Mandatory Fun

Hundreds of heroes have emerged through the ranks of all service branches with remarkable stories of courage and selflessness.

And while some stories are well known, the ones we talk about in this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast are seldom told. You'd think these stories are made up, such as in the case of airman Snuffy, or propaganda ploys to recruit more troops. Either way, every service member should know about these Air Force legends and their badassery.

Here's a brief description of our heroes for reference:

Col. Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr., the Tuskegee airman who almost shot Muammar Qaddafi. Chappie was already a legend before calling out Qaddafi in 1968 having served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Sgt. Maynard "Snuffy" Smith, the original airman Snuffy. Despite being an undiciplined slacker avoided by everyone, rose to the challenge in the face of certain death to save his crew.

Douglas W. Morrell, the combat cameraman who lived the entire history of the Air Force.

Eddie Rickenbacker, the racecar driver-turned airman who broke all of the Air Force's records.

Charlie Brown, the B-17 Flying Fortress pilot who was spared by German ace fighter pilot Oberleutnant Franz Stigler. These two rivals became close friends after meeting in 1990.

It's common for the four major military branches — the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Army — to work together, but seldom do we share missions with the Coast Guard. But it wasn't always this way. While the Coast Guard falls under the Department of Homeland Security, there have been instances when it fell under the Department of Defense. In actuality, the U.S. Coast Guard gets passed around a lot. In addition to the DoD, it has also fallen under the Department of Treasury, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of the Interior. So, it isn't hard to imagine why some service members get confused when it comes to the Coast Guard. For this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, we invited fellow coastie and We Are The Mighty contributor Mary-Elizabeth Pratt to answer questions about the Coast Guard we've always wanted answers to but were too afraid to ask for fear of looking stupid.

Bad back, knee sprains, and other injury claims ISIS militants are using to scam out of duty are child's play compared to excuses deployed by the finest members of the E-4 Mafia. "For starters, headaches and stomachaches are rookie excuses," says Tim Kirkpatrick, a former Navy corpsman and newest member of the We Are The Mighty Team. "There's no way to diagnose these 'chief complaints' because they're subjective." As a veteran with multiple deployments, Tim has heard every excuse in the sick call commando's manual and can tell you what works and what doesn't. "A Marine rarely gets out of a hike," he says. "He has to be dead or dying to get out of it, but there are ways." In this episode of the "Mandatory Fun" podcast, Tim and reformed members of the E-4 Mafia — your hosts, O.V. and Blake — divulge their 'skating' tips to ISIS fighters looking to file a proper jihad-ache. Hosted by: Blake Stilwell: Air Force veteran and Senior Contributor Tim Kirkpatrick: Navy veteran and Editorial Coordinator Orvelin Valle (AKA O.V.): Navy veteran and Podcast Producer

New York Times best-selling author of "American Sniper" Scott McEwen joined us to discuss Ryan Zinke, the co-author, and subject of his latest book "American Commander." McEwin teamed with Zinke — a former SEAL Team Six Commander and the only US Navy SEAL in Congress — to write a book about the now-politician's life. Zinke is also Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of the Interior. Zinke's military career began in 1985 when he graduated from Officer Candidate School and attended SEAL training (BUDS class 136). He was first assigned to SEAL Team One in Coronado, California, then was later selected for SEAL Team Six where he was a Team Leader and a commander. As McEwin tells it, after a decade of service, Zinke was assigned as Deputy and Acting Commander of Combined Joint Special Operations for Operation Iraqi Freedom where he led a force of over 3,500 Special Operations personnel. In 2006 he was awarded two Bronze Stars. An author experienced in telling the stories of high-level special operators, McEwin goes on to explain how Zinke retired from active duty 2008 after serving 23 years as a Navy SEAL. Zinke later ran for Congress and was sworn into the House of Representatives on January 6, 2015, and became the first Navy SEAL in the House.

After the turmoil generated from the recent presidential election, we were left to wonder if a second Civil War is possible and if so, how it would play out. Join us for an entertaining wargaming discussion in which every state declares war on each other. We talk about fighting tactics, how long it will last, and who the winners and losers are. Read the original article "Here's what would happen if every US state declared war on each other" by Jon Davis, a Marine Corps veteran who writes about the military, international defense, and veterans' welfare and empowerment.

Norway recently invited 330 U.S. Marines to its country for winter warfare exercises and Russia went all nuclear over it. Frants Klintsevitsj, the deputy chairman of Russia's defense and security committee, said on national TV that a nuclear strike was on the table over the Devil Dog deployment. But how much damage can 330 U.S. Marines and their personal gear do? We did a little research, and it turns out Russia's response might have been spot on. Join us for an entertaining discussion of Marine Corps history and learn about its fearsome reputation.

There's a lot of death in the military; that's what happens in wars — people kill each other. Whether it's by partaking in the fighting or as a result of collateral damage, it is inevitable. According to popular myth — mostly what we've watched during all those Halloween specials — people become ghosts by suffering a violent or unfair death. By this reasoning, bases and battlefields are gold mines for spooky military ghost stories. Join us for a ghostly episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast where we explore the lost souls and vengeful spirits roaming military bases and battlefields in the afterlife.

Marine Corps veteran Rob Riggle joins us for a hilarious conversation about his transition to acting, what he thinks about celebrities at the Marine Corps Ball, and how he advocates for veterans.

The Army's hard-charging chief of staff Gen. Mark Milley is making big changes to the Army, and this year's annual Association of the U.S. Army conference features the weapons and technology to make his vision a reality. From kamikaze drones to dream vehicles, here's our favorite gear from AUSA 2016.

For over a decade, actor Stephen Lang has performed a one-man show based on the real-life stories of eight Medal of Honor recipients. The play has taken him to U.S. military bases and ships around the world performing for the troops and even before the people he portrays. Recently, footage from his performances was stitched together for the film "Beyond Glory." For this episode of the Mandatory Fun Podcast we invited Lang to discuss "Beyond Glory" and three Medal of Honor stories from the film.