Ben Buehler-Garcia went from having no radio experience to being at the helm of “American Warrior Radio” for 13 years and counting.
The program, which now originates from Bustos Media station KVOI(AM) in Tucson, Ariz., tells the stories of men and women in the military and first-responder communities. It is syndicated on Talk Media Network to 143 stations and heard in podcast form on all major platforms.
“I never served in the military or wore a badge, so as an adult, I’ve always felt it was my duty to support those who do or have,” he told Radio World.
When he started working at the local Chamber of Commerce, it had a Military Affairs Committee. Buehler-Garcia was put in charge of staffing it. “I was 23 years old, and that’s when I really started to appreciate the sacrifices that military families make on our behalf.”
In that role he met local media icon Dave Sitton, who covered University of Arizona sports on local stations.
Sitton had attended UA on a baseball scholarship and had planned to join the Marines. Unfortunately, he was hurt playing ball, and becoming a Marine was not in the cards.
But Sitton conceived “American Warrior Radio,” Buehler-Garcia recalled, to bridge a gap of understanding between the civilian population and the 1 percent who served. It began as a brokered program on KNST(AM) in Tucson.
“He knew I was very active in military affairs, so it started out with him asking me for referrals for guest ideas.”
Sitton then invited Buehler-Garcia to sit in on shows with him. After a few years, Sitton decided to run for Congress, and he invited Buehler-Garcia to guest-host while he ran his campaign.
Unfortunately, he did not win the election. Subsequently, Sitton came in to do the show one Sunday, and the engineer said, “Dave you look a little off.” Sitton replied, “I don’t feel quite right, but I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.” But Sitton died the next day at age 58.
“Put me in touch”
Buehler-Garcia felt that the work of the program needed to continue.
“I leapt in with both feet. I knew absolutely nothing about the radio business.” KQTH(FM) was the home of the program at that time, and management was open to the idea, as was Sitton’s family.
“It has been on-the-job learning for me. The interviews, the production, but also the sales. All that right-brain stuff that I needed to support the show. My intention was to make this a weekend labor of love.”
When he started, 80% of his guests were local, invited from military centers like Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the USS Tucson nuclear submarine and U.S. Army posts south of the city.
“One of the things I learned from my previous job in sales was you always ask for referrals. So after a good interview, I would always ask, ‘If you know anybody with a good story to tell, put me in touch.’”
A growing network of filmmakers, book publishers and PR agencies has subsequently helped him find a wider variety of guests.
“Things started to get a little bit easier from that point on, but the reverse of that is that I’ve got a stack of 12 books that I’ve got to read,” he said with a laugh.
He recalls a time when his growth felt stalled.
“I interviewed a former Delta Force member who had fought in the Battle of Mogadishu. He was talking about how he felt lost. He lost his connection to his tribe. He lost his purpose. During the interview, my wife texted me, ‘Sound familiar?’
“When I got home, I realized this was something that I hear often from Special Forces ‘Tip of the Spear’ people — how they really feel lost. They don’t have a purpose in life anymore. They miss their tribe.”
Buehler-Garcia thought this was what his wife had meant when she texted him.
“No,” she told him. “That’s you! You feel lost. Your mission is to get this message out to as many ears as possible.”
At that point, Buehler-Garcia explored self-syndication. He brokered KNFX(AM) in Phoenix, then added stations in Norfolk, Va., and Salt Lake City. Affiliates in Sacramento and Colorado Springs followed.
After 12 stations signed up, Buehler-Garcia began to wonder, “Maybe there’s a different way to skin this cat.”
Enter Talk Media Network.
“I looked at other syndicators, but they weren’t a good fit, and I wasn’t prepared to make that financial jump at the time. Josh Lang, the owner of Talk Media Network, then approached me.”
Ironically, Lang had been Dave Sitton’s engineer at KNST.
“Josh obviously knew the product, and he’s a veteran himself. He supports the cause. It was like we’d worked together forever because we both had ties to Dave Sitton,” Buehler-Garcia said.
“Before, I was a one-man shop. I was doing it all up until the point that I was syndicated,” he continued. “I was seeking out the guests, doing the production, scripts for interviews, the sales to keep myself afloat for the brokered time.”
The syndication agreement gives Buehler-Garcia the freedom to concentrate on production, though his contract also allows him to dabble in sales. Today only four of the affiliates are still carrying the show as a brokered program.
Part of the reason that Buehler-Garcia has such a passion for radio has to do with the fact that his parents were missionaries. They worked in Oaxaca, in the jungles of Mexico with indigenous people, and on an Indian reservation in South Dakota.
“What that taught me as a young boy was the importance and the power of storytelling. “American Warrior Radio” is basically a forum for these men and women who have served or are serving our nation just to come on and tell their stories. I like to say that it’s a friendly conversation between two people with thousands of people eavesdropping.”
One of the compliments Buehler-Garcia often receives is how comfortable the interviewees feel, as if it were a friendly chat around the campfire.
Recent guest Bobbie Keith, known as “Bobbie the Weather Girl” for her broadcasts from the studios of the American Forces Vietnam Network-Saigon during the war, echoed that sentiment.
“The interview with Ben went ever so smoothly because he was sincere. We both agreed how important it is for veterans and others like myself who served in Vietnam in a different capacity, that our stories are archived and remain in the banks of history.
“It’s people like Ben whose heart is in making sure our stories are told. I feel so blessed that I now have memories that will not die,” Keith said.
Gary Tollett is the owner of AM stations WOBL and WDLW in Lorain County, Ohio, which air “American Warrior Radio” twice a week.
“What Ben does is inspiring. Not all of us get the opportunity to serve our country, but we can honor them the way our veterans and first responders should be honored. The fact that he has made that his mission is amazing. Every show gets better and better. He doesn’t do it for fame or fortune. He does it out of respect. There is a special place in heaven for Ben when he is called home,” Tollett said.
The program also was heard for a time on the American Forces Network, reaching 160 countries and aboard 200 ships. “It was a huge honor. That was on top of the world for a guy like me.” AFN recently decided to switch to internally produced content.
Personal accounts
There are two basic rules.
“We don’t talk politics. And if somebody has written a book, I have to read it before I bring them on the show. They have to have a compelling story to tell.”
One of his more unexpected guests was actress Bo Derek.
“Her father was a Green Beret in Vietnam. She’s an honorary Green Beret. She hosts and supports a lot of veteran sports events. When I interviewed her, she had a line of shampoo for dogs and she was shipping the stuff free of charge to deployed dog handlers. Sometimes there is a story there that you don’t see right away. You have to dig down deep,” he said.
For Buehler-Garcia, it’s important to offer a mix. He has interviewed authors who write harrowing fiction about war, but he prefers personal stories from veterans.
“I do regular features on veteran entrepreneurs or on nonprofit organizations that support veterans.”
He also interviews first responders. “Our tagline is, ‘Those who protect us at home and abroad,’” he said.
Guest Jay Dobyns had been a standout football player for Arizona, then went to work for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He was shot his third day on the job, and later infiltrated the Hells Angels, an experience he recounted in a book. “He got to where he was losing his sense of who he was because he was in so deep undercover,” Buehler-Garcia recounted.
The host occasionally has needed to use what he calls the famous Dump button.
“I’d been doing the show about nine years and had a lot of salty talks with Marines, Delta Force and Navy SEALs, people whose daily language does not comply with FCC rules. But I never had to bleep anyone — until I had to press the Dump button on an ATF agent, a female, who was describing a shoot-out she was involved in. She was using language that was certainly not appropriate for our listeners.”
He does feel that the forum places a responsibility on him to discuss some uncomfortable subjects such as veteran suicide and PTSD.
“You have to have those conversations,” he stated. “I’m looking to educate. I’m looking to inspire.”
The author is a military journalist and author whose work has appeared in the Stars and Stripes, Army Times and many other publications. He has written four books on the Vietnam War.
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