The directive given to our Green Berets is to win by All Means Available. To do so, requires a combination of ingenuity, understanding the environment, a clear plan and precision execution. 

Mike Vickers built a career on winning America’s shadow wars by All Means Available. Mike started his career as both a non-commissioned and commissioned officer Green Beret before becoming a Paramilitary Operations Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency. Mike later served as the Undersecretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, as well as the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, where he served as the lead Intelligence official at the Pentagon. 

Secretary Vickers joined Fran Racioppi to chronicle his new book By All Means Available, Memoirs Of A Life in Intelligence, Special Operations and Strategy. He has been a part of almost every American known and unknown conflict for the past 50 years; including leading the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

We defined how America collects and uses intelligence in both national security and diplomacy. We discussed America’s will to win large conflicts, when we’ve gotten it right and why we get it wrong. And we went deep on the real enemy facing America today.

Mike sees the United States in a New Cold War that will challenge the nation like never before. He shares the reasons why America got here, and most importantly his Grand Strategy to rebuild a culture of winning global conflict to solidify America’s position as the dominant world power for decades to come. 

Highlights

• 0:00 Introduction
• 6:29 Definition and Significance of Intelligence
• 8:00 DoD intelligence use
• 10:59 Joining the Army
• 15:45 By all means necessary
• 21:12 Politics in War judgement
• 28:11 China & Russia
• 38:00 Defining American power
• 42:28 Nuclear Weapons in Iran & North Korea
• 46:06 Mobilization of American troops
• 48:48 Pakistan
• 49:38 Media on disunity
• 50:56 The arms race against China
• 54:20 Covert action
• 56:34 Denial of Service
• 59:48 Regional and Global Deterrence
• 1:03:07 Transforming out alliances
• 1:10:49 The Next Threat
• 1:14:03 SOF integration
• 1:18:15 America’s overconfidence
• 1:20:51 10 Principles
• 1:30:06 Daily Habits

Quotes

• “We are in dynamic times. We are in polarizing times.”
• “It’s not just military and economic intelligence, it’s economic, scientific, and technical intelligence that can make a big difference.”
• “It became the largest covert action program in CIA history.” 
• “Drive them out by all means available.”
• “How are we going to win?”
• “Ammunition is what really sustains operational tempo.”
• “When America goes to war, we’re going to bring everything and we are going to win.”
• “The more you put in it, the more you better win, and win quickly.”
• “America is arguably challenged right now, like never before.”
• “Once the sleeping giant wakes up, look out, they are going to lose.”
• “Strength is Power.”
• “There’s economic, military, intelligence, political strength, the power of your ideals, and so you try to aggregate that.”
• "We will win the new Cold War.”
• “When you think your biggest enemy is another American or group of Americans something’s wrong.”
• “Covert action is taking diplomacy operations, paramilitary operations, sabotage and others and just having it be done under title 50.”
• “Cyber is this unique weapon that it’s used for espionage. It’s a very powerful collection tool.”
• “You need survivable forward presence.”
• “I think the greatest threat is the combination of China and Russia and perhaps adding in Iran and North Korea.”

Watch, listen or read our conversation from the Association of the United States Army as Secretary Vickers shares his leadership lessons learned through covert action; and don’t miss the rest of our AUSA series.

The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by University of Health & Performance, providing our Veterans world class education and training as fitness and nutrition entrepreneurs. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media.

Green Berets solve complex challenges in service because they’re informed. Yet when they transition out, the civilian world often leaves them looking for answers. The Green Beret Foundation stands ready to ensure our nation's most elite soldiers continue to succeed post service. 

From the sidelines of the Stars and Stripes Classic, the first ever lacrosse battle between Green Berets and Navy SEALs, and the brain child of Green Beret Foundation, Fran Racioppi kicked off the game with Chairman of the Board retired Lt. Gen. Ken Tovo and Board Member and Green Beret Chris Robinette. 

With penalty markers flying, we talk about the future of Green Beret Foundation support and how the reduction in conflict is creating opportunities to focus on transition support, job preparation and job placement. We also explain GBF’s position as the only VA accredited disability processing team in the Special Forces non-profit sector. Making informed decisions matters in service and beyond.

Watch, listen or read our conversation from Gillette Stadium and don’t forget to check out the rest of our series from the Stars and Stripes Classic and the full game highlights. If you haven’t signed up for next year, stay tuned for more information. 

The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by University of Health & Performance, providing our Veterans world class education and training as fitness and nutrition entrepreneurs. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:30 Welcome to Gillette Stadium
• 2:35 Launching the Stars & Stripes Classic
• 5:31 Supporting VA disability claims
• 9:03 GBF transition support
• 11:42 GBF’s acquisition strategy
• 13:12 GBF’s vision

QUOTES

• “We approached this as an opportunity to help the military connect to society.”
• “Society needs to know their military.”
• “Every Green Beret is going to leave the force at some point.”
• “We’re taking care of Vietnam veterans who didn’t get their appropriate VA benefit 30, 40 years ago.”
• “For many corporations, the skills piece is less important than the heart and commitment to mission. Whatever the mission is.”
• “Green Beret’s understand commitment to purpose and working hard.”
• “We’re trying to create a broad, holistic support capability for the regiment.”
• “It’s not a matter of if, but when the next major conflict arises.”

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

Congress holds the power of the purse. The United States Government is the largest business in the world, but to conduct business - and national security - Congress has to approve the funds and the money. 

Representative Jake Ellzey is now a 3-term Congressman representing Texas’s 6th District. He’s a Naval Academy graduate, a helicopter and fighter pilot, and a member of the House Appropriations Committee, where his decisions determine what the government funds and what it doesn’t. He’s also the co-chair of the bipartisan military Veterans alliance, the For Country Caucus. 

With the American government changing at lightning pace, Fran Racioppi asked the Congressman how the Appropriations Committee is prioritizing funding, what that means for national defense, rooting out fraud, waste and abuse; and if there’s ever a way for America to balance the budget and stop overspending. 

Representative Ellzey also shares why we need to clearly define America’s next battlefield, funding military readiness and innovation to combat both nation-state adversaries and terror groups, and the critical role he sees our Special Operations Forces playing in the grey war the United States is now in. Plus he shares his leadership lessons from the cockpit and the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan to the halls of Congress.

Watch, listen or read our conversation from Congressman Ellzey’s office. Don’t miss our full coverage from Capitol Hill. Special thanks to For Country Caucus for setting up this series. 

Highlights

• 0:00 Introduction
• 6:20 Veterans in Congress
• 9:12 Why the Navy?
• 10:50 The Appropriations Committee
• 14:45 Funding Executive Orders
• 17:24 DOGE’s impact
• 22:41 Funding Military Readiness
• 25:35 Role of SOF in the next conflict
• 27:20 The sentiment of America
• 31:50 Shout out to Green Berets
• 34:08 Defining the Battlefield
• 38:18 Why Was There An Open Border Policy
• 39:44 Can America Balance The Budget?
• 40:42 Is America Ready?
• 42:41 Military Lessons Taken To Congress

Key Quotes:

• “There’s a thing about veterans: it really doesn’t matter which era, what your uniform, or how well you know somebody who’s a veteran…Nobody else gets into that world.”
• “With SEALS, Green Berets, most pilots; tell me I can’t do something, and then watch.”
• “CR’s are bad. Year-long CRs are terrible. Specifically for defense.” 
• “Once we know what the priorities of the President are, we’re not going to put something on the floor that ultimately he’s not going to sign.”
• “It’s broken. So let’s break it. Let’s break the whole thing.”
• “There’s not enough money to do everything we need to do to be completely ready.” 
• “It’s absolutely essential that our adversaries know that we’ve got the best in the world.”
• “The sentiment of Americans is we’re strong again, we’re not to be trifled with, if you attack us, we’re going to hammer you.”
• “I’m a huge fan of Green Berets.”
• “I see weapons of mass destruction as the compounds that are making Fentanyl.” 
• “Never pass up the opportunity to shut up.”

Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

The opinions presented on the The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of my guests and myself. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy, nor does Green Beret Foundation endorse any political candidate or any political party.

Veterans are once again dominating Congress. The start of the 119th Congress has 100 Veterans across both sides of the aisle. Veterans by and large focus on teamwork and getting results. 

To kick off the excitement behind the new Congress, Fran Racioppi spent a few snowy days on Capitol Hill with the members of the For Country Caucus; a bi-partisan group of House of Representative members who have each served across America’s military. 

Representative Don Davis is an Air Force Academy graduate, a two term Congressman representing North Carolina’s 1st District, and the Vice Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, as well as a member of the Subcommittee on Readiness and the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces. 

With the strength of American military power front and center, Fran asked Congressman Davis to explain just what the next battlefield may be, how ready the American military is to combat both terrorist organizations and near-peer nation states, as well as the role of Special Operations in the next conflict. 

They also broke down the efforts of DOGE, Elon Musk and the application of the age old military sayings “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” and “speed and violence of action” gets things done. 

Watch, listen or read our conversation from Congressman Davis’s office. Don’t miss our full coverage from Capitol Hill. Special thanks to For Country Caucus for setting up this series. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:05 Welcome to Capitol Hill
• 4:02 Veterans leading Congress
• 8:37 Expectations of Veterans in the Cabinet
• 10:51 Joining the Air Force
• 15:04 Joining State Politics before Federal Politics
• 21:37 Military Readiness
• 24:07 The Next Conflict
• 28:28 Defining the battlefield
• 30:43 The Terror Threat
• 33:28 Investing in Special Operations
• 36:01  Trump Administration actions

QUOTES

• “When the orders came down we didn’t ask, ‘are these Democratic orders or Republican orders.’ We executed the mission.”
• “The fundamental basis of that oath is to protect the constitution.” 
• “What I think was most important going back to eastern North Carolina was an opportunity to really shape future leaders.”
• “There’s these potholes people are craving to be filled.”
• “When there is a mission…are we capable?”
• “We have to make sure the innocent civilians are kept safe.”
• “Clearly there’s a willingness to target us.”
• “Don’t bet against America.”
• “At the end of the day try to make life better in communities.”

The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by University of Health & Performance, providing our Veterans world class education and training as fitness and nutrition entrepreneurs. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

The opinions presented on the The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of guests and host Fran Racioppi. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy, nor does Green Beret Foundation endorse any political candidate or any political party.

Readiness is the ability to close with and destroy any enemy, anywhere, anytime. The role of the Sergeant Major of the Army is to ensure readiness. Command Sergeant Major Dan Dailey was the 15th Sergeant Major of the Army and the youngest Soldier to ever hold the position. Today, he is the Vice President of Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier Programs at the Association of the United States Army.

SMA Dailey joined Creator and Host Fran Racioppi to define what it really means for the United States Army to be “ready” to fight and win our nation’s wars. To do so, they went deep on each of the components of readiness, including: 

• Manning and the impacts of the recruiting crisis the Army has endured over the past several years. 
• Training and the importance of the Combat Training Centers and our combined exercises across the components and with our allies.
• Equipping for the next fight and why the current procurement processes must change if America expects to remain ahead in the innovation race.
• Leader Development including why softening the messaging of warfighting hurts mission focus and how the Army is closing the experience gap as the Global War on Terror generation of Soldiers retire. 

They also cover the important mission of the Association of the United States Army and how as the largest organization supporting our Soldiers their work only continues to grow. Watch, listen or read our conversation from the AUSA headquarters and don’t miss the rest of our AUSA series.

The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by University of Health & Performance, providing our Veterans world class education and training as fitness and nutrition entrepreneurs. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

QUOTES

• “Individual readiness is when a soldier themself feels capable to accomplish their mission.”
• “If you had one hour before your soldiers went to combat what would you train on.” 
• “The high percentage of people who serve today come from families who have served in the past….that funnel is getting smaller and smaller.” 
• “We have lost the value of service to our nation…is it actually a way to achieve the American dream?”
• "If we send everybody to college, who’s going to do those jobs?” 
• “I think there’s a lot of young Americans out there who are fully capable to fight and win, they’re just not inspired.” 
• “If you create a standard that nobody in America can achieve, it’s not a standard.” 
• “This nation’s going to have an Army. America, not the Army, is going to decide how we do that.”  
• “The only more expensive thing than fighting a war is losing one.”
• “Our first mission as the United States Military is to deter. Then to defeat.” 
• “Most people look at war as armed conflict between two entities. War is a conflict of wills.”

HIGHLIGHTS

• 0:00 Introduction
• 4:44 Becoming SMA
• 5:57 Readiness Defined
• 9:55 How does the Army train at each echelon?
• 11:49 Why become a Soldier?
• 13:21 Can the Army bring the American Dream?
• 19:53 Everyone can’t go to college
• 22:11 Is recruiting college athletes the answer?
• 25:14 Is there a reduction in standards?
• 30:22 Changing the Army’s message
• 34:13 Are we close to a draft?
• 36:05 Technology & Force Modernization
• 42:22 Is China ahead of America?
• 48:17 Training for every threat
• 52:48 Interoperability with Allies
• 55:17 Loss of combat experience
• 1:01:32 Next Generation Is Ready
• 1:05:20 Leading AUSA
• 1:11:01 Daily Habits

The opinions presented on the The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of guests and host Fran Racioppi. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy,

Threats to America are at an all time high. Our national security and law enforcement professionals have warned us. Our military leaders are preparing for anything and everything.  

Representative August Pfluger is the chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. He is now a 3-term Congressman representing Texas’s 11th District. He is also an Air Force Academy graduate and an F-22 fighter pilot with over 300 combat hours. As a member of the bi-partisan military Veterans alliance, the For Country Caucus, one of his biggest efforts is to build coalitions across the aisle. 

With Homeland Security, terror threats and nation-state brinksmanship front and center, Fran Racioppi sat down with the Congressman to ask him what exactly the biggest threats to America are. They dug into the theory of an imminent terror attack, what the battlefield with China really looks like, and why preventing denial of service attacks and the cyber-security risks against America’s critical infrastructure should be at the top of the priority list.

They also discussed the future of SOF on an undefined battlefield, how the reduction of fraud, waste and abuse will open up funds for discretionary spending, and why disagreement should be encouraged; but when the decision is made, everyone needs to get in line and execute. 

Watch, listen or read our conversation from Congressman Pfluger’s office. Don’t miss our full coverage from Capitol Hill. Special thanks to For Country Caucus for setting up this series. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• 00:00 Introduction
• 02:55 Veterans in Congress
• 02:35 Terror Threat To America
• 04:45 Cyber Threats
• 10:01 Future role of Special Operations
• 11:47 Lessons from Service in Congress

QUOTES

• “There’s a level of trust when you know that somebody else has served.”
• “It starts with just transparency. We live in a dangerous world. It’s not just a terrorism threat.”
• “These non-nation state actors and even nation state sponsored cyber activities lie in that grey zone.”  
• “That’s where we’re really vulnerable is some of the smaller communities, some of the smaller banks, some of the smaller entities that provide these services. Denial of services. That’s what we’re worried about.” 
• “Every dollar of improper payment that is going somewhere else is a dollar we’re not spending on security.”
• “SOF plays a huge role in deterrence. That to me is worth its weight in gold.” 

Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are brought to you by University of Health and Performance and are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

The opinions presented on the The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of my guests and host Fran Racioppi. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy, nor does Green Beret Foundation endorse any political candidate or any political party.

The job of America’s elected leaders is to get things done. The democratic process isn’t always pretty and almost never leaves everyone happy; but the effectiveness of our government and America’s stature as the world’s dominant superpower rest on Congress’s ability to find common ground on the issues. 

Representative Jason Crow served in the United States Army 75th Ranger Regiment. He is now the Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations.

In his 4th term representing Colorado’s 6th district he’s looking to return power to the hands of Congress and has found himself at the center of many of America’s most controversial and important Congressional matters; an area he has learned to navigate through his previous leadership of the For Country Caucus, a bipartisan alliance of military veterans serving in the House of Representatives. 

Congressman Crow joined Fran Racioppi to share just how he balances the most polarizing issues facing both sides of the aisle; including the investigation into the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the impeachment of President Donald Trump and the inquiry into the pre-election assassination attempts. 

We discussed the impact of budget and personnel cuts to Special Operations and why it’s more important now than ever to invest in our SOF capability to prevent the next major conflict. We also covered border security, the use of active duty military in the enforcement of the border and how countering the cartels and the drug trade aren’t a new mission for Special Operations.

Watch, listen or read our conversation from Congressman Crow’s office. Don’t miss our full coverage from Capitol Hill. Special thanks to For Country Caucus for setting up this series. 

The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by University of Health and Performance, developing the next generation of fitness entrepreneurs from our Veterans. The Jedburgh Podcast is an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 00:00 Introduction
• 02:07 Jumping into D-Day
• 03:00 Rangers Lead The Way
• 04:35 Colorado 6th District
• 06:05 Veterans lead the 119th Congress
• 11:28 Role of SOF moving forward 
• 13:10 Cutting SOF funding
• 16:30 Defending critical infrastructure
• 18:40 The Immigration Challenge
• 23:35 Special Forces on the border
• 25:45 Working across the aisle

QUOTES

• “If everyone digs in and takes an all or nothing mentality…everybody gets nothing.”
• “Congress has given away its authority for decades.” 
• “The CT threat is not gone.” 
• “We are building systems now…that will be completely ineffective on the battlefield of the future.” 
• “You build political will by leading. That’s in part our job.” 
• “If someone is committing violent crime in our community, they have no place in our community.” 
• “There has to be a pathway to citizenship for folks who are living peacefully in our community.” 

Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

The opinions presented on the The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of my guests and myself. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy, nor does Green Beret Foundation endorse any political candidate or any political party.

Serving in Special Forces isn’t supposed to be easy. In fact, becoming a Green Beret is rewarding because it’s supposed to be hard. If it was easy, anyone could do it; but not everyone can, or should, be considered elite. 

Retired Sergeant Major John McPhee is one of America’s most distinguished and experienced Special Operators. For decades he led America’s most lethal units in the Army’s elite Delta Force. The self proclaimed Sheriff of Baghdad, John tells it like it is and leaves nothing up to interpretation.

The Jedburgh Podcast, the Jedburgh Media Channel and the Green Beret Foundation are proud to announce our partnership with the University of Health and Performance outside of Bentonville, Arkansas. UHP is dedicated to building the world’s most elite fitness and nutrition entrepreneurs out of our Veterans. 

To kick off our partnership, John and Host Fran Racioppi climbed into the back of an armored Humvee to reminisce about the impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, what America did right, what we did wrong, and why the counter-terrorism battle is far from over. 

John also shares his thoughts on the Army today, how to fix recruiting, the Israeli pager war, and why we must never forget that a Special Operator’s job is to close with and destroy the enemy.

Watch, listen or read our conversation from a vehicle many of us spent too much time in. Don’t miss our full Veterans Day coverage from UHP. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:50 Welcome to UHP
• 2:39 Rangers to Green Beret
• 4:00 Special Forces in the 90s
• 5:57 How 9/11 changed Special Forces
• 10:16 Legacy of Afghanistan
• 13:12 Sheriff of Baghdad
• 15:35 Disbanding the Iraqi government
• 18:20 The difference in Syria
• 19:42 Israel-Iran Pager War
• 25:30 Army Recruiting Challenges
• 27:05 Is the Army woke?
• 29:55 Next generation of NCOs
• 32:35 The PTSD debate
• 37:18 Wear yourself out everyday

QUOTES

• We had no bullets. No money to go train. The Army didn’t have a budget. The 90s Special Forces sucked.”
• “This is where nations go to die. What did we think was going to happen?”
• “You can’t do that. You can’t just get rid of the whole army like that.”
• “We had enough money to buy where Saddam was without ever firing a shot.”
• “Syria can never be tamed and it will always be a problem for us.”
• “War is only a failure of politicians and politics.”
• “We didn’t have an Army before WWII. We fielded 6 million men quick. When America gets pissed off, you’re done.”
• “The Army needs to do two things only. Kill the bad guys and break their shit.” 
• “I would tell anybody to try to be the smartest guy in the room because generally the smartest guy in the room is going to be the best Commando.”
• “I personally don’t believe in PTSD. You get stuck in the same chapter of your book.”
• “Every human being should be taking an hour to two hours a day on themselves.”

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

The opinions presented on the The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of my guests and myself. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy, nor does Green Beret Foundation endorse any political candidate or any political party.

Retired Lt. Gen. E. John Deedrick served as the final commander of the Combined Security Transition Command –Afghanistan (CSTC-A). He also held the position of Deputy Chief of Staff for Security Assistance (DCOS SA) at the Headquarters of Resolute Support; the NATO mission in Afghanistan. He was the United States Military Representative to NATO and commanded 1st Special Forces Command.

The Jedburgh Podcast, the Jedburgh Media Channel and the Green Beret Foundation are proud to announce our partnership with the University of Health and Performance outside of Bentonville, Arkansas. 

To kick off our combined investment in the development of our Special Operators post service, Fran Racioppi sat down with Lt. Gen. Deedrick to discuss his take on the Army today, where it came from and where it’s going. 

As one of the last senior leaders in Afghanistan he gave his honest assessment of the withdrawal, the impact leaving has had on our allies and Special Forces Operators, and what the void left has done for the Taliban and American national security. 

They also discuss the importance of our allies, why NATO works, the Russian-North Korean Alliance in Ukraine, and counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism in the Grey Zone through integrated deterrence.

Finally, they talk about the effect of politics on our military and why our leaders all want the same goal, but have different paths to get there. 

Watch, listen or read our conversation from the UHP. Don’t miss our full Veterans Day coverage from UHP. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:23 Welcome to University of Health and Performance
• 5:02 Why did we leave Afghanistan
• 8:02 Did we abandon our Afghan partners
• 11:04 Withdrawal Effect
• 13:24 The Taliban and Al-Qaeda
• 15:22 Enabling Iran
• 16:59 NATO’s importance
• 22:30 NATO vs Russia
• 28:38 The Ukraine conflict today
• 32:30 North Korea’s involvement
• 34:12 What makes a Green Beret different?
• 38:24 Changes to the ODA
• 41:14 Is China the next fight?
• 45:51 Politicizing the military
• 48:02 US forces deployed across America
• 49:38 Lt. Gen. Deedrick’s Sergeant
• 51:53 Daily Habits

QUOTES

• 04:10 “It was a pretty low cost to keep an eye on Al-Qaeda. And also off chutes that are as dangerous.”
• 13:23 “I hope we aren’t paying them not to attack us”
• 17:49 “Nobody freelances at NATO. NATO is an expression of the sovereign will of their capitals.”
• 26:30 “Don’t start a shooting war with Russia. I mean the two nuclear powers”
• 29:10 “When you are so reliant on other nations for your supply chains, you put yourself at risk.”
• 31:09 “You’ve got to go to North Korea to get weapons and soldiers. That’s just sad.”
• 45:20 “The most difficult fight would be China, so I think you have to use that as your pacing item and optimize your fight for that.”
• 45:52 “Lethality on the battlefield is critical.”
• 50:23 “What I would love to see is less personality and more policy.”
• 52:53 “It is a really bad idea to use the active duty US Military in a domestic capability.”

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

The opinions presented on the The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of my guests and myself. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy, nor does Green Beret Foundation endorse any political candidate or any political party.

Transition back to civilian life is the biggest challenge our service men and women will face in their military careers. America invests millions in training our warfighters to be the most competent in the world. That investment shouldn’t end when the uniform comes off. 

The Jedburgh Podcast, the Jedburgh Media Channel and the Green Beret Foundation are proud to announce our partnership with the University of Health and Performance outside of Bentonville, Arkansas. 

Matt Hesse is the Founder and CEO of University of Health and Performance. This Veterans Day, Fran Racioppi sat down with Matt to share his vision to build a world-class development program to train our Veterans as certified personal trainers. In addition to the hard skills required to build health and fitness in others, UHP is also teaching the business skills needed to become successful entrepreneurs.

Matt explains the process, the details behind each course, why UHP has chosen Arkansas to call home, how he’s building an ecosystem to support all aspects of Veteran transition, and how UHP is leading the way in showing private industry just how valuable our Veterans will be for the next generation of America.

Watch, listen or read our conversation from the UHP gym. Don’t miss our full Veterans Day coverage from UHP. Follow the Jedburgh Podcast, the Green Beret Foundation and UHP on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:43 Welcome to the University of Health and Performance
• 3:25 Creating UHP
• 4:37 Why Health and Performance matters 
• 7:46 UHP Programs
• 12:04 Field of Dreams
• 17:46 Preparing veterans for business
• 29:30 Lack of a military transition process
• 34:40 Future of UHP

QUOTES

• “There’s nothing greater than serving democracy. Veterans created this country.” 
• “The health and performance of your life or your company need to be in balance.”
• “You can take the four pieces of the blueprint: how to think intellectually, how to train physically, how to feel emotionally, and how to lead from a values perspective to build a strategy to get after whatever that purpose is.”
• “A lot of us carry a lot of shit around that we have not let out yet and a big part of this place is helping people do that.”
• “I believe that great visionary leaders are unencumbered by their own “I can’t do its.”
• “Failure is not possible if you don’t quit.”
• “Anybody can be an entrepreneur. I truly believe that.”
• “My personal huge goal right now is to give veterans the opportunity to get out and catch up with their peers as fast as possible.”
• “Most Veterans are highly competent, highly skilled, great leaders, who just want to do awesome purposeful work.” 
• “The DOD’s responsibility is to build a lethal fighting force. Period. End of story.” 
• “2025 we are going to launch Veterans Future Festival. It is going to be the largest veterans day event in the country, anywhere."

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

The opinions presented on the The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of my guests and myself. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy, nor does Green Beret Foundation endorse any political candidate or any political party.