Podcasts about Eglin Air Force Base

JP is a retired US Army serviceman who describes what happened after he traveled to Eglin Air Force Base to obtain replacement military identification cards. He says that an individual wearing an Air Force jumpsuit, typically worn by pilots, approached him while he was waiting in line and asked JP to follow him.JP says that he followed the pilot, who he believed was a senior officer, to an auditorium where 80 individuals were seated in front of a large 200-inch monitor. JP said that on one side of the auditorium, there were about 40 Nordic extraterrestrials who had crew cuts and wore Air Force uniforms with distinctive patches. They were dressed and looked like the same Nordic who visited him in a flying saucer in 2018, offered to take him for a ride, and whose departing spacecraft was photographed by JP. On the other side of the auditorium, there were about 40 human soldiers of varying ranks.On the screen, they saw images of space arks located in various parts of the world, particularly those in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, which were moving rapidly underwater. JP says the audience was told that the space arks were being activated by the Deep State that wanted to use them for nefarious purposes. JP was told that he might be called upon to travel to the Pacific Ark as part of a team to investigate the situation.For more JP updates visit: https://exopolitics.org/jp-articles-photos-videos/

The Joint Readiness Training Center is pleased to present the one-hundredth-and-second episode to air on ‘The Crucible - The JRTC Experience.' Hosted by the former Commander of Ops Group (COG), COL Matthew Hardman. Today's guests are the command team for 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). COL Patrick “Pat” Nelson is the Commander of 7th SFG(A). CSM Adam Dunn is the Command Sergeant Major of 7th SFG(A). And CW5 Jose Villarreal is the Command Chief Warrant of 7th SFG(A).   The 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), known by its call-sign “Red Empire” and affectionately referred to as “La Familia,” is one of the most storied units within U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, 7th SFG(A) has a rich legacy of conducting Unconventional Warfare, Foreign Internal Defense, and Counterinsurgency missions—particularly in Latin America, where it has maintained deep strategic partnerships for decades. The group played a key role in Cold War-era advisory missions, post-9/11 operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and continues to remain at the forefront of global Special Operations Forces (SOF) engagements. Its motto, “Lo Que Sea, Cuando Sea, Donde Sea”—Spanish for “Anything, Anytime, Anywhere”—embodies its agile, mission-first ethos. Today, 7th SFG(A) is leading the way in integrating Special Forces capabilities into Large-Scale Combat Operations, leveraging its regional expertise, cultural fluency, and tactical excellence to shape the battlefield in support of joint force commanders.   This episode explores the evolving role of U.S. Army Special Forces—commonly known as Green Berets—in Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO). The conversation emphasizes how Special Forces must adapt from their traditional fast and flexible mindset to operate with greater precision, depth, and coordination within a conventional division fight. The leaders from 7th Special Forces Group discuss lessons learned from their groundbreaking Combat Training Center (CTC) rotation, which required ODAs to integrate with division-level planning and synchronize across time, space, and domains. The challenge of transitioning from unconventional warfare to supporting a Joint Forcible Entry and operating in support of division commanders is central, as Special Forces teams are often forward-deployed and must now shape the battlefield not just tactically, but operationally—anticipating information requirements and transitions before a fight begins.   Additionally, the episode identifies specific points of friction and critical learning moments. These include the challenge of synchronizing SOF timelines with conventional unit operations, the sustainment burdens in contested environments, and the complexity of operating in terrain saturated with sensors, drones, and electronic warfare. Best practices included conducting a full Leader Training Program (LTP) to understand the conventional planning process, refining staff-level battle drills and MDMP execution, and committing to humble, self-aware learning. The leaders also stress the importance of strategic relationships—both with conventional forces and international partners—as a long-term enabler of influence and access. In LSCO, they note, tactical decisions can have strategic consequences, and the margins for error are razor-thin. Success for Green Berets in future conflict will depend on their ability to master the basics, think in depth, and execute with discipline and precision, in lockstep with the broader joint force.   Part of S12 “The JIIMs of JRTC: Working with Our Unified Action Partners” series.   For additional information and insights from this episode, please check-out our Instagram page @the_jrtc_crucible_podcast.   Be sure to follow us on social media to keep up with the latest warfighting TTPs learned through the crucible that is the Joint Readiness Training Center.   Follow us by going to: https://linktr.ee/jrtc and then selecting your preferred podcast format.   Again, we'd like to thank our guests for participating. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and review us wherever you listen or watch your podcasts — and be sure to stay tuned for more in the near future.   “The Crucible – The JRTC Experience” is a product of the Joint Readiness Training Center.

In this eye-opening episode of Total Disclosure, we sit down with retired military veteran William Carter, who breaks years of silence to share a stunning series of encounters — starting with a UFO sighting alongside his mother as a child. His story doesn't end there. While stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Carter claims to have witnessed classified technologies capable of tracking UAPs, technologies the public has never been told about. We dive deep into his military experiences, the chilling implications of what he saw at Eglin, and his belief that our government is withholding the truth about Non-Human Intelligence operating in our skies. Join us as we deconstruct Carter's testimony and examine what it could mean for the future of disclosure. #UFOs #UFOdisclosure #UFOwhistleblowerLINK THREAD—https://allmylinks.com/total-disclosureBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/total-disclosure-ufos-coverups-conspiracy--5975113/support.

In his latest update, JP describes being invited to be part of an avatar program run out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. JP was summoned to the secret Eglin facility where he was shown an avatar program using multiple soldiers hooked up to an advanced technology system where their consciousness could be monitored and transferred. When JP asked the doctors what the avatars looked like, there was a reference to clones built in distant facilities such as Jupiter who would be used.JP was told that he had actually been used in the avatar program previously but has no recollection. It's possible that JP missions to Ganymede, may have involved him being transferred there via the avatar program rather than spacecraft. JP says that while he declined the opportunity to go on another missions via the avatar program, he is willing to do so in future. In addition to Eglin, JP says that similar avatar programs are run out of two other military facilities he is familiar with: MacDill AFB and Navsciatts, Mississippi.For more JP updates visit: https://exopolitics.org/jp-articles-photos-videos/

Jake DeRuyter, a 2015 Air Force Academy graduate, shares a compelling leadership journey marked by unexpected challenges and resilient adaptation. ----more---- SUMMARY Initially aspiring to be a pilot, Jake faced a critical moment when back surgery disqualified him from his dream career, forcing him to quickly choose a new Air Force Specialty Code within just one hour. Despite the uncertainty, he remained calm and strategic, ultimately transitioning to intelligence and then to an ROTC instructor role. His leadership philosophy emerged from these experiences: staying flexible, maintaining a strong network, and focusing on developing others rather than just personal advancement.   SHARE THIS EPISODE LINKEDIN | FACEBOOK   JAKE'S LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS  - Always be willing to adapt and stay resilient when unexpected challenges arise, like Jake did when he couldn't become a pilot and had to quickly choose a new career path.  - Build and maintain a strong network of connections, as these relationships can help you navigate career transitions and provide support.  - Focus on developing the people around you, not just your own career advancement. A great leader lifts up their team and helps others grow.  - Stay proactive in reaching out to people, checking in, and genuinely listening to their stories and experiences.  - Be willing to take risks on talented individuals, especially those from similar backgrounds or networks, like how Jake was given an opportunity by fellow graduates.  - Maintain a competitive spirit and drive, but channel it into continuous self-improvement and supporting others.  - Give back to your community, whether through mentoring, volunteering, or leading local chapters and organizations.  - Be prepared to put in consistent daily effort, understanding that success comes from habits and persistent hard work.  - Stay open to unexpected opportunities and be willing to pivot when your initial career path doesn't work out.  - Prioritize relationships and connections over individual achievements, recognizing that your success is often measured by the people you've helped develop.   JAKE'S TOP 5 LEADERSHIP LESSONS Here are the 5 best leadership lessons from Jake DeRuyter's interview:   Build Others Up, Not Just Yourself Jake emphasized that true leadership is about developing the people around you. As he said, "Don't just worry about your own career and life" - great leaders are judged by the success of those they mentor and support.   Stay Adaptable and Resilient When Jake's pilot career was unexpectedly derailed, he demonstrated the critical leadership skill of staying calm under pressure and quickly pivoting. He chose to focus on what he could control rather than getting stuck on what he couldn't change.   Maintain Genuine Connections Jake consistently stressed the importance of reaching out, checking in with people, and truly listening. He makes time to connect with classmates, colleagues, and fellow graduates, understanding that relationships are the foundation of effective leadership.   Take Calculated Risks and Support Others Jake's career trajectory shows the importance of being willing to take risks - both for yourself and for others. He was given a chance by fellow graduates and now pays it forward by helping other transitioning military members.   Give Back Consistently Leadership isn't just about personal achievement, but about contributing to your community. Jake exemplifies this through his role as chapter president, mentoring cadets, and always being available to help fellow Air Force Academy graduates.   EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00  Introduction to Leadership Journeys 05:31  Navigating Life's Crossroads 12:01  The Role of Mentorship and Family 17:31  Transitioning from Military to Civilian Life 20:48  Motivation and Personal Drive 22:02  The Daily Grind: A Shift in Focus 24:31  Building Community: Chapter Leadership 27:29 Challenges of Leadership and Engagement 29:00 Giving Back: The Importance of Community 31:12  Leadership Lessons: Daily Practices 32:53  Advice for Aspiring Leaders 34:25  Reflections on Involvement and Connection 36:40  Final Thoughts and Gratitude   ABOUT JAKE BIO As a 2015 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Jake spent six years on active duty serving as an Intel Officer and ROTC Instructor. Having left the service, he now am an Account Executive on the Air Force team at IMPRES Technology Solutions providing active duty units with the tech they need to accomplish the mission. - Copy courtesy of Jake DeRuyter and LinkedIn   CONNECT WITH JAKE LINKEDIN  |  ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES - CENTRAL TEXAS CHAPTER     ALL PAST LBL EPISODES  |  ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS     FULL TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS GUEST, JAKE DERUYTER '15  |  HOST, LT. COL. (RET.) NAVIERE WALKEWICZ '99   Naviere Walkewicz  00:00 Welcome to Long Blue Leadership, the podcast where we share insights on leadership through the lives and experiences of Air Force Academy graduates. I'm Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99. My guest today is Jake DeRuyter, Class of '15, currently an account executive with Impress Technology and the president of the Central Texas Chapter of the Association of Graduates, quite possibly our youngest graduate to do so. He is second-generation Air Force following his father, a graduate from the Class of '85, and uncle, Class of '87 from our Air Force Academy, the only school that he applied to after high school. We'll talk about those things, Jake's leadership journey and a particular crossroad he arrived at when he had one hour to decide his entire life. Jake, welcome to Long Blue Leadership, and I'd like to dive right in: One hour to decide your entire life. What's that about?   Jake DeRuyter  01:22 Yeah, so my second semester, first year, I was dealing with some pretty significant back issues, and didn't realize how just how severe it was. So I'm in the flight dock. It was either the Monday the week before or the week of graduation, and the doctor's like, “Hey, you're gonna need back surgery to remove the bulging disc in your back.” I'm like, “OK, great. I can barely walk, so sign me up. Whatever you can do make me feel better.” And they're like, “Well, you're not gonna be able to keep your pilot slot if you proceed with the surgery.” And I'm not gonna lie and say it was my end all dream to be a pilot, but you go through all four years thinking you're gonna fly, you're pretty fired up for it, we're a week away from graduation, and then it's like, hey, the rug is just pulled. But I had to make a decision right there where it's like, “Hey, I'd rather be able to walk and be pain free than fly.” And so that was a pretty easy decision at that point. And then the next part is, what you alluded to, is where things got a little tricky. So being just a couple days before walking across the stage and saluting the secretary of the Air Force, I'm like, “So what's my job going to be?” I don't even know what else is available in the Air Force. I didn't have to focus on this.” And they're like, “Well, I'm just the flight doc. Go talk to the personnel office over in Vandy, and they'll get you taken care of.” So, I walk — or hobble — on over there, And I'm like, “Hey, Jake DeRuyter, I told the flight doc to give y'all a call, you know, to get me a new job. What's my life look like? What are we doing next?” And she just goes, “Well, there was a big missileer crisis, and we're really desperate for missileers. So, you're gonna be missiles now.” And I'm just, like — my jaw dropped.   Naviere Walkewicz Not what you expected to hear.   Jake DeRuyter  Not what I wanted and like, not to downplay missiles, just not what I wanted to join the Air Force to do, right? That's... I'm just like, standing there in shock. And she's like, “Are you OK?” And I'm like, “I kind of want to jump off my room on top of Vandy, but you know, it's gonna be fine. Do I get some preferences? Do I have any say in this?” Just assigning that to kind of seems aggressive. She goes, “Well, I guess I can take your preferences down.” And I'm just like, “Why didn't you lead with that? That would have been great.” And so she's like, “Well, I need to submit these right now. So, what do you want to do?” I'm like, “Well, what are my options? I don't even know what other AFSC's there are.” So, that becomes a very frantic hour of me calling all my teachers. I was a management major — I highly recommend that. One of the best decisions of my life was going through the management department. And I call my teachers and they're like, “Hey, stick with something business related, like contracting, acquisitions, finance. If you put one of those three down, you're guaranteed to do it.” I'm like, “OK, sweet. Sounds like it sure bets on me. Like, that, sounds easy enough.” but they made you put down five. And, you know, you always hear the horror stories where if you don't put down something, it defaults to the needs of the Air Force, right? So I think I put down like PA, just because I was like, “There's no way they'll pick me for that. There's barely any PA officers.” And I, for the life of me, couldn't tell you what I put in the fifth spot. And so, I walk out of there kind of dejected. I'm like, “Man, my whole life just changed in the span of an hour. No idea what the next— I don't know where I'm gonna be living. I don't know what my job's gonna be like. What in the world's going on?” So, the next day we're all sitting in one of those final briefings, you know, “Hey, here's how you PCS. Here's how you do XYZ.” Right? As the meeting's about to kick off, that same tech sergeant — God, I'd give her a big hug now — she walks up to me with some paperwork and says, “Congratulations, sir.” And I'm looking at her like the person just told me my life was over the day before, so I'm not exactly happy to see this person. And then I look at the paper, and it just says, “Goodfellow Air Force Base.” I had no idea where in the world that was, what job that was or anything. I just knew it wasn't Vandenberg for missileer training. So I just look at her and go, “I'm not missiles?” She's like, “You're not missiles.” I stand up, give her a big old hug. You know, they're trying to start a briefing. They're like, “Sir, please sit down for...” “Sorry, I'm too happy right now.” So yeah, that started me off on my journey to San Angelo, Texas, which I didn't really know what I was getting into there, but, yeah, going intel kind of led me to where I am now in life. And looking back on it now, all the crazy things that happened, it put me where I am now, and so, I'm very thankful for the things and how they all ended up and put me in a position where I can give back to the community now and really serve the Air Force and fellow grads in a much better capacity than I ever could have while on active duty.   Naviere Walkewicz  05:30 Well, it's so interesting because, you know, you think about the Air Force Academy as a place where they teach you to be able to make decisions on the fly, or to make the best calculated decision you can at the time.What leadership lessons do you think you called upon in that frantic moment of well, not only can you not be a pilot now because we're going to have this surgery, but now you have to pick an AFSC. What do you think you drew upon to guide you through that in a kind of a leadership manner?   Jake DeRuyter  06:02 Yeah, the biggest thing was just staying calm and realizing,  OK, whatever happens, happens, I can't change the past. I can only deal with the information given, and push forward. I could sit there and get upset with myself or upset at the world, but that doesn't do anything. It's like, “All right, how do we take action?? How we take that next step to get over this?” Because you want to be in control of your life as much as possible, going forward, right? And choosing your AFSC, arguably, is probably one of the biggest things you could possibly choose in life, next to your spouse and things like that. And that determines, however, what your entire Air Force career is going to be. So yeah, doing that in the hour was definitely very frantic. But, one of the biggest things I really pride myself on, and really want to encourage others is the connections you make throughout your Academy experience, through active duty, in your life — those are the people that are going to help you in those dark times, those tough times. And lean on those people. And the only way you can lean on them is if you prove to them that they can lean on you when they need help, right? As that's one of the things I make a pillar in my life is, when those friends are in a dark time, I want to be the one that, “Hey, I'll be there for you.” That's always one thing I'm passionate about, and what I centered my leadership philosophy around.   Naviere Walkewicz  07:15 I love that. I think you just kind of hit on it, right? You have this network, and I imagine your family is part of that — your dad being a graduate. What role did he play in this moment in your life, and how did you navigate that with him?   Jake DeRuyter  07:30 Yeah, he was awesome, and he was a big reason why I went to the Academy. He always did a really good job of putting that as an option but not forcing it or not shoving it down my throat. And I was really thankful to him for the life me and my sister had growing up, and all the crazy places we moved to and everything. And I didn't really know what I wanted to do, as you hinted in the preview. I didn't apply anywhere else because I didn't really know what I wanted to do when I grew up. And he was like, “Hey, the Academy was always a great place, and worst case, they tell you what to do.” And he's like, “Hey, if you want a similar life to where you grew up, I attribute everything to that, and that's kind of what led me there.” So yeah, you better believe after calling my teachers to figure out what AFSC I should do, he was my next call to be like, “Hey, I knew you always wanted me to fly, but that's not working anymore. So what do you think?” So, he's been a tremendous help my entire life. I mean, I talk to him at least every week. So, yeah, huge help there.   Naviere Walkewicz  08:27 That's amazing. So you went on to be an intel officer, and what was that like? And then how did you decide that it was going to be time to move on to transitioning out of the military.   Jake DeRuyter  08:42 Yeah, so intel wasn't exactly a great fit for me, and what I was like trying to do. You know, when you're told your intel, I imagine— I knew nothing. So I'm like, “Oh, I'll be a spy. I'll be James Bond. I'll be the CIA. None of those were remotely true. So, I got stationed in San Antonio, Texas, for my first job, which was great. I love San Antonio. I worked with some amazing people. Our mission was a little funky. We were doing defensive cyber ops as it was kind of standing up. So, doing intel support for a mission that doesn't really know what they're doing is a little difficult at the time. Now, knock on wood, hopefully things have gotten a lot better since I was there, but building the plane as you're flying was our moniker that we would use. And so it was definitely challenging. And then a lot of it just felt like doing homework and giving briefings over and over again. So, you have a lot of hours in the SCIF doing researching on different cyber threats and then going and briefing the commanders. It was a cool job; I learned a ton. But it wasn't very fulfilling for me. I wanted to get out, be more helpful to other people and have more of a direct impact. And so that led me to teaching ROTC at Texas State, which was a great three years, and really kind of re-blued me. I loved that job. Can't recommend it enough for people that are looking to take a break from their career field. But then when they said, “Hey, you got to go back to intel,” that was my big decision, or my the point where I was like, “All right, I don't think an active-duty career is left in the cards for me. I'm gonna take my next step, moving on.”   Naviere Walkewicz  10:09 So, you even talked about before you decided to transition out of the Air Force, you had pivoted within your career field and took a temporary job outside of your career field as an ROTC instructor, and you said it re-blued. You talk about that and how did it grow you as a leader? I mean, what did you learn about yourself in that?   Jake DeRuyter  10:29 I learned that I really cared about the people more than the operational mission, and so, building up the people, building out the future lieutenants. Like, “Hey, that's how I can better serve the Air Force.” And the whole reason I got the job was because they had to give a waiver for me, because I was technically still a lieutenant, which was not allowed. But I was really upfront with my leadership and my intel job, and they knew I didn't love the career field and I wasn't really a good fit for that world. But they're like, “Hey, Jake's out, great at recruiting. He's good at getting people to go out and do things and help others. He'd be a natural fit there.” So they called all the ROTC leadership to vouch for me to get that job. And then one of the biggest things I took away is that when you go to the Academy, if you're in the Academy, you're in. You have a spot in the Air Force, assuming you pass all your classes, you don't get kicked out for X, Y, Z reasons, and then you'll have a job. ROTC is completely different. You could have 4.0, max your PT scores, be the perfect cadet. And then the Air Force decides, “Hey, we're only taking 40% this year,” which happened my second year in the job and we just had to lose half of our class. So, learning to deal with that rejection when there's nothing that you personally could have done was really challenging. And we had a ton of mentorship sessions with the cadets. “Hey, what are second, tertiary options?” Things like that. Kind of like what I did where it's like, “You're going to be— the doors will get slammed in your face over and over again in life. How do you respond to that, that resiliency and then that flexibility to adapt and overcome?” I mean, those are stuff I'll take with me for the rest of my life.   Naviere Walkewicz  12:01 Wow. And so you got to be a mentor in a way for those Air Force ROTC cadets, if they didn't get a slot, and kind of navigating. And then you found yourself in that seat when you decided to transition yourself, right?   Jake DeRuyter  12:14 Yeah. So, they were gonna send me to another intel role, and I had just met my wife at the time. We were gonna get married soon. I'm like, “Man, the time to deploy and kind of live the Air Force life isn't my main goal anymore, and so I tried to push out my separation date as long as possible, so I had time to do the job search and really see what else is out there. And I didn't really know what I wanted to be once again. But I was like, “Hey, I love living here in Austin, Texas. I figure I can get something tech related or sales related,” I'm kind of naturally inclined to both of those things. And one of my classmates, Keith Link,  he reached out to me because I host a big March Madness pool every year for a ton of grads. And he's like, “Hey, man, just started this role here. I think you'd be a great fit for the company. We're trying to build out our Air Force team. Our boss is a Navy grad. Would you be interested in interviewing us?” And then I was like, “Yeah, man, that sounds great.” You know, I'd still be working with the Air Force in a tech- slash sales-type role. I'm like, “Yeah, this is everything that I wanted. Sounds awesome…” having, once again, no idea I was getting into. But I go through the interview process and I'm trying to sell myself on SkillBridge, trying to get that free internship saying,  “Hey, I could be a free worker for y'all for a couple of months here.” I'm trying to sell myself. And at the end of the interview process, John Podolak, '88 Navy grad, I believe. He's like, “Jake, you've had a bunch of people vouch for you. I really believe in the grad network; it doesn't matter which Academy you went to.” He said, “Hey, if you're gonna come and do SkillBridge with us, I want you to know you have a job offer at the end of it.” And he handed me my job offer right there. I think we were four months out, so I was in shock. To this day I can't believe it. He took the risk on me that coming fresh in a completely separate career field, no background besides being able to speak Air Force. And it all goes back to our Long Blue Line. I don't know what Navy calls it, but it's a “Hey, we all have similar backgrounds.”   Naviere Walkewicz  14:17 Long Blue Navy Line, maybe? I'm not sure.   Jake DeRuyter  14:21 Yeah. He's like, “Hey, I know I could put trust in you because of your background, what you're all about.” and that's something that I really internalized and leading to my role now. It's like, “Hey, we'll give you the benefit of the doubt if you're a fellow grad,” right? Doesn't matter which Academy, you know? In particular, we're gonna favor the Air Force. But yeah, that's like, one thing I just really want to make a pillar of my life. Like I said earlier, it's like, hey, I want to help out fellow grads. Because if it wasn't for Keith and John taking a risk on me out of the blue, I wouldn't be where I am today.   Naviere Walkewicz  14:53 It seems like that's been a thread in your life. You know, finding a network and supporting and taking care of people, and then seeing that reciprocated to help continue to fuel what is important to you. Talk a little bit about what that transition was like, though, because it almost sounds too easy. I mean, has it been just rainbows since you kind of took that leap.   Jake DeRuyter  15:17 Oh, God, no. Year 1, any career field, especially, you know, a sales driven one, it's a challenge. You don't know what you're doing. You're fish out of water. I was going to a million different Air Force bases, walking on base, trying to meet people, not even knowing what I was doing, let alone convincing other people what we do. And so that was a challenge. I think I went to 19 different bases my first year; I was on a plane every chance I could get, just trying to make a name for myself and say, “Hey, I'm Jake DeRuyter, we can do anything help you. What do you need?” And people were always like, “Well, we don't need anything. Like, we want one specific thing. Can you do this?” And so you really kind of have to find yourself, because the Air Force, especially as an officer, you're leading a team, right? Or you're part of some overarching team. But in this role, when I started, it was me, myself and I. So that was just a huge lifestyle change. It was a little refreshing. That's like, “Hey, I don't have to worry about my cadets or my airmen outside of the job.” And this was a nice refresh. But like everything else, it's like, “Hey, I am the only one providing for my family, to pay the bills,” everything like that. Like, how hard am I going to work? And how am I going to put in the effort to grind day in and day out. Just getting good at any job, you can't just have one great day, just like working out. You can't just have one great day and expect to bench 500 pounds, right? It's the things that you do day in and day out and building up the right habits and having the right communication with people, and then just being relatable. One of the other biggest things: Say you're gonna do something and follow up and do it. We always joke that it's a weird that it's a skill to follow up with people and respond to them in a meaningful time. It shouldn't be, but that's just one of those things where people need help. We want to be the ones that are there. And it's just doing that over and over again. Because, man, that Year 1 was like, “Why did I pick this job? Why did I pick this career choice? I should have gone into consulting. I should have gotten started in literally anything else.” Thank God I stuck with it. It's, again, been one of the greatest decisions I've made, and we have an awesome team, but we've brought in a few other Academy grads with us as well, and it's been a lot of fun since.   Naviere Walkewicz  17:31 May I ask why you stuck with it when it and everything against in your core was, “Why did I do this? I could have picked anything else?” Why did you stay?   Jake DeRuyter  17:41 I really wanted to prove it to myself and really prove it to Keith and John. You know, they took the risk on me, so I didn't want to let them down. And I think that was the biggest thing, where it's like, “Hey, you guys took the risk on me out of the blue.” And I'm like— you know, Keith and I were classmates, you know, we were never close, right? Like, you know, we barely kept in touch over the years. And it's just like, “Hey, you stuck your name out.” Like, this is the real world, right? In the Air Force, if you want to do the full 20 years you can do 20 years, right? In the real world, it's “Hey, if you're not have a nice day.” You gotta find new employment. And so I was like, “I'm not gonna let you guys down. I'm gonna fight for this.” Being a small company, we're not a big name brand, right? No one knows who we are. So, it's a little bit that underdog mentality, and just like, “Hey, how am I gonna outhustle the next guy? How am I gonna outhustle XYZ company that's a competitor?” And it's just that competitive drive that I've just always had. I'm not playing sports every day anymore, but how do you still stay competitive and still stay active and still have that drive to be the best you can be, and go on and go forth?   Naviere Walkewicz  18:52 Well, it sounds like this competitive drive is something you said, it was something you've always had. Can you share a story from when you recall, when, gosh, even something, you know, back in early-Jake days that this is a moment I realized, “I'm a competitive person. I'm driven by this desire to prove myself.” Is there something that pops to mind? Because I can only just imagine if it was already part of your core when you kind of knew this about yourself?   Jake DeRuyter  19:18 Oh, yeah, I've got a good one. So, my dad was coaching with the Academy going into my junior year of high school, and his goal was always to get me all three years at one school, which we had at the time, we had never lived anywhere longer than three years in a row. So, that was a tough task. And I just finished up my junior year of playing football, and things were going good, and then he gets a job offer down in Texas, and he comes to me. He's like, “Hey, what do you think? I don't want to move you going into your senior year, but I want to talk to you first before, yeah, I make any decisions.” And I'm like, “Wait, I get the chance to play Texas high school football. Are you kidding me? Let's do this. I get one year for it. That's awesome.” So, yeah, that's the No. 1 story that comes to my mind where it's like, “Hey, I want to take the risk on myself and be competitive and go play the best of the best.”   Naviere Walkewicz  20:18 Play with the best of the best. And that does seem to be a theme, right? Air Force Academy, putting yourself out there, jumping in full feet into this new role. You know, what have you learned about yourself? You talked about motivating. It's different when you have people that you have to take care of, and I guess maybe your translation is your family you have to take care of. But how do you motivate yourself when it's a you, yourself and you — you said “me, myself, and I” and I couldn't think of the other way to say it. But when it's just you, what keeps you motivated?   Jake DeRuyter  20:52 Yeah, I'm definitely very externally motivated. So it's my team. When you want to talk about the Monday-through-Friday grind, and then my wife and, the overarching family, growing up, family has always been really close and a huge motivator for me. And, you know, I've just always wanted to be able to provide for others and provide for myself, and you never want to have to worry about that next meal, or the job, employment — things like that. And just saying, “Hey, you know, these opportunities you get there — don't take it for granted.” And it's like you've got to fight and earn everything. You're not just going to be handed out anything. And that's just something always back in my mind, where it's like, if I'm not doing it like somebody else is going to, I'm going to lose that opportunity, or someone's going to step in, right? And so it's just one thing where it's just being like the Academy grad, like you don't, we'll move up to the name brand. That's another huge thing I always have in my head. It's like, I want to represent the brand. Well, I'm like, “How do you do that?” Is because, like, we've all met those people. It's like, hey man, like, you know, like, shoot. Like, “I really like you, but like, I don't think you represent us. Well, I never want to be that type of person, right? And so that's one of those things I just really like the kitchen, going day in and day out.   Naviere Walkewicz  22:01 So the daily grind… You said, in the first year you think you visited like 19 bases just to try and figure it out. What does the daily grind look like now?   Jake DeRuyter  22:10 Completely changed, thankfully, I really only focus on three, which still has me plenty busy, but at least I'm not in all these crazy places, which is nice. Now it's weird because I set my own schedule. No one's ever asking, “Hey, you got to be here at 7:30 and clock out at 4:30.” It's a complete polar oppositie of the Air Force. Like, if I want to go golf every Friday at noon, no one's stopping me from doing that, except for, that'd probably be a detriment to my team and our success, right? And so it's this complete mindset change where it's like, “Hey, I'm going to still put in a full day's work and get everything I can out of the day.” But I'm not sitting down at my desk. So when I'm home, I'm following up with teams making sure everything is good internally at the company, and then a lot of the time I'm on the road. So, I go to Eglin Air Force Base a lot, Hill Air Force Base and Edwards. Those are my three where I'm constantly rotating through. So, if anyone's at those bases, please let me know. Love to reach out to you guys, grab a beer, dinner or anything. You know, it's a lot of lonely nights in the hotel. So, every chance I get to meet up with fellow grads, see what else is going on — I love taking advantage of that opportunity. I've done that numerous times, and that's one of my favorite things and one of my favorite parts of the job. So, I don't know what a standard day looks like for me. That's one thing I love about this job. And kind of why I stuck with it, so I'm never bored. No day is the same. You're always finding a new opportunity, someone new to talk to, some new base, a new program, that there's infinite possibilities. It's such a big Air Force and it gives me a chance to stay involved with our community, give back, and just, hey, if there's another grad out there that's looking to separate and needs a job, any grad — I've offered this plenty of times and stepped through it — any grad that's trying to separate, you have an instant interview at a minimum, with us right away. Please reach out anytime.   Naviere Walkewicz  24:03 That's amazing. I think you know you talk about there is no standard, but maybe you actually... the standard is that you hold yourself to a standard so that you're seeking opportunities when they're there, you're prepared, and you're trying to connect with other grads and make ways for them as well, or at least a potential opportunity. Let's talk about that, because I find— you know, you're a 2015 graduate, you're in your career trajectory, and you've made time to become the chapter president for the Central Texas chapter. And, you know, chapter services, that's when you bring grads together. I don't know how you manage that, as well as build a business. Let's talk about that. How did that even happen?   Jake DeRuyter  24:43 Yeah, so Mike Lambert started our chapter. He's a '70 grad, one of the coolest, most informative, just unique individuals. He is the greatest guy. Now, I wish I could live half the life that he has when I get to be his age. I reached out to him a couple years ago now saying, “Hey, the baseball team's in town playing UT, we have plans to all go to it, like, what's going on? Because I, this is bad on me... I didn't know that the chapter existed at the time. And he's like, “Oh shoot. I didn't know about it. Yeah, that sounds great. I'll send out a message, let's start rallying people to go as a big group.” I think we got maybe 20 to 30 people. It's a decent showing. And then after he's like, “Hey, I'm looking to pass this on to somebody. Would you be interested in it?” And I'm like, “Yeah, of course. I don't really know what it entails.” And then without me kind of having a say in it, everyone there is like, “Oh, hey, let's all have a vote right now. Raise your hand if you want Jake s the next president,” and Neil Wendt, Harry Keyes, a bunch of other grads were there all raising hands, like, “Hey, here's our new president.” So, yeah, I mean, I definitely wanted it, not like I didn't have a say in it, but yeah, it was nice having that little motivational push from everybody else. And then Neil Wendt, he's been my VP, and almost had a year going just now, so we still got a lot of work to do. We're still building a lot of things, but we're pretty proud of the steps that we've taken to kind of build this community. But yeah, it's definitely tough. You got work and then home life, and then family, and then you're just like, “Oh shoot, I still got to do this.” So, I mean, we all got a million things on a plate, so just like the Academy teaches you, how do you put 25 hours into a 24-hour day?   Naviere Walkewicz  26:18 Right? So I found that curious, what you'd mentioned. You said, “I didn't even know we had a chapter,” but you reached out to Mike Lambert. So did you already have a mentor-mentee relationship with him, or how did you know him?   Jake DeRuyter  26:29 No, I heard about it a little bit before that, because I kind of, in the back of my head, knew it existed. I just didn't know what all entailed. And it didn't say Austin. It just said to Central Texas. So, I didn't really know what all it meant. And then meeting with him and getting involved with him, and all in the whole group that he's started and been a part of for a long time. Yeah, it's really cool hearing their stories. And we do a monthly lunch every Friday or every first Friday of the month, and we get to hear all the cool war stories and everything. It's honestly one of the things I look forward to most every month is listening in to those guys. There's just so many funny connections all over the place. And, yeah, it's awesome. If anyone's listening in Austin, we'll be doing it again next week, or the first Friday this upcoming month of April.   Naviere Walkewicz  27:13 That's wonderful. So talk a little bit about what it's been like being the chapter president. You know, I think when we think about times at the Academy, you're leading a group of your peers, and obviously these peers are various years. But what has that been like, and what have you seen to be challenging so far?   Jake DeRuyter  27:29 Yeah, so it's completely different than on active duty, because you have positional power, right? And your airmen, the younger officers, they've got to listen to you, right? The chapter president sounds cool. Like, what authority do I have? Right? Absolutely nothing. It's just more of I'm the one coordinating and leading the charge, right? So you got to be the one to say what you're going to do and actually follow through and do it. And that's tough when you've got a million other competing priorities, and you're always trying to schedule your time and so I've been thankful I've had a great team. There's been times I can't make that monthly lunch and your others fill in. So we've had a pretty good core group there. But trying to find ways to motivate people to participate is extremely difficult unless they have like a direct buy in or impact or return on their investment. I think I saw in our last AOG election, we had like a 22% voting rate. And so we see that at the local chapters too, where it's tough finding people, so I'll go on LinkedIn, just trolling, just looking for anyone that says Air Force Academy grad, outside of any major city in Texas besides Austin. So, trying to get that direct touch. But it definitely takes time and effort and you've got to be willing to show that you're willing to go forth and put it in. Otherwise everyone's gonna be like, “Hey, I'm just getting another spam email. Why would I listen to this?”   Naviere Walkewicz  28:43 Right? And I just find it even more just impressive. What compelled you to reach out in the first place and say, “Hey, I'd like to get more involved?” Because you were already doing all these things through your job. So why the additional responsibility?   Jake DeRuyter  29:00 I think that's a great question. I think it's just because… You said: I was already doing it, and so I was like, “Hey, this is a natural fit for what I enjoy doing and what I could truly care about.” And as we've mentioned, all those grads in the past have helped me out and made me who I am today. You know from my dad and  my teachers, the officers that are ahead of me. It's like, “Hey, how do I give back?” Because I know I wouldn't be standing where I am without our fellow grads and then the whole overarching community. So it's like, “What little can I do to make one person's life that 1% better?” I'll take that chance any day of the week.   Naviere Walkewicz  29:33 Well, we talked about some of the challenges you've experienced and your deep desire to give back. So, share a success that you've had since being chapter president, and what's really kind of filled your bucket in this giving back piece.   Jake DeRuyter  29:44 Oh, so we did a watch party for the Air Force/Army game; that's pretty standard chapter president stuff like, “Oh, hey, you threw a watch party.” That's not the big thing. But the really cool part was the people that showed up. And I feel horrible. I forget his name right now, but the oldest living graduate, he had his daughter drive him because, “Hey, I'm not going to miss this.” And so I was like, whoa. Like, that was like...   Naviere Walkewicz  30:13 I'm going to look that up myself. That's amazing.   Jake DeRuyter  30:16 Having that moment like, “Wow, that's really cool.” Where it's like, “Hey, that wouldn't have happened without the work of my team  putting this together. And, yeah, putting together watch parties is nothing crazy. But it's still— hearing those stories and meeting those people that were there when this first started. Like, we were joking earlier: They don't even know what Founders Day is because they were there for it. That wasn't really a thing for them. Now it's like our annual celebration, but to them it's just like, “Oh yeah. We just started it.” Like, that's just how...   Naviere Walkewicz  30:48 ...on the shoulders of giants, right?   Jake DeRuyter  Yes.   Naviere Walkewicz  Jake, it just sounds like you had such an incredible ride so far. And I know you're you know your journey is in the midst of it, and I can't wait to hear how you'll continue to do so as a graduate, as we support you. But right now, I'd like to ask you some specific leadership lessons, the first one really pertaining to you: What do you do every day to be a better leader?   Jake DeRuyter  31:12 That reach out. Like, always that checking in. I don't necesarilly schedule it, but if I ever have 20 or 30, minutes, nothing's on my calendar for work, or things are slow, it's like, “Hey, who haven't I talked to in a while?” Whether it's one of my classmates, one of my freshmen, one of the people that served with me… And then I spend a lot of time on the road, so, I'm driving. I always try to reach out and call and reconnect with people that you haven't talked to in X amount of months. Because I always know that I really appreciate when I always hear from people like that. And so that's like one thing I always want to do is like, “Hey, what's going on in life? Where are you at now?” That's what's so cool about the Air Force community as a whole: People are moving, doing cool new jobs all over the place. So, I love getting to hear those stories and truly listening in. The leadership question: Actually listen. Take interest and don't just be waiting to say what you want to say next. Like, actually, like, “Oh, hey, there's some pretty cool stories out there. And people are doing some amazing, unique things.” Shoot, look at Wyatt Hendrickson this weekend. One of the greatest college sports upsets of all time.   Naviere Walkewicz  32:19 Of all time — 100%. I think that's a really great way— just even like rallying together and talking about that. I mean, what a great way to… “Hey, I haven't talked to you in a while. Did you see Wyatt? What he did? You know, it's just amazing.   Jake DeRuyter  32:32 Yep, exactly. Wyatt, if you're ever in Austin, drinks are on me, man, congrats.   Naviere Walkewicz  32:38 That's outstanding. All right, so tell me, then, Jake, what would you share as something that an aspiring leader can do every day? So, that's something you do personally. What might you share with an aspiring leader that they can do today that will reap benefits down the road?   Jake DeRuyter  32:53 Yeah, don't just worry about your own career and your own life, because whether you look at officers, coaches— a lot of people can be judged based on the people that they've built up rather than their own career. We see that all the time in coaching, and it's like, if you're truly worried about the development of the guys around you, you're going to build up yourself and your whole team and everybody and so make that the primary goal. Not just, “Hey, how do I get that next job? How do I get that next rank?” Because people are going to spot that as being phony really quick. So, be genuine, and pump up the other ones around you. Because a rising tide lifts all ships.   Naviere Walkewicz  33:27 Gosh. And like I said, you're kind of in this rise in your career and in your life. You know, if you were to look back and talk to your younger self, Jake, whether your cadet self or even your child self, is there any advice you would give yourself, knowing what you know today?   Jake DeRuyter  33:44 Yeah, the biggest thing is be more involved. I think especially as a cadet and in early officer life, I was just like, “How do I get through the day? What do I do to get through class, or to get through the SCIF life?” Or something like that. “How do I get to the part of life where I'm spending time with my friends, or having fun?” I definitely wish I was much more involved at the Academy and as a young lieutenant, like, I definitely took things for granted back then, and that's probably the biggest thing I changed, is like, “Hey, I definitely had the extra time.” I could have given back more at that time, and maybe I'm trying to make up for a little bit for that now.   Naviere Walkewicz  34:19 Well, I think it's never too late to start. And what are you doing now that fills your bucket in that way?   Jake DeRuyter  34:25 Oh, yeah, the biggest things, the AOG chapter presidency and helping other grads transition. I can't tell you how many fellow grads I've talked to as they're looking for SkillBridge, trying to figure out what that next step looks like. It doesn't stop. Everyone's hitting their five years coming up. It happens every year, right? So there's always that influx, especially those that aren't flying. It's tough making that jump. You know, it's a scary world out there. And I said, it's just you, yourself and I. Whatever the opposite of that is. It's like, “Hey, I know I didn't feel like I had the resources when I was initially getting out through traditional means of the Air Force.” So I want to be that person that's like, “Hey, I'll offer that olive branch anytime.” So yeah, love to help out wherever I can.   Naviere Walkewicz  35:13 Well, those connections are so important, and I think one of the things I really appreciate about you, Jake, is really recognizing that connection. I think you even shared with me a story, and maybe you can share it here, about how you still are in touch with your sponsor family?   Jake DeRuyter  35:26 Yeah. I went to high school in the Springs for a little bit, and the best man in my wedding, his family was the one that sponsored me. So, they had sponsored cadets for years, sponsoring the basketball team through the 2000s. Then in high school, he made me a bet. He's like, “Hey, you idiot, if there's any way that you get in, I'll sponsor.” He's like, “I'm done sponsoring cadets, but if you make it in, you'll be my last one.”   Naviere Walkewicz  And so you were the exception for him.   Jake DeRuyter  Yeah, I was the exception to the rule. So yeah, we still get together every year to go to the opening round of March Madness. So we just did Lexington, Kentucky, for those games, and then next year we'll be doing Tampa. So yeah, college sports and that competition that you talked about that's a huge center piece of my life, and I center all my travel and my fun around it. So yeah, they've been awesome, and a huge part of why I am or where I am today as well.   Naviere Walkewicz  36:11 I love that. Well, we're going to ask for Jake's final thoughts next, but before we do, I'd like to take a moment and thank you for listening to Long Blue Leadership. The podcast publishes Tuesdays in both video and audio and is available on all your favorite podcast platforms. Be sure to stay in touch. Watch, subscribe and listen to all episodes of Long Blue Leadership at longblueleadership.org. All right, Jake, we're ready to hear your final thoughts. It's been incredible spending time with you today.   Jake DeRuyter  36:39 I appreciate it Naviere. Very humbled to be here. You just had Secretary Wilson. I'm sure you've had some astronauts and generals on here, so the fact that you picked me: I was just like, “Man, that really means a lot.” So I just want to say thank you. Yeah, I don't want to repeat myself too much, but yeah, any fellow grads, if you're ever in the Austin area, love to meet up, grab a beer, whatever we can do to help each other out. Just whatever we can do to give back to the Long Blue Line.   Naviere Walkewicz  37:03 Well, thank you for never being too busy for our graduates. I think that was one of the things that really stood out to me throughout everything you've shared, is you know, you care about people, and it's really translated to how you care about our fellow graduates, and I can't wait to see all the amazing things you'll continue to do. So thanks for being a leader in our Long Blue Line.   Jake DeRuyter  37:22 Yeah, I appreciate that, Naviere. Thank you so much.   Naviere Walkewicz  37:25 Well, Jake, one more time, thank you again, and I'm Naviere Walkewicz, thank you for joining us on Long Blue Leadership until next time.   KEWORDS Resilience, Adaptability, Mentorship, Network, Long Blue Line, Leadership, Development, Career Transition, Service, Community Support, Grit, Connections, Risk-Taking, Personal Growth, Military to Civilian Transition, Air Force Academy, Leadership Philosophy, Professional Networking, Continuous Learning, Relationship Building, Giving Back   The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation    

Are we truly alone in the universe? Former Marine and National Guard MP William Carter doesn't think so—and he has the experience to back it up. In this exclusive interview, he reveals shocking details about Site C6 at Eglin Air Force Base, a restricted radar facility that has been monitoring unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) for decades. William recounts his first UFO sighting as a child in Georgia, an event he had long forgotten—until his time at Eglin in 2009 reignited his memories and forced him to confront the truth. What he learned at Site C6 confirmed his suspicions: the U.S. government is tracking UFOs, and they might even be bringing them down using advanced technology like EMP weapons. He also shares insights from military insiders, including a former radar technician who worked at Site C6 in the 1980s and 1990s, confirming that the Air Force has been monitoring UFO activity for decades. Could the rumors of “space junk” conveniently falling near Eglin AFB actually be cover for something far more mysterious? In this deep-dive discussion, William comes forward in a way as whistleblower, speaking with key figures investigating the UAP phenomenon. His story raises critical questions about government secrecy, military technology, and the future of disclosure.SHOW NOTESBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/podcast-ufo--5922140/support.

TOP 10 MICROBREWERIES IN THE US insert libsyn player here Food Travel USA with Elizabeth Dougherty TOP 10 MICROBREWERIES IN THE US The TRUTH about Food and Travel Original Broadcast Date:  02/10/2025 While camping in Navarre, Florida, we visited a sports bar with an unmistakable military theme, a nod to the area's deep-rooted ties to the armed forces. With Hurlburt Field and Eglin Air Force Base just a few miles away, this unique watering hole offers more than just cold drinks—it's a tribute to the men and women who serve. This week's Top 10 is all about craft beer. With thousands of breweries across the country, which ones truly stand out? Elizabeth runs down the Top 10 Microbreweries in the U.S., from hidden gems to powerhouse names changing the game. Whether you're into bold IPAs, smooth lagers, or rich stouts, this list has something for every beer lover. So grab a cold one, and pull up a chair! ### FOOD TRAVEL USA FAST FACTS About the show:  Food And Travel Nation with Elizabeth Dougherty is the fusion of food and travel. This fresh, compelling nationally-syndicated weekend program includes information for homesteading, traveling, gardening, taste tests, and in a twist, listeners hear what restaurant servers say about customers. Website: Food And Travel Nation.com Social Media Sites: Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) } Truth Social | You Tube Live Broadcast: Saturday 5pm   LISTEN ANYTIME Executive Producer:  Michael Serio Email:  FoodTravelUSA@proton.me Each week our listeners get the very latest food and travel information We produce homemade videos of healthy, easy to make recipes We feature no-holds barred interviews in a LIVE, fast-paced, nationwide call-in show. Elizabeth Dougherty is a writer, trained chef, world traveler and now an award-winning talk show host. Food And Travel Nation was on the forefront of presenting expert guests with vital information about GMOs, at a time when no one was talking about or even knew about the subject. We give our listeners, advertisers and stations a LIVE SHOW. (NO “BEST OF'S” EVER!) We present hard-hitting topics and interviews without the same old political spin. We are very social media conscious and stay in touch with our audience. (200,000 plus) We work closely with advertisers and stations to ensure their success. We are ready to deliver a fresh, tight, first-class show to your station from our digital studio utilizing Comrex Access and our own automation system.

Dale R. Marks, the Executive Director of the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, to discuss his extraordinary journey of leadership, resilience, and perseverance. From a childhood shaped by the values of a World War II POW great-uncle and a NASA rocket scientist father to a career marked by 15 deployments and profound personal struggles, Dale's story is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. 0:00 - Introduction 4:00 - Office Tour 6:20 - Dale's Upbringing & Early Influences 10:40 - The Importance of the Journey 14:00 - “Bump the Lamp” Philosophy 16:30 - Dale's Career & Deployments 20:10 - The Impact of 9/11 & Personal Sacrifices 24:30 - Resilience After Traumatic Experiences 28:40 - The Role of Support & Community 32:30 - Leadership Philosophies: Value, Purpose, and Perspective 36:20 - Dale's Leadership Style & Impact 41:00 - Final Thoughts & Conclusion Dale opens up about a life-changing IED explosion in Iraq, the chronic pain that followed, and how those experiences reshaped his leadership approach. He emphasizes the importance of value, purpose, and perspective in both personal and professional life, highlighting the power of small acts of excellence, like “bumping the lamp,” and the critical role of community and support in overcoming life's toughest challenges. In this episode, we dive deep into Dale's philosophy of leadership, resilience, and how to turn adversity into a source of strength. Learn how he leads with empathy, seeks purpose beyond self, and encourages others to push through pain while embracing hope and perspective. Join us for a conversation filled with wisdom, heart, and an inspiring reminder of what it means to lead with integrity and purpose.

Retired NASA Astronaut Lieutenant General Susan Helms reflects on her 211 days in space and life onboard a young International Space Station.In this episode, Susan takes us through her groundbreaking journey as the first active-duty woman officer to become a NASA astronaut. She discusses attending the United States Air Force Academy, flight testing fighter jets, her five space missions, and a record-breaking spacewalk. This one is going to be cool!Key Takeaways:Susan's childhood dream was to attend the United States Air Force Academy. At the time, women were not permitted to learn at the USAFA, but in 1975 during her senior year of high school, President Ford signed a law allowing women to enroll. She applied and was accepted to the Academy, joining 157 other women in the first class of 1976.After graduating from the USAFA in 1980, Susan was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base as an F-16 Weapons Separation Engineer and then became the Lead Engineer for F-15 weapons separation. She then transferred to Edwards Air Force Base to be a Flight Test Engineer.While flight testing CF-18s in Canada, Susan was selected to become a NASA astronaut. She flew on STS-54, 64, 78, 101, and Expedition 2.Susan and crewmate Jim Voss trained and studied languages in Moscow with fellow Cosmonaut Yuri Usachov before their Expedition 2 flight.On a few of her missions, Susan operated the Remote Manipulator System on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. This robot arm is used to deploy satellites, capture objects, and assist astronauts during spacewalks.In 2001, Susan Helms and Jim Voss set a world record after spacewalking for 8 hours and 56 minutes. This record was held for 23 years before Chinese astronauts Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong broke it in 2024 by 10 minutes.Susan encourages listeners to do what they love and not to follow careers that others are pushing them towards.Resources:Susan Helms' Website Susan Helms' NASA Bio Susan Helms' Air Force Bio One of first female Air Force Academy graduates, Susan Helms, becomes first female military astronaut in space (Denver 7) Expedition 2 (NASA)(00:00) - Intro (01:00) - The First Space Tourist & Astronaut Roles (02:55) - Early Interest in Aviation (03:34) - USAFA Application (04:52) - The USAFA's First Class of Women (05:54) - Attending the USAFA (08:01) - F-15 & F-16 Weapons Testing (09:52) - The Flight Test Engineer Role (11:14) - Flight Testing in Canada (13:00) - Astronaut Selection & First Mission (14:45) - Flying at Mach 25 (15:32) - The Remote Manipulator System (RMS) (18:19) - Astronaut Training in Moscow (21:04) - A Record-Breaking Spacewalk (24:54) - Eating & Drinking During Spacewalks (26:17) - Living in Space (28:35) - Post Astronaut Career (30:22) - Space Exploration's Future (32:02) - Life Advice (32:45) - Outro

John Horrigan received five Boston/New England Emmy Awards (and had twenty nominations) for his role as host and writer of the critically-acclaimed television show entitled "The Folklorist". The program even featured paranormal segments on the Gloucester Sea Serpent, Ape Canyon, The Angels of Mons, Spring-heeled Jack and the Dover Demon. He has had an interest in unexplained mysteries and paranormal events for nearly 40 years. He began broadcasting about the unexplained on local access television and radio beginning in 1991, producing programs dedicated to mysterious phenomena such as Nightime Talk Television (1989), Omnibus Unlimited (1992), Tails (1993), AAHA (1999) and Forteana (2000). He was the last person to interview Betty Hill (alleged first alien abductee) in 1999 with “The Lost Betty Hill Interview”. His research into Unidentified Flying Objects took him to Roswell, New Mexico (three times); Area 51; Kecksburg, Pennsylvania; Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia; Gulf Breeze, Florida; the San Luis Valley (investigating cattle mutilation), the Lockheed Skunk Works; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Eglin Air Force Base; Cheyenne Mountain; Edwards Air Force Base; Hill Air Force Base; Dugway Proving Grounds; White Sands Missile Range and Hurlburt Field.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-x-zone-radio-tv-show--1078348/support.

John Horrigan received five Boston/New England Emmy Awards (and had twenty nominations) for his role as host and writer of the critically-acclaimed television show entitled "The Folklorist". The program even featured paranormal segments on the Gloucester Sea Serpent, Ape Canyon, The Angels of Mons, Spring-heeled Jack and the Dover Demon. He has had an interest in unexplained mysteries and paranormal events for nearly 40 years. He began broadcasting about the unexplained on local access television and radio beginning in 1991, producing programs dedicated to mysterious phenomena such as Nightime Talk Television (1989), Omnibus Unlimited (1992), Tails (1993), AAHA (1999) and Forteana (2000). He was the last person to interview Betty Hill (alleged first alien abductee) in 1999 with “The Lost Betty Hill Interview”. His research into Unidentified Flying Objects took him to Roswell, New Mexico (three times); Area 51; Kecksburg, Pennsylvania; Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia; Gulf Breeze, Florida; the San Luis Valley (investigating cattle mutilation), the Lockheed Skunk Works; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Eglin Air Force Base; Cheyenne Mountain; Edwards Air Force Base; Hill Air Force Base; Dugway Proving Grounds; White Sands Missile Range and Hurlburt Field.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-x-zone-radio-tv-show--1078348/support.

John Horrigan received five Boston/New England Emmy Awards (and had twenty nominations) for his role as host and writer of the critically-acclaimed television show entitled "The Folklorist". The program even featured paranormal segments on the Gloucester Sea Serpent, Ape Canyon, The Angels of Mons, Spring-heeled Jack and the Dover Demon. He has had an interest in unexplained mysteries and paranormal events for nearly 40 years. He began broadcasting about the unexplained on local access television and radio beginning in 1991, producing programs dedicated to mysterious phenomena such as Nightime Talk Television (1989), Omnibus Unlimited (1992), Tails (1993), AAHA (1999) and Forteana (2000). He was the last person to interview Betty Hill (alleged first alien abductee) in 1999 with “The Lost Betty Hill Interview”. His research into Unidentified Flying Objects took him to Roswell, New Mexico (three times); Area 51; Kecksburg, Pennsylvania; Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia; Gulf Breeze, Florida; the San Luis Valley (investigating cattle mutilation), the Lockheed Skunk Works; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Eglin Air Force Base; Cheyenne Mountain; Edwards Air Force Base; Hill Air Force Base; Dugway Proving Grounds; White Sands Missile Range and Hurlburt Field.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-x-zone-radio-tv-show--1078348/support.

rWotD Episode 2795: Destin Executive Airport Welcome to Random Wiki of the Day, your journey through Wikipedia’s vast and varied content, one random article at a time.The random article for Saturday, 28 December 2024 is Destin Executive Airport.Destin Executive Airport (IATA: DSI, ICAO: KDTS, FAA LID: DTS), also known as Coleman Kelly Field, is a public use airport owned by and located in Okaloosa County, Florida. The airport is one nautical mile (2 km) east of the central business district of Destin, Florida. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.Although many U. S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned DTS by the FAA and DSI by the IATA. The airport's ICAO identifier is KDTS. Due to its close proximity to Eglin Air Force Base and the high levels of military flight activity, all flights to or from Destin Executive Airport must adhere to "special air traffic rules" and obtain ATC clearance before entering the Eglin/Valparaiso terminal area. The Destin Executive Airport is an independent general flight office possessed and worked by Okaloosa Area, and is not reliant on ad valorem charges.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:21 UTC on Saturday, 28 December 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Destin Executive Airport on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Stephen.

John Horrigan received five Boston/New England Emmy Awards (and had twenty nominations) for his role as host and writer of the critically-acclaimed television show entitled "The Folklorist". The program even featured paranormal segments on the Gloucester Sea Serpent, Ape Canyon, The Angels of Mons, Spring-heeled Jack and the Dover Demon. He has had an interest in unexplained mysteries and paranormal events for nearly 40 years. He began broadcasting about the unexplained on local access television and radio beginning in 1991, producing programs dedicated to mysterious phenomena such as Nightime Talk Television (1989), Omnibus Unlimited (1992), Tails (1993), AAHA (1999) and Forteana (2000). He was the last person to interview Betty Hill (alleged first alien abductee) in 1999 with “The Lost Betty Hill Interview”. His research into Unidentified Flying Objects took him to Roswell, New Mexico (three times); Area 51; Kecksburg, Pennsylvania; Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia; Gulf Breeze, Florida; the San Luis Valley (investigating cattle mutilation), the Lockheed Skunk Works; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Eglin Air Force Base; Cheyenne Mountain; Edwards Air Force Base; Hill Air Force Base; Dugway Proving Grounds; White Sands Missile Range and Hurlburt Field.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-x-zone-radio-tv-show--1078348/support.

John Horrigan received five Boston/New England Emmy Awards (and had twenty nominations) for his role as host and writer of the critically-acclaimed television show entitled "The Folklorist". The program even featured paranormal segments on the Gloucester Sea Serpent, Ape Canyon, The Angels of Mons, Spring-heeled Jack and the Dover Demon. He has had an interest in unexplained mysteries and paranormal events for nearly 40 years. He began broadcasting about the unexplained on local access television and radio beginning in 1991, producing programs dedicated to mysterious phenomena such as Nightime Talk Television (1989), Omnibus Unlimited (1992), Tails (1993), AAHA (1999) and Forteana (2000). He was the last person to interview Betty Hill (alleged first alien abductee) in 1999 with “The Lost Betty Hill Interview”. His research into Unidentified Flying Objects took him to Roswell, New Mexico (three times); Area 51; Kecksburg, Pennsylvania; Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia; Gulf Breeze, Florida; the San Luis Valley (investigating cattle mutilation), the Lockheed Skunk Works; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Eglin Air Force Base; Cheyenne Mountain; Edwards Air Force Base; Hill Air Force Base; Dugway Proving Grounds; White Sands Missile Range and Hurlburt Field.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-x-zone-radio-tv-show--1078348/support.

John Horrigan received five Boston/New England Emmy Awards (and had twenty nominations) for his role as host and writer of the critically-acclaimed television show entitled "The Folklorist". The program even featured paranormal segments on the Gloucester Sea Serpent, Ape Canyon, The Angels of Mons, Spring-heeled Jack and the Dover Demon. He has had an interest in unexplained mysteries and paranormal events for nearly 40 years. He began broadcasting about the unexplained on local access television and radio beginning in 1991, producing programs dedicated to mysterious phenomena such as Nightime Talk Television (1989), Omnibus Unlimited (1992), Tails (1993), AAHA (1999) and Forteana (2000). He was the last person to interview Betty Hill (alleged first alien abductee) in 1999 with “The Lost Betty Hill Interview”. His research into Unidentified Flying Objects took him to Roswell, New Mexico (three times); Area 51; Kecksburg, Pennsylvania; Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia; Gulf Breeze, Florida; the San Luis Valley (investigating cattle mutilation), the Lockheed Skunk Works; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Eglin Air Force Base; Cheyenne Mountain; Edwards Air Force Base; Hill Air Force Base; Dugway Proving Grounds; White Sands Missile Range and Hurlburt Field.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-x-zone-radio-tv-show--1078348/support.

We hear from participants at this year's Cranky Dorkfest, the U.S. Marine Corps flew the XQ-58A Valkyrie drone with four F-35B fighters, American Airlines flew a B787 from Dallas to Brisbane in a 15 hour and 44-minute flight, a pair of corporate flight attendants are suing their employer, airlines are reacting to flight restrictions over Russia, and the Portland Jetport is replacing the firefighting foam with something more environmentally friendly. Also, a self-propelling ionic thrust wing, an exploding satellite, and thoughts on DB Cooper from an expert parachutist. Cranky Dorkfest 2024 Brian Coleman recorded interviews at Cranky Dorkfest on September 14, 2024: Melissa - Why she keeps coming back. Her husband is former military mechanic. Benny - A first-timer with a unique Boeing airplane-related telephone number. Jvan - He took home last year's brick mosaic. This is his 3rd year participating. Matt Sauchelli - He's shooting with a Nikon mirrorless camera and a long lens. Ben Grenuchi and Heather - From NYCAviation. Ian Petchenik - Director of Communications at Flightradar24 the live, global flight tracking service. Also, the co-host of AvTalk podcast. Brett (Cranky) Snyder. The man behind it all. For Those Who Didn't Attend, Here's What You Missed at Cranky Dorkfest This Weekend Aviation News Marines score aviation firsts with F-35 squadron, drone test and more A Marine Corps XQ-58A Valkyrie drone completed a test flight last week at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Col. Derek Brannon, branch head for the Cunningham Group, deputy commandant for aviation said “The flight focused on the use of tactical data links to enable digital communication between the XQ-58A and an airborne four-ship of F-35Bs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 and other joint aircraft.” XQ-58A Valkyrie, courtesy AFRL. The XQ-58A Valkyrie is a low-cost, high-performance, reusable unmanned air vehicle developed through an Air Force Research Laboratory partnership with Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. This vehicle is an example of an “attritable” aircraft designed to be used for several missions, but built at a cost that permits it to be a combat loss. American Airlines' longest flight set to be one of the most tracked in the world The American Airlines inaugural flight from Dallas to Brisbane in Australia was heavily followed on Flightradar24. Director of Communications Ian Petchenik said people worldwide “are especially keen to watch the livestream of the landing.” The Boeing 787-9 (N825AA), flight AA7, made the trip in 15 hours and 44 minutes covering a great circle distance of 13,363 KM. See Flight history for American Airlines flight AA7. Overworked Private Flight Attendants For Co-Founder of The Home Depot Claim ‘Inept' Colleagues Kept Their Jobs Because They Were in ‘Romantic Relationship' With Boss Two private flight attendants filed a lawsuit claiming they were overworked while working for the co-founder of The Home Depot, while “inept” co-workers had romantic relationships with their bosses. The two FAs, who quit their jobs, said they sometimes worked 26 days per month and around 90 hours per week. Why It's Harder Getting to China As a result of the war in Ukraine, non-Chinese airlines are no longer entering Russian airspace, so some are discontinuing service to China, or reducing frequency. Demand for flights to China is down, and the cost of avoiding Russian airspace in time and fuel is significant. Virgin Atlantic is dropping its flight connecting Shanghai to London, LOT Polish Airlines is suspending its Warsaw-to-Beijing flights, and SAS plans to stop direct flights between Copenhagen and Shanghai. Chinese airlines are adding capacity. PFAS-free firefighting foam coming to jetport The Portland (Maine) Fire Department plans to replace the AFFF firefighting foam used at the Portland International Jetport with PFAS-free foam.

Patrick discusses a NEW UFO Whistleblower coming forward on Reddit and allegedly to Ross Coulthart. His story has never been told and it has to do with Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

Dive into a gripping episode of Lehto Files as Chris Lehto tackles the baffling January 2023 UAP sighting over Eglin Air Force Base. Despite official claims of no existing footage, recent FOIA revelations suggest otherwise, sparking a heated debate on government transparency and UAP phenomena. Join us as we explore the contradictions between Pentagon reports and firsthand accounts from pilots who witnessed these unexplained aerial phenomena. Featuring insights from Congress's historic UFO hearing with Rep. Matt Gaetz and the curious case of stationary objects in 80-knot winds, this episode is a must-watch for anyone seeking the truth behind the headlines. Subscribe for more updates on this case and other mysterious encounters.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/lehto-files-investigating-uaps--5990774/support.

“He was better than us at everything.” “If he's around, everything is going to be OK.”- Jason Deming, Green Beret, United States Army, speaking about Pedro Muñoz. “I don't get ready, I stay ready.”- Pedro Muñoz, Sergeant First Class, Green Beret, United States Army So imagine this: you're in the 82nd airborne, you're a Green Beret, you are a future 3rd generation Silver Star recipient, and you're still not the baddest man in the room. On a special 4th of July edition of Solid Steps Radio, Kurt and Chad talk with returning guest (episode #405 https://podcasts.apple.com/.../solid.../id1086366166... ) Jason Deming, retired Green Beret in the US Army, who speaks about the “greatest soldier he's ever known” and how his life was impacted being with and around the man who has his name hanging on the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Group, Headquarters building on Eglin Air Force Base, FL, named Muñoz Hall. As one of the best soldiers that have ever put on the uniform, Pedro had to face the reality that every mission could be his last. Staying ready is essential, whether you are in a battle or waiting for one. Jason's life was never the same after meeting Pedro. So much so, that he asks these 2 questions: Who is your “Pedro”? Who are you a “Pedro” to?

Hazle Smith Konerding, 76, entered eternal rest on June 17, 2024. She was born in Fairbanks, Alaska on October 18, 1947, where her parents, Dewey S. and Evalyn M. Smith were civilian employees of the Army during the early Cold War years, developing Ladd Army Airfield. In 1955 the family moved to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, where her father continued his civil engineer profession building more runways, this time at Eglin Air Force Base. She graduated from Choctawhatchee High School in 1965. She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and after graduation in 1969 attended the University of Miami School...Article LinkSupport the Show.

Welcome to all my listeners out there to the 81st episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast I am your host Mark Hasara and I'm a veteran of four Wars, an initial Cadre member of the kc-135 weapons school, and curriculum director at National Defense University's Joint Combined Warfighter School One of the great experiences of hosting this show and being a member of the Red River Valley Association is being in contact with these Vietnam heroes. Today we are talking to one of my childhood heroes! Air Force Colonel Chuck DeBellevue was the highest scoring Ace of the Vietnam War, destroying six MiGs while flying F-4 Phantoms in the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, the famous Triple Nickel. On today's show Chuck's going to talk about not only knocking down MiGs, but flying Forward Air Control missions and going after nasty air defense sites. Wait till you hear about him getting hit by an 85 or 100 mm shell! This episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show is brought to you and financially supported by Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. These are highly detailed and exhaustively researched profiles of famous aircraft printed on vinyl in four, six, and 8 ft lengths you can peel off and stick to walls or any flat surface. The vinyl prints are even waterproof, a good friend has his unit patches on the rear window of his truck for over a year. So go to wall pilot.com, order a couple of our 144 Ready-to-Print graphics. If there's a favorite airplane you want your name on, from a particular unit, with a cool weapons load, fill out the custom request form on the website at wallpilot.com. Chuck talked about flying a famous F-4D Phantom II now on display in the quad at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. This is the famous F-4D tail number 463 Chuck flew on several of his MiG CAP missions, equipped with the Combat Tree IFF interrogation system, and some super duper engines. F-4D tail 463 had a great crew chief in Staff Sergeant Reggie Taylor, keeping 463 in top shape.. Two of Chuck's kills with then Captain Steve Ritchie in the front seat were accomplished in a 58th Tactical Fighter Squadron F-4E deployed from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Here is a cool picture of Chuck and Steve just after landing from the MIGCAP mission with all of the external tanks punched off! This version of the Phantom has the 20mm Vulcan Cannon in the nose.   This F-105G Wild Weasel was assigned to the 17thWild Weasel Squadron flying out of Korat Royal Thai Air Base and accompanied every package into North Vietnam, particularly going anywhere in Route Pack 6 and the Hanoi and Haiphong area. This F-105G Wild Weasel tail number 320 has the distinction of three North Vietnamese MiGs destroyed, one by Vulcan cannon, one by AIM-9 Sidewinder, and supposedly a MiG-17 when the pilot punched off the centerline multiple ejector bomb rack! This F-4E Phantom II flew with the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron, carrying Surface-to-Air Missile and Suppression of Enemy Air Defense missions. F-4Es flew as the wingmen with the F-105F/G Weasels launching an anti-radiation missile at the radar, and F-4Es dropping CBU-52 cluster bombs to destroy remnants of the site.   This and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show can be listened to and downloaded from the podcast website at Lessons from the Cockpit.show. All episodes can be found there with the show notes. Episodes are also found on my YouTube channel @markhasara. Become a member of our All Ranks Club, a coin-holding member of our shAll Ranks Club,and every member who joins will get unpublished chapters from my book Tanker Pilot and the history of air refueling. There were 31 chapters unpublished I will send to everyone who joins the All Ranks Club monthly for $8, or yearly for $80. Paying members of the All Ranks Club also receive some of the cool graphics we are making, 7 inch profiles you can stick on water bottles, walls, or even your vehicle. All Ranks Club members will also have a one to two hour Zoom meeting with me to just talk aviation. Go by www.lessonsfromthecockpit.show to join. Next week we meet another Vietnam MiG destroyer Captain John Markle, who flew in formations with Chuck DeBellevue. We look forward to talking to you next week on the Lessons from the Cockpit show.  

Welcome to all my listeners out there to the 81st episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast I am your host Mark Hasara and I'm a veteran of four Wars, an initial Cadre member of the kc-135 weapons school, and curriculum director at National Defense University's Joint Combined Warfighter School One of the great experiences of hosting this show and being a member of the Red River Valley Association is being in contact with these Vietnam heroes. Today we are talking to one of my childhood heroes! Air Force Colonel Chuck DeBellevue was the highest scoring Ace of the Vietnam War, destroying six MiGs while flying F-4 Phantoms in the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, the famous Triple Nickel. On today's show Chuck's going to talk about not only knocking down MiGs, but flying Forward Air Control missions and going after nasty air defense sites. Wait till you hear about him getting hit by an 85 or 100 mm shell! This episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show is brought to you and financially supported by Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. These are highly detailed and exhaustively researched profiles of famous aircraft printed on vinyl in four, six, and 8 ft lengths you can peel off and stick to walls or any flat surface. The vinyl prints are even waterproof, a good friend has his unit patches on the rear window of his truck for over a year. So go to wall pilot.com, order a couple of our 144 Ready-to-Print graphics. If there's a favorite airplane you want your name on, from a particular unit, with a cool weapons load, fill out the custom request form on the website at wallpilot.com. Chuck talked about flying a famous F-4D Phantom II now on display in the quad at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. This is the famous F-4D tail number 463 Chuck flew on several of his MiG CAP missions, equipped with the Combat Tree IFF interrogation system, and some super duper engines. F-4D tail 463 had a great crew chief in Staff Sergeant Reggie Taylor, keeping 463 in top shape.. Two of Chuck's kills with then Captain Steve Ritchie in the front seat were accomplished in a 58th Tactical Fighter Squadron F-4E deployed from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Here is a cool picture of Chuck and Steve just after landing from the MIGCAP mission with all of the external tanks punched off! This version of the Phantom has the 20mm Vulcan Cannon in the nose.   This F-105G Wild Weasel was assigned to the 17thWild Weasel Squadron flying out of Korat Royal Thai Air Base and accompanied every package into North Vietnam, particularly going anywhere in Route Pack 6 and the Hanoi and Haiphong area. This F-105G Wild Weasel tail number 320 has the distinction of three North Vietnamese MiGs destroyed, one by Vulcan cannon, one by AIM-9 Sidewinder, and supposedly a MiG-17 when the pilot punched off the centerline multiple ejector bomb rack! This F-4E Phantom II flew with the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron, carrying Surface-to-Air Missile and Suppression of Enemy Air Defense missions. F-4Es flew as the wingmen with the F-105F/G Weasels launching an anti-radiation missile at the radar, and F-4Es dropping CBU-52 cluster bombs to destroy remnants of the site.   This and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show can be listened to and downloaded from the podcast website at Lessons from the Cockpit.show. All episodes can be found there with the show notes. Episodes are also found on my YouTube channel @markhasara. Become a member of our All Ranks Club, a coin-holding member of our shAll Ranks Club,and every member who joins will get unpublished chapters from my book Tanker Pilot and the history of air refueling. There were 31 chapters unpublished I will send to everyone who joins the All Ranks Club monthly for $8, or yearly for $80. Paying members of the All Ranks Club also receive some of the cool graphics we are making, 7 inch profiles you can stick on water bottles, walls, or even your vehicle. All Ranks Club members will also have a one to two hour Zoom meeting with me to just talk aviation. Go by www.lessonsfromthecockpit.show to join. Next week we meet another Vietnam MiG destroyer Captain John Markle, who flew in formations with Chuck DeBellevue. We look forward to talking to you next week on the Lessons from the Cockpit show.  

In this episode, hosts Bryce Zabel and Ross Coulthart delve into the complexities of UAP investigations, spotlighting the AARO's dubious reporting and the Pentagon's evasion in acknowledging UAP incidents. They explore the recent Eglin Air Force Base encounter and the broader implications of drone sightings that challenge national security. The hosts critique the media's failure to engage deeply with these issues, emphasizing the need for greater transparency and investigative rigor in covering UAP and drone encounters. Featuring pilot testimonies and expert analysis, this episode uncovers the ongoing secrecy and the quest for truth in the increasingly convoluted field of ufology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

▪ A pilot spotted the UAP during a training exercise off the Florida coast ▪ AARO investigations found it was likely a commercial light balloon ▪ Lawmakers have been pushing for more transparency on UAP reports ▪ (NewsNation) — The Pentagon said it has resolved the case of a UAP reported near Eglin Air Force Base off the coast of Florida, finding it was a lighter-than-air object such as a commercial light balloon. Read more on mysteriousradio.com

In January 2023, a U.S. military pilot reported an encounter with a group of unusual objects flying in a diamond formation over the Gulf of Mexico near Eglin Air Force Base. The incident, which eventually came to the attention of Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, became a matter of public record after Gaetz discussed it during a Congressional hearing in the summer of 2023.  Now, the DoD's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office has released its official report on the incident, claiming the case has now been resolved. However, there are several problems with AARO's analysis, and this week on The Micah Hanks Program, we dive into all of the issues that present rationale for why there may be unresolved questions about this alleged UAP incident.  Have you had a UFO/UAP sighting? Please consider reporting your sighting to the UAP Sightings Reporting System, a public resource for information about sightings of aerial phenomena. The story doesn't end here... become an X Subscriber and get access to even more weekly content and monthly specials. Want to advertise/sponsor The Micah Hanks Program? We have partnered with the AdvertiseCast to handle our advertising/sponsorship requests. If you would like to advertise with The Micah Hanks Program, all you have to do is click the link below to get started: AdvertiseCast: Advertise with The Micah Hanks Program Show Notes Below are links to stories and other content featured in this episode: NEWS: US to test ground beef in states with bird-flu outbreaks in dairy cows  Contact with Non-Human Intelligence of the Aquatic Kind: Will Extraterrestrials be Next?A Stunning New AI Has Supposedly Achieved Sentience EGLIN UAP INCIDENT: AARO's official Tweet about the Eglin UAP Incident Matt Gaetz responds    Matt Gaetz Details Shocking UAP Evidence That 'I And I Alone Have Observed'  Congressman Provides Account of Military UAP Image That He Says Matches No “Human Capability” UAP Incident Over the Gulf of Mexico Confirmed in Newly Declassified Files and Images  AARO Has Only “Moderate Confidence” in Findings From Latest UAP Investigation. It's Easy to See Why. BECOME AN X SUBSCRIBER AND GET EVEN MORE GREAT PODCASTS AND MONTHLY SPECIALS FROM MICAH HANKS. Sign up today and get access to the entire back catalog of The Micah Hanks Program, as well as “classic” episodes of The Gralien Report Podcast, weekly “additional editions” of the subscriber-only X Podcast, the monthly Enigmas specials, and much more. Like us on Facebook Follow @MicahHanks on Twitter Keep up with Micah and his work at micahhanks.com.

Patrick discusses AARO's report on the Eglin UFO event. "Today, AARO released its resolution for the case known as the "Eglin UAP." It presents AARO's analysis of a January 2023 event reported by a military pilot operating in the Eglin Air Force Base training range off the coast of Florida." - FROM AARO

Back in July of 2023 at the historic UAP hearing, Matt Gaetz talked about a. case at the Eglin Air Force Base. AARO released a document with details of the event. Gaetz looked at the report and said that AARO was leaving out vital information and demanded that the public be privy to it. Krisitan Harloff and Pavel discuss.

In this episode, we discuss How to Embrace Holistic Healing through Art Therapy and Feng Shui as Jacqueline shares each stepping stone of her practice and how it continues to evolve.  Jacqueline went through a journey of stepping stones, each with unique and individual sets of wisdom that she now combines beautifully into her overall practice. She started with art education, eventually adding Yoga, Reiki, Art Therapy, and Feng Shui as a wholesome blend of holistic healing practices.  She shares how Art Therapy led her into deeper practices and understanding of how interconnected intergenerational trauma can be in one's environment and habits. Jacqueline speaks on her findings of people she's served, from children to veterans who all benefit from the therapeutic practices she's combined. Through her work, she discovered that she could only do so much from a therapist's perspective and often this would send her clients back home to an unsupportive or imbalanced environment. This is where Feng Shui came in, Jacqueline started studying Feng Shui through Amanda's International Feng Shui School and discovered that she was able to help her clients set up their homes for personal success too! This combined with Art Therapy allowed her to guide her clients to explore their creativity more, which allowed them to be more in tune with the colors, artwork, and flow of the home itself. The interconnection of Art Therapy and Feng Shui mainly took the form of repatterning old programs of environment, where she found her clients all had habits, perhaps formed from childhood and others formed through adulthood that often created a negative cycle. Now, she can provide them with repatterning tools like decluttering, healing from within, Art Therapy practices, or taking time to meditate or reflect through art that then guides them to breaking negative cycles. A beautiful part of this episode for me was as we started diving deeper into generational trauma, Jacqueline expressed how much wisdom is buried deep within our roots. As we start unpacking trauma and releasing what does not serve us, we also keep emotional reminders and keepsakes within our consciousness as pearls of wisdom. Sometimes it's on what you'd rather want to break the cycle of, other times it's areas in which you'd want to improve for the next generation. Through her Art Therapy and holistic healing modalities, she's found ways to restore, rebuild and release with her clients, and teach them grounding techniques for their continued healing. Toward the end of the episode, Jacqueline shares her tips on how to use Yoga, meditation, Art Therapy, Feng Shui, reflection, and everyday rituals to create an environment supportive of holistic healing. If you're on the path of holistic healing, or you have an interest in Art Therapy or Feng Shui, then this is the podcast for you. Like me, so many of my students, including Jacqueline, started out learning from various cultures and modalities like Yoga, Reiki, Pilates, and Meditation and started incorporating Feng Shui and other holistic healing practices into their tool kit. When you're on the path of a holistic healer then you'll find that one modality always fits into another. That is why when I speak of Feng Shui, I always say that it pairs and interconnects with all the other holistic healing functions. Are you ready to expand on your holistic healing journey or upgrade your services? Join Jacqueline and many other students on their path as holistic healers and register for my FREE Feng Shui mini-course or my Feng Shui Master Certification Course, where you will learn a holistic blend of Feng Shui to incorporate with your existing or future services.      Jacqueline Jones owns and operates Flourish Momentum, integrative health and wellness for mind, body, soul, and space. She draws on her professional experience in education, art therapy, yoga, meditation, integrative nutrition health coaching, energy healing, and feng shui to offer a proprietary blend of services to holistically support clients to optimize all-around wellness. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Art, Master of Education, and Master of Arts in Art Therapy. She is a Board Certified Art Therapist, Registered Yoga Teacher, Certified iRest Yoga Nidra Teacher, Certified Energy Medicine Yoga Teacher, Certified Zentangle Teacher, and Master Level Reiki Practitioner and Feng Shui Consultant. She taught art in Fairfax County Public Schools before becoming an art therapist. Since 2011 she has been providing clinical art therapy, first to pediatric oncology and hematology patients at Georgetown University Hospital, then, since 2012, to active duty service members in rehabilitative treatment for invisible wounds of war such as traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, and chronic pain at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the Intrepid Spirit One at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, and at The Invisible Wounds Center at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Since 2018 she has been providing yoga and iRest yoga nidra therapeutically as well. In 2021 she launched her private practice, Flourish Momentum, to work with clients using a full spectrum holistic approach that addresses mind, body, soul, and space to achieve and maintain desired wellness goals. She works therapeutically with clients one-on-one as well as provides therapeutic groups and wellness events to non-profit and for-profit organizations in a variety of contexts to support needs of staff or clientele. She has researched, published, and presented nationally and internationally on program development and evaluation of clinical art therapy to treat TBI and PTSD in military populations as well as utilizing art therapy to treat complicated and disenfranchised grief among military service members. Website:  www.flourishmomentum.com Instagram:  @flourish_momentum  Subscribe to her YouTube Channel for Free guided practices.

Get ready for an electrifying episode as Chief Master Sergeant Abi Scott takes center stage to ignite the spirit of Team Eglin with his powerful talk on leadership and resilience. In this exclusive bonus episode, Chief Scott shares his dynamic perspective on what it takes to build resilient teams and foster a culture of excellence. But first, mark your calendars for an event you won't want to miss: the Catalyst of Growth Summit! Returning for its second year, this summit will be held at the Bayview Event Center on Eglin Air Force Base on April 4th. Open to anyone with a DOD ID card, this summit promises a day of transformative leadership insights from some of the nation's top speakers. Can't make it in person? Don't worry, the summit will be live-streamed on Facebook, so be sure to follow the Catalyst of Growth Summit page to catch all the action! Now, back to the episode. Chief Scott dives deep into the fundamental importance of connection within teams, drawing from his wealth of experience to underscore how strong bonds can fuel effective leadership and drive success. Through captivating anecdotes and interactive exercises like rock-paper-scissors, Chief Scott demonstrates how simple actions can have a profound impact on team dynamics and morale. Throughout the talk, Chief Scott unpacks the concept of resilient leadership, challenging listeners to recognize their own leadership potential in everyday moments. From reflecting on childhood values to navigating the complexities of military life, Chief Scott offers invaluable insights into building resilience and fostering a culture of care and accountability within teams. With his infectious energy and unwavering passion, Chief Scott inspires listeners to embrace their roles as leaders and champions of teamwork. Whether you're a seasoned leader or aspiring to become one, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to unlock the full potential of their team and cultivate a culture of resilience and camaraderie. Tune in now and get ready to ignite the spark within your team!

Bill is a 10+ year veteran of the US Military and was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base at one point during his tenure, where he witnessed unusual events around the powerful radar array known as Site C-6. Indications were that Site C-6 was being used to monitor UFO activity and possibly send crash retrieval teams in the right direction. Bill also had his own UFO experience growing up, which has helped shape his views on the subject.If you have a story to tell, get in touch with us.-----------Be a Basement VIPBuy us a beer!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-basement-hangout--4783268/support.

Patrick discusses the confirmation of an Eglin Air Force Base UFO Event that was CONFIRMED through FOIA (Original Source Below). Rep. Matt Gaetz initially spoke about this event last July at the infamous July 2023 UAP Congressional Hearing. We also look at an eye-opening exchange between John Greenewald Jr. and Mick West about this event. Their conversation is not what you'd expect. Finally we take a look at a clip from Jeremy Corbell and Dave Foley discussing their UFO sighting with some striking similarities.

Another report of a UFO over Eglin Air Force Base in Florida is emerging online. Yes the same AFB where Matt Gaetz was originally told to go pound sand when he showed up to view UFO photo evidence collected by fighter pilots. What is going on with UFO's over Eglin and why did Rep. Gaetz claim they were not of 'human origin'? Listen to learn more.

Sergeant First Class Chris Corbin entered military service in July 1995. Prior to becoming a Green Beret with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), he served in various Army units such as the 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (1995-1999), and the 1st Battalion, and 75th Ranger Regiment (1999-2002). On February 17th, 2011, Corbin was on his third tour to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). That day, he was on patrol with his Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) through a village in the Helmand Province, when he stepped on an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and suffered injuries to both legs resulting in a bilateral, below-the-knee (Bilat BK) amputation. On March 24th, 2012, 13 months after his injury, Chris, with his Green Beret father, Master Sergeant Nelson Corbin, ran his first 5K race to benefit the Fisher House on Eglin Air Force Base. His determination and will coupled with the support and motivation provided by his father and teammates enabled Chris to finish his first race in 27 minutes and 34 seconds. 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) Photo Credit: Chris Corbin

Today's Story: Electric Aircraft Debut

In this episode of From the Crows Nest, host Ken Miller sits down with Colonel Joshua Koslov, Commander of the U.S. Air Force 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing (SWW), out of Eglin Air Force Base in Pensacola, Florida. Now entering its third year, the SWW was established to address persistent gaps in U.S. Air Force EW that were highlighted across numerous studies and reports. The SWW is paving the way for better leadership and technology integration and reinvigorating a culture of EMS awareness in the Joint Force. Ken and Col. Koslov dive into the mission of the SWW, such as personnel shortages, effective training, assessing and enhancing, and the need for EW readiness and integrating EW capabilities into joint force operations. They also discuss the activation and role of the 950th Spectrum Warfare Group and the mission of the 68th Electronic Warfare Squadron (EWS) FMS Reprogramming Center, which supports foreign military sales partners by providing electronic warfare mission data. This mission directly enhances U.S. and coalition warfighters' combat capabilities and survivability. Finally, Ken and Col. Koslov discuss an October 2023 activation ceremony for Detachment 1, 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, and Detachment 1, 87th Electronic Warfare Squadron, at Warner Robins Air Force Base, GA.To learn more about today's topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our website

Is a Civil War brewing?? Multiple Representatives went into battle both at an Air Force base and within hearings scheduled for next Thursday at 10:00 a.m.! These reps talk about how they were stonewalled when they went to interview pilots at Eglin Air Force Base by the General who told them straight out that they weren't getting any information. Period. And weren't even allowed to interview the witnesses who came to the representatives for help. This seems like it's the beginning of a battle or even possibly a civil war with the government and the military of which we were warned about by President Eisenhower about the military industrial complex becoming a problem. Well it's become a problem. And the battle starts next Thursday!! Jump in to find out what these Representatives found out when they reached the gates of Eglin Air Force Base --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lockdown-universe/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lockdown-universe/support

Destin-Fort Walton Beach has had many names. We take you through the origin story of  VPS and how early developers in Valparaiso, Eglin Air Force Base and a partnership with Okaloosa County have influenced what it is today and how it will continue to be successful in the future.

This edition features stories on cyber operations, new F-35s assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, exercise Giant Sword II and U.S. missions in Rwanda. Hosted by Tech. Sgt. Kevin Dennison.

This edition features stories on the new Global Hawk aircraft coming out in June, service members on Holloman Air Force Base paying tribute to a fallen Soldier, easing hurricane evacuation expenses, new urban survival training facility at Eglin Air Force Base and Airmen from 10 nations training together as part of the Loyal Arrow training exercise. Hosted by Master Sgt. Shawn Sprayberry

This edition features stories on a new F-35 training facility on Eglin Air Force Base, an Afghan pilot flying in an Afghan Air Corps mission and and Airmen who acts in the community theater with his family. Hosted by Senior Airman Brad Sisson.

This edition features stories on joint forces training at Eglin Air Force Base, the Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, the ATC Special Duty Team visiting Lajes Field, Rapid Intervention Team Training, a Powerhouse Contest on Ellsworth Air Force Base and the Month of the Military Child. Hosted by Senior Airman Brad Sisson.

This edition features stories on changes to the Air Force unifrom, Operational readiness inspections, U.S. and Bangladeshi service members training together during Operation Cope South Maintainer and the Miami Heat visiting Eglin Air Force Base. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Alina Richard

Current U.S. integrated air and missile defense capabilities are not keeping pace with the rapidly evolving unmanned aerial systems threat and require both materiel and non-materiel solutions to mitigate warfighter capability gaps. BLACK DART is an annual field demonstration of current and emergent Counter-UAS technologies sponsored by the Joint Staff J8 Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization also known as JIAMDO. As the Black Dart 2016 lead assessment organization, the Joint Staff J6 Joint Deployable Analysis Team, also known as JDAT, collected data to answer two main questions: 1- Can current fielded systems counter UAS threats? 2- And, what is the capability or potential of non-Program of Record systems to enhance counter UAS operations? The live-fly, live-fire demonstration took place in late 2016 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida and the surrounding land and sea ranges with over 900 personnel in attendance including participants from Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. BLACK DART demonstrations began in 2010 and are the only Joint and partner nation Department of Defense counter UAS events. The JDAT Black Dart Report will include detailed findings on systems' abilities to detect, track, identify, and negate unmanned aircraft systems to support Joint and Combined warfighter capabilities and make our forces more connected, survivable, and lethal on the battlefield. a. Execute live-fly, live-fire C-UAS technology demonstrations to assess and validate existing and emerging IAMD capabilities. b. Present emerging solutions to inform requirements decision making. c. Identify and develop IAMD operational concepts, system interoperability, and operational architectures for the C-UAS mission set. d. Advocate for warfighters' desired C-UAS capabilities and affordable, integrated solutions. e. Identify C-UAS capability gaps for IAMD. f. Identify promising materiel and non-materiel solutions for C-UAS operations. g. Investigate new methods for UAS Combat Identification (CID). h. Improve completeness of the shared air picture with respect to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs). i. Develop C-UAS non-kinetic negation methods and techniques. j. Promote and integrate interagency participation and capabilities. k. Promote foreign/partner nation observer participation and coordination. The demonstration will include Program of Record (POR) as well as non-POR C-UASs demonstrating capabilities and/or collecting data in support of proprietary C-UAS development. Onsite data collection supports real-time feedback, opportunities for participant feedback, and becomes the basis for formal analysis at the conclusion of the demonstration. In order to align with warfighter needs, JIAMDO coordinated with the Combatant Commands and Services to prioritize capability gaps related to C-UAS.

Courtesy of NASA Kelvin Manning has served as deputy director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida since July 2021. In this capacity, Manning shares responsibility with Kennedy Director Janet Petro in managing the Kennedy team of civil service and contractor employees, determining and implementing center policy, and managing and executing Kennedy missions and agency program responsibilities. Manning served as the center's associate director for more than a decade. In that capacity, he was responsible for ensuring safe and effective execution of the center's institutional, technical, and business functions, including establishing strategies and policies to ensure alignment of the Kennedy workforce, facilities, and operations to facilitate agency program and project goals. In 1992, Manning began his career at Kennedy and served in a number of positions within the former Shuttle Processing Directorate, including flow director for space shuttle Atlantis, chief engineer (acting) for shuttle upgrades, vehicle manager for space shuttle Columbia, and NASA test director. Later in the Kennedy Constellation Project Office, Manning was selected as the first division chief for NASA's Orion spacecraft. More recently, he served on the last three NASA Astronaut Candidate Selection Boards. Born in Fort Meade, Maryland, as an “Army brat,” Manning traveled throughout the U.S. and has resided in Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, Hawaii, Illinois, and Maryland. After graduating from Aberdeen High School in Aberdeen, Maryland, Manning went on to obtain his B.S. from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. In addition, Manning has an M.S. in industrial engineering from the University of Central Florida in Orlando and has completed the Senior Executive Fellows Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. As an Air Force officer, Manning served six years as a space operations analyst, stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and NORAD Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs. Following his military service and prior to joining NASA, Manning was an engineer with General Electric Aerospace, Military and Data Systems Operations, in Springfield, Virginia, and McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company in Washington, D.C. Manning has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award, NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the astronauts' Silver Snoopy Award, National Black Engineer of the Year Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement in Government, NASA Public Service Award, Department of Defense Joint Service Commendation Medal, and National Eagle Scout Association Outstanding Eagle Scout Award.

Dianna Deeney and Shere Tuckey talk about Crucial Conversations® in an engineering environment: how to prepare for and have difficult conversations with peers, managers, and everyone else. This interview is part of our series, “A Chat with Cross Functional Experts". Our focus is speaking with people that are typically part of a cross-functional team for new product development. We discuss their viewpoints and perspectives regarding new products, the values they bring to new product development, and how they're involved and work with product design engineering teammates.About ShereShere is a Branch Chief in the Air Force Research Laboratory, Munitions Directorate, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. She is responsible for advocating, planning, budgeting, organizing, and directing the execution of a high-priority technology development portfolio as well as direct supervision and management of all personnel within the branch. Over the last twenty-nine years, she has managed twelve different teams across many engineering disciplines from shock physics experimentation to weapon effects modeling and simulation. Shere has taken a special interest in leadership, mentoring, and helping teams communicate effectively. After being asked to serve as the Dean of Leadership for her organization's workforce development program, she became certified to teach the Crucial Conversations® course as a foundational element of leadership development. She has taught five highly rated classes to high level managers, junior employees, and everyone in between. The positive feedback received from these classes and the course's universal applicability, has motivated Shere to share this knowledge in as many forums as possible. Shere and Dianna talk about:what makes a dialogue a Crucial Conversation®how she discovered the Crucial Conversation® frameworkwhy she trains others at her work in the Crucial Conversations® model and champions its useShere also shares stories of success.Visit the podcast blog for extra show notes and links to Shere's recommended videos.Support the show**FREE RESOURCES**Quality during Design engineering and new product development is actionable. It's also a mindset. Subscribe for consistency, inspiration, and ideas at www.qualityduringdesign.com. About meDianna Deeney helps engineers work with their cross-functional team to reduce concept design time and increase product success, using quality and reliability methods. She founded Quality during Design through her company Deeney Enterprises, LLC. Her vision is a world of products that are easy to use, dependable, and safe – possible by using Quality during Design engineering and product development.

John Horrigan received five Boston/New England Emmy Awards (and had twenty nominations) for his role as host and writer of the critically-acclaimed television show entitled "The Folklorist". The program even featured paranormal segments on the Gloucester Sea Serpent, Ape Canyon, The Angels of Mons, Spring-heeled Jack and the Dover Demon. He has had an interest in unexplained mysteries and paranormal events for nearly 40 years. He began broadcasting about the unexplained on local access television and radio beginning in 1991, producing programs dedicated to mysterious phenomena such as Nightime Talk Television (1989), Omnibus Unlimited (1992), Tails (1993), AAHA (1999) and Forteana (2000). He was the last person to interview Betty Hill (alleged first alien abductee) in 1999 with “The Lost Betty Hill Interview”. His research into Unidentified Flying Objects took him to Roswell, New Mexico (three times); Area 51; Kecksburg, Pennsylvania; Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia; Gulf Breeze, Florida; the San Luis Valley (investigating cattle mutilation), the Lockheed Skunk Works; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Eglin Air Force Base; Cheyenne Mountain; Edwards Air Force Base; Hill Air Force Base; Dugway Proving Grounds; White Sands Missile Range and Hurlburt Field.

John Horrigan received five Boston/New England Emmy Awards (and had twenty nominations) for his role as host and writer of the critically-acclaimed television show entitled "The Folklorist". The program even featured paranormal segments on the Gloucester Sea Serpent, Ape Canyon, The Angels of Mons, Spring-heeled Jack and the Dover Demon. He has had an interest in unexplained mysteries and paranormal events for nearly 40 years. He began broadcasting about the unexplained on local access television and radio beginning in 1991, producing programs dedicated to mysterious phenomena such as Nightime Talk Television (1989), Omnibus Unlimited (1992), Tails (1993), AAHA (1999) and Forteana (2000). He was the last person to interview Betty Hill (alleged first alien abductee) in 1999 with “The Lost Betty Hill Interview”. His research into Unidentified Flying Objects took him to Roswell, New Mexico (three times); Area 51; Kecksburg, Pennsylvania; Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia; Gulf Breeze, Florida; the San Luis Valley (investigating cattle mutilation), the Lockheed Skunk Works; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Eglin Air Force Base; Cheyenne Mountain; Edwards Air Force Base; Hill Air Force Base; Dugway Proving Grounds; White Sands Missile Range and Hurlburt Field.

We are joined by U.S. Air Force Colonel (Ret) Jon "Press" Wheeler, who we first featured in Episode #21.Colonel Wheeler is a highly decorated fighter pilot who flew the F-16 Falcon, and he was one of the initial cadre of pilots selected to fly the F-35 in the United States Air Force (USAF). Colonel Wheeler served as the Wing Commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, which was the first to train pilots for the F-35, so needless to say, he is a highly regarded subject matter expert.The release of this episode is timed between the Tailhook Association Hook '22 Symposium, and the upcoming Air Force Association 2022 Air, Space & Cyber Conference. This is important because our discussion will describe some of the differences between 4th and 5th Generation aircraft, and will specifically speak to some of the capabilities of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. We'll talk about the unique training challenges that come with operating 5th Generation fighters -- these issues face the U.S. Navy, the USAF, and all allied nations who have selected the F-35, let alone future next generation aircraft.You'll hear why it is important that Allied forces upgrade their training systems to best leverage the capabilities of 5th Generation aircraft, and why decision makers must understand the incredible value of blended training environments which incorporate Synthetic Inject To Live (SITL) and Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) elements so warfighters get the most realistic and efficient training possible to effectively employ the incredible capabilities of new and next generation aircraft.This is an important topic, so we hope you find this episode informative.Our thanks to Colonel Wheeler for sharing his insight with us.Go Bold!

Today Jon and Cathy talk about hurricanes in the panhandle, UFOs in the Florida panhandle, and hiking the Florida National Scenic Trail through Eglin Air Force Base.Hiking through EglinCarnivorous pitcher plants at Apalachicola National ForestWewahitchkaUlee's GoldDeFuniak SpringsWewa RV ParkWant more Florida? Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Follow Jon's road trip adventures at Don't Make Me Turn This Van Around. Have a Florida question or comment? Love the show? Hate it? Let us know – email us at cathy@floridspectacular.com. Support the show

Today's Story: A Milestone For The Grey Wolf

Our guest today is Colonel (Ret) Jon "Press" Wheeler, a highly qualified fighter pilot and senior leader who flew with the United States Air Force (USAF).Colonel Wheeler received his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 1996, and attended undergraduate pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma.Colonel Wheeler flew the F-16 Fighting Falcon for most of his career. He served with fighter squadrons that were stationed in the United States, and in South Korea, and he flew combat missions in the Middle East.Colonel Wheeler was one of the first cadre of pilots to develop and train to use the F-16 in support of Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) missions. Those "Sandy" missions are typically done with the support of the A-10 Warthog (which we focused on in Episodes 9 and 10).Colonel Wheeler was one of the elite few who were selected to be part of the initial instructor pilot cadre for the F-35 Lightning II fighter in the USAF.His most senior assignments were as Vice Commander of the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base in the Republic of Korea; and as Wing Commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing, which is a tenant at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, and is home to the first F-35 training wing under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), which focuses its efforts on training the next generation of Airmen to prepare them for their future in the Combat Air Forces.Throughout his career, Colonel Wheeler has had a penchant for training, so our discussion focuses on his experiences and his approach to training new fighter pilots, and his approach to leadership.We hope you enjoy this episode.Go Bold!

Air Force Colonel Matt "Pipper" Bradley, 53d Wing Commander from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida joins Veronica LIVE. Colonel Bradley discusses some of the amazing test missions his 47 units located in 16 locations across the United States are conducting in order to ensure the Air Force Warfighter has tactical advantage at the speed of relevance.

RedBalloon CEO and Founder Andrew Crapuchettes joined Veronica LIVE to discuss his free speech job site that puts conservative employers together with conservative job seekers. Air Force Colonel Matt "Pipper: Bradley, 53d Wing Commander from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida joins the show to discuss some of the amazing test missions his 47 unites located in 16 locations across the United States are conducing in order to ensure the Air Force Warfighter has tactical advantage at the speed of relevance. Finally, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Fingall from Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida discusses his unusual road to becoming an Air Force officer that included playing Pro Basketball in Europe and Asia. As always I have the best guests.

Captain Joseph Polanin grew up in Carteret, New Jersey, was the valedictorian of Carteret High School's class of 1986, the first student the school's history appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and was commissioned an Ensign in May 1990. He was the honor graduate of Basic Diving Officer class 94-30 at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, Panama City Beach, FL and qualified as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician at Indian Head, MD in February 1996. Captain Polanin Commanded EOD Mobile Unit TWELVE, in Virginia Beach, VA; Task Group 56.1 in Manama, Bahrain; and Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal – over 3,400 students, instructors, and staff at Eglin Air Force Base, FL – the sole EOD individual high-risk training command within the Department of Defense. He was the Deputy Commander of Combined Joint Task Force PALADIN in Afghanistan, which integrated U.S., Afghan, and NATO forces from 46 countries to counter the threats posed by improvise explosive devices (IED) and terrorist networks. Captain Polanin Commanded Task Force 68 in Rota, Spain and led more than 2,600 Sailors and Marines in who enabled U.S. and NATO forces across 69 countries in Europe and Africa. He established Task Force SPARTA, which synchronized all U.S. and allied capabilities in Africa to counter IEDs and terrorism. He advised the President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on global operations and, while serving at the Pentagon was hand-picked to represent the military at the National Security Council. Captain Polanin's final military assignment was Deputy Commander and Director of Operations for U.S. Special Operations Command Central; forward deployed primarily in Qatar until his retirement in 2020 after 30 years of active-duty service. Units and warriors under his command earned numerous commendations for valor and meritorious service in combat, counter insurgency, and other special operations with U.S. and multinational forces across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Captain Polanin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in History with a Russian language minor from the Naval Academy; a Master of Business Administration with honors in 2007 from Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ; and a Master of Arts in Strategic Security Studies as the Distinguished Graduate of the 2014 Combating Terrorism Fellowship at the College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University, Washington, DC. He wrote, “Defeating Violent Radical Islamism,” published in U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, October 2016. He is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, AL and the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, VA. Captain Polanin's personal honors include the Defense Superior Service Medal (three awards), Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, various unit & campaign awards, the Delta Mu Delta Honor Society for business leaders, and a Department of State commendation for transformational diplomacy. He resides in Tampa, FL with his wife of 28 years, Deanne and their daughters Kiana and Sydney. https://thealakaigroup.com

In this episode of Diverse, our host Sam East, sits down with Dr. Kathleen Dipple, a research scientist with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Munitions Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Listen as they talk about AFRL, Dr. Dipple's research goals, and advice she has for young researchers.

By Andrew McKay Today is the anniversary of one of the most daring and effective air raids in military history.  On April 18, 1942, just five months after the attack at Pearl Harbor, a group of American Air Force pilots who trained at Eglin Air Force Base under supervision by...

Conversation Time Stamps with Youtube Hyperlinks --> audio/video combo also on Spotify! 0:00 - Hero's Gauntlet 2:35 - Which historical figure would you have lunch with? 11:40 - Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 14:23 - Introspective Thought!! 31:00 - Do we still need each eachother? The power of connection. 37:00 - The secret is PURPOSE 42:10 - Social Media - Good for our Airmen, or society? Or is it toxic? 1:04:48 - Why Professional Development Matters...and why we're missing the mark. 1:20:10 - Why Toxic Leaders seem to be EVERYWHERE these days. 1:31:52 - Final Thoughts and why I love Key so much. MSgt Oris Key III, is the Manager, Leadership Development, 96th Medical Group, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. As program manager MSgt Key is the single focal point for the personal and professional development of more than 1,500 medical personnel. He provides guidance and leads strategic initiatives to force multiply leaders, strengthen the Medical Group's culture – ensuring a positive staff and patient experience. Additionally, MSgt Key leads the Medical Group's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion program. Advises organizational leaders and makes recommendations to target and measure organizational change to enhance cultural awareness, and develop the long range effectiveness of a highly trained medical force. MSgt Key entered the Air Force October 2001 and graduated from the Security Forces Apprentice Course in March of 2002. Thoughout his career, he has held multiple resources and personnel protection position, to include Nuclear Security, and Base Defense Air Advisor. In 2012, MSgt Key was selected to retrain an Aerospace Medical Service Technician. His introduction into the operational medical core started at Brooke Army Medical Center, as an Inpatient Oncology medical technician. Since then he has performed in various clinical and leadership roles to include, Linquest Quality Assurance Officer, Additional Duty First Sergeant and Medical Director - Aerospace Medical Service Apprentice Course. His assignments include bases in Missouri, Virginia, Korea and Texas, with deployments to the Horn of Africa, the United Arab Emerites, Afghanistan and 3 tours to Iraq supporting Operations Noble Eagle, Northern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Inherent Resolve and Resolute Support. His deployment experience ranges from convoy and detainee operations, to law & order and mass casualty response. MSgt Oris Key III - Leadership Development | Organizational Management | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is what he's passionate about. Oris is a dedicated and detail-oriented professional with several years of combined experience in Change Management, Leadership Development and Diversity and Inclusion. Successful at leading and directing a diverse workforce to attain results in an efficient manner. Well developed written communication skills facilitate team coordination while simultaneously maintaining strong relationships across all levels of an organization.

I flipped things up with this episode you guys. Listen in as I gave a closing interview for Eglin Air Force Base's 12 Days of Excellence. Check me out at: https://linktr.ee/drannjamesSupport the showGrab a free copy of my Interactive Spend Plan that does the math for you!https://bit.ly/interactivespendplanSchedule Your Freedom Chat: https://calendly.com/freedombattlebuddies/freedom-chatConnect with Dr. Annhttps://linktr.ee/drannjamesHere's the budgeting app I've been using for years to tell my dollars where to go! https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=OJ0scBcB5OUaeUJzThinking about launching your own podcast? Start here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1602373

This episode features Dr. Quyen Chu, Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at Louisiana State University. A prominent surgeon, humanitarian and writer, Dr. Chu shares his life stories, from fleeing Vietnam as a young child, to finding his calling, and giving back through work in impoverished U.S. communities and war-torn regions, including Iraq, Kurdistan and Vietnam. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts | Additional resources: education.asco.org | Contact Us Air Date: 01/04/22   TRANSCRIPT [MUSIC PLAYING]   SPEAKER: The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement. [MUSIC PLAYING] PAT LOEHRER: Hi. I'm Pat Loehrer and director of the Center for Global Oncology and Health Equity, Indiana University. And welcome to another episode of Oncology Etc. DAVE JOHNSON: And hello. I'm Dave Johnson at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. Pat, great to have another session today. PAT LOEHRER: It's good to see you again, Dave. I'm really excited about our guest today. And I think both of you and I were talking about this book that came to mind when we thought about having Quyen here. But it's a book by Abraham Verghese entitled My Own Country. And we hope to have Abraham on in another session of ours. You know, Abraham's story of growing up in Africa, and moving to the United States, and moving to the South in Tennessee in a time of HIV was really an extraordinary journey for him. DAVE JOHNSON: Yeah, an amazing story, settling in East Tennessee in the Appalachian Mountains, and then going to the Northeast to do additional training, and then returning to that part of the country during the height of the AIDS epidemic-- really a remarkable story. For those who have not read it, we both recommend it very highly. Today's guests we're incredibly excited about both. Dave and I met Quyen Chu in the Leadership Development program for ASCO. He was in the first class. He's currently the professor of Surgery and chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and holds the Edward and Frieda Green Professorship in Surgical Oncology at LSU in Shreveport. He earned his MB degree at Brown Medical School in Providence, trained in general surgery in Massachusetts at Springfield and at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, and then did his fellowship training at Brown University under the mentorship of Dr. Hal Wanebo, who was a wonderful surgeon and very active in ECOG in the Southeast group. Dave and I knew him. He's authored-- or co-authored more than 178 publications, a number of book chapters, a couple of books, including translating one of the surgical textbooks into Vietnamese. He has been an extraordinary human being. And one of the things we want to explore is his journey from childhood until now. In 2013, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to the board of Vietnam Education Foundation. He has worked in impoverished areas in Louisiana but also in the war-ravaged parts of the world, including Iraq, Kurdistan, Vietnam. He is truly a special breed of humanists who-- I think he looks back at his roots. he sees the bright possibilities of the future and reflects on what he can do to make a difference. It's just a great pleasure to have you, Quyen, to join us today. QUYEN CHU: Thank you very much, Pat, for that great introduction. It is very heartwarming, and I look forward to this podcast. DAVE JOHNSON: So Quyen, why don't we start a little bit-- I mean, Pat's mentioned your background. Tell us a little about how you got here and about your family and their journey from Vietnam to the United States. QUYEN CHU: Sure. I immigrated to the United States in 1975 right after the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. My father was a South Vietnamese officer in the army, which means that he fought alongside with the Americans so that when the Americans pulled out, South Vietnam fell. And so because he was an officer, we were-- basically had no choice but to leave the country. Otherwise, he would be in a re-education camp, which might mean that we would never see him again. So we left Vietnam in '75. I was seven. We left on a ship, and then we also left-- then we transitioned to boats, and then we went to the Philippines for several months. And then we finally got sponsored by a church in Florida. So then we stayed at Eglin Air Force Base for several months before we actually went to our home in Florida. I grew up there and basically was-- grew up in a very impoverished area. It was-- basically it's a rat-infested home that we lived in. My father was an officer. He was a captain. But coming over to the United States, you have to learn English. You have to try to get a better education. And he finally realized that he had to support a family of six, and he took on being a barber. So he was a barber for most of his-- the rest of his career, really, raising a family of six. And I was there just to do the very best that we could. Throughout it at all, we knew that we were in the right place. And we knew that America doesn't give everything out for free, but we also know that it's a great, great land of opportunity. The philosophy is that if you apply yourself, do the very best, follow the rules and regulations or laws, you know, abide by their laws, that you can do great things. And that is a great opportunity. So that was embedded in me and my sisters, and those philosophies have stood the test of time thus far. PAT LOEHRER: You know, I read a little piece when-- you told a story about arriving here in Florida and a police car pulling up to your house. Can you relate that story? QUYEN CHU: It's the memory that I will never forget. And in fact, I remember it every Thanksgiving. So it was around Thanksgiving. We really didn't know what it was. We just moved into a new house. And it's funny because when we drove by the new house, we saw the garage. And we felt, oh, my god, we're going to live in that garage. This is great. This garage is going to be our house. This is great. There's so much space. And I remember when we asked the driver, the driver goes no, no, no, no, that's where you park your car. The whole house is yours. And we were just amazed. But anyway, so around Thanksgiving, we saw-- a police car drove up to our parkway. And I saw, and I was scared. And then I called out my dad. And I said, Dad, there's a police car here. What did we do wrong? And he was so scared. And he said, Son, you know, I will take care of this. So the police came and knocked on the door. And when my dad opened the door, he claps his hand, and he just bow, just like this, several times to the policemen and say, we're-- in broken English, we're sorry. We know English. We did not mean to break any laws. Forgive us. And the police just smiled. And he says, no, no, no, no. We're here to greet you as a new neighbor. And it's Thanksgiving, and we want to give you a turkey. Then he waved to the other police to come over, and then the other police came out with a big old turkey. And they hand it to us, and they said, welcome to the neighborhood. And we were so happy. My mom-- just about to cry. And we felt that, hey, this is now our new home, and we felt that this is not going to be a strange land, that we're going to create a life for ourselves here. DAVE JOHNSON: It's a remarkable story, Quyen. That type of story just makes it even more special. You mentioned that you had several siblings. Where do you fall in the hierarchy? And what are your siblings doing? QUYEN CHU: So I'm a second-oldest. So my oldest sister-- she went to Cornell, and she is now a full professor of biochemistry at Union College. My younger sister, who's a year younger than me-- she graduated from Dartmouth, and she is now working at industry and also, in the medical field. She holds a PhD from Columbia. And then my youngest sister graduated from Oberlin College, and she is now working in the hotel business. So we're very blessed. We feel very excited about the opportunities. And we look back at our lives every Christmas when we get together as a family, and we reflect back at the lives that we've gotten. And we also feel bad about family members who couldn't make it over here and wonder what their lives would have been like had they come over here. And then we also wonder what life for us would have been like had we not come over here. And through it all, we felt that we really, really hit the jackpot in life and that all of us were very, very lucky to have this life that we have. PAT LOEHRER: I can't imagine the pride that your parents have of all of you and how much pride you have for him. I mean, it's extraordinary. Can you just because I've never-- none of us have been through this, what you've been through. But what was it like being seven years old in the middle of this war in Vietnam? What memories do you have of that? QUYEN CHU: Yeah. I remember when I was playing with my cousins. And of course, in Vietnam, we live under a house full of cousins, aunts, and the extended family. I remember leaving them, and I felt very lonely in America. Of course, each family has its own separate family. And I just felt like it was not-- it was very lonely. But we did have very nice neighbors. We did have great people that really was very supportive. Of course, as a young seven-year-old, the neighbor's daughter was around my age. She was cute, so, of course, I'd find every reason to visit them and say hi to them. But other than that, it was a very nice place to grow up. They have their challenges, obviously. What I remember as a second grader-- I saw all the boys. To me, I thought they were all brothers because they were all Caucasian. They all have blond hair. I couldn't tell the difference who's who, but I thought they were all related. But they were very nice, of course. There were curiosity between us. I've never seen African-Americans until I came over here. And I befriended a Hispanic guy, as well as an African-American, as well as my best friend. To this day his name I still remember. It's Jeff. He was very friendly. Of course, I experienced some racism, but I think that's expected because I look very different. There were a lot of mixed messages coming out of the Vietnam War. But I think that through it all, the challenges, I realized, that there are more good people than there are bad people and that people who were bad-- probably because they were insecure, or they just didn't know me. And then there were those who did finally get to know me. They turned out to be great people. I've learned throughout my 53 years on this earth that people have so many things in common that when we do have conflict, it's probably stemmed from insecurities rather than pure hatred. DAVE JOHNSON: Yeah. You went to undergraduate at Dartmouth. Is that right? QUYEN CHU: Yes. sir. DAVE JOHNSON: So I seem to recall-- maybe you told us this in the LDP program, but you had an interesting experience when you showed up on campus at Dartmouth. QUYEN CHU: Yeah. DAVE JOHNSON: Can you relate a little bit of that to us, as well? QUYEN CHU: Sure. So, again, coming from a family where your dad is a barber, I had limited means. So I basically had, I think, one tote bag that I packed together. I took a Greyhound two day's trip to Dartmouth. And I got there on the campus. It was a beautiful green campus. And I was a little bit hesitant, a little bit reserved because there were a lot of Caucasians and whatnot. And I was a little bit, you know, introvert somewhat. And when I got there, I saw a Frisbee flew by me. And I grab it, and then the guy goes, hey, you want to come and play with us? And I'm like, well, sure. And next thing you know, we hit it off like a bunch of 18-year-old kids-- no worries in our mind, just glad to be on campus. And we hit it off. And I realized that, hey, you know, my reservations were basically based on my own biases rather than the reality. And then I've realized that the reality is that a lot of the kids there are just like me-- just want to find friends, just want to hang out, just want to have a good education. And they weren't being judgmental about anything, and that made me really-- it felt really good. DAVE JOHNSON: Frisbee diplomacy, I guess, is we should call it. Maybe we should throw a Frisbee to Putin. I don't know. QUYEN CHU: That's right. PAT LOEHRER: Tell us a little bit about your journey to become a surgeon. QUYEN CHU: OK. So my dad and mom instilled with me the importance of education. They told me, now listen, you have a choice-- either be in the same rut as us now, or get a good education and get out of this rut. So I really didn't have any choice but to study hard. And I studied hard, and I got an opportunity to go to Dartmouth. I felt very, very lucky with that. They gave me a full scholarship. They believed in me. They saw something in me that I was very happy that they saw. And then I applied to medical school at my sophomore year at Dartmouth, and I got in. I was very excited about that. And I started off wanting to be a pediatrician, but then I realized that what I had to turn in my sheet of the patients that I saw, everything had to do with procedures and techniques. I wrote down there I did a spinal tap, I did a chest tube, I helped intubate, I did all of that. And it was really my pediatric mentor who says, it sounds like you should be a surgeon, not a pediatrician. And that kind of got me thinking about it. And then I rotated a service with Dr. Wanebo and really fell in love with surgery. It was tough. It was rough. But I felt that this is my calling. I felt very fortunate looking back at only the number-- maybe they admitted 100 students. And I felt very fortunate that I was among those. And I knew that it was an opportunity that I did not want to waste, that I did not want to take for granted. I wanted to do everything I can to make sure that I learn as much as I can and hoping that in the future, I would give back to the country, the community that gave me a life. DAVE JOHNSON: Yeah, my mentors suggested that I should be a forest ranger as opposed to a physician. [LAUGHS] PAT LOEHRER: Yeah I think I shared before I got, on one of my medical-school applications, they not only rejected me, but they said, good luck in whatever career you decide to go into. [LAUGHTER] I was going to be a pediatrician, too, but I envisioned all these kids just laughing and having a great time. But they were all crying, and the parents didn't like me either. And so I decided to find a different life. You have had this extraordinary journey of giving back, as I mentioned at the onset, and not only going back to Vietnam but also, going to Iraq and going to many other countries here. And about five years ago, you received the ASCO Humanitarian Award, which was so deserving for you. DAVE JOHNSON: Very deserving. PAT LOEHRER: But tell us a little bit about these efforts. What has pulled you or driven you to do so much of your humanitarian efforts around the world? QUYEN CHU: Well, first of all, I want to credit my wife Trina, who's been there for me. She's basically the backbone of my life, allowing me the opportunity to pursue my passion. She's a lawyer. She put her career in the back seat so that I can have a successful career. So I want to make sure that I acknowledge her sacrifice and her love. Because of her love and her understanding, I was able to pursue my passion, which is giving back. My colleague, Dr. Gazi Zibari is from Kurdistan. And one day, he showed me pictures of the Kurds, and he gave me the history of the struggle the Kurds. And it was reminiscent of the struggles of the Vietnamese, so it resonates with me. And I said to him one day, hey, listen, when you do go, I would love to join you. And so I did. And from that point on, I returned, I think, four or five additional times. We did not return last year or so because of COVID, but we're planning to return again to Kurdistan and Iraq. But it was an opportunity for me to really give back what I wanted to do all along, which is to render care to the less-fortunate individuals of our lives. I also went to Vietnam, Nicaragua, Honduras, and also on those different mission trips. And, you know, Dr. Zibari and I have gone together for many of these trips. And we come to realize, you know, what-- the great thing to do is capacity building. In other words, we should visit these countries not just once but several times to make sure that the surgeons there feel comfortable with the procedures that we taught them and that, hopefully, that they will also teach the other surgeons the procedures, the techniques that we taught them. And we were very pleased when we went back to see that these surgeons were very adept in what they were doing-- Whipples, liver resection. They were doing phenomenal things. In fact, I think the greatest sense of pride in me was to see a young surgeon in Kurdistan who did a laparoscopic right-liver resection bloodless. We felt very proud because-- I was looking at Dr. Zibari, and I said, you know what-- I can't even do that. And it's amazing to see how they have not only learned our skills, but they exceeded us. And isn't that what we all want, that our mentees to be better than us? And so to me, that was a great sense of pride. At the end, the young man came up to me and says, mentor, I hope I did it right. Did I make any mistake? And I chuckled. And I said, no. I could not have done what you've done. You have done amazingly. And he was so happy. He was so proud. He says, I'm so glad that I make you proud of me, Dr. Chu. So to me, that's probably the greatest thing is to see your mentee better than you and still see that respect that you got from them. DAVE JOHNSON: We're really happy you mentioned that because one of the themes of our podcast has been mentor and mentor relationships. And you had a remarkable relationship with Dr. Wanebo. Would you like to expand on that somewhat or tell us about that relationship? QUYEN CHU: Sure. Dr. Wanebo-- I always joke around. I said, Dr. Wanebo, you're a gifted surgeon with an internal-medicine demeanor. He is just so nice. He never loses his cool. And the great thing about him is that every time I have an idea, he would always push me to pursue it. There's never been a, no, it can't be done. No, that's not how-- you will never get it done-- never like that. It's always, this is a great idea, Quyen. Why don't you pursue it. And in fact, he would give me deadlines and say, why don't you get back to me in two weeks and see where we go with that. I remember visiting him in his very busy clinic. And his PA would always trying to brush me aside because they were so busy. And he would always say, no, no, no, come on, Quyen. What do you have for me? What do you need? He would always make time, even in this busy clinic, to help mentor me. And then whenever I'd write a paper or abstracts, he would look at it. He would fix it, and he would send it back to me and ask me to work on it. So he's been a great mentor, just a great person all around. PAT LOEHRER: Quyen, if you could think about a young professional or young student right now and give them some advice, what would it be? QUYEN CHU: I think the best advice is that you pursue your passion. I know it sounds so trite, but pursue your passion. Seek out mentors who believe in you, and avoid those naysayers because I think that young people have so many insecurities. And they're great people. They're so naive, and they're so fresh. They're not tainted with all of the flaws of the world. And I always worry that when they encounter negative people, it fills their mind with negativity. And that, to me, is not very constructive. So I would advise young people to seek out optimistic, idealistic people to be mentors. And then I think the rest will follow. And they will learn what can be done, what can't be done. Obviously, you need a mentor to advise them so that they don't fall into your trappings of making major mistakes. But I think that mentors should be someone who is inspiring, who is positive, who can tell them that, hey, you can do it. And if you fail somewhat, it's not the end of the world. Seek out your passion, and never give up. DAVE JOHNSON: That's great advice, Quyen. I have just one more question I wanted to ask and perhaps should have asked a bit earlier. How did you end up in Louisiana? QUYEN CHU: That's a great question. So at the end of my fellowship, I had opportunities to stay up north. Then I got a call from my previous partner to say, hey, listen, I'm in Shreveport. Why don't you come by. In fact, it's funny because when I heard the word "Shreveport," it sounds, to me, Chinese. And I said, why would I want to go to China to practice? I didn't know where it was. And then they said, no, no, this is in Louisiana. And I really thought about, nah, I don't want to go. But my wife said, listen, why don't you just go down there and take a look so that at least you won't offend the person who asked you to come down. So I went down there for an interview. And it really resonates with me about the needs, that patients there did not have, in my opinion, good surgical oncology care. There was a huge need. I saw the mortality for esophagus, gastric cancer. They were high. I saw a lot of cancers that were neglected. And the chair there, Dr. Turnage, was wonderful. And he said, listen, Quyen. Nobody's going to compete against you. We just got a huge need. I think that you would find a niche here, that you can really, really develop a practice here, and then I can mentor you for the academic part. So I thought about it. And then I talked to Trina, my wife. And I said, this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to give back. I didn't want to be just another spoke on the wheel. I wanted to make a difference. I think I can do this here. And so we took a chance, and I think that we're very happy with that decision we made. PAT LOEHRER: Well, Quyen, I just, as I reflect on this and think about that leadership-development program, there are many different kinds of leaders, but I can't think of a person who serves as a better example as a servant leader than you. You have given of yourself in so many ways. In this particular past few years. Where there's been so much angst and polarization in this country, and even consideration of isolationism and not having immigrants come into the country, I hope people listen to this, the podcast, and realize what the impact was of a man and a woman who decided to bring their kids over here. And he became a barber, which is not that prestigious of a job, if you will. But his impact on this country is huge. Mark Twain had a little quote. He said, "The two most important days of your life are the day that you were born and the day you find out why." And when you guys were born in Vietnam, you had no clue what was going on, but you are one of the fortunate people who know why you're here, and that's to make a difference. And I just want to tell you that you have. Thank you so much for your time with us today. DAVE JOHNSON: Yeah, it's been great. QUYEN CHU: Thank you very much. DAVE JOHNSON: Quyen, this has been marvelous, and we're both great admirers of yours. And I could not agree more with Pat about the impact that you've had. One thing we like to do with our guest at the end is ask you if there's something you've read recently, or a documentary, or something, a movie or something you've seen that you would recommend to us and to our listeners. Is there something special that you've read recently or maybe seen that you'd like to recommend? QUYEN CHU: Yes. So there's a book by Mr. David Epstein called Range. It's a phenomenal book. It's a book that contrasts Malcolm Gladwell's philosophy about 10,000 hours to be an expert. Mr Epstein took a different approach. He took the approach that you have to be a generalist. In other words, you have to do many things in life before you can hone in on one particular skill set to become an expert in that. So to me, that book, Range, is a fascinating book. I'm midway through. And it's just-- it's a beautifully written book, and it just gives a different perspective of life. I've always loved books that give a different perspective for a particular topic. And I would highly recommend our readership to read Range by David Epstein. DAVE JOHNSON: Yeah. I also read that, and it is a fabulous book. I couldn't agree more. QUYEN CHU: Yeah. DAVE JOHNSON: Well, we've come to the end of our session. And I really want to take this opportunity to thank our listeners and thank Quyen for joining us. It's been a marvelous session. QUYEN CHU: I appreciate it. Thank you, David, and thank you, Pat. DAVE JOHNSON: Thanks for tuning in. This is an ASCO educational podcast, where we will talk about anything and everything, really. We really will. So if our listeners have any ideas for our topic or guests that you'd like to hear, please email us at education@asco.org. Thanks, again, and remember that November 9 is National Louisianan Day. And Pat, just so you know, November 16 is National Indiana Day. I'm sure you already knew that. PAT LOEHRER: I love it. Every day's Indiana Day. DAVE JOHNSON: No, every day is Texas Day. PAT LOEHRER: Thanks, guys. [MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: Thank you for listening to this week's episode. To make us part of your weekly routine, click Subscribe. Let us know what you think by leaving a review. For more information, visit the comprehensive eLearning center at elearning.asco.org.

Tune in on Monday, 10/18/21 at 6:30am EST, for a "Memorable Monday" episode of The Doctor Whisperer Show featuring CEO & Co-Founder of Riverside Recovery of Tampa, Kirk Kirkpatrick! Kirk is a native Floridian, born at Eglin Air Force Base, where his father was a fighter pilot in the Air Force. His family moved to Tampa once his father retired. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and played football for Steve Spurrier. After his brief NFL career, Kirk worked for Merrill Lynch as a Financial Trader. In his 30's, Kirk fell into addiction and lost everything. He caused a trail of destruction for many years. Finally, seeking help, he jumped into a life of recovery. Kirk's life began improving and he thought there had to be a better way to treat those suffering from addiction. To treat people with love and empathy, and eliminate the stigma of addiction in recovery. Everything from the colors, smells and ambiance was created with recovery in mind. Kirk has 3 daughters, Olivia (20), Bella (18), & Graysen (9). Thank you to our incredible sponsor, TieTechnology, for sponsoring the show! #MemorableMonday #Rerun #RiversideRecovery #MentalHealth #Recovery #Addiction --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thedoctorwhisperer/message

Sweeps continues with another episode with Sgt. Ron, who tells us some tales from his time at Eglin Air Force Base. This is Part 6 of the series and will continue with Part 7 coming in September. Enjoy his storytelling. Link to 'Mystery Box of Sex Toys' from the Joey After Dark YouTube channel.  https://youtu.be/AaL8KyU-q0w 

An honor to speak with Dr. Harmon, a national thought-leader in Medicine, Medical Education, and Innovation!Gerald E. Harmon, MD, a family medicine specialist having practiced for more than 30 years in coastal South Carolina, became 176th president of the American Medical Association in June 2021. He was first elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in June 2013 and elected board chair in 2018. In addition, Dr. Harmon also served as the secretary of the AMA in 2016.In South Carolina Dr. Harmon has held several leadership positions in the South Carolina Medical Association, including chairman of the board and president. Dr. Harmon serves as a clinical professor at two of South Carolina's medical schools and is a member of the clinical faculty for the Tidelands Health Family Medicine residency program while regularly precepting physicians in training.In his hometown, Dr. Harmon is an adviser to the board of trustees for his community health system and is vice president in a multispecialty physician practice. He is a medical director for several organizations and volunteers as medical supervisor for his local school district's 23 schools. He has also been recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from his county's Chamber of Commerce. At the state level he has served as secretary for the State Aeronautics Commission.Before his retirement from the military as a major general, Dr. Harmon served the nation in the Air Force Reserve, on Active Duty, and in the Air National Guard holding responsibilities as chief physician for the National Guard Bureau and assistant surgeon general for the U.S. Air Force. His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal.Dr. Harmon received his undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics from the University of South Carolina and, more recently, an honorary Doctorate of Public Service. He received his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and completed his residency training program in family medicine with the U.S. Air Force at Eglin Air Force Base and is recognized as a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.During the rare times when not actively practicing medicine, Dr. Harmon and his wife, Linda, enjoy spending time outdoors in their coastal hometown of Georgetown with their three married children and eight grandchildren.https://www.ama-assn.org/

Please enjoy Preston's conversation with Command Chief Master Sergeant Greg Smith on the evolution of Special Operations Forces. Command Chief Master Sergeant Gregory A. Smith is the tenth command senior enlisted leader, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Florida. He assumed the position on July 11, 2019. Chief Smith entered the U.S. Air Force in 1990 as an aircraft armament systems specialist. His initial assignment was with the 3246th Test Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. In 1993, Chief Smith was reassigned to the 355th Fighter Squadron, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska where he served as a weapons load crew member on A/OA-10 aircraft. He completed multiple deployments to the pacific theater. Chief Smith was selected for special duty as an AC-130H/U aerial gunner in 1996. He served as lead, instructor and evaluator gunner with the 4th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida. He also served as the superintendent of Wing Strategic Plans with the 16th Special Operations Wing. In September 2001, Chief Smith was part of the first team to deploy following the terror attacks on 9/11. He established the first forward operating base and then deployed to Pakistan where he established a joint interagency forward operating location. In 2009, Chief Smith became the first course director and chief of academics for the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy. In June 2012, Chief Smith was selected for command chief master sergeant for the 58th Special Operations Wing where he oversaw the training and readiness for special operations and combat rescue personnel. In 2013, Chief Smith was selected as the command senior enlisted leader for Special Operations Command Europe where he led special operations forces through multiple contingencies in Ukraine, Turkey, and Syria. Chief Smith became the command senior enlisted leader for NATO Special Operations Headquarters in 2015. In this role, he synchronized Allied special operations forces for employment in support of NATO missions across the globe. Chief Smith’s last assignment was the command chief master sergeant, Air Force Special Operations Command.

Episode 14, Segment 1 of 2 - Steven Lindsey - An Astronaut Walks into a Bar... Trident Room Host Mike Wish sits down and has a drink with former NASA astronaut Steven Lindsey. They discuss Lindsey's background and the path that led to his career as an astronaut. This episode was recorded on March 25, 2021. STEVEN LINDSEY was commissioned a second lieutenant at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1982. In 1983, after receiving his pilot wings at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, he qualified in the RF-4C Phantom II and was assigned to the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas. From 1984 until 1987, he served as a combat-ready pilot, instructor pilot, and academic instructor. In 1987, he was selected to attend graduate school at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where he studied aeronautical engineering. In 1989, he attended the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In 1990, Lindsey was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where he conducted weapons and systems tests in F-16 and F-4 aircraft. While a member of the 3247th Test Squadron, Lindsey served as the deputy director, Advanced Tactical Air Reconnaissance System Joint Test Force and as the squadron's F-16 Flight Commander. In August 1993, Lindsey was selected to attend Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Upon graduation in June 1994, he was reassigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida as an Integrated Product Team leader in the USAF SEEK EAGLE Office where he was responsible for Air Force weapons certification for the F16, F-111, A-10, and F-117 aircraft. In March 1995, he was assigned to NASA as an astronaut candidate. Lindsey retired from the Air Force in September 2006. He has logged over 7000 hours of flying time in more than 50 different types of aircraft. SPECIAL HONORS: Distinguished Graduate, Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training (1983). Distinguished Graduate and recipient of the Liethen-Tittle Award as the outstanding test pilot of the USAF Test Pilot School Class 89A (1989). Awarded Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, four NASA Space Flight Medals, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal and Aerial Achievement Medal. NASA Profile: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/lindsey_steven_0.pdf The Trident Room Podcast is brought to you by the Naval Postgraduate School Alumni Association and the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation. npsfoundation.org/ For comments, suggestions, and critiques, please email us at TridentRoomPodcastHost@nps.edu, and find us online at nps.edu/tridentroompodcast. Thank you! The views expressed in this interview are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the US Navy, or the Naval Postgraduate School.

Episode 14, Segment 2 of 2 - Steven Lindsey - Space Inspiration Trident Room Host Mike Wish sits down and has a drink with former NASA astronaut Steven Lindsey. They discuss, “the overview effect”, space wine and the future of tourism. This episode was recorded on March 25, 2021. STEVEN LINDSEY was commissioned a second lieutenant at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1982. In 1983, after receiving his pilot wings at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, he qualified in the RF-4C Phantom II and was assigned to the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas. From 1984 until 1987, he served as a combat-ready pilot, instructor pilot, and academic instructor. In 1987, he was selected to attend graduate school at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where he studied aeronautical engineering. In 1989, he attended the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In 1990, Lindsey was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where he conducted weapons and systems tests in F-16 and F-4 aircraft. While a member of the 3247th Test Squadron, Lindsey served as the deputy director, Advanced Tactical Air Reconnaissance System Joint Test Force and as the squadron's F-16 Flight Commander. In August 1993, Lindsey was selected to attend Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Upon graduation in June 1994, he was reassigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida as an Integrated Product Team leader in the USAF SEEK EAGLE Office where he was responsible for Air Force weapons certification for the F16, F-111, A-10, and F-117 aircraft. In March 1995, he was assigned to NASA as an astronaut candidate. Lindsey retired from the Air Force in September 2006. He has logged over 7000 hours of flying time in more than 50 different types of aircraft. SPECIAL HONORS: Distinguished Graduate, Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training (1983). Distinguished Graduate and recipient of the Liethen-Tittle Award as the outstanding test pilot of the USAF Test Pilot School Class 89A (1989). Awarded Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, four NASA Space Flight Medals, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal and Aerial Achievement Medal. NASA Profile: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/lindsey_steven_0.pdf The Trident Room Podcast is brought to you by the Naval Postgraduate School Alumni Association and the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation. npsfoundation.org/ For comments, suggestions, and critiques, please email us at TridentRoomPodcastHost@nps.edu, and find us online at nps.edu/tridentroompodcast. Thank you! The views expressed in this interview are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the US Navy, or the Naval Postgraduate School.

In this edition of the weekly Inside Defence, hosts Phil Tarrant and Steve Kuper discuss the latest developments and issues shaping the Defence, defence industry and national security ecosystem this week. Inside Defence is your source for all the very latest in Australian Defence, defence industry and national security policy news. Tune in every week to hear hosts Phil Tarrant and Steve Kuper bring you the biggest stories over the past few days, covering everything you need to know about the issues, programs and developments shaping Australia's national security, defence and strategic relationships in the Indo-Pacific region.  In this episode, Phil and Steve discuss the recent partnership announcement between Rheinmetall Defence Australia and Queensland Gaskets in support of the RDA's LAND 400 Phase 3 bid to supply the Australian Army with its KF 41 Lynx IFV. They also discuss the Government's recent announcement of a $300 million investment into a submarine detection capability in WA, developments by Flinders University to help track terrorist through environmental testing, Royal Australian Air Force F-35s training with their US counterparts at Eglin Air Force Base.  Finally, the pair also discuss the implications of the multi-billion strategic reorientation and investment in defence capability announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which is billed as the most significant strategic and defence policy shift for the United Kingdom since the end of the Cold War, with great power status once again on the agenda.  

In 1970, the US had identified the names of over 500 American POWs who were being held by the North Vietnamese. Sources reported that these prisoners were being held in atrocious conditions and were being cruelly treated by their captors. That June, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Earle G. Wheeler, authorized the formation a fifteen-member planning group to address the issue. Operating under the codename Polar Circle, this group studied the possibility of conducting a night raid on a North Vietnamese POW camp and found that an attack on the camp at Son Tay was feasible and should be attempted. Son Tay Raid Training Two months later, Operation Ivory Coast commenced to organize, plan, and train for the mission. Overall command was given to Air Force Brigadier General LeRoy J. Manor, with Special Forces Colonel Arthur "Bull" Simons leading the raid itself. While Manor assembled a planning staff, Simons recruited 103 volunteers from the 6th and 7th Special Forces Groups. Based at Eglin Air Force Base, FL, and working under the name "Joint Contingency Task Group," Simons' men began studying models of the camp and rehearsing the attack on a full-size replica. While Simons' men were training, the planners identified two windows, October 21 to 25 and November 21 to 25, which possessed the ideal moonlight and weather conditions for the raid. Manor and Simons also met with Admiral Fred Bardshar to set up a diversionary mission to be flown by naval aircraft. After 170 rehearsals at Eglin, Manor informed the Secretary of Defense, Melvin Laird, that all was ready for the October attack window. Following a meeting at the White House with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, the raid was delayed until November. Son Tay Raid Planning After using the extra time for further training, JCTG moved to its forward bases in Thailand. For the raid, Simons selected 56 Green Berets from his pool of 103. These men were divided into three groups each with a different mission. The first was the 14-man assault group, "Blueboy," which was to land inside the camp compound. This would be supported by the 22-man command group, "Greenleaf," which would land outside, then blow a hole in the compound wall and support Blueboy. These were supported by the 20-man "Redwine" which was to provide security against North Vietnamese reaction forces. Son Tay Raid Execution The raiders were to approach the camp by air aboard helicopters with fighter cover above to deal with any North Vietnamese MiGs. All told, 29 aircraft played a direct role in the mission. Due to the impending approach of Typhoon Patsy, the mission was moved up one day to November 20. Departing their base in Thailand at 11:25 PM on November 20, the raiders had an uneventful flight to the camp as the Navy's diversionary raid had achieved its purpose. At 2:18 AM, the helicopter carrying Blueboy successfully crash landed inside the compound at Son Tay. Racing from the helicopter, Captain Richard J. Meadows led the assault team in eliminating the guards and securing the compound. Three minutes later, Col. Simons landed with Greenleaf approximately a quarter mile from their intended LZ. After attacking a nearby North Vietnamese barracks and killing between 100 to 200, Greenleaf re-embarked and flew to the compound. In Greenleaf's absence, Redwine, led by Lieutenant Colonel Elliott P. “Bud” Sydnor, landed outside Son Tay and executed Greenleaf's mission as per the operation's contingency plans. After conducting a thorough search of the camp, Meadows radioed "Negative Items" to the command group signaling that no POWs were present. At 2:36, the first group departed by helicopter, followed by the second nine minutes later. The raiders arrived back in Thailand at 4:28, approximately five hours after departing, having spent a total of twenty-seven minutes on the ground.

Chandra Beckman is a retired US Air Force fighter pilot who knows a bit about working in and managing difficult situations. Maneuvering through the many challenges in being an extreme minority as a female fighter pilot with children, Chandra continually found ways to overcome. The willpower, grit and determination that saw her through tough times in military and parenting situations was exactly what she needed when she faced the largest challenge of her life: her own health crisis. Undiagnosed multi-systemic issues for over a decade left her in long periods of house bound (and occasional bed-bound) states, discarded by the conventional medical realm. Based on her journey she is now creating a life in which she can use her “battle scars” to assist others who find themselves stuck in places where it seems no one can help. More about Chandra. Learn more about The Passionistas Project. Full Transcript: Passionistas: Hi, and welcome to The Passionistas Project Podcast, where we tell stories of empowered women who are following their passions to inspire you to do the same. We're Amy and Nancy Harrington and today we're talking with Chandra Beckman, a retired us Air Force fighter pilot, who knows a bit about working in and managing difficult situations. Maneuvering through the many challenges in being an extreme minority as a female fighter pilot with children, Chandra continually found ways to overcome. The willpower, grit and determination that saw her through tough times in military and parenting situations was exactly what she needed when she faced the largest challenge of her life — her own health crisis. Undiagnosed multi-systematic issues for over a decade, left her in long periods of housebound and occasional bedbound states discarded by the conventional medical realm based on her journey. She is now creating a life in which she can use her battle scars to assist others who find themselves stuck in places where it seems no one can help. So please welcome to the show. Chandra, Beckman. Chandra, what's the one thing you're most passionate about. Chandra Beckman: The one thing I'm most passionate about now is inclusive, inclusive healthcare options for all Americans. My journey was on laborious and costly, and I realized that if I was not in the financial position, that I was very fortunate to be in, I would not have been able to obtain the care that I did. And so I think it's very, very important for all of these health care options to be available to all Americans. Passionistas: We totally agree. So let's start at the beginning of your journey. Why don't you tell everybody what you were doing for a career when your journey began? Chandra: I was flying fighter jets for the United States Air Force, and I was 10 years into my career when my health started to fail. And it was very, very odd symptoms ranging from abdominal pain to GI issues, to headaches, to sinus issues, to things like mood changes, where I had previously been really optimistic and, you know, I loved challenges. I wanted to tackle anything that that could be done. And I started just getting snippy and short and angry. And my physical strength just started going away. Like literally I'm going to the gym working out more than I had been in the previous two years. And the number of sit-ups I could do was going backwards. And my physical strength just got zapped Passionistas: Before we get into your journey to discover what that was all about. Tell us a little bit about being a fighter pilot. What inspired you to become a fighter pilot? And what was that like? Chandra: So I was inspired to be a fighter pilot by the movie top gun. And I think I saw that way back in 1986 and I was sixth grade or so, but I loved the energy. I love the passion, the speed pushing yourself to the limit. And I just decided that's what I wanted to do. I had no idea how to get there. I had help along the way, very, very fortunate to link up with an Air Force recruiter who steered me down the path that I needed to take in order to achieve that goal. Passionistas: It's not a very female dominated industry. So what was that experience like for you as a woman? Chandra: For me personally, it was difficult. Although I don't think at the time I realized how difficult it was. I was so focused on doing the best I could. Every single day I was focused on completing the requirements I needed to complete. I was focused on flying to the best of my ability. And then when I went home, I was taking care of my kids with my husband. And so I didn't have time to step back and really take a look at how difficult is this position really to be in. Passionistas: I can't even imagine how stressful that type of work must be. Chandra: Yeah, I think for anyone, it is a very stressful job. I am pretty petite. So you know, about 5' 4”, 115 pounds. And so every single day when I was flying, I was reaching my limits and beyond in order to perform and in order to fly the airplanes, you know, the seats are fixed. So they're really made for a range of sizes, but that range is not for the really small people or the really big people. And so you accommodate you adjust, you, figure out how can I make this situation work for me? And I can't reach the rudder pedals if they're not all the way up or I can't reach the stick in the airplane. When I'm looking over my shoulder, checking behind the airplane, flying the airplane upside down, you know, at 315 knots. And if I don't put my seat at just the right place, I can't do this physically because of that. So every single day I was operating at the edge of my limits and then not to mention being the lone female in the all-male environment, it definitely had its challenges. Passionistas: How did the men react to you? Chandra: I didn't really pay attention to that. I know when I first entered that there were men that did not want me or any woman there, others didn't care either way, some were welcoming, but honestly, I really never paid attention to that aspect because I was doing everything I could to survive. And I think you have to, in that case focus, because if you open yourself to the negativity that may be existing around you, you easily drown. Passionistas: And was there camaraderie among the women or was it competitive? Chandra: I had a, a female in my pilot training class with me and we actually had discussions on that and we commented on that very aspect because her and I got along very well and we would pass other women in the hallway who wouldn't even say hello to us. And so we would just kind of ponder that, well, why is this? There's very few of us? Why would we not even just acknowledge that they're there? And I think there is there at least then 20 years ago, there was some of that, you know, you have to be tough and climb your own way up because there's only so many people that will get to where you want to go. Later on. As I moved into the, my career, my first assignment, I was the only female. So there wasn't any anyone to fight with. Right? I do remember my, what would you call the unit commander? The squadron commander came to me at one point though, because they were ha they were getting another female to the larger organization and they were wondering, where do we put her? Do we bring her into our squadron with you? Do we put her in the other squadron? What do we do? And I actually really appreciated the fact that he came to talk to me about it. I didn't know the individual. And, and I did tell him, honestly, listen, sometimes these situations work out great. We have new issues, we're a team player. We're just trying to do the best job we can. But other times there's a lot of hostility and I unfortunately don't know the individual, so I could not give him, you know, a definite answer either way. But I did answer it as honestly, as I could, based on the situation and scenarios I had seen. Passionistas: Where did you fly? Chandra: Yeah, my first assignment operational flying was actually stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. And there I was flying the F 15 C. We did have a few deployments for different things. And after that assignment, I actually went and flew the F one 17 out of Holloman Air Force base in New Mexico. My only official overseas assignment was to the Republic of Korea. And in that assignment I wasn't flying. Passionistas: So you are in this very intense career and you start to have these health issues and these symptoms talk about going to a doctor for the first time. What diagnosis were you given? Chandra: The first time I actually went to a doctor because of all of these random, strange, unusual symptoms. I was actually in the Republic of Korea and I had been kind of observing what was going on for the past four months. And I had been to the doctor for just acute things, you know, like a sinus infection, but I had never gone into this whole conglomeration of symptoms that were occurring. And at the time I was weak to the point where, when I tried to climb up the two flights of stairs to get to my dorm room after work, I had to stop because I did not have enough oxygen to continue walking up the flight of stairs. And, you know, for someone who had been doing a very physically demanding job, the fact that I can't go up two flights of stairs without running out of oxygen, the fact that I'm working out and getting weaker, the fact that I'm having significant digestive issues and that my mood is changing and that I'm starting to have a lot of pain. You know, these are all really, really big concerns. So I finally take them to the doctor and this was my introduction to conventional medicine. And I call it really the opening bookend. I explained to her everything that was going on and her response was you miss your kids. You'll be fine when you get back to the States. And honestly, I was like shocked, like my jaw kind of, you know, if it could, or if it did, I don't know that it did in front of her. I'm not sure I would have shown her, my reactions. I usually keep them hidden, but my jaw dropped at the same time. I'm like, I can't walk up two flights of stairs and you're telling me, this is because I miss my kids. Can I punch you in the face? You know, what's what, how, how is this even? Okay. So that was the opening. Along with that, I had my right. I had some blurriness to it that was passing. And honestly the only thing that came out of that appointment, it was that she got me to the optometrist to, to try to see if we could get some lenses to help with the blurriness in my eyes. But other than that, there was nothing. And yeah, like I said, that was the kind of the opening bookend to my experience with conventional medicine that lasted over 10 years. Passionistas: So then what's the next step? Your health continues to deteriorate. And do you go to a different doctor? How do you move forward? Chandra: Yeah, over the next several years, I was seen by, I, I, to be honest, I don't have the actual count. I never did count the probably hundreds of doctors because I was transferred back to the United States back into a flying position. And I became so weak that I could not fly. You know, another interesting factor here is, as this is occurring, the flight medicine doctors, who, some of them were very helpful. Some of them were understanding. They actually were, you know, told me to my face. I believe you. And I do honestly think something seriously is going wrong. And they were helping me get to the next step. On the other hand, you have the flight docs who told my boss she's scared to fly. And I get this. My boss happens to tell me this one day. And I said, really I'm scared to fly. Well, how am I still flying my own airplane at home, which has no objection, seat and still wanting to do it still wanting to fly Air Force aircraft. Yet my physical strength is so weak that I can't do it. And eventually my physical strength got so weak. I couldn't even fly our own airplane at home. So, you know, individuals and it used to be just women, but it's getting to be more and more men are facing this kind of behavior, this kind of mindset from the doctors who are there to help us supposedly. And so it became very, very difficult for me to navigate that system. And I had to continue going and continue fighting for the next doctor who was going to be able to help me. I was sent through the Air Force's medical center at the time. At the time it was called the Wilford hall. They did the full workup. They did find some minor things. And eventually I got to the Mayo clinic. They also did a full workup, some very minor things that, you know, of course, if we found, we took action on throughout this process, I went through two necessary surgeries. Had we known what we do now, the Jews went to the unnecessary and finally in the fall of 2015, early 2016, my health crashed so much again, that I was begging the doctors to help. Meanwhile, during this, you know, almost 10 year period, I'm working a full-time job in the Air Force, not flying. It was, you know, doing various what you would call desk, desk jobs. And I'm trying to navigate the medical system while performing at work to the best of my ability. Passionistas: And you're raising children. Chandra: Yes. Yeah. At the time began having the serious symptoms. I was dating my now husband, but I have two grown boys and he had three girls and so five kids together while this is going on. And you know, you're like here I am someone who is used to performing and getting things done and doing whatever it takes to make things happen. And, you know, not understanding what is it that these doctors can't help me. And as we roll back to the 2015, 2016 timeframe, when I'm bed bound several days a month, like literally do not have the strength to lift my arm off the bed. I can't work more than half a day. Most days, if that, and the doctor who I'm begging to help me tells me, you have fibromyalgia, no further workup puts it in my record. And so within the military system, you're only allowed to go to these doctors and I fought and fought and used every Avenue I could within that system and find the, I said, I'm not going to sit in the system to die. And I made up my mind to do my own research and find the doctors that could help. Passionistas: How did you do that? And what did you eventually find out? Chandra: Yeah, I did that by significant self-research and really it began, it, it became reading books by doctors, doctors who were in the trenches, helping patients, doctors who are specialists in areas based on symptoms I had based on the lack of energy, the energy was the biggest thing for me. And so I started researching that and eventually it brought me to the fact that I needed a functional medicine doctor and I had done the research. We had one in Las Vegas. I had spent three to four months trying to get the insurance company to pay for that because she did accept a version of my insurance. It wasn't the one I had, but if I had been my children or my spouse, I could have walked into her and made an appointment and gone to see her. And finally, I said, you know what? This is ridiculous. I'm not going to live like this for the rest of my life. And I paid cash first appointment. She took down all the symptoms. They were the same things. I had been telling people the, for the last almost 10 years, and based on all of the intake paperwork I had filled out for her, which was over 15 pages worth. She says, you have Lyme disease and why is no one seeing this? She followed it up with,ulab tests, which were confirmed. And for anyone out there who's not familiar with Lyme disease. Not only is Lyme disease prevalent or present, but usually there's any number of co-infections present with the Lyme disease and other viruses, things like mold toxicity, things like heavy metal toxicity. Your, your, your body is basically a toxic heap of trash inside. And especially when you've been living like this for 10 years. And that day she told me, listen, it's going to take you two to five years to recover from this. You have been sick for so long. I was one of the worst patients she had. She had one of the most complex and worst patients, as far as the kind of shape I was in at that point began a new journey. Little do you know that when you get a diagnosis such as Lyme disease and, a complex chronic illnesses, the treatment often puts you into worse spaces and places than you have been through just living with it. And that journey was to me, the worst part, the most difficult part, but it also brought about the most learning experiences that I would have never had. I see the world in such a different place, in a different space, and then in just a different way than I did before. I'm very, very grateful for this journey and to be this far along in it, to where I can actually talk to people now, because the, the self-care that comes along with this is never ending. So, you know, one day you may be able to work for an hour and the next day you're in bed for all day, because you don't know how your body's going to perform, and you do the best you can to get the max performance out of it. Passionistas: You're listening to The Passionistas Project Podcast, and our interview Chandra Beckman to learn more about Shondra and her business Soul Central Coaching and Consulting, visit Chandra beckman.com., visit Chandra, beckman.com. Now here's more of our interview with Chandra. You said that this has made you look at the world differently. How did you look at it before? And how do you look at it now? Chandra: Before? I don't think I was as accepting of people, accepting of others. The perspectives that I see now are so much more interesting and enriching to me. This has really allowed me to really expand that view. Passionistas: But at what point did you leave the Air Force and why did you make that decision? Chandra: I actually ended up retiring at the time that I became so sick. I couldn't function normally in the military, you go through what's called a medical evaluation board so that they can take a look at your case, determine whether or not you're capable of remaining on active duty to serve. And at the time when I should have went through one of those, I had already had an approved retirement date. I was getting CA better care than what that the military could provide. And so if we had pursued the medical evaluation board, it would have just extended my time on active duty a lot longer at that point I was allowed to retire. So I actually did 20 years. Passionistas: So you have had intimate experience with our health care system. What have you taken away from those experiences and how has it made you look at the system that exists in the United States? Chandra: While I was in it, it was atrocious at that point though, I did not realize how handcuffed, how not blind, but there are blinders on our medical system and how entrenched they are in one way of medicine. And it is not the individual medical care providers faults. It is the system that has been created through the insurance companies, through the pharmaceutical companies and the system that our nation has bought into, if you will, and there's history behind. If anyone wants to go look into it, I think it started back in about the 20 1920s when we kind of discarded the other medical care options. And now I feel so sorry, I guess, for people that are stuck in that system, I feel empathy for the people having to work within it and having to go to work day in and day out and not have answers for people or not be allowed to take the time, to really sit down and understand people, understand why things are happening. And that's, what's required in order for wellness to thrive in order for healthcare to be healthcare instead of sick care. And when you get out into the integrative and functional health medicine options and natural pathic, there is a, a plethora of options available to people yet we're not even educated on them. And I think that was a big thing for me is these options are available. These options were out there. They're legal, they're in the United States yet. None of my conventional medicine doctors even knew about them. So, you know, it's one thing if they could tell me about them so I could go pursue them, even if I had to do it at my own cost, but they aren't even educated on them. Passionistas: And you would have to do them at your own cost, which as you said earlier, is prohibitive to people who don't have those means. Chandra: Absolutely. And I'll tell you, that's one of the big things that I had to let go of, you know, the first six, eight, maybe even 12 months of recovery, once I was accurately diagnosed, I would hurt. I would feel for the thousands, if not millions of people in the United States that are suffering and you know, what we would consider S you know, the, the most well off nation on earth. And we have these people who are suffering because they can't afford this kind of care that is available and would help them get better so that they can be more productive in the future. How is this right? How is this even happening? Yeah. So I had to add that point, you know, I had to take a step back and say, okay, you've got to focus on using your financial resources to recover, to take care of yourself, to get stronger, to heal so that you can help those who maybe aren't aware of it, or maybe can't financially afford it. Passionistas: So how are you helping people at this point? Chandra: I am very fortunate to be at the point where I am able to be a resource for others. I was able to start my own coaching business so that I can be a source of education, a source of resources, a source of accountability for those that are going down this path. And I won't even limit it to healthcare because the clients that I work with really don't come from the same path that I walked, but really about transformation and digging deep into yourself and finding ways that you can affect your own life in much more positive ways. And that has been very rewarding that I am now to the point where I, I do have time and I do have energy to help others. Passionistas:  So what are some of the services you offer? Chandra: I offer personalized one-on-one coaching and my role as a coach is to help people with whatever goal they have. It can be a personal goal, it could be professional, it can be transformational, it can be a health goal. And we walk together down that path options and the resources that are available for them and allowing the individual to really dig deep inside themselves and figure out what is going to work best for them. And my role is to be a partner. It's not to tell them what to do. It's really to be a partner in walking that path of discovery. Passionistas: What advice would you give to someone who's in a similar situation to what you went through and not getting the information they need to get better? Chandra: The first thing is don't give up. That was one of the beliefs that I had from the beginning when I started doing my own research. And really, you know, as you're age 40 and you're in bed saying, this is not the way I want to live the rest of my life. And there's answers out there. I know there is, and I'm going to find them. And so for anyone that finds myself there, don't give up because the answers do exist. They are out there. And when you start exploring, you will find that the next step will become available. It will appear before you, as you start researching and having to dig in and do that work. And then the other thing I would say with that as well, is that nutrition, nutrition is foundational for healing. And so I went through a number of dieticians and nutritional consultants, and it wasn't until we figured out what nutrition was best for me, and really strengthened my body and helped my body heal, that I could really start moving forward. And that's different for every single person. And so it takes a lot of time to relate to figure that out. Passionistas: And how are you feeling today? Chandra: Today? I'm feeling pretty good. I, you know, when you're dealing with people with invisible illnesses, it's easy to show up and have other people look at you and say, Hey, you look great, but they don't know everything that goes into you just showing up for that 10 or 15 minutes or showing up and sounding happy for that 10 or 15 minutes, or the fact that your body inside right now, it feels like 65 years old, but your face looks like you're 30. And so I am doing so much better today than I was six months ago and six months prior to that. Now in six months prior to that, the journey is very slow. And as a former fighter pilot, I just want to take the actions, do the steps that are required to fix it and go on. And that's been one of the biggest learning points of this journey is like, okay, the body heals at the speed, the body heals, and you have to have patience for it. Passionistas:  Now that you're helping other people, what's the most rewarding part of this journey? Chandra: I think the most rewarding part of the journey is that I now have an even bigger toolbox, if you will, to be able to help and empower others to grow prior to this, I had never experienced getting close to suicide. I didn't even understand it, but it was never something that I would consider going through this journey and hitting the, and hitting that black wall of, I now have a decision to make, I can choose to keep fighting and keep living, or I can choose to end this. Now I now understand how people can get to that position. I would not have understood that before. I now understand why when people say I couldn't get out of bed, no, you physically can't get out of bed. It's not like you're making this up, you know? And it happens. Passionistas: What do you think is the biggest lesson you've learned about yourself on this journey. Chandra: Self-Love kindness really becoming okay with the fact that you can love yourself and you can love yourself first, because if you don't do that, eventually there won't be anything left of you. I think that's really important. I know it's really important for women. I don't know how much this can apply to men or to, to anyone else who from an early age, we're taught that at least I was taking care of yourself and giving yourself that self-love was not okay. It wasn't appropriate. There was something wrong with it. And I think that that is probably the most important factor. Passionistas: What's your dream for women? Chandra: To feel free, to feel free, to be who they are, and to understand that other women can be who they are and it's okay. And we can all be who we are without condemnation without having to judge. And there's beauty in that. Passionistas: Thanks for listening to The Passionistas Project Podcast  and our interview with Chandra Beckman. To learn more about Chandra and her business Soul Central Coaching and Consulting, visit ChandraBeckman.com. Please visit ThePassionistasProject.com to learn more about our podcast and subscription box filled with products made by women owned businesses and female artisans to inspire you to follow your passions. Our winter box with the theme, Passionistas Pamper will be on sale soon. Sign up for our mailing list to get 10% off your first purchase. And be sure to subscribe to The Passionistas Project Podcast so you don't miss any of our upcoming inspiring guests. Until next time stay well and stay passionate.

Today's Story: Next Generation Facilities

Tune in (10/02/20) on The Doctor Whisperer Show, at 5:30pm EST, to welcome Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of Riverside Recovery of Tampa, Kirk Kirkpatrick! Kirk is a native Floridian, born at Eglin Air Force Base, where his father was a fighter pilot in the Air Force. His family moved to Tampa once his father retired. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and played football for Steve Spurrier. After his brief NFL career, Kirk worked for Merrill Lynch as a Financial Trader. In his 30's, Kirk fell into addiction and lost everything. He caused a trail of destruction for many years. Finally, seeking help, he jumped into a life of recovery. Kirk's life began improving and he thought there had to be a better way to treat those suffering from addiction. To treat people with love and empathy, and eliminate the stigma of addiction in recovery. Everything from the colors, smells and ambiance was created with recovery in mind. Kirk has 3 daughters, Olivia (20), Bella (18), & Graysen (9). Thank you to our incredible sponsor TieTechnology for sponsoring the show! Contact: To send me a voice message, click here: https://anchor.fm/thedoctorwhisperer/message To send me an email, click here: 13thavenuemedia@gmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thedoctorwhisperer/message

Jordan Edwards, founder of Edwards Consulting, sits down with guest co-host Frantz Pinard interviewing Wayne Ogden Smith (Prisoner of War, CEO MidAmerican Energy) for a must-hear discussion about Wayne's life experience as a U.S Air Force Academy graduate, he became a weapons test pilot at Eglin Air Force Base, then flew 90 F-4 Phantom jet fighter missions over North Vietnam and Laos. He was shot down in January 1968 and was “a guest at the Hilton Hanoi,” surviving five years and two months as a P.O.W. His military honors include two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Stars, seven Air Medals, and the Purple Heart. The decorated veteran went on to a highly successful business career, serving as CEO of MidAmerican Energy, president and COO of B.F. Goodrich Co., and senior executive of Air Products & Chemicals Inc. Hope you are able to join on us on this story of a lifetime!

Kathy Reid: "I really had a passion for helping people do things they didn't think they could do--reaching beyond what the limits were." Kathy is the Spark Cell Lead for the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base. The Wing has experienced exponential growth in their innovation culture under her coaching. She has been actively involved in the AFWERX innovation ecosystem and event attendance since its inception. She is passionate about inspiring Airmen to relentlessly pursue their ideas, to exceed their expectations and to enable them to leave a legacy that defines our future Air Force. During this episode, we explore what is means to invest in people, give them the tools they need to get started, and allow them the freedom to try new things. By committing to listening to people and empathizing with the challenges they face, Kathy says you're able to move beyond a basic assumption of what their problems are and truly understanding their pain points. We also cover a few success stories and projects happening at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, made possible by a team of innovation coaches and the intrapreneurs they enable. Kathy's Five Tips for Innovation Spark Cell leads: 1. Put Airmen first. Listen to what they have to say because we need to be the enabler they desperately need. 2. Take every opportunity you have to speak to high ranking individuals and pull them in. 3. Tell the story. But don't be positive all the time! Talk about the failures, what you've learned and how you overcame things. That's what truly makes innovation what it is. 4. Connect, connect, connect. Call complete strangers and make the connections that will help you achieve beyond what you can alone. 5. You're going to feel uncomfortable most days. Embrace that feeling as a key attribute to success. Resources Mentioned: - Eglin Air Force Base: https://www.eglin.af.mil/ "If you enjoy the show, we'd love for you to review The DisruptiveAF Podcasts on Apple Podcasts! This helps us reach new people who would love to hear from our guests every week. Plus, we love to hear your thoughts on the show! For more about the podcast, visit https://www.afwerx.af.mil/podcast.html Follow AFWERX: Twitter: twitter.com/afwerx Instagram: instagram.com/afwerx Facebook: facebook.com/afwerx

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Pat Nolan: Following a successful 30-year career training retrievers for hunting and competitions, I began to apply lessons learned in e-collar conditioning and remote directional training to working with military and police units. This is a partial list of agencies I have worked for: GSG9 der Bundespolizei BORTAC US Customs Special Operations Group ATF Netherlands Police Agency, Specialist Criminal Investigations Department, Special Operations Unit, Driebergen U.S. Federal investigative police FT. Bragg, NC. Training U.S. and International Special Operations Units 1st Special Forces Group, Ft. Lewis, WA 3rd Special Forces Group, Ft. Bragg, NC 5th Special Forces Group, Ft. Campbell, KY 7th Special Forces Group, Eglin Air Force Base 10th Special Forces Group U.S. Air Force, Office of Rapid Product Development Small units within the Royal Netherlands Military   In addition to working with operational k9s and units Pat has trained canines for proof of concept projects for agencies within the department of defense. Www.patnolan.com   FORD K9 LLC - Webinars and Seminars with Cameron Ford and Guests. We also offer Custom Trained Detection Dogs by Cameron for sale visit www.fordk9.com or email Cameron at cameron@fordk9.com   **SNIFF AND BITE**  in Las Vegas with Carlos Ramirez at Silver State K9 Feb 28 to March 1 to sign up email Cameron   Canine Science online.  Do you want to take classes on line and get more science based K9 information? Go to https://www.caninescience.online/p/s46/?product_id=1439060&coupon_code=TALKING Silver State K9 LLC  Handler and Trainer Schools, Detection and Protection dog Workshops in Las Vegas.  www.silverstatek9.com   HITS K9 Conference:  Scottsdale AZ  August 18 to 21 www.HITS.net   Pacific Northwest K9 Association K9 Conference:  May 18 to the 22nd Walla Walla WA.  Register at www.pnwk9.org   Georgia Police K9 Foundation:  As a foundation, we strive to ensure the proper training, training equipment and assist K9s and K9 teams. We provide education to the general public and city/county/federal agencies about the importance of K9s and what they do for our communities. www.gapolicek9foundation.org   OUR NEW LOGO thanks to Cait Fitzgerald Tarpley and Scott Tarpley. If you want to great logo email Cait.fitzgeraldinc@verizon.net. Or Visit Next Level Kennels!!!! Research article mentioned in the intro https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201704/is-clicker-training-the-most-effective-way-train-dogs?amp&fbclid=IwAR2vKIqwWAWk2uFfqvGnpRAa6jz3JbE-cFe4M1K33G_jaM5kT7SL0QXABUs

A BETTER PEACE welcomes Gail Fisher and Joel Hillison into the studio to examine the DoD's approach towards gaining and sustaining the competitive advantage over adversaries across the spectrum of competition. The DoD has no specific doctrine regarding this topic and all too often the response to the challenge falls to the acquisition community in the form of newer cutting edge technology. Fisher argues that while technology is a piece of the puzzle, the larger picture requires so much more. At any given time the DoD can be engaged with a competitor, an adversary, anywhere from cooperation through competition and into armed conflict. Download COL Fisher's paper Colonel Gail Fisher is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and currently serves on the Joint Staff in the Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate. Joel Hillison is Professor of National Security Studies at the U.S. Army War College. Buck Haberichter is the Managing Editor of the WAR ROOM. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense. Photo Description: An F-35A Lightning II pilot turns his aircraft along the yellow taxi line on the 33rd Fighter Wing flightline at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr. Photo Credit:  U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.

Father Lawrence Frizzell interviews James A. Hamel, the Deputy Wing Chaplain at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, about what it is like to celebrate Thanksgiving overseas.

EGLIN AFB — Explosive ordnance personnel and firefighters from Eglin Air Force Base were on their way Friday afternoon to the Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Camp Simons near Crestview in response to a bomb threat, according to an Eglin spokeswoman.

Episode 22 is an interview with Dr. Aaron Moffett, a sport psychology consultant for the Air Force Wounded Warrior program. He was the head coach for Team USA at the Invictus Games from 2016 to 2018. He teaches how to take human performance to the next level through enhancing mental game. Photo: Lucy Jones, an Air Force Wounded Warrior athlete, learns to relax and float in the pool with her coach, Aaron Moffett, at an adaptive sports and rehabilitation camp at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., April 15, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Today's stories: Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is starting construction of the Intrepid Spirit Center. Also, changes are being made to the promotion recommendation forms for officers.

Today's story: Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein spoke at the EOD Memorial Ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, on Saturday, April 18, 1942, was an air raid by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on the island of Honshu during World War II, the first air operation to strike the Japanese Home Islands. It demonstrated that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to American air attack, served as retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, and provided an important boost to American morale. The raid was planned and led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle of the United States Army Air Forces. Sixteen B-25B Mitchell medium bombers were launched without fighter escort from the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrierUSS Hornet (CV-8) deep in the Western Pacific Ocean, each with a crew of five men. The plan called for them to bomb military targets in Japan, and to continue westward to land in China—landing a medium bomber on Hornet was impossible. The bombing raid killed about 50 people, including civilians, and injured 400. Fifteen aircraft reached China, but all crashed, while the 16th landed at Vladivostok in the Soviet Union. Of the 80 crew members, 77 initially survived the mission. Eight airmen were captured by the Japanese Army in China; three of those were later executed. The B-25 that landed in the Soviet Union was confiscated, with its crew interned for more than a year before being allowed to "escape" via Soviet-occupied Iran. Fourteen complete crews of five, except for one crewman who was killed in action, returned either to the United States, or to American forces.[ After the raid, the Japanese Army conducted a massive sweep through the eastern coastal provinces of China, in an operation now known as the Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign, searching for the surviving American airmen and inflicting retribution on the Chinese who aided them, in an effort to prevent this part of China from being used again for an attack on Japan. The raid caused negligible material damage to Japan, but its consequences had major psychological effects. In the United States, it raised morale. In Japan, it raised doubt about the ability of military leaders to defend the home islands, but the bombing and strafing of civilians also steeled the resolve of many to gain retribution and was exploited for propaganda purposes.[ It also contributed to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's decision to attack Midway Island in the Central Pacific—an attack that turned into a decisive strategic defeat of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) by the U.S. Navy in the Battle of Midway. The consequences were most severely felt in China, where Japanese reprisals cost an estimated 250,000 lives.[ Doolittle, who initially believed that the loss of all his aircraft would lead to his court-martial, received the Medal of Honor and was promoted two ranks to brigadier general. Doolittle and Hornet skipper Captain Marc Mitscher decided to launch the B-25s immediately—10 hours early and 170 nautical miles (310 km; 200 mi) farther from Japan than planned. After re-spotting to allow for engine start and run-ups, Doolittle's aircraft had 467 feet (142 m) of takeoff distance. Although none of the B-25 pilots, including Doolittle, had ever taken off from a carrier before, all 16 aircraft launched safely between 08:20 and 09:19. The B-25s then flew toward Japan, most in groups of two to four aircraft, before flying singly at wave-top level to avoid detection.[ The aircraft began arriving over Japan about noon Tokyo time, six hours after launch, climbed to 1,500 feet (460 m) and bombed 10 military and industrial targets in Tokyo, two in Yokohama, and one each in Yokosuka, Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka. Although some B-25s encountered light antiaircraft fire and a few enemy fighters (made up of Ki-45s and prototype Ki-61s, the latter being mistaken for Bf 109s) over Japan, no bomber was shot down. Only the B-25 of 1st Lt. Richard O. Joyce received any battle damage, minor hits from antiaircraft fire. B-25 No. 4, piloted by 1st Lt. Everett W. Holstrom, jettisoned its bombs before reaching its target when it came under attack by fighters after its gun turret malfunctioned.[ The Americans claimed to have shot down three Japanese fighters – one by the gunners of the Whirling Dervish, piloted by 1st Lt. Harold Watson, and two by the gunners of the Hari Kari-er, piloted by 1st Lt. Ross Greening. Many targets were strafed by the bombers' nose gunners. The subterfuge of the simulated gun barrels mounted in the tail cones was described afterwards by Doolittle as effective, in that no airplane was attacked from directly behind.[ Fifteen of the 16 aircraft then proceeded southwest off the southeastern coast of Japan and across the East China Sea toward eastern China. One B-25, piloted by Captain Edward J. York, was extremely low on fuel, and headed instead for the Soviet Union rather than be forced to ditch in the middle of the East China Sea. Several fields in Zhejiang province were supposed to be ready to guide them in using homing beacons, then recover and refuel them for continuing on to Chongqing, the wartime Kuomintang capital. The primary base was at Zhuzhou, toward which all the aircraft navigated, but Halsey never sent the planned signal to alert them, apparently because of a possible threat to the task force.[ The raiders faced several unforeseen challenges during their flight to China: night was approaching, the aircraft were running low on fuel, and the weather was rapidly deteriorating. None would have reached China if not for a tail wind as they came off the target, which increased their ground speed by 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph) for seven hours. The crews realized they would probably not be able to reach their intended bases in China, leaving them the option of either bailing out over eastern China or crash-landing along the Chinese coast.[ All 15 aircraft reached the Chinese coast after 13 hours of flight and crash-landed or the crews bailed out. One crewman, 20-year-old Corporal Leland D. Faktor, flight engineer/gunner with 1st Lt. Robert M. Gray, was killed during his bailout attempt over China, the only man in that crew to be lost. Two crews (10 men) were missing. The 16th aircraft, commanded by Capt. Edward York (eighth off—AC #40-2242) flew to the Soviet Union and landed 40 miles (65 km) beyond Vladivostok at Vozdvizhenka, where their B-25 was confiscated and the crew interned. Although York and his crew were treated well, diplomatic attempts to return them to the United States ultimately failed, as the Soviet Union was not at war with Japan and therefore obligated under international law to intern any combatants found on its soil. Eventually, they were relocated to Ashkhabad, 20 miles (32 km) from the Iranian border, and York managed to "bribe" a smuggler, who helped them cross the border into Iran, which at the time was under British-Soviet occupation. From there, the Americans were able to reach a nearby British consulate on 11 May 1943.[ The smuggling was actually staged by the NKVD, according to declassified Soviet archives, because the Soviet government was unable to repatriate them legally in the face of the neutrality pact with Japan and unwilling to openly flout its treaty obligations with Japan in light of the fact that Vladivostok and the rest of the Soviet Far East were essentially defenseless in the face of any potential Japanese retaliation. Nevertheless, by the time of the American aircrew's "escape" from Soviet internment, Japan's armed forces were clearly on the defensive and drawing down their strength in Manchuria in order to reinforce other fronts. Meanwhile, Soviet forces had gained the strategic initiative in Europe. Even if the Americans' "escape" managed to gain significant attention in Tokyo, it was by then thought extremely unlikely that Japan would respond with any sort of military retaliation. Doolittle and his crew, after parachuting into China, received assistance from Chinese soldiers and civilians, as well as John Birch, an American missionary in China. As did the others who participated in the mission, Doolittle had to bail out, but he landed in a heap of dung (saving a previously injured ankle from breaking) in a paddy in China near Quzhou. The mission was the longest ever flown in combat by the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, averaging about 2,250 nautical miles (4,170 km). The Doolittle Raiders held an annual reunion almost every year from the late 1940s to 2013. The high point of each reunion was a solemn, private ceremony in which the surviving Raiders performed a roll call, then toasted their fellow Raiders who had died during the previous year. Specially engraved silver goblets, one for each of the 80 Raiders, were used for this toast; the goblets of those who had died were inverted. Each Raider's name was engraved on his goblet both right side up and upside down. The Raiders drank a toast using a bottle of cognac that accompanied the goblets to each Raider reunion.[ In 2013, the remaining Raiders decided to hold their last public reunion at Fort Walton Beach, Florida, not far from Eglin Air Force Base, where they trained for the original mission. The bottle and the goblets had been maintained by the United States Air Force Academy on display in Arnold Hall, the cadet social center, until 2006. On 19 April 2006, these memorabilia were transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.[ On 18 April 2013, a final reunion for the surviving Raiders was held at Eglin Air Force Base, with Robert Hite the only survivor unable to attend.[ The "final toast to fallen comrades" by the surviving raiders took place at the NMUSAF on 9 November 2013, preceded by a B-25 flyover, and was attended by Richard Cole, Edward Saylor, and David Thatcher.

One of the most decorated members of the Crispy Warriors, John Beard, also fits the description of retiring near the flagpole. A WWII veteran, combat pilot with 105 missions under his belt and recent centennial, Beard said the beauty of the area won him over. Beard trained at Eglin Air Force Base twice before WWII and was stationed at Eglin when he retired in 1965.

Hundreds gathered for the 49th Annual Explosive Ordnance Disposal Memorial Ceremony at the Navy's Kauffman EOD Training Complex on Eglin Air Force Base on Saturday, May 5th, to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice while performing their duties in service to our country. Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center public affairs specialist, Brian Goddin, shows us some of the sights and sounds of the event where all 338 of these heroes will never be forgotten.

The 388th Fighter Wing’s 34th Fighter Squadron recently returned from a weapons evaluation exercise at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where they employed the GBU-49 for the first time in F-35A Lightning II combat training.

LIsten to the latest news from Eglin Air Force Base

Hey there friends, hope you are enjoying your summer and spending some time on the golf course. In Episode 2 I am taking you to a course I discovered on one of my recent summer travels. While I was with my family in Pensacola, Florida I ventured a littele ways down the coast to Eglin Air Force Base and played the Eagle Course there. You've probably never heard of it and you probably will never play it, but the course was once something quite special. An Air Force base in Florida is the last place you'd think to look for remnants of the golden age of American golf architecture, but on my trip to Eglin, that's exactly what I found. Join me for a telling of my new story, "The Vail of Paradise" and hear more about a course that once resembled a southern cousin to Pine Valley. Thanks for listening! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jayrevell/support

Current U.S. integrated air and missile defense capabilities are not keeping pace with the rapidly evolving unmanned aerial systems threat and require both materiel and non-materiel solutions to mitigate warfighter capability gaps. BLACK DART is an annual field demonstration of current and emergent Counter-UAS technologies sponsored by the Joint Staff J8 Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization also known as JIAMDO. As the Black Dart 2016 lead assessment organization, the Joint Staff J6 Joint Deployable Analysis Team, also known as JDAT, collected data to answer two main questions: 1- Can current fielded systems counter UAS threats? 2- And, what is the capability or potential of non-Program of Record systems to enhance counter UAS operations? The live-fly, live-fire demonstration took place in late 2016 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida and the surrounding land and sea ranges with over 900 personnel in attendance including participants from Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. BLACK DART demonstrations began in 2010 and are the only Joint and partner nation Department of Defense counter UAS events. The JDAT Black Dart Report will include detailed findings on systems’ abilities to detect, track, identify, and negate unmanned aircraft systems to support Joint and Combined warfighter capabilities and make our forces more connected, survivable, and lethal on the battlefield. a. Execute live-fly, live-fire C-UAS technology demonstrations to assess and validate existing and emerging IAMD capabilities. b. Present emerging solutions to inform requirements decision making. c. Identify and develop IAMD operational concepts, system interoperability, and operational architectures for the C-UAS mission set. d. Advocate for warfighters’ desired C-UAS capabilities and affordable, integrated solutions. e. Identify C-UAS capability gaps for IAMD. f. Identify promising materiel and non-materiel solutions for C-UAS operations. g. Investigate new methods for UAS Combat Identification (CID). h. Improve completeness of the shared air picture with respect to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs). i. Develop C-UAS non-kinetic negation methods and techniques. j. Promote and integrate interagency participation and capabilities. k. Promote foreign/partner nation observer participation and coordination. The demonstration will include Program of Record (POR) as well as non-POR C-UASs demonstrating capabilities and/or collecting data in support of proprietary C-UAS development. Onsite data collection supports real-time feedback, opportunities for participant feedback, and becomes the basis for formal analysis at the conclusion of the demonstration. In order to align with warfighter needs, JIAMDO coordinated with the Combatant Commands and Services to prioritize capability gaps related to C-UAS.

Current U.S. integrated air and missile defense capabilities are not keeping pace with the rapidly evolving unmanned aerial systems threat and require both materiel and non-materiel solutions to mitigate warfighter capability gaps. BLACK DART is an annual field demonstration of current and emergent Counter-UAS technologies sponsored by the Joint Staff J8 Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization also known as JIAMDO. As the Black Dart 2016 lead assessment organization, the Joint Staff J6 Joint Deployable Analysis Team, also known as JDAT, collected data to answer two main questions: 1- Can current fielded systems counter UAS threats? 2- And, what is the capability or potential of non-Program of Record systems to enhance counter UAS operations? The live-fly, live-fire demonstration took place in late 2016 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida and the surrounding land and sea ranges with over 900 personnel in attendance including participants from Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. BLACK DART demonstrations began in 2010 and are the only Joint and partner nation Department of Defense counter UAS events. The JDAT Black Dart Report will include detailed findings on systems’ abilities to detect, track, identify, and negate unmanned aircraft systems to support Joint and Combined warfighter capabilities and make our forces more connected, survivable, and lethal on the battlefield. a. Execute live-fly, live-fire C-UAS technology demonstrations to assess and validate existing and emerging IAMD capabilities. b. Present emerging solutions to inform requirements decision making. c. Identify and develop IAMD operational concepts, system interoperability, and operational architectures for the C-UAS mission set. d. Advocate for warfighters’ desired C-UAS capabilities and affordable, integrated solutions. e. Identify C-UAS capability gaps for IAMD f. Identify promising materiel and non-materiel solutions for C-UAS operations: g. Investigate new methods for UAS Combat Identification (CID) h. Improve completeness of the shared air picture with respect to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) i. Develop C-UAS non-kinetic negation methods and techniques j. Promote and integrate interagency participation and capabilities k. Promote foreign/partner nation observer participation and coordination. The demonstration will include Program of Record (POR) as well as non-POR C-UASs demonstrating capabilities and/or collecting data in support of proprietary C-UAS development. Onsite data collection supports real-time feedback, opportunities for participant feedback, and becomes the basis for formal analysis at the conclusion of the demonstration. In order to align with warfighter needs, JIAMDO coordinated with the combatant commands and Services to prioritize capability gaps related to C-UAS.

Maintaining a technological edge in defense requires snagging the best and brightest minds for research and development. In this episode, we introduce you to some of the innovative minds working to make the Air Force's technology better, stronger, and more efficient today while developing the next generation of innovators for tomorrow.