Podcasts about operations desert shield

The Indo-Pacific is one of the most consequential regions in the world. It's home to economies, trade routes, and allies vital to American prosperity and security.It is also a region where the Chinese Communist Party, building on decades of defense sector cooperation with Russia, has expanded its military capabilities at a breathtaking pace. The more capable the Chinese military has become, the more aggressively Beijing has acted to coerce its neighbors and undermine American interests.Someone who grapples daily with this reality is General Ronald Clark, the Commander of U.S. Army Pacific, or USARPAC.For those who are not denizens of the Department of Defense, USARPAC is the Army service component command within U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. In other words, you can think of him as the top American soldier in the Pacific. A combat leader with decades of experience, General Clark has led American soldiers in Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific. He's a veteran of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. But now he focuses full time on the Pacific.He joins guest host Bradley Bowman, Senior Director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power, to discuss why the Indo-Pacific matters to Americans, the role of land power there, and what the Army is doing to deter and defeat adversaries—including forward-positioning forces, conducting rigorous training, and deepening cooperation with key allies such as the Philippines.

The Indo-Pacific is one of the most consequential regions in the world. It's home to economies, trade routes, and allies vital to American prosperity and security.It is also a region where the Chinese Communist Party, building on decades of defense sector cooperation with Russia, has expanded its military capabilities at a breathtaking pace. The more capable the Chinese military has become, the more aggressively Beijing has acted to coerce its neighbors and undermine American interests.Someone who grapples daily with this reality is General Ronald Clark, the Commander of U.S. Army Pacific, or USARPAC.For those who are not denizens of the Department of Defense, USARPAC is the Army service component command within U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. In other words, you can think of him as the top American soldier in the Pacific. A combat leader with decades of experience, General Clark has led American soldiers in Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific. He's a veteran of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. But now he focuses full time on the Pacific.He joins guest host Bradley Bowman, Senior Director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power, to discuss why the Indo-Pacific matters to Americans, the role of land power there, and what the Army is doing to deter and defeat adversaries—including forward-positioning forces, conducting rigorous training, and deepening cooperation with key allies such as the Philippines.

We call upon all former Navy SeaBees to join us for a conversation marking the 83rd anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Navy's Construction Battalions on March 5, 1942. Formed in response to the urgent need for military construction forces capable of working under combat conditions, the Seabees have since established themselves as an indispensable part of U.S. military operations. Before World War II, the Navy relied on civilian contractors to build bases and infrastructure. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into the war, it became clear that construction crews needed to be able to defend themselves. The solution was the formation of Naval Construction Battalions—skilled builders trained as combatants. The name “Seabees” comes from the phonetic pronunciation of the initials “CB.” Seabees undergo rigorous training that combines construction expertise with military readiness. Initial training takes place at the Naval Construction Training Center in Gulfport, Mississippi, and Port Hueneme, California. Recruits learn essential skills like carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, heavy equipment operation, and demolition. In addition, they receive weapons training and instruction in defensive tactics, ensuring they can operate in hostile environments. Their motto, “We Build, We Fight,” reflects their dual purpose. During World War II, Seabees were deployed to the Pacific and European theaters, constructing airstrips, roads, bridges, and bases under combat conditions. They played a key role in the island-hopping campaigns of the Pacific, building the infrastructure necessary for advancing U.S. forces. In the Battle of Guadalcanal, Seabees constructed Henderson Field, a crucial airstrip that enabled the Allies to gain air superiority. At Iwo Jima, they worked under constant enemy fire, repairing airfields to keep American planes in the fight. By the war's end, Seabees had built over 400 advanced bases and countless facilities that proved essential to victory. When the Korean War erupted in 1950, the Seabees were once again called upon to provide critical construction support. They built airstrips, roads, and supply depots in challenging environments. One of their most notable achievements was the rapid construction of an airfield at Wonsan, which played a key role in supporting Marine and Army operations. Seabees also repaired and maintained infrastructure in war-torn areas, showcasing their ability to work in extreme conditions. In Vietnam, the Seabees operated extensively, constructing bases, airstrips, hospitals, and roads while also engaging in civic action projects. They built schools, hospitals, and bridges to help local communities, winning the support of Vietnamese civilians. One of their most daring projects was the construction of Khe Sanh Combat Base, a strategic stronghold. Seabees worked under enemy fire to complete the base, enabling U.S. forces to hold their ground during the pivotal siege of Khe Sanh in 1968. Since Vietnam, Seabees have continued to play a crucial role in military and humanitarian missions worldwide. They built infrastructure in the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, repaired damage from hurricanes and natural disasters, and provided disaster relief in Haiti and the Philippines. In Iraq and Afghanistan, Seabees built forward operating bases, roads, and medical facilities, ensuring U.S. and allied forces had the support they needed. We're grateful to UPMC for Life for sponsoring this event!

Clayton Hutmacher enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1978. Six years later he jumped at the chance to go to Army flight school and pursue a career in special operations. He would later see action in Panama, Desert Storm, and in both Iraq and Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Maj. Gen. Hutmacher shares his story of service, including what was required to become a special operations aviator and what his service entailed in Operation Just Cause in Panama. Months later, he was in the Saudi Arabian desert as part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Hutmacher shares the details of his missions against critical targets in northern Iraq and why the combat was much more intense there than in Panama.He also tells us about his service in Iraq and Afghanistan, how the theaters of operation were very different from one another, and why Iraq provided the most intense combat of his career.Gen. Hutmacher also reveals how he kept in touch with the concerns of enlisted personnel as he rose up the chain of command and the challenges he faced as Director of Operations at U.S. Special Operations Command.Finally, he tells about his work now at the Special Operations Warrior Foundation serving the children of fallen special operators and others.

“The whole nine yards.” In this episode, we speak with Marine Corps veteran Mr. Mike “M2” McCusker. He is a veteran of the Lebanese Civil War peace keeping mission, Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and he played a critical role in writing the strategic documents of the early Global War on Terror. In the Free Fire Area, Roger confesses his favorite ice cream flavor is boring. We need your support and there are several ways: - Subscribe and set it to auto-download. Please give us a great rating, too.- Go to our website and buy some cool swag or click on the “donate now” button at the bottom.- Support us and another great veteran-owned company by going to https://aerialresupplycoffee.com and getting some quality coffee. Make sure you use coupon code tracerburnout. Music by The Mountain via Pixabay.https://tracerburnout.com/

Join the Air Force and see the world! In this episode, we speak with Gen-X Air Force veteran Mr. John Collins. We discuss why he joined, dooby-ous care packages, his service during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and the importance of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). In the Free Fire Area, we finally decide who was the best - and worst - 007. Theme song by The Mountain via Pixabayhttps://tracerburnout.com/

Lt Col Allen West has not only had a distinguished career serving in the military but he also served his country in Congress.  His life has been all about service.  He joins us to discuss the latest GOP primary results and why immigration is the No1 issue with voters.  Allen is currently running for the Dallas County GOP chair, 'Fight Local: Win National' is his tagline and we start with why local politics is so important.  Dallas is without a Republican representative so he has put himself forward as the person to put the party on the front foot and win back some of those seats to provide an opposition block to the Democrats.  We the move onto Trump's latest triumph in the primary where he defeated Nikki Haley in New Hampshire, it seems that no one can stop the Trump Train that has America First as its key policy above all else, Haley is hanging on, but for how much longer?  We then look at immigration and why this issue has become so important to voters. Are they are beginning to realise, If you don't have a border, you don't have a country? Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former Member of the US Congress. Allen West was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the same neighbourhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family. West was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Tennessee as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) on July 31, 1982. He entered active-duty service in the U.S. Army on November 1, 1983 at Fort Sill to attend the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He later attended airborne and jumpmaster training at Fort Benning. West's first assignment was as an airborne infantry company fire support team leader and battalion training officer in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team. In 1987, he was promoted to Captain and attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course. He was then assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and was a Battalion Task Force fire support officer for 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. While with the 1st Infantry Division, he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. West's culminating assignment to his career was as Battalion Commander of the 2d Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He assumed command of this unit on June 6, 2002. He deployed with his unit during the Iraq War in 2003 and continued to command his battalion until his retirement from the Army in 2004 after 22 years of honourable service in defence of the Republic. In November of 2010, Allen was honoured to continue his oath of service to his country when he was elected to the United States Congress, representing Florida's 22nd District.  West holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and two Masters, one from Kansas State University and another from the US Army Command and General Staff Officers College. He is the former Executive Director of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas Texas. West is an avid distance runner, a Master SCUBA diver, a motorcyclist, and in his spare time he enjoys cheering his beloved Tennessee Volunteers. Connect with Lt Col West... Substack           https://allenwest.substack.com/ GETTR               https://gettr.com/user/AllenWest X                         https://twitter.com/AllenWest?s=20&t=xdPqNPtV13hYDp0RSja_Iw Interview recorded 24.1.24 Connect with Hearts of Oak... WEBSITE            https://heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS        https://heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA  https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Support Hearts of Oak by purchasing one of our fancy T-Shirts....  SHOP                  https://heartsofoak.org/shop/ *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on X https://twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin?s=20 

In this episode, Dr. Nancy Klimas and Retired Sergeant First Class Jimmy Arocho join host Haylie Pomroy to discuss Gulf War Syndrome's lasting impact on veterans. Dr. Klimas details the toxic exposures during the Gulf War, such as pesticides, sarin gas, and oil fires, leading to chronic illnesses in a third of the deployed US veterans. Jimmy Arocho shares his firsthand experiences and the awareness of these health hazards among ex-soldiers. His journey from a veteran to an advocate for Gulf War Syndrome sufferers highlights the difficulties in diagnosis and treatment. Jimmy Arocho also emphasizes the PACT Act's role in supporting affected veterans and the ongoing research and treatment efforts at the Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine.  If you or a loved one is a veteran who served in 1990-1991 for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, we need your help in finding answers for this condition. Key Points: 04:54 Jimmy's transition from veteran to Institute advocate and employee. 09:49 Symptoms and conditions of Gulf War veterans over time. 14:29 Explanation of oxidative stress and its health implications. 19:37 The link between research and veteran needs. 25:24 Addressing the challenges faced by veterans in seeking treatment. 29:06 The importance of a biorepository for Gulf War illness research. 34:03 Dr. Klimas explains the role of MRI spectroscopy in measuring oxidative stress. 39:35 Encouragement for veterans to participate in trials. 42:08 Jimmy highlights virtual study participation during COVID-19. 48:48 Jimmy's appeal to Persian Gulf War veterans for research participation. 51:36 Different ways to participate in studies, including inpatient and home-based options. 56:01 Details on how to join the study Dr. Nancy Klimas with 40 years of experience, is renowned for her work in multi-symptom disorders like ME/CFS, Gulf War illness, fibromyalgia, and Long COVID. She leads the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine and is a Professor at the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine. Previously at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine for 30 years, she now contributes significantly to research and education in her field, focusing on innovative treatments and training the next generation of clinicians and scientists.   LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-klimas-49255178    Jimmy Arocho is an experienced professional in strategic management of Information Technologies and Telecommunications, with a focus on Healthcare Information Management Applications. His career spans roles in project management, network administration, and customer service across various sectors including business, education, and government.   Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-arocho-9b63395  —----------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Thank you for tuning in to the Hope and Help For Fatigue & Chronic Illness Podcast. Sign up today for our newsletter.

Show notes and Transcript Col Allen West (Ret) joins Hearts of Oak once again to give us a birds eye view of US politics.  Its been nearly a year since the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives so what has changed and have they been successful?  Kevin McCarthy was voted in after a long and gruelling process but is he delivering on the concerns of American people who are witnessing an increasing power grab from every government institution?  And what is happening in Col West's home state of Texas? Is Governor Greg Abbott even a Republican and why does he not secure the Texas border? With Mitch McConnell malfunctioning and Nancy Pelosi seeking re-electing does America need more politicians who have been part of the system for decades and made it their career?  And finally we finish looking at the Republican Primary and Col West shares his honest assessment. Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former Member of the US Congress. Allen West was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the same neighbourhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family. West was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Tennessee as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) on July 31, 1982. He entered active-duty service in the U.S. Army on November 1, 1983 at Fort Sill to attend the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He later attended airborne and jumpmaster training at Fort Benning. West's first assignment was as an airborne infantry company fire support team leader and battalion training officer in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team. In 1987, he was promoted to Captain and attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course. He was then assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and was a Battalion Task Force fire support officer for 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. While with the 1st Infantry Division, he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. West's culminating assignment to his career was as Battalion Commander of the 2d Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He assumed command of this unit on June 6, 2002. He deployed with his unit during the Iraq War in 2003 and continued to command his battalion until his retirement from the Army in 2004 after 22 years of honourable service in defence of the Republic. In November of 2010, Allen was honoured to continue his oath of service to his country when he was elected to the United States Congress, representing Florida's 22nd District. As a member of the 112th Congress, West introduced seven major pieces of legislation, and was the original sponsor of H. R. 1246 which reduces costs at the Department of Defence, was passed unanimously (393-0), and signed into law by President Obama as part of the National Defence Authorization Act. Congressman West voted for the Balanced Budget Amendment, and voted for over 30 different bills designed to empower small businesses, reduce government barriers to job creation, boost American competitiveness, encourage entrepreneurship and growth, and maximize American energy production. West holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and two Masters, one from Kansas State University and another from the US Army Command and General Staff Officers College. He is the former Executive Director of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas Texas. West is an avid distance runner, a Master SCUBA diver, a motorcyclist, and in his spare time he enjoys cheering his beloved Tennessee Volunteers. Hold Texas, Hold the Nation: Victory or Death by Lt Col Allen B West (ret) available on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/Hold-Texas-Nation-Victory-Death/dp/1612542980 Follow and support Col West at the following links... Substack: https://allenwest.substack.com/ GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AllenWest X: https://twitter.com/AllenWest?s=20&t=xdPqNPtV13hYDp0RSja_Iw Gab: https://gab.com/AllenWest Podcast: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/b58w7-26cd73/Allen-West-%7C-Steadfast--Loyal-Podcast The ACRU The American Constitutional Rights Union GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/theacru X: https://twitter.com/The_ACRU YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/theacru Interview recorded 14.9.23 *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on GETTR https://gettr.com/user/BoschFawstin and Twitter https://twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin?s=20  To sign up for our weekly email, find our social media, podcasts, video, livestreaming platforms and more... https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Support Hearts of Oak by purchasing one of our fancy T-Shirts.... https://heartsofoak.org/shop/ Please subscribe, like and share! Transcript (Hearts of Oak) Colonel Allen West, it is wonderful to have you back with us again. Thank you so much for your time today. (Col Allen West) It's good to be back with you, Peter. Thanks for having me. No, thank you. And everyone can follow you @AllenWest on Twitter. And in case any of our viewers don't know who Colonel Allen West is, Executive Director, American Constitutional Rights Union Action, former Texas GOP chair, former Florida representative, retired army lieutenant colonel. I never know if it's left tenant or lieutenant. That's where I get my U.S. and English mixed up. Author, host of Steadfast and Loyal podcast. And I saw one of your recent guests was Mark Huck. The pro-life pastor who had his home-raided by the FBI which is a huge story and maybe we'll get touching on how the FBI have been weaponized to that extent and of course your Substack alanwest.substack.com all the links are in the description for our viewers and listeners.  Midterms and we're now, approaching a year since the midterms ten months in. The Republican Party obviously has had control of the House of Representatives. I want to know your assessment, I think, of how the Republicans have performed within those 10 months as someone who has been an elected official and understands the ins and outs in the different levels of political life. What are your thoughts as you look on what's happening at the moment? Well, I will tell you first and foremost, the only constitutionally mandated duty and responsibility that the House and the Senate are supposed to pass every year is to create a budget. That means that they're supposed to pass 12 appropriations bills. They're supposed to resolve them and send those to the president to be signed. And so once again, we're not going to make that, constitutionally mandated goal, which has to occur by 30 September. They're already talking about a continuing resolution, which means that the fiscal calamity that we see that over $30 trillion in debt, $2 trillion in annual deficit, is just going to continue on. So I would have to grade them with an F for not being able to do what was necessary to get those appropriations bills passed in the House, because they do have control of the House, but the onus is on the Senate to do something. At least they have passed one appropriations bill in the House. The Senate has not passed any whatsoever. But I will tell you that one thing that I will give them great credit for and commend them for is what they have uncovered as far as the corruption of the President Biden's family. I don't see how anyone could dismiss this. I mean, why does this family need 20 secretive LLCs, 150 some odd suspicious financial activity reports? We know that there has been payments that have come from countries such as Romania to the Biden family members, nine different members. And so when you look at some of these connections, you know, the Hunter Biden laptop is for real. It's not Russian disinformation or misinformation. And you start to see the connections between his son to Ukraine, to China, to Russia, and of course, some of the issues we have now with our foreign policy. You just have to wonder if we do have a president that is compromised. And I think that's one of the things that they have to be commended for getting to the bottom of this or at least getting this out there to be discussed in the political sphere.  Do you think that was a bit slow? Because I know we have had Garrett Ziegler on before, we've had Miranda Devine, here in the UK the Daily Mail will publish, regular stories of Hunter and his escapades, for want of a better word, and all the information has been there and they have got round to it. Do you think it was maybe possible to get to that point quicker or is it there just is not the support in the House to move it forward quicker? Well, there was not the support in the House under the Democrat control, but without a doubt, when you have people like the Daily Mail, Miranda Devine, the New York Post that are uncovering these things, you know, thankfully we did get the House back under the Republican leadership of control. You had to get the hearings done, and now we start to see all of these different things. We're starting to get confirmation of evidence and things of this nature. I think that where we are right now, and Kevin McCarthy coming back and saying, yeah, we got to do an impeachment inquiry, I would have said, you could have made that assessment a couple of months ago, without a doubt, before you go on August recess, so you can get your appropriations bills done and you can continue on with this. But I'm glad to see that Republicans have grown a little bit of a spine, not a complete spine, but a little bit of a spine, and they're standing up to the corruption and the unconstitutional actions of this administration. It is quite a difficult situation to be in. And a lack of spine is something we see certainly here in the UK as well, amongst most of our politicians, but there's a lot happening, with the destruction of the country and the economy through Bidenomics. It's quite difficult, I guess, as an elected official, to respond to that, to hold Biden to account, but also to realize there is a lot of destruction being done to the country. No, you're absolutely right. I don't even see how anyone could debate this. The facts are very clear. when Joe Biden came into office, inflation in the United States of America was 1.4%. Within no time, he had taken it up to 5%, to 6%, to 9.1%. Now I know you have a lot of people, such as the White House mouthpiece, Karine Jean-Pierre, would say that it was all because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Well, before Vladimir Putin did that, the inflation was at 7%. So now they're touting, well, inflation is down to 4%. Well, guess what? It's still higher than it was at 1.4%. Now there's talk within the next couple of months, it could take back up to 5%. That is an unseen form of taxation on the American people. When you think about it, you look at the price of commodities, goods and services and things of this nature. It is absolutely horrific. Then you look on top of that, the Biden administration war against our energy independence and our energy sector. We were at a point where we were energy independent, producing, consuming and exporting our resources. And when Biden came in, The price of gasoline, the average price of gasoline was $2.40. Now it's back up to close to $5, $6 in some places. So I don't understand how he thinks he could go out and tout the economy. Maybe there are some onesie-twosie things he can try, but overall, the American people know that this is not going in the right direction. And then on top of that, Peter, you have allowed six to seven million people to come into the country illegally. What other country does that? What other country says, we don't care about our sovereignty, just walk across the border, come in, and we will tell the American people to give you free benefits. That is also destroying our economy as well.  I remember back in April when I drove across many parts of the states, six, seven different states from on the east, central and over in the West, and ended up in California, realized why I'd never been to LA and realized why I never wanted to go back.  I don't blame you. But wish I kind of had been there through Reagan's time as governor. He kind of looked back in history and you wish you'd been there at that time. But I was even surprised at the difference in fuel prices across the country here in the UK it's more or less the same across the country and I kind of in my head I was thinking how long do those individuals who live in California put up with the fuel prices, with crime with drugs, with everything that's happening and I kind of couldn't square that and talk to people and they said yeah it's bad but yet they'll happily vote in the same institutions, the same party, the Democrats and continue that spiral. Well, it's amazing, and you know, I live here in Texas, and I can tell you, you see countless amounts of California license plates now in Texas, and there's a big joke about how many U-Haul vans are, you know, coming into Texas. They're not going back to California, they're coming to Texas. So you do have a huge migration, and based upon the last census, California has lost a massive amount of population to the point where they lost two congressional representative districts. So people are starting to realize it, people are starting to feel it. But the problem, Peter, in America is that you have Democrat control of all the major urban population centres. And that's where you see all the greatest amount of failures. You see the poverty, you see the crime, you see the drug trafficking, and now the human and sex trafficking because of the open borders. So even in a place like California, where a good part of that state is still very strong, red, conservative, especially the Central Valley, Northern California. It's the coastal elites, and it's the major population centres. You look at a state like Washington, and everyone looks and sees Seattle and Tacoma, and they figure that the rest of Washington is like that. It's not. It's that one county and the county north of King County that causes, you know, Washington to be a blue state. And sadly, we're seeing that happen here in Texas, I live here in Dallas County, Dallas County and Dallas, Austin and Travis County, the capital, the Houston, Harris County, San Antonio, Bear County, El Paso. These are all very strong Democrat strongholds, and that's the major population centres. It is amazing to me that we cannot do a better job of messaging that shows that, look, there's a reason why the crime is spiking. Austin, Texas is now the 15th highest city for homicides in the United States of America. The capital of Texas has the 15th highest rating for homicides. Their police chief just resigned. And why is that? Because they have a communist city council in Austin that defunded their police by $150 million. So I think we've got to start stressing the one key issue, which is individual safety. You can't go out downtown Austin anymore because of the homeless situation, because of the crime situation. And I think another big issue that will play, Peter, going into the 2024 election cycle is parental rights and protection of our children. I mean, when you've got Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, Kamala Harris, and Karine Jean-Pierre standing up and telling the American people that their children are not theirs, they belong to all of us, that's crossing the Rubicon, as I think many people understand. I think that's what you saw happen in the last state-wide election in Virginia, when all of a sudden education became an issue, and the Democrats don't want school choice. The teachers' union is here. Rand and Weingarten is so powerful. I think a lot of these basic kitchen table, homegrown local issues are going to be very important nationally in 2024. I want to pick up on that, and I watched the Virginia elections closely, and they were interesting, that issue on parental rights. But just on Texas, you were a chair of the GOP. You had convictions. You had fight. You had issues you believed in and stood for, and that conviction politics we don't see often, certainly not here in the UK and probably the same in the US there. But how does that fit in with the governor Abbott? Because I know you were certainly critical of him and it seems as though he's put up a few floating barriers in the river and supposedly that fixes immigration. There's a disconnect there between actually as a Republican governor what he should be doing and actually what he is doing and there seems to be a huge gap. There is a huge gap, and as a matter of fact, the Constitution of the United States of America says very clearly in Article 4, Section 4, that the federal government is supposed to protect every state in the union from invasion. When they don't do that, Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 says exactly what states can do, the actions they can take when actually invaded. And then also in the Texas state constitution, Article 4, Section 4, it says that the responsibility of the governor of the state of Texas as the commander of the Texas Military Department. The National Guard and things here, he is supposed to repel invasions. When you put out 1,000 meters of big orange toys in the middle of the Rio Grande River, when Texas has a border with Mexico that is about 1,249 miles, 1,000 meters is not going to do anything. I was just a month ago down on the border in between Eagle Pass and Del Rio in Kenny County and talking to the law enforcement there and the sheriff there, he said, people just go around it. So this band aid on a sucking chest wound type of mentality, this political optic to say that, look, I'm doing something, I've got the guard down there, but no one is being turned back. And I'm sure the people in the UK know about Governor Abbott putting people on buses and sending them to New York, Washington, and to LA also. Well, you know, as I said, the governor is aiding and abetting human and sex trafficking. He's continuing to send illegals who are here illegally deeper into the United States of America. So he's actually violating the constitution as well. And furthermore, Peter, each illegal immigrant is about $1,400 for a Texas taxpayer to pay for them to be on one of these buses. I didn't sign up for that. I don't think any Texas taxpayer signed up for that. So my criticisms of the governor is that he does not, you know, stand up and do what he is supposed to do as the governor of Texas, to include some unconstitutional actions where, you know, he extended his emergency powers over the state of Texas unconstitutionally. He did not go through the legislature during the whole COVID issue. Who would have thought in Texas we'd have mass mandates and shot mandates, but we did. So that's why I say it is not so much a Democrat versus Republican issue anymore in the United States of America. It is about progressive, socialist, Marxist on one side and constitutional conservatives, and we must understand the proper role and relationship between the institution of government and the individual. And there are some people that don't get that. They want more power concentrated in seats of government, being at the federal level or even the state level or even the local level. And they usurp more individual rights, freedoms, and liberties. I mean, look at what is going on in New Mexico, where you have the governor in New Mexico saying that because of the crime issue that the policies of Democrats created in Albuquerque, releasing criminals on the streets, the drug trafficking, human sex trafficking, we're going to suspend the Second Amendment. We're going to create a public health crisis. You can't do that. So we have a real issue in America of elected officials that are not abiding by the rule of law, and I think that's the most important thing that we have to correct here in this country. Obviously, we in the UK look at states like Florida, like Texas, as bastions of free speech, as those who hold the line on the American dream, and yet you've described something different. The Governor's position, Governor Abbott, how does it fit in? What checks and balances are there on him? Because I'm assuming that Texas is still a red state in some ways. Yeah. No, it is a red state, but I would challenge anyone to go back and look at the 2020, presidential electoral map broken down by county. You can Google it and they'll pull up. And you can see the concentrations of blue in the state of Texas. Texas has 254 counties. It's a pretty doggone big state. But when you focus and concentrate on those major population centres, it's a numbers game, because you don't have enough population out in rural counties, being West Texas, where there are some counties you may have 4,000 or 5,000 people, or over in East Texas. So that's the strategy of the left. I mean, they've done that in Georgia, where the major population centres, Atlanta, Macon, Augusta, Savannah, Columbus, That's the reason why all of a sudden you've got two socialist senators from the state of Georgia. So we really have to pay attention to that. But Texas, the governor is supposed to be restrained by the legislative branch. But when the legislative branch does not do their job and allow the governor to run roughshod over them, just the same as you can see that at the federal government level, you know, we're not supposed to be ruled by executive orders and edicts and mandates and decrees. We're supposed to have a legislative process. But too often people are allowing governors and also presidents to just, you know, sign off on something and people believe that it's law, and it is not. So we've got to get back to that blocking and tackling of understanding what it means to live in a constitutional republic. Back to the national side, Kevin McCarthy, you talked about the Republicans maybe getting an F in the House and of course Kevin McCarthy is Majority Chair there in the House and his becoming elected was a fraught endeavour of many negotiations and votes. What about him personally And where does the position or the role or the place of the Freedom Caucus fit into his role in the House? Well, I think the Freedom Caucus is just trying to restore what we what we call regular order up there in the United States House of Representatives to do things by the regular processes and procedures that they're supposed to operate under and not have you know bills basically be written in the Speaker's office or in the Majority Leader's office and you know, you get told a couple of days out, this is what you're going to vote for, like an omnibus spending bill, which, you know, they continue to do. And that's what gets us into this fiscal mess that we find here in the United States of America. So I applauded the people for saying that the election of a speaker is just not a coronation. There are some very serious things that we want to see happen, and Kevin McCarthy had to go through that crucible to get their support. But again, on this back side, we still don't see them getting the appropriations bills passed and things of this nature. And we don't have to sit around and wait and impeach Joe Biden on this corruption thing. What he is doing on the border is a violation of the Constitution. That's his policy. I mean, he came in and he said, we're going to allow illegals to come into this country. That's treasonous. When you are selling oil from our strategic patrolling reserve to China, to me, that's treasonous, but that's what this administration is doing. When you're undermining your country's own energy independence, to me, that's a high crime and misdemeanour. When you are restoring the Taliban back into power in Afghanistan, that's aiding and abetting a terrorist organization. So there are so many things that you can hold Joe Biden accountable for. But I think that, like I said, at least we don't have Nancy Pelosi still as the Speaker of the House there, and we would not know anything about the level of corruption we see with this Biden family. One thing I guess, people like Pelosi and maybe Mitch McConnell can say is they don't remember, we've seen... Poor Mitch McConnell has his issues, lets say.... Is that ageist? I didn't say such a thing. No, but how does that fit because in in the UK? It's kind of a rush or a move towards, younger and younger, where America seems to be older and older and with Pelosi she's going to run again and she's what, 82 or 83? At some point you have to retire and I don't know whether that fits in with the American political model. Well it's interesting enough, I think it was George Mason who said 17 June 1787 that nothing so greatly impels a man to regard the interests of of his constituents than the certainty of returning to the general mass of the people from whence he was taken where he shall participate in their burdens. Our founding fathers never meant for us to have a career political class, a political elite, but due to the apathy of the electorate here in America, this is exactly what we have. So interestingly enough, Peter, what you have seen because of the last couple of episodes of Mitch McConnell just blanking out. And what has been up, Diane Feinstein and her health issues and John Fetterman, I mean, who cannot hold a clear sentence. People are asking for term limits there in the House and Senate at the federal government level. There are many states that have term limits on their representatives, but we don't have that. I remember when I was sworn into Congress, there was a congressman from Michigan by the name of, I think, David Dingell. And Dingell had been in office longer than I had been alive. And so you just ask yourself. And of course, when he finally dies, who gets to take his seat? His wife! And so this is not the cronyism, nepotism that we wanted to have in America. So yes, people are starting to ask a question about mental acuity. I mean, you look at our own president, and this is not good on the public stage. What would the media in America say if Donald Trump had ever said at a press conference in a foreign country, I'm going to bed now? I mean, they'd go berserk. And so I think that Americans do want something different. And I got to tell you, this is something that Nikki Haley has been talking about. It's time for a new generation of leaders. And I think she's 50, 51 years of age. And this is something that's striking the tone with the American people. And I'll be very honest, you know, even President Trump, I think he's 77 or 78. And so the American people are sitting back saying, I mean, we got an 80 year old and a 77, 78 year old, we're gonna be voting for them to be president once again. They're not happy with that setup. Well, Sleepy Joe, he does need a sleep, I'm sure. And I wanna touch on the Republican primary, But just last thinking on the Mitch McConnell situation, obviously the Republicans in the Senate decided he was the best person for the job. Does that mean the calibre isn't as high in the Senate as it should be? Or are there others that could step into that position and be voted in? Well, I think what they decided and voted on is this same old thing. He's been there and that's who should be the leader. And he can raise the most money. There have to be better qualifications than just that. You need someone that is sharp, that has the ability to go out there and go head to head on the debate floor with the Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer. You cannot have someone that says they're a leader and they're having these moments of blanking out. And I would think that it would be the honourable thing for Mitch McConnell to say that, you know, I'm not up to this anymore. I'm going to step aside and let someone younger, John Thune or whoever to step into this position. So, but again, it comes back to the American people now starting to ask, should there be term limits? Should there be mental acuity testing on individuals there in the House and the Senate or maybe in the Supreme Court. You mentioned Nikki Haley and obviously the Republican primary and I watched the first debate. I was over there in Virginia and I watched it. The main candidate, obviously Trump, was not there. I thought Nikki Haley did well. I thought Vivek did well, although I'm not sure exactly where he's come from. Obviously, I've watched DeSantis, has been a very good governor. What are your thoughts on the field? Because my initial thoughts were, if someone like Donald Trump is running, then you don't even get in the ring. It's not your time. But these individuals have chosen to put themselves up against the gorilla in the room, in effect. What are your thoughts as you look from the outside at the campaign, at the primary? Well, I will tell you very simply, and I've said this publicly on many interviews, is that Donald Trump has to change the narrative. Donald Trump should be on that debate stage, because right now the media is painting him as someone, a former president under indictments, several different states. What he has to do is be the former president that is running to be president again. And the only way you change that is to go on offense, to be on the debate stage, to defend your record, to talk about your record, to talk about where you are now. And if you're going to be, I'll use your metaphor, if you're the gorilla, well then you got to beat down all the chimpanzees, but you can't run away from them. And I think that that's the important thing that he has to do. So if he continues to skip debates, my concern is he makes himself less and less relevant when it comes to talking about the issues. And you can go on Tucker and everything like that and have what, I don't know, 10, 12 million people check it out, but still you were not on the debate stage. And I think it's a little disingenuous to the American people to say that, I'm leading in the polls, I don't need to show up, I'm gonna win it. Well, I'm a big college football fan. And I will tell you that every year you have your preseason ranked number one team, and It just so happens it's Georgia, and Georgia, of course, they've wanted to last national champions. But even being a preseason number one, that doesn't mean they skip all of the games in the season. It doesn't mean that they say, well, we're only going to play teams with a winning record, or we're only going to play our home games. We're not going to go travel to anybody else's stadium, because we're the preseason ranked number one. Every single weekend, Georgia has to go out and validate their ranking. And every team has to do that. So I think that President Trump should not sit back and just say, hey, look, I'm ahead. I don't need to go. You got to show that you are the gorilla. You do deserve that ranking. You do deserve that polling support. and get that narrative changed. I watched my first football game when I was over there, USC against someone else, and after three and a half hours, I had lost the will to live. So yeah, sometimes I need to be educated on the ins and outs of American football.  Peter, let me tell you what, one of these days, I graduated from the University of Tennessee. I'm going to take you to the good old-fashioned South-eastern Conference football game. You're absolutely going to love it. I'll walk you through and talk you through everything, but the best part is all the tailgating, man. It was confusing, but I will take you up on that offer, definitely, someday. You mentioned parental rights, and I've just actually written a piece for Our Church magazine on this issue, which we are facing a hugely hot topic, currently debated in Parliament over the last few weeks even. I was at a demo yesterday outside Parliament on this very issue. We've watched those debates with parents, those school meetings, and the frustration of parents even getting access to materials and this has certainly been a huge topic here and over there. How is that playing out in the political sphere with many organizations trying to educate parents to what is happening, getting parents more involved, trying to wake up politicians to what's happening. Well, I will tell you again, let's go back to what happened in Virginia. And you saw a state that had just gone for Joe Biden in the 2020 election by 10 or 11 points. And then a year later, they lose the governor's mansion and they lose lieutenant governor, they lose attorney general. Why? Because all of a sudden, Tara McAuliffe gets on the debate stage against Glenn Youngkin and says the quote that the left has always believed secretly and in private, but he said it in public. Parents do not have a right in deciding what their children are being taught. That unified people, R&D didn't matter. It was just parents who want to have the best opportunities for their kids and the best opportunities comes from a great education. And when you start to look now at the schools and our kids that are failing, not reading and not doing math at grade level across the country, but yet, you know, everyone is saying everything's fine in our schools. When you have school choice that got passed in a Republican legislature in North Carolina, but the Democrat governor, Roy Cooper, comes out and declares a state of emergency, against school choice. No, this has really lit a fire under a lot of parents. No one has ever really paid attention to school board meetings. People are showing up to school board meetings. People are running for school board. They wanna make sure that the right educational policies are there. They don't want these filthy books that are showing up in school libraries. In California, they're out there saying that if your child, a little boy, wants to be a little girl, you have to go along with her or else the state of California is going to take your child away from you. This is huge, man. I don't know what the left is thinking. Having this drag queen exposure of our kids. That's contributing to a delinquency of a minor. You can't take a kid to a strip show, or they talk about this gender mutilation surgeries. If you're under the age of 18, you can't even get a tattoo. But now we're supposed to believe that an 11, 12-year-old can decide that they want their bodies to be mutilated, and parents are supposed to go along with it or else lose their child. This is a huge issue going into 2024. And when you have an organization called Moms for Liberty, that really is out there, you know, standing up for parental rights, and they're designated as a hate group. I mean, the FBI is classifying parents as domestic terrorists that are going to, you know, school board meetings. This is lighting a fire on a lot of people here in the United States, American parents and grandparents, and I think it's going to play hugely in the 2024 cycle. Yeah, we've had Tina Descovich on twice, talking to her about what Moms for Liberty are doing, and extremely jealous of the success they're having, and we need something like that here. But I'm wondering, what about churches? What's the church's position and role and engagement in this protecting children issue.  I think churches are waking up, as a matter of fact last week I was up in Ohio, you know they have this ballot initiative coming up in November which which will basically codify murder. It says in the Bible of Deuteronomy 30 and 19, I sit before you, heaven and earth, and life and death, and choose life so that you and your descendants shall live. I mean, it's very simple. Psalms 121, verses three through five, talks about children are a blessing from God, and the man that has more of them is like arrows in the quiver. Jeremiah chapter one, talk about I knew you before I formed you in the womb. So I think you're going to see a lot of the churches standing up against this, because this is infanticide. This is not just about, okay, I'm a victim of rape, I'm a victim of incest. This is about murdering unborn babies all the way up to the time that they're born. Even in some states—California, a couple others—they're talking about, if you don't want the baby after it's born, still kill it. Now, to me, I don't understand how you justify that. This is also going to be a huge issue. The left, I think, believes that they could win on this, but when you really describe it, what they stand for, and Planned Parenthood, and Margaret Sanger, who was a white supremacist and a racist, people aren't going to go for that. It's been a destruction of the Black community. I want everyone to understand, since Roe v. Wade in 1973, over 20 million Black babies have been murdered in the womb. And in any other sense, people would say that's a genocide. So it's those simple bits of information and education we've got to get people out there. But yet, 70 to 73 percent of Planned Parenthood clinics are located in black communities. So this is targeted. This issue play out in the Republican primary itself, the issue of pro-life, which some candidates are certainly much more, some are afraid of engaging, and on the issue of parental rights and responsibility of children, which are two huge issues, but obviously quite separate issues. How do you see that playing out in the Republican primary itself?  I think Republicans need to go on offense, and I think that people are looking for someone that is strong on those issues. Lots of times Republicans will, and these are the establishment Republicans, say, don't talk about the life issue, don't talk about social issues. Well, they're here. You're talking about a group of people that believe in murdering children up to the time of birth. You're talking about a group of people that want to expose our children to sexual deviancy and perversion. You're talking about people that want to mutilate the bodies of our children, and they don't want our kids to get a good quality education. So I think that there's an incredible opportunity here for strong constitutional conservatives who just happen to have an R after their name to go against the Democrats and say, why do you hate children? I mean, that's the question that we should be asking. Why does this party have such an angst against children? They want to kill them in the womb after they're born, if they allow them to be born, they want to mutilate their bodies. They want to expose them to sexual deviancy and perversion. You know, we've got this thing in America now where the left is saying you can't say paedophiles anymore, Peter. You have to say minor attracted persons. Well, let me tell you something. I've got a two year old grandson, I got another grandson on the way. You will see someone come down on you like Thor if you mess with my grandsons. And so we've got to protect our kids. But with all that being said, they still don't want to educate them. They have a good future. I mean, it's appalling what is happening in the system of education in America where our kids can't read and do math at grade level. So yes, I think that this is an issue that should be talked about. It's an economic issue, because the more that you have future generations dependent upon the government, you know, who's going to pay for that? So we are dwindling our economic opportunities by way of lessening our educational opportunities.  Can I finish on something a little bit different? Your background is military and here in the UK we've had that with the royal family, we've had the military connection, we've had originally, traditionally, many serving the military going into public service in politics and I know you've also had that in the States. Is that becoming less so with military shrinking, with less influence? The route you've taken, is that not really as viable to others? Well, I will tell you that I come from a military family. My dad served in the Army in World War II in the European Theatre. My older brother was a Marine infantryman in Vietnam. My dad challenged me to be the first officer in our family when I was 15. And so I went through college ROTC and was commissioned in 1982, served 22 years. My nephew is a lieutenant colonel right now in the Army. My father-in-law did 24 years of service, two combat tours of Vietnam. Both of my son-in-laws are soldiers. And so that sense of generational service to the country, I think we're losing that. And as a matter of fact, it was about a month and a half ago, the current Secretary of the Army, Christine Wormuth, said that she doesn't want to recruit future soldiers from families that have generations of service to the country. Wants to look at a new and different type of recruit. Well, first of all, what a slap in the face to families that have had a lifelong commitment to this country of service and sacrifice and commitment. And I think everyone knows that the recruiting and retention in our military is down. Why? Because they're focusing all these social pet peeves and ideological agendas of the left. You cannot have an effective military fighting force if you're instituting cultural Marxism that says, well, you know, Peter, since your skin colour, you're bad, you're an oppressor, there's nothing you can do about that. Alan, because of your skin colour, you're a victim, you're oppressed. So how are we supposed to get in a foxhole together, Peter? How are we supposed to trust each other in a situation called combat? But yet that's what's happening in our military, and this whole emphasis on gender dysphoria, and how we're spending taxpayer money to allow, you know, soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines to take paid leave. To go and murder future generations of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines in their womb. We have got to change things in the Oval Office because the most important title for a president of the United States of America is Commander-in-Chief. Right now, when you think about what Joe Biden did with that debacle in Afghanistan, where 13 Americans unnecessarily lost their lives. Many others were wounded at Hamid Karzai International Airport, but the story is not told about the other Marines who have committed suicide because of that fateful day, and how so many feel that they were abandoned. I spent two and a half years in Afghanistan. So we have got to change things with the leadership of our military, especially the civilian side. When you've got a Secretary of Defence that's writing letters to females in the military saying that you just need to go ahead and be prepared for biological males to be in your shower and latrine facilities, that's not what the American people want to support in our military. Because the military in the US has been an institution that has united the country traditionally. You have much more respect, I think, for your military even than we have in Europe. And I kind of see that, as a foreigner looking in, as slowly unravelling. Is that a kind of fair assessment? It's a very fair assessment. And the thing is that it is not that the trust and confidence is lacking for the individual, the young troops, soldier, sailor, airman, marine. It's the lack of trust and confidence in the leadership of our military, be it the civilian leadership or the senior military leadership that is lacking. So until there are changes there, that lack of trust and confidence is going to continue. Colonel Allen West, I appreciate you coming on today and obviously the viewers can get more of your own steadfast and loyal podcast over on Rumble and elsewhere. And I will certainly take you up on your offer of understanding college football. I will sometime, but thank you so much for coming on and sharing your expertise and understanding what's happening stateside. Thank you, Peter. It's a pleasure and God bless you and God be with you.

Razor 03: A Night Stalker's Wars by Alan C. Mack https://amzn.to/41uJ5sb “A truly extraordinary book by a phenomenal pilot and warrior. Alan Mack was in the thick of every sensitive, harrowing, high-stakes operation in the decade following 9/11. His account of combat from the cockpit of the world's most exceptional special ops aviation unit and of the toll it took on him and his family is forthright, riveting, raw, compelling, and inspirational. Readers will not be able to put Razor 3 down.” -General David H. Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIAFinalist, 2022 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Awards The attacks of September 11, 2001, prompted the creation of a robust and deadly special operations force -- Task Force Dagger. Alan C. Mack, Callsign Razor 03, led a team of MH-47E helicopters and armed MH-60s. Their two-fold mission – Personnel Recovery (PR) and Unconventional Warfare (UW) involved flying in terrain and weather previously not thought possible. If that wasn't enough, they pushed the flight envelope of their specially modified Chinooks to the limit and beyond. Mack shares his behind-the-scenes perspective of the Horse Soldier's infill into Afghanistan. He discusses the hunt for Osama Bin Laden at Tora Bora and describes his shootdown during Operation Anaconda. Years later, he chased Bowe Bergdahl, rescued hostages in Iraq, and the U.S. Navy Seal ‘Lone Survivor' from the Kunar Valley. Mack's near-death experiences and frequent deployments not only affected him, but pushed his wife toward prescription opioids. Her developing addiction led to friction as he kept her secret and continued to deploy. He lived by his unit's motto, Night Stalkers Don't Quit! He wouldn't quit on his unit – he couldn't quit on his family. His story of success, tragedy, and ultimate happiness is as old as warfare itself. About the Author CW5 ALAN C. MACK retired from the Army as a Master Aviator. He served over 35 years in the Army, first as an aircraft mechanic then as a pilot. He flew CH-47s in support of Operations Desert Shield and Storm. Additionally, he spent 17 years flying MH-47 Chinooks with the 160th SOAR. As a Night Stalker Flight Lead, he participated in Operations Desert Thunder, Desert Fox, Enduring, and Iraqi Freedom. His awards include the Legion of Merit, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 10 Air medals – 1 with ‘V,' and a Combat Action Badge. Alan finished his career as Commander of the West Point Flight Detachment. Now he and his wife Patti live happily in New York's Hudson Valley.

Stand Up is a daily podcast that I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 800 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Check out StandUpwithPete.com to learn more Today's guest is an old friend and a favorite. I'm very happy to have Richard Haass back. def get his new book Bill of Obligations : The Ten Habits of Good Citizens Dr. Richard Haass is a veteran diplomat, a prominent voice on American foreign policy, and a proven leader and manager. He is in his twentieth year as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, publisher, and educational institution dedicated to being a resource to help people better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. In 2013, he served as the chair of the multiparty negotiations in Northern Ireland that provided the foundation for the 2014 Stormont House Agreement. For his efforts to promote peace and conflict resolution, he received the 2013 Tipperary International Peace Award. From January 2001 to June 2003, Dr. Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State, where he directed the policy planning staff and was a principal advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold the rank of ambassador, Dr. Haass also served as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and U.S. envoy to the Northern Ireland peace process. Dr. Haass has extensive additional government experience. From 1989 to 1993, he was special assistant to President George H.W. Bush and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In 1991, Dr. Haass was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his contributions to the development and articulation of U.S. policy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Previously, he served in the Departments of State (1981–1985) and Defense (1979–1980), and was a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate. A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Haass holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and master's and doctorate of philosophy degrees from Oxford University. He has also received numerous honorary degrees and was a member of the faculty of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and Hamilton College. Dr. Haass is the author or editor of fourteen books on American foreign policy and one book on management. His next book, The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens, will be published by Penguin Press in January 2023. Dr. Haass was born in Brooklyn and lives in New York City. Check out all things Jon Carroll Follow and Support Pete Coe Pete on YouTube Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page

Guest: LTC Allen West   Listen to LTC Allen West on his podcast Steadfast & Loyal on all the podcast platforms.   Bio from the Young America's Foundation (YAF) website:   Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former Member of the US Congress. Allen West was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the same neighborhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family. West was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Tennessee as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) on July 31, 1982. He entered active duty service in the U.S. Army on November 1, 1983 at Fort Sill to attend the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He later attended airborne and jumpmaster training at Fort Benning. West's first assignment was as an airborne infantry company fire support team leader and battalion training officer in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team. In 1987, he was promoted to Captain and attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course. He was then assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and was a Battalion Task Force fire support officer for 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. While with the 1st Infantry Division, he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. West's culminating assignment to his career was as Battalion Commander of the 2d Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He assumed command of this unit on June 6, 2002. He deployed with his unit during the Iraq War in 2003 and continued to command his battalion until his retirement from the Army in 2004 after 22 years of honorable service in defense of the Republic. In November of 2010, Allen was honored to continue his oath of service to his country when he was elected to the United States Congress, representing Florida's 22nd District. As a member of the 112th Congress, West introduced seven major pieces of legislation, and was the original sponsor of H. R. 1246 which reduces costs at the Department of Defense, was passed unanimously (393-0), and signed into law by President Obama as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Congressman West voted for the Balanced Budget Amendment, and voted for over 30 different bills designed to empower small businesses, reduce government barriers to job creation, boost American competitiveness, encourage entrepreneurship and growth, and maximize American energy production. West holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and two Masters, one from Kansas State University and another from the US Army Command and General Staff Officers College. He is the former Executive Director of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas Texas. West is an avid distance runner, a Master SCUBA diver, a motorcyclist, and in his spare time he enjoys cheering his beloved Tennessee Volunteers.   LTC West tells the story of a young soldier Audie Murphy, a boy from Texas who joined the military and became the most decorated soldier during WWII.   What is it about the military that it was able to take a young boy and turn him into a man? West talks about the “crucible of combat” and the challenges that boys are looking for to help mold them into men - to be “All that they can be”!   Today's culture is pushing back and “canceling” anything that makes anyone uncomfortable or allowing one person to stand out above another - the military of tomorrow will face greater challenges in molding and shaping the men of tomorrow!   Can a young man find this “formula” of “do hard things” outside the military? West suggests that a young man start with reading the Bible and specifically recommends the life lessons found in Romans 5 that talks about “rejoicing in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…” West also recommends that young people don't quit when they run into adversity - learn to push through tough times West suggests that a young man START with solidifying their spiritual foundation - before they build their lives and careers, having a solid foundation is the key to a successful life! West warns against the current culture that celebrates “immediate gratification” - good things are worth the wait. Learn to have that “stick-to-itivness” West warns about the culture of the “participation trophy” - giving a reward for doing “nothing” - as LTC West says you have to “learn to pay the extra nickel if you want to go first class”  

Law enforcement officers across agencies – from small towns to sprawling rural areas to municipal cities and state and federal services all have similar traits.  They are smart, capable, problem solvers with a plan.  Anyone who says they are flying by the seat of their pants probably does not anticipate being in the business for long. Of course, they have to be flexible and adaptable to different situations, but they are likely to have a good foundation to fall back on. In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Dan Mehdi, who retired from the Drug Enforcement Administration after serving 21 years as a Special Agent (SA). His last assignment was as a SA instructor/curriculum developer at the Drug Enforcement Administration Academy in Quantico, Virginia where the focus of his instruction to basic agent trainees was on self-awareness, adaptation, resiliency, critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making abilities and models. Mehdi discusses the parallels between training for the military, DEA and police agencies regarding leadership and moral courage. Prior to joining the DEA, Dan was a patrol agent with the U.S. Border Patrol in San Diego, California and an Infantry Officer in the United States Marine Corps, during which time he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He was also the DEA's nationwide Field Training Agent Coordinator where he instructed on the power of influence and everyday leadership to experienced agents responsible for mentoring, developing and evaluating newly minted Special Agents. This episode of Policing Matters is sponsored by Utility. Utility provides a universe of intuitive solutions for effectively capturing, analyzing, managing, and sharing video evidence. Technologies include a variety of cameras, sensors, and devices, as well as situational awareness software solutions for law enforcement, first responders, transportation agencies, and utility providers. To learn more about Utility and its technology solutions, visit utility.com. 

Our guest this episode is a true American hero. Lt Col Allen West served in the Military for 20 years, was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq and after his retirement he went to Afghanistan as a civilian military adviser to the Afghan army. Back in the US he has served his country politically in Congress. His time as Chair of the Republican party in Texas has particularly made him a target of hate from the deranged left. His voice of common sense comes from his military and political experience, his strong morals and family values, and these combined have made him a force for good. With true patriots like Lt Col Allen West(ret) we may just win the culture war that we are all fighting. Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former Member of the US Congress. Allen West was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the same neighbourhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family. West was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Tennessee as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) on July 31, 1982. He entered active-duty service in the U.S. Army on November 1, 1983 at Fort Sill to attend the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He later attended airborne and jumpmaster training at Fort Benning. West's first assignment was as an airborne infantry company fire support team leader and battalion training officer in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team. In 1987, he was promoted to Captain and attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course. He was then assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and was a Battalion Task Force fire support officer for 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. While with the 1st Infantry Division, he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. West's culminating assignment to his career was as Battalion Commander of the 2d Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He assumed command of this unit on June 6, 2002. He deployed with his unit during the Iraq War in 2003 and continued to command his battalion until his retirement from the Army in 2004 after 22 years of honourable service in defence of the Republic. In November of 2010, Allen was honoured to continue his oath of service to his country when he was elected to the United States Congress, representing Florida's 22nd District. As a member of the 112th Congress, West introduced seven major pieces of legislation, and was the original sponsor of H. R. 1246 which reduces costs at the Department of Defence, was passed unanimously (393-0), and signed into law by President Obama as part of the National Defence Authorization Act. Congressman West voted for the Balanced Budget Amendment, and voted for over 30 different bills designed to empower small businesses, reduce government barriers to job creation, boost American competitiveness, encourage entrepreneurship and growth, and maximize American energy production. West holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and two Masters, one from Kansas State University and another from the US Army Command and General Staff Officers College. He is the former Executive Director of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas Texas. West is an avid distance runner, a Master SCUBA diver, a motorcyclist, and in his spare time he enjoys cheering his beloved Tennessee Volunteers. Steadfast & Loyal Podcast https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/b58w7-26cd73/Allen-West-%7C-Steadfast--Loyal-Podcast Hold Texas, Hold the Nation: Victory or Death by Lt Col Allen B West (ret) available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Hold-Texas-Nation-Victory-Death/dp/1612542980 During the interview Allen brings up the viral clip of him being asked ‘Do you identify as black?'. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/o68OWCd2fLg He also talks about the documentary ‘Uncle Tom '. Watch it here: https://www.uncletom.com/ Follow and support Allen at the following links GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AllenWest Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllenWest?s=20&t=xdPqNPtV13hYDp0RSja_Iw Gab: https://gab.com/AllenWest The ACRU The American Constitutional Rights Union GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/theacru Twitter: https://twitter.com/The_ACRU YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/theacru Interview recorded 20.7.22 *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on GETTR https://gettr.com/user/BoschFawstin To sign up for our weekly email, find our social media, podcasts, video, livestream platforms and more go to https://heartsofoak.org/find-us/ Please like, subscribe and share

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor CBS Audio Network @Batchelorshow #Kuwait:  Remembering Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 1990-1991.  Colonel Jeff McCausland , USA (retired) @mccauslj @CBSNews @dickinsoncol  https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/world/meast/gulf-war-fast-facts/index.html

Gen. Paul E. Funk II, CG, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. (U.S. Army photo) General Paul E. Funk II assumed duties as the 17th Commanding General, United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), on June 21, 2019. As TRADOC commander, Gen. Funk is responsible for 32 Army schools organized under 10 Centers of Excellence that recruit, train, and educate more than 750,000 Soldiers and service members annually. Gen. Funk was born at Fort Hood and graduated from Fort Knox High School. He was commissioned an Armor Officer through ROTC upon graduation from Montana State University. Gen. Funk has commanded at every level, Company through Corps; his combat and operational experience includes six deployments in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Inherent Resolve. Gen. Funk holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech communications, from Montana State University, and a Master of Science degree in administration, from Central Michigan University. He is a graduate of the Armor Basic Officer Leaders and Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College, and completed his Senior Service College as a fellow at the Institute of Advanced Technology, University of Texas at Austin. In today’s interview, Gen. Funk addresses how the Army is modernizing doctrine given the Operational Environment, what are the challenges facing our all-volunteer force, what the Army can observe and learn from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and how it is adapting to the changing character of warfare. The following bullet points highlight some of the key insights from our interview: The all-volunteer force is at risk.Demographic trends show that the population of individuals qualified for recruitment is diminishing. Finding the “Secret Sauce” that motivates people to serve and stay in the Army will be vital to ensuring the Nation’s Senior Service remains an effective and capable force. Professionalizing the U.S. military gave the United States a quarter century of global dominance. At its core, it prioritized the Soldier – a mission that should still be emphasized today. Though the character of war is changing, it remains, in essence, a human endeavor. Today, prioritizing the Soldier must be done holistically – nutrition, sleep, and education will all contribute to mission success. Education is the best tool to prepare our Soldiers, and should be prioritized at every echelon.Strong doctrine can help form successful training programs and modernize the Soldier to out-think our adversary. Such education should also teach ‘disciplined disobedience,’ enabling Soldier-Innovators to adapt creatively to ensure mission success. Soldiers and their families will continue to be targets of disinformation.As a result, it is essential to promote trust in the chain of command, and to ensure&nb

YOU: Oh wow! Matt just interviewed these guys. Glad I'm catching it fresh.  REALITY: Sorry, bub, but this is over a year old. Patrons got it fresh.    That's right. Being a patron helps keep this show going. Because we believe you should get something back for your financial support, we give patrons over a certain tier, episodes created especially for them. Plus, they know what's going on before you do; they get early access to some special episodes; they know before the general public when tickets for our events go on sale and MORE! Please consider helping us eat! https://www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg   ORIGINAL AIRDATE 11.23.2021   I really enjoyed this interview with Colonels McCausland and Vossler about their new book "Battle Tested!" In this interview we focused on chapters 2 and 12 about Brigadier General John Buford's and Abraham Lincoln's (respectively) leadership skills and qualities. You can get your copy of the book by clicking here . You'll be hearing a lot more from these gentlemen on Addressing Gettysburg.     From the Diamond6 wesbite: JEFF MCCAUSLAND, FOUNDER & CEO Since 2000, both domestic and internationally, Dr. McCausland has conducted numerous executive leadership development workshops and consulted for leaders in public education, US government institutions, non-profit organizations, and corporations. Dr. McCausland is a retired Colonel from the U.S. Army and former Dean of Academics at the U.S. Army War College. He is a Visiting Professor of National Security at Dickinson College. During his military career Dr. McCausland served in a variety of command and staff positions both in the United States and Europe during the Kosovo crisis and Operations Desert Shield and Storm. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Army Airborne and Ranger schools, and the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He holds both a Masters and Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Dr. McCausland is the co-author of Battle Tested! Gettysburg Leadership Lessons for 21st Century Leaders, available September 1, 2020.   COL. TOM VOSSLER (RET.) | AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN Colonel Tom Vossler, U.S. Army (Ret.) served in the U.S. Army from 1968 thru 1998. He commanded an infantry platoon in the Vietnam War and a Mechanized Infantry Battalion Task Force in Germany prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall / Soviet regime. His military education includes graduation from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. Tom taught military history, strategy and leadership at the U.S. Army War College and he is a former director of the U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, PA. Tom is the co-author of A Field Guide to Gettysburg and A Field Guide to Antietam. His latest book, co-authored with Jeff McCausland, Battle Tested! Gettysburg Leadership Lessons for 21st Century Leaders is available September 1, 2020.   ***This episode was made available for free to the public to help Tom and Jeff promote their book. If you enjoyed this interview and would like to hear more from Addressing Gettysburg, please consider becoming a Patron and support our continued efforts to bring Gettysburg to the World.***

This old Patreon episode is brought to you for free and without commercial interruption by our wonderful Patrons. They want you to learn so badly, that they said to me "hey, Matt. Why don't you release old Patreon episodes for free so all of your listeners can be as smart as we are?" To which I say, "Well, dear Patron, you aren't smart from our shows. You were smart to begin with, as evidenced by your Patronage." But I digress. Please consider becoming a Patron so a) we can stop asking for your support, b) so we can keep doing these shows and c) so we can expand to all forms of media, as per our plan. Click here to join the movement today!   I really enjoyed this interview with Colonels McCausland and Vossler about their new book "Battle Tested!" In this interview we focused on chapters 2 and 12 about Brigadier General John Buford's and Abraham Lincoln's (respectively) leadership skills and qualities. You can get your copy of the book by clicking here . You'll be hearing a lot more from these gentlemen on Addressing Gettysburg.     From the Diamond6 wesbite: JEFF MCCAUSLAND, FOUNDER & CEO Since 2000, both domestic and internationally, Dr. McCausland has conducted numerous executive leadership development workshops and consulted for leaders in public education, US government institutions, non-profit organizations, and corporations. Dr. McCausland is a retired Colonel from the U.S. Army and former Dean of Academics at the U.S. Army War College. He is a Visiting Professor of National Security at Dickinson College. During his military career Dr. McCausland served in a variety of command and staff positions both in the United States and Europe during the Kosovo crisis and Operations Desert Shield and Storm. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Army Airborne and Ranger schools, and the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He holds both a Masters and Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Dr. McCausland is the co-author of Battle Tested! Gettysburg Leadership Lessons for 21st Century Leaders, available September 1, 2020.   COL. TOM VOSSLER (RET.) | AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN Colonel Tom Vossler, U.S. Army (Ret.) served in the U.S. Army from 1968 thru 1998. He commanded an infantry platoon in the Vietnam War and a Mechanized Infantry Battalion Task Force in Germany prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall / Soviet regime. His military education includes graduation from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. Tom taught military history, strategy and leadership at the U.S. Army War College and he is a former director of the U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, PA. Tom is the co-author of A Field Guide to Gettysburg and A Field Guide to Antietam. His latest book, co-authored with Jeff McCausland, Battle Tested! Gettysburg Leadership Lessons for 21st Century Leaders is available September 1, 2020.  

12/09/2021  @ 7pm ET  LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALLEN WEST (Ret.)  Hosted By: @TootsSweet And The Lovely @JewelsJones1  Patriots In Tune Show | Ep. # 506   START SPREADING THE NEWS ..   #TuneIn2InTune .. Join @TootsSweet & @JewelsJones1 On Thursday; 12/9/2021 @7pm ET And Find Out What The Buzz Is About On The Patriots In Tune Show. The First Hr Toots Sweet &  The Lovely Jewels Jones Will Dissect Current And Breaking News  The Second Hour We Will Be Joined by True American Hero & Gubernatorial Candidate For The Great State of Texas, LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALLEN WEST (Ret.)  See You All Soon On Patriots In Tune Show... Cause This Party's Just Getting Started!  

Changing Discourse Mastermind: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/acet-culture-simplified-mastermind-tickets-171302770197   Jeff McCausland Since 2000, both domestic and internationally, Dr. McCausland has conducted numerous executive leadership development workshops and consulted for leaders in public education, US government institutions, non-profit organizations, and corporations.  Dr. McCausland is a retired Colonel from the U.S. Army and former Dean of Academics at the U.S. Army War College. He is a Visiting Professor of National Security at Dickinson College.  During his military career Dr. McCausland served in a variety of command and staff positions both in the United States and Europe during the Kosovo crisis and Operations Desert Shield and Storm.  He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Army Airborne and Ranger schools, and the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He holds both a Masters and Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.  Jeffs Book: https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Tested-Gettysburg-Leadership-Lessons/dp/1642934534/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=battle+tested&qid=1637186948&sr=8-1

This Weeks episode, Dolores Stands up with Retired USMC Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch.  Nick Popaditch was born on July 2, 1967, in East Chicago, Indiana, graduated from North Vigo High School, and enlisted in the Marine Corps on May 6, 1986. Following recruit training, he was assigned as a Tank Crewman and served the next 4 years in Okinawa, South Korea, and California with the 1st Tank Battalion, during which time he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He served as a Tank Commander on Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, participating in the breaching of two minefields and numerous offensive operations against Iraqi forces. In 1992, Sgt Popaditch was honorably discharged. During the next few years, Nick worked as a civilian. He worked construction in San Diego, then as a Correctional Officer in Indianapolis, Indiana until he re-enlisted back into the Marine Corps in 1995, returning to 1st Tank Battalion, serving as a Tank Commander until 1998. Popaditch next served as a Drill Instructor from 1999 to 2002 at MCRD San Diego, during which time he was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant and achieved the billet of Chief Drill Instructor.  Following his tour as a Drill Instructor, he returned to 1st Tank Battalion to serve as a Tank Commander and Platoon Sergeant on the march up to Baghdad in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He participated in numerous offensive operations against Iraqi forces and was present at the fall of the Saddam regime in Baghdad, where he participated in security and stabilization operations in the historic city. After returning stateside, Popaditch was promoted to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. He volunteered to return with the first Marine units to redeploy back to Iraq for counter-insurgency operations He was redeployed to Fallujah, again as a Tank Commander and Platoon Sergeant. He was awarded the Silver Star Medal for his actions against enemy forces during the first nettle for Fallujah. On April 7, 2004, he was wounded in action. GySgt Popaditch was awarded the Purple Heart Medal for wounds sustained in combat. He was medically retired on June 30, 2005. Nick Popaditch attended San Diego State University and graduated Magna Cum Laude. While in college, he authored 2 books, Once a Marine and The Ultimate Marine Recruit Training Guidebook. Once a Marine was the 2009 Military Writers Book of the Year and has been selected for the Commandant's reading list for 4 consecutive years. Popaditch was a candidate for the United States Congress in the 2010 and 2012 General Elections.  Following his graduation from college, Nick briefly took a position teaching Algebra in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Finding the role of a teacher not what he expected, Nick left education and took a position with Tesla Motors in Silicon Valley, California. He worked as a Supervisor there for 3 years before returning to Chula Vista, California. In 2021, Nick and April Popaditch relocated to Texas. They celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary there while awaiting the construction of their new home in Bulverde, Texas. They have 2 grown children, Nick Jr is a graduate of San Diego State University and Richard will graduate from Mesa College in December.Nick currently works part time as a consultant and continues to write.Thanks to our sponsor Coach Kim with Peak Performance Coaching. If you are feeling stuck and want to get unstuck, schedule a complimentary strategy session today at:Calendly.com/KimYeaterIt's okay to be stuck, but its not okay to stay there.

On this edition of the show,  Zach Clinton sat down with Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Dallas, Texas.  Allen West is Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former Member of the US Congress. His life has been defined as one of service, sacrifice, and commitment to this Republic, the United States of America. He believes it will be conservative, free market policies, not politics that secures a sound economic future for Americans – with growth, opportunity and returning the promise of the American dream for this generation and those to come.      Allen West was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the same neighborhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family.West was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Tennessee as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) on July 31, 1982. He entered active duty service in the U.S. Army on November 1, 1983 at Fort Sill to attend the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He later attended airborne and jumpmaster training at Fort Benning. West's first assignment was as an airborne infantry company fire support team leader and battalion training officer in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team. In 1987, he was promoted to Captain and attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course.He was then assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and was a Battalion Task Force fire support officer for 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. While with the 1st Infantry Division, he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.After redeployment from Kuwait, West served as an ROTC instructor at Kansas State University from 1991 to 1994. In January 1995, he was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division Support Command as the Assistant Operations/Combat Plans Officer. During that time, West was promoted to Major and selected for attendance to the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and graduated in 1997. Afterward, he became the Operations Officer of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade (Airborne), followed by assignment as the Executive Officer of the 1st Battalion (Air Assault), 377th Field Artillery Regiment. Upon completion of these positions, West was assigned to the II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, and selected to serve as an Army exchange officer to this headquarters from 1999 to 2002.West's culminating assignment to his career was as Battalion Commander of the 2nd Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He assumed command of this unit on June 6, 2002. He deployed with his unit during the Iraq War in 2003 and continued to command his battalion until his retirement from the Army in 2004 after 22 years of honorable service in defense of the Republic.West's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star; Meritorious Service Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters); Army Commendation Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters, one Valor Device); Army Achievement Medal (two Oak Leaf Clusters); Valorous Unit Award; Air Assault Badge; and the Master Parachutist Badge.  Lt Col West proudly wears the Army Master Parachutist Badge, the Army Air Assault Badge, the Navy/Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia, the Italian Parachutist Wings, and the German Proficiency Badge, bronze award. West holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and two Masters, one from Kansas State University and another from the US Army Command and General Staff Officers College.West is an avid distance runner, a Master SCUBA diver, a motorcyclist, and in his spare time he enjoys cheering his beloved Tennessee Volunteers. He is married to Dr. Angela Graham-West, a financial adviser, and they have two daughters. 

“My own view right now is that the greatest threat to the national security of the Unites States is the division of the body politic— our own internal divisions.” Diplomat and writer Richard Haass joins the podcast. After a busy spring on Talking Beats filled with experts and luminaries on specific fields, we zoom way out in this episode and talk about our world— “a world in disarray,” as Haass describes it. One of the most significant experts on foreign policy, Dr. Haass is out with a new book called The World: A Brief Introduction. Using the book as a jumping off point for the conversation, Haass and Daniel take a deep dive into what is happening both with US foreign policy and various political instabilities all around the world. The discussion ranges from the moral and practical necessity of getting vaccines to India as soon as possible, to shifting European power bases (what will happen to Germany post Merkel?), to the role of great music serving to at least pause- if not “fix” the world's problems. This episode paints a picture of a chaotic, difficult to understand world. Support Talking Beats with Daniel Lelchuk on Patreon. You will contribute to continued presentation of substantive interviews with the world's most compelling people. We believe that providing a platform for individual expression, free thought, and a diverse array of views is more important now than ever. Dr. Richard Haass is a veteran diplomat, a prominent voice on American foreign policy, and an established leader of nonprofit institutions. He is in his eighteenth year as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, publisher, and educational institution dedicated to being a resource to help people better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. In 2013, he served as the chair of the multiparty negotiations in Northern Ireland that provided the foundation for the 2014 Stormont House Agreement. For his efforts to promote peace and conflict resolution, he received the 2013 Tipperary International Peace Award. From January 2001 to June 2003, Dr. Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State, where he directed the policy planning staff and was a principal advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold the rank of ambassador, Dr. Haass also served as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and U.S. envoy to the Northern Ireland peace process. Dr. Haass has extensive additional government experience. From 1989 to 1993, he was special assistant to President George H.W. Bush and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In 1991, Dr. Haass was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his contributions to the development and articulation of U.S. policy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Previously, he served in the Departments of State (1981–1985) and Defense (1979–1980), and was a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate. Dr. Haass is the author or editor of fourteen books on American foreign policy and one book on management. His latest book is The World: A Brief Introduction, published by Penguin Press. Dr. Haass was born in Brooklyn, New York, and lives in New York City.

During this episode, Mr. Phil Chudoba discusses technology acquisition at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Our conversation covers NGA’s mission, how NGA facilitates operations in the information environments, as well as NGA’s “moonshot” initiative. Link to full show notes Guest Bio: Mr. Phillip C. Chudoba serves as the Associate Director for Capabilities, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. In this capacity, he is responsible for defining the strategic direction of the agency and implementing that strategy. He provides oversight, synchronization, guidance, and development of NGA, National System for Geospatial Intelligence, and Allied System for Geospatial Intelligence strategic direction, future resource programming, capabilities planning, and oversees acquisition, innovation, research, and the adoption of new technologies supporting GEOINT requirements. In his prior position, Mr. Chudoba was Director of the GEOINT Enterprise Directorate. Previously, he served as the Assistant Director of Intelligence, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps, from 2010 to 2018. Mr. Chudoba served as a U.S. Marine from 1980 to 2010, first as a Marine Infantryman before being commissioned, and then as an Intelligence Officer until his retirement as a Colonel. He commanded the 3rd Force Imagery Interpretation Unit during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and commanded the 1st Intelligence Battalion during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He participated in several major Joint Task Force operations, including Operations Deny Flight, Joint Endeavor, Deliberate Guard, and Guardian Retrieval. In addition, he completed numerous intelligence assignments in the Marine Division and the Marine Aircraft Wing. While assigned to the Deputy Directorate for Crisis Operations (J-2) at the Pentagon, he served as the Operations Officer for the National Intelligence Support Team. In later assignments, Mr. Chudoba managed all Marine Corps intelligence capability requirements as Director, Intelligence Integration Division, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, and he subsequently managed the entire acquisition portfolio of Marine Corps intelligence capabilities as the Program Manager for Intelligence Systems, Marine Corps Systems Command. Mr. Chudoba earned his baccalaureate degree in Political Science/Soviet and East European Studies from Rutgers University, and earned graduate degrees from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Marine Corps University, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (now The Eisenhower School). He is an alumnus of the Marine Corps School of Advanced Warfighting, and is a former Associate Dean for Warfighting Studies at Marine Corps Command and Staff College. He also is a DAWIA Level 3 Certified Program Manager and an All-Marine Athlete. Mr. Chudoba’s distinctions include the Presidential Rank Award, the National Military Intelligence Association John T. Hughes Award, and numerous military decorations. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn.

An absolutely stellar conversation with my guest Jeff McCausland of Diamond 6 Leadership on the topic of leadership. His ability to connect historic battles and those that played pivotal roles in them to todays business world and it's leadership is simply astounding. Truly a riveting  conversation I know you'll enjoy as much as I did. Dr. Jeffrey D. McCausland Diamond6 Leadership & Strategy, LLC Since 2000, both domestic and internationally, Dr. McCausland has conducted numerous executive leadership development workshops and consulted for leaders in public education, US government institutions, non-profit organizations, and corporations. Dr. McCausland is a retired Colonel from the U.S. Army and former Dean of Academics at the U.S. Army War College. He is a Visiting Professor of National Security at Dickinson College and a National Security Consultant for CBS radio & television. During his military career Dr. McCausland served in a variety of command and staff positions both in the United States and Europe during the Kosovo crisis and Operations Desert Shield and Storm. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Army Airborne and Ranger schools, and the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He holds both a master’s and Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Dr. McCausland is the co-author of Battle Tested! Gettysburg Leadership Lessons for 21st Century Leaders. https://www.diamondsixleadership.cominfo@diamondsixleadership.com

It's been 30 years since Operation Desert Shield (the operations leading to the buildup of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia) and Operation Desert Storm (the combat phase). The brief conflict played a role in the dissolution of the former Soviet Union and prompted a “revolution in military affairs” response among world powers.Road Home team members Will Beiersdorf (Executive Director), Chris Miller (Community Outreach Coordinator), Ramon Prieto (Outreach Coordinator) and Mark Schimmelpfennig (Chaplain) share their deployment experiences during that time and what's happened since.

Tara Maclachlan is a HM Forces SNCO veteran who, before transitioning from male to female, served 15 years with the RAF Regiment deploying on various operations including Op Banner in Northern Ireland and on Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm during Gulf War 1. Become a patron of H-Hour at patreon.com/hkpodcasts

      I really enjoyed this interview with Colonels McCausland and Vossler about their new book "Battle Tested!" In this interview, we focused on chapters 2 and 12 about Brigadier General John Buford's and Abraham Lincoln's (respectively) leadership skills and qualities. You can get your copy of the book by clicking here    From the Diamond6 wesbite: JEFF MCCAUSLAND, FOUNDER & CEO Since 2000, both domestic and internationally, Dr. McCausland has conducted numerous executive leadership development workshops and consulted for leaders in public education, US government institutions, non-profit organizations, and corporations. Dr. McCausland is a retired Colonel from the U.S. Army and former Dean of Academics at the U.S. Army War College. He is a Visiting Professor of National Security at Dickinson College. During his military career Dr. McCausland served in a variety of command and staff positions both in the United States and Europe during the Kosovo crisis and Operations Desert Shield and Storm. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Army Airborne and Ranger schools, and the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He holds both a Masters and Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Dr. McCausland is the co-author of Battle Tested! Gettysburg Leadership Lessons for 21st Century Leaders, available September 1, 2020.   COL. TOM VOSSLER (RET.) | AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN Colonel Tom Vossler, U.S. Army (Ret.) served in the U.S. Army from 1968 thru 1998. He commanded an infantry platoon in the Vietnam War and a Mechanized Infantry Battalion Task Force in Germany prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall / Soviet regime. His military education includes graduation from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. Tom taught military history, strategy and leadership at the U.S. Army War College and he is a former director of the U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, PA. Tom is the co-author of A Field Guide to Gettysburg and A Field Guide to Antietam. His latest book, co-authored with Jeff McCausland, Battle Tested! Gettysburg Leadership Lessons for 21st Century Leaders is available September 1, 2020.    

Richard Rice retired from the U.S. Army as a Special Forces Senior Non-Commissioned Officer after 30 years of service. During the last 25 years, he served on various Special Operations Forces assignments, including: Republic of Vietnam (two tours); Operation Eagle Claw (Iran); Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada); Operation Just Cause (Panama); Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (Iraq); and Operation Gothic Serpent (Mogadishu).  CONNECT WITH Cedric Francis Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cedricbfrancis Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedricbfrancis Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cedric_francis/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedric-francis-a0544037/   CONNECT WITH Richard Rice GORUCK: www.goruck.com Glorious Professional Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/glorious-professionals/id1506387898

Joe Gerstandt is a speaker, author, and advisor bringing greater clarity, action, and impact to organizational diversity and inclusion efforts. Joe has worked with Fortune 100 corporations, small non-profits, government entities, and everything in between. He speaks at numerous conferences and summits and is a featured contributor for the Workforce Diversity Network Expert Forum. His insights have been published in Diversity Best Practices, Diversity Executive, HR Executive, numerous other print and on-line journals, and he co-authored the book Social Gravity: Harnessing the Natural Laws of Relationships. Joe has also served on the Intersectional Culture and Diversity Advisory (ICD) Council for the social networking platform, Twitter, and currently the board of directors for the Tri-Faith Initiative, which brings together in permanent residency a synagogue, church, mosque, and interfaith center on one 38-acre campus in the middle of America’s heartland. Joe grew up on a family farm in NW Iowa, served four years in the United States Marine Corps, including participation in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, attended Iowa State University and then spent 6 years working in management and business development for technology and communication companies. He then made a career change and went to work for a grassroots non-profit organization, and this is where he found himself drawn to issues related to diversity and inclusion and then became actively involved in that work. Today, Joe believes that we can ill afford to continue applying a 20th century approach to an increasingly critical set of 21st century issues. A strong advocate for resetting the diversity and inclusion conversation, Joe sees diversity and inclusion as poorly understood and often misunderstood. What you’ll learn about in this episode: How Joe came to work in diversity, equity and inclusion through working in the nonprofit sector What factors Joe believes have contributed to our slowed progress in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and why leaders often see confuse this work with compliance issues Why Joe isn’t a fan of best practices since organizations and their needs vary so greatly from each other Why organizations often forget that inclusion is separate from diversity and often don’t understand why inclusion matters What major challenges organizations are facing today, and why the global pandemic is having a major impact on diversity and inclusion Why our society is more polarized than ever, and why organizations must work for clarity on the behavioral component of the issue Why diversity, equity, and inclusion within organizations isn’t inherently partisan or political and why organizations must set a standard of expected behaviors What Joe hopes we will be doing differently in this work ten years from now, and why organizations who are doing the work now are laying the foundation for a strong future What advice Joe would offer to new practitioners in this space, and why getting clear on why the work is important to you matters Why you should define and work toward the unique contribution you can make within the realm of diversity, equity and inclusion Additional resources: Website: www.joegerstandt.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/joegerstandt/ Twitter: @joegerstandt

On this episode of the DefAero Report Daily Podcast, sponsored by Bell, our guests Gen. Chuck Horner, USAF Ret., the commander of US and allied air forces during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula, USAF Ret., the dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and one of the architects of the first Gulf War air campaign, discuss their role in building coalition air plans 30 years ago after Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

On Sunday August 5th, 1990, President George H. W. Bush boarded Marine One and flew from Camp David to the White House South Lawn after an intense 72 hours of international consultations concerning Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Though it was still early in the crisis, the President had already decided Iraq’s aggression could not be rewarded, and after crossing the White House lawn that day famously declared to the White House Press Corps, “This will not stand. This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait.” In this episode, host Sam LeBlond recounts that historic day with Dr. Richard Haass, who served as Special Assistant to President George H. W. Bush and Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs on the National Security Council. Listen as Dr. Haass reflects on the planning that became Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the legacy of the Bush Administration, plus a rare recording of the President aboard the Marine One helicopter on August 5, 1990. To read the full transcript of this episode visit https://www.georgeandbarbarabush.org/podcast-transcript/.

On this week’s podcast we have special guest Dave Cooper, Founder of VERGE and former Command Master Chief US Naval Special Warfare Development Group, which you and I know as SEAL Team Six. We talk about lessons from the SEALs, a story from one of the most famous raids in military history, the Osama Bin Laden raid, and coaching leaders. I share a glass of Death Before Disco Porter from Left Hand Brewing Company in Longmont, CO.During his 25-year career, Mr. Cooper spent nearly nineteen of those at the prestigious Naval Special Warfare Development Group, conducting combat operations throughout Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.Mr. Cooper’s early operational history includes deployments in support of Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. In 1993, Mr. Cooper was selected for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. From 1994 to 2012, he completed dozens of deployments, both in and out of major theaters of war, to include such places as Haiti, Bosnia, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Iraq. He has led extensively in combat at all levels, and has executed missions spanning the full gamut of Naval Special Warfare capabilities.From September 2009 to September 2011, Mr. Cooper served as the Command Master Chief (the senior SEAL Operator and principal advisor to the Commanding Officer) of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. He is one of only fifteen SEALs to ever hold this position. During his tenure, the Naval Special Warfare Development Group successfully executed some of the most significant Special Operations missions in the history of the U.S. Military. In a role that took him from the battlefield one minute to the interagency boardroom the next, Mr. Cooper’s influence, interpersonal skills and leadership were instrumental to the unparalleled success of this elite unit.Throughout his career, Mr. Cooper was known for “setting the tone” for the entire command through his active involvement in the professional and personal development of officers and enlisted SEALs. In this vein he has served as a mentor, coach and teacher to officer and enlisted SEALs on such diverse subjects as behavior-driven leadership, creating and leading high-performing teams, ethics and the application of Special Operations tactics, techniques and procedures to contingency operations across the globe. For his distinguished service, Mr. Cooper was awarded numerous unit and personal awards, to include a Silver Star, 6 Bronze Stars with “V” devices, 2 Distinguished Meritorious Service Medal, 2 Meritorious Service Medals, 4 Presidential Unit Citations and numerous other joint and individual awards. Mr. Cooper is currently the Founder of VERGE, a business consulting firm that was founded for a single purpose. "To make a lasting, positive impact on the performance of our businesses and social institutions at the individual, team, and organizational level. That's the mission. It's that simple."

This week, leadership and human resources consultant Mike Dunford joins host Mike Abrams to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the current business environment and how the nature of work will change; share behind-the-scenes insights into the corporate hiring and recruiting process; and provide actionable advice for veterans seeking employment. Mike is a retired Marine Corps Reserve Officer and veteran of the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in Beirut, Lebanon in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In addition to his role as a veteran advocate, Mike is currently a leadership and human resources consultant who served as the Chief Human Resources Officer and Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Covidien, an $11-billion global medical device company with 38,000 employees operating in more than 70 countries. Following the acquisition of Covidien in 2015, he founded the Dunford Consulting Group, focused on leadership development, executive coaching, and the development and execution of talent strategies.  Mike serves as an advisor and member on several boards, including Mercy Health in Cincinnati, Edge4Vets, the Human Resources Leadership Forum, Year Up Providence, and the Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center in Massachusetts. He is a Career Readiness Instructor for FourBlock in Boston and co-chairs FourBlock's National Leadership Council. He also serves on the Steering Committee of the Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative and leads the Employment work group.   ABOUT US Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transition and the military-civilian divide in the workplace. General Charles Krulak coined the term "Three Block War" to describe the nature of 21st-century military service defined by peace-keeping, humanitarian aid, and full combat. But what happens next? Veterans are often unprepared to return home and begin new careers. We call this the Fourth Block.  FourBlock is a national non-profit that has supported thousands of transitioning service members across the nation in beginning new and meaningful careers.  Mike Abrams (@fourblock) is an Afghanistan veteran, FourBlock founder, director of the Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration, and author of two military transition books. He'll be representing the military transition perspective. Lindsey Pollak (@lindsaypollak) is a career and workplace expert and New York Times bestselling author of three career advice books. Lindsey will be representing the civilian perspective of this issue.  Veterans, explore new industries and make the right connections. Find a career that fits your calling. Join us at fourblock.org/ Over 77% of FourBlock alumni stay at their first jobs over 12 months. Sponsor our program or host a class to equip more of our veterans at fourblock.org/donate. Follow FourBlock on Social Media  LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter

“Veteran Transition Stories & Hiring Resources” Veteran Voices, Episode 3 This episode features Matthew Grob, Lloyd Knight, and Christopher Plamp. Matthew Grob serves as the U.S. Department of Labor’s representative for the Veterans Employment Outreach Program for the Southeast US since June 2015. Matthew provides consultative expertise and advisory services to regional and national employers through direct engagement and strategic partnerships with Veterans’ service organizations, state workforce partners and government agencies to promote Veterans’ employment opportunities. Matthew enlisted in the US Army in 1989 and served as an Intelligence Specialist in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and tours in Germany and Italy. Christopher Plamp joined Hire Heroes USA after leaving the Air Force as a colonel in May 2014. He was an Air Force Command Pilot, flight instructor and evaluator, primarily flying the A-10 Warthog, the MQ-1B Unmanned Predator, the UV-18B Twin Otter, and the TG-16 Sailplane. He was an A-10 Fighter Squadron Director of Operations, and an MQ-1B Reconnaissance Squadron Commander, as well as a Flying Training Group Commander at the United States Air Force Academy. He also served in the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as the director of a four-star generals Commander’s Action Group (CAG). In his final position, Christopher was director of one of only two NATO Combined Air Operations Centers, which were responsible for the military air defense of the 14 NATO countries in Northern Europe. Lloyd Knight is a Senior Director of International Air Freight based at UPS Supply Chain Solutions corporate campus in Alpharetta, GA. Lloyd began his career with UPS in 2007 and in addition to his current assignment has served multiple capacities including Director of Global Freight Forwarding, Director of Global Government Operations and Government Operations Manager. In addition to these roles, Lloyd has been selected for several special assignments including a six month rotation with corporate HR establishing the UPS Veterans Management Training Program, a six week deployment to Hong Kong in 2017 to support peak season and the Chairman of the UPS Veterans Council in 2019. Lloyd retired from the Air Force in 2007 after 20 years of service. During his military service, Lloyd logged over 3,000 flight hours as a Loadmaster on several aircraft including the C-141 Starlifter, C-5 Galaxy, and C-23 Sherpa. He also served as a Functional Manager at HQ Air Mobility Command and First Sergeant for Medical and Communications Squadrons. This episode was hosted by Greg White and Scott Luton. For more information, please visit our show page at https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.supplychainnowradio.com%2Fepisode-142&token=6cca4-1-1581735969700 (www.supplychainnowradio.com/episode-142).

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former member of the US Congress. His life has been defined as one of service, sacrifice, and commitment to this Republic, the United States of America. He believes it will be conservative, free-market policies — not politics — that secure a sound economic future for Americans – with growth, opportunity and returning the promise of the American dream for this generation and those to come. Allen West was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the same neighborhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family. West was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Tennessee as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) on July 31, 1982. He entered active duty service in the U.S. Army on November 1, 1983, at Fort Sill to attend the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He later attended airborne and jumpmaster training at Fort Benning. West’s first assignment was as an airborne infantry company fire support team leader and battalion training officer in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team. In 1987, he was promoted to Captain and attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course. He was then assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and was a Battalion Task Force fire support officer for 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. While with the 1st Infantry Division, he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. After redeployment from Kuwait, West served as an ROTC instructor at Kansas State University from 1991 to 1994. In January 1995, he was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division Support Command as the Assistant Operations/Combat Plans Officer. During that time, West was promoted to Major and selected for attendance to the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and graduated in 1997. Afterward, he became the Operations Officer of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade (Airborne), followed by assignment as the Executive Officer of the 1st Battalion (Air Assault), 377th Field Artillery Regiment. Upon completion of these positions, West was assigned to the II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, and selected to serve as an Army exchange officer to this headquarters from 1999 to 2002. West’s culminating assignment to his career was as Battalion Commander of the 2d Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He assumed command of this unit on June 6, 2002. He deployed with his unit during the Iraq War in 2003 and continued to command his battalion until his retirement from the Army in 2004 after 22 years of honorable service in defense of the Republic. West’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star; Meritorious Service Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters); Army Commendation Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters, one Valor Device); Army Achievement Medal (two Oak Leaf Clusters); Valorous Unit Award; Air Assault Badge; and the Master Parachutist Badge.  Lt Col West proudly wears the Army Master Parachutist Badge, the Army Air Assault Badge, the Navy/Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia, the Italian Parachutist Wings, and the German Proficiency Badge, bronze award. After his retirement from the Army in 2004, Allen taught high school in South Florida for a year before volunteering and deploying to Afghanistan as a civilian military adviser to the Afghan army, an assignment he finished in November 2007. In November of 2010, Allen was honored to continue his oath of service to his country when he was elected to the United States Congress, representing Florida’s 22nd District. As a member of the 112th Congress, West introduced seven major pieces of legislation, and was the original sponsor of H. R. 1246 which reduces costs at the Department of Defense, which passed unanimously (393-0), and signed into law by President Obama as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.  Congressman West voted for the Balanced Budget Amendment and voted for over 30 different bills designed to empower small businesses, reduce government barriers to job creation, boost American competitiveness, encourage entrepreneurship and growth, and maximize American energy production. West holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and two Masters, one from Kansas State University, and another from the US Army Command and General Staff Officers College. He is a Fox News Contributor, Director of the Booker T. Washington Initiative at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Senior Fellow at the Media Research Center, contributing columnist for Townhall.com, and author of Guardian of the Republic: An American Ronin’s Journey to Family, Faith and Freedom. His second book, Hold Texas, Hold the Nation: Victory or Death, was released in the fall of 2018 from Brown Books Publishing Group. He is the former Executive Director of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas, Texas. West is an avid distance runner, a Master SCUBA diver, a motorcyclist, and, in his spare time, he enjoys cheering his beloved Tennessee Volunteers. Lt. Col. West is a legacy life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, life member of the American Legion, life member of the Association of the United States Army and the Society of the First Infantry Division, Patriot Life Member (Benefactor) and Board of Directors member of the National Rifle Association. Lieutenant Colonel West is an inductee into the University of Tennessee Army ROTC Hall of Fame. He is on the Board of Advisors of Amegy Bank, Dallas Region. In 2016, Lt. Col. West was appointed by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. He is married to Dr. Angela Graham-West, a financial adviser, and they have two daughters, Aubrey, who recently graduated with her Masters from Southern Methodist University, now attending Physician Assistant school in West Virginia, and youngest daughter, Austen. Read more https://theoldschoolpatriot.com/about-allen-west/biography/

Tim Strawther is a retired Colonel of the U.S. Air Force with 28 years of service. As a F-16 pilot he saw combat in Operations: Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Allied Force, Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. He has more than 4300 hours of military flying time and is currently the Lead Executive for the Lockheed Martin Corporation in San Antonio, TX. I can honestly say Tim is one of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of meeting. 

Colonel Ben Knisely grew up in the small town of Osprey, Florida, just a few miles south of here.  He graduated from Riverview High School.  He entered military service following his graduation from the University of South Florida, in Tampa and 28 years later, retired from the US Army at the rank of Colonel.    A couple notable aspects of his career that I would like to share with you in this introduction is that during a tour of duty in Viet Nam, the then, First Lieutenant Ben Knisely, while piloting a UH-1 MEDEVAC helicopter was shot down by an enemy missile in the Ah Shaw Valley over enemy territory and severely wounded in the crash.  He and his co-pilot were listed as MIA in April 1968 and were subsequently rescued by a very highly publicized heroic and daring mission executed by the Army’s famous 101st Airborne Division. The details of the harrowing escape and evasion actions by Lt. Knisely and his copilot, and the subsequent and successful rescue efforts by a small special Operations team was captured in a book  by Peter Dorland, called DUSTOFF 65, published in 1974.  The Infantry Lieutenant, who led the famous and heroic rescue effort directly into the face of the enemy, was recommended for the Congressional Medal of Honor.  After 9 months of hospitalization, Knisely not only petitioned to stay on active duty, but re-qualified to fly MEDEVAC helicopters, and did so for the remaining years of his Army career…..In his last tour of duty; he served on the special staff of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  Ben hides his physical scars of combat well.  Clothing covers the skin disfigurement of his burns, and you will Hardly notice the limp of his prosthetic left ankle and foot, but he admits that he suffers from PTSD, for the haunting dreams of his combat shoot-down event almost 50 years ago still come back now and then, and for that invisible wound, he will be the first to tell you that there is no cure.    Colonel Knisely now lives in Sarasota, Fl.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of a Wounded Warrior organization called Operation Second Chance.  He is also on the Board of Directors of the Sarasota Military Academy, and is the Military and Veterans Liaison Officer for the Sarasota County Sheriffs Office.   His list of military awards and decorations are far too numerous for me to read to you … He is a named member of the elite Order of Dedalions and in 2013 Ben was inducted into the US Army’s Medical Aviation Hall of Fame. 

This week we have Darren Sumter. For over 20 years. Darren has worked as a management consultant and a business development strategist specializing in providing companies with business to business software solutions to drive innovation and improve profitability. Currently, Darren works as a Global Accounts Manager at LinkedIn where he manages responsibilities for several strategic customers in North America across several sectors. Prior to LinkedIn, Darren was a member of several big data B2B software strategic consulting companies where he held responsibilities for new markets and new customer business development. Prior to his software career, Darren was a strategy consultant in the US and Europe. He attended Harvard business school where he earned an MBA. Prior to HBS, Darren attended the US Military Academy at West Point where he earned a BS degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering and served in the US Army's aviation branch. He is a veteran of the first Gulf War where he served in Saudi Arabia and Iraq for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  Resources: Get One Year Free LinkedIn Premium for Military Spouses Get One Year Free LinkedIn Premium for Veterans   ABOUT US Welcome to the FourBlock Podcast, a show that examines veteran career transition and the military-civilian divide in the workplace. General Charles Krulak coined the term "Three Block War" to describe the nature of 21st-century military service defined by peace-keeping, humanitarian aid, and full combat. But what happens next? Veterans are often unprepared to return home and begin new careers. We call this the Fourth Block.  FourBlock is a national non-profit that has supported thousands of transitioning service members across the nation in beginning new and meaningful careers.  Mike Abrams (@fourblock) is an Afghanistan veteran, FourBlock founder, director of the Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration, and author of two military transition books. He'll be representing the military transition perspective. Lindsey Pollak (@lindsaypollak) is a career and workplace expert and New York Times bestselling author of three career advice books. Lindsey will be representing the civilian perspective of this issue.  Veterans, explore new industries and make the right connections. Find a career that fits your calling. Join us at fourblock.org/ Over 77% of FourBlock alumni stay at their first jobs over 12 months. Sponsor our program or host a class to equip more of our veterans at fourblock.org/donate Follow FourBlock on Social Media  LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter

THE PETE SANTILLI SHOW Episode #1662 - Friday - October 25, 2019 - 6PM Live Broadcast Link - https://youtu.be/VJGPVtpBdRI  Warning Shot - Trump Accuses Obama of Treason - 1662-6P President Trump has ratcheted up his claim that the Obama White House spied on his 2016 campaign, charging in a new book that it was a “treasonous” act by the former Democratic president. “What they did was treasonous, OK? It was treasonous,” he told author Doug Wead for his upcoming book, "Inside Trump's White House: The Real Story of His Presidency." “The interesting thing out of all of this is that we caught them spying on the election. They were spying on my campaign. So you know? What is that all about?” said Trump. “I have never ever said this, but truth is, they got caught spying. They were spying,” said Trump who then added, “Obama.” GUEST:  Mark Cage is the elected Sheriff in Eddy County New mexico. He is a recognized expert in civilian and military law enforcement, counter-terrorism/narcotics enforcement, firearms and unarmed use of force as well as law enforcement administration and leadership. He maintains his instructor certifications in General Police Instruction, Firearms, and Defensive Tactics. Sheriff Cage retired from the United States Navy at the rank of Chief Petty Officer after receiving numerous accolades for excellence in leadership and outstanding performance. He is a veteran of the Cold War as well as Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom. The Sheriff recently said that his deputies would not be part of Beto O’Rourke’s anti-gun, “personal Gestapo,” rounding up guns belonging to law-abiding Americans . “The thought of anyone utilizing my sheriff’s office or any other law enforcement agency in this country as their personal Gestapo to go door to door violating citizen’s rights is disgusting, unrealistic and downright un-American.” Sheriff Cage recently met with President Trump.  E-Militia Article: Warning Shot – Trump Accuses Obama of Treason http://ow.ly/Dz2230pMtN3  B4IN Article: Warning Shot - Trump Accuses Obama of Treason | Politics http://ow.ly/8Q3i30pMtRl 

“VETLANTA Voice Series: Veteran Transition Stories & Hiring Resources” SCNR 142 The VETLANTA Voice Series Exclusively On Supply Chain Now Radio This episode features Matthew Grob, Lloyd Knight, and Christopher Plamp. Matthew Grob serves as the U.S. Department of Labor’s representative for the Veterans Employment Outreach Program for the Southeast US since June 2015. Matthew provides consultative expertise and advisory services to regional and national employers through direct engagement and strategic partnerships with Veterans’ service organizations, state workforce partners and government agencies to promote Veterans’ employment opportunities. Matthew enlisted in the US Army in 1989 and served as an Intelligence Specialist in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and tours in Germany and Italy. Christopher Plamp joined Hire Heroes USA after leaving the Air Force as a colonel in May 2014. He was an Air Force Command Pilot, flight instructor and evaluator, primarily flying the A-10 Warthog, the MQ-1B Unmanned Predator, the UV-18B Twin Otter, and the TG-16 Sailplane. He was an A-10 Fighter Squadron Director of Operations, and an MQ-1B Reconnaissance Squadron Commander, as well as a Flying Training Group Commander at the United States Air Force Academy. He also served in the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as the director of a four-star generals Commander’s Action Group (CAG). In his final position, Christopher was director of one of only two NATO Combined Air Operations Centers, which were responsible for the military air defense of the 14 NATO countries in Northern Europe. Lloyd Knight is a Senior Director of International Air Freight based at UPS Supply Chain Solutions corporate campus in Alpharetta, GA. Lloyd began his career with UPS in 2007 and in addition to his current assignment has served multiple capacities including Director of Global Freight Forwarding, Director of Global Government Operations and Government Operations Manager. In addition to these roles, Lloyd has been selected for several special assignments including a six month rotation with corporate HR establishing the UPS Veterans Management Training Program, a six week deployment to Hong Kong in 2017 to support peak season and the Chairman of the UPS Veterans Council in 2019. Lloyd retired from the Air Force in 2007 after 20 years of service. During his military service, Lloyd logged over 3,000 flight hours as a Loadmaster on several aircraft including the C-141 Starlifter, C-5 Galaxy, and C-23 Sherpa. He also served as a Functional Manager at HQ Air Mobility Command and First Sergeant for Medical and Communications Squadrons. Upcoming Events & Resources Mentioned in this Episode Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgrob/ Connect with Christopher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cplamp62/ Connect with Lloyd on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lloydknight/ Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gswhite/ Connect with Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottwindonluton/ Check out VETLANTA: www.Vetlanta.org Check out a wide variety of Veteran resources: www.Veterans.gov Check out Hire Heroes: https://www.hireheroesusa.org/ 2019 AIAG/SCAC Supply Chain & Quality Conference: https://myscma.com/scac-events/2019-supply-chain-quality/ Georgia Manufacturing Summit on October 9th: https://www.georgiamanufacturingalliance.com/annual-summit eft Logistics CIO Forum in Austin, TX: https://tinyurl.com/y5po7tvw Reverse Logistics Association Conference & Expo: https://rla.org/calendar/1 SCNR to Broadcast Live at MODEX 2020: https://www.modexshow.com/ SCNR on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/scnr-youtube This episode was hosted by Greg White and Scott Luton. For more information, please visit our show page at www.supplychainnowradio.com/episode-142.

IN DEPTH MEMORIAL DAY SPECIAL: WINNING THE WAR ON THE HOME FRONT---HOW A GROUP OF VETERANS TURNED THEIR BATTLEFIELD TRAUMA & GRIEF INTO COMEDY, AND GAVE IT BACK TO ACTIVE DUTY TROOPS WITH TOURS OF MILITARY BASES Thom Tran, KNX midday traffic anchor, 8-year-veteran of the U.S. Army and a recipient of the Purple Heart for being wounded in combat in Iraq, stand-up comic, creator of the GI's of Comedy, touring comedy shows to military bases all over the world Les ‘LJ’ Jennings, veteran of the United States Air Force, retired competitive body builder who won second place finish in the Mr. Universe Body Building Competition, currently a stand-up comic and member of the GI's of Comedy troop Steve Mazan, veteran of the U.S. Navy who served on nuclear submarines, currently a stand-up comic, member of the GI's of Comedy troop and comedy writer who's performed on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and won an emmy for writing on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" James Connolly, veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who retired at the rank of Captain, fought in Operations Desert Shield & Desert Storm, currently a stand-up comic, member of the GI's of Comedy troop and a host of comedy specials on VH1, Comedy Central & SiriusXM See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we are talking about the SR71 Blackbird spy plane. Only 32 Blackbirds were ever made, and they were in service from 1964-1998. The great defensive ability of the plane was its high speed and altitude. Standard evasive action was just to accelerate, which made it almost invulnerable to the attack technologies of the time. The top speed of the plane was mach 3.3 (2,200 miles/hour that’s 36 miles/minute). Thanks to all those who are supporting the podcast with monthly pledges and donation. It is much appreciated and will allow us to expand the scope of the podcast. If you would like to support the podcast further and get access to some exclusive extras go to our web site at coldwarconversations.com and click on the “support the Podcast” menu option. Back to todays episode…our guest knows a bit about the SR71…Buz Carpenter accrued 777 hours flying SR-71 planes. He flew Blackbirds as an aircraft commander and later as an instructor pilot, with over 60 operational missions. He also flew in the C-141, RF-4C, and T-38 planes, flying 150 combat hours in Vietnam. He worked in the Pentagon and served as Wing commander at Ramstein Air Base in German during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He retired as a Colonel after serving as the 2nd Air Force Vice Commander, responsible for all the USAF Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance flying assets. He is currently a docent for the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Udvar Hazy Center. We welcome Buz Carpenter Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/coldwarpod)

July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg View columnist Barry Ritholtz interviews Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2013, Haass served as chairman of the multiparty negotiations in Northern Ireland that provided the foundation for the Stormont House Agreement, receiving the Tipperary International Peace Award for his efforts. From 1989 to 1993, he was special assistant to President George H.W. Bush and as a senior director for the National Security Council. In 1991, Haass was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping to develop and explain U.S. policy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. His next book, "A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order," will be published in January by Penguin Press. This interview aired on Bloomberg Radio.

RecruitMilitary is a website where veterans can search job postings, and communicate with potential employers. Mike Francomb, Senior VP of Marketing Walter Campbell: A man with a Plan Mike Francomb graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1989. After graduation, Mike entered the Army as a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery. His first assignment in the Army took him to Fort Stewart, GA where he served in front line leadership roles and on his unit's staff as the logistics officer from December 1989 – March 1993. During this time, Mike also served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as a company fire support officer. His next assignment was to Fort Sill, OK, where he excelled at the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course and finished #2 in a class of 120 peers. As a result of this he was selected to take a prestigious instructor assignment as a gunnery instructor at the United States Army Field Artillery School. He served as an instructor for two years before taking over the leadership of the support branch that provided all of the field support for the Artillery School. Mike then left the Army in February of 1996 to pursue an entrepreneurial real estate venture in Orlando, FL. Mike spent two years in this capacity building a business that acquired and redeveloped small commercial and residential real estate. Looking to further expand his business experience in a start-up environment, Mike joined RecruitMilitary in October 1998. Since joining RecruitMilitary, Mike has served in a wide array of key leadership roles within the company including sales, recruiting and operations. Currently, he serves as the Sr. VP, Veteran Services.

The Hon. Charles W. ("Chas") Freeman, Jr., Chairman of the Board, Projects International, Inc., a Washington, DC-based business development firm specializing in international joint ventures, acquisitions, and other business operations for its American and foreign clients; former President, Middle East Policy Council; former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (1993-94), earning the Department of Defense's highest public service awards for his roles in designing a NATO-centered post-Cold War European security system and in reestablishing defense and military relations with China; former U. S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm); Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the U.S. mediation of Namibian independence from South Africa and Cuban troop withdrawal from Angola; and author of The Diplomat's Dictionary (Revised Edition) and Arts of Power: Statecraft and Diplomacy; at NCUSAR's 2009 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference. Visit www.ncusar.org to learn more.

Threats Watch's Managing Editor Steve Schippert joined me tonight to discuss what is happening in Iran and Iraq. At ThreatsWatch.org, "Steve focuses on the strategic and operational impact of policy decisions and events, particularly with regard to emerging threats, such as Iran and Syria or the democratization efforts in Lebanon. Steve also contributes significantly on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Pakistan, North African conflicts and the War on Terror's progress." A Marine, Steve served during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait. He also has a background in information technology and we discussed the role of social media in Iran. He provided great insight into what is going on between the security services and the protesters. We also talked about Iraq, the upcoming elections, the timetable for withdrawal and the escalating violence. I had the pleasure of meeting Steve a while back at the Milblog Conference. Great guy, great analyst and a great guest. I hope to have him back on soon. What is Pundit Review Radio? Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 8-10 pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.

Threats Watch's Managing Editor Steve Schippert joined me tonight to discuss what is happening in Iran and Iraq. At ThreatsWatch.org, "Steve focuses on the strategic and operational impact of policy decisions and events, particularly with regard to emerging threats, such as Iran and Syria or the democratization efforts in Lebanon. Steve also contributes significantly on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Pakistan, North African conflicts and the War on Terror's progress." A Marine, Steve served during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait. He also has a background in information technology and we discussed the role of social media in Iran. He provided great insight into what is going on between the security services and the protesters. We also talked about Iraq, the upcoming elections, the timetable for withdrawal and the escalating violence. I had the pleasure of meeting Steve a while back at the Milblog Conference. Great guy, great analyst and a great guest. I hope to have him back on soon. What is Pundit Review Radio? Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 8-10 pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.