In 2003, Maj. 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.
In this episode of The Spear, retired Marine officer David Berke joins to share a story from 2006, when he was a forward air...
On April 10, 2003, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment (A/1/5) was tasked with searching a mosque in Baghdad for Saddam Hussein. The...
As a young platoon leader in Iraq during the 2003 invasion, John Faunce experienced the chaos of combat, including shifting missions, limited intelligence, and...