"From the Infantry to Fighting for Allies" | Andrew Sullivan, No One Left Behind Executive Director

Andrew Sullivan led an Army infantry platoon through two tours in Iraq and commanded a company in Afghanistan — and says his own interpreter carried more risk, and more of the war, than he ever did. Today Andrew runs No One Left Behind, fighting to get America's wartime allies home before it's too late.

Andrew commissioned as an infantry officer out of Virginia Military Institute and served over nine years in the U.S. Army, deploying twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan, with a later posting to Latvia as tensions rose with Russia. He led a rifle platoon through a leadership crisis in Iraq's Mesan Province, ran the drawdown at Al Assad Air Base, and commanded a company working alongside the Afghan National Army in Zabul Province — where he grew close with his interpreter, Amodi, and first learned what the Special Immigrant Visa program actually promises the people who serve beside American troops. He's been fighting for that promise ever since: first as legislative director at With Honor Action, now as executive director of No One Left Behind.

The conversation covers Andrew's path to service after 9/11, Ranger School and where Army and Marine Corps training genuinely differ, the leadership mistake he says he still hasn't forgiven himself for, two deployments to Iraq — including the unglamorous work of shutting down a forward operating base — and a company command in Afghanistan defined by firefights, IEDs, and a 250-lb bomb that landed in the middle of six Afghan soldiers without detonating. It closes on the work he does now: what the SIV program actually requires, why it's stalled, and what's at stake for the tens of thousands of interpreters and soldiers still waiting on America's word.

Learn more or support the mission:

• Website: Nooneleft.org
• Donate: https://give.nooneleft.org/CombatStory

Guest Information — Andrew Sullivan

Andrew Sullivan served over nine years as a U.S. Army Infantry Officer, deploying twice to Iraq and once each to Afghanistan and Latvia. After leaving active duty, he became Executive Director of No One Left Behind, a nonprofit fighting to get Special Immigrant Visas issued to the Afghan and Iraqi interpreters and allies who risked their lives serving alongside U.S. forces. Under his leadership, NOLB has helped drive an approved backlog of more than 30,000 allies forward while operating almost entirely on private funding — the program currently receives $0 in direct government support. Sullivan continues to push for the visas, resettlement support, and follow-through the U.S. promised the people who fought beside it.

Find Andrew online:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-sullivan-a2a97755/
• NOLB LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-one-left-behind
• NOLB Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoOneLeftBehindUS
• NOLB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nooneleftbehindus/
• NOLB YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGYfopN1o2D79z2xsWeyKnA/videos

Host Information — AJ Pasciuti

AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner) with 21 years of service and multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life and the host and creator of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans share honest, unfiltered stories of service, leadership, combat experience, and life after war. Through Combat Story, AJ's mission is to capture the real moments that shaped warriors—not invented drama, but the specific incidents and choices that define character—and to honor the lineage and lessons of military service.

Find AJ online:

• Book (Darkhorse): https://ajpasciuti.com/darkhorse
• Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com
• Instagram: @ajpasciuti

Chapters:
0:00 – Cold open
1:52 – Introduction
3:54 – What called him to service, and 9/11
18:49 – Virginia Military Institute
23:16 – Commissioning and infantry training
27:40 – Ranger School
50:04 – First duty station and a last-minute orders swap
58:43 – First Iraq deployment begins
1:00:00 – A platoon's entire leadership gets fired
1:14:00 – The "manifesto" email — and the lesson that followed
1:27:00 – Second Iraq deployment: shutting down Al Assad Air Base
1:36:00 – Coming home
1:44:00 – Afghanistan: company command in Zabul Province
2:08:00 – The JDAM that didn't go off
2:25:00 – Meeting Amodi and what he learned about real sacrifice
2:30:00 – Inside the Special Immigrant Visa program
2:54:00 – How to help No One Left Behind

Download Cash App today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/sf3mmy2l #CashAppPartner

Terms apply. Bitcoin services by Block, Inc. See the Bitcoin disclosures at cash.app/legal/podcast.