GRP 77-Defiant: A Green Beret Overcoming Adversity|RIP 1st Lt. Weston Lee.

Click the buttons below to access the full episode on Itunes(Apple), or Soundcloud(Android). Be sure to like, share, subscribe, and download the episodes. Thank you.

Itunes, or Soundcloud. Be sure to like, share, subscribe, and download the episodes. Thank you.

1st Lt. Weston Lee

GRP 77- This week we bring somber news. 1st Lieutenant Weston C. Lee, 25, of Bluffton, GA died Apr. 29th, outside Mosul, Iraq, when he stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device) while conducting security as part of advise and assist support to partnered forces NE of Mosul. 1st Lieutenant Weston C. Lee was an infantry officer assigned to 1st Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. Weston's good friends Josh Porter, and Marcus created a YouCaring crowdfunding page for Weston's family. https://www.youcaring.com/theleefamily-814467

Please donate, and share the youcaring page. Check out Josh on @sir.jumps.alot on Facebook and Instagram as he will give updates on when Weston will arrive at Arlington National Cemetery we encourage people to show up if possible and support the Lee family. Chantel Taylor and I had a conversation with former Army Green Beret Alan Shebaro. Alan lived in Europe for a number of years growing up as his father was a contractor with the U.S. government. Upon his return to the States Alan joined the Army. After a number of years, Alan reached a crossroad. He either went pro as a mixed martial arts fighter or went to Special Forces selection. He told us a story of a time in Iraq in which he was on an 18-hour mission hunting terrorist.

Upon his return to base Alan barely had enough energy to take off his gear as he sat and ate cereal. He looked up at the television and saw his training partner Travis Lutter win the Ultimate Fighter 4 with that victory securing his title fight against UFC legend Anderson Silva. Alan was 1 of only 4 Black Belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the U.S. Army and is the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt in Special Forces Regiment. Alan went through a dark period upon leaving the military and he talks about it in great detail, and what helped him get out of that dark space. He is now the Vice President of the We Defy Foundation which through Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and fitness training provides combat veterans suffering from life-disabling injuries and/or PTSD a long-term means to overcome their challenges. Below Alan shares a story from his first deployment which involves MSG Stephen Walker Booth a Green Beret who died in a motorcycle accident here in the States:

Alan: We were already hearing the pings on the vehicle. My heart rate was over 200. I stepped out the vehicle and took 3 steps then hear a whip and saw a spark on the ground. A round missed my head and went by my foot. Everything was chaos. Blurs of colors. It wasn't that I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do with the training I received to apply in this situation. I'll never forget this. Walker Stephen Booth. This guy comes running right passed me yelling out " I'm going to come at you like a spider monkey boy" laughing his ass off. I was in shock. He's making jokes in a firefight. The weirdest thing happened. Almost instantly the blur disappeared. I could hear crisped sounds. Everything slowed down and I jumped in with one of the cells. Everything clicked. It was all based off what Walker said. It was my 5th or 6th firefight. That affected my career in every single fight after that. In 3rd Group he's a legend.  

Alan Shebaro
Co-Founder/Director
We Defy Foundation™
www.WeDefyFoundation.org
Alan@WeDefyFoundation.org

Global Recon:
www.globalrecon.net

IgRecon – Instagram
BlackOpsMatter- Instagram
Mission_Critical – Instagram
IgRecon- Twitter

Chantel Taylor:
Instagram: Mission_Critical
Facebook: Battleworn

Music provided by Caspian:
www.caspianmusic.net

GRP 64-Africa, Ronin Tactics, Counter Terrorism, RIP SEAL Team 6 Operator Ryan Owens

Click the buttons below to access the episode on ITunes, or Soundcloud. Be sure to like, share, subscribe, and download the episodes. Thank you.

GRP 64- First and foremost I want to send out my condolences to the family, friends, and teammates of Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, 36, of Peoria, Ill. Owens died after he was wounded during a nighttime raid on an al-Qaeda-held village in southwestern Yemen on Saturday. He was a U.S. Navy SEAL who served with distinction for over 15 years.

This episode was co-hosted by Chantel Taylor. Back on for this episode is my friend Tu Lam from Ronin Tactics.  Because of the experiences of Chantel, and Tu I thought it would be a good idea to discuss Africa. We discuss the difficulties of the natural terrain, of the animals that inhabit Africa. We talked transnational terrorism and groups that rotate between Africa, the Middle East, and South East Asia. Africa is a complex region. Tu spends several years in Africa fighting in Libya, and several other areas that are considered terror hotbeds. Bot he and Chantel share several stories of their time in the service. Below is an excerpt.

John: The Sudan was a safe haven for Osama Bin Laden prior to 2001. There's a whole bunch of training camps with different groups like Boko Haram. Look at the Philippine’s where the terrorist would filter into the country, get some training and filter back into the middle east and conduct operations there. Now with the rise of ISIS, a lot of these groups in Africa are pledging allegiance to them which can cause problems down the line.

Tu Lam: What I see John is the majority of these future terrorists they don't have an out, man. You have to put yourself in their shoes. I could be the guy who goes in and hates the enemy and drops a 500 lb JDAM(bomb) or goes out and do direct action missions but I see the bigger picture. These are the guys that when they're 8 years old these rebel forces go into their villages hand you an AK, and say gun down your mom and dad then hack your sister up with a machete, or we'll hack you up with a machete. Just like the Philippine’s, Abu Sayyaf. They don't have an out, man.

Chantel Taylor:

https://www.amazon.com/Battleworn-Memoir-Combat-Medic-Afghanistan/dp/1491725281

Facebook: Battleworn

Instagram: Mission_Critical

Tu Lam:

www.Ronintactics.com

Social Media: RoninTactics

Introduction words by Bruce Lee

Music provided by Caspian:

www.caspianmusic.net

Memorial Day, Army Rangers, Army EOD, AF Combat Search and Rescue

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, this is an excerpt from former Army Ranger John Lovell.

Memorial Day, Army Rangers, Army EOD, AF Combat Search and Rescue

John Hendricks: What do you think about when you think of Memorial Day?

John Lovell: Today I’m thinking about Pat Tillman. Tillman was somebody I served with in 2nd Ranger Battalion. I didn’t know em well. Aside from just seeing him around I didn’t have much interaction with him. The reason I’m thinking of Pat Tillman today is because of the feelings his story represents to me now. I honor Pat as a patriot and a hero.

I think of those who were with him on the battlefield. Often times I think of whoever it was who killed him accidently by friendly fire. It’s a weird place that my heart goes to on memorial day, I think about how I would feel if I accidently killed my brother. I would rather prefer that I died instead. Friendly fire is a reality of war. I know how many veterans walk around wounded by the thought of that they failed their brothers. If only they’d fought a little harder, or fought a little better they could have saved their brothers.

There’s a lot of Vietnam vets, GWOT vets, that really wished that they had died instead, and their dying a little bit inside everyday because of it. Those that carry around a horrible burden I don’t judge these guys. I wanted any soldiers out there that are possibly carrying around shame, to those who feel they somehow let their brothers down. I cannot know this for sure, but I feel like if one of my brothers was responsible for my death on the battlefield I’d have forgiveness for them.

I’d say its part of war man, you did your best, there’s nothing more you could have done. Let go of your shame and live, live for me, or in you I’d die twice. On memorial day I don’t just think of the veterans who died, I think of the veterans who are limping through life still. My message is one for them. 

Check out Justin Howard on Facebook:  Panjwayi Valley Gun Club

Instagram: Panjwayi

Check out John Lovell on Instagram: WarriorPoetSociety

John’s website: www.globalrecon.net

John’s Facebook: FB Recon

John’s Instagram: IgRecon, GlobalRecon_Inc

John’s Twitter: IgRecon

LinkedIn: Global Recon

Music provided by Caspian: www.caspianmusic.net

Click the buttons below to access the episode.