American Warrior Radio

Code Name Nemo was the name eventually given to one of the most daring and audacious missions of World War II – the effort to capture a German submarine intact. Charles Lachman joins us to share this fascinating and still little known story. The capture of U-505 was the first time since the War of 1812 that an enemy vessel was boarded and captured. Lachman is the Executive Producer of the national...

Alex Kershaw is one of the foremost authors writing on World War II subject matter, having written multiple best sellers.  He was born in York, England and taught history before becoming a journalist. He has written for various publications including the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and the New York Times. His 2002 book “The Bedford Boys” became his first New York Times best...

Belleau Wood is the site of one of the most storied battles in US Marine Corps lore. Marine Veteran Jason Angell gathered up his family and made a “pilgrimage” to this famous World War I battlefield. His experience is recounted in the Havok Journal article “A Pilgrimage to Belleau Wood”. Jason is a ten year Marine Corps Veteran with three deployments to Iraq. He and his wife felt strongly that the...

The Hazard Ground podcast was created by Mark Zinno to allow members of our military to share their stories of combat & survival and deliver inspirational stories about resilience. Mark was studying communications at Loyola University and joined the ROTC to help pay for his tuition. His original intent was to simply complete his four year commitment to Army and then 9/11 happened. He now has t...

Fueled by the Fallen founder Kevyn Major Howard never served in the military. He has 31 film and television acting credits and is perhaps most recognized for his role as combat photographer “Rafterman” in the iconic Stanley Kubrick Vietnam war film “Full Metal Jacket”. We spend some time discussing the films production and the experience of working with greats like Kubrick and R. Lee Ermey. Becaus...

“Chamber Divers”, a new book by Rachel Lance, uses recently declassified documents to recount the story of a somewhat ragtag group of scientist who forever changed special operations. Lance is a biological engineer and blast injury specialist who works as a researcher on military diving projects. She spent several years working with the US Navy building specialized diving equipment for our Special...

Air America pilot Neil Graham Hansen’s livelihood began in a manner that might portend what the rest of his career would be like. At age 23 he was the a private pilot for Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. When I became apparent that Hoffa would be taking a “Federal Vacation”, Neil began looking for a new job. He responded to a newspaper ad seeking pilots to fly in Southeast Asia. He submitted an applica...

“Bobbie the Weather Girl” may have been the most popular celebrity of the Vietnam War, eclipsing even Adrian Cronauer of “Good Morning Vietnam” fame. Her real name is Barbara Keith. Barbara grew up a military “brat”. Her father served in WWII, Korea & Vietnam and her mother was a Navy Nurse during WWII. She believes that “If you don’t do something for your country, don’t call yourself an Ameri...

Al “Hollywood” Billings developed a reputation as a Maverick while flying for the Sea Wolves.  The Sea Wolves (Helicopter Attack Squadron Light 3) were formed specifically to support Navy Special Warfare and Mobile Riverine Forces during the Vietnam War. They would become the most decorated Navy squadron of the war. We talk to Billings as part of our educational partnership with the Distinguished...

Sam Mackey admits he isn’t always the smartest or strongest guy in the room but he puts in the work.  His philosophy is “To find something that I can do better than everybody else and take enough responsibility where I can’t be replaced and do it the best that I can.” Mackey served 20 years in the military including time with the elite Navy SEALs. He never thought he would be an entrepreneur but i...

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has the principle responsibility to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and our nation. It was created in January of 2015 by merging the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command along with several functions of the Air Force Life Sciences Equipment Laboratory. DPAA Media...

Stephen Paul Campos surmised it would be better to volunteer and choose his military specialty rather than be drafted during the Vietnam War. The recruiter asked what he wanted to do and Campos replied “I don’t know what I WANT to do but I know I DON’T want to be infantry.” Based upon his intake evaluations the recruiter told him he could be sent to Germany or Hawaii. Immediately upon graduation h...

“Service to CEO” podcast creator Kristen Costlow left a promising military career to pursue her dream.  She served as an air traffic controller in the Navy and was rising fast in rank.  She soon found herself supervising sailors 10 years her senior. The day after she notified her supervisor of her plans to leave the military, she was promoted to Chief Petty Officer – quite the accomplishment for s...

Blackwater Security Company developed quite a reputation. Morgan Lerette was a contractor with Blackwater in Iraq for 18 months from 2004-2005. His sometimes funny, sometimes tragic experience is documented in his book “Guns, Girls & Greed: I was a Blackwater Mercenary in Iraq” Morgan joined the Air National Guard right out of high school in order to escape his small town. He became an Air For...

"Homefront Stories" is a collection of fictional short stories written by Victoria Kelly inspired by her life as a military spouse.  Her 2015 work, “When Men Go Off to War” is a collection of poems written while her husband was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and captures the hopes, anxieties and intimacies of the military spouse during times of war. “Prayers of an American Wife” is a collection...

Our first check in of 2024 with Havok Journal owner Charles Faint. Charles is a retired Army Intelligence officer with seven tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. We begin by discussing the latest on the Israel/Gaza conflict.  Charles expects Iran to continue supporting terrorist proxies but will avoid a direct confrontation with the US. His rationale is twofold; Iran knows they cannot win a dire...

“Damn the Valley” was written by Will Yeske and describes his deployment to the Arghandab River Valley in Afghanistan. The valley has seen its share of conflict. From Alexander the Great up to the Russians – and now Americans. To US troops it became known as “the meat grinder”.  Will was posted there with Bravo Company of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne.  During their ti...

Jana Monroe wanted to be a law enforcement officer ever since she was 13. She would go on to become the first woman to join the FBI’s elite Behavioral Science Unit.  She says her motivation is the fact that she loves the freedoms granted by our country and she hates bullies. Jana began her law enforcement work as a probation officer and then joined the Chino California police department.  Women in...

“Dead Man’s Hand” is Brad Taylor’s 18th installment in the Pike Logan series. Brad served more than 21 years in our nation’s military, 8 years as a member of the elite 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, more commonly known at Delta Force. He holds a Master’s of Science in Defense Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School, with a concentration in irregular warfare. His previous 17...

The Warrior Surf Foundation uses the calming and spiritually regenerative power of the ocean to help Veteran families deal with the difficult transition to civilian life.  The organization was established on Folly Beach, South Carolina in 2015. The Foundation addresses post service transition challenges like PTSD, moral injury, survivor’s guilt and traumatic brain injuries through surf therapy. Wa...

Jim Lopez flew an amazing one thousand combat missions. For perspective, World War II bomber crews were required to fly 25-35 missions before they rotated out. Even in today’s high paced combat, the 1,000 mission threshold is still rather rare. Jim joins us as part of our educational partnership with the Distinguished Flying Cross Society. Jim and all six of his brothers served in the military. Wh...

Joe Lowrey was deployed with the 7th Special Forces Group in Afghanistan. In July of 2014 an enemy machine gun round pierced the front of his helmet, traveled across the top of his skull and exited the back of his head.  He was given an 11% chance of survival and his Green Beret teammates gathered by his bedside while Joe was administered the Last Rites. After thirty days in a coma, Joe DID surviv...

“Hot Mics and TV Lights: The Armed Forces Vietnam Network” is the latest work from Marc Yablonka. The book provides the first person perspective of thirty seven individuals who served with the Armed Forces Vietnam Network (AFVN).The AFVN was the military broadcast network that served American service personnel during the Vietnam War. Navy Chief Petty Officer Bryan Arbuckle is considered the “fathe...

Holiday Separations – Col. Jose Cabrera Holiday separations are an unfortunate but necessary part of military service. As civilians we should recognize that the reason we are able to spend our holiday peacefully and safely with friends and family is because members of our military and first responder communities have volunteered to be apart from theirs. This burden is particularly heavy upon those...

Green Beret Foundation – Anna Richardson Green Beret Foundation Director of Programs and Services Anna Richardson joins us for an update on their programs.  The mission of the Green Beret Foundation is to provide Special Forces soldiers and their families with emergency, immediate and ongoing support. Since inception, the GBF has provided support for over 14,000 families. For Anna, her work with t...