The Jedburgh Podcast

For the United States Military Academy at West Point, football is about more than winning games. It’s about preparing young men to lead America’s next generation of soldiers in the defense of freedom at home and abroad.

General George C. Marshall famously said, “I want an officer for a secret and dangerous mission. I want a West Point football player.”

More than 80 years later, that philosophy remains at the foundation of Army football. Discipline. Toughness. Accountability. Teamwork. And the ability to perform under pressure when failure isn’t an option.

From the recently completed East Grandstands at Michie Stadium, Fran Racioppi sat down with the leader of the Black Knights, Head Coach Jeff Monken.

Since taking over in 2014, Monken has transformed Army football into a championship contender, earning conference titles, bowl victories, and multiple Commander-in-Chief Trophies. But the true measure of his success extends far beyond the scoreboard; success on the field must eventually lead to success on the battlefield.

From recruiting players who embrace a commitment to service, to building resilient leaders in the locker room, to adapting a game plan when the opponent changes, Monken’s approach instills in cadet athletes the principles required to lead soldiers. His philosophy is simple; focus on the fundamentals, prepare relentlessly and when called to battle, lead with speed and violence of action.

And when it comes to service academy rivals; never let a sailor or airman off the hook. Go Army. Beat Navy…and Air Force!

Highlights:
00:00 - Introduction
02:49 - Michie Stadium Transformation
06:01 - Army Game Day
06:51 - Recruiting Future Leaders
10:06 - Life as a Cadet-Athlete
13:14 - Building a Winning Culture
16:46 - Fundamentals and Discipline
19:23 - The Army-Navy Rivalry
21:51 - The 2026 Army Football Team
24:30 - Motivation vs. Discipline
29:03 - Duty, Honor, Country
30:11 - Go Army, Beat Navy

Quotes:
"This is one of the most beautiful places in America."
"They're going to be in charge."
"They're going to lead others."
"Our most important role is to educate, train, and inspire these young men and women to be leaders of character to serve."
"Can I trust you? Are you committed to excellence? Do you care about me?"
"Toughness, humility, effort, and execution is really the philosophy that we have for winning here."
"You just executed the foundations and the fundamentals of your task to a higher standard, more consistently, without compromise."
"The best way to win a game is not to lose it."
"There's a level of professionalism that successful people live by."
"It is generations of soldiers that we represent."
"We all have a responsibility to each other to do our very best for the team."
"Motivation is a feeling, and discipline is a decision."
"I'm here to serve this team. This team isn't here for me."
"Every team I've had has been different."
"They chose to come here. They chose to serve, and I think that sets them apart from all of their peers."
"I couldn't have passed the first math class here."
"Like a family, they spend time breaking bread at the table."
"The memories of winning those games are great. The agony of losing those games is almost unbearable."
"They don't have egos. They fight hard for each other. They push each other, and they hold the standard."
"I wanted my leadership and the things I value to go beyond our locker room into the United States Army."
"Do right. Do your best, and show people you care."
"You're doing it for something much bigger than yourself."
"Go Army, Beat Navy."

Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

The battlefield is more than guns, aircraft, ships and vehicles. Sometimes the most important weapon is an adversary’s perception.

Since inception, US Army Special Forces have been central to shaping human behavior and enemy perspective; still the most important factors in military decision making.

The objective isn’t always to change what someone believes. Sometimes we only need to change what they do, where they go, or the decision they make long enough to create an advantage. That’s the battlefield of Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs.

From the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum at Fort Bragg, I sat down with Colonel Steve Santucci, Colonel Jeff Uherka, and Colonel Bob Cusick to go inside two of the most misunderstood capabilities in Army Special Operations and examine how Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs are shaping today’s battlefield.

For these units, the mission is about precision influence. Identify the decision maker. Understand how they think. Force a decision. Create time and space. Then give commanders an opportunity to exploit it.

Artificial intelligence, large language models, cyber capabilities, drones, and the digital information environment are creating new ways to understand and influence an audience. But on a battlefield where communications can be degraded and the electromagnetic spectrum contested, some of the answers may come from the past.

Information warfare is also being consolidated under Army Special Operations, and the Army is building a more unified approach to how it trains and employs information professionals across the force.

On today’s battlefield, destroying the enemy may not always be the most powerful option. If we can influence what they see, shape what they understand, and change the decisions they make, we may never have to fire a shot.

Highlights:
00:00 - Introduction
02:59 - Defining PSYOPs and Civil Affairs Missions
07:50 - Behavior vs. Mindset
10:57 - Delivery Mechanisms
13:25 - Language and Culture
17:25 - Recruitment
21:07 - Qualification Course Pipelines
27:18 - Decentralization to Special Forces Groups
31:31 - Consolidation of Army Information Operations
39:53 - Future Operating Capabilities
44:58 - Daily Habits

Quotes"
“At the end of the day, it's about providing influence and deception’s word of commanders, to provide them time, space, and advantage on the battlefield.”
“Can we change their mind just for a couple minutes, to divert, to deceive, to create opportunity for blue forces.”
“Influence the influencers, and through an indigenous approach, they are able to change the minds of the population for our mutual objectives.”
“We have to pull back on the history machine and relearn the things that we've forgotten about over the years.”
“Technology can't replace the human to human eye to eye contact to influence a key leader.”
“They don't want us to do anything other than offer ideas and solutions that they just hadn't considered.”
“The Army wants more.”
“He wants precision influence. He wants us to hit that decision maker.”
“Sometimes what is old is new again.”
“But at the end of the day, we all know we just we have to listen.”
“I think as a foundation for a good soldier, which builds a team, which builds a company, a battalion, and a brigade.”
“Leaders need time to think. Leaders need time to prepare for coaching. Leaders need time to understand what's going on around them, so they can issue clear, sound guidance.”
“Leaders have to be present.”
“It's a capability that can be employed across the force, and it's only better when it works in harmony.”

Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

On September 11, 2001, America was attacked. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost. As night fell, the world waited as America planned their response. Within weeks, a small force of Green Berets, CIA Paramilitary Case Officers, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment flight crews and Army Rangers would launch one of the most extraordinary unconventional warfare campaigns in military history.

The first Special Forces units who touched down in Afghanistan would forever become known as the Horse Soldiers.

Twenty-five years later, their legacy stands at Ground Zero, where a lone Green Beret on horseback remains in permanent overwatch of the Twin Towers, their memory and the legacy of all those lost.

From the base of the Horse Soldier statue in New York City’s Liberty Park, Fran Racioppi sat down with retired Lieutenant General John Mulholland, who commanded 5th Special Forces Group on September 11 and led America into Afghanistan. LTG Mulholland shares his firsthand account of the attacks, the mission into Afghanistan, and the extraordinary effort to bring America’s Response Monument to Ground Zero.

Also joining us is Dave Holland, Green Beret and founder of Longtab Brewing, whose personal connection to 9/11 and service in Afghanistan inspired Strength And Honor, an American Strong Ale honoring the Horse Soldiers and their legacy.

This is America’s response, a tribute to the men who achieved the impossible, and a promise that their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Strength and Honor! De Oppresso Liber!

Highlights:
00:00 Introduction
02:00 General Mulholland’s 9/11 Response
05:41 The First Infiltrations into Afghanistan
08:37 The Horse Soldiers’ Legacy
10:02 The Story Behind the Statue
14:13 Bringing the Monument to Ground Zero
18:40 The “Strength and Honor” Beer Tribute
22:05 Supporting the Green Beret Foundation

Quotes:
"We're going to war in Afghanistan."
“This will be an unconventional war."
"Smoking a hole in the mountainside doesn't do me any good. We can't replace the hook. We can't replace you. We damn sure can't replace that A-team."
"We are here. We are here with you. Get us up there where we can do some damage."
"It took an entire team working together."
"That needs to be on Ground Zero in permanent overwatch of the Twin Towers."
“There was no other name that it could be other than Strength and Honor."

Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

A portion of all proceeds from Strength and Honor is donated to the Green Beret Foundation, supporting America’s Special Forces Operators and their families of all generations.

Speed of innovation will be the deciding factor on today’s battlefields. The technology soldiers need to survive and win cannot take years to field. For generations, one of the Army’s greatest challenges has been closing the distance between the soldier who identifies a need and the acquisition system responsible for delivering the solution.

At Fort Bragg, the XVIII Airborne Corps is attacking that problem head on.

Colonel Tom Monaghan, has a mission - build the Joint Innovation Outpost - putting soldiers, acquisition professionals, industry, funding, testing, and Army program offices together to accelerate the development of solutions.

No red tape. No delays. No endless discussion about contract vehicles. Just lethality, survivability, and mobility.

Colonel Monaghan joins Fran Racioppi to discuss the theory behind the JIOP, Dragon’s Lair, artificial intelligence, and why some of the Army’s best innovations are coming directly from soldiers closest to the problem; including counter-drone and unmanned systems.

For Monaghan, the leadership philosophy behind that mission is just as important as the technology: provide clarity, listen to the soldier, and solve problems. The JIOP is proving that acquisition does not always have to begin thousands of miles from the operational force. Sometimes the person with the answer is already standing on the drop zone, sitting inside the vehicle, or carrying the equipment that needs to change.

Innovate. Accelerate. Dominate. The Joint Innovation Outpost is building a model designed to ensure that when America's soldiers identify the battlefield need, the Army can move fast enough to solve it.

HIGHLIGHTS:
00:00 Introduction
1:58 Welcome to The Jedburgh Podcast
3:10 Building the Joint Innovation Outpost
5:52 Closing the Gap
8:10 Army Acquisition
12:11 Soldier-Driven Innovation
16:57 Prioritizing Battlefield Innovation
17:01 The Immediate Response Force
18:46 Dragon’s Lair and Accelerating New Ideas
19:22 Why Army Innovation Takes So Long
21:02 The Smartest Generation of Soldiers
23:28 Turning Soldier Ideas Into Battlefield Solutions
26:15 Artificial Intelligence and Human Decision-Making
27:28 Cost, Technology and Scalability
31:14 Innovate, Accelerate, Dominate
32:12 Measuring the JIOP’s Success
33:09 The Future of Army Innovation
34:25 Solving Problems
35:04 Three Things

Quotes
“We concentrate on anything that improves soldier lethality, survivability, mobility.”
“We imagine a world where we close that time gap. We actually get rid of that valley of death.”
“The normal process that I just talked about, that should have taken three to five years.”
“There’s always a human in the loop.”
“No piece of software is going to answer every question available.”
“From an acquisition perspective, we always say cost, schedule, and performance. You never get all three.”
“Solve problems. Support the soldier. Get them what they need.”
“There’s nothing I can’t fix in five minutes with a phone call that you mess up. So just go out there and try.”
“My superpower as a leader is to provide clarity.”

The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by OneBrief; enabling military leaders to make innovative, informed and deliberate decisions faster than ever before. Superhuman command wins wars.

Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

The battlefield is changing faster than ever before. Drones can find you. Technology can expose you. America’s adversaries are adapting in weeks instead of years. For U.S. Army Special Forces, rapid evolution while maintaining the people, partnerships, and culture that have made Special Forces effective for generations is the key to success on today’s battlefield.

From the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum at Fort Bragg, Fran Racioppi sat down with the command team of 1st Special Forces Command: Brigadier General Joseph Wortham, Command Sergeant Major Lee Strong, and Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jerry Brown. Together, they lead the US Army’s Green Berets, Civil Affairs, Psychological Operations, and the soldiers who enable them. Their mission - prepare, train and equip Army Special Operations Forces to win against an increasingly complex global threat.

We discuss whether the legendary 12-man ODA is still the right formation for the wars of 2030 and 2040, and why the future may not require changing its core, but building new capabilities around it. Robotics and unmanned systems are rapidly becoming part of that evolution, including the development of specialized technical expertise designed to keep pace with technology that can change in a matter of weeks.

But technology alone will never define Special Forces. We examine where Green Berets are supporting large-scale combat operations, how Special Forces can shape the deep fight for conventional commanders, and why Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, and trusted partner forces become even more important against peer adversaries. The battlefield may look different from the one this generation fought throughout the Global War on Terror, but the requirement remains the same: create options, influence the fight, and give the joint force an advantage before the enemy ever knows we’re there.

The next generation of Army Special Operations will fight with tools its predecessors could never have imagined. But its greatest advantage will remain the same: exceptional people, trusted partners, and a culture built to take on the missions others cannot.

Highlights:
0:00 Introduction
2:23 Welcome to the Jedburgh Podcast
4:05 Importance of Partnerships
8:07 Command Priorities and Readiness
11:41 Evaluating the ODA Structure
20:02 Incorporating Robotics and Unmanned Systems
33:34 Special Forces in LSCO
47:28 Culture of the Regiment

Quotes:
“We don’t like to do anything by ourselves. We do everything with a partner.”
“Those partnerships have to be genuine, they have to be authentic.”
“It starts by being a genuine, authentic, good partner, not transactional.”
“Humans are more important than hardware.”
“When you take really good people that are fit, intelligent, of high character, and you assign them a mission, it doesn’t really matter what their MOS is."
“How much demand can we put on them before they reach the point of saturation?”
“It’s the smallest package we can get all of the warfighting functions in.”
“It cannot be an additional task or an additional hat for someone on the ODA to wear.”
“Here’s my rifle, here’s my NODs, here’s my radio, and oh, and here’s my drone.”
“We’re small, we’re light, we’re fast, we’re agile, but we’re lethal.”
"What we don’t bring in mass, we bring in mass through partnerships.”
“Although we cannot prepare holistically for what’s next, we can get a head start this."
“In my opinion, our culture is the best it’s ever been.”

The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by OneBrief; enabling military leaders to make innovative, informed and deliberate decisions faster than ever before. Superhuman command wins wars.

Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.