The Vanguard Wall Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Director William Kaufman brings Man of War to The Vanguard Wall — a grounded military action thriller set on the opening morning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, starring LaMonica Garrett and out now on digital via Well Go USA. LaMonica Garrett (1883, The Lioness, The Terminal List) plays Connor, a burned-out ex-operator at the lowest point of his life when a girl he's spe...

Send us Fan Mail Seb Lavoie is the most decorated operator most people have never heard of. Over 20 years he went from a French-Canadian kid with no childhood memories to a soldier, a covert air marshal, an ERT tactical operator and team leader, a court-recognized tactical expert, and the Divisional Sergeant Major over 8,200 people — then pride cost him his leg, and faith rebuilt him. Hostage resc...

Send us Fan Mail Hugh Mills flew the OH-6 “Loach” as a low-level aeroscout in Vietnam — statistically the most dangerous flying job of the war. Shot down 16 times, three Silver Stars, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Purple Hearts. Author of the classic memoir Low Level Hell . 📖 Low Level Hell: https://a.co/d/0glrcnww CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Introduction — how Greg Coker connected them + “Low L...

Send us Fan Mail At Tora Bora in December 2001, Gary Harrington sat on one of the closest American observation posts to Osama bin Laden — close enough, he says, to watch the bombs he was calling in streak past the ridge sideways. Then the war handed him to the CIA, and he spent the next decade hunting the same enemy from the inside. Harrington is the rare operator who wore the uniform six differen...

Send us Fan Mail Senior Master Sergeant Aaron Love — Air Force Pararescueman, 22 years, five combat deployments — is the first PJ ever on The Vanguard Wall. Fewer than 500 people have earned the maroon beret. The pipeline carries a 91% attrition rate — the longest special operations selection pipeline in the DoD. In 2002, Aaron quit on a pool deck at Indoc. He'd made it through Hell Night. He...

Send us Fan Mail Marine vet Johnny Raushi joined the Corps at 17 for a free skateboard sticker. Four years later he came home broke, picked up change in a gas station parking lot, and sold his plasma twice a week to fund the first batches of a pomade he was perfecting on his stovetop. That pomade became Johnny Slicks — an 8-figure American manufacturing company employing 30+ people out of a North...

Send us Fan Mail The last C-17 lifted off Kabul's runway at 11:59 PM on August 30, 2021. The man who gave the order — and made the radio call "Math Safe" that officially ended America's longest war — tells the full story for the first time. Colonel Alex Pelbath (USAF, Ret.) commanded SOUL-2, the only C-17 Special Operations unit in the world, and served as Air Mission Commander...

Send us Fan Mail Thinking about buying a home or refinancing? Nuwave built a dedicated page specifically for Vanguard Wall listeners so you can connect directly with the team assigned to our audience: https://nuwaveanchor.com/i/thevanguardwall If this episode brought you value, drop a comment below — we'd love to know what you're implementing. What does it take to fuel the most elite lig...

Send us Fan Mail Thinking about buying a home or refinancing? Nuwave built a dedicated page specifically for Vanguard Wall listeners so you can connect directly with the team assigned to our audience: https://nuwaveanchor.com/i/thevanguardwall In August of 1968, Travis W. Mills was shot five times in a single engagement at FOB 4 — the deadliest night in the history of U.S. Army Special Forces. He...

Send us Fan Mail Thinking about buying a home or refinancing? Nuwave built a dedicated page specifically for Vanguard Wall listeners so you can connect directly with the team assigned to our audience: https://nuwaveanchor.com/i/thevanguardwall CW2 Kyle Steiner — 173rd Airborne, Korengal Valley combat veteran, and 7th Special Forces Group operator — joins The Vanguard Wall for a full-length documen...

Send us Fan Mail He fought in Fallujah at 21. He carried a diplomatic passport in Moscow. He investigated explosives for the ATF. And then he walked away from all of it — sold his house, pulled his kids out of school, flew to Panama, and bought a sailboat. In Part 2 of this conversation, Eric Shlevy picks up where the war ended and takes us through every chapter most people never get to hear: emba...

Send us Fan Mail On November 22nd, 2004, a photograph appeared on the cover of Time Magazine — a young Marine, 21 years old, face locked in a primal scream in the middle of the push on Fallujah, Iraq. That Marine was Eric Shelvy. And if you think you know where his story goes from there, you're wrong. Eric grew up in St. Louis — Catholic schools, divorced parents, weekends riding in his fathe...

Send us Fan Mail Chane Jackson was told he'd never make it past eighth grade. A teacher gave him an "H" on a paper because an F wasn't low enough. He never made honor roll once. Fast forward: West Point graduate. 75th Ranger Regiment. Green Beret commander. Five combat deployments. Over 100 direct action missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Three Bronze Stars. Fluent in Arabic. An...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to go from a self-described "nerdy drama club kid" to leading Green Beret teams in Iraq? And what kind of man walks away from a 20-year Special Forces career to pursue seminary? This is the story of Major Evan Perperis. Evan spent two decades in the US Army — Ranger School, SEER, Pathfinder, Special Forces Qualification Course, and four combat deploymen...

Send us Fan Mail 🔥 This is the story Hollywood doesn't want you to hear. Cody Bobay went from being an alcoholic 13-year-old in a broken home to encountering God in a Navy barracks—and his entire life changed in ONE SECOND. Now he's fighting to take back Hollywood one film at a time. From nuclear warfare missions to battling depression, from marriage crisis to standing up against church...

Send us Fan Mail What do you do when you've lost everything—your family, your future, your will to live? For Matt Kuiper, founder of Desert Plunge, the answer came in the form of 38-degree water. This is the story of a man who went from two DUIs and jail time to building one of the fastest-growing cold plunge companies in America—and how he discovered that our darkest moments can become our g...

Send us Fan Mail Bob Porras served 20 years in Delta Force before joining the CIA's Global Response Staff, where he spent another decade protecting intelligence operations in the world's most dangerous places. In this conversation, Bob shares the reality behind the headlines—from the Benghazi aftermath to evacuating the Tripoli embassy in 2014, earning the CIA's highest medal in the...

Send us Fan Mail Few operators earn the right to walk away from Delta Force on their own terms. Bob "Ninja" Porras did exactly that—after building a legendary career from nothing. This episode covers Bob's journey from Los Angeles to becoming one of Delta Force's most respected operators. Starting as an Army engineer, he battled bureaucracy, survived Panama combat operations, e...

Send us Fan Mail From a 12-year-old kid in Montana wearing hand-me-downs to Command Sergeant Major—this is the story of what happens when you almost lose everything, and the fallen hero who saved you one last time. Command Sergeant Major Michael Burke (Ret.) served 14 deployments, completed 1,000+ combat operations, and rose from struggling private to the top enlisted ranks. But on October 22, 201...

Send us Fan Mail A 16-year-old mom. No father. A troubled Montana kid who didn't fit anywhere. Three days after graduation, he shipped out to become an Army Ranger—and almost quit before the war even started. Retired Command Sergeant Major Mike Burke takes us inside the pre-9/11 Ranger Regiment—when money was tight, morale was low, and the mission wasn't clear. He shares the brutal truth...

Send us Fan Mail The Vanguard Wall Podcast Presents: The Quiet Professional - The MSG Gregory Trent Series (Final Episode) In this emotional series finale, Command Sergeant Major Kevin Robbins (ODA 3422) shares his perspective as a member of the sister team that fought alongside MSG Gregory Trent's ODA 3424 during their 2012 deployment to Afghanistan's Herat Province. The Sister Team&apo...

Send us Fan Mail 🎯 THE UNTOLD STORY FROM THE BATTLEFIELD Former Green Beret Warrant Officer Mike Swenson breaks his silence about one of the most devastating days in Special Operations history. On July 31st, 2012, his team leader and brother-in-arms Master Sergeant Gregory Trent was shot in Afghanistan. 💥 WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER: The moment everything changed on that July day in 2012 What it&a...

Send us Fan Mail 🎖️ BROTHERHOOD BEYOND DEATH 🎖️ When Master Sergeant Gregory Trent was shot in Afghanistan in 2012, his teammate Dovid risked everything to save him. What happened next will restore your faith in American heroes. This is the untold story of ODA 3424 - the Special Forces team that epitomized what it means to be a "quiet professional." For over a decade, these Green Berets...

Send us Fan Mail This Episode is sponsored by Dr Taylor Bosley Precision Wellness Group Full Hormone Optimization https://www.precisionwellnessgroup.com/contact Mention Vanguard20 for 20% off initial consultation A British kid lands in America 24 hours before 9/11. One month later, he's enlisting in the US Army. This is Kevin Garrad's story. Born in London, Kevin arrived in the United St...

Send us Fan Mail 🎖️ The voice you've heard across the internet. The heart you've never seen. Command Sergeant Major David Waldo - the top enlisted leader overseeing ALL five active duty Green Beret groups and two National Guard groups - delivers his most powerful interview yet in honor of Master Sergeant Gregory Trent, KIA Afghanistan 2012. What CSM Waldo reveals: His viral definition: &...