#136: The Mission, the Men, Me - Life After the Green Beret - Cold Zero Spirits Founder Casey Maxted & Secret Service Agent Bill "Hawk" Albracht (2023 Army Navy Game Series)

“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 tailgate
• 3:48 Hawk volunteers for Vietnam
• 4:32 Casey volunteers after 9/11
• 5:27 Hawk protected four Presidents in the Secret Service
• 7:56 Casey joins the FBI
• 8:48 The character traits needed to build elite teams after Special Forces
• 12:21 Founding Cold Zero
• 14:09 Biggest challenge of starting a spirits company
• 16:27 How Warrior Rising is supporting Veteran entrepreneurs
• 17:46 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)