Choices Not Chances Podcast

For an infantry Marine, you "march or die". When Marines do get to march on the enemy it is an unforgettable, life-altering experience. Re-entry to friendly lines is winning the day. "The fight raged for hours, and for hours we raged back. We flew in from the sky for the opening of our attack. Three days they stood and fought us hard before they were overcome. We dropped them in the...

Yonel Dorelis AKA Yogi joins us for this episode to talk about his distinguished career flying for multiple different branches of the U.S. military. We talk about his youth and his service, culminating in his actions during operation Anaconda in Afghanistan. He is a true American Patriot with an amazing story!

Dean Wegner joined the podcast to talk about his life and his apparel company. He graduated from West Point and joined the Army. He flew choppers and achieved the rank of Captain before exciting the ranks to pursue other ventures. I was recommended to Deans apparel company "Authentically American" by Jeffery Sabins and instantly started an order. Matt and I were looking for an American m...

Retired First Sergeant Larry Briar joins the show and discusses his experiences. We talk about combat, loss, and transition. I hope you enjoy this episode.

This week we have a returning guest Marc Arrington on the show to talk about a topic that has been in the news a lot over the past few years. I wanted to know more about why China would want Taiwan or feel entitled to take it. I Knew from the last recording that Marc wrote his thesis on this very topic, so I invited him back to discuss it. While in graduate school, he wrote an honors thesis focusi...

This week we sit down with a former soldier who has very much remained in the shooting community and influencing online. Ash Hess spent his service time in the Army and has been shooting ever since. I started following Ash on Instagram a while back. He works with Knights Armament and shoots professionally. I was very interested in sitting down and talking about some of the new pistol brace legisla...

In my first book, “Lions of Marjah”, I talk about several situations that took place in the country. Specifically, I wrote about a day when we were in a pretty good gunfight. There were fighters squirting out of the forward edge of the battle area and this was observed by my squad and the remaining Marine co-located at the same Patrol Base. During the Fight, an enemy mortarman squirted out of the...

Several years ago, I was introduced to a living legend. Johnny Glenn (JMFG) as I came to know him, is one of the most real people on the planet. Johnny is an All-American Bad Ass. Johnny and I hit it off immediately over our passion for storytelling, pranks, and all things combat. But there is more to Johnny than storytelling and pranks. Johnny is a true friend to those close to him and an excelle...

This week’s episode feature Robert Kerman, Master Sergeant (USMC Retired). I am super excited to share this episode with you due to the impact young Lance Corporal Kerman, had on me and subsequently my squad in Third Battalion Second Marines. When we were in our final exercise prior to pushing out on deployment, I pulled one of the more recent Silver Star Citations I could find. I wanted to inspir...

This week’s episode features Ken Sample (Capt. USN retired). He spent a large portion of his life in service to others. Ken laughs as he tells how his drive to become a doctor very much came from his dear wife. Ken spent overwhelming time as a General Surgeon for the United States Navy. Some of this time was spent forward deployed and some of his time was stateside in places like Camp Lejeune. Ken...

Unconventional Warfare I have met men in my life that have done insane and heroic actions against the enemies of our Nation. I Have seen what war can do to the psyche of hard men. I have seen these men that have the drive, courage, and will win in EVERY situation. There are others, though, that have been tested in ways I have not. There are others who have sustained injuries, life-altering in some...

This week’s episode is a friend of mine, a United States Marine, who has continued to be a positive influence in my life. I met Jarrett Zeigler through golf. We have a group of combat guys that are all associated with the Brotherhood of Warriors. We hit it off a few years back and we have shared many stories with one another. Today I have Z in the hot seat, and we talk about everything from colleg...

This week’s episode is with the host of Combat Story Podcast, Ryan Fugit. I first met Ryan when I recorded with him for his podcast several months ago. I had such a good time and conversation that I wanted to have him in the hot seat. Ryan talks about how his decision to serve came from hearing stories about his father’s Silver Star heroics as a young man. Ryan also speaks to the stories of his un...

Master Sergeant Marc Arrington USMC (Retired) joins the show to talk about life. Marc is a brilliant mind and stoic in his thoughts and as kind-hearted as they come. Marc was instrumental in helping a veteran in crisis two years ago. He was new to the VFW and heard a pitch I gave to bring aid to an infantryman in need. Not knowing me well, he took a huge chance. But help came in waves after the in...

In this week’s episode, we had the privilege of sitting down with United States Marine Major Justin Gray. Shortly after recording, Major Gray was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Justin was a Platoon Commander in Marjah, Afghanistan (2010). He has held several billets since then and shares some of his experiences from each. Justin speaks wisdom about mentorship and virtue in this episode and his po...

KamranAstana was an interpreter for 3rd Battalion 6th Marines Kilo Company, during the invasion of Marjah in 2010, during Operation Moshtarak. The fighting was highly kinetic for the entire deployment. Kamran showed resolve and a fighting spirit rarely matched, even by the ANA commandos. Kamran became more than an interpreter on that deployment. The bonds forged in combat in 2010, are the bonds th...

Brad Clayton joins the show to talk about life, golf, leadership, and his organization “The Brotherhood of Warriors”. Brad mentors and teaches golf to veterans as a means of therapy, and has a charitable organization dedicated to fellowship and golf. He is the recipient of the Decan Palmer award and the author of “Brad Clayton’s Puzzleduck Golf- Migrate to a More Efficient Swing & Game. Brad is a...

Rick joins us as a US Army trained Russian-Eurasian expert to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one year after.    Rick is a former Army Colonel and served at US Embassy Moscow from 2000-2007 leading counterterror, counter-proliferation, and threat reduction cooperation efforts with  Russian Ministries, including the Ministry of Defense.  He was a Harvard University Nati...

Dr. Thomas Williams Joins the show to talk about life, service, and current events. I met Thomas years ago in the Marine Corps and we quickly became friends. Thomas is originally from Canada, where he spent ten years in the Canadian Army in a Highlands Infantry unit. Later, he would come to America with his wife and ultimately serve in the United States Marine Corps. Thomas deployed multiple times...

In The Marine Corps, we don’t have medics. We have warfighters and we have Navy Corpsmen. The warfighters generally wage the war, and the Navy Corpsmen keep them healthy, and should they fall; he patches them back up. The Navy Corpsmen are in many ways the lifeblood of the infantry line. They live, train, fight and die right beside their men. In the Navy, they are referred to as “Green Side Corpsm...

CWO2 Gunner William Callen Joins the show to talk about life, combat, and the pull out from HKIA. There is a wealth of information to take away from this episode. Ranging from the Battle at An Nasiriya to the pullout from Kabul. You don't want to miss this episode!!

Following his retirement from the Army, Grossman founded the Killology Research Group to give seminars about the physiological and the psychological effects of having to use lethal force for law enforcement officers and soldiers. Grossman also speaks at civilian events on ways to reduce violence in society and deal with the aftermath of violent events such as school shootings. As a civilian Grossm...

Michael McCormack joins the show to help us understand his company Eolian and there bleeding-edge technology.  He discusses childhood games and his love tech. There is much to be learned from this interview. From military procurement and contract vehicles, to some of the latest battlefield technology.

In this episode we speak with Jhon Drago. Jhon is a Marine veteran. After getting out of the Marine Corps Jhon has continued his service as a Law Enforcement officer in North Carolina. We discuss the ups an downs of his Marine Corps enlistment and his Law Enforcement service. This is a don't miss episode.

We were honored to sit down with Marine Major Gordon Emmanuel in this episode. Gordon was our Platoon Commander in 2010 for the invasion of Marjah. We dive into Gordon's career in the Marine Corps, highlighting his time in Marjah (2010) and follow-on deployments and duties as well. Gordon is a Marine's Marine. He is the one who always challenges his Marines to do better, never letting them be comf...