Global Recon

Joining me for this week's podcast is Marine Corps veteran Nick Laidlaw. Laidlaw spent seven years in the Marine Corps as an 0311 Rifleman and Security Forces Marine. He wrote the book "What War Did To Us: Ukraine." Providing first-hand accounts of all aspects of the conflict in the first 150 days of the war. Nick runs the popular Instagram account Battles. and. Beers, where he posts photos and vi...

Joining me for this week's podcast is retired Lieutenant Colonel Scott Mann. LTC Mann spent a career as a leader in the Special Forces with multiple tours in Afghanistan. Scott is the author of Operation Pineapple Express, a New York Times Bestseller detailing the effort of a group of retired special operations veterans led by Scott who saved 500 Afghans being hunted by the Taliban. We discussed t...

GRP 167-Black Ops: The Story Of A Cuban Refugees Journey Into The Upper Ranks of the Central Intelligence Agency. Joining me for this week's podcast is Ric Prado. Ric witnessed a firefight at seven in Cuba during Fidel Castro's revolution. After his family fled, they relocated to Miami. Prado would go on to serve as an elite Pararescuemen in the Airforce and spent 24 years at the CIA, retiring at...

Two active-duty Ukrainian Special Forces Operators are joining me for this week's podcast. Back on the show is Mikko, and joining us for the first time is his teammate Quebec. Quebec joined Special Forces in 2014 when the Russians annexed Crimea. He was wounded during a battle in eastern Ukraine, leading to his retirement from the military. He later worked as a security contractor in Afghanistan....

My guest for this week's podcast is retired Marine Corps Major General Arnold Punaro. Punaro went on to serve for 34 years, finishing his career as the Commanding Officer of the 4th Marine Division and reaching the rank of Two Star General. He was shot during a firefight as a young Officer leading Marines against an enemy position in Vietnam. After the war, he went to work for Senator Sam Nunn in...

Joining me for this week's podcast is Marc Polymeropoulos. Marc retired from the Senior Intelligence Service ranks in 2019 after serving for 26 years. He is a highly decorated field officer serving in various leadership roles. His book "Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA" was published in 2021.  He received the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the Intelligence Commendation Me...

For this week's podcast, joining me is the Senior United States Senator from Florida, Marco Rubio. Senator Rubio came on to discuss veterans who have been exposed to toxic burn pits while serving overseas. Many of these veterans are diagnosed with cancer and other rare illnesses at an alarming rate. An issue Senator Rubio is passionate about tackling is human trafficking. We discussed how to prote...

We are currently working on setting up a secure payment system through an American Special Forces veteran ran organization to get donations directly to Mikko’s unit. They will be buying medical supplies, fuel, and other necessities. Joining me for this week's podcast is Mikko. Mikko is an active-duty Ukrainian Special Forces Soldier who has been fighting the Russians since the 2022 invasion began....

GRP 161-Don't Rush To Your Death: A Conversation with An American Tier 1 Operator Joining me for this week's podcast is retired Special Missions Operator Fred Fusco. I did a podcast with Fred five years ago. Fred spent most of his career in Special Operations, serving as a Green Beret Medic before joining the Army Special Missions Unit, where he served as an Assaulter and a Sniper. We talked about...

Joining me for this week's podcast is the Gold Star Wife of Staff Sergeant Bryan Black Michelle Black. SSG Black was killed alongside SFC Jeremiah Johnson, SSG Dustin Wright, and SGT LaDavid Johnson after their Special Forces team was ambushed on October 4th, 2017, in Niger, Africa. After investigating the incident, the military sat down with the Black family to discuss their findings. Michelle fe...

GRP 159-Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change: A CIA Officers fight to bring American Allies home. My guest for this week's podcast is a former CIA Officer, U.S. Army veteran, and author of "Watches Without Time: An American Soldier in Afghanistan." Matt Zeller. Matt is the Co-Founder of No One Left Behind, which works to get American allies out of harm's way in combat zones. Matt has spe...

Episode Summary I have two guests on for this week's podcast. They are the primary instructors at Archon Ready Group, and both served at the Army Special Missions Unit for nearly two decades. Billy Delaporte and Dan Ibach are back on with me. We talked about police shootings, police firearms training, and much more. Enjoy Main Episode Takeaways Weapons manipulation Police involved shootings Grip M...

Episode Summary My guest for this week's podcast is retired Navy SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher. Chief Gallagher completed 20 years in the U.S. Navy, with most of that time spent in the SEAL Teams. He served as a Corpsman and a Sniper. During his final deployment in 2017 to Mosul, Iraq, Gallagher was the Platoon Chief. The objective during this deployment was to work side by side with the Iraqi milita...

Episode Summary My guest for this week's podcast is Command Master Chief Bill Clark. CMC Clark served for four years in the Marine Corps and twenty years with the Navy. He enlisted in the Navy after the September 11th attacks as a Master At Arms to become a Dog Handler. The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) recruited him. He was among the first group of trainers at the command. Over...

Episode Summary Joining me for this week's podcast is author and Army Special Forces combat veteran, John Stryker Meyer. Meyer, served two tours of duty in Vietnam as a Green Beret and member of the highly secretive unit MACV-SOG. SOG fought the secret war in Cambodia, Laos, and North Vietnam. SOG operations often ended with a ten-man team going up against hundreds or thousands of North Vietnamese...

Episode Summary Joining me for this week's podcast is an author and former CIA Targeting Analyst, Sarah Carlson. Sarah's book "In The Dark of War" is her account of the U.S. mission's evacuation in Tripoli, Libya, in 2014, where she served as a CIA officer. The evacuation took 26 hours, with 150 Americans driving out of Libya during a civil war. Accompanied by U.S Marines, they successfully made i...

GRP 152- Joining me for this week's podcast is Marine Corps veteran Yousef Badou. Yousef runs Emergence Disrupt, a training company specializing in Situational Awareness & Behavior Analysis Training. Badou deployed multiple times to Iraq as a U.S. Marine. His father is from Kuwait, where he spent his early years living in Kuwait during the invasion by Saddam Hussein helped shape his path moving fo...

Joining me for this podcast is retired Army Sergeant Major Bill Delaporte. Delaporte is part owner of Archon Ready Group, which teaches marksmanship. Delaporte served in the Army's Special Missions Unit for 17 years, where he became an assault team leader deploying as an operator 13 times. We talked about Bill's army career, the second amendment, and more. Enjoy. Check out Archon Ready Group here:...

My guest for this podcast is Nathan Edmondson, the co-founder and President of EDGE. Eco Defense Group (EDGE) plays a pivotal role in the counter-poaching Rhino war in Africa. Utilizing the skill sets of American Tier 1 Operators, they train and develop counter-poacher and Ranger units combatting poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking in coordination with the office of defense cooperation throu...

GRP 149-My guest for this podcast is Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sergeant Ronald Shurer. Ron passed away due to complications from Lung Cancer on May 14th, 2020. He was 41 years old. I want to extend my condolences to his wife, Miranda, his two boys, my buddy Ryan, his teammates, and co-workers from the Secret Service. Ron deployed twice to Afghanistan as a Medic in the 3rd Special Forces Group...

Joining me for this week’s podcast is a retired Marine Special Operations Task Force Commander Fred Galvin, and Army veteran, gold star wife, and current spouse to a MARSOC Raider Destiny Draher. On January 1st, 2019 Gunnery Sgt. Joshua Negron, Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Draher and Chief Petty Officer Eric Gilmet were assaulted by a drunk former Green Beret working as a civilian contractor in Erbil, Iraq...

Joining me for this week’s podcast is Author and Navy SEAL Will Chesney. Chesney served for 3 years at SEAL Team 4 before screening and being selected to serve as a Tier 1 Operator. He has deployed multiple times as a Dog Handler and Operator until he was medically retired after getting blown up in Afghanistan. The book is the story of Will and his SEAL dog Cairo. Cairo served with Will for multip...

Joining me for this week’s podcast is author and veteran of the war in Syria Ed Nash. Ed, is a civilian from the United Kingdom who spent his early 20’s traveling the world. He would eventually go on to work with the Free Burma Rangers(FBR). The FBR is a volunteer organization led by a former American Special Forces Officer which provides aid to civilians in war zones around the globe. After a few...

GRP 145-Defender That Shall Not be Seen My guest for this week's podcast is Tomer Israeli. Tomer is A veteran captain of the Israeli Defense Forces with over 20 years of both combat and instructional experience. He began his army career in the Sayeret Matkal - '92 Yuval which is Israel's Tier 1 counter-terrorism unit. He later served as a team member in a special recon team (Sayeret Golani - Orev...

GRP 144-Wherever you go, go with all your heart: A MACV-SOG Team Leader at war Co-hosting for this podcast is retired Chief Warrant Officer and 20 year Navy SEAL veteran Ron Mahrs. Our guest is Dr. Henry Thompson. Thompson served for 21 years in the United States Army in various leadership roles. He began his career as a Green Beret joining MACV-SOG running recon operations during the Vietnam war....