The Half Percent Podcast

Shaniqua Cousins spent 8 years in the US Navy. Originally from South Carolina, Shaniqua's Naval service took her to frozen Maine, tropical Puerto Rico, Arctic Iceland, sunny Mediterranean Sicily and finally back to the US for a stint at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Shaniqua talks movingly about the Sailors and Marines who she served with and how her Naval service opened up the world to her and still fills her with a great sense of pride. Upon retirement, she founded Shaniqua Cousins World Group LLC,  a lifestyle brand dedicated to the creation of inspirational and transformative media content and resources for use by women that lead to positive life outcomes. Shaniqua's also an author and a chef with a monthly live show from her kitchen, where she hosts friends and creates delicious, healthy home cooked meals.
Connect with Shaniqua and learn about all she does:
https://shaniquacousins.com

JB Spisso spent 26 years in the US Army, including a decade in special operations with the 75 Ranger Regiment. In a career that began with being among the first on the ground jumping into Panama and ended with a deployment to Afghanistan, Spisso has seen the Army go from the end of the Cold War to the height of the Global War on Terror. Spisso held multiple leadership positions in the Army during his career, including a stint at West Point.  Upon retirement, Spisso entered the leadership/mentorship space as a consultant and founded JBS Leadership Consultants. In that capacity, Spisso has worked with businesses, executives and sports franchises at the highest level, including teams from the NHL, NFL and NCAA. Spisso is the author of Warrior Leadership: Steps to Success for Leaders on the Ground.  
To learn more about Spisso, order your copy of Warrior Leadership and to contact him, please visit:
https://www.jbsleaders.com

Maury Abreu spent 4 years in the US Marine Corps, including a year-long deployment in Iceland and being selected as a Close Combat Instructor. Maury then took a job as a corrections officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Shortly after 9/11, he began working for a government agency training individuals who operate globally and independently without backup, specifically in extreme close quarters combat and counterterrorism. Maury is the CEO and founder of Omega Protective Concepts, a company which teaches individuals  comprehensive skills for self defense and success in violent encounters of all kinds. The son of immigrants, Maury speaks with passion and conviction about his family, the opportunities that America and the Marine Corps gave him, and how the Corps set him up to navigate and succeed in life. 
Learn more about Maury and Omega Protective Concepts: 
https://omegaprotectiveconcepts.com

Toby Harnden spent a decade in the British Royal Navy, deploying Internationally multiple times, retiring from naval service in 1994. A graduate of Oxford, Harnden embarked on a career in journalism that has spanned three decades and sent him to 33 countries while working for The Daily Telegraph and Times of London. While posted in Belfast, Harnden covered the Irish Troubles and from those experiences, he wrote his first book, Bandit Country: The IRA and South Armagh (1999).  From 1999-2003, Harnden was the Daily Telegraph's Washington bureau chief and was in D.C. on 9/11. He covered the Iraq War and later Afghanistan and from 2013-2019 was Washington bureau chief for The Sunday Times of London.  His second book was Dead  Men Risen: The Welsh Guards and the Defining Story of Britain’s War in Afghanistan (2011). Extensive research and multiple trips to Afghanistan led to his most recent book, First Casualty-The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11 (2021). This is the incredible story of the first Americans airlifted into the mountains of northern Afghanistan in October of 2001, linking up with the Northern Alliance and taking the fight to the Taliban, culminating in the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi, where America suffered its first casualty in Afghanistan, Mike Spann. Harnden takes us through the riveting story of the political machinations of Washington immediately after 9/11, the initial CIA advance teams, Green Beret ODAs and the various warlords and ethnic groups that made up the Northern Alliance.  Harnden also details his own fascinating career, from dealing with the IRA during the Troubles, to being detained by the Mahdi Army in Iraq, to being imprisoned in Zimbabwe. 

You can learn more about Harnden and his books at: https://tobyharnden.com/
Follow Toby on Instagram: @tobyharnden1 

Rydelle Nelson spent 6 years in the U.S. Air Force, with deployments across the globe.  Rydelle's service ran the gamut, from 15 months in the desert in support of the GWOT, to Korea (where he had to navigate a frozen hill in the middle of the night to the chow hall-not always successfully) to Key West working on drug and human trafficking interdiction in the Caribbean. Along the way, he took advantage of his leave and visited dozens of countries. Currently completing training to obtain his pilot's license, Rydelle plans on reenlisting in the Reserves or National Guard. Rydelle speaks movingly about what his service meant to him, the friendships he made with fellow service-members and how it expanded his view of the world, America and his place in it. 

You can follow Rydelle's journey on Instagram: @what_it_is_rydelle

Will Jones spent 4 years (2004-2008) in the US Army, with 2 deployments to Iraq. Will's second deployment was a 15 month hitch to Sadr City, Baghdad, where he and his fellow soldiers faced the Madhi Militia. After completing his service, Will came back home to Los Angeles, entered UCLA film school, and later took trips to Afghanistan and another film school in the Philippines. Will is an inferno of positive energy and he speaks frankly about some very dark times (as well as some very humorous ones), during his time in the Army. Will now devotes his time to helping veterans stay engaged, in shape and with a sense of purpose, with weekly beach workouts, rucking, boxing and numerous charities.

You can get your daily dose of inspiration by following Will on Instagram: @boomitsyourboywilljones

Also check out these veteran owned/run charities and organizations that Will is involved with:
https://www.legion8.org (honoring 8 soldiers Will served with who died during combat operations)
Ruck4Veterans:
https://www.ruckforveterans.com
Alpha Elite Performance:
https://alphaeliteperformance.com
FitOps Foundation:
https://fitops.org
Green Beret Foundation:
https://greenberetfoundation.org

D.M. Scott spent 12 years in the Marine Corps, with deployments to Iraq twice (Ramadi, Fallujah) and Afghanistan. While in Iraq, he earned the nickname 'Mutant', for surviving multiple mortar and IED blasts, apparently unharmed. But time would reveal deeper wounds in the form of TBI, and D.M.'s road to recovery was a bumpy one that took him to some dark places. D.M. shares his road back to recovery through therapy and the restoring power of the ocean and surfing with the veteran non-profit One More Wave. This is a raw, revealing and inspirational conversation and I'm grateful to D.M. for taking a chance and sharing his story.

Follow D.M. Scott on Instagram @_havewaveswilltravel_

Learn more about One More Wave: https://www.onemorewave.com

William Branum spent 26 years in the U.S. Navy, 23 of those as a SEAL. He deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan in the GWOT, and spent the last three years of his active duty service helping the SEAL teams acquire the funds and gear they needed to stay at the cutting edge. William takes us through the grueling process of what it takes to become a SEAL, and the many important life lessons that he learned and skills he developed that we can all benefit from.
After retiring from the Navy, William jumped into the entrepreneurial world, starting his own consulting firm. A career in the SEAL teams left William with numerous injuries, both physical and psychological, and those injuries were having a negative impact on his life.  This led to William developing the Naked Warrior Mindset. Drawing on a career of the most intense training and operational tempo at the tip of the spear in special operations, William started Naked Warrior Recovery, a company dedicated to developing premium products to support physical and mental recovery through innovation and excellence.

Find out more about William and Naked Warrior Recovery:
https://nw-recovery.com
Instagram: @nakedwarriorrecovery

Brad Thomas spent 20 years in the U.S. Army, first as a Ranger and later as an operator in Delta Force, the Army's Tier 1 special missions unit. Brad was deployed to Somalia and was on the ground in Mogadishu for the incident which became known as 'Black Hawk Down'. Brad would later earn his way into 'The Unit'-Delta Force, and go on to participate in some of the most consequential missions in the GWOT.  A lifelong musician, Brad continued to play guitar  throughout his military career and as he was getting close to retirement,  linked up with former Nirvana and Soundgarden guitarist Jason Everman, who had become a Ranger and a Green Beret.  Along with Tyson Stahl,  Fred Cowell and Brandon Lundeen (also veterans), they formed the band, Silence and Light. Silence and Light is dedicated to helping veterans and their transition into civilian life, with 100% of the proceeds from album, single and apparel/swag sales going to the Marine Raider Foundation and Warriors Heart. This was a fascinating and wide ranging conversation where we covered everything from Brad's perspective on Black Hawk Down, to what it takes to make it to Delta Force, to the formation of Silence and Light and the artistic quest for perfection. Brad's passion for helping the soldiers he served with (and veterans in general) and making kick-ass rock n' roll, is inspiring comes through loud and clear in this conversation.

To learn more about Silence and Light, please check out:
https://www.silenceandlightmusic.com

To learn more about the Marine Raider Foundation, please visit:
https://marineraiderfoundation.org

To learn more about Warriors Heart, please visit:
https://www.warriorsheart.com

Brian Andrews and Jeffery Wilson join the show. Both veterans of the U.S. Navy, Andrews was  a nuclear submarine officer and Wilson a combat surgeon who deployed multiple times over his fourteen year career with an East-coast based SEAL team. Together they form the writing duo of Andrews and Wilson, best selling authors of the Tier One Series, Sons of Valor and their latest release, Dark Intercept. We cover what it's like patrolling the depths of the ocean in a nuclear submarine, the mindset and leadership culture of the Navy SEALs, how Andrews and Wilson decided to team up as co-authors and some great details of their various stories and characters. Andrews and Wilson have also been chosen to write the revival of The Presidential Agent Series, from legendary author W.E.B. Griffin, which will release in December of 2021. This was an extremely enjoyable conversation with two of the hardest working and most talented writers in the business. Pick up the latest Andrews and Wilson release, Dark Intercept, available anywhere you purchase books.

To learn more about Andrews and Wilson and their books, please visit:
https://www.andrews-wilson.com