American Warrior Radio

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) just returned from a momentous nine month deployment in the Middle East during which they were engaged in one of the longest sustained sea combat periods for a US aircraft carrier since World War II. Their commanding officer, Captain Christopher “Chowdah” Hill joins us to share how he maintained motivation and morale in the face of two extended deployment periods.

Chowdah became a social media celebrity for his posts during the deployment. His original intent was just for family members back home to see their sailors. Things really “flexed” when Houthi rebels began posting that they had successful attacked and even sunk the Eisenhower. Chowdah replied by posting photos of his galley baking cookies and life progressing as normal aboard the ship.  Of course, he adds that he had to be very careful about what he posted because they were in a threat combat environment.

Chowdah shares some of the ways they maintained morale and motivation during the deployment. This included “Captain Demo”, a dog whose goal and mission was simply to reduce stress. Demo rapidly became part of the crew and was even received requests to visit some of the other ships in the task force. The Eisenhower also had a licensed clinical social worker and five chaplains. The ship’s complement also included both a “Life Boss” and “Talk Boss”, two civilian professionals who helped with stress management. He adds that having Wifi so sailors could reach back home was a game changer.

Captain Hill also shares his philosophy “The Way of the Warrior Sailor”. This twenty page document focuses on how to improve and maintain morale.

TAKEWAY: “Morale will lead to combat success if you do it right. To do it you must love and value everybody. You’ve GOT to show it.”

“Thank you for your service.” Those five words were a point of redemption in Beth Macy’s life.

Beth was teaching math but was looking for something more. Her father was an airline pilot so Beth explored the Air Force. Their quota was full, so she joined the Navy. She enlisted in 1976 while the Vietnam War was still fresh in everyone’s mind and military members were still unduly scorned.

At the time, women in the Military still faced great challenges. A British officer took her aside and warned her that she would have to perform three times better than her male counterparts in order to make it. While still in the service, Beth chose to return to college for her Master’s Degree. One day she was running late and didn’t have time to change out of her uniform. She was shocked at the treatment she received from her fellow students including being called a “baby killer” and having food thrown at her in the cafeteria. Beth chose to leave the Navy in 1980.

Beth could never shake the hostility shown by her fellow graduate students. She also found a degree of apathy toward military service upon entering the private sector.  For decades Beth consciously chose to suppress her military service and wrote off that portion of her life.

One thing Beth did do was put Veteran plates on her vehicle. A couple of years ago, she was approached in a store parking lot. Beth says he looked like someone who would have been a Vietnam War protestor and prepared for the worst. Instead, he thanked her for her service. Beth says she broke down and cried on the spot.

Beth feels that many female Veterans from the Cold War era suffered from “imposter syndrome”. But that simple “Thank you for your service” from a stranger spurred her to once again take pride in her service. “I even park in Veteran reserved parking spots now!”

Beth draws upon her experience working on top secret projects for her “Moscow Nights” book series.

Havok Journal owner Charles Faint joins us for an update. Havok Journal is my “go-to” website for all discussion military and first responder.

We do a deep dive into three poignant (and somewhat related) articles by former Army Ranger now law enforcement officer Jake Smith and Mike Warnock, Editor in Chief of the Havok Journal.

In “Half Staff Flags”, Smith discusses his changed perspective on seeing flags flying at half staff. Where he once saw them as symbols of those fallen in war or civil servants lost, as a law enforcement officer he gained a new perspective. What he sees not is a symbol innocents lost to yet another incident of mass violence.

Charles and I discuss the parallels I found in the articles “My Funeral: Let Whatever Pain Caused by My Loss Not Whitewash My Life” by Smith and “The Moment I Knew Why There Were Suicide Bombers” by Mike Warnock. Both articles provide moving insights and a different perspective not often heard by civilians.

We have a little fun with a humorous article “Nonners” by Dave Chamberlain. Chamberlain introduces us to the term for airmen who never fix, load or service aircraft. Apparently this is the Air Force equivalent of the Army’s POGS (persons other than grunts).

We wrap up with Charles sharing his experiences as a volunteer deputy with a local law enforcement agency.

“The Unvanquished” is the latest offering from military historian and multiple bestselling author Patrick K. O’Donnell.  He is recognized as a leading expert on America’s elite and special operations units. All of his 13 books are based on this subject matter and his book “We Were One; Shoulder to Shoulder with the Marines Who Took Fallujah” is required reading for all Marines.

Patrick says his topics “find him” and his latest is no different. While traveling he found a rusted old sign noting the location of the “Grapewood Farm Engagement”, a battle fought by Mosby’s Rangers. Another encounter was with a marker for the final resting place of Jessie Scout Jack Sterry. These two “discoveries” led him to write this fascinating book.

In “The Unvanquished”, Patrick introduces us to the Special Forces deployed during the US Civil War; The Jessie Scouts, Mosby’s Rangers and the Confederate Secret Service. He states that these groups were 100 years ahead of their time and operated in ways our modern special forces still do.

The Jessie Scouts were union forces that donned Confederate uniforms and conducted commando and deception operations behind enemy lines.  Over twenty five percent of Jessie Scouts never made it home. Its members would be awarded seven Medals of Honor.

John Mosby was a lawyer by trade and not a very imposing figure.  Jeb Stuart gave Mosby six men to begin with and the Rangers would grow to nearly a thousand by the end of the war. Mosby and his Rangers had many close calls but escaped by employing a strategy of “when all else fails, resort to overwhelming violence.” Mosby was never captured and eventually would become one of the campaign managers for Ulysses Grant.

The Confederate Secret Service had a department dedicated to special gadgets much like James Bond. They also engaged in campaigns to control the press and influence northern elections on behalf of those supporting an armistice. Patrick states that the Confederacy was an insurgency and “insurgencies don’t have to win, they just have to survive.”

Patrick volunteered to be embedded with Marine Rifle Company Lima 3/1 and was with them during the Battle of Falllujah. He pulled a mortally wounded Marine to cover while under fire.

The Distinguished Flying Cross is our nation’s the fourth highest award for heroism and the highest award for extraordinary aerial achievement. The fact that Robert Lifsey was awarded four DFC medals is impressive.  Even more amazing is that the awards were presented over the course of only twelve months in Vietnam, along with a Bronze Star, a Republic of Vietnam Silver Star and four Airmen’s Medals with Valor.

After receiving a draft notice, Bob enlisted in the Army. He chose to go to an airborne unit and completed training with the 7th Special Forces (Green Berets). However, orders for flight school came right as he completed Special Forces training so he “Never tucked my trousers in my boots again.”

Bob was assigned to the 191st Helicopter Assault Company in January of 1969. His unit flew UH-1 “Huey” C model gunships. He describes the UH-1’s weapons systems and shares his great respect for the bravery of crew chiefs and door gunners who hung out the side doors attached to the helicopter with only a waist strap.

The 191st Assault Helicopters nickname was “The Boomerangs”, a reference to the fact that they would always come back for their own.  A common theme in Bob’s award citations was his unwillingness to leave any troops behind even though he was taking significant enemy fire.

Bob walks us through one particular dangerous mission that still gives him nightmares. His helicopters were called to neutralize enemy bunkers that could not be attacked with artillery because they were too close to a village. Fire from the bunkers was causing significant casualties to Navy units on the river.

Bob climbed to altitude and dove directly at the bunker to fire his rockets. Secondary explosions from the bunker knocked out the copter’s nose bubble turning the aircraft into a wind tunnel.  Flying concrete and other bunker fragments killed both his crew chief and door gunner.  “I’ve asked the lord many times. I don’t know if I had target fixation or not but if it hadn’t been for those secondary explosions, I may have flown right into that target.”

Bob’s brother was a Naval Academy graduate who flew A-4’s in Vietnam at the same time Bob did.

The mission of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society is to honor, preserve and teach the legacy of heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight for which the DFC is awarded.

MARSOC is an abbreviation for Marine Forces Special Operations Command. While the Marines have fielded special operations forces before, (the “Raiders” conducted amphibious light infantry missions in World War II) there has always been some resistance within the Corps against establishing an elite unit within what many already consider an elite force.

The “Raiders” were disbanded in 1944. However, after the 9/11 attacks, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld directed the Marine Corps to establish a “proof of concept” unit that would report to US Special Operations Command. John A. Dailey was one of four team leaders selected to form the 1st Reconnaissance Company – Det. 1 for short. His Commander only gave him one prerequisite for the 86 men who would form the unit; “They must be tough rugged bastards with strong backs and hard feet”. “Tough Rugged Bastards” would become the title for John’s memoir of life in a Marine Special Operations Unit.

Dailey and his fellow Marines started from scratch, training for unknown missions in unknown locations. When they deployed to Iraq they adopted the name “Task Force Raider” in tribute to their WWII lineage.  John shares some of the missions they conducted in Iraq. He emphasizes that their role providing personal security for high profile Iraqi elected officials was probably their most important mission.

Det. 1 quickly won over the naysayers who doubted the Marine’s ability to operate successfully in the fluid and unconventional special operations environment.  John says the toughest moment was when Det. 1 was disbanded but recognizes the necessity of that in order for the operations to be “built to scale” and create MARSOC.

John knew he wanted to become a Marine at seven years old when he saw one in his dress blues at a Fourth of July parade.  His story of how he came to be a Marine sniper due to a clerical error is quite humorous.

TAKEAWAY: “Leaders should give guidance that is as specific as necessary but as broad as possible. This stirs creativity and engenders ownership of the task.”

Militaryfares.com President Scott Lara was working at the Kmart camera department when his supervisor asked him what he wanted to do with his life. Scott replied that he had no idea. His supervisor said “Well, join the Navy and see the world!”

Scott DID enlist, serving from 1979 to 1988 as a radar man. Scott never traveled much as a young man but the Navy took him to Spain, Italy and France and would infect him with the travel bug.

He says he loved every minute of this time in the Navy but decided to leave because it was really tough on his wife and young children.

When he left the Navy, he took a job as a healthcare industry lobbyist. His boss also owned a travel agency. When the travel agent left Scott said “put me in coach”. He won a flip phone and in the early days of YouTube he began posting videos of cruises he was taking with his family. His channel exploded to over 1.2 million views. Scott also provides “insider” advice through his website Cruisegenius.com

Last year, Scott was hired as President of Militaryfares.com – his “dream job”. Militaryfares.com was founded in 2002 by military members and their families. It is now the leading travel agency for active and retired service members. Military families and Veterans can view domestic and international options at their website. They work with over 650 airlines and 300,000 hotels to secure discount travel for active duty military members and Veterans. Scott says they are also able to help military members who need to book last minute flights due to a change of station or deployment.

His advice to other Veterans making the transition to the civilian world is “Sometimes you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. You HAVE to be a self-promoter.” He also highly recommends taking advantage of LinkedIn’s free one year premium business subscription for Veterans.

The 299th Combat Engineer Battalion was the only combat engineer unit to land on both Omaha and Utah beaches during the D-Day invasion. Some of the engineers landed before any other allied soldiers set foot on the beaches earning them the nickname “First on Omaha”. Chief Warrant Officer James W. Tucker was among them. His daughter Jean joins us to share more about the “Famous 299th”.

James commanded a group of eight armored tractors whose mission was to clear obstacles and open paths off the Normandy beaches. One third of the Combat Engineer Battalion that landed on Omaha beach was killed missing or wounded. For their heroic efforts that day, they would be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.

Tucker was also assigned the somber job of creating the first American cemetery in Normandy. There were so many bodies on the beaches that the equipment could not land without driving over the bodies of their fellow soldiers. Tucker used a bulldozer to dig a mass grave while still under fire and he and his comrades “stacked the bodies like cordwood.” These remains were eventually relocated.

Members of the 299th would fight and build their way across Europe to the heart of Germany.

Jean was so inspired by her father’s stories she has become a passionate advocate for their history. She single handedly manages their website and is continuously tracking down photos and stories from the families of members of the 299th Combat Engineers.  Family or living members of the Battalion are encouraged to contact Jean through their website.

Jean and I also spend a great deal of time discussing the importance of recording these stories and history of generations that are rapidly passing away. She also regularly interacts with the “descendants” of this famous group – the 299th Brigade Engineer Battalion currently headquartered at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Jean also shares an intriguing story of the “spat” between the Army and the Navy over who should have responsibility for clearing obstacles on the landing beaches. They eventually agreed that any obstacles that were visible at high tide they would be the Army’s responsibility.

“In Strange Company” author Ronald Tiso, Jr. highlights the role played by allied partners in Iraq. Iraq is often thought of as “America’s longest war”, but troops from dozens of other countries made up the coalition forces.

Colonel Tiso served as a war planner at US Central Command, and as Senior Military Advisor of the Arab Peninsula Shield Force and the Polish-led multinational division. He was also Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations of the Coalition military assistance Training Team tasked with developing the new Iraqi Army.

Col. Tiso documents the challenges of planning the Iraqi campaign and coordinating multi-national forces. “In Strange Company” provides a unique perspective of the way that war was prosecuted.

One of the greatest issues faced by the coalition forces were varying degrees of serviceable equipment and differing rules of engagement as dictated by each nation’s politics. This often led to heated conflicts with commanders who considered their troops as peacekeeping forces.

However, Col. Tiso says that the multi-national forces he directly coordinated with were often “pound for pound some of the best soldiers I ever served with.” He reserved particularly high praise for the Poles and Ukrainians. He described the Ukrainians as “true Spartans”.

The “de-Bathification” program created severe problems. Coalition forces were prohibited from engaging any former Iraqi officer above the rank of Major. Iraqi soldiers who found themselves unemployed naturally sought out other methods of earning a living including smuggling and joining the insurgency.

Colonel Tiso is very frustrated that the number of forces deployed to manage the situation after the initial victory was only a third of what the plans called for.  He firmly believes that if the elements of the initial plan had been followed, American forces could have been pulled out of Iraq much sooner.

“Rough men” is a phrase used to describe the brave warriors who volunteer to stand the watch and do what is necessary to protect our nation, freedoms and families. It is drawn from the quote “People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”  Sergeant Major Charles Ritter certainly qualifies.

Ritter is preparing to retire after a 26 year career in the military, a majority of it spent with the elite Green Berets. He has had 17 deployments, twelve of which were combat deployments. He has been awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star with Valor, the Army Commendation Meal with Valor and three Purple Heart medals. He just completed his thirty first surgery as a result of wounds received in combat.

His first Purple Heart was awarded after a 500 pound IED exploded near his vehicle, tossing it like toy car. It killed two soldiers instantly and caused a third to leave the Army due to his injuries.  His second Purple Heart was awarded when Ritter was shot three times will rescuing an allied commando. He would also be awarded the Silver Star for is actions that day.

Ritter walks us through the mission when he was awarded the Bronze Star and another Purple Heart.  Three groups of forces were pinned down under heavy enemy fire. Ritter’s team was tasked with flying into the gunfight, which he says “..sounded like a really dumb idea, but we’re Green Berets, that’s what we do.”

We spend a segment discussing the importance of mindset. Ritter shares some great thoughts on how adversity can provide experiences for learning and building resiliency. He says humility is important – there is a fine line between being competent and being cocky.

TAKEAWAY: “If you truly believe in your mind that you are an unstoppable force of nature, then everything is something for you to dominate and conquer. If you aren’t failing you aren’t working hard enough.”