PODCAST: Warrior culture, special operations and private military companies, with Trevor Fortner

Joint-capabilities
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By: Robyn Tongol

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by Trevor Fortner, a former US Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialist, Blackwater PMC contractor and current EverydaySpy consultant.

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, senior journalist Robert Dougherty is joined by Trevor Fortner, a former US Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialist, Blackwater PMC contractor and current EverydaySpy consultant.

Fortner has formerly served as a US Navy EOD master training specialist and operated alongside Tier 1 units, including SEAL Team Six and Delta Force.

He previously led Blackwater’s ambassador protection detail, served as a tactical commander for the US ambassador’s diplomatic security service protection detail in Iraq, trained personnel with the United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard and Iraqi counter-terrorism units.

 
 

He now works as a principal engineer and test architect at Raytheon Missiles & Defense.

During the podcast, the pair discuss the modern battlefield and future warfare topics, including the following:

  • An insight into the world of Navy EOD and the unique demands of elite special operations training.
  • The intelligence, preparation and leadership required for high-risk capture missions, such as the recent US actions in Venezuela.
  • Public misconceptions surrounding private military contractors and how the industry has evolved since Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • The military strategy shift towards network-centric warfare, artificial intelligence-enabled decision making and industrial resilience.
  • The US military’s renewed focus on standards, accountability and the resurgence of “warrior culture”.

The pair close out the discussion with a rapid-fire round of questions relating to Fortner’s military training experience.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect team




Defence Connect undertook the above podcast with cooperation from online digital learning platform EverydaySpy. For more information about EverydaySpy, visit the following links.

Find your Spy Superpower: https://yt.everydayspy.com/4aXS3qi
Explore Spy School: https://everydayspy.com/
Listen to the podcast: https://youtube.com/@EverydaySpyPodcast
Learn from a CIA Spy: https://youtube.com/@Andrew-Bustamante

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Listen to previous episodes of the Defence Connect podcast:

Episode 11: SPOTLIGHT: Crewed, uncrewed, mass and increasing contemporary maritime combat capabilities, with Kevin ‘Q’ Quarderer of Leidos Australia and MAJGEN (Ret’d) Mick Ryan
Episode 10: PODCAST: Fleet readiness, future warfare and Australia’s naval strategy, with Commodore Antony Pisani
Episode 9: THE PROGRESS REPORT: Direct hit over Baghdad – the pilot who outflew a surface-to-air missile
Episode 8: SPOTLIGHT: Subs may be the centrepiece – but infrastructure, workforce and sovereign capability will decide the outcome, with Stantec’s Chris Waywell, Rob Sansbury and Robert Fogel
Episode 7: CONTESTED GROUND: Apathy, complacency and the ‘Lucky Country’, Australia’s predicament is entirely self-inflicted, with Ben Dullroy
Episode 6: SPECIAL EDITION PODCAST: 125 years of the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Army
Episode 5: CONTESTED GROUND: Australian resilience during a crisis and sovereign industrial capability
Episode 4: CONTESTED GROUND: From Tehran to Sydney – why war could reshape Australian property
Episode 3: SPOTLIGHT: Inside Australia’s AUKUS industrial transformation, with Honeywell Aerospace Australia senior director Lee Davis
Episode 2: CONTESTED GROUND: War without borders – the disinformation threat arriving in Australia