Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for tuning in. If you’re like me, the news cycle churns at a dizzying pace, and events come and go off the radar like submarines in The Hunt for Red October. To that, the situation in Venezuela is still very fluid and fraught with hazards. Carrier groups remain in the Caribbean, and there are clearly forces still operating in the Pacific near Central and South America. To help us digest all that has transpired in Venezuela and understand the implications, Ben Connable was kind enough to come down and help us conclude our discussion of Operation Absolute Resolve, the military operation in Venezuela to capture President Nicolás Maduro. Ben was recently on in Episode 219 to talk us through the cautionary tale of military intervention in Venezuela, so it only made sense to have him come and give us his thoughts on the raid and to speculate what’s next. We also talk through how operational and tactical success doesn’t guarantee strategic victory, and what a foreign policy that embraces spheres of influence means to the global community. We made this caveat during our conversation, but it is important to continue to emphasize that none of us are experts on Venezuela, and so we discuss our ideas and theories based on the open-source, unclassified information available at the time, which oftentimes leads to speculation.

Enjoy!

benconnable.com

battleresearchgroup.org

The post #226: Impacts of Military Action in Venezuela with Ben Connable first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for tuning in and your continued support. This week, we continue our discussion of Operation Absolute Resolve, the military operation in Venezuela to capture President Nicolás Maduro, with the editor-in-chief of the Gazette and Leatherneck Magazine, Col Chris Woodbridge. Whereas last week we dove into the implications of Absolute Resolve for Taiwan and great-power competition in the first island chain, this week we zero in on, what we know, of the Venezuelan military operation. Col Woodbridge discusses the history of Marine Corps operations in Latin and South America, what it means for a military operation to be legal, what may lay ahead for US-Venezuelan relations, and finally what the implications operations like this and those in Iran and Nigeria have on the Marine Corps’ Force Design. We made this caveat during our conversation, but it is important to continue to emphasize that at the time of this recording, the situation was still very fluid, and so we discuss our ideas and theories based on the open-source, unclassified information available at the time.

Enjoy!

The post #225: US military action in Venezuela with Col Chris Woodbridge first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Welcome to 2026 and thank you for listening and your continued support. We hope you all had fun holidays and a safe New Year’s Eve celebration. This week, we kick off 2026 with another Strait Talk with Dr. Michael Hunzeker. Earlier this week, the US executed Operation Absolute Resolve, the military operation in Venezuela to capture President Nicolás Maduro. Mike is here to talk to us about the implications this operation has on cross-Strait relations. Being that China just finished its military demonstration/exercise in the Taiwan Strait, named Justice Mission 2025, at the end of last month, what does the unilateral US action in South America signal to our allies and adversaries? Mike also discusses his efforts in establishing the Taiwan Security Monitor, a student-driven initiative using a range of satellite imagery, mapping, and data visualization tools. He has also recently published the book, America’s Taiwan Dilemma: Allies’ Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation, which offers a rigorous open-source analysis of how America’s key allies—Japan, South Korea, and Australia—would respond to US intervention or inaction in a Taiwan conflict. It goes without saying that he has been a busy guy so we’re really happy that he was able to make some time for us to talk about the ripple effects of recent events.

Enjoy!

tsm.schar.gmu.edu

cambriapress.com/pub.cfm?bid=1182

The post #224: Strait Talk with Dr. Michael Hunzeker first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us. We hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and pray that you will be safe as we enter into the new year. This week, we welcome the founder and executive director of History Flight and honorary Marine, Mark Noah, to the show. This is our last episode of 2025, and we are ending the year on a high note with Mark Noah. Mark talks to us about how he came to start History Flight, its mission’s impact not only on the force but on American society, and his feelings on becoming an honorary Marine.

Also, we at the MCA know how stressful and challenging the holiday season can be. Mental health challenges and suicide continue to take far too many of our active-duty service members and veterans. We want you to know that you are not alone. If you need help, please ask for it. And if you think of someone you haven’t heard from in a while, please reach out to them. You cannot dismiss the power of contacting someone, even in a text, asking how they are doing. Do your comm checks, and if you need help, please reach out. We all want to see you in 2026 and beyond.

Semper Fidelis.

historyflight.com

The post #223: History Flight Founder and Honorary Marine, Mark Noah first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome Michael Jerome Plunkett to the show. Michael is a former machinegunner, EMT, co-founder and executive director of the Literature of War Foundation (with friend of the show, LtCol Tom Schuemann) and host of The LitWar Podcast. He was also a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellow in 2021, was a scholar in the 2024 Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program at the George W. Bush Presidential Center and was a 2025 resident in the Edith Wharton Writing Residency. He also led the PB Abbate Book Club for veterans. And if that wasn’t enough, he is the author of the amazing book, Zone Rouge, which was published in September of this year and has received high praise for his beautiful prose. Michael talks to us about his journey from a teenager in New York during 9/11, to stepping on the yellow footprints, to becoming an author. This was such a fun conversation and we totally nerd out on the beauty of good writing and the value veterans bring to the art. We have to get him back on, but we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we do.

Enjoy!

michaeljeromeplunkett.com

instagram.com/michaeljeromeplunkett

The post #222: Zone Rouge with Michael Jerome Plunkett first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for hanging out with us. We’re excited to have Gunnar Spafford from Toys for Tots back on the show this week. Gunnar first came on the show with John Haehn this spring during Modern Day Marine, and it was great that we had a chance to catch up with him. As we jump into the holiday season with both feet, it’s really easy for our focus to turn inward and, whether intentionally or unintentionally, ignore the struggles of those to the left and right of us. Toys for Tots is the balm for our holiday season tunnel vision. One of Toys for Tots’ slogans is, “It’s more than just a toy,” and having personal experience supporting Toys for Tots, I can say that is totally true. Gunnar talks to us about the ways that a toy is so much more than just a toy, Toys for Tots year-round and disaster-relief initiatives, and ways for both individuals and corporations to give. I can’t emphasize enough what an amazing charity organization Toys for Tots is and I’m happy that Gunnar was able to carve out some time during this busy season to come hang out with us to get the word out about Toys for Tots.

Also, we at the MCA know how stressful and challenging the holiday season can be. Mental health challenges and suicide continue to take far too many of our active-duty service members and veterans. We want you to know that you are not alone. If you need help, please ask for it. And if you think of someone you haven’t heard from in a while, please reach out to them. You cannot dismiss the power of contacting someone, even in a text, asking how they are doing. Do your comm checks, and if you need help, please reach out. We all want to see you in 2026 and beyond.

Semper Fidelis.

Enjoy!

toysfortots.org

The post #221: Toys for Tots with Gunnar Spafford first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for joining us and your continued support. This week, we welcome Douglas K. Daniel to the show. Douglas is a journalist who served for nearly three decades as a reporter and editor for the Associated Press and teaches journalism at Kansas State University and Ohio University. He is also the author of Kill – Do Not Release: Censored Marine Corps Stories from WWII, which explores the use of censorship in the Marine Corps during WWII. He uncovers a trove of previously classified material withheld from the public because of government and public relations concerns at the time. Douglas talks to us about his background in journalism, how he stumbled on this topic and the existence of combat correspondents, and how he came into this topic by researching various journalists who served as Marine combat correspondents during the war. The book is so interesting, and it is great to hear about the experiences of the Marine combat correspondents and the previously unpublished stories from WWII.

Enjoy!

fordhampress.com/kill-do-not-release-hb-9781531510398.html

The post #220: Marine Corps Censorship and Combat Correspondents with Douglas K. Daniel first appeared on Marine Corps Association.

Hey, Scuttlebutt listeners. Thank you for tuning in and your continued support. This week, we welcome Ben Connable back to the show. Ben recently co-authored (with Colin P. Clarke) an issue brief for The Soufan Center titled, “War Against the Cartels,” and we are fortunate that he was willing to go low-brow and come on the show to discuss it. As a former Marine intelligence officer who served during the Long War, he is a true subject-matter expert and has personal experience in the perils of engaging in conflicts thought to be easy wins. Ben talks us through his threat analysis, intelligence preparation of the battlefield, second- and third-order effects of a potential conflict, the significance of labelling transnational criminal organizations as terrorist organizations, and recommendations for dealing with the threat of drugs, trafficking, and the fact that most of these organizations have deep roots in every major US city.

Enjoy!

thesoufancenter.org/research/war-against-the-cartels-prospects-and-perils-for-the-trump-administrations-military-led-campaign

battleresearchgroup.org

The post #219: War Against the Cartels with Ben Connable first appeared on Marine Corps Association.