The Team House

Jim "Smokey" West is a retired 7th Special Forces Group Warrant Officer and is also the founder of American Extension Fighting. In this episode we discuss his rough upbringing, his martial arts background going back to the 70's, and his Special Forces career. We also talk about how he was "sheep dipped" or seconded to the CIA for classified missions to Central America in the 1980's. Jim's book "A Mind for a Fight" can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Fight-Evolutionary-Systems-Focused-Self-Defense/dp/B085RRZ58D Support the stream on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/TheTeamHouseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.

August Cole and Peter Singer are authors of the near future techno-thriller titled Burn-In about a FBI agent who is partnered up with a A.I. Support the stream on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/TheTeamHouseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.

Joel Struthers served in the elite 2REP of the French Foreign Legion. In this in-depth interview we discuss the history of the legion, his recruitment and training, induction into 2REP, and deployments to Africa. Appel: A Canadian in the French Foreign Legion https://www.amazon.com/Appel-Canadian... Check out his clothing line here: legionengineered.com Support the stream on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/TheTeamHouseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.

Javier Mackey served in 3rd Special Forces Group as a Green Beret and dog handler where he saw combat in Afghanistan. Mackey was present when Medal of Honor recipient Robert Miller was killed in action during a fierce firefight. On this episode he talks to us about his journey from Mormon missionary to Green Beret. From war in Afghanistan, to battling depression back home and emerging on the other side. We are also excited to announce our second sponsor, HighSpeedDaddy.com. Use the discount code "JACK" at checkout to claim 10% off your purchase. Support the stream on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/TheTeamHouseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.

Sergeant Major Mike Vining is one of the original members of Delta Force. In 1980, he was a participant in Operation Eagle Claw, a failed attempt to rescue 52 American hostages held in Iran. Forty years later, Vining reflects on the mission, its legacy, and the impact it had on today's Special Operations Forces. We are also excited to announce our second sponsor, HighSpeedDaddy.com. Use the discount code "JACK" at checkout to claim 10% off your purchase. Support the stream on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/TheTeamHouseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.

Erin talks to us about how she started at the CIA as an intern shredding papers and rose to becoming an operations officer working in Afghanistan and Iraq. During the interview, she shared some pretty hair raising stories about how they nearly drove into an ambush in Mosul but her GRS security element saved their lives. In another incident, the Army actions a target she had developed and she got to ride in the Humvee as it smashed through the front gate. Support our sponsor Ned by visiting www.helloned.com/TEAMHOUSE to get 15% off your first order and free shipping! We are also excited to announce our second sponsor, HighSpeedDaddy.com. Use the discount code "JACK" at checkout to claim 10% off your purchase. Support the stream on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/TheTeamHouseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.

Patrick K. O'Donnell is a historian and bestselling author. He is a premier expert on the history of special operations. With eleven critically acclaimed books he has conducted thousands of hours of interviews with members of elite units such as the OSS, Merrill's Marauders and many modern day units. Support our sponsor Ned by visiting www.helloned.com/TEAMHOUSE to get 15% off your first order and free shipping! We are also excited to announce our second sponsor, HighSpeedDaddy.com. Use the discount code "JACK" at checkout to claim 10% off your purchase. Support the stream on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/TheTeamHouseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.

Special Forces officer and United Nations Security Chief Robert Adolph shares his experiences in combat diving, deployments worldwide, and his second career as a UN security chief. Topics discussed include hairy assignments in Sierra Leone, Yemen, and Iraq, coping with the current crisis, HIV prevention, child soldiers, corruption in Iraq, and personal confrontations and vindication within the UN.

George Hand served in Special Forces as a Green Beret and then as a operator in Delta Force. In this episode we talk about George's deployments to the Balkans, Somalia, and Colombia as well and planned ops in Haiti and Libya. We also get into the Advon Troop AKA "the funny platoon" that includes women assigned to the unit.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.

In early 2002 Sam Faddis was named to head a CIA team that would enter Iraq, prepare the battlefield and facilitate the entry of follow-on conventional military forces numbering in excess of 40,000 American soldiers. This force, built around the 4th Infantry Division would, in partnership with Kurdish forces and with the assistance of Turkey, engage Saddam's army in the north as part of a coming invasion. Faddis expected to be on the ground inside Iraq within weeks and that the entire campaign would likely be over by summer. Over the next year virtually every aspect of that plan for the conduct of the war in Northern Iraq fell apart. The 4th Infantry Division never arrived nor did any other conventional forces in substantial number. The Turks not only did not provide support, they worked overtime to prevent the U.S. from achieving success. An Arab army that was to assist U.S. forces fell apart before it ever made it to the field. Alone, hopelessly outnumbered, short on supplies and threatened by Iraqi assassination teams and Islamic extremists Faddis' team, working with Kurdish peshmerga, nonetheless paved the way for a brilliant and largely bloodless victory in the north and the fall of Saddam's Iraq. That victory, handed over to Washington and the Department of Defense on a silver platter, was then squandered. The surrender of Iraqi forces in the north was spurned. All existing governmental institutions were, in the name of de-Baathification, dismantled. All input from Faddis' team, which had been in country for almost a full year, was ignored. The consequences of these actions were and continue to be catastrophic. This is the story of an incredibly brave and effective team of men and women who overcame massive odds and helped end the nightmare of Saddam's rule in Iraq. It is also the story of how incompetence, bureaucracy and ignorance threw that success away and condemned Iraq and the surrounding region to chaos. Sam's book "The CIA War in Kurdistan" can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/CIA-War-Kurdistan-Untold-Northern/dp/1612008348 Support our sponsor Ned by visiting www.helloned.com/TEAMHOUSE to get 15% off your first order and free shipping! Support the stream on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/TheTeamHouseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.