For a lot of navy viewers, HBO’s Era Kill was greater than status tv. It was one of many first mainstream depictions of the early Iraq Battle that felt lived-in, uncomfortable, and unpolished in a manner that rang true for veterans.
Now, one of many Marines behind that story is entering into a unique sort of highlight.
Retired Marine Corps Grasp Sgt. Brad Colbert, extensively identified to followers because the real-life crew chief portrayed in Era Kill, has launched the Carry On Podcast, a mission constructed across the similar components which have outlined his profession: blunt honesty, small-unit camaraderie, and conversations that don’t draw back from the tougher components of service.
The present launched in October 2025 and blends long-form visitor interviews with weekly current-events evaluation episodes known as “SITREP editions,” designed to supply veteran-grounded context on international safety and nationwide protection developments.
My mission with the Carry On Podcast is to construct neighborhood… Whether or not you’re energetic obligation, a veteran, or simply somebody on the lookout for sincere conversations — you belong right here. Colbert mentioned within the launch supplies for the present.
From Power Recon to Intelligence Work, Now to the Mic
Colbert’s path to podcasting is rooted in three many years of navy and authorities service.
He enlisted within the Marine Corps in 1995 and constructed a profession in reconnaissance and operational management, serving in Okinawa, Afghanistan in 2001, and through the opening section of the Iraq Battle in 2003 with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion.
His efficiency throughout these years earned recognition, together with Crew Chief of the 12 months from the Power Recon Affiliation and NCO of the 12 months from the first Marine Division Affiliation.
After retiring from energetic obligation in 2016, Colbert continued to assist nationwide safety operations by means of work with the Intelligence Group, deploying globally earlier than transitioning to civilian life and media work.
The through-line, he says, is continuity — taking classes realized from fight, management and intelligence work and translating them into discussions about resilience, id and long-term restoration after service.
A ‘Era Kill’ Examine-In With Ray Individual
One of many podcast’s early anchor episodes options retired Marine Josh Ray Individual, who can also be depicted in Era Kill as one other real-life Recon Marine.
The episode revisits each the occasions dramatized within the sequence and the realities that by no means made it onto tv — from management friction to the darkish humor that always turns into a survival device throughout sustained fight operations.
The dialogue additionally explores one thing more and more widespread in veteran storytelling: what occurs after the warfare ends. Individual displays on management choices, private aftermath and the difficult emotional terrain that follows deployment cycles.
The strategy displays a broader shift in veteran-led media — much less centered on nostalgia and extra on long-term influence.
Contained in the Podcast’s Weekly ‘SITREP’ Protection Transient
Whereas the visitor episodes drive narrative storytelling, Colbert says the podcast’s most distinctive function is its weekly defense-focused evaluation format.
The SITREP version is designed to supply context on present occasions with out leaning into partisan framing or algorithm-driven outrage cycles, one thing Colbert says is more and more lacking from fashionable media.
Current subjects have included protection coverage shifts, Pentagon media entry debates and geopolitical tensions involving Iran, all framed by means of second- and third-order penalties somewhat than headline-level reactions.
The episodes are launched each Friday, with visitor interviews sometimes dropping month-to-month.
Subsequent Up: ‘Warbody’ and the Hidden Prices of Battle
Upcoming episodes will embody retired Employees Sgt. Alexander Lemons, co-author of Warbody, a e-book analyzing the long-term physiological and environmental prices of warfare, together with poisonous publicity and persistent sickness.
Future visitors are anticipated to develop past Marine Corps networks to incorporate veterans from different communities, athletes, authors and psychological well being professionals — a part of what Colbert describes as an effort to widen the dialog round service and restoration.
The present additionally sometimes touches on tradition and way of life subjects tied to Colbert’s private pursuits, together with whiskey, gear and firearms dialogue framed round sensible expertise somewhat than product rating or influencer-style content material.
Why This Present Clicks With Veterans
Veteran-hosted podcasts are usually not new. However initiatives like Carry On mirror a broader shift in veteran storytelling — away from institutional messaging and towards peer-to-peer neighborhood constructing.
Colbert’s framing is constructed round one thing acquainted to many service members: mission continuity.
Whether or not that’s translating fight management into civilian careers, processing trauma years after leaving uniform, or understanding international safety shifts by means of lived expertise, Carry On positions itself as a dialog hub somewhat than a nostalgia automobile.
That aligns with Colbert’s long-standing philosophy that outcomes — in fight, management and even distilling whiskey — are decided by consideration to element and sincere evaluation of actuality.
Dialog with Josh Ray Individual From Era Kill – Episode 4 – Carry On Podcast
The place to Discover It
The Carry On Podcast is offered throughout main podcast platforms, YouTube and Colbert’s official web site.
For audiences who first encountered Colbert by means of Era Kill, the podcast represents one thing much less scripted however arguably extra reflective of the lengthy arc of service: not simply what occurs throughout warfare, however what it takes to maintain transferring ahead afterward.
