Episode Details

For an update on the war in Ukraine, Fran Racioppi Jumped In with Daniel Elkins, CEO of Special Operations Association of America and our guest from Episode 33,  where we covered SOAA’s mission, his career as a Green Beret in the Special Forces, SOAA’s commitment legislative advocacy and their work supporting Afghan refugees. 

SOAA just signed an agreement with the Ukrainian government to train their soldiers in basic combat fundamentals. They are one of the first non-profits to be authorized to officially train the Ukrainians and they’re working on US government approval right now. Daniel and Fran talk Ukraine, SOAA’s efforts in the region and the toll the war is taking on the people. We also circle back on Afghanistan, SOAA’s calls for a full investigation and what they are doing to continue to support Afghan refugees. 

Learn more about SOAA and get involved at SOAA.org. Follow them on social media @soaaorg. 

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Highlights:

-Daniel credits his time serving at the US embassy in Ukraine for his dedication to the Ukrainian people and their fight (5:02)

-To meet the demand for soldiers, Ukraine was forced to reduce its basic training time to under a week for new soldiers. (7:37)

-SOAA is following a deliberate certification process to ensure they are fully authorized by the US government to conduct training of the Ukrainian forces. (9:40)

-SOAA