MCA Scuttlebutt

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week Vic sits down with Col Eric “Ferris” Buer, former Cobra pilot and author of the book, Ghosts of Baghdad: Marine Corps Gunships on the Opening Days of the Iraq War. As the title suggests, his book looks at the war in Iraq from 2003-2004 from the perspective of a Cobra pilot supporting troops on the ground. His perspectives were really interesting because most of the narratives coming out of the Long War have either been from the ground or from fixed-wing aviators. It’s embarrassing to admit that his point of view from the cockpit was a perspective from our operations during the Long War that haven’t been highlighted, especially considering that many of us owe our current existence to the actions of rotary-wing close air support. Being that he and his rotary-wing brethren are so inextricably linked to ground maneuver and thus exposed to a threat level, and quite frankly, a grit level that many of the fixed-wing community are not, his experiences and views on the war are fascinating. Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 112: Ghosts of Baghdad with Col Eric “Ferris” Buer, USMC (Ret) first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week we have another episode of our series Strait Talk with Dr. Mike Hunzeker. We recorded this episode on 10 November, so what kind of Marines would we be if we didn’t celebrate the Marine Corps birthday properly. And what better way to celebrate than to get into the weeds on the current state of one of our primary operating environments, the Taiwan Strait. Mike gives us his valuable insight on the upcoming elections in Taiwan and what it means for the future US-Taiwan relations, what the outcome of the election could mean for Taiwan’s force posture, and the implications of China’s gray-zone campaign and the potential for overstretch. It’s always great to talk to Mike and pick at his 10-pound brain for some tasty nuggets. Here are the articles we reference in the interview: Taiwan’s Most Pressing Challenge Is Strangulation, Not Invasion China’s Gray-Zone Tactics Show the U.S.-Philippine Alliance Is Working Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 111: Strait Talk with Dr. Mike Hunzeker first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Happy 248th Birthday Marines and welcome to episode 110 everyone. Thank you for joining us. To help celebrate our birthday we are trying a new segment we’re calling Tun Tavern Talks. For all of us who have spent time around service members, especially Marines, we know that sea stories abound. I’ve heard it said that the only difference between a fairy tale and a sea story is that one starts with once upon a time and the other starts with, this no kidding happened. So, we thought why don’t we get some of these gems immortalized on air, and what better place than a podcast called Scuttlebutt. Well, Scuttlebutt fans and fans of Scuttlebutt…scuttlebutt you shall have. To kick off our inaugural episode of the series, we brought our own Col Chris Woodbridge and SgtMaj Justin Lehew into the studio to join Vic on the panel, moderated by Nancy. What could possibly go wrong?! This was a lot of fun and we hope to have many more Tun Tavern Talks in our future. Happy Birthday, Marines! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 110: Tun Tavern Talks with Col Chris Woodbridge and SgtMaj Justin Lehew first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week we have another edition of World of Wargaming. William has a chat with Tom Knowles and Keith Martin-Smith from HexWar to discuss their series of games available on Mac, PC, iPhone, and iPad. Given the previous Commandant’s desire to increase wargaming usage throughout the Corps, HexWar’s mobile wargaming allows Marines to get their reps and sets in at their own convenience. Check out the full library of HexWar games at: www.hexwar.com Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 109: World of Wargaming with HexWar first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week we are very excited to be welcoming Michael Armistead not only to the show, but to the Marine Corps Association staff. Michael is our new Director of Communications and comes to us from HQMC Communications Directorate where he served as the Branch head of Occupational Field support. He retired as a LtCol in September of this year.  Michael was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule and sit down with us to talk a little about his background, his career in unform, and his goals and vision for the Marine Corps Association’s communication plan. It was a lot of fun getting to know Michael beyond the workplace. Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 108: Welcome Aboard LtCol Michael Armistead, USMC (Ret) first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners and welcome to a special episode of Scuttlebutt. William and I sit down with the Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of The Marine Corps Gazette & Leatherneck and Vice President of Professional Development, Col Chris Woodbridge to talk about current events in the Ukraine-Russia War and the current state of the things in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. Like with our other warzone update segments, there is no shortage of media outlets, news organizations and social media influencers rushing to weigh-in on these conflicts and provide a hot take. As much as we don’t want to add to the noise, it seems like it would be irresponsible to ignore what is going on, especially as hundreds of Marines head into these areas, while thousands more stand-by awaiting orders to go. We fully admit that we at the MCA are distanced from these conflicts not only in proximity but in the kind of information we have access to. But what we try to do with this episode is avoid the rhetoric and give a strategic, operational, tactical assessment of the way we understand the events as they are unfolding from the perspective of people who have a decent amount of time operating in warzones in this region and the scholarhip of military history. Hopefully we can help move the conversation beyond the black-and-white narrative of good versus evil and highlight the extreme complexity of what is going on in the world right now while acknowledging the tragedy of it all. <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 107: Ukraine and Gaza Discussion with Col Chris Woodbridge, USMC (Ret) first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are super excited to welcome Captain Riley Tejcek to the show. Riley is the Support Officer for the Expeditionary Warfare School at the Marine Corps University here at MCB Quantico. On top of that, Riley is in contingency for the US National Bobsledding Team. She is currently on the National Team, out at team trials right now to make the final cut for the Winter Games in 2024. We talk to Riley about her path to the yellow footprints, what drives her to constantly excel at everything she does, and why representation matters. We had a lot of fun talking to Riley and look forward to tracking her progress toward international competition at the highest level, and hopefully some hardware around her neck when it’s all said and done. You can find Riley on Instagram and follow her progress: https://www.instagram.com/riley.tejcek/ If you want to donate to help augment the costs of her pursuit, you can contribute here to her GoFundMe page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/riley-compton-bobsled-journey Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 106: Sledding Toward Gold with Capt Riley Tejcek first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are happy to welcome Col Patty “Bacon” Klop to the show. Patty is the Assistant Chief of Staff, Reserve G-1 for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. October 10th was the World Mental Health Day as recognized by the World Health Organization. The overall objective of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. Patty was kind enough to come on and share her story of struggles with post-traumatic stress. Vic and Nancy talk to Patty about her her upbringing as an elite college athlete, her decision to join the Marine Corps and upcoming retirement, her article in Leatherneck Magazine, and her efforts to raise awareness on the mental health crisis and veteran suicide. Check out the article in Leatherneck Magazine chronicling her journey here: www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/the-healing-of-a-marine To get her full story regarding PTSD, please check it out on Freedom Fitness America: https://freedomfitnessamerica.org/patty-Klop-advisory-group-member-1 And please check out SheForce – Ninth Fold here: https://www.facebook.com/TheNinthFold/ Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 105: The Healing of a Marine with Col Patty Klop first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. On this installment of World of Wargaming, William enjoys a conversation with Rich Hamilton, the Chief Operations Officer of Wargame Design Studio. The two discuss the evolution of John Tiller’s gaming software to the now-titled Wargame Design Studio, which focuses primarily on in-depth historical wargaming.  As a special gift to our dedicated listeners, Wargame Design Studio is partnering with the Marine Corps Association to offer a 25% discount on all products with the code: MCA25. Check out their website (https://wargameds.com/) and start getting your historical wargaming reps and sets in! Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 104: World of Wargaming with Rich Hamilton from Wargame Design Studio first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Today we welcome SgtMaj Lynn Kimble, USMC (Ret) to the show to talk about USAA’s Face the Fight Campaign. Mental health and suicide are issues that our country faces everyday and the impact is felt by veterans well above that of the rest of the American public. Face the Fight is a coalition of philanthropic foundations, veteran-oriented nonprofit organizations and corporations that are pooling resources ($41 million to start) and sharing a nationwide concerted effort, with the goal of cutting the veteran suicide rate in half by 2030. As the Military Affairs Relationship Director at USAA, SgtMaj Kimble shares with us his insight into the Face the Fight Campaign, as well as his experiences as a Marine rising through the ranks to become the Marine Corps Embassy Security Guard Sergeant Major and eventually the Command Sergeant Major of Marine Corps Reserve Forces and Marine Corps Forces North. If you would like more information on the USAA Face the Fight Campaign or would like to support it, please check them out at: https://wefacethefight.org/ Enjoy! Quick note: This recording occurred the week after our 100th episode aired but to better synch the release of this episode with World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10th, we pushed it out to today. That’s why Vic refers to this episode as “101”. Apologies for any confusion. <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 103: USAA’s Face The Fight With Sergeant Major Lynn Kimble first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>