Podcasts.

The latest episode of The Spear, the story of the combat experience, from the Modern War Institute at West Point. This one features a retired Special Forces officer.

Podcast: The Spear – Staying Alive in Iraq and Afghanistan - Modern War Institute

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In this episode of The Spear, retired Special Forces officer John Faunce sits down with MWI’s Charlie Faint and recounts a career defined by embracing difficulty, learning from failure, and adapting under pressure. From his last-minute acceptance to West Point and early struggles during cadet training, John describes how setbacks—like nearly quitting, changing majors, and failing the combat diver qualification course—ultimately shaped the path that led him to Special Forces.

As a young platoon leader in Iraq during the 2003 invasion, John experienced the chaos of combat, including shifting missions, limited intelligence, and the need to rely on soldiers’ input to make decisions in uncertain conditions. His later experiences in Special Forces, particularly working with Afghan commandos, emphasized leadership through trust, autonomy, and partnership, while navigating complex coalition dynamics. Throughout his career, John experienced a key evolution in his leadership: moving from doing everything himself to empowering subordinates. In his post-military work, John advocates for veteran well-being and successful transition, concluding with advice to young leaders to prioritize counseling and clear communication as essential tools for accountability and team cohesion.
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Marauder06 said:
more like "finally." ;)

Happy Founding Father GIF
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So "Dr. 'Der" then? :sneaky:
 
Another pitch for the Unauthorized History of the Pacific War podcast because I'm blown away by the production. I've plowed through dozens of episodes, they even have some on Youtube where they break down video and stills from the war, I can't recommend this one enough for history nerds out there. No commercials on Spotify, no interruptions, just historians talking about the Pacific in WWII. They have hundreds of episodes and do a yearly Q&A with listeners. It is maybe the best podcast on my playlist.
 
Mike Ritland with Dakota Meyer. I don't know much about Meyer's story, found this interesting. I also don't know who Major Granger is but Meyer has a thing about him.

 
Devildoc said:
Mike Ritland with Dakota Meyer. I don't know much about Meyer's story, found this interesting. I also don't know who Major Granger is but Meyer has a thing about him.

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Meyer's book. It's very RAH RAH YUT YUT Motivator type ship like Luttrell's book was. I wonder how much of that was a tall tale. What I know is the Marine Corps pushed through Meyer's MOH fast and made him a national hero. And then Will Swenson's got bogged down in Army Bureaucracy, there was supposedly some politics involved with the Marine Corps at the time, I might be wrong because it was awhile ago. What I know is that I watched Swenson's Medal of Honor ceremony either live or on replay. He returned to service following that award and is now a Lieutenant Colonel, but he left service pretty disillusioned as he'd gone through a lot of shit side by side with Meyer.
 
ThunderHorse said:
he'd gone through a lot of shit side by side with Meyer.
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I'd forgotten his and Meyer's were for the same battle which made me a little curious because I knew of two others. The number of battles with multiple MoH's is interesting.

Chapman/ Slabinski
Shurer/ Williams
Meyer/ Swenson
Carter/ Romesha
Ollis/ Plumlee

Almost half, 10/21, MoH's for Afghanistan are represented above.
 
Yeah, the guy left the Army and was unemployed for 2+ yrs until he was awarded the medal of honor. I'm sure a lot of folks from that time faced similar transition issues. Getting out was hard. And I didn't just want to go work for a government contractor but maybe I should have?
 
ThunderHorse said:
Meyer's book. It's very RAH RAH YUT YUT Motivator type ship like Luttrell's book was. I wonder how much of that was a tall tale. What I know is the Marine Corps pushed through Meyer's MOH fast and made him a national hero. And then Will Swenson's got bogged down in Army Bureaucracy, there was supposedly some politics involved with the Marine Corps at the time, I might be wrong because it was awhile ago. What I know is that I watched Swenson's Medal of Honor ceremony either live or on replay. He returned to service following that award and is now a Lieutenant Colonel, but he left service pretty disillusioned as he'd gone through a lot of shit side by side with Meyer.
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I have not read the book, and I really didn't know anything about the circumstances for which which he and Swenson received the MoH. I did a little digging because it's what I do at work when I get distracted or procrastinate doing things I don't want to do. It appears that Swenson's (award) got bogged down because he called out the same army bullshit that Meyer did (Maj Granger and someone else, withholding an army QRF, withholding aviation assets). Swenson's Wiki page said the paperwork "was lost", other sources said it was slow-walked because of politics and the optics of Grangers' actions. I don't know.
 
I recently had the opportunity to interview Ranger Regiment legend Curt Donaldson.
In this episode hosted by MWI's Charlie Faint, Retired Command Sergeant Major Curt Donaldson reflects on a career shaped by the 75th Ranger Regiment’s relentless standards, emphasizing that true leadership begins with genuinely caring for people while holding them—and yourself—accountable. He discusses the Regiment’s culture of meritocracy, where every Ranger meets the same standard and is continuously assessed, and explains how disciplined environments and strong leadership pipelines produce exceptional leaders over time.

He also describes the Regiment's fighting platoon sergeant concept, and his own rise through the ranks to become the command sergeant major of the storied 75th Ranger Regiment. Through stories from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, Donaldson highlights the importance of calm, decisive leadership in chaos, the power of shared hardship in building trust, and the enduring value of culture, communication, and personal example—lessons he now carries into mentoring veterans and his life after military service.
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Podcast: The Spear – The Ranger Regiment’s Fighting Platoon Sergeant - Modern War Institute

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This topic is a particularly controversial one with a lot of passion around it. I've largely stayed out of it, but within the last year Pete Blaber has appeared on a couple Podcasts, the latest being Sean Ryan and shared his views on Roberts Ridge (the Sean Ryan interview is 12 hours long 😲...no, I have not listened to it all...or even most of it -- I just skipped ahead to this topic).

Here are the links for those that are interested:
Sean Ryan Show (skipped ahead to the Anaconda and subsequent discussion):

Anti-Hero Podcast

Blaber's viewpoint certainly won't settle any of the controversy, especially with one of his comments in particular, but he adds important context and, more importantly, provides a viewpoint from someone that was actually there as opposed to that of others.
 

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