Mike Lamonica, USAF CMSgt and Bronze Star Medalist

We are honored to be joined this episode by Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Mike Lampe, a man whom Jack Murphy describes as the grandfather of Air Force Special Operations. Mike’s military career began in the Army in 1968 during Vietnam, but not long after, he transferred to the Air Force where he spent the rest of his 30-years of decorated service. Mike has many accolades, awards, and served in many different capacities including his time as a Special Tactics Team Leader On this episode, we get into the first half of Mike’s military career, but we plan on extending an invitation to do a second part because there was too much history to cover in one episode. In the second half of Mike’s military career he crossed paths with another legend in the community and favorite of the podcast, Sergeant Major Mike Vining. We look forward to hearing all about that eventually. Mike is currently involved in helping with the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. In addition to our featured interview, Jack Murphy reacts to a recent clip of Defense Secretary James Mattis giving a concise response regarding the concept of women in combat roles. Don’t miss this one! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 Sep 20181h 46min

If you come to this podcast for war stories about operations that have never been heard before, you're in for an action packed listen on this one. Mark Giaconia is a former Green Beret with 20 years of service to his country. He has a new book out titled "One Green Beret" which focuses on his service from 1996-2011 in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq, serving alongside members of the Peshmerga as well as the Russian Spetsnaz. A focal point of the book is Mark serving in Operation Viking Hammer, an unconventional warfare operation with the mission of taking out Sunni Muslim insurgents known as the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam. He also speaks of the gruesome details of being exposed to suspected chemical weapons, having to take hair samples of dead terrorists, and gives a philosophical take on war from his own perspective. Mark has since made the transition from warfare to making a living in technology as the Senior Director of Radiant Solutions. He discusses how he started to make this transition while serving in the military. After you listen to this, be sure to pick up "One Green Beret" available now on Amazon. Also, follow Mark on Twitter and let him know what you thought of his appearance @GiaconiaMark. In addition to that, Jack Murphy discusses his latest article "Mattis: US Troops can remain in Syria to ensure stability." It is Jack's belief that Mattis is being pushed out for the more neo-conservative John Bolton. Listen to find out why Jack has made that inference. It's an episode with a lot of excitement and also reflection that you do not want to miss. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

26 Sep 20181h 23min

Mike Crosby served as a Navy Commander, but his current fight is one of making veterans aware of prostate cancer. As a prostate cancer survivor, he saw some of the issues at the VA not taking the necessary steps in preventing this killer that is currently the #1 diagnosed cancer in the VA healthcare system. Veterans are in the high risk category for prostate cancer, and between screening, early detection, and alternatives to traditional surgery, there are a lot of components to fighting this cancer. Mike discusses with us the Veterans Choice Program and why it is something that veterans should absolutely be taking advantage of and enrolling in now. Mike currently is the founder & CEO of Veterans Prostate Cancer Awareness.  Check out their website to learn more. Also on this episode we answer a listener email sent to sofrep.radio@sofrep.com regarding Indian special operations, and cover some of the latest news on Newsrep including an update on Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 (this was the flight hit by a missile, not to be confused with Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, the disappearance that took place four months prior.) Jack also talks about a fake account that went by "Bagram Babe" on Twitter exposed to not be living in Bagram at all. Hear the full story on this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21 Sep 20181h 19min

We always enjoy bringing Alex Hollings on the show, and we constantly enter interesting territory. On this episode we get into some recent articles from the Marine Corps writer on Russian weapons technologies, the future of space exploration, and from there, we even get into some alien discussion. We also talk about the recent controversy of Elon Musk enjoying a marijuana laced blunt with Joe Rogan on The Joe Rogan Experience, and the repercussions for this action. This leads to some talk on the recent bill to legalize marijuana in the state of New Jersey which could positively impact veterans, find out why. We of course also make sure to discuss Alex's book out now, "The Perception Wars," go pick it up. Also, we get a new voice memo courtesy of our friend Gene Farnsworth. He gives us his take on the recent episode with Sean Parnell. Jack and I get serious as well as we discuss the epidemic of combat veteran suicides. A lot to digest on Episode 388, and we hope it hits the spot for you. Be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 Sep 20181h 38min

Many of you may know Sean Parnell from his first best-selling book, "Outlaw Platoon." That book details Sean's time in Afghanistan commanding the Army's 10th Mountain Division, and we get into some excellent stories about the brave men he served with as Sean joins us in studio for this hour. We talk about the disconnect between some of the leadership of the Army that is stationed in Bagram Air Base not seeing the level of combat as the boots on the ground experiencing the fight first hand. Sean has a new book out though, and it's actually a military thriller. It's called "Man of War," and it just hit shelves this week. We discuss the transition from fiction to nonfiction, and the inspiration behind the book's protagonist Eric Steele. "Man of War" has received high praise from the likes of Lee Child and more, we hope that you pick it up. Sean has also given back to the community with his charity American Warrior Initiative helping men and women who serve in combat with important transition tools like finding housing once they come back home. We enjoyed having him on, and only hit the surface, so hopefully there will be a return appearance in the near future. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 Sep 20181h 1min

Join us for this very special episode of SOFREP Radio as we pay tribute to the men and women who lost their lives on 9/11, as well as those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the years that have followed, fighting terror. Brandon Webb and I join New York City firefighter Tim Brown, who was present during the 9/11 attacks, as we tour the 9/11 Memorial Museum. This is a day of reflection for many of a day that impacted us all 17 years ago. I remember where I was on that day here in New York, and I’m sure that many of our listeners have stories as well. Hear the unique perspectives of a man who saw it all on that day and a man sent to war immediately after. You’ll hear about firefighters that Tim served with and what artifacts are on display. Additionally, you’ll hear reflections from family members of those who died on 9/11, which served as the inspiration for Brandon Webb’s “Among Heroes” audio book. One of those reflections you’ll hear is from a family friend of mine, the wife of Christopher Quackenbush, as she talks about how Chris would bring children out to Mets games. We hope this episode serves as a worthy dedication to these great folks. We urge you all to take a trip out and see the museum for yourselves. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11 Sep 201845min

Jack Murphy is back in studio! He's been greatly missed by you guys in the audience, as well as myself. It got a little lonely without him, not gonna lie, but the Army Ranger, Green Beret, and editor in chief at Newsrep is back in the States. We get into the changes with the site, and we also get a recap of Jack's epic honeymoon and summer vacation. He visited Nepal with his wife and kid, followed by Italy, where Benni is still stuck in, you'll hear the story of why that is. He went hiking, and got to experience some new destinations that were on his bucket list for many years now. We discuss some hot topics including Colin Kaepernick being signed to Nike, as well as the New York Times op ed that some are calling treasonous, titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration." Our guest for this show is Jackie Gray. Jackie Gray is a former Army Medic who has more recently become the new Executive Director for Red Circle Foundation. We've discussed RCF on the show before, but it's been a while. So he fills us in on the great work that they are doing to help out members of the special operations community. Some of these guys have been severely injured in combat, and RCF is helping in a way that in some cases TRICARE can not. Be sure to donate to them, and help out these families. These guys Jackie talks about have sacrificed a lot for our country, and they are now in their time of need. Enjoy this episode guys, and with Jack back, feel free to shoot over your usual special operations related questions to sofrep.radio@sofrep.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7 Sep 201852min

It's hard to believe that we're already in September of this year, but as a I reflect on 2018 thus far, we've had some incredible guests on this podcast. When it comes to spec ops guys in the Army, we've had a wide array. So on this episode, I spotlight several of those guys from previous episodes in 2018. We start off with Nate Boyer. Nate's name is back in the news heavily with the recent signing of Colin Kaepernick to Nike, so we revisit Nate's open letter to Colin, followed by an in-person meeting which led to the now infamous kneeling during the National Anthem. Next is Todd Opalski, as he reflects on serving in both Marine Force Reconnaissance as well as Army Special Forces. That's followed by Special Missions Unit operator Rob Trivino on joining the Army and his time as an Army Ranger. Then is an excerpt from Delta Force operator Pat McNamara's first appearance on the show, with a great HALO jump story. We wrap up this special with our very own George Hand, another former Delta operator, getting into his origin story with us. Let me know how you liked this episode on Twitter or Instagram @SOFREPRadio or by email at sofrep.radio@sofrep.com, and maybe next special will be Navy SEALs. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

5 Sep 20181h 24min