Hazard Ground

Byron Rodgers is a dedicated Executive Protection Agent, Video Blogger, Published Author, and Veteran with a decade of private security experience across over 60 countries. A former US Marine Corps infantry Squad Leader with two deployments to Iraq, Byron transitioned seamlessly to civilian life, becoming an Executive Protection Agent and authoring "Finding Meaning After the Military." Byron serve...

Theresa Carpenter is an active-duty Navy Commander with 27 years of service, including 10 years as an enlisted aviation electrician on the S-3B Viking aircraft. She currently serves as public affairs branch head for the maritime arm of NATO, responsible for all seagoing operations under its oversight. Upon her commissioning in 2006, she became a Surface Warfare Officer and was subsequently accepte...

Gary Volkman spent a total of 24 years in the U.S. Army, between active duty and the Army National Guard. Gary served as a military technician and retired as a first sergeant. He was a combat medic and a flight medic who had multiple deployments, including Afghanistan and Bosnia. Gary also spent time in his career teaching Rescue and recently retired as a firefighter in the state of California. Su...

Lieutenant Colonel Jason Smith retired from the US Marine Corps on 1 Sept 2016 after 22 years of service.  He joined the Marine Corps in January of 1995 after graduating from Louisiana State University. As an infantry officer, Jason commanded Marines at every rank during his service, including two combat deployments to Iraq as a company commander. He was in charge of Marine Corps recruiting for th...

David Hollis grew up in a small town in eastern Oklahoma that was little more than a fuel stop along Interstate 40. At the age of seventeen, he resolved that his escape from the purgatory of middle America would be to join the U.S. Army. Throughout his Army career, David served in tough units, completed challenging leadership and tactical training courses, deployed to five countries, and led 189 c...

Dan Kostrzebski was born and raised in rural western New York State. His humble, small-town beginnings blossomed into a noteworthy 40 years of military and government service. While working his way up the enlisted ranks, Dan served in various Military Occupational Skills, including Military Police, Ordinance, and Special Operations, finishing his military career with the infamous 5th Special Force...

Ayman Kafel survived civil wars in Africa and Lebanon before immigrating to the United States in 1988. After witnessing the horrors of September 11, 2001, Ayman enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard and deployed to Iraq in 2005. While there, he conducted over 30,000 miles of combat patrols and military missions. He coordinated and worked with various units in the Army due to his ability to spea...

After an inter-service transfer and cross-commissioning from the U.S. Air Force to the U.S. Navy in 1992, John Doolittle transferred into the Navy. From 1996 to 2017, John was assigned to various SEAL Teams and conducted multiple deployments throughout the European, African, Pacific, and Middle East theaters of operations. Most of his Navy career was focused on our military’s reaction to 9/11; a b...

New York Times bestselling author Dan Schilling, Lt. Col., USAF (ret.) spent more than 30 years in special operations, primarily as a Combat Controller and Special Tactics Officer, but began his military service as an infantry paratrooper. His numerous combat, clandestine, rescue and humanitarian missions have taken him around the world and include Operation Gothic Serpent, popularly known as Blac...

A decorated combat veteran with multiple deployments, LT. Col. Jason Pike, served 31 years in the US Army including nine years overseas in five countries. Jason earned over 30 service awards & badges and his diversity of Army jobs, assignments, and schools from age 17 to 48. His book A Soldier Against All Odds compiles all his life events in an inspiring storytelling format with the ups and downs...

Allison Jaslow is an Iraq War Veteran, nationally-recognized veterans advocate, dedicated public servant, and the CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). A former Army Captain, Allison was branched as a Quartermaster Officer which in the Post-9/11 wartime environment meant she'd quickly become a multi-functional logistician, including becoming a guntruck platoon commander on her fi...

Jamie Efaw graduated from West Point with a BS in Psychology in 1993. He retired from the Army in 2019 and transitioned from the Army using the resources of the COMMIT Foundation. Jamie’s military assignments include numerous jobs with Army Engineers, serving as a professor at West Point, and various jobs within Psychological Operations. Jamie was selected for command at the company, battalion and...

Aubrey McDade served in the United States Marine Corps for over 18 years on active duty, until he was medically retired. For his actions in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004, Aubrey was awarded the Navy Cross; becoming the 2nd African American to receive the award since Doris Miller of World War II and the first African American to receive the Navy Cross post 9/11. Aubrey currently serves as the Vice Preside...

Brady Myers joined the U.S. Marines at 18 and served as an Infantry Mortarman. After leaving the military, Brady worked as a private security contractor and pursued a career in law enforcement. After leaving law enforcement, due to the political climate, Brady found his passion in the recruiting space. He is the Director of Recruiting for Corehire, a veteran owned business that places veterans and...

Major General Patrick Donahoe, US Army Retired, culminated more than 33 and a half years in uniform as the Commanding General of the US Army Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning. He entered the retired rolls on January 1, 2023. General Donahoe served as a career Armor and Cavalry Officer and served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kuwait, Jordan, Germany and Korea as well as throughout the...

Jacob Edwards started his professional career in 2003 as a Combat Engineer/Sapper in the United States Marine Corps. Jacob served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant from the Marine Corps Reserves in 2009. In 2010, he was hired as a civilian Combat Skills Instructor to help support requirements for military troops deploying to hostile/austere environments. In 2012...

Heidi Langbein-Allen is an author and the daughter of a former soldier in the German army. Heidi wrote a book titled, 'Save The Last Bullet - Memoir of a Boy Soldier in Hitler's Army'. The book is a story of how her father was taken away by the Nazis at thirteen years old during World War II and sent off to fight in the German army for the Third Reich against the Americans. https://www.heidilangbe...

While growing up in San Jacinto, CA, Jeremy Stalnecker's only goal in life was to leave home and join the Marine Corps. This dream was finally realized with an active duty commission in 1999. While in the Marine Corps, God was working in Jeremy’s life to turn his heart toward full-time ministry. Just one month after returning from Iraq, Jeremy became a staff member of his home church at Coastline...

Jim Morphew spent ten years in the U.S. Coast Guard and ended it as an MK 3 - Machinist Technician, 3rd Class. From drug busts to ventures out into sea with the Coast Guard, Jim joins the Hazard Ground Podcast to share his journey and experiences. Support the podcast by supporting our sponsors at www.hazardground.com/sponsors Shop Amazon! As an Amazon Associate We Earn From Qualifying Purchases......

Daniel Lombard, is a U.S. Army combat veteran, co-founder of Project Refit, and current student of Psychology at Rowan University. He was named one of South Jersey's men of the year in 2021. Daniel was a team leader and participated in over 150 combat missions. During his military career, he was involved in two IED explosions. The worst of his injuries were TBI and PTSD. https://www.projectrefit.u...

Jon Macaskill is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL Commander turned consultant and mindfulness and meditation teacher. During his 24-year Navy career, he served in multiple highly dynamic leadership positions from the battlefield to the operations center and the board room. Jon served in Iraq, Afghanistan, off the coast of Somalia, and in Panama. After retiring, he served briefly as the Deputy Executive Di...

Chad Russell is a former U.S. Marine who left the Marine Corps as a Sergeant. Serving in the corps for four and a half years, Chad served three different deployments to Iraq. Chad's journey involves a personal story of a flag he lost on his deployment that he would later find again and eventually be able to bring it back home. Support the podcast by supporting our sponsors at www.hazardground.com/...

Charlie Faint served over 27 years in the Army’s Infantry and Military Intelligence branches. After graduating from Georgia Military College and commissioning through the ROTC program at Mercer University, he did his Infantry time in the 101st Airborne Division and served two tours with the Second Infantry Division in Korea after his Military Intelligence transition. Charlie also completed seven c...

Colonel (Ret) P.J. Dermer’s active-duty Army career spanned 30 years and was spread over a breadth of challenging spectrums, including national levels of the U.S. government and multiple international hazardous duty and combat tours. Extending his energies to his post-military career, P.J. has worked veterans’ issues across the spectrum. He is a member of the Wounded Warrior Program, Mission Conti...

Mark Campbell graduated from Fordham University and has been in the U.S. Marine Corps for over 26 years in both active duty and the reserves. During his time in the Marines, Mark has had two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. He is currently still serving in the corps as the Amphibious Operations Planner for the National Defense University (NDU) Center for Applied Strategic Learning (CASL...