The Jedburgh Podcast Fran Racioppi

“The mission. The men. Me.” The “3 M’s” of leadership taught to officers in Vietnam and still applicable to building great leaders in any industry. As leaders we put people first, but sometimes the mission must happen regardless of the people.

For the second episode of our 2023 Army Navy Game tailgate party, we warmed up with a little Cold Zero Whiskey and a conversation with two former Green Berets of very different generations who left service for federal law enforcement. 

Casey Maxted and Bill “Hawk” Albracht joined Fran Racioppi to share why grit and teamwork were critical to their careers in Special Forces, in the FBI and Secret Service, and now as they build a spirits company. 

Grab a glass of Cold Zero then take a listen, watch or read our conversation as Casey breaks down the opportunities and challenges that come with starting a spirits brand, and Bill shares what it was like to go back to Vietnam and walk the battlefield he once fought on. 

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation. Learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube. 

Highlights:
0:00 Welcome to the Army Navy tailgate3:48 Hawk volunteers for Vietnam4:32 Casey volunteers after 9/115:27 Hawk protected four Presidents in the Secret Service7:56 Casey joins the FBI8:48 The character traits needed to build elite teams after Special Forces12:21 Founding Cold Zero14:09 Biggest challenge of starting a spirits company16:27 How Warrior Rising is supporting Veteran entrepreneurs17:46 The Greatest Generations Foundation takes Veterans back to their battlefields
Quotes: 
“I want to join the Army. I want to be a paratrooper. I want to go Infantry. And I want to go to Vietnam.” (4:09)“Air Force One flew right over me and I don’t know what happened, but that moment is when I was like ‘I’m gonna serve’.” (5:04) “The protection of Jimmy Carter, or Ronald Reagan, or George Bush, it never varied…time seems to by quicker when you’re with somebody that you admire.” (7:40)“You look for grit in almost everything that you do. People that are gonna stick with it when the cards are stacked against you.” (9:06) “There’s the three M’s of leadership: the mission, the men and me.” (10:18) “If we truly understand our mission….in those moments when we’re under pressure, when there’s chaos, when there’s confusion, we can come back to that guiding fabric.” (11:40) “It’s not about the individual. It is about the team. The team going forward. The team accomplishing the mission.” (12:15)

There’s a dangerous difference between a Quiet Professional and Silent Professional. We’re conditioned as Green Berets to put the mission first and get the job done. That’s why Army Special Forces are the tip of the spear in both wartime and peace. 

For our first tailgate interview, and to kick off The Jedburgh Podcast’s new home as an official program of the Green Beret Foundation, Fran Racioppi sat down with CEO Charlie Iacono and America’s largest Green Beret Nick Lavery. 

Charlie shares his vision to enhance educational opportunities, make benefits the easiest part of transition and how he’s preparing the organization for America’s next battlefield. Nick explains how he’s committed to keeping Green Berets first in the fight and why telling our stories is critical to both retention and recruiting the next generation. 

Americans in combat may be out of the spotlight, but Green Berets continue their mission in every corner of the world and supporting them and their families will always be the core mission of the Green Beret Foundation. 
You decide if we’re in a 1939 moment and never forget… the Boston Tea Party was an Army operation…

Learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube. 


Highlights:
0:00 Tailgating from Gillette Stadium3:27 The Boston Tea Party was an Army operation; NOT Navy!5:37 Charlie’s vision as CEO of Green Beret Foundation9:25 Why demand for Green Beret support is greater now than during the War on Terror12:13 GBF advocates are in every active duty Special Forces Group17:45 The dangerous difference between Quiet Professional & Silent Professional27:17 Are we living in a 1939 moment?30:44 A cameo from US Army Special Operations Command Commanding General LTG Jonathan Braga

Quotes: 
“This is where it all started. A couple of guys in a bar with some ideas…and look where we are today.” (4:17) “We are one of the few organizations that service and support the Veteran community of the Regiment and also the active duty space.” (7:12) “It’s a commitment I made since day one. When that phone rings we’re gonna pick it up.” (8:55)“The Special Forces ODA has been the most requested SOF unit of action since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism.” (9:48) “Just because it’s not as obvious, do not mistake that for the need to no longer exist.” (11:20) “Why does it seem like the hardest mission a Green Beret has to deal with is when he gets out he’s trying to get his benefits.” (13:529) “My biggest challenge that I ever faced was not becoming a Green Beret…it was actually not being a Green Beret anymore.” (15:13) “There’s a massive difference between being a quiet professional and being a silent professional.” (18:45) 
The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

Could you make the decision to remove your own leg. What if you’d already lost the other and taking the second meant starting over? For the final episode of the 2023 NYC Veterans Day Parade, Fran Racioppi and Psychotherapist Drew Newkirk were joined by Dan Nevins and Lana Duffy; two Army soldiers who were faced with one of life’s toughest decisions. 

Dan nearly lost his life in an IED explosion in Iraq, now after losing his legs, he shares how Yoga and Wounded Warrior Project saved him from depression, substance abuse and suicide. Lana suffered for years with an undiagnosed brain injury that prevented her physical recovery; today she’s the parades honorary Grand Marshal explaining how to navigate NYC’s culture of beauty and perfection with a body that doesn’t look like everyone else. 

Life is full of difficult decisions and most often the toughest decisions are thrust upon us. Are you ready to take action and do something when most are unwilling?   

Learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube. 


Highlights:
0:00 Welcome to “Alive Day”6:53 Dan gets pinned in his vehicle after an IED explosion21:49 Battling depression, substance abuse and motivation28:15 How yoga without his legs saved Dan32:40 The effect of body shame and limiting disabilities after Lana’s IED blast42:26 Dating in NYC with one leg57:54 Dan and Lana tell their stories to help others 
Quotes: 

“The greatest casualty is being forgotten.” (2:35) “When the explosion happened I could feel and hear the truck basically disintegrate around my body.” (12:48) “I knew I was going to die. I was making my peace with God. I was just giving up.” (15:19) “They met me with a backpack and a promise that whatever I needed, whatever my family needed, they’d be there.” (20:54) “I self-medicated with accomplishment, achievement, doing something.” (23:54) “Yoga teacher training was the best leadership school I’ve ever been to in my life.” (31:33) “I was doing limb salvage not just because I wanted to keep my leg, it was ‘I can’t be seen as weak.’” (34:32) “Keep doing good things because that’s how you’ll be remembered.” (53:43) 
Brought to you in partnership with Just Ice Tea, Longtab Brewing & Talent War Group.

Great leaders exist in every industry. When we think about great leaders we often remember the things they did. But what’s more important is the impact they had on individuals, teams, organizations and society.

For the second episode of our 2023 NYC Veterans Day Parade Series, Fran Racioppi and Psychotherapist Drew Newkirk welcomed two Green Berets from very different wars creating impact across generations. 

CSM Richard Rice served as a Green Beret in MACV-SOG in Vietnam and later became one of the founding members of Delta Force. Jason McCarthy served in 10th Special Forces during the Iraq war and went on to found GORUCK. 

Today they’re swapping roles as mentor and mentee as they apply their lessons from Special Forces to entrepreneurism, fitness, mental health and building community. We show you how to build organizations on character, why we must embrace challenge, how to live a life of bias for action, and how society is shaped by America’s Veterans after their military service. 

Drew also explores the difficulty elite performers have as they age and become friendless men; something scary to many of us. 

America became the greatest country in the history of the world because of a national call to service since the Boston Massacre. Today, the world is more dangerous than ever. It’s time we bring America’s people back together, rebuild our community and keep America atop the world order. 

Learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube. 


Highlights:
0:00 Welcoming a legend of the Special Forces Regiment8:34 Why need to do hard things; especially at GORUCK10:59 Preventing “friendless men”15:03 The character traits needed to succeed in elite organizations16:38 The films that shaped Rich’s perspective on the military 18:00 Why America must maintain our national will in the face of our adversaries24:14 Veteran service transcends their time in the military and carries into society25:10 How mentorship builds great organizations28:18 Making the case for military service
Quotes: 

“Throughout my entire life I’ve always looked for the challenge. Something to test me.” (5:02)“It isn’t so much the military service…it’s what those Veterans bring back and what they put into our society after they’ve served.” (5:30)“There’s no other way to really know what someone else is made of unless you do something hard with them.” (10:17) “Have a bias for action in the real world and go get after it.” (13:56)“If you’re not honest with yourself, you can’t be honest with others.” (15:48) “We are in a peer-to-peer battle with not one nation, but a number of nation states.” (20:46) “America needs to come back together. You do that through communities.” (23:04)
Brought to you in partnership with Just Ice Tea, Longtab Brewing & Talent War Group.

Veterans Day is about more than honoring service; it’s about preparing leaders to serve in the military and beyond. For the 104th running of the New York City Veterans Day parade from atop the red carpet Host Fran Racioppi is joined by special guest co-host Drew Newkirk to navigate conversations through the motorcycles, the sirens, the marching bands and the floats.

They kick off the parade with two of New York City's most prominent veterans turned public servants; Commissioner James Hendon's a Reserve Army officer and leads New York City's Department of Veteran Services.

Commissioner Zach Iscol served as a Marine, went on to found the Headstrong Project and now serves all New Yorkers leading Emergency Management. The Commissioners show us how to continue our impact post military service while leading our communities. 

We're also joined by Nick Angione and LTG(R) Mike Linnington. Nick's the chairman of United War Veterans Council, the organization charged with producing the parade and bringing 25,000 people to the heart of Manhattan.

General Linnington is the CEO of the Wounded Warrior Project and was honored as the 2023 parade Grand Marshal. Nick breaks down the details of planning and hosting the largest veterans event in the country. LTG Linnington talks about the value that veterans bring to any organization and how hiring veterans isn't a charity move, it's a business decision.

Learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube.


Highlights:
0:00 Welcome to the 104th New York City Veterans Day Parade5:32 Why America needs Veterans in public service after the military7:27 There’s no panacea for Veterans mental health11:00 The excitement of the parade12:32 Honoring first responders at the parade  16:18 How United War Veterans Council produces the parade23:50 Developing leaders in the military from the first day

Quotes: 

“We look at all we have and how it’s borne on the backs of so few, it’s so critical for us to give these people their roses on days like today.” (4:01) “The military…is an incredibly effective way to learn the basic tenets of leadership.” (6:47) “There’s no panacea for mental health…you really have to use what works for the individual.” (7:53)“There’s 16+ million Veterans across the country. I’m representing them.” (24:18) “You can’t wait to be told what to do. You’ve got to understand your commander’s intent; your boss's intent. And then you’ve got to be able to act.” (26:03)“Hiring a Veteran isn’t a charity endeavor, it’s a business endeavor. You want to improve your business; hire Veterans.” (28:23)  
Brought to you in partnership with Just Ice Tea, Longtab Brewing & Talent War Group.

America's Vietnam Veterans didn't come home to parades. They didn't come home to standing ovations. They didn't come home to a welcoming public that embraced what they did overseas. When many of our Vietnam veterans came home, they got spit on. They were told that their uniform was a disgrace, they weren't integrated into society, and many people shunned them.

58,281 of our Vietnam veterans never came home at all. Queens, NY bore more than its share of service and of loss. In September, Fran Racioppi had the chance to welcome home our Vietnam Veterans and all those who served from New York when the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund brought the Wall That Heals to New York City.

A 3/4 replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, the wall comes to those who can’t make it to DC. After the police escort, building the wall and the opening ceremony, Fran sat down under the lights with the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Veterans Services James Hendon, Chairman of the New York City Council Veterans Committee Bob Holden, Vietnam Veterans Association National President John Rowan, and Tony Nunciato, one of New York City's bravest veteran families, having lost his brother and Aniello in Vietnam.

They talked about the struggles our Vietnam Veterans faced when they returned, how America's institutions weren't ready for so many who had seen so much, how many of them answered the call to lead in politics and set the foundation for small business and our economy, and what NYC is doing to support Veterans of every generation. 

Freedom's never free. It wasn't in the past, it isn't now, and it won't be in the future. To all our Vietnam veterans, thank you and welcome home. 

Learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube. 

Highlights:
0:00 The Wall That Heals comes to Flushing Meadows, Queens5:55 Vietnam War by the numbers8:18 Why Vietnam was a different war than the rest13:16 The family cost of Vietnam19:52 How New York supports Veterans26:29 The biggest improvements in Veteran support since Vietnam30:14 Continuing to serve for the next generation
Quotes: 

“The median age of our Vietnam Veterans right now is 78. We wanted to bring this to folks before it was too late.” (2:18) “We owe it to the men and women who gave their lives. To have this come to Queens is just a tremendous accomplishment.” (4:37) “246 is the number of the most casualties in one single day in the Vietnam War.” (8:10) “We were the flower children. We were the pot kids. Our fathers were the crew cut guys who drank.” (11:08) “He gave his life, he gave everything, to serve our country. To see his name, to see it memorialized…gives me great homage.” (19:04) “Many of our Veterans don’t self identify. You see me, there’s three other folks who served who you don't see.” (21:24)