In this episode, Lt. Col. Thomas Gaines and Dr. Angus Fletcher discuss creativity and leadership. Lt. Col. Gaines is the command's G6 and Dr. Fletcher is a Story Science Professor from Ohio State University. Together the two have done quite a bit of research on creativity and leadership. Enjoy the episode. It's a great one and an interesting conversation

We're back! It's another episode of the Indigenous Approach. This time we sit down with the command team and have a candid conversation on vision and ARSOF Integration.

We're back! It's another episode of the Indigenous Approach, the official podcast of the Army's 1st Special Forces Command. In this episode the command team talks command vision and the ARSOF Integration Initiative. This is the first of quarterly updates from the command team. The intent is to be real, candid, and personable with command team. For comments and feedback email us at [email protected]. 

The Indigenous Approach returns! We're back with another series of episodes. In this episode, an OPSEC violation was trending on social media. Next, it's Veterans Day time. Salute to all those who served. Lastly, it's coming up on the 60th Anniversary of the passing of President John F. Kennedy. We discuss his legacy and what it means for Special Operations today in 2023.  New episodes every two weeks! 

In this episode, the command's Chaplain and Psych speak with Dr. Harold Koenig on moral injury.  The episode intertwines health and spirituality on how to treat moral injury related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

May is mental health awareness month and in this episode, we talk to Staff Sergeant Amanda Baker, mother, spouse, and an outstanding NCO in the command. She’s an advocate using behavioral health and she’ll share her real life experience.

In this episode, Staff Sgt. Amanda Baker discusses Black History Month with Col. Tavi Brunson and Lt. Col Burton Furlow, the brigade commander and special troop battalion commander of 528th Sustainment Brigade Special Operations Airborne. Listen as these two leaders explore what Black History Month means to them and several key insights on leadership serving in Special Operations. 

In this episode of the Indigenous Approach, we are joined by Dr. Sean McFate, author of the 2019 book The New Rules of War. Sean is currently a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a professor at National Defense University, Georgetown University, and Syracuse University. We discuss with Sean the role of SOF in Irregular Warfare and Strategic Competition. 

Master Sgt. Chris Copper, Master Sgt. Jim Rooney, and Sergeant First Class (Retired) Bill O'Brian discuss transition from military service to civilian life. Navigation from military service to civilian life can be a struggle for some, and this discussion will hopefully enlighten those who need guidance and direction moving forward. Your transitioning phase will be determined by what you want out of it.

In this episode, Staff Sgt. Thomas sits with Major Christopher Pierce, Performance and Wellness Sleep Program Manager  and Mr. Ryan Carroll, HPW Coordinator,  to discuss how the lack of adequate sleep can affect mental health, physical fitness, and critical thinking.  They also discuss programs and technologies utilized within 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) to monitor and optimize sleep habits. Major Pierce is also author of "Self-Health Andragogy: Self-Directed Learning Approach to...

SSG Thomas sits down with SFC H.E., SPC Lat, and SFC T for a conversation on the art of fighting and how to maintain your peak performance. SFC H.E. is the senior combatives instructor for the 95th Civil Affairs advanced skills detachment. SPC Lat is an amateur boxer and public affairs Soldier for 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne).  SFC T is a MMA champion and communications sergeant for 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne). 

1st Special Forces Command Chief of Staff, COL Pat Nelson, joins the conversation to speak on his 30 plus years of military service, his transition from the 75th Ranger Regiment to an SF Commissioned Officer,  and his top priorities and objectives as the new 1st SFC Chief of Staff. 

Author and Historian, Marc Leepson, joins the Indigenous Approach to discuss his 2017 biography, Ballad of the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of SSG  Barry Sadler: From the Vietnam War and Pop Stardom, to Murder, and an Unsolved, Violent Death.

1st Lt. Rodney Walker, 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) Chaplain Lt. Col. Brandon Moore, and Deputy Command Chaplain Maj. Colt Randles discuss creative ways to strengthen marriages through communication and the seven principles for making marriage work.  This conversation explains that even though marriages may be shaky or successful, it could always grow stronger. Links mentioned in the podcast: Created for Connection: The "Hold Me Tight" Guide for Christian Couples Hardcover -...

SGT Rudi Horvath joins the Indigenous Approach to help mark the 70th anniversary of 10th Special Forces Group. Rudi was one of the "Originals" from 1952, and helped forge the Special Forces community into the premier partnered irregular warfare force it is today. 

In this episode , we speak to Dr. Keith Adkins - the son of Medal of Honor recipient , CSM Bennie Adkins who was bestowed with the prestigious award in 2014 for his display of valor during combat operations in the Vietnam War in 1966. 

In this episode, we take a bit of a deep dive into the world of Robotics and Autonomous Systems and we explore where the nexus is between Robotics and Army Special Operations.  Our guests for today's episode: Jason is an Operations Planner in the USASOC G3 Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction Division and the USASOC ARSOF Robotics Division’s Subterranean Robotics and Autonomous Systems Manager.  He works alongside CWMD planners to develop Robotics and Autonomous Systems solutions for close,...

In this episode, Sgt. 1st Class Jake Braman sits down with Brig. Gen. Derek Lipson to learn more about our DCG-S and to get his thoughts on where the command is heading. Brigadier General Derek Neal Lipson was commissioned an infantry officer in 1990, following his graduation from Midland Lutheran College, in Fremont, Nebraska, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. He completed the Special Forces Qualification Course in 1994. Brigadier General Lipson commanded at all levels...

Command Sgt. Maj. Ted Munter joins Master Sgt. Chris Copper, the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) Human Performance and Wellness Senior Enlisted Leader, and Master Sgt. Geoff Dardia, the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) Human Performance and Wellness Senior Enlisted Leader. They discuss the importance of not waiting until the last minute to perform proper maintenance on the most crucial piece of equipment, oneself. Links to the programs discussed: Intrepid Spirit STAR Program PREP

In this episode recorded off-site in El Paso, TX, Maj. Dan Lessard sits down with three guests to discuss the command's newest directorate - the Special Operations Forces Training and Experimentation Center located at White Sands Missile Range, NM. Using the training areas provided at WSMR and nearby Fort Bliss, TX, SOF-TEC provides more than 2 million acres of training land, access to the nearby population centers of Las Cruces and El Paso, and the capability to replicate the real-world...

1st Sgt. Nick Harmon, the 1st SFC (A) HHC 1SG, sits down with Master Sgt. Chris Copper for an honest conversation about team dynamics and culture from the perspective of two former Special Forces Team Sergeants.

In this episode we talk with Travis and Blake, two 18D Special Forces Medics who conducted an emergency, double above-the-knee amputation on a surrendering ISIS-K fighter at an outpost in Afghanistan in 2020. Col. Jamie Riesberg, the 1SFC(A) command surgeon, joins us for the episode's introduction to put this procedure in context. Our 18D Special Forces Medics receive an extremely high level of training in both the classroom and in trauma centers to prepare them for the rigors of austere...

In this episode, Chaplain (LTC) Brandon Moore and COL Jamie Riesberg sit down with NYT bestselling author Dr. Lisa Miller to discuss Spiritual Fitness and its importance for both our force and the Nation more broadly.  Lisa Miller, Ph.D., is the New York Times bestselling author of The Spiritual Child and most recent book The Awakened Brain.  She is a professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the Founder and Director of the Spirituality...

In this episode, we talk with Master Sgt. Earl Plumlee, recent recipient of the Medal of Honor for valorous actions at FOB Ghazni in Afghanistan during a 2013 attack on the base. Plumlee provides his reflections on what the medal means, what it was like receiving the award, and what's next for him.