MCA Scuttlebutt

#223: History Flight Founder and Honorary Marine, Mark Noah

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 [https://www.mca-marines.org/podcast/scuttlebutt/223-history-flight-founder-and-honorary-marine-mark-noah/] first appeared on Marine Corps Association [https://www.mca-marines.org].

#222: Zone Rouge with Michael Jerome Plunkett

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 [https://www.mca-marines.org/podcast/scuttlebutt/222-zone-rouge-with-michael-jerome-plunkett/] first appeared on Marine Corps Association [https://www.mca-marines.org].

#221: Toys for Tots with Gunnar Spafford

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 [https://www.mca-marines.org/podcast/scuttlebutt/221-toys-for-tots-with-gunnar-spafford/] first appeared on Marine Corps Association [https://www.mca-marines.org].

#220: Marine Corps Censorship and Combat Correspondents with Douglas K. Daniel

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 [https://www.mca-marines.org/podcast/scuttlebutt/220-marine-corps-censorship-and-combat-correspondents-with-douglas-k-daniel/] first appeared on Marine Corps Association [https://www.mca-marines.org].

#219: War Against the Cartels with Ben Connable

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 [https://www.mca-marines.org/podcast/scuttlebutt/219-war-against-the-cartels-with-ben-connable/] first appeared on Marine Corps Association [https://www.mca-marines.org].