While serving as a company executive officer with the 1st Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment in 2014, Ryan Crayne and his company were training at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center when they received emergency overseas deployment orders. Just days later, and after a herculean logistical effort, Ryan and his fellow Rangers were in…

In 2016, Brennan Deveraux was deployed to a small base in Baghdad called Union III. An artillery officer, Brennan worked in a small group known as a strike cell, where he was the theater-level rocket artillery liaison for Operation Inherent Resolve. Over the course of the deployment, he fired more than five hundred HIMARS rockets in support of Iraq…

As a lieutenant, Maj. Jesse Lansford was deployed to Afghanistan. A Kiowa helicopter pilot assigned as an aviation platoon leader, he rarely found himself on foot outside the wire. But on one day his helicopter had to land. He spent a brief time on the ground, but it was enough for him to encounter an IED. He joins this episode of The Spear to tell…

In the fall of 2006, Rory McGovern was a company fire support officer assigned to a combined arms team operating in the area around Abu Ghraib, Iraq. The day after Christmas, he was on a security patrol in support of a local sheikh’s Hajj send-off party when a shot rang out. McGovern had been hit. He shares the story of that encounter with the snip…

Lt. Col. Brian Kitching joins this episode of The Spear to share a story from a 2012 deployment in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar Province. Two months into the deployment, the company he commanded was taking part in a large, seven-day clearing operation. They made contact with enemy fighters on both of the first two days, but on the third day of t…

In 1998, retired US Air Force Colonel Mike "Starbaby" Pietrucha was an electronic warfare officer flying in an F-15E Strike Eagle, enforcing the northern no-fly zone over Iraq in the 1990s. In this episode, he brings listeners into the cockpit as he describes one particular mission during that deployment, when his aircraft was targeted by a radar g…

For Bill “Fenway” Wyman, Sadr City in 2004 was a strange mix of combat and humanitarian missions. Fenway, then an Army major, was servince as a a civil affairs team leader, advising the commander of the 2-5 Cavalry on how to win local trust, support humanitarian operations, and spur economic development. In this episode, he recounts a pair of event…

Dr. Jay Calvert & Dr. Jason Berkley discuss the Panthers win over the Oilers, the controversy over Connor McDavid's absence for the Conn Smythe Trophy presentation, free agency speculation, Quinn Hughes winning the Norris Trophy, Jay's experience at Game 4 in Edmonton, and potential guests for the summer! Do YOU know how to fix the Leafs? DM us on …

In this episode of The Spear, MWI's John Amble is joined by Maj. Jacob Absalon. He shares a story from his first deployment in 2009, as a lieutenant and platoon leader in eastern Afghanistan Paktia province. Toward the end of a five-day operation, after meeting with a local key leader, the platoon and a partnered Afghan National Army force came und…

Dr. Jay Calvert & Dr. Jason Berkley give their preview of the Cup Final! The Edmonton Oilers take on the Florida Panthers to decide this year's Stanley Cup winner... and Jason is NOT fired up. The docs give their thoughts & predictions for the series, and Jay plans his trip to Game 4.Dr. Jay Calvert

This episode features a conversation with Captain Lindsay Heisler. An aviation officer and Apache pilot, in December 2015 she was part of a mission in Afghanistan supporting a ground force. Just as Chinook helicopters arrived to pick up that force, they came under fire from 360 degrees around them. The two Apaches overhead, including Captain Heisle…

The Florida Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1996! Were the Rangers victims of the President's Trophy curse!? Dr. Jay Calvert & Dr. Jason Berkley discuss the series win, the issues that brought down the Rangers (and Jason's big pay day), and give their predictions for the Cup Final.…

In 2009, Sgt. 1st Class Sean Ambriz was on his first deployment in Afghanistan. When a platoon became pinned down by enemy fire, he was among the soldiers sent to help. The highest ranking soldier on site asked for volunteers to work their way up the mountainside to treat and evacutate the platoon's casualties. It turned into an hours-long fight to…

Dr. Jay Calvert & Dr. Jason Berkley give their predictions for the second round, the turning point for the Rangers that made them into contenders, Bruins & Panther beating the sh*t out of each other (Marchand quite literally), and Jason's veggie burger mishap. Are the Oilers turning into the Leafs 2.0? Is this Joe Pavelski's last chance to win a Cu…

In this episode, Joe Roland joins to share a story from 2004. A UH-60 Black Hawk pilot, his aircraft and another were supporting an Army Special Forces team in search of a group of enemy combatants in Afghanistan. As soon as his helicopter landed to drop off a US soldier and two Afghans to take up an overwatch position, enemy fighters were identifi…

IT'S CUP SEASON. Dr. Jay Calvert & Dr. Jason Berkley talk Toronto's inevitable playoff issues, Rangers sweeping the Caps, Alexis Lafrenière, Jason's bet on the Rangers, Bolts are out soooo Stamkos to Detroit!???, 80 classics, Vegas vs Dallas, and more perspectives on the first round!Dr. Jay Calvert

Just six weeks out of flight school, Jordan Terry was in Afghanistan. On one of his first days flying, he took off on a flight that was supposed to be straightforward—he and three other pilots left their base in two OH-58D Kiowa helicopters, intending to help get him oriented to the rugged, mountainous area the unit was responsible for. On their wa…

In August 2007, a US Army Special Forces team came under fire while passing through a valley in Afghanistan. The call for support went to a nearby base, where an AC-130H Spectre gunship crew was standing by. The crew quickly launched, and shortly later, the aircraft was overhead. This is the type of job the AC-130H was designed for. In the hours th…

LA Kings legend Jim Fox returns for the playoff push! Dr. Jay Calvert & Jim discuss the Kings path to the playoffs, Akil Thomas' first game, the loss to the Jets, upcoming matchups with the Ducks, predictions for the west, facing McDavid, good pickups at the deadline for Colorado, his Cup prediction!…

Dr. Jay Calvert chats with Avs beat writer Meghan Angley! The two discuss the Avs Cup run, Nathan MacKinnon's leadership role, the keys to this year's success, managing around injuries like Landeskog, the impact of role players like Josh Manson & Andrew Cogliano, the Avs PK line, their OT win over Pittsburgh, as well as her day-to-day, her path to …

In this episode, host Tim Heck is joined by Lt. Col. Blake Schwartz. In 2009, Schwartz was a Special Forces team leader deployed in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province. Enemy fighters in the Langar valley, a restive area astride a vital road network, were a particular target for Schwartz’s soldiers. Schwartz attempted three times to enter the valley wit…

Dr. Jay Calvert & Dr. Jason Berkley chat with former NHL goalie John Blue! Who's got the goalie, or goalie tandem, to take them all the way this year? Blue and the boys discuss Shahob's beard, shrinkage, the strongest 1-2 goalie tandems, Bobrovsky, the tight race in the East, Shesterkin, the Red Wings slide, Demko, key moves at the deadline for Veg…