Welcome to The View from the Front podcast, a show about military and defense news, designed for serious people who love their country more than they love their political party. It’s a show for moderates, who are tired of their news being from the left or the right, or being over-the-top and scary. I fully understand how frustrated most Americans feel at how divided we are, and I am the very opposite of most news organizations, who often write articles that are too alarming.
My name is Stan R. Mitchell and I’m a prior infantry Marine, who dropped the sword and picked up the pen. After joining the Marine Corps at the age of 17 to serve four years in the infantry, I exited military service, earned a degree, and spent ten-plus years in the news business; initially as a reporter, but then going on to start a weekly newspaper. What can I say? Anyone crazy enough to start a weekly newspaper at the age of 27 is probably a dreamer and an optimist, and I confess that I’m both.
I owned that weekly newspaper for nine years, from 2004 to 2013, but once it was clear that owning a newspaper wasn’t the best path to financial security, I went on to become an author. To date, I’ve written eleven books, and while it’s true I’m still writing, I’m now here, as well, a twice-a-week podcaster, who’s still in love with both this country and the news.
And I see this podcast as a small way to continue serving our country, doing my best to inform and unite us in a time that we’re as divided as we’ve probably been in a hundred years.
If you were to ask anyone who lived in Oak Ridge during the nine years that I owned that weekly newspaper, they would tell you that I sought to downplay controversy, I worked hard to understate headlines, and I did my absolute best to never create panic, which is a terrible way to sell newspapers (but a responsible way for a media outlet to act).
I plan to do these same things with my podcast. I love the news, and we need the news, but we need to have news that’s less over-the-top. News that folks don’t dread to hear, because it’s too scary. And news that isn’t so blown-out-of-proportion and fear-based, that it was clearly written to be shared and scare the devil out of people. The news shouldn’t be a game intended to grab eyeballs and monetize dollars.
It is an absolute fact that our democracy doesn’t work if we don’t have informed voters, and since we’re talking about the news and informed voters, let me say this: I’m convinced that foreign-policy decisions are the most important decisions that we face as a country.
They lead to greater consequences on the world stage, and they can lead to tragic deaths. Either because we shouldn’t have intervened somewhere. Or perhaps because we should have. America is the world’s leading power, and we mostly lead the world from a position of moral authority, showing other countries how they should behave in regards to ethics, restraint, and providing freedom for their citizens.
Foreign policy decisions can be tragic and heartbreaking, and it’s important that we get them right. It’s also crucial that when we get them wrong, such as when we did in the Vietnam War, then the faster we can course correct, the faster we can reduce how many lives we lose.
I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I do think much can be gained from discussing these issues, and creating a community where we intelligently discuss the troubles confronting us, and where we work to come closer together and respect each other’s views with more patience and kindness.
A house divided cannot stand, and I strongly believe that more unites us than divides us. I will not remain silent while politicians seeking their own personal gain try to throw gas on a dangerous fire, doing their best to tear apart this country so that they can advance to a higher office. I will also not remain silent when we have media organizations doing great harm to our country by scaring people or creating panic.
We face great challenges as a country, but America has stood together for more than 240 years, and it’s only together that we can pass on a better future for our kids. So, let’s get a little better informed. And let’s work to get a little more united as a people.
Thank you for being patient and allowing me to share that monologue. I think it’s important people hear what I’m about before they listen for too long. And I think it’s also important my regular listeners hear this message enough that it sinks in. That it affects what they believe. That it affects how they act.
We need to hold and cherish the beliefs that got us here today. Beliefs such as patience. Kindness. And a strong belief that our best days lie before us. These are beliefs that got us to this point. And they’re also the beliefs that will get us to a brighter future.
Thanks again for your patience on this intro. I know it’s not the sort of fast-paced, really hip, Twitter-friendly, Tik-tok cool intro that fits most podcasts that go viral, but maybe we’ve got a few too many podcasts that are like that. Maybe we need to go back to something deeper. To something firmer and more solid. To something we can build a foundation from. And that’s what I’m offering.
And with, let’s get started.
What follows are the source notes for this podcast. I apologize that I don’t have time to type up well-written, full episodes as I used to do. I’m still working a full-time job and squeezing in my research and recording the episodes as best I can. Maybe in the future I’ll be able to do full write-ups, as well.
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.
Source notes follow below, with subject heading in bold. (I again apologize for not being able to do full write-ups at this time.):
Ukraine:
Ukranian forces have sliced through Russian defenses and now threaten to encircle and cut off conscript defenders around Izium. (See map below.)
Reuters
Ukraine has retaken 6,000 sq km of land - Zelenskiy
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Ukrainian forces had retaken 6,000 square km. (2,400 square miles) of Russian-held territory since the beginning of the month.
"Since the beginning of September and up to today, our fighters have liberated more than 6,000 square km of the territory of Ukraine in the south and in the east," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video. "The advances of our forces continue."
Russia confirms big retreat near Kharkiv as Ukraine offensive advances
The retreat represents one of the biggest setbacks for Russia since President Vladimir V. Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February.
“In order to achieve the goals of the special military operation, a decision was made to regroup troops in the areas of Balakliya and Izyum in order to build up efforts in the Donetsk direction,” the Russian military statement said.
Although Russian officials sought to spin the developments — saying “a powerful fire was inflicted on the enemy using aviation, missile troops and artillery” as they withdrew — it was clear their troops were retreating to avoid being encircled. Ukrainian officials said the Russians had left behind equipment and ammunition.
Ukraine's Nuclear Power Plant Shutdown Cuts Risks
Thread link to share on European aid.
Motivation and wisdom:
Final three, and then we’re done:
And then I always like to end with this one:
And with that, thanks for joining us this week on The View from the Front.
The View from the Front is a reader-supported publication. The best way to make this work sustainable, and to help improve it, is with a paid subscription. But at the same time, free ones are appreciated, too!
Make sure to visit our website, stanrmitchell.substack.com, again, that’s stanrmitchell.substack.com. From there, you can subscribe to the show by email, so you’ll never miss a show.
As a reminder, please be kind and try your best to love your fellow Americans.
Let’s all work together to unite this country.
So, please, try to be a better person each and every day. Try to be kinder on social media and how you interact with others with whom you disagree.
Also, if you have a dream kicking around in the back of your mind? Go after it. If you have that friend or family member that you know you should reach out to? Reach out to them.
Finally, and this especially goes to all my awesome military folks listening out there, if you need help, reach out to someone. Please. Call that friend or family member. Do it for us all. We’ve already lost too many of the greatest folks that this country has produced to suicide. So I’m asking you to be brave once more, and show some vulnerability. Take a deep breath, breathe, and call a friend or family member or someone who can help.
I appreciate each and every one of you. Every tweet, every share, every email, etc. I can’t even tell you how much those mean to me, and I love each and every one of you all.
Please join me again in our next episode, and please stay safe until then.
Thanks again, everyone! You guys are the best. As always, don’t forget to check out my books. You can find all 11 of them on Amazon.
And with that, I’m out.
Semper Fidelis,
Stan R. Mitchell
P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a motivational/biography book about President Obama, and two realistic war novels: one about World War II and one about Afghanistan.
P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.
Stan R. Mitchell: The View from the Front podcast for 9-13-22