Marine Corps 250th Birthday Special: Sgt. Tommy James and the Dogs of War | Ep. 74
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
iHeartPodcasts
4.5 • 11.4K Ratings
🗓️ 10 November 2025
⏱️ 118 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
📍In honor of the 250th Birthday of the United States Marine Corps, David Rutherford sits down with Sgt. Tommy James, a Marine K9 handler whose life story embodies everything the Corps has stood for — discipline, loyalty, and courage under fire.
From his humble beginnings in Arkansas to boot camp at Parris Island, from patrolling Quantico with a 130-pound Czech Shepherd to facing snipers in Afghanistan with his specialized search dog “Rona,” Sgt. James’ journey captures the Marine ethos: “The Few. The Proud.”
Next Steps:
- 🏫 Get coaching by David Rutherford: https://www.froglogicinstitute.com/
- 📕 Get David's novel, The Poet Warrior: https://www.ballastbooks.com/ballast-bookstore/the-poet-warrior
- 📰 Sign up for David's weekly newsletter for free coaching tips, updates, and more: https://davidrutherfordletter.substack.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 - The Allure of the Marine Corps
12:57 - Boot Camp Experience and Transformation
27:59 - Military Working Dog Training and Deployment
41:13 - The Battle of Chaparral and Its Aftermath
41:44 - The Journey of a Marine: From Boot Camp to Deployment
48:50 - First Combat Deployment: The Reality of War
01:03:03 - Training and Bonding: The Special Relationship with K9s
01:06:31 - Engagement in Combat: The Challenges of ROEs
01:17:18 - Casualties and the Harsh Realities of War
01:19:34 - Entering the Compound: A Tactical Overview
01:22:06 - The Reality of Combat: Friendships and Loss
01:25:44 - Transitioning Units: Challenges and Adjustments
01:29:04 - The Aftermath of Deployment: Reflections and Regrets
01:36:36 - Life After the Marines: Adjusting to Civilian Life
01:51:01 - Lessons Learned: Integrity and Brotherhood
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:04.6 | 250 years of the most aggressive, badass fighting force on the planet, |
| 0:11.4 | the United States Marine Corps. |
| 0:13.6 | Mr. Tommy James this week on the David Rutherford Show. The All right. All right. |
| 0:27.6 | So one of the things that I learned really early on in life was the power of the Marine |
| 0:33.9 | Corps. |
| 0:35.0 | And that is because my best friend I grew up with who was in five different high schools, |
| 0:40.8 | didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, graduates, joins the Corps, goes to Paris Island, |
| 0:47.2 | turns his entire life around, and becomes one of the hardest work in human beings I've |
| 0:53.1 | ever known in my life. |
| 0:55.1 | Now, that set the tone for me as I went in, the Navy. |
| 0:59.2 | And then every opportunity that I got to work with Marines over the eight years that I was in, |
| 1:05.3 | the time I was at Blackwater and the time that I was at the agency, |
| 1:09.4 | every single time they were the most hard charge and |
| 1:12.9 | focused, dialed in guys on every opportunity, every op, every interagency op, everything I ever did. |
| 1:22.0 | The Marine Corps was always the most gung-ho. And so to honor them and to honor their stories, |
| 1:30.3 | I had somebody, a friend of mine, an SF buddy, say, |
| 1:34.5 | hey, we need to interview more grunts, |
| 1:37.6 | more guys that were in the thick of it and the G-WAT. |
| 1:41.1 | And so I put it out on X, |
| 1:43.1 | and I got flooded with people reaching out to me to come on |
| 1:47.2 | and tell their stories. Well, this man today, Sergeant Tommy James, he did not reach out to me, |
... |
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