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

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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

Chantelle Taylor:

Battleworn: The Memoir of a Combat Medic in Afghanistan.

https://www.amazon.com/Battleworn-Memoir-Combat-Medic-Afghanistan-ebook/dp/B00JR2PVO2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473292250&sr=8-1&keywords=battleworn

Facebook: Battleworn: The Memoir of a Combat Medic in Afghanistan

Global Surgical Medical Support Group:

www.gsmsg.org

Facebook: Global Surgical Support Group

Instagram: Global_Surgical_Medical_Group

Canadian Operator, CSOR, New York Times Article

The links for the episode are at the bottom of the page!              

GRP 42-On this episode I have former Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR) solider Wes Kennedy. CSOR traces its unit’s roots to the first American, Canadian Special Operations unit which was a joint unit called the “1st Special Service Force”. Wes is the author of “Sports Vision Training for Shooting Performance”. We talk a little about the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM). We talk fitness, and mindset. Wes runs a company that helps prepare military athletes for the rigorous Special Operations selection programs across the globe.

          An article has come out recently written by Sean Naylor in the New York Times where the Airforce has developed some new technology to help them clean up old drone footage. During Operation Anaconda special reconnaissance units were tasked with heading up into the mountains, and identifying enemy fighting positons in order to call in air support. A highly respected Navy SEAL operator is being bashed on social media because the Airforce is claiming that him and his unit left behind John Chapman an Airforce Combat Control Technician (CCT). The new technology isn’t 100 accurate to say for certain that Chapman was still alive.  

         The facts are the SEALs along with the CCT were out numbered, out gunned, and taking casualties. Senior Chief Petty Officer Slabinski assumed Chapman was killed during the initial gunfight in which several members of the small team were shot, and wounded. They made the call to leap down the mountain under fire, and commence what would become a 6 hour running gun battle in order to break contact. Slabinski’s actions that day kept the SEALs alive, and his teammates have the highest praise for him. I am disappointed with the level of arm chair quarterbacking that’s taking place on the internet over this issue.

Wes Kennedy:

Book: www.sportsvisionforshooting.com

Membership Site Training: www.teamroomtraining.com

Website: www.elitetrainingprograms.com

Facebook: @EliteTrainingPrograms

Wes Kennedy

Global Recon:

www.globalrecon.net

Instagram: GlobalRecon_INC / IgRecon

Facebook: FB Recon

Twitter: IgRecon

Music provided by Caspian. www.caspianmusic.net

Click below to access the episode:

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

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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. Green Beret Staff Sgt. Matthew V. Thompson, 28, of Irvine, died Tuesday while advising Afghan forces on patrol in southern Afghanistan. RIP brother. 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.

Kevin Lacz:

The Last Punisher: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0176M3PUG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

www.kevinlacz.com

Instagram: RealKevinLacz

Facebook: KevinDauberLacz

Twitter: Dauber246

Music provided by Caspian. www.caspianmusic.net

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

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: Since these training camps were erected have they been using them to fight the government since the 70’s, and 80’s?

Dan: For a pretty good portion of time they were just using it as training. It was considered a safe haven. The government wouldn’t venture too far down into these far flung areas. The jungle’s very thick. It takes a decent amount of energy and resources to get to where these guys were. After a while they started fighting against the government, military. There’s gun fights, bombings, you name it on a pretty fairly consistent basis.

John Hendricks: Were they only striking on the southern islands, or all across the Philippine’s?

Dan: The bulk of the attacks were on the southern island of Mindanao. The KFR’s (Kidnap’s for Ransoms) were happening sporadically on Visayas which is the middle chunk.  Visayas is purported to have the worlds most beautiful beaches, its where people go to vacation. It’s where the wealthy go, and that’s where the terrorist groups see dollar signs. They kidnap foreigners, get a nice payday then give them back.

John Hendricks: If I’m vacationing in the Philippine’s I don’t want to go there basically.

Dan. You could. Haha I wouldn’t go there.

John Hendricks:  Has there been measurable progress there?

Dan: It’s important to note that the United States participation there is in a non combatant role. It’s the tradition by with, and through method. We train them, we provided intelligence, and logistical support. They go out and conduct the operations. They were pushing farther, and farther into some of these far flung area’s. There’s been gain’s and losses since I’ve been there. 

Send questions, or comments to Podcast@globalrecon.net

The links to the episode are located at the bottom of the page.

Combat Flags:

www.combatflags.com

Instagram: Combat_Flags

Facebook: Combat Flags

Global Recon:

www.globalrecon.net

Instagram: GlobalRecon_INC / IgRecon

Facebook: FB Recon

Twitter: IgRecon

Music provided by Caspian. www.caspianmusic.net

Click below to access the episode:

Army Rangers, American Sikh’s, Service, Presidential Candidates

   Army Rangers, American Sikh’s, Service, Presidential Candidates

GRP 39- On for this episode are two guest who I had two different conversations with. The first guest is SGT Bryce Mahoney. SGT Mahoney served from 2001 until 2007. He served with the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and E. Co 51st Infantry LRS (Long Range Surveillance). SGT Mahoney holds a Purple Belt in Royce Gracie BJJ, and is a father of 3. We discuss combative systems, his time deployed in combat, and a little politics.

The second conversation I had is with Sikh Major Kamal Kalsi. Major Kalsi is a doctor, and entered the Army via a health Professions Scholarship Program. He comes from a long line of military service with members of his family serving in the Indian, British, and American militaries. Sikh’s have a strong warrior ethos’s, and history as warriors fighting oppression in they’re history.  Below is an excerpt from my conversation with Major Kalsi.

My conversation with Major Kalsi begins at the 52:52 second mark of the episode. Below is an excerpt from my conversation with the Major.

John Hendricks: One of the main reasons why you’d received some media attention is because you like many others have had an issue with trying to maintain your identity while serving in the US Army. Can you just explain a little bit of what that was initially?

Major Kamal Kalsi: Sikh’s have served for generations in the US military. We have these beautiful historic photos from the early 1900’s that show Sikh soldiers serving in the Army, serving in the Air force, serving in the Navy, and it wasn’t until the early 19080’s that Sikh’s were banned from joining the military because of our articles of faith because of a policy change. When I joined the Army in 2001 about 8 months before 9/11 a recruiter came to medical school and asked me if I would like to join, and I jumped at the opportunity.

I come from 3 generations of military service. My father, and my grandfather were both in the Indian Air force. My great grandfather was in the Royal British Army. It’s what we do as Sikh’s. The warrior ethos is a strong part of our heritage, it’s a strong part of our religious indoctrination. It’s in our blood, it’s who we are. In 2008, as I was finished my residency I reached out to my chain of command, and let them know that I’m about to come on full time active duty, and I just wanted to let you know that I have a turban and beard.  

It hasn’t been an issue so far, and the initial response was yeah we have Sikh’s in the Army no problem. A month later I got a call saying well we looked into the regulations, and we need you to put in an accommodation request in order to keep you’re religiously mandated turban and beard. So it was an amicable process we worked through it. It took me a year and a half of paper work. It took 50 congressional signatures on a letter to Secretary of Defense Gates at the time, it took 15,000 petitioners on a similar letter to him. It took pressure from the White House. It took half a million dollars of lobbying just to get me in.

SGT Bryce Mahoney:

Instagram:

MahoneyMoProblems

Ranger Rally Point

Facebook

Ranger Rally Point

Twitter

@F3Darby

Music

Global Recon:

www.globalrecon.net

Facebook: FB Recon

Instagram: IgRecon/GlobalRecon_inc

Twitter: IgRecon

LinkedIN: Global Recon

Music provided by Caspian: www.caspiantheband.com

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