Hazard Ground

Once again, we step outside the bounds of the typical HAZARD GROUND guest to tell Char Fontan Westfall's story. Char is the wife of the late Navy SEAL, Jacques Fontan. Jacques was killed while attempting to rescue survivors of Operation Red Wings, the ill-fated reconnaissance mission in June 2005 in Afghanistan, that left one lone survivor. Char talks about receiving the news of her husband's death, and the long, difficult road she's traveled dealing with the pain, anger, and grief of losing a spouse in such a tragic way. Although not easy, she's handled it with grace and strength, and inspiringly found new hope in an unfamiliar world. Hear her and Jacques's story on this latest episode of HAZARD GROUND! "A Beautiful Tragedy: A Navy SEAL Widow's Permission to Grieve and a Prescription for Hope" Support the podcast by supporting our sponsors at www.hazardground.com/sponsors! Shop Amazon! As an Amazon Associate We Earn From Qualifying Purchases...You Know The Deal! (Paid Link) Help grow the show! Spread the

GORUCK founder Jason McCarthy went from Green Beret to building a 100 million dollar company, starting with just a napkin sketch of a rucksack that could withstand the abuse of war torn Baghdad and still look good on the streets of any major city. Along with a backpack company he also started a global movement to get people outside rucking, adventuring, and forming community through his GORUCK Challenge events. Hear how Jason McCarthy survived combat and went on to build one of the most inspiring and value-based companies in the world today, on this latest episode of HAZARD GROUND!  www.goruck.com | www.goruckevents.com | "How Not to Start a Backpack Company" Support the podcast by supporting our sponsors at www.hazardground.com/sponsors! Shop Amazon! As an Amazon Associate We Earn From Qualifying Purchases...You Know The Deal! (Paid Link) Help grow the show! Spread the word, tell a friend!! Subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts! Episode Intro Music: "Prelude" by "Silence & Light" (www.silenceand

Retired Air Force Colonel, Joe "Spoon" Rizzuto has had one of the most interesting careers a military pilot could have. The Air Force Academy grad started out flying C-130s in Alaska - something he wasn't initially thrilled about, but he describes as extremely rewarding and beneficial as a young pilot. He would eventually go from the C-130 to flying both the A-10 and Reaper and Predator drone aircraft in combat. He was even one of the first to fly drones in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11. Hear his powerful story - the highs and lows of flying close air support in combat, and the psychology around piloting drone aircraft engaged in combat from thousands of miles away from the battlefield, on this latest edition of HAZARD GROUND! Support the podcast by supporting our sponsors at www.hazardground.com/sponsors! Shop Amazon! As an Amazon Associate We Earn From Qualifying Purchases...You Know The Deal! (Paid Link) Help grow the show! Spread the word, tell a friend!! Subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts!

For Tonya Oxendine the Army offered an escape from a rough upbringing - a chance for a better life. Although not without extreme hardships and challenges, Tonya embraced the military, using the trauma she experienced in it and after, to become an incredible leader who has made it her life's mission to take care of others. She served over two decades -  including several years in the 82nd Airborne - retiring as a Command Sergeant Major. Today she serves as the Atlanta Program Manager of Merging Vets and Players - a veteran service organization that pairs veterans with former pro athletes to empower them through the transition once they've taken the uniform off. Hear her incredible story of resilience on this latest edition of HAZARD GROUND! www.vetsandplayers.org Support the podcast by supporting our sponsors at www.hazardground.com/sponsors! Shop Amazon! As an Amazon Associate We Earn From Qualifying Purchases...You Know The Deal! (Paid Link) Help grow the show! Spread the word, tell a friend!! Subscribe,

Our conversation this week is simply about service - service in combat, and continued service when the uniform comes off. David Smith is a former Navy Corpsman who served in combat in Afghanistan. When an aspiring career in the Navy was cut short, David found another way to serve his country. Ultimately he started an organization called, CONTINUE TO SERVE. Through this organization, he brings together other veterans in continued service to the Nation, particularly when it comes to civic duties and standing up for those less fortunate. Most recently, he rallied a group of veterans through his organization to lead the clean-up of downtown Washington, D.C. and around the Capitol after the January 6th attacks. CONTINUE TO SERVE has also been an outlet for David to seek healing from post traumatic stress, as well as find the same sense of purpose he felt as a Navy Corpsman on the battlefield. His story, and this conversation are something we all can take a little good from. Hear it all, on this latest edition of H

Grant Broggi didn't take the typical route to the Marine Corps. The extra time he took before ultimately joining meant he entered the Marines with life experience - a key attribute in forming who he would become as a leader of Marines. And the experience he gained from leading Marines in combat would eventually pay dividends when he became a strength coach, preparing Marines for combat as well as forming a small business. That small business would take a punishing hit during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Broggi used the principles learned through his experience in the Marines to navigate the uncharted waters of the pandemic, taking care of people first. Taking care of his members also meant going against sound business principles to ultimately remain afloat and begin to thrive again in uncertain times. Broggi still serves in the Marine Corps while running The Strength Co., focusing on enriching others' lives through physical fitness, training servicemembers for the rigors of combat, and helping to reviv

When Rod Lurie immigrated to the United States at a young age, he was taken by what he saw when he visited The United States Military Academy at West Point for the first time. Beyond the institution, he knew attending West Point would provide a means to pay back the country that welcomed him from abroad. Whether his decision to ultimately go to West Point was right or wrong, Lurie has found that his attendance and graduation from there prepared him very well for the profession he knew he always wanted to go into - that of filmmaking. West Point taught Lurie "never to panic, and there is a solution for everything" - guidance that has served him well as he went from Army officer to film critic, to writer and director of feature films. His latest film is "The Outpost", released in July 2020, which tells the story of the Battle of Kamdesh and the fight to save Combat Outpost Keating in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. It's a moving and intense film, that portrays the battle and the men who fought there in a way mo

Ryan Hendrickson doesn't know when to quit. If you've served alongside Ryan in combat, that's probably a good thing. Ryan Hendrickson is a retired Green Beret, leaving the Army as an E-7 in January of 2020. Before joining the Army, Hendrickson enlisted and served in both the Navy and the Air Force, until he found his true calling in Special Forces. As a Green Beret demolitions expert, he would find a passion hunting IEDs and working with local villagers. In the high risk confines of Afghanistan, that work would also lead to Hendrickson nearly losing his leg, if not for an experimental limb salvage procedure and an Army surgeon willing to take the risk. Hendrickson then fought through painful rehab to deploy back to Afghanistan roughly eighteen months after his initial injury. As if that wasn't enough, in 2016 Hendrickson was involved in a brutal firefight in which his actions would earn him the Silver Star. Even after his retirement, Ryan still continued to deploy to high risk areas as a civilian. See now why

Donat "Dan" Le Blanc lost his right arm while fighting in Vietnam as a Marine aircraft machine gunner. Service was in his blood; his father was a World War II veteran and POW. So when it was his generation's calling to combat service, Le Blanc joined the Marines. He cites the 1957 film, "The DI" with Jack Webb as a major source of inspiration for joining the Corps. But, Le Blanc's time in Vietnam would end not long after he sustained life-threatening injuries when the helicopter he was manning an M60 machine gun on flew into a hot landing zone during an evac mission in September 1966. Although his time in combat would end, his service would not. Le Blanc went on to eventually make a career out of working for the VA, providing valuable first-hand knowledge for the development of prostheses for veterans who had lost limbs in combat. He would also write a book about his life and time in combat, titled "Deckhouse: My Story", leaving a lasting record not just for his children and grandchildren, but also for those

There's no better story for Episode 200! Daniel Rodriguez entered the Army shortly after losing his father at the age of 18. He joined the Infantry and was almost immediately thrust into one of the worst positions to be in as a new soldier in combat: the replacement for another soldier who had been killed in Iraq. Although it was a rough start, the unit he ended up with would ultimately be the group of guys he not only bonded with, but would also go through one of the bloodiest battles of the GWOT on October 3, 2009 at COP Keating, when the small outpost was attacked by over 300 Taliban fighters. Rodriguez would lose a close friend during the battle, but it was a friendship that would ultimately spark what would happen after Rodriguez left the Army, turning many negatives into a huge positive. Before losing his friend, Rodriguez promised that if he made it out of Keating alive, he would pursue Division I college football and maybe even the NFL if it led there. And that's exactly what Daniel Rodriguez did, mak

The junior enlisted servicemembers we've had on this show have never shied away from giving the unvarnished truth when talking about their experiences in combat. They join for a myriad of reasons - a sense of patriotism, a career, or they just didn't think they had better options when entering the workforce. Regardless, you can always count on them to shoot straight when asked for their opinions, especially when it comes to life in combat. Justin Piessens enlisted in the Army after high school, thinking at the time he really couldn't find better options. Plus he was always open to new and interesting experiences. Interesting is what he got, serving as a tanker as the war in Iraq started to heat up in 2004, with a growing insurgency just under the surface. After he returned from his first deployment to Iraq, and ten days before leaving the Army for good, he was put on stop-loss, and headed to Ramadi in 2006 at the height of the insurgency. And this time he wasn't going to be riding in a tank. His brigade comma

Dr. Jeff Cain has led an interesting military career to say the least, as both an Infantryman and a doctor, spanning from the period of the first Gulf War into the Global War on Terrorism. Dr. Cain began his career at West Point, choosing Infantry as his branch upon graduation. Following time with the Berlin Brigade in Germany during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Cain made his way to 3rd Ranger Battalion where he would serve - along with time at Regimental Headquarters - until he made the decision to go to medical school through the Uniformed Services medical school program. Suffice to say, Cain's time serving in special operations left an indelible mark on him, so much so that his intent upon finishing medical school was to go back and serve as a doctor in SOF. Which is exactly what he did, becoming the 1st Ranger Battalion physician, and completing two OEF rotations and one OIF rotation with multiple JSOTFs. Cain even ended up serving as the lead medical planner for the Jessica Lynch rescue, going in

When Tom Spooner enlisted in the Army, he had every intention of becoming a Ranger. But, a last minute change in orders would send him to the 82nd Airborne, where he quickly found, Ranger or not, that he was in his element as a paratrooper. From then on, wherever Spooner went in the military he would find his element along with seasoned veterans who mentored him into a proven combat leader and special operator. Aside from serving in the 82nd, Spooner went on to earn his Green Beret and serve in Special Forces for a little bit before being selected to serve in the Army’s top special mission unit. His experience in combat, coupled with the tools given him by the mentors who fought before him would also help him find a way to heal his mind and body after 12 deployments, and suffering the effects of traumatic brain injury. Make no mistake about it Tom Spooner is a warrior in the truest sense of the word, and today, he helps run Warriors Heart, which he co-founded - a veteran service organization where warriors he

Gordon Sumner joined the military at the end of the Vietnam War era. As such, the timing of his entry into service led to very unique experiences while serving overseas, both in combat, and during the tense years of the Cold War. He began his military career as an Infantry officer, but through a weird twist of fate, would transition to Aviation before nearly resigning his commission. That move to Aviation would set Sumner on a trajectory to Grenada, where he commanded an Air Cavalry unit with the 82nd Airborne Division. He would also be one of the few to be combat wounded during fighting there. Sumner would also go on to serve with the British Army as an American exchange officer. That position would lead to him becoming the first American to command an attack helicopter squadron in the British Army - work that would put him at the forefront of efforts to quell attacks by the Irish Republican Army. After retiring as a Colonel, Sumner would take part in one of his greatest acts of service - working with Vetera

This is a story of combat and survival in the truest sense. Survival not just from bullets and bombs in Baghdad, but from the indelible scars war leaves on those who’ve experienced it firsthand. Jeff Morris is one of those individuals. His time as an Army infantry officer led him to fight in Iraq both as a platoon leader and company commander. It would carry him through bloody firefights where he would lead soldiers, all trying to survive, and achieve the “little victories” that make long, drawn out campaigns seem worth the sacrifice. And ultimately, it would take him to the brink of his humanity, forcing the reckoning that undoubtedly comes for a man who has lived through combat and chooses to be a force for good after he returns home. Hear Jeff Morris’s powerful story of combat and survival, from officer candidate eager to get into the fight to war veteran searching for healing, on this latest edition of HAZARD GROUND! "LEGION RISING: Surviving Combat And The Scars It Left Behind" Support the podcast by s

Don Culp's passion for aviation began as a young boy. Watching his stepfather work with the Navy's Blue Angels demonstration team, Don knew he wanted to join the military, and specifically go into aviation when he graduated from high school. His journey would take him a little longer than expected though, as he was initially recruited into chemical operations instead of aviation in the late 90's. It would take him roughly a decade and five attempts to transfer out of his Chemical specialty and into Army Aviation. He went from E-6 to Warrant Officer Candidate, and not long after, into flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama. By 2011, Culp graduated as an Apache pilot, and three weeks later deployed to Iraq for his first combat tour. But, Culp's aviation career would not come without challenges - one in particular was directly related to his daughter who was born a few days before he left for Warrant Officer Candidate School. In this episode, Don Culp talks about those challenges and how they shaped him not just

Service over self. Character over affiliation. Values over personal gain. Mike Jason learned these tenets at an early age in a place far away from the United States. Born to two American expats in Italy, as a child Mike would often hear the locals talk about what the Americans did for them during World War II. His patriotism and love for the American military was born out of these conversations. So when Mike was 11 and his family moved back to the United States, he knew he wanted to join the profession of arms, and serve the country and ideals that others who had never even set foot in the U.S., spoke so highly of and appreciated so much. That journey took him to West Point, and after graduation, eventually into combat in the Global War on Terror. Mike Jason has led from the troop level all the way up to formulating policy in the Pentagon. After serving for over two decades, Mike retired as a full bird colonel. He continues to uphold the values he swore to when he entered the military, while working to combat

In Episode 188, Andrew Bundermann walked us through the Battle of Kamdesh - the attack on remote COP Keating in Afghanistan, where 53 U.S. cavalry scouts held off over 300 Taliban fighters attacking from the mountains above. Bundermann was the acting commander at COP Keating on the day of the attack. His company commander, now LTC Stoney Portis, was stranded at a nearby base because the helicopter he was flying in had taken enemy fire two days prior, and air assets were unable to get him back to COP Keating prior to the attack kicking off on October 3rd, 2009. In this episode, Portis chronicles his fight to get back to his men as the battle raged from dawn until dusk. Hearing him talk about what his men did to save not just the outpost, but each other, is a powerful testament to what soldiers will do for each other in combat. Stoney also shares the leadership challenges he faced after the battle, reconstituting a unit that had just endured a brutal fight that took some of their own. It's clear from the way St

An infantryman, looking for the next challenge in his military career, Gary Garza decided to try out for Special Forces Selection. After completing Ranger and Sniper Schools with the 101st Airborne, it only made sense that the next step was getting his Green Beret and embarking on a long career in Special Operations. That's exactly what Garza did, becoming a Special Forces Medical Sergeant, and completing 12 deployments in the Global War on Terror. Those deployments came with a price, but also with wisdom on how to better train and take care of SOF soldiers who deploy multiple times to high intensity, high op-tempo AORs over and over again. Garza speaks intently about the mental health aspect and ways in which SOF units are working to improve and strengthen soldiers' mental health, just like they would their physical health, in order to improve both the combat force, and the families that support them during and after every deployment. Garza also serves as the Executive Director of the Special Forces Foundati

Donny O'Malley does not fit the typical mold of a U.S. Marine. Except for the part where Marines strive to be the absolute best at one thing: killing the enemy. In spite of being the type of person who never liked having a boss, and who was very entrepreneurial in nature, Donny O'Malley wanted to join the military and become a Marine, primarily so he could be the best at taking out bad people on the battlefield. And, after 9/11, that was all the motivation he needed for pulling the trigger, so to speak. His father however, convinced him to finish college and become a Marine officer. O'Malley took his father's advice, and would eventually serve in combat as an infantry officer, rifle platoon commander, and fire support team leader. Following his time in the Corps, O'Malley, who had already spent a significant amount of time mentally preparing himself for what he'd experience in combat, looked to humor as a means of maintaining good mental health, not just for himself but also for his fellow vets who were strug