Bryan Suits
Encyclopedia
Bryan Suits is an American war veteran
of three military conflicts in Kuwait, Bosnia, and Iraq, and has been a talk radio host for more than 10 years. He has hosted talk-shows for radio stations in Seattle, WA: KIRO (AM)
and KVI, and in Los Angeles
: KFI
AM 640. Suits was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and grew up in Washington. He is heard weekday afternoons on KOGO-AM/FM in San Diego.
, Suits became a broker
-trainee at Drexel Burnham Lambert
.
in 1989, he served in Operation Desert Storm as a medic
. In 1998 he deployed as a member of the California Army National Guard
to Bosnia as part of SFOR
. In 2002, he attended Officer Candidate School
and received his commission. As a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment
, Washington Army National Guard
he deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Due to events during his deployment to Iraq
he became a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal
and Purple Heart
.
While in Iraq
he occasionally called into the Kirby Wilbur
Show and reported on his experiences. He was also a contributor to the Iraq election log on the BBC
news website. Lieutenant
Suits collected rubber boots from his radio show listeners and distributed them to Iraqi children in what became known as "Boots for Suits". Upon his arrival back from his tour of duty in Iraq, he claimed that his ballot for the November 2004 general election
, which he said was mailed to his wife from Iraq, was never counted. His claim became part of the public debate surrounding the contested 2004 Washington gubernatorial election
.
on KIRO (AM)
from 1999 to 2002. Suits then moved to the prime drive time hours of 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 PT on KVI, following Sean Hannity
. The topics on the show ranged from local news to kicker stories to the War on Terror
. Suits usually employed his sense of humor on all topics. He referred to the last hour of his show as "The Iraq Block" and devoted it mostly to discussion on the war in Iraq. It is in this hour that his experience in Iraq helped put some news items in perspective. Suits was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and returned to KVI in 2005 to continue his show.
On March 6, 2003, an Iraqi caller named "Mohammed" confronted United for Peace and Justice
spokesperson Andrea Buffa on Suits' show. The clip was posted on the KVI website and quickly circulated around the Internet. However, some individuals noted that the individual did not have an Iraqi Arab accent.
Suits' show was canceled by KVI on November 9, 2007. Some listeners complained that November 9 was the Friday preceding the Veteran's Day holiday (typically observed on November 11, each year in the U.S.).
Suits' show was replaced by the KVI show The Commentators with John Carlson and Ken Schram
, formerly aired from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. KVI aired the Laura Ingram show from 3pm to 5pm. Ironically, KVI put Peter Weissbach in for an hour of Bryans old time slot (5-6pm), the very host whom Suits had been brought in to replace.
Suits periodically filled in as a guest host from 7-10pm, following the controversial removal of John Ziegler
in December 2007 on KFI
, AM 640 of Los Angeles.
Suits announced December 31, 2007 that he had accepted a position from 7-10pm, following John and Ken
beginning January 2008 on KFI
AM 640 of Los Angeles. In April he was joined by long-time friend and fellow radio host Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
, and they performed the show together under the banner of "The Kennedy & Suits Show". Kennedy's final broadcast on "Kennedy & Suits" was September 30, 2009, with Suits going it solo again as the "Bryan Suits Show". In addition, Suits hosted The Dark Secret Place from 2pm-4pm on Sundays, in the time slot formerly held by Kennedy before she moved to weekdays.
Suits announced, on his January 8, 2010 show, that his last day at his current 7:00 pm KFI Los Angeles time slot would be on Friday, January 15, 2010. He planned to continue his Sunday show, Dark Secret Place on KFI. Citing family reasons, and not specific on his career move, he and his family were returning to the Seattle, Washington area. His replacement on KFI, Tim Conway Jr., would begin at the 7:00 pm time slot on Monday, January 18, 2010.
KVI AM 570 in Seattle, announced the return of The Bryan Suits Show weekday mornings, from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., starting Monday morning, January 25, 2010. Some 10 months later, KVI AM 570 in Seattle cancelled its conservative-talk lineup and switched to an Oldies format, on November 8, 2010.
While The Bryan Suits Show had been canceled, once again, by KVI in the days preceding Veterans' Day, the Bryan Suits Show Facebook page stated that he had a safety net in place when hired back by Fisher Radio. In addition, Suits continued to host The Dark Secret Place, on Sundays from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, on AM 640 KFI Los Angeles.
War Veteran
War Veteran is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. It was first published in If magazine in March 1955.-Plot summary:The plot concerns an old man who claims to have travelled back in time from a future in which Earth has lost a devastating war to its own Martian and Venusian colonies...
of three military conflicts in Kuwait, Bosnia, and Iraq, and has been a talk radio host for more than 10 years. He has hosted talk-shows for radio stations in Seattle, WA: KIRO (AM)
KIRO (AM)
KIRO is a radio station based in Seattle, Washington on the shores of Lake Union with 2 towers on Maury Island, broadcasting on 710 kHz in the AM radio spectrum...
and KVI, and in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
: KFI
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
AM 640. Suits was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and grew up in Washington. He is heard weekday afternoons on KOGO-AM/FM in San Diego.
Biography
After graduating from Washington State UniversityWashington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
, Suits became a broker
Broker
A broker is a party that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller, and gets a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal...
-trainee at Drexel Burnham Lambert
Drexel Burnham Lambert
Drexel Burnham Lambert was a major Wall Street investment banking firm, which first rose to prominence and then was forced into bankruptcy in February 1990 by its involvement in illegal activities in the junk bond market, driven by Drexel employee Michael Milken. At its height, it was the...
.
Military service
Enlisting in the United States Army ReserveUnited States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
in 1989, he served in Operation Desert Storm as a medic
68W
68W is the Military Occupational Specialty for the United States Army's healthcare specialist, also known as the combat medic...
. In 1998 he deployed as a member of the California Army National Guard
California Army National Guard
The California Army National Guard is the land force component of the California National Guard, one of the reserve component United States Army and is part of the United States National Guard. The California Army National Guard is composed of about 20,000 soldiers...
to Bosnia as part of SFOR
SFOR
The Stabilisation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was tasked with upholding the Dayton Agreement. It replaced the previous force IFOR...
. In 2002, he attended Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School (U.S. Army)
The United States Army's Officer Candidate School , located at Fort Benning, Georgia, provides training to become a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army...
and received his commission. As a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment
161st Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 161st Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army and the Washington Army National Guard. Its 1st Battalion is a combined arms element of the 81st Heavy Brigade Combat Team consisting of two infantry and two armored companies, with its headquarters in Spokane,...
, Washington Army National Guard
Washington Army National Guard
The Washington Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the Washington National Guard based in Washington. The history of the Washington Army National Guard dates back to 1854 with formation of the Washington Territorial Militia...
he deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Due to events during his deployment to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
he became a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
and Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
.
While in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
he occasionally called into the Kirby Wilbur
Kirby Wilbur
Kirby Wilbur is an American radio personality and conservative political activist who hosted a local conservative talk radio morning show on KVI-AM in Seattle, Washington. He occasionally hosts The Sean Hannity Show on a fill-in basis. He was elected the State Chairman of the Washington State...
Show and reported on his experiences. He was also a contributor to the Iraq election log on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
news website. Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Suits collected rubber boots from his radio show listeners and distributed them to Iraqi children in what became known as "Boots for Suits". Upon his arrival back from his tour of duty in Iraq, he claimed that his ballot for the November 2004 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, which he said was mailed to his wife from Iraq, was never counted. His claim became part of the public debate surrounding the contested 2004 Washington gubernatorial election
Washington gubernatorial election, 2004
The election for governor of Washington on November 2, 2004 gained national attention for its legal twists and extremely close finish. Notable for being among the closest political races in United States election history, Republican Dino Rossi was declared the winner in the initial automated count...
.
Media career
The "Bryan Suits Show" first ran Monday to Friday from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. PSTPacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
on KIRO (AM)
KIRO (AM)
KIRO is a radio station based in Seattle, Washington on the shores of Lake Union with 2 towers on Maury Island, broadcasting on 710 kHz in the AM radio spectrum...
from 1999 to 2002. Suits then moved to the prime drive time hours of 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 PT on KVI, following Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
. The topics on the show ranged from local news to kicker stories to the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. Suits usually employed his sense of humor on all topics. He referred to the last hour of his show as "The Iraq Block" and devoted it mostly to discussion on the war in Iraq. It is in this hour that his experience in Iraq helped put some news items in perspective. Suits was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and returned to KVI in 2005 to continue his show.
On March 6, 2003, an Iraqi caller named "Mohammed" confronted United for Peace and Justice
United for Peace and Justice
United for Peace and Justice is a coalition of more than 1,300 international and U.S.-based organizations opposed to "our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building."...
spokesperson Andrea Buffa on Suits' show. The clip was posted on the KVI website and quickly circulated around the Internet. However, some individuals noted that the individual did not have an Iraqi Arab accent.
Suits' show was canceled by KVI on November 9, 2007. Some listeners complained that November 9 was the Friday preceding the Veteran's Day holiday (typically observed on November 11, each year in the U.S.).
Suits' show was replaced by the KVI show The Commentators with John Carlson and Ken Schram
Ken Schram
Ken Schram is a Seattle, Washington news and radio broadcaster. Best known as the host for local-affairs show Town Meeting, Schram can now be seen giving tidbits on KOMO 4’s evening news in segments called “Schram on the Street.” For several years he hosted a radio show, The Commentators, on...
, formerly aired from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. KVI aired the Laura Ingram show from 3pm to 5pm. Ironically, KVI put Peter Weissbach in for an hour of Bryans old time slot (5-6pm), the very host whom Suits had been brought in to replace.
Suits periodically filled in as a guest host from 7-10pm, following the controversial removal of John Ziegler
John Ziegler (talk show host)
John Ziegler is a conservative radio talk show host turned documentary film writer/director.Ziegler's most prominent work in radio has been as the evening host of a radio talk show called The John Ziegler Show on KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles, California from January 12, 2004 until November 13, 2007...
in December 2007 on KFI
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
, AM 640 of Los Angeles.
Suits announced December 31, 2007 that he had accepted a position from 7-10pm, following John and Ken
John and Ken
John Chester Kobylt and Kenneth Robertson Chiampou, known professionally as John and Ken are American talk radio hosts of a four-hour weekday radio show, The John and Ken Show, on KFI AM 640 in Southern California. The John and Ken Show airs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m....
beginning January 2008 on KFI
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
AM 640 of Los Angeles. In April he was joined by long-time friend and fellow radio host Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery is an American political satirist, radio personality, and former MTV VJ...
, and they performed the show together under the banner of "The Kennedy & Suits Show". Kennedy's final broadcast on "Kennedy & Suits" was September 30, 2009, with Suits going it solo again as the "Bryan Suits Show". In addition, Suits hosted The Dark Secret Place from 2pm-4pm on Sundays, in the time slot formerly held by Kennedy before she moved to weekdays.
Suits announced, on his January 8, 2010 show, that his last day at his current 7:00 pm KFI Los Angeles time slot would be on Friday, January 15, 2010. He planned to continue his Sunday show, Dark Secret Place on KFI. Citing family reasons, and not specific on his career move, he and his family were returning to the Seattle, Washington area. His replacement on KFI, Tim Conway Jr., would begin at the 7:00 pm time slot on Monday, January 18, 2010.
KVI AM 570 in Seattle, announced the return of The Bryan Suits Show weekday mornings, from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., starting Monday morning, January 25, 2010. Some 10 months later, KVI AM 570 in Seattle cancelled its conservative-talk lineup and switched to an Oldies format, on November 8, 2010.
While The Bryan Suits Show had been canceled, once again, by KVI in the days preceding Veterans' Day, the Bryan Suits Show Facebook page stated that he had a safety net in place when hired back by Fisher Radio. In addition, Suits continued to host The Dark Secret Place, on Sundays from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, on AM 640 KFI Los Angeles.