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What does it take to lead at every level and shape the leaders of tomorrow? SUMMARY Long Blue Line podcast host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99 sat with Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman '95, the U.S. Air Force Academy's vice superintendent, for a deep dive into leadership, humanity and building a world-class service academy. This episode is packed with wisdom for aspiring, emerging, and seasoned leaders alike.   SHARE LINKEDIN  |  FACEBOOK   GEN. SHERMAN'S TOP 10 LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS  - Leadership is a human experience - focus on connecting with and caring about people.  - Love what you do and love the people you lead; passion inspires others to follow you.  - Embrace failures and challenges as opportunities for personal growth and development.  - Set the right culture and values within your team to build trust and mutual support.  - Be present and engaged with your team, understanding their motivations and experiences.  - Leadership is about more than rank or position - it's about earning genuine trust and respect.  - Invest time in understanding different generations, cultural nuances, and individual perspectives.  - Balance professional excellence with personal growth and life experiences.  - Support your team's development by providing encouragement and holding them accountable.  - Your legacy is built through individual interactions and the positive impact you have on people's lives.   CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to Major General Thomas P. Sherman 01:29 Choosing Leadership Over Flying 07:23 The Impact of Mentorship and Values 12:46 Heritage and Evolution of Security Forces 17:43 Personal Growth in Aviano, Italy 24:17 The Importance of Work-Life Balance 29:50 Culminating Command Experience at Bagram 42:25 The Role of Family in Leadership 51:29 Continuous Self-Improvement as a Leader 56:27 Embracing Failure as a Growth Opportunity 01:00:06 Legacy and the Impact of Leadership   ABOUT GEN. SHERMAN BIO Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman is the Vice Superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. He is serving as the chief operations officer to the Superintendent and overseeing the Academy's blend of military training, academics, athletics, and character development for cadets. Gen. Sherman commissioned in 1995 from the Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. He built a distinguished career as a security forces officer. He's held command at nearly every level. His key assignments include leadership of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson AFB and critical staff positions at the Pentagon. In May 2024, Gen. Sherman was tapped to serve as the Academy's Vice Superintendent   CONNECT WITH GEN. SHERMAN LINKEDIN     ALL PAST LBL EPISODES  |  ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS       TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS Guest, Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman '95  |  Host, Lt. Col. (ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99   Naviere Walkewicz  00:00 Welcome to Long Blue Leadership, the podcast where we share insights on leadership through the lives and experiences of Air Force Academy graduates. I'm Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99 today. I'm joined by a leader whose career has taken him from the flight line to the halls of Congress and now back to the very institution that launched it all. Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman currently serves as vice superintendent of the Air Force Academy, where he plays a critical role in guiding the development of our future officers and ensuring the Academy remains a world class institution for leadership, character and Day 1 readiness to win the future fight. A 1995 Academy graduate, Gen. Sherman has spent nearly three decades serving in key operational, strategic and command roles. He's led at every level, from squadron to wing command, and his assignments have included everything from nuclear security enterprise to homeland defense, policy development at the Pentagon, and legislative affairs at the highest levels of the Department of the Air Force. Prior to his role as vice superintendent, Gen. Sherman served in the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, where he was a principal military assistant leading policy integration across joint staff, interagency services and combatant commands. He's perhaps best known in command circles for leading the 88th Air Base wing at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, one of the largest and most complex wings in the Air Force, with a focus on people first, leadership and mission excellence. Gen. Sherman, welcome to Long Blue Leadership. We're so glad you're here too.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  01:32 It is great to be here. Thank you.   Naviere Walkewicz  01:33 We're excited and we're going to dive right in, because I think what is so special for our listeners is really hearing these moments that have changed your life. I'd like to start at the Academy. You turned down a pilot slot. You were rated, but said no.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  01:48 Well, actually it was a little bit before that. You know, it's kind of interesting, because that was the draw that brought me here, is I just had this incredible passion to want to fly, and I love flying, and I truly enjoyed it, especially through all the different airmanship programs and things like and things like that we had here. The experiences were fantastic. But, you know, as I was starting to learn more about myself going through the Academy, I was starting to feel my heart getting pulled in a direction of wanting to really lead people and really spend a lot of time working with the enlisted. And I think that came from a couple different areas. I think it was some really unique exposure that I got during my ops Air Force time, which I went to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, during ops, and just had our action officer that worked this, I think just did a phenomenal job. And I really started getting pulled to what was then called security police. That is actually when Laurie and I got together and started dating, because Laurie is here in Colorado Springs, but she grew up as an Air Force brat. My father-in-law is a retired Chief Master Sgt., and so there was a lot of mentorship that was taking place around dining room table when I was a young cadet. And I think one of the things that her parents really taught me was just the value of the enlisted force, and so I was feeling my heart really getting pulled. And so obviously, there's a conundrum. There's a conundrum on what were the root desires that brought me here — what were the things that I was learning as a cadet, my joy of flying, and also, particularly the culture at that time, was that that was really the job that you needed to aspire to be, that was the expectation of cadets. And so then to really kind of run counter to that strong current was really kind of a unique, you know, almost unnavigated area, right? And so to really kind of take the story out to its next level is that I'd really gotten to a point where talking with people there — we hadn't had the AMT program, but there were these NCOs that were kind of tangentially attached to cadet squadrons. And so I got a chance to talk to one of the master sergeants that was there who was a maintainer by background. And I was kind of pouring my heart out to him on, you know, what had I been talking to him with my now in-laws, about where was my heart pulling me? And so he said, ‘Give me just a second.' And he picked up the phone, and he called my AOC and he goes, ‘Hey, you're gonna be there for a little while.' And this was a Friday afternoon. He said, ‘I got a cadet that needs to come talk to you.' And he hangs up the phone and he goes, ‘Now you go tell your AOC what you just told me.' And so I ended up going to my AOCs office that day, and we had about a two-hour conversation about this. I sat down and really, kind of took the time to explain to him what was I feeling, And obviously, I really try to see the best in people. And so I think from a noble place, he was doing his best to convince me that I was making a grave mistake. And went on to talk to me about what his concerns were, the career field that I was looking at, things along those lines. And we can save that conversation for another time, but I think really where the foundation came in is where we started to talk about leadership. And you know, what I was asking him to do was to pull my rated recommendation form, so we had just submitted them, and I was asking him to pull my rated recommendation form. I didn't want to compete for it anymore. And so we started to talk about leadership. And he says, ‘Hey, Cadet Sherman, you need to understand that leadership in this Air Force is being the lead F-16 pilot on a bombing run, you know, putting iron on target.' And that's true. It's a very important part of leadership. It is a very important part of tactical operational leadership in this Air Force. So he's not wrong in that space. But I was looking at it from a different lens, and I was looking at it, I think, on a larger level. And what I don't think he realized is that 30 seconds before I walked into his office, he set me up for success. I just happened to be waiting outside the office, and all of a sudden, I looked on his cork board, and somebody, and I don't know who it was, had pinned a note that was written to Airman Magazineby an airman first class. And this airman first class titled this, “I need a leader.” And this A1C felt so strongly about what they were feeling — and I have no idea who this person was — felt so strongly about it that they put pen to paper, and this would have been the fall of 1994, and sent this into Airman Magazine, and it says, “I need a leader.” Commissioning sources. ‘Send us lieutenants that we can look up to that will hold us accountable when we do wrong, that will encourage us when we do well, that will be an example that we can look up to, that will care about us as human beings, because you are not sending them to us now. Air Force, I need a leader.' Like that 30 seconds just before I walked into his office — that changed my life, and it changed my life, because for me, at that moment, what I was getting ready to go ask my AOC to do, what I was looking at inside myself, that became my charge. And so as we spoke, you know, 20-year-old Cadet First Class Sherman — I might have been a 21-year-old at the time — Cadet First Class Sherman pushed back on my AOC, and I said, ‘Sir, I disagree.' I said, ‘I want to be that guy. I want to be that guy that that A1c is asking for on your cork board outside, because that's leadership in this Air Force.' And so, to his credit, he said, ‘Hey, I want you to go think about this over the weekend. You know, think about what you're doing. Come back to me on Monday. No questions asked. I'll pull it if you want me to.' And I left there, and I remember feeling like, not like a weight had been lifted off my shoulder, but I almost felt like this sense of like, ‘Now I've got my purpose,' because that little article has shaped me my entire career, and I mean to this day, and at a scale. You know, as a lieutenant, my scale is this big on what I'm affecting to help do and be what that A1C needs to a wing commander. I always keep it in the back of my head, and after all of these years, I am still thinking about, Am I doing right by that A1C that 31 years ago, felt so strongly about something that they wrote a note to Airman Magazine, and that became my charge.   Naviere Walkewicz  08:09 That is incredibly powerful. I'm a little bit without words, because I'm thinking about, first off, being brave enough to disagree with an AOC. I mean, I think that takes courage in showing your leadership there. Were you always like that? Have you always been someone that is steadfast in a decision and being able to kind of speak out?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  08:30 So I get that from my parents. And, you know, I grew up in Corona, California. My mom and dad are amazing people. And we didn't grow up with a lot of money, and we grew up from a pretty meager background, and my mom and dad had made a decision early on in their marriage, when they had my sister and I, that my mom was going to focus to make sure that Nancy and I got an education, and my dad was going to work as many jobs as he had to to put food on the table. And sometimes my dad was holding down three jobs to make sure that we had nutritious food to eat, and my mom was working miracles to make sure that we were fed well, but that also that she was dedicated and had the time to volunteer for things like PTA, being involved as a class volunteer, making sure that we were involved in things and had exposure to things that what they did was they also instilled in me this really strong blue collar work ethic. And it was this aspect of, if I just roll up my sleeves and put in the work, anything is possible. And so on that line, this young kid growing up with a West Coast father and an East Coast mother, and just this, really neat family background that things for me, that I believed in I would go after with all of my heart and soul. And so I found out about the Academy when I was 12 years old. And so, you know, when I at 12 years — we were going to a community event there in Corona, and there was an officer recruiter — Capt. Craig. was her name — and we started talking. She says, ‘Hey, did anybody talk to you about the Air Force Academy?' And I said, ‘No, this sounds great.' So from there, I just made this decision as a 12-year-old, and I worked all the way through junior high and high school to get here, because to go to your point like, ‘I made a decision, I'm gonna see this thing through.'   Naviere Walkewicz  10:30 Whoa. OK, so you knew you were going to the Academy before you graduated high school.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  10:35 Yes, in my mind, there was no other option.   Naviere Walkewicz  10:39 And so anyone in your family serve, or were you the first one in your family to serve?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  10:43 So I am the first officer and career member of the family. My dad was drafted and went to Vietnam in 1967 and stayed through Tet of 1968. I had an uncle, Harry Lee Schmidt, who was a C-47 loadmaster in World War II and Korea, and my grandfather was actually a part of the initial kind of what was the foundation of the OSS and the Navy doing beach recon on beaches in the South Pacific, prior to island hopping campaign and island landings. And so there was this real heritage of service, right? Just not career service. But even then, as a kid, I always had in my mind, ‘OK, one way or another, I'm going to serve, and if I do an enlistment and then go to college afterwards —' but I had this idea that, ‘OK, I'm going to serve,' and then all of a sudden, this became this amazing conduit that got me here, right?   Naviere Walkewicz  11:38 And they also had ties to aviation. How did they feel about your decision, your family?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  11:43 It was interesting, because they knew how passionate I was about aviation growing up. I mean, we did not miss an air show at March Air Force Base, the Chino air show, which was planes of fame, which was all historic aircraft. I volunteered as a high school student to work there, and we helped restore airplanes with me and my friends. You know, it was interesting, because my parents were very supportive in ‘OK, where's your heart leading you? And, what makes you feel so strongly about this?' Because when I first talked to him on the phone, I called him from Ramstein Air Base and said, ‘Hey, I think I know what I want to do in the Air Force. I want to go to security police. And my mom was like, ‘What's that? And, so, as time went by and I explained it, I think my parents probably all along knew that that was probably going to be a very good fit. And then after commissioning and at my first assignment, I think that they were certain of it, right? Yeah, they were absolutely certain.   Naviere Walkewicz  12:37 That is amazing. Well, I want to dive into this profession a bit, because it's interesting. You know, you've mentioned, when you came in, it was security police, and, security forces and you hear people saying defenders and peacekeepers. So there's this lineage and this heritage. Can you maybe talk a little bit about that and then maybe lead us into that next transformational moment that you might have had in this role?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  12:58 OK, I'm very proud of the fact that, you know, I am part of an ever decreasing group of folks that came in when we were still security police, and that was really still the peacekeeper days, because this was all kind of the follow on on the Cold War. The peacekeepers were our cold warriors and that was a huge part. Our defenders came in and really, that name started to really grow in 1997 when the name changed from security police to security forces, and we were actually going back to some of our heritage that was in Operation Safeside, which was the combat security police squadrons in Vietnam. So when you think about the courage that was displayed during the Tet Offensive at places like Tan Son Nhat that those were safe side warriors that were a part of these combat security police squadrons. And so the very — part of the lineage of the very beret, and flash that we have is actually a tip of the hat to the lighter blue berets, and that flash with the Falcon and the crossed runways that goes back, actually, to our Safeside heritage days. The beret goes back even farther than that. It goes back to Strategic Air Command, Elite Guard back in the 1950s. So it's this great lineage. And so, you know, for me, part of it was like when I got my first beret, wow, that meant something to me. And then, you know, as we then kind of transformed along the way, and this amazing career field grew, and the aspects of this air based ground defense, which was really, I would say, was kind of the draw that got me into wanting to go into security police, was I really liked this idea of, ‘How do we do base defense?' The law enforcement side was intriguing to me, but it was based defense that just had me just had me captivated.   Naviere Walkewicz  14:44 And was that something that you found out early in your career? After you graduate the Academy, you're now in security police. Is that when you kind of realized, ‘This is where I want to go in, air, base, ground defense.'?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  14:54 It even happened at ops. So as we were spending time with the security police squadron, I ended up spending time with a captain who was heading up the Elite Guard, and there was an interaction we had as I was doing a ride along. He's like, ‘Hey, you need to come see me.' And so I went and met up with him, and he took me around and introduced me to all of his airmen that were part of the guard. He knew something all about them. And then we went to his office and talked, and he had gone to Ranger School and Airborne and things like that, and said, ‘Hey, like, the future of the career field is actually us looking to the past.' And really kind of got me fired up on what we call back then, air base ground defense. So when I got to McChord — McChord Air Force Base was my first duty station. And the great thing about going to AMC first is it AMC is a mobility — I mean, it is all about mobility and the operations associated with it. And so the first thing that that my task was as the second lieutenant in that squadron was, I was the air base ground defense flight commander. So that was, I mean — we would go out to Fort Lewis, and we would bivouac for days. And I had, you know, a 44 person team that was a base defense sector. I had specialized K-9 units heavy weapons. And back in those days, we had 81mm mortar teams and fire direction centers that we would set up. So I just got completely on board with the air base defense piece. And so that was that was very passionate for me, which then made the next step to Korea an absolutely logical next location, going to the wolf pack at Kunsan, not only getting a chance to then stand up Gwangju as a part of the first Air Expeditionary Unit to go back to Korea since the Korean War, but then doing the mobile reserve aspect of it. And it was just a great assignment.   Naviere Walkewicz  16:40 Wow. So you were right in from the very beginning. You got kind of just into it all.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  16:45 So when we go back, when you were talking to me about, ‘Hey, when you make your mind up...' So I had this five-year plan built out. And, you know, my five-year plan was ‘OK, I'm gonna do my first assignment at the first opportunity to PCS. I need to go remote. I need to go to Korea. And then, OK, how can I get another overseas assignment after that? And then what do I need?' So the thought was, “Let me get to as many match comms as I can, as fast as I can in my career, and use that as a place — OK, because I want to build my experience base out. Because even as a lieutenant and young captain, I didn't want to come across as a one-trick pony. So my thought was, “Let me just get as much as I could under my belt early on.' And so after I left Kunsan, I ended up going to Aviano Air Base in Italy, which, for me, when you look at like those moments in life that are transformational, this was transformational on a different level. You know, some assignments you go to are very much professional growth assignments. This assignment, for me, was very much a personal growth assignment.   Naviere Walkewicz  17:52 OK, so tell me more.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  17:55 I mean, when you think about it, four years at USAFA, very uniquely focused on a plate that is overflowing with things that you need to get done. So you are, you're focused on, you know, everything from grades to military training to all of those things. And then I get to my first base, and I am just working, and I'm volunteering for everything, and we have got a heavy ops tempo of exercises and things like that. And my leadership was fantastic, because they were throwing me into every opportunity I could. And then, boom, I go to Korea, and that is a unique warfighting focused — and at Kunsan especially was heavily warfighting focused. So now all of a sudden I am spending really, when you think about it, the last almost seven years being uniquely focused on mission, right? And so I get to Aviano Air Base, Italy, and the first thing that happens is Operation Allied Force kicks off. So I get there in January, boom. Allied Force kicks off. I think it was in end of February, beginning of March. And wow, what? Again, what an amazing, mission focused experience. And then after we finished up Allied Force and the base returned back to more of its steady-state standpoint, it was the Italians that took me under their wings, that because I made a specific choice, because I grew up — my mom's side of the family are all Italian immigrants — and I was always at my Nonnie and Papa's house, and there was just a lot of that growing up, which is that whole, like, you know, West Coast dad, East Coast mom thing, but I didn't know, you know, my mom and her brothers never spoke Italian. And there was a lot of that, that thought back in those days that, you know, ‘Hey, we're here to be American, so we're going to learn English, and we're not going to speak, you know, the language that we came from,' right? And so my mom and her brothers really never learned to speak Italian. And so my thought was, ‘Gosh, I grew up with this as such a strong part of my childhood that I need to put myself in a position where I can learn the language and start to kind of get an appreciation on the culture. Together.' And so I specifically — and really lucked out on a location, but I was about 20 kilometers away from Aviano. I was in an amazing town. I was the only American living in the complex that I was in. So I was like, ‘If I'm going to learn, I need to just dive in the way that you do, in the way that I do, and just start learning.' And so I ended up kind of building this support group of Italian families that all kind of took me under their wings.   Naviere Walkewicz  20:27 Wait, I have to ask you a question, because back when you're at the Academy, you said you spoke to your now in-laws. So was Laurie not a part of this?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  20:35 So Laurie and I, right. So that's an important part of the story. Laurie and I dated for two years while I was a cadet, and when I was in tech school, her and I made the very difficult decision — and as painful it was — to part ways, so her and I actually parted ways for a few years. I was single at the time. Laurie was still here in Colorado Springs, and I was getting a lot of assignments under my belt, which, to be honest with you, you know, in retrospect, it was very fortunate, because I may not have made the same assignment choices had I been married at the time. And because I wasn't married, there were no other variables that I needed to factor in, other than personal experience goals, right, that I wanted to play into, and so I could just put down whatever assignment I wanted, and that allowed me the opportunity to just focus on job. And while Laurie and I stayed in touch, and I stayed in touch with her parents over the years, I was in Aviano, and her and I were not together at that point,   Naviere Walkewicz  21:39 That makes sense. I was like, why were you alone in Italy?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  21:43 It's a fair question. But I also think that being single in that environment allowed me — and that's where I think it helped me develop as a person. And so there are a lot of, I think, really wonderful things that happened during that time, and that was because I was so uniquely mission focused. It was these, this amazing group of Italian friends together, that really kind of taught me about there, there's a time to relax, you know, there's a time to work, there's a time to relax, and there's also a real human need to enjoy life and enjoy time together, which is quintessentially Italian. And so, as my pool of this, these amazing people — that  by the way, for the last 25 years, we've been going to visit. It's the same families that took me under their wings when I was a lieutenant, are the same families that were all tuning in as we were doing a live stream of me pinning on my second star. And so I've never been stationed anywhere else in my career where I felt more at home. And so I think this sense of like, ‘Wow. This like independently as my own person, this feels like home.' And as time went by and I started to get an appreciation for actually things that were a part of my childhood. Because, you know, we would have these long, huge meals, we would spend four or five hours at the table as a family. And for me, this was all normal. Well, that was also a part of kind of normal Italian life and normal Italian culture. You're not going out to dinner with your friends unless you're investing at least three hours at the restaurant. But for me, this was all — this felt normal to me. And so it was about, you know, you don't need to eat your food in five minutes.   Naviere Walkewicz  So contrary to USAFA, by the way.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN You know, you don't need to chew no more than seven times and swallow. So it was about experiencing that, and learning even just some things that became personal passions. Like, you know, how wine is made and why wine pairing matters, and how is this process? And so all of a sudden, this personal experience — and I think growing as a human being was taking place there, and I was maturing as a human being because I had gotten all of this phenomenal job experience under my belt, but this was where I was growing as a human being. And you know what's interesting, as time has gone by, I have noticed just how impactful that time was, because there are things that I've noticed, even as a senior officer, that I feel very strongly about, that I don't think I felt as strongly about as a junior officer, and it was because of that experience, and it was the aspect of when people are on leave, let's let them take leave. There is a part of the human experience that you need to enjoy time with people that you care about, because what it does is you're not slacking off from work. You're not leaving everybody hanging. What's happening is that, because you're taking some time to just enjoy life with people you care about, when you come back, the restorative effects that have taken place because you simply breathe and you enjoyed what it was that you were doing and whatever your passion was, you know, unencumbered, you could enjoy that. And we all realize that there are times, especially as you get into positions of authority, that, hey, they're going to need to call you periodically. But what was interesting is that, especially, I mean, I'll give an example as a wing commander. As a wing commander, despite realizing how important that mission is and how big Wright-Patt was, we, Laurie and I took leave, and we took two weeks of leave, and we went back to Italia and visited our friends and enjoyed life, because the culture helps us to slow down. But what it also did is I gave my staff some parameters. ‘Hey, here are the things that I think are important, like on a scale of one to 10. Here are the things that I think are an eight. So an eight or higher, call me. Don't text me.' I said, ‘Physically call me, because I will answer the phone knowing it's for — and then you have my undivided attention.' But what it also does is it means that my vice wing commander who is there, that I am empowering my vice wing commander and showing to everybody else I trust this leader to lead this wing in my absence. And if it's something that really needs my involvement, they'll get a hold of me. But I think our junior leaders need to see that at the senior most levels, that I can physically trust and emotionally trust my vice, my deputy, to hold things down while I'm gone, and that I'm not irreplaceable, and that if I did my job as a leader, I set the conditions that allowed the wing to thrive in my absence, and didn't mean that the wing had to hang on every decision I made or every word that I said, that I set the conditions that allowed them to be successful and fostered the leadership that allowed them to lead in my absence. And I felt great while I was gone, because I knew the people that we had there, and I knew the investment that we made in them. So that was kind of a long, you know, trip around this…   Naviere Walkewicz  27:26 I mean, I think it was so powerful that you kind of learned that about yourself in Italy. And then would you say that there was anyone that you saw emulating that? Or was it just something over time, you developed this realization that you need to enjoy life and you need to allow people the space to do so.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  27:43 So I would say the people that I was emulating in that aspect were a lot of the families that were there. I have been fortunate that I have worked for some commanders who, at different times in their life felt the same way. Conversely, I also worked for commanders that did not feel the same way. And, you know, an interesting case in point on something that on an experience I had in a command bill and after I had left Aviano — this is when Laurie and I were back together; we were married at this point. I had a group commander that was frustrated about me taking leave and called me every day at 1500; every day at 1500 I got a telephone call. And you know what that does is now all of a sudden, you're eating lunch, and the clock is getting closer to 1500 and you start to get that knot in your stomach and you're like, ‘OK, what are we going to talk about today?' And so, unfortunately you don't see some of the same appreciation for that across the board. So how do we deal with it? The best thing that we deal with it is that that's where the buck stops. We don't pass it down to our people. So after I got the call from him, I didn't call back to the squadron. I got the call from him. We went through the call, we answered the questions, and I didn't then immediately turn around and call back to my ops officer who was running the Squadron at the time, and say, XYZ. And we just left it there, because at that point in time, the bucks got to stop it at that point. So I think that that's kind of the, you know, the alpha and the omega of learning and then also having your own personal resilience and courage to say, ‘I accept that the buck stops here, and I'm not going to let this roll downhill to my people.'   Naviere Walkewicz  29:41 That's an excellent leadership lesson, because I was going to ask you, ‘What does that look like, and how would you how would you handle that?' And so you went right into that. Thank you so much for that. So what has it been like leading security forces — defenders? What's it been like? Has there been a moment in time where — a particular assignment or something's really stuck into your mind or into your heart, because it's just really affected you?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  30:05 Absolutely. I will tell you, as we go back, as we were kind of talking about decisions that you make in your youth, and that critical decision that I made in the fall of '94 I mean, I have worked with some of the most amazing people I've worked in my life. I have gotten a chance to go to places I never thought that I would see. And so, when you kind of roll up, I would say it was my final squadron command, and I would say that that was a real culminating squadron command. So I commanded four squadrons, and we command early, and we command often, and there's a lot of responsibility that that's placed on us as young officers to command as a young officer. And so having the opportunity to command two times as a captain, or one time, you know, as a major-select, then as a major, then as a lieutenant colonel. So that culminating command would have been Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan in May of 2012 to May of 2013 and you know, it was interesting because all of my previous squadron commands had all been vested in either the contingency response or the kind of combat contingency environments. And it was almost like all of those were leading me to this moment. So let me just kind of set the conditions on what Bagram was like at that point in time. We had grown the squadron to about a 1,200-person squadron, huge squadron. And what we were also responsible for is we had taken over battle space ownership from the Army. So the Air Force was controlling 220 square miles of battle space throughout Parwan province, which is a huge. I mean, it's twice the size of Washington, D.C., if you want to try to give a comparison, more or less is fair to look at that level as just a huge amount of terrain in which our airmen were responsible from everything from humanitarian operations and goodwill outreach to engagements to literal kinetic action and combat in the battle space. And so a part of this culmination was, was an environment where as the defense force commander — as that squadron commander to them as a lieutenant colonel at that point — I mean how we are weaving ourselves into their lives, and how we are working with their section commanders, and how we're working and managing the value of our perimeter defenses with our teams that were going outside of the wire doing legitimate patrolling and engagement and things along those lines, was huge. And I think that that is an example. And when you look in the rearview mirror to say, ‘Gosh, now this, a lot of this makes sense, like all of these assignments, whether by design or whether by fate, somehow gave me an experience that at this moment, I needed it most.' And I think, as I talk, we've really enjoyed being here with the cadets and talking to them about, how does a leader really develop trust, and how does trust really manifest itself? And so, through the time that we were there, and the engagement as their leader — not just the leader who's just simply circulating, because that's important, but they also need to see your decision making and your strategic thought. And how do you react under pressure? How are you reacting as we've got incoming in, and what do you do being the person in the joint defense operations center, helping to manage that, and how are you both taking care of people, and how are you managing mission? And they see that. And so I would say that the development of that level of trust, especially in an environment where you are literally dealing with high costs, is huge. And so I think there was one, situation that really rests on my heart that and I don't talk about this to give validation, but I think I talk about it on it's about how people connect, and why do I feel so strongly that leadership is a human experience, like this is a what we are doing as a human experience. And so I was retiring my chief. So I was asked by my chief at Bagram — this was some years later. He's out of the 105th Base Defense Squadron out of the New York Air National Guard, and him and I were a phenomenal team there. Dave Pritchard and I just made a great team. And so he was retiring, and asked me to come back and do his retirement. So we had done the retirement ceremony. We were at the VFW afterwards, having his after-party and so forth. And so I had gone into the bathroom for a comfort break and washed my hands and things like that. And I noticed, as I was kind of moving towards the bathroom, there was kind of a young man who was kind of floating. You know, floating around. And so I came out of the restroom as I was finished, and he was waiting there at the exit of the restroom for me, and kind of, you know, got in front of me, and he stood there, and he looked at me, and he goes, ‘Hey, sir, I just, I needed to let you know this, that I was one of the airmen in one of your patrols that got hit by an IED, and he said, your investment in us, and the words that you used and when you came to talk to us, and the faith that you had in us gave me the courage to go back outside of the wire when you asked us to go back outside.' And so why that rests so heavy is when you think about what, what is the what is the con? The consequence there is that somebody believed in you so much that when you spoke to them and said the word, they were going to go back out and do it again, in spite of what had just happened to you. And I don't think there is any stronger level of trust that you can ask from somebody than to have one of those moments. And so that moment just resides very, very heavy on my soul, because I think it puts into real, tangible context, what is the responsibility of leadership? What is your responsibility of leadership?   Naviere Walkewicz  36:42 I'm letting that sit a little bit, because I can't even imagine the amount of feeling that you had first for him, the courage to share that with you. Because I'm sure that he really wanted to share that. I'm curious if you can remember perhaps, what he might have been referring to, like what you were sharing with the men and women there.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  37:02 So, you know, it was also a part of things that, in times after Bagram have really been used for me as a senior leader on why I reinforced the importance of values. And, this was one particular incident there that really comes to mind is, and I use this when I when I talk to people, because I again, it's the consequence, and it's why our responsibility as leaders to set the right conditions and culture and all of that is so incredibly valuable. And so I talked to people about a story about we had had a situation where we had some real destabilization in the battle space. There was a particular village that we were having some unique challenges with, and we were doing a lot of kind of battlefield shaping, and we were doing some particular village engagement, and the engagement just wasn't happening. And so we were now kind of starting to escalate our interaction with the village a little bit more and as we were doing that, we were now going to start doing more shaping operations. So it just so happens that one of these nights —this was in the late fall, early winter of 2012 — and we were sending one of our patrols outside to do some shaping and engagement operation there. But this was in the evening. This was a different aspect that we were working for this particular mission. And so mounted up that the airmen are ready to go. They're pushing outside, they're right on time, and everything is going according to plan, and they are getting close to what we call the objective rally point. So that was where they were going to rally up before they actually moved into the village after that. And so everything was going according to plan. And the only thing they needed to do before they got to the objective rally point was really kind of go down a small gully over a rise, and then they meet at their objective rally point at that point. And so teams are moving out. First truck over the rise, getting to the point. Second truck over, everything's going fine. Third truck over, fourth truck after that, BOOM, off goes the IED. And what had happened is, they were waiting for this opportunity, and they knew exactly what to do. And that is, if you hit the last truck in the movement, you've got three trucks that are gone ahead of time, and now we've got folks in a very precarious situation. And so what I talk to people about, when we talk about conditions and the real impact that a leader has, is I'll talk to them about who was in that truck, who was in that MRAP that we were sending down at that point in time. And inside that MRAP was the face of America. And the explosion was significant, and it did some considerable damage. It threw the engine out of it, penetrated the hole, ripped one of the doors off the side in the front. And so, you know, the truck commander was National Guard from, actually from Tennessee, and he had gotten injured, broken an arm because that door had peeled back. And as the door peeled back, his arm got caught and broke his arm. The driver, Asian American coming out of the state of California, active duty. He had injuries to his legs because of the penetration of the hole. We had a gunner up in the turret, African American female from the New York Air National Guard. She had a broken pelvis at the time, and she just stayed on the gun the entire time despite her injuries. We had our radio operator. European American female coming from the Midwest. She was actually Air Force Reserve. She had a case of TBI from the explosion, and she was still making calls on the radio. We had two of our riflemen in the back, both came from Hispanic heritage, one of them from Puerto Rican heritage, one of them from Mexican heritage. They were very fortunate that while they got tossed around the back and had some minor TBI issues, they were more or less bumps and bruises, and they were all by themselves. Yeah, because they were all alone, they were in the middle of Afghanistan, they had just gotten hit. And so for me, what's so important about that story is that if we did not set the right culture and the right values and the right expectations and be in a leader by example, and they were harassing each other on Bagram, and they were assaulting each other on Bagram, and they weren't respecting each other on Bagram, and they didn't care about each other on Bagram, they would have died out there that night. But they treated each other like a family, and they cared about each other like a family, and they took care of each other like a family that night, and they lived and they all came home. So for me, if we're going to talk about what is the true consequence of leadership — and I use consequence deliberately, because oftentimes that's used in a pejorative manner — but this is the true result of your actions, that if you don't set those conditions, then you are legitimately putting your people at risk. And so that whole experience at Bagram, and in so many ways that we all carry our scars and our bruises and things like that. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world, but that was tough. And I often describe it as a tale of two cities. You know, it was the best of times. It was the worst of times.   Naviere Walkewicz  42:34 I think a lot of times, when leaders go through experiences like that, they have some more fortunate than others, but a support network. And I would guess it would be your family. How has your family played a role in these moments in your life, in helping you as a leader?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  42:54 So I will say it's primarily my wife. I have got this wonderful support of parents and my in-laws and so forth. And what's been truly fortunate is how close I am with my in-laws. Because when Laurie and I were dating while I was a cadet, anytime I had an overnight or weekend pass, I was over at her mom and dad's house and so I think that being married to somebody that has truly known you from the beginning, you know, where, whether we got a training weekend going on, or something like that, or I'm working first BCT or whatnot, that Laurie was a unique part of all of these things. And I would say that it has been incredibly heartwarming to watch her interact with the cadets here, because it's fun, because her and I do everything together. And so as we're going to events, I'll have a group of cadets that I'm talking to, and then I'll look over and Laurie's surrounded by a group of cadets who are asking her just very insightful questions about our experiences together, and ‘Was it tough sending them away on deployments?' Or how, you know, in those tough times, ‘How do you how do you keep your marriage together?' Just really insightful questions to ask, but she has just been so central to everything that I do. And so going back a little bit and talking about, like the strength of our relationship and how much that helps, we actually needed to have that breakup period as horribly painful as that was, and wow, was I carrying a torch for her all of those years. I mean, I remember, you know, as time was going by, I would talk to my mom, and I'd be like, ‘Mom, I just wish that Laurie could see the man that I become.' But we needed that time because oftentimes, and what we found in ourselves, we didn't know it at the time, because you're living in your environment and you can't see it, right? Is that in youth, things are often absolutes. And you often will get to a place where you're starting your marriage, your relationship is growing. And if you start to talk about marriage, there are things that we have found were absolutes for us. You know, certain things that we did, how we practiced our faith. Did we open up presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but the expectation was somebody was going to have to give up their particular tradition to conform to the tradition of one of the spouses. And in your youth, that seems reasonable, and I think we needed that time to be apart, having had that time together at such an important time in each of our lives here. But we needed that time apart, because I think we needed that frame of reference as we grew as people into adults. Grew as young adults. And now all of a sudden here I'm getting multiple assignments, and now being thrust into leadership positions with accountability and authority, and then coming back to that, all of a sudden, you're realizing, ‘Gosh, the world just isn't always in absolutes. And maybe a marriage doesn't have to be zero sum, but maybe a marriage can be positive sum.' And do we really have to make somebody give up something that is important to them, that is a part of their identity? Because somehow you feel like you have to conform your marriage into one side or the other. And so, I think for us that was that was so incredibly important. So to kind of get to that story is that, you know, I left Aviano and I went to Al Dhafra. I was in Al Dhafra actually for September 11. It was my first squadron command, but it was a squadron command I wasn't expecting, because I came there as a chief of security forces for about a 70-person security forces flight as a part of the 763rd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron at Al Dhafra. And then all of a sudden, 9/11 happens, and we went from about 400 people on Al Dhafra to about 4,000. And you know, U-2s came in, ISR platforms came in. Everything changed. And all of a sudden, this 70-person security forces flight that I had grew into about a 350-person security forces squadron. And AFSET said, ‘Hey, Sherman, you built it, you keep it, and we'll replace you with a major when you leave.' And I was a six-year captain, and so then finishing up that assignment, and I got picked up for — there was a point to that story — but it was about coming back, is that, hey, I got these new, unique experiences that grew me under my belt. And then I came back to do an AFIT program at Cal State San Bernardino. And that was the moment that brought Laurie and I back together.   Naviere Walkewicz  In what way?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN And so, I had a health scare. Nobody knows what it was. We never figured it out. Doctors never figured it out. But it was one of those things, like, all of a sudden, I shotgun something out to everybody I knew. I said, ‘Hey, doctors are a little bit concerned, you know, keep me in your thoughts.' And so Laurie, Laurie is like, ‘Holy cow, you can't just send a one liner and leave it at that.' So she called my mom and dad and said, ‘What's his phone number?' And so it started to turn into ‘Hey, give me all of your test results after you get it back.' Then pretty soon we're talking a couple times a week, and then pretty soon we're talking every other day, and then we are talking every day. And the beauty of this was that we already knew each other, so we already knew what everybody's favorite color was — by the way, Laurie's is purple. We knew what music each other liked. We knew things about each other. And some of the things that actually drew us together when we were dating here was, you know, we had things like some common family traditions, like, you know, Italian fish on Christmas Eve and sitting around the table for hours and stuff like that were all things that we had in common. So we already knew that about each other. Now, her and I on the phone, we're getting into some real, like substantive discussions, children, faith. How do you how you raise children? How do you know, what are we going to do for different traditions? What happens if I have to take a remote; what does that mean? And so we were getting into these really, deep conversations. And, you know, I would come back from either class or then when I PCs to the security forces center out at Lackland, you know, I would come home from work, and this was in the old flip phone days where you had a battery that came off the back. So I would have one battery in the charger, and then I would have an earbud in, and I'd have the phone in my pocket. Yeah, and I'd come home and to call her, and we would just go throughout the evening. So I'm ironing BDUs at the time, shining my boots and stuff like that, and so, and we were just talking. And then we were just kind of like living life together. And, after that point, it became very clear that those two young people who sincerely cared about each other, now, each of us grew up and had experiences in a place that allowed us to really appreciate each other and really love each other. And you know, we were married just a little over a year after that. And it has been phenomenal, her support. And I think one of the great testaments to that was, 10 days after we got married, I went to Baghdad, but she's like, ‘I grew up in the Air Force. I know how this works. We're gonna move the house. I'll get the house put together.' And she's also a professional in her own right, which is great. So she was working in a legal office here as a paralegal and legal assistant here in Colorado Springs, and has been a GS employee for the last 18-plus years. So what's great is she, too has her own aspect of service. What I love about it is that in the jobs that she's in and then the jobs that I'm in, we can talk shop, and then we cannot talk shop, right? And so she's the first person I go to if I have to ask a question, she's the first person that I'll go to say, ‘Hey, did I do that right? Or do I need to backtrack on that a little bit?' Because she knows me, and she knows me completely, and that level of trust and love and faith that we have for each other has truly enabled me to be able to serve our airmen on a level that I don't think would have been possible without her.   Naviere Walkewicz  51:59 Would you say that she's had a role in your development as a leader, in the way that you lead.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  52:05 Oh, absolutely, absolutely, because, and I love it, because her experience as a brat and her dad as a chief gives her a very unique lens to look through. And so the advice that she gives me she can give me from her teenage self in some way, you know, from that experience, watching how her dad interacted with something or knowing her aspect about this. And then as she's developed professionally, working on the E-Ring at the Pentagon a couple different times, working for very senior leaders, knows how to navigate that space. So then I'll go to her for advice, like, ‘Hey, how did your boss handle something like this?' ‘Well, let me tell you what, how we work through this...' And so I would absolutely say that that Laurie has uniquely influenced and helped me to become the best version of myself that I can be.   Naviere Walkewicz  53:03 Wow. Well, I want to ask you a little bit about developing yourself as well, because one of the questions we like to ask is, what are you doing every day to make yourself a better leader? Can you share what that might be?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  53:17 I've said it a couple times during this: I truly believe that leadership is a human experience, so for me, it's about the interaction. And so oftentimes, advice that I've given to people — like there are amazing resources abound that can help people, give people leadership perspectives, and we can either learn it from history, or we can learn it through study. We can learn it through analysis. We can learn it through books. And I've always talked to people about use the external tools that help to grow you, but make sure that you're using it to influence the personality that you already have. Because oftentimes what happens is, is that people will have this really strong desire to say, “OK, I want to make sure that I do this right. And so in doing this right, let me make sure I've got my checklist, and so I'm going to greet them, I'm going to ask them how their family is, I'm going to ask them if the kid did all right in the baseball game. And I'm going to go through my checklist, and if I do that, I fulfill my leadership obligation.' Now not everybody does, and I'm making generalities on but, but I think that there can oftentimes be the allure that when you are focusing on what may be the theory or the principle of the day, and not using it to supplement and grow and mature your personality, that there is a strong allure to want to wholesale replicate what it was that you learned, and you're doing it in a noble place. It's not nefarious. It's being done in a noble, genuine place. But there's that allure to say, ‘OK, good, I really like what I've learned. I'm going to do these things and step through.' And so why I talk so much about the experience, and why I talk so much about the interaction, is that the more that you know the people that you may be influencing by just simply being there and understanding what that means. It means you're eternalizing the value of your presence. You're listening to their stories, and you're understanding for them, what are the things that are motivating them? What are the things that they value? Because each generation, each environment, each condition is going to require something a little bit different from you, and if you don't take the time to understand your environment or generation or cultural nuances or things like that on where you're at, then you are missing that opportunity to develop trust, where they start to believe in you as a person, and not just the rank and position that you hold, because they'll do the right thing for the rank and position that you hold. That's the caliber of people that we have in this Air Force of ours. They'll do the right thing. But if you transcend that in the fact that they believe in you wholeheartedly and trust you, oftentimes with their own lives, it means that you've invested something into them, where they truly know that you care. And that goes back to that A1C on the cork board that said, ‘I need somebody who cares about me as a person.'   Naviere Walkewicz  56:41 You know, as I think about what you've experienced through your career and the lessons you've learned, both professionally and personally, what would you say to yourself back then that you should be doing back then to get to where you're at now? Because we have listeners that are like, ‘What can I start planting today, that will bloom down the road?'   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  57:03 Absolutely. And so I think if I was to go back and put my arm around Cadet First Class Sherman, I think what I would do is — because it is, it is oftentimes easy to look in the crystal clear mirror of hindsight, right? But I think instead, what I would do is I would put my arm around him and say, ‘Keep following your heart and let the failures happen, because the failures are going to grow and let the stumbles happen and enjoy the triumphs with people and be appreciative for what got you there.' And I think it would be more of the encouragement of like, ‘You have laid out a path for you take the path wherever it goes, the joy, the pain, the triumph, the failure, all of those things, because all of that helps to develop the leader.' And oftentimes you want to go back and say, gosh, if I was going to talk to my previous self, then I would say, ‘Ah, don't do that one thing,' right? But I'm looking at it saying that if I didn't do that one thing, then I'm not sure that I would be where I'm at at a time to make sure I didn't do that thing at a moment that was incredibly catastrophic. And so while we have this desire to want to prevent ourselves from the failure, I think that what we have to do is say you're going to fail and you need to fail, and it's going to sound — relish in the failure, because it is often emotionally troubling, especially those of us that come here because we are Type A perfectionist, and that's part of the draw of coming to this amazing place. Is there a certain personality traits that help us to be successful here, but not all of those personality traits make us uniquely successful in all situations outside, and so you've got to have that failure at some point in time. And the failure that you can get up and say, ‘OK, I did this. This happened. My soul is bruised. My ego is bruised. I may have to take a little bit of accountability for this. OK, now I need to have the courage to take the next step forward again.' Because I could easily retreat back to a safe place, and I could become risk averse, and all that does is hurt the people around you. OK. I have to have the courage to breathe and take the step again and get back in there. So I would tell my — I don't think I would want to prevent myself from doing anything. I think even the growth that took place while Laurie and I were apart — and, like I said, that torch that I carried for her — I think if I had whispered in my ear and said, ‘Hey, just relax, you're gonna marry her.' I think I needed that torch, because that in my own mind and my own emotion was me needing to become a better man, and so I think I needed to go through — like, sometimes you need the struggle, and sometimes the things that are most valuable are the things that you had to go through the struggle for, right? And I think that's where my blue collar ethics background comes in. It's like, I'm just going to roll up my sleeves and I'm going to work through the struggle.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:00:36 Wow. Well, we took a look back. I just want to ask you a question forward. So do you think about legacy? And what do you want your legacy to be? Is that something that plays in your mind as you wake up each morning or go to lead people?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  1:00:50 I think the way that I look at it is, I look at it in a in a different aspect, and the way that I look at it is in a very confined point to point. It's not about what is going to be Tom Sherman's legacy when he retires someday, but was that interaction that I had with somebody to give them some encouraging words when they fell down, did that matter to them at that moment? Because there are people for me in my failures that were commanders, that were leaders, that were mentors, that were senior enlisted, that, you know, grabbed that lieutenant by the arm and helped to lift me up. And their memories are etched in my fabric. And so I think that it's about that individual event that your legacy will live in the people in which you made a difference to them.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:01:49 Well, I'll share with you, I was telling my son — he's a cadet, a third-class cadet, actually, now he's about to be a C2C — that I was doing this podcast with you, and he said, ‘What an incredible leader, Mom, he motivates me. He's so inspiring.' So your legacy is already through my son—   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  1:02:05 Thank you! That means — thank you so much for sharing.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:02:10 —that you really made an impact. So we're going to get to your final thoughts here in a little bit. But before we do, I want to make sure that you know our podcasts publish on every second Tuesday of the month, and you can certainly listen to Gen. Sherman in any of our other podcasts on longblueleadership.org. So Gen. Sherman, what would you like to leave our listeners with today? This has been incredible, by the way. Thank you.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  1:02:32 I have truly enjoyed this, and it's just been — it was just wonderful having the conversation with you, and it's in real honor to be a part of this. I truly believe in what you're doing here.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:02:43 Thank you. It's my pleasure to help share your story and help inspire others. And is there anything we might leave with our listeners that that they can part with tonight?   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  1:02:51 I think, for me, you need to love what you do and love I think, is one of the most powerful words in language. And I don't just say the English language. I say in language because of the strength behind the meaning and how wide the meaning can be impactful. If you love what you do, people will feel that your very presence will make a difference. They'll feel that if you love what you do, then you're being, you know, internally, inspired by the love that you have for what you're being a part of, right? If you love and care about your people, they will follow you to the ends of the Earth, because they know the passion that you have and the belief that you have in them. So I think that as we go back to these things, we oftentimes look at the terms of courage and love may seem diametrically opposed, and I would attest that you can be most courageous and that your courage will be most effective only when it's buttressed by the love that you have in what you do and who you do it with.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:04:08 Thank you, sir, for that. Thank you for being on Long Blue Leadership.   MAJ. GEN. SHERMAN  1:04:11 Absolutely. Thank you. This was a wonderful time. It was a real honor.   Naviere Walkewicz  1:04:14 Thank you. Well, until next time, I'm Naviere Walkewicz. We'll see you on Long Blue Leadership.     KEYWORDS Leadership, Air Force Academy, Major General Thomas P. Sherman, mentorship, personal growth, security forces, work-life balance, family support, continuous improvement, legacy       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation        

Nick Bare founded Bare Performance Nutrition in 2012 out of his small college apartment in Western Pennsylvania at the Indiana University of PA. During this time, Nick was studying nutrition and on the path to joining the military upon graduation. The company was built upon the values of transparency and service from its early stages of launch, and today remain instilled in the brand's primary mission. After graduating from college, Nick commissioned into the US Army as an Infantry Officer, where he spent the next four years completing various military training schools, such as Ranger School and Airborne School, before taking his position as an Infantry Platoon Leader stationed out of Texas. During his time in the military, Nick learned the values of leadership, integrity, and team building, which have been directly applied to Bare Performance Nutrition. Go One More: https://www.amazon.com/Go-One-More-Intentional-Life-Changing/dp/1637746210 Bare Performance Nutrition: https://www.bareperformancenutrition.com/ Today's Sponsors: Montana Knife Company: https://www.montanaknifecompany.com Brunt Workwear: For a limited time, listeners get $10 off at BRUNT when you use code "clearedhot" at checkout. Just head to https://bruntworkwear.com/clearedhot and use the code, and you're good to go. And after you order, they'll ask where you heard about BRUNT—do me a favor and tell them it was from this show.

In this Mastermind episode of The Leadership Podcast, General Stanley McChrystal returns for a third conversation—his most personal and revealing appearance yet. Stan discusses the defining choices in his life, the moments that shaped his character, and the values that continue to guide his leadership. He talks about how his parents influenced his values through action, not words, and how his mother's sudden death when he was sixteen changed the trajectory of his life and family.   Stan shares his experience including near-expulsion from West Point, and another in his early Special Forces days when he learned that trying to be liked is not the same as leading well.  Stan describes what it was like to work under leaders who lacked character, and how those experiences helped him define the kind of leader he never wanted to become. He discusses how having strong peers and a grounded spouse helped him stay true to his principles, even in environments where it was easy to lose direction. Stan shares how aging has narrowed his circle and sharpened his expectations for friendship. He also talks about how his views on war have evolved.  He argues that true change in leadership and values may require discomfort or even crisis to take root. Stan shares why he believes society needs shared standards again—not to suppress individuality, but to maintain mutual respect and unity.  Whether you're a young professional, a seasoned leader, or someone thinking about the legacy you want to leave, this episode will challenge you to reflect. Stan reminds us that we're not passengers in our own development. We can choose the kind of leader we want to be. You can find this mastermind episode wherever you get your podcasts! Watch this Episode on YouTube | Key Takeaways [04:05] Stan shared how the foundation of his character was quietly built at home. His father, a combat infantryman, was steady and soft-spoken—the kind of man young Stan wanted to emulate. His mother, a thoughtful Southern woman, modeled integrity and social conviction. Stan said, “They never sat us down and talked to us about values… they just lived in a way that you thought, well, that's the right way to go.” [07:11] Stan reflected on the emotional toll of losing his mother at 16. Her sudden death shook the entire family and deeply impacted his father, who, despite being a general and a warrior, visibly broke down.  [09:01] When asked how he became the person he is today, Stan talked about trying on different leadership personas. He once tried being the “hard-ass” and even channeled General Patton, only to discover none of them fit. Eventually, through reflection and mistakes, he said, “At some point, there is a you, and you've got to sort of figure out what that is.” [11:43] Stan admitted that he came dangerously close to being expelled from West Point. It's a story he laughs about now, but he acknowledged that if he hadn't graduated, “we would not be laughing about it now.” [13:01] One of Stan's earliest moral tests came during Ranger School. Exhausted and frustrated with a peer leader, Stan and a few others simply refused to follow orders. “There was a right and wrong… and we did the wrong thing,” he confessed. He's carried the shame of that moment ever since, not because of the person they disrespected—but because he remembers what he did. [15:20] Stan looked back on his time as a young Special Forces lieutenant and admitted that he tried too hard to be liked. Over time, he learned that leadership isn't about popularity—it's about standards and setting the tone. A pivotal leadership lesson came when Stan was publicly fired by a seasoned commander after making a cocky remark in a meeting. “I've decided relieving you is wrong,” the major later told him. “You're going to stay here, and I'm going to teach you to be an Army officer.” That humbling moment became a turning point—one Stan says he was lucky to receive. [20:19] Early in his career, Stan served under a battalion commander who taught him how not to lead. “He humiliated himself,” Stan realized, after being screamed at during a march. Later, that same leader quietly reenlisted an unfit soldier just to hit a metric—an act that shattered any remaining trust. “You don't need a lot of examples like that to say: I will never do that.” [24:04] When asked if a public figure ever failed the character test, Stan said yes—and the disappointment stuck. “You start to say, well, if they're really good at what they do, is it okay they do things they shouldn't?” His answer: No. “Everybody's got weaknesses… but there are bounds of acceptability,” and if someone crosses them, he simply steps away. [26:20] Stan shared that as he's gotten older, his circle has gotten smaller. “I actually have a very small number of friends,” he said. While he's become less judgmental, he's also more selective. “I'm going to have people that I really respect and like—because that's who makes me respect myself.” [27:50] Reflecting on whether younger people can shortcut the wisdom that comes with age, Stan emphasized the power of reading. Books like Once an Eagle offered different lessons at each stage of life. “Life is nuances forever,” he said, and engaging with deep, thoughtful material can guide us when experience hasn't caught up yet. [28:54] Stan talked candidly about how his views on war have evolved. “Wars don't actually solve the problem that we hope they will,” he said. After seeing combat firsthand, he became more cautious. But he also noted how those who sacrifice gain legitimacy in shaping national decisions. “They now felt legitimate,” he said of Israeli soldiers after Gaza—ready to sit at the table. [34:13] Stan's call for a national conversation on character is rooted in concern for our systems. “We've let character erode,” he said. Good people enter politics and emerge changed—warped by the system's demands. He doesn't believe politicians will lead this movement. “It'll start in schools, on teams, in churches,” he said. “Most of you are not being the people you even want to be.” [38:11] On the question of whether pain is necessary for change, Stan said plainly, “Yes, I think there has to be more pain.” He saw it during the transformation of JSOC—reform only came during failure. While he believes powerful leaders could spark change, he warned, “The history of very powerful leaders is you get something you don't want.” [39:35] Stan acknowledged the tension between individuality and unity. “There need to be standards of decorum,” he said. He isn't advocating for hats and skirts, but for shared norms that show respect. “The society doesn't work without some kinds of rules,” he warned—rules that give us common ground. [42:18] Stan offered this insight: “Who you are is not an accident… make it intentional.” He believes we each have agency over our convictions and our discipline. His advice to young people: “Expect to stumble, expect to make mistakes… but move toward who you want to be. Don't drift.” [45:07] And remember...“I think. Therefore I am.” - René Descartes Quotable Quotes “A leader is not an individual rock that everybody comes around. It's a group of people, and you reinforce each other.” “Everybody's got weaknesses… but there are bounds of acceptability.” "Leadership is never about the leader. It's about the mission, the people, and the values we refuse to compromise." “Life has nuances forever.” “Wars don't actually solve the problem that we hope that they will.” “Who you are is not an accident. That just happens.” “Make decisions on who you want to be and then move toward that.” “Expect to stumble, expect to make mistakes.” "Why do we allow politicians to lie to us when we know they're lying and they know we know it? Why do we put up with that?" “Becoming who you want to be starts with deciding what that is.” “Character is the only metric that matters.” "You may not control your physical surroundings, but you control your mind." “Reaching our convictions demands deep reflection.” “The most critical discipline is to think for ourselves.”   Books mentioned in this episode:   Resources Mentioned The Leadership Podcast | Sponsored by | Rafti Advisors. LLC | Self-Reliant Leadership. LLC | General Stanley McChrystal Website | General Stanley McChrystal X | General Stanley McChrystal LinkedIn | Facebook |  

Meet Marine Corps veteran Armando Garcia, a dual-branch warrior who served 30 years in the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps. In this episode of Urban Valor, Garcia recounts his incredible journey from Desert Storm to Fallujah, including surviving a grenade blast, building military infrastructure, training future Marines, and even serving alongside his own son in Iraq.From enlisting to escape poverty to being handpicked by General “Mad Dog” Mattis for Ranger School, Garcia's path includes everything from infantry combat to drill instructor duty to command-level strategy in some of the Marine Corps' most intense operations.

Andrew Goldsmith served as a machine gunner and team leader in the Army with multiple deployments to Iraq. He is a self-described "Mediocre Infantryman" who went through Ranger School, and that is the subject of his latest book. Beyond the military, he is a practicing attorney, black belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, and an avid skateboarder. His first book was "Zarqawi's Ice Cream" back in 2011, and his latest is "The Mediocre Infantryman's Guide to Ranger School" published by Double Dagger Books. Visit Andrew's blog at http://mediocreinfantryblog.com and follow him on Instagram @mediocreinfantryman Follow us:http://instagram.com/battlelinepodcasthttp://x.com/battlelinepod For 15% off select Fort Scott Munitions products use the promo code Battleline at http://fsm.com   For full video of this episode, head over to our Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/@battlelinepodcast    

Episode 183 - Andrew Goldsmith - Lessons from US Army Infantry and Army Ranger School Applied To Being a DadAndrew Goldsmith grew up in Los Angeles, California. In 2004, he joined the US Army infantry where he served as a machine gunner, team leader, and squad leader during nearly five years of service. Andrew deployed to Iraq twice, in 2006 and 2008, and graduated US Army Ranger School in 2008.After leaving the Army in 2009, Andrew studied philosophy at the University of Hawaii. In 2011, he self-published his war-time memoirs, Zarqawi's Ice Cream: Tales of Mediocre Infantrymen. Later, he would go onto to earn his law degree from the Pepperdine School of Law and passed the California Bar Exam in 2016.Andrew has studied abroad in Spain and Uganda and adventured in many parts of the world including Iraq, Qatar, China, Mexico, and Western and Central Europe. He has spent time in almost every state in the United States, including touring the country by van, twice, and skateboarding down the entire coast of California in 2013.Presently, Andrew is a practicing attorney, small businessman, and author. He enjoys skateboarding long distances, spending time with his family, and has a black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu.___https://dadspace.camusic provided by Blue Dot SessionsSong: The Big Ten https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/258270

Episode 545 - Andrew Goldsmith - US Army Ranger School Graduate, The Mediocre Infantryman's Guide to Ranger SchoolAbout the authorAndrew Goldsmith grew up in Los Angeles, California. In 2004, he joined the US Army infantry where he served as a machine gunner, team leader, and squad leader during nearly five years of service. Andrew deployed to Iraq twice, in 2006 and 2008, and graduated US Army Ranger School in 2008.After leaving the Army in 2009, Andrew studied philosophy at the University of Hawaii. In 2011, he self-published his war-time memoirs, Zarqawi's Ice Cream: Tales of Mediocre Infantrymen. Later, he would go onto to earn his law degree from the Pepperdine School of Law and passed the California Bar Exam in 2016.Andrew has studied abroad in Spain and Uganda and adventured in many parts of the world including Iraq, Qatar, China, Mexico, and Western and Central Europe. He has spent time in almost every state in the United States, including touring the country by van, twice, and skateboarding down the entire coast of California in 2013.Presently, Andrew is a practicing attorney, small businessman, and author. He enjoys skateboarding long distances, spending time with his family, and has a black belt in Gracie Jiu Jitsu.Book: The Mediocre Infantryman's Guide to Ranger School (Modern Military Memoirs)What do you do when you show up to Ranger School clueless, alone, and completely unprepared for the pain and suffering ahead? How are you going to survive one of the world's toughest military courses, earn the coveted Ranger Tab, and come home in one piece?Corporal Andrew Goldsmith isn't a super soldier—he's your average infantryman, and by his own admission, a pretty mediocre one at that. Yet through a twist of fate and dumb luck, he finds himself thrown into an ordeal designed to break even the most elite warriors. Severely sleep-deprived, perpetually starving, limping through injuries, and tormented by both the elements and the infamous Ranger Instructors, Goldsmith quickly realizes that surviving Ranger School will be the greatest battle of his life.The journey isn't always glamorous. There are no heroic montages, few dramatic triumphs— just the toilsome life of a ranger, and a lot of questionable decisions made under duress. With his comrades dropping like flies and his mental state teetering on the edge, Goldsmith has to dig deep to find a way through the madness, summoning the strength to endure a course so brutal that many describe it as worse than combat itself.In 'A Mediocre Infantryman's Guide to Ranger School,' Goldsmith shares his brutally honest, darkly funny, and surprisingly relatable account of his journey through one of the most notorious rites of passage in the U.S. Army. Part survival guide, part cautionary tale, this book isn't just for aspiring Rangers—it's for anyone who's ever faced down a seemingly insurmountable challenge and wondered, “Can I really do this?”https://a.co/d/7kVUVHfhttps://www.instagram.com/mediocreinfantryman/Support the show___https://livingthenextchapter.com/podcast produced by: https://truemediasolutions.ca/Coffee Refills are always appreciated, refill Dave's cup here, and thanks!https://buymeacoffee.com/truemediaca

The Army physical training test has long been a measure of a soldier's fitness for duty and for combat. For decades it's been used as the benchmark upon which all other physical fitness has been evaluated. And for decades it has been hotly debated, modified and enhanced to best represent the current mission of the US Army. SGM Chris Mullinax has been charged with developing the Army Fitness Test; the newest version of the PT test that now replaces the Army Combat Fitness Test and its predecessor, the Army Physical Fitness Test. From the Pentagon's US Army Broadcasting Studio, and with a cameo from Sergeant Major of the Army Mike Weimer, Fran Racioppi sat down with SGM Mullinax to breakdown the changes in the test, why combat MOS's are being held to different sex-neutral standards, and how the grading scale is designed to enhance and enforce a standard that ensures warfighting is at the forefront of every soldier's fitness. As a career 75th Ranger Regiment leader, SGM Mullinax also shares why America's national security is reliant on Rangers, and why Ranger School remains the premier leadership standard in the military. Watch, listen or read our conversation as SMA Weimer updates us on the Army's Blue Book and how enforcing the fitness standard is increasing Army readiness. Highlights0:00 Introduction1:36 Welcome to the Pentagon2:52 Why change the PT test?4:52 SMA Weimer drops in5:33 Distributing the Blue Book6:33 Upholding Army standards10:44 Implementing a Warfighting Culture14:53 AFT now five exercises19:14 Combat vs Supporting MOSs20:43 AFT Evaluation Metrics21:56 Gender-neutral standard in Combat MOSs22:41 Fitness is America's Advantage26:14 Ranger Regiment Standards29:23 Leadership Through Ranger School32:28 Is the Army Ready?33:43 Preparing the Army for combat35:50 Culture of Will37:56 Daily HabitsQuotes:“Changing the PT test is not a new idea. We're always assessing our physical standards.”“I don't like to start from the minimum standard. That to me is not a place you start any conversation, especially warfighters.”“You should be trying to exceed any standard.”“You can't put competition on a pedestal.”“Right now we're crushing retention. Soldiers want to continue to serve.” “This is a hard life. This is not easy. You chose the path that needs a machete.”“We exist to fight and win. We are not a jobs program.” "Your ability to recover in between them is the true test of your fitness.”“When we have physically fit leadership, it inspires our ranks.” “Our ability to fight and win our wars relies heavily on our fitness.”“As I look at my time in the Ranger Regiment..clear set of standards.” “Things have evolved, but the standard is still the same.”“The most important part about Ranger School is you learn a lot about yourself.”“We're in a space right now where we're transforming as an institution.”“PT might not be the most important thing we do today, but it's the most important thing we do every day.”“We have to be ready. That's just the bottom line.”“Service is hard. It wouldn't be service if it wasn't hard.” The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by University of Health & Performance, providing our Veterans world-class education and training as fitness and nutrition entrepreneurs. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

Talk Back to MeThe acronym TTP refers to Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures. While these terms are most at home in military situations, we're seeing more than just soldiers implement them. In this episode we break down the definition of tactics, and take a look at the Siege of the 3rd Precinct in Minneapolis back in 2020 to identify the TTPs of anarchist groups present at the time. What about Citizens? What does the Second Amendment concern itself about Tactics? The episode carries on to address these questions.Stick around, Go Forth and ConquerUse Code 2025deaddrop10 for 10% off your order at obsidianarms.comThis episode has been sponsored by Obsidian Arms, a manufacturer of tools, parts and firearms, as well as operating as an OEM shop for those looking to bring excellence to the market. Their Minnesota-based shop builds and cuts parts out of U.S.-sourced materials. Their gunsmith tools, custom firearms, and capabilities can be found at www.obsidianarms.comSupport the REDACTED Culture Cast at redactedculture.locals.comSSP and boutique products at redactedllc.comFollow us on Instagram at @redactedllc

Lieutenant General, U.S. Army (retired), Jeffrey S. Buchanan is the former commander of the United States Army North (5th Army). General Buchanan served for more than 37 years as a transformational leader across a vast range of assignments from the platoon to theater level. His stoic perspective and unique leadership slant stems from decades of engagement in high-stake environments, to include four combat tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. His contributions to national security earned recognition from both the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army. Additionally, he received special commendations from the U.S. Surgeon General and the Governor of Puerto Rico for his life-saving leadership in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Jeff Buchanan currently serves as the Commissioner of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.   Along the way we discuss – Arizona beginnings (2:30), Army Values & Service to Others (4:00), the Silver Palm (5:30), the Infantry Branch (6:20), Ranger School (7:35), Socks and Boots (15:30), Promises You Make to Yourself (17:10), Transactional vs. Transformational Leadership (18:10), Eye of the Storm: Leadership in Crisis (21:00), Sergeant Major Paul McKenna (24:45), Deckhand in Homer, Alaska (26:00), Customer Service (29:00), and Take a Break (32:00). Move yourself toward an exceptional outcome @  Jeffrey S. Buchanan.com This podcast is teamed with LukeLeaders1248, a nonprofit that provides scholarships for the children of military Veterans. Help us reach our 3-scholarship goal for 2025. Send a donation, large or small, through our website @ www.lukeleaders1248.com, PayPal, or Venmo @LukeLeaders1248.  Lowriders intro from the creative brilliance of Kenny Kilgore.

Stuart Born is the owner and CEO of Born Outdoor.Stuart went to the United States Military Academy at West Point United States Military Academy and received a BS, Engineering ManagementBS, Engineering Management from 1984 - 1988. He spent 8 years as a Captain serving as a Field Artillery Captain, Field Artillery US Army. He went Ranger School, Airborne School, FAOBC, FAOAC Units. Stuart spent over 20 years in the medical field. Born Outdoor was founded in 2017 out of the concept to build the highest quality and most comfortable gear for people like us who live for outdoor adventure. We have launched our company with the Badger Bed; a new take on the classic bedroll. www.bornoutdoor.com

Send us a textIn this empowering episode of Security Halt!, host Deny Caballero sits down with Jess Tandler—a West Point graduate, former infantry officer, and trailblazing female leader in the military. Jess shares her raw and inspiring journey through the ranks, from her early days in a military household to tackling the challenges of Ranger School, Airborne School, and leadership in male-dominated environments like SOCOM and the 82nd Airborne.With humor and grit, Jess opens up about navigating identity, resilience, and leadership as a woman in uniform. She reflects on the power of mentorship, coping with adversity, and the critical role of support systems in maintaining mental health and wellness in the military. The conversation also explores her transition into entrepreneurship, where she now channels her passion into creating natural wellness products for the veteran and civilian communities alike.This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in authentic leadership, women in combat, military transition, and building a life of purpose beyond service.Don't forget to follow, share, like, and subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts to stay updated on powerful stories that inspire strength and healing.

Today's episode breaks down rucking from soup to nuts.If you want to smash an upcoming selection, school, or ruck PR, look no further.Sections:Intro-Why listen to me?My rucking background and PRsMy clients' success with rucking -Rucking Vs. Ruck Running-The traits and skills of a great Rucker (reverse engineering rucking)-Nuances of rucking-Rucking plan: how to set up your RunningLiftingRuckingCross-training-12-6 months out (base phase)-6-3 months out (support phase)-3 months - taper (specific phase)Recovery & lifestyle to support progressClosing(tapering video)(SFAS prep templates video)Spoken Supplements: Code terminator_trainingCwench supplements: Code terminator_trainingNew Program: Jacked Gazelle 2.0EBook: SOF Selection Recovery & Nutrition GuidePrograms, articlesNew Training Team on TrainHeroic: T-850 Rebuilt (try a week for free!)terminatortraining.com2 & 5 Mile Run Program - run improvement program w/ strength workKickstart- beginner/garage gym friendlyTime Crunch- Workouts for those short on timeHypertrophy- intermediate/advancedJacked Gazelle- Hybrid athleteSFAS Prep- Special forces train-upTrainHeroic- App based bodybuilding programFollow me:SubstackNewsletter Sign UpIG: terminator_trainingTwitter: @ksterminatortmyoutube: Terminator Training MethodFacebook: Terminator TrainingWhichever platform you're tuning in on, feel free to leave a review! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. The more reviews we receive, the more people the podcast will reach!Also, if you know anyone who loves fitness and podcasts, spread the word! My goal is to help as many people as I can and cut out the BS when it comes to fitness, nutrition and health.Look for weekly (or more) Q&A on my stories. I'll answer your questions on IG and here on the podcast.

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Atheltic, we are joined by Jay “Meat Grinder” France. Meat Grinder is a thru-hiker, author, and 31-year veteran of the Air Force, having completed 10 deployments and graduated from Army Ranger School in the process. Jay details his military background, including some key similarities and differences relative to thru-hiking, how he used vlogging as a way to stay in touch with his sons on trail, and the hilarious blood nipple origin story of his trail name. Meat Grinder also recently served as a volunteer advocate for Hike The Hill, an annual event where trail advocates meet with U.S. Congress to promote policies and funding that support trails, public lands, and outdoor recreation. Jay offers some important advice for those who want to advocate for public lands, especially relevant in today's climate. We wrap the show with the top AT hostels, our triple crown of airplane snacks, and two completely unnecessary improvements to the Appalachian Trail. Topo Athletic: Use code “TREKSPRING15” at topoathletic.com. Gossamer Gear: Use code “BACKPACKER20” for 20% off packs at gossamergear.com.  Vaer Watches: Check out Vaer Watches at vaerwatches.com. Purple Rain Skirts: Use code “BACKPACKER20” for 20% off at purplerainskirts.com. Burgeon Outdoors: Use code “BACKPACKER15” for 15% off at burgeonoutdoor.com. [divider] Interview with Jay “Meat Grinder” France Jay's Youtube Jay's Instagram Jay's Book, Five Million Steps Time stamps & Questions 00:05:42 - Reminders: Take our survey! Say hi to us at Trail Days, listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon, and apply to blog for the Trek! 00:09:33 - Introducing Jay 00:10:14 - When did you almost ambush AT hikers? 00:15:25 - Tell us about Army Ranger School 00:20:07 - Did you see alligators in Florida? 00:22:13 - How did you decide to join the military? 00:24:07 - Fuck Marry Kill: Jay's US assignment locations 00:25:50 - Tell us about being a canine officer 00:29:44 - Tell us about your deployments after 911 00:32:25 - When did you have kids amidst your deployments?  00:33:10 - What were some of the terrifying experiences? 00:35:50 - What do they teach you in Army Ranger School? 00:41:20 - Do you think you could have passed early on in your military years? 00:45:25 - Tell us about hiking the Wonderland Trail in 2003 00:48:25 - Do you have tips for people from the military getting started hiking? 00:49:40 - How did you decide to go on that hike? 00:51:10 - Did you still enjoy the hike? 00:52:30 - What led to your retirement from the military? 00:55:25 - How did you get your trail name? 01:03:00 - How did your family react to your decision to hike the PCT? 01:06:15 - How were the snow and fires on the PCT? 01:15:30 - How did you handle skipping miles due to the fires? 01:20:18 - What was your social environment like on the trail? 01:24:27 - Do you think unplugging was good for you? 01:26:55 - Did you know right away you'd do another thru-hike? 01:29:15 - Did the ranger school prepare you for the CT? 01:34:25 - Are your sons interested in hiking with you? 01:37:25 - Tell us about the Tahoe Rim Trail in 2023 01:40:12 - Tell us about your book 01:43:40 - What aspect of the book have you gotten the most positive feedback on? 01:47:00 - What were some of the mental health challenges you dealt with? 01:54:27 - Tell us about being a Hike the Hill advocate for the PCTA 01:59:38 - Do you have advice for people who want to get involved? 02:05:52 - Where can people go to keep up with you? 02:06:50 - Peak Performance Question: What is your top performance-enhancing or backpacking hack? Segments Trek Propaganda: The Best Hostels to Visit on the Appalachian Trail in 2025 by Katie Jackson QOTD:  If you could make one completely unnecessary improvement to the Appalachian Trail, what would it be? Triple Crown of airplane snacks Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy @my_boy_pauly/ and his coffee. Sign up for the Trek's newsletter Leave us a voicemail! Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. Advertise on Backpacker Radio Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow Backpacker Radio, The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube. Follow Backpacker Radio on Tik Tok.  Our theme song is Walking Slow by Animal Years. A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Alex and Misty with NavigatorsCrafting, Alex Kindle, Andrew, Austen McDaniel, Brad & Blair Thirteen Adventures, Brent Stenberg, Carl Houde, Christopher Marshburn, Coach from Marion Outdoors, Derek Koch, Eric Casper, Erik Hofmann, Eathan Harwell, Gillian Daniels, Greg Alsop, Greg Knight, Greg Martin, Greg McDaniel, Griffin Haywood, Hailey Buckingham, Jason “The Snail” Snailer, Patrick Cianciolo, Rebecca Brave, Sawyer Products, SPAM, Timothy Hahn, Tracy ‘Trigger' Fawns A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Bells, Bonnie Ackerman, Brett Vandiver, Chris Pyle, David, David Neal, Dcnerdlet, Emily Galusha, Greg Floravanti “Lumberjack”, Jack Greene, Jeanie, Jeanne Latshaw, Luke Netjes, Merle Watkins, Peter, Ruth S, and Spencer Hinson.

In this conversation, Rob Shaul and Brian Reed discuss the evolution of fitness and training for military personnel, particularly focusing on the importance of endurance, mobility, and nutrition as they age. They explore the H2F program, the significance of qualifications like the Ranger tab, and the transition from military to civilian life. Brian shares insights on crisis leadership from his experiences in combat and emphasizes the mindset of an athlete, regardless of age. The discussion also touches on the role of AI in enhancing decision-making and the importance of having a purpose in training. ----more---- Mountain Tactical Institute Home Check out the MTI Athlete Team Apply to be a Paid MTI Athlete MTI's Daily Programming Streams

Jeremiah Wilber - (Ret) Army Green Beret, Mountain Man, Founder of War Party Movement, Cofounder War Party Ranch, Getto Vaquero, and Your Mom's Favorite Cowboy. Jeremiah was born in Ennis, Montana and grew up on Fort Belknep Indian Reservation. From an early age, Jeremiah was an avid outdoor enthusiast, spending much time hunting, fishing, and cowboying. Following high school, he enlisted in the US Army, attending the Military Police School (MP) at Fort Leonard Wood. As an MP, Jeremiah served two combat tours and completed the Sapper Leader Course and Army Ranger School. After graduating from Ranger School, Jeremiah attended Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) and was selected for the elite Green Berets. As a Green Beret, Jeremiah Served in 3rd Special Forces Group as a Special Forces Communications Sergeant and in 10th Special Forces Group as Special Forces Operations (Team) Sergeant and a Master Trainer at the Special Operations Mountaineering and Arctic Warfare Course. Following retirement from the US Army, Jeremiah has decided to channel his time and energy into raising money for veteran and human trafficking nonprofits. In 2016, he completed his first ultra-marathon, running from Denver to Breckenridge to support the Green Beret Foundation and in 2021 Jeremiah took on the most arduous ski race in North America, the Grand Traverse Backcountry Ski Race on behalf of the Heroes and Horses Foundation. Tune in as Jeremiah Wilber joins Bobby Marshall in studio to discuss the human trafficking epidemic, Native American culture, kidnapping, perdition, domestic violence, hunting, veteran life, conservation, Colorado, outdoor life, and much more. Please subscribe or like us on social media platforms for updates on shows, events, and episode drops.www.TheMountainSidePodcast.comShow Linkswww.warpartymovement.comwww.warpartyranch.orgAffiliates LinksSponsor Linkswww.BulletProof.comMountain Side listeners Use Discounts code: MOUNTAINSIDE to receive 20% off all Bulletproof products!www.Knicpouches.comMountain Side listeners Use Discounts code: MOUNTAINSIDE15 to receive 15% off all K-Nic products!www.ONNIT.comMountain Side listeners use Discount code TMS to receive 10% off ONNIT products!

There are no such things as mistakes, only happy accidents. Other than my labeling it the wrong number, creating this episode was no hiccup. A technical issue kept me from editing this segment right away, so listeners are in luck. This has become a two-part episode, with Dave and I discussing leadership and mentorship and JB and I following up. I hope you enjoy both episodes. Rob Robinson and Dave discuss leadership and mentorship, drawing from an article about why soldiers leave the military. Rob, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, and Dave, a former Ranger, emphasize the critical role of leadership in retaining personnel. They highlight the importance of good leadership, mentorship, and leader development. Rob shares his experience with Sergeant's Time and combatives programs, while Dave recounts his mentor, Lester Cooper. They stress the need for leaders to trust and empower their subordinates, citing examples from Ranger School and commercial sectors. The conversation underscores the value of loyalty, trust, and continuous leadership development.Link to the Documenthttps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oj77XNX3m6FB30U_v5w650dMBHa6KQGeDisclaimer: The content of the "Philosophy From the Front Line" podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. The hosts' and guests' views and opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of affiliated organizations or sponsors. This podcast does not offer legal, financial, or professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult appropriate professionals before making decisions based on the content presented. "Philosophy From the Front Line" assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content or actions taken based on the information provided during the podcast episodes.​ Fair Use Statement: This podcast may contain copyrighted material not specifically authorized by the copyright owner. "Philosophy From the Front Line" is making such material available to educate, inform, and provide commentary under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. copyright law (Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act). We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as it is:​Used for non-commercial, educational, or research purposes.​Critically analyzed, reviewed, or discussed.​Used in a transformative way that adds new meaning or message to the original work.​If you own any content used and believe it infringes on your copyright, don't hesitate to contact us directly, and we will address the matter promptly.​ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/philosophy-from-the-front-line--4319845/support.

In Episode 251, I sit down with Brendan Weed—a brother I met back in 2017 when we were both going through the Washington State Police Academy. We connected instantly, both coming from military backgrounds, having completed Ranger School, deployed to combat zones, and showing up to the academy physically and mentally dialed in. After graduation, Brendan went on to serve as a Sheriff's Deputy for eight years. But over time, a series of injuries and a shift in perspective began to wear on him, eventually leading to a loss of passion for the profession. In this conversation, we unpack that transition—what led him to step away from law enforcement and how he found the courage to start his own business. Today, Brendan talks about living in what he calls "universal alignment"—where his goals and dreams have begun to manifest rapidly since becoming intentional about his life's direction. This was a powerful and meaningful episode, and I really enjoyed reconnecting with Brendan. Please enjoy Episode 251 of the Endless Endeavor Podcast! Connect with Brendan Weed:  Website: www.aruxgroup.com Email: brendan.weed@aruxgroup.com Connect with Greg: Instagram: @granderson33 Website:theelectricnorth.com for podcast apparel and gear Email: gregandersonpodcast@gmail.com Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/Granderson33 Podcast Apparel: www.theelectricnorth.com Episode Resources:  Moya Brand 1 https://www.moyabrand.com Coupon ENDLESS 20% off Cured Nutrition https://glnk.io/5wr64/granderson33 coupon ENDLESS 20% Off Bio Pro + https://www.bioproteintech.com coupon code ENDLESS saves 10% If you enjoy the show, make sure to give the Endless Endeavor Podcast a rating via your favorite audio platform OR on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCieFsr26t9cyPDKMbLQJzXw/featured!

Rob and Charlie discuss the establishment of a new fitness lab in Ogden, Utah, focusing on programming and training for athletes. They explore the target audience for lab rats, updates to the Ranger School Training Plan, and the implications of Ranger tabs on leadership and bias within the military.  Rob covers innovative training methods for uphill movement, focusing on recent research and testing of sled drags. He shares insights from his personal training experiences, including the benefits of extended sled drags for strength and endurance. The discussion also covers the integration of zone two endurance training with strength work, emphasizing the importance of aerobic capacity for tactical athletes.  ----more---- MTI Internship / Mentorship Opportunity - Ogden, UT Save Infantry Leaders From Bias by Removing Ranger Tabs The Debate Over Ranger Tabs in Infantry Leadership: Tradition, Merit, and Bias Case Study: Loaded Sled Drags Demonstrate Transferability to Uphill Movement Under Load  

Topics Crosstraining SFAS prepBYOPOptimal run times for SFASRun progress1:1 coaching updatePrograms for novicesRanger School RecoveryAssault bike/Z2TTM Program For Delta Selection?My RHRAvoiding injury in SOFRunning at elevation vs. sea levelRPA prepCompressionZ3 v. Z2Cross training/run improvementsJG1.0 v 2&5 run gainsPushup improvementKeto/fasting and performanceBest subs for running w/ back injury2 & 5 mile discrepancyManaging blisters and ruck trainingUltra prep as a GB or SEAL?1 Year return for SFAS; how to trainPods vs. music vs. raw dog while trainingHeat acclimationMy top 5 supplementsSpoken fish oil: code terminator_trainingSpoken sleep builder: (includes magnesium) code terminator_trainingSpoken D3: code terminator_trainingSpoken creatine: code terminator_trainingCwench Hydration: (electrolytes) code terminator_trainingNew Program: Jacked Gazelle 2.0EBook: SOF Selection Recovery & Nutrition GuidePrograms, articlesNew Training Team on TrainHeroic: T-850 Rebuilt (try a week for free!)terminatortraining.com2 & 5 Mile Run Program - run improvement program w/ strength workKickstart- beginner/garage gym friendlyTime Crunch- Workouts for those short on timeHypertrophy- intermediate/advancedJacked Gazelle- Hybrid athleteSFAS Prep- Special forces train-upTrainHeroic- App based bodybuilding programFollow me:SubstackNewsletter Sign UpIG: terminator_trainingTwitter: @ksterminatortmyoutube: Terminator Training MethodFacebook: Terminator Training

Today the Late Crew discusses how Boeing's Starliner may fly again (04:47), Booz Allen unveils ‘Brilliant Swarms' satellite concept for missile defense (12:05), those ‘Hegseth bodyguards' are actually there for the ‘Doomsday' plane (22:52), how Ranger School is scrapping traditional pushups and situps for functional fitness test (29:05), a proposal to tie soldiers' promotions more to job proficiency (38:44), and the creation of the Air Force Academy on 1 April 1954 (50:59).

Using Innovation and Leadership to Make a Difference in Education. About Francis Q. Hoan Francis Q. Hoang is a veteran, entrepreneur, and technology innovator who has been a founding team member of companies generating over $600 million in combined sales and employing more than 1,200 professionals across AI, law, aerospace, defense, and government services. With over a decade of expertise in building and integrating innovative technologies, Francis has enabled teams across industries to harness the transformative potential of AI and frontier tech. With 20+ years of national security experience, Francis has served in every branch of the U.S. Government. He was appointed by President George W. Bush as Associate White House Counsel and Special Assistant to the President and later deployed as the Executive Officer of a U.S. Army Special Forces Company during combat operations in Southeast Afghanistan. His distinguished career includes serving as Deputy Chief of Police and SWAT Commander at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and clerking for Judge Thomas Griffith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. A graduate of West Point (top 1% of his class), Washburn University (Master's in Criminal Justice), and Georgetown University Law Center (magna cum laude), Francis has also completed Ranger School and passed the CPA exam. His leadership extends to chairing the board of Allied Airlift 21 and co-organizing the Afghanistan Departure Group, which facilitated the first U.S. private charter evacuation flight from Afghanistan after the military withdrawal. Francis has served on numerous boards, including MAG Aerospace, Marymount University, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and his insights have been featured in the Wall Street Journal. Proudly hailing from Tumwater, Washington, Francis speaks regularly on innovation, leadership, and service. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franceqhoang/  Resources https://boodlebox.ai/  John Mikton on Social Media LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmikton/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmikton Web: beyonddigital.org Dan Taylor on social media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appsevents  Twitter: https://twitter.com/appdkt  Web: www.appsevents.com Listen on: iTunes / Podbean / Stitcher / Spotify / YouTube Would you like to have a free 1 month trial of the new Google Workspace Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education)? Just fill out this form and we'll get you set up bit.ly/GSEFE-Trial

Diplomatic Hell Hole.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels."Are we in the right place?" the stranger worried."I'm afraid so. Anais, you need to leave.""Not until you tell me what is going on here," she sizzled."She's not here to have sex, if that's what you worried about," I retorted. "Wait, are you here to have sex with me?""I barely know you.""That rarely stops me," I muttered."He's a master of bedroom antics," Pamela praised me. "He's pretty much at a loss at doing anything else.""Thanks Grandma," I griped."Your welcome, Grandson.""We, are here to meet someone," the stranger hedged."You came to the right place," Pamela preempted me. "He's definitely someone.""Fine, redo. I'm Cáel Nyilas," (deep breathe), "NOHIO, HCIESI-NDI, U HAUL, Magyarorszag es Erdely Hercege plus a bunch of other honorifics that have yet to be confirmed. I am single-handedly bringing back medievalism to the center of Europe and the Near East. The woman to my left is Pamela Pale, and she really is my bodyguard. The woman to my right is Sgt. Anais Saint-Amour, RCMP, my ex-lover and the person that needs to leave   right now.""I'm not sure I should leave at this moment," Anais shifted possessively. I had to recall earlier this morning, the part where we'd broken up by mutual consent. Yep. That had really happened. I had thought I was whittling down my current list of paramours. Why do the Goddesses hate me so?"Told you, she can't give up that cock," Pamela whispered."As you can see, I have limited control of my life," I told the strange woman. "I know you are here to meet somebody who isn't me. Now you know who I am. Who are you and your companions?""I'm Ms. Quincy.""Sorry; I'm on a first name basis with everyone I meet," I interrupted."What's your rank, Honey?" Pamela added."What makes you think,?""She doesn't think. That's what makes her so dangerous." I explained."Hey now," Pamela faux-complained."Okay. She's a fledgling telepath, or medium," I shrugged."Captain, Zelda Quincy.""In case you are mesmerized by her tits," Pamela tapped me, "she's packing some serious hardware.""One of those personal defense gizmos?" I leaned Pamela's way."Close, but no cigar. She's my kind of girl, big 'bang-bang', back-up at the small of her back and knife in her boot.""What!" Zelda gulped."She's his knife-fighting instructor," Anais answered drolly."Are you Special Forces?" Zelda regarded my mentor."Nah, I got kicked out for a consistent failure to observe even the loosest Rules Of Engagement. I'm a free-spirit.""Oh, you're a sniper," Zelda nodded."I like this one," Pamela smiled."Ah, thank you." Then, over her shoulder, "I think we are in the right place." Zelda entered the room, followed by a Hispanic panther of a man (kind of like a tanned, slightly shorter Chaz without the cool accent) wearing a long coat, and a Subcontinent-cast woman who looked at everyone as if she expected us to sprout fangs, or start quoting the Koran any second now. She obviously was a brain seconded to this mission very much against her will.The fourth person had that cagey 'when my lips move, I'm lying' look while seemingly unhappy with her current assignment. The heavy implication was that the lady was a career diplomat. Considering our current company and who we were talking to, she was State Department. She was in her late 30's or early 40's and giving off the sensation she had devoted so much to her career that she was starting to wonder if that was all that life had to offer.The fifth member was a military man clearly uncomfortable about what he was doing here, thus not a spook. His off-the-rack suit wasn't terrible, so he expected to socialize somewhat while performing his duties. He also looked like a man who expected other people to speak half-truths and obfuscated lies as easily as they breathed. Numbers three, four and five were dressed for the weather and unarmed.All of this meant they were good at what they did, though they probably didn't know the particulars of what was expected of them. They had their marching orders. Those orders were about to be made irrelevant in the company they would be keeping. The latter weren't the 'doing it by rote' kind of people they would normally be dealing with."I bet you she's a doctor," I murmured to Pamela, "she's with State and he's some sort of Foreign Service type.""I bet the first guy is Air Force," she countered."Like one of those Para-rescue guys?""No. More like one of those Battlefield Air Operations guys, I'm guessing," she corrected me."That guy?" I nodded to the final guy. "Pentagon wonk?""More likely he's one of those embassy guys. I'm going to take an educated leap here, Office of Military Cooperation, Mongolia?""That is pretty clever of you. Kazakhstan. Major Justin Colbert.""I bet some people in the White House, Pentagon and Langley are disappointed with you right now," I reasoned. His jaw grew tight."Don't worry, Major," Pamela grinned. "We consider that a good thing. We don't like the people in charge and have a low opinion of their opinion on just about everything, including their habit of blaming the blameless for their government's fuck ups.""Who are these people?" the first man whispered to Quincy."She's a telepath." That was Zelda"She's a psychic-medium." That was Anais."She can see through time." That was me. "Nice to meet you. Who are you?""Chris Diaz. Lieutenant Colonel, USAF.""Dr. Saira Yamin," the second woman introduced herself. "Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies. Are you the man from Johnston Island?""Why yes, yes I am," I beamed."The APCSS is in Waikiki, Hawaii," Pamela educated me. "Your arrival probably cost her some prime surfing time.""I was more interested in the fact that he survived a plane crash in a Category Four Cyclone," she admitted."Mother Nature hates me. No matter how hard I try, she refuses to kill me," I confessed. "My suffering is an endless source of amusement to that bitch.""That, that wasn't the helpful answer I was looking for," she stammered."So, Lt. Colonel Chris Diaz, you must be with JSOC, I have a deep and abiding respect for you guys. If you need something, just ask," I greeted him. "Captain Zelda, you are not with JSOC.""She's with the DCS ~ that is the Defense Clandestine Service," Pamela kept going. "Zelda, you love being in your uniform, you're proud, yet happy with the concept of dying in an unmarked grave for Constitution and Country. You are too old to have been in the first female class at Ranger School, so that means no 'in the field' JSOC for you. You've gotten around that stone wall by joining the US Defense Department's own little pack of killers.""Also, you felt it was necessary to bring a Benelli M4-11707. That's a close-in action shotgun, but a bit over-kill considering the paper-thin walls in this building. That tells me you are used to being in the kinds of places where such a tool is a necessity. Or in other words, since you think you are meeting a band of terrorists, you brought along your favorite toy.""Your personal weapon is a SIG Sauer P229R DAK in .357 which is a new weapon still under trial by the US Army and Air Force. Your boot dagger is ceramic so it will pass a cursory exam, or scan. You hate the idea of being trapped on a public aircraft weaponless. You have also given up killing power for a proper balance for throwing. I like a forward-thinking gal.""Air Force ~ you've recently come back from Asia, most likely Tibet. It shows in your breathing brought about by a close call with Altitude Sickness. The only reason for an Air Force guy to be here is because he's familiar with the Khanate military and you are not US Army, or Marine Corp Special Forces. I know the type.""You went with the MP5K in the standard 9mm, so you are more interested in sending bullets down range than looking into someone's face as you kill them. You may be a 'light' Colonel, which means you are almost somebody. What your higher-ups haven't appreciated is that our guests will respect you because they are like that ~ remembering past friends and comrades in arms. Of greater importance, you have Cáel's gratitude which will count for more than you currently believe."I pledged then and there to be as good as Pamela at determining that kind of stuff before I died. She had assured me it was as much a matter of psychology as eagle-eyed perception. People were often a type that gravitated to various forms of destruction, be they old school, or going for the latest gadget."I told you all that firepower was excessive," State softly chastised her associates (what they really were, not the underlings she saw them as)."So, you appeared to have forgotten to tell us your name," I regarded the State lass."Nisha Desai Biswal. I'm with the government.""Oh, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, I've examined your website," I told her. It clearly pissed her off somewhat that I so swiftly disregarded her crude attempt at subtle manipulation."Hey. I've got some real enemies at State, so it pays to know who might be the next suit trying to cock me over," I explained. I had to prioritize. It would take some serious effort to convince Zelda to have a MFF three-way straight out the gate and she was definitely the hotter number."Major, you came here unarmed," Pamela noted. "That won't do. They expect you to be armed because you are a warrior, damn it. Cáel get him one of your Glock 22's.""Gotcha," I nodded. I went to my room, tipped away the false back to my closet (that Havenstone had installed recently so Odette wouldn't accidently fire off one of my weapons) and retrieved one of my spare Glocks, but not the one with the laser sight. Such over-the-top fancy gear would be inappropriate. I only gave him one mag. If he couldn't get the job done with 15 rounds, he wouldn't have a chance to reload.Mind you, I took two in a twin-rig shoulder holster and four 22 round magazines, because I tend to shoot two-handed which doesn't exactly give you a bullseye every time. I returned to our crowded living room, handed the Major his weaponry, and then directed the US group to the far side of the room (towards Timothy's bedroom. Saira and Nisha took the couch.Because this tiny space wasn't crowded enough, there was a knock at the door. I checked. It was Juanita, oh yeah, my real bodyguard."Listen up everybody," I announced to the room. "This is my other bodyguard, my official one. Her names is Juanita Leya Antonio Garza, she's from the Dominican Republic via Buenos Aires and she is armed, so don't freak out." I opened the door."What is going on?" Juanita hissed."I'm having a private meeting with a few heavily armed friends. The other side to this party hasn't arrived yet. Why don't you come in?" She came in."Why didn't you warn me?" she whispered her complaint."Long night, worse wake-up, needed to do some soul-searching. Pamela was looking after me, then this came up and I forgot. I apologize," I lowered my head in shame. Juanita was only trying to do the job she'd been entrusted with and by not thinking of her, I was making that so much harder.I made the introductions, first names only."Juanita, Anais, Pamela; please slip into the kitchenette," I suggested.Anais "Why?"Juanita "Where are you going to be?"Pamela "Sure. I'm starving. I'm going to raid the fridge.""Anais, because I need my faction in one place. Juanita, I will be refereeing this meeting, so I will have to remain in the living room, roughly six feet from you." It was really a small apartment. "Pamela, if it is edible, it isn't mine and you'll have to replace it."Great Caesar's Ghost! No wonder Big Wigs had their personal assistants handle this pre-meeting crap. I was on my last two fucking nerves and one of those was already stressed and tender. And the real reason for being here hadn't even arrived yet."Why am I in your faction?" Anais mulled over threateningly."Because you haven't walked out that door. There are going to be three sides to this meeting, not three plus Anais. That is the way it is going to be. Now, are you going to behave, or are Juanita and Pamela going to toss you out?""You are threatening me!""Finally catching on to that, aren't you, Sweetie?" Pamela chimed in."I'm only staying because I believe you are in trouble," Anais grumped."Why is she (Anais) here?" Nisha inquired heatedly. "This is supposed to be a very, very private encounter.""I know Anais. I don't know you. I trust Anais with my well-being despite the fact she has numerous reasons to distrust me. She's staying because she is a straight arrow. That's good enough for me.""But is she going to keep her mouth shut about what happens here today?" Nisha pressed."Anais, this is a clandestine meeting that isn't going to be recorded by anybody so, barring a crime being committed, you can never discuss this with anyone who isn't already in the room. Agreed?"Pause."I agree," she nodded. I really was going to have to fuck her again. Not today. Well, maybe not today; I had to keep my options open. Her investigator mind was going into overdrive. Give it a week and she'd be knocking on my door late one night. Inquisitive, truth-hungry dames are like that, trust me. Then it would be 'bask in my genius' sex. It had been a while since I'd experienced that, with Lady Yum-Yum.There was another knock at the door. I checked before Juanita could do the checking for me, in case someone was going to shoot me through the door. Fuck it. I was going to talk to Timothy about moving. Him, me and Odette. I couldn't give those two up. It was Kazak bookends. I opened up and invited them in. It turned out they had names besides Bookends #1 and #2, Nuro and Roman.Nuro (I think) checked out the rooms while Roman (I was pretty sure) kept an eye on my guests. I made introductions, first names only and specifying who was with who. Technically, they could trust my side because I was the Great Khan's brother and thus my servants were his servants. Technically.Iskender came next followed by OT. A woman I didn't know (sadly, not OT's daughter) came in behind him while the other two quintuplets stayed in the hallway. Iskender and I hugged."Ulı Khaan s yikti ağası," he smiled. That was 'Prince-something'. My Kazak was a bit rusty. He then whispered into my ear. "OT bows to you first. His title is Hongtaiji." What?"Ulı Khaan s yikti ağası," OT bowed."Hongtaiji Oyuun T m rbaatar," I bowed back. I remembered I had to rise first. It was an etiquette thing. In retrospect, Iskender had stretched the bounds of tradition by hugging me, his titular superior. "Welcome to my humble abode.""I thank you for your hospitality," he 'grinned'. His face wasn't made for that gesture so that faint gesture came across as rather unnatural.My mind finally finished translating what Iskender and OT had called me. It wasn't 'prince'. It was 'beloved brother of the Great Khan'. Mother fucker!"Wait," Justin, the military attach  guy muttered, "we are here to meet this guy?" indicating me."What do you mean?" Saira questioned."The title Mr. Nyilas was identified with means 'beloved brother of the Great Khaan'," he explained. "The Kazakhs don't go tossing honorifics like that around. This guy," again pointing at me, "is a really important somebody.""Thanks for dropping this grenade in my lap, OT," I joked. "I'll get you for this, and your little yak too.""Odette is going to be so miffed that she missed this," Pamela chuckled."Mr. Nyilas," Zelda began."Please, call me Cáel. It is how I roll.""Cáel, can I ask you a stupid question?""Go right ahead," Pamela snorted. "Cáel does stupid real well. It is a critical part of his skill set. It makes him adorable instead of annoying. Trust me, you'll learn that soon enough."Too much 'trust me' was flying around in a room where nobody trusted anybody."Thanks for that encouragement, Teach," I grumbled. "Ask away, Captain Zelda.""Why are you playing this game with us?""I wasn't. Until thirty seconds ago I was sure I was here totally as a spectator," I gripped. "My buddy," the word dripped with sarcasm, "Temujin likes dumping these kinds of surprises on me.""Did you mean what Ms. Pale said about you feeling you owed me?" Chris asked."Absolutely.""We need help defusing this Thailand crisis before a shooting war begins.""What do you suggest?""We want the Khanate to back down," Chris stated firmly."I thought we had agreed that I would spearhead this delegation," Nisha reminded Chris."I think the situation had evolved and we need a different approach," Chris insisted."You should listen to the Lieutenant Colonel," I advised. "He knows a whole lot more about what is going on than you do.""Why don't you explain it to us?" she began her weevil-ling."You are engaging in linguistic niceties with men who have bled together, Ms. Biswal," I instructed. "Not that Chris and I have bled on the same battlefield, we have shed blood in the same cause; and that cause has been bringing our two nations, the Khanate and the US, together. The Khanate owes Chris for his efforts on our behalf and we pay our debts.""How so?" Nisha asked."National Security stuff," I evaded. "If you don't know, you shouldn't know and you probably don't want to know. Suffice it to say, the Khanate is willing to listen to Lt. Colonel Diaz's request as a friend.""But he doesn't speak for the United States Government," she corrected."Why not?" I riposted. "He's dealt with the Khanate longer than you have. He has a clue about the mindset of their rank and file.""But does he know their leadership?" she persisted."I don't know. Chris, do you think you have a handle on me?""Are you really capable of talking for the Khanate government?" Nisha preempted Chris. What she left unsaid was 'are you culpable in their atrocities?'"Let's find out," I then looked over my shoulder. "Hongtaiji Oyuun T m rbaatar, will my words and wishes reach my brother's ear?""That is why I am here," he replied."Don't you have the authority to speak for your leader?" she grilled OT. Nisha was relentless trying to stay in the limelight. "Aren't you a diplomat?""There is no need to insult the man," Pamela snidely commented."I am one of many voices that provide information to the Great Khan. I am not his brother. Cáel Nyilas is and has already proved his familial affection by proposing Operation Funhouse and brought whole nations as gifts," OT schooled her. "He is gifted with both tactical and strategic insight as well as sharing the Great Khan's love for his people and his hopes for their eventual freedom.""I didn't think you were a soldier," Zelda looked me over."Oh no," I wove off that insinuation. "I've never been a real soldier and am unworthy of that distinction. I know quite a few who have earned that title and they scare the crap out of me. I mean, they go looking for trouble. In my case, trouble comes looking for me. I'm damn lucky to still be alive and that's the damn truth.""Bullshit," Pamela coughed."What was that, Artemisia?" I winked at her."Bitch," she laughed "My men have become women, and my women men. At least you didn't call me Cassandra.""Well, she's Greek (a deadly insult to all Amazons), but you could be her Evil Twin because everyone believes whatever you say.""Can we get down to business?" Chris inquired."Damn," Pamela shook her head. "They haven't been paying attention.""What does that mean?" Zelda griped."Iskender, you know what I'm talking about, don't you?" I asked."Not a clue, Exalted One," he stood there like a stone statue. Note, the Khanate contingent really were standing there like the Altai Mountains, doing nothing. You had to carefully examine them to see that they did indeed breathe and blink."Use small words," Pamela advised."You really are a rude misanthrope," Anais told Pamela."Do you know what's going on?" Pamela volleyed."No.""Then sit back and watch how the madness works," she snickered. "It is all you, Cáel.""Okay. One; how did Artemisia escape the battle of Salamis?" I began. Nothing."Oh," Justin nodded. "She rammed an allied ship to make the pursuing Athenians think she was an ally. What does that have to do with our current predicament?""Achieve your ends by using violence as a distraction," I sighed. "The Khanate will invade Thailand in," I looked to OT, "tomorrow?" He nodded."How does that help us?" Nisha complained."Second example, Cassandra. She saw the truth through all illusions and falsehoods and no one believed her. Now, reverse that."Pause."We are waiting," Saira finally joined the conversation. I could hear those little microprocessors inside her noggin firing electrons at light speed."We fight a phony war. The Khanate and their buddies invade in a lightning campaign that appears to be successful. Shit like attacking the opposition where they ain't. Things that look epic on CNN where some retired colonel, no offense...""None taken," Chris responded."Where some colonel talks about seizing resources, severed supply lines and encirclement. We, the Khanate, bomb shit like bridges and supply dumps, things with no civilians to get killed. On the downside, to make this work the Khanate needs to put some level of force into Bangkok.""That will get civilians killed," Nisha reminded me, unnecessarily."Civilians are getting killed right now by their own government. This time they will get a chance to strike back," I stated firmly. "The Thai protestors aren't cowards. They are just grossly outgunned. We can change that.""How does that help the United States?" Nisha queried."The US gets to come in and save the day," I sighed. "The US can t get there until the day after, so you don't look bad about letting the first 24 hours of brutality happen.""Oh," Zelda blinked."The US gets to end the fighting that the Khanate has no desire to continue. The US brings peace, while whomever takes over owes the Khanate. Both sides look good. Both sides claim victory. The President gets a second Nobel Peace Prize (psychic, aren't I?). The US gathers some regional allies like Malaysia, the ROC and the Philippines along with our Marines to ensure free and fair elections. The Khanate isn't seen to be backing down against the Titan of Western Civilization. They are working with them to bring about a better world.""Win-win," Saira nodded in agreement."The Khanate is still an autocratic tyranny," Nisha commented."As opposed to the People's Republic's oligarchical tyranny?" Chris countered."Agreed," Saira said. "I now think we should work with the Khanate to bring stability to Central Asia which which was impossible while those member nations were being squeezed between Russia, Europe, China and India.""What are you a doctor of?" I asked."I specialize in 'failed states', among other things," Saira grinned."This could still turn into one bloody cluster-fuck," Zelda mused."My peopled don't have the resources to devastate Thailand," OT finally spoke. "If you, the US, agrees to intervene on our timetable, you will have our thanks, off the record, of course.""How do we know this isn't some ruse to allow the Khanate to overthrow Thailand's existing government?" Justin questioned."You have my word," I replied. No one said anything for several heartbeats."Really?" Nisha balked."Mr. Nyilas, Cáel, do you give me the Great Khan's word?" Chris studied me intently."Without reservation," I answered. "For what you have done for us and more, the Great Khan will honor this deal. We and the Thai's will do the bleeding. You will get your accolades. We avoid a pointless clashing of forces, which is why we are all here today.""I will give you my written recommendation in a few hours," Saira told Nisha.Chris stepped forward to shake my hand. He was an alpha-type alright. I gave as good as I got. His eyes bore into mine, looking for a faltering of will."What did you do in Romania?""I got a lot of good men killed.""Okay.""Okay?" Nisha squawked. "A handshake, a pat on the back and the deals done? Since when did our democratic republic do business this way? He admitted he got men killed in Romania. What is to say this won't be Romania writ large?""Ms. Biswal, he told the truth. He got good men killed and he isn't happy about it. I would be worried if he claimed one bit of glory from that episode. He didn't.""Nisha," I took a deep breathe, "When you unleash men with weapons, nothing is assured. Maybe the Thai government will see the hate coming their way and back down. Maybe the people will resist the intrusion. Maybe the Khanate's forces will get slaughtered at the starting line. It isn't like they have enough time to deploy enough forces to win a protracted war.""What happens if the Khanate decides it won't go?" she continued."Then they get destroyed on the ground in a war of attrition," Chris answered for me. "He's right. They can't bring enough in the time allotted to completely overwhelm the roughly 120,000 members of the Royal Thai Army that have remained loyal to the regime.""In three days they will be out of fuel, shells, rockets and bullets. It is logistics, Ms. Biswal," Zelda piled it on. "The Khanate war-fighting systems are not NATO compatible. That means they can't simply capture more material as they penetrate the frontiers. If they overstay their welcome, we can launch missile strikes against their fuel depots. The combat devolves back to World War I and that's a style of war they can't afford to fight.""What about stopping the Khanate from invading in the first place?" Nisha wouldn't give up."Had the US acknowledged the Khanate, none of this would have happened, Ms. Biswal," I became snappish. "Neither superpower talked to the other until other commitments had been made.""If you think you can come in and start dictating Khanate policy, you are dreadfully mistaken. The US doesn't have the power, or the resolve," I glared at her. "Don't try convincing the Khanate that isn't the case. We know better.""You don't know what the US is capable of," she snapped back."Abandoning Iraq with a fractured pseudo-democratic process? Abandoning Afghanistan without destroying the Taliban? The Syrian Civil War? The Donbass Crisis? The collapse of Libya? Boko Haram? Somalia? Yemen? Exactly how has the US's power and resolve solved any of those issues?" I countered."Ms. Biswal," OT spoke again. "We are willing to create a desert and call it 'Peace'. Our enemies know that. Your unwillingness to do so is neither a strength nor a weakness. It is a hallmark of your society in the same way that 'Total War' is a hallmark of ours. We are more than willing to leave you to manage the Peace. Let us manage the War against the forces opposed to civilized discourse.""As ugly and disagreeable as it is, we are willing to keep creating pyramids of skulls on every street corner until either they learn their lesson, or we kill them all. Let us do that and you will have your global stability and reap the economic benefits and accolades of Pax Americana. We are not your enemy. We are precisely the ally you need to keep the peace and we will do that, if you let us.""To allow barbarism is to become barbarians," Saira mused."That is complete fiction," I scoffed. "The United States didn't become communist because it allied with the Soviet Union in World War II. Truman didn't become Stalin. The enemy of my enemy is my friend is older than recorded history.""It is the Carrot and the Stick on a Global basis," Justin agreed. "Listen to the gentle words of the West, or you will end up feeling the wrath of the East.""As long as the Khanate accepts the limitations of is role," Saira added, "this might work. Please understand there will be factions in the Western Democracies who will not accept that status quo. It is not in the nature of our societies to stifle dissent.""Is it possible to get any political concessions from the Khanate's leadership?" Justin requested. "A pledge to hold some level of democratic elections? A Constitution with some strong provisions to protect individual rights and liberties would be nice.""Justin, in case your bosses missed it, the Khanate is still at a state of war with the PRC," I shook my head. "With their limited experience with democratic government throughout most of the Khanate's territories, that would be madness.""With limited concessions to the Imperial State, we have not interfered with the politics of Albania, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey. We are never going to become a Western-style democracy. We have had limited rule by consensus long before White Men arrived in the Western Hemisphere," OT informed them."Discounting the Irish Monks, Vikings and Knights Templar," Pamela interjected."If you say so," OT gave a minuscule bow to Pamela. "Long before your nation was anything more than the scribbled history of a long-faded Greek city-state, we had meritocracies, oligarchies of senior statesmen & warriors, thinkers and religious leaders, and we had codified judicial moral equality into the political arena. We have a far superior record of religious and minority freedom, of genuine multi-culturalism plus a deeper understanding of the arts and crafts as a means of uniting disparate peoples. We find your claims of cultural superiority to be childish.""Oh, snap," I snickered. "You get'em, OT.""I bet the boys in Foggy Bottom felt that pimp-slap," Pamela agreed."I bet the bronzed skull of some Harvard dean just fell off its pedestal.""They are called 'busts'," Anais groaned. "With a name like that, how could you forget it?""So true," I concurred. "All this responsibility must have clouded my normally hedonistic vocabulary.""That doesn't change the fact that you have employed biological warfare and genocide in this current day and age," Justin pointed out."Tell that to our Native Americans," I snorted. "They are easy to find. They live in trailer parks in whatever blasted Hell Hole we stuck them in, or in their casinos where they are buying back their country, one rube at a time. Ask them if they've gotten over it.""We don't claim to be perfect," Justin insisted."No, we merely claim to have the only correct form of government, economic policy and schools of philosophical, political, scientific and educational thought," I pointed out."We definitely should revive ethical utilitarianism," Pamela slapped a fist into her palm. "Oh, and the guillotine. Work houses for orphans and grist mills for the disabled, and A Modest Proposal for those chronically unemployed and terminally homeless, yes, and,""Pamela, what is it with you today?" I snickered."It is nearly sunset,""Ah, and you haven't killed anyone yet.""You know how cranky I get when I don't get my daily dose of homicide.""Are you two done?" Anais frowned. She did that a lot around me."And you don't hand out Mini-Uzi's to your preschoolers," Pamela glowered. "What is wrong with you people?"Pause, waiting for that punch line that was never coming. See, it was more difficult to sense Pamela was an immediate threat to your health if you thought she was completely off her rocker."Hmm, well, on that note, ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have a deal. Chris and Justin, I will leave you with my loyal Iskender to work out the gory details. Who wants to grab dinner?" I inquired."Are you serious?" Nashi gasped."Oh yeah. I had the Russian invasion of Manchuria figured out in this amount of time and Manchuria is way bigger than Thailand." Was it? I didn't know. Geography was not one of those subjects which gets you laid."What do you have in mind?" Zelda inquired."Whatever you want."{1 am, Sunday, August 31st ~ 8 Days to go}"How did I end up in bed with you?" Zelda sighed happily, her body splayed halfway over mine and her head resting on my chest, listening to my heartbeat."You aren't the first girl to ask me that question."On the other side, Anais moaned in her sleep. Yeah, she was over me. Abso-fucking-lutely. If you recall, she'd try anything once. I convinced her the military babes were totally different than that Goth chick we'd blown the mind of back in Montreal.Zelda was with me because I had caught her in a lie. She claimed to be a lesbian when I first hit on her. She was adamant. I destroyed her with incontrovertible evidence.A) She hadn't scoped out Anais when she came in. A glance didn't count and Anais oozed sexy when she was angry, which was most of the time.B) She hadn't scoped out Juanita's figure when said worthy went to the kitchenette. I look for such things and Juanita has thighs to die for.C) When I told her she had a wicked sense of humor, she blushed. Honestly, lesbians rarely care about strange men complimenting their personalities.D) Then I double-downed by asking her if she preferred a shower, or bath. She said shower (because that's the butch thing to say). When I asked her 'when was the last time she'd had a bubble bath', she blushed again. Lesbians don't like it when a man imagines them naked. Straight chicks, unless you are a creepy, stalker guy, like it when men fantasize about them swathed in bubbles, thus semi-clothed, thus not creepy.E) In a final and fatal act of evasion, she asked a grumpy Anais what she liked about me. Anais was blunt."He can fucking hammer you all night, sneak in a romantic quickie in the shower, cook you a delicious breakfast then give you another round of mind-numbing intercourse up against the wall before you have to go to work. And still find the time and energy to fuck your neighbor."Woot!"So, this happens to you often?" she mused, it was a trap. She really wanted to know if I was an egotistical scumbag who took advantage of every woman I came across. At the same time, she wanted to know if I considered her a 'whoe' ~ a woman who gives up the goodies for free."Do you mean 'am I taking advantage of you'?" I replied."That is not what I asked," she persisted. That meant 'yes'."Let me see," I laid back and looked up at the ceiling. "I have a fiancée, six women I am close enough to to spend quality time with, a fuck-buddy who is a sweet girl and trusts me too much and a passel of ex-girlfriends who have found my infidelity to be reprehensible.""Six women?" she frowned."Four co-workers (Rhada, Oneida, Yasmin and Buffy), the girlfriend of a co-worker who dumped her in a very public fashion (Brooke) and that woman's friend (Libra). She was the wing-chick who was stuck with me on a quadruple-date and was underwhelmed with me when we first met."I didn't count my 'hook-ups' and I wasn't sure how to qualify Nicole."Ex's?""'No' is not a word in common usage in my vocabulary. I've dated a best friend's girl, a mother, sister and aunt of the same girlfriend, basically, I'm either highly immoral, incredibly loose, or a letch.""Don't you take responsibility for any of those, relationships?""Hell yeah," I tilted her chin up so that we could make eye-contact. "I've never blamed a woman for taking out her frustrations on my flesh, ran away from a screaming fit (Big Lie!), or blamed them for any failing in our relationship. It is always my fault because I can't stay loyal.""That's depressing," Zelda moped."Don't get me wrong. I don't find fault in any of the women I have spent time with. That is my problem, I find women fascinating; never boring, or bland. Quite frankly, it is a gift that I don't regret having. I may be a fuck-up, but I'm a fuck-up who will give you the very best attention.""Full of yourself, much?" her attitude shifted. I had short-circuited her fears; I was a cheater, I confessed to it without shame because I was inexorably drawn to her beauty, personality and charm. With Anais around, I couldn't claim to be solely enchanted with Zelda, so I had to think quickly on my feet. After all, Zelda was energetic and had great stamina."I promised you pleasure," I countered. "Did I deliver?""Yes, you are full of yourself," she slapped my stomach. I wasn't full of myself. I was a confident sex machine."Thank you.""Huh?""Wonderful sex, taking a chance with me, agreeing to a three-way, being awake after," I looked at the bed-table clock, "six hours.""I run five miles a day," she bragged."I try to have ten hours of sex a day," I teased. Zelda slapped my stomach again. Anais stirred."Do any women like you, for any reason beyond your cock?""I'm considered loyal where sex is not concerned, reliable and brave," I offered."What happened in Romania?""Have you ever been in combat?""I've been in violent confrontations, but not a true firefight," she admitted."Hmm,""Is it something that you can't relate?" she asked."No. You are a soldier so you probably know more about combat than I do. It was, not chaotic at all. I never lost perspective of what was going on despite the bullets flying around. The Romanian Captain in charge knew his stuff, directed his company well and all I had to do was figure out where the terrorist leader was.""What happened?" she perked up."I am here talking with you and he's in a morgue in Bucharest.""Oh," She wanted more."I have to live with the knowledge that I set all of that in motion, Zelda. I convinced the Romanians that they had to confront that terror group before they moved on to their next target, me.""I knew they would come after me and my friends, no matter where we were. Which would have ended up as a blood bath in some urban center. So I felt compelled to strike first. Based on information I provided, the Romanian Army sent two battalions, the 22nd and 24th, of the 6th Mountain Troops Brigade into battle.""It was a massacre," I remembered sadly."But you won," she tried to comfort me."Of the four companies involved in the battle, the Romanians suffered nearly two hundred dead and wounded. I hardly consider it anything other than a massacre. Yes, we won. Only three of the terrorists escaped. Their leader died. I don't think I've ever felt so hollow in my life," I finished."Forty percent losses, that is horrific," she crawled on top of me."The kicker is the Romanians sent some men of the 24th to hunt me down when I was kidnapped. A squad was in the group that rescued me and my companion from Johnston Island. I thought they would never want to deal with me ever again.""Don't be so hard on yourself. If they thought well enough of you to send their men out to rescue you, then you must have done right by them.""Chaz said something like that too," I felt sheepish and sleepy."Chaz? Who is she?"Honest to God, one day I want to find a girl who thinks I'm talking about another girl and asks if we can have a three-way, instead of trying to compare herself to this unknown person. Wait... I already had someone like that. Her name was Odette."Chaz is Color Sergeant Charles 'Chaz' Tomorrow of Her Majesty's SSR," I corrected her assumption."SSR? Those are some tough people. How do you know him?""Black Bag directives from the National Security Council, sworn to secrecy upon penalty of death, pinky-promise kind of stuff," I grinned. Maybe I wasn't all that sleepy after all."You really are a Man of Mystery," Zelda purred. She had truly exceptional stamina. "Maybe I can convince you to talk.""Maybe I can find another use for my tongue," I countered and off we went. Somewhere along the process, Anais woke up and joined in.It wasn't all fun and games. Anais' parting words were "You are a pig," then she sauntered out of my room and out of my life. Had she remembered to take her Serge with her, I would have bought the act. As it was,"Is she always so volatile?" Zelda remarked."Volatile? That's not her being volatile. That's Anais being affectionate. Volatile usually is accompanied by thrown objects and bodily harm," I sighed happily. Meeting her one more time couldn't be all that bad, could it? Zelda looked hungry so I shoved that thought to the back of my mind and got to work.That was the highlight of my Sunday. Zelda had to fly back to Washington D.C. and I had to go to work with JIKIT. It seemed that the Khanate and the US military were heading for a showdown. I unloaded all my Saturday's activities to the team and we got to work, no recriminations. I was the Khan's spiritual brother and sometimes that meant I had to do him favors.I asked Addison when she thought he would return the favor. She laughed, then smiled and told me that wasn't how it worked. He was a world leader now and I was merely his kooky kinsman that he would keep throwing problems at until one day I broke. Then it would be some other poor saps turn.Then she told me she was kidding and clearly the Great Khan thought the world of me. I chose to believe the second lie because it made me feel better, and it was promising to be a long weekend/start of the week.Note: Geopolitical DevelopmentsWhat follows are snippets of the Battle for Thailand that takes place late in the night of September 1stand continued into the early morning of September 3rd. If this does not interest you, you can rejoin Cáel's exploits in four pages)On the eve of battle, the Royal Thai High Command had decided to strip all but one armored unit from the 2nd Army in order to give the First Army's offensive against the rebels more of a punch. It's decision to strip the tank battalions from both their infantry divisions as well as the armored and one of the two mechanized regiments would prove to be disastrous. It was as if the leadership of the Royal Thai military were idiots.The least economically valuable part of the country was the northeast which the 2nd Army warded. They had severely underestimated the airlift capacity of the Khanate as well as the willingness of Laos and Cambodia to both use their armed forces in an invasion as well as their willingness to let Vietnamese troops cross their countries.That thinking had led the Thai military to adopt a 'forward defense' strategy, the desire to fight the enemy at the borders, as opposed to having stronger formations deeper within the country. Considering the relative weakness of the Cambodian and Laotian militaries, that policy had made sense:- The baseline Laotian and Cambodian tank was the T-54/55, a 1950's Soviet relic. The normal anti-tank capabilities in all Thai infantry formations was more than equal to such a threat.-Neither country had an air force worth worrying about.In contrast, the Khanate's primary tanks, the T-90SM and T-95 were resistant to most of what the Thai Army could throw at them, at least from the front. The seven hundred combat aircraft the Khanate and the Vietnamese were able to field was an equal catastrophe for the Thais. It greatly compensated for the relative small numbers of invaders.Finally, there was a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Alliance's goals were. Military logic dictated the destruction of Thailand's mobile force followed by the capture of Bangkok. As long as the Thai regime held the capital, it would remain the legitimate power in the country.Due to the altering political landscape, the Alliance's only option was to make the government 'look bad'. The loss of peripheral provinces, while of negligible immediate strategic value, looked great on the maps the world-wide media would be showing to their audiences. It would appear that the Thai army had failed to defend their country. That would (hopefully) make the Thai Third Army look like the legitimate authority in Thailand.That was the plan anyway, and you know what they say about battle plans and the enemy, right? H-hour was 4 am, September 1st.The commander of the Zuun stood up and waited to be recognized. The staff officer from the Yunnan Command pointed at him."Sir, why are we doing this? I am not afraid to fight for the Great Khan, but this action seems to be suicidal. We will be far behind enemy's lines while our offensive force will be grossly under-equipped.""You will have to rely on our ability to supply you by air.""We only have supplies for two days of operations. What happens then?""We rely on the Americans to come and save us," the senior officer responded bitterly."Allah save us from allies," the young commander muttered. What else could he do?He was part of the 2nd Mountain Sultan Mehmet Tumen which had just arrived in Yunnan to replace the exhausted 1st Mountain Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur Tumen. His men were from Turkey, inexperienced in combat and using new equipment they were not familiar with. They would be working with a unit he had never worked with before, the 1st Airmobile Tauekel Khan Tumen, Kazaks, who would be seizing the small airport his men needed to land in.From there, they were to 'run amok'. That was the technical term for racing south down a highway in Central Thailand, attacking the headquarters of the 3rd Cavalry Division, an armored unit. Once that was accomplished, they were to attack the local police precinct. Provided they were still alive after that, they were to return to the air strip to resupply then they were to 'spread chaos' until they were finally hunted down by the vastly larger Thai division his 100 men would be fighting.Of course, there was the plan for the rebel Royal Thai Third Army to force their way through the larger frontline forces of the loyalist Royal Thai First Army and come to his rescue. How would the Thai troops respond when ordered to fight their fellow Thais? No one was sure. If there was any hope in this mission, it was the knowledge that several other Zuuns had the exact same mission in other areas of Thailand.  It was H-hour minus twenty-two.It was 11 o'clock in the evening when the general in charge of the Royal Thai 9th Infantry Division was woken up. The Marines were leaving. That was correct; the three Royal Thai regiments were heading west to Sattahip Naval Base, because they had been ordered to by the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize why this was going on.Seven hours earlier, the Royal Thai Army had seized all the Air Force bases in the 1st and 2nd Army districts as well as ordering the 4th Army to do the same thing (The Royal Thai Air Force had been trying to remain neutral in the upcoming civil war).Undoubtedly the navy had decided to make their assets less 'hijack-able'. A few phone calls later confirmed that most of the Navy had set sail for parts unknown and the naval air units at Ban Sattahip Air Base (U-Tapao International Airport) had also departed either out to sea, or to ports and bases in the South.He made a personal appeal to the commander of Marine Forces to no avail. They wanted no part of the upcoming struggle and advised the general to do the same. The general had other problems. The Royal Thai Marines were the frontline forces facing the southern border with Cambodia. He quickly reorganized his regiments, sending them to take the old Marine strongpoints to await further orders. Stopping the Marines never entered his mind.That was a bloodletting he wanted no part of. The last thing he did was inform his superiors, thus avoiding any stupid orders to the contrary. Suddenly the nebulous movements along the Cambodian border developed a haunting significance. He wondered how much longer he had before something happened.  It was H-hour minus five.At midnight a loyalist commander of a company of mechanized infantry in the 2nd Cavalry's 11th Battle Group (named after their axis of advance, Highway 11) decided to send a motorized section of his command forward to the advance position his battalion was to occupy come sunrise. Either later in the day, or tomorrow morning, the forces loyal to the regime would launch a coordinated assault against the rebels main supply center at Phitsanulok.He had a cot set up in his communications hut and had just nodded off when the radio squawked to life. His lieutenant in charge of the advance made a hurried report. They had encountered serious opposition in a confusing night action, then he went silent. The captain immediately swung into action. He put the rest of his men on alert, then contacted the neighboring Tank Battalion. He needed some armored support. He made a similar call to the attached artillery component.The Tank Battalions night officer quickly put a platoon of light tanks at his disposal. The artillery were ready for any fire mission he sent their way. Before the armor could arrive, the company commander found himself being called to the carpet by the Duty Officer at the 3rd Cavalry (two regiments of the 2nd Cav. had been attached to the 3rd's command) over his 'offensive' action and the relief mission was called off. What had happened to the patrol of 20 Royal Thai soldiers? He was ordered to wait until sunrise to find out.Little did anyone know, these were the first combat casualties of the upcoming rebel offensive. His patrol had stumbled across a battalion of mechanized troops arriving at their jump off point for the attack that was less than six hours from beginning. Neither the commander of the 11th Battle Group, the 3rd Cavalry Division, or First Army was informed that the enemy had already advanced twenty kilometers south of where they were supposed to be.  

-CHAPTERS-00:00 Introduction to Andrew Impson's Military Journey06:56 The Impact of 9/11 on Military Careers12:34 Experiences in Iraq: First Impressions and Realities18:42 Reflections on Military Responsibility and Autonomy22:42 Lessons Learned from Deployments and Their Implications24:45 Comparing American Democracy with Foreign Cultures28:02 The Role of Protests and Civil Rights in America38:52 The Role of Useful Idiots in Protests40:38 Career Reflections and the Drive to Serve41:23 The Decision to Re-enlist and Its Consequences43:16 Challenges of Reintegration into Civilian Life45:20 Experiences in Ranger School and Leadership Development48:12 The Unique Dynamics of Special Forces Teams51:17 Job Suitability and Aptitude in Special Forces53:35 The Impact of Team Changes on Performance59:28 Navigating Command Changes and Cultural Differences01:03:46 A Run-In with Military Law in Iraq01:12:16 Lessons Learned from Confrontations01:15:05 Moments of Fear and Bravery in Service01:16:47 Significant Deployment Experiences01:20:08 Understanding Local Contexts in Conflict01:22:10 Reflections on Military Impact and Change01:24:07 Personal Reflections and Lessons Learned01:25:11 The Impact of Military Life on Family01:27:08 Physical and Mental Health Challenges01:29:47 Navigating Post-Military Life01:33:14 Exploring Alternative Therapies01:34:33 Career Highlights and Personal Growth01:38:56 Transitioning to Civilian Life01:41:07 Current Work in Security Solutions01:44:59 Raising Awareness on School Safety01:46:50 Connecting with the Community-SUMMARY-In this conversation, Andrew Impson shares his extensive military journey, detailing his early influences, the impact of 9/11 on his career aspirations, and the complexities of war that shaped his worldview. He discusses his experiences in Iraq, the differences between big army and special operations, and his desire for more responsibility within the military. Andrew reflects on his transition back to civilian life, his time in Ranger School, and the dynamics of Special Forces teams, ultimately connecting his military experiences to current events and societal issues. In this conversation, Andrew Impson shares his experiences in the military, particularly focusing on the challenges of command changes, cultural shifts within military groups, and a significant encounter with law enforcement in Iraq. He reflects on his fears and bravery during deployments, the impact of his military career on his family, and his transition to civilian life. Andrew emphasizes the importance of active threat preparedness in schools and communities, advocating for better planning and collaboration between law enforcement and educational institutions.

SALE: JG & JG2.0 are on sale now thru the weekendCode: RUNLIFT for 25% off at checkoutThis episode breaks down my Ranger School Experience as an E-6 Green Beret.Showing up prepared.Phase by phase breakdownRAP weekDarbyFountainsFlorida (x2

This pod, part of a series of interviews of Military Veterans, is presented by the New England Chapter of the U.S. Army Ranger Association. Originally recorded in September of 2024, Greg d'Arbonne talks to Len Samborowski about his time in the Army and the impact of Ranger School. Along the way we discuss – Jumping Jack Farris (21:10), Joint STARS (25:00), “First World Problems" (30:30), You're Not Alone (40:30), and Luke 12:48 (43:30). This podcast is teamed with LukeLeaders1248, a nonprofit that provides scholarships for the children of military veterans. Help us reach our 3-scholarship goal. Send your $20 donation to our website @ www.lukeleaders1248.com, PayPal, or Venmo @LukeLeaders1248.  Music intro and outro from the creative brilliance of Kenny Kilgore. Lowriders and Beautiful Rainy Day. 

Sidney Jaques is a US Army Major, Human Resources Specialist, S1 and she has an incredible story. The first female to be assigned to an Infantry Battalion as S1 in the 82nd Airborne, and the first woman to earn both the Ranger tab and Ranger Scroll of the 75th Ranger Regiment.  This isn't your usual interview with Sidney however. There are a lot of podcasts where she talks about that journey. I was more interested in Sidney and her thoughts on many topics, not just the one aspect of making it through Ranger School.  Her's is a story of incredible fortitude, resilience, grit, determination, and integrity. It was an honor for me to get to sit down with her!  You can find Sidney on instagram @balance_your_grit and on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/sidney-jaques-9244162b0/ You can find this podcasts website here https://www.thedistinguishedsavage.com You can find Absolute Security and Lock here http://www.absolutesecurityandlock.com

The U.S. Army Ranger Battalion demands a constant pursuit of excellence and it comes at a cost to the individual. Few will know the cross pressure of desiring to go back to the aggressive lifestyle of a Ranger and the reality that one cannot keep up the level of performance indefinitely. Mike Meegan walks through the differences between living on "the line" and Ranger School. His tenure training in Small Unit Ranger Tactics and now as a leader of Rudder's Rangers at Texas A&M, brings a valuable perspective to the table when it comes to training mentality. Follow Mike Meegan on Instagram at @R.A.N.G.E.R.UUse Code 2025deaddrop10 for 10% off your order at obsidianarms.comThis episode has been sponsored by Obsidian Arms, a manufacturer of tools, parts and firearms, as well as operating as an OEM shop for those looking to bring excellence to the market. Their Minnesota-based shop builds and cuts parts out of U.S.-sourced materials. Their gunsmith tools, custom firearms, and capabilities can be found at www.obsidianarms.comSupport the REDACTED Culture Cast at redactedculture.locals.comSSP and boutique products at redactedllc.comFollow us on Instagram at @redactedllc

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/ Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor As we wait in anticipation of a hostage deal, we welcome President Trump's incoming National Security Adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, to the podcast, to discuss the possible hostage deal, and his thoughts on the U.S.-Israel relationship.  Congressman Mike Waltz is a Colonel (Ret.) in the National Guard, and the first Green Beret to be elected to Congress. He worked on counter-terrorism in the Bush White House and was a policy advisor at the Pentagon, serving under Secretaries Rumsfeld and Gates, and a Congressman from Florida. As President Trump is sworn in as president - this upcoming Monday, January 20th, inauguration day - so will Mike Waltz, as the president's National Security Advisor.  Mike graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with Honors and served 27 years in the U.S. Army and National Guard. After being commissioned as an Army lieutenant, Mike graduated Ranger School and was selected for the elite Green Berets, serving worldwide as a Special Forces officer with multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa. For his actions in combat, Mike was awarded four Bronze Stars, including two for Valor.  Mike is the author of the books, “Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret's Battles from Washington to Afghanistan”: https://a.co/d/18NEaB0 , and “Hard Truths: Think and Lead Like a Green Beret”: https://a.co/d/c0lnM9B

In this episode of Mislaibeled, we're joined by John Spencer, a renowned expert in urban warfare and military strategy. John discusses military strategy, the Israel-Gaza conflict, and his experiences in conflict zones. From leadership lessons to the complexities of urban warfare, he offers unique insights on modern warfare, the laws of war, and his advocacy for the Jewish people.00:00 Episode Trailer01:30 Introducing John Spencer02:46 The Urban Defender Manual Explained06:47 Mastering Urban Warfare09:09 Strategy and Urban Warfare: A Deep Dive12:00 CubX Advertisement 13:24 John Spencer's Journey15:17 Ranger School & Leadership Insights23:09 ISAK Advertisement 24:25 Why Urban Warfare?28:45 Israel-Gaza vs. Iraq: A Comparative Analysis33:58 The Double Standard in Conflict Reporting44:00 Sunset Window Fashions Advertisement 45:05 John's Mission: Minimizing Civilian Harm in Gaza47:58 U.S. vs. IDF: Approaches to Ending the Israel-Gaza War56:07 Debunking Common Myths About the Israel-Gaza War1:03:55 The Laws of War: Are They Effective?1:09:11 The Challenges of Urban Warfare1:19:14 Joe Rogan's Perspective on the Israel-Gaza War1:27:21 Israel's Fight Against Hezbollah1:33:38 Leadership Analysis: Bibi Netanyahu1:39:11 The Path to Resolving the Israel-Gaza Conflict1:49:09 Iran, Israel, and U.S. Relations1:51:52 Ukraine's NATO Bid: U.S. Influence and Consequences2:02:40 Fact vs. Fiction: Identifying the Truth2:06:13 John's Advocacy for the Jewish PeopleFollow John Spencer:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/spencerguardTwitter: https://x.com/SpencerGuardPodcast - https://www.johnspenceronline.com/podcastsPodcast Info:→ Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3iy0Kee→ Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/3zdMqOz→ Google Podcasts - https://bit.ly/3eVtSee→ Buzzsprout - https://mislaibeled.buzzsprout.comSocial:→ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mislaibeled/→ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Mislaibeled→ TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@UCQlZulYicKVNOhwC16JzYQw

Today's question topics:programming and exercise selection post ranger schoolsystems training vs pace training2 mile improvement Running ultras as active duty SOFRuck tips for short kingsRunning plateausWhy rest days are importantRucking in minimalist shoesSpeed loss rate when only doing easy runsPros and cons of fat burnersSFAS prep recovery strategies - EBook: SOF Selection Recovery & Nutrition GuideTempo vs. lactate threshold runsSquat, bench, DL standards for SFAS prepNew Program:Jacked Gazelle 2.0EBook: SOF Selection Recovery & Nutrition GuidePrograms, articlesNew Training Team on TrainHeroic: T-850 Rebuilt (try a week for free!)terminatortraining.com2 & 5 Mile Run Program - run improvement program w/ strength workKickstart- beginner/garage gym friendlyTime Crunch- Workouts for those short on timeHypertrophy- intermediate/advancedJacked Gazelle- Hybrid athleteSFAS Prep- Special forces train-upTrainHeroic- App based bodybuilding programFollow me:SubstackNewsletter Sign UpIG: terminator_trainingTwitter: @ksterminatortmyoutube: Terminator Training MethodFacebook: Terminator TrainingWhichever platform you're tuning in on, feel free to leave a review! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. The more reviews we receive, the more people the podcast will reach!Also, if you know anyone who loves fitness and podcasts, spread the word! My goal is to help as many people as I can and cut out the BS when it comes to fitness, nutrition and health.Look for weekly (or more) Q&A on my stories. I'll answer your questions on IG and here on the podcast.

Welcome to the ninety-fifth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show! I am your host Mark Hasara, former KC-135 pilot and Airplane Nerd! I'm really excited to bring this episode to you! Air Mobility Command's Command Chief Master Sergeant Jamie Newman and I met at the Airlift Tanker Association convention in Dallas earlier this year. Coming up through the Air Force Security Police ranks, Command Chief Newman was not only selected to become an elite Air Force Phoenix Raven, but go through the Army's grueling Ranger School returning later as an instructor at Fort Benning! Command Chief Newman shares with us his leadership lessons at the cutting edge of battle from the land, sea, or air. A note of gratitude to all of you as the ‪@MarkHasara‬ YouTube page passed 201k subscribers last night and views of my podcast and shorts are now over 145 million views since we started on 2 February 2024!  Support the Lessons from the Cockpit show by subscribing to the @markhasara YouTube channel or better yet, join my Patreon group at the All Ranks Club. Membership ranges from free to $50 a month. Those of you joining at the Designated Driver ($15) and By The Bar ($50) tiers enjoy virtual Bar Night Live and Q&A sessions via Zoom, your questions go to the top of the list, and each month receive one of ten seven inch stickers, a profile drawing of a famous aircraft you can peel off and stick to any flat surface like a water bottle or laptop. The link to join the All Ranks Club on Patreon is: https://www.patreon.com/lessonsfromthecockpit/gift You can see all ten stickers on the All Ranks Club Discord channel, my daily journal on aviation at: https://discord.com/channels/1285369634329202840/1288163956246057071 If you want to financially support the Lessons from the Cockpit show by just contributing to help keep us going the PayPal link is: https://paypal.me/MRHSolutionsLLC?locale.x=en_US Or on Venmo at https://account.venmo.com/u/Mark-Hasara Thank you for making this channel what it is! I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  

Welcome to the ninety-fifth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show! I am your host Mark Hasara, former KC-135 pilot and Airplane Nerd! I'm really excited to bring this episode to you! Air Mobility Command's Command Chief Master Sergeant Jamie Newman and I met at the Airlift Tanker Association convention in Dallas earlier this year. Coming up through the Air Force Security Police ranks, Command Chief Newman was not only selected to become an elite Air Force Phoenix Raven, but go through the Army's grueling Ranger School returning later as an instructor at Fort Benning! Command Chief Newman shares with us his leadership lessons at the cutting edge of battle from the land, sea, or air. A note of gratitude to all of you as the ‪@MarkHasara‬ YouTube page passed 201k subscribers last night and views of my podcast and shorts are now over 145 million views since we started on 2 February 2024!  Support the Lessons from the Cockpit show by subscribing to the @markhasara YouTube channel or better yet, join my Patreon group at the All Ranks Club. Membership ranges from free to $50 a month. Those of you joining at the Designated Driver ($15) and By The Bar ($50) tiers enjoy virtual Bar Night Live and Q&A sessions via Zoom, your questions go to the top of the list, and each month receive one of ten seven inch stickers, a profile drawing of a famous aircraft you can peel off and stick to any flat surface like a water bottle or laptop. The link to join the All Ranks Club on Patreon is: https://www.patreon.com/lessonsfromthecockpit/gift You can see all ten stickers on the All Ranks Club Discord channel, my daily journal on aviation at: https://discord.com/channels/1285369634329202840/1288163956246057071 If you want to financially support the Lessons from the Cockpit show by just contributing to help keep us going the PayPal link is: https://paypal.me/MRHSolutionsLLC?locale.x=en_US Or on Venmo at https://account.venmo.com/u/Mark-Hasara Thank you for making this channel what it is! I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  

Welcome to the VinnyRoc Podcast! In this episode, I'm joined by Joseph Luplow, a longtime friend, former Army Ranger, and fitness enthusiast who has carved an impressive path in powerlifting and bodybuilding after his military career. Joseph and I reminisce about our shared experiences in the military, including the bonds we forged during Ranger School, deployments, and intense training sessions. We explore Joseph's lifelong commitment to fitness, starting with his teenage years when he balanced football practices with relentless weightlifting sessions. He shares how this discipline stayed with him through the military and into his civilian life, where he continues to make time for fitness, even while working demanding schedules in industries like refinery work. Joseph also talks about the genetic factors that played a role in his physique and how he maximized those gifts through hard work and dedication. If you've ever wondered what it takes to maintain peak physical condition while balancing work, life, and personal goals, this episode is packed with valuable insights and inspiration. We also give a shoutout to our incredible sponsors: - Core Medical Group: Specialists in male hormone replacement therapy, serving veterans, first responders, and more. If you're looking to optimize your health and energy, contact them for discounted bloodwork—just mention the VinnyRoc Podcast. - Modern Gun School: A flexible, affordable online armorer school that allows veterans to use their GI Bill benefits. Study from home with high-quality materials and experienced instructors. - Grimblades: Makers of premium American-made straight razors and grooming tools. Check them out at Grimblades.com or follow @StraightRazors on Instagram. Whether you're interested in military stories, fitness advice, or just looking for inspiration, this episode delivers on all fronts. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more incredible conversations with inspiring guests.

In this captivating episode of Mentors4mil, we dive deep into the journey of Sidney Jacquez, the first Ranger tabbed female in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Sidney shares her story, starting from her selection in RASP-2, leading to her experiences in Ranger School, where she faced unexpected challenges. As the first woman from the regiment to pass the Ranger School's rigorous standards, Sidney opens up about the unique pressures and biases she encountered. Join us as we explore her tenacity and resilience, which helped her overcome many barriers, both mentally and physically. Sidney's honest reflections highlight the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity, aiming for fairness and equity in unconventional spaces. Through her narrative, Sidney hopes to inspire future generations, showing that consistency in values and seeking support can lead to personal growth and achieving groundbreaking milestones. Don't miss this in-depth conversation on leadership, courage, and breaking down organizational barriers. ____________ Please leave us a review on Apple/Spotify Podcasts: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentors-for-military-podcast/id1072421783 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3w4RiZBxBS8EDy6cuOlbUl #mentors4mil  #mentorsformilitary Mentors4mil Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Mentors4mil Patreon Support: https://www.patreon.com/join/Mentors4mil  Intro music "Long Way Down" by Silence & Light is used with permission. Show Disclaimer: https://mentorsformilitary.com/disclaimer/

Guest: Dan Streetman, CEO of TaniumA graduate of West Point who served in Iraq combat operations, Tanium CEO Dan Streetman can't help but compare his business career to his military experience. Understanding huge structures and processes is a crucial skill at both Tanium and in the Army, he says, as are the skills for aligning people around a shared mission.“Before you go on an operation, you write a thing called an operations order ... [and] one of the most important things at the operations order is this paragraph called the commander's intent,” he explains, “which describes how you believe the mission is going to be accomplished and why it's important.”“You may end up doing something completely different. But as long as you understand the mission and the commander's intent, the organization can do amazing things.”Chapters:(01:05) - Election Day (02:44) - Ranger School (06:42) - Parenting and business school (09:59) - Military structures (12:27) - Serving in Iraq (15:59) - Back to normal life (21:37) - Working out (24:14) - Quality sleep (26:37) - Non-founder CEOs (31:35) - Getting the job (35:56) - Earning respect (38:49) - TIBCO (43:40) - Redline (46:37) - Going public (53:54) - Time horizons (58:35) - Free AI (01:03:11) - Whar “grit” mans to Dan (01:03:40) - Who Tanium is hiring Mentioned in this episode: Ronald Reagan, Terri Streetman, Ironman Triathlons, Jeff Bezos and Amazon, Stanley McChrystal, Jon Abizaid, Charles Jacoby, Thomas Siebel and C3, Salesforce, Bill McDermott, Carl Eschenbach, Marc Benioff, Garmin, Mark McLaughlin, Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke, World Series of Poker, Amdocs, David and Orion Hindawi, Citrix, Harvard University, Pets.com, Ben Horowitz, Vista Equity Partners, Vivek Ranadivé, Robert Smith, Operation Warp Speed, BreakLine, Bipul Sinha and Rubrik, Mikhail Gorbachev, F. Scott Fitzgerald, OpenAI and ChatGPT, and Google.Links:Connect with DanLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

In this episode, Joe De Sena explores the powerful lessons of military leadership with Ryan P. Crayne, an experienced Army officer.   Ryan shares how tough training, mental resilience, and leading by example forge exceptional leaders. Learn how the same principles that guide soldiers can help you develop personal discipline, build trust, and tackle challenges head-on in your own life.   Whether you're looking to enhance your leadership skills, improve your physical and mental fitness, or just gain inspiration from military strategies, this episode is packed with actionable tips you can start applying today.   Highlights: 00:41 Major Crane's background in military service and teaching 02:17 The rewards and challenges of military service 03:19 Ranger School experiences and leadership development 05:16 Pushing limits and developing resilience in youth 08:50 Leadership tips: Trust, example, and expertise 12:13 Military recruiting and benefits of military service 16:00 The value of overcoming tough challenges 17:39 Major Crane's future military service plans 18:34 Daily habits inspired by military discipline 21:00 How to connect with Major Crane?

Kevin Smith, Founder of Terminator Training Method (TTM), specializes in virtual fitness coaching tailored for those prepping for Special Operations Forces (SOF) selection courses, especially SFAS. Born and raised in Maine, Kevin's dedication to hard work started as a young multi-sport athlete, inspired by his father and later refined through over a decade in the Army Special Forces as a Green Beret medic. He served on a military freefall team for 3.5 years at 10th SFG (A) and closed out his career on a dive/maritime team at 3rd SFG (A). During his time in, he completed multiple deployments and earned qualifications, including Ranger School, Advanced Land Navigation (SMU Selection), Dive Medical Technician, Static Line Jumpmaster, and the Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant Course. After 12 years of training for and serving as a Green Beret, he transitioned to a career in fitness coaching, specializing in 1:1 coaching, team coaching, and content creation.Kevin's approach to coaching is rooted in simplicity, efficiency, and personalization, emphasizing smart exercise selection, intentional progression, and flexibility. He believes in training that builds resilience without unnecessary complexity, prioritizing fundamentals over fads and ensuring each athlete's program uniquely suits their goals. His mission with TTM is to provide clear, science-backed guidance that empowers tactical athletes to exceed fitness standards and develop the mental toughness needed for SOF selection while avoiding the burnout and frustration he once faced. Through TTM's virtual coaching, podcast, and content, Kevin aims to reshape the tactical fitness space with no-nonsense, results-oriented coaching.More about Kevin:Website: Terminatortraining.comPodcast: The Terminator Training ShowYoutube: Terminator Training MethodIG: Terminator-trainingArticles referenced in the show: Mental Fortitude Prompts (Most Popular); Dealing With Pre-Selection Doubt; Crushing Team Week (Character Development); All Articles: TTM website; SubstackTimestamps:00:00:21 Introduction to Kevin Smith00:02:07 ‘How did you get into physical training…?'00:07:16 College and Joining The Army 00:13:27 Special Operations Preparation and Conditioning Course & Selection00:17:12 Helping Clients with Imposter Syndrome and Segmenting00:21:06 Sponsor Note: Building The Elite00:21:30 Segmenting (Continued)00:23:51 Self-Induced Stress00:26:57 Managing Self-Induced Stress00:36:16 18D School00:41:35 Advice for 18D00:45:37 After the Q Course00:49:15 Delta Force00:51:36 Camp Delhi00:54:01 Getting Out of The Army00:56:45 Ranger School01:01:11 Advice for Ranger School01:05:46 Learning with No Ego01:08:26 Coaching and Clearing Up Misinformation01:14:07 Nutrition01:19:33 Mindset and Character Trait Development01:27:46 Final Questions01:31:08 Outro

On this week's episode, Maria speaks with veteran, attorney, and founder of Berry Law, John Berry. They discuss serving in the military, working with veterans, what it's like to run a law firm with 3 practice areas, how to apply military leadership to business teams, and Maria finally meets someone who also refers to intake as sales.  You can get in touch with John at https://ptsdlawyers.com Guest John Berry (@theveteranlawyer on Instagram) after receiving his commission as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, John completed Airborne School and Ranger School. John finished his military career as a Battalion Commander in the National Guard and retired as a lieutenant colonel.Berry Law has served over 10,000 Veterans nationwide recovering over $300 million in backpay awards for veterans. Host Maria Monroy (@marialawrank on Instagram) is the Co-founder and President of LawRank, a leading SEO company for law firms since 2013. She has a knack for breaking down complex topics to make them more easily accessible and started Tip the Scales to share her knowledge with listeners like you. _____ LawRank grows your law firm with SEO Our clients saw a 384% increase in first-time calls and a 603% growth in traffic in 12 months. Get your free competitor report at https://lawrank.com/report. Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app Rate us 5 stars on iTunes and Spotify Watch us on YouTube Follow us on Instagram and TikTok

In this third chapter of the series, join me as I revisit my journey from a struggling soldier balancing military duties with building a business, to a thriving entrepreneur with a successful YouTube channel. I cover my experiences overcoming setbacks, like failing Ranger School and banking issues while deployed in South Korea. Learn how seeking discomfort and relentless self-investment led to Bare Performance Nutrition's growth from humble beginnings to tackling financial challenges. Chapters 00:00 Exciting Black Friday Sale Announcement 01:30 Reflecting on a Transformative Year 02:18 Journey to Becoming a Platoon Leader 03:27 Starting BPN with $500 11:44 Building the Brand on YouTube 23:52 Balancing Military and Business 33:34 Embracing Discomfort for Growth 39:17 Denied Opportunities and New Challenges 42:53 Secret YouTube Channel Revealed 47:28 South Korea: A Pivotal Moment 48:55 Building BPN in South Korea 58:57 Unexpected Banking Issues 01:04:12 Preparing for the Next Chapter 01:10:16 Conclusion and Next Steps Strength, endurance, and wellness supplements to fuel your performance. SAVE 10% at BPN Supps: https://bit.ly/nickbare10audio FOLLOW: IG: https://www.instagram.com/thenickbarepodcast YT: youtube.com/@nickbarefitness

In this chapter of Building the Brand, I cover my time from landing in Fort Benning, Georgia in October 2013, to arriving at Fort Hood, Texas in October 2014. I share how my severe eating disorder led me to fall in love with fitness and start Bare Performance Nutrition (BPN). I recount my Army ROTC experiences, graduating college, and the challenges faced during Ranger School. This chapter reflects on the importance of solitude, resilience, and the life lessons learned, paving the way for BPN's growth and my leadership approach. Chapters 00:00 Overcoming Personal Struggles 00:10 The Spark of Fitness and Nutrition 00:25 Military Journey Begins 00:50 Starting BPN: The Early Challenges 02:05 Reflecting on Chapter One 05:00 Arriving at Fort Benning 07:56 Lessons from Military Training 18:33 The Importance of Solitude 24:56 Preparing for Ranger School 32:55 Mastering Time Management 34:47 The Ranger School Challenge 39:48 Facing Setbacks and Resilience 50:45 Lessons in Leadership and Character 53:50 New Beginnings at Fort Hood 59:46 Going All In on BPN Strength, endurance, and wellness supplements to fuel your performance. SAVE 10% at BPN Supps: https://bit.ly/nickbare10audio FOLLOW: IG: https://www.instagram.com/thenickbarepodcast YT: youtube.com/@nickbarefitness

Fall Kickoff SALE: from now till the end of September, all orders of TTM PDF products on the site are 30% off with code FALL30. TTM Programs SOF Selection Prep Recovery & Nutrition GuideToday's questions:How much does bodyweight weight affect running?-I saw you suggested limiting NSAIDs. Why?-Ranger school at 35 years old, how much lasting health implications would it cause?-What are your views on proper running form overhyped or absolutely critical for injury prevention?-Having a rough time getting back to a hundred percent post selection. Any tips?-Is it a good or bad idea to do runs and rucks in the boots I'll be using at selection?--How long do you try to make your daily walks?-How would you program maintenance mode runs to prioritize lifts? Is it different for cutting or bulking?-What role should the low to no impact cardio, erg, spin bike, rubber play relative to running and rucking?-How to not be a non-select, even if you are a good leader team player?-How long can strength gain in a caloric deficit last for a beginner?-On week nine of Jack Gazelle(the deload week)but I'm going on vacation in three weeks. Should I delay deload?-How important is zone two for base building and what happens if you skip it?-What is your opinion on last SFAS class pass rate of 11.6%? 0.06%?-Advice on getting over the fear of jumping out of an airplane?-When conducting our own research via scientific papers, literature, data, et cetera, is there a way to spot bias?-How worth it is, Pedialyte for what It provides - $6 for 32 ounces on base.New Program: 2 & 5 Mile Run ProgramNEW EBOOK: SOF Selection Recovery & Nutrition GuidePrograms, articlesNew Training Team on TrainHeroic: T-850 Rebuilt (try a week for free!)terminatortraining.comKickstart- beginner/garage gym friendlyTime Crunch- Workouts for those short on timeHypertrophy- intermediate/advancedJacked Gazelle- Hybrid athleteSFAS Prep- Special forces train-upTrainHeroic- App based bodybuilding programFollow me:SubstackNewsletter Sign UpIG: terminator_trainingTwitter: @ksterminatortmyoutube: Terminator Training MethodFacebook: Terminator TrainingWhichev

"My pathway to Richmond was indirect. My ability to stay at Richmond was also pretty creative, but the school holds a very special place in my heart because I had to fight for it."Today on As Spiders Do, Brandon Shelton, '98 shares his journey from UR's Army ROTC to Ranger School and Military Intelligence to founding a company that invests in veteran founders. Tune in to hear how his lily-pad mindset has helped him build resilience throughout his life.Editing by Charlotte Haneke, Assistant Director of Student and Young Grad Programming, and Maggie Johnson, '18, Associate Director of Regional & Young Grad Engagement. Episode music by FASSounds from Pixabay.Nominate someone to be on our show by emailing alumni@richmond.edu.

This week's episode of Urban Valor features Army Ranger Veteran and Netflix series host Cameron Fath. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Thousand Oaks, CA, Cameron's fascination with guns and tactical training led him to enlist in the Army with a Ranger contract. Cameron details the relentless challenges of the Ranger selection process and the intense experiences that shaped him into one of America's elite warriors.He also opens up about his time in Syria, working in the operation room and witnessing the harsh realities of combat casualties. Cameron reflects on the struggles of returning to civilian life and how he found a new path as the host of Netflix's "Toughest Forces on Earth."

Send us a textTiffany Myrick-Woodley served two decades in the US Army, and played an essential role in the integration of women into the Army's Combat Arms occupations. She served as a member of Cultural Support Team – Two (CST-2), enabling the 75th Ranger Regiment and Naval Special Warfare Development Group by engaging the Afghan female and adolescent populations prior to the lift of the Combat Exclusion Policy. She was also selected to observe and advise on the implementation of standards during gender integration of Ranger School, the Army's premier leadership course.Over the span of her military service, Tiffany discovered that real change comes through policy and education. This prompted her to leave the military to influence policy on a broader scale while continuing to provide inspiration, mentorship, and advocacy to future generations. Her ideals prompted her to accept a role as a board member for the Valkyrie Project, a nonprofit organization devoted to the advocacy and support of female service members.More about Tiffany:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-m-b477671b6/The Valkyrie Project: https://www.thevalkyrieproject.org/Timestamps:00:00:22 Introduction to Tiffany Myrick00:01:28 Tiffany's Roles in the Military00:03:35 Being On the Other Side of Basic Training00:05:18 One Station Unit Training00:06:51 What Did Tiffany Learn from Being a Drill Sergeant?00:10:03 The Cultural Support Team00:11:14 Selection Course for Cultural Support Team00:12:52 The White Board System00:13:15 Being a Student Versus Being Qualified to Do the Job 00:14:54 Ranger Physical Assessment00:15:45 Working Closely with the Same Partner for an Entire Mission00:16:48 Room for One Tactically00:17:38 What Does the Mission Objective Look Like?00:20:13 Deciding What Looks Important on a Mission00:20:40 Interacting with the Local Populous00:22:43 Main Security Concerns on Assignment00:23:46 Did Tiffany Know Ashley?00:24:39 Particular Missions That Stood Out to Tiffany00:29:23 Moments Where Everyone Is Suffering00:31:11 Wearing NODs (Night Observation Devices)00:32:01 Lifting the Combat Exclusion Policy00:32:59 Sponsor Note: Coaching Mentorship Course00:33:21 Advisory Role to Integrate Women into Ranger School00:35:25 Identifying Common Characteristics Among Graduates00:36:00 What Did the Army Learn as Women Were Integrated?00:38:33 The Gray Man, Middle of the Pack00:40:46 Why Couldn't Women Shave Their Heads Like the Men?00:41:23 When did Tiffany Retire?00:41:32 What Led Tiffany to the Valkyrie Project in 2023?00:44:34 Advice for Women in SOF Pipeline 00:46:34 Similar Stories to “The Ranger on a Ridgeline Getting an I.V.”00:49:21 Best and Worst Advice Ever Received 00:50:59 Outro

As a military veteran or first responder, you need to be planning and implementing strategies to prepare for your transition into civilian life. In this episode of the Transition Drill Podcast, join the conversation with Harrison Lewis, a former Army Ranger and military officer whose journey from a military upbringing to the challenges of the ROTC program, the trials of Ranger School, and his transition to civilian life offers invaluable insights for military veterans and first responders. Harrison shares his struggles and triumphs, from his early days navigating family expectations and college football dreams to his time in the elite 75th Ranger Regiment and beyond. Now, as a veteran, entrepreneur, and physical therapy student, Harrison opens up about his drive to build a global community through his veteran-owned clothing brand, GRND, and his mission to support fellow veterans, athletes, and underserved communities in their pursuit of excellence. Enjoy his compelling story of resilience, leadership, and the grind that continues to shape his life's work today. SPONSORS: Trident Coffee Get 15% off your purchase Link: https://tridentcoffee.com Promo Code: TDP15 SOFLETE Get 20% off your purchase Web: https://soflete.com Promo Code: TDP20 CONNECT WITH THE PODCAST: IG: https://www.instagram.com/paulpantani/ WEB: https://www.transitiondrillpodcast.com QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS: paul@transitiondrillpodcast.com CONNECT WITH HARRISON: WEB: https://thegrndcollective.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrison-lewis-9358ba94/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/harrisonllewis/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/grnd.us/ GRND Commandments 1) Show Up 2) Do the work 3) Update your resume 4) Chase Passion, not fame, not money, not status 5) Be the version of yourself you would follow 6) The impression you make on others matters 7) Train your mind 8) Train your body 9) Cultivate your spirit 10) Be intentional 11) Stand on the things you say to people 12) Stand on the things you say to yourself 13) Be the light in your darkest room 14) Respect the state of uncomfort 15) Lead with your heart and a strong body will follow 16) Be an athlete 17) Embrace the GRND, it will always be hard 18) Leadership is a craft, find ways to improve self 19) Invest in relationships 20) Have fun with everything you do 21) Death is coming, cheat it by being prepared 22) Stay in season 23) Leave a foot print worth stepping in 24) Take risks, if you failure, take another 25) Go Further

Tim Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL Officer who deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, South America, and the Pacific region, according to his campaign. Sheehy also says he was the first Midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy to participate in the Army's Special Operations exchange program and the first to graduate from the Army's Ranger School. After graduation, he was commissioned into the Navy and completed SEAL training. During his service, Sheehy received a bronze star for valor and a purple heart after he was knocked unconscious by an IED blast, according to local reporting.You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/ZeroBlog30