In this episode of The Spear, retired Marine officer David Berke joins to share a story from 2006, when he was a forward air controller attached to an Army unit in Ramadi, Iraq. During a movement-to-contact patrol, they began to take fire, and his job became especially important. He declared the TIC—troops in contact—and two Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornets headed their way to provide close air support. Listen as he tells the story, explaining what it's like to work with the pilots in the air to engage the enemy in support of the ground force.
This episode features a story from Maj. Joe Ritter, an MQ-9 pilot—the first remotely piloted aircraft story featured on The Spear. The MQ-9 has...
In 2007, Tony Luberto was a maintenance platoon leader deployed in Baghdad. Early one morning, he awoke to the devastating sounds of a Katyusha...
In 2014 and 2015, the US Army sent soldiers to help respond to an outbreak of Ebola in Liberia. Capt. Jerod Brammer led one...