Podcasts about cultural support teams

After immigrating to America, Samantha Juan joined the U.S. Army with limited options since she was not yet a U.S. citizen and served as a cook until she was able to transition to being a signals intelligence analyst attached to the NSA. Next, she attended the selection course for Special Operations Command's female Cultural Support Team (CST) which saw her deployed to Afghanistan in support of Navy SEALs.Check out Sam's website at https://www.the1samjuan.comToday's Sponsors:Chill Boys Undieshttps://www.CHILLBOYS.com/Save 15% on your first order by using our discount code TEAM15 And keep the boys cool!https://www.CHILLBOYS.com/For all bonus content including:-2 bonus episodes per month -Access to ALL bonus segments with our guestsSubscribe to our Patreon!

“If you're the best, nothing else matters.” Episode 043 remembers and honors 1st Lt Ashley White Stumpf with some of the people who knew her well: Brian Porter, Doug Baker and Molly Donahue. Ashley served as a member of a Cultural Support Team (CST) attached to a Joint Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan. She was killed during combat operations in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan on October 22, 2011 when the assault force she was supporting triggered an improvised explosive device. The story of the CSTs is eloquently told in Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Lemmon. This episode is more about telling the personal stories of Ashley's life, how she touched everyone she met, and how her relentless spirit lives on through them. Brian, Ashley's recruiter at Kent State, recalls how Ashley insisted on a home visit to make sure that her folks and family understood and supported her in what she was already determined to do. Doug details how they enlisted and “grew up” together at Kent State as part of a tight-knit group of diverse friends. He describes Ashley constantly encouraging her team and growing into a confident leader, at home in both a sorority house and on the ROTC training field. He shares how despite her small size she consistently proved herself, and even bested him, in training -- overscoring on PT tests and going above and beyond in the gym -- forever changing his ideas of what women are capable of. Molly served with Ashley in 6th Platoon at Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC) in 2010 and relates how “Little White” proved herself to herself first and foremost, and also left a lasting legacy with whom she served. Ashley was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a Medical Service Corps Officer after graduating from Kent State in 2009. “She wanted to help people,” says Doug. She was assigned to the 230th Brigade Support Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina National Guard, Goldsboro, NC. She volunteered to be one of the first CSTs serving in Afghanistan and was the first killed in action. She was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and the Combat Action Badge. She is survived by her parents Robert and Deborah White, twin sister Brittany and her brother Josh of Alliance, Ohio, and her husband Cpt. Jason Stumpf of Raeford, N.C. Links: Ashley's War by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon History of Cultural Support Teams (including the recruitment poster) Ashley White 5K at Kent State Learn more about GORUCK  Glorious Professionals podcast website

Wisconsin Air National Guard TSgt. Sonia Buchanan first joined the Army National Guard and became an early member of a trailblazing program that helped special forces learn critical tactical information from the people of Afghanistan.Joining the Army National Guard in 2008, TSgt. Buchanan soon found herself making history as part of the first Cultural Support Teams. Buchanan explains how she trained with special forces and worked alongside them to befriend women in Afghanistan and learn important information for ongoing security operations.Buchanan also describes going to drill sergeant training, her work helping veterans access timely medical care, and why she's very glad she chose to serve in uniform.

The stories are from WWI to Present DayWWIIn 1917 the first two women of the US military killed in the line of duty. Army nurses Edith Ayres and Helen Wood were killed on May 20, 1917. They were with Base Hospital #12 aboard the USS Mongolia in route to France. The ship’s crew fired the deck guns during a practice drill and one of the guns exploded spewing shell fragments across the deck killing both women. WWIIEvelyn Genevieve “Sharpie” Sharp (October 1, 1919 – April 3, 1944)Sharpie was one of the 38 women of the Women Air Force Service Pilots that gave their lives in service to the US Army Air Corps. You can hear more about their story and their fight to be recognized in my interview with the granddaughter of Elaine Harmond a WASP, Erin Miller in Episode 49.Second Lieutenant Ruth M Gardiner (May 20, 1914 – July 27, 1943)She was a nurse in the US Army Nurse Corps and was the first American nurse to lose her life in the line of duty during World War II.KoreaGenevieve Marion Smith (April 25, 1905 – July 27, 1950) Although the former World War II Army nurse was due to retire in January 1951 after 22 years of military service, she accepted the position and sealed her destiny on a fatal air flight to Korea. On July 27, 1950, a three-man aircrew, twenty-two male passengers and one female--Genevieve Smith, left Haneda, Japan for a flight to Pusan, Korea in a C-47D.  They crashed and were lost at sea, there was only one survivor.Lieutenant Wilma Ledbetter (April 27, 1912 – August 25, 1950)Wilma Ledbetter was one of 15 women aboard the USS Benevolence. She died in when the USS Benevolence was rammed by the SS Mary Luckenbach and capsized.VietnamFirst Lieutenant Sharon Ann Lane (July 7, 1943 – June 8, 1969) Though one of eight American military nurses who died while serving in Vietnam, Sharon Lane was the only American nurse killed as a direct result of hostile fire.Gulf WarSpecialist Christine Mayers (1978? - February 25, 1991) and Specialist Bevery Clark (1980? - February 25, 1991)Specialist Christine Mayers and Specialist Bevery Clark were the first two woman to die in the support of Operation Desert Shield. They both died in an Iraqi Scud missile attack on their barracks in Saudi Arabia on Feb 25, 1991. 28 Americans died in the attack and 89 were wounded. Global War on TerrorismAfghanistanSergeant Jeanette L. Winters (May 4, 1976 – Jan 9, 2002)The first woman to die in the War on Terror was Jeanette Winters. She was a radio operator in the Marine Corps who was usually far from combat, but the KC-130 crashed on approach killing her and her crew.Senior Airman Ashton LM Goodman (June 14, 1987 – May 26, 2009)Ashton died in an IED attack outside Bagram Air Base with her commander Lt Col Mark E. Stratton II. She was part of the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team.First Lieutenant Ashley White (Sept 3, 1987 – October 22, 2011)Ashley was assigned to a Cultural Support Team attached to a Joint Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan. Because of the word attached women were able to be assigned to special operation teams. You can read more about Ashley’s story and all the women who served on Cultural Support Teams in the book Ashley’s War (affiliate link).IraqSpecialist Lori Piestewa (December 14, 1979 - March 23, 2003)She is believed to be the first Native American woman to be killed in combat in a foreign war and was the first woman to die during the Iraq War and was a single mother of two young boys.Corporal Jennifer Parcell (June 27, 1986 - February 7, 2007)She was part of the Lioness Program, a program that uses female Marines from different military occupation specialties to search Iraqi women at check points.Operation Inherent ResolveSyriaShannon Kent (1983 – January 16, 2019)Shannon was a Navy cryptologist and mother of two. She was in Manbij, Syria responsible for finding ISIS cells and their leaders.Mentioned in this episode:Women in the military: Making waves since WWIWomen Airforce Service PilotsDo You Know the Story of the Original Military Women Pilots? – Episode 49Korean War ResourcesClimbing the Ranks to Brigade General - Episode 65Do You Know the Story of the Gulf War? Episode 57Provincial Reconstruction TeamAshley’s WarThis episode is in memory of Luc Gruenther

Kat is a ten-year Army veteran that served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. During her last tour she was assigned to Special Operations in support of the 75th Ranger Regiment and other Special Mission Units. She was assessed and selected to be a part of the Cultural Support Teams to support these units by questioning, clearing, and securing the female and adolescent populations during direct action missions. Unfortunately, among Kat’s team, Ashley White became the first CST and woman killed in combat. This incident raised concerns regarding women in combat, since the combat ban of women was still in effect until 2013. Kat’s team, and their ability to integrate among these units was a huge stepping stone to women being allowed to go to Ranger School and sign up for combat military occupational specialties. Since separating from the military in 2015, Kat is a huge advocate for transitioning veterans and mental health among our vets. Having suffered from PTSD from sexual assault, Kat’s passions have changed and have led her to eventually becoming a licensed counselor to provide therapy for veterans with mental health disorders. She has contributed to Ashley’s War, People Magazine, and is featured in The Female Lead; a textbook highlighting 50 inspirational women that is being distributed among colleges and universities all over the world. She currently lives with her husband and three daughters, and is finishing her bachelor’s in psychology, getting ready to move onto her Master of Counseling this fall.

Cultural Support Teams of women soldiers inserted with Special Ops in Afghanistan are revealed in Ashley's War by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.

GRP 59- Co-hosting for this week's podcast is Tim Kolczak the creator of the Veterans Project. Tim was recording from the house of an American warrior who survived the Bataan Death March during World War 2. Tim's featuring this gentleman on his next project which will come out soon. It's very good. Our guest for this week is retired Army veteran, Mylee Cardenas. Mylee worked in several capacities throughout her Army career. She made her way into the Cultural Support Teams, a program that put women alongside Special Operations units in Afghanistan to assist in intelligence gathering and other aspects of the mission because of the culture sensitivity of Afghanistan. We talk about dealing with adversity and how to overcome it. Mylee discovered a lump in her breast while on deployment in a combat zone in which it was discovered to be stage 3 breast cancer. Below is an excerpt: John: You've been in the Special Operations community for a few years now. There was a need in Afghanistan because of the cultural differences to have women alongside Special Operators to deal with the women and children and to handle other facets, working in several capacities as the strategy was changing. Eventually, you signed up for the special job? Mylee Cardenas: 2009 I was voluntold to go to the school house at FT. Brag. The good idea fairy visited some people in SOCOM. For a while, in Afghanistan, there was a top-down approach to promoting governance and security. The Special Ops community decided that we needed to go back to the basics with a bottom-up approach. The Green Berets started setting up these Village Stability Operations camps all over of Afghanistan to train the local police, gather intelligence, and promote governance at the village level. As amazing as these men are they were only able to reach 50 percent of the population because of the cultural differences. A message came out about the program and I said nope I'm not doing it. I felt like it was a knee-jerk reaction, and there wasn't enough time put into setting this program up. The second time around it was more like you're going. The reactions to the program from the guys also made me not want to do it. I didn't want them talking about me the way they talked about these other chicks. I knew the men weren’t happy with this program.