Ep. 444 - Vietnam Army Helicopter Pilot Richard Jellerson

Kenneth Steiger served a Special Agent in the FBI from the 1980's until 2006, and was assigned to major cases in organized crime like the Colombo family. He even worked on the famous case of the largest Ponzi scheme in history with Bernie Madoff. We really get the lowdown on mafia crime in New York City from Steiger, and you do not want to miss it. Also on this show, Steiger gives his take on what he sees as a massive politicization of intelligence in more recent years, and from there we get into the highly publicized cases of Trump and Russian collusion, as well as Hillary Clinton's private email server. We discuss how things have changed from the days of primitive wiretaps, to threats made publicly on social media. We rarely hear from those with a background in the FBI on here, so it was a real privilege to sit down in studio for this nearly two-hour discussion. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 Maj 20191h 46min

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been called a "traitor" and a "defector" by the likes of prime time television hosts on mainstream media, military personnel, and even our current President. The narrative has also been that the Obama administration traded him for five terrorists, and the lives of American war fighters were lost in the process to get this man back in country. Michael Ames, co-author of "American Cipher" says not so fast, as he investigated Bergdahl's background in-depth, and learned the true story of what really went down. Michael spent a lot of time in Hailey, Idaho as a "glorified ski bum" as he puts in, and when the news broke of Bergdahl being freed, he realized that he was familiar with this young man who grew up there. His interest became the catalyst for the book out now co-written with Matt Farwell, and on this episode, Michael joins us in studio and gives us the facts behind such a major news event that became plagued with falsehoods and misinformation. Be sure to pick up "American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan" to gain some real insight into American foreign policy and how the narrative often told to us gets out there before all the facts come out. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1 Maj 20191h 7min

Bob Baer served as a CIA case officer, primarily in the Middle East, and has written renowned books on his experience including "See No Evil." Baer served with the Agency from 1976 to 1997, and as some of you may know, "See No Evil" became the inspiration for the critically acclaimed film "Syriana" with George Clooney portraying the role of Baer. This is Bob's second appearance on the podcast, and we're really honored to have him back a few years later to tackle some very important and timely issues. We start off with the subject of American military personnel being utilized in countries like Yemen and Haiti as we've recently seen, and the damage that this can cause. From there we get onto the subject of Blackwater founder and former SEAL Erik Prince now working with the Chinese, and Bob does not mince words when giving his stance on this. Another subject tackled this episode is the killing of Osama bin Laden, conspiracy theory surrounding it, and Bob's take on the controversial Seymour Hersh report. Baer's most recent book is "The Perfect Kill: 21 Laws for Assassins." Pick that one up, and dig into this episode, because we go deep! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

26 Apr 20191h 11min

We start off this show with a pretty big announcement some of you may have heard earlier in the week from myself (Ian Scotto,) that I have decided to move on from the podcast and work on some future endeavors. I greatly appreciate the positive feedback from any of you who reached out, and have loved both doing this podcast and getting to know such a top notch audience. I still have a whole month of great shows planned with some big name guests before I make the transition, but feel free to keep up with me, I will continue to interact with this audience as always. With that, our guest this show is writer Alex Hollings, who many of you are familiar with. We discuss his article on a downed Japanese F-35 aircraft still missing, as well the recent comments by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez praising the VA by stating, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." With unacceptable numbers of veteran suicides, some even killing themselves in front of VA hospitals, it's understandable why many in the veteran community find these comments appalling. We also answer your emails, including a question on Syria, and I rant for a few about "fake news."  Jack Murphy's memoir "Murphy's Law" hit shelves this week, pick it up. It's available on Audible as well, and is read cover to cover by Jack himself. You can also check out Jack's most recent interview with Andrew Wilkow promoting the book if you're a Sirius XM subscriber and want to listen back On Demand. Downed Japanese F-35 still missing, officials say not to worry about China or Russia finding it first: https://thenewsrep.com/116438/downed-japanese-f-35-still-missing-officials-say-not-to-worry-about-china-or-russia-finding-it-first/ US Special Forces sabotage White House policy gone disastrously wrong with covert ops in Syria: https://thenewsrep.com/63764/us-special-forces-sabotage-white-house-policy-gone-disastrously-wrong-with-covert-ops-in-syria/ Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

24 Apr 201958min

Joining us this episode are previous guests of the show Doug Kechijian & CJ Woodruff. To refresh you on both of these guys, Doug is a retired Air Force PJ, physical therapist, and current CEO of Resilient Performance Systems, and CJ is a retired Marine, personal trainer, and social media personality. I decided to pair them up for a discussion because fitness is not only a huge part of military readiness, but there's also just a major demographic of listeners with a love for this subject matter. As you'll hear, although physical therapy and personal training are two separate routes in this field, these guys see eye to eye on quite a lot. We cover supplementation, government regulation and insurance issues in their respective professions, and what they feel qualifies for military effectiveness. We also cover my own article for The Loadout Room that went up last week titled, "E.A.R.N. - A simple but effective way of mastering your fitness regimen," and you'll hear why CJ and I share a great deal of respect for three-time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane. One of our listeners Sean also made me aware of an original Women's Army Corps officer and World War II veteran Sara Parsons celebrating her 100th birthday that wants nothing more than cards from all of you out there. So check out that article from Wausau, Wisconsin's ABC affiliate on where to send them. Be sure to visit Resilient Performance Training online at ResilientPerformance.com, which links to all of their social media and podcast, and follow CJ on Instagram @CJWoodruffOfficial. World War II Veteran asking for cards to celebrate 100th birthday - https://waow.com/top-stories/2019/04/15/world-war-ii-veteran-asking-for-cards-to-celebrate-100th-birthday/ E.A.R.N. – A simple but effective way of mastering your fitness regimen -https://loadoutroom.com/116032/e-a-r-n-a-simple-but-effective-way-of-mastering-your-fitness-regimen/ Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Apr 20191h 8min

We've all been waiting for it, "Messages From Beyond" by James "Smokey" West is finally here, and joining him in studio to talk about it is his co-author, Charlene da Silva. As you'll hear Jim discuss, this will be the first in a series of books, and this one begins at a time detailing the legendary Green Beret's brush with death in the late 1970's after a car accident. As Jim says to me, there were no bright lights for him. Some of the work that Jack Murphy started in helping to write Jim's memoir appears in here, but much of that will also be told in a later book. The natural question I wondered when meeting Charlene, is how does a young woman with no military background get into the mind of a seasoned warrior and fighter like Jim to tell a story from his perspective? We get her insight on that, and you'll hear why Jim holds her work in such a high regard. "Messages From Beyond" is out now on Amazon.com in Kindle and paperback, and we hope that you pick it up. We also encourage you to visit Charlene's website at CharlenedaSilva.com. Always a great time with Jim in studio, and I'm glad he introduced me and our audience to the writer he chose to help tell his story. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 Apr 201959min

Fans of the Hurricane Group network of sites may be familiar with our aviation website FighterSweep.com, and it's former editor and writer for the site Paco Chierici has just today released his debut novel, "Lions of the Sky." The retired Navy fighter pilot who now captains a 737 and recreationally flies a Yak-50 is fulfilling his mission with this book in writing an action-packed thriller that only someone whose been there and done that could release. We get into Paco's background and some of the ego and fear that goes behind flying A-6E Intruders and F-14 Tomcats for the Navy. You'll also hear some of the fundamental differences between being accepted into this line of work with the military where guys who don't make the cut aren't welcomed back, as opposed to recycling back after failing to become an Army Ranger for example. Be sure to pick up "Lions of the Sky," it's out today on Amazon, and check out Paco's website with all links to social media at LionsOfTheSky.com. We also cover some major news of the week including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange being arrested in London, Benjamin Netanyahu being re-elected once again as Prime Minister of Israel sparking some conversation about term limits, and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard being labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. We also answer your emails sent to sofrep.radio@sofrep.com. A lot of ground covered on this installment of the podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 Apr 20191h 17min

With nearly three decades of service in Army Special Forces, also serving as a Special Agent in the DEA, authoring several novels, and inventing tools now widely used by the military like the R.A.T.S. Tourniquet, Jeff Kirkham's background is both versatile and impressive. He joins us this episode getting into stories that include his tourniquet innovation saving lives, how he and his partner behind Readyman Jason Ross decided to start writing military thrillers, and his ongoing heated debate in the gun community of the AR VS AK platform. Be sure to check out his latest book "The Last Air Force One," and follow Jeff on Instagram @Praetorian_Innovations. Also on this episode we get into the recent public deposition of Alex Jones, currently being sued by the families of Sandy Hook victims for concocting conspiracy theories on the mass shooting of their children. They claim this rhetoric incited harassment from both members of his staff and his audience. Where is the line on free speech and language that incites harassment and potential violence against private citizens? Is this Alex Jones finally paying the price for years of spreading false information? We get into it on Episode 446 of SOFREP Radio. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10 Apr 20191h 21min