American Warrior Radio

Havok Journal editor Scott Faith joins us for a regular update. Scott is currently an active duty officer with half a dozen combat deployments. He writes under a pseudonym. We begin with one of the first articles he published for Havok Journal, “What Veterans Are (Still) Owed on 4th of July”. The article caused quite a stir because in Scott’s opinion his fellow citizens don’t owe him anything. He doesn’t expect free drinks or store discounts and is perfectly okay with fireworks. He finds THOSE yard signs particularly vexing because they feed into the dysfunctional Veteran subculture. We agree that our government DOES owe Veterans fulfillment of the contract they signed including functional healthcare and full payment of their pensions. Military recruiting shortfalls are an issue that should concern us all. Some are even questioning the sustainability of the all-volunteer force concept.  The numbers are startling. Of the pool of 31.8 million age appropriate persons, only approximately 465,000 meet academic/f

Shadow Tier author Steve Snyder served in the White House Communications Office, worked with the Secret Service and earned his Green Beret.  Much of that experience is reflected in the pages of his first published book. While in Army basic training at Fort Ord, a group of men wearing suits and sporting non-regulation hair addressed his class asking for volunteers for a special assignment. Steve figured wearing suits sure beat crawling around in the mud. He would become a member of the White House Communications Agency. This is a multi-service unit that provides communications support for the White House staff both in Washington and around the world. His experience made for a natural transition to becoming a technical support member for the US Secret Service. One year he was on the road for 300 days.  Steve entered the private sector as a contractor and then decided to earn his Green Beret as a member of a National Guard Special Forces Unit. The Guard operates two Special Forces units – the 19th & 20th in Ut

“Shot Down” tells the story of the crew of the “Susan Ruth”, a WWII B-17 shot down on Feb. 8, 1944 over the French/Belgium Border. The name was given to the aircraft by Pilot Howard Snyder in honor of his young daughter. Steve Snyder, Howard’s son, has written a meticulously researched and detailed book that describes the lives of the crew members and their harrowing months in hiding from German forces. The book also tells the stories of the brave Belgian citizens who risked all to keep the American crew members safe. Steve had a great deal of material to work with in putting together Shot Down. He had diaries and correspondence from the crew members as well as interviews with his father Howard before he died. There were also some surprises. He was able to get in contact with the German aviator who was one of the pilots that shot down his father’s plane. (Both German fighters were also shot down by the B-17 in that action.) A random Facebook message also put him in touch with the granddaughter of one of the

Sentinels of Freedom began as a way of honoring young people choosing to join the military out of high school.   Following the 9/11 attacks, Mike Conklin and his group realized that some of these young people would be coming home severely injured and would likely need extra help.  Their first “Sentinel” had been run over by a tank. Mike’s group arranged for a donated four year apartment lease, a car, furniture and everything he would need to start his life over. Since formally incorporating as a non-profit in 2007, Sentinels of Freedom has provided individually tailored assistance to 678 severely injured Veterans, mostly through their “Bridge for Education” program. This program fills gaps in funding not covered by the VA programs. Average investment per Veteran is $55,163. Mike chuckles when he recalls the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff telling him if the government ran a similar program it would probably cost $500,000 per Veteran. Mike says they are seeking young men & women who have attitude, apti

D-Day was the greatest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare and one that that Harper Coleman will never forget. A member of the 4th Infantry Division, he landed in the first wave at Utah beach carrying a 30 pound machine gun over his head. Harper just celebrated his 100th birthday and joins us to share his memories of D-Day and the other major battles he was part of as his unit moved across Europe. Suzanne Ryan is an avid historian. She regularly takes Veterans and their families back for tours of the Normandy landing areas. This past August Suzanne took Harper back to Utah Beach for the first time since the war. French armor divisions were assigned to take the lead in liberating Paris but the 4th was attached. Harper recalls that the French troops may have begun celebrating a bit early and US soldiers were tasked with clearing the remaining Nazi forces. His unit fought in both the Battle of Hurtgen Forest and the Battle of the Bulge. Hurtgen was the longest battle fought on German soil during the

Veteran Jennifer Marshall attended high school in a “one stoplight” town so it didn’t take much convincing from the Navy recruiter to get her to join. She never imagined that someday she would appear in several Hollywood productions, host a television series and own her own private investigations firm. Jennifer started as a logistics specialist and also served on the fire and ship security defense support teams aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. She had planned on making a career of the Navy but adverse reactions to vaccines on a Gulf War deployment forced her to leave at the five year mark. She decided to join the Los Angeles police department but was injured in the 14th week at the academy.  At that point she decided to pursue acting. Some of her roles include the TV series General Hospital, Hawaii Five-O, Jack Reacher and Stranger Things. We discuss some of the challenges she faced breaking into Hollywood including the odd remark “You don’t LOOK like a Veteran.” Jennifer says she has no problem playing m

Folds of Honor Executive Vice President of Operations and Relationships Col. James “Nick” Nichols joins us to share their story and how all of us can support this honorable cause. Folds of Honor provides scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service members. To date they have granted 35,000 scholarships with an educational impact in excess of $160 million. The idea for Folds of Honor came to Founder Lt. Col. Dan Rooney through an experience on an airline flight after returning from his second deployment. As he boarded, he noticed a Corporal in Army dress greens sitting in first class. Upon landing, the pilot announced that they were carrying the remains of a fallen service member, Corporal Brock Bucklin. The soldier in first class was his twin brother Corporal Brad Bucklin, bringing his brother’s remains home. Dan witnessed Brock’s wife and young son greeting the flag draped coffin. Dan knew that that young man would have a huge gap in his life going forward and the rest of us

Carry the Load co-founders Stephen Holley and Clint Bruce are both Navy SEAL Veterans. The idea for their initiative was born out of anger and frustration, feeling that Americans  were drifting away from the original purpose of Memorial Day.  On Memorial Day 2010 Clint decided to undergo physical pain as an emotional purge. He loaded his pack with one pound for every comrade he had lost. During that walk he encountered a WWII Veteran who asked him; “Who are you carrying son?” Stephen joins us to share more information about their organization. Stephen and Clint organized their first Carry the Load walk in 2011. The event raised $100,000. Their intent was to just organize a Memorial Day event but it has since grown to a year round series of activities across 48 states. Carry the Load has raised over $33 million for Veteran and First Responder charities. Interestingly, their grassroots growth has principally been driven by the 99% or our population who never served. Their goal this Memorial Day is to raise $2

Coffee or Die Executive Editor Marty Skovlund, Jr. had two aspirations in High School; play for the NBA and become an Army Ranger. The Los Angeles Lakers never called but he did earn a Ranger tab. The idea that someday he would be doing “classic Ernie Pyle” journalism never crossed his mind. Marty founded The Havok Journal to give a voice to the Veteran community.  Later, he approached Evan Hafer (a fellow soldier and Founder/CEO of Black Rifle Coffee Company) about starting a media arm of Black Rifle. Coffee of Die launched in June of 2018. Their website receives 2 million visits per month and their YouTube channel has generated 13 million views so far this year. Marty says he left Afghanistan with a rifle and returned with a camera. His reporting for Coffee or Die has also taken him to Iraq and he recently returned from Ukraine. He shares what he witnessed in that conflict. “In Ukraine they are fighting for their very existence. Even common citizens have taken up arms.” One of his most compelling series

“Richard Eager: A Pilot’s Story From Tennessee Eagle Scout to General Montgomery’s Flying Fortress” is the product of a 13 year  long collaboration between a World War II B-17 pilot and his family.  Because Richard Evans was such a gung-ho air cadet and an Eagle Scout at heart, one of his fellow cadets began calling him Richard “Eager” and the nickname stuck. Unlike many World War II Veterans, Richard often regaled his family with stories of his time in the service. At their urging he sat down, and over the course of three years penned a 21 chapter manuscript. However, he was never able to get it published. Upon Richard’s death in 2006 his daughter Barbara Evans Kinnear made it her personal mission to get her father’s story into print. 100% of the proceeds from book sales benefit the Air Force Aid Society. One of the more interesting aspects of Richard’s service included being selected to fly a B-17 that was “won” by British General Bernard Montgomery in a “bet” with General Eisenhower.  Captain Richard “Ea

Pin-Ups for Vets founder Gina Elise began to hear news stories about Iraq war Veterans needing medical care and she wanted to do something creative to help. Her grandfather served in WWII and Gina had always been a fan of that era’s pin-up art.  So in 2006 she decided to create a classy, 1940’s style pin-up calendar to raise money for Veterans. After donating $5,000 in proceeds from the first calendar to a local Veteran’s hospital, she began to get inquiries about the next calendar. Gina also heard from female veterans looking to volunteer. She saw this as an opportunity to empower them and shift perspectives about what a Veteran is. In the words of one model; “There’s nothing that says I can’t be a hard charging Marine AND a lipstick wearing pin-up. So I choose to be both.” Pin-Ups for Vets just released their 17th calendar and have donated over $100,000 to purchase rehab equipment for Veterans hospitals. In addition to shipping the calendars to troops deployed overseas, Gina and her Ambassadors embarked o

Today, John “Lucky” Luckadoo is the last surviving member of the 100th Bomb Group from World War II.  Most of the bomber crews of the 100th only survived 5 missions, earning the group the unenviable nickname “The Bloody Hundredth". It not until 50 years after the end of the war that John began to talk about his time at war because “those were not the happiest days of our lives and recalling them was not a happy experience.” Lucky relates that bestselling author Kevin Maurer called him “out of the blue” and said he had heard some of his stories and wanted to read his book. John replied “Well, I don’t have a book’ and that began a collaboration that resulted in “Damn Lucky; One Man’s Courage during the Bloodiest Campaign in Aviation History. Lucky and his high school friend Sully both wanted to fly and tried to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Sully got permission but Lucky had to wait until the US entered the war. Later in the war Lucky flew to a nearby base to visit Sully and saw a crashed aircraft.

DCM Consulting Founder Christopher “Dutch” Moyer served 31 years in the Army – 26 of those in Special Operations. He has taken part in over 1,000 successful combat assaults in classified & unclassified missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even as a child he wanted to be a soldier and at the first opportunity enlisted in the tank corps. However, he found that the Army in the 1980’s was not what he had hoped.  After a five year break, he returned. This time he “Wanted to be in the worst possible places with the best possible people.” He became an Army Ranger and spent the last 14 years of his career with the elite Joint Special Operations Command. JSOC was created after the disastrous “Desert One” mission. After retiring Dutch tried his hand at various careers but in 2014 decided to return to his strengths. “I’m much better off training men to survive battle.” DCM Consulting provides advanced training to both military and law enforcement units across the country. Part of his “why” for starting his company stemm

“Bridging The Gap”, a new book authored by 26 year law enforcement veteran Glen Williams might be directed at his police comrades but holds learning lessons for all of us. Over the course of his career, Glen suffered through two divorces, numerous traumatic events and developed severe PTSD. "My objective in writing this book was to help others not do the same stupid things that I did. If I can help one person avoid a divorce or PTSD or suicide then I win.” He recounts a briefing held for police academy graduates and their spouses. The couples were told the divorce rate among law enforcement couples was high. There would be things they saw on the job that officers would not want to or couldn’t talk about with their spouse. “They told us open communication was important but they didn’t tell us HOW to do it.” His law enforcement career got off to a rough start when he was rejected by the postal inspector’s service because of his diabetes. His evolution to a “regular beat cop” was fraught with other challenges

American Warrior Garage was inspired by a chance encounter in a department store parking lot. Scott Jones and his friend Vince Gibson had been restoring cars together for about 20 years. One day they noticed a Veteran who had lost both legs to an IED blast “wheeling around” Vince’s 1969 El Camino. A conversation about classic cars ensued with the Veteran saying  “Man, I’d like to be able to drive one of those.”   Both Scott and Vince are Navy Veterans and realized they had found a new mission for their auto restoration talents. They incorporated American Warrior Garage as a non-profit with the mission of “Restoring Heroes’ Lives One Hot Rod at a Time.” They offer their programs to first responders and EMS personnel as well. Their first restore was a 1970 Chevelle for a double amputee Marine Corps Veteran.  They are currently working on a ’68 Torino for a Veteran with five tours of duty. Scott admits that in the early days of the organization they were “just winging it” and the organization was funded out of

Whistleblower Paula Pedene thought she had found her dream job. But her commitment to honesty and integrity led to a nightmare – one that should infuriate every one of us. Her story is chronicled in the book “A Sacred Duty; How a Whistleblower Took on the VA and Won.” Paula enlisted in 1978 and became a Navy journalist.  She re-enlisted for the Gulf War but a hereditary eye disease eventually ended her military career. In 1994 she was appointed the first full time Public Affairs officer for the Phoenix Veterans Administration Health Center. She led the Phoenix VA to national recognition and awards. However, a new administrator who was inclined to his own betterment rather than putting the Veterans first led to her first conflict. He delayed and denied care in order to secure additional equipment. Dr. Sam Foote was the original whistleblower in this situation and approached Paula about reporting the conditions and she agreed to step up. An internal investigation found $ 11 million in shortfalls but Paula was

Project Sapient Co-Founder Ayman Kafel became a witness to war from his first days on earth.  His father was working in Liberia when Ayman was born, but the Liberian civil war forced his family back to their native Lebanon.  The Lebanese civil war made them seek a more peaceful life in America. Like many immigrants, Ayman has a deep and abiding love for the US and what this country stands for.  So when we were attacked on 9/11 he immediately enlisted. “Our family felt that those evils we had escaped had followed us here.”  He experienced several combat deployments and planned to pursue a career in Special Forces. A forced medical discharge would cut those plans short.  He pursued a “second mission” protecting his fellow citizens as a law enforcement officer. Ayman has served 15 years with the Attleboro Police Department and currently commands their “Problem-Oriented Policing Unit.” We spend some time exploring this rather unique community policing concept. Ayman created The Project Sapient podcast to engag

Community support of our military is the focus of this episode. American Warrior Radio is “deployed” at the ColoGaurd PGA Classic. The PGA is very supportive of our military. We spend the first half of the show with Jay Bickley, Vice President of the Davis-Monthan 50, and all volunteer group of over 100 community leaders that advocates for Davis-Monthan Air Force base and their airmen.  Jay also spent 27 years in the United States Air Force, retiring as Vice Commander of the 12th Air Force. Jay and I discuss the various components of the DM-50 mission.  We agree that any community with even a small military presence should establish an organized support group if they don’t currently have one. Jay emphasizes that these sorts of relationships can prove very enlightening for civilians in addition to being beneficial for the military families they support. He is happy to provide advice and mentoring to any community thinking of creating or reviving a support organization. We spend the second half of the show w

Red Burning Sky is the latest work by Air National Guard Veteran Thomas Young. The novel was inspired by the real mission that is considered by many to be the greatest airborne rescue in history. Operation Halyard took place from August to late December 1944.  Halyard successfully rescued 432 US aircrews and 80 allied troops from behind enemy lines. Thomas had over 5,000 hours as a flight engineer in C-130 and C-5 aircraft. During his career he deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Horn of Africa. He is currently a commercial airline pilot. As part of the strategic war effort, the allies conducted bombing raids designed to shut down Germany’s oil production. Many of these refineries were located in Romania.  From October of 1943 to October of 1944 the 15th Air Force conducted 20,000 bombing sorties out of Italy. The cost was high, losing over 50% of their aircraft. However, they only lost 10% of their aircrews, many bailing out over the Serbian regions of Yugoslavia. Thomas describes the lo

Veteran’s Repertory Theater President and Artistic Director Christopher Paul Meyer had acting in his blood. He comes from three generations of theater performers.  But the 9/11 attacks created a long detour from the performance arts. Chris found some success acting, including a small role in a television soap opera. He chose to focus his energies on stand-up comedy because that allowed him to be more entrepreneurial. His directorial debut was a one act “off-off Broadway” comedy. Opening weekend went well, the theater was closed on the following Monday and the 9/11 attacks happened on Tuesday.  Chris was scheduled for jury duty that morning at a courthouse near the World Trade Center towers. He described his experience as curiosity evolved into panic and the reality of the scene unfolded. While Chris didn’t immediately enlist following the attacks, he joined the National Guard several years later when it became apparent this would be a long war and recruiting numbers were lagging. He spent 33 months in com