Ep. 12: How immigrants contribute to our national security

Vetted Conversations

Episode 12 asks the question: how do immigrants contribute to our national security. America is a country of immigrants, and this episode explores how the best teams are built from people with different backgrounds, skill sets, and cultures. We kick things off (00:47) with U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran and current Deputy Chief of Citizenship and Applicant Information Services at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Al Eskalis who answers the question, "Why does America need immigration?" (3:12). Then,U.S. Army veterans and authors Adam Gamal and Kelly S. Kennedy join us to discuss their new book, The Unit: my life fighting terrorists as one of America's most secret military operatives. Adam discusses his journey from being a child in Alexandria, Egypt to joining a Tier 1 Special Operations Command unit so secretive that the Department of Defense prohibited him from publishing the unit's name. This is the first and only book to ever be written by a member of America's most secret military unit. This is the unit whose members go in BEFORE the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta or Naval Special Warfare Development Group (AKA Seal Team Six) hit the target. They are the people largely responsible for finding and fixing the target so other Tier 1 teams can finish them. Highly-trained in warfare, self-defense, infiltration, and deep surveillance, "the Unit," as the Department of Defense has asked us to refer to it, has been responsible for preventing dozens of terrorist attacks in the Western world. Never before has a member of this unit shared their story — until now. From Adam Gamal, one of the only Muslim Arab Americans to serve inside “the Unit," comes an incisive firsthand account of our nation’s most secretive military group. To protect his identity, Adam will also be using a voice scrambler for today’s interview - so please bear with us and understand this is for his and his family’s protection. And finally, U.S. Navy veteran and executive director of Minority Veterans of America, Lindsay Church joins us (1:03:29) to discuss how her organization helps minority veterans successfully make the transition from active duty to the civilian world.

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