The Unconventional Soldier

CONTENTThe guest today is author Henry Hemming and on this podcast we will be discussing his book “4 Shots In The Night" a  true story of espionage, murder and justice during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.  It centres round the brutal killing on 26th May, 1986 of British agent Frank Hegarty who infiltrated PIRA and also involves Martin McGuinness, terrorist turned politician and the notorious IRA member and British agent  Freddie Scappaticci who, over a decade after the murder, decided to talk to the media about what happened that night. This started a search for truth which revealed how a handful of British agents were able to infiltrate the Provisional IRA, at great personal cost. It is a  period described by Henry as “... by a country mile, the least understood conflict in recent British history, as well as the bloodiest and longest.”  Henry's book choice on Desert Islands Dits is "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote. My choice is Henry's book "Four Shots In The Night".WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIACheck out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional SoldierInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENTThe guest today is former Commando Gunner and member of 22 Special Air Service Mick Hawkes. On this podcast we discuss his army career including the Falklands war, volunteering for SAS selection, life and training in the Regiment, his deployment to Bosnia where he was captured by Serb forces alongside his mate Billy Billingham, the pace of operations for UKSF in Iraq and Afghanistan, sustaining SF manpower in a smaller army and finally his post military professional life in private security.  As usual we finish off with Desert Island Dits which is the guests choice of book, film and luxury item if they were marooned on a desert island.You can find Mick's website at www.hawkesandco.ukWHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIACheck out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional SoldierInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENTThis week on our Cold War series the guest is Ian Sanders who presents the award winning Cold War Conversations podcast. On this episode we discuss how Germany and Berlin were divided up between the victorious allied armies at the end of World War 2, the Berlin airlift when the Soviet Union attempted to starve the population of Berlin into submission and the reasons why the Russians built the Berlin wall virtually over night and the impact it had on the city's occupants. We finish off with a discussion on the Cuban missile which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIACheck out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional SoldierFollow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review.Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENTThe guest today is former soldier Kev Brain who joined the Royal Artillery in 1975 completing 22 years service with the colours. He deployed on multiple operational tours to Northern Ireland and also on Operation GRANBY better known as the first Gulf War in 1991 as a Sergeant Gun number 1 in charge of a M110 203mm howitzer specifically built for general support and counter battery fire. He describes his career in the lead up to the deployment and what it was like to take part on the gun raids so effective at depleting the Iraqi artillery assets. In these raids, a battery would move forward to preselected positions near the enemy, fire a predetermined amount of rounds at selected targets, and move quickly back to avoid counterfire. These raids not only kept pressure on the enemy, but also afforded great live fire training, particularly gunnery and movement, which would be needed later to support the ground attack and the rapid advance into Iraq and Kuwait.WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIACheck out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional SoldierInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.NOTE: I would like to acknowledge the following sources for quotes and information used in my opening narrative "The Army Historical Foundation - The Gulf War & European Artillery" & RA Museum "Gunners In The Gulf War 1991". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENTThis is a mini series covering parts of the Cold War we find interesting and will run in tandem with the Unconventional Soldier podcast. So why the title Seven Minutes to Midnight? The Doomsday Clock was a symbolic measurement that represented the likelihood of a human made global catastrophe in the form of a nuclear exchange between the global superpowers.  In 1947 at the start of the Cold War it was deemed to be at 7 minutes to midnight, this naturally changed as the world lurched from one potential disaster to another.  In 1953 it went to 2 minutes to midnight when tests were carried out on hydrogen bombs and 3 minutes to midnight in 1984 as the US and Soviet relations reached its lowest point. The Cold War eventually led to the collapse of the USSR but events of and from that time still dominate the global stage today. WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIACheck out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional SoldierFollow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review.Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENTThe guest today is award winning author Mary Cronk Farrell. On this pod we will be discussing her book "Close Up On War" about the life of Catherine Leroy a French photographer who travelled to Vietnam at the height of the war where she made a name for herself in a male dominated environment. Bold, determined and cool under fire Catherine accompanied marines and soldiers into the dense jungle, waded through rice paddies and parachuted with them into combat despite being told she didn’t belong in a man’s world. A world in which shared the discomfort and dangers of the soldiers she photographed and where she was wounded and captured by the NVA. Catherine saw more combat in Vietnam than any news photographer of any gender. Her photos captured the human face of war and she was published in Americas leading newspapers and magazines forcing Americans to confront the human cost of war. Based on Catherine’s personal correspondence Mary’s book Close Up On War also showcases her most powerful photos by an extraordinary woman who deserves to be better known.Mary's book choice on Desert island Dits is War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy. My book choice is Mary's book "Close Up On War The Story of Pioneering Photojournalist Catherine Leroy in Vietnam".WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIACheck out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional SoldierFollow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review.Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENTThe guest today is the Cognitive Marine a serving USMC officer currently stationed in Okinawa who previously appeared on podcast #039. On this episode we discuss how past and present wars influence thought on the way battles may be fought in the future. Subjects include: Okinawa, Singapore and Menorca.Ukraine & Russia.Israel & Gaza.The influence and development of his Cognitive Marine Instagram account.His book choice on Desert island Dits is 2034: A Novel of the Next World War by Elliot Ackerman & Admiral James Stavridis. WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIACheck out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional SoldierFollow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review.Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENTThe guest today is former Royal Marine and member of the Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre Nige Devenish. Nige was my guest back on podcast # 046 when we discussed his career in the cadre and their part on Operation CORPORATE during the Falklands war in 1982.  On this podcast we talk about his recent visit to the Falklands, his first since his deployment, with other cadre veterans to lay a memorial stone at the site of the battle for Top Malo House.  We discuss the battle in detail and his thoughts on the other battle sites he visited.  We also talk about the contribution made by Falkland islanders to the campaign and what the island is like today. I would like to thank Traighana Smith News Editor at Falklands Radio for providing extracts of interviews conducted by the station with former Cadre veterans.  DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop.  10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  Nige's choice on this podcast is An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean - Antarctic Survivor by Michael Smith.  My choice was Tempsford Academy: Churchill's and Roosevelt's Secret Airfield by Bernard O'Connor. "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIACheck out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional SoldierFollow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review.Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENTThe guest today is Tony Loughran a former Royal Navy Commando medic now a global risk specialist, with over 30 years international experience as a safety and security professional. On this episode we discuss:His time in the senior service, deployments and attachments with the Royal Marines Mountain & Arctic Warfare cadre.His 14 year stint as Head of International Risk at the BBC in London where he pioneered a safety culture in the news business adapting the skills he’d acquired in the military to the needs of journalists at the sharp end.How he established his own security consultancy company business, Zero Risk International.Tony is a published author and we finish off with his book Zero Risk.DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop.  10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIACheck out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional SoldierFollow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review.Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENTThe guest today is Neale Smiles, a former Gunner now working in the defence industry.  Neale often posts his thoughts on military matters on LinkedIn and it was one on the future of the Royal Artillery that got my attention. In it he stated that:“when you aren’t equipped or established to fight in the traditional combined arms manner you have to change” In this episode Neale will set out the changes he feels the Army and specifically the Gunners should make and we discuss:The current state of the Army.How the army should train and the use of simulation.Future soldier concept and the shift from close to deep battle.Moving close support artillery to the infantry to be owned by the infantry and how that would look.The RA to be a missile only deep effects organisationUse of UAS on the battle space.The challenges of recruitment.Neale can be contacted at the following email address: neale@emessue.com.DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop.  10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  My choice was Berlin: The Downfall 1945 by Antony Beevor.  The guest's choice was Slow Horses  by Mick Herron."BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIACheck out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional SoldierFollow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review.Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.