Episodes

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we’re featuring the first of a series of bonus episodes we’ll be running over the course of the next few weeks. These episodes will be part of our 20th anniversary of Fallujah II/Operation Phantom Fury programming. These bonus episodes are the full-length interviews we have been collecting for our 20th anniversary documentary of Fallujah II, which will be coming out soon. Please stay tuned for that. All o...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, as a continuation of our 20th anniversary of Fallujah II/Operation Phantom Fury programming, we welcome Col Willie Buhl to the show. Col Buhl is a veteran of Operation Phantom Fury/Al-Fajr. He was the commanding officer of Task Force 3rd Bn/1st Marines at the battle. Col Buhl shares with us his experiences in Fallujah and his thoughts on the battle 20 years later. We are truly honored that he was willing ...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome Jeremiah Workman back to the show. Jeremiah is a veteran of Operation Phantom Fury/Al-Fajr, also known as the Second Battle of Fallujah. He is a Navy Cross recipient and author of the book Shadow of the Sword. You can hear all about his story in Episode 61. Jeremiah happened to be in town for the opening of the National Museum of the Marine Corps’ fantastic OIF/OEF exhibit so we were so fortuna...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we begin our newest segment, Road to 250, in celebration of the Marine Corps’ 250th birthday in 2025. Over the next year, we’ll be featuring stories and history from throughout the 250 years of the Marine Corps. These episodes will be nested within the MCA’s overall Road to 250 Campaign, where you will find featured articles in both the Gazette and Leatherneck highlighting events and battles within specif...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome the founder of the Artist Preservation Group—Mike Stelzel. Following his service in the Marine Corps, Mike wanted to do his part in historical preservation. Combining his love of historical miniatures and history, he created the Artist Preservation Group to raise money in support of battlefield preservation and artifact maintenance. Mike shares with us his passion for this work, in particular, ...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome the founder of PreVeteran and retired Air Force LtCol, Jason C. Anderson, to the show. PreVeteran is a veteran transition organization that trains and assists veterans in moving from military service to life in the private sector. Jason knows these challenges all too well. Even though his resume would lead one to believe he made a smooth and successful transition, Jason was struck with a soberi...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week we welcome the Marine Corps Shooting Team’s Capt John Bodzioch and SSgt Stephen Corson. These two Marines share with us what the Marine Corps Shooting Team does, the types of competitions they compete in, and most importantly, how to become a member. Not only do they represent the Marine Corps in local, regional, national, and international tournaments and competitions, but the weapons techniques and emplo...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week we welcome Elliot Ackerman to the show. Elliot is a veteran Marine, infantry, and MARSOC officer, CIA paramilitary operative, and author of Green on Blue, Dark at the Crossing, Waiting for Eden, and 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, and many others. He is also a journalist who frequently contributes to The Atlantic and New York Times. Elliot talks to us about his Marine Corps journey, his transition to ...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome Isaac Lee to the show. Isaac Lee is a retired Marine CH-53 pilot and veteran of the Long War. He is also the author of the book Hangar 4: A Combat Aviator’s Memoir. Isaac’s book takes a very vulnerable and transparent look at his life as a Marine, husband, and father, and we have the pleasure of being able to share his story. We talk about his upbringing in Lubbock, TX, as an aspiring Major Lea...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we dive into the 39th Commandant’s Planning Guidance. Last month, The Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen Smith, released his vision for the Service and his intent to provide strategic direction for the Marine Corps. Col Chris Woodbridge joins us again to talk about some of the history behind the Commandant’s Planning Guidance document, the challenges that the Commandant identifies, and how the criticisms...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. It’s been a while since we did an update on the war in Ukraine and as the major media outlets have shown us, you can’t do a Ukraine discussion without a retired Col in attendance. So, we brought in our own Editor-In-Chief, Col Chris Woodbridge back to the show to help legitimize us. It goes without saying that the war has gone on a lot longer than most would have predicted while at the same time, there have been som...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week we welcome Nate Boaz and his wife, Martha Contreras on the show. Nate is a veteran Marine human intel officer, the chairman of the board of directors for Patrol Base Abbate, and the author of the book, Running Toward Fire: Following the Warrior Path. Nate and Marta talk to us about his journey to and in the Marine Corps, the purpose and intent behind the writing of this book, how necessary it is for vetera...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week we welcome Sarah Kallassy to the scuttlebutt. Sarah is a veteran Marine linguist and host of the Veterans Affairs YouTube show, BLUF, where she gives you all of the up-to-date information going on with the VA. Sarah is so kind to spend some time with us sharing her fascinating story. The daughter of a Marine Silver Star recipient from WWII, we talk about what brought her to the gun club, through to graduat...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week we have another installment of Semper Cinema, where we talk to our own real historian, Director of MCA Films, and co-host of the show, William Treuting. William is here to discuss the release of his latest project, a documentary on the First Battle of Manassas, or Battle of Bull Run, depending on which side of the Mason-Dixon Line you are on. We talk about the process behind making the film, its intended a...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week we welcome our Amtracker in Residence, SgtMaj Justin LeHew back to the show. SgtMaj loves this country so much, he refuses to take it in at any speed faster than six miles an hour. Which is why he is going on another walk through this great country of ours. This time, he is going to walk the 113 mile Overseas Highway in Florida that connects Key Largo to Key West starting on September 11th. He talks to us ...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week welcome the MCA’s Director of Engagement and Outreach, Marta Sullivan back to the show. We are excited to be introducing the MCA’s new military spouse advocacy initiative, Behind the Camoflauge. Marta is the lead on this and she shares with us how this all started with the Spouse Summit at Modern Day Marine and some of the other great programs within the Behind the Camouflage project, such as a website, an...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. World of Wargaming returns as William interviews returning guest Don Vandergriff about conducting successful after-action reports of wargames. Don also recently helped to write the New Maneuver Warfare Handbook, which is available here: https://amzn.to/3M0a4GN Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 157: World of Wargaming with Don Vandergriff first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. Speaking of outstanding support, our guest this week is a strong supporter of veterans and is dedicated to helping veterans transition. But more than that, she is dedicated to ensuring veterans see their worth. We are so excited to be welcoming Cheryl Cross to the scuttlebutt this week. Cheryl is the author of the best selling book, CIVILIAN MISSION: The Three-Year Guide for Military Professionals Planning Civilian ...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. We’re back after a brief hiatus. Thank you for sticking with us and for your continued support. Well, after going radio dark we figured we needed to come out the gate swinging and our guest this week does not disappoint. We are excited to be welcoming Jose Torres to the show. Jose is a retired Force Recon gunnery sergeant, served in various roles through the agency alphabet soup, and is the author of the book, When Colonialism Wins: A Case Against American Statehood f...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and for your continued support. This week we had the pleasure of welcoming Col Chris Jackson, USMC (Ret) to the show. Chris is the Warrior PATHH Program Director for Sheep Dog IA. Warrior PATHH — Progressive and Alternative Training for Helping Heroes — is based on the science of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) and is one of the many programs offered to veterans through Sheep Dog IA. Chris talks to us about his path to the yellow footprints, his ex...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and for your continued support. On this episode we are happy to welcome LtCol Robert “Butch” Bracknell, USMC (Ret) to the show. Butch is a former Marine JAG and is currently a practicing attorney in Norfolk, VA. From his small town roots in rural North Carolina to having deployed multiple times in support of combat operations, Butch is a true subject-matter expert in the application of the Law of Armed Conflict. Butch shares his experiences in...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us for another segment of Strait Talk. Dr. Michael Hunzeker comes to the scuttlebutt and learns us up on what is going on with Taiwan post-election, how there is very little historical precedent for accidental war, how appeasing autocratic regimes isn’t the deterrent policy some may think it is (the power behind believing autocrats will do what they say they will do), and bumper boats in the South China Sea. Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 15...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. One of the things we try to focus on here is people’s stories. All of the nitty-gritty details, so let’s get into the sausage-making, shall we? (That pun will make sense later. It may not be funnier, but it will make sense) This week we welcome Jordan and Laura Green of J&L Green Farms and Farmbuilder (they raise pigs on their farm – see the pun works). This is our first husband and wife combo, which is super cool in and of itself, but these ...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. Not sure there is a lot I can say that the name of this week’s guest doesn’t say for itself. We are so excited and honored to be welcoming MajGen William Seely to the show. MajGen Seely is currently the commandant of the Eisenhower School at the National Defense University and was the director of Marine Corps Intelligence. MajGen Seely talks to us about immigrating to the US, navigating cultures, his remarkable career, and how diversity in th...