Episode 12 - Alastair Luft

On this episode, I sit down with Alastair Luft. Al grew up on the family farm in Alberta where hard work and contributing to something bigger than yourself was part of everyday life. After a brief stop at a civilian university, he decided to join the Army and quickly felt a sense of purpose in this new profession. After graduating from military college, and a brief stop in an Austrian prison, he found him self in Afghanistan with Canada’s first mission after 9/11. As a young platoon commander on the forward edge of a new war, he experienced first hand the challenges of leading Canadians in a combat zone. A US fighter pilot mistook his platoon for enemy and dropped a 500 pound bomb on their night training activity. Four of his soldiers were killed and many more wounded in the tragedy. He completed four more deployments to Afghanistan with our Special Operations Forces Command, but eventually decided to leave the high tempo of operations for a more balanced life. This is when he found a love of creative writing. An author of four books, Alastairs latest offering is called The Spark: A No-Holds Barred Guide to Saving the World.  As a listener of the NSP, I can assure you The Spark will be something you enjoy reading. Show Notes:Volga Germans - https://www.volgagermans.org/Tarnak Farms Tragedy (Afghanistan)https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2020/04/17/on-this-day-canada-history-april-17-2002-afghan-tragedy-im-rollin-in/https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/remembrance-day-tarnak-farm-afghanistanSaraposa Prison Break - https://www.npr.org/2011/04/25/135693601/nearly-500-inmates-escape-from-afghan-prisonAlastair's Books - https://alastairluft.com/books/The Spark - https://alastairluft.substack.com/Thanks again for listening to the NSP. Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2208861/shareLinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/granite-strategies-defence-nationalsecurity/?viewAsMember=true NSP Podcast Music Credit: RomanSenykMusic, Action Trailer, https://pixabay.com/music/main-title-action-trailer-140711/ NSP Podcast Logo - L. Ayotte, 2023NSP Shorts Music Credit: nomaBeats, You Are The Best!, https://pixabay.com/music/upbeat-you-are-the-best-146445/NSP Shorts Logo - L. Ayotte, 2023 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit granitestrategies.substack.com