Leonard “Lucky” Ekman wanted to serve our nation but the Dean at his military school discouraged him from applying to Air Force Academy because “It will take 50 years before that place amounts to anything.” Lucky graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1963 and in 2021 was named an AF Academy Distinguished Graduate. Bob Lodge and Roger Locher in their F4 Phantom He was Top Gun in his F-105 class at Nellis Air Force Base and was [...]
Military suicide is a scourge in our nation. As someone who has never been impacted by a suicide in my family, I have always struggled to understand. Lt. Col. Angelina “Strike” Stephens opened my eyes. “Strike” had been an Air Force ambassador for suicide prevention for over a decade. She says she knew what it looked like on someone else and knew what it sounded like. In many ways, suicide became a dominant theme in her military career. The first [...]
Havok Journal owner joins us for a discussion about some of his recent articles. The Havok Journal serves as the voice of the Veteran community through a focus on current affairs and articles of interest to the general public, and the Veteran community in particular. "Pecuniam Infinitum, Belli Infinitum: The Aid You’re Giving Gaza is Making the Conflict Worse" We begin with a discussion about how humanitarian aid flowing into conflict zones may serve to prolong the war. A study [...]
“The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11 – From Tragedy to Triumph” is a new documentary scheduled to be released in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the attacks. Producer Chris Meek and Director Michael Gier join us to discuss the project. Chris experienced the attacks firsthand and was responsible for getting 29 people to safety. He would go on to found Soldier Strong, a non-profit helping Veterans by donating revolutionary medical devices. Michael is an award-winning director and founder of [...]
The Special Operations Warrior Foundation provides comprehensive educational funding and advocacy for the children of fallen Special Operators. They also offer immediate financial assistance to severely wounded, ill and injured Special Operations personnel. Clay Hutmacher currently serves as the Foundation’s President and CEO. Clay served our nation for 40 years in both the Marine Corps and the Army, retiring at the rank of Major General. Clay had served six and half years in the Marines when he saw a brochure about [...]
“Surviving Vietnam” is a collaboration between Vietnam Veteran Dennis Nickell and his wife Diana. After surviving fourteen months in the jungles of Vietnam, Dennis came home to face a second struggle for survival against the demons of drugs, alcohol and violence. Diana was with him almost the entire time. The American Psychiatric Association did not formally acknowledge PTSD as a diagnosable condition until 1980. Many Vietnam Veterans struggled to get answers and treatment. Dennis was briefly committed to the psyche [...]
Guidon Leadership founder James R. Lyda had a 30 year career in the U.S. Air Force. He served as Wing Command Chief twice. During those three decades he had the opportunity to advise and interact with some of our military’s senior leadership – while also taking care of and mentoring younger airmen. During his last position before retirement, he was responsible for 55,000 personnel – that would be a good size town or a major corporation. Guidon Leadership is a [...]
Taking Chance is an HBO original film that chronicles the experiences of Lt. Col. Michael Strobl while escorting the remains of fallen Marine Pvt. Chance Phelps to his hometown for burial. The film was HBO’s most watched original in five years and starred Kevin Bacon in the lead role as Mike Strobl. Pvt Phelps’s unit was providing convoy escort duty April 9, 2004 near Ar-Ramadi Iraq. The convoy came under heavy fire. Despite being wounded, Phelps continued to man his [...]
Horse Soldier bourbon was created by Scott Neil and a couple of friends to honor the men who rode horseback into combat in Afghanistan. Scott was a member of one of the seven Special Forces teams inserted into Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. Scott admits he didn’t spend much time on horseback. He was part of a “Commander’s In-Extremis” force with a special mission to penetrate even further behind enemy lines to kill and capture Al-Qaeda leaders in order to [...]
“Atomic Echoes; Untold Stories from World War II” is an insightful documentary co-produced by Victoria Kelly and Karin Tanabe. The film exposes the stories of two communities; the “Hibakusha”, the name given to the estimated 650,000 Japanese survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and the “Atomic Veterans”, the soldiers who landed in the immediate aftermath of the bombings. Victoria and Kelly have been friends since 2017. They are both authors and share an editor. During a random conversation about the [...]