SOFcast

SFC Doug Kiesewetter is a Special Forces Engineer and Weapons Sergeant with the US Army National Guard 20th Special Forces Group and the Chief Content Officer at SOFLETE.

In this episode, host SGM Matt Parrish and SFC Kiesewetter talk about the changing culture within SOF that encourages physical, mental, and spiritual health and wellbeing. "...it doesn't make sense if you're building a house one day, and the next...you're breaking [it down]. It's just it doesn't make any sense."

In June of 2018, the world held its breath as news of 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a cave slowly filling with water hit the headlines. SMSgt Derek Anderson, an Air Force Pararescueman, was part of the team tasked with saving them. Faced with pouring rains threatening to flood the entire cave system, SMSgt Anderson and his team were faced with a seemingly impossible task of conducting a rescue never before performed with 13 lives hanging in the balance. "Show me the impossible..."

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US Cyber Command's Senior Enlisted Leader Cheryl D. Lyon and US Space Command's Senior Enlisted Leader MGySgt Scott H. Stalker join SOFcast to to discuss their organizations respective roles in future combat, safeguarding our country's interests, and where SOF fits in their missions.

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The Commander of USSOCOM GEN Richard D. Clarke returns to SOFcast for our season finale! General Clarke discusses leadership and accountability, the evolving global role of SOCOM, and why "we can't take our foot off the gas" in taking care of SOF servicemembers.

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SSgt Nick Jones is only the 8th Marine Raider to receive the Navy Cross for valor, an award second only to the Medal of Honor. SSgt Jones take us into the ISIS-occupied tunnels of Northern Iraq and into the battle that changed his life. Leadership in the face of danger, selfless determination, and what it takes to be "Always Faithful, Always Forward"!

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Resilience isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” solution. It’s different for everyone and figuring out where to start can be overwhelming. Air Force Special Operations Command Division Chief for the integration of Air Force resiliency programs and Special Operations Command’s Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF) program’s, Lt. Col. Onnie Retkofsky talks with SOFcast about tapping into her own spiritual drive that helped her accomplish becoming a 5x Ironman All World Athlete and 12x Ironman finisher. Lt. Col. Retkofsky also shares some ways to help you find your own focus for resilience.

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SOFcast goes to Washington! Hosts CCM Greg Smith and SGM Parrish sat down with representatives from both sides of the aisle during last year's SOF Caucus to discuss their support for SOF operations, family, and what they’re doing for SOF’s readiness.

Guests
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL)
Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL)
Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA)
Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC)

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Brad Thomas is one of those people you can’t put into a box. He’s an Army Ranger who fought in Gothic Serpent (aka Black Hawk Down), became an SMU Commando, and now makes music alongside other SOF veterans in the band Silence and Light. SOFcast hosts CCM Greg Smith and SGM Matt Parrish talked with Brad about his experience in SOF, finding his tribe, and how music connects him to fellow veterans.

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The last 20 years of GWOT and counter-insurgency has dramatically shaped today’s force. Dr. David Kilcullen has been at the forefront of those shaping policies and strategies. Dr. Kilcullen joins the hosts of SOFcast to discuss how the lessons learned from GWOT (the good and the bad) will be applied to the future of SOF and where those lessons fit in Strategic Competition.

Dr. David Kilcullen is the former senior counter-insurgency advisor to General David Patreus and former Chief Strategist in the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the US State Department. He’s also the author of The Accidental Guerrilla, Counterinsurgency, Out of the Mountains, Blood Year, and The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West

The Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, SEAC Ramón Colón-López, joins SOFcast to talk about the role of SOF in Great Power Competition, getting the record straight on diversity in the ranks, and what he’s doing to preserve the mission of special operations at the highest levels of decision-making.

SEAC Ramón Colón-López is the 4th Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman and a USAF Pararescueman.