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In August of 1968, Travis W. Mills was shot five times in a single engagement at FOB 4 — the deadliest night in the history of U.S. Army Special Forces. He survived. And then he went back to Vietnam.
A Green Beret who served with one of the most classified units in American military history, Travis Mills sat down with The Vanguard Wall Podcast to document a story that couldn't be told for nearly three decades.
Assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group and then to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam — Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG), Travis led small recon teams deep into denied territory along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, conducting cross-border operations into Laos and Cambodia during the most dangerous years of the Vietnam War. After surviving the FOB 4 sapper attack that left 16 Special Forces soldiers dead and over 30 wounded in a single night, he recovered aboard the USS Sanctuary — then returned to Vietnam, not as a patient, but as a leader. He was tasked with building the next generation of warriors, founding and commanding the MACV-SOG Recon Leader School, known as the One-Zero School.
MACV-SOG's existence stayed classified for nearly 29 years. Travis carried that history quietly until 2001, when the unit was finally awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
In this conversation, viewers will hear:

What it was like to serve in a unit whose missions "officially weren't happening"
A first-person account of the FOB 4 sapper attack — 16 SF killed in one night
Why Travis chose to return to Vietnam after being wounded rather than rotate home
The operational structure of MACV-SOG recon teams and the Hatchet Force
What Travis witnessed in Vietnam that still shapes how he thinks about service today
How he and his wife Bobby have stayed married for 62 years
His message to the next generation considering military service

Watch the full episode and subscribe to The Vanguard Wall Podcast to hear more conversations that preserve the history of those who served.

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#MACVSOG #VietnamWar #SpecialForces #GreenBeret #VanguardWallPodcast #VietnamVeteran #MilitaryHistory

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CW2 Kyle Steiner — 173rd Airborne, Korengal Valley combat veteran, and 7th Special Forces Group operator — joins The Vanguard Wall for a full-length documentary-style interview covering combat, resilience, and legacy.

Kyle Steiner was 20 years old when he deployed to Outpost Restrepo in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, one of the most dangerous places on earth, with Battle Company, 2nd of the 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. During Operation Rock Avalanche, he was called KIA over the radio after being struck in the head during an enemy ambush — and walked away. He later failed Special Forces selection, rebuilt, and crushed it the second time, spending 15 years with 7th Special Forces Group.

Today, weeks from retirement after 20 years of service, Kyle's mission has shifted — to raising sons who will become better men than him, a daughter who will never settle for less than she deserves, and answering the question that drives him: how do you pass on the values forged in combat without the trauma that came with them?

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction & Welcome
00:01:00 Kyle Steiner: The Full Story Read
00:04:27 Kyle Reacts to Hearing His Own Story
00:05:51 Military Brat to Small-Town Wisconsin
00:07:02 The SF Pamphlet That Launched His Dream
00:07:25 His Father's Hard Standards (And Why He's Grateful)
00:09:43 Oldest of Five: Family Dynamics & His Parents' Divorce
00:27:51 The 18X-Ray Program Explained
00:30:00 Basic Training: How He Became the Honor Graduate
00:37:50 Airborne School & the Band of Brothers Moment
00:39:55 SFAS First Attempt: Not Selected, Not Ready
00:54:55 Three Dark Months at Bragg Watching Others Leave
01:06:20 Italy: Assigned to the 173rd Airborne at Vicenza
01:07:39 Scout Platoon Struggles & a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
01:12:20 The Command Team "Punishment" That Built Him
01:30:05 Joining Battle Company & the Road to the Korengal
01:45:00 Flying Into the Korengal Valley
01:51:00 Life at Outpost Restrepo: SAW Gunner, 1,600 Rounds, Daily Firefights
01:57:50 111 Firefights in One Month: September in the Korengal
02:19:20 R&R Leave: Going Home & Choosing to Walk Back Into It
02:21:31 "Combat Is Like Crack": The Adrenaline of War
02:31:30 Sebastian Junger, Tim Hetherington & the Restrepo Documentary
02:58:40 Sal Giunta: Before He Won the Medal of Honor
03:08:30 Operation Rock Avalanche & the First Major Casualties
03:22:27 The Headshot: Called KIA Over the Radio, Woke Up, and Ran
03:43:05 Coming Home to Italy, Meeting Julia & Choosing SFAS Again
04:05:00 SFAS Second Attempt: This Time He Was Ready
04:13:51 The Q Course, Earning the Green Beret & 7th Special Forces Group
05:13:18 Combat Dive School, HALO & the Hardest Schools in the Military
06:07:16 The Harder Fight:

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He fought in Fallujah at 21. He carried a diplomatic passport in Moscow. He investigated explosives for the ATF. And then he walked away from all of it — sold his house, pulled his kids out of school, flew to Panama, and bought a sailboat.

In Part 2 of this conversation, Eric Shlevy picks up where the war ended and takes us through every chapter most people never get to hear: embassy life, the State Department, the ATF fugitive task force, and ultimately the decision to sail the world with his wife and two kids for nearly three and a half years.
This episode goes deep into what it actually looks like to rebuild your identity after combat — not through therapy buzzwords, but through action. Through new missions. Through showing your kids that the world is bigger than anyone told them it was.

Eric talks about sailing logistics, homeschooling at sea, marriage on a boat with nowhere to escape, and the moment his daughter started talking about a life in the foreign service — at 16.

He also reflects on the Time Magazine cover, legacy, and what it means to secure your place in history without letting it own you.
This is a rare story. And Eric is a rare man.

If this conversation moved you — share it with someone who needs it. That's the only way this reaches the people it's meant for.

🎙️ Subscribe for new episodes | Support us on Patreon | Merch available now

Follow Eric Shelvy
📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/sailing.altair
🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC3B0cJaRDBXbEMYwppOlAjQ

🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 

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Patreon:
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The Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️
https://www.thevanguardwall.com

Social Media: ⬇️
The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagram
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The Vanguard Wall Podcast Facebook
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Want to sponsor the show?
Email: ⬇️
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On November 22nd, 2004, a photograph appeared on the cover of Time Magazine — a young Marine, 21 years old, face locked in a primal scream in the middle of the push on Fallujah, Iraq. That Marine was Eric Shelvy. And if you think you know where his story goes from there, you're wrong.

Eric grew up in St. Louis — Catholic schools, divorced parents, weekends riding in his father's police cruiser. He was the one kid in his elite Jesuit high school who didn't go to college. He enlisted in the Marines instead, deployed to Iraq twice, and on his second tour led men through house-to-house combat in Fallujah — the heaviest urban fighting since Vietnam.

What happened after is just as remarkable. Embassy duty in Moscow straight out of Fallujah. A posting to The Hague. A reassignment to Kuala Lumpur he didn't want — where he met a Ukrainian ballerina in an expat bar, barely speaking each other's language, and fell in love anyway. He fought embassy bureaucracy to get her a visa, married her, left the Marine Corps, joined the Diplomatic Security Service, became an ATF explosives specialist — and then walked away from all of it. Sold the house, bought a sailboat in Panama, and spent nearly three years crossing the Pacific with his family.

This is Part 1. It's not a war story. It's not a love story. It's a story about a man who has spent his entire life refusing to be put in a box.

Content note: Frank discussion of combat and loss of fellow service members. Documentary and historical context throughout.

Subscribe for Part 2 and follow The Vanguard Wall for more stories from people who have lived it.

Follow Eric Shelvy
📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/sailing.altair
🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC3B0cJaRDBXbEMYwppOlAjQ

00:00:00 Intro:
00:06:57 St. Louis upbringing: Jesuit school + ride-alongs with a cop dad
00:18:23 Cop father in the streets: learning calm under chaos
00:25:32 The recruiter pitch: choosing infantry over the “normal” path
00:42:56 ASVAB & DEP: signing the papers and committing
00:47:20 Pre-boot jitters: cigarettes, nerves, “what did I do?”
00:49:36 Boot camp reality: receiving platoon + breaking you down
01:01:15 Becoming a Marine: discipline, suffering, brotherhood
01:07:56 To the infantry: Pendleton, forming the team
01:24:39 Landing in Kuwait: first taste of war & the unknown
01:29:30 Rolling north: vehicles, armor, and the invasion machine
01:30:16 Infantry squad anatomy: weapons, roles, how you actually fight
01:51:30 First real contact: RPGs and chaos on the move
01:57:59 First casualty: the moment war becomes real
02:03:30 Coming home changed: leadership and lessons carried forward
02:34:06 Combat mindset & fear: what guys admit after the fact
02:52:19 Promotion & pressure: stepping up as a squad leader
03:03:00 Leadership before the storm: LtCol Malay & “bad dudes in that house”
03:13:42 Quick break: resetting before the Fallujah story
03:14:10 Back to Iraq (Fall 2004): Camp Fallujah, Route Michigan, contractors brid

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Chane Jackson was told he'd never make it past eighth grade. A teacher gave him an "H" on a paper because an F wasn't low enough. He never made honor roll once.Fast forward: West Point graduate. 75th Ranger Regiment. Green Beret commander. Five combat deployments. Over 100 direct action missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Three Bronze Stars. Fluent in Arabic. And he never lost a soldier under his command—never fell back in a firefight. Not once.After retiring, Chane taught himself to code and became Director of Data Science for US Special Operations Command, managing AI systems for 90,000 personnel across 11 commands. Now he's building two businesses—D1 Training in Austin and Game Day Men's Health in Tampa—focused on optimizing human performance.This is a four-hour conversation about struggle, resilience, combat leadership, loss, and what it means to keep pushing forward when everyone says you can't.What we talk about:The childhood that shaped him—single mom, tough neighborhood, academic struggles that almost ended everythingHow a brutal West Point professor taught him the mental toughness that would save his life in combatRanger Regiment and learning what it takes to lead elite soldiersGetting his Green Beret and deploying to Afghanistan with ODA 3325Months of sustained combat in Kajaki—getting shot at on infill, firefights that never seemed to endThe day Master Sergeant Gregory Trent was killed (we covered Greg's story in a seven-part series with ODA 3424)What it's like holding someone's skull together while praying they make it homeLeading through loss while staying mission-focusedTeaching at West Point and mentoring the next generationTransition to tech—teaching himself data science and building AI systems for SOCOMWhy he left the military and started two franchisesD1 Training: athletic performance for youth and adults using cutting-edge technologyGame Day Men's Health: veteran-owned TRT and men's wellness clinic

Full conversation on The Vanguard Wall podcast.
⚔️Follow Chane Jackson

📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/chanesz

D1 Training Center Austin, Texas (owned by Chane)

📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/d1jollyvilletx

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/d1jollyvilletx

Game Day Mens Health Tampa, FL (owned by Chane)

📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/gamedaytempleterrace

📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gamedaytempleterrace

🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 

Youtube Channel

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Patreon:

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The Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️

https://www.thevanguardwall.com

Social Media: ⬇️

The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagram

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#SpecialForces #GreenBeret #RangerRegiment #Military #Veterans #Leadership #CombatStories #entrepreneurship

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He fought in Fallujah at 21. He carried a diplomatic passport in Moscow. He investigated explosives for the ATF. And then he walked away from all of it — sold his house, pulled his kids out of school, flew to Panama, and bought a sailboat.

In Part 2 of this conversation, Eric Shelvy picks up where the war ended and takes us through every chapter most people never get to hear: embassy life, the State Department, the ATF fugitive task force, and ultimately the decision to sail the world with his wife and two kids for nearly three and a half years.

This episode goes deep into what it actually looks like to rebuild your identity after combat — not through therapy buzzwords, but through action. Through new missions. Through showing your kids that the world is bigger than anyone told them it was.

Eric talks about sailing logistics, homeschooling at sea, marriage on a boat with nowhere to escape, and the moment his daughter started talking about a life in the foreign service — at 16.

He also reflects on the Time Magazine cover, legacy, and what it means to secure your place in history without letting it own you.
This is a rare story. And Eric is a rare man.

If this conversation moved you — share it with someone who needs it. That's the only way this reaches the people it's meant for.

🎙️ Subscribe for new episodes | Support us on Patreon | Merch available now

Follow Eric Shelvy
📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/sailing.altair
🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC3B0cJaRDBXbEMYwppOlAjQ

🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 

Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/ @TheVanguardWall  

Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/c/TheVanguardWall

The Vanguard Wall Merch: ⬇️
https://www.thevanguardwall.com

Social Media: ⬇️
The Vanguard Wall Podcast Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thevanguardwallpodcast/

The Vanguard Wall Podcast Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569106772297

Want to sponsor the show?
Email: ⬇️
[email protected]

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What does it take to go from a self-described "nerdy drama club kid" to leading Green Beret teams in Iraq? And what kind of man walks away from a 20-year Special Forces career to pursue seminary? This is the story of Major Evan Perperis.Evan spent two decades in the US Army — Ranger School, SEER, Pathfinder, Special Forces Qualification Course, and four combat deployments to Iraq and the Middle East. As a Green Beret team leader with 5th Special Forces Group, he trained elite Iraqi Commandos in the heart of the War on Terror. He earned two Bronze Stars and four Meritorious Service Medals.But that's only half the story.When he wasn't downrange, Evan was running 24-hour obstacle course races, climbing the height of Mount Everest with obstacles for charity (raising over $25,000 for wounded warriors), competing as a professional OCR athlete with 100+ podium finishes, and authoring 10+ books on fitness and combatives.Then he made a decision that shocked everyone: he walked away from the military to become a Greek Orthodox priest.In this conversation, we cover:

His childhood and the moment 9/11 changed everything
Six months in Ranger School and refusing to quit
Leading platoons and ODAs in combat
The emotional toll of deployment on family
His extreme endurance challenges and athletic career
Why he chose Orthodoxy and the priesthood
Balancing warrior mentality with faith

This is a conversation about sacrifice, perseverance, faith, and what it means to truly live a life of purpose.

Follow Evan Perperis:

🌐 Website: www.UltraOCRman.com
📘 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ultraocrman
📸 Instagram: www.Instagram.com/ultraOCRman
💪 Patreon: www.patreon.com/GreekCombatives
📚 Books: www.TeamStrengthSpeed.com
📖 Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Evan-Perperis/author/B07R1R2J4B

🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 

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Major Evan Perperis served 20 years in the US Army as a Special Forces officer with 5th Special Forces Group, completing Ranger School, SEER, Pathfinder, and the Special Forces Qualification Course. With four combat deployments to Iraq and the Middle East, two Bronze Stars, and four Meritorious Service Medals, Evan led Green Beret teams training elite Iraqi Commandos during the War on Terror. Beyond military service, he competed as a professional obstacle course racer with over 100 podium finishes, authored more than 10 books on fitness and combatives, and raised over $25,000 for wounded warriors through extreme endurance challenges. After two decades of service, Evan made the extraordinary decision to pursue sem

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🔥 This is the story Hollywood doesn't want you to hear.

Cody Bobay went from being an alcoholic 13-year-old in a broken home to encountering God in a Navy barracks—and his entire life changed in ONE SECOND. Now he's fighting to take back Hollywood one film at a time.
From nuclear warfare missions to battling depression, from marriage crisis to standing up against church criticism, from devastating rejection to launching a studio that refuses to bow to Hollywood's agenda—this conversation goes DEEP.
If you're struggling with:

Pornography addiction
Depression or suicidal thoughts
Marriage problems
Feeling like a failure
Finding your purpose
Being a better father
Fighting for biblical masculinity

This episode is for you.



📍 CHAPTERS:
00:00:00 - Introduction: From Broken Home to Warrior
00:15:32 - Age 13: First Drink, Alcoholism & Chasing Acceptance
00:30:45 - The Dark Reality: Cheating, Fighting & Hating Himself
00:46:18 - Rock Bottom: Screaming at God in a Navy Barracks
00:51:03 - The Encounter: How God Changed Everything in One Moment
01:08:47 - Nuclear Warfare: Life on the E-6B Mercury Platform
01:28:15 - SERE School: Breaking His Neck & Cold Water Torture
01:42:33 - Blue Jacket of the Year: God Whispers the Answer
01:54:20 - Meeting His Wife: No Sex Until Marriage After That Past
02:08:44 - Year 7 Crisis: "You're Having an Emotional Affair with Work"
02:22:10 - Why Christian Men Stay Fat & Addicted (The Brutal Truth)
02:38:52 - Writing 700 Devotionals While Fighting Depression
02:51:16 - God's Call to Acting: "Would You Follow Me Into the Ocean?"
03:04:39 - Hollywood Rejection: 10 Final Callbacks, Zero Callbacks Back
03:18:24 - Fighting on Film: Breaking His Neck in the Ogden River
03:29:47 - Pastors Tried to Cancel Him: "You'll Never Speak Without Seminary"
03:44:11 - The Pornography Conversation Church Won't Have
03:58:35 - Raising Kids in Hollywood: Steak & Sex Dates with His Son
04:12:18 - I68 Studios: Taking Back Hollywood Without Asking Permission
04:26:40 - Final Word: Here I Am, Send Me

🎯 FOLLOW Cody Bobby:
Instagram: @codybobay
Website: www.codybobay.com

Soulçon
Instagram: @soulconseries
Website: www.soulcon.com

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Instagram: @i68studios
Patreon
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#CodyBobay #ChristianMasculinity #HollywoodTransformation #NavyVeteran #SoulConWarrior #BiblicalManhood #MarriageAdvice #Fatherhood #ActionFilms #I68Stu

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What do you do when you've lost everything—your family, your future, your will to live? For Matt Kuiper, founder of Desert Plunge, the answer came in the form of 38-degree water. This is the story of a man who went from two DUIs and jail time to building one of the fastest-growing cold plunge companies in America—and how he discovered that our darkest moments can become our greatest purpose.

Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
4:00 - Early Childhood & Christian Reform Upbringing
15:10 - First Antidepressants at 15
17:20 - First Drink: "I Cannot Wait to Do This Again"
30:50 - First DUI at 16, Second at 21
37:40 - The Day I Almost Died: 220 BPM Heart Rate
47:30 - Green Oaks Ranch: 6-Month Rehab
53:00 - Meeting My Wife in Rehab
1:09:00 - Relapse: Wife Kicks Me Out
1:17:00 - Rock Bottom & 90 Meetings in 90 Days
1:27:00 - Why Marriage is Worth Fighting For
1:37:00 - Becoming an Electrician: The Trades vs College
1:48:00 - 2019 Mental Health Crisis in Ecuador
2:01:00 - Cold Plunge Changed Everything
2:07:00 - Building Desert Plunge from Garage to Business
2:34:00 - Customer Service & Business Philosophy
2:51:00 - Plant Medicine: 5-MEO, Kambo, Ketamine
3:04:00 - Faith, Fatherhood & Breaking Cycles
3:19:00 - SSRIs, Big Pharma & Alternative Medicine
3:27:00 - Final Message: You Can Change Your Story

🎯 FOLLOW Matt Kupier:
Instagram: @Matt_Kuiper, @desertplunge
Website:
https://desertplunge.com/

🔗 Connect with The Vanguard Wall Podcast 

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#MattKuiper #DesertPlunge #ColdPlungeTherapy #AddictionRecovery #MentalHealthAwareness #SobrietyJourney #EntrepreneurStory #WimHofMethod #RecoveryIsPossible

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Bob Porras served 20 years in Delta Force before joining the CIA's Global Response Staff, where he spent another decade protecting intelligence operations in the world's most dangerous places. In this conversation, Bob shares the reality behind the headlines—from the Benghazi aftermath to evacuating the Tripoli embassy in 2014, earning the CIA's highest medal in the process.

This interview covers the sacrifices that come with a life in service, the broken training pipelines that put operators at risk, and what it takes to lead teams when failure isn't an option. Bob discusses his transition out of the CIA, why he started teaching tactical skills, and the personal costs of three decades at the tip of the spear.

Topics include: CIA Global Response Staff operations, leadership under fire, the Khost Bombings, Benghazi Attacks, faith and family through adversity, and building resilience after service.

Content Advisory: This conversation contains discussions of combat operations, wartime casualties, and the psychological toll of sustained operational tempo. Presented in documentary/educational context.

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