Veterans Chronicles

Samantha Hargrove joined the U.S. Air Force at the urging of her brother. After training, she soon specialized in combat communications. Hargrove was serving in South Korea when the Al Qaeda terrorist attacks struck our nation on September 11, 2001. Just 18 months later, she was in Iraq. After helping to set up a major communications center near Talil, an explosion caused a traumatic brain injury that would permanently impact her.

In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Hargrove tells us about her service in Korea and Iraq. She also describes what happened during the explosion that wounded her.

Hargrove then explains how she got much worse before she got better, why she was medically retired, the moment she knew she had to get help, and how programs through Wounded Warrior Project set her on the road to recovery.

Finally, Hargrove shares how she is helping other wounded warriors today.

Mark Nutsch was born into a family with a rich legacy of military service. He also grew up on Kansas farms and ranches around a lot of horses - experience that became very valuable years later. After exploring service in several branches, Nutsch pursued commissioning as an officer in the U.S. Army. Soon after that he was selected and qualified for U.S. Army Special Forces. 

Nutsch was already commander of Operational Detachment Alpha 595 when Al Qaeda terrorists attacked the U.S. on September 11, 2001. Within weeks, ODA 595 would be among the first U.S. forces on the ground in Afghanistan and soon were widely known as the Horse Soldiers.

In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Nutsch walks us through his path to becoming an Army officer and how he valued the training it involved. He also tells us about his memories of the 9/11 attacks and immediately getting ready to go to war.

Nutsch also describes the harrowing helicopter flight into Afghanistan. meeting up with Afghan partner forces, and being shocked to find out they would be riding horses to take the fight to the Taliban.

Finally, Nutsch admits how much he ended up appreciating the horses and how ODA 595, the Afghan allies, and overwhelming U.S. air power crushed the Taliban in short order.

John Allen left college due to bad grades and repeated misconduct after just one semester. He needed direction and purpose. After speaking with two family friends who were high-ranking Navy SEALS, he decided that would be his goal. Allen finished college and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy to pursue the trident.

In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Allen takes us from a surprisingly tough Navy boot camp to Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL - or BUD/S - training. He explains what the SEAL instructors are really looking for during training, why passing pool comps is so tough, and why a top officer told Allen he would never want to serve with him.

Then, Allen tells us about his time in Afghanistan, including his April 2014 mission on which he almost died. He details the fighting in a village, spending hours under heavy fire, and how he was badly wounded.

Allen, who is widely known now as the podcaster and producer "Mr. Ballen," tells us what happened after he was evacuated and what his corpsman told him later about the day he was wounded.

You probably know the name Jack Carr as one of our most famous and talented novelists through The Terrninal List and other books in the James Reece series. Before his success as a writer, Carr spent two decades in the U.S. Navy, most of those as a U.S. Navy SEAL and he served in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Carr explains how he wanted to become a Navy SEAL since he was seven years old and read about them in many different books. He also walks us through BUD/S training, why he never seriously thought of quitting, and the reason many candidates drop out long after Hell Week.

Carr also reveals how he heard about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, why he became an officer, and finally being deployed to Afghanistan. Then he takes us through two tours in Iraq, including tough fighting in Najaf and a CIA-connected assignment focused on deconfliction.

Finally, Carr details how he kept the mission and men front and center during his deployments.

Floyd Moreland grew up in Illinois in a family with a very distinguished service record. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps when he was 21-years-old because he "wanted to fight with the best." Moreland hated Marine Corps boot camp but enjoyed advanced infantry training. He later pursued USMC Sea School and deployed from the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown during his first deployment in Vietnam.

In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Moreland walks us through an early assignment at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, just a few years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. He then takes on those Marine Detachment missions from the Yorktown and tells us what patrols in the jungles of Vietnam were like. And he shares his favorite part of that deployment - serving as part of the honor guard for actress and singer Ann-Margret when she came as part of a USO show.

Then, Moreland describes his second tour, in which he saw a lot of combat near the DMZ - places like Con Thien, Cam Lo, "The Rockpile," and Dong Ha. He also details what it was like being surrounded by the enemy at Con Thien for 30 days.

Finally, Moreland explains why he turned down a third tour of duty, the pain of being demonized in his own country, and why he would serve all over again.