Don Beishl and Joanne Cipressi discuss the troop withdrawl in Afghanistan with Senator Doug Mastriano, Congressional Candidate Teddy Daniels, and State Treasurer Stacy Garrity.
SENATOR DOUG MASTRIANO is a combat veteran and the son of a career US Navy man. He is an Eagle Scout and worked as a paperboy, janitor, security guard, short-order cook, pizza delivery person and dishwasher. Doug was commissioned in the U.S. Army in 1986 and served on the Iron Curtain with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in West Germany. While serving along the East German and Czechoslovakian borders, he witnessed the end of the Cold War and thereafter deployed to Iraq for Operation Desert Storm (1991) to liberate Kuwait. His regiment led the attack against Saddam’s elite Republican Guard forces. Doug went on to serve in Washington, DC, the 3rd Infantry Division and US Army Europe. After 9/11, Mastriano was the lead planner for the operation to invade Iraq via Turkey. He served four years with NATO and deployed three times to Afghanistan. Mastriano was the director of NATO’s Joint Intelligence Center in Afghanistan, leading 80 people from 18 nations. On his own initiative, Doug led seven relief operations to help Afghan orphans. He completed his career as a Professor of the U.S. Army War College (PAWC), Carlisle, PA, and taught Strategic Studies at the Master Degree level to the next generation of senior leaders.
Mastriano is a Doctor of History (PhD) and has four master’s degrees: Strategy, Strategic Intelligence, Military Operations, and Airpower. He earned a BA from Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania and was the alumnus of the year in 2009. He led the search to locate where America’s greatest WW I hero, Alvin York, received the Medal of Honor and led the construction of a three mile trail, with two monuments and nine markers in the Argonne Forest of France. He published 30 articles on strategy and historic topics and authored the book Alvin York: A New Biography of the Hero of the Argonne which received four awards. His new book, Thunder in the Argonne is the first to tell the complete story of America’s largest battle, the 1918 Meuse-Argonne Campaign. Doug’s next book, Pershing’s Lieutenants, was just released and is an edited work that focuses on the leadership style of American officers in the First World War.
Mastriano has appeared on Tucker Carlson, C-Span, numerous national radio programs (John Batchelor Show, Eric Metaxas Show) and on Fox Business with Stuart Varney. He retired from the U.S. Army in November 2017 after 30 years of active duty as a Colonel. In 2018, he was a candidate for Pennsylvania’s 13th U.S. Congressional District, where he overwhelmingly won Franklin and Fulton Counties and placed 3rd (of 8 candidates) in Adams and Cumberland Counties.
Doug is married to Rebecca (Stewart), whose ancestors settled this region of Pennsylvania in 1732. Rebecca was a chaplain with Marketplace Ministries at Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe. Their son Josiah is a graduate of Liberty University, and an Eagle Scout, Canadian Chief Scout and recipient of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards.
Mastriano is an active member of his church and resides near Caledonia State Park, Pennsylvania.
Mastriano was elected to serve as the Senator for Pennsylvania’s 33rd District in May 2019, which includes all of Adams County, most of Franklin County and parts of Cumberland and York Counties. Mastriano has thirty years of experience building teams to get the job done. He has dedicated his life to fighting for freedom, defending our families and serving the people of this great land.
STACY GARRITY’s life story is exemplified by her role as a trailblazing businesswoman and her decorated service on the battlefields of Iraq.
After graduating from Sayre High School in Bradford County, Stacy earned a degree in finance and economics from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and later received a certificate from the Cornell University Business Management Institute.
While serving in the U.S. Army Reserve, Stacy started work as a cost accountant at Global Tungsten & Powders Corp., a global supplier of refractory powders, and worked her way up to become the first of two female vice presidents. She also serves on the board of Bradford County United Way and is a trustee of Guthrie Hospital.
Stacy’s service in the Army Reserve brought her to national attention. Amid scandals about prisoner abuse at other facilities, the national media highlighted her stellar performance as one of the officers in charge of an internment camp for enemy combatants in Iraq.
Iraqis dubbed her “the Angel of the Desert” when her service at Camp Bucca in Southern Iraq resulted in a perfect record. She kept the camp secure and American troops safe without a single complaint of abuse from Iraqi soldiers interned there.
Stacy served a remarkable three deployments in defense of America: in 1991 in Operation Desert Storm, in 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and in 2008 in Operation Enduring Freedom. She was awarded the Bronze Star twice for exceptional service and received the Legion of Merit before retiring from the Army Reserve with the rank of colonel.
Stacy is married to Daniel Gizzi, a project analyst at Corning Incorporated. Stacy worships at both the Christian Life Church and Emory Baptist Church.
TEDDY DANIELS was born and raised in Pennsylvania to a blue collar family. Teddy’s father was brick and stone mason and his mother worked at textile factory. Teddy attributes his work ethic to his blue collar upbringing.
As a younger man, Teddy was a stellar athlete. He played baseball, was a champion powerlifter, ran track and was an All-State football player. He attended and graduated from the prestigious Valley Forge Military Academy. Teddy was selected to represent Pennsylvania in the Prestigious Big 33 Football classic which is known as the Super Bowl of High School Football. He then attended West Virginia University on a full athletic scholarship where he was a starting guard for the Nationally Ranked WVU Mountaineer Football Team.
After College, Teddy had a distinguished career as a police officer. He worked in every aspect of Law Enforcement and was instrumental in community initiatives. Teddy was awarded the accolade of Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in 2002.
After a successful law enforcement career, Ted enlisted active duty into the United States Army Infantry. Deployed to Afghanistan, Teddy was wounded during a firefight with the Taliban in 2012. Teddy is a highly decorated Combat veteran and his commendations include the Purple Heart and Combat Infantry Badge.
While recovering from his injuries at Ft. Carson Colorado, Teddy saw a need for a highly trained and capable force in dealing with the legal marijuana industry. Teddy founded a security/transport and consulting firm and was the first in the industry to specialize and cater specifically to the legal cannabis market. Teddy was trailblazing in his services and took his company public in just over 8 months. He has worked tirelessly with politicians and government entities across the country to enact mandates to keep the industry safe.
Teddy now spends his time with his family and as a Wounded Combat Veteran he volunteers and supports other veteran’s organizations. Teddy is a member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, The Combat Vets MC and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
In addition to his own campaign for Congress, Teddy served the Trump campaign as the Northeast U.S. Director of Vets for Trump.