For an update on the war in Ukraine, Fran Racioppi Jumped In with Daniel Elkins, CEO of Special Operations Association of America and our guest from Episode 33,  where we covered SOAA’s mission, his career as a Green Beret in the Special Forces, SOAA’s commitment legislative advocacy and their work supporting Afghan refugees. 

SOAA just signed an agreement with the Ukrainian government to train their soldiers in basic combat fundamentals. They are one of the first non-profits to be authorized to officially train the Ukrainians and they’re working on US government approval right now. Daniel and Fran talk Ukraine, SOAA’s efforts in the region and the toll the war is taking on the people. We also circle back on Afghanistan, SOAA’s calls for a full investigation and what they are doing to continue to support Afghan refugees. 

Learn more about SOAA and get involved at SOAA.org. Follow them on social media @soaaorg. 

Learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website and check out our video YouTube versions of all episodes here. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. 

Highlights:

-Daniel credits his time serving at the US embassy in Ukraine for his dedication to the Ukrainian people and their fight (5:02)

-To meet the demand for soldiers, Ukraine was forced to reduce its basic training time to under a week for new soldiers. (7:37)

-SOAA is following a deliberate certification process to ensure they are fully authorized by the US government to conduct training of the Ukrainian forces. (9:40)

-SOAA is calling for a full investigation into the Afghanistan withdrawal and the lasting affects on the Afghan refugees. (14:41) 

Quotes:

-“When everything kicked off I knew we were going to be a part of it.” (5:53)

-”That’s really what SOAA’s all about, it’s about being able to bring the ground truth back to the halls of congress.” (6:45)

-”The fighting force that’s now going to the front is well equipped…but they’re lacking trainers to teach them basic soldiering skills.” (8:34)

-”We have the ability to move the needle now and that’s what we’re going to do.” (13:55)

“We were successful from August to the end of January in helping rescue about 7000 of our Afghan allies and American citizens and their families.” (15:27)

-”How did it happen and now is the time to ask that question.” (16:14)

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s, 18A Fitness, & Analytix Solutions.