Havok Journal Editor Scott Faith joins us for the first show of the New Year; a retrospective on 2020. Havok Journal is my “go to” website for all things Veteran and Military. Scott and I discuss the messages shared in several of their articles published over the last year, beginning with “Resolutions for Veterans”. The piece is based upon a poll of all their writers. The number one resolution on the list reinforces the mission of both the Journal and [...]
“Last Stands; Why Men Fight When All is Lost” is the latest book by Michael Walsh. The book examines several legendary battles from the Spartans at Thermopylae to the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Michael has authored 16 works of fiction and non-fiction and his books have been translated into more than twenty languages. Michael had just completed two books examining classic western civilization and the next logical step was looking at the men who fought to preserve western culture. In [...]
Helping homeless Veterans find housing is a passion Ken Leslie feels deep in his bones. He is the founder and “Chief Advocate Officer” for the non-profit Veterans Matter. While Ken never served in the military, at one time he himself was homeless and living off the streets. As a traveling standup comedian in the 1980’s Ken began to notice a greater number of homeless around the country. This led him to start a homeless project in his hometown of Toledo. [...]
Rock Force is the latest book by bestselling author Kevin Maurer. It describes the experiences of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment in retaking the fortress island of Corregidor from the Japanese during World War II. Kevin used unpublished transcripts provided by family members and at least one first person interview to “rebuild” the actions of those paratroopers in 1945. He also spent a week on Corregidor “walking the book”, at one point even finding scraps of a parachute. Kevin’s goal [...]
Dr. Reagan Anderson served five years in the US Navy, most of it as a surgeon for the Marine Corps First Reconnaissance Battalion. (A long time tradition of the Marine Corps is that they do not have their own medical or clergy so they pull those resources from the Navy.) He is one of several "Warrior-Healers" we have had on the show. He describes conducting surgery in a war setting as “controlled chaos”. Fallujah Surgical presented particular challenges; it was [...]
Rick Tippins spent 28 years as a law enforcement officer after serving in the United States Marine Corps. With the help of fellow Marine & bestselling author G. Michael Hopf he is now pursuing a career as an author. Tippins cut his teeth as a member of the East Palo Alto California police department. At the time, East Palo Alto had the highest per capita murder rate of any city in the United States. He says that even for a [...]
Drug Enforcement Agency Special Agent William Czopek always wanted a career in law enforcement. Following his discharge from the Navy service he wanted to continue working in an exciting field and the DEA fit the bill. Formally established in 1973, the Drug Enforcement Agency is a relative new comer to the list of federal law enforcement organizations. However, its roots trace back to the 1914 Harrison Narcotics Act. The biggest narcotics seizure in 1917 was 5.5 lbs. of opium. A [...]
Sled Driver Brian Shul should not be alive, much less belong to the elite cadre of pilots who have flown the world’s fastest airplane. The SR-71 can flight at altitudes exceeding 85,000 feet and speeds beyond Mach 3 (2,223 miles per hour). The aircraft is truly faster than a speeding bullet. He flew 212 covert close air support missions in Laos and Cambodia before being shot down. Unable to eject, he expected to die in the fiery crash but survived. [...]
One might say that military service is in Col. Joseph Turnham’s DNA. His family traces their military service back to his sixth great grandfather who fought at Valley Forge and was present at Yorktown for the surrender of Cornwallis. Turnham HAD planned to become a doctor until he took some flying lessons. He now has over 3,600 hours in the cockpit – 1,149 of those in combat. Prior to assuming command of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (one of the largest [...]
Merica Bourbon Founder Derek Sisson warns aspiring entrepreneurs “When you decide to make that leap into starting your own business, brace for impact.” Nonetheless he has great advice to share in our latest Veteran Entrepreneur segment. Derek served five years as a Force Recon Marine and compares the Special Forces to the “entrepreneurs” of the military world. After leaving the Corps he was forced into entrepreneurship because he needed to make a living but “..there weren’t a lot of companies [...]