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Today, and for the past several years, many people both here and abroad have been trying to make sense of the radical right and its financial and ideological grip on the Republican party. Why is it that so many Americans have turned against democracy? What explains the authoritarian reaction of so many American citizens, even when that reaction works so directly against their basic interests? How is it that this anti-democratic trend has escaped the explanatory frameworks of pundits and scholars alike? Perhaps we need to re-frame the narrative about the MAGA movement and the various constituencies that have somehow conspired to undermine democratic values and replace them with radical libertarian principles joined by theocratic, White nationalist, and anti-intellectual ideals. Addressing these concerns, Katherine Stewart has written Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy (Bloomsbury Press, 2025). Casting a light on the religious right's “Funders, Thinkers, Sergeants, Infantry, and Power Players,” Stewart recounts her effort “to record what I have seen and heard from the leaders and supporters of the antidemocratic movement in the auditoriums and breakout rooms at national conferences, around the table at informal gatherings of activists, in the living rooms of the rank and file, and in the pews of hard-line churches. The story features a rowdy mix of personalities: ‘apostles' of Jesus, atheist billionaires, reactionary Catholic theologians, pseudo-Platonic intellectuals, woman-hating opponents of ‘the gynocracy,' high-powered evangelical networkers, Jewish devotees of Ayn Rand, pronatalists preoccupied with a dearth of (White) babies, COVID truthers, and battalions of ‘spirit warriors' who appear to be inventing a new style of religion even as they set about undermining democracy at its foundations.” Over and against the idea that religion is a relatively insignificant factor in the rise of the radical political right, Stewart makes plain how Christian nationalism is “front and center” in the effort to solidify the power of the MAGA movement and Donald Trump's presidency. Richard B. Miller is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Emeritus Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics at the University of Chicago. He previously taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University where he also served as Director of the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions. The author of numerous articles and books, the most of which is Why Study Religion? (NY: Oxford University Press, 2021). Bluesky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science
Today, and for the past several years, many people both here and abroad have been trying to make sense of the radical right and its financial and ideological grip on the Republican party. Why is it that so many Americans have turned against democracy? What explains the authoritarian reaction of so many American citizens, even when that reaction works so directly against their basic interests? How is it that this anti-democratic trend has escaped the explanatory frameworks of pundits and scholars alike? Perhaps we need to re-frame the narrative about the MAGA movement and the various constituencies that have somehow conspired to undermine democratic values and replace them with radical libertarian principles joined by theocratic, White nationalist, and anti-intellectual ideals. Addressing these concerns, Katherine Stewart has written Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy (Bloomsbury Press, 2025). Casting a light on the religious right's “Funders, Thinkers, Sergeants, Infantry, and Power Players,” Stewart recounts her effort “to record what I have seen and heard from the leaders and supporters of the antidemocratic movement in the auditoriums and breakout rooms at national conferences, around the table at informal gatherings of activists, in the living rooms of the rank and file, and in the pews of hard-line churches. The story features a rowdy mix of personalities: ‘apostles' of Jesus, atheist billionaires, reactionary Catholic theologians, pseudo-Platonic intellectuals, woman-hating opponents of ‘the gynocracy,' high-powered evangelical networkers, Jewish devotees of Ayn Rand, pronatalists preoccupied with a dearth of (White) babies, COVID truthers, and battalions of ‘spirit warriors' who appear to be inventing a new style of religion even as they set about undermining democracy at its foundations.” Over and against the idea that religion is a relatively insignificant factor in the rise of the radical political right, Stewart makes plain how Christian nationalism is “front and center” in the effort to solidify the power of the MAGA movement and Donald Trump's presidency. Richard B. Miller is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Emeritus Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics at the University of Chicago. He previously taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University where he also served as Director of the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions. The author of numerous articles and books, the most of which is Why Study Religion? (NY: Oxford University Press, 2021). Bluesky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion
Today, and for the past several years, many people both here and abroad have been trying to make sense of the radical right and its financial and ideological grip on the Republican party. Why is it that so many Americans have turned against democracy? What explains the authoritarian reaction of so many American citizens, even when that reaction works so directly against their basic interests? How is it that this anti-democratic trend has escaped the explanatory frameworks of pundits and scholars alike? Perhaps we need to re-frame the narrative about the MAGA movement and the various constituencies that have somehow conspired to undermine democratic values and replace them with radical libertarian principles joined by theocratic, White nationalist, and anti-intellectual ideals. Addressing these concerns, Katherine Stewart has written Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy (Bloomsbury Press, 2025). Casting a light on the religious right's “Funders, Thinkers, Sergeants, Infantry, and Power Players,” Stewart recounts her effort “to record what I have seen and heard from the leaders and supporters of the antidemocratic movement in the auditoriums and breakout rooms at national conferences, around the table at informal gatherings of activists, in the living rooms of the rank and file, and in the pews of hard-line churches. The story features a rowdy mix of personalities: ‘apostles' of Jesus, atheist billionaires, reactionary Catholic theologians, pseudo-Platonic intellectuals, woman-hating opponents of ‘the gynocracy,' high-powered evangelical networkers, Jewish devotees of Ayn Rand, pronatalists preoccupied with a dearth of (White) babies, COVID truthers, and battalions of ‘spirit warriors' who appear to be inventing a new style of religion even as they set about undermining democracy at its foundations.” Over and against the idea that religion is a relatively insignificant factor in the rise of the radical political right, Stewart makes plain how Christian nationalism is “front and center” in the effort to solidify the power of the MAGA movement and Donald Trump's presidency. Richard B. Miller is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Emeritus Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics at the University of Chicago. He previously taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University where he also served as Director of the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions. The author of numerous articles and books, the most of which is Why Study Religion? (NY: Oxford University Press, 2021). Bluesky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies
Today, and for the past several years, many people both here and abroad have been trying to make sense of the radical right and its financial and ideological grip on the Republican party. Why is it that so many Americans have turned against democracy? What explains the authoritarian reaction of so many American citizens, even when that reaction works so directly against their basic interests? How is it that this anti-democratic trend has escaped the explanatory frameworks of pundits and scholars alike? Perhaps we need to re-frame the narrative about the MAGA movement and the various constituencies that have somehow conspired to undermine democratic values and replace them with radical libertarian principles joined by theocratic, White nationalist, and anti-intellectual ideals. Addressing these concerns, Katherine Stewart has written Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy (Bloomsbury Press, 2025). Casting a light on the religious right's “Funders, Thinkers, Sergeants, Infantry, and Power Players,” Stewart recounts her effort “to record what I have seen and heard from the leaders and supporters of the antidemocratic movement in the auditoriums and breakout rooms at national conferences, around the table at informal gatherings of activists, in the living rooms of the rank and file, and in the pews of hard-line churches. The story features a rowdy mix of personalities: ‘apostles' of Jesus, atheist billionaires, reactionary Catholic theologians, pseudo-Platonic intellectuals, woman-hating opponents of ‘the gynocracy,' high-powered evangelical networkers, Jewish devotees of Ayn Rand, pronatalists preoccupied with a dearth of (White) babies, COVID truthers, and battalions of ‘spirit warriors' who appear to be inventing a new style of religion even as they set about undermining democracy at its foundations.” Over and against the idea that religion is a relatively insignificant factor in the rise of the radical political right, Stewart makes plain how Christian nationalism is “front and center” in the effort to solidify the power of the MAGA movement and Donald Trump's presidency. Richard B. Miller is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Emeritus Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics at the University of Chicago. He previously taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University where he also served as Director of the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions. The author of numerous articles and books, the most of which is Why Study Religion? (NY: Oxford University Press, 2021). Bluesky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Today, and for the past several years, many people both here and abroad have been trying to make sense of the radical right and its financial and ideological grip on the Republican party. Why is it that so many Americans have turned against democracy? What explains the authoritarian reaction of so many American citizens, even when that reaction works so directly against their basic interests? How is it that this anti-democratic trend has escaped the explanatory frameworks of pundits and scholars alike? Perhaps we need to re-frame the narrative about the MAGA movement and the various constituencies that have somehow conspired to undermine democratic values and replace them with radical libertarian principles joined by theocratic, White nationalist, and anti-intellectual ideals. Addressing these concerns, Katherine Stewart has written Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy (Bloomsbury Press, 2025). Casting a light on the religious right's “Funders, Thinkers, Sergeants, Infantry, and Power Players,” Stewart recounts her effort “to record what I have seen and heard from the leaders and supporters of the antidemocratic movement in the auditoriums and breakout rooms at national conferences, around the table at informal gatherings of activists, in the living rooms of the rank and file, and in the pews of hard-line churches. The story features a rowdy mix of personalities: ‘apostles' of Jesus, atheist billionaires, reactionary Catholic theologians, pseudo-Platonic intellectuals, woman-hating opponents of ‘the gynocracy,' high-powered evangelical networkers, Jewish devotees of Ayn Rand, pronatalists preoccupied with a dearth of (White) babies, COVID truthers, and battalions of ‘spirit warriors' who appear to be inventing a new style of religion even as they set about undermining democracy at its foundations.” Over and against the idea that religion is a relatively insignificant factor in the rise of the radical political right, Stewart makes plain how Christian nationalism is “front and center” in the effort to solidify the power of the MAGA movement and Donald Trump's presidency. Richard B. Miller is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Emeritus Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics at the University of Chicago. He previously taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University where he also served as Director of the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions. The author of numerous articles and books, the most of which is Why Study Religion? (NY: Oxford University Press, 2021). Bluesky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics
Today, and for the past several years, many people both here and abroad have been trying to make sense of the radical right and its financial and ideological grip on the Republican party. Why is it that so many Americans have turned against democracy? What explains the authoritarian reaction of so many American citizens, even when that reaction works so directly against their basic interests? How is it that this anti-democratic trend has escaped the explanatory frameworks of pundits and scholars alike? Perhaps we need to re-frame the narrative about the MAGA movement and the various constituencies that have somehow conspired to undermine democratic values and replace them with radical libertarian principles joined by theocratic, White nationalist, and anti-intellectual ideals. Addressing these concerns, Katherine Stewart has written Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy (Bloomsbury Press, 2025). Casting a light on the religious right's “Funders, Thinkers, Sergeants, Infantry, and Power Players,” Stewart recounts her effort “to record what I have seen and heard from the leaders and supporters of the antidemocratic movement in the auditoriums and breakout rooms at national conferences, around the table at informal gatherings of activists, in the living rooms of the rank and file, and in the pews of hard-line churches. The story features a rowdy mix of personalities: ‘apostles' of Jesus, atheist billionaires, reactionary Catholic theologians, pseudo-Platonic intellectuals, woman-hating opponents of ‘the gynocracy,' high-powered evangelical networkers, Jewish devotees of Ayn Rand, pronatalists preoccupied with a dearth of (White) babies, COVID truthers, and battalions of ‘spirit warriors' who appear to be inventing a new style of religion even as they set about undermining democracy at its foundations.” Over and against the idea that religion is a relatively insignificant factor in the rise of the radical political right, Stewart makes plain how Christian nationalism is “front and center” in the effort to solidify the power of the MAGA movement and Donald Trump's presidency. Richard B. Miller is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Emeritus Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics at the University of Chicago. He previously taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University where he also served as Director of the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions. The author of numerous articles and books, the most of which is Why Study Religion? (NY: Oxford University Press, 2021). Bluesky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day
Top of Form Subject: Review of key themes and concepts from interviews with Inspector Mo Perry and Sergeant Chris Borgstead on performance enhancement imagery and its application in policing and personal health. Executive Summary: This briefing document summarizes key themes from interviews with Inspector Mo Perry and retired Sergeant Chris Borgstead of the Delta Police Department (DPD). The discussion centers around "Bend Don't Break," a series focusing on optimum performance. A significant portion of the conversation is dedicated to the power of performance enhancement imagery, also known as visualization or mental rehearsal. Mo Perry, a seasoned police trainer and advocate for wellness, details the historical context, theoretical underpinnings, and diverse applications of this technique. Chris Borgstead shares a deeply personal and compelling account of how performance imagery, specifically a personalized script developed by Mo, played a crucial role in his successful navigation of a life-threatening pancreatic surgery (Whipple procedure) and subsequent recovery. The interviews highlight the critical link between mental and physical well-being for high-level performance in demanding professions like policing and in overcoming significant health challenges. Key Themes and Ideas: 1. The Importance of Mental and Psychological Aspects in High-Level Performance: · Both sources emphasize that physical skill and training are only part of the equation for achieving peak performance. · Mo Perry highlights historical evidence from Eastern Bloc countries' dominance in international sports, attributing it partly to their significant emphasis on the mental and psychological aspects of training. · Key Fact: "when it comes to high level performance about 85% minimum. Some will say as high as 90% is the mental psychological aspect of um of what's going on inside your mind in the privacy of your own mind." (Mo Perry) · This mental component involves internal dialogue, self-talk, and managing stress and anxiety. 2. Performance Enhancement Imagery: Definition and Applications: · Performance imagery is defined as "creating or recreating an experience in the mind." (Mo Perry) · It targets and leverages the "power of the subconscious mind because it's the subconscious mind that driv drives high level performance." (Mo Perry) · While commonly used informally (e.g., rehearsing a speech), structured and intentional imagery is shown to be more effective, supported by research and science. · Mo Perry has applied performance imagery in various domains within policing and beyond: · Firearms training (for new recruits, inservice members, and overcoming fear) · Sport (baseball pitching) · Police recruit training (final tests, scenario-based exams) · Sergeants promotional panels (interviews) · Reintegration for members after extended leave or use of force incidents · Police Officer Physical Aptitude Test preparation · De-escalation training and effective listening · Pre-surgery and post-surgery applications (most impactful personally for Mo and highlighted through Chris's story) 3. The Mind-Body Connection: · A central tenet discussed is the powerful and often underestimated connection between the mind and body. · Mo Perry explains how the mind controls various physiological processes, including heart rate, hormone release, healing, and blood flow. · Key Quote: "your body can your mind sorry can actually control blood flow." (Mo Perry) · This connection is leveraged in imagery, particularly in the context of Chris's surgery, to influence physical outcomes. 4. Chris Borgstead's Journey and the Impact of Imagery on His Whipple Surgery: · Chris faced a significant health challenge: recurrent pancreatitis due to a structural abnormality in his pancreas, leading to a high risk of pancreatic cancer. · He was diagnosed with an IPMN (Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm), an unknown origin tumor, and deemed a candidate for a Whipple procedure. · The Whipple is a complex and invasive surgery involving the removal of significant portions of the pancreas, stomach, and small intestine. It carries a low two-year survival rate for those with cancer, and even for preventive cases like Chris's, involves a challenging recovery. · Chris describes feeling like a "ticking time bomb" and experiencing fear when confronted with the reality of the surgery and being referred to an oncologist. · Mo Perry developed a personalized 30-minute imagery script for Chris with several key goals: · Lowering cognitive state and anxiety: Reducing worry and negative self-talk leading up to the surgery. · Improving sleep: Counteracting the negative effects of anxiety on sleep, which is crucial for physical recovery and immune function. · Preparing for the hospital experience: Mentally rehearsing the process, setting expectations for a successful outcome, and empowering Chris to communicate with his surgical team about positive language and encouragement. · Leveraging the mind-body connection for physical benefits:Redirecting blood flow: The script included intentional suggestions for Chris's mind to redirect blood flow away from the surgical site, aiming to improve visibility for the surgeon and potentially reduce bleeding. · Facilitating healing: The script reinforced the body's natural ability to heal and encouraged a positive expectation of recovery. · Results and Anecdotal Evidence:Chris reports that the imagery script was "instrumental" and he "listened to it religiously," often falling asleep to it, which helped with sleep. · He felt mentally prepared and calm going into the surgery. · Remarkable Outcome: Chris's surgeon described the Whipple procedure as "one of if not the easiest surgery he's ever done." (Chris Borgstead, recounting the surgeon's words) · The surgeon anecdotally confirmed a lack of significant bleeding at the surgical site, aligning with the intention of the imagery script. · Chris's recovery has been notably successful, allowing him to regain physical strength and maintain a high quality of life. He is over two years post-surgery, exceeding typical two-year survival rates discussed. · Chris shared the imagery script with another individual undergoing a similar surgery, who also reported a positive experience with reduced bleeding, further suggesting a potential impact of the technique. · Chris's physical recovery and return to an active lifestyle, including working out with a coach and potentially joining the Franklin County Sheriff's Department as a reserve deputy, serve as tangible evidence of his successful journey. · Chris was a finalist for "ultimate guy" in Men's Health magazine, highlighting his physical and mental resilience. 5. The Role of Support and Openness: · Chris emphasizes the importance of support networks, specifically highlighting his wife Gina's medical background and comfort level in the hospital environment as crucial. · He also underscores the value of being "open to receiving things" and sharing his story to help others. · Both Mo and Chris advocate for having an "open mind and a willingness to learn and maybe even step outside your comfort zone" to benefit from techniques like performance imagery. 6. Future of Performance Imagery: · Mo Perry believes the potential applications of performance imagery are vast and only limited by one's imagination. · He encourages others to learn more about it, recommending Brian Willis's Winning Mind Training. · The technique is seen as a powerful tool for "performance excellence" and giving oneself an advantage in any domain. Most Important Ideas/Facts: · The significant impact of the mental and psychological aspects (85-90%) on high-level performance. · Performance enhancement imagery is a structured technique targeting the subconscious mind to improve performance and well-being. · The profound mind-body connection and its potential to influence physical outcomes, as demonstrated by Chris's surgical experience and the anecdotal evidence of reduced bleeding. · Chris Borgstead's successful navigation of a life-threatening Whipple surgery, attributed in part to the intentional use of personalized performance imagery. · The potential of performance imagery to reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and facilitate healing. · The accessibility and underutilization of this powerful tool, despite its proven benefits in various fields. Quotes to Consider: · "when it comes to high level performance about 85% minimum. Some will say as high as 90% is the mental psychological aspect of um of what's going on inside your mind in the privacy of your own mind." - Mo Perry · "performance imagery it it you know to to give a little bit of a history on on it if you go back uh to the 60s and 70s when the uh Eastern block countries really dominated uh uh athletic international sport... they placed a significant emphasis on the mental and psychological aspect of training." - Mo Perry · "you can give yourself the advantage through the use of performance enhancement imagery." - Mo Perry · "He said you the surgery I had that he conducted on me was one of if not the easiest surgery he's ever done." - Chris Borgstead (recalling his surgeon's statement) · "there really wasn't a lot of bleeding like that. You see, and that's kind of what made the surgery so easy." - Chris Borgstead (recalling his surgeon's statement about bleeding) · "if you don't put yourself out there you're not going to get anything in return you got to be open to receiving things" - Chris Borgstead · "having an open mind and a willingness to learn and maybe even step outside your comfort zone is really critical." - Mo Perry Conclusion: The interviews with Mo Perry and Chris Borgstead provide compelling evidence for the power of performance enhancement imagery. Beyond its traditional applications in sports and professional training, Chris's personal story demonstrates its significant potential in addressing severe health challenges and influencing physical outcomes through the mind-body connection. The discussion highlights the importance of prioritizing mental and psychological well-being as integral components of overall performance and resilience. The interview serves as a powerful testament to the benefits of structured imagery and encourages wider exploration and utilization of this technique.
26:00- Michael Gelman, Executive Producer of "Live with Kelly and Mark" Topic: New NYC studio, inviting New Yorkers to be part of the audience 51:19- Joseph diGenova, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Topic: Trump administration referring Letitia James for prosecution, Kilmar Abrego Garcia 1:02:42- Vincent J. Vallelong, President of the Sergeants Benevolent Association Topic: NYC reaches contract with Sergeants 1:12:00- Stephen Moore, "Joe Piscopo Show" Resident Scholar of Economics, Chairman of FreedomWorks Task Force on Economic Revival, former Trump economic adviser and the author of "The Trump Economic Miracle: And the Plan to Unleash Prosperity Again" Topic: "Washington's Latest Tax Assault on Economic Success" (Townhall op ed) 1:25:15- Hogan Gidley, Former National Press Secretary for the Trump campaign, former White House Deputy Press Secretary, and a Newsmax contributor Topic: Latest from the Trump administration 1:32:55- Paul Jacobs for Food for the Poor Topic: Food for the Poor 1:44:10- Danny Coulson, Former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI and Founding Commander of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team Topic: School shooting in Texas 1:56:59- Pastor Corey Brooks, founder and Senior Pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago and founder and CEO of Project H.O.O.D. Communities Development Corporation Topic: "Why 'toxic masculinity' is a dangerous and terrible fraud" (Fox News op ed) 2:03:52- Michael Goodwin, Chief Political Columnist for the New York Post Topic: "Harvard is jeopardizing $9B in federal funding to lead the radical left’s anti-Trump agenda – so much for the best and brightest" (Fox News opinion)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Send us a textJenn and I crossed paths over the years. We were new Sergeants on the Eastside and went on to join each other on a study group to promote to Lieutenant. She's newly retired after just over 24 years and I'm proud to know her. Really looking forward to what she does next, and I'm happy to share her career with you all.Give her the warmest welcome and enjoy!!!Come see me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/choir.practice.94 or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/cp_sfaf/
There was a break-in at my home last week. Here's what I learned in discussions with LAPD Captains, Sergeants, Detectives, and foot patrol as well as 911 dispatchers, City Council people, and the Mayor.
The Joint Readiness Training Center is pleased to present the ninety-second episode to air on ‘The Crucible - The JRTC Experience.' Hosted by the Task Force Senior for the BDE Command & Control (BCT HQ), LTC Timothy Price on behalf of the Commander of Ops Group (COG). Today's guests are two senior command sergeants major, CSM Oracio Pena and CSM Michael Hall. CSM Pena is the Post Command Sergeant Major for the Joint Readiness Training Center. And CSM Hall is the former Command Sergeant Major of Operations Group (CSMOG) at the JRTC. In this episode, delve into the critical role of Command Sergeants Major (CSMs) in large-scale combat operations (LSCO), emphasizing how their responsibilities have shifted significantly from previous counterinsurgency conflicts. Unlike the Global War on Terror (GWOT) era, where CSMs frequently engaged directly in tactical-level fights, LSCO demands that they operate at the brigade and division levels to ensure synchronization of sustainment, logistics, and mission execution. The discussion highlights how CSMs serve as key advisors to their commanders, focusing on maintaining operational tempo, enforcing discipline, and ensuring sustainment operations keep pace with maneuver elements. This episode stresses that effective CSMs must actively engage with their staff, understand logistical constraints, and provide mentorship to ensure that friction points—especially in sustainment and medical evacuation—are addressed before they become mission failures. A significant theme throughout the conversation is the importance of proactive leadership and presence. CSMs are not simply battlefield observers but are expected to shape unit culture, mentor leaders at echelon, and enforce standards that directly impact combat effectiveness. The episode underscores the need for CSMs to actively participate in staff planning, particularly during the military decision-making process (MDMP), rehearsals, and sustainment operations. Another key takeaway is the role of CSMs in refining unit training at home station to prepare soldiers for the scale and complexity of LSCO. The discussion concludes by emphasizing that CSMs must move beyond their traditional comfort zones, focusing less on small-unit leadership and more on the broader operational picture, ensuring their units remain combat-ready and function effectively within a larger joint and coalition force. Part of S01 “The Leader's Laboratory” series. For additional information and insights from this episode, please check-out our Instagram page @the_jrtc_crucible_podcast Be sure to follow us on social media to keep up with the latest warfighting TTPs learned through the crucible that is the Joint Readiness Training Center. Follow us by going to: https://linktr.ee/jrtc and then selecting your preferred podcast format. Again, we'd like to thank our guests for participating. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and review us wherever you listen or watch your podcasts — and be sure to stay tuned for more in the near future. “The Crucible – The JRTC Experience” is a product of the Joint Readiness Training Center.
TVC 678.1a: From February 2015: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen remember the origins of The Andy Griffith Show (CBS, 1960-1968), the pilot of which originally aired during This Week in TV History as “Danny Meets Andy Griffith,” an episode of Make Room for Daddy. Topics this segment include how the Andy Taylor we see in “Danny Meets Andy Griffith” is much closer in spirit to the character that Griffith played in No Time for Sergeants, and how the dynamics of The Andy Griffith Show changed once Don Knotts joined the cast.
A new survey shows just how many Phoenix Police employees disapprove of their interim police chief's policies. Ben Leuschner with the Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association explains:
Join Marc the Cop as we interview Sergeant Chris and Sergeant Eric (Hey Baby Podcast) as we discuss the role of the sergeant in today's police environment.
Join Marc the Cop as we welcome our guests, Sgt. Chris and Sgt. Eric from the Hey Baby Podcast. We discuss the many aspects of being a Sergeant in today's law enforcement. Join us for the first part of a two-part series.
A World War 2 story of compassion, loyalty and love.By FinalStand. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.Both Men and Nations make ware, but only men make love.Introduction: The Nazi Regime was evil; the German Army of the time, the Heer, did horrible things, but in the end armies are made up of ordinary men and this is a story of ordinary men in bad situationsTwo hours before sunset Day 1.Sergeant Heinz Klausenbach pressed himself through the waist deep snow toward the outpost of the neighboring 3rd Battalion. They sat on the extreme north of his own company's position, if you could consider what was left of his command a company. Right now every one of his soldiers was praying to see New Year's Day of 1942, and a prayer was about all they had. The German Wehrmacht was reeling from the massive Soviet Winter offensive and its very existence was in danger.Heinz looked around, trying to get his bearings in the heavy snowfall. He was sure he should have crossed a sentry by now. He checked the bolt on his Mauser rifle; it still worked even in this terrible cold. He snuck up on a figure slumped against as tree. He had on a German helmet so Heinz tapped him and whispered."Hey, don't let your officers find you asleep." The man didn't move. The Sergeant placed a gloved hand on the man's shoulder and was immediately impressed with the cold emanating from him. It bit harder than the lethal winds. Heinz turned the man around and gasped. Even in the cloud-covered failing light the man was an icy blue. He was frozen solid.Heinz didn't want to think about how long the man had to have been out for this to happen. With a sense of dread he pressed on to the last known location of the battalion HQ. He soon came across more frozen corpses. Some looked like they'd died in their sleeps but a few had this look of horror on their faces, as if something had overtaken them.The German came upon the edge of the encampment and slowed down. Nothing seemed to stir in the camp. Heinz endeavored to make it to the battalion radio and relate this disaster. His entire regiment's position was compromised and it was worth his life to save his comrades. As he rounded the main tent and headed for the entrance he found a woman in bare-feet standing over a small clump of frozen men.She had on a loose white gown, cinched at the waist by a black rope. Her skin was alabaster, her hair was waist long, black and seemed to billow about the woman; her lips were a ruddy blue as were her eyes, and her breath came in deep, labored puffs."Comrade," he called out softly in German.The woman turned to face him fully. She was clearly very close to freezing to death. With a moment's hesitation he leant his rifle against the closest tree and tore off his great coat. Steam wafted off his body and the cold intensified as the woman drew close. She was reaching for him when he stepped beside her and wrapped his coat around her chilly shoulders.The woman looked at Heinz in confusion."I know you can't understand me," he continued in German, "but if I don't get you to a fire soon you will die. Let me get you some boots and a spare coat and I'll take you back to me fire."The woman silently regarded him with her dark eyes framed in her classic Slavic features.She seemed to be a very beautiful Russian woman who had experienced a rough time of late. Heinz didn't worry about any of that. If they both stayed out here too long, he would die alongside her. She was so cold it hurt his arm where she grabbed him to steady herself as he put some fur boots on her feet. He took an officer's trench coat and grabbed her chilly hands.The hands felt too bitter to hold so Heinz brought them up to his face and blew hot breath on her. A glimmer of a smile crossed the woman's lips. She said something in Russian, but he hadn't a clue what it was. When the radio proved wrecked he began to drag her back to his own men's position. The woman was careful to follow in the path he stomped through the snow. Twice he stopped to blow again on her freezing hands. Each time she gave that ghost of a smile."Halt," hissed a voice in the twilight."Gunner, I'm back. Get ready to pull back as soon as I give the word," Heinz instructed the private on picket duty."What happened?" he called out carefully. Sound carried far over the snow. "Who is with you?""The 3rd Battalion is gone," Heinz whispered back. "She's the only one I could find.""They left us? The bastards," Gunner growled."No, they are all dead. I didn't find anyone alive this side of the HQ. We need to get the hell out of here," the Sergeant said.Heinz led the woman to his own little command post. His lieutenant had gone to his own battalion HQ two days ago right before the last big push by the Soviets and hadn't been seen since. Heinz had been husbanding the lives of his remaining forty-five men. A few quick orders and his men began to move out. He wouldn't bother radioing Battalion until he'd made his move because he knew what their demands would be.He rolled in his pickets and began his retreat, Fuhrer Orders be damned. The Great Leader ordered that every German stand fast to the last bullet. That was Berlin; in Russia Sgt. Klausenbach had decided to make sure as many of his men as possible lived to see Germany once again. If he followed his conscience they might shoot him. If he stayed, the Russians would definitely kill all of them."Sir, what do we do with the girl?" one of his corporals asked. Heinz looked her over."We'll leave her at the next village we come to. If we abandon her we might as well shoot her. She'll never survive out here on her own," Heinz responded. He offered the woman his hand which she took. Together they led the little German troop in their retreat further west.Two hours later the weary men trudged up to the 'next' village. It wasn't much; twelve houses and two communal buildings. A quick scouting mission revealed that the village hand no soldiers, German or Russian, in it. Heinz had his command move stealthily into the settlement, capturing and securing the various homes as the entered.That done, the German's rounded up the male villagers. Heinz put them to work creating walk ways through the deep snows. His scroungers dug up food supplies which he had the majority of women cook into a hot meal. Using a trick he had picked up in France, Heinz fed the entire village from the prepared food. All the while he felt the eyes of the woman upon him, somehow weighing him in judgment. He was too tired to care.Unfortunately none of the Russians spoke German and the best translator in his unit could only get rudimentary things across. After some finagling, the Sergeant was able communicate to the head of the commune that he was trying to find out who the strange woman belonged to. He talked to the woman who responded in a way that he didn't like. The head man shrugged to the German's.When Heinz went out to check the men he'd placed around the outer buildings, the woman insisted in coming along, no matter how much he tried to dissuade her. When they got back he made a point to wrap her in a blanket and lay her down next to the fire. Even as he put himself up against a post in the building to grab the few hours of sleep allowed a non-com, she was still looking him over.Next sunrise Day 2:"Sergeant Klausenbach, you do realize that you have compromised our entire position," snapped the colonel's adjutant. Sergeants didn't get to talk to the real 'powers that be'. "You need to move back and reestablish the line at once.""Sir, the 3rd Battalion is all gone sir, or at least the two companies I ran across. Sir they were frozen to death. There is no way my forty-five men can plug a hole that wide.""If you fail to follow your orders Sergeant, you will be arrested and returned to Regimental command to stand trial for cowardice in the face of the enemy," the officer threatened. Heinz looked over at the few men in the communal barn with him. The woman studied him intently as well. Heinz was beginning to suspect she understood more than she was letting on."I can't do it sir," Heinz sighed. "What you want me to do can't be done and I'm not going to have all my men die trying to fulfill this insane command just to save my own life. Do what you must." There was no response for the longest time; seconds became minutes."Sergeant Klausenbach, can you defend your current position?" the adjutant asked."I'm in a small village and I've got a good view of the terrain. I can hold it against anything short of a determined attack. Is there any hope of artillery support?" Heinz asked."We will do what we can," the officer answered."Unless they throw a battalion at me, I'll hold this position Sir.""I'll get you some supplies as soon as we figure out where you are," was the man's final statement before the connection ended and Heinz was left looking at his men. One of his men stuck a hot cup of ersatz-coffee which tasted like crap but warmed the blood. He offered half of the cup to the girl who drank it and made a face that had to say 'are you trying to poison me?'Heinz quickly formed some plan for the defense of the village. Once he figured out the best building to hold on to, he moved the families into the houses closer to the center. He fortified the strongpoints and set the other buildings up to be burned if he needed to get rid of them. Convinced he was doing the best he could, he took out a small patrol east to see if he could spot the Russians but there didn't seem to be any around for miles.4 hours later Day 2:As he came back to the village from the east he heard supply trucks coming in from the west side of the village. Heinz took deep sigh and despite the icy daggers in his lungs, he felt happy. With the proper supplies in his current fortifications, he knew his men could hold out as needed. Only when the trucks came close to village did Heinz start to get a funny feeling about things.There were not enough trucks and too much protection. There was a jeep, two half-tracks guarding only two trucks. It was lavish protection for the resupply for one under-strength company. When the leader stepped out one of the soldiers with him grumbled. For Heinz it was more a matter of raw anger that came with desperate disappointment. They were an SS security detail.Everyone in the Army had heard rumors of these detachments. Their generous critics called their actions 'anti-partisan' operations; others whispered accusations of villages leveled and mass executions. Heinz had little hope he was here to help them hold off actual Russian soldiers. The leader was the SS equivalent of a Captain, though he had no rank in the Heer."Sergeant Klausenbach," the Captain said scanning the bundled up German soldiers. Heinz stepped forward."That would be me. Have you come to resupply us?" Heinz asked in even tone."No," the SS man began."Have you come to relieve us?" Heinz interrupted."No," the man continued."Then why in the hell are you in my village?" Heinz snapped. The closest armed SS guards bristled at the treatment of their officer, but the Captain merely smiled in an effete gesture."As I have been trying to tell you Sergeant, there has been a report of unusual activity and my unit is here to investigate," he smiled like a predatory cat. Heinz tried not to feel like its next meal."Like what, sir?" Heinz inquired."A whole battalion froze to death; I need to know if you noticed anything unusual when you scouted the scene," the Captain questioned. Two the closest German soldiers shot Heinz a quick look. The woman who was right behind him stayed motionless."Nothing sir, except a number of men frozen solid with a few of those clearly terrified before they died," Heinz lied."Oh, a pity; I will need you to lead me and some of my men to the site," the SS captain said with a white toothy grin."Sir, you have to realize that the whole area has to be crawling with Communists by now. I can't justify throwing the lives of my men away on such a foolish errand," Heinz protested."First Sergeant, this wasn't a request. I have orders from your regiment to accord me, my men, and my mission every available resource. Secondly, the only guide I need is you. Leave your men in safety. Finally, it shouldn't be the Russian soldiers you should be afraid of," he grinned."What does that mean?" Heinz asked."That is not important to you," the Captain pointed out, rubbing his clean shaven jawline. Heinz stepped forward and extended his hands. With a great show of forbearance the SS Captain (whose name turned out to be G Sierech) gave Heinz his orders who read them. A cold wind threatened to steal the paper away. Heinz swore under his breath."I've only now come in from patrol Captain Sierech. Let me warm myself by the fire and get a bite to eat. You and your men can join us," Heinz suggested. The SS Captain acknowledged the wisdom of the gesture and soon thirty SS men were inside the communal barn with nearly half the villagers."You need to stay here with the others," Heinz pleaded with the woman when they had a moment alone. "Listen, I don't know if you can understand any of this, but I think they are after you and if they figure out who you are they will kill you. Please understand that." She looked into his eyes then past him."Who is the woman?" Captain Sierech inquired politely having snuck up close enough to hear voices but clearly not their intent."She is my woman," Heinz offered."You have good taste in woman. Too bad she's a Slav," Sierech noted contemptuously. "Woman, do you pleasure him?""I prefer to think that she has good taste in men," Heinz countered. The woman made no sign that she understood the SS officer."She doesn't speak much German, does she?" he smiled in that chilling way of his."She doesn't need to speak for what I want," Heinz highly exaggerated. He was far too exhausted for sex and even if he had, he couldn't stomach rape or rapists.Three things happened in rapid succession. Sierech moved to snatch the woman by the hair, the woman stumbled away, and Heinz snapped up his arm and batted the officer's arm aside.The officer reached for his pistol then froze. Heinz had a knife to his throat."Be careful with your next action, Sergeant," hissed Sierech. All over the room German soldiers and SS men were pointing weapons at one another. There were more SS in the room, but it wouldn't help Sierech; Heinz would kill him. The Captain's chest heaved in anticipation."Button up your pistol Captain," Heinz said angrily. "As you said, be careful with your next action." The officer shrugged and buttoned up his holder and moved his hand away. Heinz put his knife back in its sheath and told his men to stand down."Let me finish here and I'll be ready to be your guide in five minutes, Sir."Sierech gave the Hitler salute which Heinz was obliged to follow and once he had a moment, he pulled the woman aside."Does this have anything to do with you?" Heinz asked. He got no reply. "If I got you some provisions could you make your way to the Russian lines?" Again, no reply."Damn it," Heinz pleaded, "I'm trying to save you and I know you know more about what is happening here than you are letting on." By this time the SS were gathering for the mission. "I can't be here to protect you," which brought a smile to her lips. He'd even dressed her down like one of his soldiersWhen he got into the truck he found and odd assortment of gear. Some of it was weird electronic detection units. There were also a good many White Phosphorus grenades and flame throwers. The also had light mortars and plenty of ammunition. Heinz was stepping up when the woman came running up to him. She kissed him as if we were old lovers, deep and rich and something so strong it rattled his toes. Fear, fatigue and even the cold vanished in this surge of warmth. He couldn't have appreciated it more it if had been a three day pass.Heinz convinced them that the best bet was to go around the north then trying due east along 3rd battalion designated retreat route. With the trucks left behind, the SS team made good time until they got close to the battalion parameter. They seemed interested in the frozen bodies as a matter of research and Heinz with two years of university knew just enough that something worse than the wretched winter was at work here.4pm Day 2:I quickly became clear that the soviets come this way, but decided to go around it and continued on to the north. At the camp thing were pretty much as he had left them. No sooner had they arrived the SS began searching the ground for tracks. They found what they were looking for too. Bare woman's footprints. Heinz did his best to appear skeptical without offering any explanation. After some work they determined that the woman had stalked Heinz back to his camp and then followed his troops in the direction of the village."What did you do here?" the SS Captain Sierech commanded. He had the polished wood case of a sniper rifle on his back. Somehow that choice of weapons suited him."I walked the perimeter, came in looking for survivors among that stack of bodies thinking that some survivors would have buried themselves f
A World War 2 story of compassion, loyalty and love.By FinalStand. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.Both Men and Nations make ware, but only men make love.Introduction: The Nazi Regime was evil; the German Army of the time, the Heer, did horrible things, but in the end armies are made up of ordinary men and this is a story of ordinary men in bad situationsTwo hours before sunset Day 1.Sergeant Heinz Klausenbach pressed himself through the waist deep snow toward the outpost of the neighboring 3rd Battalion. They sat on the extreme north of his own company's position, if you could consider what was left of his command a company. Right now every one of his soldiers was praying to see New Year's Day of 1942, and a prayer was about all they had. The German Wehrmacht was reeling from the massive Soviet Winter offensive and its very existence was in danger.Heinz looked around, trying to get his bearings in the heavy snowfall. He was sure he should have crossed a sentry by now. He checked the bolt on his Mauser rifle; it still worked even in this terrible cold. He snuck up on a figure slumped against as tree. He had on a German helmet so Heinz tapped him and whispered."Hey, don't let your officers find you asleep." The man didn't move. The Sergeant placed a gloved hand on the man's shoulder and was immediately impressed with the cold emanating from him. It bit harder than the lethal winds. Heinz turned the man around and gasped. Even in the cloud-covered failing light the man was an icy blue. He was frozen solid.Heinz didn't want to think about how long the man had to have been out for this to happen. With a sense of dread he pressed on to the last known location of the battalion HQ. He soon came across more frozen corpses. Some looked like they'd died in their sleeps but a few had this look of horror on their faces, as if something had overtaken them.The German came upon the edge of the encampment and slowed down. Nothing seemed to stir in the camp. Heinz endeavored to make it to the battalion radio and relate this disaster. His entire regiment's position was compromised and it was worth his life to save his comrades. As he rounded the main tent and headed for the entrance he found a woman in bare-feet standing over a small clump of frozen men.She had on a loose white gown, cinched at the waist by a black rope. Her skin was alabaster, her hair was waist long, black and seemed to billow about the woman; her lips were a ruddy blue as were her eyes, and her breath came in deep, labored puffs."Comrade," he called out softly in German.The woman turned to face him fully. She was clearly very close to freezing to death. With a moment's hesitation he leant his rifle against the closest tree and tore off his great coat. Steam wafted off his body and the cold intensified as the woman drew close. She was reaching for him when he stepped beside her and wrapped his coat around her chilly shoulders.The woman looked at Heinz in confusion."I know you can't understand me," he continued in German, "but if I don't get you to a fire soon you will die. Let me get you some boots and a spare coat and I'll take you back to me fire."The woman silently regarded him with her dark eyes framed in her classic Slavic features.She seemed to be a very beautiful Russian woman who had experienced a rough time of late. Heinz didn't worry about any of that. If they both stayed out here too long, he would die alongside her. She was so cold it hurt his arm where she grabbed him to steady herself as he put some fur boots on her feet. He took an officer's trench coat and grabbed her chilly hands.The hands felt too bitter to hold so Heinz brought them up to his face and blew hot breath on her. A glimmer of a smile crossed the woman's lips. She said something in Russian, but he hadn't a clue what it was. When the radio proved wrecked he began to drag her back to his own men's position. The woman was careful to follow in the path he stomped through the snow. Twice he stopped to blow again on her freezing hands. Each time she gave that ghost of a smile."Halt," hissed a voice in the twilight."Gunner, I'm back. Get ready to pull back as soon as I give the word," Heinz instructed the private on picket duty."What happened?" he called out carefully. Sound carried far over the snow. "Who is with you?""The 3rd Battalion is gone," Heinz whispered back. "She's the only one I could find.""They left us? The bastards," Gunner growled."No, they are all dead. I didn't find anyone alive this side of the HQ. We need to get the hell out of here," the Sergeant said.Heinz led the woman to his own little command post. His lieutenant had gone to his own battalion HQ two days ago right before the last big push by the Soviets and hadn't been seen since. Heinz had been husbanding the lives of his remaining forty-five men. A few quick orders and his men began to move out. He wouldn't bother radioing Battalion until he'd made his move because he knew what their demands would be.He rolled in his pickets and began his retreat, Fuhrer Orders be damned. The Great Leader ordered that every German stand fast to the last bullet. That was Berlin; in Russia Sgt. Klausenbach had decided to make sure as many of his men as possible lived to see Germany once again. If he followed his conscience they might shoot him. If he stayed, the Russians would definitely kill all of them."Sir, what do we do with the girl?" one of his corporals asked. Heinz looked her over."We'll leave her at the next village we come to. If we abandon her we might as well shoot her. She'll never survive out here on her own," Heinz responded. He offered the woman his hand which she took. Together they led the little German troop in their retreat further west.Two hours later the weary men trudged up to the 'next' village. It wasn't much; twelve houses and two communal buildings. A quick scouting mission revealed that the village hand no soldiers, German or Russian, in it. Heinz had his command move stealthily into the settlement, capturing and securing the various homes as the entered.That done, the German's rounded up the male villagers. Heinz put them to work creating walk ways through the deep snows. His scroungers dug up food supplies which he had the majority of women cook into a hot meal. Using a trick he had picked up in France, Heinz fed the entire village from the prepared food. All the while he felt the eyes of the woman upon him, somehow weighing him in judgment. He was too tired to care.Unfortunately none of the Russians spoke German and the best translator in his unit could only get rudimentary things across. After some finagling, the Sergeant was able communicate to the head of the commune that he was trying to find out who the strange woman belonged to. He talked to the woman who responded in a way that he didn't like. The head man shrugged to the German's.When Heinz went out to check the men he'd placed around the outer buildings, the woman insisted in coming along, no matter how much he tried to dissuade her. When they got back he made a point to wrap her in a blanket and lay her down next to the fire. Even as he put himself up against a post in the building to grab the few hours of sleep allowed a non-com, she was still looking him over.Next sunrise Day 2:"Sergeant Klausenbach, you do realize that you have compromised our entire position," snapped the colonel's adjutant. Sergeants didn't get to talk to the real 'powers that be'. "You need to move back and reestablish the line at once.""Sir, the 3rd Battalion is all gone sir, or at least the two companies I ran across. Sir they were frozen to death. There is no way my forty-five men can plug a hole that wide.""If you fail to follow your orders Sergeant, you will be arrested and returned to Regimental command to stand trial for cowardice in the face of the enemy," the officer threatened. Heinz looked over at the few men in the communal barn with him. The woman studied him intently as well. Heinz was beginning to suspect she understood more than she was letting on."I can't do it sir," Heinz sighed. "What you want me to do can't be done and I'm not going to have all my men die trying to fulfill this insane command just to save my own life. Do what you must." There was no response for the longest time; seconds became minutes."Sergeant Klausenbach, can you defend your current position?" the adjutant asked."I'm in a small village and I've got a good view of the terrain. I can hold it against anything short of a determined attack. Is there any hope of artillery support?" Heinz asked."We will do what we can," the officer answered."Unless they throw a battalion at me, I'll hold this position Sir.""I'll get you some supplies as soon as we figure out where you are," was the man's final statement before the connection ended and Heinz was left looking at his men. One of his men stuck a hot cup of ersatz-coffee which tasted like crap but warmed the blood. He offered half of the cup to the girl who drank it and made a face that had to say 'are you trying to poison me?'Heinz quickly formed some plan for the defense of the village. Once he figured out the best building to hold on to, he moved the families into the houses closer to the center. He fortified the strongpoints and set the other buildings up to be burned if he needed to get rid of them. Convinced he was doing the best he could, he took out a small patrol east to see if he could spot the Russians but there didn't seem to be any around for miles.4 hours later Day 2:As he came back to the village from the east he heard supply trucks coming in from the west side of the village. Heinz took deep sigh and despite the icy daggers in his lungs, he felt happy. With the proper supplies in his current fortifications, he knew his men could hold out as needed. Only when the trucks came close to village did Heinz start to get a funny feeling about things.There were not enough trucks and too much protection. There was a jeep, two half-tracks guarding only two trucks. It was lavish protection for the resupply for one under-strength company. When the leader stepped out one of the soldiers with him grumbled. For Heinz it was more a matter of raw anger that came with desperate disappointment. They were an SS security detail.Everyone in the Army had heard rumors of these detachments. Their generous critics called their actions 'anti-partisan' operations; others whispered accusations of villages leveled and mass executions. Heinz had little hope he was here to help them hold off actual Russian soldiers. The leader was the SS equivalent of a Captain, though he had no rank in the Heer."Sergeant Klausenbach," the Captain said scanning the bundled up German soldiers. Heinz stepped forward."That would be me. Have you come to resupply us?" Heinz asked in even tone."No," the SS man began."Have you come to relieve us?" Heinz interrupted."No," the man continued."Then why in the hell are you in my village?" Heinz snapped. The closest armed SS guards bristled at the treatment of their officer, but the Captain merely smiled in an effete gesture."As I have been trying to tell you Sergeant, there has been a report of unusual activity and my unit is here to investigate," he smiled like a predatory cat. Heinz tried not to feel like its next meal."Like what, sir?" Heinz inquired."A whole battalion froze to death; I need to know if you noticed anything unusual when you scouted the scene," the Captain questioned. Two the closest German soldiers shot Heinz a quick look. The woman who was right behind him stayed motionless."Nothing sir, except a number of men frozen solid with a few of those clearly terrified before they died," Heinz lied."Oh, a pity; I will need you to lead me and some of my men to the site," the SS captain said with a white toothy grin."Sir, you have to realize that the whole area has to be crawling with Communists by now. I can't justify throwing the lives of my men away on such a foolish errand," Heinz protested."First Sergeant, this wasn't a request. I have orders from your regiment to accord me, my men, and my mission every available resource. Secondly, the only guide I need is you. Leave your men in safety. Finally, it shouldn't be the Russian soldiers you should be afraid of," he grinned."What does that mean?" Heinz asked."That is not important to you," the Captain pointed out, rubbing his clean shaven jawline. Heinz stepped forward and extended his hands. With a great show of forbearance the SS Captain (whose name turned out to be G Sierech) gave Heinz his orders who read them. A cold wind threatened to steal the paper away. Heinz swore under his breath."I've only now come in from patrol Captain Sierech. Let me warm myself by the fire and get a bite to eat. You and your men can join us," Heinz suggested. The SS Captain acknowledged the wisdom of the gesture and soon thirty SS men were inside the communal barn with nearly half the villagers."You need to stay here with the others," Heinz pleaded with the woman when they had a moment alone. "Listen, I don't know if you can understand any of this, but I think they are after you and if they figure out who you are they will kill you. Please understand that." She looked into his eyes then past him."Who is the woman?" Captain Sierech inquired politely having snuck up close enough to hear voices but clearly not their intent."She is my woman," Heinz offered."You have good taste in woman. Too bad she's a Slav," Sierech noted contemptuously. "Woman, do you pleasure him?""I prefer to think that she has good taste in men," Heinz countered. The woman made no sign that she understood the SS officer."She doesn't speak much German, does she?" he smiled in that chilling way of his."She doesn't need to speak for what I want," Heinz highly exaggerated. He was far too exhausted for sex and even if he had, he couldn't stomach rape or rapists.Three things happened in rapid succession. Sierech moved to snatch the woman by the hair, the woman stumbled away, and Heinz snapped up his arm and batted the officer's arm aside.The officer reached for his pistol then froze. Heinz had a knife to his throat."Be careful with your next action, Sergeant," hissed Sierech. All over the room German soldiers and SS men were pointing weapons at one another. There were more SS in the room, but it wouldn't help Sierech; Heinz would kill him. The Captain's chest heaved in anticipation."Button up your pistol Captain," Heinz said angrily. "As you said, be careful with your next action." The officer shrugged and buttoned up his holder and moved his hand away. Heinz put his knife back in its sheath and told his men to stand down."Let me finish here and I'll be ready to be your guide in five minutes, Sir."Sierech gave the Hitler salute which Heinz was obliged to follow and once he had a moment, he pulled the woman aside."Does this have anything to do with you?" Heinz asked. He got no reply. "If I got you some provisions could you make your way to the Russian lines?" Again, no reply."Damn it," Heinz pleaded, "I'm trying to save you and I know you know more about what is happening here than you are letting on." By this time the SS were gathering for the mission. "I can't be here to protect you," which brought a smile to her lips. He'd even dressed her down like one of his soldiersWhen he got into the truck he found and odd assortment of gear. Some of it was weird electronic detection units. There were also a good many White Phosphorus grenades and flame throwers. The also had light mortars and plenty of ammunition. Heinz was stepping up when the woman came running up to him. She kissed him as if we were old lovers, deep and rich and something so strong it rattled his toes. Fear, fatigue and even the cold vanished in this surge of warmth. He couldn't have appreciated it more it if had been a three day pass.Heinz convinced them that the best bet was to go around the north then trying due east along 3rd battalion designated retreat route. With the trucks left behind, the SS team made good time until they got close to the battalion parameter. They seemed interested in the frozen bodies as a matter of research and Heinz with two years of university knew just enough that something worse than the wretched winter was at work here.4pm Day 2:I quickly became clear that the soviets come this way, but decided to go around it and continued on to the north. At the camp thing were pretty much as he had left them. No sooner had they arrived the SS began searching the ground for tracks. They found what they were looking for too. Bare woman's footprints. Heinz did his best to appear skeptical without offering any explanation. After some work they determined that the woman had stalked Heinz back to his camp and then followed his troops in the direction of the village."What did you do here?" the SS Captain Sierech commanded. He had the polished wood case of a sniper rifle on his back. Somehow that choice of weapons suited him."I walked the perimeter, came in looking for survivors among that stack of bodies thinking that some survivors would have buried themselves f
Traffic Challenges with Rutherford County Sheriffs Office' Sergeants Austin Watson and Gary Herron DUI checkpoint on S. Church St. 10PM-midnight, Fri., Jan. 24, 2025) When
Text a Message to the ShowOn this special Bonus Episode we are revisiting the interviews I did last fall with three sergeants from the department that I serve. They collectively have 70 years of combined service and every time I asked another question, they just kept dropping more wisdom that I knew you'd want to hear. The officers interviewed are Master Sgt Angie Joyce, Senior Sgt Paul Simonich, and Senior Sgt Kyle Hickerson. Part 1 of this interview was Bonus Episode 38 in November 2024.Music is by LesFMHey Chaplain Bonus Episode 39Tags:Police, Career, Education, Friendship, Leadership, Sergeants, Stress, Wellness, Work Ethic, Kansas City, KansasSupport the showThanks for Listening! And, as always, pray for peace in our city.Subscribe/Follow here: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2CGK9A3BmbFEUEnx3fYZOY Email us at: heychaplain44@gmail.comYou can help keep the show ad-free by buying me a virtual coffee!https://www.buymeacoffee.com/heychaplain
A short outtake from CrimeCast Episode #15 with Josh May and Curtis Penney, both Sergeants with the CPD, joined Clint and David in-studio! Handling stress and funny stories! Policing & the Community - Cold/Active Cases - Safety Tips - Famous/Infamous Cases - Special Guests AND all Wrapped in Entertainment and Stories! Share us with your friends - leave us reviews - help us spread the word! - Hosted by Clint Powell and David Roddy Powered by: https://www.kubotaofchattanooga.com/ Sponsored by: MedicareMisty - https://www.medicaremisty.com/ === THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Vascular Institute of Chattanooga: https://www.vascularinstituteofchattanooga.com/ The Barn Nursery: https://www.barnnursery.com/ Optimize U Chattanooga: https://optimizeunow.com/chattanooga/ Guardian Investment Advisors: https://giaplantoday.com/ Alchemy Medspa and Wellness Center: http://www.alchemychattanooga.com/ Chattanooga Concrete: www.chattanoogaconcreteco.com Roofingco.com: www.roofingco.com ALL THINGS JEFF STYLES: www.thejeffstyles.com Please consider leaving us a review on Apple and giving us a share to your friends! This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm
Text a Message to the ShowOn this special Thanksgiving Bonus Episode I asked three sergeants from the department that I serve to come talk to me about gratitude and the perspective that younger officers need to have to be successful in law enforcement.The officers interviewed are Master Sgt Angie Joyce, Senior Sgt Paul Simonich, and Senior Sgt Kyle Hickerson.Music is by LesFMHey Chaplain Bonus Episode 38Tags:Police, Career, Education, Friendship, Gratitude, Hope, Leadership, Sergeants, Stress, Technology, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving, Kansas City, KansasSupport the showThanks for Listening! And, as always, pray for peace in our city.Subscribe/Follow here: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2CGK9A3BmbFEUEnx3fYZOY Email us at: heychaplain44@gmail.comYou can help keep the show ad-free by buying me a virtual coffee!https://www.buymeacoffee.com/heychaplain
Proud Scott Allan Doran is the son of a scottish miner. He decided at the age of 16 that he didn't want to go down the pit. He applied for and was successful in his application to join the metropolitan police cadets.During his cadet service he carried out a variety of attachments including an attachment at Stoke Mandeville where he met Jimmy Saville!Allan vividly recalls the murder of his class mate Steven Tibble by Liam Quinn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Stephen_Tibble Policing in the Met was fantastic for Allan. He did so many great things they even taught him to drive!He was posted to Acton where he worked within a very diverse community and every officer worked as a team. The camaraderie went beyond the shift times and there was a social side of police work.Having passed his Sergeants exam his score was sufficiently high enough Allan was able to apply for the special course a Bramshill. He was unsuccessful and to this day Allan believes that his normal Scottish education he was not deemed to be suitable.Australian woman from UCL had been stabbed by an attacker in central London enquiries identified the suspect and his mental health issues were such that he had a hatred for Tartan! Former officer John Birbeck went onto claim this investigation as a success much to the amazement of Allan.Allan served as part of the team investigating the Brixton riot in 1981 identifying and arresting suspect for local officers to deal with.He went to West Yorkshire on the miners strike despite having no public order experience. He recalls his visit to the pit in Scotland when I saw his father working below ground and knew the struggles the miners faced so his approach to the striking miners was very reflective.Following a meeting with career development he made the decision to move back to Scotland a variety of roles and eventually joined Butlins as head of personnel. After 10 years he was made redundant and moved to the USA under the fullbright scheme. Having arrived he began to teach at a school in Maine.His return to UK gave him opportunity and ran his own company and eventually went into politics. He was elected as a SNP Member of Parliament this gave him opportunity to raise the question of prosecution for the man behind the murder of Yvonne Fletcher in 1984. Both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak refused to intervene and release vital information.Allan served on the standards committee and was present during the investigation into Boris Johnson took place following party gate. Allan holds the view that Boris should have gone to prison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this episode of #TheFinestUnfiltered John & Eric are joined by Sal Greco and discuss an incident where 2 NYPD Sergeants were Shot Responding To An Armed NYC Robbery and much more To learn more about #TheFinestUnfiltered visit us at: Website: https://thefinestunfiltered.com Youtube: https://youtube.com/@TheFinestUnfiltered?si=Y5ZcHqdgVLunTYx9X: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheFinestUnfiltered https://www.instagram.com/johndmacari/ https://www.instagram.com/mostcomplainedcop/ X: https://twitter.com/RetiredNYFinest/ https://twitter.com/JohnDMacari https://twitter.com/EricDymCop Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/TheFinestUnfilteredPodcast If you are interested in purchasing a Finest Unfiltered T-Shirt please visit https://meyersuniforms.com/265-unfiltered-podcast-tee/ For any financial or investment advice please contact LaidLaw Blue at 888-901-2583 (Blue) or visit them online at https://laidlawwealthmanagement.com/laidlaw-blue/ tell them your friends at #TheFinestUnfiltered sent you. #NYPD #NYC #Crime #Politics #Podcast #policepodcast #Cops #washingtondc #JohnMacari #EricDym
Ret. Sgt. Maj. Wascar Diaz, Sergeants' Major Academy instructor joins the NCO Journal to talk about a topic rarely discussed, the effect moving has on Soldiers and their families when transitioning between duty stations. Based on his recent creative article, "Rearview Mirror."
This episode features new position for CDCR: a Field Training Sergeant (FTS) and the Job Shadowing Program (JSP). On this episode, three staff members from California Health Care Facility (CHCF): Sergeant William “Billy” Bartow who is the field training sergeant and runs the program at CHCF; Officer Strickland, who helps teach and mentor new staff on how to do the job; and Officer Chacon, who participated in the program and is nearing his one-year mark after graduating the Correctional Basic Academy. This episode discusses how this job shadowing program is changing how new officers learn their institutions and the learning process within the JSP.Hosted by: Sgt. Corey RingerGuest: Sgt. William Bartow, Officer Strickland, and Officer ChaconProducer: Suraj Bhardwaj and Danny Pinto
Sergeant Adrian Brennan represents the Kerry branch of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) which is holding its annual conference.
Beards...currently (March 2024) there aren't many jobs in the British army that allow beards...But Pioneer Sergeant is one of them. But what is their story? Why are they allowed beards and what is the history of this important role? If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/ Sign up for the Patreon account to watch the videos ad free and weeks before they appear on YouTube https://www.patreon.com/RedcoatHistory
Master Sgt Laura Shoun joins It Takes Two for a conversation about the upcoming United States Air Force Band and Singing Sergeants tour that will be making a stop at the NDSU Festival Concert Hall on April 6th, 2024!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Y'all know by now it is another episode of the corner.
Santa was very good to me and brought me additional microphones and headphones so I could start inviting more than one guest to be on the show, creating a true Choir Practice environment. Maybe starting off with these two was a little reckless, JK, but in all honesty it was fun and a lot less difficult than this "one man band/ producer/host" thought it would be.Tune in, laugh and take away the little nuggets of wisdom sprinkled in here...yes, even from these two there is some wisdom!
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the events known as Black Hawk Down, we're in a series of stories I WISH would have made it into the book and movie. For this episode, I got to sit down with Kurt Smith, who has heavily impacted me not just as a warrior, but as a man. We served together for years in Special Operations, and in Somalia in 1993, he was part of the "main effort" during the fight. His friendship during that time was vital for me and many others.You'll hear: Why we both believe the force put together for the Somalia mission is one of the best ever assembled in historyHow we got to know each other when we were neighbors as Sergeants in the Ranger RegimentA time when his example gave me a punch in the gut and challenged me to be a better man Why I was so impressed by the speed and efficiency with which his unit operatedAn honest discussion of what it's like to be in some of the heaviest gunfire Americans have ever seen and watching people we admired die right before our eyesLeave a review of this podcast on your favorite platform; it helps us get these stories out to more people who need to hear them! To give specific feedback directly to us on what you like about the podcast and what you don't, fill out this 5-minute survey.Don't let fear win. Get your FREE copy of the Unbeatable Army Survival Guide HERE.
The military has specific ranks among its service members. Admirals and Generals . . .Captains and Colonels . . . Sergeants and Petty Officers. It's a chain of command . . and there's never any doubt who's in charge in any situation. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps Christian soldiers realize their chain of command. It's basic, essential truth spelled out clearly in the 10 Commandments. Today, we're studying these top ten instructions from God. Listen on harvest.org --- Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org . A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The military has specific ranks among its service members. Admirals and Generals . . .Captains and Colonels . . . Sergeants and Petty Officers. It's a chain of command . . and there's never any doubt who's in charge in any situation. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps Christian soldiers realize their chain of command. It's basic, essential truth spelled out clearly in the 10 Commandments. Today, we're studying these top ten instructions from God. Listen on harvest.org --- Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org . A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.Support the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode we talk about the 1959 comedy No Time for Sergeants starring Andy Griffith. We talk about the plot, the actors, and many of the tv shows the film inspired. Click on the pic and listen!
In this episode, our host Captain Ash Bhardwaj speaks to the British Army's most senior soldier - the Army Sergeant Major, Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) Paul Carney. He joined the Army as a Combat Engineer in 1997 and has served on operations in Macedonia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. His junior and senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) appointments were spread between Close Support Armoured Engineering and General Support Engineering. He was the Squadron Sergeant Major of 20 Field Squadron in 36 Engineer Regiment, Regimental Sergeant Major at 22 Engineer Regiment, and the Command Sergeant Major of the 3rd (UK) Division. WO1 Carney has instructed Troop Commanders and Sergeants in both demolition and bridging at the Royal Engineer Warfare Wing, and has attended the Intimidate Command and Staff Course (Land) as a WO1. In this interview, we explore the changes in leadership approach as a soldier moves through the ranks, ultimately distilling 25 years of leadership into the phrase 'knowing your people'.
Gordon Graham, J.D., is also a Law Enforcement Officer.Gordon's education as a Risk Manager and experience as a practicing attorney, coupled with his extensive background in law enforcement, have allowed him to rapidly become recognized as a leader in private and public sector organizations with multiple areas of expertise.Gordon proudly served the California Highway Patrol and was a motorcycle officer for his first ten years.He helped design the first DUI task force, assisted in developing the DRE (Drug Recognition Expert program), was an instructor in the initial “Mod I and II” Haz Mat program, and wrote his first of many technical papers: “PCP–An Officer's Survival Guide.”Gordon helped provide the single greatest treatise on motorcycle safety.On the “B” shift, he and his fellow Sergeants stressed the values and beliefs and built the most productive team of motorcycle officers in the department's history.He saw deficiencies in officers' training and revolutionized law enforcement training with his SROVT program: Solid, Realistic, Ongoing, Verifiable, Training.This daily training bulletin concept resulted in his later being awarded the Governor's award for excellence in law enforcement training.He also sharpened his focus on how his education and training in systems and his legal background could work together to improve the quality of law enforcement operations by incorporating real risk management into police operations.He provides organizations, including those involved in commercial real estate, hospital operations, manufacturing companies, aerospace operations, nuclear power plants, auto racing operations, and many others.He also expanded his efforts to assist other public safety organizations in developing Fire Fighter Close Calls, now recognized as “the source” of information about firefighter safety.This effort led to his assisting the International Association of Fire Chiefs with a similar effort and developing their Fire Fighter Near Miss safety.The IAFC awarded Gordon the Presidential Award for Excellence for his lifelong work in improving firefighter safety and performance.Gordon became a founder of a company designed to standardize policy, procedure, and training in public safety operations.Today, most law enforcement agencies in California use the Lexipol Knowledge Management System, and nearly half of the states use this approach to law enforcement operations.This effort has dramatically improved the safety of police personnel while also influencing a dramatic reduction in claims, settlements, and verdicts adverse to law enforcement agencies.Gordon held his law enforcement headquarters assignment until his service retirement and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.Graham's innovative programs, based on the values and beliefs he learned and a passion for continuous improvement, are the standard for any organization that wants to improve existing operations and prevent things from going wrong.IDEA - the International De-Escalation Association, is dedicated to Saving Lives, Reputations, & Relationships through Conflict De-Escalation & Communication Training for Teachers, Parents, and Public Safety Providers.Find more about How to Calm an Angry Person in 90 Seconds or Less Come visit us at the IDEA website (International De-Escalation Association): https://TheIdea.WorldSubscribe to our free weekly newsletter to stay up to date on the latest news and blogs about Schools, Police, Fire, Medical Services and Flight Attendants.Do you or your organization need Communication Skills and De-Escalation Training? You can reach us directly at: Team@TheIdea.World or by filling out a contact form at https://www.TheIdea.World/contact
We're celebrating July 4 by revisiting our 2015 podcast with former Singing Sergeant and current Director of Music and Opera at the National Endowment for the Arts Ann Meier Baker. In this podcast, Meier Baker talks about the professional bands and ensembles associated with each branch of the military and her decision to audition for and then join the Singing Sergeants—which meant going through boot camp. That was the hard part. She then relates her experiences over the four years she spent traveling nationally and internationally with this elite and diverse chorus. Let us know what you think about Art Works—email us at artworkspod@arts.gov. And follow us on Apple Podcasts!
We're celebrating July 4 by revisiting our 2015 podcast with former Singing Sergeant and current Director of Music and Opera at the National Endowment for the Arts Ann Meier Baker. In this podcast, Meier Baker talks about the professional bands and ensembles associated with each branch of the military and her decision to audition for and then join the Singing Sergeants—which meant going through boot camp. That was the hard part. She then relates her experiences over the four years she spent traveling nationally and internationally with this elite and diverse chorus. Let us know what you think about Art Works—email us at artworkspod@arts.gov. And follow us on Apple Podcasts!
POP ART, WHERE WE FIND THE POP CULTURE IN ART AND THE ART IN POP CULTURE. ARMYGEDDON: Join me and podcasters and film lovers Anna Keiser and Derek Dehanke (The 80s Movie Montage) as we talk Stripes and No Time for Sergeants, two comedies about basic training. "Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do" “You're in the army now, you're not behind a plow, you'll never get rich, a diggin' a ditch, you're in the army now.” Sounds like it's time for Episode 101 of Pop Art, where we find the pop culture in art and the art in pop culture. It's the podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture, and I'll select a film from the more art/classic/indie side of cinema with a connection to it. For this episode, I am happy to welcome back as my guests for the third time, Anna Keiser and Derek Dehanke, who have chosen as their film, the new Hollywood army comedy, Stripes, while I have chosen what may be many a listener's grandfather's version of Stripes, No Time For Sergeants, both comedies about basic training. And in this episode, we answer such questions as: Who was cast before Harold Ramis? Where was the n-word used in connection to No Time for Sergeants? What is it about war comedies anyway? What is the connection of …Sergeants to Invasion of the Body Snatchers? How does Bill Murray feel about making Stripes today? Who is Joseph X. Flaherty? What was the Country Broadcasting Network? What is it about toilets? Why did Andy Griffith get nominated as supporting actor at the Tonys rather than lead for the stage version of …Sergeants? Check out Anna and Derek's podcast, ‘80s Movie Montage, at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/80s-movie-montage/id1498851364 and other streaming platforms. Check out my blog at https://howardcasner.wordpress.com/ My books, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion can be found at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=howard+casner&ref=nb_sb_noss --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/howard-casner/support
In 1980, a group of 16 army sergeants, led by Dési Bouterse, seized power in the small South American country of Suriname, overthrowing the government in a swift and violent coup d'état. The coup came just five years after the country was granted independence from the Netherlands. The country's first president, Johan Ferrier, was forced to leave Suriname after the coup. Rosemarijn Hoefte, professor of the history of Suriname at the University of Amsterdam, and Johan Ferrier's daughter, Cynthia, have been sharing their memories of that time with Matt Pintus. (Photo: Johan Ferrier. Credit: Alamy)
As regularly scheduled, the Sergeants are back for another episode full of shenanigans. Did someone do some crop dusting or is there something more to discover! Sit back and try to enjoy listening to this episode as much as they did recording it.
Let's be real. This was supposed to be a special episode. Well special in a different way than what it was. Enjoy your bi-weekly fill of Military History with Platoon Daddy Bacon. Bacon Bits is back with more Military History on Wheels. The Sergeants talk about jail or service, the Bills Mafia, and a bunch of other garbage AI should never hear.
Benny has the RS Phoenix command on to discuss creating a winning team and cultivating a winning atmosphere. How do we work together to accomplish the mission. How do commands work together to support the CO's mission. We talk about training, the pool, and attitude on the duty. We even dive deep into having Sergeants as Station Commanders. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sempersometimes/support
THE THESIS: In my opinion it's blatantly obvious Ray Epps was part of a team of people who entrapped protesters into becoming so-called “trespassers.” That doesn't excuse the vandalism and violence some people perpetrated. But, having our own government help to drive this is far more unsettling and dangerous. If there is a shred of concern for the Republic left in the “GOP”, they will demand and get answers on all of this starting on day one of the new congress. THE SCRIPTURE & SCRIPTURAL RESOURCES: Proverbs 6:16-19There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.Psalm 101:7 No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.Luke 8:17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.Revelation 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, THE NEWS & COMMENT:Image from Revolver.News: Why is the FBI not interested in finding the man who took down the police fences? Julie Kelly: “Just unbelievable—FBI still investigating and arresting J6 “trespassers” nearly 2 years later. And Senate GOP just handed FBI a half-billion dollar raise and gave DOJ $212 million just to prosecute Trump supporters.”[AUDIO] - It seems that #JamieRaskin KNEW exactly what was in #RayEpps transcript. @RepThomasMassie caught him off guard & Raskin became extremely angry and defensive. J6 committee members were covering up for #RayEpps. Was Epps working for Democrats?Revolver.News has done phenomenal reporting on Epps and J6. They describe, here, a “breach team.”[AUDIO] - EXCLUSIVE - Meet Ray Epps, Part 2: Damning New Details Emerge Exposing Massive Web Of Unindicted Operators At The Heart Of January 6Image from Revolver.News: Why is the FBI not interested in finding this man? [AUDIO] - This explosive story is spreading fast… House GOP members found texts and emails from Pelosi staffers proving they forcefully decreased J6 security measures despite objections from Capitol Police and Sergeants at Arms. It was a setup and they got caught
Season 2! Join Dr. David, Marc the Cop and Mr. Hat as we welcome Nick Ruggiero of the Roll Call Room Podcast! Listen in as Nick shares with us his view on the current state of Law Enforcement as a profession. This is the first part of a two part interview, we are not sure who is interviewing who, however the insights from all 3 Sergeants and Dr. David make this the perfect opening episode for our season 2!
Last time we spoke Hong Xiuquan had gathered a rabble of peasants, named them the god worshippers and declared war upon the Qing dynasty. He gave titles to his closest comrades forming the North, South, East, West and Flank Kings who led the great Taiping armies on a march towards the secondary capital of China, Nanjing. Countless cities fell the Taiping and the Qing desperately tried to encircle and quell the menace. But the Taiping never stayed in any given place long enough to be captured and even when they were dealt significant losses, they simply moved on and recruited more and more to their cause. Their armies grew exponentially and so did their conquests until they reached the secondary capital of China, Nanjing. Nanjing was put through a brutal siege and taken, her citizens put to the sword and now the Taiping held a grand capital city. #26 This episode is The Taiping Rebellion part 3: The Heavenly Kingdom of Tianjing Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. 14 years after his first vision, Hong Xiuquan alongside an incredible 2 million followers had captured the secondary capital of China, Nanjing. Hong Xiuquan, the heavenly king, Yang Xiuqing the East King and the surviving Taiping leadership had developed their military based on the work of the late Feng Yunshan and their combined experiences from the march from the Thistle Mountains all the way to Nanjing. Much like the military structure the new capital would have 4 families linked to every corporal's family and 25 family units linked under every sergeant. These communities would build the public granaries, chapels for worship and so forth. The sergeants would dwell in chapels, the corporals would take their family and those families under their command to sabbath to worship. Every sabbath day, all senior officers, from generals to captains would visit one of the great churches of the sergeants to pray and work hard obeying the Ten commandments. By day people would work the land, all serving in some form, whether it was pottery, ironwork, carpentry, masonry, whatever according to their skills. The land under Taiping rule was divided up amongst all with one full share for every man and women aged 16 and older and half a share for children below 16. All of the land was graded according to its productivity and when land was insufficient for the peoples needs, the people were moved to land that was plentiful. Of the products of labor, each corporal saw to it that every family under him had food, but all the rest went to the public treasuries. Sergeants checked the books and tallied the accounts, presenting records to superiors “ for all people on this earth are as the family of the Lord their God on High, and when people of this earth keep nothing for their private use but give all things to God for all to use in common, then in the whole land every place shall have equal shares, and every one be clothed and fed. This was why the Lord God expressly sent the Taiping Heavenly Lord to come down and save the world.” The public treasuries would give gifts to every family at times of birth, marriage and death according their needs, but never in excess of one thousand copper cash or one hundred catties of grain. Surpluses had to be maintained incase of famine or war. Every family unit with a living male head had to give a soldier to the army, but the Taiping would not take widowers, widows, orphans or childless, nor weak or sick. With births came new families and every 5th family gave a new corporal, and every 25th a new sergeant and so on. All officers and officials, even the highest would be reviewed every 3 years and promoted or demoted according to performance. This was the system pushed out upon Nanjing when it was taken. As you can imagine it was a goliath task to meet these demands, thus the system could not actually be implemented all at once, but they were diligent to starting the listing and recording keeping to establish it. Not everyone flocked eagerly to the Taiping ranks. Many households were reluctant to register their members and hid for weeks, countless fled Nanjing. The Taiping burnt down countless Taoist and Buddhist architecture, smashed statues and image and stripped or killed priests. Everyone was to conform to the new Taiping religion. Notably though the Chinese Muslims in Nanjing were not attacked and their mosques were allowed to stand. One group in Nanjing that were in a position of particular ambiguity were the catholics who numbered around 200. At least 30 catholics were burned in their homes or cut down in the streets during the early chaos. The Taiping found the catholic survivors in a catholic church, but when pressed they refused to recite Taiping liturgy. The Taiping authorities gave them 3 days to comply, then they burst into the church and destroyed the cross and overturned their altar. 70-80 catholic men had their arms tied behind their backs and were given a trial before a Taiping judge and condemned to death unless they said Taiping prayers. They refused opting for martyrdom, but in the end 25 eventually recited the Taiping prayers and the rest were sent to be vanguard forces in the army. In order to push the movement, the Taiping had to seize the Nanjing printing industry to distribute their sacred texts to all the sergeants for reading and preaching. Back when the Taiping captured Yangzhou in april of 1853 they acquired printing press craftsmen, so they brought them to Nanjing. Hong Xiuquan makes 3 major strategic decisions, the first was to select Nanjing as the new Taiping Capital now known as Tianjing, the second was to create the printing system to promote the Taiping program and the 3rd was to alter name places in China. Hong Xiuquan proclaimed henceforth the city of Beijing was to be named “Yaoxue- demon's den” and the province of Zhili “criminal's province”. When all the Manchu demons were destroyed, Beijing's name could be restored and Zhili once its people repented for their sins and began worshiping the heavenly father. “The world has long been deluded by these demonic Tartars, and it is imperative that they be soon destroyed. But before we destroy these people, we must first destroy their bases. And before we can destroy the power of their bases, we must first destroy the bases' names.” Emperor Xianfeng by definition was the leader of earthly demons and Hong Xiuquan changed his name that meant “united in glory” to have a dog component added and he also did this to terms referring to Manchu. The Taiping followers in Nanjing were told the time to end sexual separation had not come yet, any men who forced themselves on women, whether they be veterans or new would be executed. Those who worked as prostitutes would not only be executed, but also their families. Male homosexuality was severly punished, if partner were both aged 13 or older they would be beheaded. If you were under 13 you could be spared unless it was proven you were an active partner. The city of Nanjing was divided similar to what the Taiping did in Wuchang, with blocks for men and those for women and children. Those skilled in specific types of labor lived amongst another, for example carpenters with carpenters tailors with tailors. Hong Xiuquan had a ceremonial hat made with a fan shaped front, decorated with twin dragons and twin phoenixes. The other kings were allowed to have twin dragons as well but only one phoenix. On the upper part of Hong Xiuquans hat he alone had written “the mountains and river are unified and the heavens are filled with stars”. The 3 surviving kings each had one line embroidered on their hats; for the East king Yang Xiuqing “long phoenix perching in the clouds”, for the north king Wei Changhui “long phoenix perching on the mountain peak” and for the flank king Shi Dakai “lone phoenix perching on the peony”. Hong Xiuquan had 10,000 people work for 6 months to built him a palace in the former site of the governor generals mansion in the center of the northern side of the main residential city. Within mere days of taking Nanjing, the Qing began counter attacks leading to the gates of Nanjing being reinforced with additional gates built in front or behind the existing ones. Cannon emplacements and palisades for gunners are created en masse. Forward defensive encampments, wooden watch towers as high as 30 or even 40 feet are created. Smaller towns surrounded nanjing are reinforced. Large swathes of area have ditches dug, palisades erected, felled, honeycombed networked of small round holes with straw placed over them and bamboo spikes underneath. Its a regional fortress built with the purpose of overthrowing the Qing. Now until the capture of Nanjing, the Taiping had been a mobile force whose success for a large part was simply because they would seize a major city and move on before the Qing could get them. The establishment of their Tianjing Capital meant the core of the Taiping movement, its leadership and central army were now in a fixed position. The Qing could finally plan and coordinate large scale action directed at their capital. Interestingly enough, the decision to hunker down in Nanjing is what many scholars regard as the crucial reason for their eventual failure. If they had simply done what they done best and took Nanjing for perhaps a month or so and moved on to Beijing they could have very well toppled the Qing. None the less, the Taiping were in a good position in Nanjing compared to that on Beijing. It is estimated in 1853 Nanjing held 18 million taels of silver, while Beijing was depleted to a possible 3 million. The Nanjing granaries by the end of 1853 totalled 1,270,000 piculs of unhulled rice and 750,000 hulled rice, sufficient to feed the Taiping for many months. An American missionary named E.C Bridgman visited Nanjing in may of 1854 and reported “all the people we saw were well-clad, well fed and well provided for in every way. They all seemed content, and in high spirits as if sure of success”. The surrounding areas continued to supply Nanjing with grain and the Yangtze river continued to serve as its artery of communication and trade. Now once they had Nanjing the Taiping set out to accomplish their ultimate goal, the final defeat of the Manchu demons in Beijing. But when the Taiping took Nanjing a lot of internal strife began to grow. While Hong Xiuquan was the bonafide religious and political leader to the Taiping, he was never alone and although many of the great figureheads had died, a few large ones remained. Yang Xiuqing the east king, Wei Changhui the north king and Shi Dakai the flank king were the 3 largest leaders alongside Hong Xiuquan. Yang Xiuqing established himself as the highest ideological leader, above that of Wei Changhui and in many aspects above hong Xiuquan. When Xiao Chaogui the West King died, Hong Xiuquan made a proclamation that granted Yang a supervisory power over the 4 other kings, clearly promoting him above the rest. When Xiao Chaogui died, Shi Dakai sort of filled the dead kings space in many ways and when Nanjing was captured he was the only king constantly occupied in the field, directing and personally leading western campaigns. Hong Xiuquan as the spiritual leader, began to gradually isolate himself within his palace only acting through proclamations. Wei Changhui the north king, acted as the coordinator for the defense of the region around the capital and was responsible for food supplies. This left general administrative supervision in the hands of Yang Xiuqing who also acted as the coordinator of all military campaigns. Now Yang Xiuqing back in the early days of 1851 had coalesced the Taiping when he began in trance-like states to state he was the mouthpiece of God the father. Likewise Xiao Chaogui had these trances where he said he was the mouthpiece of Jesus, hmmmmm. Oh and there was a lot of roleplay in this by the way, when Xiao Chaogui spoke to Hong Xiuquan in a trance state he would refer to him as “younger brother” like wise Yang would refer to him as son. Both Yang and Xiao it seems were in league with another using this unique trance behavior to raise their status. But when Xiao died, there was a lot of confusion, leading Yang to stop messing around for awhile as the voice of god the father. But in december of 1853 Yang once again began to speak publicly as the voice of god. Yang began a campaign where he attempted to humiliate the heavenly king using trances as the voice of god. Yang begins a campaign to humiliate Hong where he uses the voice of god to accuse the Heavenly King of growing to be too harsh and indulgent with his power. That he is harsh to women who serve him and far too indulgent of his 4 year old son. One accusation in particular was that 4 of Hong's palace women were treated so badly that they should be released from Hong's palace and instead should live at Yang's palace. Yang says Hong orders women under him to work in rain or snow and allows his concubines to sneer and scold the other women, oh yes despite all the laws and such Hong and many of the Taiping leaders have concubines. Remember when I said the Taiping rebellion was like a proto marxist one? Yes just like any good marxist they dont live the way they preach, shots fired. Yang continues to argue the women officials are prevented from their duties by the mean concubines and that Hong Xiuquan had even kicked some of them in anger and punished pregnant concubines similarly, something that is a serious crime. You don't kick pregnant women. He follows this up saying in God's voice that the heavenly king should receive 40 blows of the rod for his derelictions. To this Hong publicly prostrated himself to receive said blows, so god would forgive him. Hong's 4 year old son is said to be too self-indulgent and willful because he plays in the rain, and smashes presents given to him…..weird. God states he must stop all of this because it will lead him to abuse the people in the future when he leads. Yang Xiuqing did not stop at attacking Hong, he also went after two others in particular: the north king Wei Chanhui and marquis Qin Rigang, both men who had been with Hong since the earliest days at Thistle mountain. Wei was an educated man, Qin was a miner who studied military arts and proved himself a formidable strategist. For years both men handled key military assignments for Hong, Qin was regarded as the senior ranking Taiping officer after the surviving kings. Yang began to use the voice of god to humiliate Wei in many ways. Whenever his trances began, Yang's woman attendants would summon Wei at once using drum calls and if Wei was late the women would berate him. Wei was forced to kowtow to Yang when he was in trance and when Yang was in trance he moved by sedan chair while Wei was forced to walk beside it. Yang kept his attendants on Wei's ass also disturbing him. Qin had to endure similar humiliations and was forced to help carry Yangs sedan chair up the palace stairs a few times. To give some more flavor, here is one story about a clash that occurred in december between Yang and Wei. Yang one day in public suggested that Hong had more than enough embroideries and robes in his palace and should economize for a time instead of getting more. Wei ignored what Yang said and told Hong “You, our second elder brother, are the true Sovereign of all nations of the world, and you are rich in the possession of all within the four seas; although robes and garments are sufficient, it will still be necessary to be constantly engaged in making up more.” Upon hearing this Yang responded “I beseech you, our second elder brother, to pardon this younger brother's crime and permit this younger brother to memorialize straightforwardly. If apparel were insufficient, then it would be necessary to make up more; but if it is said it is sufficient, it will be better to delay the making up of more, and then we can see the second elder brother's virtues of economy and love of man. Why should our younger brother Zheng [the North King] memorialize on the necessity of constantly making up more clothing?” To both of them Hong replied “Brother [Yang Xiu]Qing! You are certainly what the ancients called a bold and outspoken minister. And you, brother Zheng, although you may have a sincere regard for your elder brother, are not so straightforward and open in your statements as our brother Qing; for which he is to be much more commended. Later, in the reign of the Young Monarch, all who are ministers should imitate the example of our brother Qing in speaking straightforwardly as he has done this day; thus will they fulfill their duty as ministers.” Some of the events I just talked about occur a bit later on, but I wanted to give you the idea that in the background, Yang was humiliating others and doing whatever he could to take more and more power. Now of the 5 kings, 3 survived and the administrative staffs of the former 2 simply were distributed amongst the 3 survivors. But after Nanjing was captured the kings would not be the solo ruling leaders anymore. Additional “princes” were added, they were similar to the kings, just lesser so. They held lesser rank than the kings, but were above the Taiping military rank structure. They come about at different times but there would be the Zhong price: Li Xiucheng, Ying prince: Chen Yucheng, Jun Prince: Lai Wenkwok, Fu Prince: Hong Renda, An Prince: Hong Renfa, Yong Prince: Hong Rengui, Fu Prince: Hong Renfu and the Gan Prince: Hong Rengan, yes our old friend Rengan will come to this story but much later on. It seems Yang orchestrated the creation of these princes and the multiplicity of administrative staffs to make it easier for him to weaken the authority of his most senior rivals. Yang Xiuqing acting as commander in chief of the Taiping military sent out 4 offensives, 2 towards the north against Beijing and 2 up the Yangtze river into western China. Yang Xiuqings overall plan was to use the northern and western expeditionary forces to create a large pincer to capture the whole of northern and western China. According to Missionary Bridgman “ The Taiping had four armies in the field, carrying on active aggressive operations: 2 of these had gone northwards: they were designed to cooperate and after storming and destroying Peking, to turn westwards and march through Shanxi, Shensi, Kansuh, into Szechuan, where they are expected to meet their other 2 armies, which from Kingsi and the Lake provinces are to move up the great river and along through the regions on its southern bank'. The northern expedition of around 80,000 men was led by 2 commanders, Li Kaifang and Lin Fengxiang who led the vanguard to take Yangchow on April the 1st. By May the 8th they left Yangchow after receiving reinforcements and advanced towards Ch'u-chou in Anhwei province. As their forces went into Anhwei and Henan province they were bolstered by local bandits, particularly the Nian rebels, who were performing the Nian rebellion simultaneously. Following the same strategy applied to the Hunan campaign and the Yangtze valley, they moved rapidly through Anhwei and Henan without leaving behind garrisons nor supply stations. At first, they did not attempt to take any city that proved to be well defended. However at Huaiqing in Henan at the border of Shanxi, they used their 80,000 strong force to besiege the prefectural city, believing it held rich military supplies. The siege lasted 2 months, but the Taiping failed to capture it and had to move on. The delay in their march as the result of failing at Huaiqing seems to be a decisive turning point for the northern expedition as a whole. The Taiping suffered terrible losses in both shock troops and officers, while the Qing court in Beijing gained valuable time to prepare against the impending Taiping attacks. The Taiping gradually penetrated Zhili via Shanxi province and reached the suburbs of Tianjin, and it was here another large mistake was made for the second time. The Taiping could have simply marched on Beijing, but yet against chose to attack a secondary target. The northern expeditionary force was tiny compared to that of the entire Taiping army which should have been consolidated and marched upon Beijing. The Taiping were greatly hindered by northern chinas winters, because do remember most of the Taiping were from southern china. The Qing had begun a war of attrition, making sure to take away food stuffs in the path of the northern expedition. The Taiping found it extremely hard to forage and on top of this the Qing even broke dikes in the grand canal to flood the Taiping out. Emperor Xianfeng also released what would be his greatest weapon, the Mongolian prince Senggelinqin. Prince Seng was from the Horqin left back banner of inner Mongolia and a member of the Borjiqin clan. He was a 26th generation descendant of Qasar brother to Genghis Khan. His name Sengge Rinchen was made up of two tibetan words meaning Lion and Treasure. When he was just a child he was adopted by Sodnamdorji a Jasagh “head of a mongol banner” of the Horqin left back banner and Junwang, second rank prince under the Qing dynasty. He would inherit his adoptive fathers titles during the reign of Emperor Daoguang. It was at the 1853 battle for Tianjin where Prince Seng would earn his fame. The Taiping expeditionary force had fought its way bitterly from Nanjing to Tianjin, leaving just 80 miles between them and Beijing. Prince Seng rushed to the scene aided greatly by a valuable ally, winter. The winter ravaged the Taiping, many of them had never seen snow in their lives and this forced them to fall upon a village fortification to survive it causing an immediate stalemate. When the weather broke in spring, Prince Seng ordered his troops to build a dirt and stone wall to encircle the entire Taiping army camp from a distance while a crew of 1000 laborers spent a month digging a series of trenches to connect it, via a dry riverbed to the grand canal over 40 miles away. When they broke the dikes, the canal water rushed in flooding the Taiping camp to its rooftops, drowning a considerable amount of the army and forcing their submission. Being a Mongol, Prince Seng and those he commanded preferred the bow and arrow as their chief weapon, something they had overwhelming supremacy over the southern chinese. The Taiping could have overwhelmed Prince Sengs cavalry units, if they had western firearms, but they did not. The Taiping forces were dispersed and destroyed. Lin Fengxiang was captured at Lichen in Zhili province on march 7th of 1855 and Li Kaifang was captured at Fengkuat'un in Shandong on March the 31st of 1855. This was the ultimate end to the north expedition. Had the Taiping marched on Beijing at the rate they were going, it is argued they could have taken down the Qing. Tactical blunders, logistical issues, severe weather and the capability of Qing commanders such as Prince Seng ultimately put an end to the Taiping threat to Beijing, though they were certainly nowhere near defeated. While the northern expedition was going on there was also a western expedition that left Nanjing on May 19th of 1853, just 11 days after the northern expedition launched from Yangzhou. The objective of the western expedition as conceived by Yang Xiuqing was to follow the Yangtze river and ultimately meet up with the northern expedition in Sichuan province. This would have resulted in a pincer maneuver that could swallow up all of western and northern China. On June 10th the western forces recaptured the vital city of Anqing which had been taken back by Qing forces. They were able to provision up from there and divided the force into several armies to march through the Yangtze valley. One army was commanded by Hu Yiguang who set out north of the Yangtze to conquer Anhwei province. Lai Hanyang took another army south to conquer Jiangxi. A 3rd mobile force led by Zeng Tianyang began to independently attack cities south of the Yangtze. Hu Yiguang's force got as far as Luzhou, the new capital of Anhwei province at the time. Luzhou was guarded by one of the most capable Qing commanders, Jiang Zhongyuan, a Hunanese native from Xinning. He became the magistrate of Xiushi and Lishui, earning a reputation for being a great scholar and military leader. Zeng Guofan recommended Jiang for a higher office in 1850 to Emperor Xianfeng, but when he was supposed to leave for Beijing his father died and he had to return home to mourn. When the Taiping rebellion began, Jiang was appointed to assist the Grand secretary Sha-Shan-a in quelling the insurrection. Jiang began a campaign of gathering Hunanese volunteers who for the first time fought outside Hunan. It was one of the first waves of local forces led by a gentry class to fight the Taiping menace, something that influenced future Yung-Ying armies. Jiang won a great battle in Guangxi and was promoted to the rank of first class sub prefect. When the Taiping were invading Guilin in 1852, Jiang led his men from his home of Xinning to attack them. He won 3 major battles and managed to lift the Taiping siege of Guilin earning the rank of prefect. After this Jiang thwarted a Taiping naval invasion of Hunan province. He dammed the Xiang river near Suoyi ford and ambushed the Taiping Navy causing massive casualties upon them. It was the battle I mentioned where 10,000 Taiping men and Feng Yunshan perished. He thwarted the Taiping overland invasion of Hunan and besieged the Taiping stronghold of Chenzhou for a month before they fled to attack Changsha, the capital of Hunan. Jiang was one of those who helped defend Changsha earning the promotion of provincial judge of Hubei and then by 1853 assistant commander of the Qing armies in Jiangnan. He then aided in the defense of Nanchang which was besieged from June 22 to september 24th of 1853. For this he was appointed governor of Anhui which is what led him to the battle over Luzhou. When word came that the Taiping sought to attack Luzhou, Jiang rushed over with a small force to try and defend the new capital. He found himself outnumbered and outgunned, especially in siege mining technology that the Taiping had dramatically improved by this point in time. The Taiping took the city by January the 15th and in the process Jiang was wounded and he opted to commit suicide by drowning himself. The Qing lost an important capital city and one of their finest commanders who had proven himself successful at defeating Taiping using local militia forces. Lai Hanying's army besieged Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi from june to september of 1853, but ultimately failed to take the city. This resulted in Lai losing his command and his army divided in 2 to hit Hubei and Hunan under the leadership of Wei Jun and Shi Zhenxiang. The high point of their campaigns led to the capture of Xiangtan on April 24th of 1854. After a year of taking Nanjing, the Taipings expeditions had run out of momentum. The northern expedition was a failure, the western had gained limited success, but not enough to extend their reach to the upper Yangtze and that of western china. The Taiping riverine forces dominated the Yangtze up into Hunan allowing them to use it for provisioning, logistics and most importantly further recruiting. But the original lightning speed drive of the Taiping had faded and the Qing were beginning to recover from the blitzkrieg. Now the offensives became see-saw's which allowed the Qing more time to recover, reorganize and build up new leadership that could effectively face the Taiping menace. Being a Pacific War specialist, its very much like the situation during the Guadalcanal campaign. Prior to this, the Japanese ran rampant on offensive controlling the when and where actions would occur, but after the horrible loss at Midway and Guadalcanal, the Japanese had gone past their logistical capabilities and lost the initiative, for the rest of the Pacific War the allies controlled the initiative. This is what we call the turning point, and it was here a year after taking Nanjing and losing the window of opportunity to take Beijing that was the Taiping rebellion's turning point. It is not to say they could not win the war, but the initiative was now in the hands of the Qing. Although the campaign to take Beijing failed and the western campaign only held limited successes near the Yangtze, the Taiping were steadily extending their territory and thus were gaining additional manpower and supplies from the greater Yangtze region. The Taiping were struggling to consolidate their gains to establish better rule. Their offensives were being hampered by both political and religious confusion, often orchestrated by the efforts of Yang Xiuqing. The Taiping structure threatened Chinese traditions and saw backlash particularly from the Gentry class. I would note the gentry and landowner types probably were not the keenist on a group who sought land/wealth redistribution haha. The Taiping were a threat to Chinese social order as much as it was a threat to the Qing rule. Thus the gentry of China began to put their resources together to help the war effort resulting in a large push to the creation of Yung-ying militia groups such as Zeng Guofan's Xiang army. On top of the external actors trying to destroy the Taiping, the Taiping were having a ton of inner conflict as well. A violent and bloody power struggle had emerged destroying the unified political and military command established under Yang Xiuqing. Now although I spoke about the formation of the new armies, I need to go into it a bit further, especially in regards to Zeng Guofan. While I explained how Zeng Guofan created his force, I did not talk about how this all looked from the Qing dynasties point of few. In late 1852 and early 1853 a number of edicts were made by Emperor Xianfeng leading to the appointment of 43 supervisors of new local corps in the provinces of Hunan, Anhwei, Jiangsu, Zhili, Henan, Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guizhou and Fujian. Amongst the appointed was Zeng Guofan. The Qing government sought to have these organized smaller forces led by the gentry class so they could be loyal and relied upon. These forces were set up in each district to contest the Taiping. Zeng Guofan's Xiang army proved themselves to be highly effective, but Zeng Guofan chose to be very cautious when reporting back to the Qing court. This was because his military organizational building was strongly autonomous and could be seen as a threat to the Qing military. There had been numerous local militia groups that shifted from pro-government to banditry. The establishment of these armies was obviously a last resort means, and definitely could be a threat to the dynasty, they were not so unalike to the bandit armies created in the 17th century to fight the Daxi or Dashun armies afterall. Zeng Guofan did not state exactly what he was doing to the Qing court, in one of his first memorial he simply reported back that he was enlisting men from the countryside to establish a large military corps at its capital to be trained. It looked like Zeng Guofan was building a personal army, one that could be led on campaigns outside its local area. He sent more memorials stating that local corpsmen could not be relied upon in critical moments and that it was better to recruit from these local corpsmen an official militia, whose rations could be paid from public funds. When he was building the Xiang army he was consciously departing from the Qing courts authorization. He realized that local defense corps that had sprung up all over China were useful against local bandits and small raiders, but they were not large nor strong enough to withstand attacks from larger organized armies such as the Taiping. The Taiping were only growing larger, more organized, better armed. They simply could not be stopped by just local corps, what the Qing needed was a mobile army that could be used for offensive campaigns throughout larger areas. Now the way Zeng Guofan made the Xiang army was based strongly on personal loyalty, the units were recruited, led and paid for by their commander. The commanders were loyal to Zeng Guofan, thus more or less the Xiang army was a personal army at his command. Zeng Guofan also assembled a number of future leaders who would go on to create their own versions of the Xiang army. Such men were Zeng Zongtang and Li Hongzhang of Anhwei province. By the end of the century, Zeng Guofan's example led to most provinces being dominated by regional forces under military organizations over whom the Qing central government had only minimal control. In many ways Zeng Guofan was a symptom of the ailing dynasty, the Qing were gradually losing control and there was emerging a threat to the political and social order in china. Zeng Guofan say the Taiping menace as a threat to traditional chinese society. He made many proclamations stating as such. “The Taiping rebels have stolen the ways of the foreign barbarians when they distort family relations by calling all people brothers and sisters, when they declare that all land belongs to the heavenly king and that all profit also belongs to him. They force scholars to give up the COnfucian classics to read instead the so called teaching of Jesus. They wipe away our moral standards, the very way we conduct ourselves as humans, the classics, and the institutions that have existed in CHina for several thousands of years. This is not only a tragedy for the Qing dynasty but a great tragedy for the whole of “ming-chiao” Chinese tradition and causes confucius and Mencius to weep bitterly in the underworld. How could any educated person remain sitting, hands in sleeves, without doing something about it”. Zeng Guofan kept bringing up how the Taiping destroyed Buddhist and Taoist temples, that they were angering the gods who would take revenge. To right these terrible wrongs he said he was under Qing orders to advance his troops by land and water, not just to ease the Qing monarchs but also to console Confucious and Mencius, to avenge the slaughter of millions of Chinese. Appealing to the masses, Zeng Guofan began to ask for recruits, financial support and the surrender of any who decided to join the Taiping. Now I said he paid his army handsomely compared to that of the Green standards and such, but a lot of the funds were not under Qing control. The Gentry class were strongly supporting those like Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan began to ask and obtain permission from the Qing government to sell certificates of academic degrees, official titles and office appointments to sell to these said Gentry. The sale of all these degrees and titles increased gentry contributions, but also increased their influence and it began to build a new gentry role in leadership. Another major source of income for the Xiang army was new internal custom taxes introduced in 1853. And although the Qing government permitted this new tax, it held no control or supervision over it. Zeng Guofan and other commanders of regional armies were gaining control over regular provincial taxes and were using them to build their armies. The combined income from the gentry class and regional taxes made men like Zeng Guofan basically warlords. Their forces were not really governmental troops although they were fighting for said government. The other side, the Taiping failed to gain any support from the Gentry class because of their alienating religious and economic beliefs. Fundamentally the Taiping were a revolutionary group breaking the stratum of Chinese society, and a large part of that was the Chinese gentry class. Now Zeng Guofan began with a army of just a thousand men in 1853, composing 3 battalions. When they began to really clash with the Taiping they were soon 20,000 strong with naval and cavalry units. Later on they would become 120,000 men strong and Zeng Guofan had planned to use them for a long drawn out campaign despite pressure coming from Beijing to smash the rebels. Now the first major engagement between the Xiang army and the Taiping came in early 1854 and the Taiping defeated them. But on May 1st of 1854, the Xiang army defeated the Taiping at Xiangtan forcing them to withdraw. Then in a battle at Yuzhou in Hunan in July, the Xiang army on land and river gained a major victory. This victory gained Zeng Guofan great prestige and demonstrated the effectiveness of his army. The battle cost the Taiping more than half their fleet of boats and thus the loss of control over the central Yangtze river area. It was the first serious setback for the Taiping and it reduced their perimeter of military operations. Following up this victory, the Xiang army entered Hubei province and quickly recaptured Wuchang and Hanyang by october of 1854. Soon Zeng Guofans forces began to penetrate into Hubei and Jiangxi provinces marking the failure and end to the Taiping western expedition. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Northern expedition was a complete bust, the Taiping had lost the opportunity to claim the dragon throne. But the western expedition proved fruitful and gradually the heavenly kingdom was growing, and perhaps it could eclipse the Qing.
My guest on today's show is best-selling author and retired Police Captain Frank Zafiro!During his law enforcement career, Zafiro worked as a patrol officer, corporal, and detective before entering leadership roles and becoming a sergeant in 2002. He was fortunate enough to command patrol officers, investigators, K-9 officers (and their dogs!), and the SWAT team. He also commanded both the patrol division and the investigative division of the police department at different points in his career. Frank is an accomplished writer with over forty books published.In today's episode we discuss:· Frank's early years in the United States Army and how that prepared him for future leadership roles· Why Frank became a police officer. · Frank's law enforcement career with the City of Spokane.· The importance of leadership and Frank teaching Leadership in Police Organizations. · Being a captain in charge of the patrol bureau. · How he consistently produces numerous books.· Franks podcast, Wrong Place, Wright Crime. · All of this and more on today's episode of the Cops and Writers podcast.Head on over to Frank's website to learn more about him and his books!Check out Field Training (Brew City Blues Book 1)!!Enjoy the Cops and Writer's book series.Please visit the Cops and Writers website.If you have a question for the sarge, hit him up at his email.Join the fun at the Cops and Writers Facebook groupConsider buying me a coffee :-)Do you enjoy gritty, action-packed real-life police dramas to get your fill of blood, heartache, and cop humor? You've come to the right series!Book one of Brew City Blues, Field Training, is now live and book two, Probation is now on pre-order and will be available for purchase on December 30, 2022, only on Amazon!Support the show
Our hosts take the front lines, and "soldier" on through the roughage that can only be caused by corn such as the movie "Soldier," a film where they say they say the world "soldier" many, many times to let you know that "Soldier" is the name of the movie that you are watching... sir. Are you ready for some action?! Sir, yes sir! Choking and stitching the snake! Child murder! Cheesy uncharitable chain challenges! Sergeants surveying supple scenery! Extermination as exhibition! Kurt Russell prop cabbage kerfuffles! Practical piss procedures (and other pee pee trivia)! Kill, Eat, or Fuck?! Double dripping future spouts! Carnival sign conservation conundrums! Midget manipulations! And yes, a child was murdered in the opening montage! Discarded muffler meandering! Gary Busey, and much, much more on this week's episode of The Worst Movie Ever Made! www.theworstmovieevermade.com We're sorry.
Do mid-term elections scare anybody else or is it just me?!? Which is precisely why we decide to interview Technical Sergeant Cameron Miller from Washington D.C. After all, October is fright month. Or is it happy family month? Guess it all depends on what you pick up. Wait...Sergeants sing?!? Here is the George Washington link we talked about. https://www.history.com/news/george-washington-farewell-address-warningsContact usLinktree: www.Linktr.ee/HappyLifeStudiosEmail: Podcast@HappyLife.StudioYo Stevo Hotline: (425) 200-HAYS (4297)Webpage: www.HappyLife.studioYouTube: www.YouTube.com/StevoHaysTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@happylifestudiosFacebook: www.Facebook.com/HappyLifeStudios Instagram: www.Instagram.com/HappyLife_Studios Twitter: www.Twitter.com/HappyLifStudios If you would like to help us spread the HappyPayPal: www.PayPal.me/StevoHaysCash App: $HappyLifeStudiosZelle: StevoHays@gmail.comVenmo: @StevoHaysBuy Me A Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/HappyLifeStudioCheck: Payable to Hays Ministries or Steve Hays and send to PO Box 102 Maple Valley, WA 98038
I'm honored to have Frank on the show. He was SWAT, he was K9, but most of all he was one of those Sergeants who had been on a long time and was a great resource for me when I was a newbie Sgt.He had a great career and now he travels from Police Motorcycle and K9 competitions taking some really cool photos. Tune in and enjoy our newest member of "The Squad."
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