Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
@independentamericans·13.4K subscribers·3.5K videos
General Mark Hertling. Trump’s Iran War and Unlimited Military Power.
Posted
March 24, 2026
Views
986
Likes
70
Comments
11
March 24, 2026
986
70
11
8.22%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
40:01Now PlayingA Broken DHS Makes Us All Less Safe. Elections Under Threat. War Crimes? Congress’ Cowardice. If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal. Fitness as a National Security Priority.
General Mark Hertling is back on Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff at a moment when America is at war abroad and under strain at home—and he is bringing hard truth, deep experience, and real hope. From Iran’s widening conflict and Trump’s reckless use of the most powerful military on Earth, to the rising threat of attacks here at home and the very real possibility he’ll try to mess with our elections, Rieckhoff and Hertling break down what’s really happening, what keeps this retired four-star up at night, and where the true “circuit breakers” are inside the Pentagon, Congress, and our democracy. They dig into war crimes, strategy (or the lack of it), the courage our leaders are missing, and the new consensus forming in the streets against the Iran war, ICE in our airports, and the slide toward authoritarianism.
They also go below the headlines and into the heart: Hertling’s powerful new book, If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal, started as a Green Army notebook he wrote for his young sons before Desert Storm—part war journal, part guide to character, leadership, friendship, marriage, and what it really means to serve. He shares emotional stories about sending his own kids into the military, why fitness and vaccines are now national security issues, and how toxic “manosphere” masculinity from Trump’s inner circle is warping our culture—and our kids. From Mr. Rogers and Looney Tunes to TAPS, the National Ability Center, and the next generation of leaders he’s now teaching in the classroom, this is an unfiltered, urgent, and inspiring conversation you won’t hear anywhere else—and the kind of independent content that helps you stay vigilant, stay informed, and stay hopeful.
🔗 SUPPORT THE MOVEMENT:
→ Independent Veterans of America: independentveteransofamerica.org
→ Independent Americans: independentamericans.us
→ BLEAV: bleav.com/shows/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff
Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all podcast platforms
Apple Podcasts
Read more at Substack
Support adfree episodes at Patreon
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.
