Will and Cairo Cairo was a very special dog for many reasons – not the least of which was the fact he was part of the elite team chosen to execute Operation Neptune Spear – the mission to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden. Cairo’s partner and handler Will Chesney joins us to discuss his tribute to Cairo as presented in his book “No Ordinary Dog; My Partner From the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid.” Fellow [...]
Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation President and CEO Michael “Rod” Rodriguez certainly has the “bonafides” to lead this initiative. Military service is a “family business”; his grandfathers served in World War II and his father served in Vietnam. Rod’s wife is a Veteran and his son currently serves with the 82nd Airborne. Rod himself served 21 years, much of it as a member of the elite Green Berets. Green Berets are often the “first to go” and it was [...]
“Pale Horse: Hunting Terrorists and Commanding Heroes With the 101st Airborne” is one of three books authored by Colonel Jimmy Blackmon. Pale Horse tells the true story of an Army aviation task force in Afghanistan during a period when “we fought every day of the year”. While he has flown high risk missions all over the globe, Jimmy’s introduction to the Army was not quite so glamorous. With working at the local cotton mill his only prospect after High School, [...]
“Jet Girl: My Life in War, Peace and the Cockpit of the Navy’s Most Lethal Aircraft” is an autobiography of Caroline Johnson’s path to becoming one of the first women to drop bombs on ISIS fighters. While the book has plenty of combat stories, the central theme describes the challenges faced by Caroline in her quest to join the community of elite jetfighters. Following graduation from the US Naval Academy, she was assigned as a Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) on [...]
“Hunting the Caliphate: America’s War on ISIS and the Dawn of the Strike Cell” is a compelling new book that tells the story of America’s war against ISIS from the first hand perspective of the men who started it. Co-Authors Major General Dana Pittard (US Army Ret) and Master Sergeant Wes Bryant (US Air Force Ret) share a preview. Master Sergeant Wes Bryant Major General Dana Pittard Dana is a highly decorated combat leader who was [...]
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 [...]