The Navy SEAL Museum Friendly Fire Podcast
The podcast where two old military friends with often opposing opinions come together to lob friendly grenades at each other about current events–and still part as friends.
Welcome to Season 2 of the Friendly Fire Podcast. Navy SEAL Museum CEO Rick Kaiser and Duke Professor Tim Nichols come together again to discuss current events and trending topics. Our co-hosts see the world from very different vantage points, but while they do not always agree on the subject matter, they always part as friends. Tune in to hear what they have to say.
Week of October 10, 2022 | Our Oath and Our Duty
Our Ukraine involvement and what have we ever gained from going to war? The World Order and how nations behave with each other. US military recruitments rates down; how can we make the military a viable option for young people today? The “shiny” image of our military or its dysfunctional one? It’s not a social experiment, and the military doesn’t reflect the politics of the United States.
Rick Kaiser
Rick was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After attending Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL (BUD/S) training Class 109 in Coronado, California, he was assigned to SEAL Team TWO in 1980. Rick deployed three times with SEAL Team TWO 2nd Platoon, specializing in Winter Warfare, Sniping, and Combat Swimming. He was assigned to SEAL Team SIX in 1985 acting as lead diver, breacher, and sniper. In 1993, Rick received the Silver Star for Valor during the Battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down). He served as the training chief and lead sniper from 1993-2000. He then served as Deputy Operations Officer from 2001-2013, overseeing and managing numerous combat deployments post 9-11 of SEAL Team SIX personnel to Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, and many other locations around the world. Rick is currently employed as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Navy SEAL Museum and lives in Vero Beach, Florida with his wife Barbara.
Timothy Nichols
Visiting Professor of the Practice in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University
Tim Nichols (B.A, UVA; M.A, USF; M.B.A.,NCSU) Tim served as an intelligence officer in the Marine Corps for over 21 years with extensive experience in the Special Operations and Counterterrorism fields. His overseas experience spanned deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, East Africa, Central America, and the Pacific. He was designated a Regional Affairs Officer for East Africa. While in Iraq, he directed a joint interagency task force in tracking and targeting foreign extremists traveling to Iraq for violent activities. Prior to his retirement from the military, Tim taught courses in Leadership, Ethics, and Management at Duke, UNC, and NC State for four years. In addition to his consulting activities, Tim is currently a research fellow and visiting associate professor of the practice in the School of Public Policy at Duke University. His research interests and teaching responsibilities include intelligence, interagency coordination, national security, homeland security and counterterrorism policy.
We want to hear from our listeners. Send us your suggestions for topics that are of interest to you, or submit a question for Rick or Tim to: online@navysealmuseum.org
Special thanks to Shine a Light Productions for support of this production.
Tangible Goods