During his years in theatre performing on stage Jeff's studies focused on The Meisner Technique. As he transitioned to film & television his education expanded to Stanislavski's 'Method' while studying for nearly 5 years at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Conservatory. He continues to train and study at Strasberg, the American Film Institute, the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory and multiple studios in the Los Angeles area.

His current work and projects have earned him major roles transporting him to international movie sets and Cannes Film Festival Screenings. His indie feature film 'Parallax' (which he starred in and produced) has been making the festival rounds for the last several years with 11 awards as of December 2021- including multiple winners of Best Actor, Best Producer, Best Short Film and Best Thriller.

A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Ty was the son of a career Army warrant officer who went on to became the first black state trooper in South Carolina. Ty himself served 13 years in the Army National Guard rising to the rank of Captain in the Ordnance branch.

Corban is now living in Atlanta, Georgia where he creates full time, working on a variety of projects in different mediums, from painting to woodworking. He also leads a creative agency with his wife called CALM Collective, where he works as a creative director and cinematographer. His camera work has attracted top companies and non-profits from around the country, who have hired him as a director of photography on national ad campaigns and commercials. Moving forward, Corban's dream is to use his creative gifts to serve others and Christ. 

Corban's website

You can find Jared on Instagram here.

Larry was born in Canton, Ohio.  Since his father was an officer with the United States Air Force he grew up on many Air Force bases across this country.   After graduating from High School at Ramey Air Force Base in Puerto Rico, he attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida.  He graduated in 1968 with a degree in mathematics and a concentration in finance. He joined the U.S. Army and served one tour in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division as an Infantry Officer and a CH-47 helicopter pilot.  He is the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal, with 10 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Bronze Star, and various other military service medals.

Upon release from active duty in 1973, Larry returned to civilian life and pursued a career in the Financial Industry.  During his professional career, he continued his education earning graduate degrees in Management and Banking.  He worked for 29 years in the banking business with Trust Company of Georgia, Citizen and Southern Corporation, now Bank of America, and Wachovia, now Wells Fargo.  After retiring from banking he worked as an independent financial consultant for 3 years in the Atlanta area and then worked as an instructor for 6 years with Lanier Technical College in their Management and Leadership Development Program.

Larry is now retired and lives in North Georgia with his wife Linda, a retired school teacher.  They stay involved in various activities, most notably those associated with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Veterans related organizations.  They also enjoy traveling together and spending as much time as possible with their two daughters, three grandsons, and two granddaughters.

He is an award-winning Executive Producer and Head of Production for integrated advertising campaigns. He currently plays that role at Circus Maximus, AdAge's 2021 Small Agency of the Year (11-75 Employees), GOLD, where they won AdAge's Creativity Awards' Best New Product Launch for King C. Gillette.

Previously, he was with Boomshot and 77 Ventures Creative where he was a part of the team that helped develop, create, and launch Anheuser Busch's internal agency, DraftLine NYC. He wrote and produced their first ever Super Bowl ad, a regional spot for Natty Light.

Carey got his start in advertising with the old Time, Inc. Studios, now The Foundry @ Meredith.

As a member of the United States Air Force, he served in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, and Afghanistan. He used the Post-9/11 GI Bill to study Film Studies at The Ohio State University and earned a BFA in Creative Writing for Entertainment from Full Sail University.

After college, Carey cut his teeth as a first assistant director and unit production manager on indie film sets in Los Angeles working with A-list talent and studying under seasoned filmmakers.

Carey is also a published author and award-winning screenwriter, director, and indie film producer. He and his wife, Andrea Buccilla, co-founded Greater Fool Productions. Their films have been distributed by no budge, Film Shortage , and Twelve Cabins as well as having played Florida Film Festival, Panic Fest, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and more.

Carey hosts and produces a podcast called Veteran Made where he connects with other veterans to equip the community with skills to successfully transition from service to civilian.

Lit of War

You can see him live at VetRep's performance of Savage WonderGround: Three Strangers at @principlegallery on April 13 at 6pm (savagewonder.com)

Fay has also had solo exhibitions at the Farnsworth Museum, where he was the target of a protest group. His artwork has been published in Leatherneck Magazine—the official magazine of the Marine Corps Association—and the New York Times. The Guardian called his work "exceptionally moving and thought-provoking", and said, "Over the past decade, Fay has seen action as a war artist with US troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but his latest journey was to a military veterans' hospital in Richmond, Virginia. In the resulting New York Times blogs, he relays his meetings with three young men severely wounded in Afghanistan. His account of their injuries and rehabilitation is gripping, but what really deepens the reporting are his drawings, reproduced alongside the articles."

Fay has also recorded wounded veterans recovering from their injuries. As part of this work he founded the Joe Bonham Project to document the experiences of the wounded. After retirement, Fay campaigned for enhanced recognition and improved working opportunities for war artists. Fay also uses sculpture. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Illustration; his thesis was called The Boy Who Drew Soldiers.

From Long Beach, California to the mountains of the Pyrenees in northern Spain, Suicide In Slow Motion takes the reader on a voyage of discovery through Tristan’s eyes, while confronting the horrors of PTSD and delving into the philosophy of self-destruction. It also seeks to answer the question that many veterans ask once they leave the military... what the hell do I do now.

Neville currently resides in New Zealand with his wife and three children. He works at a high school as the Pathways Coordinator, assisting young people in developing essential life skills for their transition into the workforce. 

His first book, Sangin, Then and Now, is a stoic collection of poetry from a lifelong loyal subject of the Commonwealth. The verses within tell the story of a young man following in the footsteps of his father as we accompany him on a journey to war and back. It is a rationale for the dangers we face in staying in a toxic relationship with professions and landscapes trying to swallow us whole.

He was on the staff at George Mason University’s Community Business Partnership; and served as Director of the Business Incubation Center (2012-2013) and Director of the South Fairfax Small Business Development Center (2013-2015) before founding and serving as the Director of the Veterans Business Outreach Center for the Mid-Atlantic region from 2015 to 2019. The Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) program (a program of the Small Business Administration) is designed to provide entrepreneurial development services such as business training, counseling, and resource partner referrals to transitioning service members, veterans, National Guard & Reserve members, and military spouses interested in starting or growing a small business. In 2016, he was named Boots to Business Instructor of the Year; and in 2018, the VBOC at Community Business Partnership was named the Veteran Business Center of Excellence by the Small Business Administration.

Charles is also active in the broader community; serving as a learning lab partner for the Dog Tag, Inc., Fellows program. He is also an avid storyteller, writer and artist; and has been a mentor with the Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP).

 Charles told his first story on stage in 2017 as a graduate of the Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP) Storytelling 101 class; and has since gone on to perform at ASAP’s Service to Stage performance (DC Improv in 2018), Story District’s annual OutSpoken show (9:30 Club in 2019), and Story District’s TopShelf performance (Lincoln Theater in 2020). His first short story (fiction), “Dancing in the Dark,” will be published in a special literary issue of the Journal of Veterans Studies in Spring 2023.

Kacy's debut memoir, Freaks of a Feather, has been reviewed and excerpted by Task & Purpose, The War Horse, The Big Smoke, KHQ, and others. Previously, his work has appeared in The New York Times, Zero-Dark-Thirty literary journal, as well as the SOFLETE website.

See it here.

Francisco’s work has been featured in The Line Literary Review, Hippocampus Magazine, Iron & Air (Issue 41), Wrath-Bearing Tree, Consequence, BULL, Hobart, Construction Literary Magazine, Split Lip, The War Horse, River Teeth: Beautiful Things, Collateral Journal, and the Dominican Writer’s Association. He is also a contributing co-editor in the second volume of the Incoming series Sex, Drugs, and Copenhagen. 

After his separation from the Army, David began to notice that more and more service members were taking their own lives and felt compelled to start the non-profit, 22Mohawks. The main goal of 22Mohawks is to bring awareness to veteran suicide. They sponsor multiple events each year that bring veterans and their families together. Their mission is to create and keep the bond between veterans so that everyone knows that they have someone with similar experiences they can lean on. A big part of that bond and connection is lost after separation from the military and believing fully in their mission to reinforce and maintain that sense of community.

Vicki has received numerous awards for her work on behalf of military families. In 2007, she was written into the Congressional Record in a tribute to her by Congressman Sylvestre Reyes, for her writings about Army life and her contributions to the nation as an Army wife and Army mom. In 2021, Vicki, along with her husband Dick, received the General Creighton Abrams Medal for Service from the Association of the United States Army.

She is the author of Your Soldier, Your Army: A Parents’ Guide and most recently, the revised edition, Your Soldier, Your Army: A Family Guide, both of which were published by the Association of the United States Army. This book is free of charge to everyone. To date, over 500,000 copies of these books have been distributed. Her articles have appeared in numerous military magazines and publications.

Her first memoir, Army Wife: A Story of Love and Family in the Heart of the Army was published in 2016 by She Writes Press. Army Wife won the 2016 USA Best Book Award for narrative non-fiction, was a Finalist for the 2016 Foreword Indies Book of the Year in the military category, and was listed in Kirkus Reviews Top Indie Books of 2016.

Her new memoir, Fly Safe- Letters from the Gulf War and Reflections from Back Home, was released in August 2021 by She Writes Press. Fly Safe was a finalist for the 2021 Best Book Awards in the History/Military category; made the Kirkus Reviews 2021 list of Great Indie Books worth discovering; and is a finalist for the Military and Front Lines Book Award in the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

She and her husband of forty-six years live in the Washington, DC area. Their two sons, both Apache helicopter pilots, continue to serve on active duty in the US Army.

ment-35. As a Chief Warrant Officer, he has served with 3rd Supply Battalion, Marine Corps Systems Command, Marine Corps Base Quantico, and as an LDO he currently serves with Marine Forces Special Operations Command. A veteran of OIF, OEF, and OIR he has done his share of creating unit t-shirts and coins, but took a more focused approach to creating artwork in recent years.

“A few years after transitioning to the Warrant Officer ranks, I volunteered to assist the annual Warrant Officer Basic Course at Quantico, Virginia. I was was teamed with Staff Platoon Commander and Marine Corps Combat Artist, Captain Charles “CJ” Baumann where I rediscovered my passion for art in working with him and studying his work.”

Mike's passion for creating artwork stems from the idea that art should tell a story, and the stories of the GWOT demand to be told.

Check out Mike’s work here.

Crystal herself is a beneficiary of our war effort. Born in 1997, she spent her life coming of age while American troops were on the ground. To hear her talk about the freedom - personal social and political - that she experienced because of our war in Afghanistan is a necessary reminder that in 20 years of war America enabled a generation of Afghans to come of age with possibilities and optimism unknown to previous generations. Crystal is clear eyed and resolute about the threats still present in Afghanistan. Crystal is forthcoming about everything from the Taliban’s assassination attempt of her to an analysis of the multiple foreign influences still gestating, fomenting and developing new threats inside Afghanistan. It is a conversation, I think, that that every American should listen to. Crystal pulls no punches and identifying the culprits responsible for Afghanistan’s collapse. As a member of the Loy Jerga, Crystal was present at the Doha peace talks - she is an activist but not an outsider. She has intimate knowledge and first-hand experience of the inner workings of the Ghani government which makes for an incredibly compelling insightful conversation. I think any one who cares about Afghanistan will deeply appreciate this episode. And anyone who wants to know why they should care about Afghanistan deserves the answers Crystal offers.

Learn more about Crystal here.

His work exudes a level of spirituality and an organic connection with the human condition. This reflects his experiences growing up as the son and grandson of preachers. Angelo’s creations invite the viewer to participate in a physical, mental or spiritual dialogue with what they experience. Deep vibrant abstracts, joyous colorful mixed-media portraits, and majestic sports pieces are brought to life using vivid colors and bold compositions.

Yellowtub Creative

Read some of Chris' poetry on the Savage Wonder literary blog here.

Chris tweets here.

Follow Chris here.

Dale served in 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force), 3rd Special Forces Group, and in the 82nd Airborne Division 325th Infantry. He also worked 9.5 years as a paramilitary operative for USG and concurrently worked as a contract security specialist, COO, Vice President, and President for various security companies applying his skills and knowledge on a myriad of security challenges around the world. He has been decorated twice for Valor in combat and is also the famed breacher that explosively breached the Modelo Prison in Panama during the 1989 U.S. invasion and rescue of Kurt Muse. Dale has 6th degree Black Belts in American Open Karate and Extension Fighting, with a 1st degree Black Belt in Ju Jitsu. He is a former professional boxer, kickboxer, and MMA fighter, who authored the 3rd Special Forces Group combatives manual in 1997, instructed the Delta Force combatives program and the 3rd Special Forces Group combatives program. He is a competitive Bodybuilder and actively trains and competes alongside his son. In the world of self-defense Dale has globally managed bodyguard details for high net worth businessman, celebrities, and Politicians. Dale has a Doctorate Natural Health and Alternative Medicine, a Masters Degree in Business and Organizational Security Management, with a Baccalaureates degree in Education. He is fluent in German, with a working knowledge of Spanish and Portuguese. In September 2011 Dale was featured on Discovery Channel’s “One Man Army,” and in September 2012 he was featured on NBC’s “Stars Earn Stripes” alongside Terry Crews.

Dale is very forthright about his own operating system - what has helped propel his career, his health, his accomplishments and, ultimately, his freedom in life. For all of Dale's successes in the military, contracting, business, and coaching, there are the struggles - the marriages, the single parenting, the supervision of civilian contract security employees. From turning down a life of guaranteed comfort to abandoning Hollywood, I think Dale's life is full of lessons that are more than interesting, they are relevant.

Follow Dale here.

Buy Dale’s autobiography, American Badass here.

Kristopher Battles is a contemporary fine artist creating artworks in a variety of media which honor the highest traditions of representational art.

Battles graduated with a BFA in Painting from Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) in December 1991, and earned his MFA in Illustration from the University of Hartford in September 2013.

Originally serving as a Marine Reservist from 1986 until 1996, Battles became a Marine combat artist after reenlisting in 2006, and deployed to Overseas Contingency Operations several times to create art for the United States Marine Corps, serving in that billet until 2014. 

From 2014 until 2019, Battles served as a civilian combat artist for the Naval History and Heritage Command at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC. Battles is currently the Marine Corps Artist in Residence, on staff at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, VA.

His work has been featured in publications and art venues across the country, including the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. as a part of the art show “Fly Marines! The Centennial of Marine Corps Aviation 1912-2012” from January 2012 through January 2013.

Battles’ work was featured on the cover of Leatherneck magazine, March 2008, December 2009, and August 2020. His illustrations for the “Sharing the Courage” series were featured in Marines magazine, Oct/Nov/Dec 2009, and in a Marine Corps Times article “Heroics illustrated, comic-book style” by James K Sanborn, March 22nd, 2010.

Battles was featured in the New York Times Arts & Leisure section on July 18th, 2010, in an article by Carol Kino entitled, “With Sketchpads and Guns, Semper Fi”. 

Battles has been invited to be a guest speaker and artist for many events and organizations.  He was featured at USS Constitution Museum, Boston, MA during Marine Week in May, 2010, and his work was also on display May 5th 2010 in the John F. Kennedy School of Government for Harvard University. Battles was also guest speaker at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, January 28th 2011, and was forum speaker at The Army and The Navy Club in Washington, DC March 2nd, 2011.

Battles was featured in ABC ‘s “Persons of the Week: Combat Artists” with Charlie Gibson, September 2007, along with fellow combat artist and Hartford MFA alumnus Michael Fay, and combat artists Charles Grow and Col Charles Waterhouse.

Battles is a 2008 and 2010 recipient of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s John W. Thomason Award for excellence in combat art, and the 2010 and 2011 recipient of the Marine Corps Combat Correspondence Association’s Merit Award for Combat Art.

Follow the Marine Corps Combat Art Program here

Follow Kris here

Jim Gerghaty on COVID origins.

"Much of my work is primarily based in the fitness and tactical realms however, I truly believe in creating outside of my comfort zone. Starting as a street photographer, I rapidly realized my passion for using a camera to create images whether still or video. My work has taken me internationally shooting for a wide variety of brands as well as passion projects such as documentaries within the veteran community where my roots are tied. Upon separating from the military, I found myself working in the private sector as a defense contractor which ultimately led me to a path of creativity."

Follow Paul here.

B.elieve L.ove R.espect

B.elieve L.ove R.elax

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There is a happy accident in all this, however. Our last episode was with Paul Harrington and our first episode back just so happens to feature Paul again as well, so you're getting back-to-back episodes for your binge listening ease.

Air Force veteran Paul Harrington is the author of the soon to be released Justice or Not: My Experiences as a State Corrections Officer in New York's Prisons.

Paul was injured on the job due to workplace violence - violence committed by another officer. Paul and I discuss the toxicity of working in the prison system, the psychology of working in such an environment for so long and why you never hear of a really motivated corrections officer.

Air Force veteran Paul Harrington is the author of the soon to be released Justice or Not: My Experiences as a State Corrections Officer in New York's Prisons.

Justice or Not Facebook page

Paul was injured on the job due to workplace violence - violence committed by another officer. Paul and I discuss the toxicity of working in the prison system, the psychology of working in such an environment for so long and why you never hear of a really motivated corrections officer.

Justice or Not Facebook page

Have a listen here.

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Follow Lethal Minds Journal here.

Find out more about PB Abbate here.

If you don’t remember Geoff from his previous appearance…

Master Sergeant Geoffrey P Dardia is a career Special Forces soldier who helped stand up, and currently serves as the Operations Sergeant for 3rd Special Forces Group’s Human Performance and Wellness Program. MSG Dardia is also the founder and Program Director for 3rd Special Forces Group’s META (Medical, Education, Transition, Advocacy/Awareness) Transition Program.  MSG Dardia served in both the Central Command (CENTCOM) and US Africa Command (AFRICOM) areas of operation as a Special Forces advisor, and as a liaison at the US Embassy in Burkina Faso. MSG Dardia is also a Veteran’s Affairs Certified Recovery Care Coordinator (RCC) and served as the Ft Bragg Wounded Warrior Battalion Liaison for United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

As the Operation’s Sergeant for 3rd Special Forces Group’s Human Performance Program, MSG Dardia oversees, and is part of, a multidisciplinary team consisting of Group Medical, Preservation of The Force and Family (POTFF), Behavioral Health, Tactical Human Optimization Rapid Rehabilitation and Reconditioning (THOR3) and the Chaplain’s Office. 3rd Special Forces Group’s Human Performance program works tirelessly “to prevent and mitigate performance degrading factors across the physiological, psychological and emotional domains in order to optimize readiness and tactical performance, maximize career longevity, and preserve the soldier and family.”

MSG Geoffrey Dardia also founded and directed the Special Operations Forces (SOF) Health Initiative Program for Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation where he created a pipeline that has directly assisted hundreds of wounded, ill and injured SOF members and their families. In the SOF Health Initiative program, service members, veterans and their families receive the most comprehensive, and state of the art medical care available. The SOF Health Initiative Program provides access to and awareness of personalized, functional medicine approaches that deliver lifestyle, integrative, and nutritional interventions that address the root causes of dysfunction in the SOF community. The SOF Initiative program educates and empowers service members, veterans and their families to take ownership of their health and actions and to work as force multipliers/ambassadors to create a healthier and more resilient community.

MSG Geoffrey Dardia works around the clock both as an active duty soldier and as a veteran advocate (trusted agent), public speaker and as guest writer for the Havok Journal where he educates and empowers people from all walks to take ownership of their health. MSG Dardia is a frequent guest on several military and health related podcasts and has also been featured in high visibility publications such as the New York Times, Army Times, Military Times, and Experience Life Magazine. 

MSG Dardia cowrote and published his first scientific paper in 2019 in the Alternate Therapies in Health and Medicine (ATHM) Journal titled “Neurotoxicity Associated with Traumatic Brain Injury, Blast, Chemical, Heavy Metal and Quinoline Drug Exposure.”

So clearly, Geoff has nothing to say. Just listen to how much we manage...]]>Geoff Dardia couldn’t have been a better guest to have on this week. I realized, after the episode, that we had recorded it on the one-year anniversary of the show. Sure, we had a lot to talk about – Ukraine, the Afghan withdrawl, the state of military readiness in the event of war in Europe…or the South China Sea, the intersection of our kids and military service, but it was great to have Geoff on to discuss since he is exactly the kind of guest that makes Profiles in Havok (and the old Weekly Havok) so popular. In fact, Geoff’s other appearance on the show was on Weekly Havok, so I’m glad we could officially record his “profile”.

If you don’t remember Geoff from his previous appearance…

Master Sergeant Geoffrey P Dardia is a career Special Forces soldier who helped stand up, and currently serves as the Operations Sergeant for 3rd Special Forces Group’s Human Performance and Wellness Program. MSG Dardia is also the founder and Program Director for 3rd Special Forces Group’s META (Medical, Education, Transition, Advocacy/Awareness) Transition Program.  MSG Dardia served in both the Central Command (CENTCOM) and US Africa Command (AFRICOM) areas of operation as a Special Forces advisor, and as a liaison at the US Embassy in Burkina Faso. MSG Dardia is also a Veteran’s Affairs Certified Recovery Care Coordinator (RCC) and served as the Ft Bragg Wounded Warrior Battalion Liaison for United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

As the Operation’s Sergeant for 3rd Special Forces Group’s Human Performance Program, MSG Dardia oversees, and is part of, a multidisciplinary team consisting of Group Medical, Preservation of The Force and Family (POTFF), Behavioral Health, Tactical Human Optimization Rapid Rehabilitation and Reconditioning (THOR3) and the Chaplain’s Office. 3rd Special Forces Group’s Human Performance program works tirelessly “to prevent and mitigate performance degrading factors across the physiological, psychological and emotional domains in order to optimize readiness and tactical performance, maximize career longevity, and preserve the soldier and family.”

MSG Geoffrey Dardia also founded and directed the Special Operations Forces (SOF) Health Initiative Program for Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation where he created a pipeline that has directly assisted hundreds of wounded, ill and injured SOF members and their families. In the SOF Health Initiative program, service members, veterans and their families receive the most comprehensive, and state of the art medical care available. The SOF Health Initiative Program provides access to and awareness of personalized, functional medicine approaches that deliver lifestyle, integrative, and nutritional interventions that address the root causes of dysfunction in the SOF community. The SOF Initiative program educates and empowers service members, veterans and their families to take ownership of their health and actions and to work as force multipliers/ambassadors to create a healthier and more resilient community.

MSG Geoffrey Dardia works around the clock both as an active duty soldier and as a veteran advocate (trusted agent), public speaker and as guest writer for the Havok Journal where he educates and empowers people from all walks to take ownership of their health. MSG Dardia is a frequent guest on several military and health related podcasts and has also been featured in high visibility publications such as the New York Times, Army Times, Military Times, and Experience Life Magazine. 

MSG Dardia cowrote and published his first scientific paper in 2019 in the Alternate Therapies in Health and Medicine (ATHM) Journal titled “Neurotoxicity Associated with Traumatic Brain Injury, Blast, Chemical, Heavy Metal and Quinoline Drug Exposure.”

So clearly, Geoff has nothing to say. Just listen to how much we manage to cover anyway.

Task Force Dagger

Hunter Seven Foundation

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“It’s All in Your Head” by Geoff Dardia

“The Suicide Epidemic” by Geoff Dardia

“Hormone Imbalances Following Traumatic Brain Injury” by Geoff Dardia

For over 25 years he has volunteered with various initiatives to support military families including the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee, Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve, USS Tucson 770 Club, the Tucson Community Cares Foundation and as the Honorary Commander for the 12th Air Force/Air Forces Southern.

But almost a decade ago, Ben took over the still new American Warrior Radio and built it into a platform that advocates for veterans by giving them a platform on both public radio and podcast networks to tell their stories. Ben is a seasoned pro at mining veterans' stories for content that will help bridge the civil-military divide and ensure that veterans' wisdom and experiences do not get memory-holed.

In a time when so many veterans are trying to find their voice and when the country is often confused about the warfighter experience, Ben has selflessly served a crucial role in the American narrative.

American Warrior Radio

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JC Glick served in two Ranger Battalions as well as Regimental Headquarters and has over 7 years in the Ranger Regiment and over 7 and a half years (90 months) of command time with operational and combat deployments to Haiti, Bangladesh, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He was a Senior Service Chief’s Fellow at Defense Research Projects Agency located outside of Washington DC, as well as serving as the Chief of Future Operations at the Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) at Fort Meade, MD. His last assignment was the Director of Victory College at Fort Jackson, leading the Army’s Leadership Development School, Resiliency School and the military’s only Physical Fitness School. In his tenure as the Director, LTC Glick was responsible for the drafting and implementation of the Army’s Fitness Strategy through 2025, as well as the transformation of the Leadership Development School’s curriculum and the complete transformation of Basic Combat Training for every new Soldier entering the force. JC attended the Naval War College in Newport, RI, where he earned his Masters in National Security and Strategic Studies. He also holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island and is a Liberty Fellow, part of the Aspen Institute. He has earned 3 Bronze Stars, 3 Meritorious Service Medals, a Joint Commendation Medal, and the Order of Saint Maurice. JC is also the author of the books A Light in the Darkness: Leadership Development for the Unknown, and Meditations of an Army Ranger: A Warrior Philosophy for Everyone.

Life by Neville Johnson in Havok Journal

Sunset by Neville Johnson in Havok Journal

Home Coming by Neville Johnson in Havok Journal

Memories of War by Neville Johnson in Havok Journal

Stranger to Myself by Neville Johnson in Havok Journal

Sweeping Leaves in the Wind, Good Soldiers Don’t Cry, and Alone in a Crowded Room by the Veterans Collective, featuring selections from Neville Johnson.

War...& After The Anthology of Poet Warriors Collection 2 by Dead Reckoning Collective, featuring selections from Neville Johnson.

In the wake of our withdrawl from Afghanistan, I - like many of you - have done a lot of soul-searching, navel gazing, and head-scratching about the war: our goals, our execution, our exit. That's why I was glad to have Wes Morgan on the show today. Wes is the author of The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley, a book that I place alongside Steve Coll's books and Thomas Barfield's Afghanistan as invaluable contributions to understanding the country and its problem sets. Wes started the book as an embedded reporter in 2010 and continued writing it, traveling to Afghanistan and interviewing folks for the next decade or so. He was there for the first draft of history, but his book has the benefit of perspective and context for how the war would play out. I would go so far as to say that if you haven't read The Hardest Place yet, you may not fully understand or be able to articulate all the dysfunction and nuance that you might have found during your deployments there. Or maybe that's just me and I'm projecting. But either way, any serious student of military history or our time in Afghanistan or proponent of COIN cannot afford to ignore the book. Wes wisely focuses on Pech Valley and Kunar Province, without trying to sum up all the battle spaces inside Afghanistan, so there are certain problem sets that don't translate completely to other provinces. But the Venn diagram of problems in Pech Valley overlaps enough with the rest of Afghanistan to provide a useful insight into many aspects of the war, theater-wide.

Follow Wes here.

The Satterly’s founded All Secure Foundation in August 2017 as a resource library for helping warriors and their families navigate the maze of treatments and modalities of healing from PTS. They have worked individually with hundreds of warriors and their families and soon became more than a referral website but also a provider of education, awareness, and programs for healing.

It's not easy to talk about marriage difficulties in servicemembers' and veterans' families, or the battles of the mind, body, and spirit that accompany those problems. But I had a blast talking with Tom and Jen. The conversation ranges from examinations of manhood and femininity, expectation management for both spouses and servicemembers, and some casual put-downs of accountants and cat lovers. It's an eye-opening conversation about how to integrate relationship health into the warfighter's life - and a reminder about the reasons warfighting is often a single man's game - with a couple that has been through an awful lot and come out the other end smiling.

All Secure Foundation

All Secure by Tom Satterly

Arsenal of Hope by Jen Satterly

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But you can’t understand Scott as a warrior-artist until you really understand his warrior path. A career Army officer, Scott retired as a Lieutenant Colonel with most of his time spent in Special Forces. Also ten years after retirement, Scott found himself launching Task Force Pineapple to help evacuate Afghans, especially Afghan commandos from the country following our withdrawl. As a result, Scott has a real chip on his shoulder about the way the war was fought, the way we left the country and the way we abandoned our allies. He also carries a lot of love for the Afghan people and the Green Berets he served with. Now, on the cusp of potential US involvement in Ukraine, Scott still has skin in the game - his son is an Infantry platoon leader. In other words, there’s no way we could not spend the bulk of the episode unpacking Scott’s takeaways from his military, familial and humanitarian efforts. This was a truly unique episode with a truly accomplished warrior-artist who has managed to find the balance of his art, his moral obligations and his warrior path.

Watch Last Out - coming soon to Amazon Prime!

Follow Scott’s Rooftop Leadership company here, The Heroes Journey here, or his personal account here.

After two hours, we had covered a lot about First Casualty, a little about Toby and we left a lot on the table for next time. As I said on the episode, First Casualty had the emotional impact to me of reading an old high school yearbook and remembering when I first heard about Mike Spann or ODAs on the ground partnering with the Northern Alliance. Even the memory of how America was in 2001 seems so dated. Toby captures it well and seeing the impact the next 20 years have had on some of the key players in post-9/11 Afgahnistan is instructive and moving. Toby's a great talker and I was struck by the similarities between soldiering and journalists when it comes to FOMO and the need to be where the action is. Considering how restricted US movement was in late 2020, I was feeling a little FOMO at hearing his account as the last western journalist to talk with General Dostum. Can't wait for his next adventures...

Follow Toby on Instagram and Twitter

First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11 by Toby Harnden

Toby Harnden author page on Amazon

Only Cry for the Living by Hollie McKay

Hollie is on Instagram and Substack.

“You never really know how much a situation has affected you until you're no longer neck deep in it, until you're no longer looking over your shoulder, until your mind finally registers "Hey, relax, no one is trying to kill you." You get a massive outpouring of tension... followed by relief... and then followed by guilt. Finally, the strangest thing of all: you start to miss it. You find you feel more awkward back in this alternate reality than in your "normal" world, and you wonder what that means. You find things start to itch just under the surface. You miss the rumble of gunpowder and cordite, and the throb of the pack. You find it all seems a little out of place back here.”

Terron also has an officer's eye for innovation and hints at prescriptions for systemic change. In our interview, I pushed to see what changes he would like to see to make mental health treatment less stigmatized. A sizeable hat-tip to Marshall McGurk, Ayman Kafel and Project Sapient who brought the book to my attention - and to Ayman for co-hosting this episode with me.

Terron Wharton was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His chosen military path began with joining his high school's JROTC program. His mother was not thrilled, but agreed as long as Terron kept his GPA above a 3.0. He first learned about West Point while in JROTC and became the first in his family to attend a service academy. He graduated in 2005 with a degree in International Relations and was assigned to Armor Branch, his first choice. In October 2006 Terron deployed to FOB Rustamiyah in Baghdad, Iraq as a Tank Platoon Leader, leading 16 men and four tanks in combat. This 15 month deployment occurred during "The Surge", a period marked by high levels of violence and viewed as a turning point in the Iraq War. Terron deployed two other times as part of the Global War on Terror. The second was to Baghdad again, this time as a staff officer to one of the largest Coalition bases in Iraq, Victory Base Complex. The third deployment was to Kandahar City, Afghanistan, during which he led over 100 Soldiers as a Troop Commander and lived with over 400 Afghan Police.

Show Notes

Dave Grossman's On Killing

A Delta Operator Transitions from War to Music by Brad Thomas

Follow Silence & Light

Silence & Light merch page

Marine Raider Foundation

Warriors Heart

Show Notes

22 Mohawks

Follow 22 Mohawks on IG

Show Alibis

I didn't plan on talking about longtime Harlem congressman Charlie Rangel during the episode, so I was really going from memory when I said he may have won the Medal of Honor for his actions in Korea. He didn't. He won a Bronze Star with Valor. His famous statement which I paraphrased was, "Since Kunu Ri – and I mean it with all my heart, I have never, never had a bad day."  

Show Notes

Project Sapient 

Charles Taylor

Veterans Repertory Theater

The Havok Journal

Show Notes

Show Notes

Havok Journal

Second Mission Foundation

Veterans Repertory Theater

Savage Wonder

Now, you're probably thinking that since it was just a bunch of Army types, we must have conducted a very biased episode of the Weekly Havok. Apart from the predictions, I can honestly say no Navy personnel's feelings were harmed during the making of this episode. In fact, everyone went out of their way to talk about the tragic death of CDR Brian Bourgeois, as well as their appreciation for the Air Force on a day that they are generally forgotten. So it was a very genteel treatment of the other services. 

Show Alibis

We did try to get a Department of Navy representative on the show, but it didn't work out and left us to police our own trash talk to the point that it never really came out. Next year, we'll try to work on our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion of the other services.

Stick around to the end of the show to hear whether Mike Kelvington would choose to attend Ohio State-Michigan or Army-Navy if he had to pick one. I won't spoil his answer, but I'll just say that I would hate to run against him if he ever runs for political office.

Show Notes

OSU Buckeye ROTC

Service2School

GoFundMe for Navy SEAL CDR Brian Bourgeois

Riveting Mission LLC

Second Mission Foundation

The Havok Journal

Veterans Repertory Theater

Savage Wonder podcast

Show Alibis

A few times on the show, I've mentioned that I wasn't around females that much in the military. I guess that's generally true - except for one administrative position I held, I was in all-male units. But after this show, I kicked myself for not bringing up some of my experiences with females in the military and how I saw femininity express itself - or not. But then, I wanted to hear about Lori, Lani and Dex's experience more. Just realized I might have more to say than I had let on. More to follow on that down the road perhaps...

I thought it was funny how each lady appeared in awe of the others' experiences. Nothing wrong with awe, but certainly they each deserved to be there. Very complimentary yet individual takes on their time in the military. I can honestly say, I was surprised at their answers. I think these ladies have made lives out of taking the hard rights over the easy wrongs. Or maybe we just didn't talk long enough. 

Show Notes

Bottled Away by Lani Hankins

Gift from God by Lori Buttieries

Patrol Base Abbate

Follow Dex on Instagram

Follow Lani Hankins on IG

Follow Lori Buttieries on IG

Lani Hankins' Kruse Corner

Daniel's book Wounding Warriors: How Bad Policy is Making Veterans Sicker and Poorer is out now and available everywhere - it was in pre-order stage when the episode aired, so don't be fooled - it IS available now!

Show Notes

Wounding Warriors: How Bad Policy is Making Veterans Sicker and Poorer

Dan Gade on Twitter

James was my guest this week as we dove into his 90-minute documentary feature "3212 Un-Redacted" which premieres on Hulu on November 11.

Due to his heavy promotion schedule, we didn't have a ton of time, so we get right to the point and start pointing figures and naming names. 

Show Notes

3212 Un-Redacted

Task Force Pineapple

James Gordon Meek

Veterans Repertory Theater

Savage Wonder

Project Sapient

Havok Journal

Veterans Repertory Theater

Savage Wonder

Have a listen here.

Show Alibis

So what's with joshing Ben about his cyber certificate from Colorado State? The last time he was on, he had everything go wrong with his connection that could happen - from not being able to get on to interference to jets flying overhead. When a graduate certificate in cyber is on your resume, you know you're going to take a few rounds if you're the one struggling to connect to a podcast. So that's what that's about.

There were also a host of issues that Chris and Ben wanted to talk about. They made the tactical mistake of throwing them into the podcast chat assuming I would see them. Since I'm the one that drew their attention to the chat, that was a reasonable assumption. But then I didn't check it until the show was over and I saw all their hand raising and footnotes and suggestions. I can't cover all that ground in these alibis, so I'll highlight just one. Chris had a good point about erotica in Islamic culture - certainly there is no lack of representation in many classical Islamic texts. It is the relatively recent Salafist fundamentalism that has mandated a more repressed sexuality in Islamic countries (which, hypocritically, is frequently - though privately - ignored by its adherents). This deserves its own discussion.

Ben wanted to clarify his comments regarding revenge porn. “I am on the fence with the criminality aspect of revenge porn; however, I support civil actions in the matter. The reason is the legal precedents are still tumultuous and divided on the issue. Several cases are being overturned on appeal over expectation of privacy of shared images and over 1st Amendment rights to share content freely given.”

Show Notes

I Love My Rifle More Than You by Kayla Williams

Learn more about Operation Underground Railroad

Havok Journal

Savage Wonder

Veterans Repertory Theater

Show Alibis

If you're wondering if we suddenly decided to start publishing these episodes on Thursdays, no we didn't. I'm going to blame task saturation and what turned out to be a false clear memory of publishing it a few days ago. #Facepalm. 

I really like Mason. (I really like Dave too, but only when he's not driving and I'm not calling him Nate). Would have loved to NCO that dude. After two podcasts almost back-to-back with him, he is that extrovert talker that keeps your morale up and the conversation going in the field. Every time I had to cut him off to go to another person, I saw his head drop and felt like he was pawing the ground until he could get back in the flow. Remote podcasting does a real disservice to him, because I'd love to have a back-and-forth in person when interjecting comments wouldn't derail a conversation and set the conversation back. Maybe next time we team up with Project Sapient in Boston...?

Can't wait to get a full episode with Dave Campisano back on the show. Just a great dude doing some really noble work right now at 22 Mohawks. He'll be back on in the dangerously near future, we've already worked it out...

Show Notes

Mason Rodrigue

Patrol Base Abbate

22 Mohawks

Second Mission Foundation

Savage Wonder 

Veterans Repertory Theater

Show Notes

Code Platoon

Havok Journal

Veterans Repertory Theater

Savage Wonder

Show Notes

Pathfinder LLC

Women in Combat

Second Mission Foundation

Savage Wonder podcast

Veterans Repertory Theater

Show Notes

Savage Wonder

Veterans Repertory Theater

Project Sapient

Have a listen here.

Show Alibis

I’m suffering from a severe bout of Alibi writer’s block. I’m sure there are plenty of things I should offer up excuses for, but I can’t think of any, so I’ll settle brevity by stopping here.

Show Notes

Second Mission Foundation

Project Sapient

Veterans Repertory Theater

Savage Wonder podcast

Savage Wonder literary blog

Show Alibis

Did I even mention the subject this week? That was the first audible we called on Dax and Ben – getting them to pick the subject about a minute before we started the show. I gave them three choices and they picked the one I could barely articulate, go figure. So I spent the first five minutes of the show trying to figure out what the hell I had signed us up for.

And then…

As you all probably know, Afghanistan has been weighing heavily on me – to the detriment of the other news stories in the world now. That’s my way of saying that I should have pushed Dax harder on the subject of Haitian immigrants and the southern border. Of course, we try not to do a show that is topical punditry, but this was a missed lay-up.

The cross-pollination of criminal organizations and terror groups is a pet fascination of mine. So when Ben brought it up, I couldn’t wait to get into it. Or, actually, I guess I could wait, because I never got around to talking about it again. Make that two easy lay-ups missed during this episode. Did I mention we had problems this week?

Show Notes

Blackwater Memorial Alumni Association

Havok Journal

Savage Wonder podcast

Veterans Repertory Theater

Show Notes

High Risk Soldier by Terron Wharton

Project Sapient podcast

Operation Recovery

Save Our Allies

No One Left Behind

Pars Equality Center

Havok Journal

Veterans Repertory Theater

Savage Wonder podcast

Have a listen here.

Show Alibis

I really dropped the ball on some parts of my 9/11 story, so I’ll try to make amends here. It’s a damn shame since both are positive notes.

First, I mentioned that, on September 10th, I was supposed to work the graveyard shift at a law firm – Brown and Wood – which was located on the upper floors of one of the Towers. I also mentioned that I thought of the folks there as the towers were coming down. What I failed to mention was that, days later, I found out that every single employee of Brown and Wood survived the collapse – except one secretary who ran back up the stairs to retrieve her purse. As I say, I never enjoyed working at Brown and Wood, but I was relieved that they were alive and I was free to remember that I never much cared for the work environment there.

Second, I talked about scooping up cellphones that people dropped in their panic to escape down West Broadway. I should mention that I returned the cellphones to a local store a few days later and they were able to track down the owners – if I remember right, this was something a lot of cellphone stores were doing at the time to help out in the wake of 9/11. The store even called me to report back their gratitude that someone had retrieved their phone.

Which leads me to a last point that I really should have made on the show. In the days and weeks following 9/11, New York City was different than it has ever been before or since. It was like small town America. To ride the subway in the days following, everyone made eye contact, everyone smiled and said hellos and how are you’s to each other. We all had a shared experience and it was a close bond. One that did not hold, obviously. But it was special and we all knew it was special, I think. The moments of Rudy Giuliani touring Ground Zero, President Bush speaking at Ground Zero and throwing out the first pitch of the World Series, those were special moments for New Yorkers. I remember seeing the first NFL game on TV and watching Ricky Watters of the Seattle Seahawks run onto the field waving an American flag with tears running down his face. We have come a long way since then. For better or worse. Maybe more of the latter than the former.

Show Notes

Not mentioned on the show, but crucially important right now:

Operation Recovery

Save Our Allies

No One Left Behind

Pars Equality Center

Show Alibis

Not much to say here. Still tired, mostly due to keeping up with the roll-out of the new Afghanistan. Hopefully it doesn’t show up too much in the episode. I really tried to keep this episode short and sweet, but it ended up being 71 minutes or so. Oh well, the best laid plans of mice and men…

Show Notes

Operation Recovery

Save Our Allies

No One Left Behind

Pars Equality Center

Show Alibis

When I’m tired, I don’t get inarticulate, I get overly articulate and end up using polysyllabic words that don’t mean what I mean them to mean. And going into this show, I was tired. Not so tired that it detracted from Doug or Dave or the subject matter, but enough that I noticed it and felt bad enough to own up to it now. So, if you need to, grab a bunch of shots and make a drinking game out of my malaprops, brain farts and general over-articulateness.

I don’t want to be too maudlin about this, but Doug Dodge really fucked Dave and me up. It was the closest I’ve come to tearing up on the show ever – which didn’t help me become more articulate and less fatigued. Regardless, it’s a great compliment to Doug to pull that on Dave and me his first time out. And it’s a great compliment to him and Al Cashe – most of us will never know if we could have acted as bravely and most of us will never have to find out, but they set examples that day. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there was that time I watched my wife save a rooster from our Chihuahua, but you really don’t get examples like that too often (sorry, felt a desperate need to lighten things up).

Show Notes

Medal of Honor recipient SFC Al Cashe

Headstrong Project

The Havok Journal

Brittany Medrano needs a kidney and is O-Negative. If you can help please reach out through: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/support-brittany-through-her-medical-endeavors

Show Notes

Afghanistan by Thomas Barfield

Ghost Wars by Steve Coll

Directorate S by Steve Coll

Show Notes

Just War and Ordered Liberty by Dr. Paul D. Miller

American Power and Liberal Order by Dr. Paul D. Miller

Armed State Building by Dr. Paul D. Miller

Afghanistan Didn’t Have to End This Way by Dr. Paul D. Miller

How to reach Dr. Alice Atalanta

How else to reach Dr. Alice Atalanta

The Loss of Life in War is Not a Sunken Cost by Dr. Alice Atalanta

Meditations of an Army Ranger by LTC JC Glick and Dr. Alice Atalanta

Navigating Chaos by Jeff Boss and Dr. Alice Atalanta

Story of Extortion 17

Show Alibis

I think it’s safe to say, this was the first episode I didn’t feel needed. Ben is a very experienced host and Boone is a prolific talker. It’s a good thing too. Charlie and I had just recorded the pilot episode of the Savage Wonder podcast (links coming soon!) and my synapses were, frankly, a little fried by the time I hit record on this one. But with pros like Ben and Boone on, it was easy to find grist for the mill and put together a decent episode.

Yeah, this episode was about the media. But it’s funny – and I blame the news coming out of Afghanistan for this – we ended up veering into veteran health and wellbeing for a second week in a row. It’s more of a natural transition than you think – if the media can cause a lot of heartburn and imbalance, it’s good for vets to have a way to detox. If you don’t know about Boone’s Spartan Pledge initiative – check it out in the Show Notes below. Very timely, especially as many of us digest the latest from Afghanistan.

Show Notes

Americanwarriorradio.com

9/11 Tower Challenge Foundation

The Spartan Pledge

Functional Personal Lifestyle by Boone Cutler and Geoff Dardia

Voodoo In Sadr City by Boone Cutler

Second Mission Foundation

Violence of Action by Marty Skovlund Jr., Leo Jenkins, and Charlie Faint

Veterans Repertory Theater

Show Alibis

I usually let Havok Journal owner Charlie Faint do most of the pre-show socializing; for one thing, he knows the guests better than I do beforehand, and for another, I want to save any interesting conversation that may occur for the recording. But after his solo hosting last week, Charlie had a nervous breakdown and checked himself into the Betty Ford clinic, so he wasn’t available for the show this week. I’m kidding, of course. Does the Betty Ford clinic even exist anymore? Would this joke have worked better in 1982? Doesn’t every joke? Anyway, Charlie wasn’t there this week and as a result, I got into too fascinating a conversation with Geoff Dardia before the show started and then had to try to recreate it during the recording. I think we mostly succeeded, but I’m still holding it against Charlie.

Meg Kelvington must have felt bad enough that I’m the only one who does alibis each week.  She emailed me after the show to say she felt terrible for not remembering to thank Charlie’s Second Mission Foundation during the episode since the foundation paid for her to start Riveting Mission LLC. I’m glad she forgot to say anything during the episode because it’s about time I gave Second Mission some plugs in writing. From Aaron Kirk’s book to Meg’s business to, well, this podcast, Charlie has really helped a lot of veterans launch their “second mission.” We all owe him a lot of thanks.

Show Notes

Task Force Dagger

Functional Medical Initiative

Team Red, White, and Blue

Wear Blue: Run to Remember

Riveting Mission LLC

Whole Health Initiative

Total Force Fitness

Holistic Health and Fitness

This week, I discussed how vets should maintain their mind, body, and spirit with MSG Geoff Dardia and Meg Kelvington. In my experience, not many of my peers wanted to have conversations focused on the mind, the body, or the spirit. I mean we weren’t in church – or in yoga class. But when you boil down a lot of our conversations, they actually were about mind/body/spirit issues – from dealing with inter-personal issues to fitness regimens to coping with work/life demands. There’s something about the label “veterans’ health” that seems too vague to successfully capture its importance and relevance to current or former servicemembers. I’ll also say that Geoff and Meg have each taken remarkable yet unpredictable paths to wellness. This might be the first episode that actually helped me, albeit unintentionally. There’s no way to do justice to a subject as complex and broad as veterans’ health in one hour. But you might find enough in it to help you too – even if you didn’t know it.

Show Alibis

I usually let Havok Journal owner Charlie Faint do most of the pre-show socializing; for one thing, he knows the guests better than I do beforehand, and for another, I want to save any interesting conversation that may occur for the recording. But after his solo hosting last week, Charlie had a nervous breakdown and checked himself into the Betty Ford clinic, so he wasn’t available for the show this week. I’m kidding, of course. Does the Betty Ford clinic even exist anymore? Would this joke have worked better in 1982? Doesn’t every joke? Anyway, Charlie wasn’t there this week and as a result, I got into too fascinating a conversation with Geoff Dardia before the show started and then had to try to recreate it during the recording. I think we mostly succeeded, but I’m still holding it against Charlie.

Meg Kelvington must have felt bad enough that I’m the only one who does alibis each week.  She emailed me after the show to say she felt terrible for not remembering to thank Charlie’s Second Mission Foundation during the episode since the foundation paid for her to start Riveting Mission LLC. I’m glad she forgot to say anything during the episode because it’s about time I gave Second Mission some plugs in writing. From Aaron Kirk’s book to Meg’s business to, well, this podcast, Charlie has really helped a lot of veterans launch their “second mission.” We all owe him a lot of thanks.

Show Notes

Task Force Dagger

Functional Medical Initiative

Team Red, White, and Blue

Wear Blue: Run to Remember

Riveting Mission LLC

Whole Health Initiative

Total Force Fitness

Holistic Health and Fitness

SOF Health Initiative

Boot Campaign

Hunter Seven Foundation

Second Mission Foundation

Show Alibis

Charlie really stepped up this week. He found out he was solo hosting about three minutes before going live. So the least I can do is fill in a few details, like who, exactly, our guests were.

Greg Drobny is a former Airborne Infantryman, PSYOP Team Chief, political consultant, professional mil blogger, and is Code Platoon’s Student Outreach Coordinator. He holds a BA in history, a Masters of Science in organizational psychology, and is currently pursuing an MA in history.

Kevin Wilson is a 13 year veteran of the North Carolina Army National Guard where he spent time in Syria blowing up ISIS, as well as Kuwait and Egypt. He also works with Right to Bear, a group working to bring responsible firearm ownership to communities traditionally neglected by mainstream gun culture.

Since I’m chafing at missing the episode, I’ll make a few points that I would have made if I’d been on. Greg states that violent felons and Lautenberg Amendment violators should be barred from owning weapons. I’d quibble with the adjective “violent” and say that any felon should be barred from owning weapons. Remember, drug dealers, sex traffickers, and Al Capone are not considered “violent” since none are/were busted for violent acts. But no one should have any illusions about whether or not they are/were actually violent or deserving of gun rights.

Show Notes

Natural Rights

Lautenberg Amendment

Common Use Clause

DC v. Heller

Right to Bear

Code Platoon

Show Notes

McChrystal’s Service Year Alliance

Stan Goff

Code 1 Maintenance

Renew Democracy Initiative

Show Alibis

Charlie told me it wasn’t noticeable, but I really need to cut down on Dunkin Donuts’ cold brews right before a show. For the first fifteen minutes of the episode, I felt like my brain was about three feet in front of my mouth. I’m now 24 hours caffeine sober and I think everyone I’ve met today thinks I’m angry with them. We’ll see if it’s worth it.

Look, veterans are not fabrege eggs. That said, I don’t like being too high on caffeine when talking with combat veterans about their experiences with death. Any discussion of death with a vet is kind of like asking someone about their honeymoon night – it’s a pretty intimate discussion that requires trust, sensitivity, and a bit of forethought.   

I mentioned on the show that Dr. Wilkes gave me permission to call him “Donnelly,” since I thought it would be weird to keep using his title when I was using everyone else’s first names. But then Charlie and Aaron continued to call him “Dr. Wilkes” which made me sound like an inconsiderate asshole who has no respect for others. Or maybe that’s just the caffeine withdrawl talking.

Show Notes

The Hill by Aaron Kirk

Code Red: Fallujah by Dr. Donnelly Wilkes

Second Mission Foundation

Show Alibis

In the episode, we don’t do justice to all facets of military intelligence. The signals intelligence and analysis aspects get very short shrift. One is difficult to talk about in an unclassified environment and the other is as boring to discuss as it is important to have. I look forward to your hate mail.

This episode continues a stretch of mid-summer cancellations and technical issues. It seems that each episode affected tends to work out better than we had planned, so I’m mildly optimistic that this one will turn out all right. But next week’s show looks great on paper. I won’t dime them out by naming the guests now, since it’s 50-50 that we’ll have that same lineup by showtime. But suffice to say that if we run into issues with our guests, we’re going to have to really up our game to make up for them. 

Did I state that there are only 17 intelligence agencies in the US instead of the real number (18) because I misspoke? Or because I forgot? Or because I was fooling the Chinese into believing we have 5.5% less capabilities than we have? I know which answer I’m sticking to.

Show Notes

S2

The World’s Most Dangerous Place by James Ferguson

ODA

HUMINT

Green Platoon

ASOTs

LNO

Poly

Spooky Sex: Inside the Randy Culture of the CIA by Reuel Marc Gerecht

Black Rifle Coffee Company

Second Mission Foundation

Veterans Repertory Theater

VetRep Theater - Facebook

Show Alibis

During the show, I tried to tell a story I hadn’t thought about in 20+ years and it showed. I couldn’t remember if it was Damon Wayans or D.L. Hughley that got onstage and lost the room. I remember more now. It was in about 2000, at the Comic Strip on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. It was Damon Wayans who showed up unexpectedly at the club. He came onstage and the crowd went nuts…for about five minutes. Then they saw what all of us comics saw – he hadn’t prepared any material and was just rambling – mostly about D.L. Hughley. I guess there was some beef between them, I didn’t know what it was and neither did anyone else in the room. But Damon Wayans just stalked the stage calling D.L. Hughley names and talking smack about him. On air, I said this went on for about 45 minutes, but, thinking about it now, it was actually about 90 minutes. It was long. Especially when each act was generally supposed to do a tight 15 minutes. Damon Wayans didn’t just lose the room (many people started to walk out) he killed the night – the room closed after his act because he had gone so long, so those of us waiting to go on were bumped. All in all, it wasn’t a good look for Damon Wayans. But it just goes to show that anyone will give you five minutes based on your fame (or tab). After that, it’s on you to live up to their expectations.

Please do not let Mike Warnock’s mid-show correction stop you from hitting us up to inform us that there are 600 (not 300) OR room doctors in the AMEDD. Or, better yet, hit Mike up.

Show Notes

AMEDD

Second Mission Foundation

Veterans Repertory Theater

Coyote & Crow

Lucy Shelby

Bindlestiff Family Cirkus

Show Alibis

I don’t spend much of the episode dwelling on Milley’s comments because it is simply a launching off point. But I missed a chance to tie his comments into this week’s subject, so I’ll take that chance now. I’m going to give Milley the benefit of the doubt  and assume that he is preoccupied with bigger issues (that are actually related to his mission) and can be forgiven for falling into a trap that ensnares many people who don’t think deeply or at length about cultural issues. Milley is right that there is no reason not to know other points of view. But he misses the point that the military establishment seems determined to offer de facto endorsements of CRT (or “social justice” or whatever nomenclature we’re using this week). In that, Milley confuses both tolerance with endorsement as well as knowledge with tolerance. This underscores a deeper issue about the military’s lack of understanding about civilian life and cultural issues. The military, is, at the end of the day, about saluting the flag and following orders, not about questioning the cultural trends and nuances of civilian leadership. This is admirable, but also leaves the military establishment intellectually unprepared for these sort of self-hating rituals. Those of us who grew up in big cities where racial hucksterism was all the rage (especially in the early ‘90s) see all of this as rebranded Sharptonism and remain unimpressed. Rural folk who make up the backbone of the military may be unfamiliar and therefore not fully appreciate that history. So perhaps this is a glimpse into a rural/urban divide in the military. Which is actually a much larger topic…more on that down the road.

I moved my recording location which explains the increased background noise. Sorry to everyone who is bothered by it. I’ll move somewhere quieter next time. Like a train station.

Show Notes

Milley’s comments on CRT

Veterans Repertory Theater

Have a listen here.

Show Alibis

A little explainer on this week’s Easter egg. I thought HJ writer Kerry Patton was going to join us. After ten minutes of small talk, Charlie mentioned that Kerry wasn’t going to be there and I realized that Charlie and Kevin had really just been humoring me, waiting for me to start recording. So you missed all the hilarious and insightful comments that usually would make an Easter egg, but that’s why.

Show Notes

Right to Bear

The Hill by Aaron Kirk

Second Mission Foundation

Have a listen here.

Show Alibis

Show Alibis

In the episode, Andrew and I discuss our shared firefighting experience and I talk about the firefighter/cop rivalry – cops are “pigs,” everyone loves a firefighter because they save people, everyone hates the police because they have to enforce the law, blah blah blah. That kind of stuff seemed a lot funnier before the whole “defund the police” movement took off. Not a lot else to say, I just feel a little weird that I brought it up.  

14 episodes in and Charlie finally had a brain fart. Unlike me or Alyssa Sudermann when we’ve gone off the rails, Charlie tapped out and requested an edit. I’ve grown so much as a person that I was willing to do edit it out, but I haven’t grown enough to not mention it gleefully to you all.

Andrew consistently acquits himself well throughout the episode. But any immaturity he still has seems to have been channeled into his driving. It was the end of the episode so I didn’t have time to make a big thing about it, but how many accidents did he mention that he’s been in? Next time he comes on the show, I’m going to see if he’s willing to move to the city and start taking the subway.

Show Notes

Firefighters Deal with More Than Just Flames by Andrew

Having PTSD means you’re normal

LTC Dave Grossman

Meekness in the beatitudes “Strength Under Control”

The Hill by Aaron Kirk

Show Alibis

My big alibi this week is we managed to record a show during Memorial Day weekend and didn’t say a word about Memorial Day. Totally my fault. But it is funny. Memorial Day never meant that much to me when I was in the military for the simple reason that every day was Memorial Day – I never stopped thinking about my fellow soldiers, the missions, and the losses in both my life and others. This was my first Memorial Day as a civilian in 14 years and it means a lot more to me now. Free and clear of military obligations, I can sort of exhale and examine things with perspective now, so I find myself a lot more emotional, wistful, and awed by others’ service. Of course that newfound impact occurred on Monday – Memorial Day – and not on Saturday when we recorded. Next year’s show will probably be very different.

Errors were remarkably few and far between during this episode. Charlie says that “you can never have enough Chris” which really should have warranted a “phrasing” from me, and I mention the “temperature” we live in these days, which was a not-totally-successful attempt at repurposing a word for purely literary reasons. But other than that…

This weekend A Quiet Place II premiered. That is not why we included mysterious and suspicious shuffling noises throughout the episode. Charlie’s dogs were on the loose early in the episode. In case discussing China’s role in the outbreak isn’t suspenseful enough, hopefully you’re on the edge of your seat listening to the sounds of impending slobber about to engulf Don.

Hey – The Hill by Aaron Kirk is out for pre-order!!!

Show Notes

Who Are the Uighers?

Lab leaks do happen

Jameson Fouss letter to Washington about WIV

2012 outbreak in Yunnan Province

Jim Geraghty’s Pulitzer-worthy reporting on COVID-19

Matthew Pottinger on Face the Nation

How Much Should We Blame China for COVID-19? This week, I talk with Havok Journal owner Charlie Faint and his father, retired Colonel Don Faint about the origins of COVID-19 and how much responsibility China should have for the outbreak and the spread of it. Spoiler alert: a lot. So this was one of those weeks where the subject fell into our lap because this is the week the lab leak theory gained a lot of mainstream attention, and then the guest fell into our lap because Charlie’s dad was in town. It was a pleasure to have Don on, especially because his long and fascinating Army career had absolutely nothing to do with China and he willing tackled the subject with humility and insight anyway. Honestly, I feel that he says more simply and in a few words than I do pontificating and caveating and sidebarring for five minutes. The end result is an episode that goes beyond the mask debate, the school closures, the state guidelines, and focuses on the real villain - the CCP.

Show Alibis

My big alibi this week is we managed to record a show during Memorial Day weekend and didn’t say a word about Memorial Day. Totally my fault. But it is funny. Memorial Day never meant that much to me when I was in the military for the simple reason that every day was Memorial Day – I never stopped thinking about my fellow soldiers, the missions, and the losses in both my life and others. This was my first Memorial Day as a civilian in 14 years and it means a lot more to me now. Free and clear of military obligations, I can sort of exhale and examine things with perspective now, so I find myself a lot more emotional, wistful, and awed by others’ service. Of course that newfound impact occurred on Monday – Memorial Day – and not on Saturday when we recorded. Next year’s show will probably be very different.

Errors were remarkably few and far between during this episode. Charlie says that “you can never have enough Chris” which really should have warranted a “phrasing” from me, and I mention the “temperature” we live in these days, which was a not-totally-successful attempt at repurposing a word for purely literary reasons. But other than that…

This weekend A Quiet Place II premiered. That is not why we included mysterious and suspicious shuffling noises throughout the episode. Charlie’s dogs were on the loose early in the episode. In case discussing China’s role in the outbreak isn’t suspenseful enough, hopefully you’re on the edge of your seat listening to the sounds of impending slobber about to engulf Don.

Hey – The Hill by Aaron Kirk is out for pre-order!!!

Show Notes

Who Are the Uighers?

Lab leaks do happen

Jameson Fouss letter to Washington about WIV

2012 outbreak in Yunnan Province

Jim Geraghty’s Pulitzer-worthy reporting on COVID-19

Matthew Pottinger on Face the Nation

ODNI warning about China’s collection of global bio-data

China welding Wuhan citizens into buildings to cover-up COVID-19

China arrested 8 for “spreading hoaxes” about COVID-19. What happened to them?

Claims about China bioweapons program from former head of the Soviet bioweapons program

John Cena apologizes to China

Special Forces: The “Unconventional Way” in the Early Days by Col. (ret.) Don Faint

Hot Shots hospital scene

The Hill by Aaron Kirk

Havok Journal

Second Mission

We talked about Critical Race Theory and it’s Marxist origins, we talk about the Constitution, the Civil War, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights movement, we talk about America. I asked Charlie for a guest I could play tennis with, and Chris was that guest. It was a pleasure and I think you’re going to hear just about the best arguments that can be made from both the right and the left.

I had never met Chris before, but I had read a lot of his writing. He’s unknowingly been my touchstone at Havok Journal for many the arguments I don’t agree with. So I looked forward to this a lot and he was a complete gentleman. We found things to agree on, we found things to disagree on and we reminded ourselves that you can talk about delicate political issues honestly and with conviction when you’re aware that we are all more than our politics and that our discussion isn’t more important than our common civic bond.

Have a listen here.

Show Alibis

I sometimes take it for granted that everyone listening knows who I’m talking about when I refer to “Charlie.” Previous listeners should know by now that I’m talking about Charlie Faint, the owner of Havok Journal.

So why didn’t Charlie ride shotgun with me this week? There are times when the subject matter cuts a little too close to the bone for an active duty officer at West Point and this was one of those times. It’s always nice to have Charlie on, but with him absent, I had the opportunity to poke fun at his calculated, political stance of radical neutrality. Just wait until he’s retired and he can let the expletives fly (or not, as the case may be).

Chris professionally steered us back on topic at the end of the episode and I’m glad at least one of us was fulfilling the obligation to our listeners to actually talk about our subject. So I can’t blame him for not also helping us dive further into the open letter from the 124 flag officers. I don’t know when I’ll have the chance to rant about it again, so let me make one point about one of the complaints #milTwitter had regarding the letter. #milTwitter incessantly ridiculed the hypocrisy of flag officers who made their living in a “socialist utopia” only to bash it after they retired – a bit of pro-socialist smart-assery that doesn’t exactly refute the signatories’ concern about socialism’s growing influence in the ranks. This reheated troll of an argument – it got really popular with a certain type of wavetops-level intellectual circa 2014 when Jacob Siegal wrote a piece for The Daily Beast called “Troops of the Uniform Unite! The Military Is a Socialist Paradise!” – seems to have been repeated enough to be taken seriously, so it is worth taking a moment to let the air out of its tires.

It does not make one a hypocrite to condemn socialism while serving (or having served) in the military any more than it makes one a hypocrite to condemn communism after being raised in, you know, a family, since all families are essentially communist in practice (that whole, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” thing. Or did your parents make you pay for...]]>124 retired flag officers sign an open letter bemoaning the state of the US and its radical turn towards socialism and Marxism. Space Force Commander Matthew Lohmeier is removed from his post for self-publishing a book about Marxism in the military. It’s 2021 - should the US military be afraid of Karl Marx? I talk with retired Army officer and Havok Journal writer Christopher Otero about the threat – or lack thereof – that Marx plays in today’s military.

We talked about Critical Race Theory and it’s Marxist origins, we talk about the Constitution, the Civil War, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights movement, we talk about America. I asked Charlie for a guest I could play tennis with, and Chris was that guest. It was a pleasure and I think you’re going to hear just about the best arguments that can be made from both the right and the left.

I had never met Chris before, but I had read a lot of his writing. He’s unknowingly been my touchstone at Havok Journal for many the arguments I don’t agree with. So I looked forward to this a lot and he was a complete gentleman. We found things to agree on, we found things to disagree on and we reminded ourselves that you can talk about delicate political issues honestly and with conviction when you’re aware that we are all more than our politics and that our discussion isn’t more important than our common civic bond.

Have a listen here.

Show Alibis

I sometimes take it for granted that everyone listening knows who I’m talking about when I refer to “Charlie.” Previous listeners should know by now that I’m talking about Charlie Faint, the owner of Havok Journal.

So why didn’t Charlie ride shotgun with me this week? There are times when the subject matter cuts a little too close to the bone for an active duty officer at West Point and this was one of those times. It’s always nice to have Charlie on, but with him absent, I had the opportunity to poke fun at his calculated, political stance of radical neutrality. Just wait until he’s retired and he can let the expletives fly (or not, as the case may be).

Chris professionally steered us back on topic at the end of the episode and I’m glad at least one of us was fulfilling the obligation to our listeners to actually talk about our subject. So I can’t blame him for not also helping us dive further into the open letter from the 124 flag officers. I don’t know when I’ll have the chance to rant about it again, so let me make one point about one of the complaints #milTwitter had regarding the letter. #milTwitter incessantly ridiculed the hypocrisy of flag officers who made their living in a “socialist utopia” only to bash it after they retired – a bit of pro-socialist smart-assery that doesn’t exactly refute the signatories’ concern about socialism’s growing influence in the ranks. This reheated troll of an argument – it got really popular with a certain type of wavetops-level intellectual circa 2014 when Jacob Siegal wrote a piece for The Daily Beast called “Troops of the Uniform Unite! The Military Is a Socialist Paradise!” – seems to have been repeated enough to be taken seriously, so it is worth taking a moment to let the air out of its tires.

It does not make one a hypocrite to condemn socialism while serving (or having served) in the military any more than it makes one a hypocrite to condemn communism after being raised in, you know, a family, since all families are essentially communist in practice (that whole, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” thing. Or did your parents make you pay for everything you ate as a baby?)

Not satisfied? Want to dive deeper? It’s not that the US military is socialist (Siegal really means “collectivist,” but whatever) – it’s that all militaries are collectivist in varying degrees because all militaries exist for the one general purpose of national defense. It’s worth noting that those socialist/collectivist traits – low pay, inefficient procurement process, zero-sum opportunities, living at the mercy of a large, impersonal, incompetent bureaucracy – are actually the worst things about the military. Far from showing the universal applicability of collectivism, military examples show that one cannot replicate military-style collectivism for a civilian population because civilians are not unified in purpose the way a military is. Another problem, as Siegal himself noted, is that the US military is voluntary, which is a big speed bump in the way of his conclusion. And then there’s also the issue that, to the extent that the military has an economy, it only functions (in the US) because it is subsidized by capitalism. The US military is also (and hopefully will remain) rooted in the concept of meritocracy, which every socialist on Twitter is quick to pair with capitalism (and white supremacy, of course), since it runs counter to the old chestnut “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need,” again. I’ll leave it there before this alibi section becomes a novella (“too late” – Charlie), but you get the idea.

Show notes

Open letter by 124 retired flag officers

Today’s Internet Star: Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier by Christopher Otero

The Frankfurt School of Marxism and Critical Theory

A Welcome Backlash Against Critical Race Theory

Biden Administration Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Black Hebrew Israelites: What We Know About the Fringe Group

Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story

“We’re here to preserve democracy, not practice it.”

Army AAR

Why Blacks Don’t Need Leaders

Al Sharpton’s Lost Opportunity

Memoirs of U.S. Grant

Show Alibis

I usually record at the office, but my wife was out and I was on childcare duty at home for this one. So, I set the kid up with food and movies and one stipulation – that he not bother me for an hour. And then he almost derailed the episode in the first five minutes by repeatedly barging in on me to fix one issue after another so he could watch Austin Powers on my phone. I wouldn’t have minded so much, but he came in right as I was fumbling through cyber-speak which is not my first language by a long shot. I think you should only hear him come in the third and final time, so it shouldn’t detract too much from the episode, but it does explain why I’m hemming and hawing my way through the explanation of the DarkSide attack.

Yes, we do have a rule that no smart Marines are allowed on the podcast. Unless they are a drooling vegetable. But I think that’s only common sense.

During the episode, I mention an Eli Lake article in the NY Times about Israel taking over the West Bank and Gaza, which I immediately started caveating because I don’t ever remember reading anything by Eli Lake in the Times. Sure enough, I misremembered – it was a Bret Stephens piece and it specifically talked about eliminating Hamas. Batting 1000% as always. Go me.

I mention that anti-Semitism has been the predominant cause of hate crimes in the US since the FBI started tracking hate crimes in 1995. I should have clarified – anti-Semitism has been the predominant cause of religious hate crimes in the US. Anti-black hate crimes and, more recently, anti-homosexual (not anti-lesbian, fwiw), hate crimes have been more common overall.

Show Notes

The DarkSide hack of Colonial Pipeline

The retaliation against DarkSide

US Gas Shortage Eases, but Pumps Dry in Some Areas

US Constitution Reference to “Letters of Marque and Reprisal”

The Truth about the Sheikh Jarrah Eviction

Hamas Tries to Seize the Day

Palestinian elections postponed by Fatah

How Israel’s Iron Dome works

How Israel Used a Tweet to Lure Militants to Their Doom in Terror Tunnel

DarkSide hacks Colonial Pipeline and extorts 5 million dollars, thereby holding large parts of the East Coast gas supply hostage. Hamas rains rockets down on Israel for no good reason. How much is Russia involved? How about Turkey or Iran? Are these standalone stories or are they part of a geopolitical great game? What do pipelines and rockets tell us about our enemies? I discuss all this and more with Havok Journal writer and former Special Forces and DIA officer Richard Liebl and Havok Journal owner Charlie Faint. This episode covers everything from Special Forces humanitarian missions to the two-state solution.

Show Alibis

I usually record at the office, but my wife was out and I was on childcare duty at home for this one. So, I set the kid up with food and movies and one stipulation – that he not bother me for an hour. And then he almost derailed the episode in the first five minutes by repeatedly barging in on me to fix one issue after another so he could watch Austin Powers on my phone. I wouldn’t have minded so much, but he came in right as I was fumbling through cyber-speak which is not my first language by a long shot. I think you should only hear him come in the third and final time, so it shouldn’t detract too much from the episode, but it does explain why I’m hemming and hawing my way through the explanation of the DarkSide attack.

Yes, we do have a rule that no smart Marines are allowed on the podcast. Unless they are a drooling vegetable. But I think that’s only common sense.

During the episode, I mention an Eli Lake article in the NY Times about Israel taking over the West Bank and Gaza, which I immediately started caveating because I don’t ever remember reading anything by Eli Lake in the Times. Sure enough, I misremembered – it was a Bret Stephens piece and it specifically talked about eliminating Hamas. Batting 1000% as always. Go me.

I mention that anti-Semitism has been the predominant cause of hate crimes in the US since the FBI started tracking hate crimes in 1995. I should have clarified – anti-Semitism has been the predominant cause of religious hate crimes in the US. Anti-black hate crimes and, more recently, anti-homosexual (not anti-lesbian, fwiw), hate crimes have been more common overall.

Show Notes

The DarkSide hack of Colonial Pipeline

The retaliation against DarkSide

US Gas Shortage Eases, but Pumps Dry in Some Areas

US Constitution Reference to “Letters of Marque and Reprisal”

The Truth about the Sheikh Jarrah Eviction

Hamas Tries to Seize the Day

Palestinian elections postponed by Fatah

How Israel’s Iron Dome works

How Israel Used a Tweet to Lure Militants to Their Doom in Terror Tunnel

Misinformation about Hamas initiating rocket attacks against Israel

Iran Backing Hamas

Israel, Hamas, Iran, and Biden

Five Times Israel Supported a Two-State Solution

Hamas Charter

The Abraham Accords

Soviet Russia, Creator of the PLO and Inventor of the Palestinian People

Yasser Arafat: Connections to the KGB

The KGB’s Middle East Files: Palestinians in the Service of Mother Russia

Syria is now firing missiles into Israel

For the sake of peace, Israel must rout Hamas

Why Isn’t There a Palestinian State?

Israel spying on the US

FBI Hate Crime Statistics

“I’m Just a Cook”

Storm Surge: Special Operations Support to the Hurricane Georges Humanitarian Crisis by Richard Liebl

Dropsonde

Veterans Curation Program – “Heroes Preserving History”

Second Mission Foundation

Havok Journal

Savage Wonder

Show Alibis

Due to some family commitments, I had to record this on consecutive days with the Marty Skovlund episode. It was my first time compressing my prep time and, if I’m being honest, it showed. My brain was swimming in so many data points that I was tripping all over myself to get any one of them out. I really crammed because I had a gut feeling that there’s no better way to lose an audience than by doing an hour-long, half-assed take on UFOs. We’ll see if this week’s inarticulateness manages to actually be the better way to lose an audience.

Inarticulateness, you say? Yeah. I start off by saying “gobble up” instead of “garble up.” I think I also say “rich” about fifty times in the first two minutes. I’m sure you’ll find other examples. Maybe make it a drinking game.

I should point out that Charlie and Emily were sitting in the same room during the show. To prevent the significant feedback that caused, they had to keep themselves on mute except when they were talking. I say all this because, at one point, I tell Charlie and Emily that I’m trying hard to say “Month of the Military Child” instead of “Military Child of the Month” and you’ll just have to take my word for it that they were laughing. And that’s not the only time in the episode that I was killing while they were on mute. I’m totally not delusional. I’m not just tossing out dad jokes that land with a thud. I’m seriously funny. Seriously.

The subjects we talk about this week are spooky. But there’s nothing like talking about microwave attacks and then seeing your camera and Emily’s mic go out. I’d hoped the Russians would at least let us get to a few million downloads before we’d be targeted.

I don’t want to ruin our post-show Easter egg, but did want to clarify my memory of the French Commando course in Djibouti. I’m pretty sure it’s just in my imagination that you’re awarded a Kepi Blanc or a tab. And I can’t remember if it was the Commando course I missed or the jump where I could have had French jump wings. Either way, I don’t have any of them, so I’m not sure why I even bother to ombudsman any of this.

Show Notes

Month of the Military Child

Recent UFO reporting

How the Pentagon Started Taking UFOs Seriously

Upcoming Senate UFO report

UFOs. That’s right. This week Havok Journal owner Charlie Faint and his daughter Emily Faint help me dive into the newly released, alarming footage of UFO’s buzzing the USS Russell. That wasn’t the only deeply troubling topic – we also talked about the on-going microwave attacks of US diplomats both globally and, now, in Washington DC. And I also wanted to make sure we covered the leak of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s comments about the killing of Qassim Suleimani and John Kerry’s potential spillage of classified information. With topics like these, it’s hard not to go heavy on the fearmongering. We tried lightening the mood by having Emily on, honoring April’s “Month of the Military Child” two weeks too late. I’m not sure it works - I probably ended up bumming her out about the future of the US, not to mention asking her to pretend she’s an expert on Iranian politics, pulsating sonic attacks, and UFOs (which, to be honest, any 17-year old really should be). This episode has 100% of your FDA recommended daily allowance of mystery, intrigue, and the upside of playing mixed-gender football.

Show Alibis

Due to some family commitments, I had to record this on consecutive days with the Marty Skovlund episode. It was my first time compressing my prep time and, if I’m being honest, it showed. My brain was swimming in so many data points that I was tripping all over myself to get any one of them out. I really crammed because I had a gut feeling that there’s no better way to lose an audience than by doing an hour-long, half-assed take on UFOs. We’ll see if this week’s inarticulateness manages to actually be the better way to lose an audience.

Inarticulateness, you say? Yeah. I start off by saying “gobble up” instead of “garble up.” I think I also say “rich” about fifty times in the first two minutes. I’m sure you’ll find other examples. Maybe make it a drinking game.

I should point out that Charlie and Emily were sitting in the same room during the show. To prevent the significant feedback that caused, they had to keep themselves on mute except when they were talking. I say all this because, at one point, I tell Charlie and Emily that I’m trying hard to say “Month of the Military Child” instead of “Military Child of the Month” and you’ll just have to take my word for it that they were laughing. And that’s not the only time in the episode that I was killing while they were on mute. I’m totally not delusional. I’m not just tossing out dad jokes that land with a thud. I’m seriously funny. Seriously.

The subjects we talk about this week are spooky. But there’s nothing like talking about microwave attacks and then seeing your camera and Emily’s mic go out. I’d hoped the Russians would at least let us get to a few million downloads before we’d be targeted.

I don’t want to ruin our post-show Easter egg, but did want to clarify my memory of the French Commando course in Djibouti. I’m pretty sure it’s just in my imagination that you’re awarded a Kepi Blanc or a tab. And I can’t remember if it was the Commando course I missed or the jump where I could have had French jump wings. Either way, I don’t have any of them, so I’m not sure why I even bother to ombudsman any of this.

Show Notes

Month of the Military Child

Recent UFO reporting

How the Pentagon Started Taking UFOs Seriously

Upcoming Senate UFO report

Microwave Attacks in Cuba

How Many American Spies Have to Die Before We Do Something Here?

Near the White House

Background on the JCPOA

Zarif Leak

John Kerry’s Denial on Leaking to Iran Doesn’t Add Up

Gulf States Drawing Close to Israel

Columbia Defends Inviting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

US Police Tactics Embrace Microwave Attacks

Russia Is Harassing US Diplomats All Over Europe

Russian FSB Guard Attacks US Diplomat Outside Moscow Embassy

Cyber Attacks Hackers Threaten to Share US Police Informant Data

9 cyberattacks that threatened officer safety and obstructed justice

Ransomware Hackers Blackmail US Police Departments

More on the Norwegian Foot March

Second Mission Foundation

FAIR

Bari Weiss

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Havok Journal

Savage Wonder

Have a listen here.

Show Alibis

So I asked Marty about Charlie’s acronym-ization of the “Havok” in Havok Journal. He answered. And then we moved on without me explaining what acronym Charlie came up with. We had talked about it on the first episode, so this should really be on you for not going back and listening to all of our old episodes first. (Please don’t. Seriously, we’re so much better than we were two months ago). So, on the off-chance you haven’t heard the first episode yet, it stands for “Have A Voice Outside of Killing (HAVOK).”

Marty says he leaned into leaving the military for a writing career like Leroy Jenkins. I didn’t have enough time to mention that Leroy Jenkins was a fraud. But you should know that by now.

It takes me just under a decade to get to Charlie in this week’s episode. How he hung on that long, I don’t know. Maybe he was delirious from holding his middle finger into the camera for a prolonged period of time. Wayne Knight once said that playing Newman on Seinfeld was challenging because he would only have a few lines an episode, yet he had to make a huge impact every time out. Charlie was our Wayne Knight this episode. Hopefully, he won’t ever have to be again. And I won’t do anything corny like say, “Hello, Charlie.” But seriously, he was on point.

So, while listening to a rough draft of the show, I winced, noticing that I laughed when Marty says that Vanessa Guillen wasn’t even the only soldier murdered at Fort Hood that month. Trust me, I don’t find anything that happened to her funny. But Marty had a great delivery, and, as I explained on the show, I was thinking of the tepid parents who don’t want their kids to enlist hearing this and rolling their eyes in “I told you so’s”. What happened to Vanessa Guillen was horrific and so crazily over the top, it’s hard to quickly summon appropriate human emotions when her case is thrown into a conversation. We rag a lot on Fort Hood in this episode, but, all joking aside, there is something rotten in the culture there that needs to be addressed, like, yesterday.

Show Notes

Marty Skovlund Jr.

The Ranger by Marty Skovlund Jr.

The True Story of How Standing Rock Fell by Marty Skovlund Jr.

The Longest War by Marty Skovlund Jr.

Violence of Action by Marty Skovlund Jr.

Is the US Losing Faith in the Military? That was supposed to be the subject this week – and after about 30 minutes, it was. My guests were Coffee or Die Executive Editor Havok Journal founder Marty Skovlund Jr. and Havok Journal owner Charlie Faint. We had a lot of ground to cover with Marty - from the founding of Havok Journal to the latest on his new book - which explains why we took the scenic route to get on topic. But when we got there, we dove in headfirst: why are most parents patriotic up until their kid is about to enlist? Should vets look down on those who never served? How many of the Army’s image issues would be eliminated if we just closed Fort Hood? What is the single best tool to eliminate toxic leadership? Marty and Charlie are at the top of their game and have answers to these and so many more questions.

Have a listen here.

Show Alibis

So I asked Marty about Charlie’s acronym-ization of the “Havok” in Havok Journal. He answered. And then we moved on without me explaining what acronym Charlie came up with. We had talked about it on the first episode, so this should really be on you for not going back and listening to all of our old episodes first. (Please don’t. Seriously, we’re so much better than we were two months ago). So, on the off-chance you haven’t heard the first episode yet, it stands for “Have A Voice Outside of Killing (HAVOK).”

Marty says he leaned into leaving the military for a writing career like Leroy Jenkins. I didn’t have enough time to mention that Leroy Jenkins was a fraud. But you should know that by now.

It takes me just under a decade to get to Charlie in this week’s episode. How he hung on that long, I don’t know. Maybe he was delirious from holding his middle finger into the camera for a prolonged period of time. Wayne Knight once said that playing Newman on Seinfeld was challenging because he would only have a few lines an episode, yet he had to make a huge impact every time out. Charlie was our Wayne Knight this episode. Hopefully, he won’t ever have to be again. And I won’t do anything corny like say, “Hello, Charlie.” But seriously, he was on point.

So, while listening to a rough draft of the show, I winced, noticing that I laughed when Marty says that Vanessa Guillen wasn’t even the only soldier murdered at Fort Hood that month. Trust me, I don’t find anything that happened to her funny. But Marty had a great delivery, and, as I explained on the show, I was thinking of the tepid parents who don’t want their kids to enlist hearing this and rolling their eyes in “I told you so’s”. What happened to Vanessa Guillen was horrific and so crazily over the top, it’s hard to quickly summon appropriate human emotions when her case is thrown into a conversation. We rag a lot on Fort Hood in this episode, but, all joking aside, there is something rotten in the culture there that needs to be addressed, like, yesterday.

Show Notes

Marty Skovlund Jr.

The Ranger by Marty Skovlund Jr.

The True Story of How Standing Rock Fell by Marty Skovlund Jr.

The Longest War by Marty Skovlund Jr.

Violence of Action by Marty Skovlund Jr.

Nomadic Veterans

35P/SOT-A job description

Reagan Foundation poll

2020 Gallup Poll on US trust in the military

Vanessa Guillen murder at Fort Hood

Coffee or Die

Shannon Kent

Second Mission Foundation

FAIR

Bari Weiss

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Havok Journal

Savage Wonder

Show Alibis

You may have noticed we’ve started publishing each episode on Tuesdays. My producer, Michael Neal, was overly gracious with the scheduling early on, taking up his weekend with editing the show. So this evens his work/life balance. So that’s why. Or I have it wrong and Mike was just fed up dealing with my technical mishaps and decided he needed an extra 24 hours to bang his head against a wall. Either way, what do you think? Better? Worse? Hadn’t noticed?

Let me give you a little inside baseball look at our show. Charlie Faint likes to come on and give us a pre-game pep talk and, before this episode, he said that this would be the first tech issue-free show yet. I was cautiously optimistic. Then, during the show, in my headphones, Matt’s audio went out several times. But in the recording, well, it never did. So at one point I butt in because I think I’m saving the audience from dead air. Apparently, I was just cross-talking with Matt. Is it fair of me to blame Charlie for jinxing us? Nah. But I’ll try.

For the record, this is the first episode in recent memory in which I failed to commit a double entendre.

Matt was a great interview. He is even more interesting when we’re not recording. You may notice Matt pulling his punches at certain points during the episode. Bear in mind that Matt has a lot of contacts in India, China and Japan and travels there and elsewhere frequently. As Charlie reminded us last week on the show, one of the downsides of doing a podcast with guests who have real-world experiences in our subjects is sometimes they can’t unleash their opinions in full breadth or depth. It’s a worthwhile tradeoff, but just wanted to remind you why you shouldn’t expect bias-confirming expletive-laden rants too often from our guests. Fortunately, you have a lot of other options for that.

Show Notes

Biden comments on Armenian genocide

French companies exit Iran following US sanctions

France’s attempt to re-engage Iran

How the Kurds became stateless

COVID spike in India

The USN 7th Fleet Violates Indian Exclusive Economic Zone

A brief history of China’s actions and attitudes about the South China Sea

China’s Century of Humiliation

Should Japan Re-Militarize?

Havok Journal

What crisis is going to blindside the US? That is the question I discuss this week with Havok Journal writer and IT expert Matt Trevathan. Matt does his best to shoehorn a cogent discussion of India, China, and Turkey into an hour-long podcast. For my part, I try to go full Foggy Bottom, using polysyllabic words (such as “polysyllabic”) while trying to manage a polished NPR-worthy voice throughout. Does it work? Well, Matt and I had fun. As for the rest of you…you’re gonna be smarter than you were an hour before, possessing just enough knowledge to be dangerous. Or not, I don’t know. You be the judge.

Show Alibis

You may have noticed we’ve started publishing each episode on Tuesdays. My producer, Michael Neal, was overly gracious with the scheduling early on, taking up his weekend with editing the show. So this evens his work/life balance. So that’s why. Or I have it wrong and Mike was just fed up dealing with my technical mishaps and decided he needed an extra 24 hours to bang his head against a wall. Either way, what do you think? Better? Worse? Hadn’t noticed?

Let me give you a little inside baseball look at our show. Charlie Faint likes to come on and give us a pre-game pep talk and, before this episode, he said that this would be the first tech issue-free show yet. I was cautiously optimistic. Then, during the show, in my headphones, Matt’s audio went out several times. But in the recording, well, it never did. So at one point I butt in because I think I’m saving the audience from dead air. Apparently, I was just cross-talking with Matt. Is it fair of me to blame Charlie for jinxing us? Nah. But I’ll try.

For the record, this is the first episode in recent memory in which I failed to commit a double entendre.

Matt was a great interview. He is even more interesting when we’re not recording. You may notice Matt pulling his punches at certain points during the episode. Bear in mind that Matt has a lot of contacts in India, China and Japan and travels there and elsewhere frequently. As Charlie reminded us last week on the show, one of the downsides of doing a podcast with guests who have real-world experiences in our subjects is sometimes they can’t unleash their opinions in full breadth or depth. It’s a worthwhile tradeoff, but just wanted to remind you why you shouldn’t expect bias-confirming expletive-laden rants too often from our guests. Fortunately, you have a lot of other options for that.

Show Notes

Biden comments on Armenian genocide

French companies exit Iran following US sanctions

France’s attempt to re-engage Iran

How the Kurds became stateless

COVID spike in India

The USN 7th Fleet Violates Indian Exclusive Economic Zone

A brief history of China’s actions and attitudes about the South China Sea

China’s Century of Humiliation

Should Japan Re-Militarize?

Havok Journal

Hope For Today

Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Show Alibis

It is true that Cris is our first pseudonymed guest. It is not true that he had to record this from the bottom of a well. But he did have to wear a mask and use a voice distorter which, almost by definition, doesn’t help the audio quality. That said, he is shockingly succinct, witty and articulate for this being his first known podcast. It’s appalling and we hope his cognitive abilities degrade substantially before he gets invited back.

I kept saying President Obama surged troops in Afghanistan in 2009, when it was actually 2011. Bear in mind, I was a History major. That means I should be better with remembering dates. But it also means I’m not great with numbers.

At one point Cris had to step away and charge his phone. Or so the Germans would have us believe.

Yes, I really said that we needed to do an episode featuring Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam vets discussing “pulling out.” Phrasing.

Show Notes

Women in miniskirts in Kabul

Ghost Wars by Steve Coll

Directorate S by Steve Coll

President Biden’s comments on Afghanistan withdrawl

Democratic Peace Theory

President Obama’s comments on the Afghanistan surge

British counterinsurgency in Malaysia

Afghanistan by Thomas Barfield

PRT concept

Jen Psaki’s comments on GRU relationship with “individuals and Afghan criminal organizations”.

Al Qaeda and the Taliban are, at this point, almost interchangeable terms in Afghanistan

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

It’s official, we’re pulling out of Afghanistan. This week, I talk with Havok Journal owner and camo net rolling expert Charlie Faint and the Havok Journal writer formerly known as Log Cinco about whether that is the right move. We scrutinize it from the counter-terrorism angle, the nation-building angle, the geo-political angle, and, most importantly for the guy glaring at me from his refrigerator box, the methamphetamine angle. Talk about Afghanistan withdrawl! I joke because the Afghanistan is too serious an issue to discuss without blowing off some steam. All three of us have done time in AFG and we discuss why the country and its future matters and I feel confident in saying that we will be back there militarily in some form within four years. Why? Well, I guess you’ll have to take a listen.

Show Alibis

It is true that Cris is our first pseudonymed guest. It is not true that he had to record this from the bottom of a well. But he did have to wear a mask and use a voice distorter which, almost by definition, doesn’t help the audio quality. That said, he is shockingly succinct, witty and articulate for this being his first known podcast. It’s appalling and we hope his cognitive abilities degrade substantially before he gets invited back.

I kept saying President Obama surged troops in Afghanistan in 2009, when it was actually 2011. Bear in mind, I was a History major. That means I should be better with remembering dates. But it also means I’m not great with numbers.

At one point Cris had to step away and charge his phone. Or so the Germans would have us believe.

Yes, I really said that we needed to do an episode featuring Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam vets discussing “pulling out.” Phrasing.

Show Notes

Women in miniskirts in Kabul

Ghost Wars by Steve Coll

Directorate S by Steve Coll

President Biden’s comments on Afghanistan withdrawl

Democratic Peace Theory

President Obama’s comments on the Afghanistan surge

British counterinsurgency in Malaysia

Afghanistan by Thomas Barfield

PRT concept

Jen Psaki’s comments on GRU relationship with “individuals and Afghan criminal organizations”.

Al Qaeda and the Taliban are, at this point, almost interchangeable terms in Afghanistan

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

The Flawed Reasoning Behind Biden’s Afghanistan Withdrawl by Thomas Joscelyn

Tablet K and drugs in Afghanistan

Article 107

The Russian Bounty Story Was Always Murky by Thomas Joscelyn

Second Mission Foundation

Havok Journal

Show Alibis

As you’ve heard me say every week on the podcast, the Weekly Havok is a “roundtable discussion of the week’s events by the staff and writers at Havok Journal.” This week that was still sort of true, it’s just that the roundtable was much, much smaller than normal. No great story behind it, it just became me and Charlie due to the machinations of the scheduling gods. We had a good time, although we realized that we actually could have done the show in person, but clearly COVID restrictions have become so embedded in our brains, it never occurred to us until the show started.  

Charlie mentions it at the end of the episode, but Jimmy Gagliano is mayor in Cornwall-on-the-Hudson. This isn’t so much an alibi as an extra opportunity to congratulate him. He won by three votes, which indicates that any politician who needs a competitive advantage in a tight race should think about coming on the show.  

On the other hand…there’s always a danger in talking. For writers like me, talking is just broadcasting your first draft out loud which makes it kind of a crapshoot to listen to. I only mention this because there’s a point in the episode when Charlie and I compare how many of Fund for Peace’s top ten fragile states we’ve been to. I say something to Charlie about not meaning to make it a “dick-measuring” contest, since “I know yours is bigger than mine” or something to that effect. And then I silently – but not audibly – say my favorite line from Archer: “phrasing!” which leaves the distinct impression that I know way more about Charlie than I should. Was this an intentional act on my part so I could keep these alibis relevant and necessary? Or do I just pick amazing times to brain fart? Either way, I apologize to Charlie and to everyone listening. I’m riddled with shame and I can’t shake my head enough (phrasing). I’d like to blame COVID, since I haven’t had my shot of Johnson & Johnson (careful…). But sometimes when you’re talking and a real boner leaves your mouth (seriously?), you’re too headstrong (c’mon) and cocksure (do you even hear yourself?) to notice. It’s the danger of doing a topical podcast, and it’s a good reminder that it can’t be all lollipops (huh?) and joysticks (that’s not a saying). In the future, I promise to up my caffeine dosage and use my damn head (I…I give up).

Show Notes

Wokeness and the New Cold War by John Schindler

Fund for Peace’s Fragile State Index 2020

Returning to the “Poor Game” of U.S. Modern Warfare by Scott Faith

The First Generation of the Warrior Class by Christopher Paul Meyer

Family Guy and the military

John Kerry demeans military service

Modern War...]]>Americans worry a lot that we are headed towards ruin – unsustainable spending, foreign adventurism, even civil war. How warranted is that concern? I sat down this week with Havok Journal owner Charlie Faint to discuss the three best ways to become a failed state. We take the scenic route to get there, which is very “on-brand” for us. Somehow The Sound of Music weaves its way into the episode…three times. Which may say more about us than we planned to reveal prior to the episode. Crumbling infrastructure, personal terror, lively musicals, this episode covers it all.  

Charlie mentions it at the end of the episode, but Jimmy Gagliano is mayor in Cornwall-on-the-Hudson. This isn’t so much an alibi as an extra opportunity to congratulate him. He won by three votes, which indicates that any politician who needs a competitive advantage in a tight race should think about coming on the show.  

On the other hand…there’s always a danger in talking. For writers like me, talking is just broadcasting your first draft out loud which makes it kind of a crapshoot to listen to. I only mention this because there’s a point in the episode when Charlie and I compare how many of Fund for Peace’s top ten fragile states we’ve been to. I say something to Charlie about not meaning to make it a “dick-measuring” contest, since “I know yours is bigger than mine” or something to that effect. And then I silently – but not audibly – say my favorite line from Archer: “phrasing!” which leaves the distinct impression that I know way more about Charlie than I should. Was this an intentional act on my part so I could keep these alibis relevant and necessary? Or do I just pick amazing times to brain fart? Either way, I apologize to Charlie and to everyone listening. I’m riddled with shame and I can’t shake my head enough (phrasing). I’d like to blame COVID, since I haven’t had my shot of Johnson & Johnson (careful…). But sometimes when you’re talking and a real boner leaves your mouth (seriously?), you’re too headstrong (c’mon) and cocksure (do you even hear yourself?) to notice. It’s the danger of doing a topical podcast, and it’s a good reminder that it can’t be all lollipops (huh?) and joysticks (that’s not a saying). In the future, I promise to up my caffeine dosage and use my damn head (I…I give up).

Show Notes

Wokeness and the New Cold War by John Schindler

Fund for Peace’s Fragile State Index 2020

Returning to the “Poor Game” of U.S. Modern Warfare by Scott Faith

The First Generation of the Warrior Class by Christopher Paul Meyer

Family Guy and the military

John Kerry demeans military service

Modern War Institute at West Point

How did The Sound of Music end in real life?

The Wisdom of Youth by Jonah Goldberg

The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Johnathan Haidt

“We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” George Orwell, Facing Unpleasant Facts

“A republic, if you can keep it.”

Am I the bad guy in Breakfast Club?

Second Mission Foundation

Havok Journal

Black Rifle Coffee Company

Savage Wonder

I’m not really sure what happened, but I’m going to try to blame Kathy who was talking about why she and her son started sending Halloween candy to deployed soldiers, got us all interested and distracted and completely jumbled up our structure (“Wait, the show has a structure?” – Charlie Faint). We end up with a very focused meander (“Can a meander be focused? – Charlie) as we discussed topics like the importance of military uniforms, the struggle to find meaning as an individual, and how easy it is to turn us against each other. You don’t have to be a veteran transitioning out of the military or struggling with a sense of purpose to find stuff to like in this episode – but if you are, this episode will really resonate with you.

Show Alibis

This episode hopefully concludes my two-episode arc as “host suffering from COVID.” I thought I might say a little something clever and biting about it on-air, but Kathy derailed my plans which is probably best for both our listening audience and the CCP (“Very little overlap in that Venn Diagram” – Charlie). COVID hasn’t been fun and, while it seems like everyone’s mileage varies with it, I can’t help but feel that Chris Cuomo excessively wallowed in the drama of it while recording his show. But, as Alice brought up during the show, not every problem is about US domestic tensions, so let me take this opportunity to say that a pompous, possibly full-of-shit TV host is better than the lying, obfuscating, manipulative Chinese government that unleashed this.

This episode marked the first time there were no technical difficulties before, during or after the show. Which means you can publicize the show to your friends and family without hesitation or embarrassment. But if you’re still not sure and want to minimize the risk to your reputation, by all means go ahead and only publicize us with your frenemies, passive-aggressive co-workers, and lukewarm acquaintances.

At one point, Alyssa was in the middle of an erudite comment when she lost her train of thought (“You know we found her in a biker bar, right?” – Charlie). So I felt it only fair to provide her comment in its entirety: “It is hard to know what other way men can come to truth, to lay hold of it, if they do not dig and search for it as for gold and hid treasure; but he that does so, must have much earth and rubbish, before he gets the pure metal; sand, and pebbles, and dross usually lie blended with it, but the gold is nevertheless gold, and will enrich the man that employs his pains to seek and separate it.” I always want to hear more from Alyssa because she tells awesome stories and does some really important work. But also because she sounds nothing like John Locke.

Show Notes

Dr. Alice Atalanta

Navigating Chaos by Jeff Boss and Dr. Alice Atalanta

Meditations of an Army Ranger by JC Glick and Dr. Alice Atalanta

When fewer than 1% of the country has ever served in the military, it is not surprising that veterans and current military members are acutely aware that they carry a significant and disproportionate burden in the country. This often creates the perception among military folks that the civilian world needs to understand the military better to bridge the civ-mil divide. But this week, we look through the other end of the telescope – what does the military need to know about the civilian world? I was joined by author Dr. Alice Atalanta, Havok Journal writer Kathy Livermore, and Havok Journal Chief Marketing Officer Alyssa Sudermann to talk through the issue.

I’m not really sure what happened, but I’m going to try to blame Kathy who was talking about why she and her son started sending Halloween candy to deployed soldiers, got us all interested and distracted and completely jumbled up our structure (“Wait, the show has a structure?” – Charlie Faint). We end up with a very focused meander (“Can a meander be focused? – Charlie) as we discussed topics like the importance of military uniforms, the struggle to find meaning as an individual, and how easy it is to turn us against each other. You don’t have to be a veteran transitioning out of the military or struggling with a sense of purpose to find stuff to like in this episode – but if you are, this episode will really resonate with you.

Show Alibis

This episode hopefully concludes my two-episode arc as “host suffering from COVID.” I thought I might say a little something clever and biting about it on-air, but Kathy derailed my plans which is probably best for both our listening audience and the CCP (“Very little overlap in that Venn Diagram” – Charlie). COVID hasn’t been fun and, while it seems like everyone’s mileage varies with it, I can’t help but feel that Chris Cuomo excessively wallowed in the drama of it while recording his show. But, as Alice brought up during the show, not every problem is about US domestic tensions, so let me take this opportunity to say that a pompous, possibly full-of-shit TV host is better than the lying, obfuscating, manipulative Chinese government that unleashed this.

This episode marked the first time there were no technical difficulties before, during or after the show. Which means you can publicize the show to your friends and family without hesitation or embarrassment. But if you’re still not sure and want to minimize the risk to your reputation, by all means go ahead and only publicize us with your frenemies, passive-aggressive co-workers, and lukewarm acquaintances.

At one point, Alyssa was in the middle of an erudite comment when she lost her train of thought (“You know we found her in a biker bar, right?” – Charlie). So I felt it only fair to provide her comment in its entirety: “It is hard to know what other way men can come to truth, to lay hold of it, if they do not dig and search for it as for gold and hid treasure; but he that does so, must have much earth and rubbish, before he gets the pure metal; sand, and pebbles, and dross usually lie blended with it, but the gold is nevertheless gold, and will enrich the man that employs his pains to seek and separate it.” I always want to hear more from Alyssa because she tells awesome stories and does some really important work. But also because she sounds nothing like John Locke.

Show Notes

Dr. Alice Atalanta

Navigating Chaos by Jeff Boss and Dr. Alice Atalanta

Meditations of an Army Ranger by JC Glick and Dr. Alice Atalanta

We are the Useful Idiots

Why I’m Thanking You For Your Service

Second Mission Foundation

More about Russian disinformation

Vicky Peleaz and the Anna Chapman Spy Ring

The Righteous Mind by Johnathan Haidt

Havok Journal

Savage Wonder

Show Alibis

• Yes, the sounds you hear throughout the episode are Kerry Patton’s roosters. We would have featured them more, but they know shockingly little about Sino-Pacific Rim relations. Like most livestock, their expertise revolves around domestic monetary policy.
• If I sound like crap during the episode, yes, I recorded the whole episode while in the throes of COVID. I took it as a sign of my evolving self-control that I went through the episode without mentioning it or tying it to our discussion of China and the CCP. I won’t take the high road now. Fuck the lying, manipulative, and morally abhorrent CCP and their obfuscation with COVID. I have no sense of humor about this.
• On the way to making their points, Kerry and Charlie thew out a lot of great topics. I had responses to all of them…which I had to ignore because the show is only an hour (-ish) and it takes all my composure to stay on topic. I imagine listeners gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles as I let comments about everything from the criminal justice system to China’s history of capitalism blow past me like sliders to the outside. So I’ll try to make it up to you. Here’s a few links that expand on some of the topics I would have otherwise dived headlong into: Containment Policy, Did the US destabilize Iran under Mossadegh?, How China Became Capitalist, the Myth of Criminal-Justice Racism.

Show Notes

Havok Journal

Hey Blinken!

Savage Wonder

Show Alibis 

-- Dave Hartmann hit me up after the episode because he was worried that, in the course of telling us about the virtues of hunting, he had advised us all to "play with our meat." I didn't remember him saying it, and I was kicking myself for missing it. I didn't bother to go back and see if he said it because some things are too good to check. I included his concerns in the intro just to make sure I made the most of the opportunity.

For his part, Dave wrote out a full press release to justify his wording:

"In my bit about hunting as a hobby, I had a great spiel in mind to speak about how a hobby or pastime with seasonal flow is psychologically good for anyone. Generally, one hunts in the fall. During the winter, you recover and experiment with different wild game recipes. The springtime is for researching and applying for new hunts, possibly in new areas. During the summer, you train, practice with your weapon, and scout new country. Then fall comes and you start the process all over again. 

Looking forward to these phases, all the planning, anticipation, and map-scouting turns out to be nearly as fun as hunting itself. It’s not just me that thinks this, the phenomenon is common among normal vacationers also. You know, the people the NY Times writes for, who generally don’t blow their free time in the wilderness seeking, then killing, a large cervid, then packing it out of the woods in backpacks, one quarter at a time: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/travel/what-a-great-trip-and-im-not-even-there-yet.html

I fear the actual words that came out of my mouth during our conversation came out far less eloquent, possibly even bumbling, dooming me to having this be my first and last podcast ever. In hopes of covering for this, I offer my favorite recipe for a steak cut from any hooved critter. It’s my go-to for elk and deer and is beautiful in its simplicity. Just please don’t judge me on the sounds my face makes, I’m way better at writing, and cooking, than I am at speaking.

https://www.themeateater.com/cook/cooking-techniques/how-to-cook-a-backstrap-steak

Don’t you dare put ketchup on it if you’re older than 12 or you’ll never fill another tag again...it’s science."

After all that, it turns out that what Dave actually said was to "clean our meat." At least we got a good recipe and a meh joke out of it. I regret nothing.

-- I, however, did say that when vets return home from war, they may need to "straighten out a few kinks." By failing to expand on that, I probably left you with images of ass-less chaps and leather bodysuits. I'm at least 63% sure that's not what I meant. 

Show Links

“War Comes Full Circle: How a Crime Fighting Cop Revolutionized Urban Warfare” by Stephen B. Lewis

“Military Veterans and ‘Fresh Air Poisoning’” by David Hartmann

“The Cost of Civility: We Need to Talk” by Kevin Wilson

Right 2 Bear

Tucker Carlson. The Guam National Guard. A 60-day standdown so DoD can look for extremists in its ranks. Is the military becoming too involved in domestic politics? Christopher Paul Meyer speaks with Havok Journal writers Steven B. Lewis, Dave Hartman and Kevin Wilson. 

Show Alibis 

-- Dave Hartmann hit me up after the episode because he was worried that, in the course of telling us about the virtues of hunting, he had advised us all to "play with our meat." I didn't remember him saying it, and I was kicking myself for missing it. I didn't bother to go back and see if he said it because some things are too good to check. I included his concerns in the intro just to make sure I made the most of the opportunity.

For his part, Dave wrote out a full press release to justify his wording:

"In my bit about hunting as a hobby, I had a great spiel in mind to speak about how a hobby or pastime with seasonal flow is psychologically good for anyone. Generally, one hunts in the fall. During the winter, you recover and experiment with different wild game recipes. The springtime is for researching and applying for new hunts, possibly in new areas. During the summer, you train, practice with your weapon, and scout new country. Then fall comes and you start the process all over again. 

Looking forward to these phases, all the planning, anticipation, and map-scouting turns out to be nearly as fun as hunting itself. It’s not just me that thinks this, the phenomenon is common among normal vacationers also. You know, the people the NY Times writes for, who generally don’t blow their free time in the wilderness seeking, then killing, a large cervid, then packing it out of the woods in backpacks, one quarter at a time: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/travel/what-a-great-trip-and-im-not-even-there-yet.html

I fear the actual words that came out of my mouth during our conversation came out far less eloquent, possibly even bumbling, dooming me to having this be my first and last podcast ever. In hopes of covering for this, I offer my favorite recipe for a steak cut from any hooved critter. It’s my go-to for elk and deer and is beautiful in its simplicity. Just please don’t judge me on the sounds my face makes, I’m way better at writing, and cooking, than I am at speaking.

https://www.themeateater.com/cook/cooking-techniques/how-to-cook-a-backstrap-steak

Don’t you dare put ketchup on it if you’re older than 12 or you’ll never fill another tag again...it’s science."

After all that, it turns out that what Dave actually said was to "clean our meat." At least we got a good recipe and a meh joke out of it. I regret nothing.

-- I, however, did say that when vets return home from war, they may need to "straighten out a few kinks." By failing to expand on that, I probably left you with images of ass-less chaps and leather bodysuits. I'm at least 63% sure that's not what I meant. 

Show Links

“War Comes Full Circle: How a Crime Fighting Cop Revolutionized Urban Warfare” by Stephen B. Lewis

“Military Veterans and ‘Fresh Air Poisoning’” by David Hartmann

“The Cost of Civility: We Need to Talk” by Kevin Wilson

Right 2 Bear

Backcountry Hunters and Anglers

Comfort Farms

Havok Journal

Savage Wonder

Show Alibis 

- What I'm about to tell you is something I've never told anyone before. And it is absolutely, 100% true. Ever since I got back from Vietnam, I've been on the run from my former comrades in MACV-SOG. It's a long story that involves heroin shipments, chemical interrogation, and a plot to kill a sitting US Senator. They caught up with me just as I was driving to the studio to record this episode. I used my 5th Dan aikido skills, but there were just too many of them. I ended up locked in the trunk of my car. But since Jimmy Gagliano had gone out of his way to pause his mayoral campaigning to be on the show, I was damned if I wasn't going to do the episode. So I open up my laptop and use some crappy headset I found under the spare tire. Fortunately, the two guys assigned to guard me were driving me to a safehouse somewhere near the Canadian border, so I had just enough time to do the full hour. Just as I signed off, they opened the trunk and I used the crappy headset to gouge one of their eyes out, while knocking the other out with my laptop. I picked up the car keys and said "Thanks for the ride," to no one in particular. Just then, about 15 state police cruisers showed up, lights and sirens going. "Freeze!" they ordered me. I raised my hands and gave them a world-weary look. "No!" screamed my wife, who had gone along with them and is also a plucky journalist and a lingerie supermodel. "He's innocent!" And they walked up to me and said sorry for the misunderstanding and something along the lines of "I'm glad our country still has heroes like you." And I nodded wearily because I've seen this all before, and my wife ran up and hugged me and we walked over to the bad guys' car and drove off as the credits began to roll. So that's why my audio just absolutely sucks throughout the episode. But when you consider all that I did that day to make America safe, I think we can still chalk it up as a win. (NOTE - none of this is even close to the plot of Above the Law). 

- When talking about how Dean Stott met Prince Harry, I say that they both attended the British equivalent of our JTAC training, which I label "Joint Tactical Air Control." I meant "Joint Terminal Attack Controller." I was not Air Force. It showed. 

- In the episode, I make a comparison between the "defund the police" movement and the anti-Balaka militias of the Central African Republic. I meant to use the Selekas/ex-Selekas as an example. As everyone knows, the anti-Balaka are the enemy of the Seleka (and ex-Seleka). I'm sure you all noticed and are appropriately offended. I join you in your outrage.

Havok Journal

Project Sapient

Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund

Second Mission Foundation

"False Reporting: A True Epidemic in Policing" by Ayman Kafel

"Living with a Mobster" by James A. Gagliano

James A. Gagliano website

Savage Wonder

Havok Journal

Violence of Action: Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror by Marty Skovlund Jr.

"A 'Rip-It Ranger' Looks Back" by Shane Snell

"Empty Chairs" by Anonymous

"We Are the Useful Idiots" by Alice Atalanta

"The Morning After I Killed Myself" by Meggie Royer

James A. Gagliano

Kevin Wilson

Marshall McGurk

Mike Kelvington

"Stop Thanking Me for My Service" by JC Glick

"In the Shadow of JSOC" by Mike Warnock

The Second Mission Foundation

Savage Wonder