Veterans Breakfast Club

Join the Veterans Breakfast Club for an open conversation with veterans of the Army Security Agency (ASA), the once-secretive U.S. Army intelligence organization whose soldiers served around the world during the Cold War.

Created on September 15, 1945, the ASA grew out of the Army’s wartime signals intelligence and communications security operations. Its mission included intercepting and analyzing foreign communications, codebreaking, direction finding, electronic intelligence, and protecting U.S. military communications. Its motto was fitting: Semper Vigiles—Vigilant Always.

ASA soldiers served in an extraordinary variety of places and assignments. They worked at large listening stations in Europe and Asia, at isolated field sites and hilltop positions, aboard aircraft and in mobile units, and alongside combat forces. They were linguists, radio operators, cryptographers, analysts, technicians, and direction-finding specialists. Much of their work was highly classified, and many veterans spent decades unable to talk openly about what they had done.

During the Vietnam War, ASA personnel operated under the cover designation “Radio Research.” They intercepted North Vietnamese and Viet Cong communications, located enemy transmitters, monitored communications networks, and provided intelligence and early warning to American and allied forces. Specialist 4 James T. Davis of the 3rd Radio Research Unit was killed during a direction-finding mission on December 22, 1961, and is remembered as the first American battlefield casualty of the Vietnam War recognized by the Department of Defense.

The ASA continued operating around the globe until 1977, when it was dissolved and its functions were incorporated into the newly created U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). Its legacy continues in today’s Army signals intelligence, cybersecurity, and electronic warfare capabilities.

For this VBC program, we’re turning the conversation over to the people who actually served there. ASA veterans from different eras, specialties, and duty stations will share what they did—or what they can now tell us they did—along with stories of the strange places they worked, the equipment they used, the people they listened to, and the friendships they formed.

What was it like to spend your Army years listening to communications the other side didn’t know you could hear? What happened when an enemy radio network suddenly “went hot”? How much did ASA soldiers themselves understand about the larger intelligence picture? And what was it like to come home carrying stories you weren’t allowed to tell?

Whether you served in the ASA, knew someone who did, or have never heard of the agency before, join us for what promises to be a fascinating open conversation about one of the lesser-known corners of American military history.

ASA veterans are especially encouraged to join us, introduce themselves, and share their own stories.

Semper Vigiles—Vigilant Always.

In July 1943, General George S. Patton led the U.S. Seventh Army into Sicily in Operation Husky, the first major Allied assault on Axis-held Europe. What followed was a fast-moving campaign that showcased Patton’s aggressiveness, ambition, and battlefield leadership—and also revealed the controversies that would come to define his wartime reputation.

Historian and Patton expert Kevin Hymel, author of, Patton’s War: An American General’s Combat Leadership, joins Veterans Breakfast Club to examine Patton’s role in the Sicily campaign, from the fighting around Gela and the drive on Palermo to the race across the island toward Messina. We’ll look at Patton’s command decisions, his relationship with Allied leaders, the performance of the Seventh Army, and the incidents that nearly ended his career.

Join us for a closer look at one of World War II’s most famous—and most complicated—American commanders during a pivotal campaign in the Mediterranean.

Helicopters played an indispensable role in the Vietnam War, carrying troops and supplies, scouting enemy positions, providing fire support, evacuating the wounded, and giving commanders unprecedented mobility over some of the most difficult terrain in the world.

For Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam, Part II, we welcome back Gil Ferrey along with four more Army aviation veterans whose experiences span several aircraft, missions, and eras of the war.

Jim Stein flew the UH-1 Huey during his first tour in Vietnam and the OH-6 Cayuse “Loach” during his second. He was shot down ten times and lost a leg during his service.

Ed Strazzini, a retired lieutenant colonel, flew Huey gunships and troop-carrying “slicks,” as well as the CH-54 Tarhe heavy-lift helicopter during his second tour in Vietnam.

Bill Neuman flew Hueys in Vietnam and was wounded in action. He later continued his service with the California National Guard, flying both Hueys and CH-47 Chinooks.

Al Doucette served as a crew chief on the H-21 Shawnee in 1961 before returning to Vietnam as a Huey pilot with the 176th Assault Helicopter Company.

Gil Ferrey returns to share more about his service with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the “Blackhorse,” including his experiences flying OH-23 helicopters on command-and-control missions in Vietnam.

If you flew helicopters in Vietnam, we especially invite you to join us, share your own experiences, and take part in the conversation.

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

Most of us who were alive that day remember exactly where we were when we saw images of smoke pouring from the North Tower of the World Trade Center. We remember the second plane striking the South Tower live on television. And then, 56 minutes later, that tower collapsed, followed by its North twin at 10:28am. Meanwhile, another hijacked airplane hit the Pentagon, and reports came in of a fourth crashing into a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back.

We also remember the sickening feelings, the grief, and the sense that everything had changed in an instant.

For Marine veteran Andy Jones, September 11 also marked the beginning of a journey to war. Jones was serving with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines (3/6), the ground combat element of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and was assigned to a Light Armored Reconnaissance platoon in Weapons Company. His unit was already preparing for what was supposed to be a routine overseas deployment when the attacks came. They left early, and by late November 2001, Jones and his fellow Marines were in Afghanistan as part of the opening phase of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Andy will join us to remember what it was like to be a young Marine watching 9/11 unfold while knowing that his unit might soon be called into combat—and then finding himself in Afghanistan only weeks later.

Join the Veterans Breakfast Club for an open conversation marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11. We’ll remember the day itself, hear from Andy and other veterans whose lives and military service were changed by the attacks, talk about the wars that followed, and reflect on how September 11 shaped a generation of Americans in uniform and those who loved them.

This program will be what the Veterans Breakfast Club does best: gathering people to listen, remember, ask questions, and share experiences. Veterans, military family members, first responders, and civilians all have stories to tell and perspectives worth hearing.

Everyone is welcome, whether you served or not. Bring your memories, your stories, and your questions as we reflect together on the day that changed so much—and the twenty-five years that followed.

Is China already a great power—or still becoming one? And if it is, what does that mean for the United States, the Navy, and the balance of power at sea?

Dr. Bernard “Bud” Cole is a 30-year U.S. Navy veteran, former warship commander, and one of America’s leading experts on China’s military and maritime strategy.

Bud Cole has spent a lifetime in the Pacific—at sea, in uniform, and in the classroom—studying the very questions now dominating headlines:

Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.) – Surface Warfare Officer with 30 years of service
Commanded USS Rathburne (FF-1057) and a destroyer squadron
Served in Vietnam as a naval gunfire liaison officer with Marines
Former Professor of International History, National War College
Author of landmark works on China and naval power, including The Great Wall at Sea
He has watched China’s rise not from afar, but up close—over decades—as its navy evolved into a global force challenging U.S. influence across the Indo-Pacific.

What “great power” actually means—and whether China meets the test
The rapid expansion of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)
Why the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait matter so much
How maritime power shapes global trade, energy, and security
Where U.S.–China competition is heading—and what could go wrong
Lessons from history about rising powers and established ones
This is not a cable news argument or a policy lecture. It’s a conversation with someone who has served, commanded, studied, and taught the realities of naval power and great-power competition.

About VBC LIVE:
The Veterans Breakfast Club brings veterans, families, and the public together in communities of listening—where stories, experience, and history help us better understand today’s world.

#China #USNavy #IndoPacific #Taiwan #SouthChinaSea #Geopolitics #MilitaryHistory #NavalStrategy #Veterans #GreatPower #VBC

The Baghdad Shuffle is a crime thriller set against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but much of the world behind it comes directly from author Josh Bates’s own experience as a Marine.

Bates was serving as a Marine infantry officer when his unit pushed north from Kuwait into Iraq and eventually into Baghdad. What stayed with him was not only the combat, but the chaos that followed the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime—the looting, criminal activity, money left behind, and Marines suddenly dealing with situations far outside conventional warfare. One episode in particular, a Baghdad bank robbery involving thieves trying to breach a vault with RPGs, became part of the inspiration for the story he would eventually write.

Although the novel is fiction, Bates says much of the Iraq section grew out of things he actually experienced during the initial push to Baghdad and the period that followed. He estimates that roughly 85 to 90 percent of the events informing the first act happened to him in some form, then were condensed and reshaped for the story.

We’ll talk with Josh about his Marine Corps career, his experiences during the invasion of Iraq, and how those memories eventually became the foundation for a novel. We’ll also discuss the mix of military experience, crime, humor, and absurdity that shaped The Baghdad Shuffle, and why he wanted the book to reflect the perspective of the young Marines who actually lived through those early days of the war.

Josh Bates is a retired Marine infantry and intelligence officer, podcaster, and author. The Baghdad Shuffle is his first novel.

We welcome helicopter pilots in Vietnam to VBC LIVE to discuss their service with these iconic machines. Nothing, in fact, is more closely associated with the Vietnam War than the helicopter.

More than 12,000 helicopters served in Southeast Asia, carrying troops into battle, evacuating the wounded, escorting convoys, directing artillery, scouting enemy positions, and providing close air support. For the men who flew them, every mission demanded skill and courage, plus some luck.

Joining us are Army helicopter pilots whose combined experiences span some of the most important aircraft and missions of the war.

Barry Lloyd flew UH-1 Huey gunships and OH-23 Raven scout helicopters during two combat tours in Vietnam. Twice wounded in action, he survived being shot down before going on to a distinguished civilian career as Chief Pilot for CAL FIRE.

Barry Desfor flew UH-1 Hueys and AH-1 Cobra gunships in Vietnam before returning as an instructor pilot. After the war, he founded HeliValue$ and created The Official Helicopter Blue Book®, the worldwide standard for helicopter valuation.

Gil Ferrey flew OH-23 Ravens and UH-1 Hueys, first in Korea and then with the legendary 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment during its deployment to Vietnam. As a command-and-control pilot, he witnessed firsthand how helicopters transformed modern warfare.

Together they’ll discuss what it was like to fly low over jungle canopies, insert troops into landing zones, escort convoys, search for enemy forces, and survive one of the most dangerous jobs of the Vietnam War.

If you flew helicopters in Vietnam or served in Army aviation we especially invite you to join us and share your own memories and questions.

Among the helicopters we’ll discuss are some of these icons of the war:

UH-1 Iroquois (“Huey”) – the workhorse utility helicopter used for troop transport, medevac, command and control, and gunship missions.
AH-1 Cobra – the Army’s first purpose-built attack helicopter, developed to escort Hueys and provide devastating fire support.
OH-23 Raven – a light observation helicopter used for scouting, artillery spotting, and command-and-control missions during the early years of the war.
OH-6 Cayuse (“Loach”) – a tiny, agile scout helicopter famous for flying dangerously low in search of enemy forces.
CH-47 Chinook – the Army’s heavy-lift helicopter, capable of carrying troops, artillery, vehicles, and supplies.
CH-54 Skycrane – the giant flying crane used to recover downed aircraft and move heavy equipment.

During World War II, the United States built 2,710 Liberty ships to move the cargo needed to fight a global war. They were plain, inexpensive, and often called “ugly ducklings,” but without them the Allied victory would have been impossible.

Join the Veterans Breakfast Club as Glenn Flickinger welcomes award-winning journalist and author Doug Most to discuss his acclaimed new book, Launching Liberty: The Epic Race to Build the Ships That Took America to War.

Doug tells the remarkable story of how Franklin Roosevelt, industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, naval architects, welders, engineers, and hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans created one of the greatest industrial achievements in history. In just a few short years, American shipyards transformed shipbuilding from a process measured in months into one measured in weeks—and sometimes even days. Along the way, women, African Americans, migrants from across the country, and first-time shipbuilders became part of an extraordinary workforce that helped supply Allied armies around the globe.

We’ll talk about why Liberty ships mattered so much, how Henry Kaiser’s innovative shipyards changed manufacturing forever, and how America’s race to outproduce German U-boats became one of the great untold stories of World War II. Just as importantly, we’ll remember the hundreds of thousands of workers—many of them building ships for the first time—whose efforts transformed the United States into the Arsenal of Democracy and helped win the war.

The Veterans Breakfast Club creates communities of listening around veterans and their stories to connect, educate, heal, and inspire.

#LibertyShips #WorldWarII #WWII #MerchantMarine #HenryKaiser #DougMost #MilitaryHistory #NavalHistory #GreatestGeneration #VeteransBreakfastClub #ArsenalOfDemocracy #HomeFront #History #WW2History

We celebrate the U.S. Coast Guard’s birthday with an Open Conversation with USCG veterans on Monday, August 3 at 7:00pm ET. Join us as we talk with Coast Guard veterans about what makes their service so distinct—and so essential to the nation’s security and safety.

Founded on August 4, 1790, the Coast Guard is the oldest continuous seagoing service in the United States. Unlike other branches, the USCG has a dual mission: military operations during wartime and law enforcement, search and rescue, and maritime safety during peacetime. It is the only military branch that operates under the Department of Homeland Security (except during wartime, when it may transfer to the Department of the Navy).

What sets the Coast Guard apart?

Maritime law enforcement: The Coast Guard has the authority to board, search, seize, and arrest vessels suspected of violating federal law.

Search and rescue operations: From hurricanes to sinking ships, the Coast Guard is the first call in times of maritime crisis.

Icebreaking and navigation aid: Coasties operate in Arctic and Great Lakes regions to maintain critical shipping lanes and place navigational buoys.

Drug and migrant interdiction: They play a front-line role in combating illegal trafficking on the high seas.

In this special birthday celebration, we’ll hear from Coast Guard veterans who served aboard cutters, on coastal patrol, in aviation, and at isolated duty stations. They’ll share stories of adventure, service, and resilience—from intercepting narco-subs in the Caribbean to medevac missions in the Bering Sea.

We’ll explore what it means to be “Always Ready”—Semper Paratus—and why Coast Guard veterans are proud to serve in a branch that blends military rigor with humanitarian urgency.

Help us mark this important anniversary by honoring the stories of those who serve in America’s maritime guardian force.

#USCoastGuard #CoastGuardBirthday #SemperParatus #VeteransBreakfastClub #VBCLive #MaritimeService #SearchAndRescue #MilitaryVeterans #CoastGuardStorie

The Holocaust did not begin with Auschwitz. Before the gas chambers became instruments of industrialized murder, mobile SS killing squads known as the Einsatzgruppen followed the German army into Eastern Europe, massacring more than a million Jews, Roma, Soviet prisoners, and civilians in forests, ravines, villages, and fields.

After the war, a young American Army investigator named Benjamin “Ben” Ferencz uncovered the Nazis’ own meticulous records of these mass shootings. At just 27 years old—and having never argued a case in court—Ferencz was appointed Chief Prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen Trial at Nuremberg, where twenty-two SS commanders were charged with crimes against humanity in what newspapers called “the biggest murder trial in history.”

Join military historian Colin Heaton as he examines the history of the Einsatzgruppen, the evidence that exposed their crimes, and the landmark trial that helped establish modern international criminal law. Along the way, we’ll explore the remarkable life and legacy of Ben Ferencz, whose pursuit of justice shaped the postwar world and influenced generations of war crimes prosecutions.