Send us a text

Matt Okuhara joined the Territorial Army at 18. After just a few weeks of training he was called up for service in Iraq.

Details of Matt's book, Basra and Back: "Basra and Back follows Salamanca Company, a unit of British infantry deployed to Iraq as part of the peacekeeping effort after the 2003 invasion, known as Operation TELIC. Drawn from units in southwest England, Salamanca Company wasted no time in assuming its duties, providing security to the coalition’s provisional government and navigating the tense, dusty streets of Basra City. Insurgents had infiltrated the city, sowing discord among the population already grappling with shortages of essential resources like food, water, fuel, and electricity. The soldiers understood the gravity of the situation and braced themselves for civil unrest and worse, knowing their deployment would lead them into even more dangerous territory. For six months in 2004, the officers and men of The Rifle Volunteers found themselves as reservists on the frontline. Now that the war had been won, it was time to win the peace. Told through the eyes of Matthew Okuhara, a young soldier called into regular service, Basra and Back gives a true and overlooked account of the UK's military reserve at war. Narrated with an abstract sense of humour, Matthew is initially out of place but eventually discovers his role as the unit medic within ‘3 Platoon’. The book also covers the military history of reserve soldiers during the War on Terror, with the deployment of so many volunteers marking a historic moment for the British Army, as was the first time in nearly half a century that a formed unit of reservists is deployed in a ground holding role since the Suez Crisis: an experiment that created a strategy that continued in military deployments for years to come."

You can order it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Basra-Back-Memoir-Unlikely-Infantryman/dp/1036129659

If you're interested in being a guest on the podcast, please contact us on:

instagram: @veteranstateofmind

email: info@vsompodcast.com

Geraint's books are available at: www.geraintjonesmedia.com and https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Geraint-Jones/author/B06XTKLWBM

Support the show

Send us a text

Daril Fannin’s path to Hollywood defies every norm. Raised in a cult that banned movies, his first act of rebellion was sneaking out to watch The Matrix. It cracked open his world—and rewrote the script for his life. After nine years as a U.S. Army combat medic, Daril earned his MFA in screenwriting at Loyola Marymount, where he sold a Netflix series before finishing the program. Today, he’s a multi-million dollar creator, writing and producing projects with A-list icons like Matt Damon, Peter Berg, Sylvester Stallone, and Jimmy Kimmel for entertainment giants like Netflix and Disney. Daril’s mission: fix a broken industry. Frustrated by the inefficiencies and inequities embedded in traditional Hollywood workflows, he co-founded KINO: a tech-powered platform designed to reinvent how films are produced, distributed, and experienced. And most recently had his film picked up by A24.

Follow Daril: @darilfannin

If you're interested in being a guest on the podcast, please contact us on:

instagram: @veteranstateofmind

email: info@vsompodcast.com

Geraint's books are available at: www.geraintjonesmedia.com and https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Geraint-Jones/author/B06XTKLWBM

Support the show

Send us a text

Stephen Handley served in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and 1 Royal Welsh. On his second tour of Afghanistan Stephen suffered life changing injuries caused by an IED.

Stephen's Instagram: @stephen.handley

The climbing organisation that Stephen talks about is: https://www.adaptivegrandslam.com/

If you're interested in being a guest on the podcast, please contact us on instagram: @veteranstateofmind

Geraint's books are available at: www.geraintjonesmedia.com and https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Geraint-Jones/author/B06XTKLWBM

Support the show

Send us a text

Paul Glazebrook served with the Close Observation Platoon of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets in Northern Ireland, and the Recce Platoon of 4th Battalion, The Rifles in Iraq. He is the author of Been Nowhere, Done Nothing which tells the story of his service with unflinching honesty and hysterically funny wit, giving a keen insight into the sense of humour which has kept our forces in the fight for generations.

You can order it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Been-Nowhere-Done-Nothing-Glazebrook-ebook/dp/B0F67J69V9

Paul's instagram: @raconteur_photography

Geraint's books are available at: www.geraintjonesmedia.com and https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Geraint-Jones/author/B06XTKLWBM

If you're interested in being a guest on the podcast, please contact us on instagram: @veteranstateofmind

Support the show

Send us a text

Gaz Kennedy served in Afghanistan with a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Light Aid Detachment attached to the Coldstream Guards.

Gaz has written about his life and service, and all royalties from his book go towards supporting Combat Stress. You can order the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silent-War-Battles-Beginnings-Book-ebook/dp/B0DYRR7N1H

Please give Gaz a follow on instagram @gaz_kennedy_

If you would be interested in talking about your experiences of war please contact us through our instagram page @veteranstateofmind, or email info@vsompodcast.com

If you enjoyed today's episode, or found value in it, please share the link with your friends.

Note on audio quality: thanks for bearing with us as we go through some growing pains recording from a home studio. This is to enable us to provide more regular, and longer episodes. The podcast host is a boomer and is taking some time to figure it all out, but as God is our witness, we will prevail.

Support the show

Send us a text

Journalist Nicholas Laidlaw is a former USMC infantryman who covers conflicts around the globe. We talk about Nick's own service in the military, and his experiences visiting the frontlines in Gaza and Ukraine.

Nick's social media: @battles_and_beers

Find his books here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-War-Did-Us-Ukraine/dp/B0BF2Q759P

Find Geraint's books here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Geraint-Jones/author/B06XTKLWBM

If you would be interested in being a guest on the show please contact Geraint on instagram at either @grjbooks or @veteranstateofmind

Support the show

Send us a text

Chris Feistl was a DEA Special Agent for twenty-six years, serving in diverse assignments throughout the US as well as twelve years in Colombia, South America, where he investigated major drug cartels that were supplying tons of cocaine and heroin destined for the US. Starting as a new agent in Miami, he finished his career as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge in Phoenix in 2014.

Chris has been a frequent guest on television documentaries and true crime podcasts regarding the Cali cartel. He was portrayed in eighty episodes of a Spanish-language series entitled En la Boca del Lobo, as well as in Season 3 of Netflix’s hit series Narcos. He has also appeared in several other television projects, shows, and radio programs.

Chris has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the DEA Administrator’s Award of Honor (DEA’s highest honor), and four Distinguished Service Medals from the Colombian government.

You can find out more about Chris, including where to get his book, by following this link: https://www.afterescobar.com/

Support the show

Send us a text

Dan Darkes served two tours of Afghanistan with the Grenadier Guards. He was injured during his second deployment, which led to his discharge from the army.

You can find him on instagram: @dan_darkes

Geraint's books are available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B06XTKLWBM

Signed copies available here: https://geraintjonesmedia.com/

If you're interested in being a guest on the podcast drop us a DM on insta: @veteranstateofmind

Thank you for listening and supporting the podcast.

Support the show