Fire Watch

The PACT Act, which was meant to help veterans receive care and benefits after being exposed to toxins and burn pits while serving their country, was billed as the most sweeping piece of veteran healthcare legislation ever passed.

But for some veterans, like those exposed to things like the "black goo" and even cyanide at Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, also known as K2 – it was not sweeping enough.

Military.com's veterans and health reporter Patricia Kime spoke to several veterans about being left out of this law after years of advocacy and months of political turmoil. What does being left out mean for their futures? How are they grappling with illnesses that advocates say should be covered by the VA's biggest healthcare law?

In this episode: ​​​​Jon Stewart, John Feal, Patricia Kime, Drew F. Lawrence, Shane Liermann, Rosie Torres

Note: This special Christmas episode originally aired on December 23rd, 2022. We thought it might bring you some holiday cheer again this year. Enjoy.

When the red telephone began to ring, Col. Harry Shoup feared the worst. It was 1955, at the height of the Cold War, and Shoup was in the operations center of the Continental Air Defense Command in Colorado. CONAD, as it was known then, stood as the early warning system for a Soviet attack. So the ringing of the red telephone never meant anything good.

What happened next launched the now-named North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, into a decades-long tradition to track Santa and bring joy to children around the world. And it started with a simple act of kindness, a Cold War scare and a youngster hoping to tap into a little Christmas magic.

So who runs NORAD, and how do they know so much about Santa? On this episode of Fire Watch, we learn about the decades-long tradition and speak to the service members who track Santa on Christmas. Plus, a special reading of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" by the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. (Ret.) Martin Dempsey.

Pier 6 sits where the Elizabeth River and Chesapeake Bay meet at the largest navy complex in the world – Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.

It's Monday, windy and cold. Sailors, civilian contractors and dock workers, or stevedors as they're called on Pier 6 hurry to unload three enormous food trucks filled with hundreds and hundreds of pounds of Thanksgiving provisions for the USS Forrest Sherman, a destroyer that's docked at Norfolk during the holiday.

Soon an assembly line for the food forms; fruits, veggies, potatoes, pies, whole turkeys make their way from the truck, to the deck and down into the belly of the ship where they will sit, chilled, until they head to the galley for preparation.

On this episode, we'll take a look at that tradition, the preparation for it and what it means to the sailors on the ship for Thanksgiving. Since antiquity, one way to learn about a military and its personnel is through their stomachs, what they're being fed and by how much – and this year – with all of the uncertainty the world has to offer, troops are getting a lot to eat this Thanksgiving.

Appearing on this episode: Michael Hong, CS3 Jacob Weed, Robbin Durie, Drew F. Lawrence, Robin Whaley, IT1 Jacob Hruska, Lt. Melissa Jock, Commander Jorge Roldan, CS3 Lopez Miller

[ARCHIVES]

Ambrose Bierce was an American Civil War veteran. As a Union soldier Bierce fought in many battles, was wounded, and went on to become a pioneer in the horror genre, helping introduce the psychological thriller to the American story.

American tradition is steeped in rich horror and veterans like Bierce who have taken their experiences in war and service and twisted them into terrifying tales for the public are a staple in that tradition.

Edgar Allen Poe, a king of the American gothic, had a stint in the Army, enlisting under a fake name and age in 1827. Rod Serling, the creator and host of The Twilight Zone, fought in World War II, earning a bronze star and purple heart before going on to terrifying millions with dark, otherworldly frights on TV.

These are some of the few, but impactful authors who have transposed the horrors of war into macabre fiction – and today, that tradition continues.

On this episode of Fire Watch, we explore that tradition through contemporary authors – who are also veterans – in a reading of Bierce's An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.

This episode contains adult themes, violence and swearing.

Sound effects courtesy of Zapsplat.com.

In this episode: Drew F. Lawrence, Briane Keene, Jonathan Raab, Dacia Arnold, Russell James and Weston Ochse.

A few blocks away from Baltimore Harbor where many a sailor have made port and ships have launched for centuries, I walk into a tan and green-shingled building lined inside and out with tattoo memorabilia.

Snarling panthers, rickety ships, pin-up girls: slices of Americana-style ink hang over century-old tattoo guns as their modern successors whizz permanent art into the skin of ready and willing canvases. Plus there's little banter and fun, free of charge.

This is the Baltimore Tattoo Museum. It's been around for decades and outside of its civilian clientele, the shop has seen more than its fair share of service members and veterans looking to get permanently stamped with classic off the wall designs or custom-made ink.

The shop is also home to a cast of characters, including its owner Chris Keaton, who have many stories to tell of the best and worst ideas that have walked through the door…and for those tales, well – I'll let you be the judge.

Appearing in this episode: Kelsey Baker, Drew F. Lawrence, Zach Fryer-Biggs, Chris Keaton and the Baltimore Tattoo Museum tattoo artists.

August 9th, August 9th, August 9th! If there is one thing you remember about this episode, it is that you should apply for your PACT Act benefits by August 9th.

August 9th – that's the date. If you are unsure what I am talking about, and why I am talking about it repetitively, I bet you have questions.

Today, our guest will help us answer those questions. Joshua Jacobs is the Under Secretary of Benefits for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He leads the Veterans Benefits Administration which provides disability compensation and benefits to millions of qualifying veterans, their loved ones and their survivors.

The Islamic State's Khorasan Province, also known as ISIS-K, has rapidly become the new boogeyman in the Middle East -- specifically in Afghanistan, where the overall ISIS apparatus has spread its influence.

The State Department has issued warnings about the group and has previously designated its leaders as top-priority terrorists. Over the last few years, top military generals have said that the group must be eradicated. And perhaps most recent in Americans' minds is the group's claim to the Abbey Gate suicide bombing, an explosion that killed 13 U.S. service members and at least 160 Afghans during the chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan almost two years ago.

Last month, the Taliban -- the reigning draconian regime in Afghanistan that the U.S. fought over the last 20 years of conflict in the country -- claimed that they had killed the ISIS-K leader behind the Abbey Gate plot.

The claim marks renewed attention in a new era of conflict for the region. Our guest, Andrew Mines, spent years as a researcher with the George Washington Program on Extremism warning of ISIS-K's rise, as did other academics. And reporters like Dan Lamothe with The Washington Post have uncovered U.S. documents that indicate Afghanistan is once again a staging ground for global terrorism -- this time, with ISIS-K.

Appearing in this episode: Rebecca Kheel, Dan Lamothe, Drew F. Lawrence, Andrew Mines

Last week, my colleague Konstantin Toropin and I spoke to the Chief of Navy Personnel, Vice Adm. Rick Cheeseman, and his senior enlisted counterpart Fleet Master Chief Delbert Terrell. They are the senior leaders who run the Navy's personnel, manpower and training operations across the fleet.

We had asked sailors to let us know what questions they thought the two should have to answer, receiving suggestions through email, Reddit and elsewhere. It was a chance for them to put the senior leaders on the spot about pay issues, housing and, of course, beards.

For this episode, we're sharing that full conversation, only lightly edited for time.

Appearing in this episode: Fleet Master Chief Delbert Terrell, Vice Adm. Rick Cheeseman, Drew F. Lawrence, Konstantin Toropin

Many Americans think of only one form of military heroism: the war hero. But there are many varieties of heroism -- yes, some that include acts of gallantry in combat, but others are performed by service members here at home.

At least, that's what the United Service Organizations, or USO, has hoped to show over the last 20 years when it nominates its Service Members of the Year -- junior enlisted troops from all branches and components recognized for actions that go above and beyond.

Today, you'll hear from those USO Service Members of the Year: a Patriot missile operator who resurrected U.S. use of the system for the first time in nearly two decades; a Marine who gave lifesaving CPR to an unconscious noncommissioned officer; a sailor who treated wounded civilians after a drive-by shooting; a Guardsman who rushed into a burning building to save a woman's life; an airman who tackled a man attacking a pregnant woman; and a Coast Guardsman who breathed life into an infant after an overloaded boat capsized while crossing the Rio Grande River.

Appearing in this episode: Ben Fenwick, Sgt. Octavio Castruita, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jacob Flores, Spc. Solomon J. Doss, Cpl. Alec Cruz, Sgt. Erick Ceja, Seaman Ty Knight, Drew F. Lawrence, Rebecca Kheel.

Nearly 60 years ago, now-retired Colonel Paris Davis did something remarkable. He was a Green Beret, one of the first Black officers to join the elite Special Forces. And on June 18, 1965 as dawn was breaking over the rice paddies of Binh Dinh province Vietnam, Davis, his Special Forces team, and an inexperienced company of South Vietnamese soldiers started taking heavy machine-gun fire from Viet Cong fighters – hundreds of fighters.

During a 19-hour battle, Davis saved three Americans under his command, disobeying two direct orders from a superior officer to do so, crawling through mud and human waste to rescue them. He killed more than a dozen enemies using all manner of weapons, including engaging in hand-to-hand combat. He was wounded at least eight times in the process, and was the last American to step off the battlefield that day.

How could a soldier like Davis who exhibited that type of heroism suffer the fate of having the paperwork for the nation's highest military honor lost – and not just once, but twice?

The answer, according to historians, his family and friends is clear – racism. Davis, a Black officer leading an elite force who had disobeyed a superior during the height of the Civil Rights movement could well have been a symbol for those striving for equality in that era.

Army officials were hesitant to blame discrimination, but acknowledged Davis had waited far too long, declaring their admiration for the acts of courage he had performed in 1965.

Join host Drew F. Lawrence as he explores Davis' legacy through the eyes of his friends, family and of course, the retired Green Beret himself.

Appearing in this episode: President Joe Biden, Ron Deis, Neil Thorne, Steve Beynon, Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Weimer, Drew Lawrence, Regan Hopper, Phil Donahue, Maj. Gen. Patrick Roberson, Col. Paris Davis, Rebecca Kheel