MCA Scuttlebutt

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome Virginia State Park Ranger, photographer, and retired Marine, CWO5 Jonathan Knauth. Jonathan is the Marine Corps winner of the USAA Why We Salute Super Bowl Ticket Campaign. As an official Salute to Service partner of the NFL, USAA reaches out to the military affiliates, such as the MCA, to recommend potential winners of Super Bowl tickets. Jonathan joins us to talk about his experience in New Orleans for the big game, as well as sharing his experience as a retired CWO5, combat camera veteran of Fallujah, his transition to and experiences as a park ranger, and his future photo journal project. This is a really fun conversation and for all Marines and service members considering life after service, consider Jonathan’s story becoming a park ranger. Enjoy! <p>The post #183: CWO5 Jonathan Knauth gets a double okie-doke, tickets to the big game first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we recognize the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Iwo Jima by welcoming Dr. Robert Burrell to the show. Dr. Burrell is veteran Marine, professor, and author of the books, The Ghosts of Iwo Jima and Crucibles: Selected Reading in U.S. Marine Corps History.  He also wrote an exceptional article for the Gazette titled, Remembering Iwo Jima, which you can find on our website now. Based on that title alone, I can’t imagine finding a better person to talk to us about the significance of Iwo Jima. Dr. Burrell shares with us his experiences in uniform as an infantryman to being a critical decision maker in the establishment of the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin as the Marine Attache to Australia and how those experiences led to his passion for studying this battle that not only defined the Marine Corps but the nation as well.  Enjoy! https://www.robertburrell.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-burrell/ https://www.mca-marines.org/wp-content/uploads/Burrell-Feb25-WEB.pdf   <p>The post #182: Remembering Iwo Jima with Dr. Robert Burrell first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we continue our Road to 250 segment, celebrating the Marine Corps’ 250th birthday in 2025. Over the next year, we’ll feature stories and history from throughout the 250 years of the Marine Corps. These episodes will be nested within the MCA’s overall Road to 250 Campaign, where you will find featured articles in both the Gazette and Leatherneck highlighting events and battles within specific periods in Marine Corps history. The MCA also has a commemorative Road to 250 coin collection. These commemorative challenge coins can only be found through the MCA. Go to marineshop.net to order individual coins or email customerservice@mca-marines.org to pre-order the entire set or learn more. This month, we walk the Road to 250 with Paul Westermeyer again to take a deep dive into the legend and lore of Archibald Henderson. For those who missed our last talk with Paul, he is a historian at History Division and he helps us dive deep into Archibald Gillespies’ legacy and the historical context behind his adventures in California. Enjoy!   <p>The post #181: Walking the Road to 250 – 1840-1860. Archibald Gillespie and the California Adventure first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome the Outreach Curator and Exhibit Chief from the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Kater Miller, and Chuck Girbovan, to the show. It’s no secret that since its opening in Oct I have been a huge fan of the new exhibit, which covers the Marine Corps’ history from 1975 through the end of OIF and OEF. For those who haven’t been, please go check it out. And for veterans of the recent Long War, it’s a must. One of the things that has always intrigued me when I visit museums is how these exhibits happen. In many ways, I enjoy them so much that I just figure that it’s either magic or that someone had a great idea, and it just happened. Well, Chuck and Kater learn us something today. We get a chance to dive deep into the inner workings of a museum curator and hear about how an exhibit is made. It’s a really fascinating discussion but I have to admit that I’m a little bummed the answer wasn’t magic. Enjoy! https://www.usmcmuseum.com/ <p>The post #180: How a Museum Exhibit is Made with Kater Miller and Chuck Girbovan from the National Museum of the Marine Corps first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, the Long Road takes us across the Overseas Highway with SgtMaj Justin LeHew. For those unaware, the Overseas Highway is the 113-mile span of highway and bridges that connects the Florida Keys to mainland Florida.  In his endless pursuit of veteran advocacy, SgtMaj stepped off on the 23rd anniversary of Sept 11th to continue to not only raise awareness for veterans and those POW/MIAs who have yet to come home, but to also raise awareness for the significance of the Florida Keys, and the Overseas Highway specifically, to our nation’s history and the role veterans played in its construction. As with all Justin LeHew-related activities, this is a fascinating discussion on the little–known history of this unique region. Enjoy! teamlongroad.com www.facebook.com/groups/698444134910085 historyflight.com <p>The post #179: Walking the Long Road with SgtMaj Justin LeHew – the history and significance of the Overseas Highway first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we continue our Road to 250 segment, celebrating the Marine Corps’ 250th birthday in 2025. Over the next year, we’ll feature stories and history from throughout the 250 years of the Marine Corps. These episodes will be nested within the MCA’s overall Road to 250 Campaign, where you will find featured articles in both the Gazette and Leatherneck highlighting events and battles within specific periods in Marine Corps history. The MCA also has a commemorative Road to 250 coin collection. These commemorative challenge coins can only be found through the MCA. Go to marineshop.net to order individual coins or email customerservice@mca-marines.org to pre-order the entire set or learn more. This month, we walk the Road to 250 with Paul Westermeyer talking the Grand Old Man of the Marine Corps, Archibald Henderson. Paul is a historian at History Division and a subject-matter expert on the details of Archibald Henderson’s five decades in the Marine Corps, 38 of which were spent as Commandant. Paul helps us dive deep into Archibald Henderson’s legacy and the historical context surrounding his accession through the ranks to eventually becoming Commandant. Enjoy! Those interested in downloading History Division histories can find them here: www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Publishing/History-Division-Publications/Books-by-topic/ <p>The post #178: Paul Westermeyer talks the Grand Old Man of the Marine Corps, Archibald Henderson first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome Mac Caltrider to the show. Mac is a veteran Marine, former Baltimore police officer, elementary school teacher, and author of the book Double Knot. Double Knot is a powerful memoir that is actually a collection of essays that weave a narrative thread of a Marine, cop, husband, father, son, and the effects of coming of age in a combat zone. His humor, wit, and humility are evident in this conversation as they are on the pages of his book. This was such a fun interview, and it was great to hear about Mac’s unique experiences and the depth of insight he has pulled from the eternal contradictions that come when sending young men and women to war.  There is so much to unpack, and there is much to glean from our conversation. Not just for military buffs but also for those interested in creativity and literary art. Maybe more so for the latter. We are grateful that Mac was so generous with his time, and we are excited to see more of his work. Enjoy! <p>The post #177: Mac Caltrider talks his book, Double Knot and using writing as a way to remember first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey Scuttlebutt listeners, today we have another episode from our series of Fallujah bonus content. These episodes are part of our 20th anniversary of Fallujah II/Operation Phantom Fury programming. These bonus episodes are the full-length interviews we have been collecting for our 20th anniversary documentary of Fallujah II, which is out now on our MCA YouTube channel. Please go check that out. All these interviews were so good, we didn’t want them to just sit in our archive, so we decided to launch them as individual episodes. This episode is with Col Michael Shupp. Col Shupp was the commanding officer of Regimental Combat Team 1 during the battle. Here is the fourth and final episode of our bonus content for our 20th anniversary of Fallujah II series. Enjoy! www.linkedin.com/in/michael-shupp-colonel-u-s-marine-corps-ret-544aa83/ <p>The post Corps Voices Season 2: Col Michael Shupp Reflects on Fallujah 20 Years Later first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we get the pleasure of having Nate Boaz back on the show for a third time. This one is on the heels of his latest visit with Tom Schueman last week. So he gets to be the first back-to-back guest. A Scuttlebutt first! Nate is such a great guest and we have so much fun talking to him, we keep getting sidetracked in talking about his book. Well, we locked him in the studio (crap, I think we may have forgotten to let him out…he’s fine I’m sure) and dedicated an entire episode running toward his book, Running Toward Fire. Nate talks to us about what it means to run toward fire, the meaning of sacrifice, and ignoring the values that external forces impose on us and doing what matters to you. Running Toward Fire is a great book and this is a great conversation with Nate. Enjoy! <p>The post #176: Nate Boaz talks meaning, sacrifice, and Running Toward Fire first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>

Hey Scuttlebutt listeners, today we have another episode from our series of Fallujah bonus content. These episodes are part of our 20th anniversary of Fallujah II/Operation Phantom Fury programming. These bonus episodes are the full-length interviews we have been collecting for our 20th anniversary documentary of Fallujah II, which is out now on our MCA YouTube channel. Please go check that out. All these interviews were so good, we didn’t want them to just sit in our archive, so we decided to launch them as individual episodes of our show. This episode is with Col Michael Del Palazzo. Col Del Palazzo was a combat advisor to the Iraqi Army during the battle. Here is the third episode of our bonus content for our 20th anniversary of Fallujah II series. Enjoy! www.linkedin.com/in/mdelpalazzo/ <p>The post Corps Voices Season 2: Col Michael Del Palazzo Reflects on Fallujah 20 Years Later first appeared on Marine Corps Association.</p>