Hazard Ground

Mike Erwin is an amazing human. After surviving three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Intelligence Officer, much of that time directly supporting Special Operations, he started one of the premier veterans support organizations in America: Team Red, White & Blue, or "Team RWB" as it's commonly known. For several years now, Team RWB has been connecting and helping veterans heal through physical fitness, building community, and enacting positive change. Mike is also the Founder and President of The Positivity Project and CEO of The Character & Leadership Center, both organizations that are making incredible strides in developing the next generation of great leaders. In a world that's seemingly saturated in negative energy, Mike Erwin is a positive force connecting those who want to be something truly greater than themselves! "Lead Yourself First: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude" www.teamrwb.org | www.posproject.org | www.characterleadership.center

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Mark Zinno & Matt Pascarella, creators of "Hazard Ground," finally get together in the same city and sit down for a chat. They talk about everything from how the show got started, what it was like booking and working with some of their favorite guests so far, plans for the future, and a whole lot more! Check it out! www.facebook.com/hazardgroundpodcast | www.patreon.com/hazardground | @hazardground

General (Ret) Ann Dunwoody holds the distinction of being the first woman in the US Military to achieve the rank of four-star general. But when you listen to her speak and understand a little bit of who she is as a person, you get the sense that there is no military rank high enough to quantify who she is as a leader. Her 37 plus years of military service have helped transform the US military for the better, and inspired other servicemembers to become incredible leaders like herself. She has deployed in support of major combat operations from Desert Storm to the Global War on Terror, and finished up her military career by commanding the largest global logistics network in the Army. It goes without saying that she's an incredible woman, human, and leader, who knows the true meaning of humility, integrity, and selfless service. We are again honored to have such an outstanding guest as General Dunwoody on the show! "A Higher Standard: Leadership Strategies from America's First Female Four-Star General"

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In the spring of 1966 a 19-year old Bill Reynolds was on top of the world. The young Californian had it all: the killer car (a '65 Chevelle Super Sport to be exact), the gorgeous girlfriend, and a well-paying job in Los Angeles. Then, just before summer hit, his world changed forever - he received a draft notice in the mail, with orders to report to the Los Angeles Induction Station on May 17, 1966. Bill knew that it was his time to serve, like his father before him in WWII, so he went without question. He went to war with the Army's 9th Infantry Division, which had been re-activated for combat in Vietnam. Throughout his tour, Bill fought some extremely tough battles, lost some very good friends along the way, and served honorably. This episode was actually recorded one day after the 50th anniversary of one of the last battles Bill fought in, where he lost several of his good friends. Bill ultimately completed his tour of duty in Vietnam, and returned home to pick up where he left off back in 1966. We're honored to have him on the podcast, and thankful he's able to keep such an important part of our history alive. This is another incredible episode you don't want to miss! The Greatest Generations Foundation (www.tggf.org)

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Chris Roessner's attitude and work ethic speak for themselves. In a relatively short period of his life, he's gone from surviving a year in Iraq in the Sunni Triangle performing a wartime mission with one of the lowest survival rates, to being awarded a prestigious academic scholarship through the Pat Tillman Foundation, to writing and executive producing his own film, "Sand Castle," which recently debuted as a Netflix Original Movie in April 2017. Part of his reason for joining the military, like so many other young soldiers, was to earn money for college. That decision set Chris on a path to discover his passion for writing and motion pictures, and it's clear he's taken advantage of every opportunity he's earned along the way. It's not too often that your first major screenplay is made into a movie as quickly as "Sand Castle" was. And most importantly, Chris was able to make a film that was as true as possible to the experience he and so many others like him had serving in combat - a feat that's not easily achieved. If you're looking for inspiration, you'll find it in the story of Chris Roessner! @CitizenRoessner | www.pattillmanfoundation.org/scholar/chris-roessner/ | "Sand Castle" (www.netflix.com/title/80118916)

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Dale Dye is probably best known for the roles he's played in numerous motion pictures on war and combat...Films like "Platoon," "Casualties of War," and "Saving Private Ryan." But before he landed in Hollywood, he spent a majority of his time fighting and leading Marines on real battlefields - the ones where the slightest mistake or sniff of bad luck meant you weren't coming home. He's a veteran of multiple tours in Vietnam and survived 31 combat operations there. He's a decorated Marine who embodies every bit of the warrior spirit. And now he continues his mission to ensure that warrior spirit is accurately portrayed in motion pictures, and conveyed to and understood by as many people as possible. His latest project is called "No Better Place To Die." It's a World War II film, Dye hopes to make on his own terms, "outside the traditional Hollywood way," as he puts it. It's a venture as unconventional as the life Dale Dye has been fortunate enough to lead, and looks to be, no doubt just as incredible. www.warriorsinc.com | www.facebook.com/NoBetterPlaceToDie | www.indiegogo.com/projects/no-better-place-to-die-second-push-film-war#/ |  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2f68xdXYrg

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Roland Guidry is a retired Air Force Colonel, who led an extraordinary career in air special operations during two very volatile periods in US history. The first was Vietnam, flying special "Buffalo Hunter" missions to launch photo reconnaissance drones into enemy territory from his DC-130 aircraft, in support of special missions like the Son Tay Raid. The second was the Iran Hostage Crisis in early 1980. Many people know from the 2012 film, "Argo," of the six diplomats who initially evaded capture and made it out of Iran in January 1980. But a separate effort, dubbed Operation EAGLE CLAW, was also launched in April of that year to rescue the much larger group of American embassy staff held captive in Tehran. Col Guidry flew the assault and hostage rescue forces into the Iranian desert on the first night of this two-night, daring and audacious operation. Unfortunately the operation ended in tragedy and the rescue effort was ultimately aborted. But what came out of the ashes of EAGLE CLAW was the modern-day US Special Operations Forces community as we know it, with Col Guidry again at the forefront of that effort. Hear how it all unfolded in this very special episode of Hazard Ground!

You might be wondering why our guest this week is not affiliated with the military. Every now and then we like to feature a special guest on the show - someone who hasn't necessarily experienced combat, but who works to better the lives of others through podcasts, music, books, and other forms of media. And that's exactly why we have John Brenkus on the podcast. He has an amazing story of how he created his own show for ESPN, called "Sport Science." And he has an even more amazing story of how he met the woman of his dreams, who he created his own podcast with, called the "Brink of Midnight" where they feature successful athletes and entertainers who experienced a life-changing moment that turned everything around and changed them for the better, sending them on path to greatness. It's an inspiring show that accentuates the positive, and that is why we're featuring John Brenkus on this week's edition of "Hazard Ground"! "Brink of Midnight" Podcast | www.brinkofmidnight.com | "Brink of Midnight" Music

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Most people know Mark Bowden as the best-selling author of the book, Black Hawk Down, the basis for the 2001 film by the same name. But this is only one small part of a collection of books Mark has written that detail some of the most instrumental US military operations in modern history.  In the last several years he has covered the Iran Hostage Crisis, the hunt for Pablo Escobar, and the final chapter of Osama Bin Laden, as seen through the eyes of those that were there on the ground, and all the while capturing the human element amidst the profuse inhumanity of armed conflict. His most recent book tells the story of the fall of the city of Hue, Vietnam's intellectual and cultural capital, during the 1968 Tet Offensive, and the Americans' struggle to take the city back. Hue 1968 is an incredible book that captures a polarizing slice of military history that badly deserves preservation. Like the book, this is an incredible episode you don't want to miss! "Black Hawk Down" | "Hue 1968" | "The Finish" | "Killing Pablo" | "Guests of the Ayatollah"

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Struck by a sense of duty to defend his country after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Will Bardenwerper walked away from a comfortable job in Midtown Manhattan to join the military. Despite some unexpected downtime while waiting to start his initial training, and then more schooling to become an Airborne & Ranger qualified officer, Will was finally dropped into the "hornet's nest," as he describes it, near Ramadi, Iraq in 2006, at the height of the initial Iraqi insurgency. Having fulfilled his initial military commitment and surviving one of the most dangerous deployments in recent history, Will transitioned from the military to become a full-time author. His latest book, which came out this month, details Saddam Hussein's last months alive and his daily interaction with his American guards. It's called, "The Prisoner in His Palace" and it provides an interesting perspective on the emotional and psychological toll guarding Saddam, in secret no less, took on both the young and more mature US soldiers who were handed the task of caring for the former dictator before eventually escorting him to his execution. Listen to Will recount his time in combat along with his journey to write and publish "The Prisoner in His Palace" on this very special episode of Hazard Ground! www.willbardenwerper.com | "The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid"

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