Knowledge Is Power

In this session we interviewed Aleks Skarlatos who is one of the American service members who thwarted that would be terror attack on the train in France back in August of 2015. Mike gets into a coping mechanism for service members, or civilians to use when dealing with a traumatic event such as losing a loved one. We also talk fitness and I give you guys some calisthenic workout information. 

GRP 05 Interview With Aleks Skarlatos, PTSD, Fitness, And Mindset.

In this episode we had the privilege to talk with Medal of Honor recipient Army Captain Florent Groberg. Florent talks about the incident in which he earned the medal. It's an incredible story, and Florent is a great American. 

GRP 09 Medal Of Honor Recipient Captain Florent Groberg

GRP 14-On this episode Me and Mike discuss events in Benghazi, Libya, and some of the circumstances involving the incident. Mike was involved so he has a very unique, insider perspective. We talk bureaucracy, and how it has a negative effect on the Operators on the ground. We touch on the subject of women in combat arms which is a very controversial topic of discussion these days. 

We are also excited to announce that we will be running webinars to connect with listeners, and to give you guys some updates on what we have coming for the future. If you’re interested in the webinar’s send an email to Podcast@globalrecon.net with Webinar in the subject line, and we’ll lock you in. 



GRP 14 Benghazi , Women In Combat, Bureaucracy, Webinars

Below is an excerpt from the episode. From Mike Glover the show’s co-host, and Kevin T who is a 20 year Special Forces veteran:

So me and Kev were Snipers on the same detachment. That was Iraq 08, we were in the CIF at the time. Kevin was in a helicopter crash. We were on the same team, you guys were doing an op. I was on the HLZ, and seeing you guys off. I remember making a joke in typical SOF fashion just shooting the shit. I remember saying hey don’t frap in, don’t crash. Literally I think 10 mins later I was heading to QRF, and my SGM was telling me to get everybody ready because we had to go QRF these guys because they just got in a helicopter crash. 

So they had two helicopters, NAFSOC’s MH-60’s which is their version of it. There set up kept us alive. Their door gunners kept us in where typically we would have had our feet hanging off the sides. Two helo’s infilled into a FOB (Forward Operating Base) the second helicopter hopped a power line. They thought we were taking incoming, and you felt it just the noise how intense it was. Got heavy on the stick and literally nose was just down into the lead helicopters tail rotor which dislodged it, and severed one of the team members in half and caused quite a bit of destruction around it.

That night we lost one of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Force guys and I think everybody was wounded except for one of our teammates who was next to the sniper who got cut in half that same propeller swatted him on the ass, and knocked him over. I think everybody took shrapnel, yea we were covered in blood and diesel fuel just crawling out of there.  

Send questions to podcast@globalrecon.net 


GRP 23 Operators, Special Forces Selection, FieldCraft LLC

GRP 28- Today’s episode is a special Memorial Day tribute to our fallen countrymen from all wars past till present. There will be multiple post highlighting this episode, but the first will be an excerpt from former Army EOD Technician Justin Howard.

John Hendricks: Justin, what does Memorial day mean to you?

Justin Howard: Memorial day to me is me thinking about the veterans who served in wars past, but also the brothers that served with me. The one’s who I’ve lost. When you hear about one of your brothers being a triple amputee makes me wonder what he was thinking when it was going down. 

My buddy Donald Vincent Stacy he was a good friend of mine he was with the 1 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment working with Special forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan. I was in EOD school at the time when he was deployed. I got a call from one of his buddies and he told me that Donald was killed in Afghanistan by a detonation. They had seen some Military Aged Males on some motorcycles, and they were told to go check it out. Donald took the detector from his junior guy, and went to sweep a path. As he was going down the alley a detonation occurred. 

Donald was thrown against the wall, and the medic came running down. He said “SGT Stacy, SGT Stacy if you can hear me squeeze my hand, and he squeezed his hand. One of his arms was missing and both of his legs were gone. He called for assistance, and they came down and applied the tourniquets, and on the helicopter ride back to Kandahar Donald died. He was a good friend of mine from when I was 16 years old. We were in Iraq together, I was aviation, and he was infantry, but we hung out together. We were at Bragg together. That was a tough phone call for me. 

Rest in Peace SGT Donald Vincent Stacy. Blue skies brother. 


GRP 28 Memorial Day, Army Rangers, Army EOD, AF Combat Search And Rescue

Search Global Recon Podcast on ITunes, or Sound Cloud to access the episodes. Leave us a review, subscribe, and download the episodes on ITunes. Thank you. 

GRP 29- This nation has lost a piece of history in the quiet of the night. Master Chief (ret.) Tom Eagles was one of the most highly decorated Corpsman of the Vietnam War with service spanning three decades. Doc Eagles is responsible for a lot of changes in combat medicine over the past 50 years. He spent a number of years working with North American Rescue helping develop life saving equipment, and then having it integrated into the US Military. Here is an excerpt from the episode with DJ Struntz from North American Rescue telling a story from the Master Chief.

DJ Struntz: They were on a Long Range Reconnaissance deep inside enemy territory at night. They didn’t have all the night vision that we have now. They were hunkered in and a Tiger came in and grabbed one of the guys from his patrol. They sat there in the dark surrounded by Viet Cong listening to this guy scream until the Tiger killed him. They listened to him crunching away all night while the Tiger ate the poor guy, and they couldn’t do anything because they were surrounded by enemy troops. 

If you have any questions, or suggestions send an email to podcast@globalrecon.net


GRP 29-RIP  Doc  Thomas Eagles, North American Rescue, 18 Delta, Special Forces

GRP 34-On this episode I conducted two interviews. The first is with T a Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman (SARC) in the Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC). T spent a number of years in the US Navy attached to MARSOC, and we were able to discuss some aspects of trauma medicine. T is apart of a company called Cro Medical Gear which is owned and operated by SARC’s. They are working on developing a product line of medical gear for the advanced care provider initially, and then will release products for civilians as well. 

The Second interview was with 3 former Army Rangers from the 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment who run a podcast called The Choke Point. Chance Davis SSG Former Ranger Medic, James Webb SGT Ranger Retired, and Paul Martinez SSG Ranger Retired. These guys are awesome indivus who’ve overcome many obstacles, and who stay busying farming, and working with other veterans. They’ve got books in the works, and are forming an organization to help veterans in need. Below is an excerpt from the podcast.

Paul Martinez: I remember that. We’re having like a Turkey dinner in the middle of Afghanistan in this giant castle compound. It was weird man. I felt like Genghis Khan. You’re looking at these giant Himalayan mountains covered in snow, but its hot where you are. Doc’s got a turkey on the stick. Your extremely well fed. Its one of those things where your sitting in this house, your eating turkey dinner with your best buddies, you’re in arguably one of the worst places on the planet. I couldn’t have been happier. As soon as the sun goes down were back out fighting through ambushes. It was some pretty gnarly fighting. 

Send an email to podcast@gloablrecon.net with questions, or comments. 


GRP 34-The Choke Point Podcast, Cro Medical Gear, Army Rangers, SARCs

GRP 35-On this episode I have Nick Betts the owner of Krupto Strategic back on the show. Nick is an 8-year Army Sniper/Reconnaissance veteran with multiple deployments. We discuss the fact that the media mislabeled the Dallas shooter a sniper. We feel that the media fan’s the flames of this race issue, by not reporting honestly and giving a full picture of what’s going on. Nick shares a war story from a deployment to Ramadi, Iraq when he was working with US Navy SEALs. Below is an excerpt.

Nick Betts: Ramadi, 2006. We were working with the SEAL teams. My team was staying at this little outpost in the middle of the city called “Eagles Nest”. The SEALs called up our TOC (Tactical Operations Center), and let us know that they were running operations in our A0 (Area of Operations). The SEALs inserted at 4AM they get up on the roof, and once the sun came up because they were in this specific sector anybody with a gun was getting shot. They were pretty much up there for terrorist elimination.

As soon as the sun would come up any American, or Iraqi unit’s were getting into heavy firefights in this area. I was at the guard post, and I start hearing rapid gunfire. I call it in on the radio. I ended up rotating off the shift, and went down to the TOC. The SEALs radioed in telling us to stand by because they were getting hammered. I was in a mechanized infantry unit, so we had Bradley fighting vehicles which had 25 mic mic Bushmaster cannons on top. The SEALS called us up telling us they took severe causalities and they needed us to come exil them. 


My team SGT grabbed a bunch of us up and we rolled out. The SEALs were on top of this roof in a gun fight. A terrorist came up right under the base of the roof, and threw up a hand grenade. The explosion took out a massive chunk of two SEALs. The Team guys up there applied tourniquets, and stopped the bleeding. So we drop the ramp on the Bradley. The 25 mic mic started laying down heavy fire. All of those guys jumped in, and we get back to Eagles Nest. Called in the Medevac. I was cleaning out blood from the back of the Bradley’s. My platoon SGT told me we might be going back in. 

The rest of the team we extracted was out there. Their commander didn’t have his shirt on, but he had a plate carrier on. He had a through and through wound in his chest that was patched up. One of the guys asked him if he’s good, and he says “I’ll be fine”.  

Send any questions, or comments to Podcast@globalrecon.net


GRP 35-Krupto Strategic, Dallas Shooter, War Stories

GRP 38- On this episode I have the privilege of having a conversation with retired Special Forces soldier turned professional football player Nate Boyer. Nate served this country for 10 years. All of his time in the military was spent as a Green Beret on active duty, and then in a National Guard Special Forces unit. Nate’s story is truly inspirational, and he continues to serve his fellow veterans by contributing to veteran programs, and initiatives which are absolutely awesome. Below is an excerpt from the episode:

John Hendricks: Nate, lets talk about what you were doing before the Army, and then what led you into the Army. 

Nate Boyer: I didn’t understand much about service, and sacrifice. I went over to Darfur on the boarder of Sudan, and Chad in sub-Saharan Africa. I did some relief work over there for a couple of months. It was over there that I gained my sense of patriotism. I became very proud of what we had here. I gained some perspective on what its like in the world. When I came back I had this feeling that I wanted to go fight for those people in those places that didn’t have someone to protect them. I came back and signed up with an 18 X-ray contract to go become a Green Beret.

John Hendricks: That’s awesome. That relief work what does it consist of?

Nate Boyer: It’s a long story to be honest. I wasn’t even supposed to be there. I tried to apply to these different organizations’ that were over there, and they turned me down because to them I didn’t have anything to offer. I was like man I’ll do anything. Pass out food rations, assist in the medical center. What ever you need. I was like alright we’ll F you I’m going over there anyway. I bought a plane ticket, and showed up bullshitting my way onto the camps. The people in the camps were enamored by the fact that an American would leave what we have to go help over there. The kids were always asking me questions. They all figured I was like best friends with 50 Cent or something.

Global Recon Podcast

GRP 38-Nate Boyer, Green Berets, NFL, Patriot

GRP 40- Dan, the owner of Combat Flags, and US Army veteran joined me for our 40th episode. We discuss the role of a PYSOP (Physiological Operations) Solider, OEF-P, and his company Combat Flags. Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines is a lesser known campaign to rid the Philippine’s of Islamic terror groups. We discuss the situation there, and what the Pilipino government is doing to counter the threat. Dan’s company Combat Flags, create these beautiful American flags put together using the uniforms of veterans from all branches. It’s really awesome work, and Combat Flags donates half of the money to Stop Solider Suicide. Below is an excerpt from the episode.


John Hendricks: During the height of the Iraq war, now in Syria, and Iraq people who are critical of the war efforts would say things like we’re out there fighting farmers, and things like that. Which is very far from the truth. Apart of the truth is what removing Saddam from power was lifting that stringent, and strict security measures that kept out these transnational terrorist organizations out. What ends up happening is now you have fighters from Chechnya, the larger middle east, and Africa. In the Philippine’s was it Pilipino terrorism, or was it international groups operating there?


Dan: The Philippines falls within South East Asia, and it’s an Archipelago nation. The terrorist activity predominately takes place in the southern Philippine’s. Back in the mid to late 70’s this group called the Moral National Liberation Front (MNLF) started to take hold, and open up these insurgent training camps. The MNLF had an internal coup, and split off into a separate group called the Moral Islamic Liberation Front. These camps really paved the way for what I was working with, and what guys who preceded me were working with. Throughout the years there have been thousands of Jihadist who were trained there, and going to Pakistan, Iraq, you name it. I liked to refer to it as the minor league of terrorism.


That’s where the terrorist goes, get there training, and when ready for the big leagues they get called up, and head out to the middle east. These training camps in the 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s were pumping out guys left and right. Some of the more notable folks who came through the Philippine’s during the 80’s was Osama Bin Laden’s brother in law. Another guy named Ramsey Yousef, who was one of the primary architects of the World Trade Center bombings in 93.  A more contemporary guy named Khalid Sheikh Mohammed he’s one of the big guys from the 9/11 attacks. He was a former secretary of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. These groups gained ground pretty quick, and have been causing havoc on the southern part of the Philippine’s through bombings, and kidnappings. 

Send questions, or comments to Podcast@globalrecon.net 

GRP 40-Combat Flags, PSYOPS, Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippine’s

GRP 41-On for this episode is former US Navy SEAL Corpsman, and Sniper Kevin Lacz. Kevin is the author of the New York Times best selling book The Last Punisher: A SEAL Team THREE Sniper's True Account of the Battle of Ramadi. Kevin was apart of a Sniper element with US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. We talked about what its like going through BUDS which is the selection course for Navy SEALs. We talk Ramadi, mindset, SOF Medics, and some history. Below is an excerpt from our conversation.


John Hendricks: The book is basically about your experience during a rotation to Ramadi. The insurgency moved from Fallujah to Ramadi. A very dangerous place. You were deployed with Chris Kyle, and he was a close friend of yours. 

Kevin Lacz: That 2006 deployment was the most pronounced out of my deployments. You’re right Ramadi at that point in time was kind of the epicenter of the insurgency in Iraq. It was also primed to be the template for the surge. We deployed in April 06 in support of the the 1st, the 502nd, the 36, 38 Marines in a new campaign to win hearts and minds. We supported them. We were mainly there to support them from a couple of different platforms. One was direct action missions. 


Presence patrols. Working with the Iraqi security forces patrolling daytime, and night time in these areas. The third was the Sniper element which proved to be the most effective. One of the gentlemen in our platoon was Chris Kyle. That deployment our platoon had over 230 confirmed kills, and Chris had 101 of those. Task unit together had 330 confirmed kills. That’s not airstrikes, rifle mainly sniper.


GRP 41-Navy SEAL Sniper, The Last Punisher, Mindset, RIP Green Beret Matthew Thompson

GRP 43- For this episode I had two different conversations with two very interesting individuals. The first conversation is with former British Army Combat Medic Chantelle Taylor. A former Combat Medic she had a remarkable career in the British Army. Renowned for being the first British female soldier in history to engage and kill an enemy combatant at close quarters, she was the lead medic supporting an infantry fighting company during prolonged combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Chantelle is the director of tactical medicine within Spectre International/FVEY Group. She is an ambassador for GBV UNCOVERED an international online think tank dedicated to improving the medical and psychological care available to the survivors of sexual gender-based violence [GBV] in the world's conflict regions. Taylor transitioned into diplomatic security and for a further four years she undertook the role of primary protection officer for the Australian Ambassador to Iraq. Currently she specializes in the provision and effective implementation of medicine in unstable or hostile regions. We discussed her career as a medic, and post military as a defense contractor working in war zones. We also discuss combat medicine, women in combat, and a variety of other topics.

The second conversation I had is with Aaron Epstein. Aaron is the president of an organization called the Global Surgical Medical Support Group. This unique organization provides medical training, and support to the Kurdish military, and Kurdish civilian population in Northern Iraq, as the continue to battle ISIS. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”-Chinese proverb. Very popular aid organizations go into Iraq, drop some limited supplies, take some photos then leave. GSMSG is the exact opposite of that. They train the Kurds, so that they are no longer needed in the conflict zone. Enjoy. 

Send questions, or comments to podcast@globalrecon.net


GRP 43-British Army Combat Medic, Global Surgical Medical Support Group, Women in Combat

GRP 45-My guest on for this episode is retired Green Beret Medic Sergeant First Class Michael Rodriguez. Michael spent 21 years in the US Army with his first deployment to Somalia with the 10th Mountain Divison, to his last deployment to Afghanistan with the 7th Special Forces Group. We discuss Special Operations medicine, the advances in technology as a result of war. First Sergeant Rodriguez was medically retired due to sustaining several TBI's (Traumatic Brain Injury) from IEDs. 

He sits on President George W. Bush's Military Service Initiative Advisory Council which engages in a wide range of activities that support veterans. Last but not least he's the Cheif Ambassador at the Green Beret Foundation. Below is an excerpt from the episode:

John: Now for the Special Operations medical course the individuals going through are Rangers, SEALs, or Green Berets it's a course that all SOF attends. Was it like that during those days?

Sergeant First Class Rodriguez: It was. The way it was when I went through it was two courses. Special Operations Combat Medic(SOCM), and then Special Forces Medical Sergeants Course(SFMS). We had PJ's , Ranger Medics, and SEALs go through SOCM. The only people who went on through SFMS the more advanced stuff were 18 Delta's Green Beret Medic's or they would send back seasoned SEALs the IDC's (Independent Duty Corpsman) those guys were seasoned veterans going through that portion. Now it's a bit different but there's still somewhat of a distinction for the 18 Delta's. 

GRP 45-SF Medic, Traumatic Brain Injury, President George W Bush Military Service Initiative

GRP 47-Co hosting for this episode is retired Army veteran, Nick Betts. I interviewed Stu Pearson a retired British Army soldier who served for 20 years with 3 Para. The Parachute Regiment is an elite British Infantry Battalion that has been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Stu was on a rotation to Southern Afghanistan and was tasked with protecting the Kajaki Dam which provided power to a large number of people in the region.   

A Para sniper saw enemy activity that was out of effective targeting range so they planned to move to a concealed position closer to the enemy. En route to this position the sniper who was leading the movement stepped on a landmine. They'd walked right into a minefield. The Para's quickly stabilized him. They'd chosen flat ground not far so the MEDEVAC helicopter could extract the Para Trooper. While clearing the path Stu Pearson stepped on a landmine.  Seven men were seriously wounded at Kajaki. Three of them lost legs, while Corporal Mark Wright, of the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, suffered fatal wounds. The 27-year-old, just two months away from his wedding to Gill Urquhart, died after displaying bravery so ferocious that he would be posthumously awarded the highest of honors, the George Cross. Three of his comrades were also decorated for gallantry.

Nick and I had a conversation with retired U.S Army Special Forces veteran David Pavlick.  Pavlick is the CEO of Arsenal Democracy which specializes in Aerospace/Defense Research and Development. He served in Special Forces for 12 years with multiple deployments. David and Nick are both qualified Snipers.

GRP 47-Stu Pearson, Kajaki, Green Berets, Arsenal Democracy

GRP 52- On for this episode is Donald Lee, and Griff Griffin from Combat Flip Flops. Both are former Army Rangers with multiple combat rotations.  Co-hosting is British Army Combat Medic Chantel Taylor. Combat Flip Flops is a very interesting company that makes Flip Flops in Afghanistan, and other products in places like Lao's in southeast Asia. From now till the end of the month you can get a 20 percent discount upon check out just enter the coupon code "Global Recon".  They are also having a veteran’s day sale from Wednesday till Friday. 20 percent off site wide coupon code “WELOVEVETS”.

Today being election day we get into politics, some of the causes and effects of war and what is viewed as the best way to combat poverty which is really a big reason for a lot of the people fighting over in the middle east. Not each enemy fighter is a fanatical jihadi in a lot of cases fighting is the only way they can earn money. We talk about contracting, the transition out of the military and most importantly the consequences of wearing socks with Combat Flip Flops! 

Griff talks about a time that while on a rotation into Iraq a coordinated attack was launched on a checkpoint and using drone footage they were able to follow the perpetrators of the attack back to their safe houses. An operation was immediately launched in which they captured those responsible for the attack. When asked why they did what they did one of the men stated simply it's a way to earn money.

GRP 52-Combat Flip Flops, Election Day, RIP Green Berets

GRP 62- Back on for this week's podcast is my good friend retired British Army Combat Medic Chantel Taylor. We discuss the process of becoming a Combat Medic in the British Army, as well as discuss some of her experience's as an Army Medic, and as a Medic working as a contractor in several conflict zones post military. 

The second conversation I had is with a former U.S. Navy Corpsman named Cris, who spent the duration of his career attached to the U.S. Marine Corps for multiple combat rotations into Afghanistan. Chris shares a story of a mass casualty event in which he was leading the quick reaction force into a potentially dangerous situation. Cris has since retired from the Navy and is now working with an incredible organization called the Global Surgical Medical Support Group (GSMSG). The GSMSG is an organization that provides medical training and treats soldiers fighting ISIS in Northern Iraq, and elsewhere. They have surgeons, doctors, and military medics working around the clock to train the Kurdish Peshmerga medics, as well as performing surgery on Peshmerga soldiers, as well as Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF). GSMSG is now recruiting SOF Medics for a trip into Syria. If you’re interesting apply on their website http://www.gsmsg.org
 Below is an excerpt.


John: Can you share a story of a time you treated a casualty in combat?

Cris: My second deployment to Afghanistan we were supporting the Afghan’s as they took the lead in the fighting over there. We had a lot of mass casualty events. A couple of their vehicles struck an IED and we were the quick reaction force. I was with three other Marines. They could all do the basic interventions to help save lives. Putting on tourniquets, occlusive dressings, needle decompressions. There were 20 casualties total. When we got there the scene was total chaos. We started triaging. Who's alive? who needs care right now? we got everything from a triple amputee to minor burns. Having all my Marines trained to the standard that they could all perform casualty care efficiently was great. Each of us had four casualties. We were able to get them medevac'd and taken to a higher level of care.    


Global Surgical Medical Support Group:
http://www.gsmsg.org
Facebook: Global Surgical Medical Support Group
Instagram:Global_Surgical_Medical_Support_Group

Chantel Taylor:
Facebook: Battleworn
Instagram: Mission_Critical

GRP 62-GSMSG, Iraq, British Army Combat Medic, Navy Corpsman

GRP 66- On for this week's podcast is Bob Keller. Bob is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army Special Operations community with time served in the Ranger Regiment, Army Special Forces, and SMU. Bob now runs a tactical training company called Gamut Resolutions. His instruction is top of the line and instruction that is proven to work from years of experience as a warfighter. Co-hosting with me is Army combat veteran and a friend of mine Nick Betts, the owner of Krupto Strategic. Nick joined the Army in 05 so he arrived during the period where tactics and training were changing based on the experiences of our forces on the ground. Nick discusses what he's been up to and we touch on tactical shooting courses being taught by combat veterans, and non-combat veterans. Below is an excerpt.

John: You mentioned having the skills to shoot effectively, but you also need the mindset and having a good head on your shoulders to be able to perform in a gunfight situation. Can you talk about the mindset?

Bob Keller: Each person's mindset is going to be different, but what you need to keep in mind is you always have to expect it, and you have to accept it. What that means is every time you go outside, or you go into a building you should be thinking that something bad is going to happen. If you're thinking that you will accept the fact that something bad will happen to you. If you don't like that then you should probably never get into a gunfight. If you always think that way when a bad situation does happen it won't be as stressful for you. 

Every situation is different. You can go to the range and train for 1000 different situations every day, and when the time comes for you to actually do something I guarantee it's not going to be any situation you’ve actually been in. It's always different. That's where it goes back to learning the basics. Getting the gun up, getting sight picture, and pulling the trigger.

Introduction audio: Seceratary of Defense James Mattis.

Music provided by Caspian:
www.caspianmusic.net

Bob Keller:
www.gamutresolutions.com

Facebook: Gamut Resolutions
Instagram: KellerGamutResolutions

Nick Betts:
www.kruptostrategic.com
Social Media:
Krupto Strategic 

www.globalrecon.net

GRP 66-Bob Keller|Gun fighting|Shooting Instruction|Krupto Strategic

GRP 68- We have a very special episode for you this week. Co-hosting is British Army Combat Medic Chantel Taylor. Our special guest is Johnny Walker. Johnny is an Iraqi who served with the Navy SEAL Teams in Iraq for a 6-year period during the height of the Iraq war. He worked as an interpreter going on over 1000 combat operations during his operational service.  We discussed his upbringing in Mosul, how he ended up working with Naval Special Warfare. Johnny shared a few stories during his time with the SEALs. We discussed terrorism in the region and the proxy war that is currently being fought in Iraq and Syria.

My good friends at the Global Surgical Medical Support Group who have been on the podcast previously have been doing incredible work providing top tier surgical support for communities battling against ISIS. From very reliable sources we now know that critically injured US personnel on an intelligence collection deployment in Iraq would not have survived if it wasn't for the swift intervention of GSMSG trauma surgeons. They were able to stop otherwise lethal hemorrhaging and other severe injuries by providing Role 4 level care right at the tip of the spear.  They were also able to return the less critically injured US personnel to service right away after medically clearing them in the field. This is probably a first in history that a US-based non-profit humanitarian organization provided life-saving surgery in an austere environment that saved the lives of US service members and personnel. One way you can support them is by buying one of their few remaining T-shirts from their website at www.GSMSG.org/shop.  If you insert promo code "IGRecon" you will get 20% off your order.  So if you want to directly save US lives.  If you want to support the only nonprofit group in history to be there at the tip of the spear saving American lives, then help the good guys at GSMSG out.  Lastly, they are always recruiting SOF veterans, medics, nurses and physicians.  Go check out their website and do something for our boys downrange. Below is an excerpt from the podcast:

Johnny Walker: I went to the base and met with one of the officers. He says you have to be careful. I said why whats up? He says the terrorist killed an interpreter with the same name was me. What he didn't know was I was heading to the base and an assassination attempt was made on me by a foreign terrorist. I saw a guy with a long beard driving a car with a male in his 20's as the passenger. In our tradition this is unusual. We always respect the religious man by driving the car and taking care of him. So I assumed the worst case scenario was playing out. I was ahead of them in my car and I pressed the break and they drove passed me. The passenger pulled out a pistol and shot me. I stopped completely. I took my AK-47, shot and killed both of them. I started to yell Allah Akbar those guys work with the Americans they are interpreters. The Iraqi Police came and conducted an investigation with the results of those investigations were sent to the American base. So they thought I was killed.

John: After you killed these two guys you made it seem like they were working for the Americans in order to get out of there right?

Johnny Walker: Yes.

Click the link below to support the Global Surgical Medical Support Group. Enter the code “IgRecon” which is my Instagram handle to receive a 20 percent discount. 
http://www.gsmsg.org/shop


Johnny Walker’s book:

https://www.amazon.com/Code-Name-Johnny-Extraordinary-Everything/dp/0062267566/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488418317&sr=1-1&keywords=johnny+walker+book

Chantel Taylor:
Facebook-Battleworn
Instagram: Mission_Critical
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Battleworn-Chantelle-Taylor/dp/1532003854/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488418274&sr=8-1&keywords=battleworn

Introduction audio: Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis 

Music provided by Caspian:
www.caspianmusic.net

GRP 68- Codename: Johnny Walker|Chantel Taylor|Global Surgical Medical Support Group|

GRP 69-The Terrorist Whisperer |Iraqi Military CSM Jasim| Counter Terrorism 

GRP 69-This episode is co-hosted by Chantel Taylor. We have the honor of having the youngest Command Sergeant Major in Iraqi Military history on the show, Hamody Jasim. CSM Jasim was recruited by U.S. Intelligence after saving an American Military officer who was nearly abducted by al-Qaeda. His intelligence information changed the battle for the Marines in the Fallujah/Ramadi area by taking out one of al-Qaeda’s main operatives. On this episode, he shared several stories of his time in Iraq.

We are proud to announce that our articles section is fully up and running. We have a special group of veteran writers. Our first article went up last night written by my friend retired Australian SAS Major Dr. Dan Pronk. Be sure to check it out at www.globalrecon.net/articles. Sign up to receive email updates where we will keep you up to date with what we have going on, and information on products we will have available in collaboration with Special Operations veterans. Below is an excerpt from the episode.

CSM Hamody Jasim: I was sent on a few missions with the first Iraqi Divisions. I was sent to Bagdad. We went on a mission to recover the bodies of 25 dead Iraqi military recruit’s. The terrorist was coordinating with the Bus driver who had taken them into Haifa Street. They were all executed. I took about 30 of my soldiers. We had pick up trucks to load the bodies up. The terrorist aim was to capture Iraqi soldiers alive and behead them on TV. We drove into Haifa Street. It is normally a very busy street. It was like a ghost town that day. We immediately felt that something was wrong. In 2004 this was probably the most dangerous 2 miles in the world. I told my commander something doesn’t look right about this. The plan was to load the bodies and leave as soon as possible. We were ambushed. They had a sniper up in a tall building for anyone who got out of the initial kill zone. We were there for about an hour and 45 minutes. Our QRF left the Iraqi base to come support us. They immediately hit an IED in Haifa Street.

Most of us ran out of ammo. It took an American unit about an hour to get to us. We had 9 soldiers left by that time. I was shot in the knee. I had a shrapnel would above my right eye. That day will probably be the worst day of my life. Losing my guys. I slept next to these guys. One of my best friends was shot by the sniper trying to recover one of our soldiers. It was rough. My Platoon commander was captured alive, and as I was leaving I saw his body was beheaded. 

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Command Sergeant Major Hamody Jasim:
https://www.theterroristwhisperer.com


Chantel Taylor:
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Introduction audio: American Military Officers/ General David Petraus/ Intelligence Officers talking about Hamody Jasim 

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GRP 69-The Terrorist Whisperer |Iraqi Military CSM Hamody Jasim| Counter Terrorism

GRP 70- On for this week's podcast is retired Army veteran, Karolyn Smith. Karolyn was an MP (Military Police) who deployed to Iraq in 2004. She'd lost some of her closest friends in combat and survived several IED explosions while on security patrols. After getting wounded during one of these explosions she got out of the Army and became a security contractor for close to a decade. Karolyn struggled with PTSD, and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) for a long time and was unable to receive the help she needed from the VA. Michael Schiltz a well-known combat wounded Marine told her about a program at UCLA called Operation MEND. 

Folks in Liberal Hollywood donate millions of dollars to this top tier program which take care of our warfighters with surgeries paid for, travel cost to California paid for, and continuing care post surgery all paid for and free of charge to the warfighter. Our second article has been published in the newly revamped article section on our website. Written by Gold Star Wife Alexandra McClintock. Alexandra's husband Matthew was killed in action last year in Afghanistan. Matthew is a Green Beret with multiple combat rotations and died protecting his wounded teammate. Alexandra details what it was like to learn of his death as well as some of the struggles she's faced. Here is a link to the article: http://www.globalrecon.net/articles/2017/3/14/hxi6jb8jd1j4m4g6ztc8h94udbp170

Below is an excerpt from the podcast:

Karolyn Smith: Iraq was pretty bad. Everything was a daily struggle. IED's, car bombs. September 7th, 2004 my Lieutenant and I were dismounted and a sniper shot him in the face and killed him. He died right next to me. Lieutenant Tim Price with the 127th MP's. He After that you become a different person. As a woman, i had to learn to compartmentalize. April 15th of 2005 a fuel tanker transport needed an MP convoy. A shaped charge was on the back of a light pole. It blew right threw the blast shield of my SAW. I knew that there were things that were wrong, but at that point in time, i just wanted to go back to Germany.

I'm trying to give one veteran something that they can use. We're all closely related because we all served. It's our oath to each other that we have to uphold.  I'm open about how suicidal I was. There was nowhere for me to go. I thought how pissed off would LT be at me if I took that way out. His father, his mother, his brother would kill for him to just be in pain and have a bad day. You don't ever want to disappoint your buddies. You have to take one more step. That's your oath to everyone who didn't come home.

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Keep up with Karolyn Smith at http://www.3pawsup.com/
Introduction speech by General Colin Powell

Introduction music provided by Caspian. Song title is Gone in Bloom and Bough.
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Knowledge Is Power

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