American Warrior Radio

Sam Mackey admits he isn’t always the smartest or strongest guy in the room but he puts in the work.  His philosophy is “To find something that I can do better than everybody else and take enough responsibility where I can’t be replaced and do it the best that I can.” Mackey served 20 years in the military including time with the elite Navy SEALs. He never thought he would be an entrepreneur but is now the CEO of Outsider, an outdoor lifestyle brand.

Mackey’s entry into the military was rather un-auspicious. He had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd.  His parole officer suggested joining the military in order to get off probation.

He was injured during his first BUDS class and failed the timed run. He was rolled back but was placed in the immediate next class. Due to his injury he failed again and washed out. Mackey would not give up. He worked his way through the arduous re-application process and eventually returned and graduated.

Mackey secured a sniper spot with the teams. His “15 minutes of fame” came while deployed with a Lithuanian Special Forces team. During that mission, he NEARLY recorded the longest kill shot on record; at a distance of nearly 1.5 miles. However, review showed that his shot was so close it caused the target to reposition, allowing another sniper to finish him off. He disagreed with the proposition that the days of the sniper are numbered. “There always needs to be a human behind the rifle.”

Mackey met NFL stand out quarterback Jay Cutler when he was asked to come speak to some NFL players.  They became friends and discovered that they both shared a love of the outdoors. When Jay offered him a position with Outsider, Mackey jumped in with both feet, eventually rising to the position of CEO. They currently sell drinkware and apparel, including a patented rotating handle cup that fits in any holder.

TAKEAWAY: Mackey believes that because of the adaptability and innovation required while serving in Special Forces, it is the ideal “breeding ground” for entrepreneurs.

“Homefront Stories” is a collection of fictional short stories written by Victoria Kelly inspired by her life as a military spouse.  Her 2015 work, “When Men Go Off to War” is a collection of poems written while her husband was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and captures the hopes, anxieties and intimacies of the military spouse during times of war. “Prayers of an American Wife” is a collection of poems that highlights the displacement women experience when their husbands deploy and the battles fought by those left at home

Victoria graduated Summa Cum Laude from Harvard University and initially planned to attend law school. However, she had always wanted to write and chose that path instead. She met her future husband while attending a conference at the Naval Academy. She says her Ivy League friends expressed some surprise that she became a military spouse, mostly based upon their own misconceptions about the military.

During her husband’s first deployment, Victoria had been working on a novel but became frustrated. She turned to poetry as a way of dealing with the emotions she experienced during that deployment.

Victoria shares her poem “When Men Go off to War” which beautifully captures the lives of military families.

Victoria did not have much exposure to the military growing up. We spend some time discussing her learning curve as a military spouse and some of issues that civilians may not understand. These include learning to read rank and why it is not a good idea to wear high heels on an aircraft carrier. Being the spouse of a Navy officer added extra pressures.

She emphasizes that the all the pieces in “Homefront Stories” are completely fictional and none were inspired by actual events she experienced. You can find Victoria’s works here.

TAKEAWAY: “I loved being a military spouse..all except for the uncertainty about where we might be living.”

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has the principle responsibility to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and our nation. It was created in January of 2015 by merging the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command along with several functions of the Air Force Life Sciences Equipment Laboratory.

DPAA Media Relation Chief for Outreach and Communications Sean Everette joins us to describe the agency’s functions. We are also joined by Clark Baldwin, the nephew of World War II soldier Clifford Strickland, whose remains were just recently identified and returned to the US.

There are an estimated 81,000 personnel still missing from conflicts between World War II through the present day. These include 72,115 from World War II, 7,482 from Korea, 1,577 in Vietnam, 126 from the Cold War, 5 from the Gulf Wars and 1 in Libya.

DPAA staff is comprised of both members of the various military branches and civilian specialists. One could describe their role and “cold case file” detectives using a variety of resources to accomplish their tasks.  Once remains are identified, the recovery themselves can be complicated and dangerous; from 16,000 foot mountain peaks to remote jungle sites.

Clifford Strickland was captured by the Japanese in the Philippines. After surviving the Bataan Death March, he died on July 29, 1942 in the Cabanatuan POW Camp.  The dead from this camp were buried as “unknowns” in a common grave.  Clark says that although his uncle died before he was born, his family kept his memory alive with stories. Eventually they gave up hope that his remains would ever be found. However, Clark’s cousin began attending DPAA outreach events. In 2015 they received notice that they may be able to identify Clifford’s remains. Clifford’s remains were positively identified on December 20, 2023.

A key element in the process is having family members submit DNA samples for use in final identification. Listeners with family members still missing can find more information about how to start the process by visiting the DPAA website.

TAKEAWAY: “It makes me proud that I am an American and that the DPAA works so hard to fulfill our nation’s promise that we will never leave a man behind.”

Stephen Paul Campos surmised it would be better to volunteer and choose his military specialty rather than be drafted during the Vietnam War. The recruiter asked what he wanted to do and Campos replied “I don’t know what I WANT to do but I know I DON’T want to be infantry.” Based upon his intake evaluations the recruiter told him he could be sent to Germany or Hawaii. Immediately upon graduation he was assigned to the infantry and soon after sent to Vietnam.

Campos shares that the environment was just as much a threat as the enemy. As if the torrential rains weren’t bad enough, there were things slithering in the water that could kill you. Campos survived more than a couple friendly fire incidents and malaria almost killed him.  As a radio operator he had the unique experience of relaying his Lieutenant’s refusal to obey orders. That Lt. was replaced the next day and “it was a good thing because that guy was going to get us killed.”

Campos recalled being met by war protestors upon his return stateside and many lifelong friends didn’t want to talk about the war. Campos fell into a lifestyle of drugs and alcohol. Upon hitting rock bottom, he had a spiritual awakening that he says literally transformed his life. He now owns and operates “Senor Campos Salsa”, a successful online food service business.

Campos never wanted to talk about his experiences in Vietnam until he was interviewed by a reporter during a visit to the Vietnam War Memorial. His wife suggested he begin writing about his experiences. He has now published several books including “Charlie Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”.

TAKEAWAY:  The whole time Campos was in combat he prayed for God to keep him safe. He also prayed that he would not have to kill anyone.

“Service to CEO” podcast creator Kristen Costlow left a promising military career to pursue her dream.  She served as an air traffic controller in the Navy and was rising fast in rank.  She soon found herself supervising sailors 10 years her senior. The day after she notified her supervisor of her plans to leave the military, she was promoted to Chief Petty Officer – quite the accomplishment for someone of her age.

Kristen joined the Navy right out of high school and says there were no specific issues that caused her to leave mid-way to a full military retirement. She was just experiencing severe burnout and didn’t want to be one of those persons who looked back and had regrets about not pursuing her dreams. She wanted to be a wedding photographer.

Kristen received her business license in March of 2021, in the middle of the COVID pandemic. While many weddings were postponed during the pandemic, she says there was a huge rebound surge in 2022.  When a wedding “boom” comparable to the days following World War II came along, K Nicole Photography was ready for them.

The Small Business Administration estimates that the average small business fails in 3-5 years. Although Kristen’s photography business is right in the middle of that window, she says she no longer wakes up terrified. “Every day I just have to wake up and know that I have to do the work, and I am grateful for the opportunity to do so.”

Based upon her transition experiences, Kristen decided to start the Service to CEO Podcast to provide a platform for other women Veteran entrepreneurs to share the story of their journeys. She hopes to inspire other women in their “second lives”.  The Service to CEO podcast can be found on all major platforms.

TAKEAWAY: “That one day I might decide to leave early on a Friday is the one day that a client won’t wait until Monday. In my business one bad review can be really damaging.”

Blackwater Security Company developed quite a reputation. Morgan Lerette was a contractor with Blackwater in Iraq for 18 months from 2004-2005. His sometimes funny, sometimes tragic experience is documented in his book “Guns, Girls & Greed: I was a Blackwater Mercenary in Iraq”

Morgan joined the Air National Guard right out of high school in order to escape his small town. He became an Air Force Security Forces member and had been serving for two years when 9/11 happened.

Despite having deployed to Iraq, Morgan says he felt much like other military members at the time – he never really got to experience “his war”. Some friends suggested joining Blackwater shortly after some of their contractors had been hung from a bridge in Fallujah. However, being paid $550 per day and a chance to experience “his war” sounded good to Morgan.

While many may believe that all Blackwater contractors are special operations Veterans, at that time there was a huge demand to fulfill government contracts. Morgan says they were recruiting anyone who could “shoot, move, communicate and get security clearance.”  After a brief two week training course, Morgan found himself in Iraq.  His say his mission mainly consisted of driving a “very important person from the safe area to the dangerous area and back.”

Morgan’s book unabashedly describes what can happen when highly paid men with no rules and no consequences are deployed to a foreign country. I would describe his book as a modern day version of “Catch 22”. There are numerous examples in his book that highlight the hopeless absurdity of our efforts to rebuild Iraq. It wasn’t long before Morgan lost faith in the idea of helping the Iraqis & just became numb to it all.

Upon his return home, he had trouble finding a “normal life”. There are no support systems for independent contractors. Morgan eventually finished his college degree and returned to Iraq as an Army Intelligence Officer with “half the pay and twice the restrictions”.

It is estimated that as many as 160,000 private military contractors were active in Iraq. We spend some time discussing whether organizations like Blackwater are a necessary evil in modern combat.

TAKEWAY: Morgan describes private military contractors like a disposable Starbucks cup. They use you and then toss you away.

Our first check in of 2024 with Havok Journal owner Charles Faint. Charles is a retired Army Intelligence officer with seven tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We begin by discussing the latest on the Israel/Gaza conflict.  Charles expects Iran to continue supporting terrorist proxies but will avoid a direct confrontation with the US. His rationale is twofold; Iran knows they cannot win a direct fight with the US and are not going to risk doing so over an issue like Gaza. They also don’t feel an existential threat to their key interests.

Clearly Israel will be occupying Gaza for some time. As to what comes afterward, we both agree that a “two state” solution is impractical and absorbing millions of persons who have sworn to destroy their country is definitely not a wise move for Israel. Charles notes that in the earliest days of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, most of their leaders were secular.

“A Deck of Many Things” is an article co-authored by Charles and retired Army Major Mike Warnock. It provides a reflection on Colin Powell’s policies in Iraq twenty years later.  They compare Powell’s philosophy of “you break it you bought it” in the context of what we did in Japan & Germany following World War II. In those cases, we preserved the administrative infrastructures necessary for each of those cultures to rebuild. While “De-Baathification” was popular among the Iraqi populace, it eliminated those who knew how to keep the lights on and the sewers flowing.

We also discuss Ayman Kafel’s recent article in Havok Journal about the surge of terrorism in South Asia. The implications of jihadist “franchises” in these areas create a real threat to regional stability and security. Civilians are also at risk as these various factions compete for power and territory.

The value of higher education to military officers and the challenges of “going back to school” is the subject of an article Charles wrote about his experiences at Yale University. In general, Charles says his experience was very positive despite having to deal with numerous misconceptions about the military held by some of his fellow students.

Lastly, we have a fun discussion about Taylor Swift – NOT a topic I ever considered would come up on American Warrior Radio.

“Damn the Valley” was written by Will Yeske and describes his deployment to the Arghandab River Valley in Afghanistan. The valley has seen its share of conflict. From Alexander the Great up to the Russians – and now Americans. To US troops it became known as “the meat grinder”.  Will was posted there with Bravo Company of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne.  During their time there, his unit suffered a 52% casualty rate.

Damn the Valley has an interesting “origin” story.  Will was inspired to write it in response to another book by Ben Kesling titled “Bravo Company: An Afghanistan Deployment and Its Aftermath.”  Many of Will’s comrades who saw conflict in that valley felt that Kesling’s book fell short in telling the full story of their deployment. Kelsing was supportive of Will undertaking the project.

Damn the Valley does an excellent job of communicating the hardships of being stationed in such a remote location over and above the combat. This includes basic issues like staying clean. Sometimes patrols would even be routed through shallow rivers just so the soldiers could rinse off. In addition to the Taliban, wild life like mountain lions and bears also posed a threat.

Will gives credit to our opponents in that valley. He says they were very shrewd about adapting their tactics, including “assembly” line methods of planting improvised explosive devices that took advantage of the US troops’ strict rules of engagement.  Helmand province was considered the “silicon valley” of IED manufacturing.

Readers will get a firsthand accounting of the “fog of war”, the brutality of this conflict and the second order effects upon those who fought there.  Will says that he experienced real struggles upon returning to civilian life and for a while engaged in high risk behaviors to address the “numbness”.

TAKEAWAY:  “If any Freedom was won, it was providing sleep and security to those who had never had it before”

Jana Monroe wanted to be a law enforcement officer ever since she was 13. She would go on to become the first woman to join the FBI’s elite Behavioral Science Unit.  She says her motivation is the fact that she loves the freedoms granted by our country and she hates bullies.

Jana began her law enforcement work as a probation officer and then joined the Chino California police department.  Women in law enforcement were still rare, and she says she was given a lot of “babysitting” jobs.

It took a class action lawsuit to get FBI to change their policies and allow women to become field agents. When Jana applied, her husband told her it was either him or the FBI. Jana chose the FBI. Her first assignment was in the Albuquerque office and many of her cases were on the reservation. This created some challenges as tribal officials at the time would not accept a woman as being in charge.

When Jana joined the Behavioral Science Unit, there were only 12 agents working those cases. She says BSU’s job is “to search for reason amidst the debris of awful violence”. During her time with the Behavioral Sciences Unit, Jana consulted on more than 850 cases, including those involving some of the worst serial killers. She shares some insights on working with some of these killers. Jana emphasizes that programs like America’s Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries have played a very beneficial role in helping to solve cases.

Jana was selected to consult Jodie Foster on her academy winning role in “The Silence of the Lambs.” She said Jodie was very professional and even suggested changes to the director based upon Jana’s feedback.

Jana chronicled the story of her time with the FBI in the book “Hearts of Darkness: Serial Killers, the Behavioral Science Unit, and My Life as a Woman in the FBI.’

TAKEAWAY: “I did a lot of kicking to break through the glass ceiling but I tried to do the kicking professionally and with my heels on.”

“Dead Man’s Hand” is Brad Taylor’s 18th installment in the Pike Logan series. Brad served more than 21 years in our nation’s military, 8 years as a member of the elite 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, more commonly known at Delta Force. He holds a Master’s of Science in Defense Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School, with a concentration in irregular warfare.

His previous 17 novels have all been ranked on the New York Times best seller list. His latest novel is titled “Dead Man’s Hand”.

He wasn’t intending to write about Ukraine & Russia, but in preparing his research he was reminded of the Russian “Perimeter System”. The Perimeter System was created by the Soviet Union in response to the US ”Star Wars” initiative. It was an early form of artificial intelligence that would automatically launch their nuclear missiles if it was determined that the US had decapitated Soviet leadership with a successful first strike. NATO called the system the “Dead Hand”.

His novel “Ghosts of War”, published in 2014 was about Russian invading Ukraine.  “Dead Man’s Hand” centers on a Ukrainian plot to assassinate Putin and the potential for triggering the Dead Hand system.

Brad says it is always a risk to write in a theme that reflects current events. In this case there were three main risks that might happen before publication; the Ukrainian war would be over, Sweden’s NATO membership would be approved, and the potential that Putin would be removed from power before publication.

Brad prides himself in actually exploring the locations that are featured in his book. He says he was not about to get shot at in Ukraine and go traipsing across Russia. However, he did discover some interesting features in Sweden and Denmark that made their way into the book.

During our conversation I also take the opportunity to pick Brad’s brain about the current world events taking place in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza. His informed answers may surprise some listeners.

TAKEAWAY: “One of the best traits for a special operator is someone who is a problem solver.”