Infantry battalions operating tactically rarely have the possibility to directly impact alliance constructs, foreign policy objectives, and national security strategy. But Dan Leard’s 1-38 Infantry did. As a battalion commander, he deployed with his soldiers to support coalition operations in Syria in 2021. He joins this episode to describe that deployment, during which his battalion encountered Russian patrols, Iranian-backed influence operations, and persistent surveillance. It was an environment where one misstep could lead to strategic shifts.
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...
This episode of The Spear features a conversation with Lt. Col. Coley Tyler. In late 2004, he was a captain serving as a battalion...
In 2008, Maj. Emily Spencer was an EOD platoon leader in Iraq. In April, she and one of her teams accompanied a route clearance...