The war on terror is, thankfully, an abstract to many of us. We owe that to persons like Thomas Pecora. He spent 25 years with the Central Intelligence Agency – most of it as a member of their Protective Operations Cadre. The POC was formed in response to the 1989 assassination of military advisor James “Nick” Rowe by terrorists in the Philippines. His new book “Guardian; Life in the Crosshairs of the CIA’s War on Terror” recounts his experiences in [...]
Air Force Para Rescue is widely recognized as the best in the world at what they do. However, they are perhaps the least well known of our elite Special Forces. There are only about 500 “PJ’s” in the entire Air Force compared to more than 5,000 Navy SEALs and 10,000 Green Berets. Para Rescue training is one of the longest Special Forces training courses in the world and has an attrition rate of over 85 percent. Lt. Colonel Blake George [...]
Mike Day had been shot at plenty of times during his two decades as a Navy SEAL, but he had never been hit. That changed dramatically the night of April 6, 2007. Mike was part of a 22 member assault team tasked with striking an al-Qaeda cell responsible for shooting down several Marine helicopters. Mike was the first through the door and was immediately met with a hail of bullets by terrorists firing AK-47’s, an M-4 and pistols. Mike was [...]
The Right Reverend Derek Jones is the Bishop of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy for the Anglican Church of North America. Bishop Derek Jones As Bishop of the Armed Forces it is Derek’s responsibility to train, educate and credential the Anglican Chaplains serving in the US Armed Forces, Veteran’s Administration, Department of Justice and other Federal and State agencies. Prior to becoming a Bishop he was an Air Force Top Gun pilot and saw combat in both F-111 [...]
Veterans Portrait Project founder Stacy Pearsall knew she would join the military – members of her family had served since the Revolutionary War. She wanted to do something creative and became an Air Force combat photographer. She was a good one, practicing her craft in over 41 countries and twice winning the National Press Photographers Association “Military Photographer of the Year” award. War is gruesome. An added challenge for combat photographers is that they often have to relive those moments [...]
“Cocktails From Hell; Five Complex Wars Shaping the 21st Century” provides a concise and sobering examination of the five complex wars shaping the 21st century. Retired Army Colonel Austin Bay crafts a textbook examination of the most troubling regions and shares his thoughts with our listeners. Bay derived the book title from the idea that there are usually several factors involved in the mix of a geopolitical conflict, a "cocktail" if you will. For observers of recent history, some of [...]
John “Tig” Tiegen was one of a handful of warriors that kept the September 11 2012 attacks on the US Consulate and CIA Annex in Benghazi from turning into another “Alamo”. Tig enlisted in the Marines at 17 in the delayed entry program and when the recruiter’s call came he literally walked out of class to prepare for boot camp. Following his service in the Marines, Tig began working as a contractor for private security firms before taking an interest [...]
Bobby Henline could have given up. But he didn’t. Now he uses humor to help others heal as well. Henline joined the Army at the age of 17 and deployed as part of Operation Desert Storm. He served for three years before leaving the Army to move on with his life. Like many Veterans, Bobby was compelled to re-enlist following the 9/11 attacks and went through boot camp again as a 30 year old. On April 7, 2007 - three [...]
The story of Richard Stayskal is by no means complete. The ending remains to be written. He survived a snipers’ bullet but is now fighting for his life against cancer and the bureaucracy. Richard Stayskal We need YOUR help to write the ending to this story. I take pride in show prep. I read books before having authors on the show. I watch documentaries before we feature their producers. And, on occasion, we reject guests because they just [...]
Like many of his generation, Army Ranger Ray McPadden joined the military following the 9/11 attacks. He served seven years with the 2nd Ranger Battalion and 10th Mountain Division – including four combat tours. Ray spent almost two years on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border during which time his unit established the first American foothold in the notorious Korengal Valley – the same valley made famous in Sebastian Junger’s award winning documentary “Restrepo”. Ray also served in Iraq where he helped form [...]