Episodes

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. On this episode of MCA Scuttlebutt, we continue our World of Wargaming series with Jeremy Sepinsky, the lead wargame designer for the Center for Naval Analyses. Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 101: World of Wargaming with Jeremy Sepinsky from the Center For Naval Analyses first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. After interviewing dozens of people the past two years, we turn the mic toward our very own Vic Ruble for our 100th episode of MCA Scuttlebutt. For this episode, guest interviewer Kyle Watts chats with Vic over his career in the Marine Corps and how he became the illustrious host of this podcast. We would like to thank each of our listeners for embarking on this journey with us and we are excited for what the future has in store. Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 10...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. If you want to write about veterans you need to earn their trust, listen to their experiences, and get it right. On this episode, William and Nancy have a conversation with award-winning writer, Leatherneck’s own Kyle Watts. Kyle is the recipient of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s 2019 Colonel Robert Debs Heinl, Jr. Award for the best article pertinent to Marine Corps history. He is a Marine communications officer turned freelance writer and is currently workin...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. On this episode of Scuttlebutt, World of Wargaming returns as William interviews Mr. Joseph Miranda, a former Army officer and prolific board wargame designer, and Dr. Christopher Cummins, the publisher of Strategy & Tactics Press and CEO of Decision Games. Check out their series of Strategy and Tactics articles available in the Marine Corps Gazette as well as their games available at: https://decisiongames.com/wpsite Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 98: World of W...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we welcome veteran Marine machine gunner, Marine Corps Heritage award winner, recent law school graduate, and current Bar exam hostage Kacy Tellessen back to the show. This week starts a little different than our previous episodes because the pre-show recording with Kacy was so fun we decided we needed to keep it. So we’ve cut an actual intro – which we recorded later – onto the beginning since the interview kind of picks up in medias res. Kacy takes us on a...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. “Science is expanding” and thank goodness we have a friend of the show like Dr. Adam Hunzeker to help us understand it better. This week we welcome Adam back to talk more about the science behind trauma and what it means that our bodies are a system of systems. Many of us remember the days when PTSD was called shell shock and going to a therapist was a potential career killer. Adam works tirelessly to remove the oversimplified labels, stigmas of mental health, and the...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Balloons, office hours with Kevin McCarthy, and the problem with simple solutions to complex problems. We seem to run the gamut with Dr. Michael Hunzeker in this latest installment of Strait Talk, but we got Mike in studio this time (William disguised himself as his Uber driver) so we had to take advantage. Mike helps us step into the gray zone and make sense of upcoming elections, sabre-rattling as a Sino-American jam sesh, and the potential for Taiwan to naturally p...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. We’re wrapping things up on Day 3, but no good operation goes without a hot wash, so we got the boss on the microphone to give us his thoughts and impressions of Modern Day Marine 2023. As always, LtGen Chiarotti does not disappoint. He talks about the evolution of MDM—not only the format but of the mindset a...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. Vic and William had the chance to chat with leadership from the newly formed, Marine Innovation Unit, or MIU. In the world of DOD alphabet soup, the letters “M”, “I”, and “U” may not lead you to think of a unit that is as designed to tackle such a diverse set of problems. We thought this was either a new inte...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. Day 3 was amazing and we were just so blessed to start the day off with Kyle Carpenter. Author, speaker, podcaster, Marine, and youngest living Medal of Honor recipient, it’s an understatement to say that Kyle Carpenter was a truly special guest. One word that I think encapsulates this special Marine is story...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. Veteran Marine and veteran of our World of Wargaming segment, Col Tim Barrick, spends some time talking to us about this unique event at MDM, OBJ 1. This is a full-spectrum wargaming convention that has card, table-top and digital games that work at the strategic level, all the way down to the finite tactical...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. It’s not too often that you get to meet someone who truly excels. This is not to say that we don’t know exceptional people. We all do. Especially those who have worn the uniform. But there is another level. There are outliers. Those who just see something, set a goal, and set out to achieve it without comprom...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. Yesterday we had such a fun time with stand-up comedian, advocate and 2023 Air Force Spouse of the Year, Ashley Gutermuth. Ashley was at MDM hosting a panel speaking directly to military spouse employment and issues that effect service members and their families. Laughter is oftentimes the best medicine and i...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. One of the things to love about MDM is that you get to run into some really amazing people you haven’t seen in years. Well, we ran into one of those amazing people, and we made him come on the show. Mark Brown now works at the Nevada Automotive Test Center helping them test and verify vehicles capabilities fo...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. We started day 2 strong with an unexpected appearance of return guest, friend of the show, and international man of mystery, Miles Vining. He sat down with us to talk to us in more detail about his experiences in Ukraine, his impressions of Modern Day Marine, and how he views transition. It’s always great to ...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. One of the people we met was Brad Halsey, the CEO and founder of Building Momentum, a company designed around teaching people to innovate and problem-solve for themselves instead of relying solely on industry to do the work for them. Brad and his team are now working with Marine Maker to bring these unique an...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. When he’s not jet-setting around the world bringing his amphibiousness to the planet’s littorals, the Program Manager for Advanced Amphibious Assault, Col Tim Hough, has a home away from home here at Scuttlebutt. We were lucky enough to catch him with some free time and we were able to talk to him about what ...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. One of the guests who came by our booth was Col Robert Bailey. Col Bailey is the Program Executive Officer for Manpower, Logistics and Business Solutions’ Marine Corps Manpower IT Systems Modernization (MITSM) Portfolio Director. It’s a mouthful, but Col Bailey helps us see how modernization of the Marine Cor...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are recording from the floor of Modern Day Marine so that we can bring you the events and personnel of this outstanding convention as it’s going on. And we come out the gate firing! Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, SgtMaj Troy Black was kind enough to take some time out of his tremendously busy schedule to stop by our booth and spend a few minutes with us. He talks about his thoughts on MDM and his first experiences with this convention, what MDM shows...

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. We had the recent pleasure of sitting down with director, producer, writer Joshua Caldwell to talk about his newest movie, Mending the Line. The film follows his protagonist, John Colter, a Marine wounded in Afghanistan who meets Ike Fletcher, fly-fisherman and Vietnam veteran, as they both work toward finding something to live for, instead of finding something to die for. Joshua was kind enough to spend time talking with us about his passion for the movie and his pas...

Hey Scuttlebutt listeners. Modern Day Marine is next week (June 27-29 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C.) and we are excited that the MCA’s Director of Engagement and Outreach, Marta Sullivan, took some time out of her busy schedule to talk to us. Modern Day Marine is going to be a tremendous event and Marta helps break down some of the planning and key events of this three-day conference. At the same time, we had some time to chat and her perspectives on transitioning, being ...

Hey Scuttlebutt listeners. SgtMaj Justin LeHew returns to the show to talk about his epic journey. It’s very commonplace these days to use hyperbolic language as part of our everyday vernacular. I’m the worst with that (see what I did there?). And where we may use terms like “awesome” and “amazing” fairly regularly, I’m not sure you can find a more truly amazing person than Justin LeHew. For example, after seeing a neglected and unserviceable POW/MIA flag over his local post office, he realized ...

Hello, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we welcome Amy Forsythe, the author of the book, Heroes Live Here: A Tribute to Camp Pendleton Marines Since 9/11, to the show. Amy is a veteran Marine and award-winning military journalist who served five combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been on assignment for several other overseas missions. Amy started her career as a Marine combat correspondent in 1993 and currently serves as Public Affairs Officer in the Navy Reserve. Her book, Heroes Live...

Hello, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week on MCA Scuttlebutt we had the distinct pleasure of welcoming Terry Salman. Terry is the author of the book, What We Give, and the Chairman of New Pacific Metals Corp, and President & CEO of Salman Capital Inc. As President, CEO and Co-Director of Research he helped raise over $20 billion for more than 400 exploration and mining companies. He was the recipient of the 2016 Murray Pezim Award in recognition of his remarkable career in Canadian mining finance ...