In the previous episode, we heard Master Sgt. Earl Plumlee describe his early military career, which took him from the Oklahoma National Guard to the Marine Corps’s force reconnaissance community. This episode picks up his story, as he recounts how he came to join the Army and his selection as a Special Forces soldier. He goes on to describe a 2013 deployment to Afghanistan. During that deployment, on August 28, the Taliban launched a complex attack on Forward Operating Base Ghazni, where he and his team were located. Outnumbered and under heavy fire, they fought back, seeking to seal the base's breached perimeter and repel the attackers. For his actions during that fight, Plumlee received the Medal of Honor.
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 the spring of 2003, Lt. Col. Dave Rittgers commanded a Special Forces team deploying to Afghanistan. As soon as the team arrived in...
On August 16, 2013, Capt. Brandon Thomas was a troop commander deployed to Kandahar province, Afghanistan. That day, during an unplanned halt on a...