Not Special: A Liberty Speaks Show

Send us Fan Mail Andy Stumpf spent more than 17 years as a Navy SEAL, served with SEAL Team Six, became a record-setting wingsuit pilot, entrepreneur, author and host of the Cleared Hot podcast. But those are things he’s done. They aren’t who he is. For the first episode of The Americana Series: Montana, we traveled to sit down with Andy for a conversation about identity, failure, leadership, marr...

Send us Fan Mail They called her the “Angel of Death.” Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Allison Black spent more than 32 years serving her country, but her path to becoming a special operations aviator was anything but planned. She began her career as an enlisted SERE specialist before becoming an officer and eventually flying AC-130 gunships with Air Force Special Operations Command. After Septembe...

Send us Fan Mail We came to Montana to share five great stories. We ended up getting a lot more. The Americana Series: Montana takes Not Special on the road for five conversations with Andy Stumpf, Cameron Cushman, Dave Kenney, Nic McKinley, and Aaron Todd. These are stories about service, identity, family, adversity, purpose, and what happens when life doesn’t go according to plan. Five people. F...

Send us Fan Mail Harrison Bernstein left a path in the NFL to build Soldiers To Sidelines, a nonprofit helping veterans, service members, military spouses, and Gold Star families find purpose and community through coaching. But Harrison's story didn't start with the military. Long before founding Soldiers To Sidelines, Harrison was a college football player whose identity was wrapped up...

Send us Fan Mail Vic Minella was a Navy intelligence officer assigned to the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. His office, the Navy Command Center, was directly hit in the 9/11 terrorist attack. Vic wasn't there that morning. Several of his shipmates were. That day changed the course of his life and launched decades of work in Navy intelligence, counterterrorism, clandestine and covert operatio...

Send us Fan Mail JoAnne Bass, the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force and the first woman to serve as the U.S. Air Force’s highest-ranking enlisted leader, never planned on making the military a career. She joined for the GI Bill, expected to serve four years, and jokes that she reenlisted because she still had a Honda Civic to pay for. Thirty-one years later, she retired after reaching th...

Send us Fan Mail Marc Andersen, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller, helps oversee roughly $200 billion in U.S. Army resources with one overriding mission: making sure America’s warfighters have what they need to fight and win. In this episode of the Not Special Show, Marc takes us inside the Pentagon and the enormous responsibility behind managing the U.S. Arm...

Send us Fan Mail What does it mean to become a Gold Star Family? How do you move forward after losing a Navy SEAL son in combat?  In this powerful episode of The Not Special Show, former Navy pilot Tom Feeks and registered nurse Ginny Feeks share the story of their son, Navy SEAL Patrick "Pat" Feeks, their daughter Regina Feeks, a Navy officer and physician assistant, and the journey of...

Send us Fan Mail How does a Green Beret become a private equity executive, business leader, and president of a multimillion-dollar company?  In this episode of The Not Special Show, former Green Beret Prescott Engle shares the incredible journey from getting kicked out of college to earning the Green Beret, serving during the Cold War in Central America, walking away from the CIA, building a succe...

Send us Fan Mail Josh Martin seemed to be living the dream. A West Point graduate, 160th SOAR (Night Stalkers) helicopter pilot, and one of the Army's elite aviators, Josh had accomplished nearly every goal he'd set for himself. Then a devastating motorcycle accident changed everything. After spending months in the hospital, enduring numerous surgeries, ultimately losing his leg, and fig...

Send us Fan Mail Former Navy SEAL operator, leadership coach, and Doctor of Education Dan Luna joins The Not Special Show for a conversation about resilience, leadership, purpose, and the realities of life after elite military service. Yes, Dan served with the Navy SEALs and SEAL Team 6. But this episode isn't about tactics or war stories. It's about what happens after the mission. Dan s...

Send us Fan Mail The best teachers don't just teach subjects, they change lives. In this episode of The Not Special Show, we sit down with Rob Hughes, Herb’s high school science teacher, coach, timber framer, outdoorsman, and one of the people who had the biggest impact on who Herb became. Long before Herb became a Green Beret, Rob saw potential in him that he didn't yet see in himself....

Send us Fan Mail Green Beret Magnus Johnson shares his experiences in Ramadi, Army Special Forces, Mission 22, veteran mental health, military transition, purpose after service, resilience, leadership, and life after combat. Magnus joins Herb and Corrie Thompson to share his journey from the battlefields of Iraq to helping thousands of veterans find purpose after military service. He opens up abou...

Send us Fan Mail After reaching the pinnacle of military service, former Delta Force operator Gary Harrington was unexpectedly removed from the unit he had worked his entire career to join. What followed was a battle with identity, purpose, failure, faith, and finding meaning beyond military service. In this episode of The Not Special Show, Gary shares his journey from Marine Corps officer to Gree...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a former Green Beret and a former police officer stop surviving and start healing? In this powerful episode we sit down with Chris and Marcia Lessard to discuss Special Forces, law enforcement trauma, PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), addiction, marriage, autism recovery, hyper-vigilance, mental health, veteran healing, and the groundbreaking brain treatments c...

Send us Fan Mail Former Special Operations PsyOps expert Stuart Gallagher and women’s health clinician Jamie Gallagher join the Not Special Podcast with Green Beret Herb Thompson and Corrie Thompson for one of the most powerful conversations yet. From Russia, Ukraine, psychological operations, Special Forces selection, cancer survival, veteran health, testosterone, prostate cancer awareness, hormo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Not Special, Karen and John share what it was really like inside the CIA, SEAL Team 6, Afghanistan, and the mission environment that led to the Osama bin Laden raid. Karen spent 26 years serving as a CIA operations officer, deploying to some of the world’s most dangerous environments after 9/11. John served as a Navy SEAL and later as deputy commander at SEAL Te...

Send us Fan Mail Pat McKenna joins the Not Special Show with Herb and Corrie Thompson for a raw, unfiltered conversation about Navy EOD, war stories, overcoming adversity, mental toughness, and the journey from a troubled childhood to becoming an elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal operator. In this episode, Pat shares powerful stories about growing up in Aurora, getting into fights, run-ins with th...

Send us Fan Mail What kind of person pushes their body to the edge for 48 straight hours with no sleep and no quitting? Meet the inspirational Charles Gomes — Navy veteran, Brazilian immigrant, jiu-jitsu black belt, and a man on a mission far bigger than himself. From growing up in a poor fishing village in Brazil to stepping onto a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier to working for Lamborghini. Now he’s a...

Send us Fan Mail The idea that veterans come home “broken” is everywhere but it’s not the full story. In this episode, Marine veteran and nonprofit leader Kevin Schmiegel shares his journey from service to leadership, through personal struggle, and ultimately to building a movement focused on “military thriving.” This conversation explores identity after service, the challenges of transition, and...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Not Special , we sit down with a retired Command Sergeant Major to unpack one of the most powerful and overlooked stories from the war in Ramadi. What begins as a conversation about leadership quickly becomes something much deeper. You’ll hear firsthand what it was like leading soldiers during one of the most dangerous periods of the Iraq War—where attacks were...

Send us Fan Mail Medal of Honor recipient Jim McCloughan doesn’t believe he’s special.  But during one of the most intense battles of the Vietnam War, he ran into enemy fire over and over again saving dozens of lives while wounded, outnumbered, and refusing evacuation as the enemy flowed down the hill like lava. In this episode of Not Special, Jim shares: * What it’s really like to arrive in Vietn...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Dekker is a former Green Beret, combat veteran, and author of Desert Heist . After being severely injured by a Taliban grenade, Alex fought his way back to his team—eventually deploying again while still recovering. In this episode, he shares the mindset behind Special Forces, the realities of war, and how his experiences shaped a novel that blends fiction with hard-earned tr...

Send us Fan Mail Ricky Mills is a former Army Ranger and Green Beret whose story goes far beyond combat. From a difficult childhood to elite military service, Ricky built his identity around strength and resilience, until a near-fatal accident and traumatic brain injury forced everything to unravel. In this episode, he shares:  What it’s like to lose your sense of self   How trauma affects familie...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a “normal” guy walks into a world built for SEALs, Rangers, and operators and refuses to quit? In this episode of Not Special, Bryan Mabry shares the inside story of going from overlooked candidate to CIA Global Response Staff (GRS) operator. He eventually lead training for the next generation in this elite unit. We go deep into: * Getting rejected and coming bac...