Episode 56: The End of the War in Afghanistan with Paul Rieckhoff, Voice for the American Veteran

The release date of this episode, August 31st, marks the end of America's longest war. Paul Rieckhoff, one of the most prominent national voices for the American war veteran, joins the podcast to explains what the end of the American war in Afghanistan means and how our veterans are processing the events of the past two weeks.   Paul is an American writer, social entrepreneur, activist and veteran of the Iraq war. Over the past 15 years, he has emerged as one of the most important and dynamic advocates for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Paul lived in Manhattan on September 11th, 2001, and responded immediately to the World Trade Center to serve in his capacity as New York National Guardsman. He loves the American service member and the American veteran, and fights hard on their behalf. Paul rose to prominence in 2004 when he founded Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), a highly-regarded, non-partisan powerhouse advocacy organization. Through IAVA, he helped push through the 9/11 GI Bill, reform the Department of Veterans Affairs, and build national programs to fight veteran suicide. Paul is many things - strategist, high school football coach, MSNBC commentator - but he's primarily a straight-shooter. He has a lot to say about the culmination of the war in Afghanistan and he lays it flat for 18th Airborne Corps podcast host Joe Buccino.   The 18th Airborne Corps podcast is the official podcast of the US Army's XVIII Airborne Corps (though I guess that's obvious). The podcast is recorded on Fort Bragg, North Carolina. With guests, stories from history, news of the day, and discussions with Soldiers, the 18th Airborne Corps podcast has become the most prominent audio program across all of the US Department of Defense. We release a new episode every Tuesday.