Visiting Normandy and touring the beaches from D-Day, June 6, 1944, is a powerful experience. It is an experience that all American citizens should plan to do. There are incredible stories of American servicemembers that left their homes to serve and sacrifice for a cause greater than themselves. It is important to remember and honor these heroes. Many people do this every year as there are approximately 1.7 million people who visit the Normandy American Cemetery annually. In this podcast episode, I speak with a tour guide, Yannick Sterke, who gives tours of the Normandy battlefields. In ..read more

In the year 1780, South Carolina was in the grip of violence and turmoil. On December 3, 1780, General Nathanael Greene assumed command of the southern department from General Horatio Gates. Gates, the hero of Saratoga, had struggled in the Carolinas most notably at the disastrous battle of Camden. The Continental Congress relented to General Washington’s preferred commander: Nathanael Greene. Thus, Greene left his post at West Point and traveled south. General Greene had a series of challenging decisions in front of him. How was he going to rebuild a nearly destroyed army? How was he going to ..read more

General Jason Q. Bohm (Maj. Gen., USMC) is the author of a recently published book entitled Washington’s Marines: The Origins of the Corps and the American Revolution, 1775-1777. In this interview, we discuss why and how the Marine Corps was founded on November 10, 1775. General Bohm explains that General Washington did not initially support the Marines. However, the Marines played a pivotal role during the “Ten Crucial Days.” This was the period from December 25, 1776, through January 3, 1777. It included key battles at Trenton, Assunpink Creek, and Princeton. The Marines’ heroic actions and ..read more

The American Guerillas series continues with part two: “The Sword of the Lord and Gideon”. After the British invasion of South Carolina, American forces had their backs to the wall. But many Patriot militia units refused to give up. They fought valiantly using guerilla style tactics. In this episode, we discuss those tactics in depth.  This episode will cover the following:  The Battle of Musgrove’s Mill The Battle of Kings Mountain and the legend of the Over Mountain Men The Swamp Fox, Francis Marion’s campaign in the low country The Battle of Blackstock’s Plantation Key leaders on ..read more

This is the first episode in a series on the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas. The series is called “American Guerillas” and part one is titled “War in the Carolinas”. This episode will cover a lot of ground and begin with an overview of the American Revolution up until the British invasion of Charleston in 1780. After a summary of the major milestones of the Revolution, the episode will cover the following:  Why the British shifted their strategy to the Carolinas Key leaders on the British side: Cornwallis and Tarleton Key leaders on the American side: William Moultrie and Horatio Gat ..read more

Col. Grant Newsham (USMC-Ret.), has a warning for America: China is at war with us. It is time for Americans to understand that China does not believe war starts with the deployment of missiles, tanks, and infantry. From the perspective of the People's Republic of China (PRC), war has already begun. Furthermore, over the last several decades, China has used influence operations, economic policies, political warfare, and lawfare to cripple America. The results have left American communities jobless with rampant drug use, deaths of despair, and social disfunction. As one example, fentanyl relate ..read more

On December 19, 1777, George Washington led the Continental Army onto a high plateau twenty miles northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After fighting the British at the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown, Washington entered camp with a little over 12,000 soldiers. By mid-February, that number had dropped in half. Disease ravaged camp. Soldiers starved. Many of them were down to their last shirt. Some walked into camp barefoot. As if the problems couldn’t get worse, most soldiers didn’t know if or when they would get paid for their service.  Despite the many difficulties, General Was ..read more

Wake Island was the site of a famous battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. By December 7, 1941, it was a small (but growing) naval air station (NAS). The construction and development of the island began in January 1941. As Pacific Fleet Commander, Admiral Kimmel, recognized the vulnerability of the island, Marines were brought in to defend it in August 1941. On December 8, 1941, the Japanese attacked Wake Island with a series of aerial bombardments. On December 11, the Japanese attempted their first invasion of the island. But they were soundly defeated. The Marine defenders bloodied ..read more

Is the United States Military weak? The Heritage Foundation has fired a shot across the bow with its “2023 Index of U.S. Military Strength.” The Index concludes that the U.S. military in its current posture is “weak.” The Pentagon might not like the report. But, my guest, Dakota Wood, is calling things as they are rather than the way people would like them to be.  “Nobody likes their baby being called ugly. But the facts are what they are.” -Dakota Wood The 2023 Index starts with an assessment of the operating environment from Europe to the Indo-Pacific. Dakota explains that the Index is ..read more

How did the U.S. recover from the devastation of Pearl Harbor and win one of the most epic battles in naval history? Was war in the Pacific inevitable or were there diplomatic off ramps? Why did Japan attack America on December 7, 1941? Did America really know in advance that an attack was coming? My guest Dale Jenkins helps answer these questions in his book, Diplomats and Admirals. We speak at length about these topics in our interview. I thought our deep dive into the Battle of Midway was especially fun. Additional topics include: Diplomatic breakdowns that led to war between the U.S. and ..read more