Podcast Archives - American Warrior Radio

Mon 1/19/2026

Battle of Fremifontaine – Michael Reyka

Ben Buehler-Garcia2026-01-19T18:07:17-07:00January 19th, 2026|

The Thunderbird was the insignia used by the 180th Infantry Regiment during WWII. They engaged in some of the heaviest fighting during the War, from North Africa to Sicily. The 180th then fought their way north through the Vosges Mountains of France, where 50 percent of the allied casualties in October of 1944 were sustained. Among them was Steve C. Reyka who served as an H Company heavy machine gun crewmember and joined the battalion in Italy. In the first [...]

Tue 1/13/2026

Pacific Atrocities in WWII – Jennifer Chan

Ben Buehler-Garcia2026-01-13T11:26:01-07:00January 13th, 2026|

Pacific Atrocities Education was founded by Jennifer Chan. She has authored books on the occupation of Hong Kong, Japan’s Unit 731, and Chinese “comfort women”. As part of her research, she has scanned over one million pages from the national archives. I was unaware of Unit 731 until Jennifer showed up on my radar. This notorious group conducted “research” with a level of inhumanity comparable or exceeding the Nazis. Live vivisections, amputations, tying prisoners in the cold to study frostbite [...]

Sun 1/11/2026

Havok Journal Year End Wrap Up – Charles Faint

Ben Buehler-Garcia2026-01-11T15:24:03-07:00January 11th, 2026|

Havok Journal owner Charles Faint joins us to help wrap up 2025 and guide us into 2026. I have always been fascinated by issues that can translate from the military to the civilian world. Our overarching theme for this discussion is leadership. We begin with J.C. Glick’s article “Beyond Compliance: The Shift from Obedience to Discipline in Leadership and Life”. Glick served as an army officer with 11 combat tours. Glick served with the Rangers and was always impressed with [...]

Wed 12/31/2025

Separations During the Holidays – Command Chief Master Sgt. Kelvin Hatcher

Ben Buehler-Garcia2025-12-31T10:54:23-07:00December 31st, 2025|

Separations from family, especially during the holiday season, is another sacrifice that our military members make on our behalf. Chief Master Sergeant Kelvin Hatcher joins us to highlight some of the challenges and discuss ideas on how to mitigate them. Chief Hatcher is the Command Chief Master Sergeant for the 355th Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. In that role he serves as Senior advisor for one of the largest installations in our US Air Force with [...]

Mon 12/29/2025

“McNamara At War; A New History ” – William Taubman

Ben Buehler-Garcia2025-12-29T10:52:11-07:00December 29th, 2025|

Robert S. McNamara was one of the more brilliant minds of his generation, serving as the President of Ford Motor Company and the World Bank. However, he will be best remembered as one of the most controversial figures of the Vietnam War while serving as the Secretary of Defense to both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. William Taubman and his brother Phil have written a book that brings significant new insights into the life and mind of Robert McNamara. It is [...]

Mon 12/8/2025

Vietnam Corpsman Dr. Jesse Brewer

Ben Buehler-Garcia2025-12-08T14:36:03-07:00December 8th, 2025|

Jesse Brewer enlisted in Navy in 1966 and deployed to Vietnam in 1968. He is authorized to wear the Vietnam Campaign Ribbon with four battle stars, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. He also received the Sergeant Audie Murphy Award for demonstrating dedicated leadership and exemplary professionalism as an NCO. Jesse Brewer (R) in Vietnam After leaving the Navy in 1970, he would enter the Army, complete his [...]

Tue 12/2/2025

Chief Michael G. Becker

Ben Buehler-Garcia2025-12-02T11:08:48-07:00December 2nd, 2025|

Michael G. Becker entered the Air Force as an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technician. Before his 26 year career ended, he would serve as the Command Chief for one of the Air Force’s largest bases, responsible for 46,000 personnel and $51 billion in assets. I had the privilege of working with Chief Becker during his time serving at our local Air Force base. When I asked him about his plans post Air Force, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t [...]

Mon 11/24/2025

Letters From the Front – Ian Gindes & Patrick Zimmerli

Ben Buehler-Garcia2025-11-24T17:51:35-07:00November 24th, 2025|

“Letters From the Front” is a unique project that takes letters sent home from the battle front and puts them to musical scores featuring four voices and a piano. Twelve letters spanning from the Revolutionary War through the Gulf War will be transcribed. Classical pianist and Illinois National Guard member Ian Gindes is the project’s Executive Producer. New York and Paris based composer Patrick Zimmerli will be taking the lead on composition. The idea was born out of a series [...]

Thu 11/20/2025

The Importance of the Guard and Reserves

Ben Buehler-Garcia2025-11-20T12:38:32-07:00November 20th, 2025|

Our nation’s National Guard and Reserve units play a critical role in our nation’s defense. However, their contributions are often overlooked by the civilian population. Retired Major General Ted Maxwell, former commander of the Arizona Air National Guard joins us for a conversation. While all our military branches except the Space Force have a reserve component, the National Guard only includes Army and Air Force units. The Guard comprises 38% of our total uniformed manpower with 432,460 members. Standing alone, [...]

Mon 10/27/2025

“Lucky” Ekman – The Heroism of Bob Lodge

Ben Buehler-Garcia2025-10-28T07:55:01-07:00October 27th, 2025|

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 [...]