Dr. Charlie Faint sits down with EOD officer Michael Villahermosa in this episode for a wide-ranging conversation about combat, leadership, professional growth, and service. Villahermosa traces his path from an unsuccessful attempt at Special Forces selection to becoming an explosive ordnance disposal technician, deploying to Afghanistan during the surge, and eventually earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal for Valor after taking charge of a ground element under fire and helping prevent fellow soldiers from walking into an ambush. Drawing on experiences as both an enlisted NCO and commissioned officer, he emphasizes calm leadership under pressure, competence, humility, accountability, mutual trust, and the importance of officers empowering their NCOs rather than micromanaging them. The discussion also explores his transition from NCO to officer through Green to Gold, his EOD Happy Captain social-media presence, the value of professional writing and the Harding Project, and his current work mentoring ROTC cadets. Throughout the episode, Villahermosa returns to a simple leadership philosophy: learn from mistakes, listen to experienced NCOs, remain humble, communicate calmly, and strive to become the kind of leader you needed when you were younger.

• (00:00:02) - Enter the Spear
• (00:04:02) - "There's Some Nepotism In Sports"
• (00:04:14) - EOD School: A Hard Job
• (00:09:39) - Private Ready to Deploy: What Kind of Things Are Running Through Your
• (00:12:56) - Captain McMahon Killed in Action
• (00:17:13) - NCOs on the Afghanistan War
• (00:18:32) - First Mission as an EOD Tech
• (00:21:43) - Support Relationships with the Maneuver Force
• (00:26:24) - In the Elevator With a Leader
• (00:27:23) - EOD Happy Captain
• (00:32:04) - Build cohesive teams through mutual trust
• (00:32:28) - EOD National Guard EOD
• (00:33:57) - Don't Make Abuses
• (00:35:36) - EOD Operations in Afghanistan
• (00:41:14) - BSMV Soldier on Disarming an ambush
• (00:47:34) - Silver Star Recipient on His Story
• (00:51:49) - Being That Calm Voice in the Storm
• (00:54:11) - The Bronze Star Certificate Signed By Major General Bill Rapp
• (00:55:37) - Green to Gold: One Soldier's Journey
• (01:01:11) - The importance of leadership in the army
• (01:05:31) - EOD Happy Captain: Social Media and Military Issues
• (01:10:44) - Veteran Suicide
• (01:13:47) - Read More: Who Are You Writing For?
• (01:19:09) - How to Solve a Problem by Yourself
• (01:19:40) - George Kirkpatrick on the Harding Project
• (01:23:05) - Lt. Gen. Michael Jones on Leading the 5th Brigade R
• (01:24:19) - West Point Service Academy Cadet
• (01:25:39) - The Lotter Institute Lecture
• (01:26:21) - The Spear

In this episode, Colonel Tiffany Bilderback joins MWI's Charlie Faint to discuss a career defined by coalition building, strategic leadership, and service alongside partner forces from countries like Germany, Iraq, South Korea, and Ukraine. She also describes working in the special operations community and at the Pentagon, and providing military medical assistance to the COVID-19 national response. The bulk of the episode focuses on her time as the J5, or joint plans officer, for Security Assistance Group–Ukraine. Drawing on experiences advising Iraqi forces, supporting whole-of-government pandemic operations, commanding a multifunctional medical battalion, and helping develop Ukraine’s corps-level command structure during an active armed conflict, Tiffany reflects on the importance of humility, empathy, professional military education, and building trust with allies. She shares firsthand observations of Ukrainian resilience, explains why leader development remains essential even in the midst of combat, and offers practical leadership lessons on accountability, lifelong learning, and choosing opportunities that open more doors than they close.

• (00:00:02) - The Spear
• (00:00:31) - Colonel Tiffany Bratley on Her Love of History
• (00:01:54) - Branch in the Medical Service Corps
• (00:02:27) - Combat Medical Platoon Leader on Deployment
• (00:05:37) - Being the S9 in Afghanistan
• (00:08:02) - Post-Second Deployment Medical Service Officer
• (00:11:16) - Post-9/11 soldier experiences in Korea
• (00:15:11) - Post-Basic Training: Medical Plans in Afghanistan
• (00:20:09) - Post-Combat Experience: Leading the Army's Warfighter Plans
• (00:27:21) - Steve Bannon on Jared Kushner's Pizza comment
• (00:27:55) - Commanding the 61st Multifunctional Medical Battalion
• (00:31:17) - NATO's Security Assistance Group Ukraine (SAGYU)
• (00:33:50) - Assistance to the Ukrainian Corps in the Donbass
• (00:37:18) - What was your day to day life
• (00:39:27) - The Business Cycle: The J5
• (00:40:21) - Serviceman in the Ukraine War
• (00:43:47) - Senior Advisor to the Ukrainian Army
• (00:46:04) - Looking back on my time in the Ukraine
• (00:48:53) - Pre-Command Course
• (00:51:18) - Colonels on Accountability and the Investigation Culture
• (00:56:01) - SGT Majors in the Course
• (00:57:46) - Colonel Tiffany Sullivan on Leading With Purpose
• (00:59:12) - The Spear

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Dale Hunter joins MWI's Charlie Faint on this episode to discuss how a new Army unit—the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF)—transformed intelligence collection, targeting, and technology integration to compete against sophisticated antiaccess/area-denial threats in the Indo-Pacific. Drawing on his experience as the 1st MDTF’s senior intelligence warrant officer and collection manager, Dale explains the unique role of warrant officers as technical experts who bridge operational gaps, describes how the unit pioneered new approaches to maritime targeting, partner integration, and innovation in the absence of established doctrine, and argues that talent—not technology—is the decisive advantage in modern warfare. The conversation also explores leadership, disciplined initiative, the importance of actively recruiting exceptional people, and the crucible of innovation that shaped the 1st MDTF’s early success and continues to influence the Army’s transformation for future conflict.

• (00:00:02) - Spear of the Story
• (00:01:24) - Army Veteran on Why He Joined the Army
• (00:03:37) - What is a Warrant Officer?
• (00:06:44) - Are Intelligence Officers More Preferred Than Others?
• (00:08:13) - Immersed in the Multi-Domain Task Force
• (00:11:00) - What is a Collection Manager's Job?
• (00:13:13) - Exploring the 2ad
• (00:23:29) - Multiple Domain Task Force in the Philippines
• (00:28:28) - The Multi-Domain Task Force's Talent
• (00:32:56) - The Multi-Domain Task Force
• (00:34:55) - The MDTF's Talent Hunt
• (00:42:53) - Multi-Domain Commands
• (00:50:05) - Intel Architectural Questions
• (00:53:02) - What Does a Collection Manager's Day Look Like?
• (00:57:17) - Warrant Officer Career Overview
• (01:00:16) - Retired Intel Warrant Officer
• (01:02:26) - McIntosh: The Crucible of Innovation
• (01:05:37) - Dale Moore on His Next Job
• (01:07:55) - USFK Commander presents medal to Modern War Institute
• (01:08:55) - The Spear