Mike Drop

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop As our cultural landscape changes, so do our leaders. Few know that better than Ken Valentine, of course; a retired Secret Service agent, Ken served under three Presidents - Clinton, Bush, and Barack Obama - as each wrestled with their own challenges of office, in their own time and in their own ways. For Ken, keeping up with the President wasn't just a challenge - it was a career, full of travel, intel, and unique situations that demanded not just his utmost attention, but his life and the lives of his fellow agents if necessary. But 24 years at the Agency doesn't capture all of Ken's work - since his tenure, he's joined the Board of The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, penned a memoir about his work called 'Cheating Death: Three-Time Presidential Secret Service Agent Lives To Tell You How,' and even spent time in the fields of science and technology, joining the Board

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop John McPhee, widely known as “The Sheriff of Baghdad” or “SHREK,” is a retired U.S. Army Special Operations Sergeant Major with over 20 years of distinguished service. A retired DELTA Force Operator, John was responsible for countless solo missions in country across a number of combat theaters all through out the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. After retiring from active duty, John founded the S.O.B. Tactical brand to extend his expertise to civilians, law enforcement, and militaries worldwide.  Talking to John, one thing's for sure - he's not one to apologize about anything. In fact, he's more down to earth than you might expect, and he's more than happy to answer any questions anybody dares to throw at him. So how does a homegrown Chicago man go on to run solo missions of the highest order? How does one develop the skills necessary to pass their skillset onto the next generation? And most

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop Daniel Corbett provides unique solutions to those with unique problems. An elite Navy SEAL operator, Daniel deployed to Iraq with SEAL Team 5 in the summer of 2005. Later, he joined DEVGRU at SEAL Team 6 in 2007, deploying to various classified locations around the world before shifting into instructing at NSWBTC. After that, he fell into private military contracting, where he would go on to make international news when he was thrown in jail in Belgrade, Serbia for eighteen months after tracking a terrorist financier.  Today, he continues to monitor international news, taking meetings with those who need unique solutions to unique problems, but there's more to Daniel's story than meets the eye. What's it like operating at the Tip of the Spear? How does somebody get into private contracting? And most importantly - what is life like when you're spending 18 months in a Serbian jail? Let's a

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop Jeff Gum has a complicated career history. He served 10 years at SEAL Teams with SEAL Team Five, deploying to Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, after which he helped develop the Combatives Instructor Course to train SEALs how to lead training for their own platoons. He spent time in Denmark training Danish Frogmen, and shortly after launched his own swimwear line with 2-time ESPY award-winning adaptive athlete Kyle Maynard called Sunga Life. He even spent time working with friend of the show (and former #156 guest) Rudy Reyes over at Force Blue, developing a community of veterans to help aid in the protection of our planet's marine resources.  Since then, he's been busy - he appeared on Mike Tyson's podcast, worked with Jake Paul in his Boxing Bullies initiative, and even appeared on a South Korean game show (yes, really) called 'Iron Squad 3.' So what's it like spinning up an athletic

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop Zack Ferguson is a former Navy SEAL Team 7 veteran with multiple deployments to Iraq, Yemen, Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, where he served as his platoons Lead Sniper/Point man, JTAC, Combatives Instructor, and Weapons Ordnance Specialist. He's also an instructor and co-owner at Defense Strategies Group, a collective of Special Operations Combat Veterans dedicated to continued service and empowering communities through defense training and security solutions. And when he's not training with the best, he's even a competitive 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu purple belt and amateur MMA fighter, where he met fellow Defense Strategies Group instructor (and previous Mike Drop Episode #62 Guest) Angel Cortes. But for every hardened warrior there's a complicated backstory, and Zack's story doesn't end overseas. So where did the trouble at home come from? How does a SEAL recover when they've lost e

Jay Dorleus has seen more than his fair share of explosive engagements. With 2 Iraq and 4 Afghanistan Deployments under his belt, he's served 14 years in country as a Green Beret, with his first 4 years served as a Combat Engineer specializing in demolitions - tracking IED's and disarming charges that would otherwise devastate forces on the ground. And devastate they did - to hear it from Jay, he's picked up parts of his squad mates (literally) on more than one occasion.  But violent beginnings often lead to violent ends, and for Jay, becoming a Green Beret wasn't just a matter of duty - it was a means to exact revenge on the very fighters that caused such devastation in the first place. So what's it like serving as a Green Beret in Afghanistan? How does a Combat Engineer make the leap to Special Forces? And how is Jay Dorleus still creating dynamic warriors through his company, The Green Beret Chronicles? Let's meet Jay.  ---------- Support Jay Dorleus -  Find Jay's Training, Resources, and More at https

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop The United States Special Forces are a force to be reckoned with, but like any great nation, they weren't built in a day. Just ask Colonel Rich Wall, a Vietnam Green Beret with three tours under his belt - two with Special Forces before pivoting into the MACV-SOG Program, a highly classified Special Operations unit that conducted covert and unconventional warfare operations. He'd go on to receive the Purple Heart and three Bronze Stars for his time in country, along with having taught history at West Point and working with NATO at the Pentagon. Of course, Vietnam is a totally different theater to the more arid climates (and more modern trappings) of the Middle East, and to hear Rich tell it, you were just as likely to catch disease as you were to catch fire from your adversaries waiting for you in the jungle. So what's it like to ship out in a draft army? How did Special Forces operate b

Mike Jones is the owner and head trainer at Primal Canine, a dog training service for all breeds, sizes, and age that specializes in severe behavior modification cases, high-level obedience training, and working dog training. He's also a founder at K9 Street League, a professional sports league for professional protection dog sport. When he's not training or organizing events, he's working in marketing and advertising, working in research and development, running his apparel company Carpe Omnia, or volunteering at a charity event like Valor Canines working against human trafficking.  With a resume rich in experience it's hard to believe Mike started from the bottom, but he wasn't always working with dogs. How'd he end up working in 'collections' when he was only 16 years old? Where'd his work ethic come from? And when you're locked up in solitary confinement for over 500 days, what can all that time alone in a cell do to a man? Let's meet Mike. ---------- Support Mike Jones -  Primal Canines - https://www

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop Mitch "Smashin' Frog" Aguiar is one tough dude. He's a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Navy SEALs, he's a professional MMA Fighter, and he's even an entrepreneur, having built two businesses out of his 'Smashin' Greens' superfood and Violent Hippie Apparel. He's also a returning guest to the podcast - longtime fans may recall his appearance way back on Episode #008 of the show when he appeared alongside Kyle Maynard.  Since then, Mitch has been hard at work building his businesses while knocking lights out both in and out of the octagon and traveling the world, constantly chasing new challenges like hiking from Sparta to Thermopylae on a fast and building Adopt a Cop Jiu Jitsu training for officers all over the country. What keeps this Smashin' Frog smashing? Let's ask Mitch. ---------- Support Mitch Aguiar -  Check out Mitch's Smashin' Greens and other Superfoods at https://masfsupplemen

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop CW5 Alan C. Mack is an elite aviator, war hero, public speaker, and the author of 'Razor 03: A Night Stalker's Wars.' Over the course of his near 36 year military career, he flew over 6700 hours of flight time, of which over 3200 hours were flown with Night Vision Goggles. He's trained and flown with the best, and he's been a part of a number of operations that were later adapted into Hollywood film productions like '12 Strong' and 'Lone Survivor'. He even had a hand in the rescue of Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. Army soldier that was held captive by the Taliban from 2009-2014.  So how do you become one of the most skilled aviators in our Armed Forces? How do you manage to clock that many flight hours, at night, in the desert, with night vision goggles on? And most importantly - what's the secret to making those incredibly difficult flight maneuvers look so simple to pull off? Let's ask Alan. 

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop The world of private military contracting is wildly complicated. Take it from Morgan Lerette - he's a retired Blackwater Operator, Army Intelligence Officer, and the author of 'Guns, Girls, & Greed: I Was A Blackwater Mercenary in Iraq', an irreverently honest memoir that shows both the good and the bad of injecting private armies into active combat zones in the name of diplomacy, spread out over the early days of the Iraq War.  With gut-wrenching tragedy, dark humor, and absolutely insane party stories that make 'Animal House' seem like a Disney film, Morgan's memoir offers a firsthand perspective of how men act and react in war, for better or worse. It's a story of national incompetence, international collapse, and the search for blood and treasure that either helped - or hindered - the American war effort in Iraq. Was all the carnage worth it? Let's ask Morgan.  ---------- Support M

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop Working in a military hospital is no easy feat. You're trained in trauma and combat care - taking every measure possible to save lives wherever possible, no matter the cost. But when you come back to the states, suddenly civilian medicine becomes a whole different ballgame. Just take it from Nikki Selby - she's a Registered Nurse with over 28 years of experience in healthcare, and more than 23 of those years were serving in the Navy.  Since she retired as a Lt. Commander, Nikki's traveled the globe working alongside executive protection, started her own business, and she's even featured on Mike Drop before, way back on Episode 48 of the podcast in 2019. So what's changed since COVID rocked the country? Does Ozempic (and other semaglutide weight loss solutions) really work? And most importantly - what's the secret to living healthy and staying out of the hospital? Let's ask Nikki. Hear N

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop Bedros Keuilian believes that you can have it all. Fame, fortune, glory - any earthly desire, all within reach, but only if you're willing to earn it. He's a CEO, entrepreneur, author, mentor, podcast host, and an early immigrant, having immigrated from Armenia to southern California at a young age. Most importantly, he's an ardent believer in the American Dream, and the power of the human spirit.  Today, Bedros uses the stage, social media, and his podcast to share his story and inspire others, but that's far from where he started. So what's it like starting over with nothing? How do you find your footing in a country where you don't speak the same language as everybody else? And most importantly - what's got Bedros so fired up in the first place?  ---------- Support Bedros Keullian -  Website - https://bedroskeuilian.com/ Podcast, 'The Bedros Keuilian Show' - https://bedroskeuilian

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop Jimmy Watson has got one hell of a story to tell. He served 17 years on active duty, first with two deployments as a U.S. Marine before getting into private contracting at Blackwater, where he'd eventually rise to the rank of Team Leader and find himself squarely in the sights of the F.B.I. following the events of the Nisour Square Massacre.  From there he'd join SEAL Teams over at SDV off the coast of Hawaii, before eventually pivoting into bodyguard work for one John McAfee - shortly before becoming Team McAfee's very own CEO. Throw in a scandalous dash of crypto trading, a sketchy stint doing in contract work in Columbia, and you've got yourself one hell of a story. Fortunately for us, when it comes to Jimmy Watson, nothing is off limits.  ---------- Support Jimmy Watson -  Join Jimmy's Warrior Tribe, Touchpoint Nation, at https://www.jimmywatson.co Instagram: https://www.instagra

Air Force Pararescuemen, also known as PJ's, are the only elite combat force in the Department of Defense that are trained and equipped to perform personnel recovery. PJs are highly trained special operators who rescue, recover, and return American or allied forces in times of danger or extreme duress. It's a dangerous position from any angle - air, land, or sea, PJ's are there when others are not. Just take it from Brandon Daugherty.  With seven back-to-back deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, and a few classified missions in parts unknown, Brandon knows a thing or two about flying into the dark. And after 10 years in Pararescue, he's since pivoted to rescuing astronauts with his company at Operator Solutions that we covered in his previous episode. But what makes PJ's so special? Where's Brandon seen the most action? And most importantly - what kind of situations has he seen that the rest of us never even heard about?  ---------- Support Brandon Daugherty and Operator Solutions -  https://os-rescue

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop Brandon Daugherty rescues Astronauts. It's a complicated notion for a such a simple statement - where do Astronauts need to be rescued from, exactly? How many Astronauts are you rescuing in a given month, or even a year? And how does a guy like Brandon go from diving out of helicopters to snatching cosmic explorers right out of the ocean? Turns out, it all starts in the Air Force with a decade of Pararescue, along with seven back-to-back deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa to boot. Nowadays, Brandon's own Operator Solutions is doing incredible work alongside the likes of NASA and SpaceX, as well as his philanthropic work over at the Alpha 5 Project for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, but you don't get to save spacemen without doing a little homework first. So how do you rescue an Astronaut, anyway? Brandon's got the answers.  ---------- Support Brandon Daugh

Subscribe to the Mike Drop Patreon Page to see Ad-Free Episodes Early + Bonus Content at https://www.patreon.com/mikedrop You might not know it, but the United States Secret Service does a lot more than simply protecting the President. They're acting security for any Heads of State, including those foreign and domestic, alongside their families and any close confidants that require around-the-clock service. They also investigate crimes against the financial infrastructure of the United States, moving across the globe to ensure the validity of our economic systems. And with any wide berth of responsibility comes preparation - simply put, when you have to be prepared for anything, preparation quickly becomes everything. So what's it like working inside the White House? Have there been any close calls or scandalous operations that the mainstream media never reported on? And most importantly - how can you tell whether or not somebody is telling the truth when it really counts? Let's ask Evy.  ---------- Get Y

The United States Secret Service is one of our nation's most important federal agencies. Serving under the Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service Agents are charged with conducting criminal investigations, protecting U.S. political leaders and their families, and ensuring the safety of visiting heads of state, no matter the cost. Just take it from Evy Poumpouras - she's a former NYPD Officer turned Secret Service Agent with over a dozen years of experience, having served under the protection detail of Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.  And while the Agency may have 'Secret' in the name, there's plenty of questions worth asking. What's training look like when you have to protect some of the world's most important assets? How is the Agency - and the Oval Office - equipped to handle whatever may come? And most importantly - when you're protecting an Enemy of the State, just how far will you go to keep them safe?  ---------- Get Your Copy of Evy's Book 'Becoming Bulletproof: L

Sam Mackey retired from the U.S. Navy with over 20 years of service in SEAL Teams, having served first as a Sniper at SEAL Team Eight before pivoting to SEAL Team Four. During his tenure he deployed to the likes of Iraq, Afghanistan, Uganda, Cameroon, and more. He's also nearly a record-holder, having taken a shot at the title (literally) with a particularly long-distance engagement during his time in Afghanistan. Today, he's the CEO and Co-Owner of Outsider, a high-quality outdoor lifestyle brand that's encouraing people to get outside, be bold, and live free.  Serving on a SEAL Team is tough enough, so how does somebody end up deploying twith two of them? What's the story behind that nearly-a-world-record sniper shot? And most importantly - what kind of stories do you get when you serve 20 years at SEAL Teams? Let's ask Sam.  ---------- Support Sam Mackey & Outsider -  Website - https://www.outsider.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/outsiderig ---------- Sponsors:  Beam Take advantage of Bea

The crisis at the southern border is a hotly-contested topic among Americans, but few have seen the realities of the situation quite like Arizona Chief Deputy Sheriff Matthew Thomas. During his 31 years on the force, he's served in a variety of roles, from SWAT to Detention to Narcotics, and he's seen firsthand just how awful human beings can be to one another when there's something to be gained. In fact, that's why he sat down with Mike in studio in the first place - to talk about the very real dangers happening every day at the border, and why those hazards often seem to spill over into both sides of the fence. ---------- Get Your Copy of 'Interceptors: The Untold Fight Against the Mexican Cartels' at: https://www.onetimenation.com/shop Support Matthew Thomas -  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deputy_onetime/ Website: https://www.onetimenation.com/ ---------- Sponsors:  Ned Visit https://www.helloned.com/mikedrop to get 15% off your first order using promo code MIKEDROP. That's https://www.helloned.com