Podcasts about kurdish peshmerga

Some might think of veterans issues and national security issues separately, but they are intricately intertwined. There's a moral imperative to care for those who have risked their lives to defend freedom. There's also a national security imperative to do so.This fact raises several questions: How are America's veterans doing? How well are we taking care of those who have served our country in uniform? How can we do better?To discuss these questions and more, as well as some new research, guest host Bradley Bowman is joined by Marcus Ruzek and retired Navy Captain Dan Goldenberg. Marcus RuzekMarcus is Senior Program Director at The Marcus Foundation. The Marcus Foundation is a leader in philanthropy, specifically in the areas of military and veterans' support. He has worked at The Marcus Foundation for over 10 years, supporting its Free Enterprise initiatives, National Security/Foreign Policy, and Free Market Ideals programs. An infantryman and combat veteran, Marcus deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq. He commanded a Special Forces “A Team” which partnered with Kurdish Peshmerga in the fight against Islamic State terrorists (aka: ISIS).  Dan GoldenbergDan had led the Call of Duty Endowment or CODE since 2013. During his tenure there, the Call of Duty Endowment has become the largest philanthropic funder of veteran employment, backing more than 150,000 high-quality job placements and driving more than $9 billion in economic value for veterans and their families. Dan is a retired Navy Captain. His military service includes four tours as a commanding officer, as well as serving as a carrier-based naval flight officer, and special assistant to four Secretaries of the Navy. He also has two decades of business experience. Discussed in the episodeCODE ReportH.R. McMaster's article "Preserving the Warrior Ethos"

Some might think of veterans issues and national security issues separately, but they are intricately intertwined. There's a moral imperative to care for those who have risked their lives to defend freedom. There's also a national security imperative to do so.This fact raises several questions: How are America's veterans doing? How well are we taking care of those who have served our country in uniform? How can we do better?To discuss these questions and more, as well as some new research, guest host Bradley Bowman is joined by Marcus Ruzek and retired Navy Captain Dan Goldenberg. Marcus RuzekMarcus is Senior Program Director at The Marcus Foundation. The Marcus Foundation is a leader in philanthropy, specifically in the areas of military and veterans' support. He has worked at The Marcus Foundation for over 10 years, supporting its Free Enterprise initiatives, National Security/Foreign Policy, and Free Market Ideals programs. An infantryman and combat veteran, Marcus deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq. He commanded a Special Forces “A Team” which partnered with Kurdish Peshmerga in the fight against Islamic State terrorists (aka: ISIS).  Dan GoldenbergDan had led the Call of Duty Endowment or CODE since 2013. During his tenure there, the Call of Duty Endowment has become the largest philanthropic funder of veteran employment, backing more than 150,000 high-quality job placements and driving more than $9 billion in economic value for veterans and their families. Dan is a retired Navy Captain. His military service includes four tours as a commanding officer, as well as serving as a carrier-based naval flight officer, and special assistant to four Secretaries of the Navy. He also has two decades of business experience. Discussed in the episodeCODE ReportH.R. McMaster's article "Preserving the Warrior Ethos"

I want to introduce you to our guest this time, Fred Dummar. I met Fred through Susy Flory who helped me write Thunder Dog. Fred is taking a class from Susy on writing and is well along with his first book. I look forward to hearing about its publishing sometime in 2025.   Fred hails from a VERY small town in Central Nevada. After high school Fred went to the University of Nevada in Reno. While at University, Fred joined the Nevada National Guard which helped him pay his way through school and which also set him on a path of discovery about himself and the world. After college Fred joined the U.S. army in 1990. He was accepted into the Special Forces in 1994 and served in various locations around the world and held ranks from Captain through Colonel.   Fred and I talk a fair amount about leadership and how his view of that subject grew and changed over the years. He retired from the military in 2015. He continues to be incredibly active serving in a variety of roles in both the for profit and nonprofit arenas.   I love Fred's leadership style and philosophy. I hope you will as well. Fred has lots of insights that I believe you will find helpful in whatever you are doing.       About the Guest:   Colonel (Retired) Fred Dummar was born and raised in the remote town of Gabbs, Nevada. He enlisted in the Nevada National Guard in 1986 and served as a medic while attending the University of Nevada. He was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army in April 1990.   Fred was selected for Special Forces in 1994 and went on to command at every level in Special Forces from Captain to Colonel. He trained and deployed in many countries, including Panama, Venezuela, Guyana, Nigeria, Zambia, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Most notably, Col Dummar participated in the liberation of Kurdish Northern Iraq in 2003, assisting elements of the Kurdish Peshmerga (resistance fighters) with the initial liberation of Mosul.   Colonel Dummar's last tour in uniform was as the Commander of the Advisory Group for Afghan Special Forces from May 2014 to June 2015. Immediately after retiring, he returned to Afghanistan as a defense contractor to lead the Afghan Army Special Operations Command and Special Mission Wing training programs until May 2017.   Beginning in 2007 and continuing until 2018, Fred guided his friend, who was blinded in Iraq, through 40 Marathons, several Ultra marathons, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, running with the bulls in Pamplona, and a traverse of the Sahara Desert to raise funds and awareness for Special Forces Soldiers. He personally ran numerous Ultramarathons, including 23 separate 100-mile runs and over a hundred races from 50 miles to marathon.   Fred graduated from the U.S. Army Command and Staff College and the U.S. Army War College with master's degrees in military art and science, strategy, and policy. He is currently pursuing a Doctoral Degree in Organizational Psychology and Leadership.   Since retiring from the Army in 2015, Fred has led in nonprofit organizations from the Board of Directors with the Special Forces Charitable Trust (2015-2022) as the Chief of Staff for Task Force Dunkirk during the evacuation of Afghan Allies in August 2021, as a leadership fellow with Mission 43 supporting Idaho's Veterans (2020-2023), and as a freshwater advocate with Waterboys with trips to East Africa in 2017 and 2019 to assist in funding wells for remote tribes.   Fred has led in the civilian sector as the Senior Vice President of Legacy Education, also known as Rich Dad Education, from 2017-2018 and as the startup CEO for Infinity Education from 2021-2022, bringing integrity and compassion to Real Estate Education. Fred continues investing in Real Estate as a partner in Slate Mountain Homes, Idaho and trains new investors to find, rehab, and flip manufactured homes with Alpine Capital Solutions.   Fred is married to Rebecca Dummar, and they reside in Idaho Falls, Idaho, with three of their children, John, Leah, and Anna. Their daughter Alana attends the University of Michigan.   Ways to connect with Fred:   Here is a link to my webpage - https://guidetohuman.com/ Here is a link to my Substack where I write - https://guidetohuman.substack.com/   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset where inclusion diversity and the unexpected meet, but it's more fun to talk about unexpected than inclusion or diversity, although it is relevant to talk about both of those. And our guest today is Fred Dummar. It is pronounced dummar or dumar. Dummar, dummar, see, I had to do that. So Fred is a person I met Gosh about seven or eight months ago through Susy Flory, who was my co author on thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust at ground zero. And Susy introduced us because Fred is writing a book. We're going to talk about that a bunch today, and we'll also talk about Fred's career and all sorts of other things like that. But we've had some fascinating discussions, and now we finally get to record a podcast, so I'm glad to do that. So Fred Dummar, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Fred Dummar ** 02:22 Yeah, no. Thanks for having me. Michael, yeah, we've had some some interesting discussions about everything unstoppable mind and blindness and diversity. And yeah, it's good to be on here.   Michael Hingson ** 02:34 Yeah. And one of the things I know that you have done is ran with a blind marathoner, and I'm anxious to hear about that, as well as what an ultra marathon is. We'll get to that, however. But why don't we start by you may be talking a little bit about kind of the early freight growing up and all that you grew up in, in Nevada, in a in a kind of remote place. So I'm going to just leave it to you to talk about all   Fred Dummar ** 02:57 that. Yeah, Michael, so, and actually, that's part of my, part of my story that I'm writing about. Because, you know, obviously, where we're from forms a large basis of how we sometimes interact with the world. And I came from a very remote town in Nevada. It's dying, by the way. I'm not sure how long that town will be with us, but, yeah, being from a small town where, you know, graduating class was 13 kids, and it's an hour to the closest place that you could watch a movie or get fast food, those types of things, it's definitely a different type of childhood, and much one, much more grounded in self reliance and doing activities that you can make up yourself, right? Instead of being looking for others to entertain you.   Michael Hingson ** 03:50 Yeah, I hear you. So what was it like growing up in a small town? I grew up in Palmdale, California, so it was definitely larger than where you grew up, we had a fairly decent sized High School senior graduating class. It wasn't 13, but what was it like growing up in that kind of environment?   Fred Dummar ** 04:12 Yeah, it was. It was one where you know, not only did you know everybody, everybody else knew you, and so you could pretty much count on anyone in the town for for assistance or, or, you know, if, I guess, if you were on the house for not, not assistance, so, but no, it was. It was a great place to have many, many, many friends from there. But it was, certainly was an adjustment, because I think growing up, there are our sort of outlook on life for us, you know, certainly from the people that that ran our high school and the other adults, most people were seen as, you know, your life after high school would be going to work at one of. The mines, or going to work on one of the, you know, family cattle ranch or something like that. So making the jump from there to, you know, even a few hours away to Reno, you know, to start at the University of Nevada, that was a big it's a big jump from for me, and because the school is so small, I ended up graduating from high school when I was 16, so I barely had a driver's license, and now I am several hours away and Reno, Nevada, going to the university. And, you know, quite an adjustment for me.   Michael Hingson ** 05:32 It's interesting. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to do a podcast episode with someone who's very much involved and knows a lot about bullying and so on, and just listening to you talk, it would seem like you probably didn't have a whole lot of the bully type mentality, because everyone was so close, and everyone kind of interacted with each other, so probably that sort of stuff wasn't tolerated very well. Yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 05:59 it was, it was more so outsiders. I mean, kids that had grown up there all sort of, you know, knew where they were or weren't in the pecking order. Things and things sort of stayed kind of steady stasis, without a lot of bullying. But yeah, new kids coming in. That's where you would see for me, from my recollection of growing up to that's where, you know, I remember that type of behavior coming out when, when you know, a new kid would come into the town,   Michael Hingson ** 06:31 was it mainly from the new kids or from the kids who are already there?   Fred Dummar ** 06:34 From the kids? Sometimes it was the integration, right? Some people integrate into new environments better than others. And you know, generally, no problems for those folks. But some, you know, it takes a bit more. And in a place like that, if you're you know, if you're seen as different, so you know to your theory on or your you know the topics you cover on diversity and inclusion. Sometimes when you're the one that that looks different or acts different in an environment like that, you definitely stick out, and then you become the target of of bullying.   Michael Hingson ** 07:10 What? What happens that changes that for a kid? Then, you know, so you're you're different or in one way or another. But what happens that gets kids accepted? Or do they?   Fred Dummar ** 07:21 Yeah, I don't know. I think, I think it's learning to embrace just who you are and doing your own thing. I think if you know, if you're trying to force yourself into an environment that doesn't want to accept you, I'm not sure that that's ever an easy battle for anyone. But just being yourself and doing your own thing. I think that's, that's the way to go, and that's certainly, you know, what I learned through my life was I wasn't one of the kids that planned on staying there and working in the mind, and I wasn't, you know, my family was, you know, at that point, my mom and dad owned the, the only grocery store in town, and I certainly wasn't going back to run the family business. So, you know, look, looking for a way, you know, for something else to do outside of that small town was certainly number one on my agenda, getting out of there. So being myself and and learning to adapt, or, as you know the saying goes, right, learning to be instead of being a fish in a small pond, learning to be a fish in a much larger pond,   Michael Hingson ** 08:27 yeah, well, and there's, there's a lot of growth that has to take place for that to occur, but it's understandable. So you graduated at 16, and then what did you do after   Fred Dummar ** 08:38 my uh, freshman year at college, which I funded by, you know, sort of Miss, Miss misleading people or lying about my age so that I could get a job at 16 and working construction and as an apprentice electrician. And that funded my my freshman year of college. But, you know, as as as my freshman year was dragging on, I was wondering, you know, hey, how I was going to continue to fund my, you know, continued universe my stay at the university, because I did not want to go, you know, back back back home, sort of defeated, defeated by that. So I started looking into various military branches of military service, and that's when it happened upon the National Guard, Nevada National Guard, and so I joined the National Guard. And right after, you know, I think it was five days after I turned 17, so as soon as I could, I signed up, and that summer after my freshman year, I left for training for the National Guard. Missed first semester of my sophomore year, but then came back and continued on with my university studies using, you know, my the educational benefits that came from being in the National Guard.   Michael Hingson ** 09:55 So you're in the National Guard, but that wasn't a full time thing, so you were able to go back and. Continue education. Yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 10:01 it was, you know, it's a typical one weekend a month, one weekend a month for duty. Typically, we would go in on a Friday night, spend Saturday and Sunday for duty. So we get a, you know, small check for that. And then we were also allowed to draw, you know, the GI Bill and the state of Nevada had a program at the time where you didn't get paid upfront for your classes, but at the end of every semester, you could take your final report card and for every class, for every credit that you had a C or higher, they would reimburse you. So yeah, so they were essentially paying my tuition, and then, you know, small stipend every month from the GI Bill. And then, you know, my National Guard check, so and in the 80s, you know, when I was going to school, that that was enough to keep, you know, define my education. And where did you go to school? At the University of Nevada in   Michael Hingson ** 10:59 Reno, in Reno, okay, yeah, so, so you kind of have ended up really liking Reno, huh?   Fred Dummar ** 11:07 Yeah, I, yeah. I became sort of home city. Obviously, no one would ever really know where. You know, if I would have mentioned that I grew up in a town called gaps, most people would, you know, not, not really understand. I sometimes, if they're, you know, press and say, hey, you know, where are you really? Because, you know, often say, Hey, I went to school in Reno. If they say, where did you grow up? I'll, you know, it's a longer conversation. I'll be like, okay, so if you put your finger, like, right in the middle of Nevada, in the absolute middle of nowhere, that's where I grew up.   Michael Hingson ** 11:40 Well, you know, people need to recognize and accept people for who they are, and that doesn't always happen, which is never fun, but Yeah, gotta do what you can do, yes, well, so Reno, on the other hand, is a is a much larger town, and probably you're, a whole lot more comfortable there than you than you were in Gabs, but that's okay. So yeah, so you went to the university. You got a bachelor's, yep, and then what did you do?   Fred Dummar ** 12:11 Yeah. Well, so along the way, while I was in the National Guard, you know, being a medic, right? I was convinced by a lieutenant that met me. I was actually doing the physical, because it was one of the things our section did when I was first in, you know, we gave the medical physicals, and this lieutenant said, you know, you should come transfer our unit. The unit was an infantry unit, and I became their only medic. And so that was much better than working in a medical section for a helicopter unit where I'd been and and the lieutenants, you know, said that I should consider joining ROTC, since I was already going to the university. So I did in my junior year, started the Reserve Officer Training Corps there at the University of Nevada. And so when I graduated college in the winter of 89 I accepted a commission into the army. So then a few months later, I was, I was off on my my Grand Army adventure,   Michael Hingson ** 13:11 alright, and then what did you do?   Fred Dummar ** 13:15 So, yeah, that was, you know, because it was an infantry Lieutenant went to Fort Benning, Georgia, and I believe now the army calls it fort Moore, but yeah, I trained there for about a year, doing all of the tasks necessary to become an infantry officer. And then I went down to Panama, when the US still had forces in the country of Panama. And I spent two and a half years down there was that past mariega, yeah, right after, because I had graduated from college in December of 89 while operation just caused to get rid of Noriega was happening. So year after my infantry training, I sort of ended up in Panama, and sort of as at the time, thinking it was bad luck, you know, because if you're in the army, you know, you want to, kind of want to go where things are happening. So I'm in Panama the year after the invasion, while Saddam Hussein is invading Kuwait, and everyone else is rushing to the desert, and I'm sitting in the jungle. So, you know, as a as a young person, you start to think, you know, oh, you know, hey, I'm missing. I'm missing the big war. I should be at the war, you know. So that was an interesting take, not what I would have now, but you know, as a young man,   Michael Hingson ** 14:31 what caused you to revise that view, though? Or time,   Fred Dummar ** 14:37 yeah, yeah. Just, just time. And, you know, later in life, you know, after, uh, serving combat rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan, I realized it wasn't something one needed to rush towards,   Michael Hingson ** 14:48 really quite so bad, where you were, yeah. So,   Fred Dummar ** 14:52 yeah, I spent a couple years in Panama, then I came back to Fort Benning, uh, Fort Moore, and worked at the Army's Airborne School. So. Uh, you know, the place that teaches people how to jump out of airplanes. And I did that for for a year. So it's, it's really fun because watching, you know, watching people go through the process of of training to jump out of an aircraft, and then sort of their very first time on an aircraft might takes off, and you can see the, you know, sort of the realization that they're not going to land with the plane for the first time in their life. You know, they're they're not going to be in the plane when it lands. That's always, you know, it's always a good time. And then, of course, when you know, then there's another realization, moment when the doors pop open right, and the doors, doors on the aircraft are opened so the jump masters can start making checks, you know, and out, yeah, and they're looking, you know, their eyes get larger and larger, you know, as as preparations for the jump. You know, when they're stood up and they're hooked up inside the aircraft, and then finally, you know, told to exit. Yeah, it's interesting. And during the time when I worked there, that's when I was eligible, because I was a senior lieutenant at that time, that I could apply to become a Green Beret. I could go through special forces training if I was selected. So I left from Fort Benning, I went up to Fort Bragg, now fort liberty, and went through the selection, Special Forces Assessment, selection, and was selected to become a Special Forces soldiers that I went to Fort Bragg, you know, spent the year or so becoming qualified to be a special forces team leader, and then the next I spent the next 20 years of my Army career in various units at at Fort liberty, and third Special Forces Group, Special Forces Command, seven Special Forces Group, Special Operations recruiting, just, you know, bouncing around in different assignments and then, but obviously during that time, 911, happened, and you know, was on the initial invasion in 2003 up in, up into the north. We were flying in from Romania, you know, before the war started. And so being there during that phase of the Iraq combat in Iraq, and then going to Afghanistan and and spending multiple, multiple tours and multiple years in Afghanistan. So, so   Michael Hingson ** 17:25 did you do much jumping out of airplanes?   Fred Dummar ** 17:29 Yeah, in combat, no. But over the years, yeah, I accumulated quite a few jumps. Because what, you know, every, every unit I was ever assigned to while I was in the army was always one that was, you know, airborne, which are, you know, the designation for units that jump out of airplanes. So   Michael Hingson ** 17:47 have to, yeah, yeah. Well, you're a pretty level headed kind of guy. What was it like the first time you jumped? I mean, you described what it looked like to other people. Do you think that was basically the same for you, or did you, yeah, kind of a thicker skin,   Fred Dummar ** 18:01 yeah, no, no, I think, I think that's why I was able to, you know, in large measure, that's how a lot of us are able to have empathy, right? If we've, if we've, if we've been through it, and we are able to access the memory of, okay, what was it like when I was doing it? It allows us to be, you know, more compassionate to the people that are going through it at that moment for the first time, but yeah, I can remember being in the plane, and then you know, that realization is like, hey, you know, in the pit of your stomach, I'm not, I'm not landing with this plane. And then, you know, the doors opening up, you're like, you know, kind of hey, those, I don't know what the gates of hell look like, but right now, that's that's in my mind, what, what they would look like, you know, and then going out the first time, and and then I think the second time might have been worse, because it was the anticipation of, oh, wait a minute, we're doing that again. And by the but if you do five jumps to qualify before you're given your parachute as badge, so I think by the third one, I'd come to terms with, with, with dealing and managing. You know, you know the fear of it, of leaving an airplane. And people you know often ask, you know when, when you're older and you're past the 100 jump mark, you know it's like, still, is there still fear and like, I think, I think, if there's not, I mean, then you know, there's probably something wrong with you, but, but it's not, it's nowhere near you know how it is when you know your First learning and your first learning to trust yourself and trust the equipment and trust the process. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 19:45 what you're learning a little bit along the way is to how to control fear. And you mentioned my book earlier, the one that's coming out live like a guide dog, which is all about trying to teach people to control fear, because we have so many things happen to. Us, or we think about so many things, that we develop so many fears consciously or not, that when something does unexpectedly happen to us, especially something that isn't necessarily a positive thing, we just automatically go into a fear reaction mode. And the the reality is it doesn't need to be that way you can learn to control fear, which is what we talk about in live like a guide dog, because it's important that people recognize you can learn to control fear. I would never say, Don't be afraid. Yeah, but I think you can learn to control fear, and by doing so, then you use that fear to help guide you and give you the the the the tools to really be able to move forward and focus. But most people don't really spend much time doing that. They don't learn introspection. They don't learn how to to slow down and analyze and develop that mind muscle so that later you can analyze incredibly quickly.   Fred Dummar ** 21:06 Yeah, we in the army, we call that stress inoculation, good description, you know, it's, you know, once you're, once you're, you've learned to deal with stress, or deal with, you know, stressful, fearful things. Then, you know, the next time you're you're better equipped. And that fear and that stress can be, you know, can be continually amped up. I used to laugh when I was doing Special Forces recruiting, because the you know, it would require a special physical for candidates to go get a special physical before they could come to training. And one of the boxes we would joke about was, I have no fear of heights or enclosed spaces. No everybody has those fears, is whether you can, you can manage those fears and deal with. You know, things are very uncomfortable. Well, that's   Michael Hingson ** 22:05 really it. It's all about managing. And so I'm sure that they want you to check no, that you don't have those fears when you're when you're going through. But at the same time, what you're hopefully really saying is you can manage it. Yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 22:20 that you can manage and that's why I was saying, that's why I would always laugh, because of course, everyone has those fears and but learning to deal with them and and how you deal with them, and that that's, you know, one of the things I discuss in one of the chapters of the book I'm writing is, is, you know when fear, when fear comes to You, you know, how do you deal with it and how do you overcome it? I think people are more and more recognizing you know that there are techniques through stress inoculation, you know, things like that. They'll teach you how you can overcome fear. And you know simple breathing techniques to you know, slow down your breathing and engage your brain, not just your brain stem, right? When you breathe, it fast, your brain stem is in charge, not your brain and yeah, and think your way through things, rather than just reacting as a, you know, as a frightened animal,   Michael Hingson ** 23:19 right? And it's one of the things that that, as I discuss in the book, and I talk to people about now a lot, that although I didn't realize it for many years, after September 11, I had developed a mindset on that day that said, You know what to do, because I had spent a lot of time learning what to do, how to deal with emergencies, what the rules were, and all that, and all of that just kicked in on September 11, which is as good as it could get.   Fred Dummar ** 23:45 Yeah. Well, Michael, you have a you have a distinct advantage. You had a distinct advantage a couple of them, but, but one being, you know, because you already live in a world without light in your sight, you're not dependent on that. And so another, when other people are, you know, in, you know, when I'm reading the book, I'm nodding my head knowingly, you know, as you're talking about being in the stairwell and other people being frightened, and you're just like, this is okay. This is an average, I mean, maybe unusual circumstances, but an average day for me,   Michael Hingson ** 24:21 yeah. But they side of it is, I know lots of blind people who would be just as much in fear as anyone else. It's the fact is, of course, we didn't know what was going on. Yes, September 11, a   Fred Dummar ** 24:35 bit of ignorance is bliss, right? Yeah. And   Michael Hingson ** 24:38 that was true for everyone. I had a great imagination. I could tell you that I imagine things that could happen that were a whole lot worse than in a sense, what did, but I, but I like science fiction and horror, so I learned how to imagine well, but the fact is that it isn't so much being blind that's an advantage, really. Really was the preparation. And so the result was that I had done that. And you know, of course, the airplane hit 18 floors above us on the other side of the building. So the reality is going down the stairs. None of us knew what happened. We figured out an airplane hit the building because we started smelling the fumes from burning jet fuel. But by the same token, that was all we knew. We didn't even know that tower two had been hit until, well, much later, when we got outside, colleagues saw David Frank, my colleague saw tower two was on fire, but we still didn't know what it was from. So yeah, the the fact is that blindness may or may not really be an advantage, but preparation certainly was, yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 25:43 how you reacted, how you reacted to being blind. Because, yeah, you can just, just like anything, right? You can react in in several different ways, and how you acted, how you built your life around,   Michael Hingson ** 25:54 sure. And most people, of course, just rely on reading signs. And so they also have the fear, what if I can't read the signs. What if there's smoke and all that? And again, they they build fears rather than doing the smart thing, which is just to learn what to do in the case of an emergency when you're in a building like that. But you know, it is part of what what we do talk about, and it is, it is pretty important that people start to learn a little bit more that they can control fear. I mean, we have in our in our whole world, politicians who just do nothing but promote fear, and that's unfortunate, because we all buy into it, rather than stepping back and go, Wait a minute. It doesn't need to be that way.   Fred Dummar ** 26:37 Yeah, I think the other thing, like you talked about your your preparation and training. And I always that was one of the way ways, or one of the things that brought me to ultra marathoning, you know, after my initial training in Special Forces, was, you know, if you're, if you're going to push your capacity to see, you know what you're what you're really capable of, or build, you know, build additional reserves. So, you know, if you are counted on to do something extraordinary or in extenuating circumstances, what do you really have, you know, yeah, how far can you really push yourself? And so it really brought me into the sport of ultra running, where, you know, the distances, or those distances that exceed a marathon. So a marathon being, you know, 26 miles, yeah. So the first ultra marathon is a 50k because, you know, Marathon is 42 so eight kilometers farther. And then the next, general, you know, length is 50 miles. And then there's some other, you know, 100k which is 62 miles. And then, kind of the, although, you know, now we see, see races longer, but kind of the the longest distance being 100 mile race and so, and the gold standard in 100 mile racing being, you know, for most, most courses, every course being different, but for most courses, is to finish under 24 hours, so within one one day, but to keep moving for one, you know, one entire day while, you know, while fueling yourself and and, and some people say, Well, you Know, wow, that pace doesn't seem that fast. Troy   Michael Hingson ** 28:22 yourself then and see, yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 28:24 and, like a lot of things, it doesn't, it doesn't exactly seem fast until you're factoring in, okay, but you're still gonna have to stop at some point to you, you know, relieve yourself, and you're gonna have to, you know, walk while you eat. And, you know, there's hills to climb and all these other sorts of obstacles. So, yeah, finishing under 24 hours is, you know, sort of the, you know, the standard, I guess, for the people want to achieve. And anyway, yeah, I became, for a bit there, became addicted to it. And then, so when I met Ivan, my friend, who you were talking about, who, who was, was blinded in in Iraq in 2006 when I met him, he had already been injured, and I realized that he really wanted to run marathons. He'd run one, and had to use, like, several different guides, right? You know, there were different people jumping in and out, and it really wasn't an ideal situation for him and he and he also needed someone who who wanted to do that, who would be a reliable training partner, right? Because it's not like, okay, you know, you might be able to find people that show up on marathon day. Want to run the marathon, or a few people, but, you know, day in, day out, to be training. And so I was like, Hey, this is one of those things that ends up in your path, right, that you can, maybe you can walk around it, but, but for me, when I, you know, when I saw. I was like, Okay, this was, this was something that, you know, for whatever reason, is on my path. I meant to do it. I meant to be the guy that does this. And so, yeah, we started training together. And, you know, ended up running 40 plus marathons together, you know, from London, Chicago, you know, every, every the Marine Corps Marathon, just everywhere. And, you know, summiting Mount Kilimanjaro and running with the bulls together. And then our last race was, it's often referred to as, you know, the world's toughest foot race. It's the marathon to Saab, and it's a, it's a distance race of 150 some miles across the Sahara Desert. And they break it up into stages. So on different days, some days, you run 30 miles. Some days, you know, 26 one day is a 50. I think we were at 53 miles on one of the days. But anyway, and you start the you start that race with whatever you're going to eat and whatever you're going to need, you know, in terms of gear on your back. And the only thing that's provided to you during the race is water. So, and that was our kind of, you know, he's like, I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to run, and so I just want to do that before I stop. I stopped, right? So, but anyway, yeah, so that was how I ended up meeting my friend Ivan, and, you know, over the course of a decade and a half, we did all of these, you know, what some people think are incredibly dumb things, but, you know, sort of embracing the discomfort of training and competing to, you know, to make ourselves better, you know? Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 31:44 so while you were in the military, I know you mentioned earlier something about doing some work in as a medic. Did you do that most of your time? Were you specializing in that? Or what?   Fred Dummar ** 31:54 No, no, that was only when I early on, when I was a soldier, I was a medic, and then when I was commissioned, I was commissioned, I was commissioned as an infantry officer, and then, and then, when it became Special Forces, you know, the officer is, sort of has, has no specialty other than leading the team. The team has medics and weapons guys and engineers and communicators and all that. But, you know, the officers sort of assigned as the as the planning the planning agent, you know, the to lead the team, rather than have any of the specialties,   Michael Hingson ** 32:30 right? And you participated long enough that you rose to the rank of colonel. Yeah, yeah, my participation   Fred Dummar ** 32:38 trophy was attaining the rank of colonel. And I would often tell people the arm don't think the army doesn't have a sense of humor. I was promoted to Colonel on April 1, so April Fool's days when, when I was promoted? And yeah, and I, after almost 30 years in uniform, retired in 2015 so I don't know that I would have went that long. But you know, they're about the middle of my career, from 1986 to 2015 you know 911 happened, and for me, it wasn't, it wasn't really a choice to to leave. Then, you know, it was like, Okay, we, you know, we have to do this. These Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, my my very last, my last year in in uniform. I was in Afghanistan as an advisor to the Afghan commandos. And when I returned from that tour, you know, was told that, hey, I had to, I had to finally leave Fort Bragg after 20 years and and either go to, you know, the Pentagon or another headquarters. And that's when I decided to retire. Because it was like, okay, you know, if, if the wars don't need me anymore, then I, I can go home and do other things. Yeah, I can do other things. If the wars don't need me, you know, then I can probably hang it up. So   Michael Hingson ** 34:11 when did you get married? So   Fred Dummar ** 34:15 over the course of my Army career, I was divorced twice. Yeah, it's just not an easy No, it's not. It's just not an easy lifestyle. I'm not making any excuses for my own failings in that regard. But, you know, it is, it is, I think, easier to become emotionally detached from someone, especially, you know, as in my case, I think I often put the army, first, the army, my soldiers, the mission, you know, as the first on my mind. And you know, for someone else, you know that to be a pretty strong person, to sit in the back seat during that so. And I did not have any children and then, but after I retired, when went through my second and four. I met someone. And so, yeah, we were married in in 2020, and so I had a, I was able, you know, after not having children, my first son was born when I was 50. So I have a son who's, you know, four, four years old, four going on five. And then we decided that, you know, he should have someone to be with. So we were going to have a second child. And my wife had twins, so I have twin, three year old girls. So, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 35:37 you're going to do it. You might as well go all the way, huh?   Fred Dummar ** 35:40 Yeah, and and, and I haven't, and I adopted Rebecca's older, the child that she that she had. And so now we have four children, Alana being much older, she's already finished for freshman year at the University of Michigan, and this get ready to go back to Ann Arbor and continue her studies and and then we have, you know, the small pack of humans that are still here in their pre, pre kindergarten phase. So   Michael Hingson ** 36:10 she is a a Wolverine fan, and there will ever be an Ohio State Buckeye,   Fred Dummar ** 36:18 yeah, something like that. Yeah, that rivalry is pretty intense. And, you know, never being part of a school that was, you know, in that, in that division, you know, not really realizing, well, you know, watching college football, I kind of understand the rival, all the rivalries. But once she started going to Michigan, and, you know, attending a football game there myself. And then, unfortunately, you know, we were able to go to the Rose Bowl this year, which, you know, when Michigan played Alabama. So we were able to go to that together. So, yeah, it was, it's interesting to learn that dynamic. And like, I tell her, it's like, never, never take for granted being part of a big school like that without those sorts of traditions. Absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 37:06 Yeah, I went to UC Irvine, so we didn't really have a lot with with football, but my wife did her graduate work at USC, and I always like to listen to USC football games. I judge a lot about sports teams by the announcers they hire, I gotta say. And so we've been always so blessed out here in California, although I think that announcing isn't quite what it used to be, but we had good announcers that announced for USC out here on I think it was originally on Kx, and then it went to other stations. But anyway, when we got married, the wedding started late because a bunch of people were sitting out in their cars waiting for the end of the USC Notre Dame game. And so the wedding was 15 minutes late starting because everybody was waiting to see who was going to win the game. And I am quite pleased to say that we won, and God was on our side, as opposed to Notre Dame. And, yeah, the marriage lasted 40 years, so until she, she passed away in 2022 but I love to tell people that, you know, God clearly was on our side, especially when I tell that to my Notre Dame friends,   Fred Dummar ** 38:15 yeah, the touch touchdown, Jesus wasn't, wasn't there for them, not   Michael Hingson ** 38:19 that day. Yeah, but, but, you know, and there's college football is, is in a lot of ways, I just think so much more fun, or it has been than professional. But, you know, now a lot more money is getting into it, which is unfortunate too. Yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 38:37 I think that's caused some of the you know, teams re evaluate what they what they do happen, how they operate. And I think it's forced some of the older coaches to leave the game, yeah, because it's not the game they recognize, so not   Michael Hingson ** 38:53 what they had well. So you've been to a variety of different places. You've been a leader. And I think it's pretty clear that you really still are, but how did all the the different experiences, the different places that you went to, and all the the experiences that you participated in, how does that affect and shape your leadership style?   Fred Dummar ** 39:19 Yeah, Michael, you know, I think one of the first things, right, if you when your surface looking, and some people never go below the surface. So when you talk about things like diversity and inclusion, the things, the things that they will think about that make people divert diverse are not generally what I think about. Because, you know, when you look below the surface, you see a lot of commonalities in the human experience. You know, from my time living, living in Panama and operating in Central and South America, some countries in the in the you know, the Caribbean when I was first in special operations, and then. Obviously, I went and did some time in in Africa, some peacekeeping operations in Nigeria, some other exercises down in the south, southern countries in Africa, and then my time in Iraq and Afghanistan. People, you know, they're they come in different colors. They they have different their path to God or the universe or the higher power that they recognize that the cultural artifacts that they use may may look different, but you know, they're generally pointing if you if you can step aside from your own preconceived notions about things, you can see that they're they're just different signposts to the same God, right to the same, to the same, power to the same, to the same things, and people want the same things, you know, for their families, you know, for for security and prosperity, and you know that that sort of thing. So it's, that's where I, kind of, you know, came to my leadership philosophy, which is pretty easy to remember. It's just lead, lead with love. And you know, if you use, and I haven't tell people, doesn't really matter what denomination you are. If you read, you know, the Gospels of the New Testament purely as a leadership guide. You know it's, it's hard to find a a better leadership example than than what, what Jesus was was doing, you know, the way he was serving others the way he was leading. It's, it's, it's pretty powerful, pretty powerful stuff. And you know, even, even at the end, right during the Last Supper, when he tells people, you know, who, who's the most important is the most important person, the person sitting at the table getting ready to eat, or the person serving, you know. And of course, you as humans, you know, is based on our, you know, the way we think about the world. We think the most important person is, you know, not only the person sitting at the table, but the person at the nicest table, or the head of the table, and not the person serving. And so that was something I tried to embrace during my time in the military, and what I try and embrace now is, you know, being the person that serves others and using your position. You know, if you if, if and when you are promoted or asked to lead that, you approach it from a position of, you know, what? What can I do from this position to help other people and and just be compassionate to their actual circumstances. And that doesn't mean, you know, when people, people hear me say that they're, you know, they think, Well, that's pretty how does that reconcile with you being a Green Beret and being around, you know, a bunch of you know, meat eating savages, you know, how do you how do you reconcile that and like, well, leading with care and compassion doesn't mean you know that I'm coddling anyone, because I'm certainly not coddling anyone you know. You know, I demand high performance for myself and from from people in those positions like that. You know, when I was a member of a special forces organization, but not everybody's supposed to be doing that. And so I think recognizing the circumstances and the people and what the organization's supposed to do or and how it can care for people, I think those are things that became really, really important to me   Michael Hingson ** 43:33 well. And I think you raised some really valid points. The reality is that September 11, for example, was not a religious war, a religious event. It was a bunch of thugs who wanted to have their way with the world. But most people who truly practice the Islamic faith are the same as the rest of us, and they and they seek God just like we do, like Jewish people do and others do, and we've got to keep that in mind, but it's, it's so hard, because we mostly don't step back and evaluate that and realize that those 19 people on those four airplanes are just a bunch of thugs, pure and simple.   Fred Dummar ** 44:15 Yeah, that, yeah, that, and, and the organizations they represent, right? You know, they're, they're, they're, and they're not the only ones, right? People from of all faiths have harnessed, you know,   Michael Hingson ** 44:30 their various back to the Crusades, yeah, you know, you know, their   Fred Dummar ** 44:33 various religions have harnessed themselves up to, you know, to sway people to to hate, or to, you know, to engage in combat or whatever. So yeah, to to lump that all in. I think our, some of our responses, and then also some of the way people think, has really led it led us to a more a more divided we're. Well, then you know that are more inclusive and and you know, thinking of ourselves as one we we think of ourselves as, you know, many and different, and sometimes things that we think would bring us together or help us make things more fair, like, you know, talking about diversity and inclusion, if we aren't really thinking about what we're trying to do and what that looks like, we can end up making the world more divided and less inclusive.   Michael Hingson ** 45:34 And unfortunately, we're seeing way too much of that, and it isn't helping to do that. And hopefully at some point we'll, we'll figure that out, or we'll realize that maybe it's a little bit better, or can be a little bit better than we think. Yeah, and I know you in 2003 did a lot to help the Kurds in northern Iraq, right?   Fred Dummar ** 45:55 Yeah, that was primarily, you know, my, my experience in Iraq was, you know, before the 2003 invasion, I was in Romania with my special forces company. And, yeah, we flew into northern Iraq and linked up with a group of Kurds and from where they were at and primarily our mission, you know, at that point, nobody really knew what Saddam might do when the main offensive of, you know, conventional army, conventional Marine Corps, British, you know, other allies, started from the south towards Baghdad. What would Saddam do? Would he, you know, send his forces in the north against the Kurds to create a destabilizing effect, you know, one both killing Kurds, but causing Kurds to flee to Syria and Iran, and, you know, probably most importantly for people that were planning to Turkey, you know, to further destabilize the region. So obviously, out of a desire to protect, help protect the Kurds and help stop or prevent something like that from happening. You know, we went in a couple weeks before the actual ground war started, we were in place with the Kurds and started organizing them to to defend themselves. And do you know, take back the land that they considered theirs, because, after, you know, Desert Storm, the you know, the 90s, the 90s war against Iraq, Saddam had pushed into Kurdish territory and established, you know, what he referred to as a, you know, his, his buffer zone. And then, you know, the US had been forcing a, you know, a no fly zone up in the Kurdish areas, but the Kurds had still never been allowed to go back to some of the cities that they considered theirs. So, you know, when we got in there with them, we were able to get, you know, move currents that have been forced out of those towns moved back into their towns and and our particular sector we we cleared down to Mosul Iraq, which, you know, people in the Bible will recognize As as the city of Nineveh. Or maybe not know that, but yeah, so we were, I was able to go drive through the, you know, the biblical, the some of the remains of the, you know, city of Nineveh as we got to Mosul. And then once we were there, that was sort of when, you know, we stole the Kurdish allies that, hey, you guys can go back to go back home, and then at that point us, we're only there a few days before us conventional forces. Now this is a couple months into the war, but us conventional forces made their way up there, and, you know, started doing stabilizing the city, and it was probably best to get the Kurdish militia out of there at that point, for things between the Kurds and the Arabs continue to deteriorate. So yeah, but it was a it was a great experience for me being with the Kurds and helping them, you know, sort of move through and retake towns that they had historically lived in. And, you know, along the way we passed and were able to clear Assyrian monastery that's on one of the mountains on the route to Mosul. So some, definitely, some history along the way, history lessons along the way. I   Michael Hingson ** 49:38 had the pleasure of going to Israel last year in August, okay? And spent a day in Jerusalem, so we got to go to the Western Wall and so on. And I really appreciated, and do appreciate, the history and just the awesomeness of of being there and touching the the temple and the wall that's been there for so long. And, you know, there is so much history over there that I really wish people would more appreciate and and on all sides, would figure out how they could become better at working with each other. One of these days, there's going to have to be peace, or it's going to really get a whole lot worse, very quickly,   Fred Dummar ** 50:21 yeah, for sure. Yeah, it was. It was interesting, though, when we were there, obviously watching the various groups of, you know, Syrians, Kurds, Arabs and others that had various claims to different parts of Mosul and different parts of the area around it. So it's fascinating, you know, to watch history try and unwind itself from some of the decisions that were made. You know, post World War Two, when lines were being drawn in the desert to create countries and and the ramifications of that? Yeah. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 51:06 you certainly have a perspective that's built on a lot of knowledge and being there, which I think is great on the other hand, well, not on the other hand. But then you left the military that that had to be a major change in terms of what you had been doing and what you were used to after almost 30 years. What's it like when you decide to make that kind of a major change and then, in your case, go back into civilian life? Yeah. So   Fred Dummar ** 51:38 my first, my first step, wasn't that far away from the military. And I started referring it. Referred to my first job as sort of an addiction clinic, because I went, I went to work as a house, yeah, I went to work as a contractor, or, you know, defense contractor. I went back to Afghanistan for about a year and a half running training programs for some of the Afghan special operations forces. So, you know, it was, it was really, you know, there was, if I, if I was a heroin addict, you know, I was in the methadone clinic, you know, trying to, trying to get off of it. And then, yeah, I realized, you know, kind of needed to go home. And my marriage, you know, dissolved, and so it's like, Hey, I probably time to, like, go home and have, you know, a different kind of life. And I moved into a civilian job with a friend, a friend at the time, who was doing investment training around the world. And he's like, Hey, we, you know, I know you're, you will travel. There's a lot of people that, when I talk to him about travel, it's involved with our business, you know, they don't, don't really want to do that. And he's like, but I know, you know, from where you're at. And he's like, hey, I'll buy, buy a ticket. Fly to Hong Kong, see what our business is about. So I went there and learned about the investment training they were doing in Hong Kong and throughout Southeast Asia. And then they had an office in Johannesburg, and, you know, one in London, Canada and the US and doing all this training. And so for about a year, little over a year, I worked in that business and and learned, you know, the various things that they were doing. You know how they were teaching people to invest in real estate and stocks and that sort of thing. Started doing it myself less, as I wish I would have known earlier in my life, but started doing that, and then when I left that company, that's a lot of what I've been doing. I've taken some smaller jobs and smaller contract projects. But by and large, that's basically what I've been doing since then, is, you know, working in real estate investing or real estate projects   Michael Hingson ** 53:50 and continuing to hone your leadership skills. Yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 53:54 yeah. Well, you know, I kept continue to work with or a couple of, you know, jobs where I was helping people start up businesses, you know, as either in CEO role or in an operations role to help help them start their businesses. So I did some of that which, which is always fun. It's great working with new talent and establishing procedures and helping people grow that way. So that was, that was really fun. And then got to be part of a couple of nonprofits, Special Forces, Charitable Trust, probably my longest stint. I did that for, you know, about seven or eight years on the board of directors, you know, running, helping to develop activities and programs to support our Special Forces veteran. So, yeah, it was, it's been, it's been fun. And then obviously having a new family and spending a lot of time in my role as a dad has been probably the most rewarding.   Michael Hingson ** 54:53 Yeah, I bet. And that is, that's always so much fun, and you get to help bring some. New people along into the world and hopefully help to make a difference that way. And on top of that, you continue to study. You're getting a PhD. You mentioned it earlier, but you're getting a PhD in organizational psychology and leadership. There we go with the leadership again.   Fred Dummar ** 55:14 Yeah, you know, it's, it's fun, because, you know, when I do get the opportunity to speak at events. I move around and speak at different events. I know you do a lot of speaking. You probably do much more than I do, but the events I do speak at, I want to make sure that sometimes being a practitioner of something doesn't always mean that you have the exact language or the academic credentials to go along with being a practitioner. And I've been a practitioner of leadership for so many years, but now studying it and applying, you know, one working towards an academic credential in this says, Hey, this, this guy knows what he's talking about. But then also having, you know, the the latest developments. And studies on leading people effectively and and how people are doing it wrong, and how you can help them. I think it's, it's been, it's been, been a great journey to be on as well, especially keeping my mind active in in all things leadership and helping organizations do it better.   Michael Hingson ** 56:21 Well, you, you have been a leader for a long time, but now you're studying it. Would you say that you're also discovering new things along the way? And you know, I guess what I'm getting at is, of course, none of us are ever so much an expert that we can't afford to learn more things. Oh   Fred Dummar ** 56:39 yeah, for sure, both, both learning new things, learning why I might have done things wrong based on, you know, studies, you know, like, okay, you know, if you if you have this type of personality, you might do this wrong, or things I was doing right, but not exactly, knowing all of, You know all of the mechanisms that were going into why I was making that decision. But you know, when you look at the psychology behind it, and you look at organizational structure structures, you look at cultural artifacts within organizations, then you can start to you start to unwind why teams do what they do, why leaders are developed, the way they're developed, and why people make certain decisions. And, yeah, it's been fascinating, you know, and then also looking back, as you said, back at things that you did, decisions that you made, and what you know, what you could have done better as you as you look that, through that, and how you can help someone else, and that's also really helped me further, you know, synthesize down this way that I look at at leading people with with love and compassion and why it's so important to be that servant type of leader, you know, not just a transformational leader that's trying to transform an organization to move that, but then, you know, how do you serve and care for the care for the people that are that are going to be part of that transformation?   Michael Hingson ** 58:10 Yeah, because if you are just looking at it from the standpoint of being a transformational leader, I'm going to change this organization that that doesn't really work. And I think that the most important aspect is being a servant leader, is being a person who serves, because that also opens you up to learning along the way and learning how to serve better.   Fred Dummar ** 58:34 Yeah. And you know, as I learned in the many organizations that I was part of over, you know, my time in Special Forces is, you know, just because, you know, alluding, you know, we were discussing roles, and I was saying, you know, this officer's role to often, to plan and to lead, but that other people are the experts. And that's something you know. The sooner you embrace that fact, the faster, the faster you become effective, and the more effective you are when you realize that understanding the people and and caring and serving them, and then getting their their best performance and understanding what they know and what they can do, and where you need to put them to maximize their potential, then those things start to become the most important thing that you're doing, how you know, how people play against each other, who works well with who? How that works, how that betters the organization. Those are all, all all things that are fascinating, you know, to me, and things that kept me up at night, trying to figure out, you know, how to how to be more efficient, how to take better care of people, while, you know, getting, not only getting the best out of them, but them, realizing they were giving their best and being happy and proud of what they. Were doing   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:01 and getting the best out of you as well.   Fred Dummar ** 1:00:03 Yeah, yeah, that, yeah, bringing the best out of them is bringing the best out of me, right?   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:08 So you've gotten work also in the nonprofit sector. You're continuing to do that, yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 1:00:13 yeah, yeah. Now, after leaving this Special Forces Charitable Trust, I realized, you know, after I'd moved out to Idaho, where I live now that I wasn't as connected to the regiment as I'd been my first retired and I was still kind of in the North Carolina area or but after moving out here, you know, just felt like that. I probably there were other guys more recently retired, knew more of the things that needed to be done. So stepping down from that organization. And then, obviously, one of the other things that happened was, you know, the the rapid withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the fall of Afghanistan, and I found myself with many other Afghan veterans, sort of, you know, both wondering, you know what it all meant, why? You know, and then, but then also what we can do. You know, not dwelling too long. I know, you know, poor me. You know what? You know. Why did I go? What did it mean? But more so, hey, you know, we had a bunch of people that we made promises to, a bunch of people that follow alongside America, some certainly, you know, in the interest of Afghanistan. But there were also many, many of the especially on the Afghan Special Operations sides, that were not always necessarily doing things at the behest of the Afghan government, but operating with US forces on things that the US wanted to do, but then, you know, we're sort of left hanging when during the withdrawal. So, you know, working alongside other veterans to try and get as many of those people out during the withdrawal and then. But so now I work with an operation or a organization called Operation recovery that is still following these families, following these cases, people that are either still in Afghanistan, some in hiding, some in other countries, illegally, but trying to help them resolve visa issues and either get to Canada or the United States or someplace in Europe, just someplace safe for them and their family, away from the from the Taliban. And so that's been it, and it's, it's hard work, you know, because the in work like that, we're trying to make government bureaucracies realize that they should be issuing visas or allowing people to move, it's not always a rapid process. So feels like, and, you know, and I'm not pointing fingers as if anyone should still, you know, be completely focused on Afghanistan. But you know, other things happen. You know, Ukraine, the war in Ukraine draws attention away. You know, the war in Israel. You know, hurricanes, storms, everything that's going on. You know, Assassination comes. You know, assassination attempts, you know, all of that stuff diverts people's you know, draws people attend. You know their attention to that. And I'm not sure many people, you know, they support the troops. And you know, you often hear them, you know, you know, thanking troops for their service. And the only response I can have to that, you know, for for for years, I struggled with how to respond to that. When someone would say, Thank you for your service, you know, just Okay, thank you. You know, I don't know, thanks for your support, but you know, I heard a good response, and I've been using it since, and it's like, America's worth it. So,   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:54 yeah, on top of everything else that you do, you've also been dabbling or going into real estate a little bit, yeah,   Fred Dummar ** 1:04:01 yeah. So that's, that's a lot of what I've been doing, you know, for because, you know, providing for your family, right? So, yeah, I started doing some investment real estate, and out here, got a partner, we did, worked on a couple of mobile home parts, larger projects. And I still, once a week, I still teach a clas

My Other Episode w/ Danny: https://open.spotify.com/show/5skaSpDzq94Kh16so3c0uz (***TIMESTAMPS in description below) ~ Danny Hall is an Army Ranger, Green Beret, & Silver-Star Awardee. He served many tours of duty on multiple continents over the span of 3 decades. Ryan Tate is a former Recon Marine who served in Iraq & Afghanistan before retiring to become founder of VETPAW, a military-led anti-poaching organization in Africa. - BUY Guest's Books & Films IN MY AMAZON STORE: https://amzn.to/3RPu952  EPISODE LINKS: - Julian Dorey PODCAST MERCH: https://juliandorey.myshopify.com/ - Support our Show on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/JulianDorey  - Support VETPAW (Ryan Tate's Org.): https://vetpaw.org/ JULIAN YT CHANNELS: - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Clips YT: https://www.youtube.com/@juliandoreyclips  - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Daily YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianDoreyDaily  - SUBSCRIBE to Best of JDP: https://www.youtube.com/@bestofJDP  ***TIMESTAMPS*** 0:00 - Origins of Iraq War; Saddam's WMD (Evidence?); Sarin Gas 8:11 - CIA WMD Spy Jim Lawler & Iraq Nukes; Saddam's Terror 16:12 - Danny first invades Iraq Story; The “Purple Heart Plane” Story; Staging in Romania 21:36 - Bags of CIA Cash; The Kurdish Peshmerga; Erbil Citadel 28:58 - Iraqis Lives Pre Invasion vs. Post Invasion 31:16 - What happened when first Special Forces hit Iraq; Battle of Dubeka Pass 41:16 - Bush “Mission Accomplished” was wrong; Dropping Bombs; Iraqis Surrendering 46:13 - Vibes in Iraq early on; Al-Zarqawi; “We got a problem” 51:09 -  Special Forces working w/ CIA; Al-Zarqawi was a “ghost”; Danny talks w/ Iraqis 57:38 - The Iraqi Child story; Creating t3rrorists 1:01:55 - When Danny knew Iraq went bad; Burning w33d field; “Patriot” movie scene & toy drop 1:07:58 - The days before Danny's Silver Star Fire Fight 1:15:57 - The Battle that earned Danny his Silver Star 1:40:58 - PT*D Dreams & True Crime; Danny's daughter's “shot” 1:53:32 - How Danny got Silver Star 2:02:06 - Al Zarqawi's Death; 2007 Iraq; Fear of engagement; Blackwater 4, Politics & Military 2:10:51 - Danny's last combat tour in Iraq; Bosrah; Working w/ British SAS 2:25:41 - Danny decides to retire from Special Forces; Osama Bin Laden; Scumbag politicians 2:38:18 - Danny gets into military government contracting 2:45:02 - How Danny started working w/ VETPAW; Anti-poaching is dangerous warfare 2:51:33 - Forever War; Danny's faith; What God thinks of War 2:58:13 - Danny's regrets 3:01:32 - Danny's story is now out there FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY: INSTAGRAM (Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/juliandoreypodcast/  INSTAGRAM (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@realjuliandorey  CREDITS: - Host, Intro Editor & Producer: Julian D. Dorey - Producer: Alessi Allaman: https://www.instagram.com/alessiallaman/ ~ Get $150 Off The Eight Sleep Pod Pro Mattress / Mattress Cover (USING CODE: “JULIANDOREY”): https://eight-sleep.ioym.net/trendifier ~ Music via Artlist.io ~ Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 217 - Danny Hall

This weekend on America's Roundtable, co-hosts Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy will be joined by Chris Mitchell, CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief and author of compelling books including "ISIS, Iran and Israel: What You Need to Know about the Current Mideast Crisis and the Coming Mideast War." (https://www.amazon.com/ISIS-Iran-Israel-Current-Mideast/dp/0986223336) Chris Mitchell covered the historic decision by President Trump to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, and saw the opening of Saudi Arabia to the world. In 2011, CBN News began the award-winning program, Jerusalem Dateline, hosted by Chris Mitchell and translated into multiple languages. Chris Mitchell first began reporting on the Middle East in the mid-1990s. Chris repeatedly traveled there to report on the religious and political issues facing Israel and the surrounding Arab states. Chris moved to Jerusalem in August 2000 to establish the CBN News Bureau. During the ensuing years, Chris and the staff have been able to cover firsthand how Jerusalem and the Middle East comprise the epicenter for world-shaking events. In 2005, CBN News covered the wrenching Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip as thousands of Israelis were evicted. The following year, CBN Founder Pat Robertson joined Chris Mitchell and the crew on the front lines of the 2006 second Lebanon war. When the Arab Spring erupted in 2011, CBN News sped to Tahrir Square in Cairo where thousands gathered to protest the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Through Chris Mitchell's leadership, CBN News covered the rise of ISIS and its reign of terror, from the bombed-out city of Sinjar to the mass grave of Yazidis. The CBN News team saw the ruins of the Islamic State after its demise in the city of Mosul. The television news crew spent time with the Kurdish Peshmerga, the brave men and women spearheading the battle against ISIS and they met face-to-face with persecuted Christians and told the world about the awful rise of Christian persecution throughout the Middle East. A native of the Boston area, Chris earned a B.A. in History at the University of New Hampshire in 1975. In 1987, he graduated with honors from Regent University, earning an M.A. in Communication. Book | "ISIS, Iran and Israel: What You Need to Know about the Current Mideast Crisis and the Coming Mideast War." (https://www.amazon.com/ISIS-Iran-Israel-Current-Mideast/dp/0986223336) americasrt.com (https://americasrt.com/) https://ileaderssummit.org/ | https://jerusalemleaderssummit.com/ America's Roundtable on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-roundtable/id1518878472 Twitter: @ChrisCBNNews @ileaderssummit @AmericasRT @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA @supertalk America's Roundtable is co-hosted by Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy, co-founders of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. America's Roundtable (https://americasrt.com/) radio program - a strategic initiative of International Leaders Summit, focuses on America's economy, healthcare reform, rule of law, security and trade, and its strategic partnership with rule of law nations around the world. The radio program features high-ranking US administration officials, cabinet members, members of Congress, state government officials, distinguished diplomats, business and media leaders and influential thinkers from around the world. Tune into America's Roundtable Radio program from Washington, DC via live streaming on Saturday mornings via 65 radio stations at 7:30 A.M. (ET) on Lanser Broadcasting Corporation covering the Michigan and the Midwest market, and at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk Mississippi — SuperTalk.FM reaching listeners in every county within the State of Mississippi, and neighboring states in the South including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. Listen to America's Roundtable on digital platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Google and other key online platforms. Listen live, Saturdays at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk | https://www.supertalk.fm

Welcome to a new episode of the 'Kurdistan in America' podcast, marking our eleventh episode of Season Four. We are honored to feature retired Brigadier General Ernest C. Audino, a renowned strategic military leader and a seasoned expert in national security and foreign policy.General Audino serves as the District Director for U.S. Congressman Michael Waltz and as a Senior Military Fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy. He is the only U.S. general officer to have served a full year as a combat advisor embedded inside a Kurdish Peshmerga brigade in Iraq and is authoring a book about this experience, emphasizing the Kurdish resilience and quest for freedom.With a Bachelor of Science from West Point, two master's degrees, and a Juris Doctor, General Audino retired from the Army in 2011. In this episode, he discusses his motivations in Middle Eastern and Kurdish military affairs, the impact of the Israel-Gaza conflict on Kurdistan, U.S. deterrence in the region, and his perspectives on Kurdish Peshmerga forces. He also recommends policies for U.S. support of the Peshmerga and KRG.Join us on this enlightening journey as General Audino shares his experience and knowledge, guiding us through the complex geopolitical landscape of the Middle East, with a focus on Kurdistan and Iraq.

GUEST: Nolan Peterson - Consultant, award-winning journalist, war correspondent, and author. ---------- Nolan Peterson is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Centre. He is an independent defence consultant, award-winning journalist, war correspondent, and author who has lived in Ukraine since 2014. As an international correspondent, Peterson has covered conflicts around the world. Apart from his work in Ukraine, he has been embedded with US armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and with the Kurdish Peshmerga during the battle for Mosul in Iraq. Peterson is a former US Air Force special operations pilot and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After leaving the US Air Force in 2011, Peterson completed a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, where he was a McCormick Foundation fellow. Peterson's work has been published by numerous news outlets including the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, BBC, Newsweek, the Heritage Foundation, and Coffee or Die Magazine. He is the author of Why Soldiers Miss War: The Journey Home and several fiction collections. #NolanPeterson #warjournalism #ukraine #ukrainewar #russia #zelensky #putin #propaganda #war #disinformation #hybridwarfare #foreignpolicy #communism #sovietunion #postsoviet ---------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/nolanwpeterson https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolanwpeterson/ https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/expert/nolan-peterson/ https://coffeeordie.com/nolan-peterson https://ukrainer.net/nolan-peterson/ https://archive.kyivpost.com/author/nolan-peterson ----------

Nolan Peterson is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Centre. He is an independent defence consultant, award-winning journalist, war correspondent, and author who has lived in Ukraine since 2014. As an international correspondent, Peterson has covered conflicts around the world. Apart from his work in Ukraine, he has been embedded with US armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and with the Kurdish Peshmerga during the battle for Mosul in Iraq. Peterson is a former US Air Force special operations pilot and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After leaving the US Air Force in 2011, Peterson completed a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, where he was a McCormick Foundation fellow. Peterson's work has been published by numerous news outlets including the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, BBC, Newsweek, the Heritage Foundation, and Coffee or Die Magazine. He is the author of Why Soldiers Miss War: The Journey Home and several fiction collections. ------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/nolanwpeterson https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolanwpeterson/ https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/expert/nolan-peterson/ https://coffeeordie.com/nolan-peterson https://ukrainer.net/nolan-peterson/ https://archive.kyivpost.com/author/nolan-peterson -------

On today's Watchman Newscast, host Erick Stakelbeck breaks down the increased use of Iranian suicide drones by Russia in Ukraine and the significant rise of Iranian strikes against the Iraqi Kurds using unmanned aerial vehicles. We also look back to when Erick joined the Kurdish Peshmerga along the Iran/Iraq border, a place where few American civilians have set foot since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Plus, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed Israel and the U.S. for the wave of protests rocking his regime. Will Tehran use this false accusation as a justification for a wave of new attacks? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darrell Utt joined the U.S. Army just days before Iraq invaded Kuwait in the summer of 1990. Over the next decade, he would become a Green Beret, an Army Ranger, and a sniper. He also served in the Balkans during the late 1990s.After 9/11, Utt was deeply disappointed that his unit was not sent to Afghanistan. Instead, it become one of the most highly-regarded detachments of special forces in the Iraq War.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Utt describes flying into northern Iraq under heavy fire in the early days of the war and working with the Kurdish Peshmerga to keep Iraqi troops away from the main invasion force. He also takes us through his harrowing 2006 action against enemy fighters in in the Baghdad suburb of Adimiyah that would earn him a Bronze Star with Valor for his courage and leadership under fire. And he walks us through one of his creative plans to lure and capture critical enemy personnel. Finally, MSgt. Utt explains the work he is now doing for the Medal of Honor Museum Foundation.

Michael Gordon is the author of Degrade and Destroy: The Inside Story of the War Against the Islamic State. He is currently a National Security Correspondent with The Wall Street Journal. He has covered wars and conflicts for over 35 years with The Wall Street Journal and previously with The New York Times.  In this interview, we discus the last decade of conflict against the Islamic State in which the United States applied a “by, with and through” strategy. This strategy supported Iraqi Security Forces and Syrian Democratic Forces with U.S. advisors in the field as well as multiple intelligence and air assets. Topics covered include the following:  The conditions that allowed ISIS to capture territory in Iraq and Syria The capture of Mosul followed by the U.S. developing a strategy to respond The “By, With and Through” strategy that the U.S. employed based on a Special Forces concept to back local forces in the field of combat Where the term “Degrade and Destroy” came from and the strategic implications of how it shaped into “Operation Inherent Resolve” Michael discusses his frontline view of the conflict while embedded with Iraq's Counterterrorism Service (CTS) and Kurdish Peshmerga forces The early struggle to take back Mosul and how it led to Lieutenant General Townsend's “Tactical Directive One”  The difference between the Battle of Mosul and the Battle of Raqqa  How the U.S. and Russia faced off in Syria The current state of “Operation Inherent Resolve” and the current disposition of the Islamic State Lessons learned from “Operation Inherent Resolve” Michael Gordon Bibliography: Degrade and Destroy: The Inside Story of the War Against the Islamic State The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama COBRA II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq The Generals' War Article: “How the War Against ISIS Was Won”  Follow and contact Michael Gordon:  Twitter: @mgordonwsj  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgordonwsj/  E-mail: Michael.gordon@wsj.com and mgwsj@protonmail.com    HELP SPREAD THE WORD! If you like the interview and want to hear others, subscribe in iTunes, Spotify, or Audible. Support the show with written reviews, share on social media, and through word of mouth. To request additional shows or guests, e-mail me: tim@professionalmilitaryeducation.com  Check out the website: www.professionalmilitaryeducation.com  

The story of a boy caught up in the forgotten war for Kurdish autonomy in Iran in 1979. During the Iranian revolution, Kurdish groups had joined the struggle to end the rule of the Shah. They wanted greater autonomy for Iran's Kurdish minority. But after the revolution, the new Islamic regime rejected that demand. A conflict erupted between government forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, which lasted for years and left thousands dead. Kameel Ahmady is an anthropologist and researcher. At the time he was a boy living in the ethnically-mixed town of Naqadeh in northwest Iran. He tells Alex Last how, as demands for autonomy grew, his town became the scene of bitter ethnic fighting. Photo: Armed Kurdish villagers after the revolution in Iran, March 1979. (François LOCHON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Before the Iraq war in 2003, Green Beret teams infiltrated Northern Iraq, linked up with the CIA, and embedded deeply with the Kurdish Peshmerga to prepare for war. These special missions were called “Advanced Force Operations.” Subsequently, these special teams brought in the rest of the Green Berets during an operation called "the Ugly Baby." Then, one of the most significant battles in Special Forces history occurred: "Operation Viking Hammer," where six Green Beret teams along with a handful of CIA and Air Force Special Ops personnel, combined with approximately 8000 Peshmerga, took back hundreds of square kilometers from almost 1000 Ansar Al Islam extremists, and secured a poison production facility of national level significance. This book is the only firsthand account of these essential Unconventional Warfare operations, written by an operator who was there. In addition to describing these historically significant Special Operations missions, "One Green Beret" also details a 15-year career in the Green Berets that includes many unique experiences, such as joint operations alongside Russian Spetznaz on the northern border of Kosovo, and postwar operations in Bosnia embedded deeply with the locals. Mark Giaconia questions everything, and provides a VERY humble, sobering, and human perspective on war, military service, and strategic considerations. One Green Beret is very inspiring, and conveys the author's personal evolution from gunslinger to educated computer scientist; a true tale of “post traumatic growth.”https://www.amazon.com/One-Green-Beret-Extraordinary-1996-2011-ebook/dp/B07D1V9XRLToday's Sponsors:

In this episode of Frankly Speaking the General of Kurdish Peshmerga armed forces and telecom entrepreneur, tells Frank Kane about the security and economic situation in Kurdistan.

Former British soldier Alan Duncan was a sniper with the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in the war against ISIS/Daesh. Read 'Eating Smoke: One Man's Descent into Crystal Meth Psychosis in Hong Kong's Triad Heartland.' Paperback UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0993543944 Paperback US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0993543944 Support the podcast at: https://www.patreon.com/christhrall (£2 per month plus perks) https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-our-veterans-to-tell-their-story https://paypal.me/TeamThrall Sign up for my NON-SPAM newsletter and FREE books: https://christhrall.com/mailing-list/ Social media Links: https://facebook.com/christhrall https://twitter.com/christhrall https://instagram.com/chris.thrall https://linkedin.com/in/christhrall https://youtube.com/christhrall https://discord.gg/yqvHRUN https://christhrall.com   

Dan Gabriel was in one of the first classes of CIA officers post-9/11.  He completed multiple tours in Iraq & Afghanistan.  Dan and I discuss his journey from college to the front lines of the CIA's war on terror to filming Mosul.  From Dan “MOSUL is a feature-length documentary built around several characters that come from the vibrantly diverse cultures and backgrounds that make up modern Iraq: Sunni Tribesman, Shiite Militias, Christian Fighters, and Kurdish Peshmerga.  The story is told as a journey north along the Tigris River and into the heart of darkness as key participants fight to reclaim Mosul from the grip of the Islamic State in Iraq.”From Dan's BIO: “ Daniel Gabriel is the creative direction behind MOSUL. His knowledge and deep understanding of the region and its politics began while he was working as a CIA counterterrorism officer in 2003, eventually completing six tours to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. After his time with the CIA, Dan's interest in filmmaking led him to complete graduate work in Filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts (2013), and in Producing (2014) at UCLA's School of Theater, Film, and Television. This is his debut film.”https://mosul-film.com/ https://www.facebook.com/mosulfilm/ https://twitter.com/filmmosul https://www.instagram.com/mosul_film/ Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/theprotectors)

4 years ago, under the sweltering heat of Nineveh in the kurdish region of Northern Iraq, the small city of Sinjar came under attack by ISIS forces. The Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, caught off guard, retreated, abandoning the civilians of Sinjar without warning. The outcome was devastating. Thousands massacred. Women and children taken into slavery. A population dissolved by evil. Of course, all this appeared in the headlines, it flashed across our television screens but beneath the surface of the stream of breaking news from this tormented region, live a people whose lives have been shattered to pieces by daily tragedy. The horrors are unimaginable, the evil seemingly unstoppable and the trauma almost insurmountable, nevertheless, as always, wherever there is human peril there are stories of human virtue. This story is about Lisa Miara. Born and raised in the UK, but currently residing in the Shariya refugee camp, Lisa has spent the past several years trying to save the lives, literally, of thousands of Yazidi refugees from both mortal danger and the agony of their trauma. Through her foundation, Springs of Hope, Lisa works restlessly to provide the displaced Yazidi people with hope and purpose. She joins us today to share her stories.

Sarhang Hamasaeed tells us why the results of the non-binding Kurdistan independence referendum matter, and explains the need to prevent an escalation of tensions that could lead to violence with Shia militias, the Iraqi Army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

ACTUALIDAD DX.COM.AR No. 5Welcome to a new edition of the DX program on RAE - Argentina to the World.Remember that your messages are welcomed at actualidaddx.com.ar@gmail.comCORTINA MUSICALLet’s start with some great news: RAE-ARGENTINA TO THE WORLD is back on the SW, and with a special QSL card.We’ll appreciate if you help us spread this information and we await your reception reports with technical details that help us know how our broadcast is reaching you.Here’s the schedule on SW starting on May 2, 2017: Spanish: Mon-Fri 2200 to 2300 on 5950 KHZ, 49-meter band.English: Tue-Sat 0100 to 0200 UTC on 9395 KHZ on 31-meter band.And all this is via a relay by WRMI. Reception reports sent will be replied with a numbered, special QSL card: RAE-ARGENTINA TO THE WORLDCC5551000 CABAArgentinaCORTINA MUSICALToday we have a special show on the violent conflict surrounding the city of Mosul, In Iraq, that directly or indirectly affects the Middle East.AUDIO N.1In the small city of Hassan Sham, some 30 kilometers northeast from Mosul, the scars left by the heavy fighting with ISIS are evident.The city was recently liberated by the Iraqi Army and the Kurdish Peshmerga, at the cost of its total destruction.The landscape is terrifying, and it’s very hard to get into. At control posts, just before reaching Hassan Sham from Erbil, the military advice never to drive away from the asphalt line, as there’re still many mines to deactivate.Once through, one reaches a massive refugee camp.Al Ghad is an independent radio station that provokes the Islamic State by airing anything from pop music to beauty advice and football news.It broadcasts from Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. All staff prefer to keep their location secret for security reasons.AUDIO No. 2“The project of the radio, one of its directors say started in 2015, few months after Daesh took over Mosul. Radio became one of the few ways of communicating for those who remain in the city...Al Ghad is the only of its kind...we faced many risks to reach areas where relay stations were placed...many times we successfully blocked Al-Bayan, the Califate’s radio and we even used their frequencies. It wasn’t a very continuous broadcast at first, but with success, came 24-hour constant broadcasting”.The program “I Am A Citizen”, allows listeners to inform what is happening in the areas under control of the Islamic State...here are some of the phone calls made women to the Station:-I can’t sleep no more...they died right in front of me, everything leads to death here, three brothers died on the same day...where something like that happens??-In our neighborhood Daesh bombs houses of the civilian population...today a house with two families was blasted…AUDIO No. 3The director says he thinks people believes in the station: “I notice due to the way they talk to us...I feel they have a lot of trust in us”. And we received also some threats by jihadists, but this only boosts our listenership’s numbers.CORTINA MUSICALAnd we continue in the region of Mosul.The Islamic State has lost propaganda capacity after losing several media outlets to Iraqi troops advancing into their territory.According to sources, 70% of ISIS media centers were destroyed in Mosul.Omar Salahaldin, an information expert from the Baghdad University, assured that propaganda was a vital part in the Islamic State’s plan to control the area and establish a caliphate.Some of that propaganda system included Al Bayan Radio, weekly magazine Al Nabaa, and had giant screens in the streets of Mosul where their propaganda was also disseminated.AUDIO No. 4Al Bayan has been practically set apart by the military, but it still airs some content every now and then.ISIS was just about to set up a TV channel, but Iraki bombings supported by the US-led international coalition prevented that from happening.They have a news-gathering agency, Amaq, that keeps vindicating terrorist acts around the world, but they have to change internet suppliers as companies keep shutting down their website.The Iraqis deem a priority to control those communication centers, as they want to cut off contacts between ISIS and their cells.AUDIO No. 5On February 27, ISIS suspended the broadcast of their radio AL Bayan in Mosul, due to the advance of the Iraqis in the western part of the city.Nonetheless, that radio station has again broadcast on and off, with content encouraging Jihad and verses of the Koran.Iraqi Police said Al Bayan was seized a month ago, and its gear captured.Terrorists still broadcast via a mobile transmission device, but Al Mahmadaui promised the Iraqi troops will locate and bomb that also.The offensive began last October 17, and has the goal of capturing Mosul and the other lands controlled by the radical group that began its dominion by taking over Ninive province in mid 2014.

ACTUALIDAD DX.COM.AR No. 5Welcome to a new edition of the DX program on RAE - Argentina to the World.Remember that your messages are welcomed at actualidaddx.com.ar@gmail.comCORTINA MUSICALLet’s start with some great news: RAE-ARGENTINA TO THE WORLD is back on the SW, and with a special QSL card.We’ll appreciate if you help us spread this information and we await your reception reports with technical details that help us know how our broadcast is reaching you.Here’s the schedule on SW starting on May 2, 2017: Spanish: Mon-Fri 2200 to 2300 on 5950 KHZ, 49-meter band.English: Tue-Sat 0100 to 0200 UTC on 9395 KHZ on 31-meter band.And all this is via a relay by WRMI. Reception reports sent will be replied with a numbered, special QSL card: RAE-ARGENTINA TO THE WORLDCC5551000 CABAArgentinaCORTINA MUSICALToday we have a special show on the violent conflict surrounding the city of Mosul, In Iraq, that directly or indirectly affects the Middle East.AUDIO N.1In the small city of Hassan Sham, some 30 kilometers northeast from Mosul, the scars left by the heavy fighting with ISIS are evident.The city was recently liberated by the Iraqi Army and the Kurdish Peshmerga, at the cost of its total destruction.The landscape is terrifying, and it’s very hard to get into. At control posts, just before reaching Hassan Sham from Erbil, the military advice never to drive away from the asphalt line, as there’re still many mines to deactivate.Once through, one reaches a massive refugee camp.Al Ghad is an independent radio station that provokes the Islamic State by airing anything from pop music to beauty advice and football news.It broadcasts from Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. All staff prefer to keep their location secret for security reasons.AUDIO No. 2“The project of the radio, one of its directors say started in 2015, few months after Daesh took over Mosul. Radio became one of the few ways of communicating for those who remain in the city...Al Ghad is the only of its kind...we faced many risks to reach areas where relay stations were placed...many times we successfully blocked Al-Bayan, the Califate’s radio and we even used their frequencies. It wasn’t a very continuous broadcast at first, but with success, came 24-hour constant broadcasting”.The program “I Am A Citizen”, allows listeners to inform what is happening in the areas under control of the Islamic State...here are some of the phone calls made women to the Station:-I can’t sleep no more...they died right in front of me, everything leads to death here, three brothers died on the same day...where something like that happens??-In our neighborhood Daesh bombs houses of the civilian population...today a house with two families was blasted…AUDIO No. 3The director says he thinks people believes in the station: “I notice due to the way they talk to us...I feel they have a lot of trust in us”. And we received also some threats by jihadists, but this only boosts our listenership’s numbers.CORTINA MUSICALAnd we continue in the region of Mosul.The Islamic State has lost propaganda capacity after losing several media outlets to Iraqi troops advancing into their territory.According to sources, 70% of ISIS media centers were destroyed in Mosul.Omar Salahaldin, an information expert from the Baghdad University, assured that propaganda was a vital part in the Islamic State’s plan to control the area and establish a caliphate.Some of that propaganda system included Al Bayan Radio, weekly magazine Al Nabaa, and had giant screens in the streets of Mosul where their propaganda was also disseminated.AUDIO No. 4Al Bayan has been practically set apart by the military, but it still airs some content every now and then.ISIS was just about to set up a TV channel, but Iraki bombings supported by the US-led international coalition prevented that from happening.They have a news-gathering agency, Amaq, that keeps vindicating terrorist acts around the world, but they have to change internet suppliers as companies keep shutting down their website.The Iraqis deem a priority to control those communication centers, as they want to cut off contacts between ISIS and their cells.AUDIO No. 5On February 27, ISIS suspended the broadcast of their radio AL Bayan in Mosul, due to the advance of the Iraqis in the western part of the city.Nonetheless, that radio station has again broadcast on and off, with content encouraging Jihad and verses of the Koran.Iraqi Police said Al Bayan was seized a month ago, and its gear captured.Terrorists still broadcast via a mobile transmission device, but Al Mahmadaui promised the Iraqi troops will locate and bomb that also.The offensive began last October 17, and has the goal of capturing Mosul and the other lands controlled by the radical group that began its dominion by taking over Ninive province in mid 2014.

GRP 62- Back on for this week's podcast is my good friend retired British Army Combat Medic Chantel Taylor. We discuss the process of becoming a Combat Medic in the British Army, as well as discuss some of her experience's as an Army Medic, and as a Medic working as a contractor in several conflict zones post military. The second conversation I had is with a former U.S. Navy Corpsman named Cris, who spent the duration of his career attached to the U.S. Marine Corps for multiple combat rotations into Afghanistan. Chris shares a story of a mass casualty event in which he was leading the quick reaction force into a potentially dangerous situation. Cris has since retired from the Navy and is now working with an incredible organization called the Global Surgical Medical Support Group (GSMSG). The GSMSG is an organization that provides medical training and treats soldiers fighting ISIS in Northern Iraq, and elsewhere. They have surgeons, doctors, and military medics working around the clock to train the Kurdish Peshmerga medics, as well as performing surgery on Peshmerga soldiers, as well as Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF). GSMSG is now recruiting SOF Medics for a trip into Syria. If you’re interesting apply on their website http://www.gsmsg.org Below is an excerpt. John: Can you share a story of a time you treated a casualty in combat? Cris: My second deployment to Afghanistan we were supporting the Afghan’s as they took the lead in the fighting over there. We had a lot of mass casualty events. A couple of their vehicles struck an IED and we were the quick reaction force. I was with three other Marines. They could all do the basic interventions to help save lives. Putting on tourniquets, occlusive dressings, needle decompressions. There were 20 casualties total. When we got there the scene was total chaos. We started triaging. Who's alive? who needs care right now? we got everything from a triple amputee to minor burns. Having all my Marines trained to the standard that they could all perform casualty care efficiently was great. Each of us had four casualties. We were able to get them medevac'd and taken to a higher level of care. Global Surgical Medical Support Group: http://www.gsmsg.org Facebook: Global Surgical Medical Support Group Instagram:Global_Surgical_Medical_Support_Group Chantel Taylor: Facebook: Battleworn Instagram: Mission_Critical

Tacy and her husband are Cayman GTS owners in CA, looking for a third fun car!! Nick and his family are also in CA, trying to figure out what fun vehicle fits their new family needs. Then, the guys are inspired by the Kurdish Peshmerga fighter Ako Aburrahman, who saved 70 people with his bulletproof BMW 7-series. Also discussed are car swag collections, living in the future and collectable 928s. Thanks for listening and watching, please Rate & Review our podcast, and write to us at everydaydrivertv@gmail.com

Vanguard Radio Oct 26 2016   Thanks Terri. The battle rages on in northern Iraq as Iraqi troops and Kurdish fighters continue their push to root out ISIS terrorists who once held sway in Mosul. That and just what is the nature of Canada's involvement in the assault on Mosul is one of stories in this week's episode of Vanguard Radio. But first, an update on the latest issue of the Vanguard Magazine   +++ That's right the digital format of the Oct-Nov 2016 issue of the Vanguard Magazine is out. Our print issue will surely follow in the next few days. This time around, Vanguard takes dives into the topic of underwater drones or Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. The Navy is looking to procure AUVs for marine mine hunting operations. Rick Gerbrecht of Atlas Elektronik Canada explains why underwater drones are perfect for such a task and also provides us a glimpse of the future of “drone swarms.” While armed airbourne drones have been called the terror of the skies, unmanned aerial vehicles could be their life-saving counter-parts. In the latest issue of Vanguard Magazine, Ken Chadder and Kevin Young of Hexagon Safety and Infrastructure, talk about the critical role that drones will play in the planning of real-time emergency response. For this issue, our Game Changers are: Heather Pilot, president of business consulting firm Pilot Hill and lead organizer of the Best Defence Conference;  Bodo Gospodnetic, president of Dominis Engineering Ltd., a pioneer in the design, machining and measurement of marine propellers, water jet impellers, and hydro turbine runners; and George Palikaras, founder and CEO of Metamaterial Technologies. Be sure to check out the latest Vanguard Magazine you'll find  the link to it at the bottom or our web site. ++++ On Oct 17, Iraqi government troops and Kurdish Peshmerga forces moved in on Mosul to dislodge ISIS terrorists that have been holding the northern Iraqi city since last year. The Iraqi troops and the Kurds are being backed by a US-led coalition which also includes Canadian forces. You'll find some of our earlier accounts of the battle in the stories Major Move Mosul and ISIS sleeper cells launch counterattack. But what many Canadian would like to know is the nature of involvement of the Canadian Armed Forces personnel in the operation. Are our soldiers involved in armed combat or not? Last Week, photos surfaced on social media which gave the impression that they are in the front lines. Pictures appearing on Twitter showed men in Canadian uniforms apparently setting up heavy weapons or manning armoured vehicles. Accompanying reports said they were helping Kurdish fighters in an area east of Mosul. In our recent story Are Canadian in the front lines in Mosul, the reaction of Defence Chief Harjit Sajjan has been cryptic. While he did not question the photos, he also did not clearly say if Canadian troops were involved in combat. Under Operation Impact, the Canadian Armed Forces provide training and assistance to the Iraqi security forces. We support the Coalition with highly skilled personnel, and provide support to Coalition air and intelligence efforts.   Canada is at the forefront of international efforts to defeat Daesh and to address the significant security, humanitarian, and political challenges it poses.   But right from the start, the role of Canadian troops was stated by the Liberal government to be non-combative. Has this role somehow changed to active battle involvement?   We think Canadians deserve to know. The government needs to be more transparent Canadians shouldn't be kept in the dark about this and left to find out what's happening really happening through Twitter. +++++     That's it for this episode of Vanguard Radio. We hope you enjoyed our recap of some of the developments we have been following this week. Vanguard will continue to monitor the unfolding events in Mosul as well as the latest reports from the defence industry. This is your host, Nestor Arellano Saying see you again next week on the Vanguard Radio                  

General Araz Abdulqadir and his troops are fighting on the front line against IS in northern Iraq. General Araz Abdulqadir and his troops are fighting against so-called Islamic State in northern Iraq. They are defending the front line in Daquq, south of Kirkuk - less than two kilometers from the nearest IS position. The soldiers of the ninth brigade have placed their lives in the hands of Abdulquadir. The leaders of the Kurdish Peshmerga are eager to make further gains. But danger is all around in the shape of suicide bombers and snipers. General Araz Abdulquadir faces many sleeples nights to come. Can he manage to push back the terrorist militia?

  SITREP TRAIL THURS, 24th September   Find out what needs to happen in the next Defence Review to make our Forces more efficient.   America and Russia go head to head on what happens next in Syria,   Plus, British troops teaching the Kurds how to beat IS and get streetwise,   And 75 years of the George Cross - the people's decoration.    PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate GerbeauSTUDIO GUEST: BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee OTHER INTERVIEWS:    DEFENCE POLICYRichard Norton Taylor who writes for The Guardian on defence and security,   SYRIA/PUTIN/UNProfessor Joshua Landis from the Department of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma   PESHMERGA BFBS presenter Charlene Guy speaking to some of the soldiers who have been working on the ground in Iraq, training Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.   GEORGE CROSS 75TH ANNIVERSARYBFBS reporter Claire Sadler   THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2 and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases   You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum) Sky Channel 0211Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.      

  SITREP TRAIL THURS, 24th September   Find out what needs to happen in the next Defence Review to make our Forces more efficient.   America and Russia go head to head on what happens next in Syria,   Plus, British troops teaching the Kurds how to beat IS and get streetwise,   And 75 years of the George Cross - the people's decoration.    PRESENTER THIS WEEK: Kate GerbeauSTUDIO GUEST: BFBS defence analyst Christopher Lee OTHER INTERVIEWS:    DEFENCE POLICYRichard Norton Taylor who writes for The Guardian on defence and security,   SYRIA/PUTIN/UNProfessor Joshua Landis from the Department of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma   PESHMERGA BFBS presenter Charlene Guy speaking to some of the soldiers who have been working on the ground in Iraq, training Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.   GEORGE CROSS 75TH ANNIVERSARYBFBS reporter Claire Sadler   THURSDAYS at 4:30pm UK TIME on BFBS RADIO 2 and at 6:30pm UK TIME on BFBS & UK Bases   You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and at 1830 (UK time) on BFBS (via web, App & DAB in the UK and on FM in Scotland, Colchester, Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Catterick & Blandford Forum) Sky Channel 0211Alternatively listen again on the website, or download the Sitrep Podcast.      

This episode will only cover the period between March 2003 and May 1 2003. Reasons for Invading Iraq:Iraq's possession of WMDsSaddam's link to Al QaedaIraq's failure to respect no-fly zonesTyrannical part of the Axis of Evil The United States Congress supported military action against Iraq, but the UN did not approve of it. The US launched Operation Cobra II with the coalition of the willing (consisting of 49 countries) and many military contractors.  The main invasion was in the South, where there were three fronts: Western Front: US's 3rd Infantry Division goes through Najaf and Karbala towards BaghdadCentral Front: US's 1st Marine Expeditionary Force goes through Nasiriyah towards BaghdadEastern Front: UK's 1st Armored Division goes through Basra towards Baghdad A secondary invasion in the North was led by the 10th Special Forces Group and the Kurdish Peshmerga.  This force pushed through Mosul and Kirkuk towards Baghdad. The actual invasion of Baghdad took place early in April, when Colonel Perkins invented the concept of Thunder Runs--rapid mechanized thrusts into the city to inspire shock and awe.  Two thunder runs were sent into Baghdad and eventually the city (minus Saddam Hussein) was taken. On May 1st, 2003, President Bush declared Mission Accomplished (excerpt in episode). Sources: http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/daily/graphics/iraqMap_040103_2.gif http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,011805_Thunder_Run,00.html Foreign Affairs (May/June 2006): Saddam’s Delusions http://geocities.com/saberoca/ http://icasualties.org/oif/ http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/iraq/casualties.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh4U-Tbqbx4 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/invasion/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soohikNdbWs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdlEcFfYZ2k http://www.mongabay.com/igapo/Iraq.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFijzDyJnVE Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine