The Half Percent Podcast

Kini Cole spent 6 years in the US Marine Corps as a Recon Marine, 4 1/2 years with the NYPD and has been in federal law enforcement for 25 years. In addition, Kini is also a 3-time IBJJF World Champion, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Professor and an instructor at South Florida Tactical Athletes, a company that prepares candidates for Special Operations Selection Courses in all branches of the US military. Kini was born and raised in the Bronx and talks movingly of his mother's example of service throughout her life and how it influenced him to do the same with veterans. Kini also reveals some of the lesser known origins of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, his 4 months spent working at Ground Zero after 9/11 and how he got the nickname 'Grandinho'. Kini continues to serve and mentor in multiple ways and you can learn more about his work and organizations he's involved with here: 
Instagram: @doubleocornholio
South Florida Tactical Athletes: https://www.sfta.us 
ReconSniperFoundation: https://www.reconsniperfoundation.org
Force Blue (Uniting Coral Reef Conservation and Veterans): https://forceblueteam.org
Veterans Response: https://veteransresponse.org

Nick Rahn spent six years in the US Air Force as a member of the Security Forces, which included four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Nick is also a mixed martial artist who has fought in multiple tournaments and competitions.  This is a raw, intensely personal conversation in which Nick opens up about a lifetime of highs and lows, from family trauma to IED patrols and discovering a soldier who had committed suicide on base, to a loss of purpose after leaving the Air Force, culminating in his own suicide attempt. From that abyss, Nick emerged with a sense of purpose in the service of others, 
got back into MMA and founded Warriors Next Adventure.  WNA provides multiple avenues for veterans to heal, get involved with charitable projects and rediscover that sense of camaraderie and purpose that they had during their military service. 

Learn more about Nick's work and Warriors Next Adventure here: 
https://www.warriorsnextadventure.com/#/

KR Paul joins the show. Kay is active duty US Air Force, having initially joined the reserves in August of 2001. Kay's Air Force career has taken her on multiple deployments throughout the world and taught her invaluable lessons along the way...such as how to play Crud, hunting zombies with JTACs on Guam, the elastic definition of 'acquiring more food', and the resilience that comes with falling down a hole and climbing back out. In addition to all that, Kay is the author of the urban fantasy, "Pantheon". 

To learn more about Kay and her work, check out, 
https://authorkrpaul.com

To follow Kay's very active Twitter: 
@AuthorKRPaul

Mike Camarillo joins the podcast. Mike spent 12 years in the US Navy as a K-9 Handler. Upon leaving the Navy,  Mike began a 21-year career in law enforcement across multiple agencies,  including serving in the executive protection unit assigned to the president of the Navajo Nation. Since 2003, Mike has been riding with the Navajo-Hopi Honor Riders, a group of motorcyclists who honor military members and families through motorcycle escort services and volunteer community projects. 
To find out more about the Navajo-Hopi Honor Riders and participate in their various rides (all are welcome), please visit: http://www.navajohopihonorriders.com/
Follow them on Instagram: @navajohopihonorriders 

Ryan Casperson joins the show. Ryan spent 4 years active duty in the US Army and is currently in his 7th  year in the California National Guard. He is the Commander of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Associate Chapter 33-2, based in Stockton, CA. While on active duty, Ryan was a wrecker, or what he describes as a 'tow-service for the Army'.  While on deployment in Afghanistan, Ryan had some memorable experiences, including hanging in a truck off the side of a cliff, being mortared a few times and eating lamb chops at a Polish FOB. Back home, Ryan continues to serve in the CA Nat. Guard and through the CVMA. Ryan's chapter is involved in many local charitable projects, including a homeless veteran's outreach program, memorial rides, and Christmas/New Year's giveaway for veteran families in need. 

You can find out more about Ryan's Chapter of CVMA here: 
https://www.combatvets332.com/

To find your nearest CVMA chapter and learn more about the association:
https://www.combatvet.us/

Daniel Charles Ross spent seven years on active U.S. Army duty, mostly as a long-duration undercover Military Police Investigator, serving five years in Germany in two trips. Dan has been a senior enlisted Navy Journalist since October 1986, with deployments to places such as Manila, the Philippines; Germany; and New Orleans covering Mardi Gras. Dan retired from the Navy Reserve in July 2010 as a Chief Petty Officer. Most of his civilian work life was spent on staff at and for magazines. He was an Associate Editor at AutoWeek; the Detroit Editor at Popular Mechanics; and the National Editor at both Motor Trend and Car and Driver.  Dan is the author the military thriller 'Force No One' and the upcoming 'Force Majeure'. 

You can find out more about Dan and his order his books at: 
https://genuinedcr.com/

Naval aviator, author and film producer Paco Chierici joins the show. Paco spent twenty years in the Navy, flying the A-6E Intruder, F-14A Tomcat and the F-5 Tiger II. Paco deployed to combat zones from Somalia to Iraq and was stationed aboard carriers including the USS Ranger, Nimitz and Kitty Hawk. In his career, Paco has accumulated over 3,000 tactical hours and completed over 400 carrier landings.  In addition to being an aviator, Paco also is the author of the novel, Lions of the Sky and the producer of the award-winning naval aviator documentary, Speed and Angels, available on Amazon Prime.
 Like most kids my age, I walked out of the theater after seeing the original Top Gun and was ready to join the Navy then and there, so being able to talk to a real fighter pilot was fascinating. Paco takes us through about his first aircraft carrier landings in second by second, edge-of-your-seat detail, the different aircraft he flew, his friendship with David Fraver, the pilot who witnessed the infamous 'Tic-Tac' UFO incident, as well as discussing what flying has meant to him. 
To learn more about Paco and order his novel, please visit his site: 
https://www.lionsofthesky.com/

Paco wrote a detailed account of the Tic-Toc UFO incident, entitled 'There I Was: The X-Files Edition'. You can read it here:
https://fightersweep.com/1460/x-files-edition/

Jason Piccolo joins the show. Jason spent over a decade in various capacities with the US Army, in active duty and reserve. His service included a deployment to Iraq in 2006 as the Anti-Terrorism Officer for the  Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula. Jason has also been in law enforcement for over twenty years, including patrolling the US-Mexico border as a Border Patrol agent and later with the White House Security Council's Human Smuggling Cell.  Jason is the author of two books, Unwavering, about his time as a Border Patrol agent, and Out of the Shadows, detailing his decision in 2015 to become a whistle blower, exposing the fact that Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) were being handed over to criminal sponsors. Jason appears as a regular guest on Court TV, Fox and Friends, as well contributing regularly to the Washington Examiner, Townhall and Law Enforcement Today. Jason hosts his own show, The Protector Life, as well as a new show, Ground Truth, in conjunction with The Hunter Seven Foundation.  

Find out more about Jason and his work: 
https://jasonpiccolo.us

Retired Navy Corpsman Nick Nelsen joins the podcast. Nick spent 20 years in the Navy and had as varied a career as one can have. Nick did two separate tours at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, "best deployment ever!", multiple deployments to Iraq, Japan, the Philippines, the Balkans and finally Afghanistan (where Nick shares his encounter with the Afghan Superman). Nick shares hilarious and inspiring stories of the soldiers he served with and how time and again he saw those young soldiers act in amazingly courageous ways. After retiring from the Navy, Nick got involved with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and he details all the many ways that this 120 year old organization serves our nation's veterans. 
-Nick's VFW post is 1264-Irving L. Manning Post: https://vfw1264.org/
-Learn more about the VFW National Home for Children here: https://www.vfwnationalhome.org/ 
-American Legion: https://www.legion.org/
-Disabled American Veterans: https://www.dav.org/
-Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP): https://www.asapasap.org/

Retired U.S. Army CW4 Greg Coker joins the podcast. Coker flew the AH-6 'Little Bird' attack helicopter with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the 'Nightstalkers'. The most gifted and deadly helicopter pilots in the world, the Nightstalkers are the dedicated wing of Army Special Operations and fly in and out of the most dangerous areas and missions our military engages in. Coker is a true Texas gentleman and shares stories from his amazing career with humor and humility. Coker has co-written a book with former Delta Operator George Hand IV about his experiences and the 160th SOAR, called 'Death Waits in the Dark'. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to charities and organizations that support our veterans. 
You can find out more about Coker and order the book here: 
https://www.deathwaitsinthedark.com/