Remote Warrior with Tanner Yackley

What happens when war becomes a desk job?


You wake up in Vegas. Sit down in a box. Fly a drone over Afghanistan. Watch your target for weeks—when he feeds his goats, when he hugs his wife—and then one day, you get the call: Clear to Strike.

Then you go home. Eat dinner. And don't talk about it.


Former drone operator and founder of Remote Warrior, Tanner Yackley, joins us to talk about what remote warfare really does to the human brain. Spoiler: it's not like a video game. From moral injury to misdiagnosis, from 3,000 hours of combat to launching a mission-driven mental health org, Tanner takes us inside the proverbial cockpit—and the real cost.


We discuss:

• What it's like to fly over 1,000 remote combat missions (and then replay the strikes over and over again).
• Why PTSD frameworks often fail drone operators—and what they actually need instead.
• The haunting power of proximity in remote warfare: knowing your target's daily routine before taking them out.
• What the military still gets wrong about burnout, trauma, and training.
• Why "it's okay to not be okay" doesn't work if no one believes it.
  
  

This one might wreck you a little. It should.


Connect with Tanner Yackley
LinkedIn
Remote Warrior website

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MAD SPONSOR: Randori Resources
This episode is brought to you by Randori Resources, founded by Sam Carus.
Randori helps you train your brain the way fighters train their bodies.


Visit randori-resources.com to learn more.


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MAD Warfare™️ is hosted by narrative strategist Jocelyn Brady and cognitive neuroscientist Sean Anthony Guillory. Edited and produced by Amine el Filali. Visit our website at madwarfare.com for extra giggles. And send your wishes, weird ideas, dream guests, and (yes it bears repeating) sponsorship inquiries to madwarfarepodcast@gmail.com.


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FAIR USE: This show is MAD enough to include homages, short clips, and references that provide vital context and/or moments of joy. We DEEPLY respect every creator's work and use these moments purely for educational, artistic, and transformative purposes under Fair Use. If we are missing attributions or you would like to collaborate, please reach out—we're always happy to chat!