Leader Talk with John Wayne Troxell

John Wayne Troxell

Hello and welcome to Leader Talk! This is a podcast hosted by 38 year US Army veteran and former SEAC John Wayne Troxell. Join us as we host candid conversations and monologues dealing with issues concerning our military, our country, and leadership. Find out how and why this kid from Davenport, Iowa made it to the senior enlisted position in our military. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 07/16/2025

    "Leadership Part II Featuring I.am.NCO"

    Join us for the newest edition of Leader Talk, and the second part of our Leader series focusing on leadership. This episode, John is joined by incredibly special guests from IamNCO, the Institute for Advanced NCO Leadership. Representing IamNCO are Daniel Elder, Dr. David Litteral, Lance Lehr, and Juan Ortiz Jr. There was some great discussion about the role of NCO's in our military, and how IamNCO works to advocate for our nations non-commissioned officers. To learn more about the Institute for Advanced NCO Leadership, please visit iamnco.org Below are short bios for each of our guests joining us this episode. A portfolio entrepreneur, Daniel K. Elder, lives his vision to support service members as they transition back to the workforce. He formed a start-up defense contracting firm in July 2013, having previously worked as the Senior Director of Business Development at McLane Advanced Technologies. Dan had a successful 26-year career as a U.S. Army noncommissioned officer and senior enlisted leader. A four-time Hall of Fame inductee and graduate of the Sergeants Major Academy, his culminating assignment was as the Army’s senior-most enlisted Sustainer while serving as the Command Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. Selected as the first Senior Enlisted Fellow for the Association of the United States Army and member of their Speakers Bureau, Mr. Elder is a citizen historian who has authored and edited numerous enlisted-focused books and publications, including Soldier for Life, the NCO Guide (10th Ed.), and Sergeants Major of the Army (2nd/3rd Ed.). His latest book, NCO School, is scheduled for publication by the University of North Georgia Press in the Fall of 2025. Dr. David J. Litteral, CSM, U.S. Army (Retired) Social Studies Teacher. He served in the U.S. Army for 32 years as a Combat Medic with numerous deployments as a Flight Medic and as the Command Sergeant Major of the 10th Combat Support Hospital, responsible for all hospital care from Baghdad to Basrah, Iraq. He oversaw the operations of the School of Army Aviation Medicine and later, the Department of Combat Medic Training. He was the 11th Commandant of The Army Medical Department Noncommissioned Officers’ Academy. David holds a BS in Management, an MA in History, and a Ph.D. in General Psychology. He and his wife, Charlene, enjoy traveling and camping. They have been married for 43 years and have three grown children. Mr. Lance P. Lehr is a seasoned executive consultant and a retired U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major with over three decades of distinguished military service and leadership experience. He currently leads L2 Consulting, providing strategic guidance in program management, business development, and executive leadership. In this capacity, Mr. Lehr supports multiple firms in expanding their federal portfolios and increasing revenue across sectors. Mr. Juan J. Ortiz Jr. is an executive consultant with a combined 43 years of service in the U.S. Army/Department of the Army Civilian, including 27 years on active duty, retiring as a Command Sergeant Major. He also spent 15 years as a Department of the Army Civilian, ending his career as the Director of the NCO Professional Development Directorate at the NCOLCoE. Currently, he is an independent consultant providing strategic guidance in program management, military education development, and executive leadership. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    49 min
  2. 01/31/2025

    "An Interview with Award Winning Author, Michelle Black"

    Thank you for joining us for the special 20th edition of Leader Talk with John Wayne Troxell. John is joined by Award Winning Author and Gold Star Wife Michelle Black to discuss her book "Sacrifice: The Green Berets, A Fateful Ambush, and a Gold Star Widow's Fight For the Truth" as well as discussing the mission that took her husband's life and the lives of other American service members. The events discussed in this interview are riveting, and the book is nearly impossible to put down. About "Sacrifice" "The shocking and affecting memoir from a gold-star widow searching for the truth behind her Green Beret husband’s death, this book bears witness to the true sacrifices made by military families. When Green Beret Bryan Black was killed in an ambush in Niger in 2017, his wife Michelle saw her worst nightmare become a reality. She was left alone with her grief and with two young sons to raise. But what followed Bryan’s death was an even more difficult journey for the young widow. After receiving very few details about the attack that took her husband’s life, it was up to Michelle to find answers. It became her mission to learn the truth about that day in Niger–and Sacrifice is the result of that mission.In this heartbreaking and revelatory memoir, Michelle uses exclusive interviews with the survivors of her husband’s unit, research into the military leadership and accountability, and her own unique vantage point as a gold-star widow to tell a previously unknown story. Sacrifice is both an honest, emotional look inside a military marriage and a searing investigation of the people and decisions at the heart of the US military." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    58 min

Ratings & Reviews

3.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Hello and welcome to Leader Talk! This is a podcast hosted by 38 year US Army veteran and former SEAC John Wayne Troxell. Join us as we host candid conversations and monologues dealing with issues concerning our military, our country, and leadership. Find out how and why this kid from Davenport, Iowa made it to the senior enlisted position in our military. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.