Sled Driver Brian Shul should not be alive, much less belong to the elite cadre of pilots who have flown the world’s fastest airplane. The SR-71 can flight at altitudes exceeding 85,000 feet and speeds beyond Mach 3 (2,223 miles per hour). The aircraft is truly faster than a speeding bullet. He flew 212 covert close air support missions in Laos and Cambodia before being shot down. Unable to eject, he expected to die in the fiery crash but survived. Following a harrowing rescue, doctors did not expect him to live.  Brian himself admits that the ordeal was so intense [...]

One might say that military service is in Col. Joseph Turnham’s DNA. His family traces their military service back to his sixth great grandfather who fought at Valley Forge and was present at Yorktown for the surrender of Cornwallis.  Turnham HAD planned to become a doctor until he took some flying lessons. He now has over 3,600 hours in the cockpit – 1,149 of those in combat. Prior to assuming command of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (one of the largest installations and flying operations in the US Air Force) Col. Turnham was commander of the NATO mission to train & [...]

Merica Bourbon Founder Derek Sisson warns aspiring entrepreneurs “When you decide to make that leap into starting your own business, brace for impact.”  Nonetheless he has great advice to share in our latest Veteran Entrepreneur segment. Derek served five years as a Force Recon Marine and compares the Special Forces to the “entrepreneurs” of the military world. After leaving the Corps he was forced into entrepreneurship because he needed to make a living but “..there weren’t a lot of companies looking for airborne qualified office managers.”  He started and eventually sold an ecotourism business before getting involved the fitness industry. [...]