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 [...]
Green Beret Foundation Executive Director Brent Cooper might have been a little late in starting his military career, but serving our nation was always something he wanted to do. While the average age of an enlisted Green Beret is 29 years old, Cooper didn’t join until the “ripe old age” of 30 after securing an age waiver. Cooper served as a Communication Sergeant with the 5th Special Forces Group. He deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, earning [...]
The Medal of Honor was presented to Staff Sergeant David Bellavia for his actions November 10, 2004 during the second battle of Fallujah. He would become the first living Iraq War Veteran to earn our nation’s highest military decoration. He also sits on the board of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation. While clearing a block of houses in Fallujah, David and his soldiers walked into a fortified ambush. He describes it as a “house ready to blow up”. [...]
Havok Journal Managing Editor Scott Faith joins us for his regular update on issues in the Veteran community and a variety of other topics. The mission of the Havok Journal is to serve as the voice of the Veteran community through a focus on current affairs and articles of interest to the public in general. We start with Scott’s perspective on celebrities involved in supporting Veteran & Military family causes. Scott specifically mentions the initiatives being led by Jon Stewart [...]
Bo Derek wasn’t on our list of celebrities to interview regarding their support of Veterans. As it turns out, I didn’t know Bo. Many of her family members served in the military; her father was a radio operator on a B-29 during the Korean War. Her stepfather served as a Green Beret in Vietnam and her ex-husband was also a Veteran. However, it was a chance encounter with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi that really got Bo engaged. [...]
On The Blue Line founder and host Wayne Mulder never thought he would become a cop but he has now worn the badge for nine years. On the Blue Line is one of the podcasts hosted by Heroes Media Group. Wayne created the On the Blue Line podcast in March of 2019. The program is “Geared to help cops find success in what REALLY matters, your life outside the badge.” He motivation is to help other law enforcement professionals find [...]