In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, we speak with poet, activist, filmmaker, actor, and Navy SEAL veteran of 22 years, Mikal Vega.
Mr. Vega joined the Navy at 17, entered the EOD profession for roughly nine-years, deployed multiple times throughout the world in support of a few SEAL teams when he decided that's what he wanted to do with the rest of his career.
At 28, Vega earned a spot on the SEAL teams and added a few more tours of duty to his already impressive resume.
After being honorable discharge in 2012, Vega started a nonprofit called Vital Warrior, providing Kundalini Yoga for veterans, first responders, and active duty service members.
But, this wasn’t enough for this motivated sailor.
Mr. Vega went on to express his creative side by entering the world of film and television and now serves as a military advisor on the hit NBC military-drama The Brave.
As veterans, we hold a surplus of talents and personal creativity that we can draw from our unique military service and experiences.
Like many combat vets who are fans of narrative filmmaking, Vega uses his in-depth training to bring the realism of combat tactics to the screen.
NBC's The Brave focuses on a group of elite Special Operatives who embark on the most challenging and dangerous missions around the world to save the innocent lives behind enemy lines.
During his service, Vega held many positions such as a SEAL Platoon Leading Chief Petty Officer, Personal Security Detail Shift Leader, U.S. Navy SEAL Combatives Instructor, U.S. Navy SEAL Demolitions Instructor and Senior Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician.
He holds many awards, including the Purple Heart for injuries sustained during Operation Iraqi Freedom, two Bronze Stars with combat valor, Army Achievement Medal for Operation Joint Guardian Kosovo and the Navy Achievement Medal.
Vega’s qualifications include, but are not limited to, Navy SEAL, Senior EOD Technician (Bomb Squad), Breacher RSO, HRST Master, free fall parachutist, U.S. Secret Service, Presidential Security Detail Operations, combat leadership, precision driver, dynamic firearms, SCUBA and closed circuit diving supervisor, Cold Weather Environment Survival, demolitions instructor and martial artist.
Following his lifelong passion for acting, he used his career successes to fund Vital Warrior, a system that increases performance and resiliency through non-pharmaceutical stress mitigation techniques that can help veterans and their families recover from wartime trauma.
He was recently elected as president of AK Waters Productions and has acted in film and television productions that include “Transformers 4” and “Hawaii Five-O,” among others. Vega lives in Los Angeles with his wife, daughter, and son.
The attack on the Alamo in 1836 was not a 13-day siege and slaughter as often portrayed in film and television. Don't get me wrong – the defenders of the mission-turned-fortress were killed en masse as Mexican troops stormed the structure. It's just that not everyone inside the Alamo died that day.
Jumping into freezing water is just part of the legacy of being a Navy SEAL. During World War II, the U.S. Navy Combat Demolition Units were just a handful of guys equipped only with a pair of shorts, a knife, and maybe some explosives. But the roots of being amphibious is still close to the Navy special warfare community – that's why they still call themselves "Frogmen."
Some 74 years ago, these Navy Combat Demolition Units braved the freezing waters of the English Channel in the predawn hours of June 6, 1944 – not to mention the thousands of Nazi guns pointed at them at the water's edge.
They were trained for this.
Not necessarily the undertaking of being the secret first wave of invaders of the most fortified positions in the world. No, they were trained to win against any and all odds or obstacles. These men were the precursor to modern-day SEALs, moving to do their part on the beaches before the D-Day Landings.
That's how SEAL training works to this day, teaching recruits to overcome the things they think can't be done. Now, in tribute to those few who landed at occupied France well before the rest of the Allies, 30 current and former Navy SEALs, as well as some "gritty" civilians will recreate those NCDU landings.
Today's SEAL re-enactors will do a seven-mile swim to land at Normandy, then they'll scale the cliffs on Omaha Beach, to place a wreath at the memorial there. At that point, they'll gear up with 44-pound rucks to do a 30-kilometer ruck march to Saint-Lô.
Why? To raise awareness (and funds) for the Navy SEAL Heritage Museum in Fort Pierce, Fla. – and the wide range of programs they offer to support family members of those SEALs who fell in combat, doing things only the U.S. special operations community would ever dare.
Our guest Sebastian Junger is not a military veteran. He makes that clear, but he sure sounds like one. Maybe it's because he's seen more conflict than many in the United States military. If there's an expert on modern warfare and the long-term effects of those who live it, that person is Sebastian Junger.
He joins us to discuss his new PBS documentary airing on Memorial Day "Going To War" and explains how people transform before, during and after combat.
The real James Bond is finally revealed: A few years ago Larry Loftis decided to stop publishing legal articles and work full-time on researching and writing the story of Dusko Popov, the daring World War II double agent who worked tirelessly to keep the Nazis off guard about the upcoming D-Day invasions.
That work became his book Into the Lion's Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov: World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond.
Loftis received his undergraduate degree and his Law degrees from the University of Florida. His background in writing stems from his time on the university's Law Review as the Senior Executive Editor and Senior Articles Editor. He is the author of a number of scholarly legal articles.
But you'd never know about Larry's background in dry academic writing by reading his book. Into the Lion's Mouth is a riveting narrative that is as unbelievable as it is addictive. Even former CIA director Michael Morrell called it "impossible to put down.
The most shocking aspect of this book is that every word in it is absolutely true. With the attention to detail that only a lawyer could bring to researching a book of this magnitude, Loftis poured through thousands of historical documents (including MI5 archives) related to Popov and his missions, even revealing that it was actually Popov's adventures which inspired the many tales of Britain's 007, James Bond.
1. Popov was captured by the Nazis before he became a spy.
Dusko Popov was a student in Germany as the Nazis took power and began to persecute the German Jews. No fan of the Nazis, Popov thumbed his nose at the thugs who came to intimidate patrons of Jewish businesses. He was quickly visited by the Gestapo, who imprisoned him and tortured him for information.
He was able to escape Germany because of his family's connections. Hermann Göering ordered his release to Yugoslavia.
2. He was recruited by his best friend.
Johann-Nielsen Jebsen – known as "Johnny" – went to school with Popov. But Jebsen is from a very wealthy European family with German roots. They met each other at the university of Freiburg but where Popov was expelled from Germany, Jebsen, as a German citizen, was forced to join the Nazi war effort. He joins the Abwehr (German military intelligence) as a spy recruiter.
His first recruit is Dusko Popov and the two both became double agents for the British.
3. He warned the U.S. about the attack on Pearl Harbor
Popov warned the FBI on Aug. 18, 1941, that the Japanese were about to attack Pearl Harbor. Popov and his MI6 supervisor met FBI officials at the Commodore Hotel and for three hours laid out the entire plan. Popov was in the country to set up a spy ring in New York and recon the defenses at Pearl Harbor.
The attack was supposed to be a repeat of the British attack on the Italian fleet at the defended port of Taranto in 1940. The Japanese wanted to know how they could be as successful as they enter the war against the Americans. The reason President Roosevelt never saw the information will enrage you.
Check out the book (or finish this podcast) to find out!
4. He was critical to the success of D-Day.
The British determined that the best way to keep the Germans off guard on D-Day was to convince them that the invasion would come at Pas-de-Calais, not Normandy. At the risk of his life, with interrogators who were convinced that Popov was compromised by the British, Popov returned to Germany.
He gave the Nazis the false information the British wanted them to believe during multiple, marathon interrogation sessions that lasted for hours at a time over a series of days. Popov was the only spy who was interrogated by the Nazis about D-Day.
5. His real-world girlfriend was a movie star.
Just like his silver screen counterpart, James Bond, Popov had a slew of women he used for various reasons as a undercover agent for two opposing countries. But his heart belonged to just one – and she was as glamorous as the rest of his World War II life: Hollywood movie star Simone Simon.
Stay up to date
For any inquiries, please email us at hello@podcastworld.io