SOFREP Radio

On this week's special podcast SOFREP senior editor and SOFREP Radio host Steve Balestrieri is joined by SOFREP Managing Editor Sean Spoonts and they bring you a plethora of goodies.

July 4 is upon us. Steve and Sean recount memorable July 4 celebrations they've had around the world and how their British friends treat the day. 

But we want to make this July 4 especially memorable for our veteran and active-duty friends. So, in celebration of July 4, SOFREP has partnered with Fox Nation bringing you one year of Fox Nation for free! 

Fox Nation has a very strong patriotic programming that will appeal to anyone from the history buff to the wilderness enthusiast. Scroll to the end to find more information and sign up.

But there is more. 

Join SOFREP between July 1 and September 30 and get the chance to win fantastic prizes including an iPhone 12 Pro, a Galaxy S21 Ultra, and two must-have everyday carry items, the Emerson Commander knife, and Surefire's E2D Defender Ultra flashlight. You can find more information here and here. 

Tune in to a celebratory episode of SOFREP Radio.

This July 4, SOFREP has partnered with Fox Nation. From July 1 to July 4, if you are a veteran or on active duty, you can get an entire year of Fox Nation for free! Yes, you heard that right. One year. For free.

Just click on the link below to sign up.

Sign Up

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On this week's podcast SOFREP senior editor and SOFREP Radio host Steve Balestrieri talks with Spencer Coursen author of the Safety Trap and professional security expert.

The two discuss personal security and safety and how we can achieve them in our everyday lives. After all, an informed society is a safe society.

Spencer highlights the important difference between safety and security and how a wrong perception of the former may lead to a compromise of the latter. He points out that probably the most dangerous time during a security event is not at its beginning but at its end. This is because as an event unfolds the window of opportunity to escape gets smaller while the confidence of the attacker increases.

Further, Spencer explains how regardless of circumstances, the number-one factor of target selection by a perpetrator is the likelihood of success. Perpetrators will go after the weakest. Therefore, the more you're promoting your protective posture the least likely you'll be made a target.

The pair talks about the five Ds of home security: Deter, Detect, Deny, Delay, Defend

Importantly, Spencer explains why "sheltering in place" and "run-hide-fight" approaches in many cases don't make sense.

Nevertheless, his message isn't that we should live in constant fear, but that we should be vigilant and aware.

SOFREP recently reviewed The Safety Trap and highly recommends it to our audience. You can purchase the book here or at your favorite bookstore.

Tune in to a very informative and eye-opening episode of SOFREP Radio.

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On this week's podcast SOFREP senior editor and SOFREP Radio host Steve Balestrieri talks with Dan Schilling Air Force Combat Controller (CCT) veteran, author, and holder of the Guinness World Record for the most base jumps in 24 hours with 201 jumps.

Dan talks about his unlikely path from an Infantry grunt to becoming an Air Force Combat Controller and about his unit's unique characteristics. In his words, Combat Controllers don't only kill bad guys but also save good ones. A prime example of this took place following the devastating Haiti earthquake of 2010 when Air Force Combat Controllers increased the capacity of Haiti International Airport by 1,400 percent thus allowing for a tremendous increase in incoming aid. Dan highlights the traits of social adaptability and malleability that characterize the unit.

The two also talk about Steve's work with CTT in Latin America and the famous jumping incident involving a pair of cowboy boots and a gold motorcycle helmet.

Dan also talks about his new book The Power of Awareness. The book aims at helping people with no military background avoid dangerous situations and protect themselves. It teaches what situational awareness is and how people can get back in touch with their intuition — which can save their life in a hairy situation. For the book, Dan interviewed CIA officers, police detectives, and operators and incorporated their knowledge.

Click here to learn more about The Power of Awareness and download Dan's situational awareness exercises. You can purchase the book here or at your favorite bookstore.

Don't miss another informative episode of SOFREP Radio.

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On this week's podcast SOFREP senior editor and SOFREP Radio host Steve Balestrieri talks with Green Beret and Retired U.S. Army Colonel Mark Rosengard. Among other commanding roles, Colonel Rosengard served as the director of Task Force Dagger, the Special Forces unit and first American element in Afghanistan after 9/11. Colonel Rosengard was also the group deputy commander for 10th SFG and served in a number of countries. He finished his military career as chief of staff of SOCCENT. 

Colonel Rosengard talks about the first days in Afghanistan post-9/11 and how, despite a multitude of challenges, Task Force Dagger succeeded in its mission. 

He discusses the efforts to gain the trust of local warlords against the Taliban and how the American Special Forces had to negotiate and tread the differing and shifting allegiances of local and regional groups. All the while Task Force Dagger was hampered by a lack of intelligence and the technological limitations of the era, but received the support of a number of Afghans.

Finally, Colonel Rosengard explains the difference between federal security and local autonomy and how the U.S. failed in understanding the importance of the latter for the Afghans. A better understanding of local autonomy could possibly have led to a stabler and safer Afghanistan both for the locals and the U.S.

Tune in to another episode of SOFREP Radio and discover what America's finest faced to protect our way of life immediately after 9/11.

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On this week's podcast SOFREP Senior Editor and SOFREP Radio host, Steve Balestrieri is joined by Fox & Friends co-host, author, and veteran Pete Hegseth.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Pete talks about his path to journalism and his subsequent interactions with his former teammates. They also discuss Pete's political plans, his books In the Arena and American Crusade, and his adventurous swim across the Hudson River with 30 Navy SEALs.

The two also touch upon America's foreign policy and the need to counter an ever-assertive China.

In discussing the current state of American society, education, and the divisive ideas permeating large sections of the country Pete offers his views on how America can move forward and overcome its current state.

Steve is then joined by SOFREP Managing Editor Sean Spoonts. The duo discusses their favorite Fox Nation programs and offers recommendations to our listeners.

Tune in to another episode of SOFREP Radio and remember from May 24 to May 31 Fox Nation, in partnership with SOFREP, offers a free one-year membership to active-duty servicemembers and military veterans. 

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On this week's podcast SOFREP Senior Editor and SOFREP Radio host, Steve Balestrieri talks with Jonathan Hancock a Marine veteran from 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment – The Magnificent Bastards – who walked 5,800 miles across the United States to visit fellow Marines and Gold Star families in a journey of healing.

Jon's trek across the country and his interactions with the veterans, Marines, and Gold Star families was filmed, at first by himself and then by filmmaker Brian Morrison who joined him on the road. The footage became the critically-acclaimed documentary Bastards' Road.

Steve and Jon talk about Jon's career in the Marines, his service with the 2/4 during the bloody Battle of Ramadi in 2004, his amazing journey across the United States, and the positive impact it had on those around him.

Tune in to a sincere and entertaining episode of SOFREP Radio.

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On this week's podcast SOFREP Senior Editor and SOFREP Radio host, Steve Balestrieri sits down with Michelle Black the author of Sacrifice, A Gold Star Widow’s Fight for the Truth.

Michelle Black's husband, Bryan, was a Green Beret and one of four American soldiers killed in an ambush in Niger in October 2017 by ISIS terrorists.

Steve and Michelle talk about her husband's life, the events leading up to the ambush, its aftermath, and the investigation surrounding it.

Michelle and the families of the other team members were offered inaccurate and, in some cases, untrue accounts of the events that transpired on that day and leading up to the ambush. Her desire for truth led her to interview Bryan's team members and piece out the true story. And in the process, reveal the Army's ugly underbelly. 

Tune in to an intimate, honest, and revealing episode of SOFREP Radio.

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In this special episode of SOFREP Radio, SOFREP Senior Editor Host Steve Balestrieri speaks with Clifford Chanin the Executive Vice President and Deputy Director for Museum Programs of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. They talk about the museum's collaboration with Discovery Channel on the upcoming documentary Revealed, The Hunt For Bin Laden.

The show follows the 10-year effort to find Osama bin Laden. In cooperation with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s access to American intelligence and military personnel, the documentary reveals how President Barack Obama ordered the SEAL raid on Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan without being certain that was even there. The filmmakers interviewed President Obama, CIA Director Leon Panetta, mission commander Admiral William McRaven, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and, perhaps for the first time, the clandestine military planners, intelligence analysts, and members of the assault force, that pulled off one of the most stunning missions of the Global War on Terror.

Revealed, The Hunt For Bin Laden debuts on the Discovery Channel Sunday, on May 2 at 8 p.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Central time.

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In this week's episode of SOFREP Radio, Senior Editor Steve Balestrieri talks with Rick Lamb.  

The word "Legend" gets thrown around a lot but in Mr. Lamb's case, it is entirely apt. He joined the Army in 1978 under contract to become an Airborne Ranger directly and over the next 26 years, Rick served in both the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions, the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 10th Special Forces Group, retiring as a Command Sergeant Major.

He also seemed to be a part of every significant combat operation of the late 20th century the Army was involved in including: Operation Eagle Claw (Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission); Operation Just Cause (Invasion of Panama); Operation Gothic Serpent (Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu); Operations Restore, Uphold and Maintain Democracy (Invasion of Haiti); Operations Joint Forge and Joint Guardian (Bosnia and Kosovo); Operation Enduring Freedom (Horn of Africa); Operation Iraqi Freedom.

After retirement spend another 12 years working for U.S. Special Operations Command as a civilian culminating in a position as Operations Officer in the Center for Special Operations.

Rick is a Member of the SOCOM Commando Hall of Honor, the Ranger Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the SOCOM “Bull” Simmons Award.

He is the present Director of Military Relations for the Global SOF Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit works to build and grow an international network of military, government, commercial, and educational partners to advance SOF capabilities in confronting global and networked threats.

If that is not the definition of a "Legend" then no definition for it can exist.

Don't miss this episode of SOFREP Radio with Steve Balestrieri.

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In this episode, Senior Editor Steve Balestrieri joins our resident expert on the Chinese Army, Mr. Dennis J. Blasko.

Dennis served 23 years in military intelligence and as a Foreign Area Officer He served in infantry units in Germany, Italy, and Korea and in Washington at the Defense Intelligence Agency, From 1992 to 1996 he was an Army Attaché in Beijing and Hong Kong. Mr. Blasko is a graduate of the United States Military Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School. He is the author of numerous articles and chapters on the Chinese military, along with the book "The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century", second edition.  

Join us as we discuss emerging trends in the People's Liberation Army of the Chinese Communists on this episode of SOFREP Radio with Steve Balestrieri.

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