“Bridging The Gap”, a new book authored by 26 year law enforcement veteran Glen Williams might be directed at his police comrades but holds learning lessons for all of us. Over the course of his career, Glen suffered through two divorces, numerous traumatic events and developed severe PTSD. "My objective in writing this book was to help others not do the same stupid things that I did. If I can help one person avoid a divorce or PTSD or suicide [...]
American Warrior Garage was inspired by a chance encounter in a department store parking lot. Scott Jones and his friend Vince Gibson had been restoring cars together for about 20 years. One day they noticed a Veteran who had lost both legs to an IED blast “wheeling around” Vince’s 1969 El Camino. A conversation about classic cars ensued with the Veteran saying “Man, I’d like to be able to drive one of those.” Both Scott and Vince are Navy Veterans [...]
Whistleblower Paula Pedene thought she had found her dream job. But her commitment to honesty and integrity led to a nightmare – one that should infuriate every one of us. Her story is chronicled in the book “A Sacred Duty; How a Whistleblower Took on the VA and Won.” Paula enlisted in 1978 and became a Navy journalist. She re-enlisted for the Gulf War but a hereditary eye disease eventually ended her military career. In 1994 she was appointed the [...]
Project Sapient Co-Founder Ayman Kafel became a witness to war from his first days on earth. His father was working in Liberia when Ayman was born, but the Liberian civil war forced his family back to their native Lebanon. The Lebanese civil war made them seek a more peaceful life in America. Like many immigrants, Ayman has a deep and abiding love for the US and what this country stands for. So when we were attacked on 9/11 he immediately [...]
Community support of our military is the focus of this episode. American Warrior Radio is “deployed” at the ColoGaurd PGA Classic. The PGA is very supportive of our military. We spend the first half of the show with Jay Bickley, Vice President of the Davis-Monthan 50, and all volunteer group of over 100 community leaders that advocates for Davis-Monthan Air Force base and their airmen. Jay also spent 27 years in the United States Air Force, retiring as Vice Commander [...]
Red Burning Sky is the latest work by Air National Guard Veteran Thomas Young. The novel was inspired by the real mission that is considered by many to be the greatest airborne rescue in history. Operation Halyard took place from August to late December 1944. Halyard successfully rescued 432 US aircrews and 80 allied troops from behind enemy lines. Thomas had over 5,000 hours as a flight engineer in C-130 and C-5 aircraft. During his career he deployed to Afghanistan, [...]
Veteran’s Repertory Theater President and Artistic Director Christopher Paul Meyer had acting in his blood. He comes from three generations of theater performers. But the 9/11 attacks created a long detour from the performance arts. Chris found some success acting, including a small role in a television soap opera. He chose to focus his energies on stand-up comedy because that allowed him to be more entrepreneurial. His directorial debut was a one act “off-off Broadway” comedy. Opening weekend went well, [...]
John Gilstrap always wanted to write. He penned short stories as a young child and was editor of his high school newspaper. But he was also an adrenaline junky. He regularly watched the television series “Emergency” and took an advanced first aid course in college. The class required a ride along and he was hooked. Upon graduating from college he received his EMT certification and joined the Burke Volunteer Fire Department – the busiest firehouse in Virginia. He says that [...]
Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent Fred Burton spent most of his career focused on counter terrorism. Among his more notable cases, he investigated the assassination of Israeli Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. He was part of the investigation of the FIRST World Trade Center Bombing and was involved in the arrest of Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind behind that attack. He was also part of a special team set up to locate and free western hostages in Beirut. He is recognized as [...]
Havok Journal editor Scott Faith joins us for a discussion of timely topics leading into 2022. Havok Journal is one of my regular visits on the web for stories and editorial written by members of our Veteran and First Responder communities. Scott is a Veteran of half a dozen combat deployments and has served with several different Special Operations units. Due to the nature of his work, “Scott” writes under a pseudonym. COVID Despite being fully vaccinated, Scott and several [...]