Join host Jim Fausone and our two guests for an episode on the Air Force and Navy fleet condition and effects on National Security.

We hear from Heather “Lucky” Penney, former F-16 pilot and a Senior Resident Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Penney talks about the aging air frames and needs of the Air Force.

Jim also talks with VADM Kevin Green (USN, ret) about Naval fleet readiness. Our guests discuss how fleet readiness impacts National Security.

(Previously Aired on 10/5/2020) Another 22 Helicopter Rescue missions from the Vietnam War as told by the very youthful aircrews who flew those missions in their wondrous machines. All stories are told with no holds barred. Climb into the aircraft with them and re-live their “adventures”!

Phil Marshall was a 21-year-old Warrant Officer in Vietnam as a Huey Dustoff pilot. In November of 1969, he was wounded on an insecure night rescue of 3 seriously wounded soldiers. Marshall’s ever-growing series of Vietnam Helicopter Rescues documents the helicopter rescue missions that were flown by very youthful crews. The stories are all told by the men who flew the missions and are not embellished. They are as true as they can be remembered; a truly amazing series of missions flown by very humble men doing uncommon things.

Author Michel Paradis offers a fresh look into General Dwight D. Eisenhower in "The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the American Superpower". Paradis' research shines as he discusses Ike's relationships with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Thurgood Marshall, Omar Bradley, James H. Doolittle, etc. He talks with host Jim Fausone about how he faced adversity, dealt with ethical issues on race & chemical weapons, and carried the pressures of D-Day.

Guests this week include two service nurses

• Brig. Gen. Carol Ann Fausone USAF (ret) – Legal Help for Veterans
• Lt. Col. Sandie Wilson USA (ret) – Director at Large, Vietnam Veterans of America and Chair of the VVA National Agent Orange and Toxic Exposure Committee. Topics covered in today program included:
• More presumptive conditions covered by the PACT ACT.
• Deadline for filing for benefits from Camp Lejeune-August 10th, 2024
• Effects of Toxic Exposure on Veteran's Offspring
• And much more.

The song at the end of the program is God Bless America and America the Beautiful performed by Brothers of the Heart

(Previously Aired on 10/20/2020): Captain John L. Kaul (ret) served as a full-time Navy Catholic chaplain for 26 years. He spent time with Marines, Admirals, and other chaplains of all faiths. Fr. Kaul was born in Wyandotte and attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit and St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth Township. He also attended Mercy College in Detroit.

He was ordained on May 24, 1975, at St. Joseph Church in Wyandotte. After 7 years of parish ministry, he was allowed to join the Navy full-time. Twice he was stationed as a chaplain at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Upon retirement he worked for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, Fr. Kaul has worked to facilitate contracts and faculties for priests serving the military on a non-active-duty basis and a short time as vocations director.

Fr. Kaul has earned several honors and recognitions for his service, including the Meritorious Service Medal twice, the Navy Commendation Medal four times, the Overseas Deployment Ribbon four times, and the Joint Service Achievement Medal. He talks about his career and the needs of chaplains with host Jim Fausone.

Army veteran Steve White talks about ROTC, six years of military service, and a 30-year career in franchising for multiple companies. Steve is now President of PuroClean USA a disaster restoration company that is veteran-friendly. Steve talks with host Jim Fausone about what he learned in the military that applies to business today.

What are ethics? What is morality? How can one behave in a moral manner? These are among the most difficult and most interesting questions that face people of any age. What defines a “Warrior” today? We explore these important questions with our guest, Dr. Shannon E. French, (then) Assoc. Prof. Associate Chair, Department of Leadership, Ethics, and Law at the United States Naval Academy and author of The Code of the Warrior.

More info on the book can be found here.

About the book:

Warrior cultures throughout history have developed unique codes that restrict their behavior and set them apart from the rest of society. But what possible reason could a warrior have for accepting such restraints? Why should those whose profession can force them into hellish kill-or-be-killed conditions care about such lofty concepts as honor, courage, nobility, duty, and sacrifice? And why should it matter so much to the warriors themselves that they be something more than mere murderers? The Code of the Warrior tackles these timely issues and takes the reader on a tour of warrior cultures and their values, from the ancient Greeks and Romans to the Vikings and Celts, from legendary chivalric knights to Native American tribesmen, from Chinese warrior monks pursuing enlightenment to Japanese samurai practicing death. Drawing these rich traditions up to the present, the author quests for a code for the warriors of today, as they do battle in asymmetric conflicts against unconventional forces and the scourge of global terrorism.

(Previously Aired on 9/15/2020) Erica Robertson holds an MBA from the University of Michigan, worked for Accenture Consulting, then at Nike as a Change Agent. She is now a K-12 Education crusader in Metro Detroit. She wrote about her upbringing and intergenerational trauma in her book "The Adventures of a Little Black Detroit Girl". The story of an 18-year-old single mother, working two minimum-wage jobs to make ends meet.

Our interview focuses on the reasons why she joined the Navy and what she got out of that service. Erica explains how it was transformational in her life and wishes more young people would consider a few years in service. Erica's now focused on education for children of color and her 501c3 "Education at Scale" and her publishing company "Little Black Girl Adventures". She has a wide-ranging discussion with host Jim Fausone.

Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Beth Kubala is now a professor at Syracuse Law School. Retired Navy Veteran Angela Hamilton earned her MBA and is now attending law school. Both join host Jim Fausone to discuss the US Supreme Court case deciding you can use both Montgomery GI Bill and Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.

We hear from Vietnam Veteran Bill Sheehan, author of “Together We Served,” and a storyteller from his book, Dan Thompson.

Sheehan and Thompson served as Navy Corpsmen in the Vietnam War. Sheehan’s book is a collection of stories from combat Navy Hospital Corpsmen serving in the jungles of Vietnam. Sometimes difficult to talk about, but always heart wrenching, these stories are true and a reminder of the consequences of a war that has initiated PTS, various cancers and emotional trauma that they still battle.

For more information about the book, click here.

Camp Liberty Michigan

Camp Liberty is a local Michigan nonprofit that provides access to outdoor recreation for Veterans and their families. They’re hosting fundraiser on June 29th, the Car & Motorcycle Show & Family Picnic with live music, lunch, and activities for all ages.