Dr. Paul Roach is a recently retired Navy Combat Surgeon. At a young age, he intended to follow in his father’s footsteps into psychiatry. But trauma surgery was his calling, and he followed it all the way to the brutal and bloody environs of the war in Afghanistan. It was there he recalls his worst combat losses, and one quad-amputee Marine in particular, that he helped save against the odds.* That same Marine was a former guest on HAZARD GROUND, and is thriving today! Hear Dr. Paul Roach’s sto...
Jul 27, 2021•1 hr 32 min
Three months into his run for mayor of Kansas City - which seemed destined for victory - Jason Kander suddenly dropped out of the race. He did so to confront years of post-traumatic stress that nearly drove him to suicide. His PTS was a direct result of his deployment to Afghanistan where for months he often worked outside the wire as an Army officer, mostly without any fire support - just him and an interpreter, meeting with some of the most dangerous people on the planet. The pause from public...
Jul 20, 2021•1 hr 30 min
Mike McGuinness is a three-time Afghanistan combat veteran. His story is a study in why leadership - meaning the presence of qualified people in leadership positions - is so important, from the lowest echelons of the military, all the way to the top. McGuinness served honorably for 16 years. He was also a squad leader in convicted war criminal Clint Lorance's platoon, which would ultimately lead to Mike leaving the military. This is a powerful story of combat, survival - and the hard consequence...
Jul 13, 2021•2 hr 41 min
Will Thomas is the founder of Operation Hawkeye, an organization that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the families of fallen special operations servicemembers for a decade now. The really interesting part is that Will started Op Hawkeye when he was in middle school! Moved to action by the downing of Extortion 17 in Afghanistan in 2011, Will decided to do something tangible to help the families of the special operators lost on that mission. It started with simply shooting hoops - ...
Jul 06, 2021•49 min
Thomas Schueman takes us through a young Marine officer's first taste of combat - a very real baptism by fire that ultimately prepared him for the day he'd see it again. Schueman talks about the survival of combat, not just on the battlefield, but also at home. Focusing on that survival at home is not just something he talks about; he's taken action by starting his own non-profit, called Patrol Base Abbate - named after legendary Marine, Matthew Abbate - to give servicemembers a "space to recali...
Jun 29, 2021•1 hr 43 min
After graduating from the United States Naval Academy, Mark Treanor served as a Marine Corps rifle platoon leader in Vietnam, when some of the heaviest fighting took place. Years later, Mark would write a book about his experience in Vietnam. But, it's not your typical book about one's Vietnam combat experience. It's a novel, written through the lens of someone who lived through the worst in humankind, and carried the memory of that experience for years after the war was over. Hear Mark's powerf...
Jun 22, 2021•1 hr 30 min
Brian Fleming joined the Infantry during a time of war to serve his country and test his mettle. He ended up getting a little more than he probably bargained for, but still understood the risks, serving in combat with honor. Brian was blown up twice while deployed to Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division. The second blast was from a suicide bomber, just three feet away from Brian. Hear how Brian survived that horrific attack and the pain of reconstructive surgery, and went on to become a f...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 23 min
We have our second Canadian Armed Forces guest on the podcast this week! Ian Cantelo is a Sacrifice Medal recipient - Canada's version of the Purple Heart - due to injuries sustained after he was blown up multiple times while serving in Afghanistan. His injuries would nearly end his tour early, but undeterred by injury, Ian returned to the Panjwai district of Kandahar province to finish out his combat tour of duty. After leaving the military, Cantelo started working as a strength and conditionin...
Jun 08, 2021•1 hr 27 min
This week’s episode is about Richard Flaherty, the smallest known man to serve in the U.S. military in recent history. Richard served as a Green Beret in Vietnam, among other incredible ventures, earning two Bronze Stars and a Silver Star for actions in combat. Later in life Richard was killed in a hit and run on the streets of Miami where he lived a good portion of his life after leaving the military. David Yuzuk, a Miami cop, befriended Richard and spent several years getting to know the 4' 9"...
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 31 min
Henry Hughes' family tradition of military service dates all the way back to the American Revolution. For him, he chose the Army and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He served multiple combat tours with the 173rd, including one at COP Keating - the infamous outpost we've covered in several previous episodes - in 2008. When Hughes left the Army, it was to pursue a new passion - filmmaking. He has since been mentored by George Lucas, nominated for an Academy Award, and co-produced and acted in "The Out...
May 25, 2021•1 hr 43 min
Eddie Wright's story is pretty insane! In 2004, he and his small element of Marines were ambushed in Iraq. Eddie immediately lost just about 100% of his physical ability to fight back. Calm and alert through the entire firefight that followed, Eddie remained a leader on the battlefield, directing other Marines returning fire and guiding those rendering aid. Despite the loss of two limbs, Eddie would return to active duty not long after the ambush. Hear his amazing and powerful story on this late...
May 18, 2021•1 hr 50 min
Nick Rucker is a veteran of two combat deployments - one to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. Those deployments didn't come without a price. After returning home, Nick struggled with Post Traumatic Stress and alcoholism - two powerful adversaries that required the will to fight, even after the wars for him were over. Nick is now a touring country songwriter and singer, an author, and most important of all: sober. Hear about his struggle returning from one battlefield to a war on the homefront that ne...
May 11, 2021•1 hr 37 min
For our first episode released in both audio and video formats with our partners at Kill Cliff, Greg "Billy Bob" Thornton & Raymond "Donk" Strasburger - both Air Force A-10 pilots - take us through one of the most harrowing combat missions at the onset of the Iraq War in early 2003. Both pilots flew their A-10s through a blinding sandstorm, in a white-knuckle effort to provide critical close air support to U.S. troops in direct contact with Iraqi tanks. One of those troops was also one of th...
May 04, 2021•2 hr 58 min
Brian Ribera is a retired Navy SEAL and the founder and president of Military Mobility - a non-profit, adventure-based organization that specializes in off-road expeditions and resiliency training for veterans. Military Mobility's mission is to "put clients in a team environment which fosters camaraderie, trust, and inspires the realization that any challenge - no matter how great - can be overcome." Hear how Brian has served his country at the most specialized levels of combat operations, to ho...
Apr 29, 2021•55 min
As we wrap up an extensive look at COP Keating and the Battle of Kamdesh, which occurred on October 3rd, 2009, in Afghanistan, Zachary Koppes takes us on an intense and sometimes hilarious/sometimes heartbreaking journey through the day-long battle and its aftermath. Koppes spent the entire day in the fight, firing his MK 19 grenade launcher at enemy targets while trying to avoid being hit by a sniper who had a bead on his position (and his head). Hear the powerful story of combat, survival, los...
Apr 27, 2021•1 hr 58 min
Jeff Depatie is the first ever Canadian servicemember we've had on the podcast. The man was born to be a warrior, spending his career in the Canadian Armed Forces as a sniper/assaulter in JTF 2 - an extremely high-readiness and precise, tier one special operations forces unit. JTF 2's mission is to protect Canadian national interests and combat terrorism and threats to Canadians at home and abroad. Following his time in the military, Jeff co-founded The Special Forces Experience - a program that...
Apr 20, 2021•1 hr 21 min
This week, another detailed look at COP Keating and the October 3rd, 2009 Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan with Chris Jones. Chris was an Infantry soldier in Red Platoon, Bravo Troop 3-61 Cav. He was also one of the five guys who volunteered for Clint Romesha's small team to take back the outpost against overwhelming odds. Jones talks about the intense battle that unfolded that day in October 2009, and the strong bonds amongst brothers in arms that kept a relatively small number of them fighting...
Apr 13, 2021•2 hr 23 min
This week we return to COP Keating and the Battle of Kamdesh, which took place on October 3rd, 2009 in Afghanistan. Kyle Knight was a Forward Observer in Red Platoon, Bravo Troop 3-61 Cav. Kyle offers an unvarnished perspective of what life was like on Keating before the overwhelming October 3rd attack, the leadership failures that lead to it, and the hours fighting on the ground to win back American control of the combat outpost. He and his unit of just 53 U.S. cavalry scouts ultimately repelle...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 18 min
Dr. Shauna Springer's father raised his kids like a drill instructor - up at 5 a.m. three times a week to run miles in the dark at a local track. That kind of activity at an early age, along with solo mission service trips to foreign countries starting at the age of 10, may just have been the spark that started Dr. Springer on a path to understanding the psychological trauma veterans face on and off the battlefield. She isn't a veteran, but she has made it her life's mission to understand the ps...
Mar 30, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Dale Rider deployed to Iraq as a bridge crew member of an Engineer unit initially assigned to advise and assist the Iraqi's, after the war had theoretically ended. So, naturally, in the middle of the Iraq mission, his small detachment would head into Syria for a different mission. Dale shares his experiences with that sudden change of mission, and the struggle to deal with some of its side effects when he returned home. It's an interesting story that explores the volatile environment in Iraq and...
Mar 16, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Once again, we step outside the bounds of the typical HAZARD GROUND guest to tell Char Fontan Westfall's story. Char is the wife of the late Navy SEAL, Jacques Fontan. Jacques was killed while attempting to rescue survivors of Operation Red Wings, the ill-fated reconnaissance mission in June 2005 in Afghanistan, that left one lone survivor. Char talks about receiving the news of her husband's death, and the long, difficult road she's traveled dealing with the pain, anger, and grief of losing a s...
Mar 09, 2021•1 hr 29 min
GORUCK founder Jason McCarthy went from Green Beret to building a 100 million dollar company, starting with just a napkin sketch of a rucksack that could withstand the abuse of war torn Baghdad and still look good on the streets of any major city. Along with a backpack company he also started a global movement to get people outside rucking, adventuring, and forming community through his GORUCK Challenge events. Hear how Jason McCarthy survived combat and went on to build one of the most inspirin...
Mar 02, 2021•1 hr 39 min
Retired Air Force Colonel, Joe "Spoon" Rizzuto has had one of the most interesting careers a military pilot could have. The Air Force Academy grad started out flying C-130s in Alaska - something he wasn't initially thrilled about, but he describes as extremely rewarding and beneficial as a young pilot. He would eventually go from the C-130 to flying both the A-10 and Reaper and Predator drone aircraft in combat. He was even one of the first to fly drones in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11. Hear h...
Feb 23, 2021•1 hr 18 min
For Tonya Oxendine the Army offered an escape from a rough upbringing - a chance for a better life. Although not without extreme hardships and challenges, Tonya embraced the military, using the trauma she experienced in it and after, to become an incredible leader who has made it her life's mission to take care of others. She served over two decades - including several years in the 82nd Airborne - retiring as a Command Sergeant Major. Today she serves as the Atlanta Program Manager of Merging Ve...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Our conversation this week is simply about service - service in combat, and continued service when the uniform comes off. David Smith is a former Navy Corpsman who served in combat in Afghanistan. When an aspiring career in the Navy was cut short, David found another way to serve his country. Ultimately he started an organization called, CONTINUE TO SERVE. Through this organization, he brings together other veterans in continued service to the Nation, particularly when it comes to civic duties a...
Feb 09, 2021•1 hr 17 min
Grant Broggi didn't take the typical route to the Marine Corps. The extra time he took before ultimately joining meant he entered the Marines with life experience - a key attribute in forming who he would become as a leader of Marines. And the experience he gained from leading Marines in combat would eventually pay dividends when he became a strength coach, preparing Marines for combat as well as forming a small business. That small business would take a punishing hit during the onset of the COV...
Feb 02, 2021•1 hr 16 min
When Rod Lurie immigrated to the United States at a young age, he was taken by what he saw when he visited The United States Military Academy at West Point for the first time. Beyond the institution, he knew attending West Point would provide a means to pay back the country that welcomed him from abroad. Whether his decision to ultimately go to West Point was right or wrong, Lurie has found that his attendance and graduation from there prepared him very well for the profession he knew he always ...
Jan 26, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Ryan Hendrickson doesn't know when to quit. If you've served alongside Ryan in combat, that's probably a good thing. Ryan Hendrickson is a retired Green Beret, leaving the Army as an E-7 in January of 2020. Before joining the Army, Hendrickson enlisted and served in both the Navy and the Air Force, until he found his true calling in Special Forces. As a Green Beret demolitions expert, he would find a passion hunting IEDs and working with local villagers. In the high risk confines of Afghanistan,...
Jan 19, 2021•2 hr 2 min
Donat "Dan" Le Blanc lost his right arm while fighting in Vietnam as a Marine aircraft machine gunner. Service was in his blood; his father was a World War II veteran and POW. So when it was his generation's calling to combat service, Le Blanc joined the Marines. He cites the 1957 film, "The DI" with Jack Webb as a major source of inspiration for joining the Corps. But, Le Blanc's time in Vietnam would end not long after he sustained life-threatening injuries when the helicopter he was manning a...
Jan 12, 2021•1 hr 21 min
There's no better story for Episode 200! Daniel Rodriguez entered the Army shortly after losing his father at the age of 18. He joined the Infantry and was almost immediately thrust into one of the worst positions to be in as a new soldier in combat: the replacement for another soldier who had been killed in Iraq. Although it was a rough start, the unit he ended up with would ultimately be the group of guys he not only bonded with, but would also go through one of the bloodiest battles of the GW...
Jan 05, 2021•2 hr 10 min
