Leif Babin

BIO: Leif Babin, Lieutenant Commander, US Navy Reserve

 

Leif Babin, co-founder of the leadership firm Echelon Front LLC, is a highly decorated former U.S. Navy SEAL officer and combat veteran who applies leadership lessons from the battlefield to building high-performance, winning teams in any industry.

 

As a SEAL Platoon Commander during a historic combat deployment to Ar Ramadi, Iraq in 2006, he led some of the heaviest, sustained urban combat operations in the history of the SEAL Teams. He and his SEAL task unit played a crucial role in the U.S. Army 1st Armored Division “Read First” Brigade’s victorious campaign now known as “The Battle of Ramadi,” which helped to changed the course of the war in Iraq. Leif’s task unit became the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq war.

 

Leif then served for two years as the primary leadership instructor for all SEAL Officers graduating from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training where he reshaped SEAL leadership instruction based on his combat experience. His guidance and mentorship prepared the next generation of SEAL leaders to meet the challenges of the most difficult battlefields across the globe with extraordinary success. 

 

As Operations Officer for a SEAL Team, Leif led a 500-personnel Naval Special Warfare Squadron through a rigorous 12-month training cycle and combat deployment to multiple locations on three continents. Within this capacity, Leif served as Operations Officer for a Special Operations Task Force in Iraq and directed a highly successful campaign that targeted al-Qaeda linked terrorist networks. In 2009, he again deployed to Ar Ramadi, Iraq where he witnessed the miraculous changes in peace and security that his SEAL Task Unit helped bring about with the “Ready First” Brigade of the 1st Armored Division three years before. Leif was then promoted to Executive Officer, second in command of a SEAL Team.

 

In 2011, Leif left active duty to found Echelon Front LLC, a consulting firm specializing in leadership training, high-performance team building and crisis management that applies the principles crucial in the success of the SEAL teams to the business world. Clients include companies in private equity finance, banking, retail, insurance, gas and oil, real estate, pharmaceutical and construction industries.   

 

Leif is frequently invited to speak on U.S. military strategy and foreign policy matters. His editorials have been published in the Wall Street Journal and National Review and he has appeared on a variety of national television news and radio programs.  Leif is a National Security Fellow for the Foundation of the Defense of Democracies, a Washington D.C.-based think tank focused on national security and foreign policy. Additionally, Leif serves on the board of directors for The Little Warriors Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the children of fallen and severely wounded U.S. Navy SEALs. He remains a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

"Vinnie From Queens"

"Vinnie From Queens" with Connell McShane, Bernard McGuirk, Tony Powell, Lou Rufino, Sid Rosenberg and Michael "Gunz" Gunzelman.

Blake Burman

Blake Burman joined the FOX Business Network (FBN) as a Washington correspondent in April 2015.  Before FBN, he was a weekend anchor and political reporter for the FOX Miami affiliate station WSVN-TV. While at the station, Burman covered the political landscape for the 2010, 2012 and 2014 races as the station’s main political reporter. While at WSVN, Burman covered the BP oil spill from the Florida Panhandle and anchored breaking news coverage of the George Zimmerman verdict and the killing of Osama bin Laden.  Prior to that, he served a news reporter for WBBH-TV (NBC) in Fort Myers, Florida and was a weekend anchor for KAUZ-TV (CBS) in Wichita Falls, Texas.  Burman is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

Juan Williams

Juan Williams is a Fox News Channel contributor and is also a co-host of FNC's "The Five," where he is one of seven rotating Fox personalities. Additionally, he serves as FNC's political analyst, a regular panelist on "Fox News Sunday" and "Special Report with Bret Baier" and is a regular substitute host for "The O'Reilly Factor."

 In addition to his more than 10-year career with NPR, where he served as a senior national correspondent and news analyst, William had spent 23 years at The Washington Post. During his tenure there, Williams covered every major political campaign from 1980 to 2000 as a national correspondent and a political columnist. He has also interviewed numerous influential people and presidents over the course of his career, including President Obama, former President George W. Bush, former President Clinton, former President George H. W. Bush and former President Reagan.

Williams' career in media spans back several decades across many platforms. A recipient of several awards for his writing and investigative journalism, he also won an Emmy Award for television documentary writing and has received widespread critical acclaim for numerous projects, including a series of documentaries, including: "Politics: The New Black Power" and "A. Phillip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom." Additionally, he is the author of six books, including the non-fiction bestseller, "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965" and "Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary." Williams has also written numerous articles and has contributed to many national magazines, including: TIME, Fortune, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, Ebony and GQ.

Williams earned his bachelor's degree from Haverford College.

"Psychos"

"Psychos" with Deirdre Imus, Curtis Sliwa, Bernard McGuirk, Sid Rosenberg and Lionel.