Hazard Ground

Jason Riley enlisted in the U.S. Army right out of high school, going to the 82nd Airborne Division. His first tour to Korea lasted longer than expected due to the Gulf War. When he returned, he only had a limited time left on his contract, so he became a gunner on a UH-60. He left the Army to go to school in Ohio, but in 1993 enlisted in the New Mexico National Guard where he served 20 more years. For more than a decade, Riley has been addressing the issue of the award process and equalizing the treatment of the Guard.

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Episode Intro Music: “Prelude” by “Silence & Light” (www.silenceandlightmusic.com)

Photo Credit: Jason Riley

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John Pray's father was a career Army officer who served during WWII where he survived the Bataan Death March and three and a half years as a POW. John's father later reflected on how hard it must have been on his mother during all of his years of service. His example and sentiment were driving forces in John's future. Pray joined the United States Air Force and retired after serving 27 years in a variety of roles including Director of the White House Situation Room. After retirement, Pray didn't stop serving military families. In May 2015, he is the acting President/CEO of Operation Homefront whose mission is to help build strong, stable, and secure military families so they can thrive, not simply struggle to get by, in the communities they have worked so hard to protect.

https://operationhomefront.org

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Episode Intro Music: “Prelude” by “Silence & Light” (www.silenceandlightmusic.com)

Photo Credit: John Pray

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Bradley Walker is a self- suggestion through our website coming on to tell his journey to the military. He grew up in a small town playing football. In his high school years, he realized he was headed in the wrong direction with the wrong crowd and needed to make a change. He turned to the military even though he didn't have any family members in the military or much support in his decision. Although his initial training had him second guessing his decision, he made it through training, became a CAV scout and later deployed to Iraq.

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Episode Intro Music: “Prelude” by “Silence & Light” (www.silenceandlightmusic.com)

Photo Credit: Bradley Walker

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Patrick Dossett is a graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy and SEAL training where he later became an officer. He spent 9 years in service before leaving the military and taking on the Wharton School of Business where he became a Tillman Scholar. Afterwards, Dossett spent some time at Google and also co-founded the Tip of the Spear foundation, a non-profit that serves the special operations community. His current position is the President/CEO of Madefor, a company that offers learning tools curated by experts in the fields of neuroscience, positive psychology and health and wellness. Madefor is free to the military community and helps all learn how to live better.

https://getmadefor.com

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Episode Intro Music: “Prelude” by “Silence & Light” (www.silenceandlightmusic.com)

Photo Credit: Patrick Dossett

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Jason Gardner knew from the early age of 7 that he would enter the military. That journey took him to the U.S. Navy where he spent nearly three decades with the SEAL team with nine deployments across the globe. Gardner brings perspective from all aspects of leadership from the front lines as a SEAL sniper to a SEAL Team Five Command Master Chief and now, in retirement, he serves as a leadership instructor, speaker, and strategic advisor at Echelon Front. 

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Episode Intro Music: “Prelude” by “Silence & Light” (www.silenceandlightmusic.com)

Photo Credit: Jason Gardner

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Michael Denehy served in the U.S. Army as a Green Beret and deployed 7 times. The first face he encountered off the plane of his first deployment was none other than Mark Zinno. Denehy retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2017 and went into small business ownership. He owned Chattabrewchee brewery that won several awards. Although Denehy owned the brewery, he doesn't drink alcohol anymore and is very open about his personal struggles to overcome alcoholism. Currently, he serves as Director of Communications for the National Infantry Museum Foundation, which was named USA Today's Best Free Museum of 2020.

Nationalinfantrymuseum.org

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Episode Intro Music: “Prelude” by “Silence & Light” (www.silenceandlightmusic.com)

Photo Credit: Michael Denehy

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Daniel Kearney grew up as an Army brat but now calls Georgia home. After earning a Marketing degree, Kearney commissioned in 2002 as a Second Lieutenant. In his 19 years of service, he has 13 combat deployments including one in the well-known Korengal Valley of Afghanistan. Colonel Kearney continues his service and, at the time of this recording, serves as the Director of Future Operations an AI-Enabled Corps efforts known as PROJECT RIDGWAY.

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Episode Intro Music: “Prelude” by “Silence & Light” (www.silenceandlightmusic.com)

Photo Credit: Colonel Daniel Kearney

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John Wayne Troxell enlisted in the U.S. Army as an armored reconnaissance specialist in 1982 and later served on 5 combat deployments including 2 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Troxell capped off his military career by serving as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Trump administration. Although his 37 years of service ended in 2020, he's continued to share his stories and experiences.

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Episode Intro Music: “Prelude” by “Silence & Light” (www.silenceandlightmusic.com)

Photo Credit: U.S. Army/ John Troxell

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Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson both served in the U.S. Navy, Andrews on a fast-attack submarine and Wilson as a Combat Surgeon with the U.S. Marines and Navy SEALs through multiple deployments. After serving, both have moved on to writing military thrillers. Their latest endeavor, Sons of Valor, is the first book in their new Tier One series, a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Best-selling series.

https://www.andrews-wilson.com/

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Episode Intro Music: “Prelude” by “Silence & Light” (www.silenceandlightmusic.com)

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Colonel John "Coke" Blocher received his commission from the Air Force Academy in 1999. He is a senior pilot with more than 1500 flying hours in the A/OA-10 "Warthog" and the AT-38 as an instructor pilot. Blocher was on the ground with the U.S. Army on March 20th as they breached the berm into Iraq, fought battles in Tallil, Al Kifl, Karbala and Baghdad. Just one month later for Operation Monty, Blocher's story intersects with our guests from Ep. 218, Greg "Billy Bob" Thornton and Raymond "Donk" Strasburger. While Billy Bob and Donk were fighter pilots in the air, Coke was the one on the ground yelling through the radio. Talking about his experience now only further lends itself to the resiliency he's shown throughout his career.

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Episode Intro Music: “Prelude” by “Silence & Light” (www.silenceandlightmusic.com)

Photo Credit: John Blocher

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