GRP 106-One Time Every Time: The Trials and Tribulations of a Navy SEAL at War

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GRP 106-Chantel Taylor is back on the podcast co-hosting for this episode. We have a special guest on with us “Turbo” who is a retired Navy SEAL. Turbo served as a SEAL for a number of years. After 9/11 he became the second amputee of the war. He couldn’t give details but he was wounded upon insertion into an area attempting to rescue Americans. He was rescued after 18 hours in -20-degree weather on a 10,000-foot mountaintop.

His leg was amputated below the knee. After 9 months of rehabilitation, he rejoined his team and deployed into combat. We talked about his experiences going through BUDs (Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL) training. We touched on the mental and physical aspects of overcoming a difficult situation. After retiring from the Navy Turbo has done a number of events and competitions in honor of wounded and fallen warfighters all over the country.

We discussed Everence and his role in it. Everence encapsulates DNA which can be inserted into a new or existing tattoo. Enjoy.

Everence is currently being offered at a special holiday discount. You can visit their website at www.everence.life to take advantage of it.

0:00-Intro. Navy SEAL Kevin Lacz talking about his good friend Marc Lee who was KIA in Iraq running combat operations.

3:10-The beginning of Turbo’s Navy career

6:00- “One Time Every Time” Becoming a Navy SEAL.

20:31- “Wounded by machine gun fire upon insertion. 18 hours later, -20 degrees, 10,000-foot mountaintop.”

33:33-Everence

42:50-Honoring the fallen, Prosthetics, The Invictus Games

Follow my co-host and my pages on social media. Links below.

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HP Lefler:

https://www.instagram.com/4runner.freyja

Chantel Taylor:

https://www.instagram.com/mission_critical

https://www.instagram.com/altern8rv

GRP 98-Benito Olson:The Story of a Dog Handler Supporting SEAL Team Six in Combat

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GRP 98-On for this week's podcast is retired Master at Arm's Benito Olson. Benny began his career in the Navy working in Bahrain where he developed an interest in dog handling. He eventually became a dog handler and was stationed back in the states. Benny was then recruited as a dog handler into the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) to support the SEALs as their dog handler. We talked what it's like working with military dogs and then working with Special Operations dogs in the SEAL teams. 

Benny deployed 5 times with the Tier 1 SEALs. He was paired up with SEAL dog "Digo". He shared stories of his first deployment where they conducted direct action raids in Iraq. Two of the DEVGRU assaulters were killed on this rotation. Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Nathan H. Hardy and Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Michael E. Koch. 

Benny shares the story of when he was severely wounded conducting a raid where they got into a brief gunfight killing two enemy fighters. Benny moved in with two assaulters to enter the building. Unbeknownst to them, it was rigged to explode. The blast seriously wounded Benny, Digo, and killed Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 1st Class Luis A. Souffront. Benny's last trip was to Afghanistan during the Extortion 17 incident in which 30 Americans were killed when their helicopter was shot down. 17 were SEALs with 15 of them from DEVGRU. Many of them close friends. This was Benny's last trip before he was medically retired out of the Navy. He now runs a company called Patriot Dog Training.

0:00-Episode overview

3:50-Benito's Navy career, Master at Arms, Dog Handler

16:15-Benny's recruitment into the Naval Special Warfare's Development Group (DEVGRU) in a support role as a Dog Handler.  

30:14-SEAL dog "Digo" whom Benny became his handler upon his entry into the squadron. 

35:41: First combat deployment into Iraq conducting direct action missions. Two DEVGRU assaulters were killed on this rotation prior to Benny getting blown up. Rest in Peace Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Nathan H. Hardy and Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Michael E. Koch

1:02:25-The operation in which they assaulted a building that was rigged with explosives seriously wounding Benny, Digo, and killing Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 1st Class Luis A. Souffront. Benny was told he wouldn't be able to deploy again. 9 months later he was back in Afghanistan and went on to complete 5 total trips. 

1:21:20-Digo passed away after retiring from the Navy and being adopted by a family. Benny's last deployment was to Afghanistan during the "Extortion 17" incident which the 31 American deaths represent the greatest loss of U.S. military lives in a single incident in the, by then, decade-long war in Afghanistan that began in 2001.
15 of the SEALs on board were from DEVGRU and many were close friends of Benito's. 

1:26:00- Patriot Dog Training. Benito's dog training company.

Check out Benito Olsen's website:
www.patriotdogtraining.com

Social Media: Patriot Dog Training

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HP Lefler:
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Chantel Taylor:
https://www.instagram.com/mission_critical

https://www.instagram.com/altern8rv

Music provided by Caspian:
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GRP 70-Karolyn Smith|Iraq|Combat Wounded

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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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Any questions, or comments send an email to podcast@globalrecon.net

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.

www.caspianmusic.net

GRP 63-Recon Sniper Foundation, 3rd Force Recon Commander, Leadership

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GRP 63-On for this week's podcast are U.S. Marines John Brown, the President of the Recon and Sniper Foundation, and Lt. Colonel Drew Ralston, Commanding Officer of the 3rd Force Reconnaissance Battalion. We talked about the Recon and Sniper Foundations event at Shot Show in Las Vegas a few days ago which was a huge success, as well as the role and mission of the Foundation. We talk about leadership, what it takes for young Marines to become Reconnaissance Marines in dealing with and overcoming hardships and adversity.

Very shortly the Global Recon's veteran team of writers will begin to release articles with topics to include transnational terrorism, geopolitics, veteran-related issues, military history, and tactical medicine. Our writers are very smart, and accomplished individuals with a lot to offer.  We will announce start the article publishing early February. Below is an excerpt from the podcast.

John: You guys met and worked together under some unique circumstances. Can you guys talk about that?

Lt. Colonel Ralston: As a reserve Commander my unit is over in Mobile Alabama, but I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In August of last year, we suffered some of the worst flooding’s on record in this area. Within about 48 hours a group of gentlemen from the Recon and Sniper Foundation had mobilized and got guys down here to help with getting myself and a number of other Reconnaissance Marines back on our feet. There's another reserve unit here in Baton Rouge that was affected by the flood and we got to work.  We found retired Marines who needed help. A gentleman who was a Korean War Vet was at the Chosin Reservoir with Chesty Puller had his house decimated by the flood we did a lot of work to get him back on his feet.

We ended up helping the first responders who were out not fixing their homes, but out on the street helping civilians. One of the most rewarded moments for me was one of my former Marines his parent's house was destroyed. We spent 3 days at their house alone. At some point, this Marine's mother looks at her husband and says "You know baby it's going to be ok, the Marines are here.''

John Brown:

http://www.reconsniperfoundation.org

Social Media: ReconSniperFoundation

Introduction speech was by Colin Powell.

Music provided by Caspian:

www.caspianmusic.net

Krupto Strategic, Dallas Shooter, War Stories

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”. 

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