GRP 178-Those that know do, Those that understand teach: My conversation with Army Special Ops Vet Rick Hogg

You can access the full episode on Apple Podcast (Apple users), or Spotify(Android users). Be sure to like, share, subscribe, and download the episodes. Thank you. 

I sat down with Rick Hogg, a Special Operations combat veteran who served 29 years in the US Army and operates a training company called "War Hogg Tactical." Rick spent time in the infantry before assessing and being selected for Army Special Forces. Rick would deploy into combat 13 times working in various roles, including handling K-9s. His final deployments were to counter ISIS terrorists in Iraq.

Spending that much time in combat arms takes a mental and physical toll on a human being, and Rick advises current operators on dealing with some of these challenges. We discussed Master Sergeant Joe Andres, Rick's teammate, who was killed in action on December 24th, 2005, in Iraq, and once again, Rick gives incredible advice on how to deal with the loss of a loved one. We dived into running dogs in combat and how he and his teammates are alive today because of the skill of special operations K9s, particularly his dog Duco, who he retired from the Army. Rest in peace, Duco. 

Main Takeaways

• 82nd Airborne

• Special Forces

• Dealing with loss

• 13 combat deployments

• Falling out of a helicopter in combat

• K9s saving lives on the battlefield

• Advice to active military

All of Rick's links for social media and his podcast can be found on his website:

https://www.warhogg.com

This episode is sponsored by 4 Patriots, a survival food company. You can visit ⁠⁠www.4patriots.com⁠⁠ and use the code RECON for 10% off

Connect With John Hendricks

⁠⁠www.globalrecon.net⁠⁠

⁠⁠www.instagram.com/igrecon ⁠⁠

Music provided by Caspian:

⁠⁠www.caspian.band

GRP 87-Combat Concussions: The cause and effects of blast wave injuries on veterans of combat arms

 

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GRP 87-We have a very special and powerful episode for you guys. Back on the podcast is retired SARC Dan Brown, and retired Army Special Operations veteran Kevin Tretter. Dan served with Force Recon and the Marine Raider Battalions as a highly trained Corpsman. Kevin started out as a Combat Engineer 12 Bravo then went into Special Forces as an 18 Charlie Engineer Sergeant. He got picked up by a special unit to serve as a heavy breacher. He then went back into Special Forces in the Commanders in Extremis Force (CIF) which is the counter terrorist arm of the Green Berets.

During his time in the CIF he survived a helicopter crash in Iraq eventually retiring after 20 years of service. This episode is important because we discussed Traumatic Brain Injury in a deep and honest way as both Dan and Kevin have brain injuries due to the culmination of training in tight spaces with live rifle fire, explosives, airplane jumps and combative training. They have both received blast injuries in combat. We talked the negative effects of having physical brain damage, and how the government protocols for diagnosing PTSD and TBI are flawed. Discussed the positive effects of Cannabis on healing brain injuries. We talked about some problems and solutions with veterans who don’t need care for TBI or PTSD taking advantage of the government and sucking up resources from service members who need the treatment.

0:00-Intro

4:48-Kevin Tretter’s background. Combat Engineer 12 Bravo. 18 Charlie (Engineer Sergeant) with 3rd Special Forces Group. Worked as a Heavy Breacher with a special unit within the Army Special Operations Command.

8:08- Tretter joined the Commanders in Extremis Forces. Survived a helicopter crash in Iraq.

9:25-Understanding the compounding struggles of all of the concussions. Prolonged exposure, retirement, and realization

14:20- Medical Marijuana and creative output.  

20:20-Issues with memory and placing memories in proper chronological order.  

25:08-Difference between sports concussions and concussions received by blast waves.

27:00-New York Times article on PTSD being misdiagnosed most likely being TBI. Area’s of the brain damaged by TBI.

32:29-Doctors misdiagnosing TBI, and not factoring the cumulative effects of the blast waves on the brain.

44:05-Servicemembers who claim PTSD falsely, sucking up resources for induvial who need it.  Solutions to fixing this issue.

1:02:28-Changing our approach to care for TBI. Potentially changing the name to Post Blast Wave Concussion Syndrome.

1:25:51-Finding a sense of purpose. Getting back to the basics. Utilizing creativity.

1:34:02-The positive effects of Cannabis on the brain, and the politics behind keeping Marijuana illegal when it heals.

Below are links for some of the articles referenced by Dan Brown during the podcast:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/what-if-ptsd-is-more-physical-than-psychological.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/military-misconduct-ptsd.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-cte.html

Hemingway's Brain

http://whqr.org/post/coastline-hemingways-suicide-incorrectly-attributed-alcoholism-and-bipolar-disorder#stream/0

Brain/Vestibular Therapy in Dallas

http://cerebrum.com/

CBD/Canabis for Seizures sited research studies within article

https://www.projectcbd.org/article/medical-marijuana-seizures-sulak-saneto-goldstein

Penn State Neuroscientist and Engineers find link between Seizures and Migraines

http://news.psu.edu/story/332549/2014/10/30/research/link-seen-between-seizures-and-migraines-brain

Hormone therapy for TBI

http://waftbi.org/

Introduction audio is from the NRA series “Patriot Profiles” with Army Special Operations veteran Scot Spooner speaking: https://www.nratv.com/series/patriot-profiles/episode/patriot-profiles-season-3-episode-11-forward-march

Kevin Tretter:

https://warriorwoven.com

https://www.instagram.com/warrior_woven

Dan Brown:

The Dangerzone Podcast on Sound Cloud, ITunes, and YouTube.

https://www.instagram.com/danielthebarbarian

Global Recon:

www.Globalrecon.net

https://www.instagram.com/igrecon

https://www.instagram.com/blackopsmatter

www.twitter.com/igrecon

https://www.facebook.com/GlobalReconPodcast/

Chantel Taylor:

https://www.instagram.com/mission_critical

https://www.instagram.com/altern8rv

GRP 73-Army Special Forces|MACV-SOG|Raise The Black|ISOF

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GRP 73- Back on for this week's podcast are two Green Berets one who is a first generation Special Forces solider, Mike Stahl who served two tours of duty in Vietnam with his first tour on an A-Team, and second tour running recon with CCN (Command and Control North) as a MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command Vietnam-Studies and Observations Group) One Zero, or Team Leader. 
Our second guest is Bryan Meyers, A Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant with 8 combat tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Bryan and a fellow Green Beret named Loren Schofield have started a campaign called "Raise the Black" in creating products to sell with the returns going out to help the families and warriors of the ISOF (Iraqi Special Operations Forces) who elements of the Army Special Forces trained and stood up during the beginning of the Iraq war. ISOF has gone on hundreds of combat operations with American Special Forces Teams during the worst of the fighting in Iraq against Al-Qaeda, and the Shia militias of Sadr City. ISOF has single handily stopped ISIS from advancing on Baghdad. They have been fighting non stop for over 10 years. We discussed the similarities of the Army Special Forces first generations and todays warriors. We talked unconventional warfare and what it takes to defeat these radical groups. Below is an excerpt:

John: I mentioned earlier the book "Hammer Head Six" written by Forces Captain Ronald Fry. They laid out step by step how to defeat the insurgency in Afghanistan. Its proven. The battle space owners are usually Officers from the infantry. A full bird colonel or a 1-star general is not going to listen to a Special Forces Captain even though he's an induvial who has trained for years and mastered this type of warfare. It seems like the people who know this type of warfare are not allowed to lead the way.

Bryan Myers: Just propaganda alone America has not set out to win a war since WW2. We are not fighting to win. You can see it from propaganda that is allowed from the DOD, and Military at the time. "Can you not fight in the war? save your grease. We can use it to kill Nazi's." Let me do what I need to do and I will give you the insight. We had literal transmissions on radio from Mullah Omar from 3rd Special Forces Group of us killing so many during Operation Medusa these commanders in Pakistan wouldn't even answer the phones. They're like I don't want none of that bro.

Mike Stahl:
www.trickymisfit.com

Raise The Black:
www.gofundme.com/raise-the-black

www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoi….bbe4af41435c

Bryan Myers: 
@twimcf for IG
m.facebook.com/theworldismycountryfoundation/
@the_bearded_bryan Instagram
@thebeardedbryan Twitter

Global Recon:
www.globalrecon.net
IgRecon – Instagram
BlackOpsMatter- Instagram
Mission_Critical – Instagram
IgRecon- Twitter

Introduction Speech by President Ronald Reagan reading the Medal of Honor Citation for MSG Roy Benavidez a Special Forces Green Beret who was a member of MACV-SOG.

Music provided by Caspian:
www.caspianmusic.net

GRP 24-Special Forces Team Under Fire, RIP Navy SEAL Charlie Keating IV, Warrior Mindset

GRP 24- The U.S. service member killed near Irbil, Iraq, by ISIS gunfire was a Navy SEAL. The Associated Press later identified the casualty as Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) 1st Class Charlie Keating IV. From all of us at Global Recon, and Field Craft we want to extend our condolences to the Keating family during this difficult time. Fair winds, and Following Sea’s  

Below is an excerpt from the episode from Special Forces operator Chuck Ritter:

“In the video you see me coming around the corner shot. So basically we under estimated the enemy force present in the area. Our partners were the Afghan Commando’s, and we had very few Americans on the ground.  We came in at night, and it was clear all night. Then in the morning right when the sun came up the enemy actually closed to within 5 to 10 meters of our battle positions, and started throwing hand grenade’s over the wall, and were really lighting us up.

So we were going out trying to push these guys back off our perimeter. The fact that the terrain was very maze like allowed them the freedom of maneuverability to move on us. Aerial imagery, and everything else didn’t paint the right picture on the ground. An overhead drone spotted an ambush, and the operator was telling us that there was an enemy ambush set up a couple hundred meters away. We were trying to flank that ambush, but in reality the ambush was right there. We turned the corner, an Afghan Commando got shot took a round to the leg, and it blew off some fingers. A good majority of the rest of the Afghan Commando’s ran away.

It was me, my medic, and EOD guy. All of the fast movers moved off station, so the only thing I had overhead was Apache’s. So I started working fire to provide cover for this casualty.” If you have any questions about anything you heard on the podcast send an email to Podcast@globalrecon.net

John Hendricks website: www.globalrecon.net

John Hendricks Facebook: FB Recon

John Hendricks Instagram Accounts: IgRecon, GlobalRecon_INC

John Hendricks Twitter: IgRecon

Music provided by Caspian: www.caspianmusic.net

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