Crossing the Berm in 2003
In 2003, Alex Perez-Cruz was a company executive officer during the invasion of Iraq. He returned as a company commander during the Surge. Now a lieutenant colonel, he shares stories from each of thos...
15 Maj 201836min
The Free Burma Rangers in Iraq
Dave Eubank is a former US Army special forces officer and the founder of the Free Burma Rangers, an aid organization that works extensively in conflict zones. At the height of the fight against ISIS,...
3 Maj 201838min
Desert Storm Air Assault
Col. Bill Ostlund is the director of the Department of Military Instruction at West Point. In 1990, as a lieutenant, he arrived at his first unit as an officer and almost immediately got the order to ...
18 Apr 201830min
Apaches on Station
In this episode, we talk to retired US Army Apache pilot Dan McClinton. He tells two stories from a 2007 deployment to Iraq. Together, the stories demonstrate powerful lessons about how military units...
5 Apr 201836min
The Battle of Barg-e Matal
In this episode, Maj. Jake Miraldi walks listeners through the 2009 Battle of Barg-e Matal in eastern Afghanistan's Nuristan province. He was part of a small US force sent to retake a village captured...
21 Mars 201837min
A 2003 Helicopter Mission Deep into Iraq
Col. Phil Ryan is the commander of the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. In 2003, in the first days of the invasion of Iraq, he was a pilot in the unit, part of a fourteen-helicopter m...
6 Mars 201830min
The First Firefighters at the World Trade Center on 9/11
This episode doesn't feature a combat story. But the conversation with FDNY's Chief Joseph Pfeifer is strikingly similar to the story we've heard in past episodes about combat. Like those, it covers c...
22 Feb 201832min
Return Fire and Assault the Objective
In 2003, Maj. John Spencer was a platoon leader in Iraq. One night, while waiting in an ambush position, he gave the order for his platoon to move to interdict a group of armed men. When his lead vehi...
8 Feb 201830min
