A Platoon Leader's First Combat Missions

September 12, 2018 00:35:06
A Platoon Leader's First Combat Missions
The Spear
A Platoon Leader's First Combat Missions

Sep 12 2018 | 00:35:06

/

Show Notes

In 2003, Maj. (ret) John Spencer was a platoon leader in the 173rd Airborne. In this episode, he talks about the very first mission after his unit jumped in northern Iraq. He also described a complex ambush in which enemy forces targeted his platoon. Listen as he reflects on the experiences and what lessons he took from these experiences about combat, training, and fear.

Other Episodes

Episode

July 03, 2024 00:29:48
Episode Cover

Sadr City's Three-Block War

For Bill “Fenway” Wyman, Sadr City in 2004 was a strange mix of combat and humanitarian missions. Fenway, then an Army major, was servince...

Listen

Episode

September 27, 2019 00:43:53
Episode Cover

"All Hell Broke Loose"

In the second of a two-part conversation with Ryan Hendrickson, our guest shares a story from 2016. Six years and a couple deployments after...

Listen

Episode 0

December 02, 2020 00:36:20
Episode Cover

Combat in the Kunar River Valley

In this episode Maj. John A. Meyer shares a story from his first deployment, in 2007, to Afghanistan. On July 27, his platoon and...

Listen