Hey Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week we bring you another installment of Strait Talk with Dr. Mike Hunzeker. A lot has happened in the world since the last time we did a Strait Talk, from China’s reaction to last years election in Taiwan, to our election, and changes in foreign policy, there’s a lot to unpack. Starting with…what is going on?! Thankfully, Mike is at the forefront of these issues to help us get to the bottom of what impact the current environment might have, and is having, on Taiwan, China, and our allies in the region.

And check out the Taiwan Security Monitor. The Taiwan Security Monitor is a student-driven research initiative dedicated to enhancing public understanding and informed discourse on Taiwan-related security issues.

Enjoy!

The post #190: Strait Talk with Dr. Michael Hunzeker first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we bring you another installment of Semper Cinema with our review of David Kniess’ award-winning documentary film, The Gift. The Gift tells the powerful story of Medal of Honor recipient Corporal Jason Dunham and the Marines of Kilo 3/7. The Gift explores the events of 2004 in the Battle of Husaybah, Iraq, that led to Cpl Dunham receiving the Medal of Honor and how his fellow Marines have responded to this gift. Nancy, William, and I explore the themes of the film and its impact on everyone, from the Marines to David to the audience. We hope to have David on the show soon, but in the meantime, please enjoy our review of this powerful story of sacrifice, courage, and love.

Enjoy!

The post #189: Semper Cinema – David Kniess’ powerful documentary, The Gift first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we continue our Road to 250 segment, celebrating the Marine Corps’ 250th birthday in 2025. Over the next year, we’ll feature stories and history from throughout the 250 years of the Marine Corps. These episodes will be nested within the MCA’s overall Road to 250 Campaign, where you will find featured articles in both the Gazette and Leatherneck highlighting events and battles within specific periods in Marine Corps history. The MCA also has a commemorative Road to 250 coin collection. These commemorative challenge coins can only be found through the MCA. Go to marineshop.net to order individual coins or email [email protected] to order the entire set or learn more.

To better understand the weapon is to better understand the history. This month, we walk the Road to 250 with the author of the Leatherneck segment, “This is My Rifle,” Sam Lichtman. Sam helps us look at the weapons of the Spanish-American War era and how the rapid advances of small-arms technology not only changed the way Marines were employed but how Marines viewed the profession of arms.

Enjoy!

Check out Sam’s writing and learn more about the small arms of Marine Corps history in his “This is My Rifle” segment in Leatherneck magazine.

The post #188: Road to 250/”This is My Rifle” Spanish-American War historical crossover with Sam Lichtman first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week we welcome LtCol Nick Gregson and Kelsie Meade to the show. LtCol Gregson is the Director for the Marine Corps Center for Learning and Faculty Development at TECOM and Kelsie is the High-Intensity Tactical Training Coordinator for Marine Corps Base Quantico. They talk to us about the TECOM Fittest Instructor Competition. The competition is a multi-day, multi-disciplined, multi-event competition for instructors across the Marine Corps that challenges participants both mentally and physically. Both LtCol Gregson and Kelsie discuss how they came to be a part of the planning for the competition, where the genesis of the competition came from, and their plans to expand it. It was great talking to them about this really innovative way to focus on the health of the force and increase readiness. And as we are all woefully behind in our standard New Year’s resolutions to focus on health and be more fit, hopefully this conversation is not only informative, but helps us get off our butts.

* A note to our listeners: the audio quality of this recording somehow degraded between the moment finished post-production and publishing the episode. We apologize for the muffled sounds but if you turn up the volume on your device, you won’t regret it.

Enjoy!

The post #187: The Marine Corps Fittest Instructor Competition with LtCol Nick Gregson and Kelsie Meade first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week we are very excited to be welcoming back to the show Capt Riley Tejcek to the show. Riley is the Support Officer for the Expeditionary Warfare School at the Marine Corps University here at MCB Quantico. She recently returned from her Iraq deployment only to take her first gold medal in January, saw her children’s book hit the shelves in March, and is now off to Lake Placid, NY for the US Olympic team trials. The word “busy” may need a rewrite. While we wait for dictionary folks to work on that, Riley talks to us about her experiences over the past year and the value of white space on your calendar. And we talk about her book, the impetus behind it, and what she hopes children learn from it.

Enjoy!

linkedin.com/in/riley-tejcek-b264902b9

linktr.ee/RileyTejcek

instagram.com/riley.tejcek

The post #186: Capt Riley Tejcek Talks Her Book, Getting Gold, and Enjoying Calendar White Space first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome Riane Donoho and Saje Mrowinski to the show. Riane and Saje join us to talk about the Marine Corps Lioness and FET Programs. For those who aren’t familiar, the Lioness and FET programs were female engagement teams designed to be embedded with Marine combat units tasked with interacting with the female population in the primarily Muslim countries (a demographic that the then all-male units could not engage with due to cultural sensitivities) to search personnel, collect intelligence, and help us better understand the human landscape. Riane and Saje share their experiences in country, the challenges they faced, and their current efforts to increase awareness of what this program achieved during the Long War and build a community of veterans of the program. It is clear that even after all these years, they are both still passionate about the program and all the good things that the program was able to accomplish. 

Enjoy!

dollface6.com

youtube.com/@dollface6

thedollhouseinstitute.com

The post #185: Female Engagement Team (FET) veterans, Riane Donoho and Saje Mrowinski talk the Lioness/FET Program first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome Riane Donoho and Saje Mrowinski to the show. Riane and Saje join us to talk about the Marine Corps Lioness and FET Programs. For those who aren’t familiar, the Lioness and FET programs were female engagement teams designed to be embedded with Marine combat units tasked with interacting with the female population in the primarily Muslim countries (a demographic that the then all-male units could not engage with due to cultural sensitivities) to search personnel, collect intelligence, and help us better understand the human landscape. Riane and Saje share their experiences in country, the challenges they faced, and their current efforts to increase awareness of what this program achieved during the Long War and build a community of veterans of the program. It is clear that even after all these years, they are both still passionate about the program and all the good things that the program was able to accomplish. 

Enjoy!

dollface6.com

youtube.com/@dollface6

thedollhouseinstitute.com

The post #185: Female Engagement Team (FET) veterans, Riane Donoho and Saje Mrowinski talk the Lioness/FET Program first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we continue our Road to 250 segment, celebrating the Marine Corps’ 250th birthday in 2025. Over the next year, we’ll feature stories and history from throughout the 250 years of the Marine Corps. These episodes will be nested within the MCA’s overall Road to 250 Campaign, where you will find featured articles in both the Gazette and Leatherneck highlighting events and battles within specific periods in Marine Corps history. The MCA also has a commemorative Road to 250 coin collection. These commemorative challenge coins can only be found through the MCA. Go to marineshop.net to order individual coins or email [email protected] to order the entire set or learn more.

This month, we walk the Road to 250 with the MCA’s very own historian in residence, William Treuting. William helps us dive deep into Marine Corps history during the Civil War, both U.S. and Confederate, from the Battle of Manassas to Fort Fischer. William is a wealth of knowledge on this era, so it was great to have some time to pick his brain, aka his notes.

Enjoy!

The post #184: Road to 250 – William Treuting gets into the trenches of Marine Corps history during the Civil War first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome Virginia State Park Ranger, photographer, and retired Marine, CWO5 Jonathan Knauth. Jonathan is the Marine Corps winner of the USAA Why We Salute Super Bowl Ticket Campaign. As an official Salute to Service partner of the NFL, USAA reaches out to the military affiliates, such as the MCA, to recommend potential winners of Super Bowl tickets. Jonathan joins us to talk about his experience in New Orleans for the big game, as well as sharing his experience as a retired CWO5, combat camera veteran of Fallujah, his transition to and experiences as a park ranger, and his future photo journal project. This is a really fun conversation and for all Marines and service members considering life after service, consider Jonathan’s story becoming a park ranger.

Enjoy!

The post #183: CWO5 Jonathan Knauth gets a double okie-doke, tickets to the big game first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we recognize the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Iwo Jima by welcoming Dr. Robert Burrell to the show. Dr. Burrell is veteran Marine, professor, and author of the books, The Ghosts of Iwo Jima and Crucibles: Selected Reading in U.S. Marine Corps History.  He also wrote an exceptional article for the Gazette titled, Remembering Iwo Jima, which you can find on our website now. Based on that title alone, I can’t imagine finding a better person to talk to us about the significance of Iwo Jima. Dr. Burrell shares with us his experiences in uniform as an infantryman to being a critical decision maker in the establishment of the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin as the Marine Attache to Australia and how those experiences led to his passion for studying this battle that not only defined the Marine Corps but the nation as well. 

Enjoy!

https://www.robertburrell.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-burrell/

https://www.mca-marines.org/wp-content/uploads/Burrell-Feb25-WEB.pdf

The post #182: Remembering Iwo Jima with Dr. Robert Burrell first appeared on Marine Corps Association.