MCA Scuttlebutt

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week Nancy and Vic have so much fun welcoming Kacy Tellessen back to the show. This is Kacy’s third trip to the scuttlebutt and the scuttle just keeps getting better. For those who missed the first two episodes with Kacy, first off, SHAME! Secondly, go back and bookmark them. And now listen to this one. Kacy is a former Marine machinegunner, award winning author, and now practicing attorney. Even with all of these accolades,  Kacy is still a grunt at heart and just such a joy to spend time with. Hope you all have as much fun listening as we have recording these. Enjoy! Check out Kacy on LinkedIn and on Instagram Get Freaks of a Feather here. You’re welcome! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 127: Catching Up with Old Friends – Kacy Tellessen first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week Nancy and Vic have the pleasure of welcoming the National Executive Director and CEO at Young Marines, Col William Davis, USMCR (Ret) to the show. Due to a technical difficulty, we had the wonderful opportunity to have this conversation twice. Well, before any operation you have to rehearse, right? William was kind enough to give us another go and it was a lot of fun to be able spend additional time with him. He talks to us about the Young Marines program, how youth programs like Young Marines are counter-cultural, and what it’s like to literally create a school. His passion for developing, educating, and mentoring the youth is infectious. Enjoy! youngmarines.org linkedin.com/in/william-davis-9b80b6124 <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 126: Young Marines with Col William Davis, USMCR (Ret) first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week we’re starting a new segment we’re calling, Catching Up With Old Friends. To kick this thing off, I called on my amtrack brother Aeron Sullivan and he was kind enough to spend some time catching up. Aeron was a guest of ours back in the summer 2022 (Episode #39) so there was plenty to catch up on. Please go back and give it a listen if you missed it. Aeron is a super fascinating person. Former assault amphibian officer turned business start-up expert, he was once named a part of Inc. Magazine’s 30 under 30. He also worked with BibleProject helping to building them up to becoming the global Christian media presence they are today. His experiences there led him to his current project, Pangea, using AI to help businesses solve their global currency issues. Aeron shares his thoughts on taking risks, what it is about the Marine Corps that fosters an entrepreneurial spirit, and what talent management means beyond recruitment and retention. This conversation is like a free seminar, so…you’re welcome. It was really great spending time catching up. Enjoy! www.linkedin.com/in/aeronsully www.pangea.io <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 125: Catching Up With Old Friends – Aeron Sullivan first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week, Nancy and Vic are excited to welcome Capt Riley Tejcek back to the show. Riley has recently returned from the US Bobsled Team trials, where she placed fourth…on a broken foot! This Marine will not be denied! By placing fourth, she is officially on the US Team and is currently in Germany preparing for World Championships in Mar. And there is no rest for the weary. Almost as soon as she gets back, she’s slated to deploy. Oh, and she has a children’s book due to be released in the late summer/early fall of this year. Whew. It was great to spend time with Riley and hear her perspectives on resiliency, the benefits of facing adversity, and the gift of giving back. Enjoy! Check out Leatherneck Magazine’s article about Riley here: www.mca-marines.org/magazines/leatherneck/ Follow Riley’s journey on her Instagram page here www.instagram.com/riley.tejcek/ <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 124: Dream It, Be It with Capt Riley Tejcek, USMC first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week, Nancy and Vic are honored to welcome Maj Olaolu Ogunyemi to the show. Olaolu is one of the most dynamic people you could hope to meet. A communications officer by trade, Olaolu is also an author of children’s books, a philanthropist, YouVersion contributor, and public speaker. He also recently had an article published in the Marine Corps Gazette discussing talent management which is up on the website now (now). With everything he has going on, it was so generous of him to carve out some time for us. It was great picking his brain on topics of his upbringing and path to becoming a Marine, his drive to constantly give back, and the necessity of having a creative outlet. Enjoy! https://parent-child-connect.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/olaolu-ogunyemi-465ba453/ <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 123: Parent-Child-Connect with Maj Olaolu Ogunyemi, USMC first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week, Nancy and Vic have the pleasure of spending some time with famed, and recently retired, television journalist and author of the book, Battle Scars, Chip Reid. Chip was embedded with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines in 2003 as they made their push to Baghdad during the invasion. Battle Scars not only chronicles his time with this storied battalion, but follows up with the Marines – and their families – twenty years later to tell their stories of their lives since the invasion, their heroism, loss, and  the new appreciation for life that results from post-traumatic growth. Chip discusses the impetus behind the book, what it was like being an embedded journalist, and his experiences putting these stories together.  Enjoy! You can find Battle Scars here. And if you’re in the Northern VA/DC area, Chip will be doing a book signing at MCB Quantico on Wed, Feb 21st. Here is the link for more details. https://quantico.usmc-mccs.org/activity/02280669-bb04-470b-bd0e-371142b52a07 <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 122: Battle Scars with Chip Reid first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. Our last movie review was so much fun, we decided to create a new segment called, “Semper Cinema.” This week, we review the Academy Award winning short documentary, With the Marines at Tarawa. If you haven’t seen it, you need to check it out. Released in 1944, this gritty film came out during the height of the island-hopping campaign and it’s graphic depictions of the horrors of combat, particularly in the Pacific, were so controversial that it required approval from President Roosevelt to be released. Vic, William, and Nancy discuss the merits of the film and what reasons the Marine Corps may have had in wanting to release the film during a time when America was sending so many of it’s citizens off to fight. Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 121: Semper Cinema review of With the Marines at Tarawa first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week we welcome the former Virginia Secretary of Education and veteran Marine, Atif Qarni to the show. Atif was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to be with us and we are so glad that he did. Atif is currently campaigning to be the next Virginia 10th District congressional representative so it really means a lot that he was willing to sit with us and talk about his life. And what a fascinating life it has been. He shares with us his experiences immigrating from Pakistan to Baltimore as a child, his appreciation for the discipline and direction the Marine Corps has given him, the value of education and the challenges in trying to educate our kids, and the need to bring your A-game with mom. Atif was so engaging and his passion for education is infectious. Hope you find his story as compelling as we did. Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 120: Atif Qarni first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. In this installment of World of Wargaming, William discusses the history of Marine Corps wargaming with returning guest Ian Brown accompanied by Sebastian Bae: a former Marine, research analyst for the Center for Naval Analyses, and adjunct assistant professor at the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University. In recounting the history of wargaming in the Marine Corps, they also addressed ways in which to ensure that wargaming remains a prominent tool for professional military education. For more information, check out their article, “Promise Unfulfilled: A Brief History of Educational Wargaming in the Marine Corps.” published in the Vol 12, No. 2 edition of the Journal of Advanced Military Studies. Enjoy! <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 119: World of Wargaming with Sebastian Bae and Ian Brown first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. This week we welcome LtCol David Kelly back to the show to talk about his new book, First Fights in Fallujah: Marines During Operation Vigilant Resolve, in Iraq, April 2004. Like David’s first book, Hell in the Streets of Husaybah, First Fights in Fallujah, his book chronicles the firsthand accounts of the Marines who fought in Operation Vigilant Resolve, also known as the first battle of Fallujah. But unlike his first book, First Fights includes accounts from more than just the infantry Marines kicking down doors. Amtrac’ers, tankers, helo crews, all of the various Marines that make up the Marine Air-Ground Task Force – of whom were so critical to the tactical and operational success of this first fight in Fallujah – are all featured in this book. David’s use of the actual words of the Marines really gives a visceral quality to his narrative. David gives us his thoughts on the uniqueness of this kind of retelling of history and shares with us his experiences conducting all of these interviews, in country, just on the heels of the end of the operation.   Enjoy! https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-kelly-4781a7132/ Get the book here <p>The post Scuttlebutt Ep 118: First Fights in Fallujah with LtCol David Kelly (Ret) first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>