Podcasts about IED

Britain's justice system is under scrutiny after anti-migration activist Danny Tommo is refused bail and remanded in custody over allegations that he slashed a Channel dinghy, while five men arrested near RAF Fairford on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences are released on bail under strict conditions as the investigation continues. We look at the stark contrast between the two cases, why Donald Trump says he would not have released the Fairford suspects, and the wider debate over whether Britain is applying its laws and policing consistently amid increasingly bitter disputes over immigration, protest and national identity.  I'm joined by retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Joe Deslauriers, a Silver Star recipient and former Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2011, Joe was critically wounded by an IED in Afghanistan, losing both legs and his left arm. Since then, he has spoken extensively about recovery, resilience and rebuilding his life after catastrophic injury. I'm joined by Julie Lapidus, founder of Autism Evolution and Santara Wellness and author of The Autism Generation: Understanding the Autism Epidemic from Causes to Solutions. Drawing on 16 years of research and her family's experience with autism, Julie examines possible environmental and medical contributors to autism and explores integrative approaches to supporting children and families on the spectrum.  Autism Generation Learn more and get the book: https://autismgeneration.com/ To get a free audio copy of my book 'How to Become a Christian in 7 Days', you can download it at https://www.russellbrand.com/how-to-become-a-christian-audiobook/ Order my new book 'How to Become Christian in 7 Days' at https://bit.ly/russellbook2 Listen to Jake's new album - https://bit.ly/JakeSmithAlbum If you want to support the show and take care of yourself properly—without turning your bathroom into a laboratory—go to tryreborn.com. It's the Reborn store: supplements, skincare, daily essentials… simple, effective, and made for people who are trying to stay strong while the world does whatever this is. Go check out www.tryreborn.com and grab what you need  

//The Wire//1300Z September 28, 2026// //PRIORITY// //BLUF: INCIDENT REPORTED AT RAF FAIRFORD AS MULTIPLE MEN ARRESTED IN MULTIPLE VEHICLES NEAR THE AIRBASE PERIMETER.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-United Kingdom: Yesterday a possible terror attack was foiled at Fairford Airbase, after a group of men were discovered acting suspiciously in the vicinity of the base. Local authorities state that a local farmer visually observed three vans parked in the roadway just outside the base. When the farmer approached the vehicles blocking the road, a group of masked men fled from the scene. After the alarm was raised, authorities responded and a total of five men were detained after being found hiding in the woods near the van site. A search of their vans revealed large containers of hazardous material, which prompted a mass evacuation of the local area. A total of 85x homes were evacuated for several hours while EOD personnel examined the contents of the vans, with residents being allowed to return to their homes last night. All five suspects have been detained, and government officials have declined to officially attribute motive.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: As this is a developing situation, many of the details as presented to the public either are not clear, or do not make much sense in terms of what attack might have been planned. Right now, the finger is being pointed at Iran for this incident for obvious reasons, however before attribution can be laid on any group or nation, the basic facts of the case must be ironed out. Government officials and media groups are insinuating that this was a Vehicle Borne IED (VBIED) attack that was foiled before it could materialize. Other claims are being made suggesting that this incident is not terrorism...but rather a group of thieves who were trying to steal diesel from the farm that they were discovered at. Examining the Most Deadly theory first, if it was a VBIED attack, it would be one of the most unorthodox VBIED attacks in history, for many different reasons.First of all, multiple people being located in each vehicle is odd; these types of attacks almost never result in multiple attackers being located in the same vehicle...it's almost always just one person inside the VBIED. If multiple people are to take part in an attack, it would have made more sense for the additional personnel to travel to the site in separate vehicles, to conduct a more complex attack (such as the infamous Bataclan attack back in 2015). In this case however, local authorities have not stated whether or not any small arms were found inside the vehicles, and no ideological material (such as flags, banners, or other paraphernalia) was found either.Additionally, the local farmer who claims to have been the original source for visually observing these individuals stated that she initially became suspicious after these men were seen wearing hoods and masks. If this observation is true (and it probably is), this is another detail that does not make sense. VBIED attacks are usually a one-way trip, and therefore the attackers aren't normally concerned with keeping their identity a secret. On the contrary, they usually want to be known publicly as martyrs, so wearing masks goes against nearly all other similar attacks.Furthermore, the attackers were spotted by the farmer blocking the roadway, and fled from the scene on foot after the farmer drove up on them. This is once again another clue that something is amiss. Normally, once a terrorist begins moving into the final stages of their attack and starts maneuvering to the attack site, a series of events is in place that would be difficult to stop. Once they've committed to the attack, violence from authorities is usually the only thing that can stop an attack at that point. Following the narrative as presented, five very physically fit Military Aged Males spent months planning an attack, had obtained three vehicles packed with explosives, had arrived at the attack site, and were preparing the attack...but were shooed away by an unarmed British lady right as they were about to detonate. This framing makes absolutely zero sense unless the story as presented is missing large and very critical details.Another discrepancy is the exact location of where the vehicles were discovered blocking the road. The farmer who made the discovery found these men and their vehicles at a junction on Horcott Road, a quiet English lane just to the east of the base itself. This road is nowhere near a main entrance to the facility. Speculating a bit (and following the VBIED theory), it is possible that the attackers intended to attack the perimeter fence itself, and not a main gate. Right at the junction where the vehicles were parked is a farm which features a small path that leads somewhat close to the perimeter fence itself. However, based on the satellite imagery (which the attackers surely would have had) this is a rather poor attack site. There is no High-Speed Avenue of Approach, and even if they detonated their cargo right where they were sitting, it's not very likely that any military aircraft at the base would have been damaged (although a LOT of citizens would have been killed). There are several other points where the attackers could have breached the perimeter, including one site that is directly on a main road, easily accessible, and offered absolutely zero resistance to a vehicle ramming through the flimsy fence to drive directly onto the runway itself. If the attackers were dedicated enough to fill three vans with explosives in an attempt to carry out one of the most substantial IED attacks in British history...they would have had to drive past one of the most devastatingly vulnerable parts of the base, to pick a far less effective target. Now that the jig is up and base security is heightened, there is no risk to pointing out this glaring vulnerability, because base security have parked heavy vehicles near all of the gates that are easy to ram through. This indicates that the vulnerabilities along the base perimeter were genuine...and the alleged terrorists did not choose to exploit them for some reason.Finally, the vehicles themselves provide a major clue which adds helpful context that must be considered in the broader context of what might have happened. At least one of the vans was marked with the logo of "Fuel 2You" a fuel delivery company, which provides fueling services to machinery and industrial sites, for customers who need small fuel deliveries. However, the logo is NOT the same as the company...they misspelled the name. The vans are marked with "Fuel 2YOU", but the actual company is stylized as "FUEL2U" with the letter "U". The logo is also green in the United Kingdom; the red logo that the suspects copied is from an American company.This small detail alone is the strongest evidence of malign action. Camouflage is an act that, when discovered, betrays intent to conceal something. And in this case, it's fantastic camouflage, because if a terrorist were to be pulled over with barrels full of flammable liquid, there is no better camouflage than to take on the identity of a company that is known for operating mobile gas stations. The problem is that the suspects googled "Fuel 2 You" and got the logo from the American company, instead of the British company that is called "Fuel2U". The actual company released a statement confirming that their company likeness was used by the suspects without their permission, and that these vehicles had no affiliation with their company whatsoever.As a result of this final detail, the suspects were almost certainly up to no good, but exactly what they were planning is up for debate and will have to be determined later on. The use of camouflage on their vans is a clever trick that would support either the VBIED theory or the diesel theft theory, but adding up all of the details that are known, every factor lines up more with the diesel theft theory than the VBIED theory. Speculating on the diesel theft theory, everything so far makes sense. A band of thieves masquerading as a fuel delivery service company, and using that as cover to steal fuel would be a rather slick criminal operation (that is, if they weren't dumb enough to use the wrong logo). Since the suspects were captured alive, it is certain that some information will be obtained, but for now a lot of guesswork is required both to determine what actually was being planned, and also what future threats might be still on the horizon.The discrepancies in the other details of the case indicate that this case is not as cut-and-dry as depicted in the media...there is very clearly something that the authorities are not telling the public. This does not necessarily indicate much on it's own; there is certainly enough wiggle room in the official story for everything to technically be true. Maybe the attackers got lost, or had a breakdown, or were not that great at planning. Maybe they weren't trying to conduct an attack at the time of their discovery, and were instead trying to stage IEDs for later on. On the other hand, it's also possible that these individuals were not terrorists, but rather thieves attempting to steal fuel from the farm at which they were caught. As it stands, the possibilities vary widely, and until more details are known we just don't know.More broadly, this incident is a high profile matter that will have several follow-on effects even if it was just diesel theft. First and foremost, the American B-1B bombers will probably be moved around the base, since news helicopters revealed where they are parked. Fairford is not the only base where American bombers are located, and these assets are rotated around fairly regularly anyway. Random Antiterrorism Measures (RAM) are certain to increase at

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and for your continued support. This week, we welcome Rob Jones to the scuttlebutt. Rob is a retired Marine combat engineer who was wounded in an IED attack and lost both his legs. Rather than succumb to despair and depression, he asked, what's next? What was next was him winning a bronze medal in the 2012 Paralympics, riding his bike across America in 2013, and running 31 marathons in 31 consecutive days in 31 different cities in 2017, all of which raised nearly half a million dollars for veteran charities. He wrote his memoir, Put Your Legs On, released in 2025. Rob talks to us about his path to the yellow footprints, his experiences and motivations recovering from combat, and his current projects as a Leadership Instructor at Echelon Front focusing on extreme ownership. Enjoy! The post #260: Extreme Ownership with Rob Jones first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and for your continued support. This week, we welcome Rob Jones to the scuttlebutt. Rob is a retired Marine combat engineer who was wounded in an IED attack and lost both his legs. Rather than succumb to despair and depression, he asked, what's next? What was next was him winning a bronze medal in the 2012 Paralympics, riding his bike across America in 2013, and running 31 marathons in 31 consecutive days in 31 different cities in 2017, all of which raised nearly half a million dollars for veteran charities. He wrote his memoir, Put Your Legs On, released in 2025. Rob talks to us about his path to the yellow footprints, his experiences and motivations recovering from combat, and his current projects as a Leadership Instructor at Echelon Front focusing on extreme ownership. Enjoy! The post #260: Extreme Ownership with Rob Jones first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Former British Army paratrooper Josh Boggi's life changed in 47 minutes when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan, losing both legs and his right arm. But surviving was only the beginning of learning who he was going to become.Josh opens up about the five-minute conversation with a fellow triple amputee that gave him a new roadmap for life, and how sport helped rebuild his confidence, identity, and sense of purpose. He also reflects on surviving a second near-fatal accident years later, an experience he describes as mentally harder than Afghanistan.From competing at the Invictus Games to now helping others navigate life-changing injuries, Josh shares how he found purpose in becoming for others what that fellow amputee once was for him.This is a conversation about identity, purpose, and the choices we make when life takes us somewhere we never expected to be.The Invictus Games Foundation is a global charity using the power of sport and community to support the recovery of wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, creating year-round opportunities that help people rebuild confidence, connection and purpose.In July 2027, the Invictus Games return to the UK for the first time since 2014, with Birmingham welcoming competitors, families and friends from around the world for a week of adaptive sport, recovery and connection. Tickets go on sale this October: https://www.invictusgamesfoundation.org/AG1

When your old life disappears overnight, what do you build next? In this Thursday Founder Classic episode of Screw It Just DO It, former Royal Marines officer Steve McCulley shares the powerful story of surviving a targeted IED blast in Afghanistan and rebuilding his entire life from scratch. After spending three weeks in an induced coma as the most critical patient in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Steve's physio delivered the brutal truth: his military and sporting careers were over. It took Steve just 48 hours to get his head round the news. Rather than taking the expected corporate path into City finance or consultancy, he decided to "Screw It, Just DO It" and go all-in on his childhood passion: bicycles. In this tight, 10-to-11-minute Founder Classic, Steve breaks down:• The moment his military career was abruptly ended and why it was "the best thing anyone could have said"• Rejecting City finance and consulting to retain complete control over his diary and life• Going all-in with his injury compensation money on prototype carbon frames• How handing out business cards before he even had a functioning business led to his first customer• Why making the most of your luck is the ultimate founder differentiatorKey Takeaways• When disaster strikes, accept the reality quickly and immediately ask: "What next?"• Do not start a business for status, build around something you are genuinely passionate about• Action forces momentum: committing before you're completely ready creates the reason you have to deliver• Luck happens, but only those who execute actually capitalise on it

He goes from “tip of the spear” to starting over in a single blast and he's painfully honest about what that actually feels like.Watch here at: https://youtu.be/Np6lE6zrtU0We talk with Josh Sweeney, a United States Marine Corps scout sniper who deploys to Afghanistan, gets hit by an IED, and loses both legs above the knee along with major hand injuries. Josh walks us through the moments people rarely hear about: the delayed medevac, the tourniquets, staying awake because the wrong meds could make him bleed out, and the strange fog of ICU drugs and hallucinations. Then we move into the harder fight: rehab, loss of control, and the identity crisis that hits when the uniform and the body you trusted are both gone.From there, adaptive sports becomes the doorway to a new life. Josh explains how sled hockey brought back team culture and accountability, how his “hockey sense” got him onto Team USA, and what it's like to play for gold in Russia and score the game-winning goal at the Sochi 2014 Paralympics. He also shares the real cost of elite competition, stepping away for family, rebuilding after divorce, and later finding a new lane in Para Nordic skiing and Paralympic biathlon, including the pressure and strategy of relay racing at the highest level.We also dig into performance and recovery details that matter: prosthetics realities, sweating and temperature changes after amputation, sleep and recovery as training multipliers, and why he now builds adaptive sports equipment through JS Adaptive Sports to help others get outside and compete. If you care about veteran resilience, mental toughness, adaptive sports, and what it takes to rebuild after trauma, this conversation delivers.Subscribe for more long-form conversations, share this with a friend who needs a “what's next” mindset, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you're applying this week.Follow Wild Chaos on Social Media:Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wild-chaos-podcast/id1732761860Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5KFGZ6uABb1sQlfkE2TIoc?si=8ff748aa4fc64331⁠⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildchaospodcastBam's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bambam0069Youtube: https://youtube.com/@wildchaospodTikTok: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@thewildchaospodcastMeta (Facebook): ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheWildChaosPodcast

Marine veteran Peter Caro joined the U.S. Marine Corps expecting to become a mechanic. Instead, he was sent to Iraq as a Motor Transport operator during a time when IEDs were killing drivers across the battlefield.In this Urban Valor interview, Peter shares what it was like serving in Fallujah, driving dangerous roads in Iraq, surviving IED attacks, taking enemy fire, and dealing with the PTSD and survivor's guilt that followed him home.Peter served in the Marines from 2004 to 2013 and completed multiple deployments to Iraq. During his service, he transported personnel and equipment, trained Iraqi police and military forces, and operated outside the wire in some of the most dangerous conditions of the Iraq War.He also opens up about the moments that stayed with him most — seeing Marines he knew listed as killed in action, watching a vehicle in front of him hit an IED, and struggling with the belief that other Marines deserved to come home more than he did.After leaving active duty, Peter began dealing with hypervigilance, panic attacks, isolation, drinking, and survivor's guilt. His path to understanding PTSD eventually led him back to school, where he studied psychology and social work.Today, Peter works as a therapist helping other veterans navigate trauma, PTSD, depression, and the difficult transition from military to civilian life.Chapters: 00:00 Marine Boot Camp & Surviving an IED Attack01:00 Peter Caro's Marine Corps Story01:50 Growing Up in a Mexican-American Family06:34 Why Pete Wanted to Become a Marine08:34 Watching 9/11 Change Everything11:31 Feeling Lost Before Joining the Marines13:44 Walking Into the Marine Recruiter's Office16:33 The Reality of Marine Corps Boot Camp18:32 Choosing to Push Through19:01 A Recruit Tries to Escape Boot Camp23:39 The Reality of the Boot Camp Bathroom25:13 Pete's Infamous Boot Camp Story27:00 Marine Corps Graduation & His Father's Reaction31:51 Returning Home After Boot Camp32:59 Getting in Trouble on Recruiting Duty36:00 The Marine Corps Job He Didn't Expect37:30 Joining 9th Communication Battalion40:02 When Pete's Roommate Went UA43:55 Preparing to Deploy to Iraq45:31 “Dude, You're Going to Die”47:00 Training for His First Iraq Deployment48:47 Accidentally Taking Night Vision Goggles Home51:58 Deploying to Fallujah, Iraq53:07 Training Marines & Iraqi Security Forces54:04 Carrying Iraqi Money Into a Combat Zone55:53 His First Experience Taking Enemy Fire56:41 Tracer Fire Over a Marine Convoy59:24 Becoming Desensitized to Combat1:00:50 Seeing Marines He Knew on the KIA Wall1:03:19 The Beginning of Survivor's Guilt1:04:28 Secretly Getting Married Before Deployment1:08:55 Training Iraqi Police & Army1:10:25 Ambushed During a Convoy Mission1:15:43 Coming Home From Iraq1:18:35 Pete's Second Iraq Deployment1:20:29 The “Code Brown” Convoy Story1:24:32 Incoming Fire Nearly Kills Pete1:28:12 The Mission That Changed Everything1:31:24 The Truck in Front of Him Hits an IED1:32:49 Thinking His Marines Were Dead1:35:00 Guilt After the IED Explosion1:36:45 Why Pete Decided to Leave Active Duty1:40:48 Life in the Marine Corps Reserve1:43:43 Being Reenlisted by R. Lee Ermey1:45:21 Returning to College After the Marines1:46:50 “I Hate the Fact That I Came Back Alive”1:48:46 How Combat Changed Him at Home1:50:54 Drinking, Isolation & Emotional Numbness1:51:32 Learning About PTSD in Psychology Class1:54:50 Refusing to Accept He Had PTSD1:56:11 The Panic Attack That Changed Everything1:57:44 His First Experience Seeking Help1:58:53 The Vietnam Veteran Who Changed His Life1:59:56 Finding a New Mission Through Social Work2:00:49 Becoming a Therapist for Veterans2:02:08 Why Transitioning Out Can Be So Difficult2:03:18 Why Pete Almost Didn't Tell His Story2:05:54 What He Would Tell His Younger Self2:06:43 “You Are Enough”

//The Wire//2000Z September 3, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: SABOTAGE ATTACKS CONTINUE IN GERMANY AND POLAND. IRANIAN ATTACKS CONTINUE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. MASS SHOOTING REPORTED AT RESIDENTIAL BUILDING IN MINNEAPOLIS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Middle East: Overnight, Iran conducted another round of drone and missile strikes, mostly targeting American bases in Kuwait. Satellite imagery of the American bases in Jordan also indicate that some Iranian missiles evaded defenses to strike their targets, but full battle damage assessments will take some time, as high resolution imagery is not yet available. This afternoon, reports of more Iranian missile launches have emerged, and the situation continues to develop by the hour.Germany: This morning the sabotage attacks continued throughout the country. Two Bulgarian nationals were arrested in Munich after throwing a Molotov incendiary device at the headquarters for Rohde and Schwarz, a major defense contractor of communications and radar equipment.Poland: Local authorities have announced that they are treating an industrial fire that tool place over the weekend as a potential act of state-sponsored terrorism. The WB Electronics factory in Skarzysko-Kamienna reported a fire at their facility a few days ago, which is assessed by Polish authorities to be an act of sabotage caried out by foreign intelligence services.-HomeFront-Minnesota: Yesterday evening a shooting was reported at an apartment building, which resulted in multiple fatalities. Local authorities initially responded to reports of shots fired on an upper floor of Loring Towers, a Section 8 residential housing facility. Upon arrival, police were immediately engaged with small arms by at least one shooter. A total of three fatalities were reported as a result of the engagement, including the shooter and two unidentified individuals. Three officers were also severely wounded during the engagement. The suspect has been identified as Carlton Johnson II, who had a long history of threatening residents in this building with firearms.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: The shadow war throughout Europe has remained hot this week, and very few people seem to realize the severity of the situation. To be sure, there is a solid argument for thinking that at least some of the attacks in Europe might be false-flag attacks intended to draw the global west further into the war. However, just because an incident might be a false-flag attack, doesn't mean it isn't a genuine threat....At the end of the day, if you step on an IED while walking your dog in the German countryside, it doesn't matter who planted it there, the result to the victim is the same. Right now, the lines are blurred to the point that attributing cause or culprit is nearly impossible for most attacks, but the explosions continue nonetheless. Daily attacks/incidents in Germany (and now Poland) are probably going to continue for the time being, and regardless of who's actually behind the attacks.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

//The Wire//2100Z September 2, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: SABOTAGE ATTACK TARGETS SECOND GERMAN ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION. SHOOTING REPORTED BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN UKRAINE. IRANIAN ATTACKS CONTINUE OVERNIGHT, TARGETING AMERICAN BASES.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Middle East: Last night's attacks by Iran were somewhat successful, with strikes being reported at the airport in Erbil. An Iranian Shahed-type drone also took out the Persistent Threat Detection System (PTDS) balloon at this location, in addition to striking the fuel point. In Bahrain, several Shahed-type drones targeted the former headquarters of 5th Fleet in Manama and Sheikh Isa Airbase to the south. Several locations were also targeted in Kuwait, with unknown success. As of this report, the United States has not yet responded to the round of Iranian targeting conducted overnight.Ukraine: Overnight a small arms skirmish was reported in Kiev, which reportedly involved two different Ukrainian governmental agencies engaging each other in the street. Allegedly, the Security Service of Ukraine (the SBU, which is like a uniformed and militarized version of the FBI) detained Stepan Kaplunov who was the deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a unit of ethnic Russians fighting on Ukraine's side during the war. Kaplunov was staying at a residential building in Kiev for Independence Day celebrations last week, when he was reportedly abducted for unknown reasons. After this kidnapping, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (the GUR, or the main military intelligence unit) launched an investigation into why the SBU took him, which resulted in a scuffle and subsequent shootout at the scene of the earlier abduction. One GUR officer is dead, and several others were wounded during the initial engagement.Analyst Comment: As one might expect, Ukrainian sources are downplaying this incident, and Russian sources are trying to amplify it, so determining the truth is challenging. However the incident did take place, and the small arms engagement in the street between these two agencies was captured on film.As it stands, video evidence from the time of the shooting indicates that tensions were high between the SBU and the GUR right before shots were fired. Both agencies were arguing with each other, with the SBU refusing to allow the GUR into the crime scene, and a standoff situation emerged. As the agencies continued arguing and fighting with each other, eventually the altercation became physical, and devolved into a shooting. After the shooting, the standoff situation continued throughout the night and the next morning. Eventually, the SBU ended up releasing Kaplunov, ending the incident. Several prominent Ukrainian leaders have called for an investigation into what happened, and for more details to be made public.Germany: Yesterday afternoon, another electrical substation was targeted by malign actors conducting sabotage operations. Locals observed an explosion and arcing at the Bergheim Power Station in western Germany, shortly before the power went out. Local authorities state that 6x rocket launch sites were located in a field near the second substation that was attacked, continuing the same attack vector as witnessed at a different power station yesterday.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In Germany, the attacks on electrical substations over the past two days have been substantial. In short, these attacks were probably not carried out by amateurs. Locals report that upwards of twenty separate rockets were launched over the top of the substation near Berlin. These rockets were not fireworks, but specifically constructed devices built for the task. These rockets were also trailing thin copper wire, which was intended to cause electrical shorts.This is not entirely a new tactic, after all the United States pioneered this tactic of taking out enemy substations with "blackout bombs" that operate very similarly. Cruise missiles were used to deploy such devices over Baghdad during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, with thin graphite wires being trailed over the top of exposed substation transformers and electrical connectors. More recently, an unidentified malign actor also attempted to target an electrical substation in Pennsylvania back in 2020, which resulted in widespread media coverage at the time.Malign actors using almost thirty rockets to achieve the same effect in Germany is a substantial escalation that is not likely to have been undertaken by non-state actors. Germany is infamous for having some of the more serious ecoterrorists around the world, who have conducted IED attacks, train derailings, and other similar attacks on electrical infrastructure. However, since no ecoterrorist organization has claimed credit yet, right now the leading theory is that these sabotage operations could be sleeper cells conducting attacks around the German countryside.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

What do you do when your life changes forever in a single moment?On April 10, 2012, during his third deployment with the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant (Ret.) Travis Mills set his pack down on a concealed IED. He survived, becoming one of only a few quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.In this extraordinary episode of Your Next Mission® video podcast, host 12th SMA (R) Jack L. Tilley sits down with Travis to discuss his recovery at Walter Reed, why he rejects the term "wounded warrior" in favor of "recalibrated warrior," and how he turned his hardest days into a lifelong mission to support combat-injured Veterans and their Families. From founding the Travis Mills Foundation from a hospital bed to hosting thousands of Military Families at their barrier-free retreat in Maine, Travis proves that attitude, gratitude, and purpose can overcome any obstacle.

//The Wire//2100Z August 27, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: CAR BOMB KILLS COLONEL IN RUSSIA. IRAN STRIKES TANKER IN HORMUZ. LARGE-SCALE CYBERATTACKS TARGET AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----  -International Events-Middle East: Overnight, Iran struck another tanker vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel has been identified as the M/T AL SALAM II, a Kuwaiti-owned tanker attempting to exit the Gulf.Analyst Comment: Claims are circulating that Iran conducted this strike using underwater drones, similarly to claims that were made last week regarding Iran using underwater drones to conduct attacks. There is no way to verify this either way, but if true, this would be the second such attack on a vessel this month.Russia: This morning an assassination was carried out in St. Petersburg, which took the form of an IED exploding inside the vehicle of a Russian Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. The man (who has not yet been identified) was killed instantly, and his wife remains in critical condition following the blast.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Within the United States, various federal databases have been hacked by malign actors, including the systems used by high-level government agencies. The DoJ alleged that the Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company was responsible for compromising the systems used by the Federal Reserve, three different National Laboratories, the National Institute of Health, and several other unnamed agencies. On the same day, the ATF also disclosed that systems related to their gun registries were breached. The Chinese hacking group Qilin posted the ransomware disclosure on their website, claiming to have a trove of unspecified documents that they stole from the ATF.These confirmed cyberattacks continue the trend that has been building over the past few weeks. From the cyberattacks on water treatment facilities a couple of weeks ago, to federal agencies being hacked in undisclosed ways, the war on the cyber front is palpable. This cyberwarfare has not been confined to the United States either; at the exact same time that unknown hackers were taking out the water infrastructure in Minnesota, the United Kingdom reported that one of their power plants was hacked and taken offline for a total of four days. This afternoon, Manchester Airport Group announced that another major cyberattack has breached the data of over 8.7 million customers who traveled through three airports in the U.K.As the United States and Iran continue their latest stage of the war, and Russia and Ukraine continue their war, these cyberattacks are probably going to get a lot worse, both in the scale of what systems are affected, but also the types of targets selected. So far, none of the groups engaging in cyberattacks have demonstrated any hesitancy to avoid targeting civilian targets...these groups on all sides will exploit any vulnerability they find, particularly to target a civilian populace. As civilian critical infrastructure around the world remains vastly more vulnerable than government networks...when those government networks themselves are constantly proven to not be safe, much softer targets are very likely to be impacted more severely as global tensions continue.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

A new pill that can treat pancreatic cancer has been approved by the FDA, but the cost of the medicine is causing some people concern.Meta's multi-billion dollar settlement with 47 states over social media addiction could result in some major changes to social media rules, especially for children. Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, joins with more.Dolly Parton was known for her unique style, and many remember her as a fashion trailblazer despite the early pushback she received. Adriana Diaz breaks down her impact on fashion.NASA administrator Jared Isaacman joins "CBS Mornings" to discuss the space race with China, the agency's plan to build a moon base at the lunar south pole, and the next Artemis mission.As "Big Brother" airs its 1,000th episode, host Julie Chen Moonves breaks down what makes the show so popular. Jonathan Vigliotti reports.A Marine veteran who lost his legs to an IED blast while being deployed in Afghanistan in 2012 found a new purpose in life as an adaptive training coach and ultramarathoner. Mike Egan talks to Jason Allen about competing in an ultramarathon where he went viral for dragging his wheelchair through mud on the final lap of the race.Singer-songwriter Alex Warren sits down with Anthony Mason to talk about his sophomore album, WILDCHILD, the loss of his parents and how songs have been the soundtrack to his emotions.

Nick Jeffery and freshly Shorn & Clean Shaven John Granger sit down to discuss John's two posts about the symbolism of the Letter ‘G' in Strike 8. Part One of the series did the necessary work of demonstrating that, yes, the letter ‘G' is all over Hallmarked Man, from the online guess that the murderer carved that initial into ‘William Wright's back to the Witness G echoing with Green-jacked Gorilla-bearing man and a bit of calligraphic terrorism on the Agency door at street-level. The first also covered the accepted Masonic interpretations of why the ‘G' is featured in the Compass and Square symbolism of their fraternity.Part Two was a deep dive into more esoteric meanings given to the ‘G' by Freemasons and by Rene Guenon, notable Perennialist, and into what associations Rowling-Galbraith tried to make between the seventh letter and the key hallmark of the book. It concluded with three answers to “So What?” including some fun speculation about a possible shape for the series, a shape highlighted in Strike 8, and with a discussion of whether Rowling-Galbraith's subliminal artistry with ‘G' worked or failed.Perhaps the biggest take-away of this series of posts was to introduce subliminal coloration as the common denominator of Rowling-Galbraith's signature seven Shed tools. Nick and John open their conversation about the letter ‘G' with that subject and everything they discuss in the end folds back into that covert artistry.As always, the Dynamic Duo covet your comments and feedback as the best follow-up to their conversation. Please jump right in!Hogwarts Professor is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.The Ten Questions and Relevant Links1. Okay, John, let's talk coloration. You mentioned some examples in famous authors' work in Part One of your deep dive into Letter G Symbolism in Hallmarked Man; do we have coloration in Harry Potter? Another Strike novel? * ‘Donegality' in Planet Narnia, Michael Ward, the subliminal artistry of C. S. Lewis' Narniad;* From ‘Literary Alchemy: Sacred Science, Sacred Art, and the Alembic of Story'C. S. Lewis, according to Michael Ward, author of Planet Narnia, also felt appreciating the “manner of the author,” his “various special tricks,” especially those connected to creating atmosphere, were critical to understanding the style of the Greats.Again and again, in defending works of romance, Lewis argues that it is the quality or tone of the whole story that is its main attraction. The invented world of romance is conceived with this kind of qualitative richness because romancers feel the real world itself to be ‘cryptic, significant, full of voices, and the mystery of life.' Lovers of romances go ‘back to fruit tree for its taste; to an air for… what? For itself; to a region for its whole atmosphere – to Donegal for its Donegality and London for its Londonness' (Ward, 16).Donegal was one of Lewis'favorite vacation spots as a child in Northern Ireland. Ward defined Lewis' stylistic atmosphere as his ‘Donegality:'By donegality we mean to denote the spiritual essence or quiddity of a work of art as intended by the artist and inhabited unconsciously by the reader. The donegality of the story is its peculiar and deliberated atmosphere or quality; its pervasive and purposed integral tone or flavor; its tutelary but tacit spirit, a spirit that that the author consciously sought to conjure, but which was designed to remain implicit in the matter of the text… the more influentially to inform the work and so affect the reader (Ward 75).Ward's concern is especially with Lewis' character Aslan, in whom this donegality is “concentrated and consummated” as a “Christologically representative character” (Idem), but the thesis of Planet Narnia is that the “kappa-element,”[xiv] Lewis' phrase for the informing, hidden “tutelary but tacit” style of a work, is astrological symbolism, each of the Narnia chronicles representing one of the seven traditional planets. Ward argues that Lewis' subliminal artistry, the “inner weave” or style of his work in Nabokovian language, is the embedded mythological and astral metaphors to be found beneath the surface of each story. Twain is supposed to have said, “”If you would have your fiction live forever, you must neither overtly preach nor overtly teach, but you must covertly preach and covertly teach.” Lewis, believing as he did that “an influence which cannot evade our consciousness will not go very deep” (Lewis no date), wrote in astrological glyphs to reach covertly his reader's unconscious depths or noetic heights.* ‘The Eyes of Deathly Hallows' in The Deathly Hallows Lectures, John Granger, and, briefly, here, and 2010 lecture at New York Public Library; and* ‘The Cross Symbolism of Troubled Blood,' John Granger2. You list those eyes and crosses and I confess it didn't strike me on my first and repeated readings that there were so many of those. What made you notice all the ‘G's in Strike 8? * I confess that I didn't make anything of the letter ‘G's repeated appearances in Hallmarked Man until I saw that Rene Guenon, the most famous and profoundly metaphysical of the first 20th Century Perennialists, had written a brief essay in his youth, ‘The Letter G and the Swastika.' I made that discovery inadvertently when looking for something else in Fundamental Symbols, a posthumous collection of his writing (downloadable as pdf here).3. Let's play ‘Name a G passage;' I'll start with the G supposedly carved into William Wright's back and you name another until we're both out of examples... Robin's research into the death of ‘William Wright' in the Ramsey Silver shop vault begins with an online observer saying out of the blue that a ‘G' was carved into the victim's back and that this was tied to the Secret Word of Freemasonry and the legend of Hiram Abiff's martyrdom. Rowling-Galbraith has Robin mention this to Murphy at their first unofficial briefing on the case and Murphy all but explodes; he denies it was a ‘G' and says he heard it was a “hallmark” instead.The letter is associated with Freemasonry as their symbolic center (GAOTU) via a telephone message and in Strike's meeting with ‘Hiram' Hardacre.We learn after Robin's being attacked in Harrow's that she was ‘Witness G' in her rapist's trial, the letter being to her something like a secret identity.Strike not long thereafter finds a blood Red Letter ‘G' painted on the street level door to the Agency which he hopes is a Masonic terrorist marker rather than the pointed suggestion that the Angel of Death is coming for Witness G.I'd add that the Gorilla mask and doll of the Green jacket man that haunt Robin have some of their subliminal effect on her and the reader because of the initial guttoral sound of ‘Gorilla' and ‘Green.'4. The Freemason connection is the most interesting one even though the Masonic G isn't carved into Powell's back (it's a Salem Cross and the only other twice played symbol is the orb and cross pendant Strike buys for the charm bracelet Christmas present). Who knew that the capital ‘G' was such a big deal in Masonry? 5. At the end of Part One, I thought you'd pretty much covered the symbolism and were going to close in Part Two with what God and Geometry are about in Hallmarked Man, hence the coloration. Instead you wrote that the G being a one-letter acronym wasn't enough. Why not? * not Masonic -- no edges! * not ancient Greek, Hebrew, or Sanskrit, * not tied to craft symbolism, * not a symbol!, * the catechism answer “By letters four and science five, this G aright doth stand in due art and proportion'.”6. So was Guenon's essay the key to Rowling's use of the letter ‘G'? * Yes and no!* His Symbolism of the Cross, Lord of the World, and The Great Triad chapters help a lot but from ‘The Letter G and the Swastika' we learn that * yod is God is gamma, * catechism answer means four gammas or four yodhs which both yield swastikas (gammadion cross), * GAOTUmeans Christ the keystone/cornerstone, * the sequence of jumps from letter ‘G' to Murphy's Salem Cross...7. Who backed Guenon up on this connection so you weren't using the Perennialist hammer to drive in a screw or fasten a bolt? * Cockburn, Crypto Curry, Albert Pike (via Tamara/Tamspells!)8. If I accept the preponderance of ‘G's in Hallmarked Man as coloration/Donegality (I do) and the meaning of the symbolism per your readers (I'm withholding skeptical judgement), what effect was this supposed to have on me the reader so I can tell you if it worked or not? If it was supposed to confuse me, boffo job! * Nabokovian potustoronost, * numinous quality in the air, * Robin as ‘Witness G, ‘* Strike channeling Tyler Powell at finish in Ironbridge9. Will we see Freemasonry and its symbolism in Strikes 9 and 10? Maybe! [Rowling-Galbraith] certainly has made us long for a big pay-off with respect to ‘G;' see Sarah Keeler's idea that it may be a pointer to Gillespie reappearing in Strike 9. I love that possibility and it certainly is in keeping with the HogwartsProfessor working thesis that Hallmarked Man is what it is to set up the next two books. If we're going to see characters and themes bleed between the first book of the last three and its successors, why not its symbolism?If I had to bet money on it, though, I think we probably won't see more Freemasonry or Big ‘G' payoffs. It kills me to say that given the investment I've made in books about the Masons (they're on a shelf beneath the dust-collecting little library on Mormon history and scriptures I collected while writing about Stephenie Meyers' Twilight books). I just cannot see her weaving the Mason characters from Hallmarked Man into story lines that give us resolution with respect to Charlotte's and Leda's supposed suicides twenty some years apart, Shanker's family history, and the mysteries around Strike's time with the military police, especially the IED that nearly killed him.10. I thought you promised not to get into the Strike Series Shape Sweepstakes? You've already said you think it's a seven part ring with a triangle-trilogy addendum and in Part Two you give us a Harry Potter shape for the decalogy structure -- or is it Christmas Pig? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

In the final part of this conversation, Tony Mayne shares the story he says he's never told publicly before—the loss of his soldier Hing Shaw to an IED, and the impossible decisions made in the seconds and hours that followed. Tony also opens up about being forced out by a medical board, the fight to stay in uniform, and the calling that led him to build Ranger transition and ministry programs for the veteran community. The conversation closes with reflections on accountability, faith, retirement, and what it truly means to give back after a life of service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

//The Wire//2300Z August 21, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: FBI ARRESTS MENTALLY ILL INDIVIDUAL IN NEW YORK, WHO THEY PROMPTED TO CONDUCT A TERROR ATTACK. CONCERNS GROWING REGARDING SOCIAL IMPACT OF LINDSAY CLANCY TRIAL AND POTENTIAL COPYCATS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------HomeFront-Massachusetts: The Lindsay Clancy trial continues in Plymouth, which has resulted in localized protests in support of Clancy. For context, this murder trial is the result of Clancy murdering her three children in the family home in 2023, after her husband left her alone for a few minutes to run errands. Clancy has confessed to the murder, and is currently attempting to plead an insanity defense. Throughout the trial, the crowd of protesters supporting Clancy have grown in size outside Plymouth Superior Court, with hundreds of people lining the streets to show their support for her.Analyst Comment: Ordinarily the Clancy trial would be classified as social commentary that while a horrific murder trial, would normally be confined to the tabloids. However in this case, it's resulting in wider impact that is worth being aware of due to the future threats that are presented. Many supporters of Clancy have taken to social media to abuse their children for TikTok videos, to show their support for Clancy. These abuse videos (along with the millions of people supporting them) have increased to the point that this is now presenting real risks for copycat murders over the next few weeks.New York: Last night the DoJ announced the arrest of an alleged terrorist, who was allegedly planning to conduct an attack at the New York Capitol building. The FBI provided Jessica Bowie with $200 to buy acetone, nails, and electrical tape at Home Depot which she gave to undercover agents to create an explosive device. Once the IED (which was a fake) was provided back to Bowie for the attack, she was arrested.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: The arrest in New York was not a legitimate terrorism threat, this is a very clear case of the FBI plotting a terror attack themselves and getting some idiot to go along with it. Normally there's a bit of grey area in terms of how significant an arrest actually is, but in this case this is a Biden-era-style FBI investigation, which is embarrassing to have been such an overwhelmingly significant federal case. They put multiple active surveillance teams on this individual, with dozens of agents getting involved to orchestrate every single step of the alleged attack plans. Per their own documentation, they planned the attack themselves and targeted Bowie for an entrapment operation. At no point in the indictment did the DoJ ever allege that she was in communication with actual ISIS members; she was only talking to FBI agents who encouraged her to try some haphazard attack. Per the indictment, the FBI approached her first, after she posted pro-ISIS comments/posts online, and the undercover agent had to coach her on how to make the pledge to ISIS.As for Bowie herself, she does not appear to be a part of a legitimate terrorist organization, but a rather strange version of ISIS that she alone is allegiant to. Based on the indictment, she is very clearly mentally ill, and she did not know hardly anything about the variety of Islam that ISIS is known for (nor did the FBI agents investigating her, apparently). She did not even know how to spell "jihad" correctly, and most of her communications contained Arabic words that she probably heard on the internet. To be sure, she very clearly went along with the entire plot, and did desire to cause harm. However, the DoJ is pretending like they just stopped another major terror attack, and they most certainly did not.The worst part of the entire case is that the FBI almost got her roommate killed. While this entire saga was underway, Bowie was living with her roommate, and per the indictment Bowie verbally considered stabbing her roommate to death if the roommate were to discover the fake IED that the FBI had given her. In trying to make themselves look good, the FBI's entrapment case almost resulted in their mentally ill target murdering some random person.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

Two conversations that connect the service of the past to the policy fights of the present — one honoring those who answered the call after September 11, and one sounding the alarm about a Social Security funding cliff that Congress has the tools to prevent but has not yet used. American Legion Media and Communications Director Henry Howard joins with the September update as the 25th anniversary of September 11 approaches. The September cover story of the American Legion Magazine, Sacred Honor, was written by Ben King — a Radio Shack worker in Washington who decided within hours of the attacks that if it was war he would go, signed up for the Army Reserves within days, was deployed to Baghdad in 2006 and survived an IED strike that pushed the engine block of his Humvee into him, receiving a Purple Heart before going on to serve as operations director of the Virginia War Memorial. Howard also previews a new Tango Alpha Lima podcast episode publishing September 8 featuring military pilot Heather Penney, whose September 11 mission was to intercept Flight 93 and bring it down with her own aircraft if necessary — a mission from which she would not have returned. He then discusses a September magazine feature on America's shipbuilding decline, from 180,000 shipyard jobs in 1980 to roughly 105,000 by 2010, with current capacity estimated at more than 200 times China's. Then, Alliance for Retired Americans Executive Director Rich Fiesta discusses a 2032 Social Security funding cliff that would trigger a 22% across-the-board benefit cut if Congress does not act, where the Warren-Moreno scrap-the-cap bill stands and the Alliance's primary fight for the remainder of the 119th Congress: defeating a fiscal commission bill sponsored by outgoing senators that would fast-track Social Security recommendations to a vote while bypassing hearings, testimony and amendments. Visit legion.org for American Legion updates, listen to the Tango Alpha Lima podcast episode on September 8 and visit retiredamericans.org for the full congressional voting record on seniors' issues.

In Part 2, former Army Ranger Tony Mayne takes us deep into the objective and execution of the Haditha Dam mission—one of the most heavily defended objectives of the early Iraq War. Tony details the harrowing overnight drive through the desert, the ambush that nearly cost his team everything, and the unique cooperation between Rangers and Delta Force on the ground. From there, the conversation follows his path from enlisted squad leader to commissioned officer, the personal cost of extended deployments to Ramadi, the loss of a close friend to an IED, and a career-altering hearing waiver that nearly ended his time in uniform. It's a candid look at leadership, sacrifice, and the toll of nearly two decades at war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ronald Long is a United States Marine Corps veteran who served from 2009–2013, leaving the Marines as an E-4 Corporal. In this episode of Urban Valor, Ronald shares his incredible story of joining the U.S. Marines, experiencing combat, surviving an IED explosion, losing a fellow service member beside him, and confronting experiences that would follow him long after the battlefield.But Ronald's story started LONG before the Marine Corps...He grew up in Northern California in a Puerto Rican family that endured financial hardship, his sister's battle with cancer, his mother's addiction, abuse inside the home, and eventually the breakup of his family.As a kid, Ronald learned pretty damn quickly how to survive.By his teenage years, that meant helping raise his sisters, trying to help keep his family financially afloat, getting involved in selling marijuana, witnessing violence around his friends, and reaching adulthood without much of a plan for what came next.Then life changed FAST.Ronald began a relationship, discovered he was about to become a father, and suddenly needed a way to provide for a family.Then, seemingly out of nowhere...A Marine Corps recruiter called.Ronald signed the paperwork, went to boot camp, and began a path that would eventually put him into situations very few people can truly understand.And somehow, even surrounded by some incredibly dark moments, Ronald's Marine Corps stories can also be absolutely hilarious.From doing boot camp practically BLIND because nobody gave him his glasses......to Marines breaking into the WRONG barracks......to a drill instructor apparently studying World of Warcraft just so he could figure out new ways to destroy the recruits playing it. But combat was different.Ronald describes transporting bodies, seeing horrific injuries become almost routine, and the moment a pressure plate detonated feet away from him.For a moment, his mind transported him somewhere completely different.Then Abdul came crashing back into his reality.And Ronald realized his friend was dead.Thank you to Ronald Long for trusting us with his story.

Jess Seiwert grew up in Kansas. He was abused at home from age 5 to 12. After 9/11 he joined the Army at 18, made sergeant, survived an IED blast, and came home with a Purple Heart and an Oxycontin addiction. One day he woke up in county jail charged with first-degree attempted murder and kidnapping after his best friend slept with his wife while he was passed out. He walked out with 14 felony convictions, seven rehab attempts, and 3.5 years in county jail across eight Kansas counties during Covid. He now has 1,000 days sober next month.This episode covers his entire journey. The IED that started the pill spiral. The gang he joined within three months in prison. Coming home to Kansas and going straight into meth distribution. Gambling away his drug money at the casino, three Christmases in a row while his family was at home. Using his Purple Heart military ID to run $200,000 in forgery across three states. One childhood mentor named Bob Timmons who bailed him out, got robbed by Jess, and kept coming back anyway. Getting high ten days into court-ordered treatment. And the moment he finally threw up his hands and let God inFollow the Hopeaholics on our Socials:https://www.instagram.com/thehopeaholics https://linktr.ee/thehopeaholicsGo to www.Wolfpak.com today and support our sponsors. Don't forget to use code: HOPEAHOLICSPODCAST for 10% off!Visit our Treatment Centers: https://www.hopebythesea.comIf you or a loved one needs help, please call or text 949-615-8588. We have the resources to treat mental health and addiction. Sponsored by the Infiniti Group LLC:https://www.infinitigroupllc.com Join our patreon to get access to an EXTRA EPISODE every week of ‘Off the Record', exclusive content, a thriving recovery community, and opportunities to be featured on the podcast. https://patreon.com/TheHopeaholics Our Merch: https://thehopeaholics.myshopify.com#TheHopeaholics #redemption #recovery #AlcoholAddiction #AddictionRecovery #wedorecover #SobrietyJourney #MyStory #Hope #wedorecover #treatmentcenter #natalieevamarie0:21 Intro2:14 Gambling: the addiction that swallowed everything at the end4:07 Father arrested for child rape 6:45 Growing up angry7:05 9/11 happens right after graduation. Joins the Army8:43 First drink: the first time he ever felt normal10:29 IED hits him + Purple Heart11:04 Comes home on Oxycontin13:26 Second marriage. Gets her hooked on pills.15:00 Wakes up with 1st degree attempted murder, kidnapping20:29 Crowley Correctional: in a gang within three months21:47 High on meth, headbutts his parole officer. Back to prison.25:38 Charlie Kirk assassination38:49 Forgery across three states: $200,00040:18 3 1/2 years in 8 county jails during Covid41:37 Using his Purple Heart military ID to forge checks43:11 Meets his 3rd wife in county jail 44:11 Gets out. Uses within 24 hours. She gets pregnant that night.48:47 120 meetings in 90 days. Fires his sponsor at 3 months clean50:04 Peer mentor in Kansas City / Social work.50:22 Almost 1,000 days sober. 43 years old51:19 Son with autism doing great. Rebuilding with his oldest two kids.1:01:03 Why recovery has to be the foundation on the hardest days1:10:34 Veterans and the VA1:12:21 Veteran mental health access1:17:36 "25 years of alcoholism. 15 years of addiction. Why would I give up on anybody?"

Former Royal Marine Commando Mark Ormrod survived a catastrophic IED explosion in Afghanistan that resulted in triple amputation, forcing a complete cognitive and psychological reconstruction of his life. This episode explores the psychological mechanisms of post-traumatic growth, emotional regulation, and cognitive reframing necessary to rebuild identity after severe trauma. Through Ormrod's lived experience, we examine how mindsets are forged under extreme stress and how individuals cultivate radical acceptance to move forward against overwhelming odds.

After surviving an IED blast in Iraq that caused 80% body burns and an arm amputation, Purple Heart recipient John Chrzanowski and his wife, Catherine, thought physical rehab was their biggest battle. But the hardest hurdle was asking for help when costs stacked up. Ahead of National Purple Heart Day, Benjamin speaks with John and Catherine for a candid conversation about breaking the veteran mental health stigma, the reality of full-time caregiving, and why seeking support is a sign of strength, not weakness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of American Potential, host David From sits down with Army veteran Bryan Anderson to share an extraordinary story of resilience, perspective, and purpose. After enlisting on September 11th, Bryan served in Iraq where an IED explosion changed his life forever—leaving him a triple amputee. But what followed is a story not of defeat, but of determination. From recovery at Walter Reed to becoming a motivational speaker, actor, and advocate, Bryan refused to let his injuries define his future. He shares powerful lessons about mindset, overcoming adversity, and finding meaning in life's toughest moments—emphasizing that happiness comes not from what we lack, but from how we choose to live. This episode is a deeply inspiring reminder that even in life's darkest moments, strength, purpose, and positivity can lead to an extraordinary life.

Live from the GEOINT 2026 Symposium in Denver, Colorado, Project Geospatial's Adam Simmons welcomes back Jackie Barbieri, Founder and CEO of Whitespace.With a background spanning foreign language red-teaming and counter-IED all-source intelligence, Jackie spent nearly a decade instructing Activity-Based Intelligence (ABI) courses at the NGA College. Realizing that human analyst pipelines could never scale to keep pace with the sheer volume of modern remote sensing data, Whitespace embarked on an aggressive mission to codify human tradecraft directly into scalable software.Watch this interview to learn how Whitespace successfully bootstrapped its transition from a boutique services firm into an elite product company. Jackie introduces their game-changing AI agent that integrates an LLM with ABI tools, allowing non-expert edge operators to autonomously self-serve and map out hidden "pattern of life" connections between people, places, and events in just clicks.Key Highlights in this Video:00:00:43 – Meet Jackie Barbieri and trace her journey from military intelligence linguist to CEO.00:01:20 – Defining Activity-Based Intelligence (ABI): Uncovering hidden networks using remote sensing telemetry.00:01:56 – Writing the NGA College Curriculum: Recognizing the bottleneck of human analytical limits.00:02:20 – Merging ABI Tools with LLMs: Building intelligent AI agents for non-expert field operators.00:03:09 – The Reality of Bootstrapping: Navigating the high-overhead pivot from consulting services to scalable product software.00:03:53 – Managing Corporate Growth: Scaling up internal development loops while maintaining a flat org structure.00:05:51 – Engaging at the Edge: Participating in upcoming multi-service military exercises to iterate product roadmaps.00:06:32 – Main Stage Insights: Jackie's takeaways from MC'ing the GEOINT international partner panels (UK, Australia, Canada, NATO).Learn More About Whitespace:

Episode Summary      On January 18, 2018, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Green Beret combat medic Luke Sciulli stopped being the medic and became the patient. A booby-trapped building collapsed on him during a personnel-recovery operation, fracturing his C4, C5, and C6 vertebrae, both scapulas, and his pelvis, and leaving him with a spinal cord injury at C5. In this episode of WarDocs, SFC(R) Luke Sciulli walks through that day and the MEDEVAC chain that followed — forward surgical team, Kandahar, Landstuhl, and Walter Reed — and explains how living through the system he once operated permanently reshaped his view of casualty care, pain management, and patient advocacy.   SFC(R) Sciulli is candid about the recovery that nearly broke him. He describes the culture shock of moving from elite combat operations to a 30-bed spinal cord injury ward populated largely by elderly veterans, and the slow, deliberate realization that, in his words, the only person who was going to make his life better was him. He maps the framework that pulled him back — physical health, mental health, and career — and offers a direct message to wounded operators who cannot get out of bed: the discipline that earned the Beret, the Tab, or the Trident is still inside them.   The conversation then widens into the operational and strategic challenges Sciulli has tackled across an extraordinary career. He compares civilian and military trauma systems and argues that surgeons in major American cities now see more penetrating trauma than many military providers — making military-civilian partnerships essential to keeping skills sharp. He recounts building a joint, combined MEDEVAC architecture across five African nations, and embedding at forward surgical teams in Ukraine just kilometers from the front, where 60 to 90 casualties a day exposed gaps in Role 1 and Role 2 doctrine, risk tolerance, and interoperability that U.S. tabletop exercises rarely surface.   SFC(R) Sciulli also draws on his time supervising a 216-bed field hospital at Columbia University during the 2020 COVID surge and his current work with Vigilant Consulting and Valinor Enterprises advising on tactical medical technology. He makes the case for predictive analytics, wearables, and automated resuscitation systems to force-multiply providers in large-scale combat operations — while confronting the risk-acceptance and accountability questions that slow adoption. He closes with the cause he intends to define his legacy: fixing the negligent disconnect that leaves SOF medics and operators underutilized in the civilian, defense, and healthcare worlds, and expanding the transition programs that turn their hard-won skills into lives saved at home. Chapters (00:00-01:10) Cold Open and Introduction (01:10-05:30) Becoming the Casualty in Helmand Province (05:30-11:30) The Recovery That Rewired Everything (11:30-15:45) Civilian and Military Medicine, Two Ways (15:45-22:45) Distance, Mass Casualties, and Lessons from Ukraine (22:45-32:30) Field Hospitals, Tactical Technology, and Risk (32:30-36:15) Recruiting the Next Force and a SOF Medic Legacy Chapter Summaries (00:00-01:10) Introduction Dr. Soderdahl frames the journey ahead: a Green Beret combat medic who became the patient on the wrong side of an IED blast and now drives technology and policy for the next war. The standard WarDocs welcome sets up a firsthand look at military medicine from the austere edge of combat to the front lines of innovation. (01:10-05:30) Becoming the Casualty in Helmand Province SFC(R) Sciulli recounts volunteering to backfill a buddy's ODA as senior medic and the January 18, 2018 operation in which a booby-trapped building collapsed onto him. He details catastrophic injuries — broken C4-C6, a C5 spinal cord injury, fractured scapulas and pelvis — and the MEDEVAC through the forward surgical team toward higher care, including how his teammates stabilized and moved him. (05:30-11:30) The Recovery That Rewired Everything He describes six months split between Walter Reed and the Tampa VA, the jolt of moving from combat to a spinal cord injury ward, and the loss of career, health, and identity overnight. The turning point came when he accepted that no one else could make his life better, and built a deliberate framework around physical health, mental health, and career. (11:30-15:45) Civilian and Military Medicine, Two Ways Drawing on his paramedic, firefighter, and critical-care flight background plus SF service, Sciulli argues civilian surgeons now out-rep many military providers on penetrating trauma, making military-civilian partnerships essential. He also reflects on serving as senior medical provider for SEAL Teams Two and Eight and why interoperability comes down to people and personality. (15:45-22:45) Distance, Mass Casualties, and Lessons from Ukraine He explains building a joint, combined MEDEVAC system across Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Libya, then scales the problem to the Indo-Pacific and Eastern Europe. Embedded at forward surgical teams in Ukraine, he saw 60 to 90 casualties a day and learned hard lessons about volume, interoperability, civilian EMS integration, and U.S. risk tolerance. (22:45-32:30) Field Hospitals, Tactical Technology, and Risk SFC(R) Sciulli describes supervising a 216-bed COVID field hospital at Columbia University and why a military-style community made it work. He then identifies penetrating and shrapnel trauma as a top killer and makes the case for wearables, predictive analytics, and automated resuscitation — confronting the risk acceptance and human trust that slow adoption. (32:30-36:15) Recruiting the Next Force and a SOF Medic Legacy Speaking to students, residents, and recruiters, Sciulli reframes the pitch: the military needs people willing to operate beyond their comfort zone and scope, not just another credential. He closes on the legacy he intends to leave — fixing the negligent disconnect that leaves SOF medics and operators underutilized after service. Take Home Messages Experiencing Care Builds the Best Advocates: Living through the casualty evacuation chain as the patient teaches lessons no provider can learn from the other side of the litter. Empathy, pain management, and patient advocacy take on new meaning once a clinician has been the one strapped to the litter. Recovery Is a Decision You Make Daily: The hardest part of catastrophic injury is mental, not physical. Progress comes from a conscious choice to get up and be better than yesterday, supported by resources but driven by personal ownership of physical health, mental health, and career. Keep Military Providers Sharp in Civilian Trauma: Civilian surgeons in major cities now see more penetrating trauma and polytrauma than many military clinicians. An integrated military-civilian system that rotates providers through high-volume civilian centers is essential to keeping wartime skills ready. Plan for Volume, Distance, and Interoperability: Future large-scale combat means moving casualties across oceans and continents while relying on host-nation, partner, and civilian systems. High casualty volumes and contested distance demand generalist skill, civilian EMS integration, and a higher tolerance for operational risk. Close the Gap Between Research and the Warfighter: Government funds enormous amounts of combat casualty research and technology that never reaches frontline providers fast enough. The mission is to translate proven findings and devices into the warfighter's hands tomorrow — not years from now.   Episode Keywords military medicine, combat medicine, Green Beret medic, 18D combat medic, special forces medic, combat casualty care, TCCC, spinal cord injury recovery, polytrauma, Helmand Province, Walter Reed, MEDEVAC, forward surgical team, Ukraine combat medicine, mass casualty, large scale combat operations, LSCO, prolonged field care, tactical medicine, medical device innovation, SOF medic, military civilian partnership, WarDocs, Luke Sciulli, veteran resilience, penetrating trauma   Hashtags #MilitaryMedicine, #CombatMedicine, #GreenBeret, #WarDocs, #CombatCasualtyCare, #SOFMedic, #VeteranResilience, #TacticalMedicine   Honoring the Legacy and Preserving the History of Military Medicine The WarDocs Mission- WarDocs exists to honor the legacy of Military Medicine, preserve its history, and inspire every generation — across all Services, Corps, and Ranks — to serve with excellence and pride. Through mentorship, coaching, and education, we equip those considering, entering, and serving in military medicine with the knowledge, connections, and community they need to thrive. We celebrate Who we are, What we do, and, most importantly, How we serve Our Patients, the DoW, and Our Nation. Find out more and join Team WarDocs at https://www.wardocspodcast.com/ Check our list of previous guest episodes at https://www.wardocspodcast.com/our-guests Subscribe and Like our Videos on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@wardocspodcast Listen to the "What We Are For" Episode 47. https://bit.ly/3r87Afm WarDocs- The Military Medicine Podcast is a Non-Profit, Tax-exempt-501(c)(3) Veteran Run Organization run by volunteers. All donations are tax-deductible and go to honoring and preserving the history, experiences, successes, and lessons learned in Military Medicine. A tax receipt will be sent to you. WARDOCS documents the experiences, contributions, and innovations of all military medicine Services, ranks, and Corps who are affectionately called "Docs" as a sign of respect, trust, and confidence on and off the battlefield, demonstrating dedication to the medical care of fellow comrades in arms. Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @wardocspodcast Facebook: WarDocs Podcast Instagram: @wardocspodcast LinkedIn: WarDocs-The Military Medicine Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@wardocspodcast  

In this heavy-hitting episode of What's On Your Mind, host Scott Hennen tackles the escalating geopolitical situation in the Middle East following the tragic loss of U.S. service members to Iranian strikes and drone detonations in Jordan and Iraq. Scott opens up a candid conversation with listeners about the true costs of war—comparing personal sacrifices at the gas pump to the ultimate sacrifices made by military personnel. The episode features insightful caller commentary, expert military and foreign policy breakdown from Fox News correspondent Evan Brown, and a sharp perspective on Middle East dynamics from Rabbi Michael Barclay. Beyond the frontlines, Scott touches on local political friction, a surprising Theodore Roosevelt connection to Ugandan coffee, and an exclusive free oil change offer for listeners. Standout Moments & Timestamps 00:00 – Tragedy in Jordan & Iraq: Remembering the ultimate sacrifice of Private Isabella Gonzalez and First Lieutenant Tyler James Fihan. 03:15 – The Human Cost in Iran: Scott highlights the heartbreaking story of 19-year-old Erfan Esfondari, executed for sheltering peaceful protesters. 05:45 – Is the Fight Worth the Cost? Listener Tom in Fargo calls in to break down Arab nation responses, Russian influence, and IED history. 09:20 – Gas Prices vs. Freedom: Scott addresses complaints over $4 to $5 fuel costs and challenges the "me-first" mentality regarding international conflicts. 12:10 – Lessons from History: Caller Luke joins to contrast modern economic complaints with the historical sacrifice of previous generations. 16:30 – Wildfire Smoke & Canadian Politics: Caller William weighs in from Manitoba on Canadian forest fires and government policy. 22:15 – The Epstein File Encounter: Scott shares a bizarre personal story from a red-light encounter in Grand Forks. 26:40 – Generational Debates: A heated back-and-forth with caller Jim on national debt, college costs, and who is truly to blame. 31:10 – On the Ground Breakdown with Evan Brown: Fox News correspondent Evan Brown details the specific military mechanics behind the drone detonation in Iraq and target strikes in Jordan. 38:50 – An Insider View on Middle East Tensions: Rabbi Michael Barclay offers an intense perspective fresh off his return from Israel, discussing political leadership and regional stability. 44:30 – Drive with Vision Feature: Ward Cater drops by to unveil a special mobile service offer giving away free oil changes brought directly to listeners' driveways.

Marine Corps machine gunner Matthew Dolan survived a massive IED blast in Fallujah, Iraq and that was only one of several moments that nearly killed him.Today's Urban Valor podcast, Matthew shares what it was like serving as an 0331 Marine machine gunner with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. He discusses deploying to Fallujah, operating as part of a quick reaction force, being shot at by an enemy he could not see, surviving a double-stacked 155mm IED, and becoming trapped inside a military vehicle as it rolled into a river.Yeah… this one gets WILD.Matthew's story isn't only about explosions and close calls.It's about growing up with a younger sister battling cystic fibrosis…Walking into a Marine Corps recruiting office after getting yelled at by his boss…Training under veterans of Operation Phantom Fury…And arriving in a completely blacked-out Fallujah as a 19-year-old kid from Kansas thinking, “What the hell did I get myself into?”Matthew describes the strange reality of fighting insurgents who rarely presented a clear target. One moment, he was searching vehicles and tracking high-value individuals. The next, he was taking sniper fire, responding to indirect fire or driving roads known for improvised explosive devices.Then came the blast.Matthew's vehicle was the fourth to cross an IED buried beneath the road. The first three vehicles passed over it without detonating the device.His didn't.The explosion cracked the vehicle's axle, tore away part of the Humvee and knocked Matthew unconscious. His fellow Marines pulled him from the vehicle, strapped him to a stretcher and rushed him to medical treatment.What happened inside the medical bay somehow became one of the funniest...and most unfiltered...IED survival stories we've ever heard.

Episode 257 of the Transition Drill podcast explores combat injury, military transition, and rebuilding purpose for veterans and first responders navigating life after service. You'll hear Geoffrey Quevedo on surviving a devastating IED blast in Afghanistan, and what it takes to build a meaningful life after losing the career and identity you thought would last forever.Geoffrey, a former Army Specialist, enlisted with one goal in mind. He wanted to serve as a 19D Cavalry Scout, deploy to combat, and earn his place alongside the soldiers he admired. After growing up in California working alongside his family, he entered the Army in 2010, completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Knox, arrived at Fort Drum, and was quickly deployed to Afghanistan. Just eight months into that deployment, Geoffrey stepped in to accompany his partner while clearing an IED-making compound. A hidden explosive changed his life in an instant, leaving him with catastrophic injuries that ultimately resulted in the loss of his left arm and lower leg.The conversation goes far beyond the battlefield. Geoffrey shares the physical and emotional reality of Walter Reed, more than 40 surgeries, rehabilitation, traumatic brain injury recovery, learning to use prosthetics, and the difficult moment he realized he would never return to combat. Instead of allowing that loss to define him, he focused on finding a new mission. After medically transitioning from the Army, he remained in Southern California for continued treatment, rebuilt his life through adaptive running and soccer, volunteered in his community, became a motivational speaker, and now mentors and encourages other amputees through organizations including the Challenge Athletes Foundation. Throughout the conversation, Geoffrey's humor, resilience, and refusal to live in regret reveal what real perseverance looks like when service ends but purpose doesn't. Veterans, first responders, and anyone facing a life-changing setback will find practical perspective, honesty, and hope in his story.CONNECT WITH THE PODCAST:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulpantani/WEBSITE: https://www.transitiondrillpodcast.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulpantani/SIGN-UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER:https://transitiondrillpodcast.com/home#aboutQUESTIONS OR COMMENTS:paul@transitiondrillpodcast.comSPONSORS:GRND Collective: Premium, veteran-owned sportswear built for those who show up, outwork the excuses, and give 100%. Score 15% off your order at thegrndcollective.com using promo code TRANSITION15 at checkoutBlue Line Roasting: Premium, law-enforcement-owned coffee roasted to fuel the shift. A portion of every order directly supports law enforcement families facing line-of-duty injury or loss. Save 10% at bluelineroasting.com with promo code Transition10Frontline Optics: Premium eyewear founded by a firefighter and built to withstand the job. Every single purchase helps support the First Responders Children's Foundation, serving families who've paid the ultimate price. Save 10% off your pair at frontlineoptics.com using promo code Transition10

I loved this chat with Harry Moffitt. After 30 years in the SAS, losing mates in combat, surviving an IED blast, becoming a psychologist and now working with elite teams, he's got a perspective that cuts through all the usual bullshit. We talked about grief, guilt, why some teams thrive while others fall apart, what actually makes a great leader, and why 'resilience' might be a useless term these days. There's so much practical wisdom in this ep, whether you lead a team, run a business or you're simply trying to become a better human. SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS Website: testartfamilylawyers.com.au HARRY MOFFITT Website: Harry Moffitt - harrymoffitt.com.au TIFFANEE COOK Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches Website: tiffcook.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On September 19, 2010, Army EOD technician Brian Mast stepped on an IED in Afghanistan and lost both legs above the knee and a finger. He lived because a Level IV body armor plate stopped a large fragment from reaching his heart. He said, “That plate took the hit so my heart didn't have to.” He calls September 19th his “Alive Day.” We too walk through a world with an unseen enemy—the spirit of antichrist—always looking to fire weapons we never see coming. In 1 John 2:18, John gives us fair warning: “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come” (ESV). Antichrist is not only a coming person; it is a philosophy alive in the world right now, and its whole purpose is to deceive the sinner and defeat the saint. John's answer is one word he uses several times in this passage: abide. There is a bulletproof vest available to every believer, made of three layers: the Word of God, the Son of God, and the Spirit of God, and putting it on is a daily choice.

Jason is a Wisconsinite and Iraq War veteran. He was blown up by an IED, thrust back into civilian life without a clue how to navigate it, and has gone through years of therapy. And now he's written a book where he jokes about it all. Ha ha, right? It's raw, it's honest, and it brings us back to that "dark humor" topic we were just talking about in the previous segment.You can find his book (and author bio) here: https://www.amazon.com/Waves-Shrapnel-Jason-Thomas-Rumbaugh/dp/B0GS282MSCEpisode discussion hub: https://completedisaster.live/2026/07/08/july-8th-2026/

 My guest on the show today, our special Fourth of July sesquicentennial episode, is Jacob Siegel. He's a writer and editor at Tablet Magazine, an Iraq and Afghanistan vet, co-host of the Manifesto! podcast, and author of the new book, The Information State, which we don't discuss on the episode.Our topic, instead, is the “The Disappearing American Man,” the first installment of a column that Jacob is now writing for Tablet. To give you a sense of the essay, which is slightly to the left or maybe to the right or just below or above the typical crisis of masculinity polemic, here's a particularly pungent passage from it:What I see in many prominent and representative American men today is a dribbling sludge of bitterness. A peacocking display of impotence, debility, worminess, insincerity, lack of competence, lack of confidence, lack of élan, pettiness, selfishness, scheming, and self-pity. Not all men, as the saying goes, but enough to pass a civilizational tipping point. The young men standing up at town hall meetings are almost pompous in their bitterness. The anonymous posters online have turned cattiness and petty sadism into a group erotic ritual. The politicians are embittered, the podcasters are embittered, even the popular comedians are embittered. Probably the comedians are the most bitter of all.Much of this bitterness seems to stem from an ambient feeling of betrayal. Today's American man knows that he has been wronged. By globalist elites and international pedophile rings or else by his own toxic masculinity. By immigrants or perhaps by his innate racism. By “woke capital”; diversity, equity, and inclusion; greedy billionaires; and unappreciative modern women. And by the Jews, of course. Always by the Jews. So that's just a taste. It's a pretty intense, hard-charging essay. I would say there's more or less two overlapping arguments in the essay. One is about this bitterness as it's expressed in the more venomous, less inhibited regions of the right, which Siegel traces to the effects of the failed wars after 9/11, the thesis being something like: when the globe-bestriding American military colossus can't beat a bunch of goat herders, it powerfully undermines the projective identity that so many men, and particularly men on the right, have had with American military power. Its power is our power, is how they felt, and so then when its power is undermined so thoroughly, it strikes right at the core of people's identity, their sense of themselves as men. And what some people did with that searing sense of impotence was to turn it not just against the left, which is traditional right-wing move, but against the American soldier himself, and then behind him against what the American soldier traditionally has represented, which is American power, American might, American manliness. Attached to that is a historical narrative, a quite conspiratorial one, that the long period that most of us think of as a kind of golden age of American power and manliness, from the end of WW II to the end of the Cold War, was in fact a long, deep con perpetrated by the globalists on the real American men, who were its innocent victims. All that time that we thought we were powerful, by virtue of our affiliation and identification with American power, we were in fact being manipulated and betrayed. (Jacob and I wouldn't say “we,” of course, since as Jews we were perpetrators of the con, not its victims.)So that's argument one, and the other argument, which I think is downstream of that one, is that an effect of all that — the loss of the wars, the cultural and political reaction to it — is that the cultural ideal of the American man has become exhausted. That figure who stood a certain way, held a cigarette a certain way, often looked on the world with a certain cool disdain, has died or at least has gone conspicuously silent. An archetype that was capacious enough over the decades to manifest in figures as diverse as manly Hemingway, the dandy Gatsby, the stoic Marlboro Man, swaggering Muhammad Ali, and the alienated Kurt Cobain seems no longer to be producing new manifestations of itself. The world spirit has abandoned him/us. Then braiding through these two arguments is Jacob's own story of being in the wars. He did 15 months in Iraq, and then after some years in which he rather failed to figure out life as a civilian, he signed up again and went to Afghanistan. And it was in that space, he writes, that he was able to reassemble himself in a way that could eventually go on to do some flourishing in the aftermath. The piece opens with a road trip he takes with a bunch of enlisted guys from his unit, men over whom he had command. They semi-licitly liberated a van from the motor pool, and they went to see families of two soldiers who'd been killed by an IED in their last month over there. He talks about being the only officer in this tight group of enlisted men, some of whom had some real suspicion of him. He writes about his sense of guilt and dislocation during the interregnum between his two stints. He and I talk about that. We go into his theory of how the right talked itself into treating World War II as the original sin of American betrayal, how that recasts the Greatest Generation as a bunch of cucks, how a guy like Tucker Carlson, who was such a cheerleader for the Iraq War, has re-imagined himself into a state of metaphysical victimhood and purity, and how the big story of the betrayal of the American man has a weird double-sidedness to it— the true American man is pure, because he's not responsible for the nation's sins, but he also has no agency. He's a dupe, a cuck.And so on. We get deep in the shit, in other words. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope you do too. Peace. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit danieloppenheimer.substack.com/subscribe

Before Dustin Chappel ever stepped onto the battlefield, he had already spent his childhood fighting to survive.Separated from his mother at just two years old, Dustin endured years of abuse, instability, homelessness, and constant moves before eventually dropping out of school and earning his GED. After witnessing the attacks of September 11th, he felt called to serve and joined the U.S. Army as a 12B Combat Engineer.During two deployments to Iraq, Dustin conducted route-clearance missions, hunted insurgents, executed raids alongside infantry units, and survived some of the most dangerous streets in Baghdad. He describes a deployment where every patrol felt like "Russian roulette," facing complex ambushes, sniper fire, RPGs, and one of the most disturbing traps of the entire war... a body rigged to explode.But this story doesn't end on the battlefield. Dustin opens up about the sniper round that was meant for him, dragging his wounded squad leader out of the line of fire, and the long road home — his fight with PTSD, checking himself into treatment, rebuilding his life, and the work he does today mentoring fellow veterans.

On this Zero Limits Podcast Matty Morris chats with Ep. 252 Phil Thompson OAM MP Australian Army 1RAR - Federal Member For Herbert.A former Australian Army infantry soldier with the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Thompson served in East Timor and Afghanistan. During his 2009 deployment to Afghanistan, he shot and killed an armed insurgent, and just two weeks later was severely wounded in action by an improvised explosive device (IED).After leaving the military, he moved into politics, being elected as the Federal Member for the Queensland electorate of Herbert in the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Liberal National Party (LNP). He also serves as Shadow Minister for Defence Industry and Shadow Minister for Defence Personnel.Send us a text however note we cannot reply through these means. Please message the instagram or email if you are wanting a response. Support the showWebsite - www.zerolimitspodcast.comInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/zero.limits.podcast/?hl=enHost - Matty Morris www.instagram.com/matty.m.morrisFor the new Zero Limits Pre workout and creatine supplements head to link belowZero Limits Supplements - www.zerolimitssupplements.comSponsorsInstagram - @gatorzaustraliawww.gatorzaustralia.com15% Discount Code - ZERO15(former/current military & first responders 20% discount to order please email orders@gatorzaustralia.com.auInstagram - @3zeroscoffee3 Zeros Coffee - www.3zeroscoffee.com.au10% Discount Code - 3ZLimitsInstagram - @getsome_auGetSome Jocko Fuel - www.getsome.com.au10% Discount Code - ZEROLIMITS

He gave everything for his country, came home without his legs, and then completed 110 miles anyway.Mike Egan is a Marine combat veteran who lost both legs to an IED in Afghanistan. In this conversation, he sits down with Dominic to talk about the G1M Go One More Backyard Ultra in Texas, where he completed 27 loops (110-plus miles in a wheelchair over 27 straight hours) finishing 27th in a field of able-bodied athletes. When heavy rain turned loop 27's course into thick mud and locked his wheels, Egan climbed out of the chair and crawled, dragging it behind him. He barely blinked.But the race is almost a footnote. What Mike actually delivers in this hour is a masterclass in how to think about suffering. He talks about the year he didn't leave his house, the slow crawl back out of isolation, and the realization that endurance sport wasn't about fitness—it was the first thing that forced him to face what he'd been packing down for years. He talks about repurposing pain, the discipline of not breaking promises with yourself, and why he never asks "what if," he just does. He also pushes back hard on one thing: don't compare your hardships to his. Your suffering is your own. How you respond to it is all that matters.This is one of the most direct, no-fluff conversations about identity and resilience TRE has ever produced.Tap into the Mike Egan Special.If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it.S H O W N O T E S-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run-THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZLuminaryThreads: luminarythreads.shopInstagram: @mike_egan88TikTok: @mike_egan88

Former Green Beret and Special Mission Unit operator Tu Lam opens up about the hidden battles that followed one of the most decorated careers in special operations. In Part 2, Tu and host Mike Ritland go deep on his years conducting covert intelligence work, the opiate addiction that took root after a 2005 IED blast and quietly consumed nearly a decade of his life, and the shame of a medical retirement he never felt he earned. From rock bottom in a dark room to becoming the most downloaded character in Call of Duty history, Tu traces the long road back — through psychedelics, spiritual warfare, and an encounter he never expected — to something that finally gave him peace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

//The Wire//2300Z July 1, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: WOMAN ARRESTED IN NEW YORK FOR PROVIDING MATERIEL AID TO TERRORIST GROUP. SUPREME COURT REJECTS BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP CHALLENGE. RECOVERY EFFORTS IN VENEZUELA SLOWLY CONTINUE AMID LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Venezuela: Rescue and recovery efforts have been complicated by growing logistical problems. Before the earthquakes, fuel shortages were extremely common throughout the country, and now the already-strained logistical infrastructure has resulted in many fuel shortages around the country. This has expanded to the point that heavy machinery needed to extract victims is simply not available due to not having enough fuel. Heavy rains which have swept through the disaster zone over the past few days have also presented challenges, and the work in most of the hardest hit areas is slow going. As of this morning, the official death toll is confirmed at 1,943 fatalities, 10,500 injured, and roughly 43,000 persons still missing.Middle East: The situation remains fairly stagnant since the targeting flared up last weekend. Diplomatic talks in Doha have not really yielded any solid agreements yet, though negotiations are ongoing. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains steady, albeit at lower levels than before the war.-HomeFront-Pennsylvania: Yesterday a major train derailment was reported in Bucks County, which resulted in 16x train cars jumping the tracks near the station in Bensalem. The incident initially resulted in an evacuation of the immediate area around the incident site, due to a few cars containing HAZMAT or potentially toxic substances. The evacuation order was rescinded once an inspection confirmed that none of the tanks had leaked. The investigation into the derailment is underway, and no indication of what caused the incident has been disclosed yet.Washington D.C. - Yesterday the US Supreme Court rejected President Trump's use of executive order to challenge birthright citizenship. The court affirmed that any child born on American soil will be granted citizenship, even if the parents are illegally in the US or are participating in the 'birth tourism' enterprises in the Mariana Islands and Hawaii.New York: The DoJ announced the indictment of a leader of a local Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation (DAMPL) organization, an offshoot entity that was created to provide materiel aid to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group in Gaza. Catherine Beth Washburn was arrested after a months-long investigation into the communications between herself and a PIJ fighter in the Middle East. Washburn allegedly sent roughly $30k worth of cryptocurrency to this individual, for purposes of fundraising for future attacks.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Despite the media reporting, PIJ is not an offshoot of Hamas, they are completely different groups. PIJ is a comparatively little-known paramilitary organization in Gaza, which has not really been doing much since their leader was killed some time ago. One interesting detail of the case in New York is the photo of two hand grenades which was provided in the indictment. The devices do not conform to any known style of hand grenade, and appear to be locally-produced copies of American M61 grenades, which indicates this photo was probably taken either in Gaza or somewhere in the Middle East. The indictment made no mention of these grenades actually being in Washburn's possession, which helps clarify that this is not a photo of any evidence recovered in the United States.Washburn's affiliation with DAMPL is far more interesting as this organization has roughly 150-200 members and is mostly known for conducting activities similar to that of the more famous Palestine Action movement. Groups like this tend to branch off into endless splinter cells of splinter cells (usually due to infighting) and this has been the case for this group for some time. Washburn was allegedly a leader of one of the DAMPL cells operating in the Rochester area, which are mostly known for low-level vandalism incidents and more benign protest activity. Last year however, the Boston cell of this group began escalating their operations to include firebombings, with the most recent high-profile attack being a series of IED and incendiary attacks throughout Massachusetts last summer.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

In the desert of Southern Afghanistan, CIA Case Officer Douglas Laux is on the hunt. He's traced a number of deadly IED attacks to a shadowy figure with ties to the Taliban. In this classic episode of True Spies, his mission is to bring him down before more US personnel are killed. To do so, he'll have to push himself - and his assets - to the limit. From SPYSCAPE, the HQ of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producer: Gemma Newby, Joe Foley. Produced by Joe Foley. Music by Nick Ryan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Del Rosario enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2005 because a girl asked him to. She left him with a Dear John letter while he was deployed to Iraq. Then an IED nearly killed him. His mother received an incorrect killed-in-action notification and believed her son was dead for 24 hours.   When Joel came to after the blast, shrapnel in his body and a traumatic brain injury that erased most of his memories, he was not relieved. He was angry that he survived. That disgust with his own reaction became the turning point. He chose ownership. Nobody forced him to enlist. That was his decision. And from that moment, he committed to 21 years of service instead of coasting to the exit.   Joe De Sena sits down with Joel to talk about growing up in the Dominican Republic, a tough Latina single mother in Providence, the blast that rewired his brain, and the law-enforcement fitness mission he now runs alongside his wife, Rebecca, through Iron Stronghold LLC and MCHN.   Things You Will Learn: Why taking ownership of a bad decision matters more than the decision itself. The difference between surviving hardship and choosing to build from it. A simple daily framework for building mental toughness without needing a traumatic event. Tools & Frameworks Covered: Daily Hard Thing Protocol: Pick one hard thing each day and do it. Hard is relative. Consistency compounds. Ownership After the Blast: Stop blaming the circumstance. You made the choice. Now make the next one count. Recovery as Performance: Sleep and recovery are not optional. Emotional regulation, resilience, and physical capacity all degrade without them.   If this episode moved you, do not just listen. Do something about it. Sign up. Show up. Do the work. Spartan.com. No more excuses.   Chapters:   00:00 Intro: Joel Del Rosario, retired Marine and kettlebell athlete 01:53 Growing up in the Dominican Republic and low-income housing in Providence 04:02 Hard mode: why childhood adversity resets the scale 04:56 Drugs, a tough Latina mom, and consequences that stuck 08:07 Joining the Marines for a girl and the cost of that decision 09:45 Boot camp, School of Infantry, and deploying to Iraq in 2007 11:56 His mom was told he was killed in action for 24 hours 13:18 The TBI erased most of his life before the blast 17:01 Bloom where you're planted and one foot in front of the other 18:50 The kettlebell: compact training for deployments on a Navy ship 21:44 Why law enforcement faces worse than most military and gets less support 25:17 Using Spartan events as target dates for uniformed services 25:48 Three things to do every day: hard thing, push harder, get sleep 28:31 Set your alarm at night, not in the morning   Joel Del Rosario is an elite endurance athlete specializing in trail running, mountain racing, and obstacle course competitions, known for consistently pushing his physical and mental limits in extreme environments. Through his journey, he represents resilience, discipline, and community, using his platform to inspire others to embrace discomfort, pursue adventure, and grow through consistent effort and challenge.   Connect to Joel:   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joellerblades/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Joellerblades

//The Wire//1400Z June 30, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: UKRAINIAN OLIGARCH TARGET OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN MONACO. INMATES TAKE OVER JAIL IN NORTH CAROLINA.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Monaco: Yesterday afternoon an IED was detonated at a residential apartment building as part of an apparent targeted assassination attempt. One attacker deposited a backpack with the explosive device at the entrance to the building, and waited several minutes for the target to arrive. As the target passed near the backpack, the assailant remotely detonated the IED, before fleeing on foot across the border just a few feet away, into France. Several people were wounded during the attack, with the main target being Vadym Yermolaiev (a Ukrainian businessman). No one was killed, but Yermolaiev was hit by shrapnel and burns, and his wife reportedly suffered a bilateral amputation of the legs. Their son was also seriously wounded by shrapnel.Iran: Overnight, Iranian forces claimed to have killed a clandestine team that had infiltrated the border region. Iranian media claims that the entire 6 man team was killed during the engagement, and that four of the bodies have been recovered. No photos of the alleged team have been provided, however the Iranians claim that their equipment indicated they were attempting to carry out sabotage operations.Analyst Comment: Very few details have been provided on this incident, but if the team was American the Iranians surely would have televised every detail of the incident. Speculating as to the origin of the alleged attackers, they could have been Kurdish militiamen, but until photos are provided there's no verifying any of these details. However, the most interesting detail is that the Iranians claim that the firefight took place between Piran Shahr and Mahabad, which is deep inside Iranian territory and indicates that there might be more to this engagement than meets the eye. Qatar: The Ministry of Transportation has advised the temporary halt to all civil maritime activities in their waters until further notice. This comes after yesterday's death of a citizen, who was found deceased on their private vessel after the Iranian/American targeting efforts over the weekend.Analyst Comment: As it turns out, this death might have been the result of an American munition, or falling shrapnel from some sort of engagement. The Qataris are being very vague about this suspicious death, which would be expected if the US was the cause of it, since the American diplomatic team arrived in Doha for negotiations this morning. The Qataris probably don't want to cause a scene and upset the American delegation, and as a result are downplaying what exactly caused the death of one of their citizens.-HomeFront-North Carolina: Yesterday morning a large scale riot was reported at the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center. A total of 88x inmates overpowered two of the three guards that were on duty for the night shift, and took control of the facility. These two guards were held hostage throughout the day, with groups of prisoners being released from the facility by the group of inmates which started the takeover incident. By last night, authorities had regained control of the jail, and the situation was resolved. All 88x inmates have been accounted for, and everyone has been shuffled and transferred to other detention facilities as the investigation into the incident continues.Analyst Comment: For facilities like this, having only three guards on the night shift is surprisingly common, though after this incident the security posture at this (and other similar facilities) is likely to be increased.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: The context and history of the assassination attempt in Monaco is quite significant. Vadym Yermolaiev was/is a Ukrainian businessman who had a falling out with Zelensky and was sanctioned by the Ukrainian government a few years ago for his business dealings with Russia. After the sanctions, Yermolaiev fled Ukraine before settling in Monaco. Years ago, Yermolaiev was one of the wealthiest individuals in Europe, with most of his money originating from illegal activities such as running scam call centers in Ukraine, as well as construction companies and real estate ventures in the now-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine. Yermolaiev allegedly rebuffed Zelensky's attempts to nationalize his construction empire for the war, and apparently almost paid dearly for it.This attack is extremely shocking for the small city-state of Monaco, where crime is largely nonexistent, much less targeted assassinations. Considering that all signs point to Ukraine being the culprit for this assassination attempt, it will be interesting to see what the response to this attack will be. Monaco is a very small kingdom which serves mostly as a vacation spot for Europe's most powerful individuals, and Ukraine does not appear to realize the thin ice they are treading on by bringing the war to Europe's version of Martha's Vineyard. This attack will not go unnoticed by the global elite, which has been exclusively funding the Ukrainian war for the reasons of keeping the combat confined to the Donbas. If Zelensky is going to end up bringing the explosions to the finer parts of Europe anyway, purely for reasons of settling personal grievances, this might not work out in Ukraine's favor.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

Army Veteran Manny Pasillas Lucio shares the combat story that changed his life forever.Born in Mexico and raised in California, Manny grew up navigating family tension, poverty, and the streets of Compton before deciding to join the Army after 9/11. After basic training at Fort Benning, he was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington, where he became part of a Stryker infantry unit and later joined a scout sniper platoon.In this episode of Urban Valor, Manny opens up about his deployment to Iraq, including missions in Mosul, Baghdad, Taji, and Baqubah. He describes small team missions, hunting high-value targets, taking fire, encountering IEDs, working alongside other units, and the daily fear that came with operating outside the wire.Manny also shares the devastating moment his Stryker was hit by an IED while returning to base. He woke up choking on smoke, heard screams around him, and later discovered his teammate Billy Ferris didn't survive the blast. That moment stayed with him long after Iraq.After coming home, Manny struggled with PTSD, anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, family separation, and the painful reality of trying to become a father while still carrying the war inside him. He talks about pulling a gun on his mother after being startled awake, snapping at family members, feeling lost after the military, and eventually using education, therapy, fatherhood, and veteran advocacy to rebuild his life.Chapters00:00 Waking Up After the IED Blast01:25 Manny's Childhood in Mexico02:48 Coming to the United States03:49 Growing Up in Compton08:08 Learning Independence as a Kid10:05 Wanting to Become a Soldier10:50 How 9/11 Changed Everything11:37 Trying to Join the Military14:04 Watching the Iraq Invasion Begin15:31 Leaving for Basic Training16:23 Arriving at Fort Benning18:44 Building Confidence in Basic Training22:11 Getting Sent to a Stryker Unit23:24 Joining 5-20 Infantry26:23 Becoming an RTO27:57 Learning From Hard NCOs32:19 Being Offered West Point32:58 Moving to Scout Sniper Platoon36:24 Deploying to Iraq37:22 Landing in Kuwait38:39 Arriving in Mosul40:17 Small Kill Team Missions41:11 First IED Strike in Iraq41:51 Hunting a High-Value Target43:30 Walking Outside the Wire44:51 Capturing the Target46:25 Moving From Mosul to Baghdad47:11 Searching for a Downed Pilot47:52 Taking Another IED Hit49:26 Billy Borrows Manny's Blanket51:09 Spotting an IED on the Road53:28 The Stryker Gets Hit54:16 Escaping the Crushed Vehicle56:08 Searching for Billy57:30 Evacuating the Wounded58:47 Sergeant Pucket's Words After the Blast59:18 Returning to Base in Shock1:01:15 The Loss of Billy Ferris1:05:04 Billy's Memorial1:06:14 Back to Combat Operations1:07:04 Working With CIA and Special Forces1:08:29 Testifying in the Green Zone1:11:05 Inside Saddam's Palace1:12:00 Arriving in Baqubah1:13:19 Taking Fire From All Sides1:14:47 Clearing the City1:15:13 The Scariest Missions of His Life1:17:20 Finding Iraqi Police With Mortars1:19:14 Ambush and Firefight1:20:38 Becoming Numb to Loss1:22:10 Fighting Al Qaeda in Baqubah1:23:34 Coming Home From Iraq1:25:22 Almost Going to Ranger Battalion1:26:02 Leaving the Army1:27:10 PTSD Hits at Home1:28:26 Snapping Around Family1:30:07 His Family Didn't Know What Was Happening1:34:12 Struggling in the Reserves1:36:19 Drinking, Trouble, and Feeling Invincible1:37:29 A Bad Experience at the VA1:40:42 His Daughter Saved His Life1:42:49 Using the GI Bill1:43:14 Studying Psychology to Understand PTSD1:44:53 “I Am Not My Mistakes”1:45:39 Breaking Cultural Cycles1:46:35 Becoming a Better Father1:47:20 Helping Veterans Today1:49:10 Reconnecting With Family1:51:20 Why Manny Puts Himself First Now1:52:02 Talking Honestly With His Daughter1:53:24 Advocating for Veterans and Families1:54:34 Manny's Message to Struggling Veterans

In this episode of Beyond Rockets, Clark Dunn sits down with Clayton Hinchman, Chairman and CEO of IGNITE, to discuss his journey from West Point and Army service to leading one of Huntsville's fastest-growing companies. After surviving a life-changing IED explosion while serving in Iraq, Clayton transitioned into entrepreneurship, founded and sold his first company, and eventually became the leader of IGNITE.During the conversation, Clayton shares how military leadership shaped his approach to business, why discipline and culture are critical to long-term success, and how IGNITE has grown from a regional defense contractor into an international organization with employees across the country and around the world.They also discuss entrepreneurship, acquisitions, employee ownership, leadership during adversity, the importance of grit, and what it takes to build a company that lasts.Recommended Books Mentioned

Some battles end when you leave the battlefield. Others follow you home. In this unforgettable episode of The ToosDay Crüe Show, host Rich LaMonica sits down with Purple Heart recipient, Iraq War veteran, Combat Engineer, husband, father, and author Jason Rumbaugh for one of the most honest conversations we've ever had about war, trauma, resilience, and what it truly means to rebuild a life after combat. Jason's story begins like many young Americans seeking purpose through military service. But what followed was a journey through Germany, Kosovo, Iraq, roadside bombs, combat patrols, leadership failures, brotherhood, loss, and the kind of experiences that permanently change how a person sees the world. When an IED explosion left Jason wounded in Iraq, the physical injuries were only part of the story. The deeper wounds would take years to understand. Years of trying to adapt. Years of searching for purpose. Years of carrying memories that never seemed to fade. But instead of allowing those experiences to define him, Jason transformed them into something powerful. His memoir, Waves of Shrapnel: A Soldier's Journey, became both a tribute to the soldiers who never made it home and a roadmap for understanding the struggles many veterans face after returning from war. Throughout this emotional and often surprisingly funny conversation, Jason shares stories that are raw, human, heartbreaking, and inspiring all at once. You'll hear about:

Farrier Major Paul Jones, AWCF, joins the podcast to share his remarkable journey through 24 years in the British Army. Raised in a military family, Paul discusses his deployment to Afghanistan, the devastating IED attack that changed the course of his career, and how his lifelong connection to horses led him into farriery. Four weeks from retirement from the military and serving at the Defence Animal Training Regiment in Melton Mowbray, Paul gives an inside look at Army farrier training, exam preparation, and the unique challenges of shoeing both ceremonial and sport horses. With retirement on the horizon and a new chapter ahead in teaching and business ownership, Paul reflects on a career built on service, adaptability, and a passion for the trade. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For access to the whole episode and many others, please subscribe here: mullinsfarrier.supercast.com  

Episode 253 of the Transition Drill podcast, explores Marine Corps combat service, life after injury, and veteran transition for military veterans and first responders navigating identity, trauma, and purpose after the job. You'll hear Marcus Wilson on surviving an IED blast, fighting his way back into uniform, and what it takes to rebuild a life when the mission changes.Marcus grew up in Dermott, Arkansas, with the Marine Corps already planted in his mind. His dad had served, and a photo of him in dress blues became a reminder of the path Marcus wanted. After graduating high school in 1994, he left for boot camp in San Diego, became an infantry Marine, and committed early to making the Marine Corps a career.His service took him from Camp Pendleton to Okinawa, Korea, Australia, Hawaii, Afghanistan, and Iraq. After 9/11, Marcus wanted to be where the fight was. In 2005, he deployed to Afghanistan with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines and experienced combat during a deployment that included Operation Red Wings in his unit's area of operations. Then came Iraq in 2006, where the pace and violence in Haditha were constant.On November 14, 2006, Marcus was serving as a QRF platoon sergeant when his vehicle was hit by an IED. Three Marines were killed. Marcus survived, but lost his left leg above the knee and suffered multiple serious injuries, including broken bones, fractured vertebrae, broken ribs, and a punctured lung. After 48 surgeries, years of rehab, and learning to walk with a prosthetic, he fought to stay in the Marine Corps instead of leaving at 12 years. He returned to active duty, became a First Sergeant, served at the School of Infantry, and retired after 21 years.But retirement brought a different fight. Marcus talks openly about depression, losing his sense of purpose, staying in bed for nearly a year, and finally getting help through the Veterans Center. Today, he's found purpose in the outdoors through Wounded Warrior Outdoors, guiding veterans and first responders on hunting and fishing trips across North America. His story is about dedication, mental health, brotherhood, and finding a new mission after service.CONNECT WITH THE PODCAST:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulpantani/WEBSITE: https://www.transitiondrillpodcast.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulpantani/SIGN-UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER:https://transitiondrillpodcast.com/home#aboutQUESTIONS OR COMMENTS:paul@transitiondrillpodcast.comSPONSORS:GRND Collective: Premium, veteran-owned sportswear built for those who show up, outwork the excuses, and give 100%. Score 15% off your order at thegrndcollective.com using promo code TRANSITION15 at checkoutBlue Line Roasting: Premium, law-enforcement-owned coffee roasted to fuel the shift. A portion of every order directly supports law enforcement families facing line-of-duty injury or loss. Save 10% at bluelineroasting.com with promo code Transition10Frontline Optics: Premium eyewear founded by a firefighter and built to withstand the job. Every single purchase helps support the First Responders Children's Foundation, serving families who've paid the ultimate price. Save 10% off your pair at frontlineoptics.com using promo code Transition10

Marine veteran Mike Egan survived an IED blast in Afghanistan, rebuilt his life after losing both legs, and later inspired millions through his unforgettable viral moment at the G.1.M Ultra. In this episode, we talk about combat, recovery, service, endurance, and how Mike found purpose through fitness.CHAPTERS:00:00 Intro02:07 Mike's Definition of Service06:18 Why Mike Joined the Marines in 2008 (The Messy, Real Truth)11:17 First Deployment to Afghanistan and Earning Respect as a Squad Leader22:52 May 27, 201244:55 The Hardest Part Nobody Warns You About After the Military48:33 Finding Fitness, Coaching, and a New Purpose54:41 CrossFit, World Records, and Learning to Love Endurance59:06 152 Miles in 24 Hours1:04:58 G.1.M Ultra Story1:13:42 The Viral MomentORDER MY BOOK HERE: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Go-One-More-Intentional-Life-Changing/dp/1637746210FOLLOW:Become a BPN member FOR FREE - Unlock 25% off FOR LIFE ⁠https://www.bareperformancenutrition.com/collections/performance-nutritionIG: ⁠instagram.com/nickbarefitness/⁠YT: ⁠youtube.com/@nickbarefitnessThis podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal [health or profession] advice. Bare Performance Nutrition (BPN) is not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. This podcast is not intended to replace professional medical advice.This podcast may not be republished without the written consent of Bare Performance Nutrition (BPN)

Retired Army Sergeant Major and Green Beret Terry Wilson spent 24 years in uniform with the 7th Special Forces Group, racking up 11 combat deployments and nearly 11 years total downrange. He is now the CEO of Tactical Edge Coaching and Consulting, where he works with high performance men to become better leaders in all aspects of their life. In this episode we get into the daily troops in contact grind of Helmand Province, watching a Chinook get blown out of the sky a couple hundred meters away, recovering bodies from the crash site through the night, losing a teammate to an IED within days, the brutal reality of the Afghanistan withdrawal, and hitting rock bottom after losing his son before faith and fitness gave him a way back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Milam Byers, guitarist for Christian rock legends Bleach, has spent twenty years trying to understand one moment. His older brother Josh, a decorated Army captain, was killed by a massive IED in Iraq in 2003. The explosion was so violent that it shook the ground two miles away. According to every medical report, Josh died instantly. But his driver heard him shout a command. Clear. Precise. By name. And every man in that vehicle obeyed it and lived. Milam sits down with Luke and Nate to share what the driver told him years later about a voice that couldn't have been there, but everyone heard.This is an episode about brothers, grief, and what happens when God shows up in the deepest darkness. Milam opens up about the vision he received alone in a closet the night Josh died, the satellite image nineteen years later that confirmed every detail, and why the theology of suffering isn't just academic to him. He's still putting the pieces back together. And his brother's last words keep pointing him forward. This episode is sponsored by: https://go.goodranchers.com/BLURRY — For a limited time, when you purchase any Father's Day Gift Box from Good Ranchers, they'll throw in FREE Wagyu Burgers for Dad to enjoy.https://livemomentous.com — Get up to 35% off your first order with promo code BLURRY at checkout! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Retired Marine Force Recon Gunnery Sergeant Ryan Kuperus returns for part two with some of the most harrowing combat accounts you'll hear. From a near-fatal friendly fire incident involving Cobra attack helicopters, to navigating an IED-saturated district center while rescuing a shattered sniper team, Kuperus pulls no punches on what it actually costs when leadership fails on the ground. He also recounts the operation that quietly identified a Taliban shadow governor in northern Helmand — the kind of mission that rarely gets told. The conversation shifts into a candid reckoning with the military's promotion system, the compounding damage of poor senior leadership, and why the men who fight hardest are often the ones the institution fails most. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ryan Kuperus is a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant with 17+ years in infantry, recon, and Force Recon. Medically retired after multiple combat deployments and enough kinetic stories to fill a book. From leading teams in Now Zad to pulling his own guys out of multiple IED strikes, this one gets raw fast. We talk leadership failures in combat, hunting, ibogaine, and why the system chews up warriors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices