IRAQ UPDATE, MUQTADA AL-SADR VISITS SAUDI ARABIA & THE MOST POWERFUL MILITARY UNITS IN IRAQ: Jerry Durrant

Jerry Durrant
Col, USMC (ret)

Jerry Durrant, Col USMC (ret) joined us to talk about his time as a LCpl in Vietnam in 1970 as well as his thoughts on Iraq today.

He is currently part of a private company that does military education for the Iraqi military.  He has interesting things to say about where Iraq is and what is next for the war-torn nation.

He raises concerns about Sunni’s being eliminated from the Iraqi military, the upcoming Kurdish referendum and genuine surprise at the visit Muqtada al Sadr made to Saudi Arabia recently.

Durrant is a great representative of the Marine Corps and a thoughtful guest.

Marine recruit needed skin grafts to treat chemical burns suffered at boot camp, documents reveal: Dan Lamothe

Dan Lamothe
Military Reporter
Washington Post

Washington Post military reporter Dan Lamothe joins us to discuss an article he wrote based on a Freedom of Information Act request.  You can find the article here.

“The recruit’s skin was “liquefied” at the service’s storied boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., the documents said. The injuries occurred after he was ordered to perform unauthorized exercises under an upside-down laundry bin on a floor covered in bleach and required to stay in his wet pants for hours. The recruit reluctantly told another drill instructor about his burns that night, but stayed in training for a few more days. His condition deteriorated after he was told that he would not be able to graduate with his peers if he sought medical attention.”

Ultimately, the Drill Instructor was punished by a year in the brig.   Intervention by other Drill Instructors might have spared a fellow Marine and the recruit horrible experiences.

COMBAT LEADERSHIP: MajGen Paul Kennedy, USMC

MajGen Paul Kennedy joins the program to talk combat leadership.  MajGen Kennedy was the 1st Marine Division Plans Officer for “The March Up,” commanded 2d Battalion, 4th Marines in Ramadi in 2004 and the 2d Marine Regiment in Helmand Province in 2010-2011.  In 2013 he was assigned as Commanding General, 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, where he led the initial response to Operation DAMAYAN (Philippine typhoon, 2013) and Operation SAHAYOGI HAAT (Nepal earthquake, 2015).

He is currently the Commanding General of the Marine Corps Recruiting Command..