Author: Shelby Conley

Hello again Scuttlebutt listeners. Hope Daylight Savings Time is treating you all well and that the one-hour change isn’t messing with your sleep patterns too much. If it is, go take a nap because you definitely don’t want to fall asleep on this week’s episode as we welcome Col Greg Jones and CWO5 John Costa to the studio. Col Jones and Gunner Costa hail from Weapons Training Battalion, and made the journey all the way from the west side of the I-95 here in Quantico to be part of the show, and we are so glad they did. As busy as they are, they took the time to talk to us about the new Advanced Marksmanship Training Program, how weapon proficiency and accuracy are foundational to sustaining operations as part of the Marine Corps’ new concepts of employment, and how for the first time in a long time, the Marine Corps is instituting marksmanship training our grandfathers’ grandfathers’ generation won’t be able to recognize. Hope you all take away as much from this discussion as we did. Enjoy!

Produced by Vic Ruble, William Treuting, and Nancy Lichtman.

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Hello Scuttlebutt listeners! Today William and Nancy sit down with Marine veteran Andrew Biggio, author of the book “The Rifle: Combat Stories from America’s Last World War II Veterans, Told Through an M1 Garand.” We had a great conversation with Andrew about the real cost of war and the lessons he has learned from talking to World War II veterans, and telling their stories.

Andrew’s book can be purchased at www.TheWWIIRifle.com  or on Amazon https://amzn.to/3F8XSQK.

Produced by Vic Ruble, William Treuting, and Nancy Lichtman.

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Hey Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for tuning in. We at the MCA really appreciate all your continued support. This week, we welcome Col Chris Woodbridge, USMC (Ret) and Editor of the Marine Corps Gazette to the studio to talk the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. It’s funny to say “welcome” because his office is only about thirty feet from the studio, but he was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to sit down with us. We join the feeding frenzy of media outlets, podcasts, expert pontificators and retired military officers who seem to be coming out of the woodwork discussing the state of the war. One thing we try to offer in our discussion is the so what. What does what a prolonged war in Europe mean for the Marine Corps, that is fully entrenched in the Pacific and first island chain? For China’s expansionist ambitions? Concepts such as expeditionary advanced basing and Stand-in Forces? Does this war support shifting toward the integration of advanced tech or is this a case study of how all wars end up being a conventional maneuver warfare fight? Col Woodbridge has some great insight and for anyone wanting to go beyond the surface analysis of Russia’s continued invasion, please give this episode a listen. Enjoy!

Produced by Vic Ruble, William Treuting, and Nancy Lichtman.

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Hello again Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we welcome Chris Pavlak, Marine ground intelligence officer and author of the book, From Lawyer to Warrior, to the show. Chris’ journey to the yellow footprints is best captured by the term, persistence, which is a theme I think resonates for all of us. We joke that failure is just an opportunity to succeed and Chris epitomizes that. He is very forthcoming about his failures in his book, as he chronicles for us the times where expectations and reality don’t seem to gel in the way that we want. But pushing through adversity not only reveals to us our true path but reveals a lot about who we truly are.  Chris talks to us about his book, the cultural shifts he had to embrace as he went from aspiring lawyer to Marine officer, the value of esprit de corps, and the enriching experiences he found in the comradery of being a leader of Marines. Enjoy!

https://amzn.to/3mAvTmY

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-r-pavlak-0a523730/

https://lawyertowarrior.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LawyerToWarrior/

Produced by Vic Ruble, William Treuting, and Nancy Lichtman.

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William sits down with one of his wargaming opponents, the author, historian, former Marine, and Army officer, Donald Vandergriff. The two discuss Donald’s wargaming experience and expertise and give an overview of their current wargame scenario: Wargame Design Studio’s Overland Campaign,  Crossing the James (an American Civil War scenario). Can Donald’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia stop William’s Army of the Potomac from taking Petersburg and Richmond? Tune in later to hear an AAR of the battle.

Produced by Vic Ruble, William Treuting, and Nancy Lichtman.

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In this episode of Scuttlebutt, Vic sits down with LtCol David Kelly USMC (ret), Marine Corps historian and the author of the book, Hell in the Streets of Husaybah. In April 2004, while fighting in Iraq raged throughout Al Anbar Province, most of the attention was focused on Fallujah. However, at the same time, out west in a little town on the border of Syria, fighting was just as intense and went mostly unnoticed.  As a field historian, LtCol Kelly was there within weeks of the battle, and his book chronicles the firsthand accounts of the Marines who fought in Husaybah from interviews conducted at all levels – the battalion commander to the infantrymen walking point.

LtCol Kelly talks to us about his experiences as a Marine, his path to becoming a field historian, his motivations for writing this book, and what he would like for readers to take away from it. There is a sense of immediacy in the narrative of this book and he was kind enough to take the time to recount his perspectives with us. We hope you enjoy the interview and if you haven’t had the chance, please go check out Hell in the Street of Husaybah.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-kelly-4781a7132/

https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Streets-Husaybah-Battalion-Marines/dp/1636241506

Produced by Vic Ruble, William Treuting, and Nancy Lichtman.

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This week on MCA Scuttlebutt, William meets with John Currie. John is a retired Marine who served as a helicopter pilot in the Balkans as well as several combat tours in the Middle East. John, who was working in Iraq at the time of the recording, also offers some insight on recent developments in the country. John is also the founder of Semper Savage, a company specializing in sauces and salad dressings.

https://sempersavage.com/

Produced by Vic Ruble, William Treuting, and Nancy Lichtman.

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Happy Lunar New Year, Scuttlebutt listeners. I hope the Year of the Cat is off to a start for everyone. This week, we welcome Dr. Michael Hunzeker for first ever segment crossover – Strait Talk and World of Wargaming (Strait Wargaming? War Talk?) – discussing the recent CSIS wargame of a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait (spoiler alert: everyone dies!) Just a few weeks ago, the Center for Strategic and International Studies published results of their recent wargame of a Chinese amphibious invasion of Taiwan. Vic, William, and Dr. Hunzeker discuss the results, the benefits and drawbacks of these types of simulations, and the harsh realities of conducting war in the Taiwan Strait. Dr. Hunezeker recently returned from a trip to Taiwan, so his on-the-ground perspective is really interesting. He’s back doing in-person classes at George Mason University in the spring, so if you’re looking to take a class in strategic studies or feel like your GI Bill is burning a hole in your pocket, check him out. Hope you all enjoy the show and thanks for your continued support. Chuc Mung Nam Moi!

https://www.csis.org/analysis/first-battle-next-war-wargaming-chinese-invasion-taiwan

Produced by Vic Ruble, William Treuting, and Nancy Lichtman.

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