Left of Boom | A Military.com Podcast

In Left of Boom, Military.com managing editor Hope Hodge Seck talks to legends and pathfinders who made U.S. military history; gets the ground truth on military myths, rumors and legends; and decodes the big ideas shaping the military of the future.

Why Failing to Help Our Afghan Interpreters Would Be a Disaster 06/24/2021

Why Failing to Help Our Afghan Interpreters Would Be a Disaster They served beside U.S. troops and wore the very same uniform. But now 18,000 Afghan interpreters fear for their lives as the American government completes a military withdrawal from the country. How we treat our closest allies tells a story about who we are as Americans. Steve Miska, a retired Army officer and the author of Baghdad Underground Railroad, joins Left of Boom to discuss what it will take to stay true to our interpreters. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/19592558

4 Years After the Marines United Scandal, What Has the Military Learned? 06/18/2021

4 Years After the Marines United Scandal, What Has the Military Learned? It took a national scandal over a Facebook group called Marines United to force a true reckoning within the Marine Corps about its cultural problems with sexual harassment and misogyny. Four years later, how far has the military come in putting an end to this toxic behavior and creating a safer place for all troops to serve? Scott Jensen, a former leader of the Marines' Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program, joins Left of Boom to give the military a report card on its progress. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/19518629

How Many Ships Does the Navy Really Need? 05/27/2021

How Many Ships Does the Navy Really Need? The U.S. Navy's fleet is one of the most impressive on the planet -- but officials and strategists are desperate for even more ships to accomplish the service's global mission. The future fleet that planners want has up to 500 ships and includes drone ships, corvettes, light carriers and other innovative platforms. Does the Navy really need all that, and, more importantly, can the Navy afford it? Bryan Clark of the Hudson Institute takes us behind the scenes on planning for future maritime warfare. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/19262582

21: The Untold Story of the Hunt for Osama bin Laden 05/10/2021

21: The Untold Story of the Hunt for Osama bin Laden It has been 10 years since May 2, 2011, the night a top-secret SEAL raid took out notorious terrorist and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden at his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. You may think you know the story of bin Laden and the ten-year manhunt that ended in his death, but you've probably seen it like this before. In Revealed: The Hunt for Osama bin Laden, the 9/11 Museum and the History Channel team up to present never-before-seen interviews and previously classified material. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/19040117

20: The Wildest Technologies Changing How the Military Fights 04/20/2021

20: The Wildest Technologies Changing How the Military Fights Warfighting has come a long way from machine guns mounted on the back of horse-drawn carriages. New technologies can allow militaries to create and replenish weapons and ammunition on the run; train in virtual environments that they can touch, taste and smell; and command hordes of tiny drones that swarm enemy combatants on command. In many cases, what's standing between the U.S. military and effective implementation of these technologies is trust -- and a thorough understanding of how they work. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/18793499

19. The Five Biggest Things for Veterans in 2021 04/01/2021

19. The Five Biggest Things for Veterans in 2021 Military veterans are emerging from the pandemic into a new world in 2021, and a lot has changed -- some things decidedly for the better. On this episode, host Hope Hodge Seck is joined by Air Force veteran Blake Stilwell of Military.com and Marine Corps veteran Jeff Daly of the American Legion's Tango Alpha Lima podcast to discuss the five things that every veterans should know about in 2021 -- and how the world is beginning to see military veterans and their potential in a different light. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/18568790

18. So What Is a 6th-Generation Fighter Jet? 03/08/2021

18. So What Is a 6th-Generation Fighter Jet? While the U.S. military's fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets are still rolling off the production line and deploying across the globe, work has already begun on a futuristic 6th-generation fighter -- an aircraft that may have increased stealth, drone companions, boosted artificial intelligence and even the ability to heal itself when damaged. Richard Aboulafia from the Teal Group breaks down what we can expect from a 6th-gen fighter jet. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/18237689

17. Meet the Man Who Puts Movie Stars Through Boot Camp 02/16/2021

17. Meet the Man Who Puts Movie Stars Through Boot Camp Dale Dye has been an adviser on many of the generation's On this episode, host Hope Hodge Seck and Military.com writer Blake Stilwell ask military movie legend Dale Dye about the worst military movie he's ever seen, his thoughts on Space Force and his advice for other veterans who want to make a career in showbiz. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/17969570

16: What We Got Wrong in Afghanistan 01/29/2021

16: What We Got Wrong in Afghanistan Bing West has been called "The Grunt's Homer." After serving as a Marine Corps infantry officer in Vietnam and then going on to be an assistant secretary of defense at the Pentagon, he has devoted his time to long embeds with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, telling their stories and bearing witness to the wars in a series of nonfiction books. His new novel, The Last Platoon, is a cautionary tale about America's "Forever War." /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/17740727

15: What It's Like to Be a Medal of Honor Recipient (ft. Kyle White) 01/19/2021

15: What It's Like to Be a Medal of Honor Recipient (ft. Kyle White) Receiving the Medal of Honor -- the nation’s highest honor recognizing bravery in combat -- means joining an elite fraternity: there are only 69 living recipients, spanning conflicts from World War II to Afghanistan. At 33, Kyle White is one of the youngest. And now, 6 years after receiving the medal, he’s making a point of telling his whole story, including his fight to overcome personal demons from battle and his adjustment to the unexpected fame that comes with the medal. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/17609363

14: Is the US Losing the Fight for Arctic Dominance? 01/04/2021

14: Is the US Losing the Fight for Arctic Dominance? Things are heating up in the Arctic -- literally and figuratively. As ice melts and new sea lanes open, the region is the site of intense new military competition between the world’s largest power players: the U.S., Russia and China. Rear Adm. Matthew Bell discusses a rare winter deployment to the Arctic for the nation’s only heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, and how the Coast Guard defends U.S. sovereignty without inflaming international tensions. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/17416424

13. Did 10 Army Bases Get Named for Traitors? 11/16/2020

13. Did 10 Army Bases Get Named for Traitors? We’re in the middle of a national reckoning over racism and representation, and it has thrown new attention onto the fact that 10 of the U.S. Army’s bases, including some of the largest ones, are named for generals who fought against the Union in the Civil War -- men who by definition are traitors to the nation and who in some cases passionately defended racist ideas and segregation. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/16832225

12: The Wild Science of Military MRE Meals 10/30/2020

12: The Wild Science of Military MRE Meals Join us as we dig into the wildest MRE rumors: does the gum have laxative powers? Are Charms cursed? What is the miracle of science that makes MRE pizza possible? We'll also learn what developments are next at the Army's Combat Feeding Directorate in Natick, Massachusetts. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/16617692

11. All Your Space Force Questions Answered 10/16/2020

11. All Your Space Force Questions Answered There’s no roadmap or guide book for creating a new military service’s character and values, and for the not-even-one-year-old Space Force, a thousand choices have yet to be made, from uniform design to what to call these new space operators. And at the heart of all those decisions is Chief Master Sergeant Roger Towberman, senior enlisted leader of the Space Force. He talked with us about the logistics of building a military service from the ground up. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/16432118

10: Meet the First Mom with a Ranger Tab 10/01/2020

10: Meet the First Mom with a Ranger Tab At 37, Lt. Col. Lisa Jaster was not only one of the first women to graduate the Army’s grueling Ranger School, she was also 15 years older than most of the students who went through. Six months after getting a buzz cut and entering a course that had never had a female graduate, Jaster would become the Army’s first mom with a Ranger Tab. She talks about her new “Delete the Adjective” campaign, her obsession with strength and fitness and what she still wants to accomplish in her military career. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/16238738

9. Why the Military Helps Hollywood Make Movies 09/17/2020

9. Why the Military Helps Hollywood Make Movies Ever wondered how big blockbuster movie productions are able to feature real tanks and fighter aircraft -- or, in the case of the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, actors actually launching off an aircraft carrier? In this episode, we'll talk to Glen Roberts, the Pentagon's liaison to Hollywood, who reads scripts and works with studios to make military-themed productions as realistic as possible. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/16048304

8. Meet the Real Charlie from 'Top Gun' 09/03/2020

8. Meet the Real Charlie from 'Top Gun' Christine Fox was a defense analyst working at the Navy's legendary fighter school in Miramar, California when a Hollywood producer decided she'd be the perfect inspiration for Tom Cruise's love interest in the 1986 blockbuster "Top Gun." But that was just the start of Fox's incredible career -- she'd go on to become the most senior woman at the Pentagon. In this episode she talks about her role in the "Top Gun" legacy, and what it means to her to have been a trailblazing woman in national security. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/15871751

7. Super Soldiers Part 2: The Dark Side (Ft. Edward Barrett and Peter Pfaff) 08/20/2020

7. Super Soldiers Part 2: The Dark Side (Ft. Edward Barrett and Peter Pfaff) Last episode, we talked about our bioenhanced military future, from smart body suits with implants to bionic eyes and Cyborg brain enhancements. We're going to follow that up by diving deep into the new world of ethical concerns that these technologies open up for the military, and talk about just how prepared America is to handle warfare that involves not just man-machine teaming, but man-machine hybrids. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/15613244

6. The Future of Bioenhanced Super Soldiers, Pt. 1 (Ft. Peter Emanuel and Diane DiEuliis) 08/06/2020

6. The Future of Bioenhanced Super Soldiers, Pt. 1 (Ft. Peter Emanuel and Diane DiEuliis) Show Notes /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/15511988

5. Adding Women to the Military Draft (Ft. Brig. Gen. Joe Heck) 07/24/2020

5. Adding Women to the Military Draft (Ft. Brig. Gen. Joe Heck) We're joined by Dr. Joe Heck, an Army Reserve brigadier general and the chairman of the National Commission on Military, National and Public service. Among the questions the commission tackled: whether, for the first time in history, women should be required to register for a possible draft, and if national service should be voluntary for every American. Learn much more about the commission's findings and the draft at Military.com. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/15334538

4. Pilotless Black Hawk Takes Flight (Ft. Igor Cherepinsky) 07/08/2020

4. Pilotless Black Hawk Takes Flight (Ft. Igor Cherepinsky) As the military tests out new unmanned aircraft platforms, are pilots soon to go the way of the dodo? On this episode, we talk to Sikorsky Innovations Director Igor Cherepinsky about the future of autonomous aviation, its uses in the military and the status of Sikorsky efforts to develop a pilotless Black Hawk helicopter that could lift off without a human aboard as early as next year. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/15136559

3. The Politics of the Medal of Honor (ft. Doug Sterner) 06/15/2020

3. The Politics of the Medal of Honor (ft. Doug Sterner) To dive into the history and politics of military heroism and the Medal of Honor, today we're talking to the undisputed foremost expert on the topic: Doug Sterner, creator of the Hall of Valor. And visit Military.com for all the news and information you need about the military community. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/14831042

2. Top Military Myths Debunked (ft. Jeff Schogol) 06/10/2020

2. Top Military Myths Debunked (ft. Jeff Schogol) Today we're tackling a beloved piece of military culture: the myths and legends that get passed down from generation to generation, and sometimes are even taught as history -- whether or not they actually happened. Military.com managing editor Hope Hodge Seck sat down with Jeff Schogol to answer the tough questions: What's really going on with those Navy UFO videos? And where is the secret fighter pilot bar in the Pentagon? Visit Military.com for more news and information about the military community. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/14772593

1. The Civilian Who Got a Bronze Star from the Army (ft. Joe Galloway) 06/10/2020

1. The Civilian Who Got a Bronze Star from the Army (ft. Joe Galloway) In our first episode we talk to Joe Galloway, a war correspondent whose coverage of the Vietnam War helped shape how we remember and understand it. His book about the Battle of Ia Drang inspired the 2002 blockbuster We Were Soldiers, and he's the only civilian to ever receive the Bronze Star for combat valor from the Army. His new book, They Were Soldiers, is about the incredible lives of people who served in Vietnam. Be sure to visit Military.com for more news and information about the military community. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/14771978

Coming Soon: Left of Boom 05/26/2020

Coming Soon: Left of Boom Connecting listeners with news makers, legends and pathfinders, join Military.com’s podcast Left Of Boom to understand military issues before they make the news. /episode/index/show/militarydotcom/id/14579282

Left of Boom | A Military.com Podcast

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