The Jedburgh Podcast

Cars aren’t just a mode of transportation. They’re a passion. An image. A lifestyle. For many families, they are the bond that brings together father and son. For Frank Viola, cars are the legacy of his son, Green Beret SSG Alex Viola.

Alex graduated as a Green Beret in 2011 and then went on to get his Combat Dive Certification. In September 2013, his team deployed to Afghanistan as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom. On November 17, 2013 Alex lost his life to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) while on dismounted patrol.

After the loss of their son, Frank and his family faced the unimaginable challenge of how to move forward. The answer came from something Alex loved deeply: cars. Alex was a true car guy, and restoring vehicles with his dad was one of the ways they spent time together.

What began as a simple idea to honor Alex’s memory turned into the SSG Alex Viola Memorial Car Show. The first event was held in freezing weather with modest expectations, but the community showed up, raising twenty thousand dollars that first year alone.

Today the event has grown into something far greater than anyone imagined. Nearly four hundred cars fill the lot each year, and the show has raised nearly seven hundred thousand dollars to support charitable causes, including the families of Green Berets through the Green Beret Foundation.

Host Fran Racioppi sits down with Frank Viola to share how this fundraiser is more than impressive horsepower and jaw-dropping donations. It’s a powerful story of resilience, community, and how one family's determination not only honors a fallen hero but has also remarkably reunited their own distant family members and created a new, unbreakable bond with Alex’s former Green Beret teammates.

Highlights
0:00 Introduction
1:57 Welcome to the Jedburgh Podcast
2:22 Who was SSG Alex Viola?
6:11 Why a Car Show?
10:05 How loss brought the family together
12:34 Alex’s Team
16:03 The 2025 Show
17:02 Working with the Foundations
18:36 Advice for Future Green Berets

Quotes
“Alex was a father’s dream of a son.”
“His whole thing was to be out there in the ditches with the guys.”
“Alex was a car guy.”
“In a million years, we never expected anything like it.”
“We have a goal of reaching $1,000,000 in donations.”
“There’s been some of my cousins that I’ve never met, but because of this, now we’re really close.”
“They’re like our own kids.”
“Losing Alex was probably the worst thing that could ever happen to any parent.”
“It’s just been a win win all the way around.”
“They know we’re always going to do the right thing.”
“The whole theme of both organizations is supporting the families of fallen and wounded warriors’ families.”
“I don’t think that anyone can just become a Green Beret. You have to be a special kind of person.”
“It’s either you have it or you don’t.”

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.

In August 2021, the world watched in disbelief as Afghanistan collapsed, leaving two decades of sacrifice, hope, and war in question. America’s longest war, forged in the aftermath of 9/11 and costing thousands of lives and billions of dollars, ended in chaos, confusion, and the swift return of the Taliban. But what truly happened in those final, frantic days? Who held the line until the line was irrevocably gone?

In this exclusive interview, host Fran Racioppi sat down with General Haibatullah Alizai, the final Chief of the Afghan National Army, now living in exile. General Alizai offers a raw, firsthand account of the challenges, the political decisions, and the human cost that led to the nation’s swift downfall. From the initial hope sparked by the post-9/11 intervention to the crushing weight of the Taliban's propaganda machine, he confronts the harsh realities faced by Afghan forces and the devastating decisions that altered the course of history.

Discover the candid perspective of a warrior who fought for a country that no longer exists. General Alizai speaks on loyalty, the pervasive impact of corruption, the strategic failures that enabled the Taliban's resurgence, and his powerful message to the American service members who served alongside him.

War provides Warriors perspective. Is it possible to reclaim what was lost? And was the 20-year commitment truly worth the cost? Dive into the complexity of war, the human reality behind America’s longest conflict, and the future of a nation still searching for stability in the shadow of the Taliban. This is the untold story of the Afghan Army's last stand.

HIGHLIGHTS
0:00 Introduction
1:51 Welcome to the Jedburgh Podcast
5:11 Afghanistan, 2001
19:23 America’s Goal In Afghanistan
28:51 Afghan Sentiment
30:00 Taliban Propaganda
36:39 Taliban Today
43:30 US Soldiers in Afghanistan
49:29 Can Afghanistan be reclaimed?
52:51 Leaving Family
59:20 Future of Afghanistan

Quotes:
“You have to have a steel-made ass to be in the Army.”
“Kunduz collapsed in September 2015 because coordination was poor.”
“We are not going to sit. We are going to solve the problem.”
“In the last five days of collapse, I became the Chief of the entire Army.”
“I believe the Americans came to Afghanistan to punish their enemies who coordinated the attack in New York.”
“Who else has fought more than Afghans for freedom.”
“They started with chopping heads.”
“The poppies became popular during the first Taliban term.”
“They all became strength points to the Taliban and weak points to us.”
“When we really understood what was going on, it was a bit too late.”
“The only thing the Taliban is still doing is brutality.”
“Before the US came to Afghanistan, there was a civil war.”
“Now we have thousands of warlords in Afghanistan.”
“We lost thousands of people and all those lives were dedicated to support the humanity and democracy the right way."
“Have we left something unfinished?”
“We should find a way to finish the unfinished business.”
“The Taliban has destroyed the Afghan history and honor.”
“The Taliban are 10 times more vulnerable than 2001.”
“Next is change. It has to happen.”
“It will be a question that will bring hesitation.”
“I believe we are just a whistle away from bringing the change in Afghanistan.”
“What country in the world can do everything on their own?”

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.

Unified Special Operations commands are critical for allied nations to maintain the advantage over our adversaries. A single command structure enables interoperability at every level, from communications and equipment to tactics and acquisition, ensuring partner forces can train together, fight together, and answer to a common mission.

From the Global Special Operations Foundation Symposium in Athens, Greece, Fran Racioppi sat down with retired Command Sergeant Major Warren Soeldner, a 10th SFG legend who now lives and works in Greece supporting the Global SOF community.

Warren brought home the central tenet of modern allied warfare explaining that Special Operations Forces across nations solve problems together, build trust, and operate as one.

He spoke about the importance of standing up capable national SOF commands, the evolving NATO environment and the realities of today’s threat landscape. From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the long-term strategic pressure posed by China and Iran, Warren emphasized that modern conflict cannot be viewed through a single lens. War now spans diplomatic, informational, military, and economic domains, and Special Forces play a critical role in shaping outcomes long before conflict becomes visible.

This discussion returns to what Green Berets have always done best: building capability in partners, understanding history and culture, maintaining discipline and professionalism, and quietly shaping global security in ways few ever see.

HIGHLIGHTS
0:00 Introduction
1:41 Welcome to the Jedburgh Podcast
2:48 Building Relationships Across SOF Allies
5:38 Joint Unified Command
9:15 Defining “By, With, and Through”
12:38 Russia-Ukraine War Impact on NATO
15:08 NATO Interoperability Gaps
17:28 NATO’s Biggest Threat
23:14 Students of History
27:50 Special Forces in LSCO
32:38 US Army Generations
41:38 Defining the Green Beret

Quotes
“The whole theme for the week has been strength and unity.”
“The dollar or euro goes a lot further for them when it’s a unified command.”
“The threat isn’t waiting on 30 nations and their parliaments.”
“It’s important that NATO know, fight, train together.”
“When one country is using one standard and the rest of the countries are using another standard, resupply becomes a lot harder for that country.”
“At the end of the day, we’re all out on the same battlefield and they’re seeing what we’re doing, we’re seeing what they’re doing.”
“Russia is a huge threat right now. We may be getting to hyperfocused on that and forgetting other threats like China and Iran.”
“We’ve lost that edge with the adversary. They have a long term plan. We don’t.”
“It requires our Green Berets to be students of history.”
“I came up in an era where we did two things: Unconventional Warfare and Foreign Internal Defense.”
“First you had to learn the culture.”
“When I look at Large Scale Combat Operations, do we need artillery anymore?”
“In that isolation is where you finetune the skills that you need for that mission.”
“There’s nothing special about being a Green Beret.”
“I’ve always been a believer that the Green Beret is a symbol and it attracts greatness.”
“At the end of the day, the Army’s job is to close with and kill the enemy.”

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.

What separates war fighting from a warrior? Is it skill? Is it experience? Or is it something deeper that only reveals itself when it matters most?

From the Pentagon, Fran Racioppi sat down with Sergeant Major of the Army Mike Weimer and retired Command Sergeant Major Rick Merritt to discuss what it truly means to build and sustain warriors in the United States Army.

CSM Merritt spent over three decades on active duty, including 25 years in the 75th Ranger Regiment, serving in every enlisted leadership position from rifleman to Regimental Sergeant Major. He conducted over 1,500 combat operations under Joint Special Operations Command and served more than five years in combat task forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. His experience spans the full arc of modern warfare.

Together with the SMA, we unpack into the difference between technical proficiency and true warrior mindset, what commitment looks like when compliance disappears, and how leaders enforce standards without eroding trust.
We explore whether resilience is built over time or revealed under pressure, and how purpose sustains Soldiers when motivation begins to fade.

As warfare becomes more technical and systems driven, the SMA is challenging the force to ensure technology enhances the warrior. Future conflict will demand innovation and the technological edge, but victory on the battlefield will still be decided by human judgment, character, and leadership.

This is a conversation about standards, commitment, mental toughness, and the responsibility of leaders to hold the line…not just to engage in the business of war fighting, but to forge warriors ready to close with and destroy our nation’s adversaries.

HIGHLIGHTS
0:00 Welcome to the Jedburgh Podcast
4:40 Defining An Army Warrior
14:02 Compliance to Commitment
20:02 What Is The Army Culture?
27:18 Why A Warrior Mindset Matters
38:52 How to Lead the War fighting Profession

QUOTES
“I see a warrior as the reason why we do it.”
“Make a difference with your presence. Otherwise, why are you there?”
“A warrior is a way of life.”
“Technology is not going to make up for the foundation.”
“A warrior is one that is dedicated, disciplined, willing to go the extra mile, will fight for those left and right, and never quit.”
“The best recruiters we have are our service members, our veterans.”
“How much is enough of these key attributes to take a risk on you and bring you in and start developing the rest of that?”
“There’s just some things about human beings that are going to be done on an individual’s basic timeline in life.”
“It’s not normal for this generation.”
“Combat readiness is a way of life.”
“Although I took the uniform off, my oath didn’t go away.”
“The guys on my team know that they’re in the right spot with the right people, with the right culture.”
“You’re consecrated into this culture that I got to find when I retire.”
“What makes that culture is character and character development.”
“That probably makes the difference in the world is where our NCO core is compared to other countries.”
“I’m a firm believer that the noncommissioned officer is the keeper of the culture.”
“I think that was our biggest challenge in Vietnam.”
“This profession, we hand you a machete and we say ‘Take that path.’”
“Grit comes through hardship.”
“At the end of the day, guys got to go on the ground.”
“We’re struggling a little bit in that space.”
“There’s no time limit on honorable service.”
“What is better than being a company commander?”
“Don’t be a pain in the ass. Be value added.”
“This is a journey, not a destination.”
“A legend is nothing but a man or woman who spent their life surrounding themselves with people better than them.”

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.

War stories are easy to tell. There’s action, adventure, and good vs evil. For most Veterans their service isn’t defined or explained by their war stories. For most Veterans the story that is far most difficult to write...and to live...is the story they have to write themselves.

In this episode, Fran Racioppi sat down with Steven Grayhm, writer and director of Sheepdog, a film dedicated to telling the most difficult story of our Veterans. The story of what happens to us, our families, our friends, and those around us when the war stories fade, reality sets in, and the hard work must actually begin.

Steven explains his 14 year journey to make Sheepdog, the thousands of hours he spent with Veterans of all walks of life, his embedment at VA hospitals across the country, and the reality of independent filmmaking; a blue collar process rooted in grit before the red carpet, where every dollar is raised face to face and every decision carries weight.

The film confronts veteran suicide honestly while reinforcing a simple truth. Ending your life does not end the pain. It ends the possibility of it ever getting better.

What drove Sheepdog was not an interest in war, but a responsibility to understand what happens after it. Steven and his team studied the realities of trauma, addiction, brain injury, generational differences between Vietnam and post 9/11 service members, and the long shadow that war can cast over identity and purpose. They went where the conversations were uncomfortable, where the answers were not clean, and where trust had to be earned. The result is a film that focuses not on combat, but on the war within.

Veterans are not victims. Sheepdog recognizes that service members volunteered, took risk, and earned something that does not disappear when the uniform comes off. A Veteran’s perspective matters. Trauma exists, but it does not eliminate the responsibility of Veterans to continue their personal and professional growth post service.

Sheepdog is a story about redefining purpose, about post traumatic growth, and about the courage required to take the first step forward when the path is unclear. It reflects the reality that transition is not a checklist, that no two experiences are the same, and that finding the right sense of mission after service is critical.

Highlights
0:00 Introduction
3:42 Why make Sheepdog?
12:40 Addressing generational differences
16:38 The idea of perspective
21:34 Losing morality
29:52 Veteran Suicide
37:43 VA resources
1:03:40 Was it all for nothing?
1:08:34 Hope for Sheepdog

Quotes
“The hardest thing I ever have done wasn’t to become a Green Beret, it was to not be a Green Beret.”
“They train you so well to do that job that you never really understand what the result of that job actually looks like.”
“Whatever happens on the other side of this, I’m going to leave it there.”
“One of the most challenging things in this journey of Sheepdog was getting it right.”
“The warrior doesn’t get to choose the war they go into.”
“It haunted me in my nightmares for years that crack in the sheep pen wall.”
“The guys that I learned to be more worried about were the guys that smiled through the pain.”
“I get very nervous when people wax poetically about suicide because it comes in all different forms.”
“All the resources in the world can exist, but it doesn’t matter if you’re not willing to use them.”
“Veterans are not victims.”
“In the film you would see, no one feels sorry for themselves.”
“I think we have to do better as a veteran to remove the victim mindset.”
“If we could save a single life with this film, that would be the greatest Hollywood success story."

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.