BONUS Special (Ops) Edition!
The guys are invited back for another discussion with another Ethics class...Welcome to another episode of “disagreement” with Umar Lee and Father Augustine Wetta. Today I will be interviewing two special forces operatives. Retired Master Sergeant John Addleman didn't just serve in the Army—he spent 26 years operating in some of the most elite special operations units in the world. A veteran of the legendary 75th Ranger Regiment, he went on to earn the Green Beret and serve in the U.S. Army Special Forces before being selected to serve with Australia's elite Special Air Service Regiment (SASR). He deployed into combat in the Philippines, Iraq, and Afghanistan, mastering everything from military freefall parachuting and underwater combat diving to counterterrorism, hostage rescue, and special operations intelligence. In 1997, he was part of an extraordinary 12-man team of six Green Berets and six Navy SEALs that traveled to Russia to compete against Russian Spetsnaz commandos—the only time an American team ever participated in the competition. In 2007, he led a combat freefall infiltration mission against a terrorist cell operating in a remote region of northern Iraq near the Syrian border. He earned three Bronze Stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge with a Combat Jump Star, among numerous other decorations. He also held a Top Secret/SCI security clearance. After more than a quarter-century of military service, he retired as a Master Sergeant—with a résumé that sounds like something out of an action movie. Retired Command Sergeant Major Mark A. Collazos spent 23 years doing what most people only see in the movies: serving in elite Army units, parachuting from high altitudes, training as a combat diver, and operating behind enemy lines. His career took him through the 75th Ranger Regiment, its elite reconnaissance detachment, and Delta Force, with deployments to Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq—including Operation Gothic Serpent, the mission associated with Black Hawk Down. He rose from machine gunner to Command Sergeant Major, ultimately serving as the senior enlisted leader of the 4th Ranger Training Battalion, helping train the next generation of Rangers. His qualifications span military free-fall parachuting, underwater infiltration, advanced navigation, and survival, evasion, resistance, and escape. His decorations include two Bronze Stars and the Legion of Merit, and in 2022, he earned a lasting place among the Army’s most distinguished Rangers: induction into the Ranger Hall of Fame.In 2025, John entered the Catholic Church, receiving the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, with Mark standing beside him as his godfather.As a class we have been discussing the parallels between art and ethics (some people say it’s all relative—or based on personal preference or cultural influences—but in the end, there is good and evil behavior). Every year we have someone who worked at the very top of their profession come speak about it (a Formula 1 driver, a comedian; a dancer with the Houston Ballet; a heavy metal guitarist…) I ask them questions like “Is there any such thing as a bad comedian, a better dancer; bad metal…?” It’s a way of discussing relativism in a way that we’ll understand. But we prefer to find topics we know little about. SO…we’ve asked John Addleman and his godfather, Mark Collazos to come talk to the class about the art of war—or, for lack of a better word, “soldiering”...
