Hazard Ground

After graduating from the United States Naval Academy, Mark Treanor served as a Marine Corps rifle platoon leader in Vietnam, when some of the heaviest fighting took place. Years later, Mark would write a book about his experience in Vietnam. But, it's not your typical book about one's Vietnam combat experience. It's a novel, written through the lens of someone who lived through the worst in human...

Brian Fleming joined the Infantry during a time of war to serve his country and test his mettle. He ended up getting a little more than he probably bargained for, but still understood the risks, serving in combat with honor. Brian was blown up twice while deployed to Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division. The second blast was from a suicide bomber, just three feet away from Brian. Hear how B...

We have our second Canadian Armed Forces guest on the podcast this week! Ian Cantelo is a Sacrifice Medal recipient - Canada's version of the Purple Heart - due to injuries sustained after he was blown up multiple times while serving in Afghanistan. His injuries would nearly end his tour early, but undeterred by injury, Ian returned to the Panjwai district of Kandahar province to finish out his co...

This week’s episode is about Richard Flaherty, the smallest known man to serve in the U.S. military in recent history. Richard served as a Green Beret in Vietnam, among other incredible ventures, earning two Bronze Stars and a Silver Star for actions in combat. Later in life Richard was killed in a hit and run on the streets of Miami where he lived a good portion of his life after leaving the mili...

Henry Hughes' family tradition of military service dates all the way back to the American Revolution. For him, he chose the Army and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He served multiple combat tours with the 173rd, including one at COP Keating - the infamous outpost we've covered in several previous episodes - in 2008. When Hughes left the Army, it was to pursue a new passion - filmmaking. He has since...

Eddie Wright's story is pretty insane! In 2004, he and his small element of Marines were ambushed in Iraq. Eddie immediately lost just about 100% of his physical ability to fight back. Calm and alert through the entire firefight that followed, Eddie remained a leader on the battlefield, directing other Marines returning fire and guiding those rendering aid. Despite the loss of two limbs, Eddie wou...

Nick Rucker is a veteran of two combat deployments - one to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. Those deployments didn't come without a price. After returning home, Nick struggled with Post Traumatic Stress and alcoholism - two powerful adversaries that required the will to fight, even after the wars for him were over. Nick is now a touring country songwriter and singer, an author, and most important of...

For our first episode released in both audio and video formats with our partners at Kill Cliff, Greg "Billy Bob" Thornton & Raymond "Donk" Strasburger - both Air Force A-10 pilots - take us through one of the most harrowing combat missions at the onset of the Iraq War in early 2003.  Both pilots flew their A-10s through a blinding sandstorm, in a white-knuckle effort to provide critical close air...

Brian Ribera is a retired Navy SEAL and the founder and president of Military Mobility - a non-profit, adventure-based organization that specializes in off-road expeditions and resiliency training for veterans. Military Mobility's mission is to "put clients in a team environment which fosters camaraderie, trust, and inspires the realization that any challenge - no matter how great - can be overcom...

As we wrap up an extensive look at COP Keating and the Battle of Kamdesh, which occurred on October 3rd, 2009, in Afghanistan, Zachary Koppes takes us on an intense and sometimes hilarious/sometimes heartbreaking journey through the day-long battle and its aftermath. Koppes spent the entire day in the fight, firing his MK 19 grenade launcher at enemy targets while trying to avoid being hit by a sn...

Jeff Depatie is the first ever Canadian servicemember we've had on the podcast. The man was born to be a warrior, spending his career in the Canadian Armed Forces as a sniper/assaulter in JTF 2 - an extremely high-readiness and precise, tier one special operations forces unit. JTF 2's mission is to protect Canadian national interests and combat terrorism and threats to Canadians at home and abroad...

This week, another detailed look at COP Keating and the October 3rd, 2009 Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan with Chris Jones. Chris was an Infantry soldier in Red Platoon, Bravo Troop 3-61 Cav. He was also one of the five guys who volunteered for Clint Romesha's small team to take back the outpost against overwhelming odds. Jones talks about the intense battle that unfolded that day in October 2009...

This week we return to COP Keating and the Battle of Kamdesh, which took place on October 3rd, 2009 in Afghanistan. Kyle Knight was a Forward Observer in Red Platoon, Bravo Troop 3-61 Cav. Kyle offers an unvarnished perspective of what life was like on Keating before the overwhelming October 3rd attack, the leadership failures that lead to it, and the hours fighting on the ground to win back Ameri...

Dr. Shauna Springer's father raised his kids like a drill instructor - up at 5 a.m. three times a week to run miles in the dark at a local track. That kind of activity at an early age, along with solo mission service trips to foreign countries starting at the age of 10, may just have been the spark that started Dr. Springer on a path to understanding the psychological trauma veterans face on and o...

Dale Rider deployed to Iraq as a bridge crew member of an Engineer unit initially assigned to advise and assist the Iraqi's, after the war had theoretically ended. So, naturally, in the middle of the Iraq mission, his small detachment would head into Syria for a different mission. Dale shares his experiences with that sudden change of mission, and the struggle to deal with some of its side effects...

Once again, we step outside the bounds of the typical HAZARD GROUND guest to tell Char Fontan Westfall's story. Char is the wife of the late Navy SEAL, Jacques Fontan. Jacques was killed while attempting to rescue survivors of Operation Red Wings, the ill-fated reconnaissance mission in June 2005 in Afghanistan, that left one lone survivor. Char talks about receiving the news of her husband's deat...

GORUCK founder Jason McCarthy went from Green Beret to building a 100 million dollar company, starting with just a napkin sketch of a rucksack that could withstand the abuse of war torn Baghdad and still look good on the streets of any major city. Along with a backpack company he also started a global movement to get people outside rucking, adventuring, and forming community through his GORUCK Cha...

Retired Air Force Colonel, Joe "Spoon" Rizzuto has had one of the most interesting careers a military pilot could have. The Air Force Academy grad started out flying C-130s in Alaska - something he wasn't initially thrilled about, but he describes as extremely rewarding and beneficial as a young pilot. He would eventually go from the C-130 to flying both the A-10 and Reaper and Predator drone airc...

For Tonya Oxendine the Army offered an escape from a rough upbringing - a chance for a better life. Although not without extreme hardships and challenges, Tonya embraced the military, using the trauma she experienced in it and after, to become an incredible leader who has made it her life's mission to take care of others. She served over two decades -  including several years in the 82nd Airborne...

Our conversation this week is simply about service - service in combat, and continued service when the uniform comes off. David Smith is a former Navy Corpsman who served in combat in Afghanistan. When an aspiring career in the Navy was cut short, David found another way to serve his country. Ultimately he started an organization called, CONTINUE TO SERVE. Through this organization, he brings toge...

Grant Broggi didn't take the typical route to the Marine Corps. The extra time he took before ultimately joining meant he entered the Marines with life experience - a key attribute in forming who he would become as a leader of Marines. And the experience he gained from leading Marines in combat would eventually pay dividends when he became a strength coach, preparing Marines for combat as well as...

When Rod Lurie immigrated to the United States at a young age, he was taken by what he saw when he visited The United States Military Academy at West Point for the first time. Beyond the institution, he knew attending West Point would provide a means to pay back the country that welcomed him from abroad. Whether his decision to ultimately go to West Point was right or wrong, Lurie has found that h...

Ryan Hendrickson doesn't know when to quit. If you've served alongside Ryan in combat, that's probably a good thing. Ryan Hendrickson is a retired Green Beret, leaving the Army as an E-7 in January of 2020. Before joining the Army, Hendrickson enlisted and served in both the Navy and the Air Force, until he found his true calling in Special Forces. As a Green Beret demolitions expert, he would fin...

Donat "Dan" Le Blanc lost his right arm while fighting in Vietnam as a Marine aircraft machine gunner. Service was in his blood; his father was a World War II veteran and POW. So when it was his generation's calling to combat service, Le Blanc joined the Marines. He cites the 1957 film, "The DI" with Jack Webb as a major source of inspiration for joining the Corps. But, Le Blanc's time in Vietnam...

There's no better story for Episode 200! Daniel Rodriguez entered the Army shortly after losing his father at the age of 18. He joined the Infantry and was almost immediately thrust into one of the worst positions to be in as a new soldier in combat: the replacement for another soldier who had been killed in Iraq. Although it was a rough start, the unit he ended up with would ultimately be the gro...