Hazard Ground

When Marty Skovlund joined the military, he knew right from the start he wanted to be a part of the best the Army had to offer.  He wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself...and Marty is not a small man.  So after Infantry School, he earned a coveted spot in the 75th Ranger Regiment, one of the most elite units in the United States Military.  While in the Ranger Regiment, Marty served...

As a Marine, Jonathan Hancock experienced some of the worst fighting of the Iraq War in 2004 in Ar Ramadi.  That year started off fairly peaceful, and it looked as if an extended American presence in Iraq would not be needed.  Then, all hell broke loose, and Ramadi offered some of the fiercest fighting the Marines would see.  Jon survived combat, but when he came home, like most of his fellow 2/4...

Part II of our episode w/ David S. Williams.  Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you followed the news during the start of the war in Iraq in 2003, you probably remember the two Apache pilots that were shot down behind enemy lines during the first weeks of the war.  One of those pilots was Chief Warrant Officer David S. Williams, and his story was chronicled on several news outlets following his rescue.  But what you didn't hear was a detailed account of his time in captivi...

Nate Boyer has lived anything but an ordinary life.  Primarily because he's a man who knows how to set goals and achieve them.  Not just any goals either; we're talking big goals.  In early 2005, after working as a volunteer at refugee camps in Africa, he came back to the US and joined the Army, becoming a Green Beret in 2006.  After serving in combat as a Green Beret, he decided to work toward ac...

If you're looking for inspiration, a leader, or someone with true grit, look no further than Brigadier General (Ret) Becky Halstead.  She is a leader and a trailblazer through and through.  There aren't enough words to describe how great this woman is...You just have to listen.  It was truly an honor to have her on our show, and this is definitely one episode you don't want to miss!!  www.beckyhal...

On Christmas Day 2006, Navy Corpsman Dustin Kirby was shot through the jaw by a sniper in Iraq.  Up to that point, Kirby had worked tirelessly on the battlefield to save the lives of several Marines who he served with as their first-line source of medical care in combat.  The sniper's bullet is what eventually took Kirby off the battlefield, and left him with a decade or so of chronic pain, depres...

Joshua Brandon served three combat tours in Iraq, for which he was awarded the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars with Valor.  He served ten years in the Army as an Infantry Officer.  But when he came home from combat, he soon realized he was battling another enemy; one from within.  In 2007, he was diagnosed with PTSD and has since battled with the effects of PTSD and a traumatic brain injury (TBI)...

Part II of our episode w/ Justin Watt.  Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's war.  It's what we can only imagine hell to be like, and Justin Watt lived through it.  His story is eye-opening and shaded by the dark narratives and hard choices that only war can draw out.  He was a member of the 101st Airborne Division's renowned 502nd Infantry Regiment, serving as an infantryman in Iraq's "Triangle of Death" in 2005-06.  His unit suffered unimaginable losses during their...

When a U.S. Army Colonel told a young Shannon Polson that she would never fly an attack aircraft, she set out to prove him wrong.  As a matter of fact she became one of the Army's first female Apache pilots, and the first woman Apache pilot assigned to a line unit in the XVIII Airborne Corps.  Serving overseas multiple times, she lead two flight platoons and a line company.  When her time in the A...

For several years, Brian Castner performed one of the military's most difficult and dangerous jobs: he was an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician.  Not only was he an EOD tech, but he was also an officer, leading a team of bomb disposal experts, and ultimately responsible for every decision they made in combat.  He served two combat tours in Iraq as the leader of an EOD unit.  But, when h...

On December 19, 2005, Noah Galloway was driving the lead truck in a small convoy when his vehicle was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Iraq's "Triangle of Death."  Taking the brunt of the blast, Galloway was severely injured and ended up losing his left arm and leg.  The loss of two limbs devastated the former standout athlete and fitness guru.  So much so that it sent him into a...

Many people know the story behind the Battle of Mogadishu, immortalized in the book and film, Black Hawk Down.  Rarely though, does one get the opportunity to see it from a different perspective; from one of the soldiers who fought and lived through that harrowing day in 1993.  Matt Eversmann (portrayed by Josh Hartnett in the film Black Hawk Down), not only survived that battle, but went on to sh...