Discover why the traditional military doctrines are being upended as we engage with Dave Smith, a former major in the Canadian Armed Forces who made the extraordinary leap to volunteer as a fighter in Ukraine. Listen to Dave's compelling narrative about leaving a secure military career to join the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment, a unit of Belarusian Partisans opposing Alexandr Lukashenko and fighting to defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

J. Alex Tarquinio and Frank Radford, our hosts in The Delegates Lounge, spoke from New York, while Dave spoke from Ukraine via web conference. This is Part 1 of our conversation, which began in July with Dave's account of his journey and his insights into the war up until that point. He was about to go on a major operation. Tune in next week for Part 2. We followed up with Dave as he was ending his latest rotation on Ukraine's Eastern Front in October. As he relates his battlefield experiences, listeners will catch a rare glimpse into how international policies directly impact those on the front lines.

References:

Dave Smith co-authored the following article in Real Clear Defense with Julian Spencer-Churchill:

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2024/07/03/a_view_from_the_trenchline_1041979.html

Dave’s recent articles in Merion West:

https://merionwest.com/2024/08/29/a-portrait-of-a-stubborn-ukrainian/

https://merionwest.com/2024/10/06/the-origins-of-a-partisan/

Dave joined the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment of Belarusian volunteers fighting in support of Ukraine.

https://kalinouski.org/en/

Dave mentioned the “Leeroy Jenkins” battle cry from this video game meme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLyOj_QD4a4