On this episode of News World. My guest today is Beginner General Anthony J. Tata. He retired from the US Army having served a distinguished military career of over twenty eight years, including commands in the eighty second Airborne the one hundred and first Airborne Division, the tenth Mountain Division. He served in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Panama, and Haiti. He is also the national best selling author of more than fifteen military thriller novels. The brand new installment of his Garret Sinclair series is The Phalanx Code, and it tells the story of Garran Sinclair caught in a deadly game between two tech moduls with fealank squads hunting him and those he loves. It is the kind of powerhouse military thriller that only someone who is Tony's vast military experience could tell. So I'm really pleased to welcome my guest, Brigadier General Anthony Tata. His most recently performed the duties of Undersecretary Defense or Policy, the number three position in the United States Department of Defense, where he implemented national defense strategy. His military awards include the Bronze Star, Combat Action Badge, Ranger tab Master, Parachutist Badge, and Department of Defense Award for Distinguished Public Service. Tony, welcome and thank you for joining me on News World.

On this episode of News World. My guest today is Beginner General Anthony J. Tata. He retired from the US Army having served a distinguished military career of over twenty eight years, including commands in the eighty second Airborne the one hundred and first Airborne Division, the tenth Mountain Division. He served in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Panama, and Haiti. He is also the national best selling author of more than fifteen military thriller novels. The brand new installment of his Garret Sinclair series is The Phalanx Code, and it tells the story of Garran Sinclair caught in a deadly game between two tech moduls with fealank squads hunting him and those he loves. It is the kind of powerhouse military thriller that only someone who is Tony's vast military experience could tell. So I'm really pleased to welcome my guest, Brigadier General Anthony Tata. His most recently performed the duties of Undersecretary Defense or Policy, the number three position in the United States Department of Defense, where he implemented national defense strategy. His military awards include the Bronze Star, Combat Action Badge, Ranger tab Master, Parachutist Badge, and Department of Defense Award for Distinguished Public Service. Tony, welcome and thank you for joining me on News World.

Mister speaker. It certainly a privilege to feed speaking with you and your audience.

Mister speaker. It certainly a privilege to feed speaking with you and your audience.

You know, before we discussed the failing's code, I thought we might go back and discuss your twenty eight years of service to our country and really start at the beginning. Who encouraged you to join the army.

You know, before we discussed the failing's code, I thought we might go back and discuss your twenty eight years of service to our country and really start at the beginning. Who encouraged you to join the army.

Mister speaker. I grew up in Virginia, Southeastern Virginia. My mother was from the Blue Ridge. My parents were teachers, and they certainly instilled in me and my older brother who went to the Naval Academy, and my younger sister, who is a teacher today, the sense of public service. And so my mother always said, Tony, whatever you do, always make a difference. And so with that in mind, and having a brother at the Naval Academy who was kicking for the football team, I had to do something opposite of him. So I went to West Point and when I graduated, it was hard, It was really really hard.

Mister speaker. I grew up in Virginia, Southeastern Virginia. My mother was from the Blue Ridge. My parents were teachers, and they certainly instilled in me and my older brother who went to the Naval Academy, and my younger sister, who is a teacher today, the sense of public service. And so my mother always said, Tony, whatever you do, always make a difference. And so with that in mind, and having a brother at the Naval Academy who was kicking for the football team, I had to do something opposite of him. So I went to West Point and when I graduated, it was hard, It was really really hard.

I wrestled and played baseball there Yeah, I had.

I wrestled and played baseball there Yeah, I had.

This Elon image from all my time in Virginia, going to the battlefields and Lee and Grant and all the history in Virginia, whether it's Williamsburg and Jamestown and Yorktown or the Civil War with the Shanandoah Valley, and my mother's very close to some of those battlefields up there where she grew up. I went with this sense of pride in Elon that I came from a state where people had served in every capacity possible. And then my mother's creator always make a difference, and that got me motivated to go to West Point. And certainly when I graduated from NTRI Officer Basic and went to my first tactical unit, I sort of switched on. I said, I was an athlete growing up. I played on a couple of state championship baseball teams, and certainly I had these visions of being a professional athlete and being a paratrooper and ranger school graduate. That became my version of being a professional athlete serving my country on the most important field of all of them.

This Elon image from all my time in Virginia, going to the battlefields and Lee and Grant and all the history in Virginia, whether it's Williamsburg and Jamestown and Yorktown or the Civil War with the Shanandoah Valley, and my mother's very close to some of those battlefields up there where she grew up. I went with this sense of pride in Elon that I came from a state where people had served in every capacity possible. And then my mother's creator always make a difference, and that got me motivated to go to West Point. And certainly when I graduated from NTRI Officer Basic and went to my first tactical unit, I sort of switched on. I said, I was an athlete growing up. I played on a couple of state championship baseball teams, and certainly I had these visions of being a professional athlete and being a paratrooper and ranger school graduate. That became my version of being a professional athlete serving my country on the most important field of all of them.

You had some remarkable assignments, and you were in some very very different countries. When you look back on that, what do you think was the most challenging assignment you were given while you were in a.

You had some remarkable assignments, and you were in some very very different countries. When you look back on that, what do you think was the most challenging assignment you were given while you were in a.

I have to say, mister speaker, that's a great question. The most challenging assignment I had was when I was one hundred and first Airborne Brigade commander in Kosovo, in command of Ukrainian and Polish battalions, a Greek battalion, a few of my own airborne battalions, and we were responsible for monitoring the border of Kosovo and North Macedonia and also keeping the Serbs out of Kosovo, and so had a separate brigade focused on the Serbs, and my job was to focus on the peace enforcement that was happening between Kosovo North Macedonia. You had the Albanian rebels in there, and they were crossing the border, and they were ostensibly the ones that we came in to support because the Serbs were ostensibly the bad guys. But the Albanian rebels used that umbrella of support as a method of attacking into Macedonia. And so it was this real tough geopolitical problem that manifested. On June twenty fifth, two thousand and one, I was there. I had to lead my troops past Macedonian military lines into the defenses of the rebels who had penetrated into Macedonia, moved them in trucks and all broken by NATO negotiators, one of.

I have to say, mister speaker, that's a great question. The most challenging assignment I had was when I was one hundred and first Airborne Brigade commander in Kosovo, in command of Ukrainian and Polish battalions, a Greek battalion, a few of my own airborne battalions, and we were responsible for monitoring the border of Kosovo and North Macedonia and also keeping the Serbs out of Kosovo, and so had a separate brigade focused on the Serbs, and my job was to focus on the peace enforcement that was happening between Kosovo North Macedonia. You had the Albanian rebels in there, and they were crossing the border, and they were ostensibly the ones that we came in to support because the Serbs were ostensibly the bad guys. But the Albanian rebels used that umbrella of support as a method of attacking into Macedonia. And so it was this real tough geopolitical problem that manifested. On June twenty fifth, two thousand and one, I was there. I had to lead my troops past Macedonian military lines into the defenses of the rebels who had penetrated into Macedonia, moved them in trucks and all broken by NATO negotiators, one of.

Whom I found out. I knew once I was on the ground there.

Whom I found out. I knew once I was on the ground there.

And certainly the Macedonian army would not let us out because TV was showing us going in to help the terrorists, and all we were trying to do was diffuse the situation. So there we were all night long, cooking and jabbing, getting shot at by the Macedonians who we went into help at the requests of their president. And I'm on the radio talking to the general who I reported to I was a colonel, and he says, hey, man, you're on the ground. I'm just sitting here eating a peanut butter jelly sandwich. You figure it out, And he meant that in the best possible way, but he put.

And certainly the Macedonian army would not let us out because TV was showing us going in to help the terrorists, and all we were trying to do was diffuse the situation. So there we were all night long, cooking and jabbing, getting shot at by the Macedonians who we went into help at the requests of their president. And I'm on the radio talking to the general who I reported to I was a colonel, and he says, hey, man, you're on the ground. I'm just sitting here eating a peanut butter jelly sandwich. You figure it out, And he meant that in the best possible way, but he put.

A drone over.

A drone over.

We figured out a route out, and I had British sas Delta Force equivalent supporting me. But that was a long night, but I got every soldier home safely. We solved the problem. We diffuse the situation. I got all the NATO negotiators rescued and out of there, and at five point forty nine the next morning we were one hundred percent accounted for it inside the wire. But I would say that was my most challenging thirty six hours or so in the US military.

We figured out a route out, and I had British sas Delta Force equivalent supporting me. But that was a long night, but I got every soldier home safely. We solved the problem. We diffuse the situation. I got all the NATO negotiators rescued and out of there, and at five point forty nine the next morning we were one hundred percent accounted for it inside the wire. But I would say that was my most challenging thirty six hours or so in the US military.

That's really wild. And of course there are regions of the world where people have been cheerfully hating each other for very, very long periods.

That's really wild. And of course there are regions of the world where people have been cheerfully hating each other for very, very long periods.

That's right, Yeah, that's right.

That's right, Yeah, that's right.

It's a little bit like the challenge police have if they go to a domestic problem and all of a sudden the wife and the husband are both attacking them forgetting in the middle of it.

It's a little bit like the challenge police have if they go to a domestic problem and all of a sudden the wife and the husband are both attacking them forgetting in the middle of it.

This was classic Clausewitzian wars politics. By another means, the rebels penetrated far enough to where they held strategic ground in a town called Harichinovo, and they were in mort range of the airport of the Seda government, of the presidential residents, of the US embassy. All of my troops had a battalion protecting the airport down in Scopia.

This was classic Clausewitzian wars politics. By another means, the rebels penetrated far enough to where they held strategic ground in a town called Harichinovo, and they were in mort range of the airport of the Seda government, of the presidential residents, of the US embassy. All of my troops had a battalion protecting the airport down in Scopia.

And so it behooved us to move them right.

And so it behooved us to move them right.

And so when the NATO negotiators went in there, they had a list of demands and they said, give this to the Macedonia president. And then you can send the Americans in to move us. The President agreed to it. We came in to move them, we moved them. We thought we were good to go, and then we had a fighter away out of there because by then the Big Lion was being told on Macedonian TV that we were helping the bad guys.

And so when the NATO negotiators went in there, they had a list of demands and they said, give this to the Macedonia president. And then you can send the Americans in to move us. The President agreed to it. We came in to move them, we moved them. We thought we were good to go, and then we had a fighter away out of there because by then the Big Lion was being told on Macedonian TV that we were helping the bad guys.

So I did it all worked out in the end.

So I did it all worked out in the end.

When you were in Haiti, did you get any sense of what would take to get that country to become viable?

When you were in Haiti, did you get any sense of what would take to get that country to become viable?

Yeah?

Yeah?

So my Haiti operation experience was as the chief of Plans of the eighty second Airborne Division, and I wrote the plan with the team. We wrote the plan to jump three thousand paratroopers in.

So my Haiti operation experience was as the chief of Plans of the eighty second Airborne Division, and I wrote the plan with the team. We wrote the plan to jump three thousand paratroopers in.

We had the ship of stuff and all that.

We had the ship of stuff and all that.

And if you recall, this was ninety four and there were two options. There was the airborne option, which I was part of. I was on an airplane, and then there was the Tenth Mountain on the Eisenhower.

And if you recall, this was ninety four and there were two options. There was the airborne option, which I was part of. I was on an airplane, and then there was the Tenth Mountain on the Eisenhower.

Option, where they came in for peacekeeping.

Option, where they came in for peacekeeping.

When Colin Pale, Sam Nunn and Jimmy Carter went in, we paratroopers thought, well, that's just to clear all the containers and fire trucks that had been disabled off the runway to make.

When Colin Pale, Sam Nunn and Jimmy Carter went in, we paratroopers thought, well, that's just to clear all the containers and fire trucks that had been disabled off the runway to make.

Our job easier, and they're going to lead real quick.

Our job easier, and they're going to lead real quick.

And there were like two days of negotiations and all of that, and we got told to fly Clinton obviously was president, and we go about an hour out from green light or ready to jump in. We get turned around. We're told the deal's been signed. And so I never physically stepped into Haiti because I got sent back to Fort Bragg now Fort Liberty, but I spent a year researching intel work in that plan. My sense was you really needed to reform the police force because Francois was in charge then and he was a bad guy.

And there were like two days of negotiations and all of that, and we got told to fly Clinton obviously was president, and we go about an hour out from green light or ready to jump in. We get turned around. We're told the deal's been signed. And so I never physically stepped into Haiti because I got sent back to Fort Bragg now Fort Liberty, but I spent a year researching intel work in that plan. My sense was you really needed to reform the police force because Francois was in charge then and he was a bad guy.

The corruption was really deep.

The corruption was really deep.

I don't know that Aristeed was the right guy to bring in, but he certainly was available. And then Sadris who signed the document and moved to Costa Rica or somewhere. Just deep, deep reform. You know, like most of these third world countries in the Caribbean, they've got to have ethics and values and all of that infused because right now, you know, or at least then, there was no sense of duty or loyalty to the country. It was all take.

I don't know that Aristeed was the right guy to bring in, but he certainly was available. And then Sadris who signed the document and moved to Costa Rica or somewhere. Just deep, deep reform. You know, like most of these third world countries in the Caribbean, they've got to have ethics and values and all of that infused because right now, you know, or at least then, there was no sense of duty or loyalty to the country. It was all take.

What you can get, kind of like the Biden administration, when.

What you can get, kind of like the Biden administration, when.

You take off the uniform. You've had this terrific period of serving America, and then you get called back to work in the Pentagon as part of the official structure, reporting ultimately to the presidented States. How much different was the view from running around the Pentagon to being out in a military post where you're surrounded by people who are focused on the military.

You take off the uniform. You've had this terrific period of serving America, and then you get called back to work in the Pentagon as part of the official structure, reporting ultimately to the presidented States. How much different was the view from running around the Pentagon to being out in a military post where you're surrounded by people who are focused on the military.

That's a really insightful question. Serving as the Undersecretary for policy, what you see is the importance of civilian control of the military. You understand, you know, as a young officer man, one star, two star, three star, four star general, they're gods and they can do no wrong. And then you get on top of that and you're looking down and you're saying, you're not given me the civilian leadership what.

That's a really insightful question. Serving as the Undersecretary for policy, what you see is the importance of civilian control of the military. You understand, you know, as a young officer man, one star, two star, three star, four star general, they're gods and they can do no wrong. And then you get on top of that and you're looking down and you're saying, you're not given me the civilian leadership what.

I need or you are a great job.

I need or you are a great job.

And it really gave me a different perspective on the importance of dedicated professionals that want the best for the country to be servant in those positions. And it also taught me that you can brook no bs from any senior officer that may not care for the civilian leadership, all the way up to the commander in chief that's in subordination that needs to be dealt with immediately, and so regardless of the circumstances, regardless of what the media is saying, we have civilian control of the military, and whoever is in those positions choose in charge. That tension was a great educator for me to be in that position, even for the short period of time that I was. And then the last thing I would say is that I traveled for the last couple of weeks to about six different countries, and the esteem with which other countries hold DoD in the United States is without fail. Yeah, I was gone during January sixth I was in Rio, staying with John Abazaide and meeting with Kaled Bend Salmon to sign a major defense cooperation plan. And even during all of that, the regard that these people held our country is just remarkable.

And it really gave me a different perspective on the importance of dedicated professionals that want the best for the country to be servant in those positions. And it also taught me that you can brook no bs from any senior officer that may not care for the civilian leadership, all the way up to the commander in chief that's in subordination that needs to be dealt with immediately, and so regardless of the circumstances, regardless of what the media is saying, we have civilian control of the military, and whoever is in those positions choose in charge. That tension was a great educator for me to be in that position, even for the short period of time that I was. And then the last thing I would say is that I traveled for the last couple of weeks to about six different countries, and the esteem with which other countries hold DoD in the United States is without fail. Yeah, I was gone during January sixth I was in Rio, staying with John Abazaide and meeting with Kaled Bend Salmon to sign a major defense cooperation plan. And even during all of that, the regard that these people held our country is just remarkable.

The other thing which I was always surprised to learn is you have it a really big interest in education. I mean, it's kind of like I'm watching your career here and you're going from career military to serving the Pentagon. In between, you're also the chief operating officer of the District of Columbia Public Schools. Then you become the superintendent of the Wake County public school system. I mean, that's quite a zig zag kind of approach. That's before you become Secretary of Transportation. Tell me a minute about the adventure and education.

The other thing which I was always surprised to learn is you have it a really big interest in education. I mean, it's kind of like I'm watching your career here and you're going from career military to serving the Pentagon. In between, you're also the chief operating officer of the District of Columbia Public Schools. Then you become the superintendent of the Wake County public school system. I mean, that's quite a zig zag kind of approach. That's before you become Secretary of Transportation. Tell me a minute about the adventure and education.

Remember how he started.

Remember how he started.

My mother's had to always make a difference in that ethos of public service.

My mother's had to always make a difference in that ethos of public service.

And my father was.

And my father was.

A thirty year, fifteen term state delegate in the House of Delegates in Virginia. He used to listen to your tapes all the time. I would come home from where I was deployed.

A thirty year, fifteen term state delegate in the House of Delegates in Virginia. He used to listen to your tapes all the time. I would come home from where I was deployed.

I swear to.

I swear to.

God, he'd be like, man, this gindrich guy is really smart, and he'd just be listening to your tapes. Contract with America and all that. He was a beer and pretzels guy, a son of Italian immigrants, was asked to run unusual last name high school football coach, good record, all the makings of a winning ticket, and he won. And Pat Robertson's CBN is in that district of part of Virginia Beach and he represented fifteen terms. Turned down a bunch of offers to run for Congress, and he says, where you kids grew up, that's where I want to represent because this community has been so good to us, and I want to be good to it. So it's that ethos that my parents instilled in me to always contribute and try to make things better than you found it. There were the usual defense contractors when I was leaving, and then I said, no, I want to get into education. Eli Broad, he had an education foundation. They recruited me to come in and go through a superintendent's training school because he believed that leadership was the key to unlocking the potential of public education. I agree with him. And Michelle Ree was on his board. And Michelle was the chancellor of DC Public Schools, had just started been there nine months or so, and she called me and said, hey, Tata, I need a general to come in and run my business operation so I can focus on academics. And so I did that, and Michelle and I to this day and very close friends. She was awesome. She was thirty seven. I was forty seven. The Washington Post did a big article on how's this general going to work for?

God, he'd be like, man, this gindrich guy is really smart, and he'd just be listening to your tapes. Contract with America and all that. He was a beer and pretzels guy, a son of Italian immigrants, was asked to run unusual last name high school football coach, good record, all the makings of a winning ticket, and he won. And Pat Robertson's CBN is in that district of part of Virginia Beach and he represented fifteen terms. Turned down a bunch of offers to run for Congress, and he says, where you kids grew up, that's where I want to represent because this community has been so good to us, and I want to be good to it. So it's that ethos that my parents instilled in me to always contribute and try to make things better than you found it. There were the usual defense contractors when I was leaving, and then I said, no, I want to get into education. Eli Broad, he had an education foundation. They recruited me to come in and go through a superintendent's training school because he believed that leadership was the key to unlocking the potential of public education. I agree with him. And Michelle Ree was on his board. And Michelle was the chancellor of DC Public Schools, had just started been there nine months or so, and she called me and said, hey, Tata, I need a general to come in and run my business operation so I can focus on academics. And so I did that, and Michelle and I to this day and very close friends. She was awesome. She was thirty seven. I was forty seven. The Washington Post did a big article on how's this general going to work for?

You know, young woman and all that. It was crazy.

You know, young woman and all that. It was crazy.

And then Waite County, that's Raleigh, North Carolina, fifteenth largest system in the country, recruited me. They just had a change in twenty ten, Tea Party of Revolution. School board went from Democrat to Republican. They wanted somebody to come in with leadership skills outside the system. Turns out I was that guy. Certainly, we did a lot of good there, and probably one of the most rewarding parts of my life so far has been implementing the programming within you know, the one hundred and fifty thousand students, one hundred and seventy schools, eighteen thousand employees in Waite County. We established leadership academies, young Men's Academy, young women's Academy, a career tech academy. We created innovative programming think about charter schools within a public school system that could with charter schools that were outside the public school system. And I wanted parents voting with their feet inside the district. And it was effective. Last year, the two leadership academies had the highest proficiency rates and graduation rates in the state of North Carolina. That kind of stuff makes me feel good. I know that I made a difference. And then Pat McCrory called me up and said, hey, I just wanted to being governor. Will you be my transportation Secretary. I think it was more a move to take me off the chessboard because Tom Tillis was getting ready to run for Senate, and you know, there are a lot of rumors about me and all that, and I got in line, and then some things didn't happen they were supposed to happen, and you know, here we are today.

And then Waite County, that's Raleigh, North Carolina, fifteenth largest system in the country, recruited me. They just had a change in twenty ten, Tea Party of Revolution. School board went from Democrat to Republican. They wanted somebody to come in with leadership skills outside the system. Turns out I was that guy. Certainly, we did a lot of good there, and probably one of the most rewarding parts of my life so far has been implementing the programming within you know, the one hundred and fifty thousand students, one hundred and seventy schools, eighteen thousand employees in Waite County. We established leadership academies, young Men's Academy, young women's Academy, a career tech academy. We created innovative programming think about charter schools within a public school system that could with charter schools that were outside the public school system. And I wanted parents voting with their feet inside the district. And it was effective. Last year, the two leadership academies had the highest proficiency rates and graduation rates in the state of North Carolina. That kind of stuff makes me feel good. I know that I made a difference. And then Pat McCrory called me up and said, hey, I just wanted to being governor. Will you be my transportation Secretary. I think it was more a move to take me off the chessboard because Tom Tillis was getting ready to run for Senate, and you know, there are a lot of rumors about me and all that, and I got in line, and then some things didn't happen they were supposed to happen, and you know, here we are today.

But that's fine.

But that's fine.

I'm just saying about the totally different application of skills from thinking about education to thinking about the state transportation system. Did you enjoy that?

I'm just saying about the totally different application of skills from thinking about education to thinking about the state transportation system. Did you enjoy that?

I did, in part because Pat was such a transportation focused governor, was such a big part of his platform. First of all, the leadership part is transferable. It's all about caring about loving the people you lead. I had twelve thousand employees in the Department of Transportation. I had an airplane I could get around the state King air that I would take to go visit with people, Understand what they were doing, have them show me what's important in their engineer districts. You know, you're working with engineers, professional engineers, super left brain. Trying to help them see the vision was the fun part for me because they do it brick by brick, and sometimes you need to build it from the top down, and there were a lot of great conversations, but so many good people that I got to work with in my time in North Carolina.

I did, in part because Pat was such a transportation focused governor, was such a big part of his platform. First of all, the leadership part is transferable. It's all about caring about loving the people you lead. I had twelve thousand employees in the Department of Transportation. I had an airplane I could get around the state King air that I would take to go visit with people, Understand what they were doing, have them show me what's important in their engineer districts. You know, you're working with engineers, professional engineers, super left brain. Trying to help them see the vision was the fun part for me because they do it brick by brick, and sometimes you need to build it from the top down, and there were a lot of great conversations, but so many good people that I got to work with in my time in North Carolina.

I really enjoyed all those skills.

I really enjoyed all those skills.

Whether you're talking to a soldier in a foxhoil, a teacher in a classroom, or a transportation worker at the port operating a crane, it's all the same. You got to care about them, you've got to understand what they need, and you've got to resource them.

Whether you're talking to a soldier in a foxhoil, a teacher in a classroom, or a transportation worker at the port operating a crane, it's all the same. You got to care about them, you've got to understand what they need, and you've got to resource them.

With all of these skills, you pivot and you start writing, and you write fiction, which I think is vastly harder than nonfiction.

With all of these skills, you pivot and you start writing, and you write fiction, which I think is vastly harder than nonfiction.

I agree with you. What led you down that road?

I agree with you. What led you down that road?

You know?

You know?

I had always wanted to write. I was one of these kids to teachers as parents that read a lot. And then I started reading. Why am I so interested in what I'm reading? And you know how to write a book, how to write a novel, how to write a mystery. You know Stephen King's Dancy maccobb on writing by Stephen King, you know several other books, and I just started writing. I remember Tom Clancy came and visited my troops one time.

I had always wanted to write. I was one of these kids to teachers as parents that read a lot. And then I started reading. Why am I so interested in what I'm reading? And you know how to write a book, how to write a novel, how to write a mystery. You know Stephen King's Dancy maccobb on writing by Stephen King, you know several other books, and I just started writing. I remember Tom Clancy came and visited my troops one time.

He was writing the Airborne Book, and he.

He was writing the Airborne Book, and he.

Was smoking like a chimney, and we were packing out for a jump and he wanted to see that, you know, and I'd put this guy in. There's Tom Clancy smoke and standing there talking to paratroopers with parachutes on. That's rule number one is don't let any fire near a parachute, right because you might burn a static line or something. And so my sardin major comes love and starts yelling.

Was smoking like a chimney, and we were packing out for a jump and he wanted to see that, you know, and I'd put this guy in. There's Tom Clancy smoke and standing there talking to paratroopers with parachutes on. That's rule number one is don't let any fire near a parachute, right because you might burn a static line or something. And so my sardin major comes love and starts yelling.

At it, like who is this guy.

At it, like who is this guy.

I'm like, mister Clancy, we're going to move him over here. But he said famously, if you want to be a writer, then right. So I started writing, and I've been writing most of my life. I've always enjoyed it. I love the creative aspect to it, and certainly Failings Code is book sixteen for me with Sam Martin's Press McMillan. They're a great publisher, My editor, Mark Residik is fantastic. I've received great support from them, in from Kensington Books, my other publisher that published a series of books for me. So I love the creative process.

I'm like, mister Clancy, we're going to move him over here. But he said famously, if you want to be a writer, then right. So I started writing, and I've been writing most of my life. I've always enjoyed it. I love the creative aspect to it, and certainly Failings Code is book sixteen for me with Sam Martin's Press McMillan. They're a great publisher, My editor, Mark Residik is fantastic. I've received great support from them, in from Kensington Books, my other publisher that published a series of books for me. So I love the creative process.

Did you have any idea you're going to end up writing a series rather than a single book. Yeah.

Did you have any idea you're going to end up writing a series rather than a single book. Yeah.

I think I created a group of people that I wanted to base a series on. I like reading series. You know, it's that old saying that you're an author, you know, write what you like to read, not necessarily what you know. And so I like to read series. I like to read thrillers. I like to read mysteries, and so that kind of form. I got typecasts a little bit as a former military guy.

I think I created a group of people that I wanted to base a series on. I like reading series. You know, it's that old saying that you're an author, you know, write what you like to read, not necessarily what you know. And so I like to read series. I like to read thrillers. I like to read mysteries, and so that kind of form. I got typecasts a little bit as a former military guy.

Hey give me a military thriller.

Hey give me a military thriller.

So I did some of that, but I also made a little bit more Jack Reacher Lee Child kind of guy with one of my series.

So I did some of that, but I also made a little bit more Jack Reacher Lee Child kind of guy with one of my series.

So and I love it.

So and I love it.

How many total books have you written?

How many total books have you written?

Sixteen?

Sixteen?

This is my sixteenth published one. My first thing I ever wrote is unpublished. It's called The Last Gamble and it's a story about a Heisman trophy running back at West Point who gets caught in a mob point shaving scheme. And that's ultra fiction because it's been a long time since West Points had a Heisman trophy running back.

This is my sixteenth published one. My first thing I ever wrote is unpublished. It's called The Last Gamble and it's a story about a Heisman trophy running back at West Point who gets caught in a mob point shaving scheme. And that's ultra fiction because it's been a long time since West Points had a Heisman trophy running back.

Still one can hope. How do you conceptualize somebody like Garrett Sinclair?

Still one can hope. How do you conceptualize somebody like Garrett Sinclair?

Great question, Sinclair, I spent a lot of time drafting out his bio. I had talked to my agent at Trident Media, and when San Martin signed me to a new contract, they wanted sort of a new thing. And my agent said, Tony, you're a general. Give him a general, and you can make it about whatever you want. But make the protagonist someone that you can go deep on and reflective of your core values or whatever.

Great question, Sinclair, I spent a lot of time drafting out his bio. I had talked to my agent at Trident Media, and when San Martin signed me to a new contract, they wanted sort of a new thing. And my agent said, Tony, you're a general. Give him a general, and you can make it about whatever you want. But make the protagonist someone that you can go deep on and reflective of your core values or whatever.

It is that you want. So my agent and I.

It is that you want. So my agent and I.

Had talked about this and I agreed with him, and so mapping out Sinclair, you know, he meets his wife in church in Fayetteville, probably near bellefeed and Seed. He went to high school in Fayetteville. He was the son of a paratrooper West Point grad. His grandfather was a ranger at Normandy and that's actually how Feline starts, as his grandfather scaleing the cliffs of Point de Hak. And so this lineage of military duty, which I do not have. My father served as two years in the army. But I wanted somebody who had this measuring stick against him, something to live up to, to prove whether or not he wanted to prove that and create that sort of internal dynamic. And then he's got two children. And so my previous protagonist had been Jake Mahigan, a loaner, former Delta Force operative, Native American from the Outer Banks in North Carolina, they could not be more different.

Had talked about this and I agreed with him, and so mapping out Sinclair, you know, he meets his wife in church in Fayetteville, probably near bellefeed and Seed. He went to high school in Fayetteville. He was the son of a paratrooper West Point grad. His grandfather was a ranger at Normandy and that's actually how Feline starts, as his grandfather scaleing the cliffs of Point de Hak. And so this lineage of military duty, which I do not have. My father served as two years in the army. But I wanted somebody who had this measuring stick against him, something to live up to, to prove whether or not he wanted to prove that and create that sort of internal dynamic. And then he's got two children. And so my previous protagonist had been Jake Mahigan, a loaner, former Delta Force operative, Native American from the Outer Banks in North Carolina, they could not be more different.

Jake had no responsibility to anybody.

Jake had no responsibility to anybody.

Garrett Sinclair not only has a family and responsibility to them, but he has responsibility to all of his troops. He leads the Joint Special Operations Command, He leads a subunit of Joint Special Ops called Test Wars Dagger that does presidential directed missions. And that's kind of the unique fictional part of this. And so he personally goes on these missions at the president who in my development of the character Sinclair's wife as a college roommate of who is now the president, Kim Campbell. And there's some question as to whether or not Campbell helped off his wife or not, which happens in the first book in the series.

Garrett Sinclair not only has a family and responsibility to them, but he has responsibility to all of his troops. He leads the Joint Special Operations Command, He leads a subunit of Joint Special Ops called Test Wars Dagger that does presidential directed missions. And that's kind of the unique fictional part of this. And so he personally goes on these missions at the president who in my development of the character Sinclair's wife as a college roommate of who is now the president, Kim Campbell. And there's some question as to whether or not Campbell helped off his wife or not, which happens in the first book in the series.

So there's that tension.

So there's that tension.

So I wanted multiple layers of tension, ultra responsible And now in Falanx Code, what we see is that he's been through so much in the first two books. And you don't have to read the first two to understand or get into Faalanx. But the country's politically divided. You have two tech giants think on one side the worst attributes of Google and Facebook colluding with the government to consume personal identity, personal financial data to control people.

So I wanted multiple layers of tension, ultra responsible And now in Falanx Code, what we see is that he's been through so much in the first two books. And you don't have to read the first two to understand or get into Faalanx. But the country's politically divided. You have two tech giants think on one side the worst attributes of Google and Facebook colluding with the government to consume personal identity, personal financial data to control people.

And then on the other side.

And then on the other side.

Think Elon Musk and X which is called Project Optimists, and Optimists co opts and Claire into helping defend his developers who are developing decentralized Wi Fi, decentralized finance, all the dydfi crypto, all of that helping people protect their personal information. So it's big tech against decentralized tech. And Sinclair gets caught in the middle of this, and in the meantime learns a devastating secret about his grandfather who scaled the cliffs appoint to Hawk.

Think Elon Musk and X which is called Project Optimists, and Optimists co opts and Claire into helping defend his developers who are developing decentralized Wi Fi, decentralized finance, all the dydfi crypto, all of that helping people protect their personal information. So it's big tech against decentralized tech. And Sinclair gets caught in the middle of this, and in the meantime learns a devastating secret about his grandfather who scaled the cliffs appoint to Hawk.

This isn't just purely military in the sense of violence and those kind of things. You really get into the whole issue of cyber behavior and the impact of the cyber world and how cyber warfare can evolve. How do you see all of that evolving and its impact both on our civilian lives and also on the whole system of national security.

This isn't just purely military in the sense of violence and those kind of things. You really get into the whole issue of cyber behavior and the impact of the cyber world and how cyber warfare can evolve. How do you see all of that evolving and its impact both on our civilian lives and also on the whole system of national security.

That's what this book is really about.

That's what this book is really about.

That's the theme of the book is unchecked technological advancements. Looting with government in a techno fascist way is probably the greatest threat to mankind today. And that's what Garrett Sinclair in Faalanx code is defending against and when I think about in my personal business, in my private life, I work with logistics companies and defense companies and energy companies and aerospace companies, and the rate at which AI is changing just the information landscape is really breathtaking. And so here what we have is sort of a fictionalized version of that where the Failanx Corporation has created a way to every time you touch your phone, it knows where you are, it knows what you're looking at, is listening to you. And I know a lot of that already happens, but take that to it's logical extension where you have zero privacy, All the cameras on your phone, your iPad, your MacBook are all looking back at you twenty four to seven year ring camera in a constant surveillance state, and then all your personal data that they have to use against you.

That's the theme of the book is unchecked technological advancements. Looting with government in a techno fascist way is probably the greatest threat to mankind today. And that's what Garrett Sinclair in Faalanx code is defending against and when I think about in my personal business, in my private life, I work with logistics companies and defense companies and energy companies and aerospace companies, and the rate at which AI is changing just the information landscape is really breathtaking. And so here what we have is sort of a fictionalized version of that where the Failanx Corporation has created a way to every time you touch your phone, it knows where you are, it knows what you're looking at, is listening to you. And I know a lot of that already happens, but take that to it's logical extension where you have zero privacy, All the cameras on your phone, your iPad, your MacBook are all looking back at you twenty four to seven year ring camera in a constant surveillance state, and then all your personal data that they have to use against you.

Did you pay every dime of your taxes? Arbitrary?

Did you pay every dime of your taxes? Arbitrary?

People think about the guy, mister speaker who was call on Twitter, some thirty year old guy or whatever in the administration call on Twitter saying I don't like these accounts here because they're saying bad things about the president. Take them down, and Twitter took them down. That's the analog version of what I'm talking about. Now, you just automate that, like, Okay, this is speech I don't like. This is somebody I don't like. This is somebody saying stuff that's counter to my narrative. Make it shut down automatically.

People think about the guy, mister speaker who was call on Twitter, some thirty year old guy or whatever in the administration call on Twitter saying I don't like these accounts here because they're saying bad things about the president. Take them down, and Twitter took them down. That's the analog version of what I'm talking about. Now, you just automate that, like, Okay, this is speech I don't like. This is somebody I don't like. This is somebody saying stuff that's counter to my narrative. Make it shut down automatically.

If you look at the Chinese communist social credit model, that's literally parallel. I mean, it's the use of totolitarian knowledge. So if you're not behaving properly, you can't get on an airplane.

If you look at the Chinese communist social credit model, that's literally parallel. I mean, it's the use of totolitarian knowledge. So if you're not behaving properly, you can't get on an airplane.

We're not far from that. I don't think.

We're not far from that. I don't think.

I mean, I think it's fascinating. I think, frankly, your whole life lends itself to someday being an autobiography. I mean, put a memoir with all the different things you've done as an army brat. If I want to thank you for your service to our country, and I want to recommend to our listeners to get a copy of your new book, The FEALANX Code, a Garrett Sinclair novel, which is available now at Amazon and in bookstores everywhere. And I have a hunch once they get into your world, they're going to look at all those other books and decide they have to have them, but thank you very much for spending the time talking with us.

I mean, I think it's fascinating. I think, frankly, your whole life lends itself to someday being an autobiography. I mean, put a memoir with all the different things you've done as an army brat. If I want to thank you for your service to our country, and I want to recommend to our listeners to get a copy of your new book, The FEALANX Code, a Garrett Sinclair novel, which is available now at Amazon and in bookstores everywhere. And I have a hunch once they get into your world, they're going to look at all those other books and decide they have to have them, but thank you very much for spending the time talking with us.

Thank you, it's better privilege, and thank you for being an army brat.

Thank you, it's better privilege, and thank you for being an army brat.

That's a tough job in its own right.

That's a tough job in its own right.

Thank you to my guest, Brigadier General Anthony Tata. You can get a link to buy his book The Falanx Code on our show page at newtsworld dot com. Newtsworld is produced by English sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is Guernsey Sloan. Our researcher is Rachel Peterson. The artwork for the show was created by Steve Penley. Special thanks to the team at Gingrish three sixty. If you've been enjoying Newtsworld, I hope you'll go to Apple Podcasts and both rate us with five stars and give us a review so others can learn what it's all about. Right now, listeners of Newtsworld can sign up for my three freeweekly columns at gingristree sixty dot com slash newsletter. I'm newt Gingrich. This is Nutsworld.

Thank you to my guest, Brigadier General Anthony Tata. You can get a link to buy his book The Falanx Code on our show page at newtsworld dot com. Newtsworld is produced by English sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is Guernsey Sloan. Our researcher is Rachel Peterson. The artwork for the show was created by Steve Penley. Special thanks to the team at Gingrish three sixty. If you've been enjoying Newtsworld, I hope you'll go to Apple Podcasts and both rate us with five stars and give us a review so others can learn what it's all about. Right now, listeners of Newtsworld can sign up for my three freeweekly columns at gingristree sixty dot com slash newsletter. I'm newt Gingrich. This is Nutsworld.