The Association of the U.S. Army is releasing four new podcast episodes in November, including a one-on-one with new Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston and an interview with the authors of the new book, Hunting the Caliphate: America’s War on ISIS and the Dawn of the Strike Cell.

The first November podcast in the “Army Matters” series will feature an interview with Grinston, who became the Army’s top enlisted soldier in August. The episode, available Nov. 4, will give listeners insights into Grinston’s personality, leadership style and goals during his time as the 16th sergeant major of the Army. He also will talk about the Army Combat Fitness Test, building squads, measuring soldier lethality and improving nutrition at dining facilities.

On Nov. 11, the podcast will tackle the issue of financial management. The episode, featuring two financial experts, will cover Thrift Savings Plan options and good financial management practices. 

Next up is an episode focused on military families. Guest Amy Bushatz, executive editor of Military.com and a military spouse, will talk about how her role as an Army spouse contributed to her career, especially when dealing with the effects of her husband’s difficult deployment to Afghanistan. The podcast will be available Nov. 18.

The next podcast, available Nov. 25, will feature retired Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard and Wes Bryant, authors of Hunting the Caliphate: America’s War on ISIS and the Dawn of the Strike Cell.

Pittard, who retired from the Army in 2015 after 34 years of service, served multiple combat tours in Iraq and the Middle East, and in 2014 led the initial U.S. response to stop the rise of the Islamic State group in Iraq. Bryant retired from the Air Force in 2018 as a master sergeant. In 2014, he was the tactical lead for a contingent of special operations joint terminal attack controllers to first set foot in Iraq to stop ISIS.

Learn more about the book here.

Full details on the podcasts are available at https://podcast.ausa.org/