ep 61: Afghanistan. Let’s Talk About It.
Where were you 20-years ago when the U.S. war in Afghanistan began? It was September 11, 2001 and al Qaeda terrorists hijacked and crashed two American Airlines passenger jets into the Twin Towers, another into the Pentagon, and a fourth, a United Airlines jet bound for the Capitol Building or the White House, was crashed…
ep 60: The Carpetbaggers
One of the best-kept secrets of World War II was the CARPETBAGGERS, the code name for a joint OSS-8th Air Force covert ops unit. Assisting French underground groups in the European theater of operations, American Airmen flew agents and supplies to those resistance forces. They flew specially modified, black-painted Consolidated B-24 Liberators, Douglas C-47 Skytrains,…
ep 59: Be More Objective!
IN THE NEWS: Setting the record straight on Afghanistan; Capitol Killer; Crenshaw taking whistleblowers to the DoD; Drafting women; SECDEF mulls vaccine mandate; But it’s illegal; GAO has a plan to reduce training deaths; Space Force stepping up in CENTCOM; Space Force LT changes the paradigm; REAL Space Force Update; The Thunderbird maintainer pilot; Air…
ep 58: Sprayed and Betrayed
This is the story of a dangerous toxin released on our enemy and our own, all the while being lied to by the government. No, we’re not talking about Covid, we’re talking about Agent Orange. Much of South Vietnam is covered with very thick, dense jungle vegetation. This dense vegetation was used as cover by…
ep 57: White Rage Is The New Bigfoot
IN THE NEWS: RIP "RUMMY"; Field refutes SECDEF's denial of CRT in the military; The Joint Chief Chair and the search for 'white rage'; The other racial extremist; US troops don't seek extremist content; Rep Crenshaw's woke whistleblowers; Capitol Police using DoD tech to spy on Americans; US sneaks out of Bagram Air Base; And…
ep 56: The Hard Stand Monster, Revisited
Relive or experience for the first time that day The Digression Podcast went live as we revisit our first episode...the story of RAF Alconbury's Hard Stand Monster. This episode kicked off with just a handful of listeners, but it's now a top Google search result. It's also our second most downloaded episode. Looking back, it…
ep 55: I’m Calling Your Parents!
IN THE NEWS: Lotsa "woke"; Military Training Instructor calls home; The bigger picture around the Pentagon's anti-extremism moves; What you need to know about Biden's National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism; Department of Defense doubles down on diversity, inclusion, and equity in the ranks; Diversity essential to national defense; Affirmative action for Special Forces; Navy's…
ep 54: Third Time’s The Charm
This is the story of a young Korean man, Yang Kyongjong, who was pressed into military service for the Japanese army to fight the Russians in Manchuria. Captured by the Russians, he had spent a year in a labor camp when the German invasion of Russia saw him pressed into a Russian army uniform facing…
ep 53: Whistleblower
IN THE NEWS: Social distancing on Mount Everest; Netanyahu says 'no' to Biden; Space Force whistleblower with a book; Vandy is newest Space Force Base; Justice Thomas rags on Feres Doctrine; Pentagon trolling social media; CENTCOM begins Afghanistan drawdown and worries about the vacuum; UFOs are everywhere; U2 talks to F22 and F35; Contractors sell…
ep 52: A-Bombs On The Moon
Detonating a thermonuclear weapon on the moon? It sounds like the devious scheme of a deranged comic-book villain and not a project initiated inside the United States government! But in 1958, as the Cold War space race was heating up, the U.S. Air Force set out to do just that! Code-named "Project A119," it was…
ep 51: Stop Staring At My Breasts
The "Go-To" Service; Space Systems Command finds a home; Colorado jumps the gun; The real Spece Force update; SECDEF defines extremism; Still not leaving Afghanistan; Pentagon touts transgender docs; military not ready; Why does God need a starship?; ACC's new alignment is old news; Disney (did not) help Thunderbirds create new airshow; Avenger ditches at…
ep 50: Military Murder Mysteries
Regular listeners of the show know we like strange tales (and alliteration), so for our 50th episode, we thought we'd have a little fun with some military murders that just don't add up. Fair warning! This episode contains some dark humor. So, what caused the untimely deaths of Lt Paul Whipkey, SPC Chad Langford, Lt…
ep 49: Finding Faces with Ryan Kern
Ryan Kern is a former news anchor and reporter for a Nevada NBC affiliate. Now, as an independent journalist, he is the host/reporter/producer of the Finding Faces podcast. You may remember Chris and Jody talking about Ryan and Finding Faces in Episode 37. “Finding Faces: The Search for the Missing Pictures of Fallen Vietnam Heroes”…
ep 48: Extremely Unserious
In early February, in the aftermath of the January 6th Capitol “riot,” Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, ordered a 60-day stand-down within all the military branches in order to address extremism in the ranks. Despite an October 2020 Pentagon report commissioned by Congress that concluded extremist views were not widespread and identified "a low number…
ep 47: Conduct Unbecoming
IN THE NEWS: Grandpa Doc; Biden Trips; Space Force growing Techs; SFJROTC; GAO gets in on Space Command HQ relo; UFO report coming due; Space Force NATSEC Nip Slip; National Guard D.C. extension; And we're staying in Afghanistan; Generals acting badly; Where are the cars and buildings we bought in Afghanistan?; Iran satellite psyche-out; A…
ep 46: Florida Fiasco
In 1812, the United States government tried to annex Spanish East Florida by a combination of covert action and direct invasion. Then the plan went horribly wrong. The “Patriots' War'” in Spanish East Florida during 1812-13 was an early example of a military disaster caused by a secret, flawed political policy. The characteristics of this…
ep 45: TRUMP!
IN THE NEWS: Mike saves Tiger; Space takes a back seat; Trump; Paski mocks Space Force; Floaty Bois; IG probes Space Force relo; Trump; Capitol fence ain't going away any time soon; The National Guard may not either; Biden's Three Stooges Syria Solution; 'American is Back' like it was before; Trump; We ain't leaving Afghanistan;…
ep 44: Too L8, They’re Gone
To the mysteries of the sky add the case of the U.S. Navy blimp, L-8. Since the dawn of aviation, aircraft have flown into the clouds never to be seen again. The L-8 disappeared into the clouds all right, but when she reappeared and eventually came back down to earth, she was missing her crew!…
ep 43: Bits and Bytes
IN THE NEWS: We were right about COVID; Space Force is here to stay; Star Gate; Alabama wins Space Force; The Cyber Force?; A General understatement; Specialists; Lockheed to the rescue for $5B; Space Force season 2; Biden locked out; National Guard parked in the garage; "Let them eat cookies"; Extremists in the Guard; 404-1776…
ep 42: The Thresher’s Tale
On April 10, 1963, the USS Thresher, the lead boat of her class of nuclear-powered submarines, went down with all hands 220-miles off the coast of Cape Cod. It was the deadliest submarine disaster in U.S. naval history. The loss of the Thresher was never fully explained and the Navy never released the report on…
ep 41: “Guardians” of the Galaxy
IN THE NEWS: Farewell Caroline Creech; Space Force "Guardians"; Be Like Star Trek; Space Force wins international tournament; Yolo, PS5 > letters of discipline; Is unclaimed money waiting for you?; Ghosts in the wires; Smaller paychecks for GI's; BMI is bad; The Galactic Federation is watching; USAF shopping for flying cars; Told you: Army has…
ep 40: Merry Christmas Drop
Merry Christmas! For 69-years the US Air Force has performed what has become the oldest continuing Department of Defense mission and the longest-running humanitarian airlift in the world. Every year, the multinational Operation Christmas Drop brings school supplies, clothing, rice, fishing equipment, and toys to more than 50 remote Pacific islands throughout the Commonwealth of…
ep 39: I Want A Lawyer
IN THE NEWS: Spotify's #1 Podcast; Space Force theme song; Space Force has new Chiefs; China rivalry; Missile warnings; Vets in Congress at all-time low; Gen Mattis doesn't get it; Military's biggest AI challenge; DISA did Teams; Pandemic stirs bio-attack worries; NASA says mystery object is not an asteroid; C130s to influence election runoff?; Old…
ep 38: Broken Arrow
Seven and a half hours into their training mission, Major Howard Richardson and his Boeing B-47B Stratojet flight crew finally began to relax after an evening of deploying electronic counter-measures and chaff to evade prowling North American F-86 fighters. The sky was clear and the moon was full. Heading south at 35,000 feet and 495…
ep 37: Pilot Protection Program
IN THE NEWS: Podcaster Stories; Space command gets a home; Space policy czar; Schriever Exercise; Space warfare and the secret X-37B space plane; Robots or Astronauts?; Space Force boot camp; International Space Station turns 20; DOD leaders acting like douchebags; Exercise in USFK; Welcome home troops; Like father, like son in the AOR; The United…
