for now. A domestic insurgency. But he sure had built it to do the trick. It was a Daniel Defense MK18 with a ten-inch threaded barrel he could go quiet with. He had jungle-mags ready to go and one stack in. Along the barrel he had illuminate and IR. He'd added a BCM foregrip and done some work with the internals to get it just where he wanted it to run. He had a match grade flat-trigger because that felt best for the tap. The optic was a basic Aimpoint T-1. It didn't look tactical-cool guy but if you knew you knew. The T1 was a great optic system if you needed to keep both eyes open and see everything while keeping the dot on target. And in the SRTs, outnumbered, behind lines, running gun fights and using everything and being as aware as possible, wasn't just optimal or maximal… it was vital to continued birthday parties. Hardy lined up his optic to target and let the heater bark. The first round caught the kid in the neck, splattering a good amount of the kid's blood across the CONEX's side panel. The assault took the trio behind the kid by surprise, forcing them to turn and instantly shoot in all directions except up because they weren't fighting Batman. Hardy covered behind the metal boxes, trusting their contents to bullet sponge enough of the bouncing rounds to keep him from getting accidentally blasted. Then… leaning from cover, Hardy put a trio of shots that tore off the commie soldier's face, before transitioning to the third trooper in the stack. Then he sent more rounds sailing past the number three paratrooper's chin and behind the space at the top of his chest where the armor didn't cover. And thinking-killing machine he was… he reflected that it was good “commie” was back in use as the dirty word it really was. It was the truth. And it was always good to stack them. The fourth Chinese paratrooper decided to run for it when he couldn't find the spot the shooting was coming from. In a show of solidarity, he grabbed the trooper who'd just soaked up rounds behind his chest plate, dragging the downed soldier to cover with him. Probably thinking he was gonna get a medal someday for this. Poor Schmoe, thought Hard Luck, guy didn't observe the first rule of combat first aid, and it was going to cost him. Now. Hardy lined up the optic dot to the soldier's hip, having already figured out the sight was probably off because he'd been shooting center mass but hitting high. The thinking but really killing machine part of his mind doing that math too… and then his suspicion got confirmed when the rounds punched into the spot on the Chinese soldier's back right behind and beneath his shoulder, once again where their PLA armor didn't cover. The round tore into the kid's torso, punching him to the ground next to his friend he was gonna rescue and get a medal for, and twenty years after, they'd drink Tsing Taos and celebrate a ChiCom-dominated world they'd made happen, with their little part, and managed to survive as they watched their loud children shout, and their pretty wives dote over them.Now both PLA troopers gasped for air and coughed out blood-soaked ragged Chinese, definitely drawing all sorts of attention to the hate he'd laid on them.Now we wait, he thought.Killing Machine taking over in the night and the dark and the mist. Hardy jumped across the space to the next set of containers, allowing him to get a better view of the opposite line of advance. “Trouble, how long, man?” The radio broke squelch in the small earpiece he wore under his hood. “Hard Luck, this is Trouble, coming at you with all the classic rock your ears can swallow!” Great, Hardy thought. Could this guy really not take anything seriously? The operator pushed the toggle for his PTT and growled, “Trubs, how long?” “Closing it up now,” Trouble said. “Moving to zone two, pushing out at the crane, toward the water.” “Roger out,” Hardy said, cutting the comms. They'd sand-tabled this. They'd done it many times without each other in other teams not this one and other days better than this. And together, lately, Hard Luck and Trouble were becoming known for this little act of behind the lines terrorism. Miss USA on the Nightly Free America Broadcast has even noted them in the scramble codes sent to the military and operators as far behind lines as North Dakota and New Mexico where the Chinese ran their death camps night and day, and hope is just a voice in the night right now. Near the end of the broadcast. Her warm voice coming in clear. “Chris… sleeps until dawn.” “The number is forty-two.” “And to all the patriots listening tonight out there in the dark… Our boys with the Raiders and the Packers thank two particular hobos for their roadside assistance at Route Twenty-Four with the Chinese Column moving in on Nashville that was causing many patriots in the area much Hard Luck and Trouble. The supplies are through, and the children have been evacuated back into the Homeland behind the Green Zone. Thank you, boys.” Then… “There's a match in Peterborough. No Slack in effect.” And finally… “That's the news for tonight, America. Stay in the fight. We aren't done yet. Good night. And now… The Star Spangled Banner. The lights are still on.” Both men had listened in that night after a long and very hard day on the hump, sleeping in a wet ditch out near a county road. It was cold. They'd said nothing. In the dark a few minutes later, Trouble spoke. He was gonna take first watch as they faded off the hit, avoiding Chinese Air Cav Hunter killer teams that had been roaming the countryside in HINDs.“She sounds hot, Hardy. Like that girl on the White Snake video back in the day. Remember her?”“Yeah,” said Hard Luck with his poncho pulled over him and the shotty in one hand nearby on his pack. “I do.”Pause.Then…“Do you think she's hot? Miss USA.”Hard Luck was fading. Dreaming that dream he never told anyone about.But just before he'd fallen asleep, he said, “I think she's good, Trouble. And that's what makes her beautiful.”And then Trouble might have grunted or said, “Okay.” But Hard Luck had gone to that other world that didn't exist anymore. Yesterday, some call it.But that wasn't now. Now they were in the fight in the supply yard with the PLA airborne thinking they had them right where they wanted them, barking Mandarin radio chatter and thumping hard heavy too-short-step boots and even untargeted fire at ghosts and phantoms in the mist.They were conscripts after all. They were afraid. Afraid of the PRC. And now, down range and right near the boogie men… they were afraid of the hobos that had come for them. Another fire team of Chinese paratroopers slowly advanced to the corner of the new row of containers Hardy now faced. They mimicked the first group of soldiers, sticking their rifles around the corner to let the optics assume the risk. When they dropped their field of view on the fire team dying across from them, they retreated from the corner and broke out in a heated conversation of harsh whispers. Yeah, the operator could smell their fear. Behind the dying paratroopers on the ground Hard Luck had put rounds on target into, a third fire team slowly advanced, careful not to get too close to the fatal CONEX corner. They fanned out, with the tail man in the stack launching a slick matte-black drone. Hushing-hushing in the way of Chinese battle-speak. That was smart of them, Hardy thought. Get some eyes in the air and cover the ground quickly to find their targets. What they didn't count on was Trouble sliding in behind them, running his knife out the front of the drone trooper's neck, starting from somewhere near his ear. The battlefield surgery was grizzly, wet work, but Trouble seemed to be totally cool with it, going so far as to gently lay the soldier down and relieve him of his drone controller even as his buddies, soon to be bodies, were eyes forward and fighting for the Fatherland or whatever the godless b******s believed in these days. With a few deft taps on the screen, Trouble had a good grip on the flight mechanic and stepped back into the shadows, fading from the fire team of Chinese paratroopers. Hardy watched as his wingman sailed the drone across the cargo yard, dropping it in line with the enemy crew close to him. They froze in place, unsure of what to make of the machine hovering in front of them at eye level. “Hard Luck, this is Trouble. If you wouldn't mind taking advantage of the little distraction I just created, I'd appreciate it.” There were times when James “Hard Luck” Hardy really wanted to punch his partner straight up in the grill. They all paled in comparison to those times when Trouble just couldn't be serious about an operation. Times like now. Hardy reached into his pack, pulling a grenade from where it was taped to the inside. He yanked the pin and let the spoon fly. After mentally ticking off a count of One Mississippi, the operator flicked the weapon over the CONEX boxes to land in the middle of the fire team. The grenade rolled and then popped, its kinetic fury suddenly and obnoxiously ignoring the Chinese soldiers' armor and planting them onto the pavement in piles of ruined meat and shredded gear.To them it was sudden and brutal, and none of the Chinese propaganda about “a glorious war of liberation” matched their violent deaths. The close proximity to the cargo containers funneled some of the blast and over-pressure across the way, startling the final team of Chinese paratroopers on approach to where they thought their boogie men might be. This group stumbled backward behind the cover of the containers, suddenly shouting in their hushed and harsh speech pattern… only to come face to face with Trouble ready to take advantage of their surprise, as they'd retreated to where they thought they might be safe.Trouble's thoughts were synched to “Breakin' the Law” by Judas Priest as he assessed the funnel they'd been forced into. The funnel and area they'd chosen as… safe.“Ain't nowhere safe in America for you,” hissed the operator. He muzzle-thumped the first man to see he was there, pushing the suppressed Berretta pistol into the soldier's throat. The paratrooper doubled over, coughing and holding his throat after the hit. Trouble lowered himself at the same time, using the stunned soldier as cover. Angling to the side, the predatory operator sent two rounds into the lower torso of the next guy in the stack, dropping him to the concrete. He lowered the pistol to the man recovering from the throat hit, sent a round through the top of the man's boot, then followed him through a series of pain-soaked hops as he tried to recover his balance. This was a song. Just like all the ones he'd learned on his guitar as a kid. And they were his sheet music as he moved them about in a fatal dance of lead and death at twenty-four hundred feet per second. Seeing how quickly things had devolved into chaos, the last man ran into the intersection, probably hoping the smoke and noise of the grenade going off in the intersection would hide his escape. All it did was bring him into Hardy's sight picture, where the concealed operator put a single round into the soldier's leg, adjusting the aim on the scope he needed to re-zero next chance he got. The paratrooper tumbled into the stack of bodies from the first fire team to get murked, a bloody mess on the ground really, screaming as he pushed himself to his back and frantically whirled his rifle in any and all directions. In a moment of clarity, the surviving para realized the nature of his injury. He expertly pulled a tourniquet from a pouch on his armor, then slid the contraption over his leg before tightening it down. “Fàngxià nǐ de wǔqì!” Trouble hissed from around the corner. The man had hugged the shadows until he got in position, then slid from the dark holding a confiscated QBZ-191. The Chinese soldier held his hands out wide at seeing his own style battle rifle pointed at him. He let the rifle slip from his fingers, while glaring daggers at Trouble coming in. As the dark and dirty man advanced, the paratrooper used his good leg to push himself against the other bodies and prop up to a sitting position. Trouble looked the part of a hobo riding the rails. He had an old-style military trench coat over a hoodie covering his normally unkempt hair. His beard was wispy, with patches of hair not growing in for some reason or another. His dirty military-style civilian pants seemed to have as many stains as they did pockets, lending credence to looking like someone who slept among the garbage. Trouble advanced on a set of well-worn high-top sneakers, complete with the Velcro strap at the top, a look no kid on either side of the Chinese militarized zone would be caught dead wearing. He got a few yards from the downed soldier, then repeated, “Move the weapon away,” in Chinese. He spoke with the inflection and tone of someone who knew the language intimately, although he'd never be truly taken as a native speaker. Trouble hovered over the man, both staring at each other over the sound of the paratrooper breathing rapidly after being badly wounded. The man flinched, and Trouble sent a single round center mass of the downed soldier's face. He immediately brought the carbine in line with the hopping foot injury guy, finishing him off with a series of quick staccato shots administered with cold brutality and efficiency. Weapon up. Bang bang bang. Weapon low and ready, scanning dark eyes for who else wants to die next. “You good?” Hardy asked over the net in the silence that followed. “Yeah. Guy on his butt was gonna try for the grenade he had on his kit. No sense in both of us dying.” “Give me a minute to scoop up their EUDs. Maybe the I&R guys can pull something off them,” Hardy said. “I'll scoop some of these rifles and this sweet, sweet ammo, my brother-man,” Trouble said, holding the Chinese carbine. “Might as well take their NODs too. Haul like this and we could be into some serious cash if we sell it all at the general store.” “I'll help you take some of it,” Hardy said as they both fell into the work of battlefield scavenging and asset management. “But hey, I ain't carrying a backpack full of rifles looking like a walking Middle East bazaar.” Trouble laughed and made a cat's low owwwwwwww like he was some rock singer hamming it up just before the bridge in some long-lost metal anthem. “Recycled due to lack of motivation,” announced Trouble. Both had been graduates of the Darby Queen and Robert Rogers school for wayward boys. Hardy had already grabbed several of the soldiers' battle boards when his own piped off from inside his jacket.Hardy checked the sitrep from the observers. Then… “Hey. More troops coming in. Gotta rabbit.” “But, but, all the gear,” whined Trouble. “I can do some stuff with this, Brother.” “Fine,” Hardy quipped. “You stay and get all the shwag. I'm avoiding the Chinese infantry platoon and jumping back into the water. Discuss division of assets with them and whatever indirect and air support that's all hot and bothered right now at oh-two hundred.” Trouble scooped up a few more rifles, then fell in step with his partner, catching up swiftly, eyes roving across all sectors each knew was their own. In moments consumed by fog and shadows, just two down and out tramps on the hump to the next refugee camp, work-gang project, handout, UN FEMA camp for indoc and digital ID assignment.Just two shadows in the night.“Time to get wet,” muttered one. “Well, when you put it like that,” hissed the other, each laboring under a huge pack, stepping it out like they were late for a better tomorrow that might just happen. “I am a bit swampy after all that work we just did. Maybe the right thing here is a nice dip in the ocean to cool a man off. Even if it is late.”Sirens began to sound in the distance. Doomsday and mournful. The music of a fallen America.A gunship could be heard in the swamps to the west. Coming in fast. Its echo thundering and reverberating off the bayous and swampy hills.“Got some blood on my hands.”“Bummer, dude.”And then they were gone.For those that wanna buy us a coffee until the next chapter drops. Thank you.CTRL ALT Revolt! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. We love the SOCOM M1 “The B*****d” because it sure shoots like one. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nickcole.substack.com/subscribe
Lynne Black Jr., as member of RT Alabama – a recon team of the legendary MACV-SOG (“Study and Observations Group”) – fought in one of the most amazing missions of the eight-year "secret war" during the Vietnam War. As their Kingbee helicopter spiraled downward toward the target west of the dangerous A Shau valley in Laos, Lynne and his team observed an NVA flag planted atop a nearby knoll surrounded by thick jungle. From his days in the 173rd Airborne Brigade, he knew that the presence of an NVA flag meant that there was at least a regiment of NVA soldiers in the area. That meant that the nine men of RT Alabama would be up against the approximately 3,000 NVA they were sent to find.It was Lynne's first mission into Laos and one he will never forget, including stepping up to lead his group, dodging napalm and grenades, and experiencing temporary deafness from non-stop AK-47 gunfire.Heroes Behind HeadlinesExecutive Producer Ralph PezzulloProduced & Engineered by Mike DawsonMusic provided by ExtremeMusic.com
Being a life-long blind person I have never served in the military and thus only understand the military way of life vicariously. There is reading about it, of course and there is talking to military people about their lifestyle. Today you get to hear a conversation not only about military life, specifically the army world, as it were, from a 20-year career soldier, Chase Spears who recently retired from the military as a major in the army. Chase grew up always interested in the news and what was going on in the world around him. He attended college, both undergraduate studies and later graduate work at universities in Tennessee. Along the way an army recruiting officer persuaded him to join the army. By that time, he was well married to a woman who, surprising to him, supported his decision to leave college and join the army. Chase's telling of this story is wonderful to hear. As you will see, he is quite the storyteller. He and I talk a great deal about the world of a soldier, and he puts a lot of things into perspective. For those of you who have served in the military much of what you hear may not be totally new. However, since Chase served in public affairs/relations duties throughout most of his army career, you may find his observations interest. Chase and I had a good free-flowing and informative conversation. I personally came away fascinated and look forward to talking with Chase again in the future. A few months ago, Mr. Spears retired and entered into a doctoral program at Kansas State University where he is conducting research concerning how military life impacts the citizenship of those who serve. You will get to hear a bit about what he is finding. About the Guest: U.S. Army Major (Ret.) Chase Spears is first and foremost a Christian, Husband, and Father to five children who help to keep him and his wife young at heart. Having grown up with a passion for news and policy, Chase spent 20 years in the Army as a public affairs officer, trying to be part of a bridge between the military and the public. He merged that work with a passion for writing to become one of the Army's most published public affairs officers, often to resistance from inside the military. Chase continues that journey now as a doctoral candidate at Kansas State University, where his dissertation research explores how military life impacts the citizenship of those who serve. His other writings focus on topics including civil-military dynamics, communication ethics, and the political realities of military operations. Ways to connect with Chase: LinkedIn/X/Substack/Youtube: @drchasespears www.chasespears.com About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Hi there and welcome once again to unstoppable mindset. And we have a I think really interesting show today are interesting episode we get to chat with major retired Chase Spears. I've been saying ret all morning because he's got Rhett in parentheses. And I didn't even think about it being not a name but retired. But anyway, that's me. Anyway, he has been involved in a lot of writing in and out of the military. He was a major military person for 20 years. He's now in a doctoral candidate program, Kennedy C candidacy program. And my gosh, there's a lot there, but we'll get to it also. Major Rhett major Chase spears. Welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here. Chase Spears ** 02:13 just thrilled to be with you, Michael. Thanks for having me. Now Michael Hingson ** 02:17 that now that we've abused you with Rhett, but that's okay. Chase Spears ** 02:20 I think God worse. Well, there Michael Hingson ** 02:22 you are. And by your friends, I bet. So that's what really makes them more fun. But we're but I really am grateful that you were willing to come on and spend some time with us. Why don't we start I love to, to start this way to give people a chance to get to know you. Why don't you tell us some about the early Chase spheres and growing up and all that stuff? Chase Spears ** 02:44 Well, it's yeah, it's been quite a journey. I grew up in the southeast us My family was out of Florida. And when I was a teenager, we ended up moving we went out to Texas, which was really just kind of a an entire change of culture for us. If you can imagine going from the kind of urban parts of Florida that are really highly populated a lot of traffic, a lot of tourism, a lot of industry. And we went up to North Central Texas in my teen years. And if you can imagine going from from that, you know, Florida to a town of about 9000 people it was a an oil and agricultural cattle town, and Graham, Texas and it was really kind of a culture shock at first, but turned into some of the best and most formative years of my life where I I really learned the value of hard work working on the fields with my dad really got to kind of connect with nature and just taking some gorgeous sunsets in the evenings out working in the fields enjoying the views of the wildlife Hall. I was out working. But one thing that I did learn from hard manual labor, was it made sure that I kept on track for college. And so I ended up going to Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee in 1998. Right after I graduated from high school, I was homeschooled and met my Hi my sweetie there, Laurie. We were married by senior year we decided neither one of us we wanted to graduate and leave the other one behind. So we got married start a family pretty young afterwards. Went on to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville afterwards because I thought, hey, I want to work in journalism. And it'd be great to have a master's degree in journalism to prove my commitment to the field make people take me seriously. And it was during that time that I ran into an army recruiter while I was working my part time job at a law firm. I was working at the courthouse one day filing paperwork. And this gentleman and I just struck up a conversation in an elevator he was there in his full dress uniform was very impressive to me as a civilian at the time. And so I started asking him questions about what he did. In what army life was like just trying to be friendly, conversational, I was genuinely curious, though I was not looking for a military career. Well, as a good recruiter does, he managed to coax a phone number out of me. And seven months later there I am raising my right hand, swearing into the army in Knoxville, Tennessee. And so we were in the army for 20 years, we moved to several different parts of the nation, we've landed in northeastern Kansas, just on the outskirts of the Greater Kansas City, Missouri area. And now we're kind of starting a new phase of life after the army enjoying being kind of planted Gayndah. Watch our kids grow in a smaller community. And we're excited about what's next. So Michael Hingson ** 05:42 what is the postdoc? Where are the doctoral degree in, that you're seeking. Chase Spears ** 05:47 So I am in a program entitled leadership communication. But I'm kind of a misplaced public policy scholars what I've learned, but the faculty there have been so wonderfully gracious to me, and I've been very supportive of my research agenda. So I'm a career communicator. In the army, I was a public affairs officer. So everything I did was about stuff like this. I didn't community engagement, I did interviews, I was did social media strategy, I was part of the bridge that the military tries to build between it and the public, which is incredibly important in our form of governance. And so I love all things communication. And I also love team leadership, small organizational leadership, I had the chance to, to lead teams, I had the chance to lead a company while I was in the army, so fell in love with that. So when I saw a degree program that merged both of those, you know, they had me at hello, I was a sucker from the get go when I saw the marketing. So I applied and they very kindly accepted me. So I've been studying leadership communication, but my research agenda is actually more in the policy realm. My dissertation work is studying how did we come to this concept that the military isn't a political and air quotes institution, when it is funded by the government when it is commanded by elected leadership? When when we exert our national will, on other nations with it there absolutely political connotations to all of that. And And yet, we kind of say the opposite. So I was curious, I was like, this would be something fun to explore, how did we How did we get to where we believe this in spite of what we do? And so that's what my research Jind agenda is all about. And I'm having a lot of fun writing. Michael Hingson ** 07:37 Well, and I guess we could go right to why well, so why do you think the reason is that we are not a political but we say we are? Oh, are you still researching it to the point where you're not ready to answer that yet? Well, I Chase Spears ** 07:57 have, I have some theories and what I believe are pretty educated guesses. I'm trying to make sure that I don't bore your audience going too deep in the weeds on this. It's really kind of comes out of the Second World War. When you look at the history of the United States. Traditionally, we are a nation, our ancestors were part of a nation that were really cautious about the idea of having large standing military forces during peacetime. Because there had been this historical observance over hundreds of years, particularly in Europe, that large forces during peacetime ended up causing problems for society and the nations that bred large armies inevitably found ways to use them, that might not always be to the benefit of the populace. So we come out of the Second World War, and the nation has decided we're going to become the global military superpower, we didn't want to be caught off guard again, like we were for what Germany had done in the years after the First World War. And we also have a rising Russia, we need to counter that. So we decided as a nation, yeah, we will become a global, permanent, large, highly industrialized, highly institutionalized force. Well, how do you gain public support for that when the public has traditionally for hundreds of years been very, very suspect of that and very much against it? Well, Samuel, in walk Samuel Huntington, a brilliant political scientist who writes the book, the soldier in the state, and in it he proposed a theory of military supervision in which officers would abstained from voting and then over time that grew legs into Okay, well, now we're just not involved in politics and then in time that grew legs into where a political, but if you go around the force and ask most people what that means, if you ask them to define that word, few would actually be able to define it. It's one of those kind of discursive terms that we've come up with kind of like for the public good. Well, what is for the public good? Can you actually define that, and it's largely often in the eyes of the beholder. So that that's where I believe it came from, I'm still doing quite a bit of work and reading in that. But historically, it's very fascinating to see where we've come and just 70 years on that topic. Yeah. Michael Hingson ** 10:25 And also, we're in a phase of all of that, where it seems to be at least that it's changing and morphing again, I mean, with what's happened in the last seven years in this country, and the, the lack of desire for discourse, the the desire on some people's parts to really involve the military and a lot of things. It seems like we're possibly changing again, or perhaps even strengthening the military in some way. And I'm not sure what that is. Chase Spears ** 11:04 We there's really kind of been somewhat of a public backlash, the last, I'd say, five to 10 years, we saw an increasing comfort with military members publicly advocating for political policy for political parties, which is absolutely within their constitutional right to do, George Washington himself said, we did not lay aside the citizen to assume the soldier. But again, that that discourse coming out of the Second World War, really kind of conditions the American public to think that when you're in the military, you do give up your rights to expression that you do give up your rights to citizen agency, and, and, and meaningful involvement in civic processes. And while we do rightly give up some expressive rights, and that is captured and codified in military regulations, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, there's some legitimacy to that argument. But I would say, you know, if you're, if you're holding a ruler in your hand, the regulations kind of restrict us somewhere between the two and three inch mark on the ruler, whereas the perception that's just kind of come out of the repetition of these terms and ideas is more that we're up around the nine or 10 inch mark on the ruler, if that makes any sense for you. So we we've seen in the last few years, more military people being willing to get involved politically, and there has been somewhat of a backlash to it. And therein is the problem. You if you're going to hold to a belief to a doctrine to a discursive claim, then you have to match it. And the military is really kind of at a point right now they have a decision to make, are we going to hold on to this discourse to this idea? Or are we going to acknowledge that? Well, the regulations are much less restrictive than what people have been led to believe? It's it's a tough spot to be there's not a perfect answer, to help the institution requires cracking down on constitutional freedoms. And well, what is the institution there to serve? So it's a very sticky issue? Michael Hingson ** 13:11 Well, it does seem to me that in no way, because the person becomes a soldier. And even in their oaths, do they give up the right to be a citizen of the country? So I'm with George Washington? Chase Spears ** 13:26 Oh, absolutely. No, I am with with George Washington himself, you know, the greatest American? And I think we would, it's a, it's a good reminder of the importance of knowing our history and knowing where we came from. It's in my interviews with military members on this topic. In my research, I'm finding that that like me, most of them were just kind of told these things verbally. They were never pointed to the actual rules. They were never actually pointed to the actual laws. I only know the regulations because I have a personal fascination on the topic. And I went and looked them up. But no one ever told me where to find them. That was research on my own team and figure out where do I look for this. So it's, we really need to do better, nationally, to know our history and know where we came from. Michael Hingson ** 14:14 We do have a really interesting paradox in the world, because we've gotten in the last two government administrations, to different views of not only how to govern, but to a degree how the military needs to be a part of it, and that's gonna not be very helpful to things either. Chase Spears ** 14:34 Absolutely. The the military at the end of the day is controlled by the Civilian governance. Now. I'll acknowledge that General Mark Milley didn't really seem to think so and there have been other figures in military history who MacArthur being one of them who who seemed to challenge who was actually in charge of the military. But at the end of the day, constitutionally, we We are governed by by civilians. And that that is right, that is proper any anything else would be a coup and you don't want that. So we, it comes down to how does the military try to hold a consistent line? When you have governments that change every two to four to eight years and have drastically different perspectives on policy? How do you as a military hold an even keel and another wise stormy sea. And in previous generations, we had senior general officers who were pretty good at that they were pretty good at saying, regardless of what the ship of state is doing, the ship of military is going to remain on a heading to serve everyone. And there's been somewhat of a lack a breakdown of discipline at the senior ranks in the last probably 10 years, that's really kind of shuttered the ship of the military. And I think the current some of the recently promoted, general officers understand that I think General GA is the new Chief of Staff of the Army, I think he understands that and he's trying to do some things to reintroduce some stability, but it's a hard thing. Michael Hingson ** 16:16 Yeah. And the other part about it is that the military, in some ways is a part of society. So we've had things like the whole Don't Ask, Don't Tell dealing with LGBTQ types of issues. And, and of course, even women in the military, and there's been a lot of things that haven't necessarily been as visible as they have become, and are issues that we are starting to face and deal with more. But it seems to me that the military, like it or not, is part of society. And we do need to recognize that collectively, as well. Chase Spears ** 17:02 We were absolutely drawn from society. We serve society, we exist, you know, for the protection of society. But I will say there's one thing that's all always kind of set Western militaries apart a little bit, and the US military hails from that Western tradition of understanding that just because society chooses to take a move in one direction, doesn't necessarily mean that it's in the national security interest of the United States for the military, to follow suit. And then there's kind of a reason that the military has always tried to, in some way, set itself apart, of acknowledging that there's some things that society will do or want to that are affected by the times as Shakespeare himself noted, there's always a tide in the affairs and man, the tide comes in the time tide goes out the the, the winds shift. And but one thing that was said at the military part was this idea of, at the end of the day, if it's a societal change that enables us to better defend the nation, then that's the direction we'll move. If it's a societal change that could potentially be a friction point or cause additional challenges in securing the nation, we might, we might think on that one a little bit harder, we might be a little more a little slower to adopt that. And we've seen that has kind of broken down the military is very much going out of its way to be reflective of society. And in some ways that can be good in some ways that's caused additional unnecessary frictions to the force and is rightly being having questions asked about it. Michael Hingson ** 18:45 And that's where having good solid leadership in the military at the highest echelons, has to be an important part of it, because that's where ultimately, the direction that the military goes, is at least in part, going to be authored. Yes, there is a civilian government that and civilian commander in chief, but still the military leaders have to really be the ones mostly to figure out where the military should go in terms of policies and how it deals with different issues or not, I would think. Chase Spears ** 19:27 And the key word that you hit on there, Michael is leadership. Back a few months ago, I wrote a piece that was published by real clear defense called seven new things the new Sergeant Major of the Army could do to restore trust in the force. And the argument that I made his predecessor was one who was very kind of reactive to the, to the whims you might say, of a the younger generation of soldiers. He was very much all over Twitter about telling me your issues. Let me get involved in your issues. And he was, in some ways a very divisive, senior official in the military. And I equated it to you, you want to look at kind of the British constitutionalist position, the British Crown, if you're looking overseas, it has traditionally been something that it's kind of the rock, unmovable, unshakable, the parliament will do what parliament will do that the Tories and Labour will do what they will do, but the crown is unmovable the crown serves all. And that's kind of something that the military reflected, and I call out to the new rising generation military leaders to remember that, to remember that we don't own this, we owe nothing in the institution, we all leave it one day, as I left it a matter of weeks ago. All I have are my memories and and hopes that I was able to leave some things better than I found them and that the people I served that I hope I served them well. But at the end of the day, we hand it off to someone else. And it's so important for to have good leaders who recognize that we we steward the profession, that we we want to do the best we can with it in our time, and recognize the decisions that we make, will impact those who serve long after our time and do our best to hand it off in the best possible condition that we can for them. Because then to the to society, we returned. And then we depend on this who came after us for our national defense. And so it's the steward mindset to me as key. Michael Hingson ** 21:41 Yeah. Well, and going back a little bit. So you're in graduate school you got recruited in and accepted and went into the military. What did you do? What was it like when you first went and that certainly again, had to be quite a culture shock from things that you would experience before? Ah, Chase Spears ** 22:02 yeah, I figured absolutely was you'll never forget your first shark attack at basic training for for anyone who's unfamiliar with that, it's when you once you've done your initial and processing there, whatever base you get your basic training at, for me, it was Fort Jackson in South Carolina. And then they eventually buss you off to your your training companies, which is where you will actually conduct your combat training. This is after you've received your uniforms and done all your finances, paperwork, and life insurance and all that. And then the buses stop and the drill sergeants, they're just there waiting for you. And it's a moment you never forget. And of course, you jump off the bus and they're giving you all these commands that they know it's impossible for you to, to execute to any level of satisfaction. And then when you fail, as you inevitably will, you know, the entire group just gets smoked over and over and over again. And I remember that moment just having that realization of I have not in Kansas anymore, like the next next few months of my life are about to be very different than anything I've ever experienced. And it was it absolutely was. I got through that. And I think the first thing that was really kind of shocking to me be on to the training environment was the use of last names. So yeah, I go by chase my friends call me chase people who know me call me chase. I'm I'm not hung up on titles. I'm a simple guy. In the military, you are your rank and last name. I was specialist Spears sergeants First Lieutenant spears or LT Captain spears, major spears. And I remember at my first unit, there were other other people who in my unit there were the same rank as me. And so I thought were peers I'd call them by their first name. And they never gave me problems about it. But our higher ups would you know, people have rank spears, we don't go by first names spears. And I never I never 20 years and I still never really adjusted well to that I learned how to how to keep myself from getting as many talking to us about it over the years is I had in previous times. But that was a culture shock. And, and just the the constant what we call the military, the battle rhythm, you know, civil society would call it your work schedule, while in the military. It never really ends your day start very early. You have physical training that you're doing with your unit at 630. Depending on what unit you're in, you may be off at a reasonable time in the late afternoon, early evening, or you may be there. I've remember staying at work one night till 4am Just because the boss gave us a job to do. Frankly, it was an unreasonable job. But he gave us a job to do and an extraordinarily tight deadline and it took us till 4am to get the job done and And I was at work by 630, the next morning. So you never, ever really do get used to that in some ways, because you kind of come to accept it. But it's been really eye opening to me in the last nearly three months now that I've been now, looking back and having some control over my schedule now for the first time in 20 years, and realizing, wow, that was such a foreign existence I lived. But when you're when you're swimming in a fishbowl, you don't know you're wet. So every time you do adapt to it, but it's been neat being on the other side and realizing, you know, can kind of breathe in and start to have some say over what a schedule looks like, because I'd forgotten what that was, what that'd be like. Michael Hingson ** 25:44 But as you rose in the ranks, and I assume took on more responsibility, did that give you any more flexibility in terms of how you operate it on a day to day basis. Chase Spears ** 25:56 It all depended on the position, there were there were some jobs I had, where were, regardless of the rank, I had flexibility. And then there were other jobs, where I absolutely did not even as a major want, there was a job that I had, where the boss was very adamant. This is the time you will be here and you will be sitting at this desk between these hours and you are authorized authorized is a big term in the military culture, you are authorized a 30 minute lunch break period. And you will be here until this time every day. And this was when I had you know, I think I was at my 1718 year mark. And I remember thinking to myself, golly, do I need to ask permission to go to the bathroom to see, it seemed I didn't. So it really kind of depended on your job. There's a perception a lot of times that the higher you go in rank, the more control you have over your life. And I observed that the opposite is actually true. The higher you go, typically, the more the more demands are placed on you. The more people are depending on the things that you're doing. And and the bigger the jobs are. And the longer the days are was my experience, but it had been flooded depending on what position I was in at the given time. Michael Hingson ** 27:17 Now, when you first enlisted and all that, what was Laurie's reaction to all of that. Chase Spears ** 27:23 I was shocked. She was so supportive. She actually grew up in an Air Force household. And so she knew military life pretty well. Her dad had been been in, he spent a lot more time in the air force than I did the army. And then even after he retired from the Air Force, he went on and taught at the Naval Academy as a civilian. So she is just always had a level of familiarity with the military as long as she can remember. She joked with me that when she got married to me and then had to give up her dependent military ID card that it was kind of a moment of mourning for she didn't want to give that thing up. So one day, there we are Knoxville, Tennessee, and I approached her. And I'm trying to be very careful, very diplomatic, very suave, and how I bring it up to her and let her know I've been thinking about the army. And I'm kind of curious what she might think about that. Because it'd be such a drastic lifestyle change from everything we've been talking about. And I was bracing for her to look at me and be like, are you insane? And instead, she was like, Oh, you won't get in the military. And I get an ID card again. Yes. She was she was supportive from from Jump Street. And so you talk about a wife who just was there, every minute of it, and loved and supported and gave grace and rolled with the punches. milori Did she was absolutely phenomenal. Though, I will admit when it got to the point that I was starting to think maybe 20. I'll go ahead and wrap this up, because my original plan had been to do 30. But when I started talking with her about that she was she was also ready, she was ready to actually start having me home regularly for us to be able to start making family plans and be able to follow through with them. Because we had the last three years we had not been able to follow through with family plans, because of the different positions that I was in. So she was very, very supportive of me joining and then she was equally very supportive of me going ahead and and calling it calling it a day here or the last just at the end of this year. But what a what a partner could not have done it Michael Hingson ** 29:41 without her. So where did she live when you were going through basic training and all that. Chase Spears ** 29:46 So she stayed in Knoxville for nonGSA. Yeah. And then from there, she actually ended up moving up to her dad's and his wife's place up in Maryland because my follow on school after base See training was the Defense Information School. That's where all the Public Affairs courses are taught. And it's so happens that that is located at Fort Meade, Maryland, which is just about a 45 minute drive traffic dependent from where her dad lived. So while I was in basic training, she went ahead and moved up there to Maryland so that while I was in school up there, we could see each other on the weekends. And then from there, we didn't have to go back to Tennessee and pack up a house or stuff was already packed up so we could get on the road together there to wherever our next duty station was. And it turned out funny enough to be Colorado Springs, Fort Carson. And here's why that's funny. When, when I approached Laurie, about joining the army, one of the things that she was really excited about was seeing the world if you're in the military, you get to see the world, right. And my first duty assignment was the town that she had grown up in, because her dad had spent the last few years of his career teaching at the Air Force Academy there on the northern end of Colorado Springs. So so her her dreams of seeing the world with me, turned out that our first tour was going to write back home for her. Michael Hingson ** 31:14 Oh, that has its pluses and it's minuses. Chase Spears ** 31:17 Yep. So it was neat for me to get to see where she had grown up and learn the town little bit. Michael Hingson ** 31:23 I've been to Fort Meade, and actually a few times I used to sell technology to folks there. And then several years ago, I was invited to come in after the World Trade Center and do a speech there. And so it was it was fun spending some time around Fort Meade heard some wonderful stories. My favorite story still is that one day somebody from the city of Baltimore called the fort because they wanted to do traffic studies or get information to be able to do traffic studies to help justify widening roads to better help traffic going into the fort. So they call it the fort. And they said, Can you give us an idea of how many people come through each day? And the person at the other end said, Well, I'm really not sure what you're talking about. We're just a little shack out here in the middle of nowhere. And so they ended up having to hire their own people to count cars for a week, going in and out of the fort was kind of cute. Chase Spears ** 32:23 Well, there's quite a bit of traffic there. Now that basis when Michael Hingson ** 32:26 I was then to there wasn't just a little shack, of course, it was a whole big forest. Chase Spears ** 32:32 Yeah, yeah, it's I was back there. Golly, I want to say it wasn't that long ago. But it was about five years ago now is back there. And I almost didn't recognize the place. There's been so much new built there. But oh, I know, as far as army assignments go, it's a it's a pretty nice place. Michael Hingson ** 32:50 Yeah, it is. And as I said, I've had the opportunity to speak there and spend some time dealing with folks when we sold products and so on. So got to got to know, people, they're pretty well and enjoyed dealing with people there. They knew what they were doing. Yeah, Chase Spears ** 33:07 yeah, that's a it's a smart group of people in that base. Michael Hingson ** 33:10 So you went through basic training and all that and what got you into the whole idea of public relations and what you eventually went into? Chase Spears ** 33:20 Well, I had studied in college, my undergraduate degree was in television and radio broadcasting. My master's was in journalism, I'd grown up kind of in the cable news age, and the at the age of the emergence of am Talk Radio is a big, big tool of outreach. And I grew up thinking, this is what I want to do. I love communication. I actually thought it'd be really neat to be an investigative reporter on if, if you remember, back in the 90s, it was this big thing of, you know, Channel Nine on your side, yeah, had this investigative reporter who tell you the real deal about the restaurant or the automotive garage. And I always thought that would be amazing, like what a great public service like helping people to avoid being ripped off. And so I wanted to be a news. I'm sure you're familiar with the Telecom Act of 1996. That That caused a tremendous consolidation of media for your audience who might not be familiar with it. It used to be that really, if you had the wherewithal to buy a media station or a television station or radio station, you were unlimited in what you could you there were limits, I should say on what you could buy, so that you couldn't control too much, too much media environment, the Telecom Act of 1996, completely deregulated that and so large media companies were just swallowing up the nation. And that meant there's a tremendous consolidation of jobs and the my junior year in college. I was in the southeast us at the time at Lee University. Atlanta. Nearby was our biggest hiring media market, my June Your year CNN laid off 400 people. So I could tell really quick, this is going to be a chat and even more challenging field to break into than I thought. And that's why I ended up working part time in a law firm was in, in Journalism School. Afterwards, because I was looking great. I was looking for a backup plan. I thought if journalism doesn't work out, I also love the law. It'd be nice to get some experience working in a firm to see if I want to go to law school. So it was a natural fit for me when the army recruiter started talking to me. And he was asking me what I was interested in. And I told him, Well, here's what my degree is in, here's what my career plan had been, here's who I really want to do with my life. And he said, we have public affairs, I said, What's that? It turns out, the military has radio stations, and they have television networks and you PR, I had no idea. I was a civilian. And I was like, Well, that sounds good. And so I thought, yeah, sure, I'll I will enlist for that come in, do one four year contract, I'll build a portfolio and and then I'll be able to take that portfolio out into the civilian realm. And hopefully that will make me more competitive for a job in the news market. And of course, a couple of years into that. I was in Kuwait deployed to camp Arif John. And my brigade commander sat me down to lunch one day, and made it very clear that he expected me to apply for Officer Candidate School, which was nowhere on what I was interested in doing was nowhere on my radar, I applied, I really didn't have a lot of confidence. I thought, I looked at officers and I thought they were people who are way, way more intelligent than me, way more suave than me. And I really didn't know if I'd get in, well, I got in. And after I commissioned officer candidate school is about like basic training all over again. So that was fun. And I ended up being assigned to a combat camera unit. And then afterwards, I was able to put my paperwork in to branch transfer right back into public affairs, it was a perfect mess was everything I wanted to do. I didn't get to work in news directly. I wasn't a reporter. But I got to work with reporters, I got to be an institutional insider and help facilitate them and help to tell the stories of what some great American patriots were doing, and wanting to serve their countries. And so it was, for the most part, more often than not, it was a really, really fun way to earn a living living. Michael Hingson ** 37:34 I collect as a hobby old radio shows I'm very familiar with but back in the 40s was the Armed Forces Radio Service, then it became Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. And so I'm aware a little bit of, of the whole broadcast structure in the military, not a lot, but but some and know that that it's there. And it does, I'm suspect, a really good job of helping to keep people informed as much as it can as they can with the things that they have to do in the world. It's Chase Spears ** 38:04 definitely it's a comfort over the years, if you're spending a lot of time overseas to have kind of that that taste of home and our forces network does a really good job of that letting I think we're starting to see some debates inside the military. Now. What do we want to continue of it? Because now information is so ubiquitous, if you will, you can pull it down, you can stream whatever you want, wherever you are in the globe. So I kind of wonder in the next 1020 years, will it still be a thing, but during my early career during my early deployment before he could stream stuff, it was really cool to have an AFN radio station to tune into is really cool to have an AFN television network to tune into to be able to get a taste of home. That was much a comfort, Michael Hingson ** 38:52 right? Yeah, it is. It is something that helps. So you can't necessarily stream everything. I spent a week in Israel this summer. And there were broadcasts I could get and pick up through the internet and so on. And there were stuff from here in the US that I couldn't get I suspect it has to do with copyright laws and the way things were set up but there was only so much stuff that you could actually do. Chase Spears ** 39:20 And what a time to be in Israel you will I bet that trip is even more memorable for you now than it would have been otherwise. Michael Hingson ** 39:27 Fortunately, it wasn't August. So we we didn't have to put up with the things that are going on now. But still Yeah, it was very memorable. I enjoyed doing it. spending a week with excessively over there and got into getting to meet with with all the folks so it was definitely well worth it and something that that I will always cherish having had the opportunity to do get Chase Spears ** 39:51 for you. If it's on my bucket list. I've always wanted to spend some time over there. Michael Hingson ** 39:56 Hot and humid in the summer, but that's okay. Let's say but they love breakfast. Oh, really? So yeah, definitely something to think about. Well, so you, you joined you got you got the public relations, jobs and so on. So how did all that work for you over? Well, close to 20 years? What all did you do and what, what stories can you tell us about some of that? Chase Spears ** 40:25 It was it was fascinating. It was fascinating because everything that I got to touch was, in some way a story. And so my first job was in radio and television production. I did quite a bit of that in Kuwait. And it was actually there that I got my first taste of crisis communication, and I was immediately addicted. Do you remember back in? It was December 2004. Donald Rumsfeld said you go to war with the Army you have not the army want or might wish to have it another time? Yeah. I was there. That that was uttered in camp you're in Kuwait. And that was such an interesting moment. For me in terms of a story to tell. I was with the 14 Public Affairs Detachment we were deployed to camp Arif John to provide public affairs support for for Third Army's Ford headquarters. This was back during the height of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. And so there's a lot of military going over there. We were part of that. And I remember hearing this tasking that had come down that the Secretary of Defense is going to come out here is going to do this town hall meeting with the troops. There's going to be no question that you can't ask. You're going to be allowed to say anything you want to say to the Secretary of Defense, nothing's going to be scripted, nothing's going to be put through for review. And by the way, 14 pad you guys are going to make sure that it can be televised live back to the United States. And so here I am thinking what can possibly go wrong. And so we helped we all the event, Secretary Rumsfeld hindered and handled it really, really well. They set up this big, you know, fighting machinery display, they're in a in a big aircraft hangar epic camp bearing which is in northern Kuwait, just not too far south from the Iraqi border. And he gets up he gives the speech. He's well received by the troops. And it goes to the q&a part. And soldiers were asking him all sorts of questions. Most of them are jovial, you know, hey, when when do we get to go to Disney World, stuff like that. They were kind of big jocular with them. Michael Hingson ** 42:42 Seems a fair question. Chase Spears ** 42:44 Yeah, you know, I felt them right. And so finally, this one guy, I'll never forget his name, especially as Thomas Wilson from the 2/78 Regimental Combat Team. Tennessee National Guard asks him a question about when are they going to get the body armor that's needed? And in true Rumsfeld style, he's he says, Well, I'm not quite sure I understood the question. Can you ask it again, which is a great technique. He used to buy him some time to think the answer. And then it came back after the second question. And the whole hangar about 1000 of us in there. It was hast. I'll bet you could have heard a plastic cup hit the floor at the back back of the room. I mean, everyone was like, what? Oh, no, what just happened? What's about to happen? And Rumsfeld makes that remark, you go to war with the army have not the one you want or need. Yeah. And and then the questions went on. And there was not be after that. There was no awkward moment for the rest of the time. And I and I thought, wow, that could have gone south. But it didn't cool. It was just it was neat to watch. I was running the television camera that caught the moment. I was in the room. And so we me and my sergeant had to stay up there the rest of the day because there were some other television network interviews with other officials that we were running the satellite transponder for. And it was a long day our commander was kind of being a jerk to us. So by the end of the day, we were tired we'd been up there sleeping on cots for a couple of days, we were kind of just ready to get back to data camp Arif, John to our beds and put the whole mission behind us. And then we drive to three hours through this pouring pouring rainstorm in Kuwait, and a Canvas side Humvee that's leaking. All you know, water just pouring into this thing on us. So we're done. We're done. We're done. We're like, we just want to get a bed. We get back to our base. We're offloading all the equipment, putting everything away. And at this point in time, I forgotten about the moment earlier in the day when that question was asked, and I walk in and there we had this wall of televisions you know, tracking all the different news networks back in the US and on all of them Their Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, you go to war with the army have not the army won or wish to have another time. And at that moment, I was like, it's about to be an interesting few weeks around here. And it turned out, it turned out indeed to be an interesting few weeks, an interesting few months. And I got to be on the front end of what the public affairs response to that looks like. And I can tell you, I've never seen armored vehicles flow into a place as quickly as they did in the following month. So the power of a message transmitted is a real thing. Well, Michael Hingson ** 45:39 so whatever happened to specialist Wilson? Chase Spears ** 45:44 I don't I don't know. I know that news coverage. When that news reporters were asking that very question and coverage that I saw said, Oh, his unit, his assured that nothing bad will happen to him. He was a national guardsmen, so he kind of fall under a different, different command structure than us. From time to time, I have wondered that and I've tried to look him up online, and just try to find out what happened to the sky and what was life like for him? I'd love to talk to him and ask alright, what was it like, man, what is your unit do? But I, I have no idea. I can't find him. I presume he's gone about his life and doesn't want to be famous about it. But it also goes back to National Guard culture versus active duty culture. We talked earlier about the citizenship aspect. And the National Guard gets that way more than the active component. At the end of the day, they demobilize. And they go home. Right, you're running into the same people you serve, with the church, at the grocery store, at the grocery store, at the PTA, places like this, some of them might be your neighbors. And so they have an entirely different outlook. This is what they do to serve the country when needed. And then they go on about their lives. I don't think you would have seen an active duty soldier ask that question. I really don't because the culture is so so markedly different. And there's a level of kind of freedom of thought and expression, present that guard that that is much more lacking in the active component. Michael Hingson ** 47:19 Should there be more freedom, in that sense in the active component? Or do you think that it's really appropriate for there to be the dichotomy that you're describing? Chase Spears ** 47:32 And the act of force you need discipline? You need a discipline force, who, when they're given a lawful order, will carry it out hastily, because lives could hang in the balance. That's absolutely important, and we can never lose that. But sometimes we can use discipline I say sometimes, often, more is the more appropriate term often we confuse discipline with silence. We confuse discipline with a lack of willingness to ask tough questions. We confuse discipline with just saying Yes, sir. When you know, in the back of your mind, there might be something you need to dig into more. We we need, unfortunately, since the end of the Second World War, going back to my comments earlier about this large, industrialized, institutionalized force we have it breeds careerists. It breeds a mindset that's fearful to ask tough questions, even if you know they need to be asked. Because you want to be promoted. Right? You want to get assignments, right. And it breeds a culture where you really are much more timid. Or you're much more likely to be timid than someone who's maybe a reservist or National Guard member. We need people who will ask tough questions. We don't need indiscipline, we don't rush showmanship, we don't need people who are being performative just to be seen. But there are valid questions to be asked is, you know, is US defense policy? Better set for a 400? Ship navy or a 300? Ship? Navy? That's a valid question. Is it better for us to use this route of attack versus that route of attack? Given the Give Me Everything we know, those are valid questions. We need people in the military who who are willing to be critical thinkers, and there are a lot of extraordinarily brilliant people in today's armed forces, as there always has been. But there is on the active duty side a culture that works against original thought and that's really to our detriment. And I think the manner in which the evacuation of Afghanistan ended is one more blatant indicator of that. Michael Hingson ** 49:48 It was not handled nearly as well as it could have been as we have seen history tell us and teach us now Chase Spears ** 49:56 Absolutely. i It broke my heart. I'm A veteran of that conflict I'm not one who cries easily, Michael but I can tell you that morning when I saw the some of the images coming out of cobbles especially there's a video of a C 17 cargo jet taking off and people literally hanging to and falling to their deaths. Just i i fell off, I fell off my on my run into a sobbing human being on this on the ground for a little bit it is there's a lot to process and it has continued to be a lot to process. And there again, there's a great example of why you gotta be willing to ask tough questions. There was no no reason at all. We should have abandoned Bagram and tried to evacuate out of downtown Cabo. But that's a whole nother conversation. Yeah. Michael Hingson ** 50:52 Well, speaking of you, I understand that you weren't a great fan of jumping out of airplanes, but you got used to doing them? I Chase Spears ** 51:01 sure did. Oh, yeah. I always thought that would just be something that no, I don't want to say no sane person would do. I mean, I enjoy watching skydivers, I think it's really cool. And obviously, they're saying, I never thought I'd be among them. I thought, Nah, that's just something, I don't think I'm gonna do that. And when I was an officer candidate school, I was roommates with a guy who had been to Airborne School earlier in his career. And he was like, man, don't do it. Don't let him talk you into going to Airborne School, though, you'll be stuck at Fort Bragg, you'll just you'll be broke all the time, you'll be hurting all the time, the army takes the fun out of everything. And he's right. To an extent the army does take the fun out of most things that touches. But I got to my first unit as an officer. So I'd done enlisted time for three years, then I went to Officer Candidate School. And then my first job as an officer was at the 55th combat camera company, which is not a full airborne unit, but it's a partial airborne unit. And they had a hard time keeping enough active duty paratroopers on hand. And so I remember day one, when I was in processing the unit, there are all these different places you go, when you're in process, you gotta go see the training room, and you got to go see the administrative room, and you got to go see the Transportation Office and all these places, and they're just checking your paperwork. And so I see the training room, and there's the sergeant in there. And he's looking through my list. And he's asking me all these questions, you know, when was your last PT test? Where's the last physical, you know, making notes on me for the unit record? And then he says, Do you want to go to Airborne School? And without thinking, I said, Absolutely not. I have no interest in going to Airborne School. And his reply to me was go ahead and get an airborne physical. And I thought, There's no way I'm ever getting an airborne physical because I'm not going to Airborne School. So a few weeks later, I'm in the unit, I'm more comfortable. And I'm across. I'm in a different office across the hall from where this guy worked. And I'm joking around with this other sergeant. And I'm like, sir, and you're just such a cool guy. Like you've got all together, you're, you're like everything I want to be when I grow up. What how do you do it? He said, Well, sir, you got to go to Airborne School. That's step one. The other guy across the hall ever hears that, you know, mouse ears, I don't know how. But he darts out of his office across the hall into this opposite we're in, looks me straight in the face and said, Did you say you want to go to Airborne School? Like no, is not what I said, I absolutely have no interest. I'm not going to Airborne School. And he again replies with schedule your physical. And I thought, I'm not going to disappoint me scheduling a fiscal. So I get back to my office that later that day. And I thought this guy is not going to give up. So I came up with this brilliant plan. It was smart, smartest plan you'll ever hear of, I'm going to pretend I'm going to get my airborne physical and then he'll forget about me, leave me alone. So I called him and said, Hey, Sergeant, what's the phone number I have to call them schedule an airborne physical and it gives me the phone number and the the name of the person to talk to and I said, Great. I'll talk to him. There were two or three other lieutenants set to show up to the unit next in the next month. So I thought he will assume I'm getting a physical which I'm not getting and there's other guys will show up and he will convince them to go and I will fall off his radar. I was incorrect. That was a bad bad miscalculation on my part, you might say a flawed operation Michael Hingson ** 54:39 with your the and you were the one who was talking about brilliant people in the army Anyway, go ahead. Chase Spears ** 54:43 I know I know. Right? Yeah, I am a paradox. And so that within an hour I get an email from him with my he's already put me in for school. I already have orders generated to go to jump school. And then he calls me he's like Hey, by the way, your report in like three weeks, I need your physical as soon as you can get it. And I thought this guy, I told him I'm not going to Airborne School. Well, at the same time, our unit commander was a paratrooper, and he loves jumping out of airplanes. And I had two or three paratroopers in my platoon who were underneath me. And I thought, There's no way I can go now. Because if I, if I get the commander to release me, one, I'll lose face with the old man. And I'll lose face with the troops that I lead because the soldiers have to compete for this. They're just giving it to me. And so I went, protesting, kicking, screaming the whole way. I hated ground week. I hated tower week. And then they put took me up to the 250 foot tower and dropped me off the side of it under a parachute. And I loved it. I was like, Oh, this is fun. I actually asked if I can do it again. And they said, they don't get what's right. So the next week, we go into jump week in there I am in the back of an airplane, and it comes to my turn to get up and exit it. And I do, and I get to the ground and I survive. And I literally just sat there and laughed uncontrollably because I couldn't believe I just jumped out of a plane. And it was my first of 40 jobs. So I was I was absolutely hooked from that moment on. Michael Hingson ** 56:20 And what did Lori think of that? Chase Spears ** 56:23 She was a little bit surprised. She She again, was supportive. But she was surprised she never thought it's something that I would take to and it ended up being a great thing for us. Because having been on jumped status, it opened the door for me to request the unit and Alaska that we ended up going to for six years, you had to be on airborne status to be able to go to that job. And so had I not going to jump school, I would not have qualified to go into Alaska for that particular job. And so it ended up being a wonderful, wonderful thing. But I would have never guessed it, it just it's another one of those poignant reminders to me that every time that I think I've got a plan, it's God's way of reminding me that he has a sense of humor, because what's going to work out is always going to be very different from what I think. Michael Hingson ** 57:10 And you help Laurie see the world. So well worked out. Absolutely. Chase Spears ** 57:15 Yeah, she we never, we never got to spend time together overseas. But Alaska was an amazing adventure. And, gosh, if if no one in your listeners haven't been there yet to go see a Sunday? Michael Hingson ** 57:29 Yeah, I went there on a cruise I didn't see as much as I would have loved to but still, I got to see some of them. It was great. Chase Spears ** 57:38 It's nothing like it. No. Now you Michael Hingson ** 57:42 as you advance in the ranks, and so on you, you started being in public relations, being a communicator, and so on. But clearly, as you advanced, you became more and I'm sure were viewed as more of a leader that was kind of a transition from from not being a leader. And just being a communicator and doing what you were told to be more of a leader, what was that transition like? Chase Spears ** 58:07 That was another one of those things that I would have never seen coming. After I did my three years as the spokesman for the Airborne Brigade. In Alaska, I ended up becoming the deputy communication director for US Army, Alaska, which was the highest army command there in the state responsible for 11,000 troops and their families in multiple locations. And I remember one day, my boss came to me and saying, hey, the general is going to give a speech to the hockey team at the University of Alaska, about leadership. And so I need you to write it. And I looked at him and I said, boss, all right, whatever he told me to write, but the general has forgotten more about leadership than I know, like, how do where do I start with this? And I don't remember the exact words, I think it was something to the effect of, you're smart, you'll figure it out. And so I put together a speech, it was by no means anything glorious, but it was the best I had to give that moment in time and what leadership was fully convinced that I was not one. And then over time, I there are people who spoken to me at their headquarters who called out leadership that I didn't see they were pointing out influence that I had there pointing out people who I was able to help steer towards decisions that I didn't realize that I didn't know and it made me start looking back in other parts of my career and realizing, Oh, my goodness, I actually led that team. This man actually looks to me for decisions. I actually I am a leader, I had no idea. There's something I always thought if if you were in the military and you're a leader, you were some grand master, you know, like, like Patton or Eisenhower and I didn't think think myself anything like that. And so finally, in 2015, I was offered A chance to take command of a company which in civilian terms, that's kind of like being the executive director, if you will, of an organization of 300 people. And I was so excited for it. Because by that point in time, I finally made the mental transition of saying, I'm not, I'm not merely a communicator, communicating is what I've done. But occasionally it's I've worked on delivering us on passionate about, by came to realize, I love that so much because communicating is a part of leading and, and I, I am a leader, it's just something. Looking back. Of course, my life has always been there, I just never knew it. I never saw it, I never believed in it. And so by the time I was offered the chance to command, I was very excited for it, I was very eager for it, because I realized this is going to be an a wonderful adventure getting to lead a team at this level of this size. And it was the hardest job I ever did in the army, and the most rewarding. I don't know if you've ever watched any of the Lord, Lord of the Rings movie. But there's this moment where Aragon is being chided, is set aside the Ranger Be who you were meant to be to be the king. And that meant that came back to my mind several times I had to challenge myself that just because I only see myself as a communicator all these years doesn't mean that I can't do other things. And so it was a joy to actually walk into that. Believing is not easy. There's there are a lot of hard days or a lot of hard decisions. Especially when I was a commander, I agonized every decision. So I made because I knew this will have an impact on a person, this will have an impact on a family this, this will change the directions and plans that people had. And so it's a heavy weight to bear. And I think it's good that those kind of decisions come with weight. And I would question someone who who can make those kinds of calls without having to wrestle with them. Michael Hingson ** 1:02:01 When you look at all the things that you've done, and the work that you do, and the work that you did, at the end of every day, or at some time during the day, I know you were pretty busy. But did you ever have the time to just kind of sit back and reflect on how did this go today? How did that go? What could have been better? Did you do any kind of introspection? Or did you feel you had time to do that? Chase Spears ** 1:02:24 I didn't really feel I had time. And it would be easy for me to blame the unit, it'd be easy for me to blame people. But that responsibility rests with me. It's a discipline that I didn't develop until way too late in my career. And I eventually did develop it, I eventually came to realize the importance of reflection of introspection of taking a mental inventory of what I've accomplished I didn't accomplish and what I can learn from it. But it was sadly something that I didn't do as much as I should have. And I didn't do it as early, I was really, really bad at assuming well, because the unit needs this right now. I can't take care of this thing that I need to take care of that will that will allow me to be the leader that I need to be you know, I get in a car, someone slams on my car, and I need to get them to take care of it. Why don't have time unit Scott has to have me We gotta move on. Well, I've got six screws in my left hand and my left shoulder right now because I was always too busy to listen to the physical therapist and take care of myself, you know, the unit needs me the unit needs me the men need me. And so it, it was a hard, hard learned lesson. The importance of sitting back and reflecting is something I wish I would have learned much sooner. But once I did, it served me well. And it's a discipline that I still practice now. Michael Hingson ** 1:03:46 Yeah, yeah, it's, I think a very important thing. And a lot of things can can stem from that. What's the best position your favorite position in the army and why? Chase Spears ** 1:03:59 The best thing I ever got to do is company command. And it's hard to say that because it's really it's really closely tied with being a brigade director of communication. And t
Gestation Seven: One Was Black and One Was White by J. Stewart WillisIn this novel, two dead babies are found in a trash dumpster off U. S. 1 south of Alexandria, Virginia. A young reporter and the Alexandria Police follow clues leading to three government scientists who have gone rogue and conducted an experiment to reduce the gestation period of the human race from nine to seven months. The experiment has gone terribly wrong, producing ramifications to all who are involved.J. Stewart Willis is a graduate of the United States Military Academy and the graduate school of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In the army, he served in Taiwan and later in Vietnam as the signal officer of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He spent sixteen years of his military career as a Professor of Physics of Physics at the Military Academy. Following retirement from the army, he worked for twelve years with TRW Inc. as a manager on the Department of Energy's Nuclear Waste Project at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. He later served as the Town of Washington, Virginia's elected mayor for nine years. He now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.https://pageturner.us/bookstore/gestation-seven-one-was-black-and-one-was-whitehttps://jstewartwillisbooks.com/http://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/6624tbapt.mp3
The 41st Chief of Staff of the Army, General Randy A. George makes his first appearance on the podcast for a great discussion about leadership, his vision, and the lessons he's learned over the course of his four-decade career. General George and Joe cover a lot of ground in this episode, discussing topics including:Encouraging professional discourseWhy leaders need to ask questionsThe training management program that's in the Chief's crosshairsWhy great leaders are great editorsWhat transforming in contact looks likeHow General George recharges his batteries after a long dayThe importance of professional boundariesWhat topics General George wants leaders to write about....and more!General Randy A. George assumed duties as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army on September 21, 2023.George commissioned from the U.S. Military Academy in 1988 as an infantry officer. He served as a lieutenant in the 101st Airborne Division and deployed in support of Desert Shield/Desert Storm. George received his Master of Science in Economics in 1999 from Colorado School of Mines and then served at the National Simulation Center in Fort Leavenworth before attending the Command and General Staff College.In 2001 George went to Italy and served as the executive officer of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. He was later executive officer and then deputy commander of the brigade, during which time he deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Returning to the 101st Airborne Division in 2004, George commanded 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment and deployed a second time to Iraq. He then went to United States Naval War College as an instructor and then student. He deployed again as part of the initiatives group for the commanding general, Multi-National Corps-Iraq in 2007.In 2008 George returned to the 4th Infantry Division, where he commanded 4th Brigade Combat Team and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Following command, he was a fellow on the Council of Foreign Relations, chief of the strategic policy division for the Pakistan-Afghanistan coordination cell on the Joint Staff, executive officer to the 33rd Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. He later returned to Fort Carson as the deputy commanding general (maneuver) of 4th Infantry Division.George took command of the 4th Infantry Division in June 2017. In this role he deployed again to Afghanistan. His most recent command was of I Corps at Joint Base Lewis McChord, after which he served as the senior military assistant to the Secretary of Defense.He is married to his West Point classmate, Patty. They have two children, Grant and Andrea.Special thanks to this week's sponsors!Veteran-founded Adyton. Connect Leadership With Action Across Distributed Formations With Mustr by Adyton. Mustr is your digital knife-hand for daily and rapid personnel accountability, real time response data visibility, and automated reporting. Learn more about what Mustr can do for your formation here! My favorite coffee is veteran-owned Alpha Coffee and I've been drinking it every morning since 2020! They make 100% premium arabica coffee. Alpha has donated over 22k bags of coffee to deployed units and they offer a 10% discount for military veterans, first responders, nurses, and teachers! Try their coffee today. Once you taste the Alpha difference, you won't want to drink anything else! Learn more here.
We have another research focused episode for you guys this week, and we're diving into the recently published article "Demographic, psychosocial, and physical fitness predictors of successful graduation from U.S. Army Ranger School." We're joined by the lead author, LTC Timothy Benedict, who has a unique background as both an infantry officer and a physical therapist. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Baylor University – Keller Army Community Hospital Division 1 Sports Physical Therapy Fellowship at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York where he is also the chief of the Physical Therapy Department. After graduating from the United States Military Academy in 2002, LTC Benedict commissioned as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army. Immediately following graduation from Ranger School, he joined the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy, and then deployed to Iraq as a rifle platoon leader (2003-2004) and Afghanistan as a company executive officer (2005-2006). He graduated from the Army-Baylor Physical Therapy Program in 2009 and was assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 25th ID in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and deployed to Afghanistan in 2011-2012. LTC Benedict graduated from the University of Kentucky with a PhD in rehabilitation sciences after completing a randomized controlled trial implementing pain neuroscience education for Service Members with low back pain and post-traumatic stress in 2018. Since obtaining his PhD, Tim has taught and researched about the neuroscience of pain and resilience.
Retired Army Colonel Sonny Tucker was leading the 173rd Airborne Brigade at “Hill 65” during the Vietnam War. Colonel Tucker says, “Hill 65” is etched in his memory more vividly than his mother's name, losing 29 of his men that day. Colonel Tucker recalls that morning on the eighth of November 1965, engaging the Viet Cong, General Westmoreland's visit to the MASH Hospital, and standing in the Rose Garden with President Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey for the Congressional Medal of Honor presentation.
COL Michael Kloepper has spent effectively his entirely career as a paratrooper, and now as Commander of the 173rd Airborne Brigade he has implemented some really interesting policies around health, fitness, and wellness. There's a good chance you've heard about his "Policy Letter #2 - Cohesion and the Pursuit of Excellence," commonly referred to as the incentives memo. This policy allows soldiers to earn time off for everything from graduating Ranger School to traveling around Europe to taking a picture at the Trail #173 sign in the Dolomites. In this episode we talk about that memo (which was originally inspired by a Specialist in the brigade), as well as the 173rd's Tough in Spirit initiative, his efforts to improve the DFAC, and even - prepare yourselves - limiting alcohol sales on post. And of course we talk about his approach to physical fitness. COL Kloepper is a 1997 graduate of West Point, a 2015 graduate of UNC's Keenan-Flagler Business School, and a 2021 Distinguished Graduate of the Army War College. He is an Infantryman, Ranger, and Paratrooper whose assignments include Ranger Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, and USASOC. You can read the incentives memo here. He also discussed many of these topics at the H2F Symposium, and you can view that presentation here.
Robert Stark is the author of Warflower and a lifelong Alaskan who has truly triumphed over adversity and risen above life's challenges. In this episode, we dive into Robert's experiences as an airborne infantryman in the United States Army, and the defining moments from his deployments in Iraq with the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 101st Airborne Division. We explore the resilient spirit of a man who has faced the harsh realities of war and persevered to build a beautiful, off-grid life for his family on their farm, Secret Garden Alaska. It is an inspiring story of strength, resilience, and the power of redemption Waflower: https://www.amazon.com/Warflower-Story-Family-Service-Alaska/dp/B0B2HK5DL7 Sign up for the new G14 newsletter here: https://www.clearedhotpodcast.com/exclusive Check out the newest Cleared Hot Gear here: https://shop.clearedhotpodcast.com/
From his Purple Heart in Vietnam to his landmark $55 Million verdict against Marriott Hotels in the Erin Andrews trial, Nashville-based trial lawyer, Randy Kinnard leads with character. Join Ben for his fascinating discussion with Attorney Kinnard tracing his journey from West Point to becoming one of the nation's most successful civil trial lawyers. About Randy Kinnard Considered One Of The Best Lawyers In Nashville, TNAs a seasoned Nashville personal injury and medical malpractice attorney, Randall L. Kinnard is a highly respected legal professional. He has been recognized by countless organizations and publications for his exceptional skill both in and out of the courtroom. Mr. Kinnard is a leading lawyer in Tennessee and has been ranked as one of the best in all of Nashville. He has recovered millions of dollars for injury victims over the years, always fighting for the maximum value of his clients' cases. Valuing His Clients First & ForemostMr. Kinnard emphasizes two things in his practice: competence and respect. He has started many initiatives that shed light on the importance of respect in life and legal practice. Mr. Kinnard truly respects his clients, treating them as a counselor and acting as a friend to them through the entire legal process. A Strong Track Record Of SuccessHe stands out from other lawyers by more than just his results and commitment to respect—Mr. Kinnard is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification and Board-Certified as a Medical Malpractice Specialist by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. In his 40+ years of practice, he has recovered many record-setting verdicts for injury victims, including a $22 million jury verdict that was the largest in the state for a single person. This is what sets him apart as one of the premier plaintiff's medical malpractice attorneys in all of Nashville. He was also able to secure a $55 million verdict for sportscaster Erin Andrews in her lawsuit against a hotel and a stalker. Award-Winning & Nationally RecognizedRandall L. Kinnard is widely recognized by leading legal organizations as one of the region's most talented and successful trial lawyers. He has been named to The Best Lawyers in America since 1993, Mid-South Super Lawyers every year since 2007, and received the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association's “Outstanding Trial Lawyer of the Year” award in 2016, among many other distinctions. Mr. Kinnard is also one of a select group of lawyers to become a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invite-only group of the nation's top 100 plaintiffs' trial attorneys. The Kentucky Court Trial Review praised Mr. Kinnard's work in the legal community in a post on social media: "Randall Kinnard, a Nashville lawyer, had quite a year. He had three really significant verdicts. This guy is good. I summarize. January - Plaintiff told she didn't have breast cancer. She did. Led to 11 week treatment delay. $1.75 million in Murfreesboro March - He represented Erin Andrews in her case against Marriott regarding the peephole incident. $55,000,000. Nashville. October - Vanderbilt lost a biopsy sample. Plaintiff doesn't (and can't know) if she has cancer. $2,000,000 in Nashville. It was all emotional distress. If I needed a lawyer in a personal injury case in Tennessee, Kinnard (pictured) would be on my short list. He's like Tyler Thompson. Only from a little further down south." Prior to pursuing law school, Mr. Kinnard attended West Point. He served in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which equipped him for success in his legal practice. He was awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, Purple Heart, Bronze Star for Valor, and Air Medal for his two tours in Vietnam. Community InvolvementIn addition to his dedicated support of his clients, Randall Kinnard is also driven to give back to his community. Mr. Kinnard serves as a volunteer for Alive Hospice, residing on the Quality Council for the organization. In addition, he is a board member of Centerstone, a non-profit organization that helps more than 40,000 individuals with mental illnesses. Mr. Kinnard is on the Board of Directors of Friends of Warner Parks and supports The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. While serving as Chair of Fundraising for Legal Aid, he helped raise $700,000, setting a record for the organization! Mr. Kinnard has also been a board member of his church and a dedicated Sunday school teacher. He is honored to support dozens of local and national charitable organizations. Currently, Mr. Kinnard is in the process of founding The Children's Justice Center, which is a non-profit organization designed to provide free legal help, advice, and court representation for children who have been abused and neglected. Mr. Kinnard enjoys spending his free time in the outdoors. He loves running, fishing, golf, and hiking. He also enjoys reading a good book, especially on the topic of history.
US Soldiers from 173rd Airborne Brigade and Polish 6th Airborne Brigade troops work together to monitor mortar fire during land forces assurance exercises in Northern Poland. Available in high definition.
Mortar Training in Poland - Forward observers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade and Polish 6th Airborne Brigade call in and monitor mortar fire during land forces assurance exercises in northern Poland. Also available in high definition.
During land forces assurance exercises in northern Poland, U.S. paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade had the opportunity to test for the Polish Marksmanship Badge.
U.S. Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade conduct land navigation training with their NATO allies during operation Atlantic Resolve.
Jeff grew up in a small town in Ohio with big dreams to see and experience the world. Jeff was exposed to West Point early in life, and even visited the barracks when his uncle was a cadet. His early preparation and focus earned him a nomination and acceptance to the academy, but it did not prepare him for the breadth of the journey he was about to embark on. Jeff branched Field Artillery and posted to Germany with the expectation of being deployed to Kosovo for Peace Keeping operations, but stayed in Germany as a part of an Armored Task Force prepared to deploy to Iraq in support of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Jeff would deploy to Northern Iraq early in 2003 with the 173rd Airborne and again in 2004 with the 1st Infantry Division. Jeff would serve in multiple countries across the globe and serve in various positions with the Field Artillery branch in support of the US Army, the Joint Force, and Multinational Forces. This is the first half of his story. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joe-harrison0/support
Kerry joined the British Army in 1987 and served for 28 years, reaching the rank of Major, after becoming a Late Entry (LE) Officer.In this episode Kerry talks about his journey in joining the Army, being part of an Airborne Brigade, and skydiving with the Red Devils. Plus he talks about supporting 23 Special Air Service (SAS).Kerry also shares his experiences on Exercise Saif Sareea 2, deploying on the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and his journey getting a Late Entry (LE) Officer Commission. He talks about deployment to Afghanistan is the latter part of his career, and what his transition back to civilian life was like.Watch Episode on YouTubePart 1: youtu.be/F2DV6iN8ju0Part 2: youtu.be/qJUe1gHUbacTikTok:tiktok.com/@militaryveteranspodcastInstagram:instagram.com/militaryveteranspodcastTwitter:twitter.com/MilVetPodcastLinkedIn:linkedin.com/company/military-veterans-podcastMerchandise:milvetpodcast.com/merchIf you've enjoyed any episode from the show, please head over to Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and give the show a 5 star rating. It really will help the show be found by others. Many thanks! Message at the end of the recording is from your host Gav, giving you information on how you can support the show through Patreon.Supporting monthly would help the show record future episodes and help with the upkeep of previous recordings. £5 a month will give you access to bonus recordings, where Gav and the guest chat about things that don't make it into the main recording. Thank you.Support the show
Bill Muir, RN (AKA SGT Vegan) left a cushy job teaching English in Japan after 9/11 to join the Army. Despite being afraid of heights, he became a paratrooper, and served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Afghanistan as a Combat Medic. A vegan since 1992, Bill adhered to his PLANT- FUELED diet throughout his rigorous Army training and deployment. Since being Honorably Discharged from the Armed Services, Bill has earned a Certificate in Vegan Culinary Arts from Atlantic Union College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree from Drexel University, and has authored the books VEGAN STRONG, THE ADVENTURES OF SERGEANT PIGGY, and DEAD MEAT. He has spoken about the vegan lifestyle on TV and radio all over America. Website : https://sgtvegan.com/ IG: sgt_vegan FB: SGT VEGAN
Steve (former Navy SEAL) and Patrick (former Army Ranger) continue to discuss the Afghanistan deployment of a company from the 173rd Airborne Brigade captured in the following works. Part Two. "War" (book) by Sebastian Junger "Infidel" (book) by Tim Hetherington "Restrepo" (documentary) by Sebastian Junger & Tim Hetherington #podcast #history #bookreview #armyrangers #navyseals #paratrooper #restrepo
Steve (former Navy SEAL) and Patrick (former Army Ranger) discuss the Afghanistan deployment of a company from the 173rd Airborne Brigade captured in the following works. Part One. "War" (book) by Sebastian Junger "Infidel" (book) by Tim Hetherington "Restrepo" (documentary) by Sebastian Junger & Tim Hetherington #podcast #history #bookreview #armyrangers #navyseals #paratrooper #restrepo
Tune into a fireside chat with the 16th Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) Michael Grinston. SMA Grinston has served over 35 years in the military, been awarded multiple service medals, and served in multiple combat tours. Listen in to hear him discuss leadership, diversity in the workplace, and mentorship. Chris Springer, St. Louis Senior Director, and Los Angeles GM Karl Mehu joined us as moderators. Fun fact: Chris Springer served with SMA Grinston from 1998-2001 in the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy.
Imagine taking your dead enemy's treasured diary in the Vietnam war only to find out over 20 year's later that he was alive and wasn't the animal that the Army taught you he was. Check out the full YouTube interview Here. ⩥ PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE ⩤ CLICK HERE for our best-selling products: https://amzn.to/3xaG3xw and https://www.redbubble.com/people/LEOW... CLICK HERE to join our free Police, Fire, Military and Families Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/38w2e7r SUBSCRIBE to the Tactical Living Podcast here: https://apple.co/3u2S5ap Check out our website and learn more about how you can work with LEO Warriors by going to: https://www.leowarriors.com/
This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Randy Kinnard of Kinnard Law (www.kinnardclaytonandbeveridge.com/). Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review Episode Details: Accomplished trial lawyer, veteran and Purple Heart recipient Randy Kinnard of Kinnard, Clayton & Beveridge Attorneys at Law explains how he secured the largest verdict in Weakley County, Tennessee history for Cody Wade. At the age of 17, Cody was intubated following a traumatic car crash and struggled to breathe normally once it was removed. With the trach tube re-inserted, he was transferred to Cane Creek Rehabilitation Hospital and put under the care of a doctor who failed to consult a specialist or to provide reasonable care when Cody expressed concern and signs of respiratory distress following the second removal of the trach tube. Without the tube, Cody's airway collapsed and he sustained irreversible brain damage, leaving him unable to speak or move. A Dresden, Tennessee jury returned a $15.2 million verdict following a lengthy five-week trial. Click Here to Read/Download Trial Documents Guest Bio: Randy Kinnard Before becoming a trial lawyer, Randy Kinnard was a soldier. He graduated from West Point and then served in the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam as a Lieutenant and airborne ranger. He commanded 250 men in combat. He was awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the Bronze Star for Valor, Purple Heart and Combat Air Medal for 28 air assaults in combat. After his military service, Randy went to law school in Memphis. Randy has tried over 250 jury trials for plaintiffs. He has won many record setting verdicts, including the Erin Andrews' case of $55 million. He's a past president of the Tennessee Association for Justice. Randy is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates and he lives in Nashville. He has served on several non-profit boards. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2
J. Stewart Willis J. Stewart Willis graduated from the U.S. Military Academy and went on to pursue a graduate degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He served in Taiwan and later in Vietnam as Signal Officer of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Afterward, Willis spent the next 16 years of his military career as a Professor of Physics at the Military Academy. In all, he proudly gave 25 years of his life to the U.S. Army. Following his retirement from the military, he spent the next 12 years working for TRW, Inc. as a manager on the Department of Energy's Nuclear Waste Project at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. During his tenure with this company, he worked on three high-value proposals, including managing one worth more than $100 million. This isn't the end of Willis's career journey. He would eventually serve as the mayor of Washington, Virginia—a small town often referred to as "Little Washington." He spent 9 years as mayor for this small town before finally turning to his first passion: writing. Willis still resides in Virginia where he spends his time writing novels inspired by real-life events.
Few books have had the impact on generations of young soldiers as Jim McDonough’s Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat. First published in the mid-1980s, Platoon Leader remains on military reading lists worldwide and is still included in curriculum for junior officers and NCOs across the joint and combined force. Detailing the events that shaped Jim’s life as a young lieutenant in the 173rd Airborne Brigade in South Vietnam, Platoon Leader is a tale of leadership, followership, and the burdens of infantry combat on the young men and women in line companies. In this episode, Jim joins host Tim Heck to reflect on the formative experiences he had as a young leader in combat, the moral weight of his responsibility, and how he chose to interact with a population and ally in a way that preserved the humanity required to lead in combat.
John McDougall is a US Army Chaplain and a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan. A West Point graduate, he has served over 10 years in Airborne and Ranger assignments including the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the 82nd Airborne Division and the 75th Ranger Regiment.He is also the author of the book "Jesus Was An Airborne Ranger." Captain McDougall retells the life of Jesus, and the mission of his followers, as analogous to a special operations incursion behind enemy lines. Combat-seasoned and seminary trained, McDougall weaves stories from the front with biblical teaching as he reframes the gospel in terms that action-oriented readers will be drawn to, learn from and be highly motivated to follow in their daily lives. Jesus Was An Airborne Ranger: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Was-Airborne-Ranger-Following/dp/1601426925/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=jesus+was+an+airborne+ranger&qid=1653073760&sprefix=Jesus+was+an%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-1Visit https://www.thepursuitofmanliness.com/gear to see what is available in our Gear Store. Secure your spot in our next session of Tribe: https://www.thepursuitofmanliness.com/tribeSave 25% off your Order of Armored Nation Coffee by using the Discount Code "PURSUEMANLINESS" when you check out: https://www.armoredcoffee.com/Check out our "A Quiet Life" midweek Podcast Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTxKAejVWq1doZhk6F9yKtVPn4yoR647fCheck out our "Out In The Garage" Playlist for our Friday Podcast walking through the Bible: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTxKAejVWq1fCBVnq8hB4IRAJN8cdQERq#Podcast #Author #ArmyRangers
Description: The health and satisfaction of Army Families today directly impacts the future of the fighting Force of our Nation. Representatives from the US Army Public Health Center discuss the Health of the Army Family report and their hope it will bring attention to the Army Family health and aid in the understanding of the health needs and concerns of Army Families. Show notes: Army Public Health Center: https://phc.amedd.army.mil/Pages/default.aspx 2020 Health of the Force report: https://phc.amedd.army.mil/PHC%20Resource%20Library/2020-hof-web.pdf Army Health and Wellness Portfolio: https://phc.amedd.army.mil/organization/hpw/Pages/default.aspx Health of the Army Family: https://phc.amedd.army.mil/Periodical%20Library/haf-2021-report.pdf Bio: Dr. Theresa Jackson Santo is the Division Chief of the Public Health Assessment Division within the Health Promotion and Wellness Directorate at the United States Army Public Health Center in Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Her division's mission is to build, document, and apply the evidence base of community-based programs, policies, and practices within the U.S. Army. Her multidisciplinary team of more than 2 dozen scientists, epidemiologists, program evaluators, and public health practitioners executes formative and summative evaluations for a multitude of interventions each year within the United States Army. These projects strive to systematically assess what's working, what's not, and how the Army's public health enterprise can be improved to best meet Soldiers' needs and achieve favorable outcomes. Dr. Santo holds a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Maryland. Her professional passions include mixed methods designs, survey development, applied program evaluation, and public health program planning. In her personal life, Dr. Santo has four children ages five and under, including her newest addition, Abigail, who was born in January of this year. Ms. Laura A. Mitvalsky is the Director of the Health Promotion and Wellness Directorate at the United States Army Public Health Center in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. Her directorate's mission is to advocate for global force fitness through strategically developing, integrating, standardizing and evaluating health promotion and wellness services within the Army public health system. Ms. Mitvalsky directs all programmatic and administrative activities for health promotion and wellness at Army Public Health Center and has enterprise oversight for four program areas within her directorate: Health Promotion Operations, Army Wellness Centers, Integrated Health Education, and Public Health Assessment. She leads approximately 75 scientists, program and policy officers, program developers, health educators, and more, across CONUS and OCONUS locations to realize the directorate's vision and mission. She has served in this role for nearly 11 years; prior to this, she worked on various health promotion and wellness initiatives for the Army, including developing the Army's first standardized commander's councils to strategically and systematically integrate health, readiness and resilience at Army installations. In September 2019, she was named Aberdeen Proving Ground's Supervisor of the Year in recognition of Women's Equality Day. She was recognized then for her mentorship, positive guidance to employees, especially to female employees, both within and outside of the Army Public Health Center. Her professional passions include making strategic connections and taking a systems perspective to help individuals, units, and communities realize optimal health and wellness. Ms. Mitvalsky is a Florida native and spent many years living overseas. She is the proud parent of two college-aged children. LTC Virgil Rivera LTC Virgil Rivera is currently serving as the deputy chief for the Health Education and Application Division under the Health Promotion and Wellness Directorate. His primary duties are focused across a variety of Army enterprise level projects. Additionally, he has been selected to serve as the lead action officer for the Health of the Army Family strategic objective. LTC Rivera is a board certified diplomate and supervisory licensed clinical social worker where he recently completed the Child and Family Fellowship under the National Capital Consortium, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Some of his previous assignments include chief of the Family Advocacy Program behavioral health service line at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, behavioral health officer for the 3d Cavalry Regiment, deputy chief for the Health Facilities and Plans office for Regional Health Command Europe (formerly Europe Regional Medical Command), aide-de-camp, and platoon leader during his time with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy. He graduated with a bachelor's of science from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio and completed the U.S. Army masters in social work program at Joint Base San Antonio. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Medical Department Captains Career Course, Command and General Staff College, and has deployed twice to Afghanistan. LTC Rivera is a first generation Army officer and third generation soldier as his family originates from the Philippines. His late grandfather was a Philippine Scout and a survivor of the Bataan Death March while his late father served in the signal community during the Cold War period. He is married to LTC Kelly Rivera who is also a U.S. Army social work officer and they have two children.
What does it take to develop trust with Company-level Commanders and First Sergeants? COL (Ret) Scott Halstead, Director of AUSA's Center of Leadership, speaks with COL Michael Kloepper and CSM Christopher Clapin of the 173rd Airborne Brigade about what and who have shaped them as leaders. The command team then describes why their leader development program focuses on company-level Commanders and First Sergeants. Ultimately, the 173rd Airborne Brigade leader development initiatives are designed to empower Squad Leaders, the drivers of unit culture and readiness. The 173rd Airborne Brigade (Sky Soldiers) is the U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapid forces to the United States European, Africa and Central Commands areas of responsibilities. Forward based in Italy and Germany, the Brigade routinely trains alongside NATO allies and partners to build interoperability and strengthen the Alliance. Guests: COL Michael F. Kloepper, Commander, 173rd Airborne Brigade, U.S. Army CSM Christopher D. Clapin, Sergeant Major, 173rd Airborne Brigade, U.S. Army Host: COL (Ret) Scott Halstead, Director of AUSA's Center of Leadership Resources: 173rd Airborne Brigade, U.S. Army Web: https://www.skysoldiers.army.mil/ Recommendations for future topics are welcome via email at podcast@ausa.org.
The character of warfare has consistently changed over time, with technology evolving from edged weapons, bows and arrows, gunpowder, and battlefield mechanization, to more advanced technologies today, including long-range precision weapons, robotics, and autonomy. However, warfare remains an intrinsic human endeavor, with varied and profound effects felt by Soldiers on the ground. To explore this experience with those engaged in the tactical fight, we spoke with the following combat veterans, frontline reporters, and military training experts for this episode of The Convergence: Denys Antipov is a Ukrainian war veteran who served as a platoon leader and reconnaissance drone operator with the 81st Airborne Brigade in the Ukrainian Army, defending his homeland and fighting Russian paramilitary groups and anti-government separatists in the Donbas in 2015-2016. Heydar Mirza spent 36 days on the frontline as a war reporter in Terter and Agdere during the 44-day Second Nagorno-Karabakh war during the Fall of 2020. He is currently the program author and host of the weekly RADIUS military analysis program on Azerbaijan Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company – ICTIMAI TV and Caliber.az YouTube channel. Nolan Peterson is Senior Editor at Coffee or Die Magazine and The Daily Signal‘s Ukraine-based foreign correspondent. A former U.S. Air Force special operations pilot and veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, he was among the first journalists to embed with Ukrainian forces in combat in eastern Ukraine. In Iraq, he embedded with Kurdish peshmerga forces in operations around Mosul and Sinjar. He has reported from throughout Eastern Europe, France, the U.K., and was onboard the USS George H.W. Bush off the Syrian coast to cover the air war against ISIS. John Spencer is the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute, Co-Director of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of the Urban Warfare Project podcast. He served over twenty-five years in the U.S. Army as an infantry Soldier, with two combat tours in Iraq as both an Infantry Platoon Leader and Company Commander. He has also served as a Ranger Instructor with the Army’s Ranger School, a Joint Chief of Staff and Army Staff intern, fellow with the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group, Strategic Planner and then Deputy Director of the Modern War Institute where he was instrumental in the design and formation of the institute. He has just returned from walking the battlefields of Nagorno-Karabakh, gleaning les
On this morning's episode of "Keeping Up With Mr. Jones" the Turf Teacher talks about Operation Hump being memorialized in a song by Big and Rich named 8th of November. ... On November 8th 1965, the 173rd Airborne Brigade on "Operation Hump", war zone "D" in Vietnam, were ambushed by over 1200 VC. Forty-eight American soldiers lost their lives that day. Follow me on Instagram for more green industry tips: https://www.instagram.com/turfteacher/ TURF TEACHER COURSES: Seminars: https://turfteacher.com/seminarschedule/ Online Landscape: https://www.turfteacher.org/landscape/ Online Irrigation: https://www.turfteacher.org/irrigation/ Turf Talk Tuesdays: http://www.turftalktuesday.com Landscape Webinars: https://turfteacher.com/landscapewebinars/ Irrigation Webinars: https://turfteacher.com/irrigationwebinars/ ELITE LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS, INC.: https://www.elitelandescapes.com https://linktr.ee/elitelandescapes TURF TEACHER SOCIAL MEDIA: https://linktr.ee/turfteacher THE PODSCAPE PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/thepodscape YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/user/turfteacher/
Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! PUEDES ENVIAR TUS COMENTARIOS A : http://antenahistoria.jimdo.com/contacto/ En 1963 173ª Brigada aerotransportada fue reactivada en Okinawa tomando el mando de la misma el general de brigada Ellis W. Williamson que la sometió a un duro entrenamiento y numerosos lanzamientos en paracaídas, lo que les llevó a recibir el sobrenombre de "Sky Soldiers". Tendrán una actuación estelar en Vietnam en la toma de la colina 875. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals
Enough is enough, 12 US Marines were killed in today's attack. Biden must act immediately and deploy the 82nd Airborne Brigade Combat Team Global Response Force that has been staging in Kuwait to secure the Kabul Airfield and probably even another Brigade of Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade out of Italy. This stage of the debacle now stands firmly on Biden's shoulders. He must remedy the situation now. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/comethisfar/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/comethisfar/support
I'm Danny Lane, the curator of The Music Museum. This exhibit is called The Vietnam War: The Music. Our mission here at the Music Museum is to support all Vietnam Veterans and those who serve the United States, then and now. The title, Brothers In Arms, is chosen to recognize the military participation and sacrifices of Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan as our allies during the war. It's all about the brotherhood and the music. We thank you all for your service. - - - -Early-on, in Vietnam, soldiers turned to music as a lifeline to the home front they'd promised to defend. Rock & roll (R&R) really became rest & relaxation (R&R) for the troops. It was this music that got you through another day, another day closer to going home. Music was a big part of a soldier's down time that centered within the hooches of Vietnam. The music that was popular during the Vietnam War was, and is still, therapy. There are songs you can remember, and then there are songs you REALLY remember. Many of these songs will have a special meaning for you. A place, a brother, a time gone by. This program is for you, the Vietnam Vets, who will never forget. - - - - This episode contains the Big & Rich song, The 8th of November which tells the tale of Niles Harris, a soldier in the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the United States Army during Operation Hump in South Vietnam on November 8, 1965. - - - -Our goal with The Vietnam War: The Music is to honor the fallen and the survivors with the music that got them through “just one more day”. - - - -For your service and your sacrifice, this is The Vietnam War: The Music. - - -This episode is called “Brothers In Arms” - - -- - - Join the conversation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008232395712 - - - or by email at dannymemorylane@gmail.com - - - - You'll hear:1) Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits2) A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall by Bob Dylan3) Semper Fi by Trace Adkins4) Okie From Muskogee by Merle Haggard & The Strangers5) The Man Who Couldn't Cry by Loudon Wainwright III6) The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel7) I Once Was a Soldier by Garth Porter8) When The Master Calls The Roll by Rosanne Cash (w/ Rodney Crowell, Amy Helm, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine and Tony Joe White)9) One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) by Mick Hucknall (lead singer of Simply Red)10) In My Life by Judy Collins11) 500 Miles Away From Home by The Kingston Trio12) If the Sun Comes Up by Trace Adkins13) Who Knows Where the Time Goes? by Fairport Convention14) I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green) by John Schumann and The Vagabond Crew15) Puff (The Magic Dragon) by Peter, Paul And Mary16) Lean On Me by Bill Withers17) Ring Of Fire by Eric Burdon & The Animals18) Living Legend by The Highwaymen (Nelson/Cash/Jennings/Kristofferson)19) 8th of November by Big & Rich [duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich]20) Forever Young by Bob Dylan21) After the War by Wes Carr & Lance Corporal Elizabeth Smith22) Arlington by Trace Adkins23) Born in the U.S.A. [Live] (Springsteen on Broadway) by Bruce Springsteen24) He Was My Brother by Simon & Garfunkel25) Where Have All The Flowers Gone by Dolores Keane, Tommy Sands & Vedran Smailovic
The US Military is under fire after a training incident gone awry.According to a recent report, a group of soldiers were engaged in a training exercise in Bulgaria when a mistake sent them off course. The group was assigned the task of clearing and securing multiple structures on the US airbase in Cheshnigirovo when they inadvertently strayed from the designated area and onto private property.Task and Purpose said the soldiers with the 173rd Airborne Brigade then accidentally stormed the operating factory next door, seizing and clearing the premises of the company's bewildered and, no doubt, terrified employees.Some evidence suggests the factory, which reportedly produces equipment used in olive oil production, was entered by soldiers with weapons drawn, though the Army has stressed that no firearms were discharged in the incident. Either way, the media source Arms Watch has reported that the factory's owner has since filed a lawsuit.
In this HCI Podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanhwestover/) talks with Adam Cubbage about closing the leadership gap within organizations. See the video here: https://youtu.be/cYg4B2Koef8. Adam Cubbage (www.linkedin.com/in/atcubbage/) is driven by his passion to help people become the best leaders they can be. As the Principal Consultant & Owner of CenterPoint Leadership Development, he equips people to lead and manage at the next level. With over 20 years of practical experience mixed with professional education, he is a true scholar-practitioner. As a U.S. Army officer, Adam served for over a decade in some of the most elite fighting units, including the storied 173rd Airborne Brigade. In 2003, he parachuted into Northern Iraq in 2003 and helped liberate Kirkuk. Then, in 2005, he led a company of paratroopers in some of the most volatile areas in Afghanistan. For his actions, he received numerous awards for valor and gallantry in battle. In 2009, Adam left the military to focus on his family and start a new adventure. That journey took him to among other places, the prestigious Gallup World Headquarters, in Washington, D.C. and ultimately led him to start CenterPoint in 2016. Currently, he is a Doctoral Candidate at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. His research is aimed at understanding the current “leadership gap” and what forms of professional development can help organizations close that gap and strengthen their leadership bench strength. At CenterPoint, Leadership Development, Adam blends this research with experience and best practices to provide organizational assessments, leadership training, and integrated coaching for companies to help develop better leaders and build right-fit, high-performing teams. An amazing organizational development consultant, Adam has developed a nationally accredited training program that teaches foundational leadership to managers and directors. And when he's not living out his passion helping to develop leaders, he can be found in Brunswick, Maryland living his dream with his soulmate/wife and two awesome boys. Check out Dr. Westover's new book, The Alchemy of Truly Remarkable Leadership, here: https://www.innovativehumancapital.com/leadershipalchemy. Check out the latest issue of the Human Capital Leadership magazine, here: https://www.innovativehumancapital.com/hci-magazine. Ranked in the Top 10 Performance Management Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/performance_management_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 10 Workplace Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/workplace_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 15 HR Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/hr_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 15 Talent Management Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/talent_management_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 15 Personal Development and Self-Improvement Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/personal_development_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 30 Leadership Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/leadership_podcasts/
Special Guest: Adrian Bonenberger In this FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ episode recorded specifically to coincide with Memorial Day, the Buzzards have a heavy full metal discussion with author and teacher Adrian Bonenberger, a Yale graduate with a B.A. in English, who then joined the U.S. Army for seven years. Adrian spent twenty-five months in Afghanistan in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 10th Mountain Division and was awarded two bronze stars, three army commendation medals (one for valor in combat), and an army achievement medal. Post military career, Adrian wrote "Afghan Post: A Memoir" about his first hand experiences through a series of letters he writes to friends, family and others. He also was the co-editor and contributor of an anthology of fiction by and about veterans called "The Road Ahead." He has published essays for the New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Commonweal Magazine, Forbes Magazine, Deadspin's Concourse, among others. He took his MS in Journalism from Columbia, and his MFA in Creative Writing at SUNY Stony Brook Southampton. George, Pete and Roger are joined by Buzzard-on-the-beat, Tom Taylor, who each get to give their two cents on Afghanistan, war movies, the treatment of soldiers coming home from battle, the military-industrial complex, major corporation influence, and so much more. It was difficult to fit everything we wanted to talk about into one episode. We see another one down the horizon (Veteran's Day, perhaps!). By all means, the Buzzards have different perspectives and opinions in regards to the military, war and the politics surrounding them. But that's what makes this a great country (as so pointed out by Adrian himself) in that we can each freely voice those differences. For that, we can all agree to salute those that have served this Memorial Day. It's what makes all podcasts from the U.S., let alone ours, possible. So, throw those vegan dogs on the grill, have an ice cold White Claw in hand, pluck in those wireless airpods and listen to another episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ. If you have any questions or comments about this episode or others or have any great ideas for topics and guests please email us at FIVEDOLLARBUZZ@GMAIL.COM. We will surely get back to you, double-time, soldier!
Henry Hughes' family tradition of military service dates all the way back to the American Revolution. For him, he chose the Army and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He served multiple combat tours with the 173rd, including one at COP Keating - the infamous outpost we've covered in several previous episodes - in 2008. When Hughes left the Army, it was to pursue a new passion - filmmaking. He has since been mentored by George Lucas, nominated for an Academy Award, and co-produced and acted in "The Outpost" - the 2020 film about COP Keating and the Battle of Kamdesh - as he continues down the path of a working filmmaker. Hear his powerful and inspirational story on our latest episode of HAZARD GROUND! "Day One" | "The Outpost" Support the podcast by supporting our sponsors at www.hazardground.com/sponsors! Shop Amazon! As an Amazon Associate We Earn From Qualifying Purchases...You Know The Deal! (Paid Link) Help grow the show! Spread the word, tell a friend!! Subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts! Episode Intro Music: "Prelude" by "Silence & Light (www.silenceandlightmusic.com )
Early-on, in Vietnam, soldiers turned to music as a lifeline to the home front they promised to defend. Rock & roll (R&R) really became rest & relaxation (R&R) for the troops. It was this music that got you through another day, another day closer to going home. Music was a big part of a soldier’s down time that centered within the hooches of Vietnam. The music that was popular during the Vietnam War was, and is still, therapy. There are songs you can remember, and then there are songs you REALLY remember. Many of these songs will have a special meaning for you. A place, a brother, a time gone by. This program is for you, the Vietnam Vets, who will never forget. This episode contains the Big & Rich song, The 8th of November which tells the tale of Niles Harris, a soldier in the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the United States Army during Operation Hump in South Vietnam on November 8, 1965. Our mission here at the Music Museum is to support all Vietnam Veterans and those who serve the United States, then and now. We thank you for your service. From the Gulf Coast of Florida, going around the world on demand, this is The Vietnam War: The Music. This episode is called “Enough Is Enough” Don’t forget to join the conversation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008232395712 or by email at dannymemorylane@gmail.com In this episode you’ll hear: 1) Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today) by The Temptations 2) Welcome Home by Country Joe McDonald 3) We're Not Gonna Take It by The Who 4) Where Have All The Flowers Gone by Johnny Rivers 5) Desperado by The Eagles 6) One Good Man by Janis Joplin 7) Eve Of Destruction by The Turtles 8) Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones 9) Tour of Duty by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit 10) Evil Ways by Santana 11) Chicago / We Can Change The World by Graham Nash 12) Up On Cripple Creek by The Band 13) Bring It On Home To Me by Sam Cooke 14) Wild Child by The Doors 15) Two Soldiers Coming Home by Lori McKenna 16) Arlington by Trace Adkins 17) Run Through the Jungle by Creedence Clearwater Revival 18) Coming Home Soldier by Bobby Vinton 19) We Can Work It Out by Stevie Wonder 20) 19 by Paul Hardcastle 21) 8th Of November by Big & Rich [duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich] 22) As Tears Go By by Marianne Faithfull 23) Zor and Zam by The Monkees 24) Why Can't We Be Friends? by War 25) Forgotten Man by Elvis Lloyd Carden & Chris Noel 26) Ain't That Peculiar by Marvin Gaye 27) Will There Be a Tomorrow? By Dick Jonas (lead), Bill Ellis, Chuck Rosenberg & Robin Thomas (w/ Lisa Ellis, Sherry Hughes, Kathy Jonas, back-up vocals) 28) Be My Baby by The Ronettes 29) We Can Be Together by Jefferson Airplane 30) Stop the War Now by Edwin Starr 31) The Wind Cries Mary by The Jimi Hendrix Experience 32) Songs That Make A Difference by The Highwaymen (Nelson/Cash/Jennings/Kristofferson) 33) Let It Be by The Beatles 34) Once I Was by Tim Buckley 35) God Bless America by Connie Francis
Ryan Meehan - Army Veteran, Managing Partner of Aviano Capital & Looking to Buy a Business Ryan Meehan didn't set out to join the military, but after 9/11 felt compelled to serve in the Army. He went to West Point and was commissioned as an infantry officer. He spent two tours in Afghanistan and served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade out of Vicenza, Italy. After leaving the military in 2012, Ryan went to Wharton Business School and then spent time in the financial world as a trader and with a portfolio company before starting his own business. The military taught Ryan how to lead people and develop teams. He is pursing this now with Aviano Capitol. It got its name after the air base Ryan served at in Italy. It is on a mission to “acquire, own and operate one profitable business while maintaining a focus on people, stewarding he legacy of the seller, and upholding the highest stands of integrity, during the transaction and beyond.” Check out who else has stepped into the Veteran Crowd Spotlight. Learn More: Ryan's LI: https:///www.linkedin.com/in/rtmeehan/ Aviano Capital Website: https://avianocapital.com VeteranCrowd Partners: Cardomax: Committed to producing the highest quality, liquid-based single serve supplements featuring clean ingredients. Use coupon code VeteranCrowd to receive Buy one, get one free on your first order. About Your Host Bob Louthan is a VMI Graduate, Army veteran, and executive with over 25 years of experience in mergers, acquisitions and private capital formation. He founded the VeteranCrowd Network to bring veterans and veteran-led businesses together with each other and the resources they need to prosper.
Goldylocks Productions presents Live from Little Bear Sanctuary with Christopher Vane.Christopher Vane co-founded Little Bear Sanctuary, a nonprofit farm animal sanctuary in Punta Gorda, FL, in honor of his late mother Ursula (which translates to “little bear” in Latin). They shared a common passion for animals and Ursula often dreamed of providing neglected, once-abused animals a safe haven. While originally from New York, Chris surprisingly started off with a career in human healthcare, eventually landing in Florida working as a real estate broker. When he met Randy, everything changed…for the better, that is! Their relationship sparked a new passion to live each day with purpose. After they got married, their desire to provide a better world for farm animals was greatly amplified. Together, Chris and Randy followed through on Ursula’s dream and established the Little Bear Sanctuary in 2017. Now, 160+ rescued farm animals call Little Bear Sanctuary home, and – thanks to Christopher’s compassion and dedication – each animal has been given an opportunity to experience love and freedom.Little Bear Sanctuary provides a permanent home for farm animals that have been abandoned or can no longer be cared for by the owner in order to allow them to live out the remainder of their lives in a cruelty free environment. We are committed not only to a vegan lifestyle but the essential education of pigs as pets. Our animals are never kept in cages or pens and are free to roam in their natural habitat.https://littlebearsanctuary.org https://www.facebook.com/littlebearsanctuary https://www.patreon.com/littlebearsanctuary Add us to your Amazon Smile account: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/82-2180440 Special Guest: Bill Muir aka SGT VeganSGT Vegan (AKA Bill Muir, RN, BSN) left a cushy job teaching English in Japan after 9/11 to join the Army. Despite being afraid of heights, he became a paratrooper with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and served in Afghanistan as a Combat Medic. A vegan since 1992, SGT Vegan adhered to his PLANT- FUELED diet throughout his rigorous training and deployment.Since being Honorably Discharged from the Armed Services, SGT Vegan has earned a Certificate in Vegan Culinary Arts from Atlantic Union College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree from Drexel University.SGT Vegan now resides in Culver City, CA, and serves our Nation’s Heroes as a Registered Nurse at the West Los Angeles Medical Center. In his free time, SGT Vegan enjoys weight lifting, traveling the world with The Vegan Road Trip, snowboarding, practicing his Japanese, and cooking Kick-Ass vegan dishes.https://sgtvegan.com
In this episode, we discuss -The US Army's individual replacement system in Vietnam -McDonough's experience serving as the aide to the commanding general of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam -McDonough's thoughts on how technology has extended senior leaders' ability to overexert influence or command on small units -How McDonough's Vietnam experiences shaped his approach to command -Some of the mistakes McDonough made as a platoon leader in Vietnam -The decision-forcing case The Farmer: its inspiration, development, and use with US Marines -What it was like to serve in the ‘Hollow Army' after Vietnam -McDonough's experience as a mechanized infantry company commander -McDonough's time as an S-3 operations officer for an infantry battalion in South Korea -His experiences serving as the military assistant to General John Galvin, Supreme Allied Commander Europe -McDonough's observations of the maneuver warfare debates in the Marine Corps -The value and pitfalls of studying German military history, especially the German forces of World War II -The tight rope that military and military-civilian professionals must walk when studying the forces of the Nazi Germany a nthe Southern Confederacy -The events leading to McDonough's appointment as director of the School of Advanced Military Studies -The process of revising FM 100-5 Operations -The origin of the term “operations other than war” -What inspired the writing of McDonough's second book, The Defense of Hill 781, and what today's soldiers and Marines can learn from it in light of renewed focus on large-scale conventional combat operations -What lessons from Hill 781 might not apply to today's battlefields -McDonough's third book, The Limits of Glory -His experience standing up the brigade that would eventually get reflagged as the 173rd Airborne Brigade -What it was like leading that brigade through the genocide, Cholera epidemic, and civil war in Rwanda Links Platoon Leader by James McDonough: https://www.amazon.com/Platoon-Leader-Memoir-Command-Combat/dp/0891418008 The Defense of Hill 781 by James McDonough: https://www.amazon.com/Defense-Hill-781-Allegory-Mechanized/dp/0891414754 The Limits of Glory by James McDonough: https://www.amazon.com/Limits-Glory-Novel-Waterloo/dp/0891413847 "American Army Doctrine for the Post- Cold War" by John L. Romjue: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA317654.pdf 'Facing the "What Now?'" Moment' by Damien O'Connell: https://mca-marines.org/wp-content/uploads/Facing-the-What-Now-Moment.pdf Errata -When discussing TBS's use of The Farmer DFC, I said they forced to students to either harm the farmer or risk certain death in the minefield. To be precise, TBS called for students "...to...[decide]...whether to threaten or do bodily harm to a local civilian in order to save the lives of their Marines (soldiers).” -While discussing the bureaucratic differences between Colonel McDonough and Major General Wesley Clark at TRADOC, McDonough erroneously referred to himself as a 'one-star general,' though he meant to say, 'colonel.' --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/damien-oconnell/support
And Russia has deployed their 56th Airborne Brigade. This is an OFFENSIVE unit of the Russian army and they are combat hardened and notorious in battle. You can support my work at the links below. We are totally listener supported and we appreciate each and every one of you! Thank you and God bless! Express VPN Link: https://www.xvinlink.com/?a_fid=jstorm1 *Get 3 months Free* Select the 12 month package and get 3 months free! Bitcoin Wallet: 3M2rBQMPjS2UihwQLuzCeMTveoUSSmH87h PayPal: https://paypal.me/johnnystorm NEW! Cash app now available for donations! Our cash tag is $jstorm212 For checks and money orders please email us at dntspk5@gmail.com and we will send you the address. Support us through the BRAVE web browser here: https://brave.com/don308 Free book on Spiritual Warfare below! https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/780462 https://twitter.com/DontSpe54156130 Show Email dntspk5@gmail.com Back up Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ9KhNAvQ49eHU7HDP6j6Q/videos Website: https://dontspeaknews.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dontspeak/support
Note: This is part one of a two-part discussion. The conclusion will be released shortly. In this episode, we discuss -The Strategic Hamlet Program (SHP) in Vietnam and the role of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in that effort -How US platoon positions used in the SHP made enticing targets for the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army -The layout of McDonough's platoon position and the terrain surrounding it -McDonough's assessment of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, as well as the South Vietnamese Regional Forces and Popular Forces -A particularly soul-shaking patrol that McDonough went on -The writing of Platoon Leader -The Viet Cong's typical tactics, strengths, and weaknesses -McDonough's biggest fight: October 6th 1970 -The story of McDonough's wounding -The Viet Cong's technique of employing M-79 ‘barrages' -McDonough's assessment of the small arms available to him and his men -A hair-raising interaction that McDonough had with one of his soldiers and an M-79 grenade launcher -McDonough's relationship with Phil Nail, one of his radio operators -Killigan, arguably the best combat soldier McDonough ever saw -What it was like to lead a small unit with consistent attrition -McDonough's advice for small unit leaders who may face high unit attrition in their units in combat -How well McDonough's stateside tactical training lined up with his actual tactics in Vietnam -The value of “tactical cursing” Links Platoon Leader by James McDonough: https://www.amazon.com/Platoon-Leader-Memoir-Command-Combat/dp/0891418008 The Defense of Hill 781 by James McDonough: https://www.amazon.com/Defense-Hill-781-Allegory-Mechanized/dp/0891414754 The Limits of Glory by James McDonough: https://www.amazon.com/Limits-Glory-Novel-Waterloo/dp/0891413847 This Kind of War T.R. Fehrenbach: https://www.amazon.com/This-Kind-War-Fiftieth-Anniversary/dp/1574883348 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/damien-oconnell/support
From Student, to Airborne, to Ranger school, determined to make the 173rd Airborne Brigade! Vincent Barragan shares the importance of MINDSET and DETERMINATION in everything you do in life. Vincent has fascinating experiences and advice and on this episode he shares his mindset and determination of how he transitioned from Captain during Operation Iraqi Freedom, to working his way up the ladder in Corporate America. Today, Vincent is the Director of Finance at prestigious pharmaceutical, Johnson and Johnson. Vincent has always set many goals in his life and in order to reach those goals, he needed a lot of determination and a strong mindset. It takes a lot of discipline to work your way up to where you want to be. Vincent leaves off with great advice by allowing you to picture yourself as a product and thinking about how you would sell yourself when you are going for a certain role. ANYTHING is possible. NEVER give up.
O'Byrne is standing at the corner of Ninth Avenue and 36th Street with a to-go cup in each hand and the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up. It's six in the morning and very cold. He's put on twenty pounds since I last saw him and could be a laborer waiting for the gate to open at the construction site across the street. Now that he's out of the Army I'm supposed to call him Brendan, but I'm finding that almost impossible to do. We shake hands and he gives me one of the coffees and we go to get my car. The gash across his forehead is mostly healed, though I can still see where the stitches were. One of his front teeth is chipped and looks like a fang. He had a rough time when he got back to Italy; in some ways he was in more danger there than in combat. O'Byrne had been with Battle Company in the Korengal Valley, a small but extraordinarily violent slit in the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains of eastern Afghanistan. He was just one soldier out of thirty but seemed to have a knack for putting words to the things that no one else really wanted to talk about.War - Sebastian JungerLike all of Sebastian Junger's work, he has a way of painting a picture of where we're going with simple, efficient eloquence, and never more so than this opening paragraph in his book War. I myself first met Brendan in New York City. He had driven more than 10 hours from his home in North Carolina to meet with me and attend the premier of a film I had made with Mai Hua about my men's work. That's the kind of thing Brendan will do for a stranger. With the boundless energy of a giant puppy, Brendan O'Byrne is full of nervous excitement, warmth, enthusiasm, laughter and love, behind which is a huge well of often painful life experience that gives him a profound wisdom and generosity of spirit.Featured in the Oscar nominated film Restrepo and its follow up Korengal, Brendan served 15 months in Afghanistan, and here he takes time to talk with me about his childhood, multi generational trauma, prison, addiction, PTSD and his time in the military. He's an exceptional, raw, brave, sensitive and wounded man who I believe has so much to offer the world and I've wanted to share his indomitable spirit with you since this podcast's conception. Title track composed by Jerry Hyde and Nick Van Gelder, produced by Nick Van Gelder, keyboards by Kenny Dickenson, brass by Noel Langley, vocals by Sian O'Gorman. Audio Engineering by Sam Williams at Right Royal Audio
James Stejskal was recruited from the 82nd Airborne Brigade into an elite military special forces unit, the green berets, to operate espionage and reconnaissance hundreds of miles behind the Iron Curtain in Cold War Berlin. In this podcast we discuss the role of US special ops - US Army Rangers, US Navy SEALs, Delta Force, Green Berets - and their UK equivalent - Special Air Service (SAS), Special Boat Service (SBS), the Royal Marines Commandos, etc - as well as James's unit's highly covert mission behind enemy lines during the Cold War. Read 'Eating Smoke: One Man's Descent into Crystal Meth Psychosis in Hong Kong's Triad Heartland.' Paperback UK: https://amzn.to/2YoeaPx Paperback US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0993543944 Support the podcast at: https://www.patreon.com/christhrall (£2 per month plus perks) https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-our-veterans-to-tell-their-story https://paypal.me/TeamThrall Sign up for my NON-SPAM newsletter and FREE books: https://christhrall.com/mailing-list/ Social media Links: https://facebook.com/christhrall https://twitter.com/christhrall https://instagram.com/chris.thrall https://linkedin.com/in/christhrall https://youtube.com/christhrall https://discord.gg/yqvHRUN https://christhrall.com
Robert ' Bobby" Colliton served with the US Army, in various units before finding his home with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Bobby was involved in one of the largest combat jumps, since World War 2, into Northern Iraq in 2003, capturing an airfield and securing large swathes of the country utilising mobility platforms. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2005 as a Rifle Squad Leader before leaving the Army to pursue a new career in the USAF as a SERE Specialist working with AF Rescue and Personel Recovery during further deployments to Afghanistan. He now runs a Non-profit for Veteran Suicide prevention. It focuses on bringing veterans back into a team environment by giving them a mission to focus on again. Skate for the 22 use the sport of Ice Hockey to provide the team-based environment. Details of the Non-Profit are available via the link below. https://skateforthe22.org/
In 2012, Master Sgt. Brody Hall was a sniper section leader in a scout platoon in the 173rd Airborne Brigade, deployed in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province. Tasked with providing overwatch during a mission to establish a joint security station, the mission quickly changed after enemy fighters attacked. Listen as he tells the story in this episode.
Marshall followed a family tradition of service by attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served as an Airborne Infantry Officer in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. After attending Wharton Business School, he began another career as an investment banker before pivoting to corporate strategy and large-scale data operations. He lives a life of consistent improvement and has a track record of always leaving places better than he found them.
This is the Combat Story of Jordan Becker, US Army Lieutenant Colonel serving as a Foreign Area Officer (FAO) in Paris, France, as a liaison officer to the French Joint Staff. Jordan began his career in the 173rd Airborne Brigade where he led an infantry platoon in a parachute assault that opened the Northern Front in the Iraq war in March of 2003, followed by an 11-month deployment in and around Kirkuk. While in the 173rd, Jordan led a rifle platoon, a support platoon, and served as an executive officer. Jordan completed the Special Forces Assessment and Selection and the Special Forces Qualification Course, after which he was assigned to 10th Special Forces Group. He served in and around Baghdad as the targeting and current operations officer for Special Operations Task Force – Center, and then commanded a detachment assigned to advise Iraq's national-level Special Operations Force's Reconnaissance Troop. In 2008, Jordan's team operated in Mali in support of Operation Enduring Freedom Trans-Sahel. As a FAO, Jordan served as a military assistant and speechwriter to NATO's Chairman of the Military Committee, General Petr Pavel, and a Defense Policy Advisor to the US Permanent Representative to NATO, Ambassador Douglas Lute. Jordan has written extensively on NATO and transatlantic cooperation and his works can be found on Google Scholar. Jordan's next assignment will take him back to West Point to teach the next generation of Army officers. Show Notes: 3:45 - Watching an Air Force Colonel getting ready to jump into Iraq without a weapon or a ruck sack. 4:32 - Description of then-Major Mike Davis and his ODA team securing the 173rd DZ as an SF Team Leader in 2003. 5:28 - Where were you on 9/11? 5:38 - Mark Brzozowski bitten by a brown recluse spider in a ‘sensitive' area during IOBC. 6:39 - Evan Kohlman was a fellow student at Georgetown on Jordan's program who wrote a thesis pre-9/11 about the Arab threat. Evan went on to be a news analyst on terrorism and co-founder of Flashpoint. 9:20 - Description of Jordan's “First time I'd ever bucked the system” 12:10 - Why did you sign up for the Army? 15:50 - First combat experience at 173rd that Jordan saw was on the DZ after static line jumping into Iraq in March 2003. Front end of OIF. 19:45 - Jordan's work on Team Repo in Kirkuk was referenced in a short blurb in Assassin's Gate, a book by George Packer about the war in Iraq at that time. 22:00 - 23:45 - Jordan describes the best moment of his career: being invited to pin E-9 on his former Platoon Sergeant, Mike Barlett, who went on to become a Brigade CSM and recently retired. 32:20 - How do you determine which SF Group you're assigned to? 49:15 - Jordan takes an SF team to Mali. 53:45 - Closest call or most dangerous experience. 1:00:50 - Jordan describes two moments when he felt like he was “in flow” and really doing what he was supposed to be doing. 1:08:08 - If you could only take one person with you into combat, who would it be? 1:12:46 - Jordan on writing, teaching and Google Scholar page.
Kyle was on a routine patrol as a Cavalry Scout with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Afghanistan when the vehicle he was in ran over an improvised explosive device (IED). We talk about everything that led up to that day, what happened after, and spend time talking about traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a new procedure that Paul (a retired US Army Ranger) recently had performed days prior (Stellate Ganglion Block)that has helped him stop experiencing the "sharks and tigers" in the room. _______________ This episode is brought to you by UnCanna. Visit UnCanna.com today for all of your Hemp CBD products. UnCanna is veteran owned and operated. Visit https://www.patreon.com/join/Mentors4mil to support our podcast. Support a veteran owned business at veteranownedus.com today! Follow Mentors for Military: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentors4mil Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mentors4mil Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mentors4mil Homepage: http://www.mentorsformilitary.com
My good friend Yoram Solomon joined me on Casual Conversations to chat about media, trust, business, technology, and more! Dr. Yoram Solomon is the author of The Book of Trust and the founder of the Innovation Culture Institute LLC. He published 13 books, 22 patents, more than 300 articles, and was one of the creators of Wi-Fi and USB 3.0. Named one of the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers (last 5 years) and one of the Top 20 Global Thought Leaders on Corporate Culture and Emerging Technologies. Yoram is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, and was a TEDx speaker and host. He is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the Southern Methodist University in Texas and Hadassah College in Israel. His trustworthiness model is based on years of original research, years of service as an elected official and as an executive, and service at the IDF 35th Airborne Brigade. Connect with Yoram at YoramSolomon.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Make sure you check out the other episodes Yoram and I did on the podcast: EP 753: Mediterranean Chicken with Middle Eastern Toast, Tahini, and Hummus EP 775: It's All About Innovation Culture EP 776: The 7 Laws of Trust See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.
Hill 65 was one of the fiercest battles of the Vietnam War. Retired Army Colonel Sonny Tucker, was there leading the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Sonny says Hill 65 is etched in his memory more vividly than his mother’s name, losing 29 of his men that day. On today’s show Sonny recalls that morning of the eighth of November 1965, engaging the Viet Cong, General Westmoreland’s visit to the MASH Hospital, and standing in the Rose Garden with President Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey for the Congressional Medal of Honor presentation.
What is the value of trust? People will not buy something from someone they don't trust. As a salesperson, building trust with your customers is critical, and it may even allow you to sell at a higher price when trust is established. Dr. Yoram Solomon is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, a TEDx speaker, and an adjunct professor at SMU and Hadassah College in Israel. He is also the author of Can I Trust You?: 50+1 Habits that will make you a trustworthy salesperson (https://amzn.to/3lj4j8q) Yoram built his trust model by years of original research, experience as a CEO, an elected official, an innovator, a teacher, a pilot, and also as a member of Israel's IDF 35th Airborne Brigade. Listen in while Yoram shares his top 10 (+ 1) tips for selling on trust, not price. How to Reach Yoram: Website: https://www.yoramsolomon.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoramsolomon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/yoramsolomon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoramsolomon/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InnovationCultureInstituteLLC
This is perhaps the most powerful and intense podcast episode I have ever recorded. My guest is Nick Black. Nick has been an innovator and leader at the intersection of business and social impact for over ten years. Nick is the Founder and CEO of GoodUnited, a venture backed Software as a Service (SaaS) startup that helps nonprofits like Wounded Warrior Project, American Cancer Society, World Wildlife Fund create 1:1 relationships with their donors through the combination of data science and human judgement delivered in conversational messaging platforms. Nick also co-founded Stop Soldier Suicide stemming from his experiences leading Paratroopers as a Ranger qualified Army Officer with the 173rd Airborne during 27 months deployed to combat zones in Afghanistan. A senior in high school during 9-11, Nick shares his journey through college, ROTC, and into the Army. As a freshly-minted Second Lieutenant, Nick deployed to Afghanistan near the Pakistan border with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in 2007. This fifteen month deployment was the subject of documentaries and movies, and shaped Nick and his comrades in ways he will never forget. But after safely returning home with all of the soldiers in his unit, one took his own life two weeks after their homecoming. It was this incident that set Nick on the path he blazes today. This is a riveting story about service, commitment, and a burning desire to make a real impact on the lives of others. During Nick's six years of service he was awarded two Bronze Stars, an Army Commendation Medal for Valor and as a Field Artillery Officer, was repeatedly ranked 1st among 50 peer Officers in a premier Infantry Battalion. Nick earned a BA from The Johns Hopkins University. At Johns Hopkins, Nick was a four-year member of the Varsity football team, the first two-time President of Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity and a four-year scholarship winner of the Army ROTC program. Nick earned an MBA from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina. At Kenan-Flagler, Nick was awarded the Rollie Tillman Award for Leadership, selected as a Kenan Institute Leadership Fellow, was President of the Veterans Club and awarded the 2018 Distinguished Young Alumnus. Nick's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-black-7658ab37/ Stop Soldier Suicide: https://stopsoldiersuicide.org/ GoodUnited: https://www.goodunited.io/ Subscribe to the VeteranCrowd Network- https://veterancrowdnetwork.com/contact/
I’m Danny Lane, the curator of The Music Museum. This exhibit is called The Vietnam War: The Music. Our mission here at the Music Museum is to support all Vietnam Veterans and those who serve the United States, then and now. The title, Brothers In Arms, is chosen to recognize the military participation and sacrifices of Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan as our allies during the war. It’s all about the brotherhood and the music. We thank you all for your service. - - - - Early-on, in Vietnam, soldiers turned to music as a lifeline to the home front they’d promised to defend. Rock & roll (R&R) really became rest & relaxation (R&R) for the troops. It was this music that got you through another day, another day closer to going home. Music was a big part of a soldier’s down time that centered within the hooches of Vietnam. The music that was popular during the Vietnam War was, and is still, therapy. There are songs you can remember, and then there are songs you REALLY remember. Many of these songs will have a special meaning for you. A place, a brother, a time gone by. This program is for you, the Vietnam Vets, who will never forget. - - - - This episode contains the Big & Rich song, The 8th of November which tells the tale of Niles Harris, a soldier in the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the United States Army during Operation Hump in South Vietnam on November 8, 1965. - - - - Our goal with The Vietnam War: The Music is to honor the fallen and the survivors with the music that got them through “just one more day”. - - - - For your service and your sacrifice, this is The Vietnam War: The Music. - - - This episode is called “Brothers In Arms” - - - - - - Join the conversation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008232395712 - - - or by email at dannymemorylane@gmail.com - - - - You’ll hear: 1) Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits 2) A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall by Bob Dylan 3) Semper Fi by Trace Adkins 4) Okie From Muskogee by Merle Haggard & The Strangers 5) The Man Who Couldn't Cry by Loudon Wainwright III 6) The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel 7) I Once Was a Soldier by Garth Porter 8) When The Master Calls The Roll by Rosanne Cash (w/ Rodney Crowell, Amy Helm, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine and Tony Joe White) 9) One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) by Mick Hucknall (lead singer of Simply Red) 10) In My Life by Judy Collins 11) 500 Miles Away From Home by The Kingston Trio 12) If the Sun Comes Up by Trace Adkins 13) Who Knows Where the Time Goes? by Fairport Convention 14) I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green) by John Schumann and The Vagabond Crew 15) Puff (The Magic Dragon) by Peter, Paul And Mary 16) Lean On Me by Bill Withers 17) Ring Of Fire by Eric Burdon & The Animals 18) Living Legend by The Highwaymen (Nelson/Cash/Jennings/Kristofferson) 19) 8th of November by Big & Rich [duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich] 20) Forever Young by Bob Dylan 21) After the War by Wes Carr & Lance Corporal Elizabeth Smith 22) Arlington by Trace Adkins 23) Born in the U.S.A. [Live] (Springsteen on Broadway) by Bruce Springsteen 24) He Was My Brother by Simon & Garfunkel 25) Where Have All The Flowers Gone by Dolores Keane, Tommy Sands & Vedran Smailovic
01SEPT2005: Graduating and commissioning out of West Point in 2003, 1LT Derek Hines went through Field Artillery training and Ranger school before arriving at his unit, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, in the fall of 2004. A few months later he deployed to Afghanistan where he would serve as a fire support officer. 1LT Hines was working to pacify a region of Zabul province in southern Afghanistan. In the area, hotly contested by Taliban fighters, Hines and his unit would alternate between meeting locals and setting up projects and fighting back enemy attacks at their outposts or while on patrol. After a few months, Hines became known for his willingness to run towards the sound of gunfire to help his brothers. On August 21, 2005 an improvised explosive device was detonated near one of his company's vehicles, killing all four Soldiers inside. Hines, risking his life, attempted to pull the Soldiers from the vehicle to no avail. A few days later, he and his unit learned the location of the enemy fighter responsible for that attack. Surrounding the suspected enemy fighter's home in the early morning hours of September 1st, Afghan and US forces called out and began discussing who would make the arrest. As expected, 1LT Derek Hines was at the front, helping to lead the assault. Just then, the Taliban fighter came out firing an assault rifle in all directions. He was immediately cut down but not before 1LT Derek Hines was hit and killed at the age of 24. Derek's leadership and example live on in many ways, one of which is the Derek Hines Unsung Hero award presented to an NCAA Division 1 hockey player each season.
Yoram Solomon is back for another conversation with Mario. In this episode they talk about The 7 Laws of Trust and how trust is something that can actually be measured and analyzed. They also talk about how it is easier to establish trust from the beginning of a relationship than it is to reestablish trust that has been lost and they talk about the importance of trust in the sales process. Dr. Yoram Solomon is the author of The Book of Trust and the founder of the Innovation Culture Institute LLC. He published 13 books, 22 patents, more than 300 articles, and was one of the creators of Wi-Fi and USB 3.0. Named one of the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers (last 5 years) and one of the Top 20 Global Thought Leaders on Corporate Culture and Emerging Technologies. Yoram is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, and was a TEDx speaker and host. He is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the Southern Methodist University in Texas and Hadassah College in Israel. His trustworthiness model is based on years of original research, years of service as an elected official and as an executive, and service at the IDF 35th Airborne Brigade. Connect with Yoram at YoramSolomon.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Yoram Solomon joined Mario on the podcast to talk about the journey that caused him to discover how vital trust is—not only the start-up world but in life in general. They talk about what trust really is and how it is an integral piece to allowing companies to reach their creative potential which allows them to effectively and consistently innovate. Dr. Yoram Solomon is the author of The Book of Trust and the founder of the Innovation Culture Institute LLC. He published 13 books, 22 patents, more than 300 articles, and was one of the creators of Wi-Fi and USB 3.0. Named one of the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers (last 5 years) and one of the Top 20 Global Thought Leaders on Corporate Culture and Emerging Technologies. Yoram is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, and was a TEDx speaker and host. He is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the Southern Methodist University in Texas and Hadassah College in Israel. His trustworthiness model is based on years of original research, years of service as an elected official and as an executive, and service at the IDF 35th Airborne Brigade. Connect with Yoram at YoramSolomon.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Yoram Solomon joined Mario to make Mediterranean Chicken with Middle Eastern Toast, Tahini, and Hummus on this episode of Cooking & Conversation. Watch the recorded live stream on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Dr. Yoram Solomon is the author of The Book of Trust and the founder of the Innovation Culture Institute LLC. He published 13 books, 22 patents, more than 300 articles, and was one of the creators of Wi-Fi and USB 3.0. Named one of the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers (last 5 years) and one of the Top 20 Global Thought Leaders on Corporate Culture and Emerging Technologies. Yoram is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, and was a TEDx speaker and host. He is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the Southern Methodist University in Texas and Hadassah College in Israel. His trustworthiness model is based on years of original research, years of service as an elected official and as an executive, and service at the IDF 35th Airborne Brigade. Connect with Yoram at Trust21000.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Early-on, in Vietnam, soldiers turned to music as a lifeline to the home front they promised to defend. Rock & roll (R&R) really became rest & relaxation (R&R) for the troops. It was this music that got you through another day, another day closer to going home. Music was a big part of a soldier’s down time that centered within the hooches of Vietnam. The music that was popular during the Vietnam War was, and is still, therapy. There are songs you can remember, and then there are songs you REALLY remember. Many of these songs will have a special meaning for you. A place, a brother, a time gone by. This program is for you, the Vietnam Vets, who will never forget. This Episode contains the Big & Rich song, The 8th of November which tells the tale of Niles Harris, a soldier in the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the United States Army during Operation Hump in South Vietnam on November 8, 1965. Our mission here at the Music Museum is to support all Vietnam Veterans and those who serve the United States, then and now. We thank you for your service. From the Gulf Coast of Florida, going around the world on demand, this is The Vietnam War: The Music. This episode is called “Enough Is Enough” Don’t forget to join the conversation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008232395712 or by email at dannymemorylane@gmail.com In this episode you’ll hear: 1) Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today) by The Temptations 2) Welcome Home by Country Joe McDonald 3) We're Not Gonna Take It by The Who 4) Where Have All The Flowers Gone by Johnny Rivers 5) Desperado by The Eagles 6) One Good Man by Janis Joplin 7) Eve Of Destruction by The Turtles 8) Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones 9) Tour of Duty by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit 10) Evil Ways by Santana 11) Chicago / We Can Change The World by Graham Nash 12) Up On Cripple Creek by The Band 13) Bring It On Home To Me by Sam Cooke 14) Wild Child by The Doors 15) Two Soldiers Coming Home by Lori McKenna 16) Arlington by Trace Adkins 17) Run Through the Jungle by Creedence Clearwater Revival 18) Coming Home Soldier by Bobby Vinton 19) We Can Work It Out by Stevie Wonder 20) 19 by Paul Hardcastle 21) 8th Of November by Big & Rich [duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich] 22) As Tears Go By by Marianne Faithfull 23) Zor and Zam by The Monkees 24) Why Can't We Be Friends? by War 25) Forgotten Man by Elvis Lloyd Carden & Chris Noel 26) Ain't That Peculiar by Marvin Gaye 27) Will There Be a Tomorrow? By Dick Jonas (lead), Bill Ellis, Chuck Rosenberg & Robin Thomas (w/ Lisa Ellis, Sherry Hughes, Kathy Jonas, back-up vocals) 28) Be My Baby by The Ronettes 29) We Can Be Together by Jefferson Airplane 30) Stop the War Now by Edwin Starr 31) The Wind Cries Mary by The Jimi Hendrix Experience 32) Songs That Make A Difference by The Highwaymen (Nelson/Cash/Jennings/Kristofferson) 33) Let It Be by The Beatles 34) Once I Was by Tim Buckley 35) God Bless America by Connie Francis
Show date 5/8/2020
In this episode of Truth About War, Vietnam Army veteran John Cleveland gives voice to the paradoxes of war. John served as a platoon leader with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam. He began his tour in 1970 at one of the darkest, most chaotic times in our nation’s history and described Vietnam as "the Wild West." Wild, it was. This episode of Truth About War contains explicit language.
Hill 65 was one of the fiercest battles of the Vietnam War. Retired Army Colonel Sonny Tucker, was there leading the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Sonny says Hill 65 is etched in his memory more vividly than his mother’s name, losing 29 of his men that day. On today’s show Sonny recalls that morning of the eighth of November 1965, engaging the Viet Cong, General Westmoreland’s visit to the MASH Hospital, and standing in the Rose Garden with President Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey for the Congressional Medal of Honor presentation.
Rav Wilding has been a permanent fixture on our screens ever since he got his first, unexpected TV presenting gig on Crimewatch back in 2004 - but that wasn’t the first career he had under his belt.. In this episode lifelong rugby fan, Rav, opens up about how his childhood dream of a career in the army were cut short when he sustained a serious leg break and was forced to leave the 5th Airborne Brigade specialist unit that he was serving in. The sadness and regret he felt about leaving not only his dreams behind but also his friends. A ‘sliding doors’ moment in his life led him to a career working as a security guard in Harrod’s before he then pursued a career in the Police Force. During this time Rav was posted to Peckham in Southwark to work on the estate where Damilola Taylor was murdered as part of a specialist unit specifically created in the aftermath of the tragic incident. Lewis Moody Foundation: thelewismoodyfoundation.org (http://thelewismoodyfoundation.org/) Leon Lloyd and Switch The Play: switchtheplay.com (http://switchtheplay.com/) Music is City Drive by DMJ-Music: http://audiojungle.net/user/dmj-music
Episode 043: Randy Kinnard │Wade v. HealthSouth Cane Creek Rehabilitation Hospital, Lowry, M.D.│ $15.2 million verdict This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Randy Kinnard of www.kinnardclaytonandbeveridge.com/ Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review Case Details: Accomplished trial lawyer, veteran and Purple Heart recipient Randy Kinnard of Kinnard, Clayton & Beveridge Attorneys at Law explains how he secured the largest verdict in Weakley County, Tennessee history for Cody Wade. At the age of 17, Cody was intubated following a traumatic car crash and struggled to breathe normally once it was removed. With the trach tube re-inserted, he was transferred to Cane Creek Rehabilitation Hospital and put under the care of a doctor who failed to consult a specialist or to provide reasonable care when Cody expressed concern and signs of respiratory distress following the second removal of the trach tube. Without the tube, Cody's airway collapsed and he sustained irreversible brain damage, leaving him unable to speak or move. A Dresden, Tennessee jury returned a $15.2 million verdict following a lengthy five-week trial. Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents Guest Bio: Randy Kinnard Before becoming a trial lawyer, Randy Kinnard was a soldier. He graduated from West Point and then served in the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam as a Lieutenant and airborne ranger. He commanded 250 men in combat. He was awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the Bronze Star for Valor, Purple Heart and Combat Air Medal for 28 air assaults in combat. After his military service, Randy went to law school in Memphis. Randy has tried over 250 jury trials for plaintiffs. He has won many record-setting verdicts, including the Erin Andrews' case of $55 million. He's a past president of the Tennessee Association for Justice. Randy is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates and he lives in Nashville. He has served on several non-profit boards. Read Full Bio Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LTSatlanta.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris, Lowry, and Manton - hlmlawfirm.com Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2
Dr. Yoram Solomon- Dr. Yoram Solomon is the founder of the Trust-Building Institute, committed to helping companies and individuals build trust and become trustworthy. He published 11 books, 22 patents, more than 200 articles, and was one of the creators of Wi-Fi and USB 3.0. Named one of the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers and one of the Top 20 Global Thought Leaders on Corporate Culture. Yoram is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, and was a TEDx speaker and host. He is an adjunct professor at SMU, UTD, and Hadassah College in Israel. His trust-building model is based on years of original research and service at the IDF 35th Airborne Brigade. Links: www.trustbuildinginstitute.com www.yoramsolomon.com Listen to another #12minconvo
Dr. Yoram Solomon is the founder of the Trust-Building Institute, committed to helping companies and individuals build trust and become trustworthy. He published 11 books, 22 patents, more than 200 articles, and was one of the creators of Wi-Fi and USB 3.0. Named one of the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers and one of the Top 20 Global Thought Leaders on Corporate Culture. Yoram is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, and was a TEDx speaker and host. He is an adjunct professor at three universities in Texas and in Israel. His trust-building model is based on years of original research and service at the IDF 35th Airborne Brigade.For more information visit:http://www.trust21000.com/Twitter link: https://twitter.com/trust21000Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/TrustBuildingInstitute/LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoramsolomon/
Dr. Yoram Solomon is the founder of the Trust-Building Institute, committed to helping companies and individuals build trust and become trustworthy. He published 11 books, 22 patents, more than 200 articles, and was one of the creators of Wi-Fi and USB 3.0. Named one of the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers and one of the Top 20 Global Thought Leaders on Corporate Culture. Yoram is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, and was a TEDx speaker and host. He is an adjunct professor at three universities in Texas and in Israel. His trust-building model is based on years of original research and service at the IDF 35th Airborne Brigade.For more information visit:http://www.trust21000.com/Twitter link: https://twitter.com/trust21000Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/TrustBuildingInstitute/LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoramsolomon/
Michael Bitzer of Catawba College on gerrymanding and election fraud in North Carolina. Courtroom sketch artist Jane Rosenberg on drawing celebrities.1st Lieutenant Anna Hodge of the 173rd Airborne Brigade on being the first female sky soldier to complete Ranger school. Sam Payne of the Apple Seed shares a story. Tapomayukh Bhattacharjee of the University of Washington on robots that can help feed the disabled. Author John Martini on the history of Alcatraz.
68W Brenden Alfheim shares of combat tour with 173rd Airborne Brigade.
173rd Airborne Brigade, part 3. Finishing up this series on the Sky Soldiers in honor of my Dad. This is the final years of the Brigades combat in Vietnam, Operation Washington-Green goes into effect. Also I talk about what is happening outside of the 173rd that is a black eye on the US Army. The Sky Soldiers would be inactive for a long time, until Operation Iraqi Freedom and they will be flying again! Thank you for taking this journey with me as I have been honored to learn about this amazing Brigade of "Flying Butterknives"! "Airborne! All the way! And then Some!" Enjoy Michael
The 173rd Airborne Brigade, part 2. Dedicated to my Dad and all those who served in the armed forces this Veterans Day. This episodes follows the Sky Soldiers as they move into the deep jungle of Vietnam and into the bloodiest battles they will fight. Their training will be put to the test as they encounter the North Vietnamese Army, tactics that they used against the Viet Cong will not be as effective against the PAVN. They will come to learn what the Hill Fights are all about and it will become very personal to all those in the Army that fought in the Hills of Vietnam. Enjoy Michael
The 173rd Airborne Brigade, part 1. This is a two part series dedicated to my Adopted Dad who recently passed away. He is one of these amazing Sky Soldiers. This is the beginning of their 100 year history in the United States Army. Starting off as Infantry in 1917, they would be recreated into one of the greatest forces of paratroopers in the world. I am honored to be to learn of their history and share it with you. Enjoy Michael
Sky Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade conduct exercise September Heat. Produced by Airman First Class Deven Schultz
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Christopher W. Baker, commander of 173rd Airborne Brigade Support Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade, talks about the heavy drop and airborne operations at Aviano Air Base, Italy, Sept. 21, 2017. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army Contingency Response Force in Europe, capable of projecting ready forces anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa or Central Commands' areas of responsibility.
Today is June 20, 2016. Monday. One of the most surprising news I heard on the half of this year was that military parade on Geumnam-Ro, the street of Gwangju, Jeollanamdo, Korea was planned by The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs of Korea but it was cancelled after strong opposition from the related organizations and opposition party. According to the plan by The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, they had planned to have an airborne unit responsible for the massacre of Gwangju citizens during the May 18 pro-democracy movement march down Geumnam-Ro after the ceremony commemorating the Korean War. A military band, war veterans, about 150 soldiers of the 31st Division and over 50 soldiers of the 11th Airborne Brigade in Damyang, Jeollanam-do were also to take part in the parade. Geumnam-Ro was the name of streets where numerous citizens were killed due to collective shooting by the airborne troops dispatched by martial law at the time of the pro-democracy movement in May, 1980. The 11th Airborne Brigade, which was stationed in Gangwon-do in 1980, was dispatched to Gwangju by martial law at the time of the May 18 pro-democracy movement. The 11th Airborne Brigade, which was dispatched to Gwangju on May 19, 1980 opened fire at the citizens in front of the former Jeollanam-do office and in Geumnam-ro along with the 7th Airborne Brigade and killed at least 550 people. Even though 36 years have passed since the May Massacre of 1980, a lot of victioms still vividly remember what had happended on that day on Geumnam-Ro and still suffering the pain. Someone said that this is same as Japanese troops are going to march down Nanjing streets of China where the Japanese army had murdered more than 200,000 Chinese civilians. We learn many valuable lessons from the history. One of the lessons to remember is when the government is not afraid of its own people, people also are not afraid of its own government.
Episode 7: Ron Amyot - Ron is a US Army Airborne Infantry Vietnam Veteran. Ron was stationed and deployed with the 173 Airborne Brigade out of Okinawa, Japan. Find out how this Upstate New York farm boy went from a quiet life in the North Country to a recon platoon in Vietnam and then continued with a life of service as a police officer. Easily one of the most interesting people I have ever talked to.
In this episode I sit down with Pete Bell. Pete Bell is a former Cavalry Scout who served with both the 82nd Airborne Division and 173rd Airborne Brigade. After leaving active duty in 2011 he returned to school completing his degree in Graphic Design with minors in Marketing and Art History. He has designed both the 2013 official Army Ten-Miler race tees and the 2015 IAVA (Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America) Veteran's Day Parade hoodies. He is the CEO of the military apparel lifestyle brand, Inkfidel, which he founded in 2013. He currently lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, Tristan and their three children. Show links: Inkfidel: www.inkfidel.com Don't forget to use coupon code Veteranology at checkout for 10% off your order! Veteranology survey: http://goo.gl/forms/s79vY9BBGJ
Sebastian Junger spent several months embedded with the Second Platoon of the 173rd Airborne Brigade during their 2007-08 deployment to the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. Command called the soldiers of Second Platoon “the best trained...and worst disciplined”.
Sebastian Junger spent several months embedded with the Second Platoon of the 173rd Airborne Brigade during their 2007-08 deployment to the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. Command called the soldiers of Second Platoon “the best trained...and worst disciplined”.
Operation Rapid Trident was combined with operation Saber Guardian this year at the Partnership for Peace military training ground in Yovoriv, Western Ukraine, bringing together at total of 18 nations with over 1,800 soldiers. Days of individual training events culminated in a large scale 2 day exercise pitting various nations against each other in a large scale simulated war game. Interviews from various nations involved, including Ukrainians, US and Lithuanians as well as footage of the exercises. Also available in high definition. Includes sound bites from Sergeant ‘Igor’, 1st Battalion Ukrainian Marines; Col. Alfred Renzi, Chief of Assessments, U.S. Army Europe Operations Directorate; Sergeant Bryson Lipscomb, U.S. Army, 173rd Airborne Brigade and Private Audrius Zbrauskas, Grand Duchess Birute Uhlan Battalion, Lithuanian Army. Also available in high definition.
Veteran's Tales As noted in last week's program, the myth of the soldier as guarantor of freedom and security for our fellow citizens has become wide-spread and reinforced in the imaginations of citizens, particularly in America, and lately in Canada. We therefore see the “Support the Troops” monicker adorning bumpers and webpage banners. Veterans' Day and Remembrance Day ceremonies increasingly are, in the opinion of this author, becoming celebrations of the sacrifice of ‘heroic' men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. These sentiments overwhelm any sense of regret about the tragedy of their loss and the resolve to put an end to such military conflicts so future generations of soldiers (and civilians) need not suffer the same gruesome fate. Even on Canada Day 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his public remarks, chose not to mention scientific, medical, artistic or other such achievements, nor the creation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, nor the debut of national projects such as publicly funded health care. Instead he chose to focus almost exclusively on the accomplishments of our military personnel abroad, and the prowess of our Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Evidently, PM Harper seeks to transform Canada's image away from the land of friendly ‘hosers' to that of a Modern Day Sparta. Not surprisingly then, this unthinking devotion to all things military has affected policy. It is fueling more US wars of aggression in the Middle East and prompting Canada's enthusiastic support. This week's Global Research News Hour takes a close look at the toll war takes on the fighting men and women and particularly on the broader society. Critically, it examines the roots of the pro-war mentality that has gripped the imaginations of the people, and of the men in particular. This show also probes possible remedies that might potentially de-program members of the pro-war cult. Both of the show's two guests are veterans of the US Armed Forces, and have served in missions abroad. They are now staunch critics of US military adventurism. Stan Goff began his military service in January, 1970 as an infantryman with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam. His service took him to seven more conflict areas after Vietnam, including Guatemala, Grenada, El Salvador, Peru, Colombia, Somalia, and Haiti. He retired as a Master Sergeant from the US Army in 1996. He has taught military science at the US Military Academy at West Point. Over the last decade he has published a number of articles and three books, including Sex and War, and Full Spectrum Disorder: The Military in the New American Century. He currently authors the blog Chasin' Jesus. His latest book, Borderline – Reflections on War, Sex, and Church from Wipf and Stock (Cascade Books) is expected to be released in February of 2015. Joshua Key who hails out of Guthrie, Oklahoma was trained as a US combat engineer was dispatched to Iraq in April of 2003. He claims to have witnessed numerous instances of abuse of the Iraqi civilian population by US forces, which went unaddressed by commanding officers. He fled the war for reasons of conscience at the end of 2003, and with his then wife and children in tow, made his way across the border to Canada in early 2005. He has sought and been denied refugee status in that country. Remarried to a Canadian, he along with other Iraq War Resisters and deserters are ‘living in limbo' waiting for deportation orders back to the US where they face the prospect of dishonorable discharge and lengthy prison sentences for the crime of desertion. Joshua Key is the author, along with Lawrence (Book of Negroes) Hill of The Deserter's Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Sold
Veterans Day Program Room 003, Rockefeller Center PP_F13_Michael_Breen Michael Breen '02 Executive Director, The Truman National Security Project and the Center for National Policy Michael Breen is the Executive Director of the Truman National Security Project and the Center for National Policy. Breen is frequently called on to testify before Congress, regularly briefs government officials and elected leaders on security issues, and makes frequent media appearances. A former U.S. Army officer, Breen served with the infantry in Iraq and led paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. After leaving the military, Breen clerked for the Office of White House Counsel. He co-founded the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, an organization that provides safe passage and new beginnings for Iraqi refugees. Mike has worked with refugees in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan—establishing the first clinical legal education program in Jordan. He serves on the Boards of IRAP and Yellow Ribbons United. Breen holds a BA in Government from Dartmouth College and a JD from Yale Law School. Mike is a proud New Hampshire native and a member of the NH Bar Association.
Jon raves about Dishonored, a first-person stealth action/adventure game, before berating Cody for his love of Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade (Android/iOS). They then use a joint mini-review of Tiny Tower (Android/iOS) as a launching point for a discussion on free-to-play games and their financial models. Click here to download this episode of Unqualified Gamers
Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match. This week Bruce told us about Staff Sgt. Lincoln V. Dockery, "Staff Sgt. Lincoln V. Dockery said he didn't even see the grenade that sent shrapnel into his right forearm while charging insurgent fighters in Afghanistan's Korengal valley, Nov. 16, 2007. "Someone yelled out,” he said. “My hand went up and a hot, sharp feeling went through." Dockery, a combat engineer then assigned to a route clearance patrol with Company A of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's Special Troops Battalion, said he decided the injury wasn't major, and continued his charge up a hill into enemy fire. "I don't want to think about what would have happened had he not been there," said Capt. William Cromie, Dockery's platoon leader that day in Afghanistan. "It would have been a completely different day." Dockery said the description of the mission for which the patrol departed from Forward Operating Base Asadabad in Kunar Province that day sounded like the description of their mission for any other day: "Out looking for bombs." "My only concern was for the guys who worked under me," the 25-year-old stated." The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. What is Pundit Review Radio? On Boston's Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called "groundbreaking" by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston's Talk Station.
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