Controversy & Clarity

*The challenges of getting Weapons Co, 1/8, to HKIA

*Weapons’ initial taskings and missions

*The challenges of operating North and East Gates

*Operating in support of the LAR company at East Gate

*Frustrations working with allied and partner forces

*Gunnery Sergeant Zachary Kapinus interacting with the Taliban at East Gate

*The famous picture of Gunny Kapinus lifting a baby over a barbed-wire wall

*The ethical and moral challenges of extricating people from the crowd without creating more chaos

*Creative ways to extricate American citizens from the crowd

*The desperation of Afghan civilians

*Watching Marines kick out civilians who did not have the proper paperwork

*The frustration of many Marines toward Afghan men who chose to escape instead of fight

*How Jon supported Weapons Company with his presence and by inserting himself wherever he could help

*An example of commander’s intent at East Gate

*How Jon and his key leaders created an atmosphere of expected behaviors, professionalism, and toughness during pre-deployment training

*Command and control at HKIA, including personal cells as the primary way to communicate

*Jon’s experiences on the night of 27 August

*The ramp ceremony of the 13 KIA servicemembers

*The benefit of allowing Marines to use their cell phones

*1/8 in Kuwait at HKIA

*Coming home to Camp Lejeune

*Working with other units and nations’ forces 

The most frustrating and rewarding aspects of the HKIA experience

*Where Jon excelled as a commander and where he could have done better

*Lessons learned from HKIA

*The one thing Jon wants other servicemembers to know about Weapons Company'S actions at HKIA

In this episode, we discuss the following topics.

*Jon’s experiences as a weapons platoon commander with 3/7 in Afghanistan.

*His mindset and training approach for Weapons Company for the 24th MEU workup

*Building trust as a weapons company commander with the battalion commander and operations officer

*Building trust within his company

*The company’s operations and training before HKIA

*Indications and warnings that Weapons Company would deploy to HKIA

*Getting the news that the company would go to HKIA

*Jon’s fire support planning for HKIA

*His understanding of the situation at HKIA before arriving

*His first two days on the ground

*Tactical foraging and requisitioning

*The fall of Kabul

*The breaching of the airport and the clearing of the runway

*Being a commander without troops during the clearing

*Jon’s reaction to the news that Coalition forces would work with the Taliban

In this episode, we discuss:

*The timeline of major events of the Battle for the Irpin

*Three occasions where the Russians nearly won the battle

*The role of Ukrainian volunteers and civilians

*The role of small unit leaders

*The artillery fight 

*The challenges of researching and writing operational military history

*James and Ben’s research approach 

*The lack of government support in the US and UK for on-the-ground conflict research

*The value of stories to the military profession

*How the battle study can be used for training and educational

Links

"The Battle of Irpin River" by James Sladden, Liam Collins, and Ben Connable

https://chacr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BAR-187-compressed.pdf

"Battle Studies: The Need for Primary Source Research" by Ben Connable and James Sladden

https://chacr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CHACR-Briefing-Ukraine.pdf

"On the Ground: Field Research in Ukraine" by James Sladden

https://issuu.com/chacr_camberley/docs/idb-ukraine

In this episode, we discuss the following topics.

*What a combat engineer platoon does as part of a battalion landing team

*What it was like joining BLT 1/8

*Building trust between Everett’s platoon and BLT 1/8

*Everett’s advice to platoon commanders looking to build trust between units

*His platoon’s training plan for the 24th MEU workup

*Responding to complaints from Marines about a high-tempo schedule

*The platoon’s experiences on the 24th MEU prior to heading to HKIA

*When the possibility of deploying to HKIA first came on Everett’s radar

*His reaction and his Marines’ reactions to learning they would go to HKIA 

*Being labeled “the lead combat engineer for HKIA”

*The tough decision to leave Marines behind on ship

*The value of crossing training

*The first few days on the ground at HKIA

*Reactions to the news that the Taliban would cooperate with the Coalition

*Working at Abbey, East, and North Gates

*The last phase of the withdrawal

*Creativity and problem-solving at HKIA

*Radio communications during the NEO

*Everett’s advice for lieutenants who may find themselves in situations like at HKIA

*The training he received at Marine Corps Engineer School

*Enemy contact at HKIA

*Dismantling several of HKIA’s guard towers

*Command and control at HKIA

*Maneuver warfare concepts applied at HKIA

*What Everett was doing the day of the Abbey Gate Bombing

*Talking to his platoon about the Marine losses at HKIA

*What Everett observed in his Marines after the NEO

*Returning to Camp Lejeune

*Everett’s advice on talking to people who have experienced a mission as harrowing as HKIA

*The value of professional reading

*The role and value of mental health checks and mental health services

*The role of cell phones at HKIA

*Cleaning up various parts of HKIA

*The role of discipline 

*The most frustrating and rewarding aspects of the HKIA mission

*Everett’s pride in the performance of his Marines

*The most challenging decision he made at HKIA

*Where Everett excelled as a commander and decision-maker and where he could have done better

*The lessons he took away from HKIA, particularly as they apply to FD 2030 and the future Marine Corps

*The role and value of decision games to train and educate Marines for missions like HKIA

In this episode, we discuss the following topics.

*Josh’s joining 1/8

*Differences in morale and culture between units in the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions

*The current culture and unit pride in 1/8

*Recent controversies involving Third Battalion, Sixth Marines

*The challenges and benefits of leading HKIA vets in his squad

*Winning the 2nd Marine Division Annual Rifle Squad Competition and Marine Corps-Wide Rifle Squad Competition

*How winning the competition affirmed Josh’s identity as an infantryman

*Struggling with imposter syndrome

*Josh’s experiences during his deployment to Haiti in support of Continuing Promise 2022

*What makes an ideal squad leader

*Josh’s use of military simulators like Squad and Arma 3 for training purposes

*Josh’s expectations for his:

Junior Marines

Fire team leaders

Fellow squad leaders

Platoon commander

Company commander

*The one thing he’d like current and future squad leaders to take away from this podcast

In this episode, we discuss the following topics.

*Josh’s experiences with squad leaders up to this point in his career

*How these leaders influenced him

*His experiences going through the reconnaissance training pipeline and serving with 3rd Recon Battalion

*His decision to leave the recon community and the shame he felt as a result

*Josh's deployments with the 31st MEU

*The “golden nuggets” of leadership he took from his first squad leader

*How Josh approaches corrective actions

*The benefits of having a strong NCO and squad leader core within a unit

*Creating such a core and the challenges to doing so

*Josh's thoughts on what makes a “real” deployment

*Why many Marines don’t see MEUs as "real" deployments

*Josh's advice for squad leaders on making the most of MEUs

*His experiences supporting operations on the US-Mexico border

*His advice for fighting complacency during monotonous missions

In this episode, we discuss the following topics.

*Andres’ operational experiences before joining 2/1

*The organization and strength of Weapons Company, 2/1, at the beginning of its deployment with the SP-MAGTF-CR

*The company’s deployment prior to heading to HKIA

*When the Afghanistan mission first appeared on the company’s radar

*Managing Marines’ expectations in the run-up to deploying to HKIA

*Preparing to leave for HKIA

*Weapons Company’s first day at HKIA

*The company’s initial taskings

*Andres’ reaction to the news that Coalition forces would work with the Taliban

*The challenges of commanding a dispersed company 

*Andres’ experiences at Abbey Gate before 26 August

*Interacting with the many Coalition forces at Abbey Gate

*How often Andres used the tools and concepts in MCDP-1 and MCDP 1-3

*Receiving messages from individuals and interest groups in the US asking for help evacuating people, and how these affected operations

*Some of the challenges Andres and his Marines experienced at Abbey Gate

*Two specific instances where Andres and his Marines helped evacuate Afghan children

*What Weapons Company and Andres were doing on 26 August 

*Weapons Company’s role in the demil process at Kabul

*What Andres observed in his Marines and himself after returning to Kuwait

*His advice on how to talk to leaders about harrowing experiences

*The use of cell phones at HKIA

*Andres’ interactions with US State Department officials at HKIA

*The logistics challenges of HKIA

*The discipline of Andres’ Marines at HKIA

*The most frustrating and rewarding aspects of the HKIA experience 

*Shifting between a combat mindset and a humanitarian mindset

*The most challenging decision Andres made at HKIA

*Where Andres performed well as a decision-maker and leader HKIA and where he could have performed better

*What lessons he took away from HKIA and how those might apply in the context of FD 2030

*Tactical decision game as tools to prepare Marines for operations like HKIA

Link

"Witnesses to the End" by Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 7 Nov 2021

 In this episode, we discuss:

*Mr. Smith joining 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, in Vietnam and assuming command of his platoon 

*His staff NCOs, especially SSgt Richard Jackson and Gunnery Sergeant Alan Sora, and other Marines and Sailors who deeply influenced him

*Coping with the loss of subordinate leaders and advice on dealing with such losses

*Combat decision-making

*The challenges of returning home from war and transitioning to the civilian sector

*The Ken Burns’ documentary series The Vietnam War

*The US strategy in Vietnam 

*The role veterans played in building and expanding FedEx

*The cutting-edge technologies FedEx has used, emerging technologies, and the future of warfare

*The central role of logistics in war

*Leading FedEx through the Arab Oil Embargo Crisis of 1973 and advice for leaders dealing with crises

*How Mr. Smith’s approach to leadership has evolved

*The value of reading for leaders

Links

The Grunt Padre: Father Vincent Robert Capodanno, Vietnam, 1966-1967 by Father Daniel L. Mode

https://a.co/d/aCfeUeQ

The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns

https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0753XH4H2/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

For Country and Corps: The Life of General Oliver P. Smith by Gail B. Shisler

https://a.co/d/7IWlQ8l

Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam by H.R. McMaster

https://a.co/d/1xKTIl1

Call Sign: Chaos by James Mattis and Bing West

https://a.co/d/08lP0kg

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari  

https://a.co/d/7rsFs5g

In this episode, we discuss:

*Connor's time with Marine Security Forces

*Corporals Course

*Serving in 1/7 as a squad leader and overcoming the stigma of Security Forces NCOs

*The Advanced Infantry Marine Course

*Connor’s deployment to Darwin, Australia

*Keeping Marines in a forward-deployed mindset

*What excited Connor most about being a squad leader

*What concerned him most

*Some of the mistakes he’s made as a squad leader

*The atmosphere and culture he tried to create in his first squad

*The training and PME programs he implemented

*Balancing the demands of bureaucracy with preparing Marines for combat

*Connor’s expectations for his junior Marines, fire team leaders, fellow squad leaders, platoon sergeant, platoon commander, and company commander

*What makes an ideal squad leader

*Balancing one's personal life with dedication to the profession of arms

*What makes a squad leader from hell

*The most important thing squad leaders do besides leading Marines in combat and preparing them for it

*Connor’s experiences as a platoon sergeant in 1/8

*The one thing Connor would have liked to have known about his platoon before becoming its platoon sergeant

*The current culture and atmosphere in 1/8

*Connor’s philosophy of leadership and how it’s evolved

*His thoughts on TDGs and their facilitation 

In this episode, we discuss:

*Matt's decision to join the Marine Corps

*His experiences at boot camp and the School of Infantry-East

*His experiences with squad leaders up to this point in his career

*How well the Marine Corps is preparing him to be a squad leader

*The Advanced Infantry Marine Course

*Matt's experiences as a team leader, assistant patrol leader, and acting squad leader

*What makes an ideal squad leader

*What makes a squad leader from hell

*Matt's philosophy of leadership

*What excites him most about being a future squad leader

*What concerns him most

*His ideas for training his future squad

*The kind of atmosphere he wants to create in the squad

*The current culture and atmosphere in 1/8

*Matt's thoughts on maneuver warfare 

*Balancing the demands of bureaucracy with preparing Marines for combat

*The one thing Matt would like to know about his future squad before becoming its leader

*His expectations for his junior Marines, fire team leaders, fellow squad leaders, platoon sergeant, platoon commander, and company commander

*The value of tactical decision games (TDGs)

*1/8's summer 2023 TDG tournament