Quang Pham’s father loaded up his family in the middle of the night and took them to the airbase. Little did Quang know this would be a one-way trip. It was April of 1975, and the Republic of South Vietnam would cease to exist within the month. His father, a pilot in the South Vietnam Air Force, would stay behind. Quang would not see him for 17 years. Although they had family in France, Quang’s mother specifically chose to stay [...]
The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is the highest-ranking enlisted member of the Marine Corps. The role of the SMMC is to advise the Commandant on matters affecting enlisted Marines, represent the enlisted force in discussions with Senior Leadership and oversee the implementation of policies and programs that impact enlisted personnel. Carlos A. Ruiz assumed the post as the 20th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps on August 10, 2023. Carlos and his family immigrated to the United States [...]
Peter Singer is not only a best-selling author, but he has also been described by the Wall Street Journal as the “premiere futurist in the national-security environment”. No author has more books on the professional military reading lists. I was inspired to reach out to Peter after reading his 2015 book “Ghost Fleet”. Ghost Fleet is a fictional novel that describes World War III. He shares that several Admirals at the Pentagon read “Ghost Fleet” and began to ask questions [...]
Ayman Kafel served our national honorably in the US Army and was a translator in Iraq during the height of the war against Al-Qaeda. Following a medical retirement from the Army, Ayman still had a heart of service and became a police officer. In law enforcement, he served in a diverse roles including SWAT, DEA Task Force Officer, undercover interdiction and patrol. When we last spoke with Ayman in 2022, he had just founded Project Sapient. He did so to [...]
The HER Campaign was founded by Britney Higgs and her husband Sammy in 2016 after Britney returned from filming a documentary in Iraq. The mission of the HER Foundation is to help survivors of human trafficking heal, grow and find purpose. They operate shelter/recovery facilities in Billings, Montana and Denver, Colorado. Britney and Sammy were hired by a Non-Governmental Organization to produce a documentary regarding the victims of human trafficking in war torn regions. They went to Iraq right after [...]
The Fuji Fire is considered by many to be one of the most serious peacetime disasters suffered by our United States Marine Corps. Among the 54 Marines badly burned, thirteen Marines lost their lives. Yet, many people have never heard of it. Marine Corps Veteran Chas Henry has written a book to try and remedy that situation. It is called “Fuji Fire; Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten U.S. Marine Corps Tragedy”. Chas is a combat decorated Marine Corps Veteran himself [...]
The Devil’s Playground was the name given to the Arghandab Valley of Afghanistan by the US troops who fought there. It is also the title of a book written by Andrew Bragg about his fellow paratroopers of Charlie Company’s 2nd Platoon and their 2009-2010 deployment to the valley. His unit experienced fifty percent casualties and six KIA during that deployment. Andrew says “I thought about the guys in my platoon every single day for 12 years, but I never reached [...]
Havok Journal owner Charles Faint joins us for an update on some of the topics covered on their website. Charles is a 27-year Army Veteran with seven combat tours in Iraq & Afghanistan, many in an intelligence capacity with Special Operations Forces. He currently serves as Managing Editor at the Modern War Institute. We begin with a discussion on several topics regarding China. Several years ago Charles published an article about China and the tiny Pacific Island nation of Kiribati. [...]
Athletes who have served in our military has always been a fascinating topic for me. Hence, I was extremely excited to read Bill Brown’s book “Wartime Athletes; Stories of Sports Stars Who Joined the US Team.” Bill had an extensive career as a sports broadcaster including calling games for both the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros. Bill also served in Vietnam as a sports broadcaster for Armed Forces Network Vietnam. They would record contests and then rebroadcast them to [...]
“Grit to Glory” by Green Beret Veteran Darrell Utt recounts his journey from the woods of West Virginia to his role as team Sergeant for ODA 043 in the streets of Baghdad during some of the most vicious fighting. Darell grew up “dirt poor” and he says a trip to Burger King was “fine dining” for his family. He spent a great deal of time in the woods hunting, fishing and trapping with his father, which he says would later [...]