EP-395 Kevin Key: Operation Willing Spirit — The Hunt for FARC Hostages

Kevin Key is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel who served with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment before going through special forces selection and assessment (SFAS) and becoming a Special Forces Officer (18A) with 7th Special Forces Group. He started his military career in the Army National Guard while attending college under the simultaneous membership program (SMP). He served at Special Operations Command - South (SOCSOUTH) and has commanded a unit within the 82nd Airborne Division. At one point in this episode, Kevin recounts Operation Willing Spirit (Colombia version is Operation Jacque) — the effort to locate and verify hostages taken after a 2003 FARC plane was shotdown in Colombia, and how U.S. and Colombian forces used covert tactics (including a fake humanitarian operation) to free captives years later. The episode also traces Key’s path post‑military shift into real estate, restaurant/event property ownership (Cosmic Tiki), cattle ranching and writing about carnivore nutrition in his book. __________ Please leave us a review on Apple/Spotify Podcasts: Apple: Spotify: Mentors4mil Links: Instagram: Patreon Support: Intro music "Long Way Down" by Silence & Light is used with permission. Show Disclaimer:

You can listen to EP-395 Kevin Key: Operation Willing Spirit — The Hunt for FARC Hostages online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

EP-395 Kevin Key: Operation Willing Spirit — The Hunt for FARC Hostages is an episode from Mentors for Military Podcast by Mentors for Military.

This episode is 01:12:21 long.

This episode was published on Sep 2, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Mentors for Military Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.