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MSG Darrell Utt retired from the U.S. Army Special Forces in January of 2017 after 26.5 years in the Army.

For this episode, he joins me in person and we have a great time covering the purpose of the National Medal of Honor Museum being constructed in Arlington, TX and why TX was chosen over Colorado. It seems Jerry Jones had something to do with it too.

He shares some Medal of Honor recipients who most resonate with him and what the Medal of Honor recipients want this museum to actually be–focus on courage, sacrifice, commitment, integrity, citizenship and patriotism.

We also discuss his time in Iraq in 2006 with Operation Parliament. He and his team were able to rescue a hostage unharmed after letting the kidnappers know in no uncertain terms that it would be in their best interest to release her to avoid further action against them.

In addition, we cover his favorite books, IEDs, his Alive Day of April 17, 2006–how 1″ made the difference, leadership lessons from Iraq, control what you can control, can’t fake preparation, calm breeds calm and more. Thanks for visiting me in Huntsville Darrell!

Mentioned in this podcast:

Burn the Boats book
Darrell on Combat Story podcast
Where the Red Fern Grows book
Last Out – Elegy of a Green Beret by Scott Mann
Ep 29: Larry and Janice Brown, parents of Adam Brown
Ep. 69: Woody Williams
Ep. 62: Sammy Davis

*Big thanks to M. Troy Bye at Our Town Podcast for hosting us in his studio.

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Blayne Smith-Team RWB Blayne Smith is the Executive Director of Team RWB (red, white and blue), a nonprofit that has become one the nation’s fastest growing veteran service organizations by “enriching the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity.”

In this episode, Blayne discusses his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a Scout Platoon Leader, and SF ODA officer, respectively. We dive into some details of leadership on the battlefield while down range. He shares how his team worked to be unified, even though they had several members attached who weren’t Green Berets who’d worked together for a few years. This was common with their Air Force combat controllers (JTAC’s), Special Operations Weathermen, dog trainers, etc.

Blayne struggled after he returned home and separated from the Army. He found he couldn’t push aside his memories and friendships during his time serving. Smith also needed to deal with the feelings of losing teammates during his final deployment. He became a different person: the tires on his mountain bike went flat. The soles of his golf shoes rotted. His guitar sat silent, and he lost confidence in himself.

Team RWB

He found therapy in getting out in his community, running, and thanks to a friend, joined Team RWB. He counsels those who are struggling (veteran or not) to “take care of it. Talk to somebody.” He also found great success at the VA. Additionally, Team RWB is in over 200 cities across the country and their shirts are easy to spot at any running event in the US.

This West Point grad was in college when we were attacked on 9/11. After his first deployment, he cross-trained to special forces and deployed to Afghanistan as a detachment commander for the 3rd Special Forces Group. It was an honor to talk to this Patriot who has dedicated his days to serving others.

You’ll also enjoy hearing Blayne Smith and J.J. Pinter on Eagle Nation podcast. Links with more info below:

https://www.teamrwb.org/

Eagle Nation podcast

Here is a little more background on Blayne:

www.teamrwb.org/blog/blayne-smith-a-soldier-in-parts/

Music courtesy of Soundroad – Believe.
Copyright 2017 Thad Forester
http://www.patriottothecore.com
email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

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Ep 102 | Darrell Utt – Army Special Forces (Ret.) and National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation Chief of Bus. Ops

Episode 025 – Blayne Smith, Executive Director of Team RWB

Team RWB

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