grunts

Episode 38 - Revisiting Scott Huesing & the Feres Doctrine - 
The Armbar Podcast pays respects to fallen comrades for a second year in a row at the 7th Annual @BastardsCanteen Memorial Day Commemoration.


The guys catch up with Scott Huesing (@echoinramadi), author of the Best Selling non-fiction novel "Echo In Ramadi" and Executive Director of veterans non-profit @SaveTheBrave . During our discussion with Scott, we learn about his effort to put veterans on an even playing field, by addressing the Feres Doctrine and its impact on miltary personnel. 

Jimmy got some great interviews while at Heroes Con! He catches up with Megan Levens (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10/Back to the Future: Tales From the Time Train) to chat about her recent work, what it's like working for so many licensed properties, and some of her favorite characters. Katie Skelly (My Pretty Vampire/Nurse Nurse) talked to Jimmy about the themes in her comics, her love of Frank Miller's Sin City and musical inspirations. Evan Pozios & Patrick Thomas Parnell give the skinny on their comics Time Grunts and Johnny Phantasm. Leave your iTunes comments! 5 stars and nothing but love! Also, get a hold of us!

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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.

Role players are an essential element for troops preparing to travel overseas and face-off with the enemy. They provide a cultural boost immersing troops in a violent world in which they're about to deploy.

Role players submerge themselves into training scenarios commonly setting up mock firefights, ambushes, and suicide bombings — all for the troop's benefit.

In this episode of the Mandatory Fun podcast, Blake discusses with Kelvin Garvanne about his life as an Arabic/Iraqi role player for U.S. ground troops heading into combat.

For the last nine years, Garvanne has provided Islamic culture and language training to military and civilian personnel deploying overseas.

"A role player is basically there to interact with the battalion's training," Garvanne explains. "There are different levels on how you can interact. We were all characterized as 'meat puppets' which were basically folks who were just there to do whatever was told of us to do. "

These mock up firefights consist of loud gunfire (blanks), firework explosions and a Hollywood makeup team to create realistic blood and guts.

Garvanne attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He is an Emmy award creative artist who is fascinated by the world and enjoys investigating the context of national and world events.

Garvanne continues to develop opportunities to advise and train military and civilians positioned in careers involving global service. He also develops creative projects to expose the human condition.

The creator of the military counter-culture comic strip “Terminal Lance”—Max Uriarte—is the guest for this week’s podcast. Max leads a busy life these days. He just published his much anticipated graphic novel “The White Donkey,” he’s working on building an animation studio, and he continues to publish his wildly popular comic strip. This episode delves into the origins of the Terminal Lance universe, Max’s film aspirations, and his reasons for getting serious in the “White Donkey.” As usual, the show is hosted by: Logan Nye: Army veteran and WATM Associate Editor Blake Stilwell: Air Force veteran and WATM Managing Editor Orvelin Valle (AKA O.V.): Navy veteran and WATM Social Media Editor