Stan R. Mitchell: The view from the front podcast Stan R. Mitchell

Hey guys,
Welcome to the View from the Front podcast. If you just happened to stumble by, let me say a quick word about what we’re doing here.
For those who don’t know, my name is Stan R. Mitchell, and I’m a prior Marine and journalist.
Every week, I primarily do three things with my podcast:
* Work to highlight what our military troops are doing around the world, while also trying to better educate Americans about looming hotspots and foreign policy news you absolutely should know. (Why I focus on foreign policy...)
* Attempt to unite our country and remind us of how lucky we are to live in America. Our division and animosity toward each other is dangerous, and I want to do my small part to remind us that more unites us than divides us, and that most Americans are good and not screaming, crazy extremists like you see on the news all the time. (My thoughts on the division in this country...)
* Finally, I always share plenty of motivation and wisdom at the end of the episode, because I want to do my small part to help encourage you and lift you up. Life is certainly hard, and I think it’s fair to say all of us need all the motivation and encouragement that we can possibly get.
In this episode, we’ll be discussing several topics, that I think will really interest you, and that I almost guarantee you haven’t seen in the news! T
The work I do each week is primarily a podcast. You can listen to it from the player above, or from whatever podcast you listen to it from.
And if you love what I’m doing here, please sign up for email notifications. It’s FREE. Unless you choose to subscribe and support what I’m doing. It’s $5 per month should you choose that option, and you can cancel at any time.
Subscribing also gets you The View from the Front Extended. This is a daily edition that comes out each weekday and is a way to provide value and thank my paying subscribers.
Also, people are always asking me on social media how to best support my dreams, including getting out future books sooner. Believe me, the best way to support me is by signing up for a paid subscription here. Or, you can sign up at Patreon or at Venmo (@authorstanrmitchell).
But you don’t have to do any of these things. I’ve already had incredible support and feel called to do this. As long as I’m making enough to cover the time I invest each week, I’m not going anywhere. Why paid subscriptions help, and what they’d help me do more of...
Enough of the sales pitch, I hope you enjoy today’s edition. Again, you should listen to it from the player above.
Source notes:
U.S. news:
US launches airstrikes in Syria after drone kills US worker
A strike Thursday by a suspected Iranian-made drone killed a U.S. contractor and wounded five American troops and another contractor in northeast Syria, the Pentagon said. American forces said they retaliated soon after with “precision airstrikes” in Syria targeting facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, with activist groups saying they killed at least four people.
The attack and the U.S. response threaten to upend recent efforts to deescalate tensions across the wider Middle East, whose rival powers have made steps toward détente in recent days after years of turmoil.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the American intelligence community had determined the drone was of Iranian origin, but offered no other immediate evidence to support the claim.
Things continue to remain tense with U.S. forces in the region of Syria and Iraq.
There was some reporting and video showing additional attacks by Iranian forces against the U.S. base on Friday. (See below.)
But I couldn’t find wider corroboration of that attack, and by Saturday, all I could find was this:
Nothing seems to have happened since then, but I’ll keep you posted.
I will add one other thing. In some of the discussions that happened with readers, one asked:
The answer to that is that t

Hey guys,
Welcome to the View from the Front podcast. If you just happened to stumble by, let me say a quick word about what we’re doing here.
For those who don’t know, my name is Stan R. Mitchell, and I’m a prior Marine and journalist.
Every week, I primarily do three things with my podcast:
* Work to highlight what our military troops are doing around the world, while also trying to better educate Americans about looming hotspots and foreign policy news you absolutely should know. (Why I focus on foreign policy...)
* Attempt to unite our country and remind us of how lucky we are to live in America. Our division and animosity toward each other is dangerous, and I want to do my small part to remind us that more unites us than divides us, and that most Americans are good and not screaming, crazy extremists like you see on the news all the time. (My thoughts on the division in this country...)
* Finally, I always share plenty of motivation and wisdom at the end of the episode, because I want to do my small part to help encourage you and lift you up. Life is certainly hard, and I think it’s fair to say all of us need all the motivation and encouragement that we can possibly get.
In this episode, we’ll be discussing several topics, that I think will really interest you, and that I almost guarantee you haven’t seen in the news! T
The work I do each week is primarily a podcast. You can listen to it from the player above, or from whatever podcast you listen to it from.
And if you love what I’m doing here, please sign up for email notifications. It’s FREE. Unless you choose to subscribe and support what I’m doing. It’s $5 per month should you choose that option, and you can cancel at any time.
Subscribing also gets you The View from the Front Extended. This is a daily edition that comes out each weekday and is a way to provide value and thank my paying subscribers.
Also, people are always asking me on social media how to best support my dreams, including getting out future books sooner. Believe me, the best way to support me is by signing up for a paid subscription here. Or, you can sign up at Patreon or at Venmo (@authorstanrmitchell).
But you don’t have to do any of these things. I’ve already had incredible support and feel called to do this. As long as I’m making enough to cover the time I invest each week, I’m not going anywhere. Why paid subscriptions help, and what they’d help me do more of...
Enough of the sales pitch, I hope you enjoy today’s edition. Again, you should listen to it from the player above.
Source notes:
Russia and Ukraine news:
In life, actions have consequences.
Just a few days after Russia again upped the ante on their aggression by downing an American drone in international air space, the NATO of country of Poland has expedited some of its plans.
And as I discussed as a possible option two weeks ago on the podcast, Slovakia is moving forward to donate its fleet of 13 MIGs.
All-in-all, Ukraine can expect to receive around 20 MiG-29s from Poland, as well as the 13 that Slovakia will provide.
While we’re talking about weapons…
This won’t matter in the short term, but this will be pretty big news in the fall.
U.S. will speed transfer of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, Pentagon says
From the story:
The Pentagon, in a significant shift, said Tuesday that it will send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine by the fall, after facing scrutiny for initially saying it could take a year or two to procure the powerful weapons and get them to the battlefield.
The new plan calls for refurbishing tank hulls already in the U.S. arsenal, officials said. President Biden, under intensifying pressure from Ukrainian officials, agreed in January to pledge 31 M1 tanks as part of a long-term arrangement that afforded German leaders political cover so that they could approve the immediate provision of Leopard battle tanks.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is finally moving back in the right direction on the iss

Hey guys,
Welcome to the View from the Front podcast. If you just happened to stumble by, let me say a quick word about what we’re doing here.
For those who don’t know, my name is Stan R. Mitchell, and I’m a prior Marine and journalist.
Every week, I primarily do three things with my podcast:
* Work to highlight what our military troops are doing around the world, while also trying to better educate Americans about looming hotspots and foreign policy news you absolutely should know. (Why I focus on foreign policy...)
* Attempt to unite our country and remind us of how lucky we are to live in America. Our division and animosity toward each other is dangerous, and I want to do my small part to remind us that more unites us than divides us, and that most Americans are good and not screaming, crazy extremists like you see on the news all the time. (My thoughts on the division in this country...)
* Finally, I always share plenty of motivation and wisdom at the end of the episode, because I want to do my small part to help encourage you and lift you up. Life is certainly hard, and I think it’s fair to say all of us need all the motivation and encouragement that we can possibly get.
In this episode, we’ll be discussing several topics, that I think will really interest you, and that I almost guarantee you haven’t seen in the news! T
The work I do each week is primarily a podcast. You can listen to it from the player above, or from whatever podcast you listen to it from.
And if you love what I’m doing here, please sign up for email notifications. It’s FREE. Unless you choose to subscribe and support what I’m doing. It’s $5 per month should you choose that option, and you can cancel at any time.
Subscribing also gets you The View from the Front Extended. This is a daily edition that comes out each weekday and is a way to provide value and thank my paying subscribers.
Also, people are always asking me on social media how to best support my dreams, including getting out future books sooner. Believe me, the best way to support me is by signing up for a paid subscription here. Or, you can sign up at Patreon or at Venmo (@authorstanrmitchell).
But you don’t have to do any of these things. I’ve already had incredible support and feel called to do this. As long as I’m making enough to cover the time I invest each week, I’m not going anywhere. Why paid subscriptions help, and what they’d help me do more of...
Enough of the sales pitch, I hope you enjoy today’s edition. Again, you should listen to it from the player above.
Source notes:
Russia and Ukraine news:
A few updates regarding the American drone downing by Russia.
First, it wasn’t just pilots acting on their own, as we correctly predicted and stated in yesterday’s Extended edition.
Newstory from NBC news: Russian leadership approved aggressive actions of jets that damaged U.S. drone, U.S. officials say
From the story:
Three U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence said the highest levels of the Kremlin approved the aggressive actions of Russian military fighter jets against a U.S. military drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday. 
Secondly, Russia tried lying saying they hadn’t done anything wrong and were not to blame for the drone crashing.
So, the American military released drone footage showing otherwise, proving yet again that the Russian government lies says things that are not true.
In some of the video clips, if you pause them in the right spot, you’ll see the damaged propeller on the drone.
Finally, there was this.
Russia to try to salvage wrecked US drone; Gen. Milley says 'not a lot to recover'
From the story:
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon briefing that the drone sank into water that's 4,000-5,000 feet deep, making its recovery very difficult.
"It probably broke up. There's probably not a lot to recover, frankly,'' Milley said. "As far as the loss of anything of sensitive intellige

Hey guys,
Welcome to the View from the Front podcast. If you just happened to stumble by, let me say a quick word about what we’re doing here.
For those who don’t know, my name is Stan R. Mitchell, and I’m a prior Marine and journalist.
Every week, I primarily do three things:
* Work to highlight what our military troops are doing around the world, while also trying to better educate Americans about looming hotspots and foreign policy news you absolutely should know. (Why I focus on foreign policy...)
* Attempt to unite our country and remind us of how lucky we are to live in America. Our division and animosity toward each other is dangerous, and I want to do my small part to remind us that more unites us than divides us, and that most Americans are good and not screaming, crazy extremists like you see on the news all the time. (My thoughts on the division in this country...)
* Finally, I always share plenty of motivation and wisdom at the end of the episode, because I want to do my small part to help encourage you and lift you up. Life is certainly hard, and I think it’s fair to say all of us need all the motivation and encouragement that we can possibly get.
The View from the Front by Stan R. Mitchell is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
In this episode, we’ll be discussing several topics, that I think will really interest you, and that I almost guarantee you haven’t seen in the news! This includes:
* Timestamp: 2:42. Did you know Russia is now claiming Ukraine launched the war? And that Russia did NOT invade Ukraine? Yes, this was said by Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and he was completely covered with laughs of mockery in a public forum. I briefly remind folks of the true history, and of how hard the West, NATO, and the United States worked to prevent the invasion by Russia before it began.
* Timestamp: 8:03. The battle of Bakhmut. So much has happened here since last week. Initially, Ukrainian forces appeared to be withdrawing, blowing up bridges and pulling back to better positions. But then several days later, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Ukraine would reinforce around Bakhmut and hold the city. It’s my opinion this was strictly for reasons of perception, and it was also for these reasons that Zelenskyy stated he was going public with internal discussions from him and his senior advisors.
* Timestamp: 14:14. Has the Russian Winter offensive and plans to tire out and wear down Ukraine failed? Yes, it appears it has. And it’s not just me saying it. Take a listen to what one foreign policy expert is saying, as well as one of Russia’s leading analysts.
* Timestamp: 22:32. It’s time for a quick update on Ukraine getting jets or tanks from the West.
* Timestamp: 27:02. Is the U.S. seriously considering retiring the F-22, one of the world’s premier fighter jets? Yes. Yes, it is.
* Timestamp: 27:02. China is preparing for the upcoming conflict with the West as it continues to prepare to invade Taiwan. Take a look at what China’s leading strategists, researchers, and military minds are concerned about. And in that same line of thinking, some naval minds realized the United States is overlooking one important resupply issue that could prove to be America’s Achilles heel if it’s not corrected.
* Timestamp: 42:45. Iran is currently dealing with some serious school poisonings that is affecting thousands of school girls across dozens of provinces. Who could be behind this? And what does this say about the strength of Iran’s government at the moment?
* Timestamp: 42:45. In tech news, we’ll look at three different topics this week: the rules for autonomous weapons to engage a target with lethal force, the concept behind a massive, flying seaplane that the Pentagon wants, and a design flaw that makes all the difference between American and Russian tanks.
* Timestamp: 54:05. Finally, we’ll cover plen

In this episode, we’ll be discussing several topics, that I think will really interest you, and that I almost guarantee you haven’t seen in the news! This includes:
Timestamp: 2:07. Could Ukraine get fighter jets from somewhere other than the United States?
Timestamp: 6:15. Has Russia suffered more combat deaths in a year of war with Ukraine than it’s suffered in all the years since World War II? Yes, it actually has. Here’s an approximate historical look at casualties in previous wars.
Timestamp: 11:11. In war, cities are important — even the ones with no military value. So says two analysts who have studied the Ukrainian War intently. And the fighting the past year certainly validates their views. I discuss.
Timestamp: 18:07. Update on China. Is it arming Russia with lethal munitions yet?
Timestamp: 20:21. Forget Hunter Biden or Jan. 6. China is now in Congress’s crosshairs.
Timestamp: 24:50. Speaking of strong warnings for China, check out this one from the Deputy Secretary of Defense. But while all these threats are being tossed out, why are U.S. businesses announcing all these expansions in China? What is going on here?
Timestamp: 29:10. In tech news, it certainly seems robot dogs are here for good.
Timestamp: 35:37. Finally, we’ll cover plenty of motivation and wisdom.
Hey guys,
Welcome to the View from the Front podcast. If you just happened to stumble by, let me say a quick word about what we’re doing here.
For those who don’t know, my name is Stan R. Mitchell, and I’m a prior Marine and journalist.
Every week, I primarily do three things:
* Work to highlight what our military troops are doing around the world, while also trying to better educate Americans about looming hotspots. (Why I focus on foreign policy...)
* Attempt to unite our country and remind us of how lucky we are to live in America. (My thoughts on the division in this country...)
* And I always make sure at the end of the episode to share plenty of motivation and wisdom, because I want to do my small part to help encourage you and lift you up. Life is certainly hard, and I think it’s fair to say all of us need all the motivation and encouragement that we can possibly get.
The work I do each week is primarily a podcast. You can listen to it from the player above, or from whatever podcast you listen to it from.
And if you love what I’m doing here, please sign up for email notifications. It’s FREE. Unless you choose to subscribe and support what I’m doing. It’s $5 per month should you choose that option, and you can cancel at any time.
Also, people are always asking me on social media how to best support my dreams, including getting out future books sooner. Believe me, the best way to support me is by signing up for a paid subscription here. Or, you can sign up at Patreon or at Venmo (@authorstanrmitchell).
Why paid subscriptions help...

Enough of the sales pitch, I hope you enjoy today’s edition. Again, you should listen to it from the player above.
What follows are some of the news reports/source notes that I quote from in the podcast, as well as the motivation and wisdom links I read.
Selected source notes for the podcast.

Russia/Ukraine news:
From the story:
Amid renewed appeals to Western countries for fighter jets, Slovakia is considering giving Ukraine 10 of its 11 Soviet-made MiG-29 planes — with the 11th reserved for a Slovakian museum, according to Defense Minister Nad.
It grounded its MiGs in the summer due to a lack of spare parts and maintenance experts after Russian technicians returned home. But Ukraine’s air force, which flies MiG 29s, would be happy to have them.
“We will never use the MiGs anymore,” Nad said. “They have no real value for us. If we give them to Ukraine, they can help save their lives.”

The information above is from CSIS. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to advancing prac

In this episode, we’ll be discussing several topics, that I think will really interest you, and that I almost guarantee you haven’t seen in the news! This includes:
Timestamp: 2:21. U.S. troops wounded in raid against ISIS in Syria.
Timestamp: 6:20. How much did it cost to shoot down those three balloon objects last week?
Timestamp: 12:00. We’ve got you covered on several Ukraine news items that you may not have heard about.
Timestamp: 30:38. Did the United States greenlight an attack by Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities? It sure seems like they did.
Timestamp: 41:18. Four quick bits of China news that you probably didn’t hear about.
Timestamp: 46:55. In tech news, we discuss this topic: Is there such a thing as a fast-moving robotic dog with a deadly assault weapon on its back? Why, yes. There is such a thing.
Timestamp: 49:14. Finally, we’ll cover plenty of motivation and wisdom.
Timestamp: 1:03.43. And if you want to learn more about me, my hope for the country (and for those listening), and about the 11 books I’ve written, jump to here on the podcast.
Hey guys,
Welcome to the View from the Front podcast. If you just happened to stumble by, let me say a quick word about what we’re doing here.
For those who don’t know, my name is Stan R. Mitchell, and I’m a prior Marine and journalist.
Every week, I primarily do three things:
* Work to highlight what our military troops are doing around the world, while also trying to better educate Americans about looming hotspots. (Why I focus on foreign policy...)
* Attempt to unite our country and remind us of how lucky we are to live in America. (My thoughts on the division in this country...)
* And I always make sure at the end of the episode to share plenty of motivation and wisdom, because I want to do my small part to help encourage you and lift you up. Life is certainly hard, and I think it’s fair to say all of us need all the motivation and encouragement that we can possibly get.
Again, you should listen to it from the player above, or from whatever podcast you listen to it from.
And if you love what I’m doing here, please sign up for email notifications. It’s FREE. Unless you choose to subscribe and support what I’m doing. It’s $5 per month should you choose that option, and you can cancel at any time.
Also, people are always asking me on social media how to best support my dreams, including getting out future books sooner. Believe me, the best way to support me is by signing up for a paid subscription here. Or, you can sign up at Patreon or at Venmo (@authorstanrmitchell).
Why paid subscriptions help...

Enough of the sales pitch, I hope you enjoy today’s edition. Again, you should listen to it from the player above.
And what follows are some of the news reports/source notes that I quote from in the podcast, as well as the motivation and wisdom links I read.
Selected source notes for the podcast.

U.S. Military news
I may be in the minority, but I keep seeing these stories pop up, and I’m sorry, but I don’t care. No one in a defense situation asks what the cost of a munition is. They were ordered to down the object. They downed it. I think there are far more important stories out there.
Ukraine and Russia news:
Statement from President Joe Biden on travel to Kyiv, Ukraine
As the world prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, I am in Kyiv today to meet with President Zelenskyy and reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong.
Today, in Kyiv, I am meeting with President Zelenskyy and his team for an extended discussion on our support for Ukraine. I will announce another delivery of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air su