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The Marine Corps Association is dedicated in its mission to support Today’s Marines. Our podcast, Scuttlebutt, seeks to create a forum to encourage and inspire Marines, former Marines, Marine families, and supporters of the Marine Corps to engage with issues that impact Marines and the Corps. Storytelling not only helps us unpack who we are, but brings us into conversation with the world and people around us. We will hear stories from Marines and civilians working to honor, uncover, and restore Marine Corps history, as well as from those working every day to make the world a better place.

Scuttlebutt Ep 79: Heroes Live Here with Amy Forsythe

Hello, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we welcome Amy Forsythe, the author of the book, Heroes Live Here: A Tribute to Camp Pendleton Marines Since 9/11, to the show. Amy is a veteran Marine and award-winning military journalist who served five combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been on assignment for several other overseas…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 77: World of Wargaming with Major Ian Brown

Hello, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week on MCA Scuttlebutt, the World of Wargaming Series continues with author, Marine, and prolific wargamer Major Ian T. Brown. Ian is the operations officer at the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare, Marine Corps University. He is also the author of the book, “A New Conception of War:…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 76: From the Yellow Footprints to NASA

Hello, Scuttlebutt listeners. There’s a common  misconception that there are only two types of people that work at NASA: astronauts and scientists. If Hollywood has it right, the only buildings are the control center and the launching pad. And everyone in the control center is sweating profusely and chain smoking. But in reality, it takes…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 74: Devotion with Adam Makos

Hello Scuttlebutt listeners! This week Vic and Nancy have a conversation with New York Times bestselling author Adam Makos about his book, “Devotion,” about naval aviators LT Tom Hudner and ENS Jesse Brown. Now a major motion picture, starring Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell, Devotion is a powerful story of Hudner’s unsuccessful attempt to save…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 73: OODA Loop and Cyber-wargaming with Nemertes CEO Johna Till Johnson

Hello again Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining. On this World of Wargaming episode of MCA Scuttlebutt, William speaks with the CEO and Founder of Nemertes, Johna Till Johnson, on the application of wargaming in the cyber realm. Nemertes is a research-based advisory and consulting firm that analyzes the business value of emerging technologies—which involves…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 71: The Rifle with Andrew Biggio

Hello Scuttlebutt listeners! Today William and Nancy sit down with Marine veteran Andrew Biggio, author of the book “The Rifle: Combat Stories from America’s Last World War II Veterans, Told Through an M1 Garand.” We had a great conversation with Andrew about the real cost of war and the lessons he has learned from talking…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 70: One-Year Anniversary of the War in Ukraine with Col Chris Woodbridge, USMC (Ret)

Hey Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for tuning in. We at the MCA really appreciate all your continued support. This week, we welcome Col Chris Woodbridge, USMC (Ret) and Editor of the Marine Corps Gazette to the studio to talk the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. It’s funny to say “welcome” because his office…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 69: Chris Pavlak – From Lawyer to Warrior

Hello again Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we welcome Chris Pavlak, Marine ground intelligence officer and author of the book, From Lawyer to Warrior, to the show. Chris’ journey to the yellow footprints is best captured by the term, persistence, which is a theme I think resonates for all of us. We joke that failure is…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 68: World of Wargaming with Donald Vandergriff

William sits down with one of his wargaming opponents, the author, historian, former Marine, and Army officer, Donald Vandergriff. The two discuss Donald’s wargaming experience and expertise and give an overview of their current wargame scenario: Wargame Design Studio’s Overland Campaign,  Crossing the James (an American Civil War scenario). Can Donald’s Confederate Army of Northern…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 66: Semper Savage with John Currie

This week on MCA Scuttlebutt, William meets with John Currie. John is a retired Marine who served as a helicopter pilot in the Balkans as well as several combat tours in the Middle East. John, who was working in Iraq at the time of the recording, also offers some insight on recent developments in the…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 65: Michael Hunzeker

Happy Lunar New Year, Scuttlebutt listeners. I hope the Year of the Cat is off to a start for everyone. This week, we welcome Dr. Michael Hunzeker for first ever segment crossover – Strait Talk and World of Wargaming (Strait Wargaming? War Talk?) – discussing the recent CSIS wargame of a potential conflict in the…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 64: Tim Barrick

Welcome to MCA Scuttlebutt’s new series: World of Wargaming. In this series, we will discuss the application of wargaming as a teaching tool. For our first episode in this series, William sits down with the Director of Wargaming at the Krulak Center for Innovation & Future Warfare, Marine Corps University, Tim Barrick. They discuss how…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 63: Kacy Tellessen

Hello again, Scuttlebutt listeners. This week we are joined by Kacy Tellessen, veteran Marine infantryman and author of the book, Freaks of a Feather. He comes to us from Spokane, WA where is attending Gonzaga Law School. Kacy joined the infantry directly out of high school and deployed twice to Iraq as a machine gunner…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 62: Miles Vining and Battle at Lake Changjin

Miles Vining returns to recount his experiences working as a historical consultant for the 2021 Chinese film, “The Battle at Lake Changjin.”  Grossing over $900 million, “The Battle at Lake Changjin” offers a historically dubious account of the Korean War from the Chinese perspective, including depictions of the Battle of Inchon, the Chinese counteroffensive, the…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 61: Jeremiah Workman

This week we welcome to the show, Navy Cross recipient and author of the book, Shadow of the Sword, Jeremiah Workman to talk to us about his amazing journey from Ohio native, to his time with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, to writing his book, to being on the GOP ticket for deputy governor of Ohio….

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Scuttlebutt Ep 60: Missing Marines with Geoff Roecker

Writer Geoff Roecker joined us in studio recently to talk about how the search for information about a family member’s death on Saipan in 1944 led him to become a volunteer MIA researcher. We also talked about his book, “Leaving Mac Behind,” his website, MissingMarines.com and his articles for Leatherneck. As an added bonus, there…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 59: “Bravo Company” by Ben Kesling

Ben Kesling—journalist, author, and Marine combat veteran—joined us to discuss his newly released book, “Bravo Company: An Afghanistan Deployment and Its Aftermath.” “Bravo Company” recounts the experiences of a company from the 82nd Airborne Division as they grappled with the enemy in the Arghandab Valley of Afghanistan before then returning and readjusting to civilian life….

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Scuttlebutt Ep 55: Ukrainian Counteroffensive

It is hard to believe that in 8 short months, Ukraine has gone from having a lightly armed and trained Territorial Defense Force, to defending its capital city from one of the world’s most powerful militaries, to now possessing one of the best trained and equipped armies in the world. The turnaround in Ukraine is…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 54: Old Breed General

Hello everyone. Recently we welcomed to the studio Amy Rupertus Peacock and Don Brown, authors of “Old Breed General: How Marine Corps General William H. Rupertus Broke the Back of the Japanese in World War II from Guadalcanal to Peleliu” for an awesome and informative conversation. Among many things, General William H. Rupertus is the author of the…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 53: At Dawn of Airpower with Dr. Larry Burke

National Museum of the Marine Corps Aviation Curator Dr. Larry Burke joined us on Scuttlebutt this week to talk about Marine Corps Aviation. Dive into the very birth of aviation from the invention of the airplane, through the birth of armed forces aviation, then World War I and into the Caribbean and Central America as…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 51: “Need to Know” Author Nick Reynolds

This week on Scuttlebutt Vic and William sit down with best selling author Nick Reynolds, writer of the sterling “Need to Know” which covers the rise of American Intelligence during World War II. From his experience in 1975 when he was told “You don’t want to be in Intel,” through his USMC and CIA career,…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 48: “Strait Talk” with Dr. Michael Hunzeker

In light of the recent trip to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the subsequent saber-rattling by China, now seems as good of a time as any to start keeping regular tabs on the Taiwan Strait. Dr. Hunzeker, who has studied the military, political, social, economic, and historical factors that have created one…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 47: “Always Faithful” with Maj Tom Schueman

Friend of the show Maj Tom Schueman and his Afghan interpreter, friend, and brother Zainullah “Zak” Zaki have written “Always Faithful”, which describes their parallel lives, converging paths, and unbreakable bond in the face of overwhelming danger, culminating in Zak and his family’s harrowing escape from Kabul.  After getting our hands on an early copy of…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 46: Miles Vining talks Afghanistan Aftermath

Miles Vining returns to Scuttlebutt to chat with us about the immediate fallout after the US pullout in Afghanistan. He and some of his fellow Free Burma Rangers spent time in the mountainous regions on the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, helping refugees where and how they could. Its an eye-opening discussion about a region of the world…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 44: Analyzing the MEB? Shore to Shore off Saipan?

The team is trying something new this week, segments! Catch up with Gazette, Leatherneck, Friends of the Show and a bit of history as we dive into the MEB, Modern Day Marine, Saipan, and catch up with a bunch of our previous guests! Thanks to Service Credit Union for supporting us, check them out! https://servicecu.org/…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 43: MCDP-8 Information, Maneuvering in Russia?

This week on Scuttlebutt we dive into the recently published MCDP-8: Information and talk about this 7th function of warfighting. We also chime in on Marinus’ arguments about Russians employing maneuver warfare in Ukraine, whether or not China is benefitting from the state of the globe, and we even touch on a post Nazarbayev Kazakhstan…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 42: The M1 Garand, A True Classic

Happy Independence Day! Jon Bernstein and Sam Lichtman join Nick, William, and Nancy to chat about one of the most iconic weapons of war, the M1 Garand. Mr. Bernstein, who works at the National Museum of the Marine Corps is part of the team that is restoring and bringing a unique rifle from the Makin…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 41: PTSD Awareness with Dr Adam Hunzeker

Dr. Adam Hunzeker, who served as an Army Psychiatrist prior to his work in private practice, joined Vic to peel back the layers of PTSD causes, awareness and treatment. They investigate the biological causes of PTSD, the history of our understanding of it, and the resistance many feel about getting treated for it. Our understanding…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 38: Benjie Manibog, Making it Happen with Thrash-N-Raid and Six Feet Above

GySgt Benjie Manibog, USMC (Ret), was an anti-authoritarian youth turned MARSOC Raider and is the CEO of Thrash-N-Raid, a Southern California skateboard company and Operations Officer of Six Feet Above, a veteran outreach foundation that uses skateboarding to build veteran community. From the fateful day he met a Marine Recruiter who helped him clean up…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 37: Ray Branham, Enlisted Young to Work on Aircraft, Now at Lockheed Martin

GySgt Raymond Branham, USMC (Ret), is a Quality Engineering Program Manager for the ATACMS system at Lockheed Martin. Anxious to join the Corps, he enlisted at 16, celebrated his 18th birthday at boot camp, spent 21 years in the Marines where he worked on Harriers and Sabreliners, before taking advantage of educational resources to continue…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 35: “Farmer” Paul Greive from Marine Intelligence to Chicken Farming

This week Vic sits down with Paul Greive, a former ground intelligence officer turned SoCal sustainable, certified wildlife friendly pasture-raised chicken farmer. His company, Pasturebird, is a wholesale pasture poultry operation located just a few miles east of Camp Pendleton, where Paul spent much of his fleet time. Paul talks to us about how his…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 32: “Once A Marine” filmmaker Stephen Canty

Stephen Canty sat down with William to talk about his stunning documentary “Once A Marine” available on Amazon Prime. Canty, who served two tours in Afghanistan, including Marjah, spent seven years on the documentary and takes us on the journey of what it meant to make the film, how to listen to veterans, and the…

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Scuttlebutt Ep 31: Dr. Marc DeVore’s insights on Russia

Dr. Marc DeVore, a Senior Lecturer at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, is an expert on the political economy of defense, the international arms trade, military innovation, and more joined Vic and William to help us understand Russia’s military and how we were so far off the target when it came to the…

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Scuttlebutt Writer’s Guide

In this edition of Scuttlebutt Col Woodbridge joins Vic and William to discuss military writing for professional defense journals such as Marine Corps Gazette. Learn the broad strokes from argumentative, fact-supported positioning, to knowing the publication’s audience, to avoiding plagiarism. If you or someone you know is contemplating writing for a military journal, listen in…

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