Ask A Vet Podcast is a long-form conversation where veterans share their service experiences in their own words, with respect and control over what they choose to talk about.
Ask A Vet Podcast
Claim This Podcastby Curious Humanography
52 episodes
Updated Daily
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Podcast Overview
Ask A Vet Podcast is a long-form conversation where veterans share their service experiences in their own words, with respect and control over what they choose to talk about.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
11/20/2025
1 verified contact email on file for Ask A Vet Podcast
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Recent Episodes
July 16, 2026
What They Don’t Tell You About Giving Up Everything at 32 to Become a Green Beret
<p>He gave up two businesses and a comfortable life at 32 years old to become a Green Beret — then spent six months in the Congo hunting one of the world's most wanted warlords, Joseph Kony.</p><p>In this episode, Josh Nacey takes us from a small painting company in Rock Springs, Wyoming, through Special Forces selection, the Q Course, and multiple deployments — including a split-team operation in the Congo where his unit fought alongside Congolese forces, dealt with poachers and elephant killings, and lived alongside a warlord's brutal reach. He also opens up about what almost nobody in Special Operations wants to talk about: transitioning home, operator syndrome, divorce, and the suicide statistics that are 30% higher for special operations veterans than the rest of the military.</p><p>Josh now runs the CharlieMike Foundation and is launching Mend the Drift, a new initiative using fly fishing to help special operations veterans heal.</p><p><br></p><p>⏱️ TIMESTAMPS</p><p>1:27 – Military roots: two grandfathers, two wars</p><p>3:14 – Enlisting at 32</p><p>10:00 – The recruiter's 8-month test</p><p>12:15 – Arriving at basic training</p><p>22:26 – The hardest part: Q Course & Small Unit Tactics</p><p>41:40 – What is a Green Beret, really?</p><p>44:35 – Inside a 12-man ODA</p><p>46:13 – Becoming an 18 Charlie (demolitions)</p><p>57:16 – Graduation day: earning the Green Beret</p><p>1:01:10 – First deployment: the Philippines</p><p>1:15:20 – The mission: hunting Joseph Kony</p><p>1:16:07 – Deploying to the Congo</p><p>1:18:37 – First impressions of the Congo</p><p>1:21:31 – Hunting the LRA</p><p>1:23:46 – The village and the two men</p><p>1:29:25 – Patrolling the jungle with Congolese forces</p><p>1:33:52 – Poachers, elephants, and a warzone for wildlife</p><p>1:37:36 – The hippo story</p><p>1:43:07 – A tragic firefight</p><p>1:49:52 – Coming home: "operator syndrome"</p><p>1:55:21 – Hitting bottom and asking for help</p><p>1:58:50 – Ketamine, SGB, and resetting fight-or-flight</p><p>2:04:58 – Founding the CharlieMike Foundation</p><p>2:06:52 – Fly fishing and Operation Pay It Forward</p><p>2:11:15 – Mend the Drift: his new mission</p><p>2:12:48 – The suicide numbers no one talks about</p><p>2:16:30 – The real cost of service</p><p><br></p><p>🤝 SUPPORT THE MISSION</p><p>CharlieMike Foundation & Mend The Drift: https://mendthedrift.org/</p><p>Operation Pay It Forward: https://opif4ourvets.org/</p><p><br></p><p>IF YOU'RE STRUGGLING</p><p><strong>This episode includes candid discussion of combat, military transition, and veteran suicide statistics. If you or someone you know is a veteran in crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line is available 24/7: call 988 then press 1, text 838255, or chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net.</strong></p><p>#GreenBeret #SpecialForces #Veteran #JosephKony #Congo #MentalHealth #Podcast</p><p><br></p>
July 9, 2026
What They Don't Tell You About Vietnam Artillery
<p>Robert Williams grew up in Colville, Utah, and followed three generations of his family into the military: commissioning through Army ROTC at the University of Utah before serving as an artillery officer in Vietnam. In this episode of Ask A Vet, Robert takes us from basic training at Fort Lewis through his time as a battery commander on a remote firebase in the Vietnamese highlands — the boredom, the terror, the firefights, a helicopter crash, and the split-second decision that came closest to costing a life. He also opens up about the reception he received coming home, the PTSD he didn't recognize until decades later, and what finally started to heal on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. with his son.</p><p>This is Episode 50 of Ask A Vet — thank you for fifty episodes of listening to these stories.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>CHAPTERS:</strong></p><p>00:28 – Meet Robert: growing up in Colville, Utah, and a family history of service </p><p>02:53 – ROTC, a failed physical, and fighting to stay in </p><p>04:59 – Basic training at Fort Lewis </p><p>07:28 – Fort Sill: learning the guns and the M101 howitzer </p><p>09:33 – Night training and a scare on aggressor detail </p><p>11:55 – Firepower demonstrations and "time on target" </p><p>14:20 – Orders to Vietnam: leaving a pregnant wife behind </p><p>16:49 – Landing in-country on New Year's Day </p><p>19:13 – Camp Red Horse and life in the rear </p><p>21:38 – Taking command on LZ Linda / Hill 270 </p><p>26:30 – Under fire: flechette rounds and a 20-minute firefight </p><p>28:47 – The drug problem on the hill </p><p>31:09 – Urinalysis, discipline, and hard calls as a young officer </p><p>33:35 – Inside the Fire Direction Center </p><p>36:00 – Contaminated water takes down the whole battery </p><p>38:26 – Getting sick, and leading men barely out of high school </p><p>40:23 – Keeping men sane: cockroach races and homemade games </p><p>44:49 – Going down in a helicopter </p><p>47:10 – The rocket attack they weren't allowed to stop </p><p>49:33 – B-52 strikes and danger-close air support </p><p>51:58 – Witnessing a midair collision 53:58 – Reassigned to Quinyon as base defense officer </p><p>56:02 – The closest he came to killing someone — and becoming the "whore control officer" </p><p>58:30 – Discipline duty during off-base entertainment nights </p><p>1:00:41 – A Montagnard farewell dinner: a crossbow, poison, and pigeon heads </p><p>1:02:38 – A body on the shore and the final weeks in-country </p><p>1:05:05 – Riding with a Korean convoy </p><p>1:07:19 – Two of the hardest things he saw in Vietnam </p><p>1:09:45 – A close call with incoming mortars </p><p>1:11:55 – Notes for the colonel and the province chief </p><p>1:13:44 – Learning his daughter was born — and had emergency surgery </p><p>1:15:18 – R&R in Hawaii, and the hardest part: going back </p><p>1:17:29 – Wheels up for home </p><p>1:19:51 – Coming home to a hostile crowd in San Francisco </p><p>1:21:49 – Assignments in Germany and Minnesota, finishing a master's degree </p><p>1:24:14 – Leaving the Army and his takeaway from Vietnam </p><p>1:25:38 – Recognizing PTSD — decades later </p><p>1:28:44 – What lingers: sights, sounds, and smells that don't go away </p><p>1:30:26 – Agent Orange, burn pits, and the health costs that show up later </p><p>1:32:00 – The Honor Flight with his son </p><p>1:33:24 – A welcome home, decades overdue </p><p>1:34:06 – Final thoughts & Reflections</p><p><br></p><p>If you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com. </p><p><br></p><p>🎖️ Curious Humanography is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight, helping veterans visit memorials built in their honor. To learn more or support their mission, visit UtahHonorFlight.org and <a href="http://honorflight.org"><u>honorflight.org</u></a>.</p><p>If this story moved you, please consider liking, commenting, and subscribing — it helps us continue sharing stories that deserve to be heard.</p><p><br></p>
July 3, 2026
What They Didn't Tell Me About Being a Marine Door Gunner
<p><strong>Larry Winters </strong>served as a Marine helicopter mechanic and door gunner in Vietnam, stationed at Phu Bai and Marble Mountain outside Da Nang in 1969. He grew up in a house with no electricity or running water in upstate New York, ran away from an abusive father at 16, and joined the Marines at 19 trying to "become a man." </p><p>What he found in boot camp and Vietnam set him on a 56-year journey to understand what war actually does to the people who fight it.</p><p>In this conversation, Larry talks about the brutal turning points of boot camp at Parris Island, his attempted AWOL into Mexico, the day he refused an order to fire on Vietnamese fishermen, and the concept that's defined his life's work as a therapist: moral injury. His take on why veterans are dying by suicide will challenge everything you've been told about PTSD.</p><p>Larry is the author of "The Making and Unmaking of a Marine" and is currently finishing his second book.</p><p>⚠️ Content warning: This episode contains discussion of war, combat, violence against civilians, suicide, and moral injury. </p><p>If you or a veteran you know is in crisis, call the Veterans Crisis Line at 988 and press 1, or text 838255.</p><p><br></p><p><u><strong>CHAPTERS</strong></u></p><p>00:30 Growing up in Newpaltz, NY</p><p>02:30 Signing up for the Marines at 19</p><p>05:00 Parris Island — the yellow footprints</p><p>09:30 Boot camp turning points: the hot sauce and the rifle bolt</p><p>13:30 Coming home, ITR training, and shoe polish in the barracks</p><p>22:30 Metalsmith school and shipping out to Vietnam</p><p>29:30 Landing at Phu Bai — 126 degrees and Marston matting</p><p>32:30 Tet, the move to Marble Mountain, and a sergeant's chilling words</p><p>35:30 Locals on the base, peace symbols under shirts</p><p>37:00 Becoming a door gunner — and getting in trouble first</p><p>39:30 Three months on perimeter guard, the starlight scope</p><p>42:30 The sandpan incident: "I'm not firing this"</p><p>47:30 Flying missions, napalm, and the bulldozer that wouldn't lift</p><p>52:00 The Freedom Bird home and protesters in San Diego</p><p>58:30 College, poetry, and the long road to becoming a therapist</p><p>1:10:00 Moral injury vs. PTSD — what's really killing veterans</p><p>1:16:00 Presence as the best treatment</p><p>1:20:00 Creativity, spontaneity, and finding his voice</p><p>1:24:00 Final Reflections</p><p><br></p><p>📕 Larry's first book "The Making and Unmaking of a Marine" — https://www.amazon.com/Making-Making-Marine-Larry-Winters/dp/0979229340</p><p><br></p><p>📕 Larry's upcoming book: https://www.koehlerbooks.com/book/the-tug-of-war-a-reckoning-with-moral-injury-and-telling-the-truth/</p><p>Larry's Substack: https://larrywinters.substack.com/</p>
52 total episodes available
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