The attack on the Alamo in 1836 was not a 13-day siege and slaughter as often portrayed in film and television. Don't get me wrong – the defenders of the mission-turned-fortress were killed en masse as Mexican troops stormed the structure. It's just that not everyone inside the Alamo died that day.Από τον We Are The Mighty

Jumping into freezing water is just part of the legacy of being a Navy SEAL. During World War II, the U.S. Navy Combat Demolition Units were just a handful of guys equipped only with a pair of shorts, a knife, and maybe some explosives. But the roots of being amphibious is still close to the Navy special warfare community – that's why they still ca…

Our guest Sebastian Junger is not a military veteran. He makes that clear, but he sure sounds like one. Maybe it's because he's seen more conflict than many in the United States military. If there's an expert on modern warfare and the long-term effects of those who live it, that person is Sebastian Junger. He joins us to discuss his new PBS documen…

Από τον We Are The Mighty

Από τον We Are The Mighty

Από τον We Are The Mighty

Από τον We Are The Mighty

Moving. Everyone does it but not everyone does it as much as much as a military family. Do you know how many tons of stuff you own? This episode is all about our last move and even features a special guest!Από τον Erin Stevens

Από τον We Are The Mighty

Από τον We Are The Mighty

The real James Bond is finally revealed: A few years ago Larry Loftis decided to stop publishing legal articles and work full-time on researching and writing the story of Dusko Popov, the daring World War II double agent who worked tirelessly to keep the Nazis off guard about the upcoming D-Day invasions. That work became his book Into the Lion's M…

Want to know what happens when one of your biggest fears is realized? Take a listen. Thanks for coming back to take a listen to more Mandatory Fun!Από τον Erin Stevens

When Doc Todd left the Navy after spending three years as a corpsman, he didn’t have any transition assistance or training. He lost friends. He lost Marines. After separating from the military, he saw even more of his Marines take their own lives through substance abuse and suicide. It’s wasn’t the ending he had expected when he joined. He joined t…

Από τον We Are The Mighty

"It was like walking onto the surface of the moon," Graham Elwood says of his first experience walking off of a C-17 in Afghanistan. His experience was not unlike many of our own first times deploying to a far-off edge of the world. We take a long, long C-17 (or god help you, C-130) ride for seemingly endless hours. There are no windows. The plane …

Clint Emerson is not your average U.S. Navy retiree. He's not your average anything and he never was. That might be why so many Fortune 500 companies want Emerson to not only speak at their corporate gatherings but also teach them how to survive some extreme circumstances. Emerson is a former Navy SEAL and the author of a number of books, notably "…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, the gang comments on some of the biggest coming the U.S. military will face in the coming days. Because external challenges are easy for a fighting force like ours, the internal struggles are the ones we really want to talk about. These affect not only the troops themselves, but potentially their famili…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, the crew discusses what military movies veterans need to see in 2018. Since all veterans have their own idea of what makes a good military movie, Blake, Tim, and even the new WATM contributor, Sean chime in what they think makes a solid war film. Is having a war film base on a true story more important …

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, the crew speaks with standup comedian turned actor Tone Bell. Tone isn't a veteran, but as always, there's a connection. On the Netflix show Disjointed, Tone plays a veteran who has served on three Iraq combat deployments and now deals with the everyday struggle of veteran issues. To play the role, Tone…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, we speak with standup comedian turned actor Tone Bell. Tone isn't a veteran, but he plays an Army veteran with multiple combat deployments under his belt and now who deals with everyday veteran issues like PTS and transitioning out of the military on the Netflix show Disjointed. You may remember Tone fr…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, we speak actor, TV host, and former U.S. Army Green Beret Terry Schappert. You may remember Terry from the popular History Channel show Warriors, and now, Hollywood Weapons on the Outdoor Channel with Israel Defense Forces reconnaissance man, Larry Zanoff. Terry was a Special Forces Team Sergeant who ha…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, we speak with U.S. Navy SEAL veteran turned entrepreneur Eli Crane. You may have seen Eli pitch his business Bottle Breacher on the hit TV show Shark Tank. Eli's appearance landed him a partnership with celebrity businessmen Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary. Eli stopped by our show to talk about what milita…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, we speak with Scott Huesing, a retired U.S. Marine Corps Infantry Major with 24 years of service as an enlisted and commissioned officer. During his career spanning ten deployments, he operated in over 60 countries worldwide. Throughout his numerous deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Afri…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, we speak with poet, activist, filmmaker, actor, and Navy SEAL veteran of 22 years, Mikal Vega. Mr. Vega joined the Navy at 17, entered the EOD profession for roughly nine-years, deployed multiple times throughout the world in support of a few SEAL teams when he decided that's what he wanted to do with t…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, we speak with respected book author, speaker, publisher, and Vice President of Production at Warriors, Inc — Julia Dye. Warriors, Inc. is a unique organization that provides technical advice to the entertainment industry. Mrs. Dye is the daughter of a World War 2 bomber pilot and is married to Hollywood…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, we once again speak with Army veteran, national speaker, and acclaimed author of the 2017 Independent Publishing Award-winning book The Frontline Generation: How We Served Post 9/11 — Marjorie K. Eastman. Marjorie is also an accomplished executive and operational professional with over 20-years experien…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, we talk to former Air Force Chief of Staff, General Merrill A. McPeak, who served as a military adviser to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council, and the President. He’s also a career fighter pilot with more than 6,000 hours under his belt, including time as a solo pilot with the elite Thu…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake speaks formerAir Force Chief of Staff General Merrill A. McPeak who served as a military adviser to the secretary of defense, National Security Council, and the president. He’s also a career fighter pilot with more than 6,000 hours under his belt, including time as a solo pilot with the elite Thun…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake speaks once again with Jimmy Blackmon, the author of Pale Horse, a book about his time commanding an Army aviation task force with the 101st Airborne Division at the height of combat in the Afghan War. Set in the very valleys where the 9/11 attacks were conceived, and where 10 Medals of Honor were…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, we talk to veterans Mike Lui and Buck Jordan from RMR Laboratories, an over-the-counter cannabis pharmaceutical company about the best qualities investors love in veteran entrepreneurs. RMR Laboratories produces cannabinoid oil that's applied as a topical cream to relieve pain and other medical ailments…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake speaks with Army veteran turned co-founder and CEO of RMR Laboratories, Mike Lui, about his over-the-counter cannabis pharmaceutical company. RMR Laboratories produces cannabinoid oil that's applied as a topical cream to the skin for pain relief and to treat other medical alignments. Mike served i…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake speaks with Jimmy Blackmon the author of Pale Horse a book about his time commanding an Army aviation task force with the 101st Airborne Division at the height of combat in the Afghan War. Set in the very valleys where the 9/11 attacks were conceived, and where 10 Medals of Honor were earned. Thes…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake, Tim, and O.V. speak with Army veteran and fitness expert Jennifer Campbell on what veterans can do during their busy day to stay in shape when going to morning PT isn't an option. "Veterans have a 70 percent higher chance of developing obesity than the general public," Jennifer Campbell says. The…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake speaks with Marine veteran and "Terminal Lance" creator Max Uriarte about his newest projects and other current events. Related: 'Terminal Lance' creator talks about the Marine Corps and the future of his comic "When I first started 'Terminal Lance' I was convinced I was going to get my sh*t pushe…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake speaks with Army veteran Jennifer Campbell who is currently the Second Vice Commander of the American Legion Post 43 in Hollywood, Ca. Recently, Jennifer and the commander of Post 43, Fernando Rivero were featured in a Wall Street Journal article about how they engineered a plan to bring some fres…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake, Tim, and O.V. talk with stand-up comedian and Marine veteran Mitch Burrow about what their favorite military movies are broken down by branch. Everyone loves to watch movies from all genres. Veterans and service members have a unique connection to military films for various reasons other than gre…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake, Tim, and O.V. talk with stand-up comedian and Marine veteran Mitch Burrow about a communist Army cadet, a cannibal dictator and make a smooth segway into Ken Burns' Vietnam documentary. General Idi Amin dethroned the government of Milton Obote and declared himself President of Uganda. During his …

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake, Tim, and O.V. once again speak with stand-up comedian and Marine veteran Mitch Burrow about what fantasy benefits vets would love to receive. We asked Mitch what fantasy benefits or one law he would love to get exempted from, his response wasn't surprising for a Marine Corps veteran. "Murder. I w…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Tim, O.V., and Blake speak with The Marine Rapper a.k.a. TMR about all the A-level training our service members receive but don't capitalize on it when they get out. Every veteran's journey after the military is different. While some of us pursue the career along the lines in which the military trained …

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake speaks with The Marine Rapper a.k.a. TMR about how he went from wrapping tacos to rapping music lyrics. "I joined the military because I was working at Taco Bell and ironically as a [taco] wrapper," TMR recalls. "I wanted more, so I became the manager. I'm going to do the same route as the [Taco B…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake speaks with Kelvin Garvanne about his life as an Arabic/Iraqi role player who took training U.S. ground troops to a whole new level — even conducting mock kidnapping scenarios. During these training drills, Marines are "killed" (taken out of play for a period of time) or held hostage by the role p…

Role players are an essential element for troops preparing to travel overseas and face-off with the enemy. They provide a cultural boost immersing troops in a violent world in which they're about to deploy. Role players submerge themselves into training scenarios commonly setting up mock firefights, ambushes, and suicide bombings — all for the troo…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake, Tim, and Chase speak with stand-up Mitch Burrow about what simple luxuries we wished we had while on deployment. Mitch is a Marine Corps veteran that served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. He then started a career in manufacturing before realizing that it sucked. Now, Mitch has found his true…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake, Tim, and O.V. speak with Mitch Burrow, a funny burly-guy who went from being a Marine to becoming a stand-up comedian. When we join the military all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we have sort of an idea of what we want to do with our lives — but we change our minds dozens of times before landing …

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake, Shannon, Tim, and O.V. discuss the interesting process of how Air Force officers receive their callsigns. In the military, callsigns are considered much more than just a name, rather a perfect representation of the airmen's personality. The Air Force holds "naming nights" for young pilots where t…

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake, Chase, Tim, and O.V. discuss what role we'd like to serve in during any war. Many veterans today are so intrigued by military history, they've considered what war they feel like they missed out on. Although when (hypothetically) given the opportunity to change from their real life MOS to whatever…

We did not join the military for the fabulous pay. If pay were the only motivator, we'd all go somewhere else. Most vets will have you believe that he or she joined because it's their patriotic duty. While that may be part of the reason, Blake Stilwell's alcohol fueled honest answer sums it up for a lot of the troops: "At 18, and with my only exper…

Jealousy. We all feel it at some point but why, and what does it all mean. In this episode I admit to one of my major character flaws and hope that by recognizing the problem, I can begin to find a solution.Από τον Erin Stevens

Dale Dye wants to make the "air version" of Saving Private Ryan, and he wants to film it with as many military veterans as possible. "If you think of the first 18 minutes or so of Saving Private Ryan," Dye said. "This will be that but airborne. This will be guys coming out of those aircraft and sky full of tracers." Dye wrote the script for "No Bet…

Historically, the military has relied on clearly defined bounds of acceptable interaction between the officer and enlisted ranks to maintain good order and discipline. It is a long-standing custom that dates back hundreds of years and has proven itself effective time after time. But not everyone feels it's custom worth holding on to. "I think there…