The Half Percent Podcast

Retired Brigadier General Don Bolduc joins the podcast for a fascinating, candid, no-nonsense discussion of an Army career that spanned almost four decades . Bolduc's incredible career began in the enlisted ranks and ended as Commander of Special Operations US-Africa Command. In between, Bolduc earned a degree and became an officer, then a Ranger and eventually on to Q Course and Special Operations. Bolduc spent time at the staff level in the Pentagon and JSOC, and deployed throughout the world, including multiple combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Bolduc was among the first US forces in the initial invasion of Afghanistan, shortly after 9/11, and linked up with then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai to help form a government and combat the Taliban and al-Qaeda. During his time in charge of US Special Operations in Africa, Bolduc instituted a program to formally provide a path to treatment for the mental, physical and spiritual health of soldiers in his command, and has been open about his own struggles with PTSD. Bolduc now teaches at New England College, ran in the Republican primary for US Senate from New Hampshire and plans to run again in 2022. 
You can learn more about Brig-Gen Bolduc here: 
https://donbolduc.com/ 
You can also find him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

Jenna Stocker joins the podcast. Jenna spent 4 years as a Communications and Strategy Operations Officer in the Marine Corps. Growing up in a family of military vets, Jenna was an avid swimmer and earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Minnesota. After working at the Center for Security Policy in D.C. and briefly entertaining the idea of law school, she completed OCS and became an Officer of Marines. Jenna discusses her perspective on being a female in the Marines, the frustration of dealing with persistent injuries and what the Marine Corps means to her....and her very special Thanksgiving dinner with President Bush!

Dru Johnson joins the podcast in a wide-ranging and fascinating conversation. To say his life has been eventful is an understatement. Growing up in Oklahoma, Dru became a skinhead, dropped out of high school and joined a punk band.  After some soul-searching and long conversations with his Vietnam-Vet father, Dru decided to join the Air Force, where he served 2 years active duty and 5 years reserve. He volunteered for multiple deployments to the Amazon basin in Columbia where he was part of multi-branch counter-narcotics operations. In the midst of his many jungle deployments, Dru had a Saul on the road to Damascus conversion and became a Christian. This led him to eventually finish his Air Force service and go to college. Working in IT and attending seminary, Dru went on to become an associate pastor of a church in St. Louis, where he spent 8 years. He also spent two years in Scotland and took multiple trips to Kenya to train rural pastors. Dru currently teaches at The King's College in New York City. He is also director of the Center for Hebraic Thought and hosts a podcast of the same name. Dru also co-hosts the long running OnScript Podcast and is the author of the book Human Rites, as well as many other essays and articles. 

Learn more about Dru and connect to all his work here: 
https://drujohnson.com/ 

Rick Hogg joins the podcast. Rick is a 29-year US Army Special Operations veteran with 13 combat deployments. Starting in the 82nd Airborne, Rick transitioned into Special Operations and a career which took him to Central and South America, Iraq and Afghanistan. During his career, Rick saw every aspect of Army Special Operations, and gives great insight and detail into what it takes to be at the tip of the spear. 
Rick now runs War Hogg Tactical, a company that offers professional comprehensive mobile firearms, tactical and K9 training to civilians, military and law enforcement agencies. 
Learn more here:
https://www.warhogg.com/

Follow Rick and War Hogg in Instagram:
@warhoggtactical 

Derwin Lester was a medic in the Army, and later the Army National Guard,  for 13 years. Derwin takes a wry look at his Army career and relates some hilarious stories from basic training. He also takes us through his deployment to a relatively quiet Iraq and a few near- misses involving stolen uniforms and dumpster diving for computers. 
Derwin also indulges his creative side, writing military themed science fiction and owns his own publishing imprint, Divided By Zero Books
You can find his catalog on the Divided By Zero Facebook page here: 
@dividedbyzerobooks

Derwin also hosts his own podcast, The Blanket Fortress of Solitude: 
https://open.spotify.com/show/0mugStnWVXS2bKnxw3RtET

Sean Ambriz joins the podcast. Sean is a Military Police Soldier in the US Army who did two combat tours in Afghanistan. In this podcast, Sean takes us through two major battles with the Taliban in riveting detail. Taking place in one of the most dangerous regions of Afghanistan two years apart, what started as relatively routine missions ended up turning into a massive engagements, which saw Sean and his fellow soldiers under constant fire from the enemy and dealing with multiple casualties. Sean tells his story in fascinating, exact detail and along the way spotlighting the heroes he served with and the incredible displays of leadership from his commanding officers. For his actions, Sean received two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. Sean would later put these experiences into a book, Ghosts of the Valley. 

You can order Ghosts in the Valley here: 
https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Valley-Sean-Ambriz-ebook/dp/B08BG8VHWH 

Follow Sean on Instagram: @chief_pinkmist

Ricoh Danielson joins the podcast. Ricoh served in the Army for eight years and then another decade-plus as a private security contractor. Ricoh was involved with the initial invasion of Iraq, which took him to Ramadi on the hunt for Chemical Ali and other members Saddam's Baath Party in the infamous Deck of Most Wanted Cards. Later on in his career post-Army as a private security contractor, Ricoh found himself in Haiti just days after the 2010 earthquake, back in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the Middle East, Africa and Central and South America. This was a fascinating and enlightening conversation with a man who has seen some of the most extreme conditions in the human experience. Ricoh is an entrepreneur, the author of multiple books and still very involved with helping the veteran community. 
You can follow Ricoh on Instagram: @ricoh_danielson_

Phil Pelletier joins the podcast to talk about his four years in the Marine Corps as a machine gunner. Phil was deployed three times during his service, including a combat tour in Afghanistan. Phil's battalion encountered over seven hundred IEDs during his tour, and he takes us through the experience of dealing with that constant threat. Phil also gives his insights into serving at a time when the wars in the Middle East were starting to wind down and what that meant to him. 
Along with his co-host Jon Imperial, Phil has his own podcast, The Pointman Podcast. 
You can find it here: 
https://pointmanpodcast.libsyn.com/ 

P. S. Barlow joins the podcast. Barlow is a Drill Sergeant in the U.S. Army and is the creator of the online comic strip, G.I. Low. Barlow takes us through his decade-long career training soldiers at the beginning of their Army careers, the importance of good leadership and mentoring, how methods have changed over the years, and how not to lose your voice after a day of shouting at recruits. Barlow also takes a humorous look at his time in Afghanistan and what's next in his career.

You can find the G.I. Low comic on Facebook:  
https://www.facebook.com/pg/GILowComics/posts/

Instagram: @g.i.low

Chris and Josh, both Army NCOs in Civil Affairs, join the show for a fascinating conversation about one of the lessor known (but by far one of the most interesting) jobs in the military. Traveling all over the world to some of the most remote and often dangerous locations in small teams, Chris and Josh are our military's first 'boots on the ground'. They must make contact with local populations, assess needs, identify potential threats and find opportunities to assist where possible. From deployments to Africa, the Middle East, to Asia and all points in between, Chris and Josh are America's warrior-diplomats. 
You can learn more about Civil Affairs by visiting their website: 
https://www.civilaffairsassoc.org/eunomia 
-Instagram: @eunomiajournal
-Twitter: @EunomiaJ