Each time Peter van Agtmael has been to war, he's gone without a weapon. No pistol, no knife, no rifle. The only thing he's carried into combat is a camera. And through that camera he has captured the human toll of war, both mental and physical. Since 2006 he has covered the Global War on Terror, working primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has since produced three books of images from these wars that are at times just as moving as they are haunting. Without these works, we would be devoid of a...
Nov 11, 2017•47 min
There's probably no greater act of patriotism or selflessness than signing up for military service right after your country has been attacked. That's exactly what Joel Carpenter did after September 11, 2001. Prior to 9/11 he had gone to Hollywood to pursue a career in film and television, but the coordinated terrorist attacks compelled him to fulfill a higher sense of purpose, even though Joel was teetering on the cusp of "making it" in LA. He soon joined the ranks of the Army Rangers at the 75t...
Oct 30, 2017•54 min
For Dan Futrell, joining the military was at first just a means to pay for college. After initially shunning the idea of joining ROTC, he started taking some of the classes and found he enjoyed working with the people in the program. He eventually earned a four-year ROTC scholarship, and from there the Army became more than just a way to pay for college. Following graduation and commissioning, he joined the Infantry, because as he put it, "I wanted to be right in the thick of things." After mult...
Oct 23, 2017•49 min
Staff Sergeant John Diem knows what it means to serve one's country. That phrase gets thrown around a lot, but John Diem embodies the spirit of patriotism in every sense of the word. He has served multiple combat tours as an infantryman, spending most of that time on the line as part of an infantry squad. He survived a year-long deployment to Iraq's "Triangle of Death", where he and his unit suffered almost daily bomb, mortar, and small arms attacks, before four members of his platoon were convi...
Oct 16, 2017•1 hr 19 min
Even if you've seen the movie "Black Hawk Down," and know everything about the book by the same title, you'll want to listen to this very special episode with Mike Durant, the pilot who was shot down over Mogadishu, Somalia during Operation Gothic Serpent in 1993. The level of courage and bravery displayed by him and the other soldiers who fought that long day on October 3rd, 1993, is unmatched. In this episode, Mike takes us through what it's like to fly helicopters for the Army's most elite av...
Oct 09, 2017•1 hr 10 min
If you've ever wondered what it's like to be shot down in a helicopter in the middle of a war zone, then you definitely want to listen to this week's episode. Even if you haven't, then you'll want to listen to how this week's guest, Robin Brown reacted cool and calmly under pressure, and crash landed her Kiowa Warrior helicopter after literally being blown out of the sky by enemy fire in 2003, when the war in Iraq was starting to go from bad to worse. Many years later, Robin would go back to Ira...
Oct 02, 2017•46 min
From as early as he can remember, Stacy Bare wanted to be in the military. To him it was adventure, coolness, and selfless service, all in one. When Stacy finally got to be the soldier he always dreamed of, he went to war, and served with honor during Operation Iraqi Freedom. But when he came home, his life began to unravel. War had never left him. After battling addictions and a downward spiral that was sure to end in death, Stacy found peace in the outdoors. He became a climber and mountaineer...
Sep 25, 2017•1 hr 11 min
On the show today, we go back over 70 years and cover the most significant attack on American soil prior to 9/11. Our guest on this episode is retired Navy Lt. Jim Downing. At 104 years old, Jim is the 2nd oldest known American survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Jim's memory of that day is still as sharp and clear as it was the day it all unfolded, so we are incredibly lucky to get this firsthand account of the day "which will live in infamy," as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt observed...
Sep 18, 2017•34 min
Early in the morning on September 20, 2004, and during some of the bloodiest days of the war in Iraq, Jacob Schick and his fellow Marines received a quick reaction call. With no sleep following the previous night's mission, Schick rounded up his Marines and jumped in a Humvee. Even though he had a bad feeling about the situation, Schick demanded he drive the lead vehicle. Shortly after moving out, his vehicle ran over a triple-stacked tank mine IED. Schick took the brunt of the blast. He was blo...
Sep 11, 2017•1 hr 16 min
Part II of our episode with Nate Self, and the incredible Battle of Takur Ghar. Thanks for listening! www.nateself.com | "Two Wars" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 04, 2017•44 min
Nate Self's story is the reason "Hazard Ground" was born. Early on the morning of March 4, 2002, Self, a young officer and elite Army Ranger, found himself fighting for his life on top of a remote mountain in Afghanistan, markedly outgunned by al Qaeda fighters. Self was tasked with leading the Ranger Quick Reaction Force that was sent to rescue Navy SEAL Neil Roberts and Air Force Technical Sergeant John Chapman, who had become trapped on top of the mountain known as Takur Ghar, during Operatio...
Aug 28, 2017•51 min
Mike Erwin is an amazing human. After surviving three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Intelligence Officer, much of that time directly supporting Special Operations, he started one of the premier veterans support organizations in America: Team Red, White & Blue, or "Team RWB" as it's commonly known. For several years now, Team RWB has been connecting and helping veterans heal through physical fitness, building community, and enacting positive change. Mike is also the Founder and P...
Aug 21, 2017•47 min
General (Ret) Ann Dunwoody holds the distinction of being the first woman in the US Military to achieve the rank of four-star general. But when you listen to her speak and understand a little bit of who she is as a person, you get the sense that there is no military rank high enough to quantify who she is as a leader. Her 37 plus years of military service have helped transform the US military for the better, and inspired other servicemembers to become incredible leaders like herself. She has dep...
Aug 07, 2017•49 min
In the spring of 1966 a 19-year old Bill Reynolds was on top of the world. The young Californian had it all: the killer car (a '65 Chevelle Super Sport to be exact), the gorgeous girlfriend, and a well-paying job in Los Angeles. Then, just before summer hit, his world changed forever - he received a draft notice in the mail, with orders to report to the Los Angeles Induction Station on May 17, 1966. Bill knew that it was his time to serve, like his father before him in WWII, so he went without q...
Jul 31, 2017•1 hr 6 min
Chris Roessner's attitude and work ethic speak for themselves. In a relatively short period of his life, he's gone from surviving a year in Iraq in the Sunni Triangle performing a wartime mission with one of the lowest survival rates, to being awarded a prestigious academic scholarship through the Pat Tillman Foundation, to writing and executive producing his own film, "Sand Castle," which recently debuted as a Netflix Original Movie in April 2017. Part of his reason for joining the military, li...
Jul 24, 2017•57 min
Dale Dye is probably best known for the roles he's played in numerous motion pictures on war and combat...Films like "Platoon," "Casualties of War," and "Saving Private Ryan." But before he landed in Hollywood, he spent a majority of his time fighting and leading Marines on real battlefields - the ones where the slightest mistake or sniff of bad luck meant you weren't coming home. He's a veteran of multiple tours in Vietnam and survived 31 combat operations there. He's a decorated Marine who emb...
Jul 17, 2017•1 hr 2 min
You might be wondering why our guest this week is not affiliated with the military. Every now and then we like to feature a special guest on the show - someone who hasn't necessarily experienced combat, but who works to better the lives of others through podcasts, music, books, and other forms of media. And that's exactly why we have John Brenkus on the podcast. He has an amazing story of how he created his own show for ESPN, called "Sport Science." And he has an even more amazing story of how h...
Jul 02, 2017•49 min
Most people know Mark Bowden as the best-selling author of the book, Black Hawk Down, the basis for the 2001 film by the same name. But this is only one small part of a collection of books Mark has written that detail some of the most instrumental US military operations in modern history. In the last several years he has covered the Iran Hostage Crisis, the hunt for Pablo Escobar, and the final chapter of Osama Bin Laden, as seen through the eyes of those that were there on the ground, and all t...
Jun 26, 2017•41 min
Struck by a sense of duty to defend his country after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Will Bardenwerper walked away from a comfortable job in Midtown Manhattan to join the military. Despite some unexpected downtime while waiting to start his initial training, and then more schooling to become an Airborne & Ranger qualified officer, Will was finally dropped into the "hornet's nest," as he describes it, near Ramadi, Iraq in 2006, at the height of the initial Iraqi insurgency. Having fulfilled ...
Jun 19, 2017•51 min
Johnny "Joey" Jones seemed to have it all. He was a young, good looking Marine, who had earned one of the most technically difficult, interesting, coolest, and coveted jobs in the U.S. military - that of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician (Think back to Ep. 3 w/ EOD Tech, Brian Castner...). It's also one of the most dangerous jobs in the military, and on August 6, 2010, that danger caught up with Jones when he stepped on a very well hidden IED in Afghanistan, instantly severing both of...
Jun 12, 2017•54 min
Despite their difference in military rank when they served in the Army's elite 75th Ranger Regiment - one a seasoned enlisted man with a combat deployment already under his belt, and the other, a new lieutenant working to gain experience and the respect of other Rangers - Donald Lee and Matthew Griffin became fast friends. They went to war together several times, all the while hatching a plan to become business partners when the bullets stopped whizzing overhead. What they started, in spite of a...
Jun 05, 2017•1 hr 8 min
Jason Van Camp, who is today the Founder and Chairman of Mission 6 Zero, is another one of those guys who knows what it means to be a leader, in every sense of the word. He knows what it's like to have passion for something in life and to scratch and claw toward a goal until it's been achieved. He knows what it means to never quit - at least not until there's physically nothing left to give (and even then we're not quite sure Jason would give up). And it's that attitude that has gotten Jason thr...
May 22, 2017•1 hr 2 min
Feeling an obligation to do his part for his country, Paul Rieckhoff enlisted in the Army after graduating from college in the years just before 9/11. After the Twin Towers fell, Paul found himself in uniform working tirelessly at Ground Zero. It wouldn't be long after that he would trade the dust and debris of 9/11 for the sands of Iraq, fighting as an infantryman at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Following his service overseas, Paul returned home to start a group that is now the lea...
May 15, 2017•48 min
Many know Taya Kyle as the wife of American Sniper, Chris Kyle...But for so many others she's an inspiration for overcoming tragedy. For us, she is our first non-military member that we've interviewed, but her story is so compelling. She is raw, honest, and graceful. This is a woman who has shown more strength in her grief, than most do in a lifetime. And like Chris, she is a protector, who continues to help others through times of trouble. Please do not miss this episode! www.tayakyle.com | www...
May 08, 2017•1 hr 5 min
Washington Redskins Special Teams Coordinator, Ben Kotwica is a proven leader through and through. From his time spent grinding it out on the football field at West Point, to flying Apache attack helicopters in combat, and returning home to work his way up to coaching in the National Football League, Ben embodies the importance of preparation, perseverance, and mentorship. It was truly an honor to have him on the show to share his take on combat, survival, coaching, and leadership! Learn more ab...
May 01, 2017•43 min
When Marty Skovlund joined the military, he knew right from the start he wanted to be a part of the best the Army had to offer. He wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself...and Marty is not a small man. So after Infantry School, he earned a coveted spot in the 75th Ranger Regiment, one of the most elite units in the United States Military. While in the Ranger Regiment, Marty served five combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Marty has since left the military, and is no...
Apr 24, 2017•53 min
As a Marine, Jonathan Hancock experienced some of the worst fighting of the Iraq War in 2004 in Ar Ramadi. That year started off fairly peaceful, and it looked as if an extended American presence in Iraq would not be needed. Then, all hell broke loose, and Ramadi offered some of the fiercest fighting the Marines would see. Jon survived combat, but when he came home, like most of his fellow 2/4 Marines - nicknamed "The Magnificent Bastards" - he continued to fight a battle that raged within. Befo...
Apr 17, 2017•1 hr 3 min
Part II of our episode w/ David S. Williams. Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 10, 2017•56 min
If you followed the news during the start of the war in Iraq in 2003, you probably remember the two Apache pilots that were shot down behind enemy lines during the first weeks of the war. One of those pilots was Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams, and his story was chronicled on several news outlets following his rescue. But what you didn't hear was a detailed account of his time in captivity. He and his co-pilot suffered through weeks of brutal interrogations among other perils. Hear the f...
Apr 03, 2017•45 min
Nate Boyer has lived anything but an ordinary life. Primarily because he's a man who knows how to set goals and achieve them. Not just any goals either; we're talking big goals. In early 2005, after working as a volunteer at refugee camps in Africa, he came back to the US and joined the Army, becoming a Green Beret in 2006. After serving in combat as a Green Beret, he decided to work toward achieving another dream of his: playing professional football. An unlikely candidate, Nate made the Univer...
Mar 27, 2017•1 hr 4 min
