John Mangan had a 25-year Air Force career, much of it flying as a combat search and rescue pilot. A Veteran of over 200 combat missions, John has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor twice, the Air Medal 12 times and the Aerial Achievement medal twice. His actions in combat have been documented in the books Not a Good Day to Die, None Braver, Zero Six Bravo, and Dead Men Risen. Mangan has taken lessons learned in combat and [...]
The U.S. Space Force formally became the sixth branch of our military on December 20, 2019. Their mission is straight forward; secure our nation’s interests in, from and to space. Space Force members are known as “Guardians”. Colonel Brandon P. Alford, Commander of U.S. Space Forces Southern, joins us to discuss the mission and tools available to our newest branch. The Space Force currently has no Guard of Reserve component, and with approximately 9,400 active-duty service members, is the smallest [...]
Country music artist Daryl Worley says a 2002 Sergeant Major of the Army “Freedom and Hope” tour changed his life. During the tour, Worely accompanied the Sergeant Major on daily “short hops” to visit and perform for troops serving in the field at forward operating base and command posts. He calls it “One of the most surreal experiences of my life.” Worley would continue to participate in those tours for over a decade, sometimes twice per year. That first visit [...]
DiveHeart Foundation Founder and President Jim Elliott, along with Executive Director Tinamarie Hernandez join American Warrior Radio to tell us more about this great organization.DiveHeart assists Veterans with severe injuries through adaptive scuba training. Jim has been very comfortable working around disabled persons his entire life. His father was a disabled Army Vet at the local Veterans hospital, and his daughter was born blind. He got his daughter involved in downhill skiing and personally witnessed how it made a positive [...]
Doug Hegdahl said he “probably had the most embarrassing capture of the Vietnam War”. Despite the odd circumstances that led him to become a Prisoner of War, he would turn out to be a rather unusual hero. Author Marc Leepson shares Hegdahl’s amazing story in his latest book “The Unlikely War Hero; A Vietnam War POW’s Story of Courage and Resistance in the Hanoi Hilton.” Hegdahl grew up in a small South Dakota town and was described as very bright [...]
Bob Breault was one of the first Air Force Pilots tasked with undertaking the very dangerous “Wild Weasel” missions in Vietnam. The way he describes it, they would go up and do a “dance in the sky” daring the enemy to shoot at them, thus allowing other pilots to attack the SAM missile sites. Breault flew 9 combat missions over North Vietnam and 280 over South Vietnam, earning the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross and multiple Air Medals. He was [...]
The concept of a Warrior Poet is not new. The Spartans, Knights Templar and Japanese Samurai all honored writing as much as fighting. Ryan McDermott is a West Point graduate who earned his Ranger tab and served in the Army from 2000-2006. Ryan led an infantry platoon during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and his platoon was the first unit to cross the Euphrates River and reach the tarmac of Saddam International Airport in April of 2003. Ryan shares a poem inspired [...]
Base Camp for Veterans was founded by friends Theo Windish and Deborah Plum. Neither one served in the military, and they share their motivations for establishing a program that supports Veterans. Base Camp for Veterans operates at a guest ranch outside of Tucson, AZ and offers their programs free of charge. They use equine assisted psychotherapy to help Veteran families safely develop skills to deal with issues of transition. One of the things I love about the program is that [...]
“Black Hawk Down” was a 2001 movie dramatizing the epic battle that took place on October 3-4, 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia. The original mission involved an assault to capture several high value targets. In addition to a ground component, the plan called for Special Operations forces to be inserted by air. They would be ferried by pilots of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, a unit comprised of some of the best pilots in our military. “Super 61” piloted by [...]
Larry Cripps was drafted into the Army in the summer of 1969. He would see combat with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in both Vietnam and Cambodia. His experiences in combat profoundly influenced his understanding of faith during times of conflict. Following his discharge from active duty in 1971, Larry pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Education and History and attended Seminary School. He returned to the military and served as a Navy Chaplain for three decades. He says he [...]