Combat Story

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!  Today we have a special Veterans Day 50th Episode of Combat Story from Vincent Speranza, who was a paratrooper in the storied 101st Airborne Division in World War II. Vince was a machine gunner at the Battle of the Bulge where he and his fellow paratroopers held Bastogne after being encircled by the Germans. [Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Loansteady LLC. A small-by-design lender, Loansteady believes in bringing a much-needed dose of humanity to the mortgage process. With their experience, agility, and creativity at Loansteady, they offer better rates, a simpler process and a much stronger personal connection. They're here to find a mortgage that works for you, not the other way around. They are waiving all lender fees for Veterans in 2021. Visit http://www.loansteady.com/combatstory to request a rate quote or start an application. Loansteady LLC, All rights reserved, NMLS# 1701910, (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/), Equal Housing Lender. For more licensing information, please visit https://www.loansteady.com/licenses-and-legal.] While fighting, Vince earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, but he’s gone down in history for being the GI who miraculously found and transported draft beer in his helmet from the last standing bar in Bastogne during the attack. This story later became the basis for Airborne beer, which can be purchased throughout Belgium and is designed to be enjoyed from a small ceramic cup shaped like a WWII helmet. Vince, in the last 10 years, has written a book, aptly titled “Nuts!: A 101st Airborne Division Machine Gunner at Bastogne,” has jumped out of airplanes again, and speaks to soldiers and organizations about his experiences. His story is nothing short of legendary and reminds us all why we refer to his as the “Greatest Generation.” I hope you enjoy this amazing combat story as much as I did. Follow Ryan on Instagram @combatstory Show Notes 0:00 - Intro 0:48 - A word from our Sponsor (Loansteady) 2:15 - Guest intro 3:22 - Interview begins 4:18 - Growing up an Italian immigrant 16:00 - Did you miss out on a “fun” or easy childhood? 18:20 - AWESOME Pearl Harbor story from Dec 7th,1941 22:21 - The Draft letter 23:43 - Shipping off to WWII (wait for his dad’s comment) 38:04 - Training to go to WWII 41:01 - Volunteering for Airborne 50:40 - Taking the Queen Mary over to the war 52:34 - The feeling on the boat on the way to WWII 54:28 - You’re going in! 59:29 - Battle of the Bulge - Basic numbers and the environment 1:01:41 - The importance of artillery at Bastogne 1:04:44 - Asking for our surrender 1:06:15 - Like the Colonel already said 1:07:10 - “Freedom in your heart” (you can’t help but smile when you hear this) 1:07:50 - How was I feeling at the Battle of the Bulge? 1:10:15 - The sobering moment comes after the shooting… 1:11:45 - German strategy going in 1:14:50 - Airborne Beer (INCREDIBLE story) 1:18:30 - Made myself a promise 1:33:45 - Combat Story (WWII Edition) Begins with description of digging into frozen ground and fighting from those positions 1:36:00 - “The whole world exploded” 1:38:48 - A machine gunner’s delight 1:47:16 - A once in a lifetime R&R 1:58:59 - Did you carry anything with you into combat? 1:59:57 - Would you do it all again? 2:00:09 - At the Eagle’s Nest! 2:03:26 - Not a hero… 2:05:23 - Listener comments

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!  Today we hear the second part of Ray McPadden’s Combat Story. Ray is a former Army Infantry Officer who survived four brutal deployments. In Part 1, we covered his time with 10th Mountain in the Korengal Valley, a notoriously violent part of Afghanistan. [You can find Part 1 at https://youtu.be/uebr9kPuPLM or https://tinyurl.com/wfcat859] In Part 2, we pick up just after Ray returns from 16 months as a Platoon Leader in Afghanistan. He immediately goes to ROP (the Ranger Officer Program) to be assessed for the Ranger Regiment. In this interview, Ray provides some incredible detail about the types of missions and decisions soldiers have to make within the JSOC community and the stark differences between the special ops and conventional military in terms of resources, equipment, aviation, personnel, and more. For those who want to know what it was like to roll out on a multiple hit night in Iraq with JSOC, this interview will make you feel like you’re inside the Stryker and on the objective. If you want more, check out Ray’s great book - We March at Midnight. I hope you enjoy this second round of Ray’s combat story as much as I did. Find Ray Online: Instagram @raymcpadden1 https://www.instagram.com/raymcpadden1/ Book We March at Midnight https://www.amazon.com/We-March-Midnight-War-Memoir-ebook/dp/B08W2NQF4H Find Ryan Online: Follow on Instagram @combatstory https://www.instagram.com/combatstory Follow on Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial Email ryan@combatstory.com Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle Show Notes 0:00 - Intro 0:46 - Guest introduction 1:50 - Interview begins and returning from the Korengal Valley 8:15 - Did you get treatment for PTSD after the first deployment 13:00 - Coming straight back from combat to Ranger Officer Program 20:25 - Interesting model in the Ranger Regiment 27:57 - What’s a Ground Force Commander 30:08 - How hard is the Ranger Officer Program 33:43 - The Darby Queen 43:30 - Arriving to 2nd Ranger Battalion 46:52 - Big Boy Rules 50:57 - Combat Story #1 - Running ops Day 1 55:23 - JSOC Mission Briefs in combat 1:11:19 - Combat Story #2 - Hasty follow-on operation 1:18:45 - Couldn’t sleep post-mission 1:23:56 - Combat Story #3: Tier 1 HVTs operating in difficult spaces 1:45:28 - Combat Story #4: The reality of warfare and children on the battlefield 1:53:38 - Why choose the title “We March at Midnight”? 1:56:25 - What did you carry with you into combat? 1:59:25 - Would you do it all again? 2:01:28 - Listener shout outs and comments

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!  Today we hear Part I of the Combat Story of Ray McPadden, a former Army Infantry Officer who survived four deployments that included leading troops in one of the most dangerous valleys of Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division and as a Ground Force Commander in the Ranger Battalion. Listeners really appreciate our interviews with Special Operators and it’s easy to see why. Many listeners have asked to hear a few more stores from the conventional side of the house. Today’s episode focuses entirely on the conventional side of Ray’s career and fighting that his Battalion Commander at the time promised would be harder than anything he would go on to do in the Rangers. Ray’s experience in the Pech and Korangal Valleys will be eye opening to many who had no idea forces were fighting in this unforgiving terrain and in these isolated conditions. Many have seen Restrepo and the Hornet’s Nest and can appreciate just how difficult that fighting was. Ray and his men fought to build the positions and fortifications that would later become the backdrop of those movies and books. We use Ray’s own fantastic book - We March at Midnight - as a guide to walk through the first half of his career and will pick up in part two with his time in the Special Ops community. I hope you enjoy this first of two Combat Stories and his fight in what was known as the “Valley of Death” as much as I did. Find Ray Online: Instagram @raymcpadden1 https://www.instagram.com/raymcpadden1/ Book We March at Midnight https://www.amazon.com/We-March-Midnight-War-Memoir-ebook/dp/B08W2NQF4H Find Ryan Online: Follow on Instagram @combatstory https://www.instagram.com/combatstory Follow on Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial Email ryan@combatstory.com Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle Show Notes 0:00 - Intro 1:11 - Guest introduction 2:03 - Interview begins 5:10 - Reenacting Sniper (the movie) as a kid 12:54 - Texas A&M and learning from NCOs for the first time 18:50 - “Actions not words” and leading by example 21:14 - Mood in the Army in 2004-2005 starting out 24:05 - A life in the mountains 25:12 - Donkey and mule training 35:43 - The real side of a military spouse - “They go to war with you” 39:30 - Afghanistan and the Pech Valley 42:00 - First Platoon Sergeant - “The key person” for new LTs 45:22 - Reality of Mountain Warfare 47:22 - Combat Story #1: First big fight 1:21:40 - Combat Story #2: The counterattack 1:27:37 - The Korongal (Korangal aka Korengal) Valley and Restrepo and Operation Red Wings environment (Restrepo Info for those interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvUdruvbdmI) 1:30:01 - Combat Story #3: Initial fight in the Valley 1:44:04 - “War is Freedom” 1:50:13 - Delivering some of the hardest news possible 1:54:29 - Combat Story #4: The Last Firefight - “War is horrible” 2:02:10 - Conventions vs Special Operations 2:03:25 - Listener Comments and Shout Outs

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!  Today we hear the Combat Story of Wes ‘H’ Hennessey, a retired Australian Special Forces Commando and 20 year veteran who deployed on numerous occasions to Afghanistan, Iraq, East Timor, Somalia, to name just a few. He fought for years at the upper echelons of the Australian special operations community and was on joint operations with US-equivalents like DEVGRU in critical missions.  He was later recognized with two US Bronze Star Medals, one with Valor, for his efforts, in addition to the coveted Australian Conspicuous Service Medal. Since leaving the military, Wes has gone on to become a sought after brand ambassador, public speaker, and, most importantly, Veteran advocate. He stands out from the crowd with a down to earth, honest, and truth-to-power personality and I hope you enjoy his combat story as much as I did. Find H Online: Instagram @seven.horses.co LinkedIN https://www.linkedin.com/in/wes-hennessey-860b1235/ Find Ryan online: Follow on Instagram @combat_stories https://www.instagram.com/combatstory Follow on Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial Email ryan@combatstory.com Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle Show Notes 0:00 - Intro 1:05 - Guest bio for Wes “H” Hennessey 1:55 - Interview begins 3:41- What US State is Queensland like? 6:24 - Aussie Commandos vs SAS 16:32 - Communication once in the elite units 30:14 - The Commando pipeline 32:46 - Kit check was a favorite 38:26 - Can you tell who will make it through selection? 47:28 - The weight of leadership 51:35 - First deployment: Somalia 56:59 - First mission outside the wire 1:03:29 - Left a boy. Returned a man. 1:12:57 - Sent to Kandahar 1:24:04 - Honing the American accent 1:27:56 - Surviving a helicopter crash 1:56:49 - When the near death experiences build up 2:01:06 - Seven Horses Co and H’s next mission 2:10:55 - What did you carry into combat with you? 2:11:45 - Would you do it all again? 2:13:07 - Listener comments and shout outs!

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!  Today we hear the Combat Story of Tony Brooks, a former Army Ranger with 2nd Ranger Battalion who fought in Afghanistan early in the war and in Ramadi, Iraq. Tony’s first mission was significant, being tasked with the recovery of downed chinook helicopter, Turbine 33 and The Lone Survivor, Marcus Luttrell in the mountains of Afghanistan. His book, Leave No Man Behind, is all about this experience as the primary search and rescue element that catalogues the mission from hitting the ground, recovering bodies, and hunting for every last man to bring them home. In this episode, we also touch on the impact of a legendary man, soldier, Ranger, and American - Pat Tillman - who had a tremendous influence on Tony (and myself for that matter). After the military, Tony went on to become a licensed chiropractor. He married the woman he refers to in the book as ‘the Unicorn’ who he met as a private while stationed at Fort Lewis. I hope you enjoy his Combat Story, and the mission to bring everyone home, as much as I did. #rangers #specialoperations #operationredwings #veteran #veterans #combatstory #tonybrooks #2ndrangerbattalion #rangerbatt #rltw Find Tony Online: Book Leave No Man Behind https://www.amazon.com/Leave-Man-Behind-Unrelenting-Afghanistan/dp/1635767350 Website https://www.drtonybrooksauthor.com/ Instagram @drtonybrooks https://www.instagram.com/drtonybrooks/ Facebook Dr Tony Brooks https://www.facebook.com/DrTonyBrooks/ Find Ryan Online: Follow on Instagram @combat_stories https://www.instagram.com/combatstory Follow on Facebook @combatstoryofficial https://fb.me/combatstoryofficial Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial Email ryan@combatstory.com Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle Show Notes 0:00 - Intro 0:53 - Guest bio 1:40 - Interview begins 2:06 - Pat Tillman - One of the greatest Americans of our generation 10:35 - Finding Purpose 13:19 - Why go to the Rangers? 17:00 - The Unicorn and the long play 20:00 - Parents played it neutral 23:50 - First time in Afghanistan 30:33 - Context for Operation Red Wings 37:15 - How did you feel going into your first mission? 40:07 - Fast roping onto target 49:25 - First objective - get to the crash site 58:20 - Recovering body parts 59:22 - Finding a wedding ring that meant so much more 1:06:27 - Next mission post-crash site recovery 1:13:50 - A screech you’ve never heard before 1:17:06 - Next mission is BDA 1:24:04 - My first experience of war was “sh*@” 1:26:28 - Finding Marcus Luttrell 1:32:13 - How close was the movie scenery (Lone Survivor) to reality 1:39:14 - Hilarious story of one of those “guys” in the unit 1:46:15 - What did you carry with you into combat? 1:47:31 - Would you go back and do it all again? 1:48:30 - How does Tony think about recent events in Afghanistan? 1:50:45 - Listener comments

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!  Today we hear the second round of our Combat Story with Dan Pronk, a former Australian SAS officer and medical doctor who completed four tours to Afghanistan. In round one we covered Dan’s first calling as a triathlete until he found himself in medical school, and, eventually, SAS selection. We covered some of his initial deployments. In round two we move into the more difficult deployments Dan faced when things started getting darker, as they so often do. We also discuss Dan’s newly released book - Resilience Shield - which takes SAS resilience lessons and applies them to everyday life to thrive, much as Dan has. Dan went on to found a multi-million dollar company - TACMED - and has written two other books: Arterial Tourniquets and Average 70kg D**khead. Dan is the most unassuming doctor you’ll ever find and I hope you enjoy this second round interview Down Under as much as I did. Show Notes 0:00 - Intro 0:57 - Dan Pronk intro and bio 1:52 - Interview begins 4:12 - The Afghanistan pull out 10:58 - Desperately wanting to get back into combat 15:00 - Find Fix Finish for Psychological Trauma 20:43 - Third deployment “hugely kinetic” 24:43 - The Suckmeter 27:38 - The build-up of PTSD 45:36 - How to make resilience insights to bulletproof operators 55:50 - Dan’s first classic car purchase and how not to make your wife happy 1:09:00 - The Unforgiving Sixty podcast by Dan Pronk’s Resilience Shield Co-author 1:09:46 - What did you carry with you into combat every time? 1:11:57 - Would you go back and do it all again? 1:15:43 - Listener Comments and Shout Outs #combatstory #SAS #specialoperations #danpronk #deltaforce #jsoc #australianSAS #pathfinderjacket #killkapture #markwales Find Dan online: Website Resilience Shield  LinkedIN Dan Pronk  Instagram @danpronk  Book Average 70kg D**khead  Book Arterial Tourniquets  Book Resilience Shield  TacMed  Delta Automotive  Find Ryan online: Follow on Instagram @combatstory Follow on Facebook @combatstoryofficial  Send us messages at https://m.me/combatstoryofficial Email ryan@combatstory.com Learn more about Ryan Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!  Today we hear the Combat Story of Dr. Dan Pronk, a former Australian SAS doctor who completed four tours to Afghanistan. Do not be fooled by the doctor title, Dan was on the front lines conducting hundreds of operations with the elite SAS. This is the first of two interviews with Dan. Before the military, Dan was a triathlete and lived what he described as an average Australian upbringing. The military put him through medical school, but he wanted to be part of the elite SAS and fought for years for a chance to just get to selection, which he eventually did. Since leaving the military, Dan has gone on to an executive role in medical management, as well as co-owning the multimillion dollar company TacMed Australia and founding several other entrepreneurial startups. He’s written several books, including Average 70kg Dickhead: Motivational Lessons from an Ex-Army Special Forces Doctor, and Arterial Tourniquets: For Police Officers, Law Enforcement and other First-Responders. He just released a third book with two fellow former SAS operators called Resilience Shield. Dan’s also a motorhead with a love of high performance cars, leading him to own a classic Ferrari and Lamborghini. He also created Delta Automotive that builds these limited edition classic sports cars. Dan was referred to me by another SAS leader as “legend” in the community and I hope you enjoy this first of two Combat Story rounds with Dan as much as I did. Find Dan Online: Website Resilience Shield www.resilienceshield.com/ LinkedIN Dan Pronk https://www.linkedin.com/in/danpronk/ Instagram @danpronk www.instagram.com/danpronk/?hl=en Show Notes 0:00 - Interview begins 1:07 - Dan Pronk bio 2:13 - Interview begins 9:00 - Tough schooling and getting beaten with a cricket bat (for both Ryan and Dan) 10:25 - Dan’s family military history and father who was an Army helicopter pilot 13:50 - Dan’s rebellious stage, triathlons, and tough cars 19:30 - Running and that release 24:50 - “Maneuvering” myself into an elite group 29:15 - Extrinsic motivation of being a triathlete rather than being an intrinsically motivated soldier 32:30 - Shifting from college and triathlons to medical school and the military 38:15 - The “lightbulb moment” to join SAS 43:50 - Why is SAS sending doctor’s through Selection? 47:10 - Motivational moment of being doubted 49:05 - Darker and harder moments of Selection 55:45 - What’s it like being a Selection-certified doctor in SAS? 59:20 - First deployment with SAS as a Task Force asset 1:02:35 - First mission outside the wire as a doctor AND the gunner on a vehicle 1:06:35 - First time I got shot at “accurately” 1:10:35 - Another mission and being in contact with snipers on quad bikes and more vehicles going against the Taliban 1:12:55 - No indication of PTSD starting to seep in 1:15:10 - Another deployment to Afghanistan in 2011 (reference to the Drug Enforcement Agency aka DEA's Drug Flow Attack Strategy Team or FAST) 1:16:44 - Difficult mission and a “turning point” for Dan. “We’re playing for keeps now” 1:26:45 - Dan’s background in the Emergency Room and working trauma

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!  Today we hear the Combat Story of Mike Hayes, a retired Navy SEAL Team and Special Operations Task Force Commander who fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Bosnia over a 20 year career. His time in uniform brought to key points in U.S. military and diplomatic history, including intersections with Operation Red Wings, the Mersk Somali pirate kidnapping, and an international treaty negotiation with Russia. While in the Navy, Mike was one of the very few selected as a White House fellow, where he served under both Republican and Democrat administrations and as the Director for Defense Policy and Strategy at the National Security Council. Since leaving the military, Mike has gone on to senior roles at Bridgewater Associates, Cognizant, and VM Ware. He’s written a fantastic book, Never Enough, that we’ll discuss during this interview and for which all proceeds go to Gold Star families. Mike is a model leader and giver and I hope you enjoy his Combat Story as much as I did. Find Mike Online Instagram @thisis.mikehayes https://www.instagram.com/thisis.mikehayes/ Twitter @thisismikehayes https://twitter.com/thisismikehayes LinkedIN Mike Hayes https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-hayes-733688/ Book Never Enough https://tinyurl.com/ybv89rdh Find Ryan Online Instagram @combat_stories https://www.instagram.com/combat_stories/ More about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle Show Notes 0:00 - Intro 1:10 - Bio on Mike Hayes 2:10 - Interview begins 2:53 - Gold Star Families 4:35 - Guam and Science Fairs 9:00 - Others Before Self 16:22 - Telling a General ‘No’ 22:50 - What to do when you’re kidnapped 33:58 - Operation Red Wings 38:02 - When to pull the trigger and when to hold 46:55 - Holding people accountable 55:08 - The White House Fellow Program 1:00:20 - Working at Bridgewater Associates for Ray Dalio 1:07:50 - Building egalitarian teams in business 1:15:00 - What did you carry with you into combat? 1:16:45 - Would you do it all again? 1:20:10 - Comments from listeners (THANK YOU!)

Barry Strauss, a Professor of History and Classics at Cornell University, takes us into the world of Brasidas, a legendary Spartan warrior known for his innovative combat strategies. He discusses Brasidas's blend of conventional tactics and psychological warfare, offering a glimpse into Sparta's rigorous military culture. The conversation highlights how Brasidas's legacy influenced Spartan tactics, drawing parallels between ancient and modern veterans’ experiences. Strauss also shares insights from his archaeological explorations, bringing ancient military history vividly to life.

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!  Today we complete the second segment of our Combat Story with Chris VanSant, a retired Army infantryman, Ranger, Green Beret, and Operator in 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta (1st SFOD-D).  You can hear the first round with Chris at https://youtu.be/tdSA8O_T6mE. We left our first interview with Chris at the height of his career: in the Unit, combat rotations, and close friends. We pick up in round two where things start to get more difficult and the optempo, intensity, and constant fighting begin to take a toll. Chris describes how he overcame some very dark days that many can relate to and found new opportunities he never would have imagined. He’s gone on to become the Chief Operating Officer of TYR Tactical and is a board member for Tom and Jenn Satterly’s All Secure Foundation, both of which continue to protect those in need. I hope you enjoy this deep dive into combat and recovery from a very humble Tier 1 operator as much as I did. Find Chris Online:   Instagram @vansanttyrtactical  Website TYR Tactical   Board Member at All Secure Foundation (Tom Satterly’s organization)  Instagram @allsecurefoundation  Find Ryan Online: Follow on Instagram @combatstory  Follow on Facebook @combatstoryofficial   Email ryan@combatstory.com  Learn more about Ryan    Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle Video Edited by: Owen Fugit Show Notes 0:00 - Intro 1:00 - Guest bio 1:52 - Interview begins 2:37 - Chris’ thoughts on Afghanistan 14:18 - Where does the exhaustion come from? 17:18 - What are some other interesting fear responses? 17:24 - “Fight or flight is the first response when someone thinks they may die.” 20:11 - The next deployment 30:00 - Tactics and Procedures 32:40 - Different ways to attack a building. 36:23 – When did the trauma and stress start 43:33 – Early Indicators that will help others 48:25 – Pivotal moments during combat 57:39 - “You got to understand the individuals in your charge to get the best out of them; you got to know what motivates them, what makes them tick.” 58:48 – Starting to change 1:09:04 - Key things in your journey that you try to make sure a wider audience hears 1:10:05 - “Open up. Talk to the people that matter to you. It doesn't have to be a lot. It just has to be a few.” 1:13:13 – Getting fired from the Unit 1:18:53 – Pushing yourself 1:19:11 - “There are winners and losers. A loser is just a winner that tried one more time.” 1:22:40 – Pieces of advice 1:31:11 – Getting in touch with Chris