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

Comment

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

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 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

Comment

GRP 67-Green Beret Medics| TBI| Hand To Hand Death Match| RIP Mike Lamb

1 Comment

GRP 67-Green Beret Medics| TBI| Hand To Hand Death Match| RIP Mike Lamb

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 67-Back on the podcast for this week's episode is Michael Rodriguez a former Army Green Beret Medic (18 Delta). 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 Chief Ambassador for the Green Beret Foundation. On with us is a friend of Mikes a former 18 Delta Mark Belden. Mark has an interesting story with a background in mixed martial arts. We talk TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), Mike share's a story of when he treated an infant over in Afghanistan, and Mark shares a story of a time when he got into a hand to hand combat situation with a high-value target in Iraq.

 

My good friend Chantel Taylor served in combat with junior combat medic named Mike Lamb in the British Army. Chantel was the senior medic on that kinetic rotation into Southern Afghanistan. Mike went on to get attached to British Special Forces and served as a Medic with the SAS. He recently lost his battle with cancer at the age of 32. Below is a link to the Gofundme campaign used to raise money for his young family. I encourage anyone who can to contribute to help out this warrior's wife and child during these difficult times. https://www.gofundme.com/for-the-family-of-mike-lamblamby

 

 Below is an excerpt from the show:

 

John: Mark can you share a deployment story with the audience?

 

Mark Belden: This isn't something I'm proud of, but it happened.  We were on a mission in Iraq. We knew this guy was a bad cat killed a lot of coalition, and American forces. We got the lead on him. We caught him sleeping on the roof. He was like 300 plus pounds. Heavyweight lifter. We double cuffed him with flex cuffs. The interrogator called me in to stay with him for a second. The interpreter was standing in the back. He was about 2 feet from me. Stone cold look in his eyes. He said something to the terp. He said you might as well kill me now because I'm not going to talk. I said ok whatever man, I’m just here to hang out with you. He took a huge breath and snapped both of his flex cuff's. He charged at me. I think it was a left hook that immediately caught him. He lifted me up. A 45 second battle ensued. One of the guys came into the room and pulled em out. The guy ended up dying. I was later investigated for it. I was in a top shape. A one-minute fight for my life put a lot of things into perspective.

 

Sergeant First Class Michael Rodriguez:

Email-Michael@greenberetfoundation.org

www.greenberetfoundation.org

www.bushcenter.org

 

Intro audio: Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis

 

Music provided by Caspian:

www.caspianmusic.net

1 Comment

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

Comment

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

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 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 elsewhere. 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 

Comment

GRP 65-Zulu Foxtrot|Transition|Combat Stories

Comment

GRP 65-Zulu Foxtrot|Transition|Combat Stories

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 65-On for this week's podcast is Tim Kolczak of the Veterans Project and G from Zulu Foxtrot. Tim is an Army veteran, and G is a Marine Corps veteran. Both have trips to Iraq. G was in Fallujah, and Ramadi during the worst of the fighting there and he shares a story from his time in the country. We discuss the transitional process and the struggle that G experienced once he separated from the Marine Corps. We discuss what it takes to be successful as a veteran coming out of the military, and as a civilian. G talking about his struggles is very powerful and I suggest you guys check this episode out. Below is an excerpt:

 

John: You have two trips into Iraq during some of the heaviest fightings. Can you share a story of your experiences over seas?

G Zulu Foxtrot: We were in Ramadi. It was the deadliest city in the world at that point. The enemy was not afraid to show themselves. We had a couple of blocks that belonged to us. It was our green zone. The minute you ventured out the entire city came down on you. We went out with our platoon. During those days you have to literally run from one spot to the other. The minute you stopped you were taking fire. We get to the Ramadi hospital. Anyone who's been there has fond memories of that. There's a huge open parking lot. We spread out because we don't want to take fire and lose four guys in one shot.

 

I'm not going to mention any names because he was that asshole dude. We had a new guy it was his first deployment. I looked out the corner of my eye and I saw dust lift off his flak jacket and the kid just dropped. He's yelling "I'm hit, I'm hit". We all dove for cover. We're trying to figure out what happened. We think it's a sniper. My SGT is like" go get em" and I'm like "fuck you, you go get em, dude".  What happened was this Iraqi kid threw a rock at him from a window.

 

 

G-Zulu Foxtrot:

www.zerofoxtrot.com

Facebook-Zero Foxtrot

Instagram-ZuluFucxs

 

Tim Kolczak:

www.thevetsproject.com


Social Media: The Veterans Project

 

Music provided by Caspian:

www.caspian.net

 

Intro audio: Inky Johnson

Ending audio: Bruce Lee

 

 

 

 

Comment

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

1 Comment

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

1 Comment